Recently, Undawnted began A Novelist Idea, then added the forthcoming WordWalker, professional writer's courses.
Join her on her epic journey as a student of the universe.
Spring is a great time to add to your family. Here at Undawnted, we have added a new spin on a classic structured poetry form. We have named our new bundle of joy: Sonnoquy.
Sonnoquy is a cross between a Shakespearean sonnet and a soliloquy with ten lines (eight, ten syllable verses, and an ending couplet).
A soliloquy can be the act of talking to oneself, or a poem, discourse, or utterance of a character in a drama that has the form of a monologue or gives the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections.
A sonnet is a fixed verse form of Italian origin, consisting of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme.
Together, a sonnet and soliloquy become a new poetry form in Undawnted's Structured Poetry section.
This chapbook has been also added to our Winter Frost Seasonal Reads Program.
Have a great and wonderful day.
Do you love chocolate? Who doesn't?
Chocolate is a great way to make bridges between strangers. The sweet can also renew our connections with each other. How, you may ask?
Robbie and Michael Cheadle have got that question answered!
This book delights and enlightens the reader to become their own hero with their wonderful cast of characters. When the chips are down, who are you going to call? Well, it's not the Ghostbusters.
Parents and children can read along while baking their favorite Sir Chocolate desserts. An inspired idea to bring together the imagination of children with the real-world application of baking, so families have a group activity that makes precious memories.
Reconnect with your children or child-like spirit with the entire series.
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Purchase Links
Paperback: https://tslbooks.uk/product/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Fudge-Saves-Sugar-Dog/dp/1914245547
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Author Roberta "Robbie" Eaton Cheadle
Robbie writes two monthly posts for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms and Treasuring Poetry and one monthly post, under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle, called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends.
Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.
Follow Robbie Cheadle at:
Website: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
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Can you feel the sizzle!
Have a great and wintry day!
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Author Interview: Roberta "Robbie" Eaton Cheadle
A contributor to all three anthologies in the set for a total of five stories. Titles: "The Last of the Lavender", "Missed Signs" (Whispers of the Past); "Ghost in the Mound", "The Thirstyland Journey" (Spirits of the West); "Listen to Instructions" (Where Spirits Linger).
As a poet, writing in the horror genre of the paranormal/supernatural is a different tone then the succinct and lyrical form of creative writing, how do you find writing horror? Is it a challenge?
As far back as I can remember I have always written poetry and played with words, forming them into descriptive paragraphs that, as a young girl, I thought were quite delightful. I have also always enjoyed books about people and their everyday lives and grew up reading L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon series. These were the books I attempted to mimic with my descriptive passages.
At the age of ten I progressed to adult books. I had read everything in the children’s library and wasn’t allowed to borrow adult books. I resorted to reading my mom’s books behind the couch. I am the oldest of four girls and my mom was a very busy mother. She never missed me or noticed me stretched out on the floor behind the couch with one of her books in my hands. My mom was a Stephen King fan. I worked my way through The Shining, Salem’s Lot, The Stand, The Running Man, Cujo, Christine, The Talisman, Firestarter, Carrie, and Pet Sematary. These books scared me to death, but I loved them. When I had exhausted mom’s King collection, I moved on to her collection of Charles Dickens books. These were beautiful leather-bound books with thin, wispy pages.
My reading tastes remained dark, and I favour books about war, paranormal and dystopia. As a result, transitioning from writing poetry and children’s books wasn’t difficult for me. That being said, I might not have thought to attempt writing horror if I hadn’t come across a short story competition on another writer’s blog. An idea for my first horror story, The Willow Tree, came to me and I decided to give writing horror a whirl. Since that first attempt in 2018, I have written two supernatural historical novels and written dark stories for inclusion in nine anthologies, three of which are the WordCrafter anthologies.
Writing children’s books are often more visual creative than writing short stories, how do you use your gift for visualization in your writing craft of long narratives?
The feedback I receive from readers is that my books are very descriptive. The feedback has been positive despite my initial concern that modern readers don’t like a lot of description. Descriptive prose is my writing style, and I wouldn’t want to change it.
I have lived through some difficult experiences including numerous house robberies, thefts of cars, two children with chronic illnesses necessitating numerous operations and hospitalisations, and a home invasion when my mother and I were tied up and I had a gun at my head.
When I write, I insert myself into the circumstances of my story and visualise how I would feel, think, and react. I draw from my own negative experiences and try to capture the essence of them on paper. I always write dark literature for adults and my characters are usual either ghosts who are already dead or people who are destined to die. I have written about death from a gunshot numerous times in my stories.
Why am I drawn to writing dark stories? I do not know as I am naturally an upbeat and positive person.
Out of the five short stories you have written, which one was your favorite? Which one was the most unsettling? And, which one drew from one of your real-life experiences?
My favourite of these five short stories is The Ghost in the Mound from Spirits of the West. This was based on a real event in South African history where a wagon train comprising of nine ox-wagons was attacked and all the families were killed in the ensuing fight. Afrikaans women did use termite mounds as ovens to bake bread and some of these mounds are enormous. I had the idea of a young mother hiding her baby in one of these old ovens to save it from death during an attack and from that idea, this story was born.
The Thirstyland Journey from Spirits of the West is the short story that is the most disturbing to me as it is the one that is most closely based on a true story. The outcome and deaths in that story are all real and it was a most tragic situation as there were several children who died. Life for pioneering families was extremely hard and many of them died of sickness, starvation, or thirst, and during attacks.
Missed Signs from Whispers of the Past is the story that is most closely based on a real-life experience. The reason I say this is because the main character suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and has a horror of germs and illness. The character of Sean is based on someone close to me who suffers from this illness. I like this story very much.
Would you like to visit a real haunted location? Have you already? What would you like to experience at a haunted place that would help you as a horror fiction writer? If you have a past experience, did that help you write your stories?
My husband and I have travelled extensively in the UK and South Africa. We favour visiting sites of historical interest, especially battlefields, forts, castles, and museums. We have visited several sites that are believed to be haunted. Our own house, which is the original farmhouse in our area in Johannesburg, is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of a gang of bandits who hid in the house and were killed in a shoot out with the authorities in 1929.
I am open minded about ghosts and spirits, but sadly, they have never chosen to reveal themselves to me. I would be interested in experiencing a paranormal phenomenon, but I don’t think I have any gifts in that direction. I do experience the dark horror of certain places and I am imaginative so I am able to write my stories without having any real supernatural experiences. I am particularly interested in the psychology of murderers and people who die unnatural deaths as a result of murder or war.
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If you like this interview, then read the others in the Lingering Spirit Whispers series:
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Author Interview: Jeff Bowles
Contributor to two of the anthologies with two stories, including the winning story in the 2019 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, "A Peaceful Life I've Never Known" (Whispers of the Past). The other is "Wenekia" (Spirits of the West).
How long have you been a creative writer? What is your favorite genre? What is your favored format? Poetry? Short story? Novel?
I've been writing for about ten or fifteen years now. I like speculative fiction of all types, most especially anything that does something new and different with the genres. I get bored easily. Novels are my favorite to write and read, but for the first bunch of years I was at this, it was all about short fiction. I've written a lot of things in a lot of different genres and modes, but I always come back to fiction. To me, it's the ultimate form of storytelling and more or less has been since its invention.
Your winning story: A Peaceful Life I’ve Never Know, was this narrative based on a real-life experience of yours? Or, was this story from your creative well? What makes this story so tangible that it speaks to the reader?
No, Peaceful Life is loosely based on the wilder side of singer and poet Jim Morrison of the 60s group, The Doors. No spoilers, but some things happen toward the end of the story that take it deep into horror territory. I kind of used Jim as a jumping off point, but he definitely never did anything my character Douglass has done. I liked the idea of a rock star who thought he could get away with anything. I think it's kind of a visceral story, and that's why people react to it. I like visceral storytelling. Like I said, I get bored easily.
How do you write? Do you write from characters’ point of view? Are you plot-oriented? If you have done both, which one works better for you?
Very often, I give myself an easy concept, a jumping-off point, and then I start writing and don't stop until I have something resembling a story. Editing takes longer this way, but very often I find I get something unique and startling out of it. It also works pretty well when I outline and plan everything out, but for the most part, I start with concept and character, and plot rolls out from there. There's so many ways to write fiction, almost as many as there are fiction writers in the world. I like that about the craft. There are some rules, but none of them are precisely what we'd call "hard and fast." In other words, sometimes writing rules are made to be broken.
Where does your creativity stem from? Did you have an active imagination in childhood? Is writing your only creative outlet? Or, are you into other forms of artistry? Painting? Photography? If no other forms at this time, would you like to try out one? If so, which type of creative non-writing format would suit your curiosity?
I'm also a singer and a songwriter, which has come in handy, because I started writing music when I was a young teenager. My ability to use language in an effective way stems from that. I'm not much of a painter or artist, but I do some of that stuff, too. I've always been a creative person. I get itchy and anxious if I go too long without doing something creative. So it's always been projects of various sorts for me, first with music–recording music, performing music–and then when I began taking my writing seriously when I was about twenty-two or twenty-three. I also keep a YouTube channel called Jeff Bowles Central, where a lot of my creative endeavors end up in one form or another. I love this aspect of my life, and I definitely feel kinship with others who are also creatively inclined.
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Author Links
If you like this interview, then read the others in the Lingering Spirit Whispers series:
If you are a creative writer (prose or poetry) or know someone who is, then Undawnted's Special Engagements is the place for you.
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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.
To continue our Halloween theme, My Poetry Forum is hosting some of my poems from the horror chapbook, The Descent: a darker breed of poetry.
"As a genre poet myself, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed this."
"The poem [Breathe} is as scrumptious and sensual as it is dark and deep."
Breathe is the selection for this evening. I hope you enjoy this subtle but dark piece of creative writing.
Please remember to leave me feedback in the form of a review. If you liked the poem a lot, then please nominate the poem. It helps in the rankings.
Have a great and scary day!
After four years of being told that I could not get a refinance loan or any type of loan, not because of bad credit, but because I had already financed my property at the lowest available rate. The banks would not refinance if I could not get a lower rate by at least one percentage point.
I was stuck. I had already received air conditioning finance estimates starting at $150 a month for four years. On a fixed income, that was not doable.
So I had tried three or four times over the duration, but not through covid, to raise the $7500 that I had been quoted for a new system. I live in Arizona. Central air is about survival, not luxury. A handful of friends flocked to my banner, but the amount raised ($350ish) was nowhere near enough to purchase a unit.
The art and writing communities at large never bothered once. That was disheartening from my point of view. For communities that push love, light, and inclusion for everyone... I was very much excluded. Sounds like that ideology is just an excuse to be prejudiced against people they do not agree with.
I disagree with many people, but have never left someone to die. I help where I can and I have helped a lot. Far more than many people who claim to be inclusive.
Even though certain communities have disappointed me, at least I know I still have friends and a shit load of good luck... see, when you are a good person, you get that type of help from the universe.
Annual percentage rates lowered and my excellent credit afforded me a great refinance package, which led to a new and top of the line air conditioner for an excellent price. After nearly five years of constant worry, I am safe and cool. I will finally have a heater in the winter time too. That means I will be able to write my novels again.
I am so happy.
The universe rewards good deeds and people. While most of you were stuck in your homes during covid... now you know how I live and feel being this sick... I was protecting all of you from hunger and homelessness.
So don't let newly elected politicians tell you that the $1400 was because of them; it was because of me. Just so you know. People take credit for my deeds when they had nothing to do with my work.
I have a few items to do yet, but I will be actively writing poetry and novels this summer. I will be posting more writing exercises too. Although, I will not be updating my Facebook accounts because that social media conglomerate does not believe in factual information that I have provided to my friend's list for over ten years. I am now locked out of my personal and professional accounts, but don't you worry, I always land on my feet.
Life is good now.
I am still going to tell the truth and change the world for the better. That is coming. The wheels are already in motion by good people all over the world. Some people will not accept or like the change, but that is not my problem. I only solve them.
Speaking of solutions: nothing can stop what is coming.
I made a plan and I am sticking to it. You may just like what I am about to do. Who knows, you may just want to get in on the action yourself.
More information in the coming weeks. Watch for news coming out of Sonoran Dawn Studios.
Watch for my new books and cover designs.
I am Stayin' Alive, All By Myself as the songs go: I am on a roll.
Have a great and wonderful day.
Step on All of Us is a hybrid poem that blends the sixteen bars of a hip hop/rap and classical couplet poetry.
If you would like to read other poems by DL Mullan, be sure to search that forum for more of her selections under Undawnted.
Have a great and wonderful day.
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Just as Undawnted's Seasonal Reads Program changes from season to season, we have added our Special Engagements to this rotation.
It's that time of year to bring in some cheer!
Undawnted keeps the cold and dark nights warm with novels and poetry.
We hope this navigation is a lot more fluid than before. We know people are more visual on their devices so items like our images will be easier to find for those looking to read, write, or learn with us!
Creative writing is more than a movie script or image, writing is about taking the world around you, ingesting the nuances, and repackaging the real into the surreal.
We hope you have fun with our creative writing, readings, and special engagements.
Have a great and wonderful day!
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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.
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As the evenings turn cool, fire pits are decorated with people cooking marshmallows and wearing sweaters.
The holidays are close at hand. First, we get to enjoy the descending
darkness into longer nights. We get costumes and candy... and fireside
stories from beyond.
How do you get your fall fill? Well, read, of course!
Here are some of my reads for your reading list:
Fiction
Novels
In the Name of Blood: Vampires are Relative
Novel about the supernatural ties that link people between the ages.
Poetry
Chapbooks
The Descent: a darker breed of poetry
Haunting... paranormal... cryptic... literary and contemporary fantasy.
Autumn Reads and Workshops runs September 1st to November 30th.
Enjoy the formal and/or structured poetry forms of less than 10 lines.
Read cinquains, haikus, and everything in between. Undawnted on Author Space will highlight the short form poetry that DL Mullan workshops.
See you there!
Welcome to my first (very blurry - it should be fixed for the next upload) lecture of my BYU 2020 creative writing class. As you probably surmised from the title of the video, I focus on writing science fiction and fantasy. This class was more of an introduction for the rest of the term but I do discuss a few important things: creating writing habits, a bit about discovery/architect writing, and how writing groups should work.
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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.
- ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ by Richard Bean, starring James Corden.
Have a great and wonderful theater experience!
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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.
- ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ by Richard Bean, starring James Corden.
- ‘Jane Eyre’, adapted by Sally Cookson.
- ‘Treasure Island’, adapted by Bryony Lavery.
- ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare, starring Tamsin Greig.
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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.
