Dear Betty,
You win. (Okay, Pete helped.) Rather nasty trick, there, invoking the Boss's name. You know I am powerless against the Co-Dictators of the Universe.
My entry to the current Clarity of Night contest is here. Or you can read it in the postscript. I keep hoping for one of those magical epiphanies that write themselves, 250 words of such depth and perfection that it reduces Parrish to tears. Sadly, no such epiphany occurred for this contest. I will jump cartwheels if only I can stay in the Forties Club (do not even dare to suggest that has anything to do with my age).
I've read but not commented on all the entries. Some, like this one, are way too profound for my summertime brain. Some (like Tessa's, and Sarah's are poetry: I stink at appreciating poetry.
Quite a few of my peeps entered: Merry, Ello, Chris, Aniket, wolfie, Paul, Pete, Parrish, J.C., Precie, Angelique, Dottie, Sandra, Absolute Vanilla, Surly Writer, Whirlochre. Am I well-connected or what? (Yes, I hobnob.)
My current favorites are da Boss's and Sylvia's and Tre'von's. I think. At least right now.
Not only is my Clarity entry not to the level I'd hoped, my word counts on the WIPs are lagging. McKoala's going to claw me soon, I'm afraid. I know your own poetry and Rumpelstiltskin writing is going well, even if I haven't left comments. I'm all-knowing that way.
I hope that your home ownership and kitchen remodelling are going well. You will certainly need to get ahead of things in order to fill the Boss's shoes when he's on leave. First thing you can do is raise my salary. Royalty needs bling, you know.
Do give my best to Mrs. Betty and to Zora.
Cordially,
the Queen
PS - I haven't mailed your books yet, but I also haven't forgotten.
PPS - Here's my entry:
Presage
by Aerin Rose
Twenty-two hours from San Francisco to Kathmandu. Four hours until the layover in Hong Kong. Caelin will have finished grading papers by then. She arches her back, stretching, then wiggles her toes, and catches the eye of the flight attendant.
“More, please.” She indicates the travel-sized wineglass. The remaining ruby droplets glisten in the spotlight of her reading lamp. The attendant nods from the galley.
“You realize that’s basically grape juice?” Chloe peers around the headrest as her business class bed reverts to its upright position.
“It’s a second growth Bordeaux and you know it, O Queen Food Critic,” Caelin retorts. “How’d you sleep?”
“Not well. Looks like fourteen bottles of questionable Bordeaux didn’t help you sleep, either.”
“Excited?”
“And nervous. What if she hates us?”
“Sweetheart.” Caelin strokes her wife’s cheek as Chloe unfolds the passport she’s been clutching. A little girl with dark eyes and copper skin gazes at them, unsmiling and unafraid. “She liked us well enough before. Any kid will hate her parents at some point. Let’s just focus on getting her home.”
The flight attendant materializes with the bottle of Château Cos-d'Estournel 1989, which streams like scarlet silk into the stemware.
“Like the orphanage is going to let her come home when you show up drunk,” Chloe teases, leaning close. Caelin smiles into her spouse’s black curls. Points of light play on the surface of her wine, casting images against the back of the seat in a rosy haze.
I failed my birthday word count challenge, and Pete wrote:
My "punishment" for you is to write a poem of at least six lines and no more than 40 lines that describes the feeling of coming >this< close to a stretch goal but falling just short at the deadline.
Neither Pete or Janey was as harsh on me as McK is going to be, so I'm still in an okay place with my lack of word count. Perhaps I will rewrite the poem after I've received the sharp end of the Koala Klaws.
I chose to write a poem in the pattern of a Quatern, which, according to
Shadow Poetry,
is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle
and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme scheme.
line 1
line 2
line 3
line 4
line 5
line 6 (line 1)
line 7
line 8
line 9
line 10
line 11 (line 1)
line 12
line 13
line 14
line 15
line 16 (line 1)
Example #1:
True Love, Redefined
One day she hopes true love to find,
One soul, one mind, two hearts entwined;
Somewhere out there’s the perfect guy,
For Youth has set her standards high.
He must be rich, handsome, refined,
One day she hopes true love to find;
Yet no one seems to measure up
And disappointment fills her cup.
The years go by, her nights grow long,
Her aging voice sings sorrow’s song.
One day she hopes true love to find,
Her definition redefined;
Simply a plain and faithful friend
To see her to life’s journey’s end;
For though her face with age be lined,
One day she hopes true love to find.
Copyright © 2003 Linda Newman
Example #2:
The Master's Feet
Those who sat at the Master’s feet,
Brothers who fished in waters deep,
Threw down their nets and followed Him,
Forsaking all to fish for men.
The crowds pressed ‘round to hear Him speak,
Those who sat at the Master’s feet,
Those who he said would be a light,
For others lost in dark of night.
In the upper room hands were rung,
When told a traitor was among,
Those who sat at the Master’s feet,
With emblems of Himself to eat.
The Master’s mother held her breath,
When savage men cried for his death,
And vainly struggled to defeat,
Those who sat at the Master’s feet.
Copyright © 2006 James Dupy
Example #3:
Life’s Pulse - The Gypsies’ Song
As dark-haired beauties celebrate
while moving round the fire light,
their slender swirling hips gyrate,
and on they dance, into the night.
The flames dance too, beneath the moon.
As dark-haired beauties celebrate,
their fathers clap or play a tune
the merry clan perpetuate!
Then each young man takes hold a mate
he’s chosen in the ring of fire.
As dark-haired beauties celebrate,
their flashing eyes ignite desire.
The mothers sit and smile. They know
the music will not soon abate.
Life’s pulse is found by camp fire’s glow
as dark-haired beauties celebrate.
Copyright © 2006 Andrea Dietrich
All right, so I know you've been waiting with bated breath. Without further ado (or cliches), here is my original poem.
Wild WordsThe words themselves run high and wild,
seeking to be corralled and tamed.
This adverb is a willful child;
that noun’s impatient to be named.
By sunrise we must reach our home.
The words themselves run high and wild.
A question mark is bound to roam.
The “being” verbs have formed a pile.
Even the sun is not beguiled
as she dips closer to her bed.
The words themselves run high and wild,
resist the stories in my head.
Despite the claws, the whips, the threat,
my heart is calm, frustration’s mild.
I watch the beauty as I let
the words themselves run high and wild.
1) What country would I like to live in?
a) the United States
b) Australia
c) Belize
d) New Zealand
e) Ireland
2) Who would I most like to meet?a) Tamora Pierce
b) Stuart Neville
c) Brendan Fraser
d) Pete Dudley
e) Little Miss Zarin
3) I secretly would like to be ________ for a day?a) a movie director
b) a professor
c) single
d) a librarian
e) multi-lingual
4) What is my favorite store to shop at?a) Hallmark
b) Target
c) Papyrus
d) Old Navy
e) Nordstrom
5) If I was running out of my burning house, what item would I grab?a) my signed copy of Robin McKinley's BEAUTY
b) my baby book
c) my cell phone
d) my laptop
e) the box in which I keep my children's artwork
6) What do I like most about myself?a) my sense of humor
b) my intelligence
c) my faith
d) my hair
e) my parenting style
7) What is my middle name?a) Rose
b) Michelle
c) Ditzler
d) a, b & c
e) a & c
8) What would be the perfect present for me?a) a Barnes and Noble gift card
b) jewelry from Sundance Catalog
c) an ARC of Kristin Cashore's FIRE
d) time away to write
e) an iMac
9) Which of the following is not one of my nicknames?a) Sunny
b) RoseyPosey
c) Charlie
d) Queen Aerin
e) Addy
10) What would I dress as for Halloween?a) trick question - I don't like Halloween
b) Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
c) Wendy from Peter Pan
d) Belle from Beauty and the Beast
e) Elphaba from Wicked
11) What is the number of schools I attended from Kindergarten thru Sr. Year?a) 3
b) 4
c) 5
d) 6
e) 7
12) What is my favorite movie?a) Willow
b) Batman Begins
c) Aeon Flux
d) Sliding Doors
e) Mulan
13) What did I want to be when I was little?a) a lawyer
b) a microbiologist
c) an actress
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
14) Which of these people have I not had a crush on?a) Enrique Murciano
b) Cindy Pon
c) Brendan Fraser
d) Neil Gaiman
e) Craig Parker
15) What's my current favorite show on TV?a) Bones
b) Fringe
c) Legend of the Seeker
d) House
e) Criminal Minds
16) Who is my favorite Disney character?a) Mickey
b) Lilo
c) Mulan
d) Belle
e) Gurgi
17) What am I most scared of?a) aging
b) snakes
c) spiders
d) yellow jackets
e) small spaces
18) What city was I born in?a) Champaign, IL
b) Urbana, IL
c) Savoy, IL
d) Smyrna, TN
e) Murfreesboro, TN
19) What is my favorite wild animal?a) chinchilla
b) giraffe
c) elephant
d) leopard
e) spider monkey
20) My favorite specialty drink is ________.a) Pepsi
b) a chocolate martini
c) water
d) Starbucks sweet iced tea lemonade
e) Riesling
How'd you do?
Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Author Spotlight week!
Hurrah, it's a holiday Monday here in the states! If you goof off on Facebook at least an hour a day, you have seen the quiz going around "How Well Do You Know Me?" (If you don't goof off on Facebook at least an hour a day, why the heck not?) I thought I'd share the quiz I made with you. Answers to be posted later today. (Why don't you make a similar quiz and put it up on your blog? Leave a comment with the permalink so we can spread the word!)
1) What country would I like to live in?a) the United States
b) Australia
c) Belize
d) New Zealand
e) Ireland
2) Who would I most like to meet?a) Tamora Pierce
b) Stuart Neville
c) Brendan Fraser
d) Pete Dudley
e) Little Miss Zarin
3) I secretly would like to be ________ for a day?a) a movie director
b) a professor
c) single
d) a librarian
e) multi-lingual
4) What is my favorite store to shop at?a) Hallmark
b) Target
c) Papyrus
d) Old Navy
e) Nordstrom
5) If I was running out of my burning house, what item would I grab?a) my signed copy of Robin McKinley's BEAUTY
b) my baby book
c) my cell phone
d) my laptop
e) the box in which I keep my children's artwork
6) What do I like most about myself?a) my sense of humor
b) my intelligence
c) my faith
d) my hair
e) my parenting style
7) What is my middle name?a) Rose
b) Michelle
c) Ditzler
d) a, b & c
e) a & c
8) What would be the perfect present for me?a) a Barnes and Noble gift card
b) jewelry from Sundance Catalog
c) an ARC of Kristin Cashore's FIRE
d) time away to write
e) an iMac
9) Which of the following is not one of my nicknames?a) Sunny
b) RoseyPosey
c) Charlie
d) Queen Aerin
e) Addy
10) What would I dress as for Halloween?a) trick question - I don't like Halloween
b) Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
c) Wendy from Peter Pan
d) Belle from Beauty and the Beast
e) Elphaba from Wicked
11) What is the number of schools I attended from Kindergarten thru Sr. Year?a) 3
b) 4
c) 5
d) 6
e) 7
12) What is my favorite movie?a) Willow
b) Batman Begins
c) Aeon Flux
d) Sliding Doors
e) Mulan
13) What did I want to be when I was little?a) a lawyer
b) a microbiologist
c) an actress
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
14) Which of these people have I not had a crush on?a) Enrique Murciano
b) Cindy Pon
c) Brendan Fraser
d) Neil Gaiman
e) Craig Parker
15) What's my current favorite show on TV?a) Bones
b) Fringe
c) Legend of the Seeker
d) House
e) Criminal Minds
16) Who is my favorite Disney character?a) Mickey
b) Lilo
c) Mulan
d) Belle
e) Gurgi
17) What am I most scared of?a) aging
b) snakes
c) spiders
d) yellow jackets
e) small spaces
18) What city was I born in?a) Champaign, IL
b) Urbana, IL
c) Savoy, IL
d) Smyrna, TN
e) Murfreesboro, TN
19) What is my favorite wild animal?a) chinchilla
b) giraffe
c) elephant
d) leopard
e) spider monkey
20) My favorite specialty drink is ________.a) Pepsi
b) a chocolate martini
c) water
d) Starbucks sweet iced tea lemonade
e) Riesling
Wait. What? He gets to go on leave? And you get a salary?!?
Sigh. Should have written a better one too. :(
But you sure are well connected. :P
And you already have zeroed in on your favs. I'm klueless as of now.
And no, I wont crack any jokes about the 'forties' thingy you easily have 2 more years. :D :D :D (Am I dead or what?)
I do honestly think, you'll make it to the forties club.