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Go Far
With the recent earthquake in Nepal, and the news coming out of Kathmandu and from Everest Base Camp, my thoughts inevitably are drawn to the Sherpa people I met when I traveled there several years ago, some of whom were working in the base camp when the avalanche off Pumori roared through. This poem was an homage to the Sherpa when I wrote it last year, and I re-dedicate it to them again now in the wake of this tragedy.
Ama Dablam and Kangtega in the Solukhumbu range of the Himalaya
A thousand miles and more
Beyond the Bosphorus and the Levant,
Far along the Karakoram Way,
Past the ancient city of Tashkent.
Dusty Kathmandu beckons,
With Thamel’s every trackless street,
Spin the wheels at Boudhanath,
And the temple monkeys to greet.
Looming distant beyond the valley,
Rising above the smoke and haze,
Gleaming, jagged, white with summer snow,
The Solukhumbu commands your gaze.
From Lukla’s first tilted landing,
And the winding paths of Namche Bazar,
Along narrow depths of the Dudh Kosi valley,
Steep trails promise to take you far.
The welcoming arms of Ama Dablam
Smiling over the milk river below,
Guarding over the school in Khumjung,
Tengboche’s chanting, yet still far to go.
The Pheriche valley is a welcome path,
Stone homesteads and herds of yak;
A sombre memorial at Thokla Pass
For those who didn’t make…
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Introducing….
My friend Felicity Johns’ book ‘Erotic Passages’ comes out next month, and here is an absolutely gorgeous cover reveal. It fits the tone of much of her writing, dark, sensual, enticing, sometimes sad and other times hopeful.
Spent
I’ve been following Felicity’s writing for a while, and with each piece of hers I read, it just gets better and better. Felicity often explores themes of dark emotion, dissolution, and sadness in erotic or romantic settings. Her characters are perfectly imperfect, her settings are moody and descriptive, and you cannot help but be drawn in. In this piece of flash fiction, ‘Spent,’ she shows her mastery of the art.
My first book (part 1)
Today I would like to highlight some of the early efforts of a dear writing friend of mind, Delilah Night. In this piece Delilah has bravely posted one of her early stories, a whimsical fantasy of unicorns and princesses and magicians and kings. In fact, it is an *illustrated* story, all illustrations by the author herself. And, like all good storytellers, she leaves us on a cliffhanger, waiting on the edge of our seats for the exciting conclusion to come tomorrow.
Delilah writes in a rather different style now, though her stories still often feature pirates and swashbucklers and high adventure… and a healthy dose of romance and sex and all things lusty. This earlier effort, however, is written in a more innocent style. Much more innocent. Have a look. You’ll see what I mean. And then see if you don’t see the kernel of the storyteller Delilah would grow up to be.
Test Your Holiday Style—Tiffany Crystal or Pre-Paid Bail Money?
When I read Kristen’s “holiday style guide” (are you Amazing Alice, Normal Nancy, or Slacker Sarah?) earlier today, I laughed so hard I drew strange looks from everyone around me. Naturally, I had to share. When you’re stressing out about gifts and decorating and entertaining and the holidays in general, take a moment out for a delightful humor break with Kristen Lamb, and remember: it’s all about finding the joy in life.
Thanksgiving has whizzed past and Christmas looms ahead. If you’re anything like me, you make this super stupid promise to yourself roughly December 24th that you will buy gifts throughout the year, so you aren’t pressed and stressed and ready to stand on a roof with a shotgun holding the entire dish of rum balls hostage…and ALL the rum. No, this year will be different. I will be PREPARED.
*clutches sides laughing*
Yeah….
Sort of reminds me of finals back in college. Next time I am going to read all my chapters AHEAD of time.
Christmas is a magical time of year, but all of us handle the season differently. So what is your Holiday Style? Here’s a helpful little quiz:
1) When cleaning before the holidays, you:
a) Might give the mantel a light dusting just so you don’t look like a show-off. The gleam from your spotless fixtures…
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Flash fiction ‘Flight’
If you like both poetry and prose with a little bit of heat (ok, a lot of heat), then you will absolutely love this new piece of flash fiction by MrFoxwood. It’s a story of love (and lust) that transcends physical barriers, in which two lovers will do anything — absolutely anything — to be together. ‘Foxy’ writes a lot of highly expressive poetry, but this is his first flash fiction, and you can see the poet in him shining through in his colorful language. The ending is especially poignant as his story takes ‘Flight.’
I love writing stories, I am, however, awful at finishing them, truly terrible. So it is with considerable relief and a whole lot of smiling that I present my first piece of flash fiction.
I owe a huge amount of gratitude to Rachel Woe (rachelwoe.com) , not only for suggesting I try flash fiction (you did suggest it, right?) and providing her talents as an editor and dealing with my cluelessness, but also as a constant inspiration and a dear friend. So thank you, Rachel, this is for you.
Flight
Wet worn soles on old stolen shoes trip and slip on the slick cobbles, my out-thrust hand catches on the flint wall and temporarily I am airborne, down stone steps, feet kicking at the shredded mist. Making a second attempt at landing my feet find purchase and I accelerate along the alley.
This is good, this beat, I’ve…
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7 Essentials Every Author Needs to Know About Twitter
I’m still pretty much a neophyte when it comes to Twitter, but already I’ve been able to recognize many of the behaviors that Kristen Lamb writes about in her fantastic book ‘Rise of the Machines’ (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Machines-Human-Authors-Digital-ebook/dp/B00DP7II4A) (haven’t finished yet, but already can highly recommend), and which her guest Marcy Kennedy writes about here, in this post. I hope I haven’t been too guilty of them myself! Whether it’s constant spamming of the same post, or constant mindless retweeting, or spamming Facebook with dozens of Twitter retweets… Anyway, there’s a lot of it going on, and it definitely turns me off, so I’m sure it does others, too. Read on, for Marcy’s words of wisdom on the subject.
Hmmm, looks like a ticket to TWITTER JAIL
I’m still delusional that I might finish NaNoWriMo. I can write 16,000 more words in five days, right? Sigh. I’ve been away from the blog because I’m in the trenches with the fellow Nanos. Also I really needed to take a bit of a break. To help me with my pseudo-sabbatical? The AMAZING Social Media Maven Marcy Kennedy is here to help you learn how to use Twitter effectively.
Using Twitter effectively is important. Twitter is a tool, but we can look like a tool or act like a tool if we rush in not knowing what we are DOING.
Great news is I have done all the dumb stuff so you don’t have to. Marcy might have, but I can’t speak for her (and she is kind of a Hermione) so she probably was smart enough to learn from MY dumb stuff…..
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FF: Wrong Side of the Tracks
Rachel is the Mistress of erotic and sensual flash fiction, coming up with well-drawn and fascinating characters and imbuing them with life while putting them in some steamy situations. Here she plays a little mind game with us… or are her characters playing mind games with each other? Either way, take a little trip over to the wrong side of the tracks with Rachel Woe…
The idea for this flash fiction piece spawned from a photo I discovered on Pinterest, originally featured on Vogue Italia. I can’t reblog it for copyright reasons, but you can view it here (SFW).
I decided to try for something a bit more sensual this time, perhaps even subtle. As always, feedback is encouraged and greatly appreciated.
Enjoy ♥
He adjusts his tie, tightening and then smoothing it into the collar of his brown corduroy blazer. Delivery trucks and early commuters rumble overhead just as the sun’s first rays illuminate the iridescent swirls of grease along the river’s edge. He scratches at the coating of scruff upon his jaw, wondering if he should’ve shaved for the occasion. Jagged stones threaten to punch holes into the soles of his scuffed loafers. He checks his watch.
She’s late.
The sun reaches higher, reflecting off the train tracks that run beneath…
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The Lady of the Lake
My dear friend Shehanne, the lovely and talented author who brought you “The Unraveling of Lady Fury” and other “smexy historical romances,” and whose hamsters were getting a bit out of control and needed something to… ahem… calm them down, invited me to be a guest over on her blog. I recounted for her a trip I took a few weeks ago, traveling deep into mountain wilderness by mailboat, in search of… well, something, I’m sure. Hop on over to Shehanne’s blog and take a look. 🙂
Lace Winter 
