Down to the Cover Art

 

“It seems my heart is made of tissue paper; I wish the world would handle it more delicately.”  ― Richelle E. Goodrich, A Heart Made of Tissue Paper A Heart Made of Tissue Paper      The title above is the title of my soon-to-be-released book of poetry. The completed manuscript was edited and approved for publication mid-June 2023. Shortly afterward, a copyright request was filed. So what are we waiting on now?        The artwork.        A book cover is in the works, including a few sketches for black-and-white illustrations to be printed below individual poems. I think the most challenging part, and probably the most time-consuming part, is deciding on a final cover picture. How do you narrow it down? And yes, the artwork itself takes significant time once the idea for a cover is decided.         What can you expect from this book of poetry? Eighty-six original poems penned by me. Be prepared for heartfelt verses you might relate to on a deep level as well as poems that simply make you smile. This book is divided into seven chapters, each chapter touching on a specific emotion experienced by the human heart. For example, the chapter titled TO LOVE includes a dozen poems about the emotions dealing with aspects of love. The chapter titled TO LOATH includes poetry touching on harsher experiences. There are seven chapters in all with a variety of poetic styles including sonnets, free verse, cinquains, haikus, and other forms of poetry. It is relatable poetry for the whole of humanity.        A Heart Made of Tissue Paper will be available for preorder soon (August 2023.) When it is released, the book will be available for purchase in kindle, paperback, and hardcover formats at Amazon and Barnes & Noble bookstores.        I hope you get a chance to read and enjoy my poetry, and if you do... please, leave a positive rating and a short review on Amazon and Goodreads. It truly does help sell more copies. Thank you in advance!  The Tarishe Curse, my latest book, was released last October 2022. If you have not found a copy yet, it is still available in kindle, paperback, and hardcover formats on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. SUMMARY: "Vengeance is a monster of appetite, forever bloodthirsty and never filled."  --Richelle E. Goodrich Tarishe is a modest village surrounded by fortress walls meant to keep out one thing: werewolves. In truth, the wolves are scarcely bothersome and seldom seen excepting one night a year when a blood-red moon appears. This full Tarishe moon never fails to herald the arrival of an entire pack of hairy beasts, drawn to the village like greedy dragons to golden treasure. It is difficult enough to protect a young family in this world of dangerous creatures, but such a feat proves near impossible when an old witch bent on vengeance casts a curse that manipulates both heart and mind. The battle for survival is not only with a sword but an internal struggle to love those the curse has targeted for hatred, and to hate the one who through evil enchantment manipulates her enemy’s affections. How long will it take to learn that the old monster, vengeance, is insatiable? This Tarishe tale is a thrilling piece of fiction told from the Queen of Werefolk's point of view. What am I working on now?      Presently, I am concentrating on finishing the book cover and a few illustrations for A Heart Made of Tissue Paper.  Expect a pre-order date in July 2023.      While I have been creating original works of poetry, I have also accumulated new quotes and short stories for another book similar to Smile Anyway, which includes 365 original quotes, poems, and short stories for every day of the year. This upcoming book will be titled Hope Evermore.   Poem by Richelle E. Goodrich:  How does a tiny heart harbor so many clashing sentiments? One moment it is devoted. The next, purely disdaining. Weeping at tremendous heartache and then laughing, lighthearted, through the same tears. How can a heart rage so fierce as to boil blood while it turns to ice?     How is this done?     To love, hate, esteem, deride, rejoice, deplore, favor, resent—all of these and more swirling inside. This sensitive heart, so full and resilient, buoys up to the point of bursting and then deflates on a dime. It is a slave to whims and whispers. How is it that the human heart beats so wild and untamed?   —Richelle E. Goodrich, A Heart Made of Tissue Paper                                          —Copyright 2023 Richelle E. Goodrich _  _  ________________  _  _    As always, help out authors whose work you love by leaving kind reviews on Amazon, iTunes, Goodreads, BandN, Kobo, and other online book retailers. Your positive ratings and reviews help us sell more books. Thank you! Author Website #RichelleGoodrich #books #poetry #bookideas #readers #amwriting #RichelleEGoodrich #poet #author #writer #novelist

This Father's Day

THIS Father's Day

"A father’s success greatly depends upon his ability to love and be loved."

     This Father's Day will be the first I celebrate without my dad. He passed away in a hospital earlier this year at the age of 81. I miss him. His last days were not pleasant; he fought pain and dementia. It was hard to have him leave this world, though none of us wanted to see him continue on in pain.
     I am grateful for the positive things my dad taught me while he was alive: to have integrity and self-confidence, to be kind to others, to work hard, and to never give up no matter how difficult things get. No, he was not a perfect parent, but neither was I. The two important things we have in common are that we tried to do the very best we could for our kids within our circumstances, and we both love our kids completely and unconditionally. I know my dad loved us. He loved his wife, his kids, his grandkids, and great-grandkids with a big heart. I am grateful for that love.
     We indeed feel a person's absence strongly, and we appreciate a relationship much more after the fact. So, for those of you who still have a loving father on this earth, spend some time with him. Appreciate his presence in your life now. Give him a hug, a call, a bit of your time. A father who loves you and tries his best is a precious gift.
     Happy Father's Day to all the hardworking, loving fathers out there and to the ones we miss who watch over us from heaven.

―Richelle E. Goodrich

A God of Miracles

 

When consciousness hit me this morning, I wanted to stay in bed. All day if I could.

I am not one to openly tell my trials and troubles to the world, but I believe personal details are not entirely necessary when we choose to share a significant growth experience. As stated initially, when I awoke this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was face the day.

I am aware that feelings of reluctance, unhappiness, despair, and so forth are not unique to me—every human being comes face to face with the draining effects of discouragement, fear, uncertainty, pain, depression… need I go on? Life hands us big and small problems on a continual basis. We all face trials, hardships, disappointments—these are roadblocks common in life. Some trials are grievous to bear. The rest are hard in other ways. Any of them can make us want to stay in bed all day.

This morning, staring at the ceiling while feeling defeated by a handful of trials that amounted to my present roadblocks, I spoke to God in prayer. For a few quiet minutes, I shared my feelings with Him. During that prayer, I made the half-sarcastic comment that if this one particular, small, unlikely thing happened, I would put both feet on the floor and face the day gladly. Not that I honestly planned to remain in bed; I usually manage to slip over the mattress’ edge and move forward from there. And no, I did not expect to get what I wanted simply because I asked. As I said, my request was for something unlikely, even next to impossible. I was not anticipating a miracle. I just wanted one—a small, personal blessing to cheer me up.

Now here is the crazy, beautiful part: Only a few minutes after mumbling “Amen” at the end of my prayer, that one, particular, small, unlikely thing did happen! As near impossible as I thought it to be, it actually happened! So yes, I got my sorry self out of bed. And yes, I thanked God for the tender mercy that buoyed me up enough to face a hard day.

If you are struggling with personal roadblocks, I recommend praying about it. God really is a god of miracles. He has solutions we never dream of. Often, you will not get an immediate response to prayer. It has taken a good amount of time for me to receive answers to my own. But my experience has been that they do come, eventually. Every now and then they are instant and miraculous. Those I refer to as tender mercies.

—Richelle E. Goodrich, Hope Evermore  copyright 2023