Coming in Early November!
Outpourings: Musings, Woolgathering, & Ghosts, Volume II
By: CK Sobey
My heart flourishes when gathering my thoughts, feelings, and my trusty pen. I give an idea more than a notice. This book is Volume II of Musings, Woolgathering & Ghosts. In that book, my photography was also a partner. The original idea for the first book of musings developed during the Pandemic.
Outpourings, the second book of Musings, is blended with many Haiku reflections, Japanese-style poetry traditionally in lines of five, seven, and five syllables evoking images of the natural world. I stayed with the rhythm, but I took liberty with what flowed from my pen as it was not always traditional, not always about the natural world.
For this I apologize. I can only say, I don’t know what I think until I write it down.
Outpourings is a book written in a different time than the pandemic, though there are a few memories from those earlier days where musings often live and still linger.
Outpourings has four sections. In each section you will find what I call surges, a mixture of musings, fleeting thoughts that continue to grow. In these writings, you are invited to a view of my inner chapel to read my personal talks with my inner guidance that follows me through life.
Reveries are also here, lighter, and frequently capricious musings.
And then there are my versions of the traditional Japanese style poetry. You’ll find my point of view in Haiku Reflections.
Section One – Threads
Section Two – Rebirths
Section Three- Shifts
Section Four – Realizations
– Anne Marie Bennett, author of Sea Glass Memories, AnneMarieBennett.com
“CK Sobey’s Outpourings is an evocative journey through the writer’s “inner chapel.” Poetic mini-essays mix with haiku and philosophical fragments that create a lovely collage of contemplations. Sobey eloquently reminds us that “Every day, little gifts are waiting to be realized.” Playful and profound, Outpourings is a meditative and absorbing read.”
– Lisa St. John, author of Swallowing Stones
“It features the same special blend of personal reflection, poetry, and philosophical musings that marked the first book, but carries these themes into wider waters as Sobey marks her life and heritage with passages of experience and growth that blend spiritual reflection with life inspection. Sobey often writes with an underlying philosophical view. This will attract a wide audience of thinkers who enjoy deeper-level inspections.
This collection begins with a consideration of impermanence and the impetus for writing and publishing one’s thoughts for posterity: “Nothing is truly gone but can be so fleeting. I’m trying to capture the feelings a moment longer and put them into words.”
It then presents a series of surges and reflections that reflect both an appreciation for Japanese poetic structure and accompanying prosaic considerations of wisdom, spiritual dialogues, and the fabric of building personality and perspective over the years.
CK Sobey is particularly adept at capturing her life experiences and inspections in an interweave of reveries about marvels, mysteries, and miracles to reflect both an appreciation of what is known about life and aspects which are in flux or unknown, yet to be developed.
Like a fine photograph, Sobey’s work slowly comes to light in the darkroom of life, assuming clarity and form as readers either choose a progressive approach to reading or dip in and out at various points in her book, as desire dictates.
It’s unusual to find a work which offers dual approaches to readers who pursue either linear or non-linear paths of exploration, but Outpourings (and its predecessor) offers satisfaction to both kinds of readers as it embraces a “multiple passage of steps” to arrive at thought-provoking considerations of the human spirit and wisdom.
The intersection of haiku and prose works well in this pursuit, lending vivid imagery and possibilities to Sobey’s work and strengthening her intention to reach as wide an audience as possible:
“I think about things that touch me. Believe me when I say I am touched in countless ways every day. Not always in thoughtful, poetic ways. My life can be outrageously foolish, and sometimes it involves a great deal of shouting and disruption. Reaching some passionate and evocative altitudes helps me to turn up the heat when I need that. I’m not alone in this, just my version. I will do my best to share that authenticity with you in this book.”
Her special brand of memoir, literary inspection, and philosophical and spiritual reflection will delight libraries that look for evocative, accessible writings for those that appreciate prose, poetry, philosophy, and everything that goes into inspecting life.”
– Diane Donovan, Editor, Donovan’s Literary Services | Bookwatch
Available now!
A Collection of Tiny Stories: Diminutive Tales from the Tip of My Imagination
By: CK Sobey
This collection of Tiny Stories is an assortment of tiny, brief stories that were born out of moments of whimsy, mystery, and longing. I believe in the indefatigable powers of imagination. I do my best to widen my imaginative lens of what I can create in any genre, recipe, or seeking a solution to a problem. The list goes on and on. It is what gets me out of bed in the morning. What will the day bring? Not every day is an explosive revelation, with my muses rambling around, whispering to me of some plan. I do my best to find peace and calm, even in moments. When I find these moments, they are the sweetness between the flow of found ideas. The quiet space is what I need to receive. I honor this time to allow the ideas to take shape, to grow. I love pictures as well. They have their own story to tell. As prompts I become turned on to a story, musing or something new coming all together. I hope you enjoy my visual stories as well. They were created for these stories.
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Musings, Woolgathering, & Ghosts: Poetic and Visual Offerings from My Life to Yours
By: CK Sobey
I have wondered at the many ways life turns me inside and out every day of my life.
I do my best to see life with depth and breath. A broader lens of what I see day to day.
With practice and intent, I try to find the uncommon in everyday life. Simply living my daily experiences can in itself become a form of art.
For the most part, this book has come together aroused by thoughts and feelings from my everyday life.
Some are deeper, more insightful. Others are lighter and more playful. Some are haunting, with vivid memories that follow me through my life.
I hope that everyone who is drawn to this book will resonate in some way with the stories and photos on the pages.
From Musings, Woolgathering, and Ghosts:
Life is many things and all the in-between.
How big and wide will you live your life?
Or will the fear of this day cause your experience to be narrowed, smaller?
Starvation is not always about the stomach.
It is all about the view.
“Perhaps everything that frightens us is in its deepest essence something helpless that wants our love.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
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What others are saying:
Musings, Woolgathering, & Ghosts received a 5-star review from Reader Views! “These pages are full of awareness, understanding, spirit, and beauty. They, to the reader, are informative, insightful, and soothing. Life is a challenge to all of us, but reading these words makes one feel that they are a part of the author’s journey and it allows them to see a piece of themselves as they read the words.” Read the full review >
Henry the Turtle
By: C.K. Sobey
A delightful tale of a turtle being born to a family of ducks. When Henry the Turtle is abandoned as an egg in an all-duck community, it causes quite a stir! A caring mother duck quickly adopts the egg, keeping it warm and safe, and every duck in the community awaits its hatching with wonderment and awe. Henry the Turtle is a loving testament to the power of family, with a simple yet timeless message: There are no limits to what caring and nurturing can do for all living creatures. Follow Henry the Turtle as he finally meets his adopted duck family in this beautifully illustrated story that will appeal to young children everywhere!
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What others are saying on Amazon:
The power of love
By Merry Coburn, Ph.D. on April 22, 2015
The loving message Henry the Turtle shares is one we all yearn to hear. Surface differences really do not matter. Love can hold us even when it sometimes appears we do not belong. This message has never been more timely. Today’s families increasing include children of skin color and abilities/disabilities that differ from that of their siblings and parents. Kas Sobey’s story and Skelton’s charming drawings show how wonderful it can be when others embrace us just as we are and tell us we belong. Henry’s duck family will be marvelous role models for children as well as a reminder about the power of mother love. As a grandmother of a severely handicapped child who at first glance looks different, I can say that the story of Henry the Turtle went straight to my heart.
Henry the Turtle is a most delightful story of diversity and love.
By Inka Omholt on April 23, 2015
Henry the Turtle is a most delightful story of diversity and love.I enjoyed the simplicity of the story as well as the clear message of “we are all
lovable no matter how different we are.
Our children need more stories like this one and the illustrations are wonderful. A true gem in the large field of children stories.
It’s a winner!
By LA on April 28, 2015
I shared this with my 4 year old grandson who had just returned from visiting his indigenous Panamanian other family–all of it quite different from his American life. But all loving family. We both loved the story and he has asked for it several times since. It’s a winner
Wonderful
By Robert on June 14, 2015
Henry the Turtle is a most delightful, up-lifting and entertaining book for children and adults. Great message of loving and caring for others.
Wonderful
By Miss Barbara VINE VOICE on September 14, 2015
On the surface Henry the Turtle is a charming little book about the welcoming to world of a turtle baby by a family of ducks. It is mother duck who found Henry’s abandoned egg and decided to nurture it to hatching. But – below the surface this books can be the perfect introduction into the topics of biology, of adoption, of multiculturalism, of inclusion, and the importance of love.
The story is simple and well told by author Kas Sobey but it is the wonderful illustrations by Marit Skelton that puts this little book over the top. They are charming and tell the story by opening up conversation leads that will help you talk to your child “about” the story – not just “tell” the story. I think this book will be great addition to your juvenile fiction library.