The month of April brings showers, flowers, and poems!

This poster was designed by Marc Brown, creator of the famous Arthur book. The artwork incorporates an excerpted line from one of my favorite poets: “Carrying” by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.
Ten Ways to celebrate Poetry Month:
- Sign-up for Poem-a-Day, curated this month by U. S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, and read a poem each morning.
- Record yourself reading a poem and send it in a text to your child, grandchild, friend, partner, or all of the above.
- Post the same poem to your social media. Use @poetsorg on Twitter and Instagram.
- Read about your state poet laureate. Give them a shout-out on social media!
- Buy a book of poetry from your local bookstore, stroll to the coffee shop, and enjoy the read.
- Share a book of poetry by donating it to a little library in your area.
- Attend a poetry reading, open mic, or poetry slam via Zoom.
- Take a walk and write a poem outside. Try a Haiku.
- Share a poem for Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 27, 2023, on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem.
- Encourage your writing, blog, or reading community to write short poems or haikus to be performed at your next meeting. You can even create a prize for the most creative entry.
April 4th was Maya Angelou Day. This quote is from the famous poem “Still, I Rise,” which she wrote in 1976.
“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise.”
Maya Angelou
The poem speaks to the idea that even when we come from a place of oppression or pain, we have the power to rise above it and create a better future for ourselves and others.
Book Stuff:
In my latest newsletter, I wrote about Guns to Gardens. This was about an organization forging buyback guns into garden tools. What a brilliant idea. And keeping with the garden theme, I wrote about how plants grow good vibes. I can attest to that finding. I’m happier when I’m out in my garden or in nature.
For my newsletter subscribers, I had two ARCs (in print form) given via a raffle. They were the first to receive the code for the e-Arcs of THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES.
This month, I’m sharing the codes with blog subscribers.
If you’re a NetGalley member, my novel is now featured on their front page. I’d love for you to read it and leave a review.
Click on this link to Goodreads. Scroll to my book cover, and click “Vote for this book.” It takes you to June 2023 Books. This pushes my book up to higher levels and gains visibility.
While you’re there, you can add it to your Want to Read stack.
Lastly, I wrote a prequel for TGOSC. It’s a short ten pages.
If you subscribe to the newsletter, I’ll send it to you. Use the home page to subscribe.
Thank you for reading and helping out this debut author. Be well.