New Year Greetings

It’s January 1, 2022, and once again I hesitated to put the word “Happy” in the title of this blog post. For many people, 2021—similar to 2020—was not a happy year. Once again, many experienced a year filled with grief due to the loss of loved ones or the loss of a job. If that was your 2021, please accept my hugs and my prayers. I acknowledge your sadness as I have felt it as well for those I know.

For me, 2021 provided important and good gifts. It gave my husband and me relief from a huge burden. We also gained new insight on ourselves which enriched our relationship. I continue to grow in wisdom, and as an imperfect Christ follower, I grew a bit closer to Him this past year, which blessed me in many ways.

Continue reading “Happy New Year 2022”

Memories of a Microfiction Story

First, a very Merry Christmas season to those of you who celebrate it.

Aahh, Facebook and it’s Memories feature, reminding me of things I had forgotten about.

Today, I read the memory of a post I wrote this time last year, and the memory put a warm smile on my face.

Last year, I had entered a microfiction story contest sponsored by a group in Scribophile, my writers community, and I won. The story’s format was new for me and presented a fun challenge. Plus, the Word Count Maximum of 150 words meant I had to include a solid beginning, middle, and interesting ending in only a few words. What was the format for the story? I had to write a five-star travel review with a Christmas theme. Something similar to what we’d read either on Yelp or on Trip Advisor.

Below is the link to my blog post with my contest winning story, plus some thoughts I shared about the writing process. Enjoy!

Bethlehem Manger: Five-Star Review

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Your Turn

Feel free to write a Comment below. I know there are many social media platforms where we can connect. However, I’d enjoy creating a small community right here, on my website. Let’s chat!

Note: When you write a comment, I’ll respond. To view my response, make sure you get notified via email by selecting the checkbox for “Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment.”

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Thanks for reading. I appreciate you!

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Featured image: Advent candles by geralt on Pixabay.com

And, Thanksgiving Gratitude

Autumn all across northern Arizona is… gorgeous! It’s not the east coast of the United States nor is it comparable to Colorado’s extensive color in the Rocky Mountains. However, our pockets of forests and riparian areas hold their own with fall colors.

Our photo-safari day trip to Red Rock State Park in Sedona a few weekends ago did not disappoint. We saw the best fall colors in several years!

As the seasons here change from summer to fall, followed by winter’s quick approach in a few months (with snow!!), some of my creative plans are also changing.

What’s going on?

Continue reading “Update – 5 November 2021: Changes | JeniseCook.com”

June Blooms

Summer’s brutal heat here in north-central Arizona, plus thick smoke from nearby wildfires, has held us captive inside for several weeks. I’ve used the time to complete more “honey do’s”, and I’m still waiting to hear from online literary journals (who pay authors) for two of my short stories.

What do I chat about in this blog post?

• • My first anthology book project
  • Links to my newest works published in literary journals
  • My thoughts on third-party platforms
  • Hints about future plans/projects

Continue reading “Update – 29 June 2021: New Published Works, a Book Project, Third-party Platforms, and Creative Plans | JeniseCook.com”

A Few May Flowers – May 2021 News

I’m taking care of multiple projects off-line, in real life. As a result, I don’t have much news to share nor have I uploaded many new stories or verses. I’ll get back to writing more soon.

For two of my flash fiction stories submitted to paying literary journals, I’m still waiting to hear back from the editors. (I’ve received a few rejections as well.) Their time frame is about six months after the submission date. Sigh.

Continue reading “Update – May 31, 2021 | JeniseCook.com”

Spotlight on Writers

The Editorial Team (thank you, Rebecca and Dagmara) of Spillwords Press interviewed me via email for the literary journal’s “Spotlight on Writers” feature. I’m thrilled as this journal has been very kind to me by providing a home for several of my short works. And, they’re very committed to promoting us all on social media.

Please Vote

You, dear reader, can help me out.

1. 1. Select the link below to go to the interview.
   2. Then, click on the tiny red heart to cast your vote.

Spotlight on Writers – Spillwords Press – 22 May 2021

Note: As of 4 June 2021, I received 46 hearts/votes. Thank you! :-)

Continue reading “I’m Interviewed by Spillwords Press”

No April Showers, Yet – April 2021 News

No rain, yet, but the warm weather has us eagerly going through our home To Do list to make tasks put on hold over winter “Tah-Done” this spring.

I do have creative news for April:

Continue reading “Update – April 29, 2021 | JeniseCook.com”

Notes from Jenise’s Journey

Subscribers received this Newsletter via email prior to its release to the public. Some topics were special updates for Subscribers only. Visit my Subscribe page to join Jenise Cook's Creative Journey.

Featured Image: Sedona, Arizona. Image by Jenise Cook
(C) Copyright 2015–Present, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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Welcome to my first occasional Newsletter for 2021! Yeah, I know, I know, it’s May 20th. But, I had promised you I wouldn’t send these out very often.

My Subscribers and Readers Helped Me Win!

In my previous Newsletter late last year, I asked my Subscribers, my Scribophile colleagues, and me readers/fans on Twitter and Facebook to vote for my tiny story “The Author’s New Sight” at the online journal Rejected Manuscripts (RIP).

View “The Author’s New Sight” on my Substack

Because of your votes, my story remained in the top-20 most popular works for all of 2020! The editor, Charlie Taylor, has included my story in the journal’s 2020 anthology, a book published and available for sale.

I’m tickled because it was a silly story about the main character’s fading eyesight, and a miraculous surgery. Now, it’ll live on in a book that may, or may not, earn some royalties.

Thank you to those who voted! 🙂

Okay, let’s get rolling with: Publishing News, Reader News, Photography News, and Creative | Maker News!

Continue reading “Newsletter Issue 2 – May 2021 | JeniseCook.com”

Update No. 2

USA Thanksgiving Greetings!

Dear Subscribers and Friends:

I’m happy to reveal a new gift for new subscribers! The week of Thanksgiving in the United States seemed like a good time to make this new gift available. It’s one small way I can express my gratitude for those who choose to join Jenise’s Journey.

What’s the new gift? It’s a new eBook. What’s in the new eBook?

Continue reading “Update – November 27, 2020 | JeniseCook.com”

Finalized: The Cover for My Haiku Anthology eBook

I created this cover using one of my autumn photos. You can download the photo for free:

Autumn Leaves on Pixabay.com

My writing community critiqued the cover, providing good feedback.

My husband Mark, a (retired) graphic designer/digital production artist, helped me with final “tweaks”.

Feedback on the final cover from folks on Twitter is very positive.

What’s Next?

Update 20 December 2022 – Life happens, but we all move forward. I will self publish my chapbook, Changing of the Seasons, in 2023.

First, I’m offering the PDF version of the anthology as a free gift to new Subscribers to my Newsletter. Next, I’ll purchase the ISBNs to publish the eBook version in ePub and .mobi formats, first. I’m also studying to set up my online store on my domain. I hope to offer a nice paperback version in the future.

It may take awhile to get all this done, as I’m using “extra” (non-household) funds to support my creative endeavors. It’s a fun journey, and I’m patient.

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Are you on Jenise Cook’s Creative Journey as a Subscriber? If not, come on board!

Visit my Subscribe page.

Visit my Tip Jar page.

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Image Credit: Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay.com

Good-bye Medium

For readers who followed me on Medium since April 2019, I left the platform and moved my works to my website.

On 31 August 2020, I left Medium after they changed their Terms of Service (ToS), which was the second and final “blow” after they changed their payment algorithms to contributors in autumn 2019.

It was fun connecting so intimately with readers, and earning a small yet growing monthly sum until fall 2019. Platforms come and go, and it was time for me to focus on my own platform here.

My 50-Word Stories

My 50-word tiny stories, previously self published on Medium, now live on my website with the “story behind each story”.

Select the image to read them.

 

My Haiku and Tanka Verses

My haiku and tanka verses that I had also published to Medium are now available on my website.

Select the image to read them.

What’s Next?

Update 20 December 2022 – You can visit me on my Substack publication, and subscribe for free! Visit: Jenise Cook’s Creative Journey

I’m planning to self publish an anthology of 50-word stories, and another of my haiku verses. Visit my Subscribe page to join me on this journey, and receive news and updates.

As a reader, you still have the feature for writing Comments on each work, and I hope you do! Let’s start creative conversations.

You can visit Publications for all links to all of my works.

Thank you for reading!

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In-between Newsletters Update

Dear Friends/Subscribers:

Thank you for subscribing to my site and my newsletter this past year. I appreciate your support and encouragement. Let me “cut to the chase”. I published my first (and only, as of today) Newsletter on June 1, 2019. I’m laughing as I type out that date. A year and three days later, I’m communicating to my early subscribers, and welcoming my newest subscribers.

Continue reading “Update – June 4, 2020 | JeniseCook.com”

Hello, Dear Friends and Encouragers:

Welcome to my first Newsletter for JeniseCook.com!

Eventually, I will learn my MailChimp* program, and you’ll read “fancy-schmancy” newsletters with color, graphics, photo images, and all sorts of goodies. I’ve been quiet but I’ve been busy, so I figured the start of a new month is a good time to bring you current on my creative activities.

*Note: In August, I switched to MailerLite.

Update: MailerLite was acquired and I stopped using the service. For now, you may follow me on Substack… jenisecook.substack.com.
Continue reading “Newsletter Issue 1 – June 1, 2019 | JeniseCook.com”