i can hardly hear myself but when i struggle to listen...things such as this echo in my mind....

a few more pages of Bradbury this day......

and these rapid thoughts escape my mind...

another degree..accumulated for free at the place where books are shelved.....

they can all keep their titles along with their wages and i'll keep my pretend teacher pay...

because my freedom is not for sale.....

for now...on this day.....at this moment ...revealing how i feel....

tomorrow will change the thoughts of this day....but the words are forever and devour our fleeting flesh....

a vital post...

i am still alive...
although breathing seems to have become a voluntary effort on my part...
working as a teacher until February 5...perhaps on the 6th i shall retort with a witty manifestation of the time i've spent doing such..
until then...
cheers!

a work in progress...another alana book

the roughest of drafts..
from the tips of my fingers and silent words produced by my tongue...I give you this preview of book 2.....before it's begun....

my body is bruised and broken, i cannot see all who surround me.  the trees and land shout an incendiary plea.  the wizard's hat casts a shadow upon me and he pours a draught passed my silenced lips and i feel it burn and a horrid taste is upon my tongue, as if ash and vile death flow as a river and my mouth the lake it empties into. with my last effort as a living being, i swallow and my pain subsides as i drift into a former dream. 

 

 

have you read: Alana of the East and the Shadow Beast?

Get your copy of Alana of the East and the Shadow Beast here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=alana%20of%20the%20east%20and%20the%20shadow%20beast&sprefix=alana+of+the+%2Caps%2C245&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aalana%20of%20the%20east%20and%20the%20shadow%20beast

proof of infinite wisdom!

i couldn't agree more!

'when you are done cleaning up the mess on the floor...come find me' says Bradbury

and there with his wisdom...or skeleton...because by god he has one...he states this!

(narrator)- Everyone in the world needs two, three jobs, I said, without hesitation.  One job isn't enough, just as one life isn't enough.  I want to have a dozen of both. 

(Elmo Crumley)- Bull's-eye.  Doctors should dig ditches .  Ditchdiggers ought to run kindergartens one day a week.  Philosophers should wash dishes in a greasy spoon two nights out of ten.  Mathematicians should blow whistles at high school gyms.  Poets should drive trucks for a change of menu and police detectives-  (R.Bradbury Death is...67)

 

 

 

i bet Michelangelo ate chicken skin.....the artist not the ninja turtle!

skin and bones

 

during dinner the other night, i baked a whole chicken...i know exemplary for a mid-week night meal but i had the time.  one of the neighborhood kids was playing with my girls when i called them in to eat dinner.

My kids told me the girl was going to wait outside for them to eat then come back to play.  so being me of course i asked the child if she wanted to have some dinner with us......protocol is usually to tell the child to go home and ask their parents first, but i know for a fact this particular kid eats very late at night and she's not sought after much by her parents....so with my take on their family dynamic i didn't have a problem feeding her and the parents finding out until later.....

but me feeding the wandering children in my neighborhood is not what i'm blogging about here is the issue....

the 6 year old girl said what she had heard from another child while eating....and by the way this kid was starving....but we'll leave it at they eat later in the evening so maybe that was why....

she mentioned another kid's name in the neighborhood and then told us that if the mom eats chicken skin, she'll get fat....

awesome......really.........so my mind exploded......and i had managed to talk with my 10 year old after and my 4 year old didn't seem to be concerned..at all i still have to bring it up to my six year old....

i picture those kids....the ones with the mom 'who will get fat if she eats chicken skin' imagining their mother placing a piece of chicken skin in her mouth...just one piece and instantly turning fat.......who really knows how kids think...but this may be spot on.....

the woman in question is and has always been very petite...but now she is on some high strung exercise regiment......and chicken skin will make her fat apparently......

dear god is this what people are still teaching their kids.........how about moderation.....

eat in moderation...exercise in moderation.....

i won't even mention the other neighbor who gained weight to have stomach surgery or whatever she did to drop pounds...

i don't know if any of this is making much sense.....but if you or anyone you know get in your car to go work out, instead of walking a bit more or being more mindful of what you put into your mouth....well...maybe i'm talking to you or rather about you.......

Think about what you are teaching your daughters about how they interpret their body and appetite....

my husband got the best of the chicken skin, because i do peel it off for the little ones, because

'eeeeewwww, what's that' (salt, pepper and parsley flakes)..my ten year old tried a piece of his and yummo.....i settled for some on the leg.....i usually get the leg now a days....but that's how it goes with 5 of us and 4 of us being picky eaters...

so that sums up the chicken skin story........maybe i'll go have a snack...or take a walk...but i most certainly will not be putting on some weird socks and chiseling myself into Adonis......good luck with that...and by the way you have a lot of fat in your brain....i'm guessing since it's not filled with intelligence! 

mother theresa.....

She makes the sign of the cross as we pass the church.......

and i notice because i am crammed against her in the back seat.....i offer this exclamation aloud....JESUS CHRIST!

when will it end her devout impostor act....

her crimes are seen by her nonexistent god...

her everyday lies regarding her son....her son...my god the epitome of blasphemy itself and she shelters it......

her teeth have long betrayed her and the rot begs for recognition...saying this....lies come from the mouth and the soul is a fiery hell....

i find doubt to be a much surer fit than belief.....she believes in whatever is convenient at the very moment she needs it....she is a fraud

and she knows i know and she holds me in contempt...only her bond is weak and i cannot be restrained...

when the monster she praises devours her.....the plague and suffering wrought on me will be lifted.....

'with bruise marks and dents in the linoleum'

'with bruise marks and dents in the linoleum'

my last hour of freedom is upon me and an explosion of thought is bursting to come alive....

a desire for life as if death itself is approaching...

homemade goods and the good of being home...

chocolate chip cookies are heating while my mind spins.....into other worlds and revelations......

the fastest journey to outer space...because when the school bell rings I must be present.....

I have peddled my wares....like the wise business woman I have become.....secured a teaching job for another day in this week of bliss and will stand on the pavement with treats I have prepared from scratch......the dream life.....or so others will perceive from the gesture.....

when an author gives life to inanimate objects......my life it must be so much more than that...or can I only hope.....he describes the floor as suffering a bruise given by the large woman who sat continuously in a chair......amazing...and nothing short of genius.....as if words are the very gift of life.....reading must become an involuntary act... which is a necessity.......or death will visit you ......and as you lay lifeless on the bruised floor you become nothing....

an aroma now fills the air.....the warmth of the oven....the bruised floor and no one.....no one at all that can compare to the words that surround the day.....

*read Ray Bradbury's Death is a Lonely Business it will surely bring you back to life!

writing is a lonely business

writing is a lonely business

 

 

the hum of the power washer three houses away is my only companion today.....

the dog asleep....unstirred by the sound..

as i sit here and peddle my wares online to strangers.....i am lonely....and unplagued by thought....

so much that the emptiness is sickening....

the blank page awaits...but i have naught to offer..

unless of course Mr. Riordan seeks me to claim the life of one of his characters....i would accept...

muse.....under M in the yellow pages.....if not there.....then where....

how can i feel again...

bitter tasting hand without a pen....

empty and resound the loneliness surrounds.....

but wait the Archaeopteryx sleeps on a cot upstairs and now she has someone who seeks her.....

Ray Bradbury....the only one who seems to care at this moment if i am whole or break into pieces.....each word on the page....guidance....a cure for this day...

Battle of the Books: Ray Bradbury's Death is a Lonely Business vs. J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy

Battle of the Books

If Rowling's, The Causal Vacancy and Bradbury's, Death is a Lonely Business had been jostled about on library cart, resulting in a literary dispute for comfort and some sort of battle ensued as to which book would claim victory and toss the other from the cart causing the defeated to fall under the forgotten shelves, and lie in some crevice in the corner of the vast library, choking to death on the dust and loneliness, because books are as viable as humans, for if they do not engage in touch and admiration, death is the result, I claim that the book that would make the voyage from cart back to its cataloged home would be Bradbury's.  Let me explain.  Perhaps I did not give Rowling's book the attention it deserves, but knowing there wasn't a connection between myself and the words on the page, I abandoned it almost immediately.  It was around page 12 that I no longer cared for it, and not because it lacked magic, but because it lacked literary magic, if you will, so I casually tossed it aside, and picked up Bradbury's book, which I cannot seem to put down, only to write this, for I am so very much inspired as a writer as well as a reader with the text.  Ten pages in and I am planning a funeral for The Vacancy,  I can literally assure you that the vacancy Rowling's book left on my desk has been filled.  How dare I bash her literary genius, for I only have one title, and self-published at that, under my belt to date.  I just feel compelled by such things as this and Bradbury has defeated Rowling in this battle. 

here is an answer i am providing for the woman who asked....what am i going to do today?! this is just one thing....blog about you!

I am ranting about the injustice I am constantly being served as a result of ignorance and uneducated mindfulness that is wrought on me more than the rare occasion calls for...

you see, you the mare has bred the disease into this world...and I have been plagued by its effects for nearly a decade perhaps more.....

how can it be in the year that is upon us that a creature that walks the earth with a vagina stands to oppress women in the manner you do with such ease....

I still maintain the hope, the absolute miracle, that if you shall pass into nothingness and nothing but the smallest of plaques nestled in a bed of dirt proves you existed lies before me, the heir to your castle of knick knacks will be freed from your wickedness...

hollywoodland...superman.....and ben affleck.......

I haven't been writing....


I've been reading....








is this news blog worthy....perhaps......




but I do recall seeing Ben Affleck being Superman...or just the man that played Superman....is that the same thing.....perhaps not....oh but he wore the cape and tights.....

because it is a wednesday i suppose......

what is it that calls on me to describe the nothingness that surrounds us all...

a sea of colors.....noises great and small....

i am but a scavenger in the land...

feasting on carcass and cleaning the floors...

spent a few minutes reflecting on this morning's commute....

The road less travelled....

make it your home....

stay its course, unless you have a desire to roam....

others flood the view

and obscure the point...

alone would you travel...perhaps...

unless you find others you want to accompany you

but the strangers and drones leave them behind

steer a better course one they are incapable of finding...

for this is your home....

the keeper of your heart....

and your mind...but that too, may wander...

freedom is not bound...carve a new road

in some forsaken ground.....and leave its natural beauty...let death take the others away...

and gift to you this day...

because i have not blogged in forever...the old it's in the mail!!!!!

It is rather unfortunate that we are at the mercy of the U.S.P.S when it comes to items arriving in a timely fashion.  There is not a reasonable excuse for the lengthy delay and the tracking information seems to have been halted.  My business has suffered over the years due to delays and errors made by the U.S.P.S.  It can be infuriating at times.  I'm not sure how we can complain about this kind of service and get results, it lacks fairness and the rates seem to be increasing on a daily basis. 

I cannot even begin to fathom how your package will arrive to you, in fact I almost expect it to show up at my office at this point.

I am sending you a replacement book, I have one on hand, it is also brand new and will be shipped priority mail, we can only hope it is treated as such.

Please let your eleven year old know that I am truly sorry for the wait, as I have an avid reader here as well, who just turned ten.

Thank You again for shopping with us, your book will be shipped today and should arrive in 3-5 business days.

Carol @abctoys&collectibles


the above was the reply to the customer....i'll let you all know this is one of the reasons I am getting out of the ebay business!
poor kid waiting for his book...
waiting really does suck....yes i'm a true blood fan!

happy mother's day ...written by my 9 year old!

Sometimes you need to take the day off..

You yell and you scream so you start to cough

Your voice is Assertive but never soft

You sometimes get mad

Never cry when you're sad

But cheer up, it's your day

So drop those dishes, you can play



Dad laughs when you fart

But he still loves you with his heart



You're writing a book

In your little nook

You wish you had octopus arms, so never mind a hand and a hook

You're a wonderful cook

So here's to thank you

For picking up dog poo



Happy Mothers Day!

best intro yet of a query written by me

Last year George R.R. Martin's The Ice Dragon motivated me to try my hand in the fantasy genre.  I worked through start to finish, forty some odd typed pages of text.  It was a complete story and my first, aside from the countless, ever so clever, children's books and or ideas that have passed through my head.  I submitted the story in the usual way, but with a hint of similarity to the owl post that plagued Vernon Dursley.  When I received a handful of replies from the near three dozen queries, "So it goes", I did not despair, but delighted.  I know the routine and some of the feedback; well actually all of it was well received.  Then I read Tolkien, and for the past eight months or longer, I have been rewriting that story, to improve it, and I am completely delving into my fantasy world and ideas.  So as for queries I have made only a handful this time around, and the story is not finished, but most certainly will be when I conclude it.  Of course I would love for my story to be welcomed into the published world, but that is only up to me if I self publish, which I have looked into as well.  So I happened across your name and your agency, and found a similarity, you see the story is intended for a middle grade and or perhaps young adult audience.  With all of that said, I will now tell you about the story itself.

dear god it is now coming out of both ends......have a look!

i quit my job today

perhaps tomorrow i shall beg a reprieve

it matters not

for my employer is me

mind vomit.....i swear if not for my children i would be buried in an unmarked grave....so here's what i just came up with:

if the day was truly warm

i would be beyond my door

from bees that swarm and other evils
i would not hide

but the sun, she lies

so we sit indoors
or rather we die

a fairer place

i weep at what i see, words and feelings conveyed so easily

i have neither tongue nor hands to tend such things

a cruelness has evolved into what life need not  be

am i alone in my longing for a fairer place to see

consciousness is all the hope remaining, can that be enough to save me

query letter....for writers mostly and publishers with any humor left in them!

To whom it may concern,

I do hope you are not in a foul mood this day.  Your guidelines only allow me this one query, and I must impress, or not, how will I tell you of my story indeed, so you will want to read on?  I have no idea, but what I do know is I am determined and going to write, so very much, that once I’ve mailed this formal representation of myself, which can never do me enough justice, I will be on my way to finishing the story in question.  Imagine Bilbo Baggins as a female child, oh my, are you so very horrified?  Yes a female child in a fantasy role as a leader, sure it’s been done before, but not by me.  Long ago Tatterhood saved the day, and I’m quite sure all of our novels cannot be best sellers, but there is a huge dose of humanity in my story, like other successes, are you willing to seek it?  Anyways, by the time I receive a reply from you, six months, is that still the estimated length of time to reply, I will have my story finished.  It will be approximately 120 typed pages, intended for a middle-grade audience, or younger, if the reader is as impressive as any of my own readers at home.  You may be laughing or offended at this point, but you must admit I have huge dragon balls for a female author, one who is not even published yet and pushing a fantasy story with a leading lady.  I only mention the dragon balls, because there are dragons in the story too.  So far we have a girl who is a queen, dragons, did I mention the evil that is pursuing her?  Well my page is almost up, and I didn’t even say self publish yet, but let me assure you if the first printing press was not invented my hand would be cramped from producing copies of said story. 

Sincerely,

C.C. Lewia

A.K.A. just another author who may never find a place on a shelf (and with all the tripe that sits there, I cannot imagine why!)

 

pieces of paper found...circa i don't know 20 years ago maybe