Book Review: Ronin, The Last Reindeer
As a person who has worked with the Foster Care system, this storyline grabs me by the throat. I found myself choking up as I read about the sorting of children, like socks, at Kringletown. Ryder didn’t deserve that. No child does.
Lost Appetites
“You still hungry?”
come words
from high glossed,
almost polished
lips to make my
date appear younger,
a beauty however.
Book Review: Humbug, The Unwinding Of Ebenezer Scrooge
The characters were beautifully written, and had you feeling for them as if they were your friends/family. The harsh environment of Avocado punctuated every life choice that Scrooge made. Again totally out of left field, and wonderful.
Holiday Delights
The landfills cry out as last year’s gifts reach them.
The Earth is dying from the waste!
Abandoned toys weep as they melt into mush.
Christmas with Rita: Sip and Be Merry Tea Review
The instant the tea arrived, I headed to the kitchen, turned on the kettle, and waited for the bubbles. Lifting the lid of the tea tin, I knew instantly that delicate Christmas-y delight lay in store for my soul. Sip and Be Merry from the Republic of Tea could only offer all I had hoped for…
Quarterly Issues
Submissions open for Issue 3, Volume 1: Unknown & Unseen. Submissions close Dec 31, 2022.
January 24, 2022
“Whatever goals you have created for yourself for the new year, and no matter whether those goals have been reached or already broken, it is never too late to turn a new leaf and begin again.”
January 22, 2022
January 21, 2022
Reading this book was like climbing onto a rollercoaster that cascaded to its end in a dark mountain. You never knew where the next thrilling twist would take you. I devoured the pages in one day, as if I was starving and the book was my only meal.
January 20, 2022
“As a writer, I believe that even though I am new to the world of publishing short stories, I have the passion, love, dedication, and desire to bring out the best writing that I have to the world and touch the lives of people through my writing.”
January 17, 2022
First off, I have to express to you that Beth knows what she’s talking about. The book is laced with stories from her personal experiences and those as a therapist, dealing with these deep, emotionally challenging topics of loss, death, and suffering. The stories are crisp, moving, and interconnecting in a way that readers can relate and dig deep if they’re willing to do the work.
January 15, 2022
It’s official! The MockingOwl Roost is now one year old! We’ve got a brand new quarterly PDF issue for you to enjoy on the topic of exploration. New contributors and old, plus staff, share their views on exploration through poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, and more. Please enjoy!
January 13, 2022
At my library study carrel, I conjured scenes of children playing on rocky Andalusian shores and fishermen arranging their bountiful Mediterranean harvests. Vicente Aleixandre’s poem “Ciudad del paraíso”, translated as “City of Paradise” in English, transported me to Málaga, Spain where time stands as still as the mountains overlooking the sea below.
January 12, 2022
Many herbal teas by numerous brands cover the shelves of local grocery stores and fill out the aisles at little tea shops in cities like Chicago. Finding the right tea choice can be difficult, especially for newbies. However, seasoned tea-drinkers can struggle with finding new options when favorite blends stop circulating, too. I present Loyd Herbal Tea Mint with Cranberry and Herbs for anyone looking for good-quality, affordable herbal tea.
January 9, 2022
It turned into more than diving into the delicious queso dip we had to order every time we sat down. It became a time when we could sit across the table from each other and leave the day behind.
January 8, 2022
Almost time, always time to go somewhere, do whatever,
though I’d rather wait here longer,
January 7, 2022
“So this is the bunker?” Clarence said. “What about the bike?”
“If the main hatch opens I’ll pull it in. If not, it’s safe. No one steals a bike on Io. The dragons are all a little too big.”
“First time for everything,” Julia muttered and actually earned a few shared chuckles. She felt safer already with a roof overhead.
January 2, 2022
I’d heard Stellaris had received a small update. Something about a Horizon Signal spawning rarely in black hole systems. I’d never triggered it in any game prior and had religiously avoided spoilers. And in a game where I couldn’t reload, one weaponless science ship had just popped the event chain.
January 1, 2022
The snow whispers one word over and over…hope!
As it sings its song,
Fear is conquered.
Hope brings family together.
Hope motivates men of science to heal an isolated world.
January 1, 2022
Closing her eyes, Makenzie soaked it all in. These moments, this was what dreams were made of: moonlight walks along the ocean, a gorgeous man with an accent that made her go weak in the knees, a romantic backdrop that belonged in some cheesy romance novel… It was enough to make her giggle. Or maybe it was the wine.
December 31, 2021
Freefall. Icy, enervating, lacerating winds flipped her far away from Clarence. She fell forever, screaming, dying, and then straps dug into her diaphragm, squeezing what breath remained from her lungs. She drew a breath in barely and then another. Jupiter and Io had stopped swapping places. She looked up and saw her parachute had opened.
December 31, 2021
For me, being a part of MockingOwl Roost is part of a more significant thing that needed to be done within me, raising from the dead my ability to write.
December 30, 2021
The author tossed well-crafted twists that awakened me from complacency for the characters and set them to spinning out of control, recapturing my vigilance.
December 27, 2021
Even with a bit of a cold/flu for most of the month of November, I enjoyed the aroma of the tea as much as the taste. The delectable tea is soft yet cake-y in ways I wouldn’t have thought possible in a green rooibos, gluten-free cake-flavored tea.
December 25, 2021
I grew up in the ’60s.I believed in Santa Claus.We had a real tree every year with tinsel – real tinsel. And putting it up was a family affair. A tradition that continued into adulthood, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
December 25, 2021
Tonight is the night for mystery, and joy
I wander alone to the cove of pine trees
Bedecked in white sparkling gossamer…