R.J. Conte's Blog
May 27, 2021
The Frog Prince’s Courtship Cover Share!
Cover Share and Pre-Order Sign-Up!
The Frog Prince’s Courtship is coming out in June!!
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December 1, 2020
I Go Crazy-Haired…
Bloggers! Friends! Family! Readers!
Hello!
How are you surviving this crazy year? 
It’s been way too long since I posted on this blog, but never fear – I’m not saying goodbye or anything. I promise to continue to post, even if this year has been overwhelming. I’ve written a ton more poetry – which I really need to upload here for you – and am thinking of publishing a short story and poetry compilation sometime in the future! I also wrote my first fantasy (think magic and fairy ta...
August 13, 2020
The Plea for Shining Armor
Have you seen that poignant meme that’s going around? It says something about girls not wanting a knight in shining armor, but one in damaged armor because it shows he knows how to fight – and win. My dear friend, Brianna Tibbetts even wrote a fantastic children’s book with a similar premise: The Knight in Battered Armor.
However, as much as I get and like that meme, some of us just come shiny.
Our armor is polished to a shine that’s mirror-worthy. We reflect the sun so bright it blinds you. ...
July 10, 2020
Charcoal
My head is full of charcoal
Sticky, chalky, stained
Discoloring and endless
It writhes and it pours
Out of the mouth in my skull
So scrub on your knees
My white rug is spotted
Blackness it bleeds
Yet if I’d scrub with water
The living water of Him
I find it actually lifts
And disappears onto
The chafing rag of His mercy
That doesn’t strike me where I stand
The interesting thing about charcoal
Is things come away whiter
Teeth, skin, carpet
Are fresher, snowy
Who would have thought that endless bl...
June 11, 2020
Dust Blog Tour Stop #13!
Stop #12 is https://www.elizabethvantassel.com/thorn-and-vine-blog/
Stop #13 – ME. You are here!
Stop #14 is http://www.holly-christine.wixsite.com/adventure
Have you ever wished the story of Peter Pan went on? That the cute, precocious, and crazy little spitfire who never wanted to grow up – actually DID grow up a little? My best friend, Kara, has written a sequel to Peter Pan – and (no lie) it was one of my VERY favorite books of all of last year. I adored it. You need to get yourself ...
Dust Blog Tour Stop #12!
Stop #12 is https://www.elizabethvantassel.com/thorn-and-vine-blog/
Stop #13 – ME. You are here!
Stop #14 is http://www.holly-christine.wixsite.com/adventure
Have you ever wished the story of Peter Pan went on? That the cute, precocious, and crazy little spitfire who never wanted to grow up – actually DID grow up a little? My best friend, Kara, has written a sequel to Peter Pan – and (no lie) it was one of my VERY favorite books of all of last year. I adored it. You need to get yourself ...
February 27, 2020
Precedent
Not once but twice
Lost and pain, nerves on ice
Retching, groaning
Aching, moaning
Why wouldn’t I fear the precedent
Even if all assumes an accident
No joy in marching forward
Even though I’m lured
By the delight I forgot
Shrouded in the mass that failed a lot
Of us; yet try again – here we go!
The future I wish to know
February 23, 2020
Revelation 3:11
“Hold fast to what you have,
So that no one may seize your crown”
You have grabby hands
Kleptomaniac
You have your own crown
But you want to dash mine to sharp metal shards
Your words breathe fire
Which melts the gold
Your bitterness tarnishes the mirror face
Like slow-creeping rot
Your empty actions pluck the gems like a scalpel
And it’s all I can do to fight you off
Often it’s my own hands
That remove the glittering diadem
From my very own brow
And shut it away in a deep drawer
My...
February 20, 2020
At That Level
I’m at that level
The second strongest pain
I’ve felt the agony
At the very top
And this is one step removed
I don’t long to die
I’m not at my limit
But I’m a single level away
And so close to the end
This is almost worse
At level two
Because experience says
“You can take one more”
And hope says
“You survived one more
So why are you quaking now?”
The thing no one knows
Is people die at level two
They drown at level two
They raise their loaded gun
And they end if in surprise
Because the lie is...
February 13, 2020
Impossible
You are impossible
Utterly impossible
I did not close my heart against you
It closed
On its own
