Hi and “WELCOME” to Rave Reviews Book Club’s BOOK, BLOG & TRAILER BLOCK PARTY at Watch Nonnie Write!
Giveaways
Here’s What I’m Giving Away Today:
One (1) $25 Amazon Gift Card
One (1) ebook copy of Open a new door – poetry book
**Additionally, the book club is awarding a $50 Amazon gift card as the Grand Prize to one lucky winner (pulled from the comments of all the participating blog sites). The blog tour is scheduled for 25 different stops during the month of October. Visit the club’s twitter page Rave Reviews Book Club daily during the month for the link to the next author blog stop.
About Robbie’s Inspiration
Robbie’s Inspiration is the blog I use for my fondant and cake art, recipes, poetry and to promote my children’s books, the Sir Chocolate Books series, Silly Willy Goes to Cape Town and While the Bombs Fell. I also have a poetry book, Open a new door, co-authored with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
There are a few fully illustrated Sir Chocolate books available for free download here:
https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/free-sir-chocolate-stories-for-download/
As it is nearly Halloween, I am including some examples of my Halloween fondant and cake artwork here:
About Open a new door
The Blurb
Open a New Door is a poetic peep into the lives of the poets, Kim Blades and Robbie Cheadle, both of whom live in South Africa.
The book is divided into four categories: God bless Africa, God bless my family and friends, God bless me and God bless corporates and work. Each part is sub-divided into the good, the bad and the ugly of the two poets’ experiences, presented in rhyming verse, free-style, haiku and tanka, in each of these categories and include colourful depictions of their thoughts and emotions.
The purpose of this book of poetry is encapsulated in the following tanka and haiku poems:
What drives me to write?
To share my innermost thoughts
The answer is clear
It’s my personal attempt
To make some sense of this world.
Inspiration blossoms
Like the unfurling petals
Of the Desert Rose
5-star Amazon review
Open a New Door by Robbie Cheadle and Kim Blades is a poetry collection with themes on the nature and life in Africa, the poets’ families and friends, their personal lives and the cooperate world. In each theme, the poets explored the good, the bad and the ugly. At the end of each poem, a short narrative gave the background or situation under which the poems were written. The poems are modern, free verse with rhymes and no rhymes. Each poem is easy to read in the length or one or two pages.
In Life in Africa, Robbie Cheadle showed her compassion toward the poverty of African people young and old. In Poets’ Families, Robbie shared her joy of having a son with an amazing mind and her worry about another son’s physical disease. In Poets’ Personal Lives, Kim expresses her emotion about her husband leaving her and her loneliness.
This poetry collection covers a wide range of personal experiences, observations and emotions. Many people could relate to them.
A poem from Open a new door
What drives me to write?
To share my innermost thoughts
The answer is clear
It’s my personal attempt
To make some sense of this world.
***
What drives me to write?
Exposing personal ideas
To unhearing ears
In this large, uncaring world
I believe I reach a few.
***
What drives me to write?
To cast my words like pebbles
Into the water
To join the endless ripples
That may swell into huge waves.
***
What drives me to write?
A hope to instigate change
To do some small good
In a world of endless pain
Doing nothing destroys hope.
By Robbie Cheadle
Find Robbie Cheadle
RRBC Author Page: https://ravereviewsbookclub.wordpress.com/about-robbie-cheadle-bakeandwrite-rrbc-rrbc_community/
Website
https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog
https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
Twitter
https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
Amazon
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Robbie-Cheadle/e/B01N9J62GQ
About Rave Reviews Book Club
f you are an author or avid reader and would like additional information about joining the Rave Reviews Book Club, then please visit our website at this address: https://ravereviewsbookclub.wordpress.com/
Good luck with the new poetry book Robbie with yourself and Kim. Nice to do collabs. 🙂
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Thank you, Marje. It is nice to write a book with someone else.
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Lovely. 🙂
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I wish you the best of luck with it all.
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Thank you, Danny.
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best of luck with this collaboration!
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Thank you, Jim.
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Wishing you the best, Robbie.
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Thank you, Jill
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How fun!!! What a great idea. Love Robbie’s books too.
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Hi Jay, thanks for visiting and for the great comment.
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Best wishes on the book, Robbie.
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Thank you, John.
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Your creations always put a smile on my face, Robbie. Your artwork is infused with the joy and fun you bring to your creations. I am in awe how the little characters in your Halloween art appear to have expressions and personality. “Open a new door” sounds very interesting and inspirational. Congratulations! Erica
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Hi Erika, thank you, I am so glad you like my little figurines. I do enjoy making them. I am working on a complex cake project for my mom’s birthday in two weeks time.
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You are exceptionally creative, Robbie, with a fresh approach and fun. I look forward to seeing what is coming up.
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Good luck, another terrific post!
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Hi John, thanks. This is the first time I’ve used the gallery function for the block editor and I thought it worked quite well.
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I love that coffin cake!
Your poem about writing is beautiful. (K)
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Thanks Kerfe, I loved this cake too. Halloween is a fun time of year.
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I like the description of writing as “To cast my words like pebbles”. That is also a very creative coffin cake.
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Thank you, Frank. I appreciate your comment.
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I adore your Halloween cake creations – spooky cool!
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Hi Wendy, thank you. I really enjoyed making this cake and the little characters were fun to create.
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I love your poem “What Drives Me To Write?” Your poetry book should be a great success! Great blog stop, Robbie! Wishing you the BEST!
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Thank you, I appreciate your stopping by.
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Reblogged this on Campbells World.
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Thank you, Patty.
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What a great idea Robbie. Hope it goes really well for you. 🙂
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Thank you, Robert.
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I enjoyed scrolling through your website and reading your poetry and watching your trailer. Good luck with your new collaboration…sell hundreds. Enjoy the rest of your tour.
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Thank you, John. October is a busy month for me. Have a great new week and thanks for visiting.
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Your fondant creatures are so cool. Have a great tour day!
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Hi Charles, I’m glad you like them. Thanks for visiting.
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Robbie, I so wish I had your artistic abilities. Simply creative and I want to munch now. Love the poetry
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Hi Rox, I find fondant art very relaxing and peaceful. Thank you for visiting.
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I am always impressed by the way you move through the blog world. You constantly introduce me to to new voices. Thanks.
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Hi Elizabeth, I do like to get out and about. There are so many terrific blogs and writers out there.
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I end up getting a little overwhelmed, so I am glad for you doing the advance work for me.
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Not knowing that you will be featured today, Robbie, I downloaded one of your Sir Chocolate books yesterday, the wee characters so whimsical, yet infused with personality.
I can tell you are tender-hearted soul as you care for the needy children of your country. And I admire your hope to instigate change/To do some small good/In a world of endless pain with your books. That’s my mission too.
Blessings on your artistry – and cheers to more book sales! 🙂
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Hi Marian, thank you, I am glad you enjoy Michael and my little characters. There is a lot of need here in Africa, especially now with Covid-19. I am really glad you can relate to the words of my poem, if we all do a little bit it adds up to a lot. Have a lovely new week, Marian.
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LOVE the book trailer–Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet ROCK! Wonderful concept and share for your poetry book too. Sharing… ❤ xo
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Thank you so much, Bette. Nonnie is very good at making these trailers. Hats off to her and the team.
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I’m with you, Robbie. CHEERS for Nonnie & team!
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Hi Robbie. You are such an amazing talent. Congratulations on all your works. You came to the right place to present them.
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Hi Shirley, thank you very much. I wanted to tell you on Saturday, when I saw you on Rox’s show, that I really like your new hairdo. It’s very nice.
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Robbie, your designs are awesome! Does your son help with all of them? Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Nonnie, thanks for visiting. Michael and Greg each contributed one of the snails in the haunted house picture. Michael used to do some of the artwork but he has outgrown it for the time being. 15 Year olds aren’t as keen on baking and fondant art.
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I am enjoying your very appealing stop for today’s Block Party, Robbie. Outstanding! Congratulations on your books and on bringing fun and inspiration into the lives of children and parents. Best of luck on all that you do. Enjoy the rest of the tour.
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Hi Flossie, thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the pictures. I used the new block editor gallery for the first time and was happy with the results. Have a wonderful new week.
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The last time I read one of your books, I got hungry. This time, your concoctions inspire fear in me instead of hunger. I love chocolate casket and friends. Keep baking and keep writing.
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Thank you, Susanne. We did eat the cake despite its coffin shape.
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I can connect with your poem so easily. I love your Halloween-themed figures. I look forward to reading more of your poetry. 🙂
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Hi Yvette, thanks for coming by and for your lovely comment. I haven’t been writing much poetry lately. It feels as if Covid-19 has sucked all the poetry out of me. I’m hoping the urge to write poetry will come back. It was never something I had to work at, poems just came to me.
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COVID has affected all of us a bit differently. I’m sure your muse will visit again once she feels it’s safe. 😉
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Hi, Robbie. Your poetry book looks fantastic! This is one that I somehow missed. I’ll be checking it out. What a wonderful post! It shows another side of your creativity!
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Hi Jan, thank you. Fondant and cake art is something I really enjoy. It is more relaxing than writing which I also enjoy but which uses a lot of mental energy. Fondant art is mainly your hands.
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Oh! I love the bear. And congratulations on a great giveaway.
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Thank you, Meeks. I like the bear too. I am fond of making fondant bears.
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-grin- deliciously evil. 😀
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Hi,
You always make hungry when I come to your website. I am a chocolate fanatic and have been trying to stay away from it. However, I finally gave up Saturday and went out and bought some chocolate chip cookies.
Now to your poetry. I like the rhythm in the poem and your poetic reasons of why you write. Very well done.
By the way, do you a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. A nice simple one where the chocolate is bitter and not sweet. I’d appreciate it.
Take care.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
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Hi Pat, thanks for visiting. In moderation, chocolate is a great thing. I do have a choc chip cookie recipe which I will email to you. You can use 70% cocoa chocolate for a stronger bitter/sweet contrast. I have a divine chocolate mousse recipe which uses marshmallows instead of raw egg and bitter chocolate. So nice.
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Go girl!
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Thank you, Annette
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What a great post, Robbie. So full of energy! I have this book somewhere in my kindle pile and have to dig it out. And the fondant creations are great. I especially like the skeletons. 😀
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Hi Diana, thanks for visiting. I love how everyone’s favourite is different. I love them all, the skeleton was the hardest to make because of the ribs.
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That’s exactly what I noticed! The ribs. I like them all, but the intricacy and imagination of those impressed me. 🙂
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Best wishes to you and Kim for a successful launch of Open a New Door.
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Hi Liz, thank you for your good wishes.
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You’re welcome, Robbie.
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Beautiful poem, Robbie. I’ve always been intrigued by the writing partnerships, and I understand why it would be appealing. I love the Halloween themed sweets as well. Perfect!
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HI Olga, thanks for visiting and commenting. I think a poetry book is easier to write with someone else as you each contribute your own poems. Kim and I are both South African and have similar writing styles and themes which made this much easier.
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Hi, Robbie, I am reading, “While The Bombs Fell” now and enjoying it.
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Thank you, Joy, that is lovely to know.
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