Poetic Freedom by Frank Preston with Giveaway

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Poetry / African American / YA / NA

Date Published: (Planned) October, 30th, 2017

Publisher: Phenomenal One Press

Poetic Freedom.

A raw, gritty, urban poetic expression with an exploration of choices we have to make at the crossroads of life. The thoughts are honest, harsh, but hopeful. A perception of the media that feeds us, the spirituality that we cling to, the expectations of the society we are a part of, and how a young man fights to decipher, decide and climb the path not easily traveled, but most strengthened.

Purchase Links

Smashwords * Amazon * Nook * Kobo

~Excerpt from Poem THE TEST by Frank Preston

Pain and frustration the fuel for admiration
Admiring the world’s temptations till they become motivation
When the sensation of success is worn as a vest
They say he's blessed but that depends on the quest

About the Author

Frank 'ThatGuy' Preston, is an artist with a powerful voice. His journey as a comedian, author and motivator didn't come easily and has lead him to have give back to the community by coaching kids, co-creating new sports, and sharing his growth through comedic videos, in person performances, his art and writing. He challenges the minds of his readers to see life through a different scope. As a speaker he explains the difficulties of life as a minority in a world that doesn’t accept him, and how anyone who is mistreated for their differences can overcome them to grow to be great. Frank positions himself as many other artist, writers, and speakers of today, but stands apart in his ability to speak the truth with no bounds.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook Author Page

Twitter

Instagram

Giveaway

Poetic Freedom Themed Prize Pack

(T-shirt * other swag – signed book)

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Inside a Young Soul by Nicole A. Schmidt

Inside a Young Soul

A heart-warming, bold and truly relatable poem anthology and workbook for young girls to truly explore and celebrate their beautiful nature.

Sample passages from the anthology:

"Why do I write if no one will read? 

Why do I share if no one will listen?"

"Part of me doesn’t want to share anymore, but that would make 

satan the victor 

I know that this is God’s gift and this is only a rift in my journey… 

So I’ll leave you with this "

"But this time I realize… 

We never had a chance 

Just small intervals of romance 

A steady rhythm, but an awkward dance"

"I fell aight 

Only my blood wasn’t red, it was clear 

It fell from my eyes in the form of endless tears "

"Now I’m stronger and it will definitely take me longer… 

to fall again"

"Love ain't enough 

Commitment is strong stuff 

But not worthy of this diamond in the rough"

"But let’s discuss the most important part of this matter 

My baby will not suffer ‘cuz of your selfishness and my insecurities 

We could try to work on the relationship we have now 

But since it’s obviously not workin’, let’s just stop milkin’ the cow 

You go your way and I’ll go mine 

And even if you decide to stay at least be fair… 

Change your mind and spare…the life of an unborn child"

"“Alone”ness is bliss 

I can’t prove it, but I know it’s better than this 

I’m drowning in an emotional abyss 

I actually felt happiness before that first kiss"

"A New Approach to Satisfaction, 

Never settling for just a fraction 

Of what I deserve, what I yearn, 

WHAT (as the descendant of some illustrious queen) I have earned 

God’s child 

A descendant of the Nile 

My positive energy runs wild – 

Like my hair…don’t stare, just be aware 

That a new creature is born – still a little scorned 

But satisfied"

Buy links

About Nicole A. Schmidt

Hailing from Long Island, New York, Nicole A. Schmidt moved to Maryland to attend the University of Maryland-College Park. She received subsequent degrees and certifications from Notre Dame of Maryland University and Bowie State University respectively. 

Schmidt (Schmidtty to her mentees) has taught high school English for the past seven years. She has always seen teaching as more than a job, more than a career; she views teaching as a divine calling. With that in mind, she became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. whose core mission is to empower the community through education. 

Her passion for education and travel has taken her South America, Europe and as of February 2016, to Asia. Nicole currently resides in Shenzhen, China, teaching English. 

Additional info from the author: 

"I wrote these poems as a teenager to vent about the experiences I was having, how life was unfolding, but I published it as an adult to encourage and inspire teens to realize their own dreams." 

"I always wanted my students to have options, to live the life they chose as opposed to the one chosen for them. I wanted to be the example of such a life." 

Author info: 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13889591.Nicole_A_Schmidt 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NASwrites 

Website http://naswrites.wix.com/naswrites 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsideAYoungSoul 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/NASwrites 

Periscope: NAScreates 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4GUB1emKwWJtNKJSQONEdg

'Sounds Like a Lie But It's Realy the Truth' by C.P. Turner

I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him. Everything that was taught me by my family, everything preached at me in church, everything told me by society said it was wrong.

But I couldn’t help it, so that’s what I done.

You see, I wanted something more than what was given me in the tiny little town I grew up in. I wanted to stretch my wings like a dove and fly through the world, and part of that wanting was loving this man that came into my life and then was ripped out of it. And that’s the bad part, the sad part.

But before he was taken away from me, he left me with something. And that’s the good.

So this is my story, more or less, the best I can tell it. (It’s got some poems too, but not too many, and if you don’t like them, you can skip over them.)

Angel-Louise is a normal high school teenager with an active imagination and a heart as big as the world. Feeling constrained by the narrow limits and prejudices of the sometimes odd characters that surround her and make up her world, she finds someone to connect with who understands her and her passions and her desire for a wider meaning for her life. The impossible friendship she forms with an older man grows into love and romance, shared beliefs and passions, and ultimately into a sexual relationship.

The people around her are not ready to accept an interracial romance that challenges the taboos of race and age of the small town in which she lives. This relationship roils the society in which she lives and comes to a head in a tragic and violent confrontation between her private desires and the stringent prejudices of a small Southern town.

A young adult interracial romance of jealousy and taboo love. Funny. Sad. Tragic. But ultimately life-affirming.

Buy links

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

'Gore Girls (Twisted Tales & Poems)' by Jackson Dean Chase

Now available - the fourth offering from YA horror writer Jackson Dean Chase. Check out the poems and stories in Gore Girls.

BLURB: 

Beware—here comes the Ultimate Bloodbath of Young Adult Horror! These pages are packed with zombies, demons, witches, and worse! Get ready for the most disgusting, insane tales ever, plus morbid poems for damaged minds...

You get 40 stories and poems for one low price: Two sisters hide in their attic from the zombie apocalypse... An unpopular girl's suicide leads to a father's ghastly revenge... An alien blob turn teens into slimy monsters... Evil spirits promise power to a face-stealing maniac... A crush on the boy next door becomes a deadly obsession... and much, much more!

Read a poem from the collection:

EVIL SPIRITS 

There are evil spirits that lurk
in far and distant corners.
Waiting to come in,
to be invited
by the bored and broken,
the desperate and angry,
by those too curious for their own good.
These spirits do not live,
yet they exist!
Their sole purpose to destroy
the weak and strong alike.
They are waiting
for your invitation,
that one welcoming word: 

“Yes.”

Read an excerpt from "My Own Decisions":

I peeked out the window. I didn't much like looking outside anymore, not since the dead started coming back to life. It was pretty gross seeing strangers walking around all dead and rotting, but friends and neighbors were the worst. Like old Mrs. McGruder next door, who'd been like a grandmother to me, but now walked around in circles on her front lawn with half her face chewed off. Or that cute boy, Eric Westin, who lived two houses over. He'd been my first kiss last summer.

It hadn't worked out with him, thanks to stupid Angela Overton, who'd stolen Eric from me a week later. No, I wouldn't be making out with Eric again, and not just because he was a zombie. Angela still had him, and they were undead together, all vacant-eyed and drooly-mouthed.

I saw them now, stumbling up and down the street, holding hands like it still mattered. Nothing much mattered, but at least they had each other and that was something. What did I have? A smelly attic, a few days worth of food, and a sister who hated me. Something had to change...

Available on Amazon

Jackson Dean Chase brings you Bold Visions of Dark Places. He is the author of the Horror Writers' Phrase Book, The Haunting of Hex House, The Werewolf Wants Me, and Come to the Cemetery.
He lives near Seattle with two cats and no fear.

Check out Jackson Dean Chase's other YA horror books on Amazon!

Come to the Cemetery

The Werewolf Wants Me

The Haunting of Hex House