Category Archives: #AmWriting

by | March 6, 2026 · 6:20 am

Family in All Its Human Pain, Mystery, and Love

The official release for Scrap: Salvaging a Family (ELJ Editions) is in two weeks, but you can read about it now. The journal Your Impossible Voice has published an amazing review by Wilma J. Kahn. What a blessing to my eighteen-year project!

A memoir in flash, Scrap focuses on three discrete parts of Castle’s life in relation to her parents, especially her father. “Scrap” is a multivalent word around whose every meaning and nuance Castle fashions poignant—and sometimes horrifying—flash prose and poetry to reveal her family in all its human pain, mystery, and love.

REVIEW OF SCRAP BY WILMA J KAHN

On a related note, the journal Fictive Dream published my flash story, “The Nice Girls.”

THE NICE GIRLS

LatinosUSA has put Kin Types on its Bookshelf! And MasticadoresUSA has published a poem from that collection: What Lies Inside

###

The Sweet Acacias have blossomed! I have such a love-hate relationship with these guys. They are so sweet smelling, but gosh, everybody is “allergic” to them! They bloom at least twice a year.

I’ve mentioned here that I haven’t had time to write in the last few months, but I am trying to write a few tiny drafts now. If I can accomplish first drafts of flash or poems, a few a week, for a few weeks I will feel better. I don’t feel as well when I’m not writing. I feel distinctly WEIRD.

Lately, I’m reading a mystery series by Kate Ellis–the Wesley Peterson books–which feature contemporary murder mysteries with archeology stories. I learned about the Plague Maiden. Have you ever heard of her? She appeared before a community was hit by the Bubonic Plague or Black Death. She was a woman, sometimes a skeleton, dressed in white and carrying a rake or a broom to sweep away all the dead. In the book, she sometimes wears a red scarf.

Do a quick Google search if you want to be creeped out by the variety of depictions of this scary folk character.

I feel like she needs to show up in a story I write, but I have no idea how or when. Maybe you would like to write a story about her? If so, post it so I can read it!

 

 

26 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, Book Review, ELJ Editions, Flash Fiction, Flash Nonfiction, hybrid memoir, Memoir, Microfiction, SCRAP: SALVAGING A FAMILY

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | January 1, 2026 · 1:54 pm

It’s a New Year!

Welcome to 2026! I’m not asking for amazing things for the year; I’d just like it to be gentle with me.

2025 was difficult, although I did have some writing successes in journals, have been working with the small press, ELJ Editions, that will be publishing my flash memoir, and had my manuscript inspired by painter Remedios Varo accepted by Shanti Arts.

*Scrap: Salvaging a Family, a hybrid flash memoir, will be out March 20, 2026

*Hunting the Cosmos, flash fiction and poetry for Remedios Varo, will be out fall 2026

I should have a cover reveal soon for Scrap. Can’t wait to share it with you!!!

The problem with the new year, though, is it springs from the old and all the unresolved issues of 2025 will go on in 2026. My mother’s dementia is one of those things. Taking over her affairs is very stressful and time-consuming, but worse is the dilemmas of communication with my mother. I can still have good conversations with her if I ignore the little idiosyncracies (the “critters” that have taken up residence in her apartment, but can only be seen by her), hearing about her going to a service two hours early and waiting for others to show up, etc.

Both Perry and Meesker have serious health issues. As you may remember, Perry was diagnosed with issues two years ago, but I don’t like to talk about it. All I can say is I am constantly feeding sick cats who need food all day long and cleaning up diarrhea, pee outside the box, and dramatically hurled vomit. And Lily still hates Sloopy Anne. Last night she threw herself violently against the gate we have up to keep them apart, trying to get to Sloops.

2025 was productive for me for writing, up to a point. I haven’t written anything for weeks now. Between grandbaby duty, my mom’s stuff, and these cats (on top of regular work and business), I’ve been too busy and very tired.

I read some good mystery series this year, though, as that’s a good way for me to unwind. Actually, I read far more than I usually do, but then I did have hip replacement surgery in May, so mysteries helped out a lot when I was suffering before the surgery and then during the recovery. Here are the series: Yorkshire Murder Mysteries by J.R. Ellis; Dark Yorkshire, Misty Isle, and Hidden Norfolk by J.M. Dalgliesh; Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming; Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mysteries by Deborah Crombie; China Thrillers, Lewis Trilogy, and Enzo Macleod by Peter May; DCI Craig Gillard Mysteries by Nick Louth. (To give you a clue, I am a fan of Louise Penny, Ann Cleeves, and Elly Griffiths, and the series I’ve listed here are more like the Griffiths and possibly the Cleeves than the Penny books. The Spencer-Fleming series is a lot like the Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway books, notably because of the hot love affair in the middle of the mysteries.

In addition, I read some wonderful stand-alone novels and poetry collections. I reviewed just a few of them for this blog. If I reviewed your book in 2025 and didn’t list it, please let me know!

POETRY

Review of Robert Okaji’s Our Loveliest Bruises

A Gorgeous Collection Combining Genres of Poetry, Genealogy, and History

Review of Merril D. Smith’s HELD INSIDE THE FOLDS OF TIME

FICTION

Book Tour Stop: Book Review of Deborah Brasket’s When Things Go Missing

Elizabeth Gauffreau’s Masterful New Novel, A Review

Christmas Magic

Just got a call from my son. He miscalculated the days this week and asked if I could watch Hudson again tomorrow. Sure! (Good thing I fell asleep on New Year’s Eve at 8PM). The other night the Gardener put together a tricycle for Hudson. He’s almost two, and his feet barely reach the pedals, but we can work on learning to pedal a bike again tomorrow. 🙂

Let’s work on making 2026 a tender, playful, happy year! If we all puts our heads and hearts together .  . . .

48 Comments

Filed under #amreading, #AmWriting, Book Review, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Flash Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | November 4, 2025 · 12:29 pm

A Shadorma for #TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 37, The Veil, 11/04/25

This week’s #TankaTuesday syllabic poetry prompt is by Yvette Calleiro. She asked for poems using the image of veil. While this is a great idea I learned something or maybe noticed is a better word about syllabic poetry. It’s very hard to approach subjects obliquely or “slant” (credit to Emily Dickinson) with syllabic forms.

I chose shadorma (possibly Spanish or of modern origin) for the form. This is a six line poem of 3-5-3-3-7-5 line lengths. I wanted a form that didn’t require the subject to be about nature, which is why I selected this form.

thanks to sfetfedyhghj

###

The Mask Reveals the Heart

 

Bride’s coy veil,

vamp’s pillbox netting.

They conceal

to reveal—

no different from a mask

where disguise tells all.

 

Two years ago, the following flash fiction was published at The Ekphrastic Review. The veil in this case refers to the veil between living and dead or between this world and THAT world.

​Waiting for the Handsome Prince: A Farce (Of Course)
after “An Unexpected Visit” by Remedios Varo

Some girls left a glove or handkerchief, hoping to obligate a gentleman to return it. Eleonora liked to think she was different. She dropped a pump knowing he would imagine her barefoot and helpless. She remembered the velvet of his broad chest, jeweled medallion clanking, felt parts of her responding. Her new friend, Fairy Godfather, helped her prepare for Handsome Prince’s visit, adding to her pretty table setting an inexhaustible carafe and a trick candle, while assuring Eleonora they were traditional heirlooms with magical powers. Before he departed with an unnecessary hug, he reminded her what would happen if the spell were broken. All she needed to achieve the spell’s fulfillment was one kiss from Handsome Prince.Eleonora waited at the table for Handsome Prince all day. Then all night and the next day. She examined the events of the ball repeatedly. What went wrong? Was she too assertive? Too quiet? Did he prefer juicier curves or richer daddies? She tried to drink the water, but it was ensconced inside the glass, unattainable. She tried to rise, but the broken spell had already begun to claim its reward. The transformation into feline had begun. She was locked in place, the fur growing, even as the spinster cat had begun to dissolve into the woods. Just as the pitying fairies arrived to spirit her off beyond the veil, the now-unmasked Fairy Godfather appeared in his pumpkin, his goblin face taunting her.

NEW PUBS THIS WEEK

6 mixed media collages: Does It Have Pockets

2 speculative microfiction: Dog Throat Journal

revenge lit micro: Villain Era

20 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Art and Music, Flash Fiction, Microfiction, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | July 23, 2025 · 12:15 pm

A Vampire Tale and a Country Earworm

I hate vampire stories, but after seeing a show on the history channel I realized one of my ancestors could have been a “vampire.” Here’s a micro based on that realization!

A True Strzyga Tale, So Forget the Movies You’ve Seen by Luanne Castle

NEW SUBJECT: MY CURRENT EARWORM

Every once in a while I get an earworm that I can’t get out of my head. And it’s often an old song, sometimes one that I didn’t have the pleasure of hearing when it first came out.

My current earworm is 1985’s “The Highwayman” by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash. The song won a Grammy for songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1986. But it was written earlier and had been recorded by Webb and by Glen Campbell.

After I say my piece, I am posting a video of the song as well as the written lyrics. Two things I wanted to mention. First is that I love Willie, Kris, and Johnny. I still hold a grudge against Waylon after about forty years. Maybe longer. Maybe it was an alcohol thing (him, not me), I don’t know. But he gave a concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s been so long I can no longer be sure if he was the headliner or not. He was HORRIBLE to the audience. Just surly, churlish, and nasty.

The other thing I wanted to mention is while I love this song, I don’t get it. I understand the romantic notion of a highwayman, but he was a thief and caused a lot of grief to the victims of his crimes (speaking about it as if it were a fictional story, since that’s what it is). The other life roles/occupations are admirable. The sailor. Our world is held together by sailors. The dam builder. I’ve been to the Hoover Dam and heard how many men died building it. So I looked up the dam at Boulder. A minimum of 96 men died during construction. Heroes!!!! Martyrs!!!! And then a starship pilot or astronaut. Captain Kirk! Captain Jean-Luc Picard!

Does it have anything to do with a fine line between a villain and a hero? I don’t know!!! What do you think?

If you can’t see the following video, ugh. I will try to split the link apart and you can put it together.

***

https:

//youtu.be/aFkcAH-m9

W0?si=8x43JSpFkBZn9n5y

Here are the lyrics:

[Verse 1: Willie Nelson]
I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of ’25
But I am still alive
***
[Verse 2: Kris Kristofferson]
I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner around the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still
***
[Verse 3: Waylon Jennings & All]
I was a dam builder
Across a river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder, on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that gray tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around
I’ll always be around
And around, and around, and around
And around, and around, and around…
***
I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I’ll be back again
And again, and again, and again
And again, and again…

19 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, Art and Music, Fairy Tales, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Microfiction, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | July 21, 2025 · 3:41 pm

Channeling Ethel Merman

My mother-in-law Diana Dale Castle painted this picture of Ethel Merman. MIL used to hang out at the Broadway theatres during rehearsal time. She would research the actors’ roles and role history and sometimes ended up with a multiple image painting like this one. The painting is under glass which caused the lines in the photo. Also, the color is way off. I am wondering why color is so off in my iPhone pix.

Switch: A Magazine of Microfiction, Editor Elizabeth R. George, published the story I wrote when this painting was demanding my attention. It hangs to the left of my desk . . . . This micro story, “Ethel Merman, American Treasure, May Have Expressed Regret,” allowed me to channel my inner Ethel as it’s Ethel talking to an interviewer.

The story is the 3rd one down.

https://www.switchonline.org/about-1?fbclid=IwY2xjawLrecxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgx66dNYqLdrIVeoUOYsDedT0K4GxnLoYyM9m5Y1-Ic7DuEDuhN0U0uox0pC_aem_RGG7s_ozdQye1MMZagsNoQ

29 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #writingcommunity, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | July 16, 2025 · 7:15 am

“What Would Grandma Do” at LatinosUSA – English Edition

Did you have a wonderful grandmother? This fiction story is based on mine.

My story “What Would Grandma Do” is up at LatinosUSA -English Edition.

https://latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/2025/07/16/what-would-grandma-do-by-luanne-castle/

24 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #writingcommunity, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , , ,

by | July 9, 2025 · 7:37 am

Flash Fairy Tale “Magic” at LatinosUSA – English Edition

Do you like fairy tales and fantasy? If so, you might like my flash story, “Magic.” Editor Juan Re Crivello just published it at LatinosUSA – English Edition. 

Note: Magic is something special that is often found in fairy tales and fantasy stories. In this story, magic is “personified” as a horse.

If you want to leave a comment, please do so after the story on the journal’s site. Thank you for reading!!!!!! and I hope you like it.

Magic by Luanne Castle

12 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #writingcommunity, Fairy Tales, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | June 27, 2025 · 7:19 am

Interviewed by LatinosUSA about Poetry and Our Wolves

I’m thrilled that Editor Juan Re Crivello has interviewed me for LatinosUSA-English Edition’s. Hope you like it! Here’s a link:

https://latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/2025/06/27/the-internet-has-given-new-life-to-poetry-luanne-castle/

 

 

19 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #writerlife, Interview

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | April 1, 2025 · 4:05 pm

A Senryu for National Poetry Monthr

HAPPY POETRY MONTH!

This week’s poetry challenge at Tanka Tuesday is The Fool, as in the card in the tarot deck. I got an idea for my senryu from the card from The Wild Unknown which features a baby bird on a twig or branch. I found the image online, but couldn’t find one I felt I had permission to reprint here. I did a marathon this past weekend of taking care of my toddler grandson. My hip is completely shot and otherwise screwed up, and I’m getting a new one in a month and a half,* so this was pretty insane for me to do (The Fool?). The gardener helped though, and the babysitter came for three hours, too.

After viewing the tarot card I thought about how my grandson must feel when he makes some of his dangerous choices. Here’s my poem:

baby climbs on chair

he stands upright, rocks backwards

hope blossoms in him

Of course that’s not how Grandma views the situation, but I do think we’re pretty close so I have him a bit figured out. BTW, he does not speak or say names yet, but he called out to me again, “Grandma!” He’s done that a few times for at least four months. I’ve had witnesses every time, too, so I am NOT imagining it.

*Back to the hip. You might have good stories about how easy the surgery and recovery was for you or a friend, but don’t bother. I have some conditions that makes it scary, and so those stories won’t make me feel better but will probably irritate me. Just sayin. But thanks for the thought.  Of course, prayers and vibes accepted and even desired!

In honor of National Poetry Month and the re-opening of Zingara Poetry Review, they are providing prompts each day this month–and then if you like you can submit them in hopes of getting them published. Here’s the link for the first prompt, which I kind of love: ZINGARA PROMPT ONE

Listen to this serendipity! I searched my The Wild Unknown archetype deck to see if it includes The Fool. It does not, but I found a business card for the editor of Zingara. I have no idea how long it’s been in there as I haven’t cracked that deck in awhile. Is that WILD?

Let’s get some poetry going this month! XO

61 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing, writing prompt

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | March 24, 2025 · 7:17 pm

Miss Alma Milligan Visits MacQueen’s Quinterly

Have you ever met someone like Miss Alma Milligan? My high school history teacher was the inspiration. Though she grew up in the city and was sophisticated and traveled all summer every summer, the basic nature and character of my teacher found its way into this character.

Huge thanks to Editor-in-Chief Clare MacQueen for publishing this monologue micro. Feel free to use this micro for your acting auditions, just give me credit when appropriate :).

http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ27/Castle-Miss-Alma.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawJO70JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWyS9LZcXKry-v8dChpzuQegdKA5b7kX0YWjjDeeNLceV5PV4qxviiVgCQ_aem_bdwSBO8FEMcX5MsMafOANw

Completely free clipart of a hen.

 

20 Comments

Filed under #AmWriting, #writingcommunity, Cats and Other Animals, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Microfiction, Writing

Tagged as , , , , ,