Category Archives: Inspiration

I am BACK!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back author Nancy Lee Badger. Today, Nancy shares an inspiring comeback story and her new release, Heaven-Sent Warrior.

Here’s Nancy!

On the way to publishing my latest book, I have a personal story to tell. Back in early May 2023, I published a book, the third in a series. One week later, my life imploded. While traversing the airport underground garage, I fell off a curb. My sister was waiting for me and I said “Take me to the hospital.”

Many hours later, my left wrist was in a cast and the pain from my five broken ribs required a trip to another hospital because the doctor said, “At your AGE, you need to stay overnight.” Did he have to say it that way? Couldn’t he just mention the drugs they filled me with? Or, the difficulty breathing plaguing me? One ambulance transport later, I ended up staying three nights.

What did this mean to my writing you ask? Have you ever tried to type with one hand? I survived because I had set up lots of promotions in advance for my book’s release. It took a while to get back to writing (and shopping, and doing laundry, etc.) and the results were a short story and a poem for my local writing group’s fundraiser in 2023 and 2024. The latest news is the re-issue of my favorite book series starting with Heaven-Sent Warrior. Did I mention as I lay in my recliner in pain FOR MONTHS that my publisher closed their doors? I love my Warriors in Bronze series, so have edited and updated the three books. I even submitted a short story for the writing group’s 2025 fundraiser for this year, which was accepted. I am back! If you find yourself beat down, but ready for life’s second act, you can do it too!

Tag Line

Asleep inside a bronze statue, a naked Frenchman wakes a century later to save a half-Fae, museum curator from a demon bent on ruling our present-day world.

Blurb

Henrí Chevalier’s last memory was Auguste Rodin and his dusty Paris studio in 1886. To escape his broken heart, Henrí volunteered to sleep inside a statue until needed. Expecting to die, he discovers powers Heaven has given him. Will he fail his mission against otherworldly creatures, such as demons and faeries?

Kenzie Mackintosh, a dedicated art museum’s curator, spies a naked man hiding among bronze statues. Unaware of her fae heritage, their relationship heats up as he disrupts her job. While Henrí tries to process modern buildings, cars, and a broken elevator, a demon attacks and forces Henrí and Kenzie to enlist the aid of her powerful fae relatives. When the demon possesses the body of her ex-lover then use her to take over the world, Henrí and Kenzie must learn to trust each other. Kenzie’s death might be the only answer to the world’s salvation.

Buy Links – https://nancyleebadger.blogspot.com/p/books.html

Author Bio And Links

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire while she dreamed of being a writer. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling snow became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.

Nancy is a former member of Romance Writers of America and its local chapter, The Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, as well as the Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers. She is currently a member of the Triangle Association of Freelancers based in the Raleigh area. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog | BookBub | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page




Poetry Collection Review: Healing is a Gift

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, this month-long celebration has attracted millions of readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and poets.

Each Friday of April, I will share a favorite poetry collection.

Today’s pick is Healing is a Gift: Poems for Those Who Need to Grow by Alexandra Vasiliu, a collection described as “a valuable resource for anyone seeking personal growth, self-improvement, and inner peace.”

From the very first lines, it’s evident that Ms. Vasiliu writes with raw honesty and heartfelt intention. Her collection, composed in free verse, reads like a quiet conversation with the soul. There is a simplicity in her language that belies the emotional depth beneath. At times, it felt like I was reading a distilled self-help guide wrapped in poetic form.

The titles, among them, “No Permission Needed,” “Your Golden Trophy,” “Such Bad Manners,” and “No Pills,” suggest a stripping away of pretense and a return to fundamentals. These poems don’t seek to impress. Instead, they challenge the reader to confront and reconsider long-held beliefs about pain, recovery, and self-worth.

This slim volume can easily be read in a single sitting, but its impact lingers. I found myself pausing often, underlining lines that struck a chord, and marking pages to return to later. It’s a book you’ll want to keep within reach—not just for comfort but as a reminder of how powerful honesty can be.

Here’s one of my favorite poems:

Hope

When everything around you
is falling apart,
remind yourself
that Hope is a magical place
where all implausible dreams
stop being impossible,
where all good powers
belong naturally to you,
where love,
self-confidence,
and peace
call your name out loud.

When everything around you
is falling apart,
remind yourself
that you can find refuge
in Hope,
in that magical,
invisible place
where you can go without a car
or a passport.

When everything around you
is falling apart,
remind yourself
that for moving on,
all you need is Hope.

And Hope is the name of a pure heart.

Inspiration from Martina McBride

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In November 2006, Martina McBride released Anyway, a powerful song about hope, love, perseverance—and above all, faith. More than eighteen years later, its message feels even more relevant today.


Honoring Pope Francis

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis became the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013—marking several historic firsts: the first pope from the Americas, the Southern Hemisphere, and the Jesuit order. He was known globally for his humility, concern for the poor, and progressive views on social and environmental issues.

He advocated for migrants and the marginalized, often symbolizing this commitment through powerful gestures—such as washing refugees’ feet on Holy Thursday and urging global solidarity to address inequality. He reached out to the world’s margins, becoming the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula and traveling to conflict zones like South Sudan, Myanmar, and the Central African Republic to promote peace and reconciliation.

In all he has done, Pope Francis has shown that leadership is as much about presence as policy. Cardinal Dolan of New York observed: “The way he lived and the way he died, he was a great teacher. He taught us at the end by letting us watch him die.”

Earlier today, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88.

My Favorite Quotations from Pope Francis:

“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold.”

“The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect.”

“God never tires of forgiving us.”

“Money must serve, not rule.”

“Love is the measure of faith.”

“Each of us has a vision of good and of evil.”

“Let us care for creation.”

“Reality is greater than ideas.”

“A Church that doesn’t go out, keeps Jesus in.”

“To change the world, we must be good to those who cannot repay us.”

Poetry Collection Review: How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, this month-long celebration has attracted millions of readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and poets.

Each Friday of April, I will share a favorite poetry collection.

Today’s pick is How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) by Barbara Kingsolver, a collection described as “reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild.”

Having enjoyed reading Kingsolver’s novels, I was delighted to discover that she also writes poetry. In this collection, she explores everyday life with warmth and insight.

The book opens with a series of “how to” poems that range from the intimate—marriage and divorce—to the unexpected, like shearing a sheep or doing nothing at all. Her poem “How to Survive This” was featured in The New York Times during the pandemic.

The second set, “Pellegrinaggio,” follows a family trip to Italy with her mother-in-law. I could easily visualize the following scene in “On the Train to Sicily:”

“In a family compartment we take the long
road south, down the coast and across the channel
to the patria of her father. She is so tired.
We’ve lifted her onto the sill of this urbane clatter,
tucked ourselves in a cupboard of relative
peace, but now her small frame finds no resting
place on the great square seats. We offer
pillows, sips of water. She only says, Don’t worry.”

Next come four sets of poems about making peace (or not) with our families and friends, aging, grief, and mortality. The final set celebrates the natural world–ruthless ants, clever shellfish, coral reefs, haunting deserts, and ghost-flowers. While reading this set, I was reminded of Mary Oliver’s poems.

I recommend taking your time to read and reflect on each poem. Seven sets in seven days—one possibility. Or simply devour them in one or two gulps and then return to the ones that resonate most with you.

One of my favorites:

How to Do Absolutely Nothing

Rent a house near the beach, or a cabin
but: Do not take your walking shoes.
Don’t take any clothes you’d wear
anyplace anyone would see you.
Don’t take your rechargeables.
Take Scrabble if you have to,
but not a dictionary and no
pencils for keeping score.
Don’t take a cookbook
or anything to cook.
A fishing pole, ok
but not the line,
hook, sinker,
leave it all.
Find out
what’s
left.

Lean Into the Darkness

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In his recent release, The Art of Doing, Jesse Lipscombe shares simple and straight-forward tools that can help transform our lives. Here’s an inspiring excerpt:

Sometimes life hands us major opportunities—some people call them problems or obstacles. Whatever you call them, when they show up, we often steer away from the things that bring us joy. Maybe we stopped painting because life got heavy. Maybe we have writer’s block due to stressors in our lives. Whatever the reason, we tend to wait until the dark clouds pass before we get back into doing the things we love. I suggest we do the exact opposite: Lean into the darkness. Reframe those problems and obstacles as opportunities. Make it a habit to look at life through those lenses.

Some people want to wait for inspiration before they start something. They want to wait until they feel motivated or see a spark. Other people do not wait to begin. They do things when they are happy, they do things when they are sad, they do things when they are mad. They do things when they are stressed out, when they feel unmotivated, when they are tired—they do not let their current mood influence they dedication to act.

I think songwriters do it best. Both Beyoncé and Adele have made a living writing about heartache and pain. Most of the country music genre is littered with regret and loss. The Blues expressed the struggles of the time, and rap music offered a vehicle for narrating the hardships of a singer’s life. We celebrate and enjoy the fruits of that labor, the labor of leaning into the darkness.

When I think of some of the hardest times of my life, I know that it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever be in that exact emotional state again. Those moments were rare, and so are the feelings I was steeped in at the time. I like to ask myself, How can you use those feelings to create something you can be proud of, something that will resonate with everyone who experiences it? When you find yourself running away or avoiding the things you love in the presence of pain, shift and do the opposite. Let painful moments become a beacon of creation. If you perceive greatness in your creations, remind yourself that few people celebrate the achievements of average folks. No one writes about the mundane; no one reveres art that doesn’t evoke real emotion. When you are in an irregular, emotionally charged, dark place, use it, lean into it, and be courageous enough to keep creating through it. Not only will you be proud of what you made, but you’ll find the entire process very therapeutic.

Source: The Art of Doing, pp. 152-153

Poetry Collection Review: Instructions for Traveling West

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, this month-long celebration has attracted millions of readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and poets.

Today, and for the next two Fridays, I will share my favorite poetry collections.

Today’s selection, Instructions for Traveling West, has been described as “a lush debut collection that examines what happens when we leave home and leap into the unknown.”

A master wordsmith, Joy Sullivan possesses that rare ability to transform life’s most ordinary moments into dazzling poetry that brims with emotion and insight. I was impressed by her vivid imagery, fresh metaphors, and the threads of humor and compassion that run throughout the collection.

Underlying each poem is the importance of listening to our deepest desires and embracing the call to reinvent ourselves. This is something Sullivan understands very well. In the midst of the pandemic, she left the man she planned to marry, sold her house, quit her corporate job, and drove west.

These poems, with their deeply personal and universal relatable themes, will resonate with women at every age and stage of life. A must-read book for anyone seeking clarity, courage, or a spark of reinvention.

Here’s one of my favorite poems:

Giving Notice

One day soon, you’ll rise from your desk or quietly excuse yourself
from the meeting or turn the car around in the middle of the street.
Anything may trigger it. An open window. A sunny day in April.
Daffodils panting in a mason jar. Call it madness. Call it glorious

disappearance. Call it locomotion. Do what you should have done
years ago. Let your body out to pasture. Fill your calendar with
nothing but sky. Surrender to the woods. To cicadas and sap
beetles. To the moths, the color of memory and dream. Wear
dusk like an ancient cloak. Hurry—

there’s still time to creature—to pluck all the wild cloudberries
and carry them home. Even now, you can hear coyotes crying
at the canyon’s edge. Find your first fang. Grow back your hackles
and howl. This was always your chorus, the mother tongue, a feral
hymn you know by heart.

Be As You Are

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In her recent release, Consider This: Reflections for Finding Peace, bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab shares inspiring advice for setting boundaries, rising above drama, and expressing ourselves with clarity and integrity. Here’s a thought-provoking reflection:

It’s a lifelong learning process to become acquainted with who you are. After all, you are constantly learning and changing even if you don’t realize it.

On average, I read about forty books a year. I love to read, and books have been my companion since childhood. When I share how many I read, some people say they’d like to read more. But reading for pleasure is not the same as having to read for school. People are uncomfortable acknowledging that they only read for utility purposes. But no one has to read unless they truly enjoy it.

Perhaps you don’t like to try new things as much as you’d like to be seen as someone who wants to try new things.

Perhaps you don’t like being in a group setting despite wanting to be more social.

Perhaps you are not as much of this or that as you’d like.

You are who you are, and you may not fit the ideal of who you’d like to be. But embracing who you are will simplify your journey in life.

Change is possible if it’s what you really want to do. However, accepting yourself is freeing. Sometimes, becoming yourself is about simply allowing yourself to be as you are.

Source: Consider This, p. 258.

Poetry Collection Review: All Along You Were Blooming

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

April is National Poetry Month, a month set aside to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our society. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, this month-long celebration has attracted millions of readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and poets.

Today, and for the next three Fridays, I will share my favorite poetry collections.

Today’s selection, All Along You Were Blooming, has been described as “a love letter from the poet to your heart, to your soul, and to your body.”

There is so much to like here, starting with the title and subtitle. These initial messages are reassuring, reminding us that we have been blooming for a while and that we can enrich our lives with “thoughts for boundless living.” I was also impressed by the striking colors and illustrations that accompany each piece of poetry and prose.

Morgan Harper Nichols—a multi-talented artist, musician, and poet—does more than create art. She also gives meaning to each season of our lives. Her work gently encourages us to live fully in the present moment and own our unique stories. Her backstory is an intriguing one. An introvert, she didn’t believe she could show up in the world. All that changed on a cold autumn day when Morgan took a deep breath and wrote an Instagram message to her followers. She invited them to share their stories, and one by one, she responded with a personalized poem, forging a deep and authentic connection with her audience.

Beautifully written and aesthetically pleasing, this book is a versatile gift for many occasions. Whether it’s for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or holidays, this collection will delight the poetry readers in your circle.

One of my favorite poems from the collection:

You find yourself
beneath a canopy of trees
with broken branches,
covered with moss tangled at your knees.

Rest assured
the forest does not crawl on forever,

But you must begin the journey
here.

For this is the time,
this is the time to come alive,
to walk tall with a beating heart
and wide-open midday eyes,
to surrender,
here in the green,
for you are still free
to travel free,
without knowing
everything,
humbly following the traces of daylight,
even though the path is unmarked,
even though this was not a favored start,
this is your only Hope
to make it through
precisely here,
pushing through the land of the unknown
you will find your home
in Hope.

So for now,
while you are here,
turn your attention
to the lessons of strength
this present forest offers.