I used to say I wouldn’t read ebooks because I loved real books. Then I needed to read some because the books written by some friends were only available for Kindle. Before long, I needed larger font and a bit of backlighting. The last blow was that I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Now I LOVE my Kindle, which is already an older model of Paperwhite.
These days I read much more on my Kindle than I do paperbacks. Yet all of my own books have only been available in paperback (and hard cover for Rooted and Winged). This is because the majority of poetry small presses continue to just offer paperback books.
But I started to wonder and then to investigate.
And now I have a book available as EPUB on Amazon!!! The publisher of Our Wolves was very helpful and willing to list the ebook on Amazon alongside the paperback. Available for $5.50, the price he chose. I am hoping that this makes the Red Riding Hood revision collection more accessible to more readers. (Fingers crossed that this version works well for most readers’ devices!!!)
P.S. update: I should have mentioned (humbly haha) that Our Wolves was First Runner-Up for the Eric Hoffer Award.
Liz Gauffreau is a master of historical fiction. And rather than creating a series (so far), she has written completely different books with different historical settings. I loved Telling Sonny, and now I love The Weight of Snow and Regret.
Here is my review of the latter. At the end I’ll share with you how you can purchase the book!
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Elizabeth Gauffreau’s new novel, The Weight of Snow and Regret, is a tribute to the residents of the Sheldon Poor Farm in Sheldon Springs, Vermont, as well as testament to the harsh lives of society’s disadvantaged. The novel takes place in 1967-68, the last year of the tenure of the poorhouse. But the plight of the poor and culture-rocking events of that year resonate with familiarity with contemporary readers.
The first part of the story weaves in the life of Louisianian Claire and how she falls from her place in middle-class society to living in the poorhouse far from home. In this way, the reader is drawn into the novel through the perspective of this mysterious woman, then the reader is delivered into the capable hands of Hazel, a sympathetic foster child grown into a compassionate woman who now runs the home itself while her husband manages the associated farm. Through Hazel’s kindness and perspective, we meet the other residents of the poorhouse.
The place hasn’t always been run as Hazel manages it. Before her hard work, dedication, and home management skills, the neglect was extreme. Every surface was filthy, with trash strewn about. The residents’ clothing was in desperate need of laundering. In fact, Hazel believes that the men’s underwear had never been cleaned. Hazel cleans the home immaculately, creates wholesome meals with a tiny budget, and gives the residents the care and understanding that they need.
These residents range from the forgotten elderly to the mentally ill to those with intellectual disabilities. Although they respond differently to events, and their interactions with each other can be fraught, Gauffreau’s exploration of their behavior and treatment rings true. One twist is that Hazel herself lived in this poorhouse at one time. A couple of the residents from her childhood time at the shelter are still living there when Hazel takes over. This feels like a gut punch to her to think of them still living in the conditions she and her family had undergone.
Gauffreau meticulously researched the history of the home, poor farm life in the sixties and before, the blues music that spoke to Claire’s troubled and depressed soul, the national and world headlines of the time, and local history. Her painstaking implementation of her research with her compassionate feel for the characters, and her excellent storytelling senses makes this an engrossing read. I read far into the night, without being able to put down the book.
With my new fall routine in place, I’m back to trying #TankaTuesday syllabic poetry.
This week’s prompt was brought by Yvette M. Calleiro at Tanka Tuesday: Absorb, Repel and instructs poets to use the words “absorb” and “repel” in their syllabic poems. We can add a kigo word for fun. These are from a list of seasonal words.
I wrote this haiku with the two prompt words and the kigo “autumn sky.” Technically, haiku should not be rhyming, and this rhyme was unintentional. But I didn’t want to change it ;). Also, the plural of haiku can be haiku or haikus. I prefer haiku.
Autumn sky so blue
it repels all other hues
and absorbs my dreams.
I also wrote another haiku using the kigo “chilly.”
Chilly fall morning
sunlight splintering through trees
sparks dance at my feet
I posted an unenhanced photo of the intense blue sky in Arizona on Monday, but I’ll repost here to go with the first haiku.
The air seemed chilly this morning. A crispy fall morning. At least by Arizona standards. It was probably 65 degrees, and I could still wear a sleeveless dress.
Now that the days are not as hot in Phoenix–more like 85 than 105–I started up my daily walks again. I had to stop when my hip got so bad, but now that I’ve had the replacement there is nothing stopping me. I love the smells outside, although the last two days there has been an unfamiliar funky odor (possibly bobcat pee) in the air, as well as the usual perfume of flowers, grass, leaves, and sun-kissed concrete.
The intensely blue sky during my walk
Not being able to “show” you the smells annoys me. I can take photos and write words and even post audio if I want to. But I can’t post scent. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy adding olfactory descriptions in my writing; however, sometimes I’d just like to share how something actually smells. Or smell something my nose can’t reach.
This brings me to what I was thinking when I woke up yesterday. I’ve always loved history and as a kid used to wonder what it would be like to have lived in a different time period. Or to visit, even invisibly. Choose a time period. How about 1515 CE? What would it have stank like? I think even if I arrived in my time shuttle inside a palace that I would be gasping for air. I’d be holding an entire bottle of Gris Dior up to my face. I’d have to keep a little puke bag handy. I’m sure I’d be begging to come back to the present time. And that’s with palace peeps, not inside the hut of a poor person.
Yes, this is the kind of thing I think when I wake up in the morning. Maybe because I’m not writing every day. If I do write daily, then I’m apt to think of a story or poem while I’m still in bed. But I have finished my Remedios Varo-inspired ekphrastic chapbook. Gosh, I hope I can find a publisher for it. It’s hybrid, being both fiction and poetry, so that makes it harder to find publishers to submit to.
And, in other news, my hybrid flash memoir, Scrap: Salvaging a Family, should be available from ELJ Editions in March! Watch for cover reveal and so on in the future. If you are a blogger and would like to participate in a blog tour this spring, send me an email at luanne[dot]castle[at]gmail[dot]com. You can post a review or I can write a companion post to my book for your blog. I can get you a pdf. Here’s a link to publisher’s page: ELJ Editions forthcoming.
On the cat front, it’s been all puke/pee/poo/puke/pee/poo. If you plan to have multiple cats, try to space out their ages a bit so you don’t end up with all seniors at the same time. (just kidding, sort of)
In less than a week my grandson will be 21 months old! I can hardly believe it. He’s such a delight. He went on vacation to the beach and loved every moment.
I’m introducing a new poetry-slash-flash nonfiction book by a debut writer, Kathi Crawford. I had the honor of writing a blurb for the back of the book.
KathiCrawford’s debut chapbook Consider the Light, hybrid memoir in poetry and flash, shines a beam into the liminal spaces of a woman’s life. The collection examines transition periods and disruptions as Crawford recreates herself and her future at each of these junctions. As the child of working-class parents, she muses, “I need to save my family,” but as she grows older and must deal with her own problems, she takes what she can learn from others, such as self-discipline from her beloved Nanna, while forging a fierce independence. Crawford’s distinctive voice and story take the reader on a unique journey while offering whispers of familiarity to many who have faced similar hurtles. You won’t want to miss this engaging new voice.
I think you will really enjoy this one, even if you tend not to read poetry. Here’s the book description:
consider the light is a hybrid memoir in poetry and flash nonfiction that traces one woman’s journey from her 1960s Rustbelt upbringing to a life of creative and professional fulfillment in Texas. Born into a working-class family shaped by grit and sacrifice, Kathi Crawford navigates decades of transformation-personal, cultural, and emotional-while forging her own path toward career success and lasting love.
Through moments of grief, reinvention, and unexpected grace, this collection illuminates the resilience required to see the best in each situation and in each other. With language that is spare, evocative, and deeply felt, Crawford invites readers to reflect on what it means to belong, to endure, and to choose light even when the shadows linger.
This debut book speaks to anyone who has wrestled with identity, loss, or longing-and found, in the struggle, a deeper kind of beauty. It’s a testament to the power of memory, the strength of women’s voices, and the healing potential of story. A compelling read for fans of women’s memoirs, personal transformation, and poetry about grief, hope, and resilience.
And you can read a little about Kathi here:
With a career spanning decades in organizational development, Kathi Crawford founded People Possibilities, LLC in 2008. She is an IAC-certified master coach who has worked with hundreds of clients one-on-one through leadership, career, and life transitions.
Alongside her business career, Kathi actively writes poetry and flash creative nonfiction. Her work has been featured online and in print in a variety of literary journals. Her chapbook, consider the light, is available from Finishing Line Press. This mini-memoir invites readers to embrace their flaws, honor resilience, and cultivate empathy for themselves and others, offering yet another avenue for Kathi to foster understanding and connection.
You can find Kathi on Instagram or LinkedIn @kathicrawford and subscribe to her blog @ kathicrawford dot com.
