Gwen M. Plano, aka Gwendolyn M. Plano, grew up in Southern California and spent most of her professional life in higher education. She taught and served as an administrator in colleges in Japan, New York, Connecticut, and California. Gwen’s academic background is in theology and counseling. Recently retired, she now lives in the high desert of Arizona, where she writes, gardens, and travels with her husband.
Gwen’s first book is an acclaimed memoir, Letting Go into Perfect Love. Her second book, The Contract between heaven and earth, is a thriller fiction novel, co-authored by John W. Howell. It has received multiple awards and is an Amazon Best Seller. The Choice, the unexpected heroes is the sequel to The Contract. It is also a thriller, involving the attempt of an unfriendly nation to take over the world. The third book in the series, The Culmination, a new beginning is an action-packed military thriller that spans the globe and involves multiple Heads of State and the threat of World War III. Only love can change the fate of humanity.
When Gwen is not writing, she’s often in the beautiful Red Rocks of Sedona, where she finds inspiration.
Yay! It’s almost here—RELEASE DAY! Tonight “Deep in the Forest Where the Poetry Blooms” will make its way into your Kindle if you preordered or be available for those who have Kindle umlimited. Plus, the print copy is ready to go. I am planning on adding a hardback soon. The new video is at the end of this post and some information about winning a gift card.
Deep in the Forest Where the Poetry Blooms is poetry that spans over a few years after my other book Just Her Poetry was published in 2019. This current collection encompasses many different types of poetry which I put into seasons, magic, paradise, my emotions, and the back of the Harley. Plus, there’s poetry stories told through haibun style. I have become fond of telling stories in limited words like In the Tree’s Shadows. I continued those shorter stories in this book, but with a poetic twist.
Putting this poetry collection together was overwhelming at first with three hundred pages of poetry to pour through. What to use and how to arrange it was a struggle until I made it more like the first book. After making some deep cuts, I enlisted Colleen Chesebro from Unicorn Cat Publishing to edit. I knew she’d be honest, and she was. She nudged me out of auto-pilot to fly with my words again. That was all I needed to make the cuts and changes. I know I’ve said this before, but never pass by the editing stage, even with poetry.
There are still two hundred pages of poetry that didn’t fit this book but may show up later in other projects.
Next, I worked on the cover. There were several at first, but his one captured my heart. Then came the video which is below. That all went smoothly.
Formatting was the last step. Having never done formatting on a poetry book before, it took some learning. Eventually, I figured it all out. It was one of those hard learning curves that my stubborn side insisted on conquering.
I wanted to get Deep in the Forest Where the Poetry Blooms out before the Harbor Pointe Inn Series released, so that added to my final push.
This poetry represents my current journey, but I left many of those COVID-19 year references. I’d rather focus on nature, magic, healing and exploring stories. Some of these poems were used in different challenges, including Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday or the missed Suzanne Burke’s ‘Fiction In A Flash Challenge’ so you may recongnize them.
I was going to share my favorite poem, but in the end, I couldn’t choose. Instead, here’s the video.
To close out this amazing month of celebrating the release of “Just Her Poetry” I wanted to share a couple of the first reviews. I also want to send out a huge thanks and hugs to all the fellow authors and poets who made this so successful!
This is a beautiful collection of poetry with vivid glimpses into the natural world and the many myriad nuances of emotion. The reader is even treated to “musings from the back of a Harley” as the author shares visions penned while riding with her husband on their bike. I was especially enthralled by the nature poetry which is broken into sections for Spring and Summer as well as Fall and Winter.
Sights, sounds and senses come alive in poems like A Day at the River, Thunk, Crisp, and Spring Gone. As a cat lover I also really enjoyed The Huntress which was rendered in such attention to detail it was equivalent to viewing a live-action video. The prose is beautiful and vivid. Some of my favorite lines include:From Spring Day
The gentle tapping of the woodpecker
Reminding me of a blessing in Morse code.From Mist
It is a time of in-between.
Between the sun baking the earth
Or the forest being covered in ice.From The October Sun:
The October sun bleeds through the trees
Clotting up before it reaches me.
There are so many gems in this book, you’re certain to find your own favorites. So escape to a peaceful setting, and let this exquisite collection of poetry soothe your soul.–Mae Clair
5 Stars –Just Her Poetry: Seasons of a Soul by D.L. Finn is a full-length book of poetry with high literary quality. It is divided into two halves, one about the healing beauty of nature and one about relationships and emotional situations. Part One—Just Her Poetry—talks about the seasons of the year in the spectacular scenery around the author’s home and contains a short set of vignettes called “Musings from the Back of a Harley,” detailing the thrill of motorcycle rides around the countryside. Part Two—Seasons of a Soul—explores emotions like sadness, hope, and insecurity in the face of destruction from human behavior and natural forces. There is also an area of poetry inspired by or excerpted from D.L. Finn’s other books and some poems about the holiday season.
I really enjoyed Just Her Poetry: Seasons of a Soul. Rich in content and daily reality, the poems built on each other within each section to take up where the other poem left off. Much like writing chapters in a book of prose, D.L. Finn’s poetry is sophisticated storytelling. It grew in little images gradually to tell a complex story—a novel in verse. My favorite section was “Musings from the Back of a Harley,” a completely unique, distinct set of lyrics in which sharp edges of words brought the excitement of riding a motorcycle into verbal motion. Thought-provoking depth about the fragility of life appeared in other areas of the book, as in a series of poems (“Fire,” “We Wait,” “Wait,” and “Red Flag”) where fine writing brings the experience of living near forest fires into visceral, vivid clarity. Including some poems that connected into Finn’s other writings added more layers and was excellent for putting this book in context.–Sarah Scheele for Readers’ Favorite
IMPORTANT UPDATE: If you pre-ordered “Just Her Poetry” you should be able to find the update now available on Amazon under “Content and Devices.”. They assured me they’d send out emails to let you know, too. Thanks for your patience!
Now here’s the winner of the signed copy of “Just her Poetry”– Jan S, Congrats!
Thanks to all who made this such a memorial experience!
April is National Poetry Month! Celebrate it by reading some poetry. Happy National Poetry Month:)
Watch for a special edition blog this week!
Embrace your inner child by reading a good book! D.L. Finn
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