Category: Latest book releases Page 5 of 19

The PoArtMo Anthology Series: Interview with Marjolein Rotsteeg

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology Series, which celebrates the artists whose work appears in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4.

Today’s guest is Marjolein Rotsteeg, who contributed a story and three poems to our anthology.

Auroras & Blossoms: Tell us all about the inspiration behind your pieces.

Marjolein Rotsteeg: The short story ‘The Cakes Club’ is inspired by the world of horses, riding schools and (very) rich people.

The poem ‘Writing is…’ is about a time when I didn’t have much inspiration to write. I knew I just had to get started, but found distractions and excuses not to, until…

The poem ‘The first snow’ is about a day early winter when little by little the world was covered in about thirty centimeters of snow and went quiet.

The poem ‘The power of stories’ is inspired by the perpetual cross pollination between all the different forms of art.

A&B: How does a poem, story or creative piece of art begin for you? Does it start with an image, a form or a particular theme?

MR: A poem or story can begin in many ways. Sometimes the trigger is something that really happened. Other times it can be a dream, a (short) film I see inside my head, one single word, a newspaper article, an experience in nature, and literature or works of art.

A&B: What is your own artistic background?

MR: Ever since I could hold a pen, I have been writing stories and poems. My first published poem, at age nine, was about my pony Girl. On Wednesday afternoons I wrote fictional stories to a picture of an animal. I still have three of them.

During my studies of Dutch and English, I also followed courses in creative writing, theatre and film(making).

While I was working as a (music) journalist, the creative writing took a backseat for a while. Somehow I have always known there would come a time for that again.

That time came after completing my non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen on transvestism and transgenderism. I followed two courses at ‘t Colofon, school for writers in Amsterdam, on short stories and novels. I had my first two short stories published, ‘De erfenis’ (The heritage) and ‘Vrouwentongen’ (Mother-in-law’s tongues). Just as I thought I might get a collection of short stories together, fibromyalgia struck, hard. I had to give up writing altogether. Years later, without any (deadline) pressure, I picked it up again. Fortunately, the muses are still with me.

A&B: Does your work have any specific themes or social commentary we should identify with?

MR: Nature, animals and people never cease to inspire me. That is broad, I know. Transcience, beauty, vulnerability, (in)justice, animal wellfare, sweet revenge and the process of writing itself. I’m allergic to snobbism.

A&B: Tell us the most positive and uplifting advice you have been given while working as a creative person.

MR: “If you can write a story like that, that novel will come as well”, by Adriaan Krabbendam (†) the editor of my non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen (1996) on my short story ‘De erfenis’.

Bio:

Marjolein Rotsteeg is a writer and a poet, writing in English, Dutch and French. Nature, people and animals never cease to inspire her. She is a former music journalist and the author of the non-fiction book Cherchez la femme. Travestie als fenomeen (Vassallucci, 1996) on transvestism and transgenderism. In 2023, her haiku were published in The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1, the inaugural edition of the Folk-Ku Journal (King River Press) and the online Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal. One of her 55-word flash fiction stories is also featured in an anthology published in The Netherlands.

Website: https://substack.com/@marjoleinrotsteeg

Marjolein, thank you for answering our questions and supporting Auroras & Blossoms! We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4 is available! Click here to purchase your copy.

The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4 Is out Today!

Hello everyone,

That’s it! The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4 is out and we could not be happier!

Join Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, Azelle Elric, Nichola Napora, and Marjolein Rotsteeg on a wonderful collection of positive and uplifting drawings, stories, poems, and photography!

Price: $4.99 $8.99. (This limited offer ends on November 14, 2023.)

NB: We do not accept direct payment for the anthology. You have to purchase directly from one of the online stores on the page. That is how our contributors can be paid.

If you don’t see your favorite online store in the list, please wait a couple of days, and it should appear.

Promo Banner for Our Contributors

For those interested in sharing the news with their audiences, here is a promo banner. Display it proudly on your website, blog, and/or social media!

Don’t forget to link to the book’s page: https://abpositiveart.com/poartmo-anthology-4

That’s it for today! We hope you will enjoy this volume as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for you!

Have a wonderful week!

Cendrine & David

Announcing The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4

Hello everyone,

It is always a great pleasure for us to announce an upcoming new release. This time, it’s all about the fourth volume in our PoArtMo Series.

Like every year, The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4 will offer a selection of inspirational and uplifting works from Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, and Azelle Elric. This edition is complemented by the words of Nichola Napora and Marjolein Rotsteeg, two writers who also grace the pages of our beautiful Haiku Anthology.

On the menu, drawings, short fiction, poetry, and photography! 

We are almost ready to hit the publish button. If everything goes well, The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 4 should be available on October 31, 2023. So watch this space!

That’s it for today. Have a wonderful week!

The Warm Mug of Cozy Anthology: Focus on Caitlin McColl

Welcome to our mini-series on A Warm Mug of Cozy Anthology, which celebrates the writers whose stories are featured in our inaugural volume.

Today, Caitlin McColl is telling us what inspired her story “Trinity Falls.”

What inspired my story? A few things:

I wrote some mystery stories in the past but they were more straight up detective stories. I’d never written a cozy mystery and thought it would be interesting to try to write a story using the ‘rules’ of the cozy – especially the idea of it taking place in a small town.

Lately I’ve been on a crime/thriller binge after discovering a few new mystery/crime writers, so that helped with some inspiration. There’s also a few cozy mystery TV series that I love: Agatha Raisin, Murdoch Mysteries, Queens of Mystery…. and maybe even Nancy Drew (yes, I admit, I watched a few seasons of the teen mystery drama!).

But I love the main character in my story because…well, she’s actually a main character in some of my Steampunk fiction! But of course, my anthology story isn’t steampunk, so she’s not exactly the same character – but what she does as a job in my Steampunk stories was a perfect fit for a cozy mystery! 

So, it was mostly my main character that inspired my story.  That, and for some reason, despite having been there only once many years ago, I pictured the town my story takes place in being something like a small town on the East Coast of North America – which is strange, seeing how I live on the West Coast! But the west coast didn’t seem to have the same vibe as the east coast for a mystery.

Caitlin McColl has written many short stories since childhood, mainly fantasy—with dragons, wizards, and other fantastical monsters. Her areas of interest are fantasy and steampunk fiction, but once in a while she also delves into genres like crime. Which makes sense because she watches a lot of crime dramas and reads lots of crime thrillers. She lives in Vancouver, Canada with her husband and dog. She currently writes stories and articles on Medium.com.

Website: https://caitlinmccoll.wixsite.com/author

Thank you for sending us your story, Caitlin! We know people will love reading it as much as we have.

Today’s instalment concludes this year’s series. We hope that you enjoyed learning more from the contributors to our anthology. 🙂

In the meantime, don’t forget to order your copy of A Warm Mug of Cozy Anthology: Volume 1.

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Flo Au & Siddhi Pawar

Welcome to our mini-series on The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology, which celebrates the poets featured in volumes 1-3.

Today, Flo Au and Siddhi Pawar are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Flo Au

Flo Au’s poetry has received many accolades, including commendation in Norman Nicholson Lockdown Poetry Competition 2020 and a top 10 finalist spot in Voice of Peace: 1st International Poetry And Short Story 2021 Asia Edition. Her monologue was also selected to be one of the top 30 in Lancaster One Minute Monologue 2021.

Flo has three haiku featured in Volume 3:

Haiku give me the opportunity to explore the relationship between Nature and us in the form of three lines. I love to write and read haiku poems. I also enjoy how we can pay more attention to our surroundings through words. With only a few words, we connect to Nature and relate our stories to it. We can ponder over the images, release our emotions and distract ourselves from the anxiety of life.

The aesthetic quality of haiku lies in their conciseness and precision. I am always inspired and enthralled by how a few words can tell a long tale and how silence can convey messages. These are the reasons why I wrote those poems.

Siddhi Pawar

Siddhi Pawar is an eighteen year old who finds her heart in literature and poetry. She believes that there is positivity everywhere in the nature around us.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/magnaliafloret

Siddhi has two haiku featured in Volume 3:

#1 – I was on a visit to the town of Manali when I came across pastures, a shade of green that I had never seen before. It made me want to stop and observe them. Little did I know that a colourful treasure awaited me in the next few moments. 

#2 – Summer vacations mean beaches, a mixture of sea, sky and warm breeze. Gazing upon the waters of an ocean is inspiration in itself!

Flo and Siddhi, thank you for sharing what inspired your haiku. We are honored that you sent us your work.

Today’s instalment concludes our mini-series. We hope that you enjoyed learning more about our contributors and what inspired them.

Don’t forget to pick up your copies of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volumes 1-3!

Cendrine & David

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