Hode: The Legend Lives Again

Writing an updated version of the Robin Hood Story has been epic. 

No. Seriously. I shot out a novella in record time. I guess the universe had something to say! 

...about Robin Hood.

Don't miss a minute of this evolving novel. Visit Hode: The Legend Lives Again, which has been added to the Long Fiction section of Undawnted.

Convicted of a crime he did not commit, Robert Laurence spends ten years imprisoned and tortured in a military black site. Freed by a secret organization, he now dedicates his life to the pursuit of justice... Don't call it karma; you can call him:  Hode.

 Everyone needs a mythical hero to save the day. Let Roben Hode be yours.

Winter is Now in Session

December has begun my Winter Reads.

So check out my sidebar menu and see what  I have available for this season!

Have a great and wonderful holiday season!

The Descent, Poetry for Halloween

Halloween is upon us. Are you craving poetry with that spooky, dank feel? Then look no further than The Descent: a darker breed of poetry. 

Buy your ebook copy today!

The Descent is available on Lulu.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Is it safe to come back out again? The sun surely did. 

For tens of thousands of years, humankind has been awe inspired by the natural clockwork of our sun, satellite, solar system, and constellations. So when time and tide collide, humans gather to experience the unimaginable. 

Humans get to suspend their belief in order to believe. A strange dichotomy of two opposing forces of anticipation creates the push and pull of fulfillment and anxiety. The fruition of a dream and a nightmare are made reality. 

As humans retire to bed with the eclipse imagery dancing in their heads, we must ask what dreams were inspired by the experience? Did the eclipse inspire a genius? A writer? An actor? Scientist? 

When writers imagine their plot lines and characters, then take a moment to recall that place inside you that experienced the eclipse. A writer has to write on the knife's edge of suspended belief and the belief of belief as well as between fulfillment and anxiety. 

So as writers stay awake a few more minutes to savor the day, remember also to savor the feeling. For writers write with an understanding that their stories are unimaginable suspended belief of a story that becomes real to the reader experiencing it in the moment. 

Have a great and wonderful day.

Link to Me on LinkedIn

Want to join me on LinkedIn?

Come on down. Have fun reading my resume and endorsing my featured skills! Start a conversation.

DL Mullan

Author Artist Editor Publisher

Villa de Paz Gazette

Ashford University

Have a great and wonderful day!

Summer, Interrupted

This summer appears to be the nonstop roller coaster ride type.

All I want to do is get in some writing time! It appears that my focus is on too many pans in the fire. Ugh! The sad thing is: those aren't my pans. 

Yet here I am cooking meals I have no idea what I am doing for each one. So I stopped myself and figured out a game plan. I will fry up that order at this time. The next order will come after, and so on. Then I can free up my evenings to do some writing. 

Much better. 

I have a few projects I would like to get off the ground this autumn. So it's back to the keyboard for me!

How has your summer been?

Have a great and wonderful day. 

Undawnted is Now on Minds

Someone on my social media news feed said that he was on Minds. So I went and checked it out. Minds is a social media site that is based on open source materials. 

An interesting experiment. if you would like to join me, then visit me on Minds. 

Reimagining Robin Hood for the 21st Century

That is a tall order!

I have always wanted to write a Robin Hood inspired story. There are a few revisions I would like to make to the old, tried and true mythologies of our modern age. Robin Hood is just one of them. 

I want to do some reimaging to the likes of Dorian Gray, The Raven, Pride and Prejudice, and Taming The Shrew to keep me busy for the next decade. 

This year the muse descended on Robin Hood. I have to take modern themes and ideas to formulate a new and exciting version no one has ever seen before.

So what is out there?

I do love the Kevin Costner version from the early 1990's. Funny how I took a noncredit script writing course through a community college at the same time that the film was released. The Hollywood screenwriter helped my classmates and I breakdown the scenes, characters, and story lines. I learned so much about storytelling during those six weeks than in any creative writing class I have ever taken.

So do not pass on noncredit courses! You might be happily surprised the knowledge you receive. 

When I was sketching out some dialogue for my take on the classic tale, the main character pretty much told me his story. Scene after scene, I could tell that this type of Robin Hood was going to be a mesh-mash of elements from the original story and a few others from external sources. 

I cannot wait to get it all finished. 

I hope I can keep up the momentum and get this origin story edited for an autumn release. 

As long as the characters keep writing the story themselves, I do not see why not. Stranger things have happened.   

Have a great and wonderful day.

Updated Logo for Future Publication Projects

I was creating new images for use with articles and essays here on Undawnted. I noticed that images are used on Pinterest for readers to save their favorite things: art, poetry, and writing. I decided to oblige with some updated art.

Then I began playing with the Undawnted logo. I wanted a nice marketing tool to use with any publications that will be published from here like Family Genealogy, whereas novels and chapbooks are published through Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

So you will probably see this logo on this site and in use for other projects:

New Marketing Logo

Yeah, I know. It looks very Eye of Horus. Sorry, no secret society membership here.

Addendum... I am a student of Joseph Campbell. Mythology is one of my favorite subjects. This logo fulfills that mythical scratch! 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Plotting My Stargate

Every time I sit down to write, another project pops out of the woodwork.

I am busy with an external source's clothing line, book cover art events, as well as my own creative ideas. 

I didn't know summers could be this eventful!

Since I am disabled by illness, my time to be creative everyday is limited. So once I run out of juice, I am done until I can recharge my batteries again. I wish I had solar energy! 

Even with the handful of projects swirling around me, I am still outlining and mapping out a future for myself. You cannot move forward in a vacuum, even thought I try. The universe constantly reminds me that plot points have to be set into motion even in our own lives. The stargate of creativity works when you have all the coordinates.

I know my timeline has changed several times especially now that I am permanently disabled. I have to go with the flow. I am in uncharted territory and my stargate malfunctions all the time. 

So am I accustomed to having a map that goes in several directions at once. "Scotty, beam me up!" Does that work? Can I change scifi series in the middle of an essay? 

No matter your stargate, life does not have to be an endless series of stops and goes. You can decide for yourself where you will want to end up. Follow your stars to change your stars. 

You may feel worn or cursed, but I assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to know how to program your stargate. Brainstorming, goal setting, and some patience goes a long way. 

I have always wanted to be a writer and artist. Disability now gives me that focus. I just wish had a lot more time to be creative. 

Life is a set of coordinators. If you are headed in the wrong direction, well, then set a new course.

I'll be waiting in the Cafe at the End of the Universe. 

Oh, I did it again!

Have a great and wonderful day.

On Its Way Feels Pretty Good

We should always do something nice for ourselves. When I decided to create the print book version of In the Name of Blood, I knew that that was my gift to myself this summer. 

So it is official:

What have you done for yourself lately?

Have a great and wonderful day.

Refreshing Hard Lemon Squeeze Drink, Nonalcoholic Released

For a special occasion, this drink is being released today!

Refreshing Hard Lemon Squeeze is a drink that accomplishes many tasks. First, the drink tastes like a drink with a bite at the end thanks to some apple cider vinegar. Second, the drink helps quench your thirst like a sports drink, but in this case you can pronounce the ingredients! Third, there is no guilt. 

Isn't that what we are all looking for?

We are in the first half of the summer season. Anything that refreshes is at the top of our lists! Enjoy!

Have a great and wonderful day!

First Print Mockup for In the Name of Blood is on the Way

As I have been creating new marketing materials, I decided to create the back page for my novel. 

I have had the item on my to-do list but I have always had some other task before it. Not that I crossed off the other tasks, I just made the move to finish what I started a year ago. Now the back page jacket looks pretty good. 

What do you think? 

In the Name of Blood Official Full Book Jacket

After it was done, I then added a table of contents to the book itself. That as they say was that! I had created the full version of the print edition to In the Name of Blood. I will also update the ebook to have a table of content as well.

I have put in an order for the mockup. When it arrives in the mail by next weekend, I will be able to correct any issues that may have arisen. Then I will begin to offer my ebook in print form. 

Hooray!

It is about time I hold my handiwork in my hands. I have a place on my bookshelf for my creative fiction and poetry, but being disabled makes my timetable a little longer than most. Plus the lack of funds does not help my timetable either. 

Now, more positive routes are in motion. It's not the destination, but the journey. Mine just happens to be in the slow lane.

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Name Calling

It was one of those days. You know those days. Days that the most rudimentary application flees your mind as if drinking and writing were habitual. 

Needless to say, I don't drink. 

Future Banner for Nocturnal Redemption

So what was the authorian infraction? Names. Names to my characters to be exact. I spent so much time working out plot lines, characterization, and dialogue that I forgot to give more than half my characters surnames. 

The travesty! 

Not really, but the situation did give me another prescription in my bid to edit and polish Nocturnal Redemption: In the Eye of the Beholder. 

So I went out on a discovery expedition. My antagonist, Chloe, needed a dark name. One that showed where she was in the story. I wanted to do: deWinter, but thought the name too closely resembled the Dumas character in The Three Musketeers. 

Since one of the scenes is and others will be in France, I decided to investigate the French word for winter, which happens to be le hiver. In my rounds on the internet I discovered place names like de l'hiver, and l'hiv. That gave me the idea to name her: Chloe de L'Hiv (of the Winter). 

Neat, right?

To name a character in one's story takes a little time and effort. Many new writers are overwhelmed by the task. There are an innumerable amount of baby name websites to choose from. The way to go about naming your characters is to know who your characters are and where they come from. 

Doing the brainstorming first before researching the name for a character cuts out the middle man so to speak. 

I went from panic mode to a quick afternoon's jaunt into France. The internet is a wonderful place. A writer can now venture any where in the world. 

So do not get stuck naming your characters, get proactive with fleshing out your characters and researching those ends online. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Pondering the Possibilities

With my book cover work for Delilah nominated this year, it got me thinking. Should I wait to publish my next novel until the start of 2018 so that I can enter into book cover events and competitions spring through autumn? 

In the Name of Blood published in October 2016.. too late for events. 
 

Or is that tacky?

Could be smart. If no one knows you have written a book, then how are you supposed to get any readers? Events and promotions could be a sensible way on a no-string budget to get noticed. 

Readers will be better prepared to come to you.

It appears that events, promotions, and competitions are the mainstays of online, independent authors.  I am in many different kinds of forums for independent authors, but nothing that says: Readers Apply Here. 

The question then comes down to: is the work you have written worth all the fuss?

 Have a great and wonderful day!

Updated Synopsis for Nocturnal Redemption

I have been creating promotional pieces for my various publications. Since I want to release Nocturnal Redemption as soon as the novel is ready, I revised the old synopsis in lieu of a more accurate teaser. 

If you would like to read about this paranormal adventure/romance, then please visit the dedicated page for Nocturnal Redemption. 

The promos will be added to the page once the novel has been published. 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Storytelling: Character Development

When I am in writer's forums and groups, I see concerns about how to write believable characters. 

One of the exercises I like to employ is writing in fanfiction. Every once and awhile, another person's universe intrigues me. I have written for Babylon 5, which is online. It needs a good polishing but I can still live with it. 

In that universe, I can play with characters. I can use the already made universe to stretch my writing muscles without having to do all the heavy lifting. I can see how close I can come to recreating the characters of someone else. 

I make note of my thought processes. What do I need? What am I missing? How close can I get? 

I then take what I learned trying to mimic and apply those lessons to my own creative world building. 

I implement the same brainstorming ideas to develop original characters in a universe I created from scratch.

Writers can use any character out of literature or film they wish to try their hand in character development. 

That is one exercise, but character development is a more involved process than one exercise. To make three-dimensional characters, a writer has to take the time. Write a description. Give your character some real life quirks. Don't make your characters perfect. 

And, have fun with your characters. Show their sense of humor, pet peeves, phobias. A character should reflect the time and place s/he is being written for. So take different aspects of people and a little of yourself, a character needs to be built for the task at hand... make your character worth the read.

Character development does not have to be a dirty job. Create exercises that appeal to you and brainstorm a new character. When a writer takes the time, characters can virtually write the novel themselves. 

I actually prefer a feisty and spirited protagonist... it makes writing less complicated. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Works in Progress

So many projects... so little time!

Ever feel that way?  The summer seems to be the worst to pile on commitments but I rather be doing something else. School kids refer to such angst as: Spring Fever. Well, I guess I have Summer Fever. I just have caught the bug last season and now the disease has taken hold of me!

My works in progress are numerous. Mostly, my work has to do with getting promotional materials ready for each season and my websites. When my mind is focused, I like to work on what feels the best: art, poetry, or writing. 

Art has won out these many weeks. I am making sure what I have written has a nice, professional package to go with it. All writers should take a few courses on how to create a professional image. It is vital to our field.

I hope soon I will get back into writing. I want to have some more fiction and poetry publications done. I am way behind my intended goals. 

That is okay. Sometimes we need a break from the chores of life to see what truly matters to us. So go ahead and take your shoes off. As long as you know the to-do list still waiting for you at the end. 

It's summer for goodness sakes! 

Why not enjoy a little time in the sun?

Have a great and wonderful day.

Full Book Jacket Cover for Effloresce

I created a promo piece for the nature poetry book for Effloresce.

A creative start for the aspirations of print in the future.

Have a great and wonderful day!

Delilah is a Winner!

The book cover art I did for the novel. Delilah by Kaye Lynne Booth did not make it into the Final Round of the Summer Loving Book Cover Event, however...

...that does not mean, the book cover art I created was a bust. Delilah still walked away with the most votes in the Western category. 

What a feat! 

I am very proud of this cover. It's art. It encompasses the theme of the novel. The cover art does not rely on cheap marketing tricks to be a winner. 

THANK YOU to the person who nominated my cover for this event, the author Kaye Lynne Booth for the support, and ALL the Voters! 

You made the book cover art a success!

If you would like to peruse my other digital creations, please stop by the Art, Cover, & Prints page on Sonoran Dawn Studios for examples. 

Thank you! I cannot wait for more opportunities like this one in the future.

Have a great and wonderful summer!

Seasonal Reads Upgrade

On the right hand menu, Undawnted has created a reading list for each season. So I revised the Summer Reads page to have a revolving page of seasonal entertainment. Let Undawnted help you set the mood for your new adventures.

First up, of course, is my Summer Time Reads. 

Hand-picked reading material for your reading and relaxing pleasure. Each season will be updated throughout the year to make sure my readership has the mood they are looking for at the tip of their fingers. Don't miss out on what inspires you the most.

Enjoy your summer. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Transferable Skills

You may have heard this terminology while working on your resume. Skills that you have learned in one job or position are transferable into the next stage of your career. So learning in any capacity is helpful in the climb upward.

In the last few weeks, I have been assisting fellow author, Kaye Lynn Booth with the Book Cover Art Event being held on Facebook. Sunday we will find out if we have made it to the 3rd Round. So be sure to vote for Delilah in the coming days! 

As I was looking around the internet and on Facebook writer's groups for some advice and help, I was confronted by the question: why is it YOUR responsibility to do this Book Cover Event? 

I was struck by the negative tone. My responsibility? I hadn't thought of it exactly in those terms. I had been having fun with the project. 

That seemed to be the crux of what I have been discussing here on my site about the corporatization of the writing craft. For decades writers have clamored to get their books published through the big publishing houses. The stepping on each other for a chance at publication has damaged the community as well as our camaraderie.  

How can the phrase: "transferable skills" bring sanity back into the writing community? The Independent Writers of the world can remember that self-publishing loosens the chains once tugged on by corporate entities. Corporations are only in our community for profits, not to move culture forward. 

I see this corporate philosophy in writers' groups. I have had to recently excuse myself from one because the political climate became offensive to me. I said my peace and moved on. There was backlash of people unfriending and unliking my pages because writers have been embolden by the politics of ego.  For people who write about the human condition, some writers are oblivious to it.

No, it is not all right to make fun of other people, push your political ideology, or sexual/gender issues onto other writers because the administrator deemed it a "Safe Space." Safe for whom? If I had run an experiment to see how the same group would have responded to political statements and bullying from the opposite side of the spectrum. . . yeah, the reaction would have be epic. 

The corporate philosophy of fight amongst yourselves for this one spot on our list is over. Writers need to reevaluate what the writing craft means to them. Is it push come to shove, or learning what being in a community actually means? 

Back to the question: why is it my responsibility? Isn't it everyone's? We have allowed ourselves to believe we have no responsibility to the bigger, wider world because corporations want to keep our thoughts, dreams, and aspirations small: a publishing contract. When in reality, the writing craft is about transferable skills. 

My book cover art for: Delilah, written by Kaye Lynne Booth is a stepping stone into that wider world. I have gained as much as I have put into the project. I may not get anything of monetary value through this exploit, but I have received other rewards of learning new skills, obtaining a nomination, and understanding the fundamentals of online book events. 

I could not have gotten any new and viable experiences hiding behind my keyboard and screen.

Now I have transferable skills to assist me in my own solitary endeavors on Undawnted, and the expansion on Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

When will the writing community at large step out of the shadows and back into the light? 

I don't know about you. . . but I sure do like to win. 

Have a great and wonderful day.

Memoirs of a Psychotic Painting Elephant

Memoirs of a Psychotic Painting Elephant has been released. 

If you have not read a long poem with a mix of alcohol and delusion, then you have not read Memoirs! 

This poem began as a short descriptive write with a touch of the strange and the humorous. A lot has changed from then to the present. Now, Memoirs of a Psychotic Painting Elephant is stranger than ever.

Support this Indie Author.



She has many selections to choose from. She writes across the spectrum.

Have a great and wonderful day!

Happy Fourth of July!

Star Spangled Store

Happy Birthday, 

United States of America!

 214 years old... what a ride!

Have a great and wonderful Independence Day to all the patriots out there.

I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Interview with Writer, Poet, and Cover Designer, Dawn Leslie Mullan is a Big Hit!

Ever wondered about what makes DL Mullan tick? Here's your chance to see the artist and author behind the blog in this revealing interview:

It’s All in the Packaging: Interview with 

Writer, Poet and Cover Designer, Dawn Leslie Mullan

And take a few minutes to vote for her cover art piece that was Nominated for a Book Cover Event at Summer Loving Book Cover EVENT 2017 on Facebook.

The Author, Kaye Lynne Booth, who is also the interviewer above could use your VOTE. 

This amazing opportunity would help promote Delilah if the author receives enough votes to make it to the 3rd Round. 

• So click the link: Summer Loving Book Cover EVENT 2017
• Follow the Rules
• Become a Fan of 2 authors at once! 
  

   

What a deal!  

We would both really appreciate your support.

Thank you.

Corporate Philosophy has Tainted the Writing Community

Nominated for a 2017 Book Cover Award

I write here on Undawnted as well as manage, create, and direct over at Sonoran Dawn Studios, my design slash publishing house. Well, the book cover art I created for another author's book was nominated for a Book Event held by another promotional company.

The winning author gets one of three prizes. The book cover artist just gets the street cred. Hey, I could live with that. 

So I went on my Facebook writer's groups only to be turned away. No self promotion. No this rule. No that rule. How can anyone get anything done? 

I found one group that appeared to be okay with me asking some questions like: what do I do to help out my author? where do I begin? what is this event thing anyway?

I never got a response. Actually, I believe the desperate plea was deleted by the Admin. Nice.

So my thought was: has the corporate philosophy of me, Me, ME! gotten in the way of doing the right thing for another person? 

You do realize that this Western Category cover is not in competition with your vampire, romance, religious, or whatever book you have written, right? 

In today's world, piety and grace are left for preacher politicians to tell us how to live according to their interpretation of a dusty tome, but anyone else of that sect or another have forgotten their empathy.

Is this the legacy independent writers would like to leave about themselves and their craft? 

Has the corporate dog-eat-dog world been so pervasive in our culture that we as human beings cannot interact with each other except to step all over everyone else?

That is a sad state of affairs indeed. 

I choose not to be so callous or antipathic. I will do what I must, learn what I need, and help where I can. Although I am disappointed with the lack of basic human decency, the corporate dystopic behavior has bled over into our crafts, creativity, and camaraderie. 

What does that say about us? 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

...if it's in your bylaws!

Spoiler Alert! Your Escape into Poetry

If you like reading some poetry of mine, then you will want to Like my Facebook page: Dawn Leslie Mullan.

And, visit my Authorsden! I rotate my poetry and articles on that site from something I just completed to what I am working on right this second.

And leave a review, I may just feature it on Undawnted! 

So there are ways to have your own personal spoiler alert, but you should really try buying a novel or chapbook.

The Sonoran Dawn --Poetry Spotlight is open and ready to receive your ebook order. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Marketing: The Language of Symbols

I have been assisting others lately develop their marketing strategies from blogs, websites to book covers. In reality, what I am doing is helping develop an author's language of symbols. The letters and words I am typing now are in fact symbols.

Did you know the letter "a" is the symbol for an ox? 

Humans are hardwired to understand and translate the abstract language of symbols to convey information in a short amount of time. It is an efficient system, but also one that can be used for negative purposes. Go to any corporations website and translate their symbols, or marketing logos. What does that corporation tell you without saying a word? Then you will understand the language of silent hypocrisy.

As artists and writers, we use symbols to tell stories. When it comes to brand creation, most artists and writers cannot translate themselves into a marketing strategy. That is where I usually find myself: in between the creator and true genesis. 

So how do artists and writers step out of the shadows to show their readership/audience in symbols what they and their products are all about? 

Writing about Marketing today! 

The Undawnted logo is a great example. It has a Saturn motif. Saturn is the old bearded man that likes structure. Yet, if one takes a closer look, I have shadows in the eye of the storm. I like the paranormal so I threw that symbolism in there, but I also like science and science fiction. So the swirl is indicative of a galaxy spinning around a galactic center of beings and perhaps an Einstein Rosenbridge. The rings could be of a Saturn like planet, but in this case, the rings symbolize the expansion of creativity and consciousness across the universe. 

So look how much I said in that logo for Undawnted: Imagination is Fearless, after all. 

There are some unwritten rules about blogs and websites that many artists and authors shove to the side, so I will help translate those items:

• keep it simple
• only have 2 to 3 clicks to anywhere on your site
• declutter, you don't have to put everything in the menus when a link will do
• white space is golden
• be conservative

When I explain these items, I get blown off. If I go to sites of artists and authors with their Twitter and social media feeds on the side, that is too much input for me. As your audience, I am looking for YOU... not your feeds. I could care less. 

I want access to your writings or your art pieces. And, I want them as soon as I click onto your site. So take down all the noise and replace the noise with a link. 

A blog/website comes down to what you want me to know... in the first five seconds I am there. Are you trying sell me your Twitter feed or your book/art? 

Symbolism takes a hen peck approach. If your main focus is to sell me your works, then don't sell me the secondaries of Twitter and social media. Prioritize. 

If you write and sell writing services... get two different blogs or sites. You can interweave and link to create a support mechanism for both your inventions. I began with art and writing on this site. When I focused on what Undawnted was all about, I moved the art off and created: Sonoran Dawn Studios. Bingo! 

Now if someone needs design and publishing services, that person goes to www.SonoranDawn.com. 

If someone wants to read something unique from every topic under the sun, that person comes to Undawnted. 

Perfecto! 

Always keep it simple. You don't want your blog, website, or logo to look like a Jackson Pollock painting. You want to look like Da Vinci: with style, grace, and purpose. 

I hope I have explained this topic well. 

When you endeavor on a path of marketing, be sure to visit other artists and authors' websites. See what they have done to market themselves to a wider audience. Have a list of what you like and what you don't like. 

Then sketch out what you want then find someone like me to help you translate your world to the universe of readers and connoisseurs of your unique art form. 

If you can do it yourself, even better. I encourage artists and writers to learn other modalities so they are less inclined to pay for services they don't need or want. Services should be there to enhance what you already have, not leave you penniless. 

So do some basic research. Learn what a great marketing strategy is. Ask for help. Get only the services you require. 

Sounds easy, but takes a lot of work!

Have a great and wonderful day!!!  

The Perfect Metaphor

Writing is not about noun and verb agreement even though that really does help. Writing is about speaking to an audience you never will see, meet, or converse with verbally. So the challenge of writing is to be understood in the two dimensional aspect of communication.

Black on white. White on black. People can choose their own colors, fonts, and pica to beautify their dialogue. Technology has made the 2D communication experience better, especially the advent of emoticons!

Now, I know when you are joking.

In formal writing, like poetry and story writing, writers are not given the emoticon out. Writers have to be able to express with language what the meaning of a phrase is. How to convey emotion without explaining the punchline. Encapsulate a moment in order to set a mood. Writers have to learn to be psychologists and sociologists.

So writers learn to speak in metaphors. A metaphor is an object or idea that replaces another to better clarify the meaning of the original object.

Sounds complicated, but it really is not: She is as beautiful as the day I met her. A character could be discussing her aunt, grandmother. So the day I met her is the metaphor of not aging as beauty in this instance is being epitomized by a bygone youth. 

Yet a metaphor takes on a plethora of meanings. Youth does not have to mean physical beauty. The beauty could be her giving nature. Beauty could mean her vulnerabilities. Beauty could mean her kindness. 

So let's read the line again: She is as beautiful as the day I met her. Did the explanations for beauty change your idea of how beautiful the "she" really is? 

Metaphors are beautiful additions to the writing craft. 

What will you use a metaphor for in your writing? 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Phases of the Moon

Inspired by the Equinox/Solstice Book Series, the Phases of the Moon book will combine prose, poetry, art and photography centered on our singular satellite. 

This book was added to my Short Stories section. 

Hear Beethoven as you read: Moonlight Sonata and wait for the moon to rise in your imagination. 

 

Short Stories Section Update: Season Side Up! Series

I had this idea pop into my head. A brilliant idea, I may add. This idea was to fashion a series of books about the seasons. 

Now that concept is nothing new, so I have to put a twist on the idea to make it mine. I will combine poetry, maybe some original digital art, and of course package the books up for entertainment. 

Kind of like a diary but without the teenage angst! 

When I get more into writing these little gems, I will let you know what direction I am heading in for sure. 

Right now, I am just so excited about these books, especially the book cover art. Isn't this one fabulous? You can view the rest of the book series on the Short Stories section.

Divine inspiration. The muse descended and she brought chocolate! Good, Muse. Keep the creativity flowing! 

Have a great and wonderful day!

New Book Marketing Design

How is this for showing off?

More like inspired by. Not too shabby. I think this new design feature will only be available to those publications which have been previously released and leave the soon-to-be released as the normal two-dimensional design. 

So be on the lookout for my publications (with a link to Lulu through Sonoran Dawn Studios) when you see this neat three-dimensional design here on Undawnted.

Have a great and wonderful day!

What is on Your Reading List?

Have the summer doldrums even if summer has not officially arrived yet? Why not add some fun in the sun with a summer reading list? 

I have many different types of materials for you to peruse. From the short but topical articles and essays in my nonfiction section to books of poetry. Enjoy a long form poem for a quick escape or an entire chapbook devoted to one motif. 

Want to try out a new recipe? Check!

Want to go nontoxic home care? Check!

Want to read a vampire crime-drama? Check! 

Begin your fearless journey into the imaginative, intellectual, and lyrical with a click of Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry.

Or... try your hand at all three.

Have a great and wonderful day. 

Summer Reads... 2017

Visit our Summer Reads sections for some great links to my Author's Picks.

We have a growing inventory of reading material in Ebook PDF form in a variety of subjects as well as in fiction and poetry. If you would like to see more, please visit Sonoran Dawn Studios' Author Spotlights.

Articles and Essays Summer Selections

I have gone through my old articles and essays on the VDP Gazette to see if any of my journalistic writings had relevance a few years later. 

Boy do they! 

From Freedom of Speech and Expression to Law, History, Religion, Women's Issues, Culture and Society, I have many great written pieces. So I am revising some. I am reformatting others. The selection is varied so there is a publication for everyone.

I am updating Undawted's Nonfiction section to include these releases and more that are in the works!

Visit Sonoran Dawn Studios' Authors Spotlight in Articles and Essays to download your PDF copy.

Have a great and wonderful day! 

1 Year as a Self Published Author

I cannot believe it has been a year! Where has the time gone? 

Last year I wanted to create a legacy for my ancestors. I have met the challenge and surpassed expectations. I have published novels, essays, poetry, and more! 

I cannot wait to continue this journey. 

In 2018, I will take a break but still will publish minimally, in order to learn epub and other platforms to grow my brands: Undawnted and Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

For 2020 I hope to continue with this successful process. I want enough content to engage, entertain, and inform any reader who so chooses to come along with me. 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve humanity by creating a culture point that brings people together through Truth, Justice, and the American way.

Have a great and wonderful day!

Effloresce This Holiday Weekend

My nature inspired poetry ebook, Effloresce, is available for FREE this Memorial holiday on Lulu. 

Poems like Earth Changes I, II, and III as well as Arsonist, Perfect Storm, and Midnight in the Auditorium are all featured.

If you enjoy the poetry, please leave some positive written feedback on Effloresce's Lulu product page.

For a full list of the Contents visit Effloresce's dedicated page here on Undawnted. 

Escape into Poetry this holiday weekend! 

Life is a Highway... Full of Pot Holes

I am wondering why in the the last few months I have been driving along the road of life only to blow my tires on these incessant pot holes? 

It's been amazing. How many pot holes can I possibly find? For that fact, how many figurative tires can I continue to pop? 

Life may be a highway but the repair crew has exited several towns back.

Welcome to a time not written. I have been thinking creatively about the implications surrounding time for art and writing purposes. What do we do if time weren't constant? Was it ever? 

What if our notion of black holes is incorrect and that black holes are actually condensed forms of absolute matter where time, space, and energy combine into a single entity? Then stepping into that chasm would yield a visitor an all access pass to the wisdom of the ages where time stood still.

So if every galaxy has a black hole of absolute matter as its core operating system, then the only reason we experience linear time and physicality is because the energy seeping outward of the event horizon manipulates our perception of what we call reality, yet does nothing to inhibit the quantum reality of observation that contradicts so many of our belief systems. 

If speculation could be verified, then the pot holes ripping through my fictional tires are really the reality I cannot fathom because I am stuck in a diluted distortion and reality actually exists inside nothingness...

Then someone asks... you think about these things? 

I reply: doesn't everyone?

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Random Acts of Kindness

It's been awhile. Karma and me have been on the outs. I don't speak to her and she definitely doesn't speak to me.

I have felt alone in this universe for a very long time. That makes a person feel older than s/he really is. I feel a ton of weight on my shoulders most of the time. A weight that too makes me feel old.

Crotchety. Crusty. Crumplily. 

What's a girl going to do? Buy something meaningless to make her feel better for a moment in time? Our consumer driven society has not yielded us girls a moment of satisfaction. We keep looking outwardly for inward solutions to our needs. 

So this weekend I found two souls who very much needed some help. One with a book cover and event. The other with just a book cover. 

Luckily, these two souls were very gracious to my abrupt entrance into their lives and taking over like i do! Yet, Karma will have her way. These two were due for some good Karma and I was due to create some Random Acts of Kindness. 

The feeling of helping someone else out and from the accomplishment is more than any currency can afford me. Not that a disabled person has any currency after the bills are paid, anyway. Still I feel better. I think those two souls feel better as well.

So Karma, it is nice every once and awhile that you are far from the bitch we all believe you to be. The funny thing is that WE can create all the good Karma for others and ourselves if we just take a moment to step outside our comfort zone and lend a helping hand to someone else without any asking for a reward. 

Maybe someday, Karma, you will shine down on me with a little good luck. 

And, we can all use a little of that in our lives. So the next time you feel down about something, go out and be a good person to someone else. The act will not only lift that person's spirits but yours as well. 

A Random Act of Kindness is a prescription we should all take as much as possible.

Have a great and wonderful day!

Ekphrasis as a New Source of Inspiration

Poetry has a new section: Ekpharsis. The term means: "a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art," but Undawnted has taken the creativity one step further. 

I have included chapbooks for original poetry inspired by not only masterpieces from artists like van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, and Monet, but also masters in poetry like Poe and Dickinson. Space photography has been included in this series as well. 

As I write, I will list the contents of the poetry books on the selected pages. Once I have enough to warrant publication, I will let you know. 

I hope you enjoy this creativity as well as let it inspire your own creations.

Have a great and wonderful day.

A Higher State of Being

People new to meditation or visualization are often faced with the daunting task of: what do i do now?

Ground and Align seeks to answer that question. 

Take the frustration out of meditation. Here is a guided visualization to help you on your way. Tweek the meditation to fit your goals. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Autumn is Closer Than You Think

With approximately 144 days to go until the Autumnal Equinox, the change of seasons into the latter part of the year seem so far away. 

We are still in the middle of spring. Summer is about to begin. Hot nights and even hotter days are gearing up for their time. 

All we have is time. 

So while you are out by the pool or relaxing under the air conditioning, why not enjoy the first book in my series: In the Name of Blood? 

Available in ebook form on Lulu.

Enjoy your recreational time.

Have a great and wonderful day!