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One last shout-out for the Author Fair...

10/30/2013

The time is drawing nigh for Echoes to participate in the first Martin Luther King Jr Library Author Fair. This three hour event will feature more than 30 authors, including Emily Thompson and myself, who will be on hand to chat with you and to sign books.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase in On Fourth-A Novel Cafe, situated on the ground floor, and can be enjoyed up through the public galleries during the Author Fair.

Please mark your calendar for what promises to be an enlightening inaugural event. For more information on the Martin Luther King Jr Library Author Fair, please click here.

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Airship, the short version ...

10/27/2013

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What happens with an idea runs wild? In my case, it resulted in two poems for the work of one, sort of. I originally intended Airship to be a short, atmospheric poem, but my editors unanimously wanted more.

When I returned to work on it, Airship suddenly lurched forward, dragging me along with it, and accelerated into quite a different piece than I had planned on. I now have a minor epic piece, and also a shorter atmospheric one.

Both poems begin alike, but diverge at the fourth stanza. Though the longer version is destined for inclusion in my next book of poetry, I am happy to give a taste of it here by posting the shorter poem. I give you:

Airship (short version)

How far I've flown I neither know nor care.
Much as this open deck my plans are bare.
Of star or compass I have nary need,
But follow as these downy cloud tops lead.

The chilly breezes toying through my hair
Cascade across my skin and jacket flare
While on the bottoms of my booted feet
The engine taps an unrelenting beat.

I acquiesce to gentle bob and sway
Beneath balloon and rigging bloated shape.
Awaiting now the nearly risen sun
I scan the vast expanse and see no one.

The tinted goggles resting on my crown
I grudgingly and lazily pull down
Upon my eyes against the waxing glow,
While dunsail crewmen slumber down below.

Alone on deck, I am a world of one
My double lenses set upon the sun
The heading, ever forward, for this ship
As toward that brighter firmament I slip.

(Dunsail: A part of a ship that serves no purpose.

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At long last, I have boarded the airship!

10/23/2013

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I've been hoping to write a poem about an airship for quite a while now, and have been a big fan of Steampunk airships for a very, very long time. Several days ago, a unique image popped into my head of just such a vessel, and with it a came a single descriptive line. Finally!

I immediately jumped on board, having no idea where the ship was heading. As of this posting, I'm still not entirely clear of either its course or its destination, but I am glad to finally be here. I'll begrudgingly jump off if reality beckons loudly enough, which generally involves hunger, thirst, or someone in my vicinity needing something, but ASAP I get right back on.

As I've said before, in order for me to write a poem I have to see it, smell it, feel it, and etc. The image has to become as tangible in my mind's eye as it would be in reality. If I wish to write about a piece of rigging, I'll focus until I can see what color it is, feel it's texture, and know it's weight in my hand.

I don't actually write down all of these details in the poem, but I do draw on them for those oh-so-subtle nuances that they alone can lend. If I can imagine something well enough, then you should be able to imagine it, too, or else I will have failed to do my job. Again, I'm being redundant here, but I believe it can stand being said yet again.

While writing Airship, which is the tentative title of this poem, I did a bit of research on sailing ships of the late 1800's, studied anatomical drawings of Eudraco magnificus occidentalis, (the western dragon), and viewed detail upon detail of Steampunk airships. I tend to do this whenever I need to improve my vocabulary relative to the items I need to site.

As of this posting, I am still happily working on Airship. When I think I'm about done I'll let it sit and germinate a while before entering it into the index of my next book of verse. For the moment, I am thoroughly enjoying this ride. Immersive writing does has some wonderful perks.

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Echoes will be at an Author Fair!

10/20/2013

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I am very pleased to announce that Emily Thompson, (author of Clockwork Twist), and I (author of Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry), will will be on hand to sell and sign our books at an author's table during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library Author Fair on Saturday, November 2, 2013 between 1:00 and 4:00 pm!

This will be the first Author Fair ever hosted by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose, California. This public library has the distinction of also being a university library, and it is located on the campus of San Jose State University.

With more than thirty outstanding authors in attendance during this fair, who will be selling, signing, and promoting their books, I am anticipating that it will be a very welcome venue for Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry and for Clockwork Twist.

This library houses a wonderful cafe on the ground floor where patrons can purchase food and beverages to enjoy while perusing library materials within the public galleries.

If you find yourself in the neighborhood, or would like to make a trip to downtown San Jose during the first weekend in November, I invite you to stop in, and visit us at our table.

For more information about this event, please click here.

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When readers respond ...

10/16/2013

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I have a friend who's readers buy into her stories so much that they castigate her for being too severe on her characters. Kelly Cozy, author of Ashes, and The Day After Yesterday, I salute you!

Having spent the better part of my life writing poetry in near total isolation, I am now receiving feedback from those who are actually reading my work. It is exhilarating and daunting ... and inspiring.

The Clockwork Alchemy Convention was my first foray into thrusting my poems into the public eye. It was a good fit. And then came A.P.E. which, though not an ideal venue for poetry per se, did serve to greatly broaden the outreach of my work.

Echoes' readers never fail to astound me. They are articulate, insightful, and very supportive. I recently met a woman who picked up my book, read from it, and then said, "Don't stop writing!"

When Barbara approached my table at Clockwork Alchemy, and began to share her luscious interpretation of Train Of thought, I realized that she was flawlessly spot on. I was, quite frankly, floored.

During A.P.E, I met Adam, a fellow blogger, who spoke with me about poetry and ghosts and whatnot, and who later wrote a awesome review of Echoes. Again, floored.

Also at A.P.E. a young man named Charles handed me a copy of his illustrated poem that he had crafted on the spot. As usual, my vocabulary suddenly lagged well behind the level of my appreciation.

This writer-reader relationship is so much more than I had asked for, and is light years beyond the usual, "I like it." responses of the past. Now, I have that long sought far wall to bounce off of: accountability.

Until recently, few had ever truly scrutinized my poetry, or tried to fathom it's deeper murmurs, aside from my courageous husband and daughter, that is. By the way, it isn't always easy living with a poet.

Well, this poet is grateful, and a little apprehensive, because it suddenly matters all the more. With a book in the works and more poems begging to be written, I am newly mindful that I am no longer largely invisible. I get to play poetry toss ... with "others!"

So, are there any other writers out there ... newly published, accomplished, considering going to print ... who would like to weigh in on the concept of "the audience?" The floor is now yours.

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A.P.E. was an eye-opener...

10/14/2013

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When this writer is looking for venues to participate in, just about anything is on the table. So, how did it go at A.P.E. ... ?

When Emily Thompson, author of Clockwork Twist, and I set up our table at A.P.E., I soon realized that I, a published poet, was bobbing in a sea of comic books, posters, and sundry. which was situated near one end of the lower level gauntlet of vendors,

Elizabeth Watasin, renowned illustrator, animator, and comic book writer, had to beg off from attending A.P.E. with us due to a minor injury. She was, however, represented at the table by two of her novels, The Dark Victorian:Risen, and The Dark Victorian: Bones.

Emily and I had decided to branch out into a wholly new arena, and I honestly had no idea how this was going to go. As it turned out, Echoes, Neo-victorian Poetry was the first book to sale at our table.

I will not lie here and say that we made a killing at A.P.E., but we each sold several copies of our books, totally exhausted all of our respective stacks of business cards, and made many new friends.

Many who came to table #218 knew Elizabeth's illustration work well, and were delighted to see her books there. For Emily and I, this event served as our introduction to a whole new class of fans.

Would I consider doing another stint at A.P.E. Yes, I think I might. We learned a great many extremely valuable lessons at this event which will carry us forward and embolden us to perhaps stretch even more.

Emily and I are both Steampunk-centric, and we feel most at home in Steampunk events, but I am very glad that we did A.P.E. 2013. I wish to thank everyone who came to see us at our table.

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Preparing for A.P.E.

10/9/2013

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The weekend will soon be upon us, and in my case, so will A.P.E., the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to sharing this event with so many other artist, craftsmen, and authors, and hopefully you.

Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry will be sharing a seller's table with Emily Thompson, author of Clockwork Twist, and with Elizabeth Watesin, author of The Dark Victorian: Bones, and The Dark Victorian: Risen.

The Alternative Press Expo has been around since 1994 and is put on by the same non-profit organization that is also behind Comic-Con and WonderCon. This venue provides an intimate spotlight on self-published authors and comics artists, on small business publishers, and on independent creators.

During the Clockwork Alchemy Convention, we got to wear our Steampunk garb. At A.P.E. we plan to don our respective goggles and dress our seller's table in its best Steampunk accouterments.

As I gear up for what promises to be an awesome event, I am reminded that I will still be away during my usual Sunday post, but I will do my level best to have something to offer then, or soon after.

Once again, if you find yourself in or near San Francisco this weekend, (October 12th & 13th), I hope you'll have an opportunity to come by and say "Hi" at our table at the Alternative Press Expo. All are welcome!

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Echoes = Mathematics ... WHAT?

10/6/2013

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Today's post is, in part, a followup to my previous post. There, I mentioned that I had allowed an idea to slip through my cognitive fingers by not noting it somewhere for later use ... and, sadly, that I could not bring it back to mind.

Before I had actually completed that post, and while I was in conversation with someone, the "lost" idea abruptly reappeared in my mind out of nowhere, and this time I made a note of it. The issue was as follows:

I had recently, discovered that Echoes, Neo-Victorian Poetry had been classified as MATHEMATICS in an online shop! I have no idea how this could have happened, but I quickly amended the page to reflect its true genre.

True, I was befuddled and annoyed at the time, this case of temporarily mistaken identity made me wonder whether there might be an element of truth attached to it. I took a breath and began to ponder this.

Indeed, I do tend to write in measured tempos, and I aggressively monitor the form and number of each line and stanza. In the final edit, I count my verses to make certain that they all match up smoothly. I soon realized that the designation of MATHEMATICS had not been entirely inaccurate.

Owing to this intriguing mistake, I am now considering writing a poem on mathematics. My apologies to those who were searching for Mathematics, but found Echoes, instead. I hope that they were somewhat entertained ...

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Those ideas that simply fly away...

10/2/2013

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An idea, left unpenned, becomes a free agent, and it tends to languidly, smoothly evaporate. I am at my most unfortunate, unrelenting worst when a potentially brilliant phrase, word, or story line come to mind when I am least likely to jot it down.

Try as I might to always make a quick note, or to attach an inspired thought to a mental image for later recall, now and then I am at a loss for doing so, either because I lack a pen or am drawn away by something immediate.

On occasional mornings, I'll wake up wondering "What was it I was thinking of just before I dropped off to sleep last night?" Or might try wonder, "What were we talking about that made me think of ... something?"

Where, oh where, do such feathers of thought fly off to? Is there a repository of unclaimed ideas floating in the ether that one can sort through, like a kind of celestial lost and found? Surely there is some scrap of them there.

At this very moment, I am searching through the vapors of my brain for such a thing. The hunt is on, and my mind is groping for any and all glimpses at whatever it was that was brewing in my erstwhile frame of mind.

Perhaps it will return to me on its own when I am no longer searching for it. Perhaps it was never really of any use. Still and all, I cannot simply let it go while any notion of it yet lingers ... like a whisper ... fading ...

Oh, wait! ... Now I remember!

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