Tag Archives: poems

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Toss the Bouquet Charity Event and Giveaway

Happy June, my friends!

June is the most popular month for weddings, and a celebrated wedding tradition is the tossing of the bouquet. The bride, overflowing with love and happiness, tosses her bouquet in a symbolic gesture of sharing her good fortune with others.

How blessed are we with our good fortune? Warm Bed. Hot meals. A safe home. Those who love us. … Freedom.

We are all the bride. (Men, if you can be the groom…if you insist.) 😉 This amazing life we live with loved ones and choices is our wedding celebration. {whispers} Yes I know, Uncle Ned is making a spectacle of himself on the dance floor, but oh…what great stories we’ll have to tell later. {nods} The budget nearly popped a seam, but we’ve been showered with gifts and we’re about to pay it forward…

Let’s all Toss the Bouquet this June. Join me in making a beautiful bouquet of the abundant blessings we have and toss it out to the world.

Our flowers will burst into millions of petals, raining love onto those who need it the most. Thoughts, prayers, dreams, and donations all transform into something wonderful for another…all because we tossed a bouquet filled with love.

Bouquet Toss

Toss the Bouquet Charity Event

The Toss the Bouquet Charity Event is to raise awareness and help support charities who fight against human trafficking, a pervasive worldwide tragedy that must be stopped. The problem is enormous. And it’s not “over there” … It’s everywhere.

How can you participate in Toss the Bouquet?

Donate any amount to any of the charities listed on the Charity Support and Awareness page from May 31st through June 15th, 2013. Some of the charities, like Not For Sale and International Princess Project, have stores where you can purchase products to support them. You can do that too!

During the event, I’ve also reduced the price of Kindle and paperback versions Utterly Loved. The romantic book of poetry is shared with the world for charity, its proceeds supporting Covenant House and World Vision. Sylvain Reynard, a humanitarian who inspired me to use my author platform in conjunction with charitable causes, wrote the brilliant and inspiring foreword to Utterly Loved. Be sure to pick up a copy…and perhaps a few to share with others.

Toss the Bouquet Giveaway

The Toss the Bouquet Charity Event is all about helping the charities to help those in need. Mr. Bastion and I also wanted to give everyone participating in the Toss the Bouquet Charity Event a chance to win something special.

We are giving away three items to three lucky winners. One e-book copy of Utterly Loved, one signed paperback copy of Utterly Loved…

Utterly Loved Book Cover

And…one special gift of jewelry from Pandora as a keepsake from the Toss the Bouquet event: Pandora’s sterling silver with 14k gold Love Bouquet charm on Pandora’s sterling silver bracelet.

Pandora Bouquet Charm

To enter the giveaway, email me at giveaways@katbastion.com with your donation receipt of any amount (or a purchase receipt from one of their stores) for any of the charities listed on the Charity Support and Awareness page by midnight June 15th, 2013 and click on the below link to enter the below Rafflecopter giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other Authors Supporting The Charities

I would like to mention two authors I met through Twitter who also support charities fighting against human trafficking:

  • Heather Huffman weaves the issue of human trafficking into her stories, is an activist in the cause, and a portion of book proceeds goes toward charities fighting against human trafficking. Read more about her books and human trafficking on Heather’s website.
  • Sylvain Reynard utilizes his author platform to bring awareness and support to many amazing charities, including those fighting against human trafficking. SR wrote a wonderful post a few days ago on his website… “Why Charity?”

Your purchase of their incredible books supports the authors, who in turn support the charities.

Please share this blog post and/or news of the Toss the Bouquet Charity Event and Giveaway with your social media. Encourage your friends and followers to join us in supporting those charities that fight against human trafficking. Let’s set every one of those lost souls free and show them they are utterly loved.

Thank you for your generous hearts, my friends.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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World Poetry Day ~ On Highland Time

In celebration of World Poetry Day (Thursday, March 21st, 2013), I created a poem that’s a teaser of my upcoming series.

It also happens to coincide with how I wake up every morning…

 

On Highland Time

A clock can’t hold the sands of time
The world hides vast dimensions
When mist burns off the heathered hills
Revealed are Highland Legends

 

Tricky how I worked the name of my upcoming series in there, don’t you think? {grins}

Actually, it’s a bit of a poetic synopsis.  Has anyone ever done a synopsis by poem?  I’m not sure, so there you have it, my friends.  Perhaps we just made history together.  And all for World Poetry Day.

Which brings me to my next thought…

Have you bought your copy of Utterly Loved yet?  Have you bought copies for friends and family? Celebrate poetry and share your gift with the world through the charities Utterly Loved supports, World Vision and Covenant House.  Be inspired by the brilliant foreword written by the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard.

Below are a few links where you can purchase copies of Utterly Loved.

Utterly Loved for Nook
Utterly Loved for Kindle
Utterly Loved in paperback on Amazon

Thank you for your continued support with Utterly Loved and the charities that each purchase supports.

As far as the Highland Legends series goes, stay tuned for an announcement of the names of all four book titles in the series…

Thank you for sharing in the love of poetry and romance, my friends.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Happy Valentine’s Day and Congratulations to the Giveaway Winner

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In celebration of romance, I wish you all a day filled with love.

A Valentine’s Day Prayer

  May you give and receive love
  If you seek it, may you find love
  May the lost in this world feel
  … Utterly Loved

Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveaway Winner

The grand prize winner of a Kindle Fire chosen by Random.org is:

     Robert Zimmerman

Congratulations, Robert!

Thank you again to our anonymous supporter for donating the Kindle Fire to the winner.

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaways. 

Special appreciation to the participating blogs who hosted the three new poems created just for the occasion:

    THESUBCLUBbooks who shared Transformed
    Literati Literature Lovers who shared Indescribable Love
    Bookish Temptations who shared Temptation by Valentine

Be sure to visit their blogs for more Valentine’s Day excitement happening today and through the week.

Thank you to Goodreads, whose fabulous giveaway feature resulted in 1000 entries for 10 signed copies of Utterly Loved and almost half that number adding Utterly Loved to their “to be read” shelf.

Please be sure to share with everyone you know that Utterly Loved, with brilliant foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard, is now available for Nook!

Utterly Loved for Nook
Utterly Loved for Kindle
Utterly Loved in paperback

Have a wonderful rest of your holiday, everyone!

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat Bastion

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveaway

Rose Petal Heart

Valentine’s Day

Some subscribe to the notion that Valentine’s Day has been commercialized. They hold fast to the belief that love should be celebrated every day.

I’m in complete agreement.

Valentine’s Day to me, however, is a celebration of that daily love we each harbor in our hearts. Like an anniversary, it’s a milestone of sorts…a special holiday to rejoice in the existence of love of every kind.

For some, it will prompt a moment of courage mustered in the face of new love. 

Others will remember and appreciate decades of cherished love together.

In celebration of romantic love, we often gift:

Sinful chocolates
Fragrant roses
Heartfelt cards
Romantic dinners
Lace-trimmed satin

Might I also suggest…

Utterly Loved ~ The romantic book of poetry shared with the world for charity with an inspiring foreword graciously written by the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard.

Purchase Utterly Loved on Amazon 

Utterly Loved Book Cover

 

Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveway

The Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveaway is being held on three supportive blogs, on Goodreads, and in my @’s and emails. That’s right. There are multiple places to enter.

Giveaway Prizes

Signed copies of Utterly Loved
Signed poems by Kat Bastion
Grand Giveaway Prize ~ A Kindle Fire

How To Enter

1. Visit each of the three blogs each posting a new romantic poem:

February 3, 2013 ~  Transformed on THESUBCLUBbooks
February 6, 2013 ~  Indescribable Love on Literati Literature Lovers
February 11, 2013 ~ Temptation by Valentine Bookish Temptations

Entrants have the chance to win either a signed copy of Utterly Loved or a signed poem of their choice from any of my poems. All winners gain entry into the grand prize drawing on Valentine’s Day.

2.  Visit Goodreads.  Each entrant has a chance to win a signed copy of Utterly Loved. All winners gain entry into the grand prize drawing on Valentine’s Day.

Click on the link for the Goodreads Giveway

3.  In my Twitter @’s and website email, send me a picture of a paid receipt for Utterly Loved dated between 1/30/13 and 2/13/13 by midnight EST on February 13, 2013. Each book purchased in any format gains one entry into the grand prize drawing.

The Prize Donations

A generous supporter of Utterly Loved has donated the grand prize of the Kindle Fire. The winner for the Kindle Fire will be selected by Random.org from among all the entrants.

“I appreciate the domino effect of kindness and giving that you are a part of. It is through movements like this that people can show the rest of the world people do care. It is through this domino effect that I would like to join you. I would like to donate a Kindle Fire for you to promote and give away.”

Mr. Bastion and I are donating the cost of the other prizes.

For details about Utterly Loved, and the charities it supports, please see the Utterly Loved page

Thank you for being a part of Utterly Loved. By sharing our love with the world, we are transforming children’s lives with love, one book at a time. You are making the lost feel… Utterly Loved.

May everyone celebrate love of all kinds this Valentine’s Day and every day.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

 

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Resolutions… For a Lifetime

Happy New Year!

 

I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution.

Am I an exception to the masses? I’m not sure. Perhaps you could share your thoughts.

 

The idea had always seemed impermanent to me. Anyone I’d ever known who’d made a resolution made an attempt to curb excess of one sinful nature or another, only to abandon said restriction before the next legal holiday.

I’ve never exempted myself from those who have behaviors to modify.  I’m certainly sinful, just as any other person, being human after all, but I’ve never been moved to change with a “resolution.”

Until I had.

Reflecting back on the last few months of my life, I realize the major changes I had ever wanted to make in my life, the person I had always strived to be, had happened.  Events beyond my control flicked on a dusty switch that apparently had always been destined to shine a brilliant light.  I’d blinked in amazement as the darkened world around me suddenly glowed brightly.

Like all things new, however, there will forever be vast room for improvement. Infinite lessons await us as we seek to master… becoming our better self.

Coming off a landmark year for me as far as changes go, I’m embracing the next stage with the strong foundation of the last.  Truly, the first affirmation was admitting to myself that I haven’t changed.

… I’ve transformed.

As I dangle from the safety of my familiar cocoon, the moment has come to fly.  Time to stretch my wings.

I will endeavor to be who I was meant to be… the butterfly.

With beauty and grace, I accept who I am.  I will remind myself daily of what I was meant to do with my fragile life in this harsh and unforgiving world…

To live each precious moment to its fullest
To multi-task less and focus more
To think of others and act so they feel it
To love with all the fire and passion in my heart
To cherish those whose lives I touch
To stand strong amid the darkness and brighten it daily
To believe the smallest kindness matters
To give charitably in thought, word and deed at every opportunity
To honor the vessel in which my heart and soul reside
To write for the love of writing
To spread awareness of those in need of love
To save the world one book at a time…

The last resolution came about from publishing the romantic poems in Utterly Loved, and yet, from that one project, all the other tiny miracles within me strengthened and took hold.  One book pivotally changed me.  The belief in a singular collection of heartfelt poems delivered with a message powerful enough to change our world… transformed me.

Of course, there where many catalysts along the way, for which I am forever grateful… My readiness to accept change toward growth.  The humanitarian efforts of the author who wrote the inspiring foreword for Utterly Loved, Sylvain Reynard. The support of loved ones and new friends made along the way.

I look forward to the path unfolding before me. My journey is not for the year ahead.  The adventure I’m taking will be for a lifetime.

Please join me in embracing a lifetime of resolutions.  Our world will be a better place if everyone commits to spreading love in a place very much in need of the kindness of our hearts.

Begin by purchasing Utterly Loved.  For yourself.  For your friends.  Your library.  Your church.  Share the beautiful poetry with a serious message of saving those in need of everything we have to give.  Daily.

Purchase Utterly Loved in paperback
Purchase Utterly Loved in Kindle edition

So? I’m truly dying to know… 
Have you done New Year’s resolutions in years past?
What are your resolutions this year?
Are you ready to commit to Resolutions… For a Lifetime?
What are your ideas for lifetime resolutions?

Thank you, my friends.  Your support in spreading awareness of charity, in giving all you can to those in need, in purchasing and sharing the news of Utterly Loved, is deeply appreciated.  Have a happy, loving, and prosperous year to come… that you may share your abundance with others.  May love and hope spread like wildfire in our world.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

Oh… {slides back in before you leave}
P. S. ~ I have one more very important resolution to add…
         To keep my desk uncluttered for maximum creative writing flow! 🙂

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Hold On In The Night

Hello, everyone.

Utterly Loved, the book of romantic poetry for charity, with a brilliant foreword by Sylvain Reynard on humanitarianism, has been out almost three weeks.  It’s doing well in paperback sales, but we need to do more.  Within days, it will also be out in a Kindle version.  I hope you buy both and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Not long ago, I mentioned that after I completed the romantic poems of Utterly Loved, two more poems of a different sort flowed hot and furious onto the page.  The additional heartfelt words were not love poems.

They were a battle cry.

They are about those lost.
They are about the fight.

 

Hold On In The Night

Can you remember?
Unencumbered fresh air into your lungs
Racing barefoot on cool grass in the park
Blue-sky days before a bright world turned stark

Do you still have dreams?
Fearsome warriors destroy stone prison walls
Alone stand beautiful forgotten
Disbelieving flee heart’s desolation

Will you hear the cry?
Across the globe on every continent
Invincible gather armed for righteous
Fury flows deep at human injustice

Have you seen our light?
Fiery rising sun scorching harsh landscape
A million wild horses charge unbridled
Dark captors meet their maker reconciled

Are you ready to fight?
Blind faith fiercely grasps boldly outstretched hand
Devastation laid to rest from plunder
Frightening history ripped asunder

Hold on in the night.
In every shallow ragged breath you take
With each hard swallow, eyes pinched in mourning
Never lose hope… a new dawn is coming

 

Please join me in the fight. There are millions of lost children who need our help, need us to care, need our love.  Buy Utterly Loved. 

Tell two friends.  Tell twenty. 

Only through awareness, donation, and activism will we make a better place in this world for those who, without the actions of those like us, would never have a chance.

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

With 23 inspirational quotes, 21 love poems, incredible 5 star reviews, an amazing foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard, and the endeavor all about supporting the very worthwhile charities, World Vision and Covenant House, there is something in Utterly Loved for everyone.

Contact me if you need links to European Channels for Amazon, as it’s also available now through Amazon in Great Britain, Spain, Deutschland, France and Italy.

Thank you for all your support, my friends.  Together, we are making a difference in lives.  We are making the lost feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

Kat Bastion

 

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

Hello, everyone.

Thank you for helping make the Release Week of Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard a success.  Due to your purchases for yourself and gifts for others, Utterly Loved remained a #1 Amazon Best Seller in New Releases Love Poems almost the entire week.

We have only just begun, my friends.

The mission of Utterly Loved is…

To share love with those who read it…
To inspire those to feel it…
To help those who desperately need it.

Join me in igniting a wildfire of purchases for Utterly Loved and donations for the charities Utterly Loved supports, World Vision and Covenant House.

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved in Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway begins at 12:01am EST Saturday, December 8th and runs for 12 consecutive days.  Each day, a winner will be selected from the eligible entries by Random.org.

The Prizes…

Each day one lucky winner will receive two items:
~ A signed copy of Utterly Loved for which Sylvain Reynard has also offered to send signed bookplates.
~ A $25 Amazon Gift Card, large enough to buy copies of both Gabriel’s Inferno & Gabriel’s Rapture, for instance. 😉

Grand Prize Drawing (one winner from the 12 winners):
One very lucky winner will receive the Grand Prize ~ A Kindle Fire

11 Daily Ways To Enter, Rules & Requirements…

Each day is a separate contest and there are several ways to enter:
~ Buying a copy of Utterly Loved that day earns an entry
~ Donating to World Vision or Covenant House that day earns an entry (Donate to both that day? You get two entries.)
~ Tweet that day asking followers to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry (Tweet again every four hours for separate entries-6 total)
~ Facebook post asking friends to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry
~ Blog post asking others to purchase Utterly Loved earns an entry

11 possible entries each day. Please purchase and donate responsibly:  Give only what you can and share news of Utterly Loved to inspire others to do the same.  Together we will help those in need.

Help me count your entry. @ me on Twitter or comment below with:
~ A photo of that day’s purchase receipt of Utterly Loved
~ A photo of that day’s donation receipt to either charity
~ Tweet your promotion to buy Utterly Loved with my @ AND Amazon’s Utterly Loved Page
~ If your FB posts go to your Twitter timeline, @ me so I can see it.  If not, get creative…like screen shot and send me the pic… 😉
~ If you blog about Utterly Loved,  link this page and comment below so I know about it.

The requirements:
~ You must provide evidence of purchase, donation, Tweeting or FB posting to be eligible for that entry (see above.)
~ When you Tweet, FB or blog post, you must ask others to buy Utterly Loved and provide a link to the Amazon Purchase Page of Utterly Loved << (like this one)

Disclaimers:  Each daily giveaway runs for 24 hours beginning at 12:01am EST until midnight EST that day. The first day of the giveaway is Saturday, December 8, 2012 and the last day is December 19th, 2012.  Giveaway is international where allowed.  Winners of the 12 daily giveaways and the Grand Prize drawing will be chosen by Random.org. (All giveaway prizes, for this giveaway, and all the Release Week giveaways, are being donated by myself and Mr. Bastion.)

The bottom line? 

You help with every purchase.  You help by spreading the news of Utterly Loved so others purchase.   You help by donating to World Vision and Covenant House.  Your small acts of kindness make a world of difference.  Thank you for being a part of the difference.

Thank you for helping make the lost in this world feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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Wow. Please read a beautiful review of Utterly Loved that brought tears to my eyes. I’m humbly thrilled the poetry evokes as much feeling in others as it did for me. Thank you, Tamie and Elena.

~ Kat

Bookish Temptations

Utterly Loved cover

Foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard. In Utterly Loved, award-winning paranormal romance writer Kat Bastion shares her poetry with the world for charity. Heartfelt poems, rich in passion and rooted in nature, transport us to misty forests and sandy beaches. What began as a private collection of poetic love letters to her husband for their twentieth anniversary, evolved into a book of poems and quotes they decided to share. Proceeds of Utterly Loved, after costs and taxes, will go directly to selected charities. They will feel Utterly Loved. Visit her website http://www.katbastion.com and her blog http://www.talktotheshoe.com for a list of charities and updates.
 

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Utterly Loved Release Week Giveaways & Schedule

Hello, my friends.

On the heels of an unexpected early release for Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard, and the book still rocketing to #1 on Amazon New Releases Best Sellers Love Poems, #1 on Amazon Best Sellers Love Poems, and #4 on Amazon Best New Releases Poetry, a very exciting Release Week is lined up with Utterly Loved signed copy giveaways.  A schedule of upcoming events that will be updated with links as they post, links to blogs who have already posted stories about Utterly Loved, and links to purchase Utterly Loved all appear below.

Utterly Loved Release Week Schedule with a signed copy giveaway of Utterly Loved on each blog:

12/01/12 ~ Destiny or Free Will on That’s What I’m Talking About
12/01/12 ~ Undone a poem from Utterly Loved on THESUBCLUBbooks
12/03/12 ~ Twelve Reasons to Buy Utterly Loved on Talk To The Shoe
12/04/12 ~ Utterly Loved 5 Star Review on Bookish Temptations
12/05/12 ~ Utterly Loved Feature on Girl Who Reads
12/05/12 ~ Utterly Loved Feature on Fiction Vixen
12/06/12 ~ Utterly Loved 5 Star Review on Literati Literature Lovers
12/07/12 ~ Everyone Deserves Happily Ever After on Kindles & Wine

12/08/12 ~ 12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Event
Signed copies, Amazon gift cards, and a grand giveaway Kindle Fire? Oh. My.

Please read the wonderful posts already shared about Utterly Loved:

11/20/12 ~ The Story of Utterly Loved on Under The Covers Book Blog
11/21/12 ~ Interview on Literati Literature Lovers
11/28/12 ~ Foreword Author Reveal on Bookish Temptations ~
  The story behind Sylvain Reynard and Utterly Loved.

For more information on Utterly Loved and the charities it benefits, visit the Utterly Loved ~ Foreword by Sylvain Reynard page.

Please buy your copy of Utterly Loved today.  Buy twenty.  They make great holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.

Standing together around the world, we each can do a small part to have a big impact.  United, we can help those who desperately need it to feel… Utterly Loved.

Thank you for all your support of Utterly Loved and wanting to help change our world.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat Bastion

Buy Utterly Loved at Amazon
Internationally buy Utterly Loved at CreateSpace

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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Utterly Loved Hit Number One on Amazon Best Seller List

One day after release, Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard is a #1 Amazon Best Seller.

Thank you for all your tremendous support.  Due to your enthusiasm and excitement for Utterly Loved and the charities it champions, it currently sits at #1 for Love Poems and hit #4 for Poetry on the Amazon Hot New Releases Best Seller Lists.

Your spirit of giving during the holiday season is making this possible.  I hope Utterly Loved continues to inspire such selfless acts of love.

Please see the Utterly Loved page on the sidebar under menu for more information on Utterly Loved, the charities it supports, and links for you to purchase.

Thank you for your amazing generosity.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat