Making them special

JASMINE'S WISH

When something is a gift, you make it special.  Just a little something that sets it apart from the others.  Such is the case with this box set.  It is my gift to my daughtr, my angel in heaven.  So, these four books needed to be different from any others I publish.  With that in mind, I decided the layout of these books would be what made them unique.

The first feature I used in the books is categories.  As I mentioned before, Jasmine had sorted my poems so I decided to use her idea. I felt that by doing so it made her a part of the process which she always wanted me to do. So, the five categories became the first step in making my gift to her disinct.

In the layout of these four books, there is actually a poem before the table of contents.  An introduction to what you will find within the pages.  Readers of the e-versions may miss these poems as the books usually open at the first poem.  I don't remember why I did this, it seemed important at the time. 

The final criteria which separates these four books from my others is they are all dedicated to Jasmine.  The dedications themselves are also unique.  Each contains a poem as part of it. These I would like to share with you now.

 For Voices In My Head, the poem is Jasmine's epitaph, the hardest poem I ever had to write.

Our beautiful flower
Just beginning to bloom,
Loved and cherished,
Picked by God too soon

They Won't Shut Up was my second book and was published on her birthday. I made this a little more special by including a section of poems at the end written by her.

I miss you so much
Every day of the year
Feel your sweet hugs
Though you are not here

I give you this book
As my gift to you
The love in my heart
Will bring it to you

QUIET! Please? took many years to come out.  It should have been the third book, but actually came out after 3 others.  Somehow I just could not find the right cover to make it real.

Your belief in me
Made this dream real
A gift of love
For others to feel
Such is the magic
You poured on me
Opening my soul
For all to see

Silence was an unexpected surprise.  QUIET! Please? was supposed to be my final book but I guess Jasmine had other ideas.  Her spirit is always leading me where she thinks I should go.

Feed someone's dream
Help make it real
Encourage them
To think and feel
Use your words softly
Build confidences
Create playgrounds
Instead of fences
Dreams and visions
Need helping hands
To get us past
Our ruined plans

Poetry is in my blood, it is such a big part of me. Jasmine's Wish is my only book not found on Amazon.  It is available on Smashwords for kindle and on D2D  for all other formats.

Find Cindy on her:
Blog:
https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com/

Website:
http://indiebooksource.com/books-by-cindy-j-smith/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/cindysvoices
FB:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices/
GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505989.Cindy_J_Smith
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1/

Portfilio Links
https://view.joomag.com/golden-box-book-publishing-cindys-voices/0568888001561494976
http://pubhtml5.com/ahsh/nmba

Jasmine's Wish Boxset

The Five Divisions in Each of the Books

When my daughter Jasmine decided she was going to pursue her idea to have my poems published, she realized she needed a title and to make them presentable.  First things first, she decided on the perfect title, Voices In My Head.  Now she could concentrate on the second task, presentation.  At the time, I had a Brother Word Processor that created beautiful pages.  Using various fonts and colors, she printed out every poem I had written that she could find.  The volume of paper she ended up with was more than she figured on.

Unwilling to be thwarted, she decided the poems just needed to be put into categories.  Jasmine attempted to sort them several different ways.  Her final choice was to separate them into 5 basic themes:  People In My Life, Nature In My World, Visions In My Mind, Days In My Years, and Pieces Of My Heart.  Once the divisions were settled on she decided to call the entire collection Voices In My Head. 

Sorting turned out to be rather frustrating as a great many of the poems could easily fit into more than one category.  Her decision was to place them where they fit best.  Jasmine's divisions had  the poems in alphabetical order.  Her reasoning was that a publisher would put them where they wanted to anyways.

Voices In My Head, the first book in the Jasmine's Wish set, is her design.Besides mixing up the poems, the only difference between what she mailed out and this volume was the addition of poems written after her attempt at publication.  

People In My Life

In this section, the theme of the poems is people. Some of the poems are about actual people, like my daughter and granddaughter. They tell what I feel about them and what they are doing.  Others are ideals, how I wish things were, or how I once thought the people were, as an example the poems about Moms.  Requested poems are also here.  "Adonis" or "Cereal Killer" are examples of poems where I took lots of characteristics and blended them into someone everyone knows. 

Nature In My World

Everything to do with nature. Weather, landscapes, animals, even outdoor activities are included in this category. Most of these poems are fantasies, mere mixtures of memories--theories on what the subject could be.  The poem "Sailor" envisions sailing across the oceans while "Cave Paintings" question the real reasons for the discoveries.The seasons have a major presence.  I have always been moved by the continuously changing displays of Mother Nature.  No two seasons are every exactly the same. 

Visions In My Mind

 Magic, fairy-tales and dreams are the mainstays of this section.  As you can probably guess, all of the poems could easily fit into this category as all the poems are just ideas in my head put down in ink.  Jasmine agreed with that assessment yet felt some would fit nowhere else.  Here we find poems like "Jack Frost" describing his painting the world, or ones with fairies dew-kissing the flowers.  Many relate tales of the paradise I wish the world was. Some are fanciful while others are thought provoking like "Child's View." 

Days In My Years

These are rhymes about actual days, specific times in my life. Poems in this section include birthday wishes I've written for people as well as my views on various holidays celebrated throughout the years. Days in general are also topics as I write of the need for coffee to face the day and how weeks have way too many days.  It is a section devoted to time as its ripples guide our lives.

Pieces Of My Heart

 

Emotions, thoughts and feelings about everything are gathered here. Anger, angst love and grief flicker through many of the stanzas. Laughter and sarcasm find homes in my heart as well. In this section, my voices help me understand and accept the way I feel. The verses help me find the balance that emotions destroy.  In these poems, as with any of the sections, the details are not necessarily my own experiences.  I try to put myself in someone else's shoes, see the world through their eyes.  I attempt to be them for a few moments and thus see both sides of situations.  I mainly write in the first person so no one will feel like a target, while still giving a truthful representation of the behavior I am witnessing.  Just knowing someone else feels what you feel or simply understands your pain is often the balm a heart needs to keep trying. 

The divisions Jasmine decided on were perfect, in my opinion.  For that reason, I used them for the entire set of books in this collection.  It is hers, a gift from my heart to her.  None of my other collections are divided, except 365, everything about them is random.  I feel it is the right thing to do.  Jasmine's Wish is the fulfillment of her dream for me and it should be special.

As a special note, I would like to thank Erika Szabo and Golden Box Books Publishing for the pictures used for each category. Erika added them to the e-versions of my books making them beautiful. 

Find Cindy on her:

Blog:
https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com/

Website:
http://carternovels.com/author-cindy-j-smith.html

Twitter:  @cindysvoices

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices/

GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505989.Cindy_J_Smith

Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1/

Portfilio Links
https://view.joomag.com/golden-box-book-publishing-cindys-voices/0568888001561494976

http://pubhtml5.com/ahsh/nmba

Click and Read Day at #OurAuthorGang

Click & Read Day

By Erika M Szabo

Today we spotlight some of the Author Gang authors' books.

Click on the Amazon links below the books, read about our authors, and take a look at their books.

Enjoy browsing and we hope you will find a book or two that you like.

AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON
AMAZON	AMAZON

Click here to read more posts at our Blog Post Gallery

COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo shared this via Google+

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Tricia Drammeh via Google+

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Books, books & more books at #OurAuthorGang!

 

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P. J. Mann shared this via Google+

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P. J. Mann

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I am proud to be included in this list of great authors! ❤

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Cindy Smith shared this via Google+

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Chris Weigand via Google+

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Find a new book to add to your shelves.

 

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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

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An amazing selection of books by the talented authors of #OurAuthorGang! Stop by and check them out!

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Ruth de Jauregui

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Wow, an amazing selection of books by the talented authors of Our Author Gang! Thank you Erika!!

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Joe Bonadonna

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A wonderful exhibit of so many unique and engaging books.

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Joe Bonadonna via Google+

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Today over at #OurAuthorGang, author and illustrator Erika M Szabo lets you click and read and have a glimpse at some of the books our members have published.

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Eva Pasco

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A great display!

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Toi Thomas via Google+

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Today, Erika M. Szabo shows off some books by the members of the #OurAuthorGang

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