IWSG, Moments, and Landscapes

 Happy IWSG Day to all those who participate in the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop! You rock!

And many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and those who are helping out this month: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Natalie Aguirre, Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Olga Godim!

Today, I will be enjoying small moments that feel vast - those momentous moments of joy and gladness we feel in the presence of loved ones. We are visiting my older daughter, her husband, and our tiny grandson today in Montana. Surrounded by incredible landscapes, we are focused instead on a five month old little boy.

Meanwhile, my Kickstarter is going and I haven't been attending to it as I ought.

Too much life stuff has happened. I got sick, I got better. My dad went to the hospital, and he got strong enough I felt comfortable coming on this trip to see my grandson, but there are more appointments in the future. I realized how close the mission trip to Mongolia is, and my focus shifted to packing plans and such. I found out that my family's preference for packing light (one backpack carryon) and doing laundry while traveling might be more than a little strange to everyone on the mission team (apparently, 12 changes of clothes and at least one checked bag are expected). This still has me reeling a bit. I mean, I know we all have different ideas about travel, but packing light has been so much a part of my life that it's hard for me to wrap my head around doing the opposite for a mission trip. But if no one else is planning on doing laundry, then I need to pack accordingly, which means way more than I normally would.

Anyway, as you can see, my brain is full of everything except my Kickstarter, but Kickstarter campaigns are all about intense focus and campaigning. So, I may have to redo my campaign when the dust settles.

But, because I have the campaign going on, I would love to share a few poems with you from the book - which will come out eventually, Kickstarter success round 1 or not. These two poems are from the Wild Grace section of the book.

Shadowed Movement

Shadowed movement

catches my peripheral,

brown against green.

​

I turn to see

deer, normally bold,

ducking into trees.

​

I still,

checking for predators.

The bushes rustle,

stop.

​

I am chilled

when the howls of the hunt

ring my yard as the sun

dips and the sky darkens.

​

It’s not so quiet living

outside the city limits,

but I do appreciate the chuckling

of the owl when the coyotes leave.

​

Driftwood Curves

Driftwood curves echo

bridges spanning sea water

sulushing on rocky shores

as seals glide and seagulls peck

hunting for sustenance.

​

I hunt for the sustenance of peace

through camera’s eyes

under cloud-covered skies,

chased by scolding seabirds,

until sea meets river, and I climb

away from salty breeze and back to reality.

Find my Kickstarter for To Speak RIGHT HERE.

Have you ever done a Kickstarter Campaign? And, if so, how did you maintain that laser focus in the midst of life?

Kickstarter Journey: Incredible Start! Followed by Bumps in the Road...

 My Kickstarter Journey had an incredible start! Within the first 48 hours, five people came forward and gave me enthusiastic support! Within another week, two more people pledged!

But I have had some bumps in the road. I had an unexpected layover coming home from Realm Makers, followed by lost luggage, followed by exhaustion that turned out to be an illness that turned out to be Covid.

And then my dad went into the hospital a few nights ago. He does not have Covid, but he has some other 87-year-old-type health issues going on. After his grandfather and one of his great-uncles, he is the third longest-lived person in his family, and he has lost so much weight that any illness or infection is dangerous. He used to be 5'6" and weigh 130 lbs; now he's 4'11" and weighs 107 lbs. He looks like the wind could pick him up and blow him away.

He's always rallied—always been a tough but gentle soul. He was born with a physical disability and had experimental surgeries because his family was land-poor, and experiments were what they could afford at the local charity hospital. If you ever wonder why I write about characters in novels who don't make it through their journeys unscathed, my dad lived a horror-show-type existence for two years at a charity hospital that eventually amputated one of his legs below the knee. And yet, he has always been determined to live life fully—skiing, hiking, canoeing and backcountry camping, traveling around the world, piloting his own aircraft, working as an airplane mechanic.

I wrote that last paragraph before I realized what I was writing. I guess this is my way of showing and sharing that the bump I hit is hitting me hard. Although I strive to be tough and gentle like my dad, I am here existing in the midst of messy life, praying and living and writing.

In the To Speak collection, I have a prose poem about my dad. "My Father's Eyes" was originally published by The Drabble in 2020.

Here it is:

My father's eyes hold the stories of the ages. They hold innocence and knowledge. They hold the sky. They hold the sea. They hold the rain. They hold laughter and tears the color of water. They hold rivers and lakes and dusty trails beneath tall pine trees pungent with sap. They hold books read by campfires and lamplight. They hold his whistle and his jaunty walk, as well as his embarrassment and his slow shuffling gait—every step measured for balance. They hold hope for moments of quiet conversation. In my father's eyes, the stories are real.

Prose poems are rare for me to write, but I found it fitting for this collection, which is about speaking up and sometimes using storytelling to speak.

Yesterday, on my socials, I did a video about how I wasn't sure this campaign would finish. I'm still not sure. This bump of health and family health has thrown me off-kilter.

Maybe this will be my one and only fully funded and fulfilled campaign for To Speak. Maybe this will be attempt one of two. Either way, the book will come out.

It turns out there is a history of Kickstarter campaigns that failed the first time around and succeeded the second time. So, if that's the case for me. It's okay. This might not be the right time for this campaign, or for me. I will not quit, but I also know I'm not up for an energetic sprint that Kickstarters seem to require.

If you could share the campaign with friends, I would appreciate it.

Kickstarter for To Speak

I am praying, trusting God with everything, and moving forward.

Wild Grace Lives Here

I live somewhere between city sidewalks and deep woods.
Close enough to hear traffic.
Close enough to hear coyotes howl at dusk.

There’s a small patch of land behind our home—
not wilderness exactly,
but not tamed either.

It’s filled with deer, owls, raccoons, and once, a black bear.
I see deer more often than I see neighbors.
They slip through the yard like whispers.
Sometimes bold, sometimes cautious.
They move with intention, instinct, grace.

And sometimes I stop long enough to notice them.

Slowing down, I begin to pray.
Not always with words.
Sometimes with stillness.
Sometimes with awe.

In those moments, I feel what I call wild grace—
God’s presence through the living, breathing world
just outside my window.

This grace isn’t tidy.
It startles.
It howls.
It doesn’t always make sense.

But it’s real.
And it fills my poems—especially this one:

---

Shadowed Movement

Shadowed movement
catches my peripheral,
brown against green.

I turn to see
deer, normally bold,
ducking into trees.

I still,
checking for predators.
The bushes rustle,
stop.

I am chilled
when the howls of the hunt
ring my yard as the sun
dips and the sky darkens.

It’s not so quiet living
outside the city limits,
but I do appreciate the chuckling
of the owl when the coyotes leave.

---

This is what I try to capture in To Speak—
not just quiet grace,
but wild grace.
The kind that shows up when we pause.
The kind that waits in the rustling leaves.

---

Call to Action

If you've felt that grace—the kind that humbles you in motion or stillness—To Speak may speak to you, too.
👉 Visit the Kickstarter here to read more poems and help bring the collection to life.

And if you're a writer, reader, or wanderer:
May you find wild grace in unexpected places this week.

—Tyrean

Why I Chose "To Speak" As My Poetry Book Title

 My book needed a title that fit its heartbeat.

I first loved “Once Upon a Garden, Green and Gold.”
That poem won an award.
It felt lush, peaceful, safe.

But as I sorted the manuscript, another thread appeared.

Poetry and Grace

Again and again, the poems whispered, “Stand. Speak. Act.”
They talked about courage, even in small rooms.
They named fear, then stepped past it.

I thought of my own journey.

It Takes Courage to Write

Sharing poems in class.
Publishing despite trembling hands.
Facing silence, doubt, rejection.
Each step required voice and bravery.

So I chose the poem “To Speak.”

Two words.
Simple.
Direct.
A challenge and an invitation.

The subtitle carries the rest:
Poems of Inspired Courage, Wild Grace, and Sacred Ordinary.

Gardens still bloom in those lines.
Grace still flows.
Ordinary moments still glow gold.

But the core is clear:
We speak because grace first spoke to us.
We create because courage keeps calling.

Thank you for joining that call.
May these poems help you speak, too.

Support To Speak With My Kickstarter Campaign

Join my Kickstarter Campaign today! If it's early yet, click "Notify Me On Launch" and if you're reading this when it's going, please browse the reward tier options.

Starlight Stanzas: SciFi Vision in 17 Syllables

 

Starlight Stanzas: SciFi Vision in 17 Syllables

Realm Makers Day 2 is in full warp drive. Between panels and meeting up with fellow authors, I’m signing books and swapping story ideas. The common thread? Wonder.

Poetry carries that wonder in the tightest capsule. One of my favorite forms is the 17-syllable haiku—perfect for glimpses of cosmic awe. A fresh piece from To Speak:

Solar sails bloom wide
catching hymn-bright stellar winds—
voyager rise up.

Seventeen syllables, yet entire galaxies unfold. That’s why speculative fiction lovers keep flipping my poetry sample cards here at the booth. We crave the quick gasp of mystery.

If you’re at the conference, swing by and snag a free “Starlight Haiku” postcard. If you’re elsewhere on Earth (or Mars), join the mission online:

➡️ Kickstarter link | 🚀 #SciFiPoetry #HaikuOfTheStars #ToSpeak