I am going to be off the blog celebrating the holidays. The holiday gift I want most is a world at peace. Let’s hope 2026 will be peaceful. See you in the New Year!
Photo of Osprey by Richard Lee from UnsplashPhoto of Cicada by Stephen Walker from Unsplash
Thank you, Ingrid, for this Lovely Review!
Ingrid Wilson, who taught me how to write a sonnet, has been one of my favorite poets for quite a long time. She is also a great photographer. Visit her blog at
Cheryl and Robert at Mary Margaret’s Tea Room, Arcadia, Florida
Wonders
Wonders: Poems about Love and Relationships was my first book. It is a tribute to the wonderful, though very different, men I have known and loved. There is a chapter of poems written for each individual man.
If I were to rate Wonders, I would probably give it a G, or maybe PG13.
It is a book without photos. One day, I would like to see it become an audiobook.
Before I published Earthly Days, several of my fellow bloggers agreed to do advance reviews. Excerpts from those reviews appear on the back cover of Earthly Days.
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has reviewed any of my books. I appreciate you! Every WordPress interview and review, and every Amazon review I received have been sent to the people who are preparing promotional materials for the Taipei Book Expo. My books will be displayed there in February. Then, I was asked for “representative reviews” from family and personal friends.
This is the third of these “representative reviews” generously provided by my family that I have posted on WordPress. I will post more of these over time.
Katey Gets a Kiss from Skipper, the Dolphin, at Theater of the Sea, Islamorada, Florida.
Cheryl, Katey, (about Age 5), and a Baby Alligator. Florida Everglades
Hanging Out with Wild Animals
II & III,
Two Books to be Republished
These two books are no longer available except for the ebooks. They will be republished under my copyright as soon as possible. Unfortunately, dishonest publishers have kept most royalties from my books for the last five years.
You can check out self-publishers on the “Writer Beware” website to rule out many of the dishonest ones.
I am working on eventually getting every book under my name and copyright so that publishers can never keep my royalties again. This has happened to many self-published authors. Don’t let it happen to you!
I hope you will be hearing good things about my books in the coming year or two. Cross your fingers for me; I will cross mine for you. As my late husband’s grandma used to say, “May all your dreams and wishes come true.” ❤️
Serious issues with the ebook, which was unfortunately published without my approval and at the wrong price, are delaying the release of the book. I have tried to get this unauthorized ebook removed, but it is taking a long time.Please do not purchase this unreadableebook .
I will announce the official release of the book when it is ready. For a limited time, the ebook will be available at a low promotional price. I hope this will make it easy for anyone who would like to purchase the ebook and perhaps post a verified review of Life on the Blue Planet.
Once again, Ukrainian utilities are under attack. Many Ukrainian civilians will be forced to endure another freezing winter without light, heat, water, and electricity.
Photo by Richard Bell on UnsplashHarvest Time. Photo by Artur Didenko on UnsplashField of Mustard in Bloom. Photo by Alexei Scutari on Unsplash.
Photo by Tayminna on Unsplash.Photo by Jade Korolink on Unsplash.Field of sunflowers. Photo by Eugene on UnsplashPhoto by Rodion Kutsavev on Unsplash
Whatever our own concerns, may we always take time to remember the victims of wars around the world. Remember soldiers and civilians, prisoners of war, and hostages. Think of children, seniors, and family members. Consider the homeless, displaced, starving, wounded, disabled and traumatized…even wildlife and pets.
The title caught my attention immediately. It brought back memories of swaths of vivid green and the sweet, pungent smell of bracken ferns. Ingrid Wilson is nature’s child, and her love of nature is evident in her poetry.
Beachcombing
I’m thinking about painting
the ocean with its fervor
and its froth.
But for an artist’s eye and hand
I’d render both the sky and land:
The glory and the splendor of the earth.
Photo by Sebastian Hans on Unsplash.
A Bracken Fern evokes the rugged landscapes of Ingrid’s beloved Lake country in Northern England. It is a place of history: impressive ruins from Roman times and, going even further back in time, mystical stone henges and sacred circles. Ingrid has an intimate connection to this land and its storied past that is reflected in her beautiful poetry.
Child of the Wild High Places
…Child of the changing seasons
collecting poetry and rhyming reasons
just to be still a while,
only to smile.
Accompanied by her two young sons, Ingrid recently walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall. What a history lesson…not only for her sons, but also for her fellow bloggers with whom she shared fascinating narration and gorgeous photos of the journey!
View of Hadrian’s Wall, Cawfields to Gilsland. Photo by Ingrid Wilson.
A Bracken Fern’s exquisite poems share intensely personal observations and emotions. In poignant poems, Ingrid candidly describes her difficult childhood, her grief over the loss of her mother at an early age, struggles with addiction, a troubled marriage, and her longing to return home to the English countryside she loved.
No Homelike Place
…Praying we can find
a homelike place
we build our houses
…but we can never build without
the homelike place
which we must seek, and find and build
within ourselves, which nowhere else endures.
Points North
…And at sundown
out came all the thousand stars,
And I can name the constellations
in this hemisphere
at any time of year:
There is always The Plough above, or “The Big Dipper”
and at its tip, Polaris
The Pole Star points North.
A view near Carlisle, Ingrid’s hometown growing up. Photo by Ingrid Wilson.
Ingrid found her way to health, found her voice in writing poetry, and found her way back to England. There she fell in love with a talented, creative soulmate. Together, they established a new life for themselves and their blended family. Ingrid founded her own publishing house, EIF, Experiments in Fiction.
Poems written about this period of Ingrid’s life are filled with joy. The pages of A Bracken Fern overflow with love poems and vivid descriptions of the family’s adventures. Ingrid has found her well-deserved happiness and has generously chosen to share it with her readers.
Seedhead Hope Song
…Our hopes, though fragile, rising high
as dandelion-seeds dance the sky.
When the Named Storms Come
…And if the post can’t make it through
then I will drive to you
and if I can’t get petrol
I will ride my bike.
All the Way to Midsummer
…all the way to midnight, I
watch full moons rise if only in your eyes
It’s more than moonlight, babe, it’s starlight too
and earth expands
in your cupped hands
Our wedding bands
in secret pledge
I do.
If I Could Paint
the Colours of Your Eyes
If I could paint the colours of your eyes
I fantasise, I’d swim that depth of blue
and what I wouldn’t do
to bring the sparkle back when it has fled
to lift your heart when it’s dispirited.
Ingrid’s poetry is technically perfect, as well as beautifully expressed. A person who spoke no English, hearing Ingrid’s poems read aloud, would surmise that they were listening to music. Ingrid’s background in English literature and her knowledge of history and mythology provide polish and an added dimension to her work. In this book, you will find well-chosen quotes from William Blake, William Wordsworth, Robert Burns, Lao Tse, and Bob Dylan.
If You Kill the Bird
…You’re just an empty cage girl
void of poetry, unheard.
You’re just an empty cage girl
if you kill
you kill the bird.
Photo of Bluebells by Diana Parker on Unsplash.
A Bracken Fern
…In a graveyard graced with bluebells whose heads bowed
drop pollen tears upon the fertile ground
as bracken ferns unfurl their bannered green
to clothe the hillside and these bones of mine.
Spend a pleasant hour or two reading the beautiful poems of Ingrid Wilson’s magnificent new poetry collection, A Bracken Fern. Pick it up again from time to time, and find your spirits lifted by Ingrid’s inspiring words.
Gulf Coast Poet 