Sample my poetry today as we sail through this month of posting every day for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I offer the chance to read it or listen to it—your choice or do both! Savor the different formats.
From my award winning book, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, book #1 in my five-book poetry series.
Playing With Words
December 8, 1995
Catch a word
and drag it by the leg—
hold on tight.
Don’t let go!
Hold on!
Don’t let it bite you—
you might die from its
poisonous bite or
worse—
YOU MIGHT WANT TO WRITE MORE!
After reading this, how about listening to me read this poem? Do you like to listen to books, to readings? I do! I recorded several of my poems April 2025 for National Poetry month. Here’s this one: https://youtu.be/AK-hQuXANrw
A Laundromat
Spokane, Washington
June 18, 1998
Ingenuity of children
Big Brother sees it as a race car.
Mom sees it as a laundry basket on wheels.
Little brother takes advantage of
big brother’s imagination.
Down one aisle
Down another
Little brother’s eyes glisten.
Smiles and giggles filled his face.
For a moment, it was a race car—
they raced
and won,
but mom interrupted the fun!
"Boys, stop that!"
Surprised—yes, I was! Usually I record every contest I’ve entered in a database I’ve kept for years, but two slipped past me. I won two awards this week with my poetry book, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry.
First Award
Last Year’s Award
Last year I entered both Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry and Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming and Humorous Christmas Memoir in the Global Book Awards. Both received awards: Was It a Dream? Received a Gold award and Hair on Fire received a Silver.
This Year’s Award
This year, I labored over submitting a book. I didn’t release my new book, Time Measured Out!, book two in the Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry series in time for the Global Book Awards. And I forgot I had submitted Was It a Dream? I, so when I got the email on December 31, I was shocked. Now remember, this has been an insane year for me with the move to Panama and still being on gabapentin for the dog attack. I can portray a semblance of normalcy, but in reality, I’m not all together.
Second Award
Then it happened again! On January 1, 2026, I received an email from BooksShelf stating, “We are beyond excited to congratulate you on achieving 1st Place in our BooksShelf Writing contest! Your book “Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry” rose to the very top among so many outstanding entries, and this recognition is a true reflection of your talent and dedication.”
Each Provided Promotional Material
BooksShelf Promotional Material
Spot on our site – permanent
Full advertisement pack (6 months):
-Home page
– Author Interview
– Top Spots
– Newsletter
Other Benefits:
Included in the Winners’ Newsletter
Social media posts – (scheduled for the 1st week of January)
Mockup for 1st place + Author Mockup – See above
Book Review
“Was It a Dream? is the kind of book that reminds you why poetry still matters. Larada Horner-Miller writes with a clear, lived-in voice that feels personal, pulling you into moments that are vivid, honest, and unexpectedly relatable. The language is easy to sink into, but the emotional impact lands with real force.
What really stands out is how strongly the collection uses images and sensory detail to anchor big feelings. Nature, memory, love, grief, and self-discovery all show up in a way that feels authentic rather than performed, and the poems invite reflection without lecturing you. There’s a steady sense of movement throughout, like you’re traveling alongside the author through different seasons of life, gathering meaning as you go.
For readers who enjoy poetry that feels human, direct, and full of heart, this is a rewarding collection. It’s the work of a writer who pays attention, tells the truth, and knows how to translate lived experience into lines that connect.”
Offered 50% off of a book promotions at www.bookextreme.com which I took advantage of today.
Another offer was to get book reviews at Kbookreviews with a 10% discount, but I decided not to do this.
Last year, they provided more material and support, but it came later, so I look forward to what’s coming.
Finally,
Surprised, yes, but why do I enter book award contests? I guess for validation. Because I don’t sell a lot of books, the awards helps me feel like what I am doing is worthwhile. And the awards might help sell books!
My Time Measured Out! Launch snuck up on me. I have been trying to get this book published for months, and I realized this weekend I had to move on it. I have two different release dates for the e-book and the paperback, but it’s set. So this afternoon I set up my launch plan.
Why The Delay?
Because of our move to Panama, I have been working on finishing this book for months! My editor finished her work in the end of July—right when we had scheduled a three-day estate sale from July 25-27. So, I put it on the back burner. This book haunted me since then because I wanted to get it out before we moved to Panama, but I had too many demands on my time with the move.
Then when we arrived here, the demands increased: buy furniture and get set up in our new home. Quickly, I returned to United States for five weeks. Naively, I thought I could work on it when I was there, but I was busy, busy, busy!
So, here we are—mid-December and finally I have it ready. The launch goes into Christmas, so I wonder about that, but this would make a great stocking stuffer for those who love e-books!
My ARC Team
Remember back in September, I offered an “Advanced Copy” to my ARC (Advance Reader Copy) team. As a part of their agreement for receiving it free, I will remind them this week to go and leave a review for this book on Amazon and/or Goodreads which helps boost the way Amazon promotes a book.
Pre-Order E-book
Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry e-book has a release date: December 18! I decided to try a Pre-Order from Amazon. I’ve never done one before, and I’ve wondered about it, so I decided to try it. If you choose to pre-order my e-book, you need to know the price is $4.99. If you pre-order the paperback, it’s $15. Just wanted to be upfront with you.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR MY BLOG READERS: If you pre-order this book which is book #2 in the five-book poetry series, I will email you a FREE e-book copy of book #1, Was It A Dream? Just email me at larada@laradasbooks.comwith your receipt when you receive my new book! Two books for the price of one! What a deal!
Paperback Release
It will be released December 21 because I delayed the finishing step because Amazon has a focus time for new books: 30 days after publication, so I wanted to be wise about that. I plan to continue promoting this book through mid-January!
My Launch Plan
A couple days ago, I researched the sites I have used during the launch time of my last couple books, and because I had waited too long, many of the sites were sold out, so I had to delay the special prices. I put together a list of the sites I used to launch my first book in this five-book series that help get it to be #1 in three Amazon categories:
#1 – Contemporary Poetry
#1 – Poetry About Specific Places
#1 – Women’s Poetry
The list of promotional sites I used for this book launch I’ve used for the last couple books and it’s worked well for me.
It’s so strange to work so hard on a book then to give it away FREE for five days. The reasoning: the book ranks high in at least three categories, and you can claim that success!
On December 22 , I will have a Zoom Launch Party at 7:00 PM MST. Come and hear some of the poems read and get the inside scoop of what this five-book series is about.
A Free Copy?
FREE is appealing to lots of us! If you’re interested in a FREE copy of Time Measured Out!, it will be on the following book promotional sites and many others:
Would this be your first book of mine? Come on, and go to one of the sites listed above, download the book, read it and leave a review! That would be a great Christmas present to me!
Merry Christmas—Feliz Navidad—and be sure and download my new book!
Goals get us there! I’m facing the third quarter of the year and the sales of my books has plummeted because I’ve focused on moving and recovering from the dog attack.
I know the power of setting goals. When I was the computer coordinator for Washington middle school back when the internet was new and we as the staff pulled the cable throughout the building to get connected, the computer committee had our beginning meeting of the year.
I said, “Let’s brainstorm what we want for our school. The rules for brainstorming apply: anything goes.”
So my futuristic committee listed things completely out of our budget. I watched amazed—yes, I caught the fever and threw my two cents in too!
After the meeting, I formulated the ideas and presented them to the principal. Then she and I presented them to our legislator (who just happened to have been the principal at Washington middle school before he got into politics).
Outlandish goals, futuristic goals, realistic goals? We received funds from the state for everything on our list! That lesson has stayed with me for decades. I’ve often said, “Goals pull us along. Goals get us there!”
So, as I face the third quarter of the year, September is the lead and planning phase as I move into October, November & December,
So, the goals I established today appear too ambitious, too much, outlandish, but I’m going to sure them anyway.
1st Goal: Work on my second poetry book in a series of five and published it
Just today, I got the final draft back from my editor, so now I have to read through it for corrections. She said there weren’t many. Then I import it into the publishing program I use, Vellum. Next, I need to email readers on my email list to be on my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy ) Team to read it, write a blurb I enter in the print of my book and write a review in exchange for a free .pdf copy of the book. I have the description in the works. After the book is laid out, I can get the cover down because they need the page count to correct an accurate cover. I’ve used 100 Covers .
Hopefully, I will launch this book late October, early November. I will let you know! If you want to be a part of the ARC team for this new book, email me at larada@laradasbooks.com and I will send you a copy of the new book.
2nd Goal: Revise my autofiction book on being an incest survivor and healing
Because of all the flurry around the Epstein files, I talked to my therapist about being an “Advocate for Survivors.” In the midst of this conversation, as an incest survivor, I remembered I had written a book about this, almost ten years ago. Who cares? I have it!
In 2016 I joined NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to commit to writing about 1600 words a day, ending up with 50,000 at the end of the month. The results of the presidential election that year really spurred me on—I was devastated by the results.
Because of that dedicated, concentrated time, I wrote a 50,000+ autofiction. So, what is an autofiction?
Jane Friedman, a leader in the publishing industry says: “Short for autobiographical fiction, autofiction uses elements of autobiography and fiction to examine decisive aspects of the writer’s life. The writer then melds these realities with fictional plot elements, characters and events in a way that often reads like memoir or autobiography. With the lines of fact and fabrication blurred, readers are engaged in wondering what’s real, what isn’t, and how they can figure out which is which.”
Because of this, when I finish book #2 of the poetry series, Time Measured Out, I will focus on revising the autofiction and get it to my editor who has already heard about it. Then I will return to my poetry series.
3rd Goal: Continue with the Click Ad program for my Christmas book
In April 2024, I bought Steve Pieper’s Click Ad program to create profitable ads on Facebook doing click testing and had worked my way through most of the lessons, ready to promote my Christmas book. I bought it because my book coach did a webinar with Steve. Also, his reviews and results blew me away!
Christmas is coming, so this would be a great time to go back to whatever lesson I’m on and finish it. I may have to redo a couple of the ad copy. I’m excited because many authors have had good results with Steve’s program.
4th Goal: Energize my back-list sales
I have nine books (soon ten), three cookbooks and three audiobooks just sitting there for ready to buy, but I have to have a plan to promote them. I have multiple competitors in each area, so I have to work at this.
Here’s my action plan to be implemented in September and beyond:
BOOK TITLE
PROMOTION
DATE
RESULTS
This Tumbleweed Landed
October
When Will Papa Get Home?
October
Let Me Tell You a Story
October
Is My True Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey
October
A Time to Grow Up: A Daughter’s Grief Memoir
November
Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?
November
Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo
November
Is My True Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey
November
Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir
December
Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry
December
Is My True Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey
December
We will see how the plan goes. You can see it’s real sketchy now!
5th Goal: Do an audiobook for my 1st book in my poetry series
I love recording audiobooks—reading my own words out loud is magical. So when I finished Was It a Dream? and published it, the recovery from the dog attack consumed me. I couldn’t stand up at the mic in my make-shift recording studio (my walk-in closet) that long—too physically taxing. Also, I was on heavy pain medication and publishing an audiobook has many intricate steps. I have used Derek Doepker’s program, Audiobooks Made Easy. This program spells out exactly what you have to do and Derek is great support if you have any problems.
As I sit here and lay out this plan, I step back! In the midst of all this, I have a move to Boquete, Panama and am starting a new life there, so I’m writing these goals out to remind myself—I am an author no matter where I live. I have the last quarter of 2025 to get my book sales going.
Also, because of the recovery of the dog attack, I lost a year of promoting my books, so I am way behind!
Will I accomplish all these goals?
Maybe yes, maybe no, but seeing them in black and white make them concrete! Easily, I can carry any no fulfilled to first quarter of 2026 and add to the list.
All this talk of promotion made me think, “Have you bought one, two or all of my books?” Let’s start here with promoting them. Go to my Author’s Page on Amazon where you can get them all!
Keep scrolling and you can see links to my audiobooks. I only sell my cookbooks directly until August 30 through my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft.
