Lighten Up, poetry and digital art by Joan Ellen Gage

On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School (JCCFS) and NC Writers’ Network-West (NCWN-West) will sponsor The Literary Hour. At this event, NCWN-West members will read at the Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC (1 Folk School Rd., Brasstown, NC 28902. This reading is free of charge and open to the public.

Joan Ellen Gage is an author of humor and inspiration written from her own unique perspective. Her recipe for her writing focuses on staying upbeat and laughing at her own foibles. Gage’s photos are the spice in the mix that serve to punctuate the writing and add that special garnish to her creations.

Joan has written and published five books, Water Running Downhill, Embracing Your Inner Cheerleader, A Redhead Looks At 60, Trinity’s Adventures in Imagination, and a special edition of Water Running Downhill! the Rose Edition, as a tribute to her friend Rose Macedo Kull. All of the books are available on Amazon. Currently, Gage is working on a new book entitled: Words of Defiance and Empowerment.

Gage is a former administrator for the NCWN-West blog. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com,and A Redhead Blogs at 60, https://joans-zone.com/.

Gage will be reading with other NCWN-West members Bob Grove, author of prose and Carroll S. Taylor, author of YA novels. Grove has published a mystery novella, Secrets of Magnolia Manor, his memoir, Misadventures of an Only Child, a collection of children’s stories: Adventures of Kaylie and Jimmy, and many flash fiction stories as well as some poetry. Taylor is the author of two young adult novels, Chinaberry Summer and Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side. She is currently writing the third novel in the series, Chinaberry Summer: Down by the Water.

OTHER WEBSITE: https://joanellengage.com/

JOAN’S LINKS:

https://www.facebook.com/yourpersonalcheerleaderJoanEllenGage/

https://twitter.com/gage_joanellen

https://www.instagram.com/JoanEllenGage609/

BOOKS:

EMBRACING YOUR INNER CHEERLEADER: http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Your-Inner-Cheerleader-ebook/dp/B0086WW7AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&

qid=1340641839&sr=8-1&keywords=Embracing+Your+Inner+Cheerleader

STRANGER IN A STRANGE SKIN: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95140

A Redhead Looks at 60: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-7867874-1973650?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+redhead+looks+at+60

©All creative works by Joan Ellen Gage are her exclusive property, and Joan maintains the legal rights to them.

Aflame, poetry and photo-creation by Joan Ellen Gage

Posted on September 8, 2018September 8, 2018 by Your Personal Cheerleader/Poet/Digital Artist

Aflame

Have you discovered that

you are not alone in this world?

Humans cannot exist on this planet as an island of one.

And, have you found your

Higher Power, Spirit, God, or

whatever you choose to call him/her/it?

Have you plugged your “adaptor”

into this power source, and experienced

enlightenment, and/or a power surge?

We must believe that our existence

is much more than just that.

Find what ignites your heart of hearts,

be drawn in like moth to flame.

Glow with inner fire;

life will never be the same!

by Joan Ellen Gage,

from the book, A Redhead Looks at 60

WEBSITE: https://joanellengage.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/yourpersonalcheerleaderJoanEllenGage/

BOOKS:

EMBRACING YOUR INNER CHEERLEADER: http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Your-Inner-Cheerleader-ebook/dp/B0086WW7AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&

qid=1340641839&sr=8-1&keywords=Embracing+Your+Inner+Cheerleader

STRANGER IN A STRANGE SKIN: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95140

A Redhead Looks at 60: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-7867874-1973650?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+redhead+looks+at+60

©All creative works by Joan Ellen Gage are her exclusive property, and Joan maintains the legal rights to them.

The Pacifier, by Joan Ellen Gage

Posted on August 27, 2018August 28, 2018 by Your Personal Cheerleader/Poet/Digital Artist

The Pacifier

I have been given a special gift of time.

Most of which I have squandered, although

in my defense, I have been mentioned in Housekeeping

Beautiful for keeping up with the housework and laundry!

As much as I want to take time and write,

the process itself means stealing alone time,

which, unfortunately, society has dictated as selfish.

I usually try to juggle work and pleasure—

dusting and vacuuming between commercials,

thereby assuaging the guilt of a little bit of fun.

And how I love to watch chick-flicks,

re-watching some of them over and over.

I have my favorites; it has been a long love affair with TV.

It’s been a friend or companion when I am in need,

and the background chatter means that I am not alone.

It is so ironic that I need quiet to write,

yet, I constantly fill that silence with noise,

which must just be a pacifier for me.

Hey, perhaps I should suck my thumb instead?

There’s a stroke of brilliance, do you think it could work?

from the book: A Redhead Looks at 60,

by Joan Ellen Gage

WEBSITE: https://joanellengage.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/yourpersonalcheerleaderJoanEllenGage/

BOOKS:

EMBRACING YOUR INNER CHEERLEADER: http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Your-Inner-Cheerleader-ebook/dp/B0086WW7AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&

qid=1340641839&sr=8-1&keywords=Embracing+Your+Inner+Cheerleader

STRANGER IN A STRANGE SKIN: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95140

A Redhead Looks at 60: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-7867874-1973650?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+redhead+looks+at+60

©All creative works by Joan Ellen Gage are her exclusive property, and Joan maintains the legal rights to them.