Write with TLC

I am trying out SubStack ! Come check out my Substack page and subscribe to get notifications directly in your inbox when I post. For now, all on Substack are free, and you can pledge to support me when I turn on paid subscriptions if you'd like. I just posted a new post, Poetry and Politics , and have scheduled a couple of poems to share over the next few weeks to celebrate National Poetry Month. Please check it out! Thanks! 

  Read an Ebook Week has arrived! All my ebooks on Smashwords are on sale from March 2, 2025-March 8, 2025. Check out most of my titles for 50% off.  My short story, Alone, is free during this Read an Ebook Week. Check out most of my books on Smashwords  or my latest book and short story at Smashwords . (Smashwords and Draft2Digital are merging resulting in me temporarily having 2 pages.) Or individually by clicking on each book below. While you’re there, check out the many other authors participating in the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week promotion! Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years since I started publishing my books beginning all the way back with All She Ever Wanted in 2001! I am grateful for every reader! I will continue to write about the things that make life worth living, the lessons I learn, and the challenges we face in the world. I have a new book of poetry, Earth in Silhouette, coming soon! Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links ...

We all experience grief. It is universal and unique all at once. Grief is devastating and grief is a gift. My forthcoming book of poetry, The Gift of Grief , (ebook available for preorder ) explores my journey through various bouts of grief. It took me a long time to embrace grief rather than fight it or ignore it or work to process it seeking an end date. Grief works on its own time. Embracing it brought me to a place where I could see the gift it brought to my life. I discovered that grief is something we learn to live with not something we process as a one-and-done. I really wanted to check off items to show progress like it was some kind of task list.  At times I felt like the waves of grief just couldn't end because as soon as I started feeling settled, I lost someone else, I sometimes felt like the grief was just too much. I began to realize this was probably true for many other people as well. Between 2020-2024, I grieved the deaths of several friends, myriad extended family...

Eight of my ebooks are currently 50% off on Google Books. Current sale lasts through August 31, 2022. Buy books here Thank you!

Not many people send cards these days, or at least not many people I know do. I used to make my own cards. I wrote the poems and used photos taken by either my husband or me. It was fun to create cards for family, friends, and colleagues. I sent many cards that expressed a special connection to a friend, family member, or colleague. Some were more universal. Over time I slacked off on sending cards, especially after the printer I used to print cards broke down. Eventually I started sending store bought cards again for a variety of reasons but mainly because I like sending cards to people I care about. It wasn't quite the same as creating my own, but the sentiment was the same. Over the years, several people expressed an interest in buying my cards to send to people in their lives. After giving it some thought, I did some research. I decided to make some of the cards I created available for purchase on Zazzle . I have started uploading my portfolio of cards. I hope my cards will ins...

Boise, Idaho Downtown Library in 2002 On several occasions over the years since I published my first book, someone has said some version of "I like your work, but I just don't buy books." To be honest, this used to bother me. I pour my heart, soul, and mind into every book I write, so it felt personal when someone told me they didn't buy books.  Over time I've come to realize there are many reasons people opt not to buy books, none of them are a reflection on me or my work. Some people can't afford to buy books. Some people don't buy books because they don't like to keep books for a variety of reasons. Some people are minimalists. Some people don't get joy from seeing books on a bookshelf. Some people see buying books as wasteful. I generally just smile when someone tells me they don't buy books. I'm not interesting in coercing someone into buying one of my books if they don't want it. I want people who do buy my books to feel...

Today I talk about how Kentucky influenced my life and my writing on the blog, 50 Authors from 50 States. The blog offers a glimpse into my complex relationship with the state of my birth... Please check it out... 50 Authors from 50 States

Last year I guest blogged on 50 Authors from 50 States about Oregon and focused mainly on hiking, so this year I decided to go a different way and explore another interests - the arts scene in Oregon. While this barely touches on the deep and diverse art scene to be found in Oregon, I wanted to show what the diversity in the Oregon art scene that I've experienced. Please check it out at 50 Authors from 50 States . While you're there, comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Vulnerability in Silhouette: Poems. And don't forget to check out what other authors have had to say about their states!! If you'd also like to read last year's guest post , you can.

Vulnerability in Silhouette: Poems, my second poetry book exploring the relationship between vulnerability and strength, celebrates its first birthday in September. To celebrate I'm offering a giveaway over on Goodreads. Enter to win 1 of 10 signed copies! Reviews are always appreciated, particularly if you enjoy the read! < Goodreads Book Giveaway Vulnerability in Silhouette by T.L. Cooper Giveaway ends October 01, 2016. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter Giveaway /> And, if you're wondering, the first book of poetry that explored the relationship between vulnerability and strength was Strength in Silhouette: Poems . And, if you just don't want to wait, you can purchase an unsigned copy or the Kindle version of Vulnerability in Silhouette: Poems now.

A couple of months ago, a poet friend, Ariel, posted a blog titled Help a Sister Out? in which she inquires whether to continue to submit her work and wait for others to decide if it should be shared with the world or to blog her poems and risk them being ineligible for many traditional publication outlets. She mentioned that she doesn't think she has enough credits to start publishing chapbooks. I started to respond but decided to give it some thought first. Over the intervening weeks, I've given her query quite a bit of thought. In answer to her quandary, I'm going to share a bit about my writing journey. When I decided to take my writing career into my own hands, I knew the risk I was taking. I really did; however, I wanted my career to be my own. My message was more important to me than fame. Staying true to my vision was more important to me than bestseller lists. Frankly, I'd rather share my work with people than struggle to impress the gatekeepers. ...

As a writer, I often feel a sense of isolation that is only relieved through sharing my work. As a human being, I sometimes feel a sense of vulnerability that is only relieved when I risk connecting with others. Being a writer gives me an excuse to avoid risking vulnerability. When I was compiling the poems for my book, Strength in Silhouette: Poems , I couldn't help but notice how often strength and vulnerability played on the same playground, and they played together well. I reflected over several years when I spent concerted efforts to risk vulnerability in order to grow closer to those I loved and to be more authentic. Each foray I made into vulnerability made me feel stronger. It wasn't that I couldn't be hurt. It wasn't that I didn't hurt. I was hurt. I felt pain deeply, but I felt a strength coming through the vulnerability that reminded me I could do better than survive, I could thrive. So, as I sorted through the poems to focus on strength I watched my...

Today I'm guest blogging on Fifty Authors from Fifty States. I wrote a bit about hiking in Oregon. This summer we spent several Saturdays hiking places within a couple hours drive from our house. I touched on a few of them as well as on how the hikes reminded me how much I used to enjoy being in the woods... Check it out at Fifty Authors from Fifty States .

My latest book, Soaring Betrayal,  details accounts of heart-wrenching betrayal that leaves in its wake broken lives, broken spirits, and futures forever changed. In moments where love goes wrong, hurtful decisions are made, and obsession turns to violence, hope beats in the hearts of men and women who would have good reason to abandon humanity. Inner strength and resolve surface in the harsh realities of deception and loss. The men and women in each of these short stories search for ways to soar above the betrayal that threatens to destroy them. Click below to download this eBook of short stories!

Strength in Silhouette: Poems is available on Kindle for $0.99 for a limited time. If you've been waiting for an opportunity to get your copy, now is a good time to do it! Enjoy!

Visit Potluck with Judy to check out my recipe for  TLC’s Frozen Chocolate Banana Almond Cream , a dessert I threw together when I had a major chocolate craving and lacked the ingredients to make my usual chocolate desserts. It felt a little like playing "Chopped" in my own kitchen and with my only judge as my husband, who had to like try my concoction regardless. Hope you enjoy! Thanks, Judy, for inviting me to guest on Potluck with Judy !

When I started tapping into my inner strength to deal with some challenges in my life, it reawakened a need in me to not only be strong but to empower others to embrace their inner strength. I blogged about strength quite often during this time period, but I found my struggle with inner strength pouring into my poems. Poems filled page after page. Pretty soon I realized I had written enough about inner strength, empowerment, and women's innate struggle to be strong without losing their femininity to fill a book. That book is not now complete and available for purchase in both trade paperback and Kindle! Enjoy!  

My Freshman Snowball Dance Some time ago I read a letter on Dear Teen Me posted by an author friend. Then I read some of the other letters on the page. I loved the idea of Dear Teen Me, and I wanted to participate; however, I had no idea what to say. I asked myself repeatedly what I would say to my teenage self if given the chance. Nothing felt quite right, so I kept procrastinating contacting Dear Teen Me to participate. I wrote a poem to my nieces, but it didn't fit the vibe I felt at Dear Teen Me. Finally, in March, I wrote a poem called "To My Teenage Self" and decided maybe writing a letter just wasn't the way to go for me. Perhaps the letter needed to be in form of a poem. I contacted Dear Teen Me, and they offered me a slot for today. I wasn't happy with "To My Teenage Self" but one line in it stood out to me. I used that line to write a new poem based on an actual experience. That poem appears on Dear Teen Me today, April 22, 2013. So please...

Audrey Austin shared my poem, Warrior Woman, on her blog, Rhymes and Times Remembered. Please check it out! Thanks, Audrey for sharing my work with your audience!

Free - October 4-5, 2012 - Kindle book - Memory in Silhouette: Poems. Enjoy! Every moment is a memory and every memory is a moment. Memories are moments that build on one another to create the foundation of who we are at any given point in life. Memories - good, bad, and neutral - meld within our minds and hearts housing love, hate, pleasure, fear, anger, and happiness. With each memory we make, we become more compassionate, and therefore more connected to the world around us. Our strengths and weaknesses live in our memories creating the complexity and simplicity that encompasses the full human experience. Come along to discover how moments blossom into growth or become merely a memory in silhouette…

Free - September 27-28, 2012 - Kindle edition - Reflections in Silhouette: Poems for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!