Tag Archives: poems about dolls

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

Follow MaryGold and Not Me Next Week!

Just a little note to say I will be on hiatus through next week.

MaryGold’s adventures will continue. Adventure #3 posted on my Facebook page and on Twitter today.  The 4th adventure will post on social media at some point on Tuesday–or perhaps late Monday. Watch for it.

Instead of a quiz, just write me at writersite.wordpress[at]gmail.com and tell me where MaryGold went on all four adventures. The first three people who email the correct answers will receive books.

If I’m behind responding to comments on previous posts, know that I have read your delightful comments and will respond when I return to Casa WordPress.

Hope your spring is off to a great start! And I also hope you win a copy of Doll God!

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Filed under Blogging, Book Giveaway, Books, Doll God, Dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection

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

Follow MaryGold to a Free Book! #bookgiveaway

I thought it would be fun to let MaryGold off the shelf where she lives. She is going to participate in a little social media quiz fun.

MaryGold with Isabella Rose

If you don’t know who MaryGold is, she is the doll on the cover of my book. I held a vote here for her name.

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.

First adventure begins Friday, March 13!

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If you already have a copy of Doll God, I have a different quiz for you. This one is easy peasy. Be the first person to email me the quiz answer at writersite.wordpress[at]gmail.com to win a copy of James Arthur’s poetry collection Charms Against Lightning

Here’s the quiz question: MaryGold shows up in a poem in Doll God. Don’t think it’s THAT easy haha! She doesn’t go by the name MaryGold in the poem. But she is the doll on the cover of the book and is found in a poem. What is the name of the poem and what page is it on?

 Please do not enter both contests. One or the other . . . .

 

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

Doll God by Luanne Castle

Menomama3 of Life in a Flash and Wuthering Bites might have been the first person to order Doll God from Amazon. We’re not sure, but suspect so. Now she writes a review of my poetry collection that is as well-written, personal, and completely engaging as her posts are !!!

Ms. Menomama3 also was one of the first bloggers I read when my daughter and I started our adoption blog several years ago. Ms. M and I are both mothers in transracial (and international) adoptive families–her children are from China and mine are from Korea.

Stick around for the rest of her blog, while you’re over there reading the review!

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

The Gift of Doll God – Ellen Morris Prewitt

I wish I could figure out a way to reblog Ellen Morris Prewitt’s beautifully written and heartfelt review of Doll God. But I could not figure it out.

The Press This function is supposed to pick up part of the post, but of course it only shares the link. But here it is: a story of Ellen, dolls, poetry, and Doll God.

CLICK THERE—->The Gift of Doll God – Ellen Morris Prewitt.

Thank you, Ellen!

Please check out Ellen’s fabulous writing, accessible by her website. Bonus: she’s hilarious–and you can see that even by the review quotes she posts: from an internet stranger and from her mother. That’s the kind of sneaky humor you get by reading and listening to Ellen’s stories.

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Dad is chomping at the bit at the short-term care nursing home. He doesn’t like that they won’t let him move around by himself. I told him he’s like me–doesn’t want to follow institutional rules. He said that is true. Of course, it’s more than that. He’s in an extremely frustrating position. But I like to cheer him up by joking with him.

The kitties were great last night and say hi to everyone!Nakana

Nakana is my new favorite! She loves petting!

 

 

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

What Inspires My Poems

Is it annoying if I admit that I’m really enjoying reading the reviews of Doll God ? All but one have been highly positive (5 stars on Amazon and 5 stars with a 4 star on Goodreads, as well as written reviews).

Here are two blog tour reviews from the end of last week:

Harvee Lau at Book Dilettante is fascinated by the dolls in the book. I love her reading of the poem “Caught.”  She shares the poem in the review. Check it out :).

Randi at Bell Book and Candle Blog says Doll God is “an outstanding collection of poems.”

Today I have a guest post up at Peeking Between the Pages

 about my poetic inspiration. I’d be tickled if you go check it out.

MaryGold enjoying the Arizona weather

UPDATE:  A review of Doll God is up at Peeking Between the Pages.

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Filed under Arizona, Blogging, Book Review, Books, Doll God, Dolls, poems about dolls, Poetry, Poetry book, Poetry Collection, Publishing