Category Archives: poems about dolls

Doll God is a Finalist!

Yesterday I opened an email listing the Finalists for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards and dismally scrolled through it, sure that Doll God was overlooked.

But it WASN’T! It’s a Finalist! That was really wonderful news to get at the end of the week. Buy it here haha:

 

castle promotional cover

A week that has been a little rough. Remember my dear Nakana I brought home from the shelter two months ago? Suddenly her liver values have jumped dramatically. That apparently is BAD in cats. More tests on Monday . . . .  Please send prayers or good vibes for her, if you are willing.

My sweet cat

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Filed under Arizona, Book Award, Book promotion, Doll God, Dolls, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Publishing

Three Questions: Luanne Castle

Editor Jenn Monroe of Extract(s) lit magazine asked me some very thought-provoking questions in today’s interview. Also, check out the excerpt from Doll God also published May 1 in Extract(s): http://dailydoseoflit.com/2015/05/01/excerpt-luanne-castle/

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Filed under #AmWriting, Books, Doll God, Dolls, Interview, Literary Journals, Nonfiction, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Research and prep for writing, Writing, Writing prompt, Writing Tips and Habits

Summer Reading

Marie from 1WriteWay and I are finishing up our Flash Essay course. We’ll be posting about it before too long. I’ve had a very full work and personal (not fun stuff) schedule this summer, so adding that course was a bit much, but it did get me writing again. That’s always a good thing, even if just for my mental outlook.

I’m enjoying having Nakana part of the household but because of travel and a non-recorded leukemia test on Nakana I’ve had to wait to introduce her to the other cats.  I’m sure they wonder who that is behind the closed door! Tiger is especially curious and waits in the hall for me when I’m with Nakana.

I’m reading two books right now. One is Writing Our Way Home, a collection of writings by people who have been homeless, edited by WordPress blogger and Southern writer Ellen Morris Prewitt. I’m going slow and savoring.

41EaKva8i8L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_The other book I’m reading is one suggested for class: The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction:

FlashNonFiction_200Because I am way too overtired this summer, I am falling asleep the minute I sit or lie down, so reading books where I can read in digestible chunks is wonderful. These are both well worth putting on your list.

As I move into the August hubbub and end of summer doldrums (brief pause to hurriedly look up “doldrums”–yup, that fits–“a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or depression,” but I think I also meant dog days, which are the hottest days and a period of sluggishness), I might post less regularly. I try to usually post Mondays and Thursdays, although sometimes I add in an extra or switch a Thursday for Wednesday or Friday. But I don’t plan on sticking to any particular schedule in August. Then I’ll re-start my regular schedule in September. I’ll be checking on your blogs as I get online!

If you are still thinking of picking up a copy of Doll God, it’s also a book that can be read in small chunks–a poem a day, for instance.

castle-promotional-cover

About summer in Arizona, Doll God has this to say:

the heat hints at its future
when all will be blue blue blue.

Blue sky over everything. Only here in Phoenix is blue not a cool color, but a FLAME HOT color!

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Filed under #AmWriting, Blogging, Book Review, Cats and Other Animals, Doll God, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Reading, Writing

Excerpt: Luanne Castle

A big thank you to Jenn Monroe, editor of Extract(s), for publishing a 3 poem excerpt from Doll God this first day of May.

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Filed under Doll God, Dolls, Literary Journals, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Publishing, Writing

I Dish about Dolls and Doll God

Today is the last day of National Poetry Month. I haven’t done a fraction of what I had intended to do in celebration, but just because the month ends doesn’t mean I leave poetry behind. (And there is still time to purchase that copy of Doll God, hint hint 😉 ).

Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit interviewed me for her blog today. She asked me some interesting questions about my relationship to dolls and, of course, about Doll God.

Click here to check out the interview.

Thanks so much, Serena, for the blog tour and for this interview. Your support of poetry is inspirational.

Mid-century  Snow White doll heads

Mid-century Snow White doll heads

Snow makes a couple of appearances in Doll God!

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Filed under Books, Doll God, Dolls, Interview, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Publishing, Writing

Doll God Makes an Appearance on AZTV

I’m still trying to crank out a revision for Stanford, but I thought I’d give you a snicker of enjoyment today. I want to remind you that the night before my TV interview I did not sleep AT ALL. Therefore, I don’t feel I should be responsible for the baggy, wrinkled state of affairs in this video. I’ll be back Monday!

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castle promotional cover

 

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Filed under Arizona, Book promotion, Doll God, Dolls, Interview, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Publishing, Vintage American culture

A Different Kind of Book Review: Doll God by Luanne Castle #MondayBlogs #bookreview #poetry

Marie Ann Bailey has written a beautiful story about Doll God–that also happens to be a review! The special nature of this story really touched my heart. Thank you so much, Marie!

Read and enjoy . . . .

Don’t forget that MaryGold’s 2nd adventure is posted today on my Facebook page and on Twitter

Facebook page and on Twitter! Remember to see where she went on her first and second adventures and jot down the information!

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Filed under Book Giveaway, Book Review, Books, Doll God, Dolls, Nonfiction, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Writing

MaryGold’s First Adventure

MaryGold’s adventures start today on my Facebook page and on Twitter! Remember to see where she went on her first adventure and jot down the information!

MaryGold with Isabella Rose

As I mentioned the other day, every Friday and every Tuesday I will post on my Facebook page and on Twitter a new adventure that MaryGold has taken (March 13, 17, 20, and 24). After four adventures, I will post a quiz on here on March 26 related to the adventures. The first three persons who email me the correct answer will each win a free signed copy of Doll God.  My email is  writersite.wordpress[at]gmail.com.

While you’re checking out Facebook and Twitter, feel free to “like” the page or “follow” writersitetweet, if you haven’t already.  Also, I will watch for your Twitter follow and follow you back.

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I held another contest for people who have already read Doll God. It was to tell me where MaryGold is found inside the pages of the book. That contest has a winner: retired librarian and book reviewer Melanie who blogs at Tea Leaves. She even wrote a review of Doll God,.

I am sending her a copy of James Arthur’s poetry collection Charms Against Lightning

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Filed under Book Giveaway, Books, Doll God, Dolls, Photographs, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Writing

TV and Me

I am behind in blog reading because my schedule has been overwhelming, but will catch up as soon as I can. I hope today is a good day for checking out my “reader.”

As you might have noticed from Renee’s review (thank you so much, Renee!), first posted on Monday, I was interviewed on AZTV7’s Morning Scramble Monday morning about Doll God. The interview itself turned out to be a painless experience–Sandy Moss and the crew were low key, warm, and put me right at ease. The interview was “live” across all of Arizona, and my husband watched me on the screen from another room.*

The night before we drove from Phoenix up to Cottonwood to spend the night. I had to be at the station at 8AM. Hubby has problems with altitudes, and Cottonwood is a lower elevation than Prescott, where AZTV7 is located. We stayed in a hotel room where the window had an exterior light shining into it–and a flimsy set of blinds covering it. With my sensitivity to light it was torture. Then it was also very warm in the room. The hotel turned out to have no staff working all night either. They get in at 9AM . . . .  I did not sleep the entire night. All I did was lie there thinking, “Light, heat, and lack of sleep are my migraine triggers. What if I am struck with a complicated migraine in the middle of the interview?” I actually came up with scenarios of how to handle the situation, should it arise. They all ended with me running for a bucket.

Hubby and I got up and ready in time, so that was a plus. The downside was that the bags under my eyes were packed and ready to pay $75 each for being overweight.

We drove through the mountains and past the snow banks. That was a treat. And hubby didn’t get sick this time from driving through the high altitude.

Two other women were being interviewed on the same show: the founder of Rhonda’s STOP BULLYING Foundation for Girls and the Director of Resource Development for the Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity. Just before my segment, Sandy Moss made a plea for Ringling Bros/Barnum and Bailey Circus to retire their elephants NOW, not in three (long) years. If you don’t know about this news, read about it here. When my son was a teen, he and I used to picket the circus on behalf of the elephants, so this help for them has already taken a long long time. Why should they have to wait another three years? Another three years of abuse!

I was relieved to be interviewed before the other women, as I didn’t have time to watch them and critique how much worse I would do than they were doing. But Sandy’s questions were not designed to make me look stupid (the responsibility for that rests with me), and she let me read a poem :). When we were done, she said she was surprised that my segment lasted nine minutes. She wasn’t as surprised as I was–it felt like about three minutes!

After that, hubby and I went out for omelettes and then headed to Prescott’s antique stores. There I discovered the “find” of my doll collecting! A Door of Hope bride doll!!!!! I never dreamed I would find such a thing. Door of Hope are highly collectible, very expensive dolls that were made by very poor ex-slave Chinese girls at Door of Hope mission in Shanghai from about 1900-1950.

Isn’t that beaded veil just gorgeous?! Look at the work that went into this costume.

And I got a good deal on the doll.  So the day turned out pretty good, although it all happened on zero sleep.

By the way, that was the first time I was on TV since I was ten years old. My class performed an original play, and I played the role of Nurse #2, which doesn’t sound so great, but was actually one of the main roles.

That’s me in the nurse’s cap at the far end of the table, seated. Dr. Manner’s something or other was the name of the play. That was Dr. Manners, the boy standing near the clock. Boys were the doctors. Girls were the nurses. But at least nurses got to wear those cool caps!

* The new TV segment will be edited by my daughter and then I will post. If I have the guts.

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Filed under Arizona, Books, Cats and Other Animals, Doll God, Dolls, Memoir, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Sightseeing & Travel

Book Review: Luanne Castle’s Doll God and Why I Loved it When I’m Afraid of Dolls

Thanks to Renee at Unpacked Writer for this fabulous Doll God review!!!

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Filed under Book Review, Books, Doll God, Dolls, Nonfiction, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, WordPress