I am thrilled to let you know that Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh, published by Literary Revelations, is now a #1 Amazon Bestseller [Haiku and Japanese Poetry]. We made to #1 several hours after the launch.
I am proud to be the publisher of this gorgeous book.
Thank you to those who support us.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I am thrilled to let you know that Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh is now live on Amazon. A publication of Literary Revelations, Building Sandcastles is a superb collection of haiku and senryu. I am proud to be the publisher of this book. Thank you everyone for the love and the support I received.
Amazon Description
Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh is a spectacular collection. From every page the beauty of haiku and senryu poetry jumps, inscribing itself in the soul of the reader with color, sonority, melancholy, grief, and love. Water, clouds, memories, do not only mark chapters. They become the real soul of the book. The transitory nature of haiku and senryu – with their delicate and ethereal qualities – is magically transformed by the authors into permanence. That is no easy thing to do. C.X. Turner and James Welsh create a world of splendor and depth that will forever mark those who read the book.
The book showcases seven wonderful sketches done by C.X. Turner. You will find beauty and great substance in them.
Building Sandcastleshas received plenty of advanced praise:
Bryan Rickert, Editor: Failed Haiku Journal of Senryu, President: The Haiku Society of America writes: “With both broad brushstrokes and intimate details, these two poets paint the beautiful experience of their haiku worlds.”
Joe Woodhouse, Editor: Wales Haiku Journal states that: “In one breath tender and poignant, in the next stark and arresting, this collection of short poems is a journey of discovery through an evocative series of moments in nature. It is an exploration of that yearning to glean meaning from the chaotic lives we all lead.”
Roberta Beach JacobsonEditor, Cold Moon Journal and Five Fleas (Itchy Poetry) tells us: “Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems, the stunning new collection by C.X. Turner and James Welsh, is a must-have for your shelves. These thought-provoking haiku and senryu left me breathless.”
Literary Revelations is proud to publish this unbelievable poetry collection.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I am thrilled to let you know that Literary Revelations will publish Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh on August 11. The book is a splendid collection of haiku and senryu. It contains seven sketches done by C.X. Turner. Literary Revelations hired a highly professional formatter who vectorized C.X. Turner’s sketches and worked on every image to make sure that no pixelation will occur on page. The authors choose the have 3 haiku per page beautifully positioned. The formatter made sure that no matter what devise you may use to read the eBook the integrity of the pagination will be kept. A lot of work went into getting this book ready for publication. I am proud to be its publisher.
The book has received plenty of advanced praise some of which can be found HERE. Below please find one of the sketches from the book entitled Water and the foreword I wrote.
Water by C.X. Turner
Building Sandcastles: A book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh
There has never been a collection of short poems and haiku that stirred so much beauty and so many emotions in my soul like Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X.Turner and James Welsh. I want to be clear from the beginning. There is always a certain degree of disparity between the consciousness of a poet and reality. C.X.Turner and James Welsh fill that gap with intricate feelings, fragrances, colors, flowers, birds, and memories, until we do not understand anymore where dreams stop, and reality emerges. The delicacy of their word and sound impregnates every poem.
around a bend on a woodland path the chime of bluebells
river walk— the gentle weeping of white peony petals
Make no mistake. Their poems are not only delicate and breathtaking in imagery. They are also philosophical. Moreover, the authors steer clear of “fixing” feelings. They live the good and the bad, a remarkable move in a world in which commercialism and slogans bombard us every day; a world that denies an entire repertoire of human feelings to replace it with the today’s socially engineered state of “happiness.”
weeping cloud I don’t try to fix melancholy
a grieving friend love, blown from a candle in the wind
C.X.Turner and James Welsh transform the impossible into possible. They transmute the physical world into a world of magnificent beauty and depth that will forever mark those who read them.
Gabriela Marie Milton author, editor, publisher
Afterword
As I mentioned in the ABOUT section of Literary Revelations we value quality, not quantity. We strive to make sure that our books are high quality and our talented authors get the best publicity. We are proud of who we are. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supports us.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I waltz into an empty ballroom yesterday the ghost of Maja haunted Goya in the streets hungry demons haunted you effervescence, the molecules of those who’ll never be, a door gets slammed a key gets turned the breath of earth is choked initiation I buried our wedding bands inside the mist of that which never is I snow on you white flowers from the one forbidden tree I jump like a wild lynx I look for prey you make pianos sneeze old rhapsodies stop it is too late to understand who’s me
featured image – Goya, La Maja Vestida, Public Domain
Literary Revelations is getting ready to publish a new poetry collection Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh.
You can read the advanced praise for Building Sandcastles from the President of the Haiku Society of America Bryan Rickert HERE.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I am thrilled to let everyone know that Swarn Gill’s new book Love, Stars, and Paradigms released a few hours ago just became #1 Amazon bestseller in the UK, the US, and Canada.
Congratulations to Swarn! My publishing house –Literary Revelations – and I are thrilled. Thank you to those who support and believe in us.
Have a great weekend everyone.
The book is available in all Amazon markets.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I am thrilled to let you know that Swarn Gill‘s poetry collection Love, Stars, and Paradigms is now live on Amazon. A publication of Literary Revelations, the book speaks about love, social issue, nature and human relations.
Here is the Amazon description I wrote:
Swarn Gill’s poetry collection, Love, Stars, and Paradigms is a must-read for anyone looking for original and stunning poems about love, social, and political issues. Through his work, Gill explores the connection between the natural realm and the human condition with an eye for detail that is both captivating and thought-provoking. Through powerful imagery and vivid language, he paints his own unique perspective on the world around us. Whether it’s about heartache or joy, Gill’s words will touch your soul. Love, Stars, and Paradigms is an unforgettable journey through the beauty of love and the complexities of relationships.
Swarn jokingly telling us why we have to buy his book.
I am thrilled to reveal the full cover design of Love, Stars, and Paradigms by Swarn Gill. This stunning poetry collection will be published by Literary Revelations early April.
The art on the cover belongs to Magdalena Gill.
Follow this space, Literary Revelations and my social media, Twitter @sortprose1 and IG @gabriela_marie_milton, for more updates on the release date.
Please read the preface I wrote and support us.
Thank you!
Foreword
Writing a poetry collection is one thing, but to write one in which every poem shines like the brightest star in the sky is to take the reader to an entirely different level, inside a universe in which words permeate hearts and transform souls. This is where the poems of Swarn Gill take you.
While within the pages of this book each poem stands on its own, one can notice thematic issues resembling circumpolar constellations. Swarn Gill’s poetry concerns itself with perennial matters such as: love, pain, identity, social justice, building a better self, rituals of daily life to name just a few. The depth and beauty in his poems are remarkable. In Lovestruck he writes “I chose to face wrathful clouds/and I saw/such beauty in the maelstrom/and though you struck me hard/ you hardened me like glass/ and in those semi-opaque reflections/ we hold, we sip, we float.”
In Diurnal Dreams winds of liberation from the conventions of a society plagued by commercialism blow, “free me from grey/break me out/of concrete prisons/prostrate me/among the daisies/let emerald butterflies/send me to slumber.”
Love and nature are married in a remarkable way in Under Nature’s Power. It’s not a marriage of convenience. It’s osmosis. Nature leads. “The stars were lecherous/making you lay down/in the cool grass/then the moon/made your invitation/clear as glass/what choice did we have/under cruel skies.”
Hold Still is a poem of substance, simplicity, and beauty with a hint of laissez-faire, “there was also/something I was/looking forward to/no matter…. we are the moment/time vibrates.”
Irene Solà wrote, “The infinite dwells in each of us. Like a window on the top of our heads that we didn’t even know was there,” [Canto jo i la muntanya balla] and she continued claiming that only the poet can open that door and reach the infinite. All you must do to know she was right is to read Swarn Gill’s book Love, Stars, and Paradigms.
Literary Revelations is proud to publish such an unbelievable poetry collection.
Gabriela Marie Milton 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Books:
I suspect I suffer from an acute crisis of half-bloomed neurosis. My past emotions do not fully interfere with my current experiences. The converse is true too. No sophistry added. How boring.
I work my magic. I jump in the water dressed in black lingerie made from Calais laces and Lyon silks. I can feel the waves pounding my body while my mind drowns in the ambiguity of the French Nouveau Roman standing mid-way between modernism and post-modernism like a drunken sunset that cannot distinguish between yellow and orange.
The foliage of the sea turns burgundy. Your fingers contour my face.
Oh, you.
I forget that my favorite poet is Arthur Rimbaud with his “A thousand Dreams within me softly burn” and “I shed more tears than God could ever have required.” All I remember is that once I wrote: “I’ve never existed outside of your obsession with me and my interpretations of you.”
There is something about these interpretations that make you burst in cascades of laughter and art your love for me with lust.
One morning, left by my pillow, I found your reply written on a large index card: “I had to bury your existence inside my obsessions. If not, your love could not have been fully stabilized. You above anyone else know that an absolute correspondence in love does not exist. Love is a mathematical singularity.”
You knew where the world began. I will find too. I will drown in the sea where olive trees end, and Rimbaud’s atrocious sunsets start. I will become the forget-me-not of the waters.
Do you remember when there were 14 days in a week, all of them Sundays?
My blood, first thought to be of a certain type. Now classified differently. In the entire world there is only a very small number of people that have the same type of blood as I do. It must be a mistake. Can we start over?
Sweet love don’t cry.
The 15th day of the week will be the day of mirth. Yellow laughter and photographs stretched from my soul to the ledge of the windows.
Waters.
Forget-me-not.
featured image: Claude Monet – Water Lilies
Reminders
Please do not forget our incredible collection Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology. You can buy it HERE.
I am delighted to be featured in New York Glamour Magazine the third time. I was asked to first speak about myself and then about the anthology Hidden in Childhood [Literary Revelations, 2023]. I am grateful to everyone who spread the word about this stunning anthology. I am grateful to everyone who bought it. I am proud to have brought together the voices of 150 poets to speak to you in more than 270 poems about the trauma and the joy of childhood. Hidden in Childhood is a stunning and important book. It became a #1 Amazon bestseller for 5 days after its release. Yesterday it recaptured its #1 place for the entire day.
You can get the anthology and read the poetry of those stunning writersHERE.
Apologies if I did not return some of your love. I will visit with you as soon as can. None of you knows that I have an extremely rare autoimmune condition. It is so rare that it’s basically understudied. There is no treatment for it. For years it left me alone. Now, I am going through a flare up. All medical tests were done, and there is no damage to any of my internal tissues. I am ok but I will need time to recover. Please be patient with me and I will visit your sites soon.
Now let’s go back to happier things. I am thrilled I was asked by New York Glamour Magazine to talk about me. However I am beyond delighted I could talk about Hidden in Childhood and your marvelous poetry.
Here are some snippets from the interview:
“Yes, I am an American, but I am also a child of Europe. I have been fascinated, mesmerized, frightened, brought to tears, left speechless by the greatest writers of Europe. I still am. Later, I discovered America’s greatest: Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, Faulkner, Hemingway, Miller, Poe. Yet, in my darkest moments – like those rare moments in which I cannot write – only the writings of Lawrence Durrell bring my muse back.”
“Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology is our first publication. It comprises over 150 authors and more than 270 poems. It is available on Amazon and for almost 5 days was the #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Poetry Anthologies. As the editor, curator, and publisher of this book, I am honored and humbled that so many poets entrusted me with their work. The beauty and the power of the poems included in Hidden in Childhood brought me to tears. The poems of the contributors are stunners. As I wrote in the foreword of the book, if you open the pages of this poetry collection, you will be mesmerized by the talent of the contributors, and by the range of stylistic approaches they use to recreate the world of childhood“
