Continuing OctPoWriMo 2021 (catching up...)

Tried to stick to the rules. I really did. 

Day #16 was a sonnet. I just don't have it in me. And I really wanted too, to. The thought of rhyme, meter, imabic feets, and beats, and everything. It just isn't going to happen, mostly because today was a long day that made thinking difficult. I am posting the last three days so I can at least be caught up.

~~~~~~~~~

Day #15 - Leaves (Free Verse); emerald, saffron, leaves

Leavings

Leaves the emerald past,

Coming of the saffron

And 

Bring forth the vermillion.

It is the time of change

And 

Leaving.

Goodbye Summer

I’ll miss you,

But now comes Dear Autumn.

~~~~~~~~~~

Day #16 - Love (Free Verse); Erotic, Breath

Connection

Breathe into me,

I can feel your heartbeat,

In time with my breathing.

Cannot control,

Pulses leaning in closer,

Sweaty bodies,

Tightly pressed.

I only want you,

here,

In this moment,

Not alone,

But

Breathing as one,

Pressing together.

~~~~~~~~~

Day #17 - Adventures (Momento); a/b/c/a/b/c (x2) [8/6/2] {used 6/8/2}

Toronto Adventures

Riding fast and further

Than anything we imagined,

Underground.

I’ll go where you go, Sir

Rome or Byzantium summoned,

northbound.

Come with me to gardens,

Wandering not forgotten paths,

We are.

I am forward, beckoned,

To bring you back by the bypaths,

To boudoir. (***)

***Also, Dear Readers, I need to note that in the last line of the Memento poem I used 3 syllables, instead of 2. Not trying to cheat, but the imagine I was going for and the rhyme scheme I was using, well, there was no other way.

As always, please leave me some love in the comments, or a critique if you will. I enjoy seeing your reactions to my poetry. Thank you!

OctPoWriMo Day #13

 Day #13 - Theatre (no form suggested - Oddquain); 1, 3, 5, 7, 1

Wings,

Waiting in

Feel the heartbeat pound

Glancing into the darkness--

Wings

Kickstarter Status Update: Stories to be Told, unsuccessful? I don't think so...

My Kickstarter is over.

I didn't make funding.

I did make 486 dollars of my 1,100 goal. That is 44% funded, and pretty damn good for my first time out.

Thank you to backers and everyone who supported me through donations, emotional and mental support, and shared the living daylights out of this little project of mine. This project, Stories to be Told is so important to me, and I can only move forward with its creation.

It has been quite a month. I found my passion, my Arete.

I have learned a lot this January, everything from marketing/business practices, how to get back up after falling, finding my joy in my writing my Arete), the choice to go independent, and the most important thing I learned is how to fail forward. Failure is a part of life and for every thousand failures, there will be successes. The more you fail and keep going (learning from each mistake and misstep), well the more you are to succeed. They also say it takes about 10,000 hours of work to make something a reality.

Arete: (Moral Virtue) as defined by Wikipedia, excellence of any kind. Connected to the concept of fulfillment of purpose. Greek in origin.

My friend and mentor, James always says that arete is the fulfillment of one's true purpose. I like that so much, that I knew I had to buckle down and take my writing seriously, edited and revise my writing, and take a step into my fears and do thing I was afraid to do; get myself published. That lead into the Kickstarter, and little did I realize that I would start a path to greatness and ever failure.

Note: failure is only true failure if it stops you from moving forward.

"It is not a catastrophe, but merely a course correction." 

~James A. Owen

So, what is next? Well, after I write to my backers, then I begin Plan B, which entails putting together "Stories to be Told", Issue 0 in a PDF version for my backers as a thank you.  Quite possibly I will sell the PDF version in the near future, but that is still early to say. There is the re-planning and re-structuring of the Stories to be Told Kickstarter re-launch with the printing of Issue #1 (maybe Issue summer or Issue * or Issue Badger, or whatever I care to call it). This will require a month worth of marketing and promotion prior to re-launch. I'm looking at April. Also, includes promoted my self as a writer, going to seminars and lectures on writing and business of art, printing business cards, bookmarks and stickers as promotional materials. Even going to writing convention, especially after I has print versions of Stories to be Told, although I will still go to these conventions and events before that happens.

My Publishing Company!

I still have a Winter Give-Away over at Here, There be a Writer. Go over there, click like and share the Winter Give-Away status to be entered into the give-away that runs through tomorrow (1/31/2018).  I will be drawing winners for a limited edition bookmark and another for a Phoenix Rising Press sticker.

On the creative side this means I need to continue to write and edit new works for future Issues. Also, I am working on ramping up of my submission goals for my children's books, A Little Lost and A Spatula Story, and any other pieces for my current and past catalog of works. The only difference this time is I will only by submitting from a list of selected works and researching places where I think they would fit into, and then submitting those pieces to those places until I get a taker.. That is going to be a project in itself.

These are the things I started in 2017, and will manifest in 2018 and beyond.

I know that sounds like a lot, right? It is. But it is worth it. Will I fail? Sometimes yes. But other times I won't. I will always learn what to do differently, what new things to try, and document what I do.

If I get board, I always have some other project to work on. This year my podcast Quantum Highway is going to be recorded and released! More on that later...

"If you really want to do something; no one can stop you. If you really don't want to do something; no one can help you."

~James A. Owen

Please keep coming back, Dear Readers. Thank you for your love and support. Leave me a comment on what you are doing in 2018. What books are you reading, movies you have seen, projects or classes you are taking, etc.

As always, your devoted writer,
~Cindy

Writing Prompt: I'm removing from my bedside table all the things that burn.

Prompt: I'm removing from my bedside table all the things that burn. From Sione Aeschliman. 

I love to try writing prompts; sometimes it's a real challenge. I get many of my writing prompts from Toasted Toast Literary Journal. But, lately I have been utilizing the social media and a few new site and twitter friends I have a new source for writing ideas. Sione (see link to blog above) posted the writing prompt above, yesterday. I found her on twitter today and had to check out her blog. Give her a read, she is quite fascinating! :-)

It really good practice to just write. It's the only way I am going to improve. Sometimes it's not easy to get an idea started, especially if you don't have any idea what you are writing about. The writing prompts give you a boost, at least that is what I feel it's like. Here's what I wrote just now. I am not sure if I will write more, I might. I have an interesting scene set up here. Not everything that I write is destined to be shown to the world, but I think that everything I write is worthy of consideration. Maybe it'll be part of an 1 act, or a story story (I haven't written a short story in a while), or maybe I won't touch it again. But the point is that I am writing.

I give to my scene. Dear Readers, what do you think? Leave me a comment below! Christmas is fast approaching and I may not get to posting much next week, we'll see. Have a Happy Holidays and Blessed Yule, from me to you!!

She lain in bed for what seemed like hours. It's not like she had been tossing and turning, she was well aware that she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. She just looked up at the ceiling, peering through the skylight in the roof. There was a faint trace of moonlight pouring into the bed room. It tinted the blankets a light silver. She glanced down at her feet, they were sticking out from the tiger blanket that she had wrapped herself into a cocoon. She pulled her feet back under the covers and rolled over.

The green glare of the alarm clock hit her face and made her blink back the tears that had dried to her cheeks and eyelids earlier. The clock said 2:37. It was late. She knew it, but that didn't the sleep come any faster. She was pretty sure that she would not be sleeping tonight.
 
Her eyes followed to the floor where the contents of her night stand were laying on the bedroom floor. She felt the rush of emotion from earlier. She wanted to yell, to scream, but her Father would hear her from downstairs, and she didn't really want him involved. Not that he cared much, lately anyway.

She saw the wooden faerie lying sideways facing her closet and her journal which had landed spine side up and looked like a little tent on her floor. She looked back at the clock, 2:39. She had almost reached for the book of matches that that been lying next to her cigarettes, both of which were almost now residing on the floor. 

There was to be no burning shit tonight, she thought, no setting fire to the faerie or burning the pages of her journal. The emotions that ran through Sophia's mind earlier would have made her light the pages a glow. It was only the gentle purr of her cat, Lucy who had made her put down the matches and threw the journal and the faerie across the room.

It was a good thing that Darrell wasn't home yet, or she would have have another lecture on the treatment of personal items, especially since she was just staying her for the winter months. Darrell was an ass, but she had to listen to him. He was her step brother and the eldest of the kids in the house. She was surprised that her Father hadn't put up more of a fight about her coming to stay at his place during winter break. Her Mother was just as animate that she go.

It was enough to make her angry and sometimes when she got angry, stuff got burned.

It was better to have the night stand empty, except the alarm clock. Heck,even her cigarettes weren't with reach. She figured it was probably a blessing that they were now hidden in the closet, where she had thrown them.

~Cindy
12/19/2013

Awoken - A Cthulhu Love Story

This is truly a first!!! I don't normally read for a whole day! And I especially don't read "Teenage Paranormal Romance". In fact, I normally detest this genre as a whole. It seems filled with silly, empty-headed characters and poorly-written dialogue. (The most famous of these is the "Twilight" Series, by the Princess of Vapid Characters herself, Stephenie Meyers. Granted, those thoughts are based on the movie representations of her characters, not the book ones.) My distaste for this genre knew no bounds, but I admit to have scarcely read a word of these books for a long time. I know it's not really fair to judge when I haven't read them, but I couldn't be far from the truth, could I? What little I had encountered with this genre made me wretch with literary disgust.

H.G. Wells

Edgar Allen Poe

Agatha Christie

Anne McCaffrey

What can I say about "Teenage Paranormal Romance"? That it's glorified fan fiction, something of which I am far more familiar with. I have stayed away from this genre, because it doesn't do anything for me. I prefer something with a bit more substance, such as the likes of Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Anne McCaffrey, H.G. Wells, or Douglas Adams. I am an avid reader of most everything, but I do fall into certain genres a bit more than others. I was an English major in college, and have thus read many of those works by Chaucer, Poe, Homer, Arthur Conan Doyle, L. Frank Baum, and a good many others, in a wide variety of courses during my time at SUNY Fredonia, as well as on my own. Even after college, I couldn't stop. I love a good story.  Every time I went in a book store (especially a used book store), I would come out with bags of books (almost as bad as my husband is with VHS tapes of public domain cartoons nowadays). In recent years, I have gotten into Garth Nix, Philip Pullman, James Owen, JK Rowling, and Cornelia Funke. My primary genre has always been Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but I love a good mystery/suspense thriller, and anything that's a classic (Of Mice and Men for example).

Cover Art

But what happened when I received an advance copy of Awoken by Serra Elinsen, a relative newbie to the writing world? It's odd how she appeared out of nowhere, but I guess that being a full-time stay-at-home mom doesn't give you the chance to get out much. She has a blog, and I guess with her free time opened up (having her home-schooled chitlins attending public school now), she needed to find something to do with her time. I really applaud her for starting a blog, as I am still new to this concept (at least, that;s how it feels to me), though the year mark is coming up fast (how the time does fly). I can only imagine how Mrs. Elinsen feels having her book, her FIRST book, Awoken, published (in Kindle format).

When the actual book copy (the special "first edition") arrived, I didn't really think much of it. I mean, a love story involving Cthulhu, in the style of Twilight? I scoffed! I have many friends who swear by Twilight (we are not talking movies either, a different format entirely and for a different time). But really, me, read a schmaltzy romance novel aimed at the teenage set? I hardly think....

It then struck me that I was missing a critical opportunity here. In the realm of the internet, with the countless blogs out there to compete, I needed an angle. I could read this thing and rip it to shreds as others have done, but would that be enough? I think so!

I have tried reviews before, such as when I read the book Eragon and then watched the movie. I ripped that one to shreds. That was quite the eye-opening experience. I have a greater respect for the storyteller, and as I am a struggling writer myself, I thought, why not. I hadn't really done a full book review yet. Why not reach outside my comfort zone, and tackle something that I was not familiar with, but use my skills as a reader and writer of story to really get the meat of the book? And besides, it is about Cthulhu, the Destroyer of Worlds!

So, what does "Awoken" bring to the table? Well, surprisingly more than I'd previously thought. It is probably not--no, it IS NOT--the best thing I have ever read (e.g. Anne McCaffrey or James Owen), but it's not "The Old Man and The Sea" by Hemingway either (I hated that book in high school; Still do). But, I didn't really detest it, either. Did "Awoken" awaken something in me? (Sorry, that was really uncalled for. Bad writer! This is a No-Pun Zone ~slaps own hands~.)

When I started reading at 9 o'clock this morning, I was convinced that I was reading something that a high school freshman was writing in her dairy, with all of these overly zealous descriptions of her hygienic habits, how dumb her house looked, and how horrible her life was. Often in the lengthy and rather dull descriptions of her life, there would be a rather amazingly awesome vocabulary word tacked into the middle of the paragraph. Oh, the usage was right, but it hardly fit the feel of the chapter or the paragraph. One would think that someone was using a spelling list to bolster their writing. Not that I am slamming Mrs. Elinsen for trying to increase her vocabulary; She clearly knows how to use words in proper context. However, the use of "frenetic" and "vertegris" felt awkward.

~WARNING! MIGHT BE SPOILERS FROM HERE ONWARD!!!!~

Art by Zahno91

Now, I am going to say something here: I really like a better part of the middle of "Awoken". There is some really beautiful imagery here, especially when Mrs, Elinsen has Andromeda Slate meet Riley face to face, and when Riley brings her back to his place. I found myself sucked in. I am less familiar with the Legend of Cthulhu than most. What I do know is that he is a God who looks a lot like Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie...and that there is an adorable Squishable Cthulhu. (please click here to see super cute Cthulhu)

It's not without it flaws, though. The overly EMO character of Andromeda Slate gets really irksome and often repetitive. But to give Mrs. Elinsen credit, I saw some decent-to-nice character development within Andi, but also Bree, Vik, and even Riley. There is talent there. I guess when you write for teenagers, that's what you get. I could stand without a plot that drops out in the middle, not just having Andi and Riley rush to NYC to retrieve a book, only to have 6 or 7 chapters of mildly entertaining, but kind of boring vapid romance goings on, then have the big build-up battle between Epistola and Riley and the awaking of Azathoth.

Though the romance between Riley/Cthulhu and Andromeda was unique, it did boarder on schmaltzy and overly saccharine at times. Still, I honestly was rooting for them by the end. Not many girls would choose to look at the great face of Cthulhu out of Love and survive the ordeal. It was kind of sweet!

Would I read it again? Probably (after all, I do have a copy of the book). Do I recommend it to others? Maybe. To those who loved the Twilight series, I definitely would; and  for the others I would say...sure, why not. It's fun, and sweet. Mrs. Elinsen left room for a possible sequel, which I'm certain would draw folks in. Is it the best out there? Not really, but then again, it's not the worst, either. It's a cute story. It did hold my attention through most of the story and I did enjoy the much of the characters' interplay.  I applaud Mrs. Elinsen for completing her first novel and wish it success (as I hope to someday experience). If you want to get to know more of Serra Elinsen check out her blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages:

Serra Elinsen Blog
Serra Elinsen  Twitter
Serra Elinsen  Facebook

Oh, and when I poked around on amazon I discovered that Awoken is #2 in  "Teen & Young Adult Paranormal & Urban Fantasy eBooks" for Kindle downloads. Pretty darn good for a first go! Congrats,  Serra!

Twlight Zone (Now you have the Theme Song stuck in in your Head)

There are few TV shows that leave me feeling truly entertained after having watch them, Doctor Who is one of them, but another show that I have grown up with and feel a special kinship with is "The Twilight Zone." Even after having watched the entire series via Netflix, or DVD (in the case of of season 4, which is NOT on Netflix. How irritating!). I still get this sense of joy and the creepy jibblies from this little show. My parents and I would watch, ever year, the New Year's Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-Fi channel. There stories were just very well done, even believable. Granted my Dad used to tell me that people were scared more easlier in the 50's and 60's, but I still got the jibblies after watching, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" or "Mirror Image". I feel that Rod Serling gave me my first sense of storytelling.

Twilight Zone is one of the most unique shows out there...with The Outer Limits (TZ younger brother) a close second, (I watch the Outer Limits less). Twilight Zone aired first in 1959 and had one of the best creative minds at the helm, Rod Serling, a screenwriter, play write, radio/television producer. Here are a few neat facts about Mr. Serling:

1. He was born in Syracuse, lived in Binghamton,  and died in Rochester, NY (it's kinda of funny to note that there are a number of episodes that mention someplace in New York state: Buffalo, Ithaca, Cortland, Syracuse (I live in Corning, which is only about 90 minutes from Binghamton, so I feel a kinship because of this). Rod even taught at Ithaca College briefly.
2. Out of 156 episodes made for the Twilight Zone, Rod wrote 92 of them, that's over half. All of the stories are really good, but his were especially well done. He definitely knew how to tell a story.
3. Rod Serling had been stationed in the Phillipines during WWII and there are a number of episodes that feature the Phillipines as the setting, that and death.
4. He was a boxer in the army, another subject that he used with some degree of frequency.
5. Rod loved to perform and his father had built a stage in the basement of their house where he and other children would put on plays. He also was into radio while in college. Hmm, I see  pattern here.

Today, I would like to present my top 10 favourite Twilight Zone episodes (with minimal spoilers, darling!)

Honourable Mentions (because there really are too many episodes too mention):

~Two (September 15, 1961)

 Starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson...The survivors of a major war and there are only two left. Very little dialogue, but that's the best part. I think it's also my favourite thing that Charles Bronson was in.

 

~Death’s Head Revisited (November 10, 1961)

A Nazi Captain in the SS returns to a concentration camp and meets the ghosts who are still live there.

10. The Monsters are Due on Maple Street (March 4, 1960)

I remember this from high school. I believe it was in one of my English books as a short story. I have recently discovered a PDF file of a play adaptation. We may have even watched this in class. I seemed to remember really enjoying class that day because of this episode.

9. The Changing of the Guard (June 1, 1962)

Starring the Indomitable Donald Pleasance (I shot him SIX times!)

A touching story about learning the value of your own worth.  

8. Time Enough at Last (November 20, 1959)

Starring Burgess Meredith

What happens when you get what you want, and then Irony comes to visit.

7. 22

Probably the creepiest thing, outside of "Mirror Image". The waking nightmare of an overworked dancer and her nightly 'trips' to the morgue.

"Room for one more, Honey."

6. Will the Real Martian Please Stand up? (May 26, 1961)

In the vein of a Whodoneit, but more like a Whoisit, trying to figure out who the REAL Martian is. It is very similar to Monsters on Maple Street, with people trying to place blame on others who are different.

5. Mirror Image (February 26, 1960)

What would happen if you met yourself, or your twin from a parallel universe? This is definitely the creepiest of episodes, with a Vera Miles playing Millicent Barnes who encounters the strangest events in a bus depot in Ithaca, NY. This is one of those episodes that reminds me of where I live. I sounds silly, but I like when I encounter show or movies that mention places I lived in, or live near and frequent.

4. The Midnight Sun (November 17, 1961)

This episode reminds me of a one act that his husband once performed (well twice now) that is based on the world of Firefly/Serenity. That post apocalyptic world with people living in a dying world. How would life really be like in this world? 

3. Five Characters in Search of an Exit (December 22, 1961)

This is the type of show/play that I would love to write, because you don't know anything more than the characters knows at the start of the episode. There is a play called "Six Actors in Search of the Author" by Luigi Pirandello about 6 discarded characters that are looking for a way to live in the play that is being rehearsed. I think that Rod used that as inspiration for this episode.

2. Eye of the Beholder (November 11, 1960)

Starring Donna Douglas (Ellie Mae Clampett) and Maxine Stuart.

What do we consider beautiful? It's a nice reminder that beauty is what we perceive it to be. Little did I know that the spoken lines were all performed by Maxine Stuart while under bandages, and when she was revealed at the end of the episode, there was Donna Douglas. I had thought it was Douglas the whole time. Originally, Maxine Stuart was gonna voice the one line of dialogue after the bandages came off and dubbed over Douglas, but in the end, Douglas had perfected Stuart's voice to say the line herself.

 1. Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (February 28, 1964)

Ambrose Bierce

This is my Favourite short story ever! Written by Ambrose Bierce, I read it in  high school and later college. It's just such a twist. I was even more thrilled when I discovered the there was a Twilight Zone episode of "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". I didn't know that it was originally a French short film that Rod Serling included in his show, because it was so awesome, that and it's was cheaper to pay for the right than show another episode (as he usually went over budget).

After the "Something Different" Spaghetti Dinner Theatre this past weekend, which featured one of my one acts, "Out For a Walk", I feel a closer kinship to Rod Serling, as the script has that thriller feeling and a  twist ending. While I am still perfecting the art of the twist ending, I am really proud of the cast for "Out For a Walk". I think Rod would have been proud of it too. I might even put it on the internet when the DVD is done.

So, I have been a little busy lately...

I didn't post back on Sunday and it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Feels weird! Truth is, I hate when I don't post. It's gotten to be regular, almost habit. I have been crazy busy with this "Something Different" Spaghetti Dinner Theatre, that is way there hadn't been a blog since almost 2 weeks ago.

See, I normally am busy with the various theatre productions I am involved in, but somehow this one turned into some different [ha! pun intended :-)]. Back in March, Keuka Lake Players had a script-writing contest for 1 acts (about 10 pages or less). I had one script from last year's 24 Hour Theatre (with KLP) that I wanted to submit, but I wanted to write another, try something different [this might happen throughout the blog, folks]. While my writer's for the Lake Country Player's 1st annually 24 Hour Theatre were writing, I started writing this new script, and while NOT written in 24 hours, it was written in about a weekend (give or take). These scripts got submitted and BOOM, both were chosen, out of 10 scripts 6 were selected. it was the most surreal thing ever to have my work chosen to be performed. I was pretty giddy about it, I will admit, in a bit of shock that my writing was good enough (as most writer's tend to be about their work).

Sara Love (director) with David

Cut to auditions for "Something Different", I think the  more exciting part for me was hearing people read my scripts at auditions and seeing who was auditioning for the said parts than actually auditioning. I was also auditioning, but NOT for my own shows. I wasn't going to read for them anyway-those parts I didn't write for me, they were for others to play-which also happened to be the director's rules too. 

This show, this "Something Different" was something different. There was going to be only 4 weeks, roughly of rehearsal time and low tech theatre as Sara calls it. That meant crunch time from the time of casting. not only had I been cast in 3 shows (one part had only 1 page of dialogue), but now I was stage managing the show too. It was a whirl wind month of rehearsal 3 days a week and lots of line prep work, props collecting, set organizing, and food planning (for the spaghetti dinner part).

Megan Sermonis as Anahandra (promotional photo)

The amazing part? The amazing part is that we have 6 awesome shows with 6 awesome casts that are going to perform tonight (5/10) and tomorrow night (5/11). They have made 6 different worlds that will be performed and am so proud of everyone.

It's a Mother's Day show that has comedy, drama, suspense, and of course Mothers too!

Some photos from rehearsal time at the Love's house. Don't worry, no spoilers here! If you are in the area today, Friday May 10th or Saturday May 11th, come to O'Malley Hall in Bath, NY for SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Tickets are 15.00. It'll be fun!!!

Playwright? You bet....

So, my writing was selected and (2-1 acts) performed at a fundraiser spaghetti dinner Mother's Day weekend by the Keuka Lake Players. Wow!

I am still in shock over this. That my writing is good enough to be selected is still blowing my mind. I haven't always wanted to be a writer; at first it was a veterinarian, then a librarian, now it's definitely a writer. I definitely loved books, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be a librarian, but there is something about writing that gets me going.

My good friend Leah told me last night, after the dinner where I was presented this this beautiful certificate you see above, "God loves the Creative process." Those word really stuck with me. The Creator, God, Goddess, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Mother, Father (you name a name and I will include it. You get the picture) seems to really thrive within the creative. I can see a number of creative folks who are spiritual in some sense of the word (it's not an exclusive thing either), as spiritual can be how you feel about science, nature, god, the universe, or the Doctor :-). This is a religious/faith based blog, per se, but it resonated that the Powers of the Universe really enjoy this creative process.

Josh and Bug join me in this Writing Club

Writing is much like giving birth to a child, there is pain, but also this profound sense of completion (not having kids I can only imagine, but I have plenty of friends who have told me something akin to this). It's not just writing either, when I directed "Charlotte's Web" or assisted Directed "Sweeney Todd" I felt a closeness to something greater. I put my whole into those projects, so that other people could enjoy these things too. Because of that, I would like to think I have made the world a better place by making (birthing) something beautiful. It's probably why I am an actor too. When I am onstage, my world becomes that part I am playing. These are the things that truly make me happy, but writing has become the thing MOST close to my heart.

If you were to ask me, I would say that I am a poet first, but after this past year, writing plays has certainly moved up on my list. I have also wrote a novel (still in the editing process) and a screenplay (also in process). I am not limiting myself, I am writing anything and everything I can. I want to be a writer! I am a writer.

Something that is also important, and has proven to help me grow as a writer is that bolstering of talent amongst my fellows, both young and older. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing others create and thrive because I helped give them a chance, that I believed  in them (and continue to do so), and that  I will not let them fall (not my words originally, but that are so profound). This was the case during the Lake Country Players 1st 24 Hour Theatre. I saw new writers, directors, and actors making amazingly beautiful things for the world to enjoy. I also saw amazingly awesome things during Charlotte's Web, which I also feel that way about. The talent that was in that show blew me away, and I got to help feed the talent and confidences in all of those actors and crew members. It really does do my heart good.

 To all those out there; I believe in you! Go out there and make something beautiful! Inspire others! Keep watch and be good to others both hominid and animalian. :-) I leave you with a quick poem about:

A Man and His Cat

Lucy on David's Butt!

When you walk,
walk slow
I will follow.
To you you might not see
that I am really listening,
but remeber
I am always there
upon your lap
or by your feet.
A sound reminder that
I have not left.

3/31/2013