Monday, January 30, 2012

Boyd Lemon, Author



Welcome Boyd, to my blog! 
Boyd is the author of "Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages" and "Unexpected Love and Other Stories"....

Where are you from?
Ventura, California, USA, presently, but I was born and raised in the L.A. area, and I lived in Boston from 2007 to 2010 and in Paris for a year in 2010 and part of 2011.

When did you begin writing?
I wrote legal articles and a book as a lawyer, but I did not start writing non-legal prose until 2006 when I was 65 years old.  I started with short stories, then memoirs, and the next step will be a novel I plan on starting next year (2012).

Do you have a muse, catalyst or sidekick for writing?
The answer is yes, but I rely on several people.

Where is your favorite place to write?
I don’t really have a favorite place.  I like to vary the place—at my desk at home, in a one of several cafes, in my garden when weather permits, and on trains and airplanes.  One of the joys of writing is that you can do it anywhere, unlike say a tuba player or even a pianist.

When you are writing and deep into characters, do you become a hermit for days?
No, I rarely write more than three hours a day, with the exception that if I am revising or editing and am close to being finished, I plow ahead for longer periods.

You are an accomplished published Author.  What is your favorite genre to write?  
So far it is memoir, perhaps because I am egocentric enough to want to write about myself, but I hope it is because of the cathartic affect it has.  When I wrote my memoir about my journey to understand my role in the destruction of my three marriages, although the process was excruciating at times, in the end, it was supremely healing.

Who are your favorite authors? 
Marilyn Robinson, Joan Didion, Jody Picoult, John Irving.  The first three because they pour out their hearts and souls in their writing, and their writing is beautiful.  John Irving because, in my opinion, he is the greatest story teller alive today, and he writes well.

What do you like to do in addition to writing?
My other passion is travel, and I enjoy good food, wine and baseball.

What is your deepest, darkest secret?
They are all exposed in my current memoir, “Digging Deep.

What are you working on at the current moment?
Two books, “Eat, Walk, Write: An American Senior’s Year of Adventure in Paris and Tuscany,” and “Retirement: A 10 Step Program to the Best Time of Your Life.”  The first should be released by the end of 2011; the second is in final revisions and is two or three months behind the first.
  
What are you plans for the future in regards to writing?
Sometime next year (2012) I am going to start on my first novel.  I have an idea, and I am very excited about it.

Digging Deep

An Excerpt from Chapter Eighteen

***

I went to the closet and for the last time pulled down the large suitcase. Stephanie walked out of the room without looking at me or saying anything. I heard the kids laughing and shouting downstairs. Jennifer must have brought them back. I focused on packing. When I had packed everything I needed I closed the suitcase, picked it up and walked slowly down the stairs. I grabbed my briefcase from the kitchen floor and walked out to the garage. The kids were playing in the back yard. Stephanie didn’t come out. When I dropped the suitcase into the trunk of my car I had a sense I was doing something momentous that would change the rest of my life. I knew at a deep level I had finally made a decision that would improve— no, save—my life. It felt uplifting. The pressure cooker that had been my body all this time felt like it was expelling the steam.

As I drove down Manhattan Avenue, I passed Becker’s Bakery, where we always bought the kids’ birthday cakes. I turned up Manhattan Beach Boulevard past Highland Avenue, where we lived before we bought our first house, past the Safeway, where we had shopped for nine years. I turned left on Ardmore, by the walking path next to the abandoned railroad tracks. A dozen or so people were jogging down the path. My feelings turned to a mellow sadness. I wasn’t scared anymore. I left my car with the valet and checked into Barnaby’s.
***
Follow Boyd 


The Ravaged Villa

 by: Herman Melville (1819-1891)

IN shards the sylvan vases lie,
Their links of dance undone;
And brambles wither by the brim,
Choked Fountain of the Sun!
The spider in the laurel spins,
The weed exiles the flower,
And, flung to kiln, Apollo's bust
Makes lime for Mammon's tower.


Sunday, January 29, 2012

4 Inches Wide at the Knuckles...

The practice of determining horse height in 'hands' stems from the notion that the average man's hand is approximately 4 inches wide across the knuckles (one hand = 4 inches).  Horses are measured from the ground to the highest point on their shoulders; the 'withers'. Anything under 14.2 hands (hh) is considered a pony, and anything between 14.2 - 16.2 hands is a 'light' horse.  




The Apparition

by: Herman Melville

CONVULSIONS came; and, where the field
Long slept in pastoral green,
A goblin-mountain was upheaved
(Sure the scared sense was all deceived),
Marl-glen and slag-ravine.

The unreserve of Ill was there,
The clinkers in her last retreat;
But, ere the eye could take it in,
Or mind could comprehension win,
It sunk!--and at our feet.

So, then, Solidity's a crust--
The core of fire below;
All may go well for many a year,
But who can think without a fear
Of horrors that happen so?


Saturday, January 28, 2012

Poetry Contest Winner


'Choices' ....
Selected winning poem to be included in
'Moment in Time' 2012 Poetry Anthology
Produced by Barry Mowles, Ferndale,
Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales.

Anthology paperbacks will be available
for worldwide delivery; to be announced.
View the pdf version via the link below.



http://poetrybybarrymowles.wordpress.com/my-new-poetry-bookmoment-in-time-2012-coming-feb-2012-winning-poets-are/

http://www.poetrybybarrymowles.yolasite.com/ 


Hyracotherium

The oldest ancestor of the horse lived about 50 million years ago [personally, I do not believe the Earth is that old], and is alternately known as Eohippus (literally “dawn horse”) or Hyracotherium.  The first fossils of this creature – which had hoofed, padded toes and was approximately the size of a fox – were discovered by Richard Owen in 1841. Despite the vast differences in appearance between Hyracotherium and today’s horse, these pre-modern animals were herbivores and exhibited horse-like grooves on their molars.



Serendipity

Moby-Dick, Chapter 53

"If two strangers crossing the Pine Barrens in New York State, or the equally desolate Salisbury Plain in England; if casually encountering each other in such inhospitable wilds, these twain, for the life of them, cannot well avoid a mutual salutation; and stopping for a moment to interchange the news; and, perhaps, sitting down for a while and resting in concert: then, how much more natural that upon the illimitable Pine Barrens and Salisbury Plains of the sea, two whaling vessels descrying each other at the ends of the earth -- off lone Fanning's Island, or the far away King's Mills; how much more natural, I say, that under such circumstances these ships should not only interchange hails, but come into still closer, more friendly and sociable contact.... For not only would they meet with all the sympathies of sailors, but likewise with all the peculiar congenialities arising from a common pursuit and mutually shared privations and perils." 

Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, Chapter 53 



Friday, January 27, 2012

Truck-Horses

Among all the sights of the docks, the noble truck-horses are not the least striking to a stranger.  They are large and powerful brutes, with such sleek and glossy coats, that they look as if brushed and put on by a valet every morning.  They march with a slow and stately step, lifting their ponderous hoofs like royal Siam elephants.  Thou shalt not lay stripes upon these Roman citizens; for their docility is such, they are guided without rein or lash; they go or come, halt or march on, at a whisper.  So grave, dignified, gentlemanly, and courteous did these fine truck-horses look - so full of calm intelligence and sagacity, that often I endeavored to get into conversation with them, as they stood in contemplative attitudes while their loads were preparing.  But all I could get from them was the mere recognition of a friendly neigh; though I would stake much upon it that, could I have spoken in their language, I would have derived from them a good deal of valuable information touching the docks, where they passed the whole of their dignified lives.  

Herman Melville, Redburn. His First Voyage, 1849



Serendipity

Denise Lee Branco, Author

Denise Lee Branco is the founder of Strolling Hills Publishing and author of Horse at the Corner Post: Our Divine Journey, which won a silver medal in the 2011 Living Now Book Awards.

Branco's memberships include American Horse Publications, Women's Horse Industry Network and Northern California Publishers and Authors. She has been a featured guest on KAHI Corral - KAHI AM 950 Radio and Speaking of Horses TV, and her book recently received commendable reviews in Northwest Horse Source,Yankee Pedlar,Horses All, and Honest Horses magazines.

Where do you live?

Born and raised on a small cattle ranch, just outside city limits in the small (back then) town of Merced, California.  All kinds of animals made the ranch their home, too; from the typical horses, dogs, and cats to rabbits, chickens, and even a duck who used to waddle behind my bicycle, until he figured out he could take a shortcut on the circular gravel driveway to get ahead of me.  It was wholesome country living at its best in my Portuguese-American family, where most extended family members lived only an hour away.  I feel very blessed to have that type of upbringing.

Tell me about your writing and your book release....

I released my first book, Horse at the Corner Post: Our Divine Journey, in October 2010.  Although writing always seemed the best way for me to express my feelings, my career hadn't taken me down a professional writing path until that time.  In doing research for the book, my parents found stories I had written as a kid about ranch life stored away in boxes that were signed by, "Denise Branco, Author".  I guess it was fate after all. 

Where do you like to write?

On the couch, sitting right between my two cats.  Seeing them content, lounging alongside me, puts me at ease to let the writing flow. 

Do you write everyday?

Sadly, no.  I still have a regular job and most of my extra time this past year has been spent promoting Horse at the Corner Post.  However, I am making an effort in the new year to write every couple of days or so, even if it's just a few sentences.    

How do you maintain ideas and thoughts? 

I'm pretty much old school...still handwrite all my thoughts and ideas on note paper.
  
What/who is your niche market?

Animal lovers, but horse lovers the most...ages 6 to 96.  I've been incredibly fortunate to receive beautiful feedback from all ages, sharing how my story has touched their heart.  That is what I live for. 

Do you have a favorite author?

Now that I've met so many fellow authors, I couldn't choose a favorite even if I tried.  I love them all.  We support each other and want the best for one another.  That is such a beautiful thing.

What are your writing goals for future endeavors?

I have several ideas for the books I'll write next, but it's the order of them, that's the challenge.  I like writing when it flows, but in the end, I feel I need to let the path unfold before me.  I need to see what direction this book goes, and that will decide which book will be next.  I'm just one of those that believes things happen when they are meant to happen. 

Do you have suggestions for newbie writers?

Join writers organizations and do your homework.  What I mean by that is learn as much about your craft and the industry as you can.  Learn from those who you aspire to be.  But most of all, believe in yourself.  We only have one life to live.  So, go for it!  Write that book now, instead of never and looking back at the end of your life wishing you had.     

Excerpt from Horse at the Corner Post, page 5:  
"It was a year packed with events celebrating the United States of America's Bicentennial.  Freedom '76 slogans briskly swept through America while red, white, and blue trios sparkled across the land.  Old Glory elegantly waved with each subtle breeze.     
American pride--we all had it.  I was a youth and had convinced myself that my collection of commemorative coins and two-dollar bills would, one day, be worth millions.  Instead, I learned that the most valuable things in life have nothing to do with money."    

Follow Denise




Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Serendipity

Embers

A single
light
kept in flight,
soaring
to Orion,
separating darkness,
enveloping
the abyss

A spark
ignited,
kept alive
by
wind from
heaven’s gate,
two souls
united,
colliding

A rhythm
of tears,
casting molds
from two
spheres,
a mastery
of things
that
can't be 

An ember
remains,
it
glows from
refrains,
a memory
never
forgotten

@gmcknight '12


Serendipity

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Naïve Heart

Crystal clear
eyes wide shut
a heart misplaced
in dense forest resides

Lost and afraid
uncertainties billowing
thickets shrouding
stuck and nonplussed

Snares embrace
soft and blue
release 
a naïve heart

Deliver me now
drag me out
from the dense façade
shallow and dreamy

Dying each day
a thousand times
a heart misplaced
in dense forest resides

@gmcknight'12


Saturday, January 14, 2012

Whispers in the Wind


The whispers in the wind
The stories that it tells
How I slowly grinned
While on the memories the mind dwells
While the waters flow away
From this side of the shore
When the leaf blows away
To the mountains of yore

A twig of memory breaks
And carried like the western salsify
And like the breezy life in its mid-day
Somewhere it just wants to lie

A whisper in your mind
Is all that remains of me
So many war bells rang and died
A hero that it could never be

© 2011 K. Bhagawati, Guwahati, Performance Poet

L Douglas St Ours, Poet





Where are you from?
Baltimore, Maryland...

A fabulous poet, what spark's your poetry?
First any subject and second every reader.

Tell me about any published works...
My publishing is miniscule. A couple of obscure literary journals. I haven't made the effort to publish, avoiding the middle man between me and the reader.

Where do you like to write?
On paper...ha ha. Anywhere there is a table, chair and sufficient light.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night with a poem?
Not entire poems but some very good lines and if I'm lucky memorable stanzas.

How do you maintain thoughts and ideas?
Always keep pen and paper ready everywhere. The easiest thing to forget is an inspiration.

Do you have a favorite poet? 
Anne Sexton, Robert Frost, John Lennon, Charles Bukowski; I recognize my own feelings in their poetry.

Who are you currently reading?
Currently reading no book but always The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Do you have any suggestions for novice poets?
Yes. Don't dwell on writing the poem, rather focus on telling a story; always simpler.

In your opinion, what defines good poetry?
Fearlessness, authenticity, irony and discovering beauty in expressing the right words...oh and self deprecating humor.








Million Mile Sky

From under the trees 
of the shady east
I'm heading for
the truer west
still I'm waiting
at a crossing
so
on the road
and
off the tracks
as an engine
pulling freight
splits the scene
each car
a passing blur
like frames
on an
unspooling film
reminding me
I got to get
to where
a thousand
yard train
is just a
two inch line across
a hundred mile desert
under a million mile sky.

by L DOUGLAS ST OURS
May 2010

More interviews of famous people http://www.gmcknight.com/blog.html




Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Elementals

Locusts question my approach while
Hylas sings in etiquette splendor;
wishes live here, finding wings

Light weaves a thread of surrender while
sundust skips down the frond;
dreams live here, sketching time

Emotions run cool along the phloem while
immortal freedoms become amorous;
nubile maidens live here, keeping secrets

Desire pirouettes on the branch while
cadences envelope the canopy;
elementals live here, whispering life

© Gina McKnight 2011


Kaustav Bhagawati



From Guwahati, India, Kaustav is a progressive student at Priyadarshini College of Engineering, an entrant in the 2011 Marwar Cup Creative Writing Contest, a founding member of exotikindia.com....

You are from India. Where in India? What is your cityscape like?

Most of your friends probably haven’t even heard about Assam and I bet my Bs on that. It is in the northeastern part of India. As for the Cityscape you would find just green patches on Google Earth. My city is Guwahati. Surrounded by hills and rivers. And there is Google. And ‘Bs’ means B(uck)s.
What is your profession? 

The only thing unprofessional about me is my profession as I don’t have one. I have to attend classes for my living. They say one day I will change the world. Till then I have to maintain my disguise. Education is barbaric. Such a primitive tradition should be shaken off the modern world.
What is your definition of the perfect profession?

Maybe the perfect profession would be in being a thief in the third world. He would have access to a stupefying amount of black money. And I think feel Zuckerberg too is quite comfortably ensconced in his seat.

Tell me something about yourself...
I am single. Period. And of course I like doing things. And that could mean anything doable on the couch. And believe me a lot can happen at the couch. And when you are just beginning to think that I am just a bit kiddish, let me tell you I could strain your grey cells and put them in distress. 
You entered the 2011 Marwar Cup Creative Writing Contest. What was your entry about?   What would you change?

I enjoyed the contest till the results were out because then I felt like stalking and harassing the judges forever. I have managed to do so with just one of them. My story was sort of a murder plot in 300 words and the only one of its type. But the judges were busy being sentimental nincompoops wiping their eyes after some boring story which did not even have sex.

What is your life's ambition?

Oh please I am going to give it a pass.
Where do you see yourself in ten years? twenty years?

Perchance I will still be almost finishing this interview. And the rest is full of gore and would demand censorship. 


If you could change the world, what would you change and how would you change it?

Do you want me to brag and put you off to sleep? Everybody can change the world. But how many actually care to even talk about it when not on the dinner table or at a party. And I don’t think that my telling you that the world is the way it is destined to be , is going to be of any help.

What is your view of world politics? 

Politics is the best part about humans. It is inherent to our existence and till the time there would another living being, human or otherwise, politics will exist.
Ask yourself a question...

Why is Gina so much in love with horses? Maybe she is a horsemaid ala Mermaid. 
If you could travel to anywhere on the planet, where would you like to travel? Why..

I would like to go to the Easter Island and smoke a pipe there.



Somewhere Behind Your Eyes

There is something hidden somewhere
A lonely isle of paradise
With a touch of mischief there
Somewhere behind your eyes

A veil of mist in your teary lair
An innocence that surprise
Like a newborn lass bathing bare
Somewhere behind your eyes

A blink of your eye a dreamy soul
It strikes like a sharp arrow
When your eyes smiled and looked away
So needless was tomorrow

The sailor was drunk
And the ship lost its way
The leaves of the shy flower had shrunk
The way your eyes smiled today

Ye of unkempt faith do not tread there
Betwixt the songs the nightingale cries
The road to heaven is somewhere here
Somewhere behind your eyes.


© 2011 K. Bhagawati, Guwahati, Performance Poet

Follow Kaustav....

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