Inspired Heart For Teens (digital)
A collection of poetry and prose for teens.
Note this book is not for resale. All rights remain with Melinda Cochrane
The Inspired Heart for teens ( paperback version)
Donations are made yearly from this series. Last year donations went to the QWF writer's in community program for youth.
A collection of poetry and prose for teens.
Note this book is not for resale. All rights remain with Melinda Cochrane
The mission of this anthology was to create a strong collection of work that would appeal to teens struggling with poetry. And with the quality and diversity of work received from 63 adult contributors, I believe it has not only succeeded but surpassed that mission. I feel that any teen, or even any adult for that matter, will find work in this collection they will truly enjoy. Bruce Kauffman, Editor
Poetry collections (digital collection)
"Lyrical and deeply evocative, Melinda Cochrane's poetry calls demons to the dance floor and brings the mighty to their knees. She's an Island Poet beautifully captures the spirit of Islandness, in general, and Newfoundland, in particular. She celebrates the struggles of place and people as the very loom on which their inner fibres are woven. This is an intensely human and honest collection that will leave you changed." Dr. Ellyn Lyle, author and lecturerUniversity of Prince Edward IslandIn She's An Island Poet Melinda Cochrane, with a brush of both reflection and soul-full imagination, in buoyant colour paints an incredible landscape of both person and place.In this collection of poetry and poetic prose, she gently but vigilantly reminds both herself and us not of a distant place beyond or a place without, but instead perhaps in each of us a place within. She takes us there effortlessly throughout this collection with passages like "The ocean currents brought me back and I knew the worded memories. I found the washed stones in my shoes and the velvet sofa of my grandmother...", and "...we do not, go into the interior without knowing the rules of nature,//we rhythm with it,...".This is a wonderful and poignant collection of word, image and reflection, with number on number of simply remarkable poems and short works of prose, but in particular the opening letter to the island, "Her Letter" and the section of poems, "Freedom" -undeniably brilliant.Bruce Kauffman, Author of The Texture of Days, in Ash and Leaf The Man Who Stole Father’s Boat Melinda Cochrane evokes the geography, history, politics, and sociology of Newfoundland and Labrador with the kind of hardy and hard-edged truthfulness that characterizes so much of the vital and unique culture of the province some call the Rock. Melinda’s poetic narratives conjure a world that is craggy and wind-swept and storm-tossed. In poetry that pulses with the creative energies of story, image, music, emotion, and voice, Melinda tells the truth about growing up in Newfoundland and Labrador from the perspective of being poor. Her poems and stories resonate with lingering and haunting rhythms like ocean waves playing percussion on beach stones. Melinda invokes a world that is chaotic and challenging, but because of her courageous willingness to call out in a voice that is poetic and prophetic, she also ultimately spells a portrait of life in Newfoundland and Labrador that is profoundly hopeful, never nostalgic or romantic. This book has been fired in the heart, and hammered in the imagination, and it is offered as a gift of sturdy wisdom that can sustain us in addressing urgent contemporary issues of class privilege and social justice, especially through education as creative, liberating, and transformative. Dr. Carl Leggo, poet and professor and Newfoundlander University of British Columbia
Behind the Pen ( digital book)
A Romance Series".... Every page of Behind The Pen took me so deep into the story and created such a need for me to find out what happens next that I found myself unable to put the book down. Melinda Cochrane has a way of making you feel as though she hasspied on your life and is now telling the world your story through her amazing wordplay. The story also gets you thinking about some of the crazy things many of us have done in our own lives, in the name of love. Behind the Pen simply amazes me. I found myself so engrossed within the story that I couldn’t help but find myself happy one moment and mad the next. Melinda Cochrane dares to ask her readers to really think about how far they are willgo to know and feel real love. It’s a deep question that leads one to seriously take the time to think about love. I rarely read books of this nature, so it was refreshing to get away from all the business and self help industry books I usually read in order to allow myself to drift away for a moment in a dream of love...." Bennie Randall Jr
NOT available. New Edition will be out this summer.
A warrior faces demons, sea dragons, ghosts, and monsters in a tale that spreads from Newfoundland to Jamaica. All warriors in it joined by one man's struggle to conquer progressive Multiple Sclerosis and a daughter trying to save them both."Canadian author and Cancer survivor Melinda Cochrane weaves a spellbinding web of adventure, fable, and historical fiction that provides a sweeping backdrop for a Newfoundland girl's journey of self-discovery, which brings her closer to her family than she'd imagined possible. The story draws heavy inspiration from the author's battle with the disease and her father's battle with Multiple Sclerosis. All of these elements come together to produce an uplifting experience that promises to remain with the reader long after the book is closed. - Steven Fortune, EditorThe creative mind of Melinda Cochrane strikes again. She lures us into her world through her battle with Thyroid Cancer, and her father’s final days with Multiple Sclerosis. With colorful, expressions of her homeland, vivid imagery, and complex characters, she reveals her emotional and spiritual journey on the roads of fear, fight and victory. Her courage and strength reveal her ability to navigate each road because of her audacity to live. Melinda Cochrane’s Utterance, speaks to the soul.-Lololi Alkema T. Jackson Editor
Paperback version
Jurors’ Comments for the Quebec Writer's Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature About Desperate Freedom, the jurors wrote: Desperate Freedom explores the lives of four teenagers trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, alienation and worthlessness. Cochrane many technical writing approaches to make this story memorable and socially relevant. She cleverly juxtaposes the nature of the characters and the setting. The most interesting feature is the dream sequence at the end of the novel: this surreal scene conjures up two pictures, one of death and closure and another of hope and a new beginning.
