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Writing so much about my early life recently has brought back a slew of memories, and with them some of the first poems I memorized at school. I taught this one, by Jessica Nelson North, to Autumn when she was a girl, and she loved it.

Three Guests

 

I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
‘Twas very small—
Three guests in all—
Just I, myself and me.

 

Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
‘Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.

I haven’t thought much about the other that’s been knocking around in my head — Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Swing” — since I learned it way back when. Now I can’t wait to teach them to my niece (three) and nephews (both four) the next time I visit.

Also, to try to describe a swing with a view of “Rivers and trees and cattle and all / Over the countryside” — an exotic thing to imagine even when I was young.

My guest author today is Heather Ingemar

Heather S. Ingemar has loved to play with words since she was little, and it wasn’t long until she started writing her own stories. A musician since the age of five (piano, saxophone, violin, pennywhistle and Irish flute), she completed a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in December of 2006. She and her husband reside on the family cattle ranch, where she takes great delight in thinking up new stories to tell.

Mary: Welcome, Heather. Your latest story, A Slip of Wormwood, has a very intriguing title. Would you tell us a little about it?

Heather: Thank you, Mary, for having me here! "A Slip of Wormwood" is a dark little tale about what happens when sibling rivalries go too far. Dr. Edgar -- he's "Frog" -- has recently lost his brother, Hamilton -- "Toad" -- and is now in charge of taking care of the family estate. Through the course of the story, we find out that Toad was the family favorite and that Frog had terrible jealousy issues, to put it mildly. "Wormwood" details the brothers' relationship, and things quickly become not as they appear. I had a lot of fun writing "Wormwood." It's a delightfully twisted little tale; I think it's my best work yet.
Mary: Sounds very reptilian and the storyline sounds fascinating, Heather. In Darkness Cornered, two of your characters are a mad scientist, and a vampire named King Lear. Where did you come up with the story and the characters?
Heather: I don't know. They just came to me, as most of my stories do.

Mary: Your imagination must be as active as mine! What do you think is your most successful marketing tool? Do you find it more difficult to market e-books?

Heather: I think my most successful marketing tool has been my website. For authors, having a website is crucial in this day of internet searching for information. If a reader can't find you on the web, they immediately think you aren't worth reading, or that you're a small-time fish. Yes, having a website is very important for marketing. As for marketing ebooks, yes it's difficult, well, at least in my area. I live in an area where few people have even heard of ebooks. Many of them who have are very suspicious about them. They're leery. That makes it difficult to market face-to face, because you see in their eyes that they're doubting every word that comes out of your mouth. They may be excited to meet a published person, but they are also more likely to discredit you, write you off because you aren't in print. It makes it hard. In the online community, however, marketing is wonderfully easy! There, people know about ebooks, they like technology. It's a much easier sell online.

Heather Ingemar's website

A Slip of Wormwood is available through Echelon Press, LLC or Fictionwise