My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry · Self-publishing

My Poetry Book #2: Not Even Titled Yet!

My poetry book #2 isn’t even titled yet! Book #1 is done! Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, book #1 in this series, came out in November and received a Gold medal at the Global Book Awards. And now it’s time to work on the next book in this four-book poetry series.

I had a title—I Dwell in Possibilities. I fashioned that poem after Emily Dickinson’s poem, I Dwell in Possibility. So my title would be I Dwell in Possibilities: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. There are several books that duplicate her poem’s title, but mine is a little different. What do you think?

I dwell in Possibility – (466)

By Emily Dickinson


I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52197/i-dwell-in-possibility-466

I Dwell in Possibilities!

July 26, 2002

I dwell in possibilities. . .

It's a rich life
full to the brim.
I face it in every question
that comes.
I move from abundance.
I have all I need.
I have all I want.
What a sweet refuge!

Life can come and go,
but my worry is set at ease
because of my attitude.

No one can crash through my armor,
because I am safe and warm.

It's a life of plenty,
of abundance.
I have no worries left.

My God supplies it all!

©2002 Larada Horner

I wrote this poem twenty-three years ago, and today I realize there’s not a lot of similarity to Dickinson’s poem in structure. At the time I thought there was, but I love the idea of possibilities. That’s where I’ve lived my adult life—in possibilities!

To update you, I hope to release my poetry book #2 in the next few months before summer. Hopefully I plan to release the third book in the fall. Does that seem ambitious? Maybe, but I have the outline for a new memoir that’s crowding out this series, so I want to get it done, so I can focus on this new surprise book.

My Poetry Book #2 - not titled yet
  • A four-book poetry book series – Book 1 – Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry
  • A haiku poetry book series with the series title—Haikuing My Way through Life
  • I Said Yes: How to Write a Biography—based on what I learned in writing the Marshall Flippo biography
  • An Eye Witness to Life —a women’s fiction that I wrote during the November 2016 NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). So I wrote 51,796 words. The goal of this November writing month is 50,000 words. The Flippo biography caused this book to be put on the shelf!
  • And one more Tumbleweed book—more poems & stories about growing up in the Branson, Colorado area! There are so many!
  • My new memoir book—a surprise for my readers! It documents a new chapter in my life!

As you can see—at seventy-one years old, the creative juices still flow through my veins. Currently, I plan to focus on my poetry book #2. I still have to dictate some poems out of a couple journals. I have to decide where to divide book #2, #3 and #4, so there’s lots of work to do.

But tomorrow I focus on book #2 and its title!



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


Awards · Blogs · My Books · My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry

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

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!

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

Global Book Awards - Gold - 2024

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

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.

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

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!



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


My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry · Travel

Poetic Topics? Take a Photo of Life in Words!

Young man taking a picture - poetic

My poetic topics vary. I love thinking about a poem being a photo of a specific time in life in words! I see something; then the poem comes!

Last week, I received the revision of the conclusion for my new poetry book. Next, I create the interior of my book in the app, Vellum, and release it within the next month or so.

Here’s a sneak preview of Chapter 6 of that book —each poem is a poetic photo shot of a specific time I wanted to capture.

1998

During the summer of 1998, my ex-husband and I traveled to Canada and the northwestern part of the United States. I played with poems, vignettes, trying to capture what I saw even if those moments were not mine but strangers!


June 1998

Mountains capped with glaciers

Turquoise blue water

      Rivers and lakes

Rock flows make them milky green.

Tall, skinny trees

      Firs and pines

German heritage

Campgrounds

      Showers

“Does the show take a loonie?”

New phrases

      Kilometers versus miles

Canadian money

      Funny money

      Exchange

Rain

Search for wildlife

      Moose clumping in the river bed

      Big brown bear besides the road

            In the rain

            Turning over rocks gingerly

                  Looking for ants

                        Brown ears and eyes

                              Turned around

                              Eating grass

River winding

Clouds hanging low on the mountains

      Like cotton candy

Vibrant green grass

      A color so different from the Southwest

      Trees

Excessive water

Maps

      Places to go

      Places we went

Sleepy mornings

      Nightly rituals

Cool, not cold

Heater kicks on—

      Thermostat

Miles passed by;

      Days did, too!

Words in silence shared.

      Laughter, too.

Safety created

      Words spill out on the page          

            Of days spent,

            Of being.

Relaxation can help.

      I don’t have to create it.

It settles in like a snug blanket.

It’s a good book, a nap, silence enjoyed,

      Word shared!

A deep side of relief

      Of faith and God’s goodness and myself.


Coeur D’Alene, Idaho

June 18, 1998

Lights on the shore

      Blue magic reflects the lights

Quiet except for a motor

Ripples in the blue velvet

      Cool breeze wraps around me.


Spokane, Washington

June 18, 1998

Ingenuity of children

Big Brother sees it as a race car

Laundromat Cart - poetic

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,

      Smile 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!”


Spokane, Washington

June 18, 1998

We finished a squared dance,

      And she came rushing,

            Excited,

            Glad to see my ex,

But his reception was stilted.

For one embarrassing moment,

The triangle that we were smothered

      me and her.

Finally, she squeaked out,

      “I just wanted to say hello.”

But the moment was rich with electricity

      And my heart was strangled.


Spokane, Washington

June 18, 1998

He easily walked across the street,

      A few steps in front of her.

It was a gentle motion,

      Not premeditated

            But natural.

He turned and held out his hand

      And she happily took it.

He wanted to touch her, fill her near;

      She wanted that, too!


Spokane, Washington

June 18, 1998

Timid, unlearned steps in the sand.

Dad, close at hand—

      Not too close,

            But close enough.

He was adorned with a baseball cap

      And pants

            But no shoes.

The feel of sand between his toes

      for the first time.

He wobbled and wove but kept going.

Mom videotaped the whole event—

      A chapter in his young life.

Larada Horner-Miller, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, (Horner Publishing Company, 2024): pp. 85-99.


In my poetry, I celebrate a poetic photograph of words to capture a moment, an event, a happening. The poetic side of me comes rushing out! I grab a notebook, a sheet of paper, a napkin, whatever! What do you think? Can you see it? Feel it? That’s the whole purpose of poetry!

I had a busy week with my semi-annual teeth cleaning on Tuesday, my Wound Clinic appointment on Wednesday, and an endoscopy on Thursday that had been scheduled two months ago.

I have an appointment tomorrow with the Wound Clinic. Last week when I went to the Wound Clinic, the nurse specialist sent me to Urgent Care for a CT-Scan, because I couldn’t move my toes and foot in a smaller bandage. After a dismal Urgent Care disaster, I didn’t get the scan.

Gradually, I have gotten movement back in my toes, but the foot is still numb and clumsy, so no driving for me. Lin changed the bandage yesterday. I’m anxious to talk to the nurse specialist tomorrow and see where we are headed.


Podcasts & My Interviews

Audiobooks Sale – Last Week – August 15 – 31 – 25% Off:


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


My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry · square dance

Meet Larada: Another Poem of Mine!

National Poetry Month - Meet

“Meet Larada” I wrote in a workshop with Natalie Goldberg in 2002. I’m rummaging through old notebooks and journals for poetry for my new poetry book, and I found this one.

Larada in Spain - Meet
Larada enjoying lunch in Spain

I am turquoise, red, hot pink

And purple, a kaleidoscope

Of color rearranging

Changing as the parts of

Me fall into place.

The turquoise reflects the

Peace and calm deep within me

Like the waters of the Mexican Caribbean.

The red in me ignites into a flame—

Passionate and energetic

but hot to touch.

The hot pink cries out

Notice me, I’m present—

You can’t ignore me

Anymore.

The purple states my power

That place inside me that has

Matured to womanhood

But still holds a girlish twinkle.

A waltz,

A jitterbug, a Swing Dance,

The Latin rhythm of rumba,

Or Bolero.

The depth of me express itself

            In dance,

The spiritual connection to

            The music,

The beat,

The magic and the sway!

Larada - Meet

The me totally revealed on

The dance floor,

Vulnerable,

Bare,

Connected to my partner

            And me

And the song.


I love this poem because it shows the many sides of me, a multi-faceted personality. If you know anything about me, you know that dancing has been a major part of my life and I capture my passion here. Meet me in all the stanzas and their descriptions.

This is a short post this week because I’m exhausted—we danced all weekend at a festival here in Albuquerque and I’m tired with a smile on my face. Lots of laughter, saw old friends and made new ones—the side-benefits of dancing!

Who are you? Have you ever thought of you as a color(s)? Your favorite activity? Hopefully in reading this you meet me in different ways. Also, take the time to describe yourself in a variety of ways.


Enjoy my interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

Hair on Fire audiobook cover - Meet

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir available in audiobook format at the following places:

~SHOP TODAY FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY! Shop at my Etsy Shop or my Shopify Store