My Thanksgiving Wish...

For all my friends preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends this week, I thought I would share my Thanksgiving Doodle Day #10 along with a few turkey jokes and a heartfelt Thanksgiving wish...

JOKES

Why can't you take a turkey to church? 

They use FOWL language. 

What happened when the turkey got into a fight? 

He got the stuffing knocked out of him! 

 

What do you get when you cross a turkey with a banjo? 

A turkey that can pluck itself!   

 

What do you call an evil turkey? 

Poultry-Geist 

 

What sound does a space turkey make? 

Hubble, Hubble, Hubble! 

 

What did the turkey say to the computer? 

Google, google, google! 

 

What was the turkey looking for at ToysRus?  

Gobbleheads. 

 

If you call a large turkey a gobbler what do you call a small one? 

Goblet. 

MY THANKSGIVING WISH

by Donna L Martin

To loved ones near or far,

And those dear to my heart.

For family staying at home,

And friends living miles apart.

From my house to yours,

My heartfelt wish for you,

Is lots of love and laughter,

Now and the whole year through.

 

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

ARE YOU THE MISSING PIECE? is now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and other fine retailers. It became a #1 bestseller in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.

 

International best selling author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt Taekwondo Instructor by day and a 'ninja' writer of children’s picture books, chapter books and young adult novels by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host and book reviewer for Harper Collins, She is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and Children's Book Insider. Donna is a lover of dark chocolate, time at the beach, and well written stories.

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Twas An Eve Before Publishing...

(I first posted this silly poem on December 24th, 2012. I hope you enjoy my sharing this with my readers again...)

 

 

 

Twas An Eve Before Publishing

By Donna L Martin

Twas an eve before publishing,

And when all throughout my house,

I’d just finished a story

About a cat and a mouse.

 

Next year would be busy

With many stories to write,

But what if I’m not published,

Tho I try hard as I might?

 

I shut down my old laptop

And turned off the light,

When suddenly a noise

Rang out in the night.

 

I rushed to my door

To sneak a peek outside;

There stood an old wizard

With a donkey named Clyde.

 

He said he was Berlin

And came bearing a gift

Of a new Mac computer

And a bag he could scarcely lift.

 

He asked could he come inside,

And get out of the harsh cold?

Well, I gladly let him in

After the story he told.

 

He was going to Vegas

To try his luck with the dice,

But got lost near the North Pole

And met a dude who was nice.

 

“I’ll help you get to Vegas,
If you stop along the way.

I don’t have time to visit

The Martins by Christmas Day!”

 

Then Berlin opened his sack

While books spilled to the floor.

Lots of writer references,

Author stories I adore.

 

“Here's all the magic you need

To make the right dreams come true.

It takes belief in yourself.

Hard work. It's all up to you!”

 

The wizard smiled, then turned to go

Out into the winter night.

But I heard words softly said

As I turned off the porch light.

 

“Good luck in the coming year,

With a book contract or two.

But should you run into that dude,

Clyde wants a blanket in blue!”

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE**

MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE: THE HOMECOMING

***To all those who gave their all in service of their country...we salute you***

THE HOMECOMING

by: Donna L Martin

Walk softly through the creeping vines,

And never lead your heart astray;

‘Til the last dancer touches the floor,

And the fiddler has had his pay.

Play softly ‘til the golden sun sets,

And never let the rains come;

‘Til the last tune sings no more,

And at last they bring you home

Lie softly on your bed of green

And never give up the fight;

‘Til the last flower has had it’s bloom,

And the day leaves with fading light.

Sleep quietly in your darkened abode,

And never stop casting a stone;

‘Til all the stars have lost their shine,

And you find yourself all alone.

Dream sweetly in your world of dreams;

And never let them out of your sight;

‘Til the last mourner has shed a tear,

And at last you welcome the night.

Live forever on in the hearts of men,

And never stop ‘til warriors roam.

‘Til the last hope is cast away,

And they finally bring you home.

 

This & That

ETCHINGS OF THE HEART

by: Donna L Martin

All those crystal clear memories

you’ve etched in my heart

to help soften the pain

during the times we’re apart.

And when clouds threaten my skies

I open that little door

to release a small memory

filled with Love, Hope, and More.

Love when you made me care,

hope when you spoke of we.

And More when you revealed secrets

of how you’d like things to be.

But memories are all I have

now that we’ve drifted apart

to remind me you’re still there

in the etchings of my heart.

******************

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.  ~ Douglas Adams

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.  ~ Douglas Adams 

You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  ~ Dr. Seuss, OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little.  ~ Denis Parsons Burkitt

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. ~ Harry S Truman

This & That

To Hell With My Diet

by: Janet Lavergne

To hell with my diet

and attempts to lose weight.

Wouldn't you disagree

with numbering everything you ate?

Up with chocolate bars

and down with all vegetables.

I'll eat that spaghetti

til I can't get up from the table.

Duncan Hines, Sara Lee,

Dolly Madison, Pepperidge Farm;

Aunt Jermima's pancakes

with maple syrup would do no harm.

Give me meat and potatoes

and all the ice cream I can find.

To hell with my diet!

I'm just expanding my mind.

***************

"Indeed, learning to write may be a part of learning to read. For all I know,writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading."  — Eudora Welty

"The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I [haven't] read." — Abraham Lincoln

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."  — Emilie Buchwald

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."  —Groucho Marx

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."  — Jacqueline Kennedy

"You may have tangible wealth untold. / Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. / Richer than I you can never be – / I had a mother who read to me."  — Strickland Gillilan

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."  — Walt Disney

This & That

Changes In The Air

By: Donna L Martin

Red, orange and gold sway to and fro

as leaves dance across the path I stroll down.

What are the chances things will be the same

once I return to the places we used to go?

My footsteps hesitate as I see the tree where

we once picnicked in the spring.

Now there are children playing in the leaves

and I feel the changes in the air.

There is the bridge where you carved my name

within a heart you told me was mine.

My own heart races at the thought

of how my life will never be the same.

My cheeks are suddenly damp as I near

the place where you left me behind.

Its been two years since you’ve gone

and the fog has finally begun to clear.

Just like the leaves, the world spun away from me

when they told me of how you died.
Then long months of mourning when all I could do

was breathe and dream of what used to be.

But life goes on even when we might not care

and my world is slowly becoming the color of these leaves.

I may not be ready to greet the spring time,

but I can finally welcome the changes in the air.

***************

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~ Scott Adams

Becoming a writer means being creative enough to find the time and the place in your life for writing,    ~ Heather Sellers

If you can't play all the instruments in the orchestra of story, no matter what music may be in your imagination, you're condemned to hum the same old tune. ~ Robert McKee

A hero knows it takes hard work and a long time to get published; a fool thinks it should happen immediately, because he thinks he's a hero already. ~ James Scott Bell 

A story consists of someone wanting something and having trouble getting it. ~ Douglas Glover

This & That

The Snow On The Stairs

By: Janet Lavergne

It was all in my mind,

but I loved playing the game.

To pretend to have it all

when the grey morning came.

But I opened my eyes

and felt the cold air

from the hole in the door

and the snow on the stairs.

*************

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~ Hart Crane

The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. ~ Edwin Schlossberg

If a true artist were born in a pigpen and raised in a sty, he would still find plenty of inspiration for his work. The only need is the eye to see. ~ Willa Cather

Becoming a writer means being creative enough to find the time and the place in your life for writing.~ Heather Sellers

Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. ~ Jules Renard

This & That

LONG DARK KISS

By: Janet Lavergne

Once the candle burned.

I waited and I watched;

believed in all that you tried.

I wanted and hoped.

I did it all for you

and would have lied.

I gave you all that I wished

and sent you away

with a long dark kiss

on a journey that would

make you grow and learn.

Though it has been months,

the candle still burns.

**************

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~ Anaïs Nin

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~ William Wordsworth

Writing is a struggle against silence. ~ Carlos Fuentes

Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head. ~ From the movie Finding Forrester

Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. ~ Sholem Asch

This & That

Now that GUTGAA is almost here, I've been blessed with a few more followers who might not know about the Blog Contest I have going on until September 6th.  You can read all about it here...http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/08/its-that-time-again.html,,,there's still time to give a shout-out for my blog and have a chance to win some great prizes!

*****************

Inside every fat book is a thin book trying to get out. - Unknown

The long-lived books of tomorrow are concealed somewhere amongst the so-far unpublished MSS of today. - Philip Unwin

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. - Mary Heaton Vorse

A story isn't about a moment in time, a story is about the moment in time. - W. D. Wetherell

I never want to see anyone, and I never want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to write. - P. G. Wodehouse

I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done. - Stephen Wright

It is my contention that a really great novel is made with a knife and not a pen. A novelist must have the intestinal fortitude to cut out even the most brilliant passage so long as it doesn't advance the story. - Frank Yerby

Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up. - Jane Yolen

This & That

A MOTHER’S LOVE

By: Donna L Martin

Alas, my poor fair-haired child

With eyes that twinkle so,

You’ll never meet your own mother,

Her hugs you’ll never know.

You’ll never know all the times

She held you late at night.

Kissing away your little tears,

Making it all seem right.

You’ll soon forget all the times

The love she showered on you,

When making your first halting steps

And saying your first words, too.

But as each year passes you by

When closing your eyes at night,

Try to remember your mother’s love

Shining out like a heavenly light.

Even though she’s left too soon

When her warmth you needed to find,

She may have gone to some other place

Yet she’s left her love behind.

***************

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. - Sidney Smith

The vital point to remember is that the swine who just sent your pearl of a story back with nothing but a coffee-stain and a printed rejection slip can be wrong. You cannot take it for granted that heis wrong, but you have an all-important margin of hope that might be enough to keep you going. - Brian Stableford

Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short. - Henry David Thoreau

An essential element for good writing is a good ear: One must listen to the sound of one's own prose. - Barbara Tuchman

The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible. - Mark Twain

This & That

THE JOKE

Donna L Martin

I wait to breathe

            I breathe to live

                        I live for love

                                    I love to laugh

                                                I laugh at life

                                                            Life’s a joke

                                                                        The joke is on me

                                                                        I am a joke

                                                            The joke is my life

                                                My life is a laugh

                                    I laugh with love

                        I love to live

            I live to breathe

I breathe while I wait.

************************

All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary -- it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences. -Somerset Maugham

When you take stuff from one writer, it's plagiarism; but when you take it from many writers, it's research. - William Mizner

Don't sell yourself short; dare to dream. You might sell to a top market before you ever sell to a non-paying market - you won't know unless you try. - Rheal Nadeau

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. - Linus Pauling

Perhaps it would be better not to be a writer, but if you must, then write. If all feels hopeless, if that famous 'inspiration' will not come, write. If you are a genius, you'll make your own rules, but if not - and the odds are against it - go to your desk no matter what your mood, face the icy challenge of the paper - write. -J. B. Priestly