Tag: Authors

Titillating Literary Culinary Offerings

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A Book Review

Milkshakes & Chilidogs by Bartholomew Barker. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

You will never have to twist my arm or convince me to purchase a book of poems by Bartholomew Barker. If he’s writing them, I’m buying it. Some people master structure, line breaks, wordplay, and intensity all in one go with their poetry, and Bart is one of those people.

I assure you, reading about dinner, drinks, and dessert will never be the same. You’ll find yourself thinking you can actually undress a glass of wine, see full and supple breasts in a bunch of tomatoes, and hear heaven’s angels sing while you’re baking a fresh batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

It was a pleasure to read and review this chapbook, which I did on both Amazon and Goodreads.

Serve Me a Symphony of Purple in a Glass

I knew that I would not be disappointed as soon as I opened “Milkshakes and Chilidogs”, and began reading. Barker has a way of working language, playing with phrases and rhythm, so that his poetry not only sticks with you, it is pleasing to the ear when read aloud.

His line breaks are intentional and powerful. Every stanza is a welcome wave of sighs of relief for a reader and writer of poetry.

There are so many quotable phrases throughout this chapbook such as:

“I keep time with an hourglass
because I prefer the shape.”

“Sunday morning pancakes
start out pale like her skin
in early spring.”

“Tomatoes
Firm as your breasts
Red as your lips
On a night out
Drenched in Merlot.”

And this doesn’t even begin to scrape the surface of his brilliant use of form and structure. I loved everything about this offering except for the fact that it’s not long enough.

I would have loved to see a formal book of poetry regarding dinner, drinks, and dessert, especially if they’re going to be written by Bartholomew Barker.

Currently, at just $1.99 for Kindle and $5.45 for paperback, Milkshakes & Chilidogs is far beyond affordable and worth so much more. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer for a few of your wordsmith-like friends, this chapbook would make the perfect gift!

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.

3 copies of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for $7.25

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For the first 3 commenters to email me… I’ve got YOUR copy for YOU.

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for YOU for the upcoming holidays. Fictional work by Tremaine L. Loadholt Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period of three years.

Dive into the world of a little girl whose family uproots and moves to “The Deep South” because of a new opportunity presented to her father. Transport yourself to the life of a little girl who becomes a mother and a sister to her child at the hands of her sadistic and evil father. Walk with a grieving sister and her mother as they remember a woman who was brutally murdered by her partner. Her young boys live out her legacy as they mourn her.

Experience parenthood as you enter the world of soon-to-be young parents and their ups and downs in life change them significantly while they journey along their new path. Make a brief cameo into the hearts of a dedicated aunt and a rebellious teenage niece whose father has lost his grip on his child.

There are so many more characters with which to connect. As you thumb through each page, the author wants you to feel something; with these stories, you will.

3 copies of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for $7.25!

Get your copy of Séduire at this special offer of $7.25 now!

You heard that right, beautiful people! I have three copies, and the price is $7.25. For the first three commenters/responders to email me at acorneredgurl@gmail.com, I’ve got a copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for you. Not only will you receive an autographed copy, but you will also receive a Thank You card, and the items will be wrapped and shipped directly to you. Currently, only United States residents will be considered.

After I have received an email from three people with the intent to purchase Séduire for this holiday-focused discounted price, the comments to this post will be closed.

Last-minute Christmas shoppers, this is your chance to scoop up a thoughtful gift for the avid reader in your family. I’m side-eyeing you right now and pressing my right hand against my heart. Have you been thinking about purchasing Séduire, and just couldn’t dish out the $15.75 USD paperback or the $9.00 e-book USD price? Now’s your time to jump on a good deal while it’s here.

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for YOU for the upcoming holidays. Fictional work by Tremaine L. Loadholt Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

4 Reviews of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction from verified purchasers:

Again, the first three responders to email me at acorneredgurl@gmail.com will receive a copy of Séduire for the holiday-focused discounted price of $7.25. I look forward to hearing from three of you soon.

Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction for YOU for the upcoming holidays. Fictional work by Tremaine L. Loadholt Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Words cannot fully express my gratitude for every follower, reader, supporter, and writer in this community. All of you truly make WordPress what it is to me, and that’s home. Please know, making the above video for the express purpose of doing something different for Séduire was extremely nerve-racking for me. However, I am taking baby steps and coming out of my shell a little bit here and there. Thank you for being here for the unveiling.

If you happen to miss this post, and you still want to purchase a copy of Séduire, you can find the version that best suits you below…

Séduire: Paperback: LuLu|E-book: Lulu|Paperback only: Amazon

Scattered Words

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Poems for Jernee Timid Loadholt

The cover (front and back) for Scattered Words: Poems for Jernee Timid Loadholt. Photo Collage Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

4 sections. 24 poems. 9 original photos (digitally animated by Google Gemini). 40 pages. 1 dog who is no longer with us.

The tentative publishing date is January 12, 2026, four months after Jernee’s passing.

In Scattered Words: Poems for Jernee Timid Loadholt, the author wants you, the reader, to experience Jernee in totality, and understand why she has lost the greatest companion she has ever known.

If you have ever grieved the loss of a pet, many of these poems will not only resonate with you, they will set up holding spaces in your mind, crawl into your heart, and retreat only when they have been commanded to do so.

You will laugh, cry, nod in agreement, and reminisce about your furry family member(s) and how they have become your strength. Grief is not linear, and every creeping moment it decides to invade your heart, there is a poem in this book to greet it.

In Scattered Words…, Tremaine celebrated, lamented, grieved, loved, and released Jernee Timid Loadholt. Every day, she will probably do these things again—not necessarily in that order.

If you have never met a dog who had the uncanny ability to be more memorable than some of the people you know, with this book of poems, you will have your chance.

God gifted me peace in living form, and I will never forget her, not ever.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

Angles and Distance

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A Collaborative Poem by Barry Dawson & Tremaine L. Loadholt, published in Collaborature

Image: Greg Schmigel

BJ Dawson:

They come dripping with honied songs.
You happily lap them up at first;
so cloyingly sticky with promise
the sting of their claws goes unnoticed.
And just like that, there’s nothing again,

Only now, nothing feels less than that.
Got you chasing things you never wanted
just to feel something one more time,
just to get another juicy taste,
just like they wanted all along.

Play at being prey enough times,
angles and patterns soon seem telegraphed.
Funny how when you see them coming
those sweet songs croon on empty calories,
leaving you, me, and this naked truth.

Unsheathed, this mummer’s mimic still has fangs,
so be mindful how you cast them off.
Though a well-dressed no is still a no
and boundaries trigger venomous bite,
angles and distance out-leverage their reach.

Let them bait their lines again and again.
Mimic being moved by their siren song
as saccharine curdles into sour nothings
as you walk away from their invite
to thank them for gorging on your wholeness.

(In Response) Tremaine L. Loadholt:

You love being whole,
love feeling like you have
it all, and every woman you
meet must be craving
your attention.
A welcome yes may not
be the yes you yearn for,
but this doesn’t matter, you’ll
take what you want anyway.

And the sun and moon watch
as you devour hearts that
haven’t bloomed into their
ripe age. they plot on you–one
to brace you when it’s hot, the
other to push you when it’s cool.
You are so intent on breaking
every rule, you don’t realize
protecting you is their job.

The distance to sanity from where
you are is a two-day journey.
Wives and husbands, sisters and
brothers; every connected union
you find along your path–

To read the poem in its entirety, please find it in its published form at Collaborature. Thank you so much, Melissa Lemay, for hosting our work! Thank you, Barry, for continuing to collaborate with me. Our words have danced with each other for years, and I pray they continue to find each other in the future, too.

Writing It Gently, Babies

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A Book Review

Let Me Write This Gently, My Baby by Lisa Marie Lovett. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Lately, I’ve been reading books that are seeping into my soul, spreading throughout my body, and settling into my marrow. There is nothing like reading a damn good book that strengthens you throughout the read, and begs you to sit with it for a while longer than you initially planned to. Let Me Write This Gently, My Baby by Lisa Marrie Lovett (Seasoned Dialogue on all platforms) does exactly that.

A spoken word poet, speaker, and influencer (amongst other things), Lisa lures the reader in with her gentle sayings that come wrapped in love, but with Mama’s sternness, and lets you know she means exactly what is being said to you. In every word shared within these pages, there is love, kindness, encouragement, testimonies, and a subtle bite to remind the reader that the author can get feisty if she has to. I appreciated everything this book has to offer, and I am blessed to have had a friend gift it to me a couple of months ago.

Below is the review of it that I shared on Amazon and Goodreads:

I Sat With This Book As If It Were My North Star

And that isn’t to say that it steered me along the right path every single time I opened it up, no I am saying this because the journey was a much-needed one. It came at the right time, and as a gift, too.

Sometimes, we need wisdom to glide to us in other forms, and when it is laced as poetry and literary art, for the written word creative, that is a blessing.

To connect with another human being’s words when you’re hungry for peace is soulspeak on an entirely different level.

Lisa Marie Lovett is in fact, “Seasoned Dialogue”, everything about this book screams teacher, poet, writer, experienced, a work in progress, blessed, and willing to learn. “Knowledge is infinite”, and within these pages, there is plenty of it shared with the reader.

I intend to read this book many more times, especially when life becomes far too heavy to carry or is cloaked in evil that I cannot fight alone.

Let Me Write This Gently, My Baby is a testimony that will continue to confess for many years to come.

If you’re a lover of poetry and looking for a book full of spoken word and poems that will nestle up next to you and spend a few nights in your head, this book is for you. The flow is smooth, succinct, flawless, and seamless, without a single hiccup. I appreciate the literary artistry on every page, and I am sure you will do the same.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

Life in Photos #2

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Daily photographic musings

K.E. Garland (aka Kathy) of Inspirational Kwotes, Stories, & Images & I at 800 Degrees in Charlotte, NC. If you’re not aware, she is also the author of several books, most recently released, In Search of a Salve: Memoir of a Sex Addict. It was our first time meeting, and I had a great time! Photo Credit: K.E. Garland/Photo enhancement & collage by Tremaine L. Loadholt
My lunch at 800 Degrees: Meatball Parm with house fries. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Hallway art: an image in my apartment building. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
One thing about us Southerners is that we love our chicken-fried steak, cheese eggs, and biscuits & gravy. Sunday breakfast at Mama Zoe’s, from Sunday, November 09, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Lost chickens? They were just hanging out in front of the fitness building in the same shopping center as Mama Zoe’s. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Lazy eye game H E A V Y. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
A sneak peek at the fit for last Saturday, November 08, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
I purchased a scalp massager from my loctician when she was done with my hair. This tool has truly become one of my favorite things to use for massaging my scalp & keeping my locs from combining or curling into one another. I have curly/wavy hair, so that can be an issue for locs. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Zumi Tye was coming out for the morning, and breakfast is what Zuse craved. LOL! Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
The girls: Stacey-Lou, Bella-Rue, and Rylee-Blu, my best friend, Mook’s Boston Terriers. She sent a video of them watching TV to me, and I snapped a screenshot to capture them in a freeze-frame photo. I love these little rascals, and I was able to see them on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt, c/o Mook’s video.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.