New Literary Contest on "Don't Talk to Me About Love" Literary Site for Writers & Poets. Deadline 1/14/2016

Writer's please note "Don't Talk to Me About Love", an online literary site's debut contest, offering $1,000.00 each in fiction, non-fiction and poetry for pieces about love. (Note that the contest deadline is Valentines day — just over a month away!).
 
Subscription to the website is free.You can also like them on Facebook or tweet about them. You can contact one of the editors, Sam Hiyate, at:
sam@donttalktomeaboutlove.com

http://www.donttalktomeaboutlove.com

 

Staci Lynn Bell speaks on Wolves and Writing

Staci Lynn Bell and her dog, Echo

Staci Lynn Bell is a new member of NCWN West. She lives in Clay County, NC with her two beloved dogs. Her poems have been published online in Wild Goose Poetry Review.

Recently Staci submitted a poem and a short fiction piece to an anthology, WOLF WARRIORS II, The National WolfWatcher Coalition.  Both the poem and prose piece fit perfectly and both were accepted. All proceeds from this book go to the charity, the WolfWatcher Coalition, and used to protect wolves.  

         

We decided to ask Staci some questions about her enthusiasm for wolves and how those of us who care about the work being done to keep wolves from becoming extinct can purchase the book.

Thank you, Staci for taking time to answer our questions.

GCB: When did your attachment to wolves begin?

SLB: Well, wolves and dogs were interchangeable to me as a child, so the attachment has always been inside of me. The original reason I have favored the German Shepherd Dog is due to their close resemblance to wolves.

GCB: You have a deep empathy for dogs and wolves. You feel what they seem to feel. Have you studied these animals in a way most people do not?

SLB: You mean besides devouring every book about dogs and wolves as a child, starting with Albert Payson Terhune’s short stories? Yes, it has and continues to be a lifelong passion of mine to study animal behavior. I don’t want to just look or interact with them with my “human” brain. I want to know theirs. I am more comfortable with their behavior than with most people.      

GCB: Your poem and story were both accepted for the anthology, Wolf Warriors II. You are the only person who has two pieces in the book. How do you feel about that?

SLB: I still can’t get over that my name is in a table of contents of a book , let alone that two pieces were published! I feel grateful and validated as a writer. I am humbled to have two pieces that are so close to my heart chosen for a book where all the proceeds benefit wolves.

GCB: Why is having your work published in this anthology so important to you? 

SB: Animals and their welfare are my passion. The plight of wolves is becoming catastrophic. Since the majority of humans can’t or won’t understand their language, I can speak for them.

GCB: You have spoken and written about the difficulties in your personal life from childhood into adulthood. Is writing about the plight of the wolves today, their being misunderstood and the battle between the ranchers and those who want to save the species, a way for you, as a writer, to express some of your emotions about your own life?

SLB: Absolutely. It is difficult for me to write about the atrocities I suffered as a child. Writing about the plight of innocent animals is safer. Of course the circumstances are different, yet chillingly similar.

GCB: What do you think about a wild animal like a wolf being shut up in a cage for months or years? 

SB: It is not natural, any more than it is natural to keep Dolphins in tanks. Wild animals are not here for humans to decide their importance or fate. Have you looked into the eyes of a caged animal or one that lives in a zoo setting, even if it is open like Busch Gardens? Their eyes tell a story. It is not one of hope. The confusion, sadness and isolation are unbearable for any being.

GCB: Is it better to keep a wolf caged for his protection or let him run wild with the chance of being shot?

SLB: I abhor hunting and the thought of any animal dying by the hands of humans infuriates me. That being said, locking a wolf in a cage takes away his spirit. That is a fate worse than death.

GCB: You are a poet and a writer of fiction and personal essay. What is your favorite way to express yourself?

SB: Did you say favorite or easiest? I would have to say personal essay. It is easier for me, that’s for sure! It is also my favorite way to write. I love detail. Fiction I rarely write and if I do there is more truth than not in the piece. Creative non-fiction is also one of my favorites. Poetry is more of a challenge for me, although writing poetry was one of the ways I coped during my childhood. I consider myself a storyteller and a wordy one at that. I have to say though that even though it’s more effort for me to write a poem, writing poetry has taught me a huge lesson in accepting re-writes and revisions. 

GCB: Do you find some subjects work better in prose than in poetry?

SLB: Oh, of course, but I really can’t say which subjects. It depends on what I am writing about and how I feel my message will come across the strongest. I usually just start writing and see where it takes itself. Sometimes I can do both. In other words the story can be written just as effectively in a poem as in a piece of prose. 

GCB: You had a career in radio for a number of years. How did that help you with creative writing?

SLB: Sometimes I think it was a hindrance, and other times I feel it helped. Having to write 30 second and 60 second ads certainly helped for poetry. To be effective, creatively, in a very short amount of time, teaches you to choose each word carefully. Being an on-air personality taught me the same thing. You basically have 60-90 seconds to tell a story, be entertaining, and again you must be able to tell a story with as few words as possible. Paint a picture, which is what a writer does, especially in poetry. The flip side is that I used almost no punctuation, grammar, proper nouns, etc. I have had to relearn how to structure sentences. Radio and television for the most part is ad-libbing. That is, of course, not the case in writing.

GCB: You are single now and you live in Hayesville, NC with your two beloved dogs. You recently bought your first home. You have joined the North Carolina Writers' Network which automatically gives you membership in NCWN-West. This is a major change in your life. How do you see yourself in the coming year? Will we be seeing more of your writing published and hearing you read your work more often?

SLB: I certainly hope so. It has been a struggle adapting, as my divorce is still recent and I marvel at the universe that seems to know what is better for me than I most times believe. In all honesty, I don’t know how I see myself in the coming year, but my plan is to keep on writing and moving forward. One of the reasons I stayed in this area is the incredible support of our unique writing community here in the Western North Carolina Mountains.  

GCB: Thank you so much, Staci, for your candid answers. We look forward to seeing more of your writing in journals and books.

Learn more about the plight of wolves:

The Wolfwatcher Coalition

North American Wolves

Wolf Warriors II: TheNational Wolfwatcher Coalition - This anthology captures the various faces of the wolf: from the fantastic to the horrific, from the snow-capped mountain peaks to the moonlit lake in the trees. The howls of these warriors will make you smile, make you cry, and, most of all, make you want to raise your own howl to join the chorus.

Poet Maren O. Mitchell to have poem in Jan. 2016 isssue of The Lake, an online poetry journal

Maren O. Mitchell's poem, "Raymond Duvall, Sleeper," is appearing in the January, 2016, issue of the English online poetry journal, The Lake .

Maren O. Mitchell’s poems have appeared in Iodine Poetry Journal, The Lake (UK), Appalachian Heritage, The South Carolina Review, Hotel Amerika, Southern Humanities Review, Skive (AUS), The Classical Outlook, Town Creek Poetry, Appalachian Journal, Pirene’s Fountain, Wild Goose Poetry Review and elsewhere. Her work is included in Negative Capability Press Anthology of Georgia Poetry, The Southern Poetry Anthologies, V: Georgia & VII: North Carolina and Sunrise from Blue Thunder. Poems are forthcoming in Hotel Amerika and Chiron Review. Mitchell's nonfiction book, Beat Chronic Pain, An Insider’s Guide (Line of Sight Press, 2012) can be found at: www.lineofsightpress.com, the Curiosity Shop bookstore in Murphy, NC, and on Amazon.

 

Open Mic Night at City Lights in Sylva, NC

As a new Jackson County Netwest representative, I'd like to announce an open microphone reading at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva on Friday evening, January 15th, at 7:00 p.m.  NetWest and non-NetWest members alike are welcome.  We'll have wine, water, and a few desserts upstairs in the bookstore; readers and listeners may also wish to go down to City Lights Café to buy coffee or dinner.  We'll sign up for a reading order beforehand, beginning at 6:45; unless our numbers are very small, writers may read for up to four minutes (please note that this limit is firm.  If our numbers are very large, we'll cap the event at two hours and ask all readers to be as brief as possible.)  We hope to see you there!  I look forward to hearing new work and to meeting other Jackson County members of NetWest and NCWN.

Polly Davis to present her memoir at City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC, Sat., Jan 9th, 2015 at 3:00 PM

Polly Davis will present Stumbling Toward Enlightenment on Saturday, January 9th at 3 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore. Married to a Special Forces soldier during the height of the Vietnam War, Polly Davis was a soldier’s wife with a difference: she often led, always followed, and sometimes fought alongside her Green Beret. Whether leaping out of airplanes, SCUBA diving off the coast of Massachusetts, hauling her family and their dogs over two continents, or battling a life-threatening disease, Davis’ life story is superbly rich with courage, compassion, and a sly humor that overcomes all obstacles. Failure is not an option with this warm and enticing tale.


Polly’s is a companion book to her husband’s memoir, The Most Fun I Ever Had With My Clothes On: A March from Private to Colonel. Come join Polly and Tom for a He Said She Said reading. While writing their memoirs, they would compare notes and wonder if they were at the same place at the same time. The contrasting views of the same events are hilarious! To reserve copies of these memoirs please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499

Be Persistent say John Jakes and Nancy Purcell

“Be persistent. Editors change; tastes change; editorial markets change.  Too many beginning writers give up too easily.”  — John Jakes, Author of the North and South Trilogy

Do you get a rejection and mark that poem or story off your list to submit? Do you have spurts when you send out work and then submit nothing for months? 

One of our NCWN-West members, Nancy Purcell, submitted a short story over 100 times before it was accepted. Nancy is an excellent writer, but that is not the only thing required to have your work accepted in magazines and journals. Nancy is persistent also. She had to find the right editor, the one who liked her story or needed her story for their next issue. This is what Nancy told me:

The story, "The Unwrinkled Heart," is online now at Valparaiso Fiction Review. It's the Winter 2015 edition. They only publish 6 stories a season. 

It was invigorating to receive the editor's letter saying, "I pray you have not accepted any other Review for this work. I love your writing and this is a great story. By the way, it's a pleasure to read a manuscript that is clean." 

Nancy has published 26 pieces of short fiction and is working on a collection of short stories she hopes to publish in the coming year. 

Some gifted poets give up writing or submitting when they receive a few rejections. It often takes hours of our time to search for markets and submit to publications. That is all part of being a writer. As someone said to me after our panel discussion at the Moss Library recently, "I understand now. Writing and publishing is hard work." Yes, it is and only those who are determined and who grow a thick skin will continue to submit. 

If you are an experienced writer, what is your advice to new or beginning writers and poets who want to see their work published? Tell us in our comments section.




Nancy Purcell served as a North Carolina Writers Network/Elizabeth Squire Daniels Writer-in-Residence, Peace College, Raleigh, NC, teaches Creative Writing in the Brevard College Community Education program, and Quick Coaches aspiring writers. Studied Creative Writing at the Iowa Summer Program. Seven years as County Representative for the NCWN-West Writers. Presently serves as the Prose Judge for the Board of the Carl Sandburg Home Writer-in-Residence Program,
Publications: 26 Short Stories to include: RiverSedge, The MacGuffin, Pangolin Papers, Troika, LongStoryShort, The Square Table, DiverseVoicesQuarterly, The Final Draft and RCVRY among others.

Five Brothers in the Civil War

Brenda Kay Ledford and Barbara Ledford Wright's essay, "Five Brothers in the Civil War," was published online at the North Carolina Civil War Center.

You may view their story at:  www.nccivilwarcenter.org/stories

A Christmas Poem

Snow at Christmas
by Glenda C. Beall

Silent December snow covers
grey mountain forests, clings
to thin bare branches of oaks,
poplar and ash.

It mounds on brown wide leaves
still hanging on to stubborn trees
that, until now, denied winter’s presence.
Holly bushes crowned with snow

create photo ops for Christmas cards.
Rooftops iced in white, frosted
gingerbread houses, await
Santa's footsteps.

Red ribbons on our mailbox
collect crystal flakes
within curving bows,
on bunched pine boughs.

Kayla hangs her stocking, dreams
of Barbie dolls, gift wrapped boxes
piled high beneath her brilliant
Christmas tree.

We light a candle in the snow.
Pray for children around the world,
who long for peace, a cup of soup,
an end to fear -- an end to
war.

http://netwestwriters.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-christmas-poem.html

Marketing/Selling a Poetry Book: 3 Ideas

Unfortunately, poetry can be a hard sell...

especially to audiences who don't read it because they think it is stuffy or impossible to understand. 

My book, Untying the Knot (Aldrich Press, 2014) came out 19 months ago, but it is just now picking up speed from a marketing perspective. What have I learned? Here are three ideas you might try:


1. Belong to special interest groups on Facebook or other social media. I don't really know much about social media except Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn. But I have found FB to be invaluable. I belong to poetry groups where I've made connections with poets and editors who have blogged about my book/poems and/or published reviews or interviews with me. See number 2 for other opportunities that resulted from FB. 

Me at a reading from 

Stone, River, Sky: An Anthology of Georgia Poems

2. Grab every opportunity to read from your book. Besides the usual poetry reading opportunities and open mics, I have read at a senior citizen's residential community, a women's event at a synagogue (a connection made through my neighborhood's FB, though I'm not Jewish), and a professional women's networking luncheon (also a neighborhood FB connection).

3. Promote yourself as a subject matter expert, and as such, find opportunities to guest blog for national publications. Your subject could be writing, which would be fine. But because my book is the story of my divorce and healing, I wanted to reach a broader audience, one that doesn't necessarily read poetry. I was prompted to do this because people kept telling me that my book helped them and that they bought it for friends who were going through divorce.  I found a way to reach non-writer audiences by connecting with divorce groups on FB and reaching out to the editors with my idea of sharing my story -- each article I wrote would include a poem and the true story of how the poem came about. DivorceMagazine.com said yes, so I have posted three articles now. They were the first divorce related publication on the internet -- 17,000 people follow them on Twitter, and their FB page has 6300 likes. 

And... the exciting thing is that my last article was picked up by Huffington Post and re-published in the divorce section of their online news site. Their site has 79 million unique monthly users. I don't know how many book sales this will result in (I know of 2 that happened immediately), but I'm happy for the wide reach, and if I can help people who are suffering, that's a wonderful thing. Secondly, if I can promote poetry (in general, not just mine) to an audience who thinks they don't like poetry and change a few people's minds about that... then I've done a good thing for all poets, and that makes me very happy.

Here's a link to the Huffing Post article: Forgiving the Other Woman

Good luck to you with your writing and the promoting of your work!
________

Untying the Knot by Karen Paul Holmes is a "courageous, deeply human" book, according to internationally known poet, Thomas Lux, told with "grace, humor, self-awareness, and without a dollop of self-pity." Available on Amazon 

 

Karen's website

 

Karen's poetry Facebook page