Category Archives: Writing

Once

When we met, our connection was immediate, unmistakable.

Everyone around us noticed, too. The music of our hearts played

for each other, and for all to hear. We found in each other,

a part of ourselves that we had been searching for. Learning

each other was discovering ourselves. We seemed to already know

what we would find before it happened. But forever was not

to be for us. And, somehow, we knew it.

Sometimes, love is better that way. A bright flame for a time,

then, like embers, glowing forever in the memories and hearts

of those it touched, and leaving two people changed for the better.

She will remember me. I know this just as I know the reverse.

Ours is not a fairy tale ending. It’s much more real.

My guess is that you know this love, too.

Two people, a chance meeting, and a lifetime of memories.

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The Lover/ The Fighter

To be a lover; a gentleman
Like one in a Fitzgerald tragedy
Chasing amor ideal
Striving to master his domestic domain
To live the good life; to eat, drink, and be merry
Three piece suits and a classical music score
Filling his mind with the best of literature

To be a fighter; an adventurer
Like one in a Hemingway tale
Drunk on spirits and constant action
No time to waste sitting, thinking
Searching for the next grand chapter to his story
To dare, and attempt the daring
To feel the rush of adrenaline once more

Two masculine polarities, each with its own merits
With qualities worth aspiring to
But somewhere in the middle, I believe
Is where life’s magic lies

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Artwork by my friend, Tosha Michelle, and used by permisson.

The Gentleman Blogger

Thanks to my friend, Tosha, for sharing about my blog and one of my poems.

Tosha Michelle's avatarEverything I Never Told You

Shameless plugs Wednesdays. It is now a thing. I’d like to introduce you to my friend Niles. Niles is not officer, but he is a gentleman. Suddenly, it’s lame sentences Wednesdays.

But I digress. Niles is like a brother to me. I’ve known him for years. He’s a lovely human being and a wonderful writer. I know he would be honored, if you would drop by his blog and check out his work. I’ve provided a link below.

Thanks,

Tosha

Autobiography – http://wp.me/p1E0N3-e3

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20 Random Questions With Author, Raelee May Carpenter

My friend and La Literati cohost, Tosha, has posted interviews with guests we have had on our podcast to her blog. You can find her blog here. It seemed like fun, so I invited our recent guest, the writer Raelee May Carpenter, to answer 20 random questions from me. I hope you enjoy reading, and check out Raelee’s books if you haven’t already.

 

1. What three items do you always have with you?

A pencil or pen with sticky notes. My iPod. And lip balm, because I am an addict.

2. If you were going to write an article about yourself, what would the headline be?

“Grace In the Gutter”

3. If you were a drink, what would you be? Why?

Irish Breakfast Tea, bold yet surprisingly comforting. But with fresh cream and local honey, because I ain’t low cal.

4. What childhood fear do you still have as an adult?

Spiders. Seriously. Not even Charlotte could save me from that.

5. If you could choose just one thing to change about the world, what would it be?

Everyone would quit devaluing people based on stupid things like poverty, lack of education, nationality, developmental disabilities, etc. It would solve so many other problems if we truly believed all were created equal.

6. What’s your favorite poem?

It’s a hard choice, but “The Death of the Hired Man” by Robert Frost immediately comes to mind. It’s such a good picture of grace, and I love the line, “Home is where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

So either that or Psalm 46. It’s so descriptive and inspiring, my favorite Psalm, definitely. It got under my skin in a big way when a certain politician misquoted it in a huge televised speech a while back. I’m still trying to let that go. If I’m ever famous enough to meet said politician, I’ll probably make a little mural of my favorite Psalm—with the right words, frame it, and present it to him as a gift.

7. Does darkness soothe you or frighten you?

It depends. I love sunshine during the day, but when I’m trying to sleep, I need dark. What I don’t like is gray, like the sky can’t make up its mind. That’s just frustrating.

8. If you ruled your own country, who would you get to write your national anthem?

Adam Levine, because if my country’s gonna have an anthem, I want it to be a Hit. Mad royalties and all that.
Seriously, though, am I allowed to go back in time? I’d really want Fanny Crosby to write it. She was awesome. “Blessed Assurance” is my anthem. If I have to pick someone who’s alive today, I don’t know…maybe Stevie Wonder?

9. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would play you? What would the title be?

Geez, I don’t know. I love Taraji Henson, but I’m so pathetically white. How’s Keira Knightley’s American accent? Maybe Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, or Ellie Kemper, who plays Kimmy Schmidt. Haha, how’s that for variety?
The title would be “ImPossible.”

10. Clowns- creepy or cool?

Creepy. So, so creepy. I think It ruined clowns for my entire generation. Thank you, Stephen King.

11. If you made a documentary, what would it be about?

Modern Day Abolition work

12. What’s your favorite song?

Today, I’ll say Britt Nicole’s “Still That Girl,” because hazel eyes notwithstanding, I am that girl.

13. Your favorite country to visit?

Hard choice. I have a list of places that I haven’t been yet, but Ireland is a wonderful place that I have been, and I’d like to go back someday. There are still a lot of places here in the US that I want to see or go back to.

14. Does pressure motivate you?

I have ADHD, so I have this constant drive in my brain and my limbs that makes it hard for me to relax. I tend to get a lot done on my normal setting, and added pressure is more of a distraction than anything else.

15. Does love dry up your creative juices, or make them flow faster?

Faster. Definitely.

16. Do you hear voices?

I can hear my character’s voices. That’s why I’m so good at writing dialogue. So good, in fact, I can make you hear them, too. 

17. Are you the paranoid type or calm, cool, and collected?

I’m not paranoid, but I do have ADHD, so I don’t think anyone would describe me as “calm.” Haha.

18. Narnia or Middle Earth?

Oh, I don’t know. Narnia is the fantasy of my childhood, but Middle Earth has so much adventure! I’d also really, really love to have a TARDIS. So many ‘verses, so little time!

Unless you do have a TARDIS… 😉

19. Are you more like fire or earth?

Fire. Yeah. LOL

20. What makes you, you?

Oh, I think you’d have to ask God that. I am His, as He made me, and I’m still trying to figure it all out.

Raelee May Carpenter is the author of “The Lincoln High Project”, “Kings & Shepherds”, and the upcoming novel, “Liberation Song”. You can find information on her and her books at raeleemaycarpenter.com

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Autobiography

I am deep but simple

I am a loner and a people-lover

Though some ask for my perspective

I’ll never claim to be a sage

I wear my guarded heart on my sleeve

I am a free spirit in a cage

I seek wisdom and knowledge

I value creativity and individuality

I am a romantic and a thinker

I am self-conscious but proud

I crave deep conversation- real connection

And feel most at home in nature

I see beauty wherever I look

Music transports me

My nose is often in a book

My family and friends keep me sane

To love and be loved makes me feel alive

This is me- my autobiography

I wonder, who do you see?

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World Wide Web

This post is inspired by two friends who shared their experiences of finding and learning their way around the Internet. My introduction to the Internet was 1997, while I was a college undergraduate. My family already had computers with word processing and games. So I was already comfortable with computers.

Do you remember the Encarta encyclopedia? I remember getting lost for hours reading about all kinds of topics on the Encarta cds. For me, the internet was like one big cd-rom with all of that information on it. This is one of the things that is so great about the Internet. I am a curious person, so the ability to read about and research any topic I want is wonderful. Also, by the time I was in college I had friends who were living and/or studying all across the country. Getting my first email address enabled me to stay in more frequent touch with friends and family members who lived in all these different places. To this day, along with standard mail, email is my preferred method of keeping in touch with family and friends I don’t see often.

In my experience, people can be skeptical about referring to those you know online as friends. The idea is that you can’t really know someone unless you have met them physically. I disagree, and point to the old practice of pen pals as evidence to the contrary. But I digress…

After email, the next significant way to connect with people is the groups and web forums that sprung up. If it’s a hobby, there is a group about it somewhere on the Internet. I have been a member of a few. And some people I have met from these groups, forums, and social networks have become close friends. One such friend is Tosha. I happened on her page on Myspace and could tell we had a lot in common. Roughly nine years have passed since then, and she is now one of my dearest friends. We talk often since we recently started a podcast called La Literati. She is a fellow bookworm, writer, and introvert; the wise sister I never had. Her quick wit and generous heart are among the many qualities I love about her. We are alike in too many ways to relate here, but different enough to keep each other on our toes. I look forward to our friendship and La Literati partnership for a long time to come.

Then there is my friend, Anna. I met her through a writer and mutual friend, also from Myspace. As an aside, it’s strange talking about Myspace so much because I haven’t even logged in for years. My page is probably gone by now. But back to Anna. She was much younger than I. But she experienced so many hardships during her life. Despite these hardships, over the four years I knew her she filled me and everyone who knew her with love, joy, and the fruits of her creativity. Her poems and stories made you laugh, cry, and feel proud to call her friend. Anna is no longer with us. But I am thankful that the internet allowed us to connect for the time that it did.

Truth is, I could have talked about so many more people in this post. We hear about the dark, dangerous potential on the news often. But it is also able to enrich our lives in wonderful ways. I am thankful for all of the friends I have met because of the World Wide Web.

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La Literati

A while ago, my dear friend Tosha asked me if I might want to host a podcast with her about books and writing. She and I are always reading, writing, and talking about those subjects. One of the things I miss most about not working in a bookstore is the chance to talk about books and writing with lots of different people. And Tosha and I both know lots of cool creative types. Tosha wrote about it here, and I reblogged it. But I thought this was a good time for a reminder. 🙂

A part of me was scared of the idea, though. Being an introvert, I am much more comfortable sitting back and listening while letting others do all the talking. But, truth be told, I couldn’t turn down the chance to team up with my friend and do this. We consider this our way of helping the writers, bloggers, and publishers we know get more attention. We had our first show last night with best-selling author Mara Purl as our first guest. And it was so much fun. I look forward to many interesting conversations in the future. We hope you will join us! Below are links to our page on Blog Talk Radio, where you will be able to listen to any of our shows, and our Facebook page. We would love for you to take a look as you have the chance.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laliteraticarpelibrum

https://www.facebook.com/carpelibrumblogtalkradio

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Five Favorite Words

Some time ago I was tagged in a note on Facebook where everyone was supposed to share five of their favorite words. I was thinking yesterday about that note and how much I love words. I thought it would be a fun thing to find out other people’s favorite words. Here are five that came to my mind:

Genuflect- To be servilely obedient or respectful.

Corollary- Something that naturally follows or results from another thing.

Verisimilitude- The quality of seeming real.

Limerick- A popular form of short, humorous verse, often nonsensical and frequently ribald.

Doppelganger- Someone who looks like someone else.

What about you? I’d love to hear some of your favorite words. (All definitions above came from the Merriam-Webster dictionary).

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Attention all Writers and Bibliophiles

Tosha Michelle's avatarEverything I Never Told You

Uh huh, yes, I’m talking to you, OK, well, not talking, but,you know.what I mean.  In addition to Chit Chat Chicks Live which if you haven’t checked out, you really should. (we bring you laughter, snark and some pretty amazing guests)…I’ve started a new podcast with my dear friend James Dennard   If you enjoy books, are handy with a pen and paper, then La Literati might be the show for you. This is our way of giving back to all our writers friends, who’s words inspire and transform us. Folks like you.  We’d appreciate it, if you would like our Facebook page. We’re so needy! We’re booking poets and authors now. Feel free, to get in touch. Please, see, links after description and a little info on James and myself.

Show Description

La Literati is a monthly show about poetry, books and the authors who inspire. We strive…

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Under the Radar

“He kind of flies under the radar”.

This phrase, and words with similar meaning, have been used to describe me many times. Sometimes the speaker is talking to me; sometimes it’s a conversation when I am not present. When I hear someone say this of me, I smile.

I smile because those who “fly under the radar” can plan and work without attention; without people trying to get a sneak peek or influence their creative process or result. Then they emerge when the work of creation is done and shake things up. Those who need to be the center of attention can have their spotlight. I’ll let people notice me on my own terms.

Yeah, that’s my style.