Research, and a New Page...

I got my application ready to be sent into the powers that be with the Oregon Literary Fellowships.  I'll be heading to the Post Office with it sometime this week to mail it off.

I created my own author's page at Facebook this week.  Click here to visit, and "Like" it if you haven't done so already.  I had separate pages for each of my books that I published, but this page makes all that easier to manage.  With the exception of the "A Candlelit World" Facebook page, my other two book pages are scheduled for removal.

I've had the book from the library for a week now, and haven't looked at it yet aside from bookmarking the chapter that deals with the Ancient and Medieval Weapons specifically for Medieval Europe.  I was waiting on reading it until I got another library book read which I finished reading this morning.  Once I get done writing this entry and making something to eat for lunch, I was going to grab my pen and a notebook and get to researching.

When I'm researching something, I like to use a spiral notebook to jot down any interesting tidbits I find as I'm going along in my reading of a book.  I also write notes on anything that may help me in my writing process that I'll use in the scene I'm writing.  It felt weird to me this week not doing any writing on my manuscript for "The Shepherdess Princess," but I'm stalled creatively until I get this research done.

I keep thinking this week that "I'm the youngest of six kids, so I've been in my share of fights.  I haven't experienced nothing as bloodthirsty as what I'm planning for this book."  Mwahaahaa!  Hence, why I'm doing research at the moment.

Progress on Projects, and a New Poem...

I've made a little progress today.  I got my author's proof for the "Great Poets Across America" initialed, sealed in an envelope, stamped, and ready to be mailed off.

I have 8 out of the 15 poems I need for the Oregon Literary Fellowship picked out today, so that leaves 7 more poems to choose before I can send it off.

I wrote a new poem yesterday, and entered it into the weekly writing competition at 21st Century Poets.  I also found out yesterday that my poem "Inside My Secret Garden" was chosen as the winner!  That means I have the monthly competition to look forward to at the end of June.

Here's my newest poem:

A Lonely Heart’s Plea

This lonely heart wantonly beats for another.

Someone who would bother

To take the time to look beyond what they see,

And fall in love with the real me.

Everyone knows “you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

The same thing can be said for finding a lover.

You have to turn the pages and look inside

To discover where my inner beauty resides.

My heart bleeds onto the blank page

As I write what I feel day after day.

Who will take the time to answer

A lonely heart’s sincerest plea?

I’m worthy to spend an eternity

With a lover who can’t live without me.

When I find him, we’ll have a fence and a yard

To watch our children play in for hours.

This is the picture that prompted the poem:

"A Lonely Heart's Plea" is already added to my poetry book manuscript, and I spent some time yesterday working on my entry for the Chicken Soup for the Soul book "Inspiration for Writers."  A lot of the projects I have been working on this week has deadlines at the end of the month.  I know for sure they will be done in time, though.

The library book I requested for my research is waiting to be picked up.  I'll probably go there tomorrow afternoon when I'm running other errands.

A Busy Week In My Writing World...

I have the application for the Oregon Literary Fellowship typed up and printed out to send.  All I have left to add to it is the 15 pages of poems they require as a sample of my work.  They will not allow already published poems, so my idea to use some of my published poems mixed in with unpublished poems is out.  That leaves me 15 of 34 pages in my unfinished manuscript to choose from.  Once everything needed is gathered, I have to send off three copies!  That's a lot of printer paper, and printer ink I'll be going through.

I got correspondence in the mail today for my poem to be added to the "Great Poets Across America" book that is part of the National Poetry Month invitation I received from the World Poetry Movement via email in April.  I'm checking out the Artist's Release, and then I'll be sending it in for publication.  I'll be finding out June 30, 2012 if I get picked for any sort of prize money.

Another thing I did this week was check out possible upcoming book topics at the Chicken Soup for the Soul series website.  I found one topic I'm trying to write something for: Inspiration for Writers.  The deadline for the 1200 word story is the end of June.  For the book "Inspiration for Writers" they ask questions like: How did you overcome writer's block?  Who or what encouraged you when you were about to give up?  When did you realize that your story was ready to be shared with the world?  Then is states "This is your opportunity to help other writers--published and unpublished--draw inspiration and learn from your journey to publication (including self-publication and blogging)."

I made some progress in "The Shepherdess Princess" today as well.  I'm just about ready to type out the fight scene, but I have some research to finish up before I tackle it.  I'm waiting for a book from the library titled "Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics" by Konstantin Nossov.  I also printed out some pages of research on Medieval Weaponry for the time period I'm using for Scotland, England, and France specifically.  I can't wait to see if any of the book I'm waiting on correlates with some of the research I've already came across online.  Anyway, the gap I had in "The Shepherdess Princess" feels like it's getting smaller and smaller the more research time I put into it.

Fight Scenes, and a New Poem...

I realized today another dilemma I've having.  I'm getting close to writing my first fight sequence in my book "The Shepherdess Princess," and I'm finding myself a little bit stuck.  I found tips about writing fight scenes at the NaNoWriMo website that are helping a little bit.  I'm just wondering how I want my characters to survive the skirmish since they are supposed to be battling with trained assassins.  When I first thought about the fight scene, those fighting with the good guys pretty much leave the fight unscathed and victorious.  Now I'm thinking that I might have to kill off a few of the lesser characters to make the fight seem plausible.  The good guys will be double the size of the bad guys, but the bad guys will have the advantage of experience.

I'm also thinking about changing the assassins to just hired trackers.  That way the fight would be on a more even keel, and maybe I can lessen the bloodshed for the good guys, too.  I don't want to have this fight sequence be too long because it's meant to be lesser than the one I have planned for the end of the book.  Although, this battle helps lead up to that final battle over birthright, so it has some importance because of that alone.

I'll have to sit down tomorrow, and bang it out the best that I can.  I need to sleep on it.

I did write another poem today that I submitted to 21st Century Poets weekly writing competition.  The picture prompt this week was a selection entitled "Summer Garden," so naturally my poem turned out to be...

Inside My Secret Garden

Inside my secret garden,

There is a gazebo resting under a tree.

I go there to write poetry,

And drink in the tranquility.

The beautiful flowers

I can stare at for hours,

And the lake reminds me

Of a far-off crystalline sea.

Inside my secret garden,

I am not burdened.

It’s one of the few places where I am free

To let my mind wander aimlessly.

The lone bridge I cross

Will inspire words of loss

As I think of the ones I love

That have left this life for the world above.

I did end up changing my last poem's title from "Midnight Run" to "Cinderella's Midnight Run" in my manuscript.  Then I added "Inside My Secret Garden" to the file while I had it open to work on.  I will be editing my last blog post shortly to change the poem's title there, too.

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!