Gratitude at the Door, #BookReviews, #TDWC, & Whatnot

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Door goddess statues South Africa Robbie Cheadle
Photo credit Robbie Cheadle

Hello, everyone.  This post contains several “Whatnots.”  It’s a hodgepodge.  To begin, here are a couple of whimsical limericks, inspired by Robbie’s door photo, which she submitted to the Thursday Doors Writing Challenge.

The Goddess’ Door

In the glow of the moon’s gentle light,

Goddess energy dances at night.

With gratitude’s song,

We all sway along,

Embracing all things, pure and bright.

Gratitude at the Door

Robbie, Olga, Colleen one day,
Opened my door in their way.
With gratitude bright,
I danced in delight,
Spreading warmth like the sun’s golden ray. 

Gratitude and Reviews

A Mediums Peril 3 books

I hope your week is going well.  Mine had a terrific boost.  You see, a few years ago, I got discouraged about book launches and stopped doing any of that when I publish a new book.  I make an announcement here, hope bloggers share it, and that’s usually about all.  So, imagine my surprised delight when there was a sudden surge of interest in the most recent volume in my 1920s paranormal-mystery series!   Colleen Chesebro reviewed the novella among several others, and Roberta Eaton Cheadle dedicated an entire post to her review.

Update:  My cup overflows, because there’s also a review from Olga Núñez Miret for my short story, The Rabbit Hole.  I’m pos-i-lutely giddy!

Review Links

Robbie’s Review:  click here

Robbie’s Amazon author page:  here.

Colleen’s Review:  click here

Colleen’s Amazon author page:  here

Olga’s Review:  click here

Olga’s Amazon author page:  here

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On the Horizon & Whatnot

Daphne n Velma on cat tree
Daphne:  You’d better hang on down there, Velma.  I heard Yummy Human say something about hitting a “reset button.”  She muttered about time to reinvent again, and going back.  I don’t know what a reset button is, but I don’t think that has anything to do with treats!  

Recently, I had an unsettling epiphany.   I had dragged myself through a very low-energy morning.  I went to a mirror to tie-back my hair.  As the usual mental litany of insulting self-talk played through my mind, a new thought blasted into my brain.

“I don’t know who the hell I am anymore!”

The familiar topic of changes and reinvention zoomed through my brain, repeatedly crashing into various roadblocks.  Then the second epiphany arrived.

“Hit the reset button!”

Which brings me to a nonfiction mini-series that’s on my blog horizon.  I’ve invited several people to visit and discuss topics related to “Personal Changes” or “Self-Reinvention.”  Stay tuned.

Friendly comments are welcome.  Hugs!

♣ ♣ ♣

Of course, here’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion of the book that was reviewed.  I made this video trailer (below) for A Peril in the Vines.

A Peril in the Vines

Universal Purchase Links

A Peril in the Vines

e-book:  relinks.me/B0DS4G7RSD

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0DS69GJDV

A Medium’s Peril full series link: relinks.me/B0CG2SXX24

♣ ♣ ♣

This post is part of Dan Antion 5th Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC). Click the blue link for more information about the challenge and how to showcase your stories.)  Fortunately for me, Dan’s rules for the writing challenge are wonderfully flexible and include any sort of creativity. 

♣ ♣ ♣

This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2025 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

 

63 thoughts on “Gratitude at the Door, #BookReviews, #TDWC, & Whatnot”

  1. Congrats on the well-deserved reviews, Teagan! Love the photo of the Scoobies. That’s funny you mentioned a reset. A friend and I were at the gym a couple weeks ago saying how we’d love to have a reset button, lol. Even a “return to factory settings” would be acceptable!

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  2. Pingback: Whatnot Wednesday & Re-Inventionators: 1 – Teagan's Books
  4. Pingback: Roberta Writes – Thursday Doors, last challenge entries #poetry #photography #ThursdayDoors

    1. It’s good to see you, Pam. Thanks very much.

      You have a good point. You reminded me of “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
      After hitting the reset button, my next step was trying/starting to get control of my negative self-talk. (Seriously, the worst bootcamp drill sergeant couldn’t match the things I berate myself with.) I had done really well for a few days, until some minor thing opened the floodgate yesterday. But as Ruiz would have suggested, I had to start over — and that’s okay.

      Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs.

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      1. Oh my gosh, Teagan!!! About a month ago I had an office visit with my cardiologist (all is fine) and out of nowhere he began to tell me about a book that changed his life. Yup, The Four Agreements. Then he listed what the agreements are. I ran home and downloaded the book on my Kindle and read it front to back. Yes, very helpful. Every day. xo

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    1. Thanks, Dave. That’s a great point about habits. Shifting to positive thoughts and self-talk is basically a habit, and that can be part of reinvention — it is for me. So far I only have a few guests. I expect most to focus on starting over, life’s big changes, changing to a very different career, etc. There’s always more to accomplishing those things than is apparent on the surface. I appreciate you commenting. Hugs.

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  9. Love the poetry and of course your adorable felines 🙂 Reset sounds like a good idea, Teagan . I’m with you on that. Sending huge hugs xo

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  10. Ah, that reset button! Life requires it, but sometimes we forget we have it. Sometimes you have to push it more than once because it gets stuck. And sometimes others help us push it — there is gratitude for sure! That’s wonderful!

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    1. Thanks very much, Cindy. I think it’s something that most people cannot really grasp. Whether it he!ps creativity or not, it became a requirement for my survival. I’m trying to re-embrace its presence and necessity. Big hugs.

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    1. Heartfelt thanks, Liz.
      No, that reset is for my personal identity. I’m afraid a bit of duality is required for me (because of the abused past) — the author me, that public face is somewhat different from personal-me. I appreciate you making the rounds today. Big hugs.

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  17. That is a neat shot by Robbie, and your poem os perfect for it.

    I’ve looked in the mirror and said “Who are you? I think someone stole me!”

    So, I get it!

    Okay, I have your mail. What’s next?

    HUGS

    I will check out the reviews!

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    1. Many thanks, Resa. Ha! I hear you there. I try to look in the mirror without really seeing myself. Haha, maybe that’s part of why I lost interest in wearing makeup — kind of hard to apply it! Unfortunately for me, I’m the reverse (as far as coloring) image of my mother. Every time I look in the mirror, my worst abuser is staring back at me. I hate my reflection.

      Anyhow, I’m still figuring out how to do the series, but that’s mostly for anything related to me — that’s why I didn’t follow-up with you. You’re welcome to email me any commentary you have on the subject. If you have drawings or photos you want to include, all the better.
      Time to feed the Scoobies. Hugs to you and Misha.

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      1. It’s sad that your mom was the worst. I see my mom all the time in the mirror, now that I’m older. Lots of not good issues there, driven by alcoholism & ignorance.

        Okay, let me think on that! Re-invention!
        In all honesty, I have re-invented myself several times over my life. How to express/show that? Hugs to you and the Scoobies!

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    1. Thanks very much, Dan. I’ll send you an email about the series explaining more, in case you’re interested. For several weeks after having the idea, I kind of stalled in producing it because it was difficult to figure out how (or how much) to approach my personal part of it.
      I appreciate you commenting. Hugs.

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  20. Wow! What a door! As for invention, I’ve been there. Discouraging book sales and I’ve a new one coming out (maybe two weeks?) and I have no energy to push it. But your books are always fun and inventive. Don’t lose that spark!

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    1. Hi, John. That was my thought, when the idea for a series came to me. After approaching a few people, I found out I was wrong. LOL. What? You just go with the flow? An alien concept for me. LOL. I still don’t have my personal answer to my question, but I think I’m getting closer. I hope you’re having a wonderful week. Big hugs.

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  23. I’m always up for a reset, Teagan! Thanks so sharing my review. I enjoy this series and the characters. Mediums are such interesting people! Be good to you! Sending you big hugs and to the kitties too. 💖

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    1. Thanks for visiting and commenting. I really appreciate your review, Colleen. In one of my past “resets” I did a little work as a medium. Of course, that was nothing like the abilities I give the Daphne Moultrie character.
      Hugs winging back to you and the unicorn cats from the Scoobies and me.

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  24. I love the poems and many congratulations on the reviews. Robbie and Colleen have excellent taste and I love the novella, so I am not surprised they liked it so much as well. I look forward to the series you’ve announced. Oh, and Robbie’s door is fabulous! Enjoy the rest of the week!

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    1. Oh, Olga, I feel like such a heel that I didn’t see your post earlier. I realize (hope) you’ve gone to bed by now with Spain’s time difference. Anyhow, I’ve updated this post to include your review. Huge gratitude to you, my friend. Hugs from the Scoobies and me.

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    1. Hi, Marian. I didn’t realize it had been that long. If you’d like to join this, you’re welcome to email me whatever you would like to say about finding yourself, reinventing, or things of that nature. Not anything terribly long though. So far I’ve only approached a few people, because I’ve had a devil of a time figuring out how I could present my own part. (Because of my past abuse, there are tight limits on what I can share publicly.) Anyhow, thanks for reading and commenting. Big hugs to you and the kitties.

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