Kelsye Nelson's Blog, page 2

The problem with poetry

Poets gets me in trouble.

First, it was all because of Poe. At thirteen, I obsessed over his gorgeous, grand lines. Safely ensconced in my playhouse with the door firmly closed against eavesdropping sisters, I recited his poems aloud over and over again. The imprint of some of these remain forever etched on my soul,trapped behind my teeth for instant recital.

I dwelt alone in a world of moan and my soul was a stagnant tide.

How deep! How dark! How profound!

Determined to be as great a writer as Poe, I labored to add such depth to my adolescent writings. When my language arts teacher projected an image of a girl looking out her bedroom window at a crow and told us to write about the picture, I felt the gods had smiled upon me. I knew exactly what to do. I was prepared. I was going to deliver the most profound piece that would win my teacher's adoring awe.

Instead, I won myself a trip to the school counselor's office. I remember I wrote something about how the crow was all there was, and all else in the universe was dingy, depressed death. (Oh, alliteration, how I love thee!)

My trouble deepened in college, when we would sit in seminar dissecting some famed poet's piece on gender identity, or privilege, or patriarchal pandering. Twenty students in the circle, twenty interpretations, yet one professor with the "truth" of the meaning. I read too many bad poems. I heard too much theorizing complex meaning out of trite sentiment. I didn't understand.

I scribbled a trite poem capitalizing on all the clichés I'd heard all quarter and received highest praise for my work. Screw that. Poetry is a sham. I'm done.

How grateful I am for the poets that brought me back to the light, or the darkness, depending on the piece. How grateful I am for Kay Kinghammer.

Kay Kinghammer writes with me every Friday morning at my Daylight Writers group. She started showing up a year ago, a friendly grandmother type with tight white curls and appliqué sweaters. Sweet enough, but easily dismissed, like so many poems of my past.

Oh, but Kay could write! When she chose to read her work at group, I would snap to attention. Here were lines that purred, that prowled, that crept up my spine, that occasionally rhymed! Here were lines I wanted to say again, with my own voice.

Down by the river in the dark,
I drifted with the water’s soft splashes,
I quivered with the rustling of bushes.
Hidden in the warm summer night
All the uncles, kids, and cousins,
Like so many peas in a pod.

Kay began her writer's journey late in life, the part where she put the words down on paper anyway. She was busy, go-go dancing, falling in love with questionable men, attempting a Gypsy life of travel, raising a son. Years pass so quickly. Now she lives in Seattle with her Grandson. She takes the bus wherever she wants to go. She doesn't own a laptop. She wears silly sweaters and comes to writing groups in coffee shops where she reads lines pulled from her past and captivates a room of caffeinated strangers.

Kay needs our help.

She was invited to debut her book of poetry (The Wenatchee River Anthology) at the Fermoy International Poetry Festival in Ireland. You may imagine, this is a very big deal for an emerging poet from Wenatchee. Living on a fixed income, there is no possible way Kay can afford a plane ticket to Ireland. This is where we come in.

Writers are wonderful people. I have received a great deal of support from my community. Now I ask that we direct some of that support in monetary fashion towards Kay. I've helped her launch a Kickstarter to raise the funds she needs to publish her book and get to Ireland. Please become a backer now.

I think of the dreams I have, how deep inside me some creature calls out her aching desires, how I would fly if that creature were freed. I think of your dreams. I think how incredible it is that we can have so much impact on one another's lives.

We can make this happen for Kay. Please join me as a backer of The Wenatchee River Anthology.
Become a backer now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676291698/the-wenatchee-river-anthology/

New rewards for writers and book lovers

When you support Book Lush on Kickstarter, you get to choose your reward. I just added some exciting new options. Become a backer today to select your reward!

A Personal Pairing
You give me the book, I give you a custom drink recipe to match! Here are a few examples from the first round of backer pairings.

A Writing Retreat
Go on a creative vacation to the cabin of famed author Betty McDonald. Spend 3-5 nights at her magical, fully-modernized retreat on Vashon Island, just west of Seattle. You can choose to use the time as a solo retreat to work on your artistic endeavors, or instead bring along a love or a whole family! The reward was generously donated by the cabin's owner, author Abigail Carter. See all the details here.

Writer.ly Reward - Start Your Own Publishing Project
A survey by the New Your Times found that 81% of Americans either plan to write a book, or have already done it. Is this you? Do you have a book in you? Get a head start of your publishing project with three educational webinars, plus access to a special one-hour online conference where you can ask me direct questions about your particular project. As CEO of Writer.ly and a publishing and marketing consultant, I've helped shepherd shelves and shelves of books into the world. Click here for more details.

A HUGE thanks to all of you that have already backed Book Lush. Much love, Kelsye

You're invited to Book Lush LIVE!

You're invited! Come experience Book Lush in person at Liberty Bar in Seattle this Tuesday.

>> Click here to RSVP. <<

This is the second Book Lush meetup. We had such a great time at the first one, we decided to open it up and invite everyone! The live events offer a stimulating evening of good book recommendations and excellent craft cocktails. Bring a book idea for the bartender to match with a drink.

Plus, we're going during Liberty's happy hour. Bonus!

About Liberty Bar

Opened in 2006, we are constantly striving to provide our neighborhood with a great place to stop by, relax and enjoy outstanding spirits, cocktails, beer, wine and sushi.

Our primary interest at Liberty is our expansive liquor menu and our scratch cocktails – meaning that each and every cocktail is made with fresh juice when you order it, not from juice pressed earlier in the day or simply poured from a can. There’s no comparison between a scratch drink and any other – and you should expect no less.

Please feel free to ask your bartender or server to assist you in choosing a liquor that you may never have tried. At any time we have over 85 Bourbons and Ryes, 100+ Scotch, Japanese, Indian, Irish and Canadian Whiskies, and a premium selection of 40+Gins, dozens of Vodkas, 50+ Tequilas and 20′ish fine Mezcals in addition to quality liquors, some made here which we use to create our classic and original cocktails.

See all the details and RSVP here.

Or, if you're into Facebook, we do that too.


Want to share the event? Here's a tweet you can copy and paste:

Lucky folks in #Seattle can join #BookLush 3/11 at Liberty (@libertylovesyou) for cocktails matched to books! http://ow.ly/upfi5

XO and thanks again and again for your support! Kelsye

What drink matches your book?

For all you lucky folks at the AWP conference in Seattle today, I will be matching books to drinks in person at the Writer.ly table o-10 from 11:30 - 1pm today. I would love to see you!

Not in Seattle? Take a look at the Book Lush project online. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kelsye/book-lush-what-to-drink-with-what-to-read

Get hooked on Hooked

Hooked, the last installment of The Breakup Girl series is now available on Amazon! These stories take a bit of a darker turn from the earlier books in the series.
>> Take a look at Hooked now.

Amazon gift cards all used up?

Have you used up your holiday Amazon gift cards yet? Have no fear! Feed your reading habit with a free download of "Smart Girl, Dumb Love." Great for fans of Lydia Davis, Chelsea Handler and Raymond Carver.

Download here.


I kick off this book with "Five Things You'll Hate About Me." You'll find it frightfully familiar. Get it now. This is a ONE DAY promotion. Tuesday only.

Do you read smart scifi?

An author client of mine is looking for beta readers for his new fiction novel (scifi leaning). As a beta reader, you'll get access to the content before publication, plus a free digital version when the book is launched on Amazon. Just sign-up at the link below if interested. THANKS!

my link text
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gHm8...

About the book:

Martin Nitram lives within the crushing reality of the hypercompetitive Grid, where people voluntarily buy and sell each other on a regulated human market exchange. In a world where efficiency rules and few have time to dream and imagine, Martin has an exceptional and undeveloped gift: he is an uber-dreamer.

Capitalist titan Byron Brooks has secret plans to exploit Martin’s talent with a revolutionary medical device that which, for a price, enables even the most mechanistic and sleep-deprived human to dream again. As Brooks vies for control of the young man’s fate, Martin follows his dreams and triggers a series of unpredictable events that will empower him to either transcend the Grid or lead him to insanity.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gHm8...

Looking for early readers (beta readers)

I'm looking for beta readers of my new release "Different Love". This is a collection of four short stories, centered around themes of marriage, love and lust.

As a beta reader, you'll get access to the content before publication, plus a free digital version when the book is launched on Amazon. (I can also give it to you in mobi or whatever format you prefer.) You'll also see your name in my acknowledgment page.

Please sign up here if interested:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ib9q...


THANKS!

Free book day

A little exciting, Smart Love, Dumb Girl just made it to #52 is in Amazon's bestselling short stories ranking. PLUS It's free for just today. Please download and let's see how high we can get it!

Download here.

Thanks for your help!

XO, Kelsye