Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
Posted on October 11, 2018 by Colleen M. Chesebro
Hello everyone! This week I’m thrilled to bring you an author I’ve just met. Her name is Meredith Leigh Burton. I asked her to pick three or four questions from my huge list HERE. We all aspire to be successful authors and the best way to learn some of the tricks of the trade is to ask questions. Get ready, because Meredith has some great answers!
Please meet my guest, Meredith Leigh Burton:
I’m 37, I’m married to Cowboy, and I’m a writer and the stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of our three lively little ones. And, if you can’t tell, I’m a bit fond of a certain Shakespearean play. I’m passionate about books and movies, and I have a multitude of hobbies. But if anybody asks you who I am, tell them I’m a child of God.
*Read her About Page: The Edge of the Precipice.blogspot.com
Hi, Colleen. Thanks so much for this interview. It’s nice to meet you.
The beauty of the word success is that it is so subjective. Many people view success as the amount of money you accumulate or how many possessions you procure. While I may be accused of being idealistic, literary success means something entirely different to me.
I am a blind individual and have always been drawn to books. I love reading Braille; caressing the pages and hearing the whisper of the words as they enter my mind. The conversations reading generates thrill me beyond measure. I desire to create immersive stories with vibrant characters.
Usually, my stories feature disabled protagonists. My definition of literary success is knowing that one story touches a particular person. If a reader discovers that they are not alone, and if they learn from my characters that they can stand up for what is right, I will know that I have achieved success.
If I could have written any book, it would have been John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. A massive literary epic, the novel explores two very different families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons. The story is about the corrosive power of evil and how we all can succumb to its allure if we are not careful.
However, the story is also one of hope, of how we continue to try and resist our baser natures. The story also has one of the most terrifying psychopaths in literature.
Steinbeck’s East of Eden is an epic of biblical proportions, one that is not always easy to read but well worth the journey. I often wish I had his capacity to invoke such beautiful and terrifying word pictures. It’s truly an amazing novel.
Rising from the ashes. This is the beautiful picture of a phoenix, a bird who dies but is always reborn. If I had a spirit animal, I would love to choose a phoenix.
I was born three months premature on July 4, 1983. I weighed a pound and twelve ounces and spent nearly four months in a hospital. As a result of the exposure to the oxygen, I developed retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the retinas are detached. I had two eye operations, but they were unsuccessful. However, God has enabled me to fight and strive each day to grow and learn.
After high school, I attended college and auditioned for their school of music. I was not accepted. Then I changed my major to English and received my BA in English and Theater. I also received my teaching certification for grades 7-12 but was never given a teaching position. So, I began writing. Through my writing, I have been given the opportunity to speak at schools, churches, and clubs. I have read to children, educating them about Braille and blindness.
A Phoenix suffers greatly in life, but when he seems to be defeated, he rises again. A phoenix is a noble bird, and I love the idea of a phoenix soaring ahead of me, guiding me through life’s trials. A Phoenix knows the outcome, that the trials will not defeat him. I hope to have that outlook as well.
(CLICK HERE to learn more about the symbolism of the Phoenix as a spirit animal).
I write in the fantasy genre, usually fairy tale retellings. This genre is very important because you can explore so many relevant themes in unique ways. For instance, in my “Snow White” retelling entitled Hart Spring, I was able to explore the themes of slavery, immigration and the importance of family. I also explored the theme of abuse in that story using a fantastical gift that my protagonist possesses. She is exploited in order to obtain that gift and must find a way to escape her abuser.
In Blind Beauty, my “Beauty and the Beast” retelling, I examined the relevant theme of bullying. The beast is inadvertently cursed because of an act of cruelty perpetrated upon the misunderstood enchantress character. This action results in havoc being wreaked upon many other characters.
Fantasy allows readers to escape from their everyday lives. However, if you allow fantasy stories to speak to your heart, you will discover that they are relevant stories that seek to illustrate how the world should be.
Blog: The Edge of the Precipice
Listing of books from her blog
Facebook: Meredith Burton
Thanks for stopping by to meet Meredith. Make sure and check out her blog to learn more about her. ❤
Category: author interviewsTags: Author Interviews, Braille educator, fantasy author, Meredith Leigh Burton, The Edge of the Precipice.blogspot.com, The Phoenix as a spirit animal
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“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
—Dylan Thomas
Click: What is a Rhyme Scheme?
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Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.
Lovely to meet Meredith!
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Thanks, Sis. I’m thrilled to share her. ❤️❤️❤️
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💜
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Blessings for this wonderful lady.
You are an inspiration.
{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}]
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Thanks so much. She’s amazing! 🧡🧡🧡
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Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere.
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Thanks for sharing and your support, Charles. ❤️
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You’re welcome.
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How wonderful to meet someone as sweet, determined and successful as Meredith. She is truly an inspiration. I love her choice of spirit animal.
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I agree. She is pure inspiration! ❤️
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Touched and inspired by this conversation. Thank you for sharing with us.
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Thanks, Annette. I was totally motivated by Meredith’s accomplishments. Nice to meet a new author too. ❤
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Fantastic interview! So nice to learn about Meredith. I’m with her all the way on relating to a Phoenix rising from the ashes many times. ❤
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I agree. I follow her on Facebook now, too. She is so inspiring. A wonderful person and author. ❤
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❤
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It’s nice to meet Meredith through your interview, Colleen. I love her positivity. She sounds like a wonderful person!
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I agree. And, she loves fairytales! ❤
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Reblogged this on firefly465 and commented:
Colleen’s interview with Meredith-Leigh-Burton
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Thanks again, sis. ❤
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Your welcome, sis. ❤
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What a lovely interview with Meredith
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Thanks, Marje. She is a very nice lady. I followed her on FB and she is always doing speaking engagements. She’s very uplifting. ❤
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Thank you very much for following me.
You have such an amazing blog.♡♡
Xoxo 🐙
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Thank you. And, you’re very welcome. ❤
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❤❤
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A rising phoenix is a perfect spirit animal – wishing you much success with your book, Meredith!
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Thanks, Terri. You’re a gem.🧡🎃🧡🎃🧡🎃
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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Thanks for sharing, Traci. ❤
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Lovely to meet an new author, Colleen.
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Thanks, Robbie. I thought so too. She’s not on Twitter, but we can find her on Facebook. Thanks so much for stopping by. ❤
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Colleen this things you do. You have no idea how inspirational they are❤. Meredith’s story is impressive. Wow. Lovely to meet you Meredith.
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Aweni, You are such a sweet lady. Thank you. ❤
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❤😘
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It’s good to meet Meredith, she’s an inspiration. East of Eden is a masterpiece. Excellent choice.
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Hi, Rob. Yes, I really enjoyed getting to know Meredith. Pleased you stopped by. ❤
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Hello, everyone.
Firstly, I would like to apologize profusely. I was browsing and only just saw this post and all of your amazing and very kind comments. Thank you, Ms. Colleen, for allowing me to answer your questions. I truly enjoyed getting to know you.
And, The Edge of the Precipice is a blog of a lady who reviewed my newest release, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption. You can find me on Facebook and Goodreads, and I am working on trying to create a blog. It is a very visual process, so it is taking me a while.
Thank you once again.
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Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry Meredith. I’m thrilled to connect with you. ❤️❤️❤️
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Pingback: Conversations With Colleen: Meet Author, Meredith Leigh Burton — Colleen Chesebro ~ The Fairy Whisperer – The Oregon Reach
This is amazing!!
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Thanks. Glad you stopped by. ❤️
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