Böcker av Mark Randolph Watters

Non-poets need love, too! We may not have the mechanics of a Whitman or the insights of a Dickinson or the intrigue of a Poe, but onward we try, crafting our own brand of the art of poetry. Blue Ridge Sunsets strikes at the sensitivities of the 'everypoet', touching upon the elements of what moves each of us, perhaps not as eloquently as the greats of literature, but nonetheless real. Read on!Inside are some ninety-nine "poems", most of which rhyme (heaven forbid!), though an honest attempt was made with each poem to avoid forced rhymes. Elements included are those of love, loss, sadness, gain, triumph, frustration, joy, God, eternity, humor, reminiscence, and wisdom. I try to avoid esoterica, as such tend to annoy, if not beguile, most of us. These are straight-from-the-heart poems, presented in simple language and imagery. I hope you enjoy these poems and find some level of connection with each.

Lance Hawthorne, his life irrevocably altered by his witness of a horrific crime at the innocent age of ten, is cursed to shoulder the yoke of guilt for taking no action to report the crime's perpetrators, despite his having rock-solid evidence. His guilt deepens after the death of his beloved mother five years later, a death he is convinced he caused.Hawthorne drifts through life, his faith shattered, his risk-aversion having rendered him all but fearful of his shadow. Until the fateful office poker game offers him a chance to return to his boyhood home of Benevolence -- and to the hell that awaits him.Lance Hawthorne is a man rushing headlong into his twilight, haunted by a past that won't let go and a future that won't let up.

Words matter. Don't they? Of course they do, but the extent they do matter depends on how effective are the conveyances of their intended meanings. We assemble our words - our thoughts and feelings - from the building blocks of vowels and consonants. We string together these letters into syllables into words with the hopes our shades of meanings are clear and unambiguous. That, however, is not always the case. Are you more or less likely, for example, to eat 'candy' or 'milk chocolate-covered caramel candy'?This work is an assemblage of vowels and consonants, formed into syllables and words and sentences, given punctuation and syntax, which I sincerely hope in their final delivery convey thoughts and feelings that in some ways touch your life and provide at least a modicum of entertainment and introspection. And such interpretive meaning that you can call your own.

Welcome to Raventon, Georgia, a quiet river town. Yeah, right!Taylor Smart and her mom, Susan, move to Raventon, into the antebellum house renovated by husband and dad, Mike Smart. Only Mike isn't around anymore, and no one seems to know what happened to him. Caves harbor secrets only the bravest dare explore. From day one, Raventon is anything but quiet --and its residents anything but ordinary.Step into the Chamber of Skulls ... if you dare!

Follow the adventures of Taylor Smart, America's latest and greatest teenage American heroine, along with her talented classmates, as they dive headlong into the strangeness that seems to gravitate to the town of Raventon, a community tucked quietly in the shadows of the hills and valleys of northwest Georgia.Come into their world, as the Raventon Three (Taylor Smart, Pilfree Romulus Bojo, and Bobbie Leigh Harwell) take on all challengers and endure all difficulties and discomforts to get to the truth!

A compilation of poems, essays, limericks, and short stories, BRIDGES is my expression of accumulated wisdom and observations spanning my sixty-four years on this earth. Many of these spans, these personal bridges, are not yet complete, as construction continues as long as I can draw a breath. Someday all will be complete, as will be yours. Maybe herein we will find some common ground, as well as some grounds for friendly dispute. Maybe our bridges are more or less parallel. Perhaps not. Regardless, bridges, literal and figurative, facilitate and exacerbate a life's journey. Bridges take us to places we yearn to go, as well to places we dread. These are some of my Bridges.

July 3, 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. July 4, 2020, Raventon, Georgia.Now it gets weird. Book III in the Raventon Mysteries series, featuring Taylor Smart and the Raventon Three. The most incredible mystery they've encountered!For a season, special people come into your life.Paths intersect. They just do. You don't know why or for how long.And then they're gone.But, you're better for them.