Decisions, and a New Poem...

Sadly, I didn't win anything in the poetry contest I entered.  I'm not letting it stop me, though.  I entered my poem "Heartbroken" in the next go-around for the contest.  Maybe next time it'll be good enough to win the $1,000 Grand Prize.

I also came across another Fellowship opportunity that was shared on my Facebook page this week.  The deadline for applying is June 29th.  The Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship I entered asked for 10 pages of work to be submitted, but the Oregon Literary Fellowships is asking for 15 pages of work for poetry.  Another difference between the two Fellowship opportunities is that the Oregon Literary one is also awarded for Fiction novels.  Whereas the Ruth Lilly Fellowship is solely provided for poetry.

I got the application for the Oregon Literary Fellowship started, but I haven't decided on which poems I want to submit as a sample of my work.  Maybe I'll do a mixture of poems I've already published in my first two poetry books, and any new poems as yet unpublished if I'm allowed to do that.  I'll have to double-check the application guidelines for that.

On Another Note...


After two or three weeks of not getting anything out of my system when it comes to poetry, I wrote a new poem today.  This week's picture prompt at 21st Century Poets was Cinderella-related.  It was a picture of Cinderella running from the ball.  Here's my poem:

Cinderella's Midnight Run

As I dash away from the Ball,

The pumpkin makes me fall.

I leave my glass slipper behind

As I get up off the ground.

The Prince is getting closer

As I turn the corner.

I watch him as his picks up the slipper

As daintily as I will remember

This night for the rest of my life,

And longing one day to be his wife.

I make it inside my house

As I hear a far off noise:

It’s my stepmother and sisters

Returning without their mister.

I put away their things as they go to bed,

Reliving every moment of the dance in my head.

I make a heartfelt wish as I sit among the ashes

That Prince Charming will take me away from the lashes.

A month goes by without a word

When Carriage wheels are once again heard

On my street,

And my stepmother goes out to greet

Prince Charming

Who has been roaming

The village for the foot

The slipper fits not knowing the owner is covered in soot.

Everything ends happily

When the Prince spots me

While I’m tending the garden.

He slips it on my foot, and I am pardoned. 

I wrote the new poem in the file for "The Trifecta: A Collection of Poetry," so it's already added to my manuscript.  I have 32 pages total now.

I'm still contemplating whether I want to join in Camp NaNoWriMo this year.  The first month for it starts tomorrow.  Now that I don't have jury duty to worry about, I'm thinking about joining in.  I'm just not sure if I want to try to write 1,667 words per day, or not.  Maybe I'll skip June's WriMo, but use the time I have to  outline one of the stories I've been wanting to start working on, but haven't got to work on yet.  Then again, do I want to put "The Shepherdess Princess" on the back-burner while I do that?  Decisions, decisions.

"Inkheart" is Finished, and Writing Goals...

I just finished reading "Inkheart" yesterday. I've noticed subtle differences between the book and the movie, but some things are still making me scratch my head.  My reaction: Why did they leave that out?  Then as the story progressed: Oh, it would've hampered the main plot of the story being retold on film.  I am still scratching my head over the movie producers leaving out some characters that were in the book.  The movie made this particular character out to be an old bachelor when in the book he clearly isn't one.  In the book, he's widowed with his grandchildren hanging around when the main characters show up at his doorstep.  It left me wondering why they left out the grandchildren.  Surely there isn't a shortage of child actors in Hollywood!

I started reading "Inkspell" after finishing up with the first book in the trilogy.  I am now starting on chapter 5.  An additional difference I noticed between the book and movie versions of "Inkheart" is that the character Dustfinger doesn't return to the book "Inkheart" until the beginning of "Inkspell."  And Resa, who lost her voice being read back out of "Inkheart" by a stammerer still doesn't have her voice back in the beginning of "Inkspell."  At the end of the movie "Inkheart," Resa's voice was restored to her and Dustfinger and all the other "Inkheart" book characters were back where they should be.

On Another Note...

I find out this coming week the results of one of the poetry contests I entered.  The deadline for notification is June 1st.  I've been on the edge of my seat the past couple weeks in anticipation.  I could really use the $1,000 Grand Prize.

I spent some time last weekend working on "The Shepherdess Princess" once again.  I didn't make as much progress with it as I had hoped, but it's a start for the next time I work on it.  I have four pre-written chapters I've been working on getting back into the manuscript, but I haven't been able to fit any of them back into the story line until now.  I've been spending time this week thinking about how I can edit one of the pre-written chapters to fit in with where I'm at in the story now.  I hope to get all that situated later today.

A New Deal From Lulu, and an Event Announcement...

Please use the code below at my bookstore on Lulu.com or at my friend's page to order "A Candlelit World" (co-written by me) to help a starving artist today.  The E-Book format of "A Candlelit World" is compatible with Kindle.



"A Candlelit World" synopsis:

In 1899, a group of outsiders uncover a plot to raise an evil entity from the local cemetery. By bearing witness to the ritual that accomplishes this, it effectively signs their death warrant and in order to save themselves they must find out the key to return this Stranger to its grave. Though the evil is eventually banished and everyone is killed as a result, the story does not end there. One hundred years later, an unusual and powerful candle is found in an antique store by a pair of college students doing research for an assignment. Upon lighting it, the same evil is brought back along with the spirits of those who'd died to stop it before, who have much unfinished business among themselves as well. 

"Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry" synopsis:

Fateful Firsts is a collection of poetry with subjects ranging from life, love, relationships, pets, animals, and places. Some of the poems included were written in the later 1990s, but I didn't begin writing poems on a regular basis until 2006. It is my honor and privilege to present to you... Fateful Firsts! 

"Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry" synopsis:

You hold in your hands my second collection of poetry. I found after writing Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry, I was having Second Thoughts about relationships, emotions, and other life-altering events happening. What you see within these pages is the authentic me. Enjoy! 

SAVE THE DATE!

If you purchase the books and want them personally autographed, my friend and I will be at the Annual Author's Fair at Bob's Beach Books in Lincoln City, OR on Saturday, August 25, 2012 from 11 AM-2 PM.  Click here to learn more about the 50 different authors that will be at the event, and click on the location tab to get directions to the store.

My friend and I will also have copies of our books to sign on hand at the event if you don't want to order it with the code above.  Just make sure you bring money, and a bag to carry them in for the trip home.  :)

Make sure to mark your calendars!

Camp NaNoWriMo, and a New Poem...

Camp NaNoWriMo is coming up again.  I joined in on the frenzy last August trying to finish "The Shepherdess Princess" by shooting for 50,000 words written in the month.  It officially starts in June and resumes in August with a separate challenge for the month of July in between.  I have had such a busy month of May with being summoned for jury duty that I don't even know if I have any free time to work on an outline for a story to work on in June at all.  The month is already half over.  I haven't written anything for a couple weeks now beside a poem entitled "We're Not In Kansas Anymore" that I penned late last night.  I also have a partial poem written that I would like to edit some and finish.

Last November while doing NaNoWriMo, I managed to get 11,500 words total for the month.  Even though they have writing challenges for each month of the year, I haven't joined in any of them since November.  I have made progress in "The Shepherdess Princess" quite a bit since then because I now have 20,186 words total in the story.

I really wanted to try to get started on a new project for Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm not sure if that's a possibility for me at the moment.  I started writing "The Shepherdess Princess" for NaNoWriMo in November 2009, and I feel bad about using the same novel over and over again when my first draft should be done by now.  I have enjoyed working at my own pace a lot better, though.  I've never been good with having a deadline because it brings too much stress onto me.  I love about being an independent author because I can work at my own pace.  I mainly join these novel writing months to network with other authors, and see how much progress I can make just doing my own thing.

Here is the picture that prompted the new poem:

Here's the poem:

"We're Not In Kansas Anymore"

Dorothy, Em, and Henry don’t live here anymore.

They moved to some other peaceful shore.

They got sick of the twisters-

The last of which took Dorothy’s mister.

Dorothy’s husband is the new Wizard of Oz,

Or at least she thinks so because

A piece of the Yellow Brick Road

Came down one day in the field below

With a note.

“I’m sorry I never believed you,” Dorothy read,

“I really thought it was all in your head.

The Cowardly Lion and Tin Man say hello,

And the Scarecrow sends his regards to the family down below.

Glenda the Good Witch offered to send for you

If you so choose.

Mr. Marvelous is waiting with his new balloon.

It will be taking off tomorrow promptly at Noon.”

Dorothy spent the night

Thinking whether or not she should take the flight.

She missed her husband and friends,

But she decided against it in the end.

Someone had to take care of Uncle Henry and Aunt Em,

As they have no other kin.

I haven't added my new poem to "The Trifecta" yet, but I will soon.  I'm just not sure when I'll find the time.

I stated in a previous post that I started reading "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke.  I have since set it aside to read "Calico Joe" by John Grisham which I finished reading Friday afternoon.  I immediately started another library book called "The Thief Queen's Daughter" by Elizabeth Haydon.  I'm now about halfway done with it.  "The Thief Queen's Daughter" is the second book in a series of books I found on sale at the local Dollar Tree store not too long ago.  The series is entitled The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.  The main character is a magical being called a Nain (a race that predominantly lives underground), his family are shipbuilders, they have lived above ground for four generations, and he's the youngest of 13 kids at the age of 50 in Nain years (13-14 in human years).  The series starts with him lost at sea during an Inspection of a new ship that was attacked by Pirates, he's rescued by a merrow (mermaid type creature) until he's picked up by a passing boat that spotted an albatross that had been circling over him in the distance.  It's a series of Children's books, but I would recommend them to any age of reader.  I feel like a kid again whenever I open one of these books up.

The first and third book in the series was the only two I could find on sale at the Dollar Tree.  I've read "The Floating Island" (book #1) and will eventually read "The Dragon's Lair" (book #3) sometime after I finish with "The Thief Queen's Daughter."  I'll probably go back to reading "Inkheart" in order to get it back to the library without wanting to renew it too many times.  "Inkheart" is also a Children's book series.

What a Week It's Been...

Not a lot has been going on this week on the writing front.  I have read a few books, and started another book today that I checked out from the library yesterday.  The books I finished reading are "Scrambled Egg: Poems and Other Confessions" by Sara Megan Kay, and "Theodore Boone: The Abduction" by John Grisham.  I reviewed "Scrambled Egg: Poems and Other Confessions" for my friend, and my review is added to the back of her new book coming out possibly on May 26th called "Ghosts of the Field (and other stories)."  "Ghosts of the Field" is a collection of short stories she wrote in her younger years that she edited and updated to compile in this book.

The book I started reading today is called "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke.  It's the first book in a trilogy.  The library had the second book "Inkspell" and the conclusion "Inkdeath" that I will be checking out later.  "Inkheart" is a book that was turned into a movie with Brendan Fraser in it.  It's been one of my favorite movies to watch lately, and I've been left wondering how accurate the movie is compared to the book.  I've found one difference so far since starting the book that was different from the movie.  In the movie, one of the characters was introduced in a different area than he was in the book.

I did some house cleaning this week along with my brother because we had our annual inspection on May 4th.  We passed it, so the government will continue paying our rent for another year.

I had a fun time with my mom and sister-in-law yesterday as we watched the annual Loyalty Days Parade from in front of one of the local stores.  Usually it rains on the parade, but the sun actually graced the locals with its presence for a change this year.  It was nice seeing my friend KT riding along in the golf cart for the Hot Dog Brigade (a group of dachshund owners) along with the local high school marching band and community college.  The Al Kader Shriners group had their little cars again this year.  One was a tow truck-type towing another car, but he ended up needing a tow as well when his vehicle died by the judging booth.  I felt bad for him, but I chuckled at the irony.

Now, I'm thinking about catching up on some writing I missed out on while my week was jammed with other priorities.  I'm not sure how much progress I'll make, but I'd be happy with any at all right now.