B.L. Bruce's Blog, page 8
March 12, 2018
Award Winning Poetry “The Weight of Snow” Book Trailer
2014 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY)
2014 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY)
2014 SAN FRANCISCO BOOK FESTIVAL HONORABLE MENTION
The poems in The Weight of Snow are heartfelt, skillfully written, and keenly observed fragments of the natural world and our lives there. Bravo.
– Gary Young, Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, Pushcart Prize
winning author of No Other Life, Braver Deeds, and Pleasure
In The Weight of Snow, author B. L. Bruce explores the many plights of the human species, from the mysteries of the heart and the inescapability of death, to the depths of human emotion. Told from the perspective of a poetic naturalist, Bruce shares her appreciation of the wild, illuminating the profound in the mundane while chronicling the natural world as both an observer and as an irrefutable part of it. Her poems focus strongly on image and locality, conjuring the imaginations of readers and celebrating the beauty in the follies of the human condition and its capacity to grip the soul.
PAPERBACK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON $8.99
eBOOK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, GOOGLE PLAY,
iTUNES, & BARNES & NOBLE $2.99
• • •
February 26, 2018
Join me on Twitter!
Check out my brand new Twitter feed, @the_poesis, for my latest updates!
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February 16, 2018
Poems “Feel” and “Tempest” Accepted in California Ecopoetry Anthology “Fire and Rain” from Scarlet Tanager Books
Poems “Feel” and “Tempest” accepted in the forthcoming anthology, Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California from Scarlet Tanager Books.
The collective contributions to this anthology come together to weave a braid of voices examining and celebrating the dazzling variety of California’s unique biological zones.
This anthology will provide an arguably much-needed platform for the ecologies of California—from Sierra to Mojave Desert; valleys and streams; coast and forest—and will hopefully take its place in the canon of the finest writing and writers of our state
FEEL
Like every other summer afternoon
the sails unfurl in the blue spoon of bay,
white-capped but not enough to rouse
the silty sand. A pale half moon is
held up in the sky, coerced by those laws
we cannot see. A cattle egret flies east
from the lagoon, caring little for the
shrieking company of the terns,
in from the north and sheltering in the
marshes. A plover cries from the mudflat,
thrumming of waves heaving themselves
at the shoreline. Were you here I’d point out
the coyote’s tracks through the sand,
the distance between where each paw fell,
tell you he was running. I’d reveal the place
where, beneath the dune grass, the gull’s
body lay torn open and hollowed, say
to you, This, this is how I feel.
TEMPEST
Through the night the trees rocked
to and from, boughs bucked and pitched
against one another and I remember
thinking it sounded like weeping.
At first light I left the hilltop for
the shadows of the canyon. The river
was frenzied, filled with leaves
and waves and mud. I stood for a time
at that tempest, where it boils as it greets
the sea. When I turned to leave
I found the owl’s nest had fallen
from the branch that embraced it,
torn away from the old fir in the storm,
the knot of it resting at its roots.
Tonight the moon is full. I trace
its course through the sky beyond
the window in my sleeplessness, a square
of moonlight at the foot of the bed, later
waking to find it has shifted and I
am bathed in it. I am imagining the owl
in the tall four hundred-year-old Douglas fir,
standing sentinel in the black of the night
beneath a smattering of bright stars.
• • •
December 23, 2017
Poem “Tempest” Published in Canary #39, Winter 2017/18
Through the night the trees rocked
to and from, boughs bucked and pitched
against one another and I remember
thinking it sounded like weeping.
At first light I left the hilltop for
the shadows of the canyon. The river
was frenzied, filled with leaves
and waves and mud. I stood for a time
at that maelstrom, where it boils as it greets
the sea. When I turned to leave
I found the owl’s nest had fallen
from the branch that embraced it,
torn away from the old fir in the storm,
the knot of it resting at its roots.
Tonight the moon is full. I trace
its course through the sky beyond
the window in my sleeplessness, a square
of moonlight at the foot of the bed, later
waking to find it has shifted and I
am bathed in it. I am imagining the owl
in the tall four hundred-year-old Douglas fir,
standing sentinel in the black of the night
beneath a smattering of bright stars.
c. Bri Bruce
November 16, 2017
Wonderful Testimonial from Author Allison Marie Conway on “Luminae”
Bri’s design skills are incredible and she has an amazing way of listening to what my vision is for the book and making it into the perfect expression through imagery. I have been complimented countless times for the aesthetic beauty of my books, both on the interiors and the covers. As the proud author of two books, I cannot be more thrilled or feel more blessed to have [Bri] on my self-publishing team!
– Allison Marie Conway, Author of Luminae
Luminae is available in print from Amazon.com
November 2, 2017
CALLING NaNoWriMo AUTHORS! Book Publishing Special
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In honor of NaNoWriMo, I’m discounting my book publishing services until the end of 2017!
Starting at $599* I’m offering print cover design to spec, book interior layout and design, and eBook conversion for manuscripts up to 200 pages. This also includes eBook cover.
Have more than 200 pages? Get a free quote!
For samples of my work, visit www.bribruceproductions.net
Read my clients’ testimonials here.
OTHER SERVICES:
– BOOK DESIGN – interior layout and formatting for both traditional printers and print on demand providers
– BOOK PRINTING
– eBOOK CONVERSION
– ISBN, BARCODE and CIP BLOCK set up and assignment
– BOOK REVIEWS and contests for cash prizes and marketing to wide audiences
– ACCOUNT SET UP AND DISTRIBUTION WITH ALL MAJOR eBOOK RETAILERS, including Apple, Google, Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
Kobo and more.
– SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING (post to blog with over 9,000 readers, reviewers, and writers)
– PUBLISHING CONSULTATION SERVICES
*Manuscripts up to 200 pages; No more than 20 images; No footnotes: Does not including editing. Editing services must be purchased separately. Author can supply cover image, or stock images may be used.
September 29, 2017
New Poem “Yellow” in Honor of #NationalPoetryDay
YELLOW
What I can’t forget is the sound
of that yellow warbler. Up and up
we climbed Wasatch Mountain,
poolings of snow lingering
in the shadowed valleys.
In the quiet along the riverbank
we did not speak.
Cupping our hands,
drinking the sweet alpine snowmelt,
the wind slipped through poplars,
and that warbler song echoed in the canyon.
Years later, I still hear it, that colorful sound,
and think of that day upstream,
those chalk-white poplars,
high mountain wind.
c. 2017, B. L. Bruce
Award-winning author of The Weight of Snow and The Starling’s Song
2014 International Book Awards Finalist in the Poetry Category
2014 San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention Recipient in the Poetry Category
2014 USA Best Books Awards Finalist in “Poetry” Category
2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival Award Honorable Mention (Poetry Category)
September 4, 2017
Excerpt from 2017 Pacific Rim Book Awards Honorable Mention in Poetry: “The Starling’s Song”
2017 PACIFIC RIM BOOK FESTIVAL AWARD RECIPIENT
(POETRY CATEGORY) – HONORABLE MENTION
In a similar vein as her award-winning The Weight of Snow, Bruce’s newest collection of poetry explores the themes of love, loss, and nature, both human and not. Written in its entirety during a twenty-eight day stay in a remote cabin in the forests of Northern California, B. L. Bruce’s chapbook, The Starling’s Song, affirms and renews the author’s proclaimed lyricism in thirty-five new poems.
• • • • •
MAGPIE
Once I begged to forget you.
Yet there you were,
beneath the old cypress
and then in the rain,
the sound of surfbeat echoing
against the small white house.
Often I’d dream of what it might be like
to love you, the art of it,
being recreated again and again.
Always, the dreams followed me
through the morning like a ghost.
I’d begin wanting you to love me:
the moth destroyed in pursuit,
all delicateness destroyed by flame.
And in the hours I am most lonely,
still I think of you. All those
long suffered months
learning to forgive myself,
your uncertainty, your judgment,
feeling foolishly weak-willed
and driven mad as a magpie
into those desperate breaths
before dawn.
c. B. L. Bruce
August 2, 2017
LOOKING FOR MUSICIANS/BANDS
The film production company I work for as an associate producer, Broken Wagon Films, LLC, founded in Santa Cruz, California, is currently working on its debut feature-length historical/conservation/adventure documentary about Baja, California, Mexico, called “The Devil’s Road.”
We highly encourage you to check out our site at www.brokenwagonfilms.com.
We’ve completed a number of shorts as a proof-of-concept for our crowdfunding campaign and different length trailers/teasers for promotions.
We are currently seeking musicians or bands with a particular style for music use in the film. Think 1960s/70s Latin/South American surf/folk/garage rock. Please see our current videos to get an idea of the style we are looking for.
This is a chance for an established or emerging musician or music group to gain exposure, as we plan to present our film to a number of film festivals and screenings across the country and abroad.
Check out these links:
WEBSITE: http://www.brokenwagonfilms.com
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0yRlXoSaIve9Odxb4ZcXRQ
Please email brokenwagonfilms (at) gmail (dot) com
to show us your work!
Follow us on Twitter @brokenwagonflms, Facebook,
Instagram @brokenwagonfilms & YouTube!
July 27, 2017
‘The Starling’s Song’ Wins Honorable Mention in the 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival
HOLLYWOOD, CA – July 24th, 2017 – Award-winning poet B. L. Bruce’s third book, The Starling’s Song, has received Honorable Mention in the poetry category of the 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival, honoring the best books of the spring.
This award will be added among others the author has received, including Finalist in the 2014 International Book Awards and Finalist in the USA Book Awards in the poetry category for her debut collection of poetry titled The Weight of Snow, which recently was re-released as a second edition under Black Swift Press (June, 2017).
The Starling’s Song was written entirely during a four-week-long stay in a rustic cabin in the remote forests of Northern California, where this unique backdrop guided much of her work in this collection.
Heralded as the “daughter of California’s wild places” by Mendocino Coast Writer’s Conference executive director and author Karen Lewis, Bruce’s work continues to inspire nature-mindedness in readers and bestow them with her known lyricism and image-centric verse.
Her newest collection of poetry is set to be released late summer of 2017.
