My talk to the NYC chapter of Sisters in Crime

I crowdsourced the good parts of this talk this morning on Twitter. I had my basic points in mind, but I tweeted "I'm giving a talk to SinC on things writers should be doing. Any suggestions?"

There were a lot of good suggestions, but I had a limited amount of time (sadly!)

Here are the ten points of my talk:

TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW

1. Have a website with
a. contact info (your OWN email address: @alwayscoffee)

added note: the anthology you gave me tonight does NOT have all the website addresses for contributors (tsk! tsk!) That's a must! If I like your story, I might want to get in touch!

b. sample of your writing
c. IF PUBBED: a professional photo

d. If you have a blog instead, don't blog about writing.


2. Be visible on Twitter (the notes that are underlined were obtained from people who helped me crowdsource this talk this morning on twitter.)

3. Subscribe to Google alerts for
a. your name
b. your book title
c. keywords (Bella Stander's idea)

4. Subscribe to Shelf-Awareness

5. Volunteer at Sisters in Crime/be part of the leadership (this is your in-house crowdsourcing)


6. Subscribe to CrimeSpree, MysteryScene and other industry mags. Read reviews

7. Attend READER/fan conventions: Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, Love is Murder, Malice Domestic


8. Read widely (all the finalists for the Edgars, and Agathas for starters)

9. Write to a disciplined schedule
a. Get the first draft on paper. Until you do it's all academic (Jen Burke)



10. Do NOT drink the kool-aid on E-publishing. It's too early to be making sweeping statements about any of it. We're all learning this as we go and the right answer to almost everything is "we'll see what happens."


If you take away just one thing tonight I hope it will be this, from Bill Cameron: Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Don't be afraid to fail. Neither will kill you.



I came away very impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of the NYC chapter of Sisters in Crime.  Clearly a very good group of writers.  Probably a good group to join if you're looking to get published as a crime writer!

Contest entries (the last one!) part eleven!

Update 6/6/19: Sadly I lost the images of stacked books that were included in the original post.

Natalia 12:51am

--------
Robin 3am

 Kings and Queens summoned us.


He Gave Gifts tantamount to
A Pot of Gold if only we would embark on
The Search for the Giant Squid.
We pondered through The Darkness and the Dawn,
And with Nothing to Lose... or so we thought,
Though it be In the Dead of Winter we accepted.
So began the Descent Into Hell
Into the Sea of Monsters
With a Simple Faith as our only insurance.
We saw The Rainbow Fish.
We saw Narwhals.
We saw Sea Monsters.
And then The Unthinkable...
We Found it.
And though he had A Strong Poison,
And we were merely The Borrowers Afloat,
In the sea matched against That Hideous Strength... we fought,
And were nearly Left For Dead
In The Lost World of the sea,
But we would Have His Carcasse though it cost us much,
And we would ascend toward the Light and the Glory,
And our greatest prize would be Humility

---------
KD 3:10am

-->

UNTITLED, DUE TO AN EXCESS OF TITLES
 

I knew from DAY ONE in GEORGIA
You were THE AMERICAN,
THE MISANTHROPE,
TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT as if
they were A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES,
and TALKING TO THE SUN
like a LOST DOG.

We spent ONE MORE SUNDAY in THE CHAMBER,
IN THE COLD ROOM
of LA CASA DE LOS ESPÍRITUS.
HAVING OUR SAY, you claimed.

I was CHARMED AND ENCHANTED,
trying to DECIPHER your FATAL SECRETS.
For THE FAMILY, you said.
You were CHARMED AND DANGEROUS,
a MONSTER with a KILLER INSTINCT
for THE SUBTLE KNIFE.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS, like a MOMENT OF TRUTH,
came THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS.
Not SHADES OF GRAY, after all,
but a LEGACY OF ASHES.
I'll be GONE TOMORROW, EMMA.
SAY GOODBYE, never to MIRA SI YO TE QUERRÉ.

With THE THIRD STRIKE, my METAMORPHOSIS is complete.
For me, it's THE END OF AMERICA.
MORE TWISTED, you,
stay in THE DARK with THE UNSEEN,
in the CANYONS of your OBSESSION.

---------

Julie 9:41am

29 year old
SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT
with SOMETHING BORROWED
from THE LOVE OF HER LIFE:
THE BOOK OF TOMORROW.
AFTERWARDS, at the reception,
THE BRIDESMAID PACT
exposes PAST SECRETS
while playing SPIN THE BOTTLE,
and THREE TIMES A BRIDESMAID
LUCY SPRINGER GETS EVEN
with HER BROODING ITALIAN SURGEON husband.
LOST FOR WORDS,
SHOPAHOLIC AND BABY (yes she's pregnant)
gives her new husband the SILENT TREATMENT
and decides he should RETURN TO SENDER
and learn some LIFE SKILLS.
She finds a SAFE HAVEN
in THE BEACH STREET KNITTING SOCIETY AND YARN CLUB
until her husband comes back and says REMEMBER ME?
IT MUST BE LOVE
because she becomes his MRS PERFECT,
gives birth to a MINI SHOPAHOLIC,
and they live happily, ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

----------

Laurie 10:46am

DAY ONE GONE
Into THE WHITE DARKNESS.
A NATION and
THE LOVELY BONES STOLEN.
Abrupt THE AGE OF ORPHANS.
IN SEARCH OF TIME to understand.
ONE SHOT WINGS THE ENEMY.
ROOM appears in THE LOST WORLD
RESTORING HARMONY.
To the BELOVED we SPEAK
When THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE.

-----------

Abby 11:28am

THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE and
THE PRINCE OF THIEVES have a
FLASH BURNOUT
SUPERNATURALLY
FORBIDDEN
PERFECT CHEMISTRY.
AND THEN THINGS FALL APART
due to her BAD TASTE IN BOYS.
He's GONE, leaving her with nothing but
THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE.

------------

Christina 1:59pm

A MAN RIDES THROUGH
THE LOST CONTINENT,
MARKED
by LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING.
THE LAST HERO brought low.
Still all RISK and REFLEX

saving THE KINGDOM,
but no longer COUNTING THE COFFINS.
THE TRUTH is
he hopes, MAYBE THIS TIME, to find
SALVATION IN DEATH.

Contest entries (so far) part ten

Bill 9:31pm

 At first sight,
the kiss
was simply irresistible,
a treasure
forever.

The truth of the matter,
it was innocent,
a stone's fall
into thin air

















-----------

Patty 9:59pm

 With a FINAL SCREAM
I shout, I'M NOT HER
But you are unmoved and show NO MERCY.
Your INKHEART, twisted and bitter, will NEVER LET ME GO
And I know IF I STAY, I am – like ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
Only PREY.


SWEET REVENGE taunts me in my PURGATORY CHASM
Where there is only you growing FIFTY SHADES DARKER
And me, SWALLOWING DARKNESS,
Praying for an end to THE ETERNAL PRISON
In which you've chained me like some IRON KING,
NUMB, while I wait for THE END that never comes.


















--------------------

Catherine 9:59pm

Yours was an Autumn Death
and at the Summoning
come, Bury Your Dead,
I was Taken by the Flood of tears.
you are The Dead & The Gone
and The Disappeared,
and I am Split.
It was The Cruelest Month
that I did hear, Bird by Bird,
a flock that did Roar
and was Gone from my horizon,
it was The Brutal Telling
of Changes in store.
as if a Book of Poisons
was penned with the Red Ink of my soul,
I was bade to Touch the Dark,
there are no more Sources of Light.
there is only The Vast Memory of Love
to rustle this Still Life.
that you could be The Forgotten Man,
or that I am to see the Eclipse of me by
the downing of your Curtain,
I only ask you Wait For Me.















---------

Jessica 10:29

--------
Rose 11:49pm

 "Notes from No Man's Land"

“NOTES FROM NO MAN’S LAND:
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS cannot
reach the DARK DEEPS
of our BLACK POWDER WAR.
WE THE ANIMALS traded
NEW DREAMS FOR OLD and began
our contest of PEOPLES VERSUS STATES,
soldiers versus the nearest empire.
Our king promised A VICTORY OF EAGLES,
saw THE TRANSIT OF VENUS in heaven and declared:
‘We will be an EMPIRE OF IVORY,
we will glitter under SUNSHINE and STARDUST.’

“THE IRRATIONALIST!
We found only poison, FIRE AND HEMLOCK.
War is a SOUL MIRROR, and our LIKENESS in it
is HALF EMPTY. Half the kingdom fights
for the king’s BLUE SWORD, the half
left behind is an INVISIBLE NATION.
We murmur, ‘TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN…’
Our soldiers look to be legends,
but they find only DRAGON BONES and
DRAGON BLOOD, the legends themselves long dead.”

“DEAR PRUDENCE,”
my mother interjects, “What are you DOING?”
“ENGLISH,” I mutter. “BY MYSELF.”

-------------


Teresa 12:39am

Anthem to Sweet Ruin

 
The issue at hand is obscured
by what I imagine Satan says,
by the northern lights
decorating the home
of the wellspring,
by the divine misdemeanors
of the female brain, and of course,
by what lies under the mansuit—
the body, leaping poetry
the mind, villa incognito, shifting
any bones set against the drift.
 
Despite laughing it off
with good poems
and the loose sugar
of praise,
with the fuel
of sun under wood—
different voices catch in the throat
like swallowing stones,
or the ballistics
of playing in the dark.
 
I shiver under another
baptism of desire, a jailbird
at the eye of the world, knowing
that like me, the white deer
in the garden of heaven
is nothing to you, nothing more
than a shadow rising
windblowne and thirsty.
 
The white shroud
of the bone game renders
crucial conversations irrelevant,
furniture in the museum of accidents.
Even in such places as memory,
knowing I’m breaking the rules,
harming others with this stranger music, knowing
there’s a hole in my pocket
I pay the tithe.
 
It’s an emergence,
an eddy through plainwater, an admission:
I love dirt.
Fool on a hill,
grass for his pillow
and still I rise
toward this house of sky—
toward this need to strike sparks
even when you are engulfed in flames.

------------

AE Brooksby 12:49am

The Quest

Diego and Dora's Animal Adventure like
Five Quarters of The Orange,
began in A Year of Fog.
It was Misery in
A Thousand Acres strewn with
Les Fleurs du Mal.  They thought it would be
Per Sempre but the sight of
Brunelleschi's Dome impelled them to
cross the County Line
where they found the Key of Light.




------------

Contest entries (so far) part nine

Capillya 5:10

 This DREAMLAND
on A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET
will ONE DAY
WITHER.

A WICKED
TRICKSTER'S CHOICE will
SPEAK to
MONSTERS OF MEN
who FALL FOR ANYTHING.

On the EDGES
of DELIRIUM
they're NUMB.

They're GOING TOO FAR.
Dying INSIDE OUT.
Already THE WALKING DEAD.
But THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
will LINGER
FOREVER,
and NEVER LET YOU GO.

--------------
Schipper 5:41

Northwest marine weather?
Fly now!
Toward the light!
It's nothing to be frightened of.
Leaving America,
It's a mammoth undertaking.
But farewell, my lovely.
No more holidays on ice for me.
Do travel writers go to hell?
I'll tell tales from the torrid zone!

---------------

Stephanie 6:32

The Disenchanting Truth

The Truth About Forever

Is that Bright And Shiny Morning(s)

Are for the Lucky One(s).

At Second Glance,

The Little Prince won't come

To The Rescue,

Which means She's Come Undone.

The Girl Who Played With Fire,

Was found Running With Scissors,

Saying, "Someday My Prince Will Come,"

Unaware of The Slow Vanishing.

She'd Fallen

And become a Loose Girl

Who live in The Glass Castle

Full of Disenchantments and Stolen Innocence.

She was A Woman Betrayed.

She wasn't Lucky.

Counting The Hours,

She learned

Certain Girls aren't Those Who Save Us.

And That's How I Live Now.

--------------------
Rebekah 6:37

Here THE CHOSEN

Shuddering his SUMMONS

From the bosom of DUSK

As the PALE FIRE dies away

THE COLOR PURPLE bleeding

Into the ragged soul of NIGHT

Here no MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Here no SANCTUARY

Here instead the LORD OF THE FLIES

His carrion throat WHISTLING IN THE DARK

Weep, oh, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY

THE YEARS OF CHILDHOOD crumbling 

Here the INVISIBLE MAN

Here AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY

As in an INFERNO of MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION

THE SUN ALSO RISES

----------------
Greg 6:50pm

Drama City

 

It’s the dark of the moon

Or so it seems on this naked earth

Where fools die

And this I believe

Is bait and switch

The classic game change

A common move for hustler days

For surely its blasphemy

To call it homicide

It’s more like the unholy ghost

That’s counting coup

While stalking those still crying wolf

In the cosmic landscape

And in the end we are all livin’ the blues

Because you get so alone 

at times it just makes sense

To continue the struggle in this

nightmare town

------------

bturn 7:36

TAKE JOY
in A CIRCLE OF QUIET,
THE SECRET GARDEN,
and ON THE BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA.

Yet when SHADES OF GRAY
in THE FALLING RAINDROP
and DARK WATER RISING
cause A WRINKLE IN TIME,

gather A SINGLE SHARD
and FEATHERS
ACROSS FIVE APRILS,
bringing LIGHT IN AUGUST...

...and REVOLUTION.

------------

Shauna 8:15pm

WHILE OTHER PEOPLE SLEEP,

the FOOL and

THE STOLEN CHILD meet

in THE BROKEN PROMISE LAND to learn

HOW TO BE GOOD.

"CHILD OF MY HEART,"

THE IDIOT cries,

'IF YOU COULD SEE WHAT I SEE,

you'd SING DOWN THE MOON

or DIE TRYING."

"CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?" asks the child.

"IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER I WOULD PICK MORE DAISIES.

and I'd keep THE LAST DANCE for myself.

NOBODY KNOWS

THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME."

-----------
Lucie 8:42pm

Ode to Books

the origins
timeless as the cosmos
hush, hush (i'm reading)
i'll read forever
the page, passion
i'll be dead to the world
sit upon a throne of fire
responsibilities my last sacrifice
I made a blood promise
to reach story's crescendo
i shiver
we read because we want freedom
to grow new bones
to make the right mistake
and we are not saved
but we are breath, eyes, memory
kindred in our stories

------------
Felicia 8:58 pm

It was on the distant streets of Manhattan, as a second language they spoke gangster.
Wicked Prey stalked the streets searching . . .
Inside it was quiet, sweet and smooth; we called it the house at sugar beach, me and my sister Lilly
It was a way of escaping the numb hearts and souls we found on the way
The way of story coming from my grandmother’s lips calmed us every night
My Daddy stayed out late, Momma had left long ago, but he had dreams, and he knew how to get rich

A man-child in the Promised Land, he dreams unreal that would cost him an arm, leg, and a life to steal
Now and then Lilly and I would hear life on the streets
The rising and the rain. . . the up and the down
Mercy Mercy me God loves me, Lilly and I had made up our own prayer to keep us safe from this lifestyle

We laid our heads on our pillows; suddenly we shared a split image of our worst nightmare.
The Opening shots weren’t the worst, just shocking
Lilly escaped the room like a lost dog as more gunshots struck the waiting town

I chased her around the corner, down the stairs, and to the doorway of my house

To find Lilly, now Broken Prey, lying lifeless.
The life escaped 6 year old Lilly Like vapor while daddy looked on
She had been the rose that grew from concrete for so long
Lilly now took a road of her own
I Leaned over my sister’s flush face, placed my lips on her cheek and gave her a soft cinnamon kiss

A stranger in paradise shined a light, soothed my soul, and blessed my heart; I knew she would be safe.










---------------------------

Kirsten 9:04pm

Trapped
in the tempest
of the forgetting room,
betwixt
radiant shadows
and never, where
obedience became
the blade itself,
the emperor of Scent
was servant of the bones
to the elegant witch,
I was a spy in the house of love.
Promise not to tell.

Contest entries (so far) part eight

Lauren 11:48

These are THE LIES THAT BIND

the PLAIN TRUTH

at THE FINAL JUDGMENT.

It will be A LONG WAY DOWN

for the FALLING MAN,

THE INNOCENT MAN.

WORDS FAIL ME.

EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING

in OUR TOWN

COME TOGETHER, FALL APART.

While THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD,

I was an INVISIBLE MAN.

There could’ve been ATONEMENT

with this ONE TRUE THING…

BUT I LOVE HIM.

---------------

Fatiya 12:41

I, CLAUDIUS

DON'T GO TO WORK ON MONDAYS
Due to my ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
I must swallow A HAT FULL OF SKY
To enhance SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

I see LIVING DOLLS emerge from THE CHRYSALIDS
OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET
Comes a MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS

ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR
They go forth for THE LAST BATTLE
With FIRE IN THE BELLY
The MONSTROUS REGIMENT of an unhappy THUNDER GOD.

I see THE WEE FREE MEN
And shout GUARDS! GUARDS! again.



BENEATH THE MASK I am
THE DEMOLISHED MAN
BRAIN BIOCHEMISTRY AND BRAIN DISORDERS
Rob me of THE TRUTH

So I sit in THE SILVER CHAIR
And hold THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS

--------------

Rachel 2:23

 Missing Susan

Once,
in The Age of Innocence,
An Ungodly Child
In White Robes
took The Crow Road
Under Milk Wood

Hers was A Life Less Ordinary
a Feminine Gospel
of The Loved One;
The Beautiful Dead,
Lovely in her Bones

Elegies
on The Road Home

---------------
Paula 2:43pm

My DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER
Are you FINDING YOUR OWN NORTH STAR?
Has THE HISTORIAN of our heartbreak
Enjoyed your MASKERADE so far?

Have you placed your SMOKE AND MIRRORS
To reflect all the NORTHERN LIGHTS?
Do they shine softly on your LOLITA
When MATING IN CAPTIVITY invites?

Did you doubt that THE SUBTLE KNIFE
IN DUBIOUS BATTLE would twist?
When I wrote about my YEAR OF WONDERS
CHANGES would push me up the list?

STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS shocked me
Maybe you could RISE AND SHINE, too?
Perhaps THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY
Invoked THE ALCHEMIST in you?

Thank you for the COMPLICATIONS
As I’m UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
I’ve learned that to LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE is best
And my new LIFE WITH JEEVES is fun

-------------------

Natalie 3:04pm

-----------------

Sheila 3:32

The Final Battle
Of Mice and Men

Shiver
Babymouse, Queen of the World
The Dark is Rising
Where The Wild Things Are
Found

Here There Be Dragons
Here Be Monsters
A Girl Named Disaster
Playing With Fire

Things Not Seen
Falling In
Holes
Thin Wood Walls
Catching Fire

Fly By Night
Babymouse, Dragonslayer
Capture
Firegirl
Unwind
The Inferno

Babymouse, Our Hero
Capture The Castle

-------------

Audrey 4:01pm

 MAGIC STUDY Preparation Guide:

Begin on MAGIC STREET,
but ABANDON
THE THIRTEENTH HOUSE--
its GARDEN SPELLS
will cast an ENCHANTMENT
in which you dream THE NEVERENDING STORY
OF BLOOD AND HONEY.

Cultivate WANDERLUST.
Become THE FAR TRAVELER.
Seek THE KEEPING PLACE
where the last CHILDREN OF GOD
train their GIFTS
for THE LAST BATTLE.

Explore ELSEWHERE,
OVER SEA, UNDER STONE,
until you find THE LADY OF THE SORROWS
in THE FOREST HOUSE.
Track THE EIGHT
to THE HOLLOW HILLS
that are CATCHING FIRE.

And finally, WHISPER
INTO THE STORM
as THE SPLENDOR FALLS
in SHADOWS AND LIGHT.

------------

Alison 4:27pm

Love's Path

A long way down
the road of love
more tales of the city
were burning bright.

A spot of bother
saw them
behaving badly.

One day
with nails sharpened
came the slap.

Safe retreat with friends, lovers and chocolate
Just like the way we wore
the comfort of strangers
like a nice jumper.

Happy now
dead sexy
in the blue afternoon
women in love
are starting over.

Contest entries (so far) part seven

Joel 10:27pm

what I've learned from the titles I could find in a few minutes is that now is not a good time to stop therapy ...

KINDLING

so you think it's new
misery
collapse
the road
underworld
citizen soldiers
for whom the bell tolls
the accidental tourist
in the city of fear
hostages to fortune
seize the daylight
pieces of the frame
the lovely bones
beloved
unfinished tales






-----
Edward 11:02pm

 If you'll JUST LISTEN
to the RISING TIDES
you will feel the SHIVER
of our BLOOD PROMISE.
For PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
is WICKED LOVELY
but the HOURGLASS
of ENVY
will never HUSH, HUSH
this PERFECT CHEMISTRY.
And although in this CITY OF GLASS
BREAKING DAWN
spreads RUMORS
of THE BAD BEGINNING,
we will not suffer for we are DEAD UNTIL DARK
and until this DELIRIUM consumes us.












-------------

Kathleen 11:21pm

FOR INNOCENTS ONLY...

I attended THE BOYFRIEND SCHOOL
and married A REGULAR GUY
who was JUST MY TYPE,
THE SECOND COMING OF STEVE JOBS.

We bought a home on GOOD HOPE ROAD,
where I taught myself the JOY OF COOKING
and HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT.

It was ALMOST PARADISE.

It was A FALSE SENSE OF WELL BEING.

One Saturday, OUT OF THE BLUE,
I received a call from THE OTHER WIFE,
who said HE WAS HER MAN.
Apparently I couldn't see THE FOREST FOR THE TREES.

That night I stood under the MILK GLASS MOON
and prayed to OUR LADY OF THE LOST AND FOUND.
Is it not a sin to LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS?

He was DEAD ON SUNDAY,
ROADKILL,
may he REST IN PIECES.

Now he is STEPPIN' ON A RAINBOW,
and I am locked up for ALL MY LIFE
following one of THE GREAT TEXAS MURDER TRIALS.

I NEED ALL THE FRIENDS I CAN GET.
Someone, PLEASE DO FEED THE CAT.




-----------

Annie 11:58pm

 IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS,
THE DARK IS RISING.

THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH,
BONESHAKER,
scatters GIANT BONES:
HOW FEW REMAIN.

THIS WAS TOMORROW.
















---------------
Sarah 12:20am

 Audrey, Wait!
oh Angel,
my Clockwork Angel.
I heart you, you haunt me.
You Banished
my Personal Demons,
then Betrayed
my Love & Respect.
Now I'm Standing Strong
in a Brave New World,
Burned by
The Girl Who Could Fly.














------------

Jesse 12:47

“WHEN WE DIE, Kevin,
we transcend the HUMAN BONDAGE
of EARTH, and get
SPIRITED AWAY
to an ALMOST TRANSPARENT BLUE
UTOPIA in the sky.
It's A BRAVE NEW WORLD,
BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL,
where THE SUN ALSO RISES.”

“Okay.”

“Unless you're naughty, like your brother DANTE,
or an IDIOT, like your father –
then you go A LONG WAY DOWN,
beyond the TWILIGHT 's
BREACH,
for a LONG, DARK TEATIME OF THE SOUL.”

“...Alright.”

“Of course some use WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT
as the FOUNDATION for their
SENSE OF REALITY.
They think there's only BEING AND NOTHINGNESS.”

“...”

“But you, Kevin, you'll look past the STATIC
of PUBLIC OPINION, and
tired HABITS OF THE HEART.
You'll open your DOORS OF PERCEPTION,
to your own WAYS OF SEEING,
and become the PRINCE,
of your own ODYSSEY.
That way, ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES will be yours.”

“...You're done?  Could we pick up where we left off in THE PASSAGE, then?
I want to GO THE F*** TO SLEEP already.”


---------------------------


Theo 7:02am

ALL FAMILIES ARE PSYCHOTIC.
AFTER DARK
THE BLACK PRINCE,
THE QUEEN AND I,
AND MY SEE-THROUGH HEART
bleat UNTOLD STORIES
for OUR TRAGIC UNIVERSE to discard.
Our REVELATIONs  .
are mere TRICKS OF THE MIND,
disguised as a TRICK OF THE DARK.

Contest entries (so far) part six

Qtrdmn 7:04pm

 a poem for a girl

HARD TO BELIEVE
in MEMORY'S WAKE
down FIREFLY LANE
where THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
ran CROSS COUNTRY
INTO THE DARK
with THE HELP
of PLAIN KATE--why?
her heart was STOLEN
her CLOCKWORK HEART
is now CATCHING FIRE
with the CHILDREN OF CAIN.













-----------------

Adriana 8:06pm

THE HISTORY OF LOVE:

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN TOWN,
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS,
LEAVES OF GRASS
THE COLOR PURPLE,
like LABYRINTHS
of FIRE.
“BELOVED,” I whispered,
and EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL BEGAN AFTER.















------------------
Kate 8:15pm

And the Ass Saw the Angel
Too Close to the Falls.
The River Ophelia
Tumbling
From Crow Lake
To The Deep End of the Ocean.
"Paint Your Wife,"
Said Lolita
(Not Her Real Name)
"It will be Better Than This,
Looking for Trouble
On Paper Wings."










-------------------
Krag 8:19pm

To find the King’s Peace

The Golden Fool challenged

The Fires Of Heaven and the Lost King’s Ghost Legion.

This fair-haired, Secret Sharer

Was Embraced By The Light

Of The Gathering Storm.

A Shadow Rising

Led to The Towers of Midnight

Between the Deadhouse Gates

In The Heart Of Darkness.

Elements Of Style

Were dipped in Quicksilver,

To dance on The Knife of Dreams.

The Exiles sailed on a Ship Of Destiny, and

The Fool’s Errand

Led him to The King’s Test.

The Hand Of Chaos seized

The King’s Sacrifice,

And enticed him into The Iron Tower.

The Fool’s Fate pushed him

Into the Path Of Daggers,

And A Storm Of Swords.

He winked at The Eye Of The Hunter, and

Lunged Amok Into The Forge of the maelstrom.

He clashed with Destiny during Winter’s Heart,

Only to suffer A Feast For Crows.

And returned on a Ship Of Magic

As the Speaker For The Dead













-------------

Jessica 8:36pm

--------

Meri 8:45pm

AFTER THE STORM recedes
BRAZEN VIRTUE bids me forward
as a KAT BURGLAR steals
my NIGHT SHIELD
I venture on, MASTERING THE ZONE
with NOBLE COURAGE
as A TIGER'S EYE
lays in TRIBUTE to THE WAY
of LOVE'S JOURNEY HOME
VANISHED
in SIGN LANGUAGE
while BEACH GIRLS
BODY CHECK boys
decreeing FAIR PLAY
and still I LINGER
praying I FORGET YOU FOR EVER























-----------

Michelle 9:19pm

Les Miserables

Soulless
Women
Wither
[in a] Flatland
[beyond] The Sea of Monsters.

[They are] Catching Fire
[in the] Rot & Ruin
[as they pray for] A Separate Peace.

[Across] The Line
A Sound of Thunder.

Rebecca
[drinks] Dandelion Wine
[in this] City of Bones
[and ponders her] Crime and Punishment.
She’s Come Undone
[and the] Lord of the Flies,
[that] Heartless
Boneshaker, [whispers]

"I Never Promised You A Rose Garden."

-----------------

Teresa 9:51pm

"The Hunt" for a poem of titles,
"The Poet" I am not.
Perhaps a "Predator",
"Red Dragon",
or a "Scavenger" all fraught.
A novel is my "Creature",
The "Obsession" of my pride.
By the "Dark of the Moon",
"The Pawn" I've become,
I've crossed "The Great Divide"














-------------
Sarah 9:52pm


I'm at Bouchercon, too, and this poem is made of a very small sample of the books I've collected here--the photo was taken on the bed in my hotel room.

I wish I could enter two poems, because The Black Stilletto, the Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam and the Electric Barracuda clearly belong together, but not in this one:


 

THE GENESIS KEY
sets off a SHOCK WAVE,
but THE WIRE IN THE BLOOD
is only a MURDER IN VEIN.
A TRACE OF SMOKE,
a VEIL OF LIES
shade CRIMES IN THE MOONLIGHT . . .
SCARY STUFF.

Contest entries (so far) part five

Mimi 9:36am

 Poem From A Desperate Lover
Him:
JUST LISTEN,
Let me SPEAK.
I know we're JUST KIDS,
But when we met, Something CAUGHT fire.
So let me give you THIRTEEN REASONS WHY
We need to be together FOREVER.
You are THE WHOLE WORLD to me,
You are my ANAM CARA.
Without you THINGS FALL APART.
Life without you, would be like LIFE WITHOUT WATER,
I can't EAT, PRAY, LOVE without you.
Without you I can't be AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD,
I can't dance under THE WILD TREES.
Without you I will CRASH and burn in the BLACK HOLE SUN.
Plus, we're well MATCHED, and NOBODY DOES IT BETTER.
SAVVY?
So please, IF I STAY,
NEVER LET ME GO.
THE SONG IS YOU,
And I want to SING YOU HOME.
If I don't, THE DARK WIND will find me.
The HOLES will find me.
These are THE RULES OF THE DANCE.
THE SUM OF OUR DAYS.
ARE YOU LISTENING?

Her:
Well, I'll be QUEEN OF THE DAMNED.
I've been RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS for too long.



---------------

Teri 5:23pm

 Garage Sale Romance Book-Ku in 5-7-5

"A Frame of Dreams when
A Very Naughty Angel
Gives Lessons in Love"












----------

Ali 5:38pm

 The Girl Who Played with Fire
Your BIRTHDAY LETTERS have left me NUMB,
a side-effect of THE HUNGER GAMES
we once played; you were the BREAD GIVER,
and I, the LOVER OF UNREASON, transformed
into a reluctant WOMAN WARRIOR,
clutching a BURNT DIARY made of STARDUST
and WINTER POLLEN.

(A GOOD OMEN is not
                the same as a BLOOD PROMISE.)

This is a GHOST STORY, a GRAVEYARD BOOK,
a reminder that THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST,
and our love is FULL DARK, NO STARS,
a FARMING OF BONES
on a FAULT LINE, empty promises
ringing like THE LAUGHTER OF FOXES.

It’s A LONG WAY DOWN. I’ve heard
the STORIES. I know
WHERE SHADOWS DANCE and that
these LETTERS HOME are not PROOF
of love IN THE TIME OF BUTTERFLIES;
this marriage is no HOUSE OF MIRTH.

We swim in a WIDE SARGASSO SEA,
foolish as THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST,
lingering in the NEVERWHERE, lost like ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
Yes, ours is a DARK ROAD TO DARJEELING,
but despite this CITY OF BONES
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING is over,
and I must PLAY IT AS IT LAYS.


























----
joanna 6:09pm

The beautiful and damned bend sinister
In middle march, while the bluest eye gazes longingly at
other resort cities. Instead I meander to the lighthouse,
where in the remains of the day I say a farewell to arms.
This possession, this thinking thought, these words, this last thing, this only thing,
the art of Fiction. Later, I will relate the secret history,
to someone, some him, some them,
all handsome Dubliners, and confess my dream, the dream
of the cold six thousand. Which is worse, I wonder? Answered prayers
or the red and the black scars left by those unanswered? They laugh:
Even the grifters in the enormous room know that there is nothing worse
than being dead. Without a hero I silently consult my wise blood and
wander off again, into the fields and folds of this prodigal summer.















---------------

Jess 6:20pm

 THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE
traveled ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
to pull DEATH'S DAUGHTER from
THE LOST WORLD.
Hearts BRIGHTLY BURNING,
they ran away to find THE ONE RIGHT THING.

"Life is a TRAINWRECK," she said, when she
first saw the world. "Full of PRETTY MONSTERS."
"No," he said, "DON'T STOP NOW.
We've nearly reached the RISING SUN,
where we'll build a FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE.
DOWN IN MY HEART, I know that
MISERY means nothing when you're
COMMITTED."

"WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE." She was afraid,
far from home.
"Don't worry, my dear. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU,
until we're DEAD AND GONE."











------------------
Kathleen 6:56pm

 BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

I have become a MONSTER
because I use THE GOLDEN COMPASS
to hunt.
The BLOOD GAMES begin when I
find a MIDNIGHT PREDATOR
lurking and spying on
unsuspecting prey.
I use my HATCHET
to kill.
I am a WITCH HUNTER.

Contest entries status update

I've got 66 unposted entries as of this morning.
Everyone should have received an acknowledgment as of this morning.

Because of the volume (which frankly stunned me) I can't do resends.

(I'm sorry, I know that's a change in what I posted but reality trumps planning today)


I'm going to try to get everything up by the weekend.

The sheer magnitude of the contest, and the amazing AMAZING quality of the entries means picking the winner might take even another week.

You guys just knock my sox clean off.

(Don't ask why a shark wears sox)

Contest entires (so far) part four

Berit 3pm

In the woods,
the forest of hands and teeth,
lies something rotten.
The body, in ruins.
A feast for crows.
Bird by bird, the metamorphosis.
No wind of blame.
No weight.
Simply time to depart.
Into the mist,
into the sea,
along the path between the seas,
to the fatal shore,
No - the unknown shore,
with only a promise of happiness.










--------------

Hawke 3:08pm

COLLECTED and Recollected: Finding POEMS between points North and West

RECOLLECTED, she ESSAYS forth
With WORDS THAT MUST SOMEHOW BE SAID
In DECADENT SOCIETIES
Like this modern BABYLON
That bestows DUBIOUS HONORS
Even SAINT AUGUSTINE’S wounded PIGEON might reject.
Leaving HOME, and the ECONOMICS
Of A COMMON-PLACE tragedy in a BOOK OF betrayal and doubtful COOKERY,
She wishes to be AMONG FRIENDS
Who BREAK THE MIRROR
Where she sees only an old CROW. AND she is free to leave the WEASEL
Who LEFT her OUT IN THE frigid RAIN
And go WEST WITH THE NIGHT
Finally to the MOUNTAINS OF THE GREAT BLUE DREAM
Above THE DESERT THAT SMELLS LIKE warm RAIN
Where she finds THE GIFT OF GOOD LAND and says,
“HERE LET US FEAST.”







-------------

Tracy 4:11pm

"The Blood of Angels"
by TracyR aka ScribblingScarlet



Once THE LUCKY ONE.
Now BANISHED
FOREVER,
BEYOND EXILE.

No longer a HOST
MATCHED
In an ANGELS GAME
Of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES,
Living in a CITY OF GLASS.

One drop of ELIXIR
And I am cast WITH A VENGEANCE
From the TWILIGHT
Of my SPHERE.

My HALO
CATCHING FIRE
As I tear ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.

Now  DARK VISIONS
Of WILDEFIRE
LINGER
And ECLIPSE
The CRESCENDO
Of the BREAKING DAWN.

I SHIVER
Under the HUSH-HUSH
Of the NEW MOON as it casts its glow on a
CITY OF BONES;
A DAD BY DAY ARMAGEDDON
From the BLOOD OF ANGELS.




























--------------------
Charles 4:12pm

----------------

Maja 4:39pm

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN is the target,
but THE BLIND ASSASSIN sees not but with
her HEART OF DARKNESS.

She wields THE SUBTLE KNIFE against her mark,
but THE INVISIBLE MAN is there first,
and cuts her down. Down, a JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
An ODYSSEY which ends
when she is cast into the INFERNO.

In this BRAVE NEW WORLD, she pays for her CRIME
AND PUNISHMENT is dealt.

She sees PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in a reflection of herself.

Then NAUSEA
as THE METAMORPHOSIS begins.
She is no longer EMMA.
She is FRANKENSTEIN's monster.
She is FAUST. She is
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY.
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
lead to ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE,
then another. And there is NO EXIT.

There is only BEING AND NOTHINGNESS.











---------------------------
Alwyn 5:53pm

 In The Secret Hour
of your Pure
Delirium
You Wish
you could Abandon
The Night Circus
to the Fury
of the Soulless
let it Wither
to a City of Ashes
Ashes, Ashes
The Splendour Falls down
And you are already Gone
on The Blood Red Road
to Neverwhere














--------------

Hilary 4:53pm

 SPEAK
THE ETERNAL ONES,
“To DARE TO LOVE
is A DESPICABLE PROFESSION--
the SECRET DAUGHTER
of a WINGED OBSESSION,
THE GIVER
of THE GOLDEN MEAN,
of SHEET MUSIC
ON DREAMS.”
And IF I LOVED YOU, I WOULD TELL YOU THIS:
You KINDLE within
A CONFLICT OF VISIONS
So COME AND FIND ME
CATCHING FIRE
this LIBERTY AND TYRANNY
is BY DESIGN
the POINT OF ORIGIN
and THE END OF EVERYTHING












------------
Marilou 5:03

MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH

DEATH MASKS
in GRIMSPACE
are A MAGICIAN'S GAMBIT;
A FISTFUL OF CHARMS,
AN ENCHANTER'S ENDGAME.
YOU SLAY ME,
UNDERGROUND,
in THE GATHERING DARK.
I BURN FOR YOU