A New Poet's in Town... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 31

          If you ever wonder what the youth of today are up to, you might be surprised.

       At least one teen is blowing the minds of adults. And she's doing it with the confidence and skill of someone way beyond her years.

       Bisa Adero is St. Louis' first Youth Poet Laureate. She's a junior in high school. And she's amazing.

      On Thursday, Miss Adero graced a couple of hundred young writers with some slam poetry. Unfortunately, she only has this one video available--where she's speaking in a foreign accent (and making it sound genuine)--but hopefully that will soon change.

       Keep an eye out for Bisa. She's going to be doing speaking engagements and performances all over during the next two years, and has a book deal.
       

          And what is this book blurb stuff? Here's the particulars: 

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A frothy romance? (Ugh.) A tall tale? A coffee table book on statues? You choose the genre.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. She's exhausted from too much fun. She's still basking in an overabundance of joy. Her daughter got married, Lisa's got photos--check 'em out.
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb (as lame as it is):

Some Like ‘em Big and Stiff

Never married. It was the ladies’ loss, not his. Of course.

Paul’s dog, an overgrown blue-heeler named Babe—that’s all he needed as far as companionship. His joy came from simple things: physical labor (like cutting down trees) and hearty meals (like pancakes that were so huge, he joked they were six-feet across).

But then when Paul was in town one day, he met a woman. As usual, he looked down his nose at her… and expected her to fall down and worship at his enormous feet. But this lady was different. She stared up at Paul, muttered, “You’re one huge jerk. You’ll no longer work. You’re bad to the bone… Now you’ll be still as stone,” fluttered her fingers in his directions and strode off.

In her wake was left Paul, who was now a statue.

Will the spell ever be broken? Or is Paul stuck there forever? (148 words)




And for Val and Pat and anyone else brave enough (or bored enough) to play along, here is the photo for next week:

Who has wowed you lately? Astounded minds want to know...

Courageous? Stupid? Ever Hopeful?

           It takes courage to be a writer. It's either courage or stupidity. I vacillate between the two...

          It takes courage to not accept offers from writer friends. "We would be glad to look at your manuscript," they say. I'm worried that I'm just seeing the trees and not the forest. I'm afraid my friends will say, "That's a lovely birch," and "What a fabulous pine,"  and won't say--out of kindness--that the forest is a tangled mess of vines and rotting stumps.

          It takes courage (or stupidity) to send a manuscript to a fierce writer. An unflinching critic. A poet who knows the difference between something that's decomposing and something that's green and growing.

         It takes something--courage or stupidity or eternal optimism--to keep writing. To keep submitting even though the odds are not good. (Chicken Soup gets thousands of submissions for each anthology... and still I submit.) To keep revising and talking about the craft and believing in a piece.

         It's something. I'm just not sure what it is... 

          

Two Years Later... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 30

A little more than two years ago I finished this... It was a second or third or fourth draft, depending on how you look at it.  Since then it's been through another couple of revisions and a rejection.

      A little more than two years ago we got this. He makes sure he's never rejected. If you have a hand, he's nosing it and nudging it and backing his butt up to it, all in an effort to get petted.

      Two years can bring a heap of change.

      In two years I endured some awful experiences as a teacher. Frustrated, I retired. I've recently found a dream-come-true job in a fabulous school. Every day is a delight. 

      In two years my husband survived some heart procedures and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Now he's making some wiser choices, sodium-wise.

      In two years I finished a manuscript--my first novel-length one--and discovered that writing can be quite healing. Some family dysfunction--worthy of being highlighted in the Guinness World Book of Records--had been weighing me down for the past five or six years. However, I wrote about it in my manuscript, changed the ending, and found forgiveness...

      What a difference two years make.

      And now, onto fun with book blurbs...

• Look at the photo below. (Whoops! Blogger is not allowing me to insert a photo right now. You can go to this link, scroll down to the end of the post, and you'll see the photo.)That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. Chick lit? A romance? Nonfiction? You decide.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. Her baby girl is getting married. Perhaps the wedding will inspire Lisa to write a novel where a Florida wedding--in the middle of a hurricane--is the centerpiece?
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.
• 
  

The Stalker and Their Prey

Emmylou Harris was an international folk singer goddess. She toured all over the world… except for Michigan. The European continent. Asia. South America. Africa. Her bell-like voice filled halls night after night. But never in Michigan.

A certain poet had set their sights on Emmylou and the stalking ensued. Letters. Love poems. Epic pieces pining for her. Flowers. Bottles of Bolthouse Chai tea. Photos of an adorable dog. The songstress got deluged with things in the mail and packages delivered backstage.

Harris’ agent refused to even let her consider doing a concert in Michigan, since the FBI was reasonably sure they’d pinpointed the stalker’s location, and Emmylou was content to be safe rather than sorry.

But then the stalker made an offer Emmylou could not refuse… and life as she knew it changed. Forever. (134 words)



And for those who want to work ahead, here is the picture for next week:

It's in the Eye of the Beholder

               Last Friday my day was full of art.

            First off, I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the art museum. The middle-schoolers had a tour led by a docent for part of the time. The rest of the afternoon (after a picnic lunch outside) I led the students in some guided writing activities.

            Here is one piece that caught my eye:

            I think it was the dripping fountain pen that initially did it...

            Then after school I got to a sculpture event in time to see Lynn's daughter's award-winning sculpture. (Jessica won second prize.) All three of Lynn's children are gifted artists. Jessica is a sculptor and had to weld (the mold, I think) to create this piece.

            I arrived as the sun was at the perfect angle, because the 3-piece sculpture actually glowed. It was luminous but unfortunately, my photographic skills failed to capture its beauty.

         Here are a close-up:

                  And another close-up:

                   What is one of your favorite pieces of art--whether it's a painting, a sculpture, a song or a book/poem/play? Curious minds like mine want to know...

A Step Backwards... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb # 29

           This past week I took a step or two backwards, writer-wise.

           I got a rejection letter on a major WIP. The manuscript I had worked on for more than a few years got a "Thanks but no thanks." It would have gotten tossed into the circular file.... if it hadn't been sent via email.

            I'll admit. My eyes welled up when I went to bed that night. After all, I was planning on getting an in-ground pool with the advance I was going to get. I mean, it was going to be James Patterson money--I was sure of it. Thankfully, I was so exhausted, my pity party soon sequed into snoring.

             After licking my wounds, I started thinking about what my next move will be. Broach another local publisher? Get some feedback from friends and family?

             We'll see. What I know I won't do is give up. 

              And now onto the fun of book blurb...

• Look at the photo below. (Whoops! Blogger is not allowing me to insert a photo right now. You can go to this link, scroll down to the end of the post, and you'll see the photo.)That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. Chick lit? A romance? Nonfiction? You decide.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. Her baby girl is getting married--in less than two weeks. In Florida. (I think the couple is getting the stormy weather out of the way before they're married. After surviving a wedding in the middle of a hurricane, marriage will be smooth sailing.)
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.
• 
  

From Sinking to Smooth Sailing: Bringing a Business Back to Life in Ten Not-So-Easy Ways

            Randy’s donut business was failing. His profits were sinking, just like the donuts did in the fryer when he needed to change the oil. Worried, Randy tried different recipes.
          He made intricate designs with sprinkles. He encrusted the donuts with bacon. Randy injected espresso into the middle of the donuts. Nothing worked.

          Karaoke in his tiny donut shop was a brilliant idea… or so he thought it was brilliant. Would people sing for donuts? Apparently they do-nut, because his bank account continued to plummet.

          But accidentally, he stumbled upon the solution. There Randy was, squatting in front of the campfire, a donut in one hand and a stick with something roasting over the fire in the other. When he stood up, he tripped… and an incredible combination was created.

          What was the marvelous mash-up? And what funny name did Randy come up with? Read this sweet story to find out… (150 words)

And for those who think ahead and aren't such pantsers like me, here is the photo for next week (10/14):

Males and Snails and Puppydog Tails

         Did you know dogs' nostrils are independent of each other? Like our eyes, a pooch's sniff-holes can move in different directions... which help make them incredible at tracking.

* The writer and the editor in you needs to--sometimes--be independent agents. There are times when you just need to write--dump everything you can onto the page, paying no attention to the inner critic within. At other times, you need to be a pure editor, and let the words you've fallen in love with fall into the "delete" file, without moaning (in a writer's voice) "But I worked so hard on that part."

       Did you know as they move along, snails leave behind a trail of mucus which lubricates and reduces the surface friction? This also allows the snail to move along upside down.

*  As writers, don't we leave behind a trail of discarded lines, pages that end up with huge Xs Sharpied across them? And the stuff I discard... well, mucus is a more complimentary than I would normally use.

           Did you know that most teen aged boys love to write? They bubble over when given the chance to engage in some creative writing. There is nothing they love better than digging open a vein and letting their feelings flow all over the page.

            Sometimes I even make myself laugh hysterically. And I laugh and I laugh and I laugh until only a shot from a tranquilizer gun will stop the hysteria.

            Okay, most of them, when listing things they want to do, put writing right under getting their teeth pulled... which is ironic, because sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get them to get something down on paper.

*  Today (or sometime when I wasn't watching) one of my male students really put some thought and effort into a memoir he's drafting. I conferred with him last week. He had a great story, but had glossed over (as well as left out) most of the details that would really make the story shine. I thought he was going to take the easy way out and say, "I'm finished," but today's conference was a pleasant surprise. The story unfolds with enough details and voice to carry it along. 

What connections have you made to other people or nature this week?