Valentine Gift that Lasts Better Than a Greeting Card

Cherished Pulse
A Chapbook of Unconventional Love Poetry
By Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Genre: Poetry
Available on Amazon at http://budurl.com/CherishedPulse
Available for Kindle

After throwing out another batch of high priced Christmas cards, I’m ready to put a formal ban on wasteful, expensive greeting cards in my house. With Valentine’s Day pending, it’s time we started giving real gifts that last and forget about fancy expensive packaging and syrupy cliché cards that make landfill. 

For those looking for a deeper and more sustained gift for Valentine's Day, an inexpensive chapbook of poetry is perfect. Poetry has a transformative effect and it lasts.  Cherished Pulse, a book of unconventional love poetry by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball, is pretty enough not to need any embellishments with beautiful artwork by watercolorist Vicki Thomas. It doesn’t have any calories, fits snugly on the shelf or looks lovely on a coffee table, and at only $6.95 for a paperback, or $2.99 for the Kindle version, it won’t more (or as much!) as a card on its own. Pair it with your own beautiful poem or a hand-picked flower from your garden for the most memorable and powerful Valentine’s Day gift you’ve ever given.

Review by Molly Martin:

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s poems begin with the delicate refrain found in ‘A Woman's Heart.’ ‘Dreaming Lilacs,’ moves the reader into a scented, heart felt remembrance before moving on to a playful stanza ‘Hallmark Couldn't Possibly Get This Right.’ Poet Howard-Johnson’s last offering is a poignant introspective ‘Loving Lance.’ Other titles by this poet include; "Watching My Daughter Say Goodbye To a Fleeting Love," and " LA Love Story."

Magdalena Ball presents the first 10 poems; from the haunting lyric found in ‘The Ocean,’ strength of ‘Great Sky,’ and stark reality of ‘Dark Matter,’ poet Ball moves the reader toward her final though provoking reflective work; ‘Baker’s Dozen’. Other titles by poet Ball include; "Event Horizon," and "Oubliette."

Cherished Pulse :Unconventional Love Poetry is a pleasurable collection of buoyant, spirited poetry sure to pique the interest of the most discerning reader who is looking for a nice afternoon’s read. Each of the verses is a true delight. There is something for everyone. Language use is not predictable, nevertheless Cherished Pulse is an invigorating read of agreeably constructed stanzas presented in a satisfactorily rounded assortment. The reader will be drawn into the verses’ rich stitching of sentiment, passion, and sensation.

Pick up a copy at http://www.budurl.com/CherishedPulse. Add a grosgrain ribbon book mark and an early spring flower and you'll have a never-forgotten gift.

----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :