C. Jean Downer's Blog, page 3
February 19, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Couldn’t put it down! I love a good murder mystery and this book delivers on that and so much more. From the first page to the last, I was gripped by the characters and the way the author described the locations that made me feel like I was there with them. The best part … I think there is going to be another book! ~ Shannon on Amazon
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Wabi Masters
Truly honoured guest editor Jerome Berglund included me in Setu Special Edition: Masters Series Part II: Wabi, Urban Decay: Masters of Wabi: Featured Poets. Read Berglund’s superlative series here.
Here are two of my pieces and Berglund’s generous commentary:
leaf skeleton
frozen in the dog bowl
no longer needed
cold moon
she closes a date
on the quilt
Commentary
Bashō once advised that “haikai…needs more homely images”, and warned poets to preference “vegetable soup rather than duck stew”. Isolation and longing are two words also often associated with the praxis of wabi, which according to Mahayana Buddhism are in reality ameliorative traits for an initiate, connoting emancipation from the material realm and an elevating into purer ways of being.
[1] These two superlative poems by C. Jean Downer satisfy the godfather’s provisos and embody our germane aesthetic in telling ways which deserve careful scrutinizing. Applying an expression for the first full moon of winter, appropriated from early aboriginal peoples of the Mohawk tribe, from the get-go we find a kigo steeped in history and misfortune, primeval and woebegone. The stuck leaf, stripped bare in a dish, by its rough and abnormal character, makes a very wabi phrase indeed, and the rustic, frugal expertise of sewing is acutely relevant toward the folksy side of the sentiment.
In case you were not aware, alongside her stunning haiku and senryu this poet is also an author to thrilling mystery novels, including the recently debuted “Lies are Forever”. Her short form works are no less enigmatic, obeying the progenitor’s eminent sage insight, which Kenneth Yasuda translates as: “The haiku that reveals seventy to eighty percent of its subject is good. Those that reveal fifty to sixty percent we never tire of.” Each of these pieces presents an entrancing riddle in its icy mystery and wabi undertones… We must ask ourselves, who or what is no longer needed in the first poem? The leaf? The dog bowl? The narrator? All of the above? Similarly, one puzzles over the significance of the date’s closure on a quilt, in agreement with a chilly lunar image… There are many reasons the creator may doubly so inscribe their work, to specify its beginning and ending, to chronicle marriage and divorce, to mark births and deaths.
Whatever way the architect of these dazzling poems intended to answer those questions, or viewers decide to decipher them, there is a distinct ominousness infused which capitalizes upon the abstruseness, and weaves moonlight into gold quite didactically through the medium of wabi!
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“My comfort zone is mystery and thriller, so the addition of the sci-fi/fantasy element is newer to me.
In this book, Sloane West is an ex-New York City cop turned private investigator who has a mystery dumped right into her lap in the first chapter. The recent death of her mother – and her grandparents who she never knew – lead her to a peaceful Canadian town where she finds not only a love interest but also vast supernatural powers (thus, the introduction of witches, shapeshifters, and other powers!).
The author pulled it off. The clues for what’s to come are weaved in and make me want to keep reading. The cast of characters is diverse and engaging. And, can we talk about the love interest? The normalizing of lesbian relationships is (finally!) happening, and this text does a great job of it. I found myself wondering what Rose was doing all day when she wasn’t at the tavern (turns out you have some clues by the end!). I wanted this relationship to be developed a bit more.
The best part is that this is Book 1 of the Sloane West Mystery series. We are set up for more by the end. My hope is that an entire book with Jane’s story appears! If you love mystery, fast pace, interesting characters, and some magical elements, or if you want something new this book is for you! ~ Tiffany Goodreads
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February 18, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ok, so my most favourite things in the world are wrapped up in this sapphic mystery. 1. It has WLW in it. 2. It’s a murder investigation. 3. Witches! Though, Dorathea will say “Wiċċe, not witch, dear. Such a common term.”
I loved everything about this book. From page one I was hooked on Sloane’s no-nonsense attitude and feisty temperament. I loved how each page had something to keep me engaged and wanting more.
I loved all the characters, each with their own quirks and mannerisms that made up Sloane’s found family. My favorite was Dorathea, Sloane’s distant cousin and high priestess of the West Coven. She’s a stickler for names and hates it when people shorten them, and she definitely doesn’t let Sloane get away with much. She is followed closely by Elvina, Sloane’s familiar, who until recently Sloane thought was her very intuitive cat called Bear.
The investigation was so well done that I had no idea who did it until it was revealed. It meant that it had me wondering who it could be all through the book, which made me want to not put it down until I did find out. And Rose. Oh, Rose! Our redheaded love interest. Though the relationship wasn’t the focus of this book, I loved the way the author made the two grow closer. I can’t wait to see where their relationship ship goes after *that* scene. ~ Jess, Goodreads.
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September 5, 2023
New Release
Pre-order LIES ARE FOREVER now at Bella Books and online bookstores!
June 19, 2023
In the Spring of Life
lovers arrive with
petals in bloom
soon depart as
flowers wilt
stars fall when
perfumed nights fade
Summer
a carousel of delight
ends, too
finished with tarnished trinkets
of ephemeral love
she learns in winter
to accept the hand
holding only a warm heart
Image: Ilya Repin – “What freedom!” 1903
June 17, 2023
Reader’s Group
Join my once-a-month newsletter for updates, exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks, and more about my Sloane West Mystery series and poetry news. Just add your email and join via the link on my homepage!
June 15, 2023
Redemption
push and pull of ocean tides
restores her tired limbs
evening strolls in old-growth forests
soothes her grieving heart
dappled dew on wildflower blooms
unfurls her tangled thoughts
then on her journey’s end
she whispers to the wind
the love you give so freely
saves me yet again
Image: “Wheat Field with Cypresses,” Van Gogh, 1889
June 13, 2023
Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal
So happy talented haikuist and editor Steliana Cristina Voicu included one of my poems in Enchanted Garden’s inaugural issue.
You can find it here and submissions for the third issue open July 1st! [image error]https://enchanted-garden-haiku.blogspot.com/2023/04/enchanted-garden-issue-1-april-2023.html
June 12, 2023
Haiku Dialogue
Delighted that my haiku was included in Haiku Dialogue- Under the March Moon—Half Moon of the Haiku Foundation. Thank you to guest editor Carole MacRury for selecting it.
