NEW BEGINNINGS

by Eva Marie Dunlap (formerly Cagley)

Please welcome Eva Marie back to the Writers Journey Blog with a story of starting over.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Hi, my name is Eva Marie Ann Dunlap (Cagley). I am a returning contributor to the Writers Journey Blog… but it has been a while. I’m happy to be back because I have some news for my writer’s communities.

I recently built a new profile on Facebook. I'm only up to 326 friends now, when the old profile had 2,000. It's taking me awhile to get my poetry friends back. But I feel fortunate for the ones I have. If you were a friend of mine on my previous profile please send me a friend request. Second, I have always used my maiden name for all my poetry in the past, but now I'm using my married name of Dunlap.

I have restructured and am more careful about my “Friends” … I got hacked a few months back and it was terrible! I wound up in the hospital for about two months. It was difficult to prove who I was to Facebook as I had used my maiden name and my license said Dunlap. So, I just made a new profile.

When I was hacked they hacked most all my social media accounts. I was extremely distraught over the whole ordeal and still haven't recovered all my accounts yet. I don't understand why people hack other people. It's an invasion of privacy. Someone even bought a phone in my name and used my address. I have turned that into the police department and the FBI.

The problem is that there is little one can do when you are hacked, and your identity stolen. I am hoping that this blog will help me get more of my poetry friends and writing friends back and to pick up a few new ones along the way. 

I am currently trying to retrieve some of my poetry and essays from the internet by Googling my name. I've found a few that way including some from my previous articles on this blog site.

I have also taken four of my poetry books off the market as my editor was keeping my proceeds. I never saw a dime from them, and I know I sold a few copies.

My plan is to update those books and do some rewrites and editing and the republishing them. Currently I have only two books published on Amazon. In the Garden of My Mind and Christmas Miracle.

Christmas Miracle is available on Kindle only but In The Garden of my Mind is available on Kindle and paperback.

It has been hard for me to get back into writing after being hacked and my time in the hospital. This is the first article I've written since then. But I'm slowly getting there. I do a lot of reading of others work. Which I believe makes my writing stronger and better. If you see me around please drop me a friend request. My profile is under Eva Marie Dunlap.

Join Eva on her new Facebook Page Just click and 'friend" her.

BIO: Eva Marie Dunlap (Cagley) She was born and raised in Waterloo Iowa, where she spent most of her time working with teenagers in a group home and at a Juvenile Detention Center as a counselor. Working with teenagers gave her great joy, having had none of her own… She came from a large family of nine children having six brothers and two sisters. She has always had a love for poetry. It has always been a dream of hers to publish a book of her own poems. Her first interest in poetry was when she was in Sixth grade English class and was studying Robert Frost. She has always had a passion for poetry and believes it is a gift from God…It gives her great pleasure to share her poetry with others. There's little else to say about her as her poetry reflects who she is. Her beliefs, perspectives, trials and tribulations, hopes and despair, dreams of all her lives’ journeys…You can find her on Facebook… She's Admn for poetry group on Facebook called Trending Poets. And  currently a Staff Writer and Design Assistant for Wildfire Publications Quarterly Magazine and she is a Featured Author for Bizcatalyst360.com You can also find her on Youtube. Her books: Available on Amazon paperback and Kindle In the Garden of my Mind and Christmas Miracle.

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TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN REVIEW:

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When I was 12 years old, on my grandmother’s top floor, perched in a windowsill that looked out over her gardens. I read an old set of three leatherbound editions of  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I read them straight through in three days. They captured my imagination and from that time forward I have been in an inescapable literary love affair with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I am truly delighted to find an author in P. A. O’Neal dedicated and able to  skillfully and believably recreate those living characters for me.

I like the way these stories take place in the present (1900s) as it opens with John Watson recuperating from the war, he quickly meets Sherlock, and the magic begins! P. A. O’Neal takes us to a familiar London at 221 Baker St. where Mrs. Hudson cares for her gentlemen tenants. The Author has compiled short stories that complement each other, are well thought out, detailed and interesting. Her attention to period aspects, language, vocabulary and mores are delightful and one of my favorite parts of this compilation of short stories.

The author skillfully weaves her way through these narratives pulling you into the  brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes in all his fallacy and genius while the faithful Doctor is as indispensable as ever. I especially enjoyed The Good Student as Dr. Watson alone revealed the mystery at hand using Holmes’s techniques and I loved the story Her Sister’s Keeper. I did not see it coming! I will be watching for more Sherlock and Watson from this weaver of tales. Exceptional work P.A. O’Neal. Highly Recommended.