Callum McLaughlin's Blog, page 76

Snow Globe

Merry Christmas! (image found here)

A joyous dance of white ���

Encapsulated merriment

Held in eager hands

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This will likely be my last post before Christmas, so I wish you all a very lovely time no matter how you���re spending it.

Vespertine Heart

Lioness by night,

open up your Vespertine heart

by glow of weeping moonlight.

Nocturnal flower in bloom,

soothe your wounds in crystal waters

and wash away the gloom.

Soundscape of tender bustle,

enchanting, vibrant sustenance

from merely gentlest rustle.

And though the sun must rise

you will sink into the shadows,

too precious for their eyes.

Nightmares

We live in fear of darkest nights

and ghouls that lurk beneath our beds -

a shield of lights ignite to chase the demons.

But the biggest nightmares wait for open eyes,

no luxury of waking.

Uprising – Featuring Callum McLaughlin

callummclaughlin:

I was lucky enough to get to co-write a poem with the very talented Johnny Ojanpera. It was a pleasure to work with him and I hope you enjoy what we came up with.

Originally posted on johnny ojanpera:

Prison of flesh and blood, bars of broken bone

Long forgotten whispers flow on tainted blood

In with the tide as dawn incites the memories

The world battered, every dot of poison creeps in

Drifting now in the dull ache of a barren dusk

A former light, the feast for toxic tongues

Open eyed, thirsty, they listen as if drawn

By a lie so believable, fiction surreal

The��melancholy afterglow, concealed from lifeless eyes

Unbearable burdens, born of vicious verse

Will our verse become as their raucous cries?

This biting back seems the only hope

To drown out the egos driving this inferno ship

Flaming yet, they will then carry the bonds

At peace with restless demons, eternal in their dance

Better orchestras of languid sorrow than an absence of pith

��

For I have grown unsinkable; stubborn in defiance

Rising from ashes with scars veiled by skin

Callum���s work can���

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Reader Problems | Book Tag

The eternal sufferings of a bookworm.

I���ve seen this tag around quite a bit, most recently on The Bookie Monsters, so thought it was about time I got involved.

You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

I wish I could say I had some sort of logical system but I really don���t. For the most part I just go with what I���m in the mood for. If my TBR is looking particularly daunting I am guilty of sticking to standalones for a while, using the logic that I���ll get through more stories that way rather than getting hooked on one series for a while.

You���re halfway through a book and you���re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Given that there are so many books out there that I want to get to, I really would love to be able to cut and run but generally, I���ll see it out to the end. I just can���t help myself.

The end of the year is coming and you���re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I haven���t ever actually set myself a reading target before. I just try to read something every day and then I���m happy. If I did enter a challenge and fell behind I would make a point of trying to catch up though, as I���d be annoyed if I felt like I���d failed.

The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

Accurate.

Everyone and their mother love a book you really don���t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

WordPress friends, of course. In all seriousness though, that���s definitely one of the upsides of the internet. You���ll always be able to find someone who shares the same opinion as you.

You���re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I���m rarely reduced to actual tears by a book so if one has managed to evoke such a response then my goodness it must be a good one and is therefore more than deserving of those tears. I���d probably already be feeling awkward in public anyway so what the heck.

A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you���ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book?

Probably not. I���d most likely start the sequel and hope things come back to me. If that fails, I���d probably google it and jog my memory. This is another reason why I often wait until a series has been out for a while before I read it, as I can read them all in fairly quick succession if I want.

You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I���ve let a few nearest and dearest borrow books before (it only seems fair when I���ve been badgering them to try it, relentlessly telling them they���d love it). If someone asked to borrow a book I wasn���t comfortable parting with I���d just politely tell them it���s precious to me and has sentimental value, so I would prefer not to lend it out.

Reading ADD. You���ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Thankfully this has rarely happened to me. *touches wood* I would just keep reading though; something is bound to grab your attention and pull you back in eventually.

There are so many new books coming out that you���re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

All of them. Duh.

After you���ve bought the new books you can���t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Because of my erratic way of choosing what order to read books, some will jump right to the top of my pile as soon as I buy them, others will sit for weeks or even months before I get to them. It really depends on what I���m in the mood for and what jumps off the shelf at me (metaphorically speaking, of course).

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I tag anyone who has ever experienced the pain of these reader problems to take part. I���d love to know your answers so be sure to let me know if you do it.

Glassy Prisons

You stifle me, like candles cased in glassy prisons

warped by expectation.

But see how my light shines through and dances in your eyes;

stand close enough and feel my warmth

radiate beyond your treasured cell.

And once my soul reforms

know I will break free;

confinement denounced to a pile of bitter shards

ready to pave my way towards liberty

and cut you if you dared to follow.

Cocoon

I thrive on sweetest isolation,

nourished by the embers

dancing in your eyes.

Carried on their ocean

lost but fearing rescue,

content to feast on splendid fire.

The cocoon surrounds

in a warming embrace

and though the storms will rage

we won���t feel a thing,

for in the dark I cling to sparkling wonder;

those eyes will see me through.

Too Old For Kids’ Lit?

Can you outgrow certain books?

I���m not certain which country it was referring to but throughout November, I heard a few mentions of it being Children���s Literature Month, during which people are encouraged to pick up books from the children���s genre. I thought this was a lovely idea as I sit firmly in the camp that believes you are never too old to appreciate the charm, wonder and vivid imagery of a kid���s lit book, or to take something from the often poignant messages behind them.

I���ve known a few people to look down their noses somewhat at children���s literature or Young Adult books, claiming they have ���outgrown them���, and while I���m all for people reading the genres they enjoy, there���s never a reason nor a time to rule out an entire category in my eyes.

You���d be surprised at how many books are officially classed as being for children or teens, with some of the most famous, beloved works of fiction for youngsters having been enjoyed by people of all ages across the globe, from Harry Potter to Peter Pan; Alice���s Adventures in Wonderland to Black Beauty; The Hobbit to The Hunger Games; the list is truly endless, and the label simply means a book is accessible for younger readers, not exclusive to them.

In fact, I was inspired by the occasion to finally get round to re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia series for the first time since childhood and I���m planning to make it something of a resolution to continue mixing plenty of children���s literature and YA into my reading. Whether for easy escapism, wonderful storytelling, or pure nostalgia, I think it���s a pretty great thing to do.

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Which children���s books and YA fiction have you enjoyed as an adult? Do you like to revisit classics from your own childhood?

Remember

Remember that when it gets dark,

I promise it gets light again.

Remember that behind each peak,

a splendid sun, it waits to rise.

Remember that beneath still lakes,

there is life; so small yet strong.

Remember that you���re not alone;

my heart is here to break your fall.

It’s Time I Introduced Myself

callummclaughlin:

I did a post over on The Write Stuff – A great blog for readers and writers alike who want to share their love of the written word.

Originally posted on The Write Stuff:

Having followed this blog for a while now, I know what a great community it is, but for reasons I won���t even attempt to make an excuse for, I haven���t actually posted here yet. So, I thought where better to start than with something of an introduction to my writing, since a mutual love of the written word is what unites us all.

Fiction was my first love but poetry has really captured my attention recently (so much so I plan to release my first collection of poems early next year). I���ve been playing around with haikus in particular recently and just put together this short piece that seems quite appropriate for the season, which I���ve simply entitled Winter.

���

Crystalline in beauty,

one in a dance of many ���

Welcome gentle snowflake

���

As for my fiction work, I���ve published two books thus far, both of which are���

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