An exciting update—After Rain Skies: The Global Anthology, curated by Michelle Ayon Navajas, continues its remarkable run of success, reaching #1 best-seller status in multiple categories for both its Kindle and paperback editions.
From the book:
“After Rain Skies: The Global Anthology is the third installment in the After Rain Skies series, bringing together writers, poets, and storytellers from around the world to speak out against all forms of abuse and violence. Each poem and prose piece is either a personal story or one that inspired the writer—a voice raised in solidarity with those who have endured hardship. These are raw, real stories of resilience, courage, and the search for light after darkness, told through powerful prose and poetry.” – Michelle Ayon Navajas, Curator
Hey, friends. This piece is a bit different from all of my other pieces published on my blog or at Masticadores. Manuela Timofte, the estimable Editor of Gobblers by Masticadores, was kind enough to publish an excerpt of an untitled, unfinished piece of fan-fiction I wrote a few years ago when I was a moderator at a leading website for the PC game Titan Quest. We had a Stories section on the forum where players would post their stories about the game or any other topic. I began this tale and ended up with more than 7,800 words before finally hitting the wall and was unable to finish. I had a novel in mind; this is just a short excerpt from the beginning. So, it’s a glimpse into my style of prose-writing for those of you who may be interested in checking it out.
Excerpt fromUntitled, Unfiished Titan Quest Fan-fiction Story (c) 2011 by Michael L Utley
“The blade slipped quietly from the man’s sweaty grasp, taking soundless ages to hit the earth with a thud so faint not even the carrion birds took notice. It lay in the dust, stained with crimson and gore, like some ancient and eldritch dragon’s tooth, testament to the day’s labors…to his life’s labors. The westering sun turned the blade to fire for a time and then took refuge behind a scud of clouds, dimming the world and all in it…”
This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.
This week’s featured blog is Ashley’s A Different View. I first met Ashley in November 2021 when he and I were both invited to take part in a discussion titled “Exploring Basho’s Moon,” an examination of one of Basho’s famous haiku, hosted by Mark Scott’s Season Words blog. I found Ashley to be the kindest fellow imaginable, and his delicate skill regarding the writing of traditional haiku was astounding. Since then, I’ve come to consider Ashley a good friend of mine, someone whose love of nature and poetic ability create a sense of peace and serenity. Ashley speaks my language, you could say, and his blog is a calm harbor of natural beauty and exemplary writing.
I asked Ashely if he’d like to provide a little background about himself and his blog. I’ll let his own words do the talking:
I’m 74 years old and married to Carol for 52 years although we were courting about 5 years before that so we’ve been together for at least 57 years
whilst Carol has had so much illness in her life (cancer x 4 + heart problems) SHE is still my rock
I’m a great grandfather
I was born in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland to northern English parents
Armagh was the ancient capital of Christian Ireland & whilst no longer a practicing Christian, the sound of cathedral bells is in my heart (see John Betjeman: Summoned By Bells)
left home at 21 to live & work in London, UK. Work location then was close to the River Thames & that river flows within me still
30 years spent living & working in England in the clothing industry: after redundancy, aged 45, worked in various jobs (transport, retail, health service) now retired
returned to NI some years ago
did voluntary work with the Woodland Trust (30+ years). LOVE trees, obsessed by them
through WordPress discovered haiku & writing in season
have always wanted to write & illustrate
lower back problems meant that I restarted my life, exercising daily, a mixture of physio exercises & Qi Gong
I have only ever travelled outside the UK about 3 or 4 times but follow blogs all around the world. With tools like Google Translate I am amazed how many different cultures & languages I am able to connect with
I love the simplicity of seasonal haiku
I would be remiss were I not to mention that one thing I find intriguing about Ashley’s blog is that I have some Irish ancestry, and the Emerald Isle is a land I’ve always wanted to explore. I’m able to do that vicariously through Ashley’s writing and photography. Ashley’s essays take us on strolls through the Irish countryside among wild flowers and the trees he loves so dearly, and his haiku–distilled to their very essence–paint glorious pictures of the natural world. For an example of what A Different View offers, here’s a post Ashley chose to share:
In a nutshell, if you love nature, if you appreciate fine Japanese short-form poetry, if you’ve ever felt the desire to travel to Ireland, Ashley’s A Different View has it all. I hope you’ll visit Ashley’s blog and walk along with him among the trees.
Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.
This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.
This week’s featured blog is Kirsten Curcio’s Ghost Human Bones. Kirsten is without a doubt one of the coolest, kindest and most talented writers I’ve come to know on WordPress and I’m happy to call her my friend. She possesses peerless skill and ability writing prose—both individual stories and serials—and her poetry is sublime. Kirsten also has the most uniquely creative and eye-catching graphic design I’ve seen on a literary blog. Her immense talents are on full display with everything she creates.
Kirsten’s writing has been published at Masticadores, The Writers Club, Reedsy, Medium and Spillwords Press. You can view her Author Bio at Spillwords here:
Additionally, her poem “Hopes and Dreams” is included in the poetry anthology Hidden in Childhood, published in 2023 by Gabriela Maria Milton of Literary Revelations Publishing House, and is available here:
I asked Kirsten if she would provide a little info about herself and her writing. Here’s what she had to say:
“I’ve always enjoyed writing since I was a child but once I got the internet everything changed. The earliest I started writing online was in the early 2000s where I roleplayed in wrestling efeds as different fictional characters – I was in a weird phase but I still heart Stone Cold Steve Austin, haha. When those sites went belly up, I shared my pre-teen angst on the now defunct Melodramatic.com, which is where I learned HTML and created layouts for other people’s sites (you can find more about Melo on the Wayback Machine). Then college came, work, my son was born, and I stopped writing for a very long time, although I never forgot about it. It wasn’t until I lived in North Carolina for a few years that I decided to build my own site and write. That state is so beautiful it just ignited that spark in me. But since I gave birth to my daughter then and was working from home full time, I started a lifestyle blog on Squarespace. I was experimenting with cooking, writing up recipes, baby and beauty stuff but it grew boring and I felt like I was doing it because that’s what other women were doing but it didn’t feel like “me”. So I returned to fiction and didn’t look back. In 2021, this became Ghost Human Bones when I moved to WordPress. Through Ghost Human Bones, I can turn my observations of people into words, letting me indulge in my love for dreaming and storytelling. Currently, I’m in the process of writing my first novel and my published poems are available on Spillwords and in the poetry anthology Hidden In Childhood (2023).”
And from her blog:
“When she isn’t playing with words, she enjoys nature, traveling, art, photography, and peculiar things. There is also a fondness for vintage maps, history, and space. In Kirsten’s work, she plays with themes of life, death, and beyond that evoke a sense of surrealism, nostalgia, reflection, and ambiguity.”
Kirsten also participated in a thoroughly enjoyable 2023 interview which can be found here:
I hope you’ll take a moment to stop by and visit Ghost Human Bones. Kirsten’s masterful wordcraft builds universes of adventure and intrigue that are highly original and will leave you eager to explore further.
Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.
This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.
This week’s featured blog is Nigel Byng’s Helping You To Succeed. Many of you are likely familiar with Nigel’s exemplary craftsmanship when it comes to prose and poetry. His brilliant short fiction—both stand-alone tales and serials–displays a sensitive finger on the pulse of humanity’s triumphs and sorrows, while his deeply moving and excruciatingly honest poetry shows a heart and soul attuned to the most raw human emotions.
Nigel’s work has been published at various Masticadores literary sites as well as Spillwords Press, where one of his poems, “To Surrender Now,” was nominated for Publication of the Month for Jan/Feb 2024. Nigel has most recently helped spearhead the #whattheydontsee project in cooperation with Michelle Ayon Navajas (editor, Masticadores Philippines) and artist Vanessa Melecio, which provides an opportunity for people to express their hidden fear, pain and regret in a safe manner through the written word.
On a personal note, I don’t just consider Nigel a fellow writer. He’s so much more than that. His compassion, kindness, honesty and intelligence portray a golden heart and soul, and I’m glad to call him my friend.
From Nigel’s blog:
“Writing brings the world to life. My soul, my experiences, my secrets, they all fuel the things I put on paper. I am a freelance writer living in West Palm Beach. I observe and write about nearly everything and everyone I encounter. I have learnt that if I look at the world carefully, and long enough, I see a reflection of myself in everything. After all, we are what we put into the world.”
Perhaps this recent post will illustrate Nigel’s deft literary touch and his ability to connect with his readers:
If you’re familiar with Nigel’s work, you already understand the joy of his craft. If you’re not, consider stopping by his blog and experiencing his unique talents. It’s absolutely worth it.
Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.
Silent Pariah 