S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 82
September 9, 2013
Anne Rice Goodreads interview
Reblogged from readful things blog:
The pronunciation of my name was slaughtered for a good cause
For anyone who might like to see it and missed the Anne Rice Interview at Goodreads. Or for anyone who loves Ionia just as much as I do...you can watch her name get muddled in the interview! Of course she took it well.
September 8, 2013
Grasshopper and the Bird
Reblogged from The Community Storyboard:
From blade to blade he flits and flutters
Enemy to soon discover
Feast upon this living morsel
With speed and grace he jumps and hops
Not daring once to stop and
Eye the eyes perched motionless
That stare and wait for legs and wings
To move in daring swings
Tempting feathered foe to battle
No scuff or fight expected
She stoops and swoops…
A little poem that I did not want to misplace.
Scrivener: A New to Me Writing Tool; The Hard Way or The Easy Way?
My husband bought me Scrivener, a writing tool for organization and more. I think it was in self-defense.
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I am forever jotting down notes on whatever is handy, note paper, scratch paper, gum wrappers, printing out reams of computer pages for reference. I have a ton of memos on my desk. The names, dates, people, and places I want to remember. Little tidbits of things I cannot forget. Long summations of things I have put together. Story arcs, timelines, outlines, plot lines, scenes, character profiles, names, dates, people, places, all scribbled down somewhere.
I am also constantly asking myself, sometimes out loud, “Where did I write this or that?” Followed by, “I know I had that somewhere!”
I wrote my first novel everywhere; on the kitchen table, the table on the back porch, at my desk. Notes and papers were scattered everywhere. It was truly amazing that I managed to pull it all together into one cohesive story in consideration of the amount of research that went into that book and my writing habits. I had three diaries spanning 20 years with bookmarks on nearly every page. I also had tons of old notes from the early 1990s. The primary document was written in Word. I am probably more of a “panster” than a “plotter” but I am seeking to change that in order to get more organization in my work.
I am reminded of my son when he was a pre-teen. His job/chore was to wash the pots and pans after supper. One day, I came home from work and saw the kitchen all nice and clean, and I thought, “Great, how wonderful to come home and find the dishes done and the kitchen clean. I complimented him.
The next day I could not find a pot or pan to cook in. I knew I had them, but they were not in the cabinets, the dishwasher, or the stove. I looked everywhere. When I asked him, I got the infamous, “I don’t know.” He insisted that he washed them, and didn’t know what happened to them, “Maybe Daddy had them for something.”
Well, three days later we found them. I noticed the shovel propped against the back door. An unusual place for it. I also noticed a fairly fresh mound of dirt in the back yard. Yes, he had gone through the trouble of burying the pots and pans in the back yard to keep from having to wash them. Now I am thinking, it would have taken all of fifteen or twenty minutes to wash them and put them away, but he spent time (who only knows how long?) and labor digging a deep enough hole in the back yard to bury them. Out of sight, out of mind. What a work effort for him. Wouldn’t it have just been easier to wash them?
I think the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree. Sometimes I will do things the hard way, rather than the easy way. I am hoping Scrivener will help me learn to do my writing the easy way, with a lot less clutter. I am going to follow the 2 hour tutorial today and see if it is user friendly enough for me to get started. Once I get to about chapter three, my panster method of writing can get rather complicated and I am trying alleviate some of that complexity. This next WIP is apt to become a series, and staying organized will be imperative.
If you have ever used Scrivener, or know anything about it or some other writing tool and how it is useful, please let me know. If you have any tips, or can tell me how Scrivener has simplified your writing process, please feel free to comment. Links to your posts about scrivener are welcome also. I would welcome and appreciate all of the help I can get.
Filed under: Writing, Publishing, & Marketing Tagged: clutter, easy way, hard way, help, labor, new tool, organizer, Scrivener, time saver, writing
September 7, 2013
How Are You Inspired to Choose the Dedications in Your Books?
In the front matter to my book, “Red Clay and Roses”, there is a dedication, as many provide when they author a book. I want to share with you the story behind the dedication. It is not an ordinary dedication for supportive family and friends. It is a dedication to a man whose name I never knew. Well, it is to some degree, because I do mention my loving and supportive husband, Greg. Read as follows and then I will explain:
While visiting my grandparent’s farm in my youth, an elderly African American man told me,
“If your children can look at my grandchildren and not see color, then we have made progress.”
This book is dedicated to him, the progress that we have made,
and to my loving and supportive husband, Greg.
Back story:
I am more than a half century in age at 52 years. I was born in 1960 in Georgia. Schools in my hometown were not integrated until 1971. In 1972, I went into Foster Care. In Foster Care, I was at home with other children of many races. I did not give race much thought. Same was true after I went to live in an orphanage in 1974. By then, all of the schools in the area were integrated. Most neighborhoods were exclusive, and many still are in the Deep South. Things were very different in my grandparent’s time.
My grandparents lived on property that has been in my grandmother’s family since the land lottery of 1827. My greatest American ancestor, Thomas Holland, won this 500 acre lot and one other lot for his war service in the American Revolutionary War. It has been occupied by my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins ever since that time. Though only one home survived the Civil War, the land did. My grandfather’s family’s Baptist Church stands on one end of the property and my grandmother’s family’s Methodist Church stands on the other end.
During my time growing up, throughout the time spent in Foster Care and the Orphanage, I was able to spend time with my many cousins and the hired help (mostly black) and their families on my grandparent’s farm. This was primarily weekends, holidays, and summers
As I matured, I spent six months in New York City, and a few years in Atlanta Georgia. City life was much different than time on the farm or in my small hometown.
The dedication and why it is meaningful to me:
I was not as deeply indoctrinated with racial opinions and bias as many others in my community growing up. My grandparents; however, were very deeply indoctrinated. While they were respectful in many ways, treated their hired help kindly, and paid them well. They still had their set ways of thinking and acting. Not having been very much influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, being way out in the country, they internalized the community around them, as most do.
The story:
When I was 19 years old, had a small child, and was already divorced, I spent some brief time in my grandparent’s home. A female friend from North Georgia had come down to visit.
We were gathered at the dining room table having the noontime meal (called dinner in the South, not lunch). The dog started barking and we heard a truck pull up into the driveway. My grandfather got up from the table to go see what the ruckus was all about. A few moments later, we heard him call out, “Mama, yo nigger is here to plow yo field!” very loudly. He slammed the front door.
My friend and I looked at each other with our mouths agape. Grandfather came back to the dining room and continued his meal, while Grandmother went to the bedroom to fetch her purse to pay the man. A black man, an African-American, on invitation, had come with his rototiller to prepare Grandmother’s garden.
I got up from the table and went out onto the front porch where the elderly black man stood with his hat in his hands on the front steps.
“Sir, I am so sorry for my Grandfather’s behavior,” I apologized.
“Whatever are you apologizing for?” he asked.
“Well, he called you a nigger and slammed the door in your face. That was rude and I am ashamed for him,” I went on.
“Little lady,” he said with a wide smile, “I ain’t never been nothin but a nigger. For all my long life, nothin but a nigger. Your Grandpappy, he ain’t never knowed me as nothin but a nigger, all his long life. But if your children can look at my grandchildren and not see color, well then, we has made some progress!”
His statement resonated with me for my whole lifetime. I raised my children to not see color. We sang “Everybody’s Beautiful” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” before they were able to talk good. Their friends were always welcome in our home regardless of color or national origin. My two grandchildren are of mixed race, although they look nothing alike. I could not imagine not accepting their father as family.
We are, each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
~Luciano de Crescenzo
After I wrote “Red Clay and Roses”, which was highly influenced by my life experiences and those of my family, I had to come up with what I felt was a meaningful dedication. I did not feel the typical, “Thanks, to my supportive….,” would suffice. The book has a significant amount of racial tension in it. This African American man’s words came back to me. We have made progress, and for that I am grateful.
How do you decide what to write as a dedication in your books? What inspires you to be grateful? What progress do you see?
Filed under: Politics and Social Progress, Writing, Publishing, & Marketing Tagged: African American, authors, books, dedication, indoctrinations, inspiration, nigger, progress, racism, Red Clay and Roses
September 6, 2013
Createspace and Me: An Essay
I was going to save this topic for a guest post when all was said and done, but I am about to explode and I really must get this off my chest. My bra is too tight and there is really no room for it. (I hate bras.)
Createspace is a wonderful thing. They make it possible to do fantastic things like self-publish an ebook and prepare a print-on–demand paperback. For the Indie author, this is a Godsend. I know there are a few, like lightning source and lulu that will do the same thing and they are wonderful, too, I am sure, but today I have to talk about my personal experience with Createspace. This is the company I chose to go with for the creation of my paperback version of “Red Clay and Roses”.
First, I should tell you about my experience publishing my eversion. Not having any skills for formatting or translations errors or any of that other technical stuff that is supposed to create a better product, I opted to go with an Independent small press publisher, Elderberry Press.
David St. John was quite affordable, and the contract terms were delightful. David and I developed a very good rapport. I sent him my manuscript and within 72 hours my first book was up and live on smashwords. By that third day, I had a file that I could easily upload to Amazon’s KDP. All done. Now there was nothing to do but wait for the royalties to come in right? (hahaha…I hear you laughing).
Second, I did not have a professional cover design, and some WordPress friends gave me some really good info, advice and insight on how to proceed with that and I contacted a gentleman in England (Paul Beekly at create-imaginations.com) who also had really good work and really good rates, most professional. He read my book, viewed my original photograph, and we shared some thoughts.
Within days, I had a fantastic cover image. He went on to provide a Facebook banner, imprint logo, bookmark design, and several other book shots and a paperback design for extremely reasonable rates. To sum things up, that whole process went very smoothly, and I was quite satisfied.
This cover image, also, was easily uploaded to Amazon via KDP, live within hours, and my publisher uploaded to smashwords and thus it went on out to various retail distributors over time. In the end, this whole process took less than a month and would have taken less, had I been better prepared. Being a newbie, but with a little experience, I thought working with Createspace would be a breeze. Their price for their top of the line assisted service was as reasonable as Elderberry’s had been for the eversion.
NOW FOR THE DIRT
I am about madder than a wet hen at Createspace.
I started with them on June 6th to get this paperback accomplished. I was told it would take approximately 8 weeks from start to finish. I thought, “Great, I should have my paperbook live by August 6th, right? WRONG! NOT TODAY EVEN, A MONTH LATER!
Let me say, I don’t believe I went into this with unrealistic expectations. I knew, being a paperback, this was probably going to be a more complex project. I also knew that I wanted to submit some revisions to a completely well edited manuscript. After all, this was going down in ink on paper. I also knew that Createspace was a much larger company than Elderberry Press, and I would most likely not get the individualized, one:one service that I had received from David. Yet, I had heard wonderful things about their customer service, so I thought I was going down a well-traveled pathway to progress.
One thing that worried me was the possibility of delays, because I have had my book nominated for a very prestigious award by a Reader’s Group…but that is a subject for another post. The point is I had an October 1st deadline with them. That is to say, I have to submit four bound manuscripts to this organization by Oct. 1st to be considered in the 2013 publication phase. So I had some concerns. Yet, August 6th as a deadline with Createspace seemed reasonable, and should give me plenty of time. NOT!
First, after paying the money and not hearing from them about ANYTHING to do with progress after THREE WEEKS, I gave them a call. The very polite girl in CS (Customer Service) told me that they were “backed up” and had not started with me. Shit, I thought! I am sure I said it out loud. She assured me that they would be starting with me very soon, and once under way, things should move quickly, BUT my eight weeks would not start until they contacted me. So a week later, we are already talking about July 6th, I was contacted…a full month after my purchase. Eight weeks, let’s see Sept. 6th, right? If things had worked out well, my paperback would be live today and my copies would be in the mail to the Reader’s Group Organization. Things have not worked out well.
Second, I want you to know that I am not blameless here! I am a perfectionist and I want things done right. I also want to assure that I am putting a quality product out there for the reader to enjoy. I don’t want there to be any distraction, errors, or other such nonsense to make the reader feel like crap for having had enough faith to invest in me. I gave my eversion away for free for two full weeks to get enough reader feedback to hopefully get my revisions accomplished, have a copyeditor review and advise, get my line editing done, and proof the final MS. So, all of this was taking place between waiting periods with Createspace.
Waiting periods, that brings me to my third challenge. I thought I had done my research with Createspace. Their upgraded plan included the special features that I wanted for my book. I wasn’t told how complicated and time consuming “special features” could be. I had some handwritten letters in my book that would need different fonts. I also had a black and white image of my book imprint logo that I wanted in the front matter, so I was being particular. I don’t mind being candid here. That’s why I included “Me” in the title to this post. I had a lot to do with what went wrong, so try to learn something here, okay?
Quickly, let me give you the low down on how my upgraded plan with createspace works/includes: 1) A personalized consultation with a team project specialist, 2) Mock ups phase, up to three mockups are sent to the purchaser to make changes (They don’t do this part anymore, more about that later.), 3) Digital or paper proof available to be mailed, 4) Final manuscript submission, 5) Interior Text approval, 6) Cover image uploaded and approved, 7) Final complimentary author proof mailed for review, 8) Approved and ready to go live. Sounds simple enough?
Here is a list of what all went wrong, (this is just the Create and Set-Up), what was involved, and how long it took to make repairs:
1. My initial challenge was learning how to navigate the Createspace site- I had to learn the icons and emblems and what they stood for in my member dashboard. I learned about my message box, project tool box (where downloadable files are stored), and explored all of the steps in the process; Create, Set-Up, Review, Distribute and Sales & Marketing. Each of these steps has sub steps. This took a couple of days. I don’t claim to be real tech savvy.
2. Next was the consultation- Now we are starting July 6th- The gentleman assisting me was very professional and assured me that they could accomplish all of my special features. He took notes and told me that they would be both prudent in selecting fonts and fleuron, and in embedding images. I was instructed that all I needed to do was upload my Manuscript so they could get started, I would be allowed to upload another manuscript later with any text changes I needed, and the three mock ups would give me the opportunity to assure that things were coming along as I planned for the book. I would be allowed to make changes in the design lay-out, front matter, fonts, fleuron, and images during the mock up phases. I was figuring on a couple of days turnaround between mock ups, after all, they told me I was allowed up to three and I was expecting an 8 week process with these included. Erroneous Assumption. After submission of the manuscript, it took another week to get the first mock up (we are now looking at August 27th having this ready).
3. The Mock up phases, where things went terribly wrong- There is a reason that they are not doing these anymore, and my experience is probably part of why they have decided to omit the mock up phases. – First mock up- They had the front matter acceptable but had left out the Book Imprint logo I had uploaded. They had switched the title header and author headers to the wrong sides. The page numbers needed to be in the top right corner, not at the bottom. The handwriting fonts for the letters were a nice choice, but very small, and the same for both characters writing letters. That simply could not be. Two characters would not use the same handwriting now, would they? The fleuron that they had selected was way off. I had asked for something linear and curved, simple. Just a little something to indicate a change in thought/construct in the middle of a chapter. What I got was a highly embellished round swirl. They were small details, but important to me. Another week passed. I uploaded my request for revisions, and some fleuron images that were acceptable to me, and the logo image, again. It is now July 11th. – Second Mock up- By some fluke of fate, and not a very kind one, my cover artist sent me an image of my logo, an Ark, with a silly looking giraffe in in it. It was a joke. It was hilarious and very juvenile. I thought it quite funny. I didn’t realize that I had even downloaded it. Guess which one I uploaded to createspace? Not the original logo of the Ark that is posted on my website, bit this one:
This is no children’s book. Not even a respectable giraffe. A huge image of this giraffe logo, not the thumbnail sized plain ark image I had requested. The front matter looked good with the dedication and quote, but something was missing. There needed to be a nice fleuron between them. The headers were swapped out, the letters had different handwriting, the page numbers were in the right place, the fleuron they selected for the text was acceptable, but the handwriting font for the letters had been grossly enlarged and looked ridiculously silly. I resubmitted my changes. It is now July 31st when I get the second mock up back. I wasn’t totally satisfied with the handwriting size when they reduced it in this 2nd mock up, feeling like they may have gone too small, but I didn’t want to wait another two weeks for them to correct it. I couldn’t handle a 3rd mock up!
4. I accepted the material as it was and awaited my first proof copy to be mailed. – And waited, and waited, and waited. After two weeks with no copy received in my mailbox I gave them a call, on August 14th. They were just fixing to mail out my copy! I begged them to let me change it to a digital copy. I had so wanted to hold a paper copy in hand, because I am, after all, creating a paperback, right? But no, we must submit ourselves to the travesty of time. A few days later, I get my digital copy. It is August 19thwhen the digital copy is received. Imagine what it would have been to wait on a mailed paper copy!
5. After having so much time to prepare my manuscript, I thought, “Great! This thing is as close to perfect as it is going to get! Time to upload it! – Well, herein lies the problem. Although I had made changes on two manuscripts, my RCAR file for KDP, and my manuscript.docx file that I had originally submitted to Createspace….sound easy enough? ….after weeks of editing 2 copies side by side, I am told that my text changes have to be submitted on the downloadable manuscript file that is in the project tool box on the web site, NOT on the original manuscript. The formatting won’t be right (or something technical like that, I still don’t understand). The changes have to be made on THEIR service file MS copy. Silly me, I didn’t even know I had a manuscript file from Createspace in my project toolbox! Yet another week to sit these two files down side by side and line edit precisely between the two. August 26th is upon us when I resubmit my final manuscript.
6. I am waiting for final text approval, and have yet to upload my cover image (which I need an exact page count for) and I did get some good news yesterday. They can send me five proof copies when they send my author proof copy in the mail for final review, so I can send those in for my contest (it doesn’t have to be published yet, but must be provided in bound manuscript). God hope all goes well and it is acceptable to me. Then I can hit the approved button, and go live!
August 6th was my original date planned go live. It is now September 6th, the day that my book was tentatively rescheduled to go live. I am impatiently awaiting final approval of my text changes, my cover uploaded and approved, and the final proof copies to be mailed to me. I am hoping this can all be accomplished at least a few days before my October 1st deadline so that I have time to mail in my four copies for my nomination. I think Fedex still does an overnight delivery. I know that I am pushing the wire and I am sitting on the edge of my seat biting my nails.
My advice to anyone using Createspace, especially if you have special features:
Expect it to take longer than expected.
Be very clear in your initial phone consultation.
As they no longer do Mock Ups, make absolutely certain that you have your manuscript one hundred percent ready to go with the first submission, including any fonts or fleuron that you can upload images for or provide samples. Try to not have any need to make changes.
Trash any old MSs or images that you don’t want to accidently upload.
If you think there may be a demand for a paperback, do your ebook and paperback at the same time through the same company. I wasn’t expecting to do a paperback.
Thank God that they don’t do time consuming mock ups anymore, but be 100% certain that you are prepared on the first run.
I will get to “Review, Distribute and Sales & Marketing,” in due time. I hope your experience runs smoother than mine and your book gets published without a hitch. Good Luck!!!
Filed under: Uncategorized, Writing, Publishing, & Marketing Tagged: advice, challenges, createspace, experience, newbie, paperback, problems, self-publishing
September 5, 2013
SQUIRRELS: THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL (PART 5 OF THE CSB CHAIN STORY EVENT)
Here’s my part for the fabulous Community Storyboard’s first ever chain story event. You can follow the story through the links below -
Gosling and Mc Adams had both drawn their weapons; his, a .357 Magnum, and hers, a pearl handled Saturday night special. Gosling made it to the back of the Herring just in time to see the SUV turn the corner in a cloud of dust. Mc Adams hobbled closely behind.
“Where do you suppose they are taking her?” Gosling asked rhetorically, as he glanced around the ally.
Mc Adams brushed the dust off her sleeves and put her gun away. “Your guess is as good as mine, lover boy, but I’m figuring they aren’t going straight to Needham’s Party Supplies. Wasn’t Ted Needham that slodge who was campaigning for the legalization of marijuana?”
“That’s him, alright, the lying cheating cad. Look over there!” Gosling exclaimed, spying a glint of gold on the pavement through the settling smut. “What do suppose this is?” He holstered his gun.
He walked over and squatted down to pick up the item that had caught his eye. “Well, what do know? A gold handled dagger! One of the squirrel goons must have dropped this.”
He turned the dagger over in his hands examining its exquisite features. The steel blade was a good twelve inches long, capable of punching a hole through more than a skull, and sharper than Zelda’s sword. It was the handle that he found most intriguing. Solid gold and emblazoned with the likeness of a dragon, but this was no ordinary dragon. This jeweled dragon was designed with an amethyst encrusted body, and nearly translucent ruby wings. These were not ordinary wings for a dragon either, they were dragonfly wings. This could only mean one thing.
“Sauron, the Inquisitor,” they both said in unison, “The One Ring of Power.”
Still kneeling, Gosling looked up to see that Mc Adams had taken off her good shoe and was bending over to pop the heel off on the pavement. He followed the cord of the back of her nylons along her shapely legs, up under her tight skirt to the shapely, high, and firm round ass above. The runs in her hosiery only made her look sexier to him. He didn’t hear her talking for a moment. He felt his crotch stir.
“Gosling! Damn it! Gosling, I am talking to you!”
“What, dame, you were saying, what?”
“I said,” Mc Adams started again, “the corporate headquarters for Needham Party Supplies is in Rivendale, clear on the other side of the Misty Mountains. They must have taken Darlene there. They have got a good head start on us. We’ll have to take the train.”
“Right, doll, the train, we’ll have to take the train,” Gosling returned, wiping the drool on his filthy sleeve as he stood.
Gosling slipped the dagger deep into his trench coat pocket. He missed his fedora. They made their way down the alley to the sidewalk. Gosling began to hail a taxi, while Mc Adams ducked into the bakery next door to the blown up Burgundy Herring. Having had their lunch interrupted, she purchased a few cupcakes for them to eat on the way.
Once they arrived at the station, and were on the platform about to board their train, Mc Adams noticed a man sitting on a bench under a street lamp. He was a pitiful excuse of a man. He had yellowed skin stretched over his bony skull that was sparsely combed over by a few oily, dark hairs, large sunken eyes, and was crying into his hands with woe, “Precious, My Precious.”
“Shit, could it be?” Mc Adams whispered.
“Who is he?” Gosling asked. Mc Adams had taken his arm, was pinching the shit out of it, and trying not to drop her bakery box, while hiding her face behind his shoulder as they walked toward the train.
“My informant, it’s my Goddamned informant from the smoke easy pub. I can’t let him see me. What the hell is he doing here anyway?”
They boarded the train for Rivendale. The train wasn’t crowded, and for that they were grateful. It was long ride over the Misty Mountains, but this was the only way they were going to catch up and be in town by dark. Rivendale was a charming little town, quaint and attractively unusual, with little shops on every corner. Dwarves, elves, squirrels and bears all seemingly got along well with men in Rivendale.
“This has to be the work of those pesky squirrels in cahoots with those burglarizing hobbits. I would bet my bottom dollar that the Squirrel Goddess has her lair in the warehouse district, and Sauron has the burglars doing his bidding along with these goon squirrels. They wouldn’t have closed out so many cases if this wasn’t an inside job. They also have to be working with tactical and technical explosives experts to pull off a job like what we just witnessed back at The Herring.”
“Right, boss,” Mc Adams agreed through the cupcake frosting that spilled over her lips. “Mmmm, this is good, want a bite?” she offered.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
Mc Adams put away the cupcakes and touched up her lipstick. She was taking in the scenery, The Fangorn Ents Forest, and the scenic mountain passes. For miles and miles, the train wound its way around and over the Misty Mountains. It rocked and swayed as it chugged along the railways. It would be hours before they got into town. Gosling got a nap. Mc Adams was jonesing for a cigar. The sun was getting low in the sky. Finally, as the train was pulling into town, the conductor came by. He nudged Gosling awake and passed him a note.
“What’s it say?” Mc Adams asked curiously.
“Says, ‘There is a package for you at the ticket counter in Rivendale,’” Gosling read with suspicion.
“Can’t be, nobody knew we were coming. Who is it from?”
“It’s signed, ‘Gandalf’.’”
“You mean Gandalf, as in Gandalf the Wizard, Gandalf the Sorcerer?”
“That’s right babe, Gandalf!”
I am turning this warped machine over to Dean.
Filed under: Short Stories Tagged: Chain story, CSB, fun, LOTR, Noir, saga, short stories, Squirrels: This Time it's Personal
September 4, 2013
I have smote thine enemy
Reblogged from readful things blog:
For four long years the woman battled the demon. The demon known only as "C" violated her body, dimmed her future and messed with her mind.
She fought this demon with the strength of her army. When she was too weak to fight, too tired to resist the demon's advances or too negative to be positive she relied on them to battle it for her.
This could not have happened to a nicer person. I am thrilled beyond belief! Read this most inspirational message.
September 3, 2013
My Nurse
Ah! She comes between me and my white barren walls,
Sometimes solemn, sometimes smiling,
Standing, staring, sometimes softly
Touching while she sings
Not well though, she does not seem to know
I hear her singing, nonetheless, it is better
Than the absence of song
I had before she came into my room
She used to feed me with a spoon
And hold my cup up to my lips
So that I might take a sip
She wiped the dribbling shame from cheek and chin,
So I might grin with dignity again
Does she remember me?
Does she know that I remember her?
At times, I feel that I am just part of her occupation
At times I feel that I am so much more
She feeds me now though through a tube
It’s not the same and yet it is
I can’t explain just how it is
She accepts it, and so must I
Filed under: Poetry, Uncategorized Tagged: aging, elderly, health care, Nurse poem, nursing, Nursing home, old age, patient, patient perspective
Papi Talk!... With Charles Yallowitz
Reblogged from The Literary Syndicate:
Welcome to the first edition of Papi Talk! This will be a weekly feature I have, where I interrogate... err, I mean ask a few friendly questions of our favorite Authors, and maybe some others. A Papi Z twist on the traditional Author Interview. Enjoy, and let us get to know our first guest a bit better.
My very first victim...
Great beginnings With Papi Z and Charles Yollowitz at the Literary Syndicate! Check this out!
September 2, 2013
Interracial Relations, “Trendy?”
The 50th Anniversary of MLK’s march on Washington reminds us of the great strides we have made in overcoming the racial prejudice that existed during the era when the political machine took on a whole new color.
If you click on the image of Martin Luther King, Jr. you will see a video from “Rolling Stone”. The following link tells the stories of people who lived through the transitions of the era. Their stories should not be forgotten.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom or “The Great March on Washington“, as styled in a sound recording released after the event, was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech advocating that racial harmony should prevail upon the march.
The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations, under the theme “jobs, and freedom”. Estimates of the number of participants varied from 200,000 to 300,000. Observers estimated that 75–80% of the marchers were black.
Racism results from oppression, poverty and ignorance. These three things are the greatest influences on society’s reluctance and inability to become more than tolerant, but to embrace and accept the changing tide in this country.
I have been reading many articles and blogs on the issues of racism over the past few days, and what I am seeing is that interracial relations are currently considered, “Trendy.” My daughter, who has racially mixed children, agrees.
My granddaughter has the Hispanic phenotype of her father, a Puerto Rican. My grandson has the Arian phenotype of his mother, a German/English/Cherokee. The Puerto Ricans are a mix of Spanish, African-American and Island Indians. They are a mixed race family and not unlike many families in the Orlando area. My daughter feels that, while we are far from “post racial”, we are moving closer toward an accepting society where race is less of an issue than it was 50 years ago, but her life experiences with these children let her know that we are not there yet.
She has had people ask her if she was babysitting. She has had people ask her if she adopted, and to go so far as to congratulate her on adopting, “Typically less than adoptable children.” She has had day care staff members assume that she was picking up a child other than her own daughter simply because she is white and her daughter is not, asking her for I.D. to prove she is the parent of the child.
The Trayvon Martin-Mark Zimmerman case reminds us that there is much progress to be made if we are to truly see people and not color. I am hopeful that we can get there soon.
“Red Clay and Roses” speaks to the issue of racism as it was fifty years ago, and to the issue of Civil Rights and Women’s Rights. It is fiction based on the true stories of those who lived during the era and faced the challenges of it directly. It is an historical reminder why we should strive for acceptance and assure that we never go back to where we were fifty years ago. These are issues worth remembering.
Filed under: Politics and Social Progress Tagged: children, embracing future, Fiftieth anniversary of March on Washington, interracial relations, MLK, racism, trends
