DANCE FOR ME
Dance for me pretty leaves
Until the sun raise its head
And you turn your faces
To the coming day.
Month: July 2015
INVISIBLE ME
Some days I feel strong and empowered,
Ready to face the challenges
Life throws at me.
Other days I feel invisible,
A transparent copy of myself,
Feeling life fade away.
How do I remain strong?
My transparent self
Needs to be reminded
Of all the people
Who rely on it;
Of all the people
Who love and need it.
It is flickering.
It is becoming solid.
It is becoming strong once again.
MOON SHADOW — April 2, 2015
I live in the shadow of the moon.
I have grown and sprouted much too soon.
I will try with all my might
To live in the bright sunlight.
I close my eyes but yet I’m still here.
Sitting on a branch next to a pear.
My petals are white as snow
Because of this fact I know.
I will never be awake at day
No matter how hard I wish and pray.
For I live in the shadow of the moon
And I’m slated to sing the nightly tune.
I have grown and sprouted much too soon.
I will try with all my might
To live in the bright sunlight.
I close my eyes but yet I’m still here.
Sitting on a branch next to a pear.
My petals are white as snow
Because of this fact I know.
I will never be awake at day
No matter how hard I wish and pray.
For I live in the shadow of the moon
And I’m slated to sing the nightly tune.
A Perfect Place To Be
A place to reflect and write,
Where the cold wouldn’t dare to bite.
I would lie down and close my eyes,
And listen to the windswept cries.
Creatures would circle my dome.
Maybe I will see a gnome.
Such stories I would create.
Tales of loss, love, and hate.
A snow globe just for me.
A perfect place to be.
OPEN THE DOOR
An open door invites.
An open door beckons.
Who can resist it?
Who doesn’t want to take a peek?
What treasures might be hidden on the other side?
Or what evil might be lying in wait for us?
Open the door and find out.
I know you want to.
A LONG HARD ROAD
If I had known it was going to be so hard,
Involving computer skills to the extreme,
I might have thought twice about it,
Thought twice about writing my book.
Writers must write each and every day.
We must promote our books daily.
We must post on our blogs each day.
But there’s not enough hours in a day.
How do other writers accomplish all this?
How do they leave free time for their families?
They must be expert jugglers.
Experts at writing, blogging, and juggling.
I must learn this dance.
This high-wire walk.
This never-ending battle.
I must learn to juggle.
I will do it.
I will do it all.
Just give me the chance.
Book two is waiting to be written.
I feel free.
I feel empowered.
I will survive.
James Patterson, eat my dust.
WHAT I CHERISH MOST — THE CHERISHED BLOGFEST
What I Cherish The Most
What I cherish the most isn’t a ‘what’ but a ‘who;’ the person who I had looked up to and then had lost too early in life. This was my brother, Neil Leist.
Why am I an author?
The answer lies with my brother, Neil Leist.
Neil was a person who lit up a room when he entered. He was 6 feet 2 inches, but it wasn’t his height that drew peoples’ eyes. It was his dynamic personality. Those grey eyes mirrored his brilliant intellect and capacity for greatness. Neil took care of my blind mother until I was old enough to help. He helped raise me when my father wasn’t home but working interminable days and nights driving a taxi.
Flourishing in the business world, Neil traded on the Commodity Exchange until he earned enough money to own a majority stake in a Fortune 500 company. He became the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of American Bakeries. Neil took me along on his ride to stardom as I worked for him on the Commodities Exchange and in his offices on Madison Avenue, New York. I majored in Finance at New York University, preparing to join him. For the first time, life was good.
In the middle of the night, a phone call turned my world dark. Dark as the one in which my mother lived. My brother had been in a car accident in the Hamptons. His red Porsche had hydroplaned on the wet roads. Neil was a skilled driver with quick reflexes; he drove the car off the highway and onto the grass. Luck wasn’t with him that night. The Porsche crashed beneath a truck parked in its path. His brain injury left him in a coma, and he died two years later.
I continued my education and received an M.B.A. in Finance, but high finance lost its appeal. I worked at various investment companies, but I didn’t want to trade or analyze stocks and commodities. My brother and my parents had passed. My daughters were beginning their own lives. Without a focus in my life, I began to write. As an avid reader, I had many stories racing through my mind.
In my first book, The Dead Game, I combine mystery and paranormal. Two guests disappear from a party at a deserted house, leaving the others to fend for their lives from wild animals and traps. Since I end the book with a cliffhanger, I had to write the second book in the series, Prey for The Dead. The residents of the coastal town of Oasis in northern Florida face vampires and hybrids once again. This time, the action takes them to Disney World, where vampires hide at an exclusive club. Yes, I based my story on an actual club at Disney created by Walt Disney. Next week, I will release the third book in the series, The Dead At Heart. Is the series finished? I don’t know yet. I now live my life as a big question mark: no periods or final thoughts, only possibilities.
My life has taken unexpected twists and turns. Memories of my brother follow me across every speed bump. I don’t have him any longer, but I have Neil stored in a special place in my heart. He’s given me the strength and the drive to pursue my dreams. After what he’s accomplished in his brief life, I yearn to create a fraction of the positive memories he’s left for me and those whose lives he has touched.
5 star Review for THE DEAD GAME
5 star Review for THE DEAD GAME
I’m sharing the post from Jessie B. Tyson’s blog for THE DEAD GAME.
5 star Review for THE DEAD GAME by Susanne Leist
A mystery/horror story well worth the time and price, April 25, 2015
If this review was helpful to you, then please click YES here or at amazon. Oh, and don’t forget to share it too, thank you
people found the following review helpful
A mystery/horror story well worth the time and price, April 25, 2015This review is from: The Dead Game (Kindle Edition)
The Dead Game is a mystery/horror story that brings you into the lives of a group of people living in the quaint sea-side community of Oasis, Florida. Even though Oasis seems to be a lovely place to live, sinister forces are hiding around every corner and wreaking havoc on the innocent town-folk. The author does a good job of developing the characters (both good and evil) and fleshing out the world they live in. Two inanimate objects in the story that grew into characters as the book progressed were the town of Oasis, Florida as well as a place called End House. End House is an old abandoned mansion in a reclusive part of town that has a mysterious background. Invitations in black envelopes are sent to select people in town to attend a party at End House on a Friday night. The friends decide to attend the party and that is when all hell breaks loose. (Not wanting to reveal too much of the story) End House displays its paranormal personality with all sorts of terrifying entities from razor sharp saws to gigantic bugs. The author is very creative with the horror she dishes out making it interesting and detailed without being so graphic as to turn anyone away from reading the rest of the story. After the horrific events of the party the group has suspicions about the people within their own circle and if they are friend or foe. Friendships evolve between the characters both positively and negatively. Hidden attraction between a few of the main characters brings a romantic angle to the story as well. A few of the characters work together to discover information on an eccentric man named Charles Wolf and a group he leads named “The Dead”. Rich and powerful, Wolf is known as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and throws another wrinkle into the story. At this point in the tale, suspicion among one another runs rampant as factions emerge from among the groups of characters. Some groups are honest and good and others deceitful and evil. It’s not easy to tell the good from the bad and the author keeps you guessing here. The honest and good group of characters leads a revolt against The Dead at the mysterious End House in an attempt to crush the evil group and eliminate them from Oasis. The author provides us with more creative action and gore as the battle between good and evil plays out. After the brawl, the town goes back to its lazy little self and people start getting back to their normal lives… or do they? The last few chapters are a topsy-turvy dance to figure out who is the real bad guy in the story. I was surprised by the end of the story and didn’t see it coming. This book is definitely well worth the time and the price.
5 Star Review of White Heaven Women by Jessie B. Tyson
A great book by a great author. Please share the Amazon review and if you like it, please vote Yes on it.
Thank you.
Customer Review
THEY OWN THE NIGHT
Who dares to walk in the forest?
A forest tinged blue by the moon.
I sit each night, waiting.
Watching for intruders,
Who will soon fall victim to The Dead.
No one dares to challenge The Dead,
For they own the forest.
They own Oasis.
They own us.
They own the night.
THE DEAD GAME
Kindle
Nook
SUSANNE LEIST 