Category: Writing

2024 Ended with Two Book Awards & An Explosion in Blog Views!
Awards · Blogs · My Books · My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry

2024 Ended with Two Book Awards & An Explosion in Blog Views!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
2024

2024 ended with two book awards and an explosion in my blog views and visitors! What a great way to end this year! Let’s look at which of my books won the awards and how my blog increased this year!

Two Awards

2024 ended with two awards, but I had a book, Hair on Fire, won other honors earlier in the year, also.

Global Book Awards

Global Book Awards - Gold - 2024

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Life

This book won Gold in the Global Book Awards in the Poetry – Verse category. Where life’s moments unfold in verse. Begin your poetic journey with my first book in the Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry series, where I  transform personal moments into universal touchstones.

Experience poems that:

  • Guide you through life’s peaks and valleys
  • Transform grief into healing
  • Celebrate nature’s quiet wisdom
  • Capture family bonds and cherished memories
  • Light the path from heartache to hope

This collection offers:

  • Intimate reflections on life’s transitions
  • Gentle humor amidst life’s challenges
  • Moments of discovery and wonder
  • Meditations on love and loss
  • The promise of renewal

Perfect for:

  • Poetry lovers
  • Those seeking comfort in life’s transitions
  • Readers who appreciate personal reflection
  • Anyone navigating their own life journey
  • Those who find solace in shared experiences
Global Book Awards - Silver - 2024

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

This book won Silver in the Global Book Awards in the Christmas Books category. Where Christmas chaos meets cherished memories! Unwrap a delightful blend of poetry and prose that captures the magic, mayhem, and mirth of holiday celebrations.

Experience Christmas through stories that will:

  • Make you laugh at familiar family mishaps
  • Warm your heart with tender moments
  • Remind you of your own holiday adventures
  • Bring back memories of Christmas past

This unique memoir combines:

  • Heartwarming family stories
  • Festive poetry that captures holiday spirit
  • Real-life Christmas chaos everyone can relate to
  • Moments that transform holiday disasters into precious memories

Perfect for:

  • Holiday reading by the fireplace
  • Anyone who needs a good laugh
  • Christmas enthusiasts
  • Readers who love both poetry and prose
  • Those who know that imperfect holidays make the best stories

Hair on Fire also received other recognitions this year:

  • 1st Place – March, 2024 Nonfiction Book Cover Contest on AllAuthors.com
  • Finalist – 2024 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards in Two Categories of Parenting & Family and Philosophy/Religion.

Gigantic Shift in Blog Views

Thanks to all who have viewed my blog posts this year. I appreciate your support!

2024 increased unbelievably in views and visitors of my blog posts. And I think I know why! Last year, I promoted my book, Hair on Fire, in Asia. I didn’t sell a lot of books there, but I did see some increase in 2023. I wondered at that increase, but this year I witness an explosion as shared below.

My evidence came from the views and visitors this year. In August, I had 10765 views and 8748 visitors—my best month all year. The post, A Dream About George Strait or Not? – My New Poetry Book!, caused this gigantic serge this month with 4660 views. Also I had three other posts that had excessive views: Mental Health Amplified by Simone Biles & Update on Me (1626), Hot August Nights: Collaboration at Its Best ( 1443) and Poetic Topics? Take a Photo of Life in Words! (1079). As you can see, I write about a variety of topics.

The top views in 2024 came from Bangladesh (28,300 for the year) and India (18,500 for the year). Painfully, views from the United States (5976) lagged horribly behind, yet came in third.

Take a look at the growth over the last five years! I dipped in 2021 but grew in 2022. Then my views grew sizably in 2023, but 2024 zoomed off the map. It’s amazing for sure!

Comparison Chart of 5 years of views and visitors in 2024

Finally,

I feel honored to have received gold and silver—two awards in the Global Book Awards for two of my books. What a great way to end the year! I love both books, but both are so different—a Christmas memoir and a poetry book!

Then as I watched the views increased and go crazy, my blog became a major focus for me.

But I have a couple statements for visitors on my blog: like my posts when you visit, make comments on each blog post you read, and buy my books, my e-books, my audiobooks!

Hair on Fire

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry e-book on sale for $.99

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook cover

Let Me Tell You a Story 

Let Me Tell You a Story audiobook cover

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

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2024 Writing Intensive Workshop & Church: Best of Both Worlds
Christianity · My Thoughts · Writing

2024 Writing Intensive Workshop & Church: Best of Both Worlds

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Readers enjoying writing-2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

My church started at 10:00 AM this morning, and the 2024 Writing Intensive Workshop started again today at 11:00 AM, so I had the best of both worlds today. I could attend both!

My Church, Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church

I had choices this morning. Natalie Goldberg’s writing workshop offered Zazen (sitting meditation) at 10:00 AM which I love, but today is the second Sunday in Advent. Each week, I look forward to the music of Advent and the Scripture reading and hated to miss it this morning. I did the sitting meditation for most of the days this week, so I decided to attend church on Facebook Livestream. I wasn’t disappointed either but had to leave before the end which I don’t do regularly.

I’ve been attending church on Facebook Livestream almost every Sunday since the dog attack—five months today. I’m so thankful they offer online church!

2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

Natalie Goldberg’s Winter Writing Workshop began on Wednesday, December 4 and lasted five days. Surprised, I thought it was four days—so glad it was five. I’ve done several of her online retreats and trainings, in-personal book signings and presentations in Albuquerque. I’ve been a fan since 1992 when I bought her book.

I loved her focus for this workshop:

  • Writing practice—She introduced writing practice to the writing world in her book, Writing Done The Bones in 1991. This is a timed writing with a pre-determined topic with specific guidelines:
    • Kept writing no matter what
    • No editing—just write
    • Freed to write the worst junk
    • No crossing out
    • And more
  • Great literature—Natalie strongly believes and repeated often over the five days, “Reading books are your teachers.”

Schedule for 2024 Writing Intensive Workshop

Each day we followed the same schedule and all sessions are optional. Prajna Studio provide videos of Natalie’s teaching sessions to those in attendance.

  • 10:00 – 10:30 AM – Zazen (sitting meditation)
  • 11:00 – 2:00 PM – Class with Natalie. Teaching, writing, and sitting meditation. They provided a 15-minute break.
  • 4:00: – 5:00 PM – Writing, Reading, and Listening with Dorotea Mendoza, Natalie’s assistant. Writing as one big group; reading and listening in small groups of four or five.
  • 7:00 – 7:30 PM – Zazen (sitting meditation)

Natalie’s Rich Literary Focus This Workshop

Each Day Natalie focused on rich literature from a variety of cultures, then we did writing practice in response to topics she selected from each book. Here’s some highlights:

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

We started with a book of Annie Ernaux’s who won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, but I didn’t get the title of the book Natalie read. Sorry about that!

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Natalie read to us from Dinaw Mengestu’s book, How to Read the Air. In a previous class with Natalie in 2021 we read Dinaw Mengestu’s book, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, and she asked us if we remembered reading that book before. I certainly did. Dinaw is an Ethiopian American novelist. Natalie features authors who have detailed rich prose.

Friday, December 6 2024

Natalie surprised us with guest writer, Jamie Figueroa. Jamie studied with Natalie and has used writing practice as the foundation for her own writing and her teaching of fiction and nonfiction at the Institute of American Indian Arts. We had a delightful time hearing Natalie read sections of Jamie’s new book, Mother Island: A Daughter Claims Puerto Rico. Jamie shared intimate details about her writing of this book. What an up-close and personal time this was!

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Natalie asked Dorotea, her assistant, to share her favorite author and not why he’s her favorite, but what is it about him that captured you? Dorotea’s shared her deep love and connection with Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Her choice excited me because I had studied him in my upper-level Spanish literature classes for my degree. What a tribute Dorotea paid this man, knowing more about him than I know about any of favorite authors. Dorotea first read his, The Story of a Ship Wrecked Sailor, and then went on to read all she could of Marquez’s work. A couple title she referenced: Love in a Time of Cholera and 100 Years of Solitude. I learned about the importance of translators of foreign authors.

Marquez pioneered a genre I love, magical realism, which I used in my poem, Coba—I Was There!

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Natalie began the day with Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez. His quote she emphasized was “There are things so deeply personal that they can be revealed only to strangers.”  Natalie ended our time together with reading from her legacy book, The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life and Language. I have that book and have pulled it out to re-read it—so rich!

Finally,

Today I attended church and celebrated Advent which fed my spirit. All week I participated in an amazing writing workshop that once again fed my writer’s soul, immersed me in compelling literature, writing practice that stretched me and the opportunity to listen to others reading their writing.

Natalie read and referenced many other authors and works too many to identify. I identified those that spoke to me!

Christmas Specials for You, My Readers!

Autographed books, e-books and audiobooks! Something for everyone!

50% sale on most of my books at my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft. Get an autographed copy as a special Christmas gift

TOMORROW – Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir – E-book – FREE

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous ChristmasMemoir audiobook on sale for $3.50

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry on sale for $.99

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey – FREE

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook on sale for $3.00

  • BnN Audio
  • Chirp
  • Spotify
  • Apple

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An Emotional Trigger: Do You Have Any Idea!
Book Promotion · My Thoughts · Spirituality

An Emotional Trigger: Do You Have Any Idea!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Emotional redhead - emotional trigger

As an incest/rape survivor, the results of this last election have devastated me. After the unforgettable loss in 2016, this tragic loss has triggered me again emotionally with profound consequences.

NOTICE:

If you’re a Trump supporter, you probably don’t want to read any further and you may want to unsubscribe from my blog posts. The world has changed!

An Emotional Trigger Definition

“. . . a trigger is an instance when you become physically and/or emotionally reactive to something that relates to the trauma you have experienced. These symptoms and feelings are part of your brain’s natural response to unsafe experiences from the past.”

Common Symptoms: Triggers

2016 – An Emotional Trigger Big Time!

In 2016 thinking Hillary Clinton would win, I sat in shock when her defeat was announced. I sat up until after 2:00 AM before she conceded. Lin went to bed earlier but came down stairs and asked who won, honestly thinking she had won.

When I announced who won, it shocked him even though he supported the other candidate. He said I looked like someone had beat me up. And that’s how I felt.

Why did I respond so deeply? He’s a perpetrator, plain and simple. On October 7, 2016, just a month before the election, this was revealed:

“In a video from 2005 published by The Washington Post on Friday, Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump can be heard making lewd comments about women to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush.”

https://www.etonline.com/news/199902_donald_trump_and_billy_bush_discuss_nancy_o_dell_2005_recording

He became an emotional trigger for me with this disclosure, but I really felt this horrible information would crater his chance of being elected. It didn’t. My reaction continued through his four year presidency.

2020 – I Wasn’t Prepared for the Emotional Trigger

Thankfully, Joe Biden defeated him! I sighed with relief, but then sat glued to the TV screen on January 6, 2021 when he led a violate insurrection of our capitol. Again, I dealt with an emotional trigger with him and had to listen to him whine about his lost election which he never accepted. He just kept emotions stirred up for years!

2024 – A Deep Emotional Trigger

So, here we are! For many years of my life, I wondered what was wrong with me. I made three bad choices of husbands. During my active drinking days, I never understood my promiscuous behavior because I wasn’t raised that way.

In 1988, recovery saved my life. Since then, I have done a massive amount of therapy and recover for the incest and rape I experienced at the hand of two family members as a young girl. In 1993, I went to sexual trauma treatment in Los Lunas, New Mexico. I had focused on one perpetrator when I went into CoDA (Codependence Anonymous) treatment in 1988. In Los Lunas, I focused on the second one. Now I understand my behavior and know my limits and emotional triggers.

So, the Republican candidates for president and vice president emotionally trigger me deeply with their misogynist comments and posturing. Couple that with the horrendous attacks on women’s rights, and it’s too much.

Therefore, that’s why I can’t stay here!

I’ll end with a haiku I wrote this last week. The first two lines came from my sand play therapy many years.

I’m Marilyn Monroe.

I’m a Samurai warrior.

Don’t f**k with me now!

Finally,

I had to be vulnerable today because one of my great-nieces shared deeply her concerns on social media last week, and I told her I was sharing my story in my blog post. My power today as a woman is my story and telling it. One of my perpetrators tried to silence me many years ago—no more!

If you relate to my story at all, let me know. If you need help, get in touch with the resources listed below or email me at larada@icloud.com and we can talk.

RESOURCES FOR SEXUAL TRAUMA

EXCITING NEWS:

I’m so excited and relieved. I wanted to release this book in August but the dog attack delayed it! Just this week, I released my ninth book, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry.  It’s available as a paperback or an e-book on Amazon.

LOTS AND LOTS OF SALES COMING YOUR WAY, SO BE SURE AND OPEN ANY EMAILS FROM ME!

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National Cliché Day: What’s That?
My Thoughts · Writing

National Cliché Day: What’s That?

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Scramble Blocks - Cliché

I grew up with parents who loved a familiar cliché. I bet you’ve heard one today from someone in your family or a football announcer. What is a cliché and why are authors warned against them?

Definition of Cliché

“A cliché is a tired, stale phrase or idiom that, because of overuse, has lost its impact.”

https://prowritingaid.com/cliche

Writers who use cliches are accused of having a lack of original thought, and I have been warned against them vehemently!

Think About Things Differently - Cliché

Nevertheless, We hear cliches every day because they’re rooted in our culture. Here’s some you might recognize.

Familiar Cliches

  • read between the lines
  • play your cards right
  • it’s an uphill battle
  • better safe than sorry
  • you can’t judge a book by its cover
  • bring to the table
  • low-hanging fruit
  • the grass is always greener on the other side
  • ignorance is bliss

https://prowritingaid.com/list-of-cliches

I avoid cliches in my writing because of stark warning against them, but in my research today, I found this.

Three Times Authors Can Use Cliches

1. To sync with a readership. Clichés of idiomatic phrases and slang words can work for specific audiences. If you’re writing for a baby boomer audience, the cliché “back in the day” would make sense. By contrast, millennial readers would be familiar with the cliché “the struggle is real.”

2. To simplify. Clichés can be used to explain beginning level concepts. For example, a how-to guide for expectant mothers might use the phrase “Remember, you’re eating for two!”

3. For characterization. Writers might have a character use clichés to demonstrate that they are not an original thinker.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-a-cliche-learn-when-to-use-cliches-in-writing-and-20-common-cliches-all-writers-should-avoid

My dad, an old cowboy, had many cliches he liked, but my favorite is “it’s raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock.” Obviously that’s a rancher’s cliché and not used in everyday language in the city! My mom had a couple cliches she repeated: a pinch to grow an inch and you’re cruisin’ for a bruisin.’

Finally,

If you’re still wondering what a cliche is, think outside the box, grab the bull by the horns, it goes without saying, there are plenty of more fish in the sea. At the end of the day, check your language. I’ve got my plate full with all my writing commitments, but today I realize, every cloud has a silver lining. And we’re quite a team—there’s no “I” in team. How many cliches did I just use? What’s your favorite cliché? How about your family? Does anyone have favorite cliches they use regularly? In reality, they’re just a part of our culture, so celebrate this national day. I just have to be careful in my writing and use them wisely!

Podcasts & My Interviews

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook cover

Let Me Tell You a Story 

Let Me Tell You a Story audiobook cover

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

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