Guest Blog | DeAnna Browne's Offical Author Site

I’m happy to have June Trop over to visit my blog and share her newest release, The Deadliest Sport.

Help Miriam solve the locked-room murder of a spindling, jackal-faced slave…

The Deadliest Sport is a locked-room murder mystery; the victim, a guest at The Pegasus, a sleazy waterfront inn where Miriam goes to investigate the disappearance of an elderly friend’s will.

Could the bashing of a jackal-faced slave’s skull have anything to do with that will? And who killed him anyway? Miriam’s brother’s buddy, the soon-to-be ex-gladiator who was sentenced to the arena for murder? An itinerant dwarf whose walking stick was the murder weapon? Or the inn’s husky hostess, a tart with both an appetite for sea captains and lofty connections to Nero’s magistrates? Why else would she be so eager to get Miriam off the premises?

Only Miriam is shrewd enough to penetrate a monstrous, multi-layered scheme and bold enough to risk her life to expose the mastermind behind it.

Earliest reviews for THE DEADLIEST SPORT

“The story has a ring of truth that is rare in historical fiction, and it is clear that the author knows her history. A really good read.” Taylor Jones, Reviewer

“The Deadliest Sport is filled with well-developed and realistic characters, plenty of tension, and an intriguing mystery, as well as a strong authenticity that was a real treat. This is one you won’t want to put down.” Regan Murphy, Reviewer

You can pick up a copy HERE at Amazon or HERE from Black Opal Books. You can also find June Trop on her blog HERE.

I am thrilled to have my friend, Stephanie Abney, visit my blog today to talk about poetry and encourage everyone to give it a try. She is an amazing teacher and poet, and is having a poetry book coming out soon. I could go on, but I’ll hand the reins over to her.

Greetings – DeAnna and I are in the same writers group and I’m excited she invited me to share something I love about writing with you here on her blog today. Here’s why I’m happy April has arrived: every APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!! And I love poetry.

Now, stay with me please, even if you think you don’t enjoy poetry and especially if you think you can’t write poetry. As a retired teacher, I’m of the opinion that ANYONE can learn to write poetry, especially with the easy to follow instructions that I post on my blog, “Stephanie Says So.” I started this challenge of writing 30 poems in 30 days a few years ago and one friend, who basically had not ever written any poetry, has since gone on to write more than two thousand poems. Yep, she even writes a poem or two about her day and includes it in her personal journal. She writes poems to give as cards to friends on special occasions. Heck, she would even write a poem about a trip to the dump. ANYTHING that you do, see, feel, experience, and/or think about . . . is fair game to write a poem about and it’s so much easier than you may think!!

Not only did I use these methods when I taught 8^th grade English and Creative Writing to a bunch of middle schoolers, I even used them when I went to China and taught English, particularly how to write poetry, to some teenage students. It was awesome and the poems my Chinese students wrote were delightful, funny, heartfelt, profound and just plain amazing. And you can do the same!!

There SO MANY KINDS OF POETRY out there, that not only could you give it a try, you could actually write a DIFFERENT style of poem each day. (I also have a FB group for this purpose: “A Month of Poetry – 30 Poems in 30 Days” ~ totally OPTIONAL ~ just ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178557275869627/?ref=bookmarks).

We’re going to start out this year with a basic and simple poetry form call a “Lantern Poem.” The instructions are waiting for you over at my blog: “Stephanie Says So.” Hope you will join in the fun!! Cheers!!

Like I said, even if you think you can’t write poetry, I’d love to prove to you that you can!!! So many poems have actual patterns or forms to follow; some are almost “fill in the blank.”

Below are a few sample poems. What will you come up with?

This poetry from is called a “Cinquain” poem. It has a specific number of syllables per line:

Comfort
Feeling secure
Where judgment has no place
Wrapped in the safety of your arms
Husband