This Fun! Part Seven.

I have managed to distract my self by trying out a form of poetry that I discovered browsing the Internet a while ago. Called a Sestina, a French form of poetry, it was described as ‘fun’. Now I’ve finished, I can conclude that it was really, as it stretched the brain cells…. which can only be good..N’est pas? Not one hundred percent sure that I have been successful but worth a try.

Au Revoir.

     Space Love and Wine

As I observe this endless space

I pause and wonder of love

This prize? is it only upon this earth

Or can it travail the stars?

Does it indeed transcend the heart

Methinks this calls for a glass of wine.

The warmth and taste of a sip of wine

Alone by the fire , my own space

Paying careful heed to my rhythmic heart

Beat softly with the flow of love

Then, as I’m exalted by the height of stars

My feet still grasp the dour earth

Those elements fulfil their purpose on earth

To nourish that vine, oh sweetest of wine

All the while agitating, stirring  under the stars

Respecting no barrier in mankinds’ space

Never mindful or conscious of any love

A cold and cruel flutter of a heart.

Often nature can cruise the heart

And mix heavenly scalds with the earth

Challenging the soul to stay with love

Nay, never to mix water and wine

Holding all time in a delicate space

Oh, so finical the sparkle of stars

Twinkling and spying the stars

Do tell, the infinity of this: our heart

Expanding and pulling the strings of space

For us to glimpse upon reasons of earth

But keep a moment to enjoy the wine

And savour the promises of love

Oh yes! I can sing the praises of love

As I contemplate the meaning of stars

I can drink and be merry with so much wine

and fill to the brim this old heart

As I tiptoe along apace with my earth

Is it  fohat I touch in this space?

Thus savour the wine that animates the heart

And ponder with us, infinite earth and stars

To find within and without; the space and the love.

Poetry from a new poet.

corpses of hymns

by ~techni-colour-heart

I tried to say it
truly, i did
the syllables stuck to my tongue
clung to my molars
kicked at the back of my teeth
begging, don’t let us see the light of day
please, let us stay
and brood in this broth
with all the other words you held back
corpses of hymns to unworthy hearts
time proved them right
so we would rather sit
in silent indignation
than waste your gasps for air
yet again

and so i gave in
and swallowed them whole
granted their wish
yet again

 

 

http://techni-colour-heart.deviantart.com/gallery/

 

This is the work of a young poet that I know and  I would like to share it. The web address is quoted above if you would like to check out other pieces she has written.

 

 

 

Poetry

A Cup of Wine

          Raise your cup of wine with me, O’Khayyam          

Not in an Age, but the blink of an eye.

As the tireless sparkle illuminates so briefly,

Let us pause to hear our Gaia sing.

Thus as we sit and toast the cosmos

Beneath the glimmer of this dark sky

Perchance to find upon reflection   

Time to breathe aloud a sigh.    

 

 

My other attempts at poetry can be found at:  http://www.roseshadows.com

 

This is Fun – Part Six.

To be honest, there have been times when I didn’t think I would get to this stage in my ‘world of fun’. But I have, so onwards and upwards. The Kindle versions of my books have been uploaded so it seemed to be a natural progression, for me, to move onto Createspace and upload both for Print on Demand.

For anyone thinking of doing this for themselves, if you have survived uploading for Kindle (and still have your hair and sanity!) then this is a piece of cake, especially if you use a Template. I like the Kindle, I really do, the idea of having all those books in one place, available at any time! I have the App on my P.C (the fact that I have just written this sentence and understand what it means will impress my daughters) and have had great fun already especially reading other indie writers work.

But, and this is a big BUT, there is nothing like holding a book in your hands and flicking through the pages, if it’s your own writing it just makes it seem real and gives a wonderful sense of achievement.

So I shall plod on, a sequel to Reflection of a Rainbow has been started, there are cups of coffee to be made and games of solitaire to be played. Rock On.

 

Spreading the Word

Hi all,

This is a campaign for donations but if you are unable to, unfortuantely like myself, you are welcomed to spread the word which is something that I can hopefully do.

http://www.indiegogo.com/indiesuniteforjoshua

It is so sad that a young man, has to find the money to pay for treatment. I know that this applies to many people in our world. Couldn’t we really make it different?

I wish Joshua and his family best wishes and hope that all goes well.

 

This is Fun – Part Five

Oh yes, still going. Self-Publishing is still an adventure! I have re-formatted and uploaded until I’m blue in the face. I’m beginning to think I may soon be an expert.  I have been fortunate to find a fantastic book cover artist Christine Ticali  who has done a fantastic job for me, in fact the picture for Illusions of Grandeur I am thinking that I would like as a poster, I would like it even if it wasn’t my book cover.

This is a tiring and frustrating process at times, but now is the time to hopefully sit back for a while and see what happens. Of course I have no excuse now not to start writing again, where is that nail varnish?

 

Book Review: Price of a Bounty ‘reliance on citizens makes us great’

Price of a Bounty by S.L. Wallace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Price of a Bounty by SL Wallace –Review.
‘Price of a Bounty’ is a fast-paced novel with plenty of action. With main protagonists that all have their own secrets and inhabit an unequal world where; as they are all drawn together into a web of intrigue, they have to decide who they can and cannot trust.
Around this, with an assassin, resistance movement, murder, theft and a dash of romance, SL Wallace deftly takes us on their journey with surprising twists and turns that keep you wondering what is going to happen next; right up to the last chapters.
Her skilful style of telling the story through the viewpoints of different characters giving insights into the personality and logic of each persona, gives the reader a chance to get to know and care about them.
Well written and thoroughly enjoyable. I am genuinely looking forward to the sequel ‘Canvas Skies’.

View all my reviews

Goodreads – Bloghop

Welcome to the Christmas Bloghop organised by Goodreads.com

Please click on: http://hamgee.co.uk/blog/smashing-blog-hop/  for the next blog in this bloghop

or:    http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com    to return to the previous blog. Thank You. (Once you’ve read this of course!!)   Have Fun!

Yes indeed, Christmas day has come and gone. 2012 looms and there’s nothing you can do but head straight towards it. So….to try and spread a little more happiness…..with an idea for the New Year.

If you are like me (you may be thinking; thanks but no thanks! But fortunately I can’t hear you!) there are times when you watch literary critics on the TV, hear them on the radio, read their comments in newspapers and magazine and if you consider that they are so well read and would like to be that well informed, I would like to share the following pieces with you, from that marvellous book ‘How To Become Ridiculously Well-Read In One Evening’ *

If however you’ve already read it, then alas, this blog is of no use to you. ‘You clever old sausage!’ But then as a challenge, how about writing your own little verse, blog or piece about a book that you’ve read???

The Mill on the Floss
George Eliot:
There’s trouble at t’mill caused by wakem,
Who, Tulliver claims, wants to break ‘em;
While Maggie’s great joy
Is to court Wakem’s boy,
‘Such liaisons,’ says Tom, ‘you can’t shake ‘em.’
Stephen Guest makes her error much greater –
He’s charming and eager to date ‘er,
And poor crippled Phil
Feels the desolate chill
Of rejection in love, but can’t hate ‘er
A boat ride with Stephen proves fateful
For Maggie feels wretched, not grateful;
She stoutly says : ‘No’
To stirrings below,
Then she drowns in a flood, which is hateful.
Tom Hopkins   p.59
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy:
Never sell your wives to sailors when the booze is in the blood;
You may rise to civic honours, but your name will still be mud;
Rivals take your trade and profit, promised spouses let you down,
‘Daughters’ find their rightful fathers, ruin drives you from the town,
Lonely death at last shall take you whom all other firneds refuse.
Better bear domestic boredom, better barricade the booze.
Mary Holtby p. 82
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
D.H. Lawrence:
Smart girls make passes
At the working classes.
Wendy Cope p. 112
The day of the Triffids
John Wyndham:
A dazzling pretty comet shower
Causes universal blindness; in the wings
Lurks a hideous and evil-tempered flower
That strolls about and rattles as it stings
	The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
A walking, talking veg.? It chills the spine!	Daniel Defoe:
(But also gives a novel way of glossing	Moll Flanders – a girl of the street –
That slightly surrealistic highway sign	Was well-versed in the art of deceit;
Advising: CAUTION! HEAVY PLANT CROSSING)	Transported for crime,
	Moll repents in good time,
The blinded population gets quite panicky;	She’s the felon who fell on her feet.
There’s lots of mayhem, pillage, rape and looting.	V. Ernest Cox p.45
The triffids kill them off – they thrive on anarchy,
With their unbotanical approach to rooting.
	The history of Mr Polly
The sighted hero (Bill) and girlfriend (Jo)	H.G. Wells:
In a commune on the Downs (neat Upper Beeding)	Inefficient Mr Polly
Make a bonfire of the triffids (see them glow!)	Suffered much from melancholy,
And devote themselves to years of happy breeding.	Loathed his business and his wife,
Peter Norman p. 180	Never seemed to fight for life;
	Yet won a lady and her pub
	Despite her brutal nephew’s snub.
	The story’s moral’s clear enough:
	Even you can thrash a rough,
	So if you feel your life’s a flop
	Leave your wife and burn your shop,
	Paddle off and live in sin
	With the owner of an inn.
	Paul Griffin p.177

• How To Become Ridiculously Well-Read In One Evening. A Collection of Literary Encapsulations, Compiled and edited by E.O. Parrott. Penguin Books, London, (1986).

A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year Wish Yo You All. Don’t forget to follow the Bloghop!

1. www.karenlowe.co.uk
2. http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com
3. http://roseshadows.wordpress.com
4. www.hamgee.co.uk/blog
5. http://lexirevellian.blogspot.com/
6. http://theaatkinson.wordpress.com
7. www.mhairisimpson.com
8. http://rubybarnes.blogspot.com
9. http://murderimpossible.blogspot.com
10. http://jimthewriterb.wordpress.com
11. http://dittymac.blogspot.com
12. http://vernonjbaker.blogspot.com
13. www.renaspromise.com
14. http://bullprotettoremurdermysteries.blo…(less)

Finally, a cheeky note of unashamed self-promotion, there are two wonderful e-books on Amazon that you might like to check out:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Illusions-Grandeur-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B006FQL6MY

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reflection-of-a-Rainbow-ebook/dp/B005Y0RQD0

The Ashaninka

The Ashaninka – A threatened way of life

I came across this story through a post by Guy Kawasaki on Google+. (I’m not going to try and explain Google+, circles? haven’t got my head around them yet) But I found these beautiful pictures moving and sad. I don’t know these people and I do understand that the way we live is changing and that we need resources to survive in our societies….but can’t we leave some space for those who have an instinct for our planet and use it more wisely than we do?

 

Weather to or not!

I couldn’t sleep last night so early this morning, I watched the weather reports on the early morning news. I was informed that it was very cold and there would be snow on the hills. So, when I took our dog out I wrapped up nice and warm, thick jumper and socks, nice warm track suit bottoms, coat, hat and gloves etc. I even put Snatch’s coat on him. Was it cold???…..NO.

So really, you can imagine how I felt when walking back home, down our street to our house, looking as if I and the dog were in the Arctic, passing my neighbours who were casually dressed with cardigans on….All I needed was a shopping trolley.

This is my life!