Saturday, December 5, 2015

Sweet Dreamland Wheels by JM Scott FREE!

Hey all this is just a quick little post to tell you that my most current poetry book, Sweet Dreamland Wheels is FREE until December 8, 2015.

Sometime in the very near future, both of my Christmas books will be free.  Here is a little sample from the book:


The Donner Diner Special

Available everyday
our caramelized smiles
squeezed our bed

Available everyday
our golden gravy
scrambled our choice

 Available, midnight only
                                                 with marinara toast
                                            your chopped

Words gathered from the Eat’n Park menu

I hope you all get the book and enjoy it.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Happy December 1

I am happy to report that I did win this year at Nanowrimo! In fact, I hit 50,000 words last week almost a full week before the end of November. My novel is tentatively called Havana, WV but that may change since I never really liked the title, it is more of a place holder. Last night, once we ate dinner, I was sort of lost without writing. The sad part is I have three stories I am working on that need to be finished. I need to pick on and get back on track.

In the meantime, I decided I am going to hardcore edit and revise last year's novel Gone Before Dawn. It needs organization and a well defined timeline. That is what I am working on now. It will be broken into defined chapters that also signify time as well since it takes place in two different dimensions. I really believe this is novel and truth to be told the one I just wrote is something a publisher will want to publish. I even decided on submitting Gone Before Dawn to YA publishers.

I don't set with the intent of writing YA novels, it just happened that way.  Is it too cocky to think that I have a decent novel or novels? I suppose it could also be called confidence but to me it seems like I am full of myself which I am not. Are writer's allowed to think their work is okay or dare I say decent? 

The next term in school started and I am taking poetry workshop two and playwriting workshop. Both classes I am really looking forward to. 

I still want to write a couple of short stories for an upcoming ebook and I am wondering why I can't whip out a short story. I am looking into prompts and whatnots but nothing is inspiring, so if you have prompts please share them. I really would like to start writing a short story at least once a month if not more.

So that's about all for today, I am going to work on some poetry for class.

Till next time....

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Life in Shadows

In the afternoon
the devil zeppelin
in the sepulture café
destroys pretty young things

he’s certain
the debonair delivery
of the silver medalist mummy
is going dark

and this soul society
is a tedious payphone
surging offbeat nuclei
to wipe obscurity out

as cobblestone crawfish become
the topic sentence
in the old Radio Flyer.

In the seat of the plastic
garden chair,
the devil zeppelin is
a former turbulence,
a nervous bootlegger,
a savage certification
of life in shadows.


Many words gathered from Google search results for the phrase "post-hypnotic woodpile," pages 1-5.   Enjoy!

Friday, November 13, 2015

Seaspring Briar by JM Scott FREE 11.15

Hey all, The wind is really crazy out tonight. Sometimes it makes me think there is a snow storm, but when I go out there is nothing. Although the weather folk are calling for snow showers  later tonight. That is something to look forward to. 

A couple of weeks ago, I released my latest ebook, Seaspring Biar on Kindle. It is now free for the next few days! Woo hoo.

This is a long short story and comes in around 12,000 words, if you care about those kinds of things. I wrote many years ago and it was originally  published in an old blog. I really believe this story was decent. It is amazing the more I write and the more I stay dedicated to it, the more I find my earlier stuff to be kind of sub par and not worth  my time editing and creating an ebook out of it. Yet, this story was different. I always liked this story.

What is it about? Briar Rowen is a recent divorcee who decides to live in the family home, Seaspring Briar, which is on the coast of Maine. When she moves in, she realizes her dead great grandparents still reside within in the walls. It is up to Briar to set them free or become a permanent resident herself.  There is some spooky scenes and one bloody scene. It is definitely more of a haunted house story than anything else.

What do you think about the cover? I was a bit leery of the minimalist approach but I really like it. The white is also something that I don't normally use but if I would have changed the background color to black the blood splatter would not be as pronounced. Sometimes it is nice to have a simple book cover. I think it really grabs someone's attention simply because of the image and the white background.

So  grab your free copy today. I hope you enjoy it. I better get working on my novel.

Till next time...

Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Wolf's Red Rose by JM Scott FREE

Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that The Wolf's Red Rose is FREE until Wednesday.  Following this promotion, my newest release will be free.  This story is a retelling of the popular fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. It is told from the point of view of the wolf and explains why he went after grandma and little red riding hood.

Years ago, it started with a writing prompt. I never finished the story. As I was going through an old journal and typing up all the good stuff from it I came upon this story and I thought hey this isn't so bad.   I hope you grab a free copy and read it. It is a short story and it reads quick.

Till next time....

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Halloween Treat- Moonswallow Gates by JM Scott FREE

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that Moonswallow Gates is free for the next few days. I did change this book. As you can see the cover is new and the inside is the same but I went through it again and fixed whatever needed fixed. I hope you pick up a copy and I really do hope you enjoy it.

I just signed up for Nanowrimo, yesterday in fact. I wasn't decided on what I was going to do. But tell you what, I need to get out of this slump and I thought this would be perfect. I don't have much of a plot,  but I have the beginning. The novel has no name as of yet and the main character is a woman or should I say a teen but she has no name. I think I am going to write at the seat of my pants for this one. Oh yeah I am going to write stream of consciousness,  and I am kind of excited.

In the immediate future, I am working on a long short story ebook called "Seaspring Briar". It's about 6 or more years old. My style is a lot different now but I think Seaspring has merit. It is a haunted house story. I really love my haunted houses.  I'll let you know when it is available for Kindle. So that's about it.

Wish me luck or cheer me on this November because I really need it. So many days these last few weeks, I just wanted to quit but I just can't. It's too much apart of who I am .

Till next time...

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Hitchhiker

Heading north? Where
Igloos are made of ink and paint
Take me with you . My
Cataracts create a blurry world, it’s
Hot in Florida and I just want to
Hit the liquor store, then seduce an
Incubus. Because Broadway
Kicks are just a fantasy.
Ever think of heading north where
Raspberry ribbons undulate the night sky.



****
Happy National Poetry Day! Here is a poem I wrote a couple of years ago. This is an acrostic using the word "hitchhiker". Have a wonderful day!

Poetry Collages

Hey everyone, I am going to make another post here shortly but since it is National Poetry day, I thought I would bring mention to my poetry collages, I have for sale on Etsy. Here is a sample:




































I make a new collage every week, and  I will have 52 finished at the end of this year.

All these collages will be collected in a book and published sometime early in 2016.

It all started with a bit inspiration in an art history class and I thought I could do this. So I sent away for travel brochures from almost all the states. I cut up the best pictures. I have a list words I collected from various places such as Facebook and news feeds. I also collected interesting phrases from people's speech.

Every week, I sit at the table. I pull a fresh sheet of 9x12 paper and then  root through my box of pictures. Sometimes, I want to use a particular picture, sometimes I am just drawn to a particular picture.  I arrange the pictures then paste them down.

Then it is time to create the poem. The picture may or may not speak to me. The words and phrases might inspire but this is not always the case. This particular poem was created mostly from my word and phrase list.

I invite you to browse through all the poetry I have for sale. In addition to the poetry collages, I also write custom name poems,  and offer Christmas poems for a variety of applications.

Happy National Poetry Day!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

October's Sunday

Hello all, it's been a week since I last wrote and that is a pretty good improvement. I want to say I was busy writing, but that would be a lie? So why aren't you writing? You maybe thinking. I am, for lack of a better word, discouraged.  I send things away and it is always rejects. I know it that is how it rolls but that doesn't mean it makes it better.

My husband said to me, "do you think a doctor just gives up with your heart laying on chest  because he is discouraged?" While he may be discouraged, he sure doesn't give up. 

I am lacking motivation. It's like everything is at  a standstill or everything is moving around me and I am not moving. I am just breathing.

I was thinking the other day, how luck I truly am. I am lucky because I don't have to work outside the home. It's not like we are wealthy, he makes enough to live on and we make do without certain expenses like cable and expensive cell phone plans.  My kid is in school and my own school work probably only takes 10-12 hours a week to complete, which leaves ample time for writing. I am lucky because other writers have to work a full time job or more and then shove writing somewhere in between. And what am I doing? Wasting it all away for no good reason. I can write 1000 words in an hour on a good day. If I spent two hours writing at 1000 words an hour for 5 days a week, that would be 10000 words a week a novel written in 2 months.

Sometimes, I just need to hear from someone else that I am good at writing (or maybe some words of encouragement). I know I should be writing for myself.  I also want people to read my stuff. I put my work in the world and the only thing I hear are crickets.  I constantly wonder if I am boring, if I am worth anything as a writer.

As time goes long, I am lost in sea of writers and I am no one. I think maybe I lost whatever supposed talent, I ever had. I don't fit in with any group. This is very true in workshop classes, I feel like an outsider, like I don't belong. I am not similar to anyone else and I don't belong anywhere.

Okay enough whining for one day. Enjoy your day.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Religion, Government, and Kentucky Kim

Every where you look there is a battle and the battle is the separation between church and state. The word church in this sense is one of religion not of a place of worship. In this country, you can practice any religion you wish as guaranteed by the First Amendment. You can also run for president if you over 35 years of age and a natural American citizen. We, as a country, do not have a national religion. And you could travel even in your town and see variance of Christian churches as well as other religions such as Judaism, Islam and others. We revel in our freedom of choice, it is one of the things that makes this country great.

Does following religion make you any more moral than one who is either agnostic or atheist? 
In my opinion, no. I think a good person has a good moral compass regardless of religion. So if this is the case, then any person who shows to be of strong moral character should be able to be president. I wasn't alive then, but John Kennedy got a lot of slack for being Catholic. So why doesn't a person of Jewish faith or Islamic faith, or even an atheist run for president? Honestly, I think we as nation have the same understanding of what good morals are.

And remember the president is only one person. This country was also built on a checks and balances system. The president cannot do too much with out congressional approval (and also don't forget we actually VOTE for these people. The president is actually elected by the electoral college. If you remember, George W Bush won electoral vote and the presidency, but Al Gore had the popular vote).

When thinking about religion, should government officials (as in elected officials by the people) impose their religious beliefs on other people?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! This will then violate everyone else's constitution right to practice the religion of our choice. A president may pray to God but he doesn't force everyone to pray to God.  This brings us to Kentucky Kim, who as you know denies same sex marriage licenses, even though it is her job. She cites profound religious beliefs that homosexuality is wrong. Okay so she thinks, homosexuality is wrong but what about the people who do not believe in God or believe homosexuality is natural, is she not forcing her own opinions on others who do not share the same belief.

She is not a clergy person, she was never asked to preform the marriages. And if she was a judge, she would still have to perform same sex marriages because that is her job.  Her job is to issue the marriage license. She says the marriage is wrong in God's eyes. Who is she to judge? If God made the rule, then he should be the one to judge. From my understanding, God forgives those who ask for it. Maybe she should ask forgiveness later and in private for issuing the licenses. I didn't realize she was the savior incarnate.

Humans have been around longer than the Bible. And homosexuality has been around longer than the Bible (it is evident in homosexual pairings in the animal kingdom) And if God is the creator of all things then why did he create Homosexual people? Then tell them it is wrong.  God also gave us free will,  but many gay people say they didn't choose to be gay, they were born that way. So who is right and who is wrong? Why is it other cultures and religions are fine with homosexuality and some Christian sects are not, even though they all follow the same words.

Whatever a gay person's relationship with God or lack there of is their own business, it is not anyone else's business. It is definitely not the job of a county clerk to pass judgment on someone's soul.

The legality of same sex marriages are a separation of church and state. The state recognizes the lawful union of a homosexual couple. If you think that is wrong, fine and dandy because the First Amendment allows you to have to those thoughts in public. But if you are an elected official, do your job because you have to separate your job from your personal beliefs because that ultimately is what is fair for all people regardless of religious beliefs.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Fester

The boils appeared at the same moment her great-aunt died. She didn’t know that yet, as she was under a mountain of blankets with her current boyfriend at his family’s cabin. She didn’t notice them until the next morning. There were two boils on her thick but not too thick upper thighs and a boil under each breast. The boils seemed to swirl inside the skin pocket in the dingy light. At first they were not painful, but as the day wore one, they became more tender. The boils festered.

Erica took a shower and dabbed each boil with alcohol. They would go away on their own, she thought. As a larger girl, she was used to having pimples on her body and they would just go away.

Her phone rang as she dried off. "Hello," she said.

"Aunt Marian died last night," her mother said.

In Erica’s opinion, Marian was going to live forever. She was slim and trim ate all the right foods. She had a clean bill of health.

"Do they know how?" Erica asked.

"Not too sure, they are leading to an overdose."

"An overdose of what?"

"Oxytocin. But it doesn’t make sense because you know and I know she never even took an aspirin. When are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow, when is the funeral?"

"Not sure yet. Love you Erica."

"Love you too, Mom."

Two weeks after the funeral, the boils were still on Erica’s body. She touched them and it burned her fingertips. She pulled her fingers away and saw small blisters forming on the tips. She took pictures of the boils and searched on the internet and there was nothing to help her.

The old doctor, reeked of cigars hovered too long over her thighs, running his hands too softly and too gently around the sores. She was glad she wore prudent underwear as he had her hospital gown flipped up to her belly. He also spent too much time holding her double d breasts as he examined the boils. The nurse took notes and spent her time looking at the clock on the wall.

"Well?" Erica asked, glad she was able to cover back up with the flimsy gown.

"We will drain them and I am going to prescribe an antibiotic. You should be fine," he said and coughed deep. Both he and the nurse left and returned with a kidney-shaped bowl and forceps.

The nurse flipped over the gown exposing her once again to the doctor. He ran his hands down her legs and asked for her to spread her legs some. The nurse pressed the bowl against her leg. The doctor took the forceps and squeezed around the area. She felt his hot and stale breath against her leg.

The nurse shrieked. The doctor stopped pushing. Erica looked over and saw flesh was melting off the nurse’s face. Her eyes were dripping like overheated candle wax down her gooey face. The doctor rushed over.

"Fuckaroo, It looks like an acid burn," he said and led her out the room, where others screamed at the sight of her.

Erica shoved her legs in her shorts and put on her shirt, leaving her bra on the chair and snuck out of the examining room. The others in the office were trying to help the nurse. An ambulance pulled in just as Erica shoved the stick shift into reverse. She wanted to go home and crawl under the covers, but what if someone, like the cops came looking for her. Her mother’s home would be empty since she was at work, but that wouldn’t be good either. Someone would look for her there. She tossed her cell phone out the window and drove.

The pawn shop on eighth street had bars on the window and graffiti splattered on the brick walls. A black guy stood behind the counter with white hair that stood up like Don King. He had the ball game on and didn’t pay attention to her when she came in.

She slipped off her gold watch and her genuine aquamarine ring that her mother gave her when she turned eighteen.

"How much for this?" she asked. She started to sweat. It rolled down her face and dripped on the counter. It made her think of the nurse and her melting face.

"You in some kind of trouble?" he asked.

"How much for this stuff?" she asked again.

He took the watch and the ring and looked at. "This is really nice stuff. I don’t see these kind of items in this part of town. Six hundred for everything."

"Cash right?"

"Run a cash only business. You want the stuff back; you have to pay a $1000. Here’s your ticket. I’ll be right back."

He disappeared behind the door and returned with the cash.

She ripped the bills from his fingers and got back in her car. She made to Pembroke and pulled into a motel. As far as she knew, no one was looking for her. She wondered if the nurse was alive. She paid for the room with cash and collapsed on the squeaky bed.

"You can release us," a voice said from somewhere in the room.

She wasn’t drunk. She wasn’t stoned. So she snapped, it all made perfect sense. The scene at the doctor’s office was a hallucination. She needed to be in a straight jacket in a bouncy rubber room. Erica didn’t reply, because the voices weren’t real.

"You know you want to. Just squeeze and release us," the voice said again.

"You’re not real. I am imagining everything!" Erica screamed into the darkening room.

She turned on the television. The local news was airing.

"Just release us, it is that simple," the voice said again.

"Will you shut up?"

"Yes."

Erica transfixed her eyes on the attractive fresh from college news anchor man. She squeezed one on her leg. At first it was hot, then cold like cold metal in the middle of winter. Then she released the fluid from the others. Each time she felt more relaxed, more numb to the pain. Her heart rate slowed down. She felt like she was floating and climaxing at the same time. Her flesh tingled and rippled with great ecstasy. The room filled with a pale yellow light. Were there faces in the light? She couldn’t tell. She felt so amazing right now. She didn’t pay attention when the room became dark. Or that her heart slowed down even more. There was so much pleasure. She was so happy.

She didn’t hear the attractive Percy Vann, fresh from college anchor man say, "Here’s an interesting story from Montgomery County. Scientists say the meteorite donated by Marian Fitzgerald contained some kind of organic matter along with traces of oxytocin. There were also foreign substances found. Fitzgerald, 86, died shortly after finding the meteorite from an oxytocin overdose. Yet, Fitzgerald never took pain killers. Scientists are exhuming Fitzgerald’s body at this time for more information. More unanswered questions for this family as Erica Street, Fitzgerald’s great-niece, went missing after an incident at her doctor’s office. At this time we are not sure of went on but it is important Erica Street is found. Any information, call your local police."

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

On the Horizon

I wanted to publish another ebook since it has been a few months (actually I think it is three but who is counting). So I decided on publishing a short story collection. These are unpublished stories that I like. I wanted to make it  a good sized book, but I think that is not going to happen. I went through my computer looking for all my stories and I have list of five or six. One of them will be removed because I just don't really care for it all that much once I really thought about it. One story I wanted has vanished off my hard drive and it is not in the cloud either.

 As I went through my stories, I came upon a little gem of goodness. It was an unfinished story that takes place in the future. I like to think of it as quasi-utopian society. It has no title. It is written in present tense. The style in itself is something different then what I normally write. The story is already at novella length at 27,000 words.  For some reason, I quit writing it a couple of years ago. I think I was afraid of the style or the present tense. Since you know all the writing books say I should be doing a certain thing. The one class I am taking in school showed me it was okay to be different. So I say- fuck the rules.

When I go to write a story, I don't plan nor outline. I have vague ideas that just come upon me. I don't know how it will be written. The story tells me, the characters tell me  how to write the story. I am just a stenographer for them.

Yesterday, I started working on it. I am going to finish it. I will publish it in the future on Kindle. I am not sure yet if it will be a novel or a novella. I won't know until is done.  Of course this isn't the only unfinished story either.

There is another post apocalyptic story and one about a cult that is planned as an ebook from the start.  So I am going to finish those too. I am not sure what brought this gusto on,  considering I am 3 weeks behind in working on my poetry collages. I plan on catching up this week.


My body of work is slim considering how long I have been writing. I did lose stuff in notebooks  over the years. I always say I don't write as much as I should. Two days,  I wrote in the morning for a little more than an hour. Tomorrow will be three. I want to finish all these stories and do something with them.

I also want to write a new story for here as well since it has been awhile but I have a couple ideas already percolating. I am also thinking of writing a book of nothing but flash fiction but that is still in the planning stage.

I decided to be a writer and now it is time to be writing.

Till next time...

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

It's the End of August- Autumn is Almost Here

I looked yesterday at my stats and realized that I haven't posted in almost a month and it is on my to do list every week (as well as other things). I don't have a good excuse. I wasn't jetsetting in New York and LA promoting my bestselling book. I wasn't meeting with Speilberg about movie rights. No, it is something more simple. I was just lost. The myriad of days just swirl together like a fast forward blur. Sometimes, I forget the day. Sometimes, I forget what I was thinking two seconds ago. Sometimes, I just sit in front of my computer and cannot remember what I was going to do. It is a wonder I manage to get school work done, which has been the only thing getting done. Sometimes, I feel like a kitten who gets distracted by shiny things or just random Jeopardy garbage on the internet.

I am writing about Donald Barthelme (if you don't know who he is, really check him out.) He was published in The New Yorker a lot and I was looking through the archives and then I was distracted by 1960's ads. Oh they were so, I don't know. But there went  an hour down the toilet just looking at old ads.

It's the story ideas that hit me so hard. So many and then I don't write because I have no idea why. I guess I am distracted by something. However, I did manage to write a brand new story and send it to Cicada. Sometimes, I am lost in my thoughts.  And of course are not linear, they swirl around like tornados. I just can't stay focused on work. I think about writing and I think about this and that. I think about what I am going to make for dinner and I then I make something else all together.  It's being exhausted at some time late in the afternoon and having weird dreams that make me feel drained when I wake up. And that is why I haven't written maybe I already thought I did. Maybe I wrote the post in my head (which is something I sometimes do when I am writing in a story) and then I forget to actually write it down.  So I am merrily chugging along and not really doing anything. I know it is a weird paradigm.

Okay so a little bitching now because that is what I am thinking of. Sometimes, I would like to vanish from Facebook. I find it useless. All it does is make me feel like crap because I am ignored a lot. So what is the sense of being on there? I don't really think anyone would notice if I was gone except for two people. I could just quietly go into the night and just vanish off there. I know I am not supposed to let that shit bother me but I can't help that it does, it must be hardwired into my brain or something. I sometimes wonder, what if I did become famous, would I matter more? What if I got sick, would I matter more (and if I did get sick and started mattering more that would piss me off more than anything because a person shouldn't be sick and cared about more because to me it is just too late, just my opinion though).

Even my page for my Etsy store is ignored. No one likes anything or leaves a comment. No one does anything. I tried so many of the  so called helpful things on the internet and nothing is working.  It's almost as if I am there but I am really not there at the same. Sort of like a ghost.

Okay, I will try not to be gone so long next time but I can't make any promises. I am hoping some clarity returns soon. Till next time....

Friday, July 31, 2015

Moonswallow Gates by JM Scott FREE for the 5 Days

Hey all, This is just to let you know that Moonswallow Gates is FREE for the next five days worldwide. I did go through and re-edit once again and I hope that you find it better quality of writing. If you get the book and read it, I am asking for a review of some sorts. I would rather say you hated it then not saying anything at all. This is my first novel, I am working on second novel, but the beta  people are still reading right now. The second novel, I am going to try and find a traditional publisher.

I have several ideas for a new ebook and now I just have to get off my ass and write like the wind.

Enjoy the novel.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Communion

The silkworm is not golden,
no winks snap the tremors
no carbines on the roast,
no moraine in the slam.
Then a buckeye
from an insane ATM-
falls over me.

And when I look across the
dark lantern,
nothing is not there
except for the mellow heathen pumping
blubber into my heaven.
I find the swollen stars
sleeping in underwear
deep in sleepless death.



***
Another poem for your enjoyment.... just wrote it tonight. Would love to know what you think about this poem. What does it mean to you? Let me know, let's start a conversation.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Thoughts- Publishing, Ebooks and Something Else

When you are a big shot author, how much money do you make off an ebook sale? Snap, let's start at the beginning...

I really liked the show Witches of East End on Lifetime (I actually watched this on Netflix. Hey Netflix, here's an idea, YOU continue the show.)  and it has been cancelled by Lifetime. I noticed that it was based off a book so I dashed to Amazon because I was going to get the books and read them. The paperbacks were a little pricey and since I am not a Prime member anymore, I would have to pay for shipping. Then I thought I would get the Kindle version because it SHOULD be cheaper. The first one in the series  was on $3, so I purchased it. The other two were a lot more, I think one was 8 or so and the other was 10 or more. Are they crazy? Of course the price  was set by the publisher.  Stephen King's new book Finders Keepers was $15 for the Kindle edition and I bought the hardback for $17 at Sam's Club. And chances are if the other two Witches of East End books are at Wal- Mart,  I can get the paperback for less then ten bucks a piece if not closer to five, which is what I would pay for an ebook.

As an author who publishes on Kindle, I know what Amazon pays me for royalty. I am not a fancy pants writer so I price accordingly. Which leaves me wondering who is making the money for an ebook sale?  I read somewhere that the publisher covers the cost of printing the books, advertising, editing, etc. These expenses are paid for by the  sales of the book. The publisher takes their cut, then the author gets whatever they are supposed to. Am I right on this?   But when it comes to ebooks, there are no printing costs. Even if you pay for a formatter, it is one cost at the beginning.

Am I wrong to assume that these publishers are setting high prices for ebooks so they can turn a larger profit or does the author actually make more for ebook sales?  Someone tell me the answer! Anyone out there in the world that can shed some light on this topic?

I know publishing books is a business and if you aren't making money, then why do it? Not many companies would keep running in the red.

And really I have nothing else to say about anything at the moment. I tell you what this post sounded a lot better in my head. Sometimes that happens, maybe I should have wrote the post hours ago when it was perfect in my head.

Next week is my birthday and I will be 35. I look back at my life and the number doesn't seem all that big, but I know I already done so much in my life. Now I am at the golden age for being a fancy pants writer with the rest of them. So for my birthday, I wish to be a successful author. <Blowing out the candles>.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Clandestine Emasculation

the jump of flame
the human soil
the infamous malice
the clandestine manner
the alpha reputation
the oblique underhand
the imperial white house

the boudoir eavesdroppers
the lodges of magic
the secret memoirs
the pestilent greeting
the looking-glass fire

the ambition
the hate


the prescription of emasculation.



Found poem using words and phrases found on Google result pages 1-5 for the term "back stairs slanderer"

****

I'm trying to be more dedicated with all my writing and since I am almost done with my term at school, I had a free day to really work on writing. Right now, I am working on poems. I just wrote this one and for some reason I just had to post it on here. I don't know why but it seemed like a good idea. 

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Sweet Dreamland Wheels by JM Scott

Hey all, it has been pretty crazy with me these last few weeks. We went to the Jersey Shore at the beginning of this week. Now I am finishing up school work for the week. I wasn't planning on writing another book post but oh well. Anyway Sweet Dreamland Wheels is FREE for the next several days.  This book was created during the month of April and it is filled with found and experimental poetry. There is so much to talk about with this book but first lets talk about construction of the book.

Remember when I published my other poetry book Into the Garden and I said it was a nightmare because formatting was a bitch? This book was created using Kindle Kids Book Creator, a free tool provided by Amazon. If you are a poet and are looking to publish your poetry with the proper format, then you must get this tool. It is very simple to use. To construct the book your pages must be in PDF format. For this book all pages I set for 4x6. Then I manually added each page in the book. Because of the short pages the poems sometimes go to another page, but because of the formatting, no two poems run into one another. Since this worked so well, I will be reformatting my first poetry book to match this one.

The cover- it's pretty wild right? The center picture is actually coral in a fish tank and I did a special effect and it sort of looks like a face. Then I used a vector drawing colored it with various skins and pasted the photo in the center. The background is sand. I really like how it turned out. One great thing about poetry books, is the cover can be a little wild.

I hope you get your free copy and I really hope you enjoy the poems. Here is a sample that is found in the book.  Till next time...

So This is Really the Apocalypse

Drops of blood pitter-pat
down Phoenix Road
fresh stalks of piranha
rolled oranges
with fucking rough underwear,
and swallowed the scraps.

I saw los chicos
on the sticky trail
blanked and blurry
screaming-
forfeited their hearts
with no great loss.

The girl got eaten by an orange,
a raw throat
rolling in the gutter.

Source: Cortese, Kate. “Swallowed.” Nano Fiction. Nano Fiction, 10 May 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.


Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Get Your Summer Reading On! Books by JM Scott

Hello, For all intensive purposes summer is here and you are going to need some reading material. Currently, I have two books that are FREE and a brand new one I released today!

Blood on the Carpet is FREE! Until this Saturday June 6, 2015. This collection features one long short story and a bunch of flash fiction stories all in the mystery genre. Many of the stories have a female main character. It is an excellent read because the stories are so short and  perfect for reading stuck in traffic (that is if you are a passenger), on the beach or at the amusement park while you are waiting for kids to come off the rollercoaster.


 


Heart of a Goddess is a horror short story. Leonard meets the woman of his dreams in a snowstorm. He discovers she is Morrigan, Celtic Goddess of the underworld. She promises Leonard an eternal life with her if he brings her a beating human heart to consume. This was my first ebook I self published. And it is very special to me. I am in the Mythology class at school and we just learned about Morrigan and I got warm in fuzzy inside because I thought of this book right away. This book is FREE until this Saturday, June 6.

Finally, Sweet Dreamland Wheels my latest poetry collection is now live on Kindle. It is not on sale yet but will be soon. Currently, it is $1.99 in the US market. This book is all found poetry or experimental poetry. Some popular authors I used as sources are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, HP Lovecraft, CS Lewis, Joyce Carol Oates and others. Other sources included a menu, finding words while on a walk and listening to conversations. I will write more about this book in the coming days.



If you like you what read, there are plenty more of books to choose from in different genres and prices. And if you Kindle Unlimited member, you can read any of my books for free, anytime.

Till next time....

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Bacon and Coffee Under Grey Skies

I find elephant slaves
and pampered parrots
under the enraptured investigation
of glorifying realism
- a terrible ancient empty.

Drop evolution
a second time
and chew the roach bubble
of the harlequin martyr
who cheered overnight
- a fruitless skeleton fire.

I buy my friend
a chemical America
and forget the film industry
the saint, the gambit, the pride
-a majestic machine life.


Poem created from words found on Google search results for the phrase "charlatan elephant"

***

Sweet Dreamland Wheels, my upcoming poetry book features all found poetry. It will be available on Kindle the first week of June.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Book cover picture grabbed from Amazon.com
As many of you know, I make a weekly poetry collage from state travel brochures and other magazines. When South Dakota came, I found out Pioneer Girl  by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It is the annotated autobiography. So the next stop was Amazon. It was on backorder. My husband purchased it for me  two months ago and I finally received it last Wednesday. Today I finished it. It is an excellent book and worth the $30 paid. Should I ever find myself in South Dakota, I will definitely be visiting De Smet and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.

I love the Little House series. I read all the books when I was young and my brother in law gave me the entire set that he found in his house. I also love the show. There are really no words to describe this book. According to the introductory information Wilder wrote this book and hoped to sell it. With her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, they made it publication ready for a juvenile audience. But there wasn't enough interest in the book. As a suggestion to Lane to make it more salable, to make a series of children's books from the original manuscript which Wilder did. She wrote this autobiography when she was in her 60's.  This book is the original manuscript with thoroughly researched annotations, photographs and maps.

If you read any of the books the material is the some what the same but the annotations are there to guide on who what really happened and who is really who. The Little House books were fiction but based on Laura's life. This book is Laura's life.  The annotations in itself were interesting and the pictures were awesome. If you are like me, you probably thought Charles Ingalls in the show. To see the real people is just so interesting.  This book is American history, the western part of American history. Reading Pioneer Girl is sort of like listening to an elderly person talking about the good old days. 

It makes you think about your own history and your family's history. Could you find the census records or newspaper clippings from the town a grandparents lived in as children. Could you find old photos? I think you could. Years ago I went to Ellis Island and I found my great grandfathers record of immigrating to this country from Germany. I made a copy and gave it to my grandmother.  Our history is interesting. That is something to think about for all of us. Maybe we should write down our lives so our kids know where we came from. 

Till next time...

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Moonwallow Gates on SALE

Hey all just a quick post to let you know that Moonswallow Gates is on sale for the next couple of days for both the US and the UK. I went through it again and improved it. This is my first novel and I still really like it. It is dark, features magic murder and mayhem.  Another book will be on sale in a couple of days!

My new poetry book, Sweet Dreamland Wheels featuring all the poems from the PoMoSco will be published in the beginning of June. 

Suburban Vampires is coming back. The next chapter will be posted on this Wednesday. I am going to write three more chapters this week while on break from school and then post them every other week.

Till next time...

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Poisoned Milk

Poisoned milk from your poisoned tit. You force
Open their petulant mouths with
Invisible instruments of discourse. And you
Say I care and I love you with your
Over sweet false voice. Vile
Nipples shoved in the mouths of
Each person around you. They
Drink your

Milk, green and soiled, and they are addicted to
It like the idiots you want them to be. When your
Life shrivels up, you’ll be crying in the devil’s
Kitchen as demons feed you poisoned milk.


****

Hey all, this is acrostic poem. I have a break this week from school so I will be working on some stuff to put on here. One thing will be a new chapter of Suburban Vampires. Take care and see you next week.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Poetry, Prose and Plans

I know two weeks went by without a post from me, but in my defense, I have been super busy with poetry writing and the end of term school stuff. So now you know let's move on to the topics of the day....

Poetry- As many of you know, I participated in the Found Poetry Review's National Poetry Month project, PoMoSco (Poetry Month Scouts). I just uploaded the last poem today. This whole week, I was doing two a day so I can finish early enough. So what am I going to be doing with all these poems? I know I mentioned about making a chap book and that is the tentative plan. I downloaded the Kindle Kids ebook creator (it is also for comic books and graphic novels as well) and I hope this helps with format and since there will be pictures in the book, I think this is the best tool.

My last poetry book Into the Garden was a formatting nightmare where I had to edit the book line by line in HTML and it still wasn't perfect. If this new tool works well, I will redo the first poetry book and release it again. I think it will work better because your work with PDF's. I don't have a title yet or projected release date but I am shooting for June sometime. Some of the poems need  tweaking because the prompts made it somewhat difficult to create a perfect poem. On the other hand some turned out really well and may not need any revision.  I really enjoyed working on most of the prompts, I liked some better than the others. All 30 poems will be in the book! 

Prose- I don't know how many of you noticed that you have to click on the button that says "I'm 18" or whatever that button is. Months ago, I said Google was going to make certain blogs private,  if they had adult content,  so I was going to get rid of  Suburban Vampires. Then a week or so later, I got another notice stating they weren't going to do this, instead people with adult content had to activate the warning. What the hell does this  all mean?

I am going to bring back the series, in fact I want to spend more time working on it and actually finish it. I decided to start using to do lists again and I do get a lot of things done when I use them. This is my last week in this term and then I have a break. Plan is to write a couple of chapters so I can post them on here. 

In addition to the other stuff on my to do list, I added one key thing: to send one story or poem to a publisher. I am happy to report I have been doing this steady for the last 5 weeks. I try not overwhelm myself and just send one thing either poems or a story. I made a damn spreadsheet. You better believe I am getting serious about publishing.

Okay well, the month of May seems like it will full of possibilities. Till next time...

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Adventures in Car Buying

We've had our car for three years and we put 60,000 miles on it. It is now hovering about 177,000 miles. I am hoping it makes it 200K but, it's going downhill fast. We replaced various parts and sensors and the car still doesn't run right. So we've been looking for another car. And let me tell you, this is no easy task. 

If you remember right, I mentioned in my last post that we were going to DC. My husband found lots of affordable cars in Maryland. So I brought the checkbook. We had to rent a car just to get to DC (first time Priceline users but that is a post for another time) anyway. He finds this really nice car in our price range at the Fitz Mall in Gaithersburg, MD. We are staying in Rockville MD so it wasn't far. We wrote to the dealer and went to DC. The sales guy, I think his name was Jason, said all the car needed was tires and rotors. Now, tires you have to replace every so often and rotors are easy and inexpensive to fix if you have someone, like I do, that knows how to fix  stuff on a car. When he writes back to us we are in DC. It is close to an hour train ride from DC to Shady Grove. We tell him we are interested in actually looking at the car because it was a good price and only needed tires and rotors. The guy writes back and says he'll let us know when the car is ready to be looked at.

So we do some sightseeing stuff. Finally, the guy says we can come look at it. This is at 4 pm or close to it. We rush to the closest Metro, take the red back to Shady Grove, pick up the rental and drive to Gaithersburg. I probably should mention that we actually told this twat burger we were in DC not lurking around Popeyes in Rockville. Anyway back to the story. My husband gets to the dealer and tries to find this Jason guy but the twat burger pushes him off on another salesperson. Who proceeds to tell him that the car needs thousands dollars worth of work to even pass Maryland inspection. And we can't drive it because it is unsafe and it will need to be towed. Blah blah... then the salesperson tried to sell him a more expensive car.

My question WHY LIE? Why waste our time for nothing? We seriously wasted 2 hours on this twat burger. And this could have been prevented if he would have been honest in the first place. People like that give car salesmen a bad name.

The adventure ended this weekend. We rented a car for the day to go to Harrisburg where we had two prospects lined up, mileage was under 200K, and in our price range. We got the first car on our list today. It was a 2000 Nissan Altima. I love this car. It has a sunroof. Now, I just need to think of a name for it. I was thinking Davina but I don't know. The place we bought car one, Team One Auto Group, was honest and friendly.

And there you go, my advice:  avoid Jason at the Fitzmall in Gaithersburg, MD  because he is a liar or withholds the truth and you will waste your time unless of course you are buying a more expensive car and he will probably love to lick your hemorrhoids.

Until next time...

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Happy National Poetry Month

Yeah it's April!!! Not only does that mean, one day in the very near future I might be able to enjoy short sleeve shirts and sunshine but this is the start of National Poetry Month and the official start of PoMoSco (I wrote about the project last blog post). I have a bunch of my poems scheduled for the next week so it will be easier to find my poems by clicking here. You can also visit PoMoSco to read other poets' work.

So the reason I have so many poems scheduled, is the family and I are going to DC tomorrow until Monday evening.  I have one poem scheduled per day. I hope you check out my work and other people who are also doing the project. 

Okay, so DC is on the horizon. We are definitely going to try and get to the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly. I really want to see the space shuttle. We are also planning on seeing all the monuments and the art museums as well.  After this shitty winter, DC will be a welcomed vacation. Really hoping to eat at Popeye's. There seems to be one everywhere.

I am already half way through the term at school and doing well in both my classes. I really enjoy my screenwriting class. I might just tackle that screenplay for ABC Family sooner than later. Also, for the last three weeks in a row, I have been sending out stuff to traditional publishers. My goal is to send one thing away once a week. Yeah, it seems like a small number but it is something I can do. In fact, I sent poems to The New Yorker  the other day and I will be sending poems to Rhino  in just a little bit here. I even made a spread sheet and for those that actually know me, this is a big step since I am the queen of chaos and organization is not my strong suit.

Not too long of a post today, I have a lot stuff to do before going away. I implore you all to  check out PoMoSco and read my poems on there.

Till next time...

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Haiku 5

rusty canon balls
meadows alive in night
spirits trapped in war

blue sky dreams
a walk in the woods
no bird cries

all roads lead somewhere
thicker in the forest
delusions in silence

skeletal trees clack
like pool balls
walking in wind

****

Hey all,  I decided to post  haiku because I am going to send two batches away from my year in haiku book. I never finished typing the poems. Now I am going to finish typing them and I will send a batch to two different haiku publishers. Maybe I will throw Frogpond  in there because they published me once before.  Enjoy

Thursday, March 19, 2015

I Heart Poetry and Other Stuff

So it's finally melting, all that god damn snow. I see grass and I also see 20 pounds of anti-skid laying all over my yard. I see my driveway, but there is one last storm coming (damn it better be the last winter storm) on the first day of spring nonetheless. I am hoping the snow will be done  for several months. I am looking forward to warmer days and opening the windows and enjoying the weather.

Did you know April is national  poetry month? I am always saying that I need to write more poetry. I wonder how somebody has enough poems to make even a chapbook. It's not that I don't have a lot of poetry written. For some reason, I might like a poem I wrote  one month then a month later, I don't like it enough to send away. Some I post on here. Some just stay buried on my computer. A couple of months ago, I went through all my poetry on my computer and tried to organize it. Right after my poetry class in school, I wrote several poems that I actually liked so they went in a folder by themselves. Then I made a folder of poetry "I really like" as in stuff I want to send away. There are probably 10 poems in that folder. Not including personalized name poetry and poetry I sell online through my store, there are probably more than 60 poems in the plain old "poetry folder".

Just 60 poems,  but in my life I wrote way more than that. Some of those old poems are long gone.  So how do people write poetry books? By writing poetry every single day. I kid you not, that is the only way to do it. You have to make a commitment to write a poem a day regardless if it sucks or not. Of course, this is the same lesson for all writers, you write everyday.  Yeah I should know this, I am just slow to the party. This year,  I decided to create poetry collages. I cut out pictures and words from travel brochures and then I also created several pages of interesting words and phrases and printed them out. I plan on making a collage once a week so at the end of the year, I will have 52. So far I have been dedicated to the project and I work on  a new collage every week.


This brings us  to POMOSCO.  It stands for Poetry Month Scouts and it is sponsored by the Found Poetry Review. You probably saw me  link to them because I will occasionally write a poem  based on one of their prompts. I had to sign up and agree to write at least 15 poems but you all know me, I love to win so I am going for all 30.  They created 30 different prompts that have something to do with found poetry. For those who don't know what found poetry is, you should probably look it up because honestly, I know very little about it. In general these poems are "found" either in the newspaper, a novel, from another poem, or street signs. There are various ways to find poetry you can cut the words out of a particular book, or use your email,  or whatever the case may be. If you don't know a lot about found poetry, you might think it is easy. Honestly, I thought it was easy too. When I started working on the prompts, I learned something...

It is not as easy as the name implies. I thought I picked something easy to ease my way into found poetry and I spent over an hour composing the poem. So it wasn't easy, but this poem, is one of my better ones. I had to be MORE  creative within the parameters given to me. I completed three prompts and I am quite satisfied with the poems. Found poetry is something kind of new to me, but it is fun and interesting and I am writing some damn good poetry. Yes, we have to credit our sources. You can think of found poetry as sampling other writer's. Sort of like musicians sample other  musicians work.  Found Poetry is unique to the writer. Writing poems like this is more like composing and less writing. It requires more thought.

I am not sure what I am going to do with these poems as of yet. I was thinking making a little chapbook with them.  People love poetry.

Just wanted to mention, that I did go over Moonswallow Gates once again and I fixed many errors. If you have this book, please get the update. Not making excuses but this is how it is, I learned a lot in the last year especially about grammar and what my personal weaknesses are. Now I know what to look for. My writing is always evolving and I thank you for joining me on this journey.

Till next time...

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Blood on the Carpet by JM Scott FREE for a Short Time

Hello all, I was going to write about Blood on the Carpet last week when I published it, but I decided to wait since I knew it was going to be FREE this week. That's right it's FREE across the world. Woo hoo. I know for my fans in Europe, you have to pay tax for online purchases, so this is your opportunity to check out the book without paying the tax. Anyway...


I mentioned in a previous post that these stories are old. I wrote them probably 5 or more years ago. Are you wondering why I put them in Kindle now? I just started with Kindle two years ago. My goal is to keep publishing through Kindle because I want to build a fan club before I find a traditional publisher. This particular book will only be a Kindle book and it is priced at $.99. I want people to read it and to enjoy it.

OK now let's talk about the book. Inside there are 6 very short stories that read very fast. They are not meant to win the Pulitzer but to pass the time and entertain you. It would make a good book to read while waiting  for an appointment, to read  on the bus or train or  to read with a bowl of cereal.

*"Brown Shells" is the longest story in the collection. Blurb- Aliana moves back into her childhood home. Her young daughter starts talking on the phone with her dead mother. With the help of a psychic private eye, Aliana discovers who really killed her mother so many years before.

*"Red River Dam Killer" Lorelai is a writer who's latest book is about a serial killer in her home town. Can she discover the identity of the Red River Dam Killer before another woman dies?

*"La Mort a la Tour (Murder at the Tower)"  This story is set in Paris.  A woman detective  tries to unravel the mystery of a murdered American art student.

*"The Death of Mally" Ari, a police detective, tries to find out what really happened to her best friend on the night of her best friend's death.

*"Who Killed Jocelyn Moore" Jocelyn and Peyton were best of buds then turned into enemies. When Jocelyn turns up dead, the police arrest Peyton for the murder but Peyton claims she did not kill Jocelyn. So who did?

*"Jealous Lovers and Cheating Wives" I know the book is marked under women sleuths, and this story is the exception as the detective is male. Think detective pulp stories and add talking insects and you have an interesting story that pushes the boundaries of the mystery genre.

What do you think of the book cover? I love it, it is one of my favorites and I had to spend a lot of  time with GIMP to get it pretty close to the vision in my head. I was going for a vintage, pulp feel and I think that it worked out real nice.

I hope you snag your copy of Blood on the Carpet and I hope you enjoy it. It was a pleasure for me to go back through the stories, reading and reworking them. 

Till next time...

Saturday, March 7, 2015

The Bears of Cougar Mountain

Picture  from animal-kid.com
The graveled road to the cabin lay at the end of the broken down road. Jim put on his blinker.

"Really, Jim? No one is on the road," his girlfriend, Cara, said.

"Habit," Jim replied.

"This weekend is going to be fucking awesome," Rick, Jim’s cousin, said from the backseat and already stoned.

"How did you find this place?" Madison asked as she put her hand on Rick’s leg and smiled.

Jim made the turn on the private drive. Thick hemlock and gnarled oak and maple clamored against the road. For 9:00 a.m., it was dark under the tree canopy. It almost had a supernatural feel. Rick was sure Jason would be standing in the middle of the road, wielding a chainsaw.

Jim answered, "it was cheap. Some guy inherited this place from his uncle or whatever. He tried selling it and no one would buy it. If I like it, I am putting in an offer. It might be a great place to take the kids."

"Kids? Cara, you’re having a baby?" Madison squealed.

Jim met Madison’s gaze in the rearview mirror and winked.

"We weren’t going to say anything until the first trimester was over. But, I guess good news couldn’t wait," Cara answered.

"That’s what I am talking about. You can Cara have been together for how long and you are still getting ass," Rick said and let out a loud whoop.

The gravel road gave way to dirt and the trees were more dense. At the end of the road, there was a weathered wood fence. Jim got out and opened the gate. Cara scooted over and moved the car through the opening. Jim closed the gate again. The massive cabin was just ahead. Trees were cleared just enough around the cabin. It had dark wood siding with large pane windows. There was a covered porch with sweet Adirondack chairs. Cara parked the car.

"Wow, this doesn’t look like a cabin at all," Madison said.

"The guy told me that his relative used to bring his buddies up here or whatever. Wait until you see the inside. The guy said everything is included, even the furniture."

Jim grabbed Cara’s hand and Madison and Rick followed behind them. Jim unlocked the door and turned on the light. The main room was massive with several couches to the right of the front door with a large stone fire place against the wall. A wood coffee table sat in the middle of the seating area. The floors were covered with orient area rugs. To the left was the staircase and behind the living room was an equally large kitchen.

Jim led them through the living room, "there is a bathroom down here and there are two upstairs." There was a back door which led to a large deck and came with a grill and more chairs.

Jim went upstairs, "there are four bedrooms. You can pick which one you want, except for this one, this is mine and Cara’s."

Jim opened the door to the master bedroom and there was a log bed frame with a large mattress. There were two large windows against the wall and opposite the door. There was a bathroom in the corner. Rick grabbed Madison’s hand and found a room down the hall. Madison squealed as the bed squeaked under their joint weight.

"Give us a minute, Jimbo. I got to get to me some of this sweet pussy," Rick yelled from his bedroom.

"Rick," Madison giggled.

Jim looked at Cara and moved the hair away from her eyes, "I love you, Cara."

"I love you, Jim."

"Any second thoughts?" Jim asked her.

Cara searched his eyes, "none what so ever. Will it work?"

"You’ve seen it, Cara, it will work." Rick kissed her.

They left the door open and went downstairs to empty the car.

It was noon, Cara was in the kitchen making the hamburgers while Jim was out on the deck starting the grill. She had the radio on. Rick came down and slapped her ass.

"Damn Rick, you are such a dick," she said half annoyed. She used to find him funny and charming but that was in college. Now was different.

"Cara, you grew up to be such a tight wad. I would say tight ass, but you already had that," he whispered in her ear.

"And you never grew up," Cara said.

"When you and Jimbo start popping out them kids and making a nice little home, you will want me again. And as long as you look as you good as you do now, I will be more than happy to make you wild in my bed."

Madison came down the stairs and kissed Rick on the neck, "aren’t you supposed to be at the grill?"

Rick grabbed a beer and went outside. Madison pulled up a stool, "you want me to do anything?"

"No, I am almost done," Cara said.

"So you and Jim getting married?" Madison asked.

"We’ve talked about it. We just didn’t make it official."

Madison threw her arms around her, "I love you Cara and I am so happy for you."

"Mads, I want you to know that when we get married, you will be my maid of honor," Cara said.

She smiled and hugged her harder, "really, Care? So you forgive me?"

"You are my best friend, of course I forgive you," Cara said.

"I wish you knew how sorry I am about everything. We make a great team."

"Made a great team, Mads but my life has changed and so has yours," Cara said.

"I know but it was business, Cara, just business. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"I know. That’s why you and Rick are with us this weekend. I don’t think I can have kids and get married without you in my life," Cara said and formed the last hamburger patty.

Madison flashed her a smile and grabbed a beer and went out to join the men. Madison and Cara started a small advertising firm right after college with Madison’s father investing heavily into their venture. After the first year, they started turning profit. Madison’s father gave her the business under one condition, Cara had to go. So Madison swooped in with a couple of boxes and started throwing Cara’s stuff in the boxes. She said, "Daddy, said you’re out. It’s just business." Cara and Madison’s father were friendly with each other but Cara couldn’t understand why this was happening. Then as Cara drank herself into oblivion, Jim told her that he and Madison had an affair. He wanted to end it and Madison wanted him to end with Cara. Cara knew they had a thing, it bothered her but they always had a thing. That’s how they all started hanging out.

In college, Rick and Cara were together fucking each other like crazy. Then Cara met Jim and something changed. The air around them changed. Within a month, Jim and Cara were seeing each other in secret then they broke it off with Rick and Madison. They switched partners and Cara found her soul mate and she knew Jim felt the same but Madison was his weakness as she was his first love and his first sexual girlfriend. Madison was someone Cara never met and it was easy to be friends with her. She and Rick were big personalities, lived big and took chances. Both were a force to be reckoned with. Cara and Madison were well matched as friends. And for the rest of college, it was always the four of them. Even after college, they were so close until the bad year. Madison called Cara every day but she didn’t give in, until recent. This weekend was Jim’s idea and Cara jumped on board after she heard the plan and saw the plan in action.

"Cara, the grill’s ready," Jim yelled. She washed her hands and grabbed a coke from the fridge and came out with the burgers. Rick and Madison smoked a joint and drank. 

"You know that shit will kill you," Cara said and gave Jim the plate.

"Shit Care, it’s called having a good time," Rick said.

"Well one day your going to wake up stupid," Cara said.

Madison laughed, "wake up stupid. Cara that is the stupidest thing you ever said."

After lunch they went to the small creek that moseyed behind the cabin. The ladies sat in inner tubes as the guys splashed around the water. Cara got out and sat in the sun. Her skin exploded with goose bumps. Madison jumped into the water when Rick came behind her and ripped off her bikini top. She laughed and splashed at both Rick and Jim. She came up on shore without her top and flopped on the towel.

"You should take your top off, too, Cara. You know how good it feels to be naked."

Cara undid her top and it fell between her legs. The men hooted from the water.

"Just think, your boobs are going to be huge," Madison said.

"Cheaper than a boob job," Cara said.

"Then you will have everything, Cara," Madison said.

Not everything Cara thought.

"You have a good life, Mads," Cara said.

"Yeah it’s okay," she replied and laid down.

Rick and Jim came up from the water. Jim grabbed a towel and wrapped it around him and then embraced Cara. She snuggled deep into his chest. Rick pounced on Madison.

"Not now, Rick," she said and shoved him off.

The sun started to set but it was already mostly dark in the woods as they made their way up to the house. Jim and Madison sat on the deck smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. Cara prepared the shrimp for the grill. Jim winked at her, went into the basement and brought up a wooden box that had an old book and a bunch of wooden bears inside. Cara saw the box and her heart skipped a beat. Jim placed the book and the bears on the table and started a fire in the stone fireplace.

Cara came out and placed the grill basket on the grill. Jim came out, "you would not believe what I found in the basement. It looks like some kind of game; we will have to check it out after dinner."

"What kind of game?" Rick asked.

"I don’t know it looks old," Jim answered. "But it looks fucking awesome."

Jim got up and lit the Tiki torches on the deck as Cara put out the dinner.

"So you want to hear the story the guy told me about this place?" Jim said in between mouthfuls of shrimp.

"Is it haunted?" Madison asked.

"Not exactly, Jackson is the name of the guy who wants to sell this place. Anyway, Jackson told me one of the reasons he couldn’t sell this place was because this place was supposed to be the site an ancient Indian ritual ground."

"Half this country is some kind of Indian burial ground or spiritual place, it is all bull shit," Rick said.

Madison pushed him slightly, "tell the story Jim."

"Well anyway, it was said when the shamans could do this magic where the bears would listen to his every command. The white people covered this stuff up, it couldn’t get out that some shaman would use bears to kill people but Jackson said this place has been in his family since the time of the Indians. Sometimes, people would come here and they wouldn’t come back because a bear would kill him. Jackson told me he knew of four deaths that happened up here because of bear attacks. He believes that old shaman’s spirt lives in these woods and he takes blood when he sees fit," Jim said and guzzled his beer.

Rick burst out laughing, "wow, that is so fucking hilarious. Shaman spirits, killer bears. What probably happens is that a drunk ass dip shit went outside and fucked with a bear and then the bear attacked him."

"Well that’s why he can’t sell it. It has history you know how some people get when they hear that stuff. If I buy this place, I get 25 acres around the cabin and part of the creek. He said he would sell it to me for ten thousand dollars, which is dirt cheap."

"So you brought us up here to make sure it was safe?" Madison asked half joking.

"Come on it is bull shit. I don’t plan on roaming the woods in the night that is just plain stupid," Rick said and lit another joint.

"What about you Cara, what do you think?" Madison asked.

"You know me, I don’t believe anything until I see it with my own eyes."

The foursome settled in the living room around the wooden table. Jim added more wood and the fire blazed. Jim opened the box and took out the bears and set them in a circle on the table.

Rick picked up a bear and made growling noises then he put back in the circle.

"You know this reminds me of the Evil Dead," Rick said as he groped Madison’s breast.

Jim pulled out the book, "I thought it was a game. There also is an Ouija board and Monopoly. I brought them up and put them in the kitchen. I just thought this would be a cool game."

"So is it a game?" Madison asked.

Jim opened the book, "let me see. I can’t read the words."

"Maybe it is some magic book, maybe it’s that shaman’s book," Madison said. "Read it Jim!"

Jim looked at Cara and she smiled, "yes Jim, read it."

He cleared his throat and muddled through the pronunciations, "Bears nan Cougar Mountain tande vwa mwen. Vini jwenn mwen aswè a epi pran pwi san ou. Ou pral pran Madison McDonald ak Rick Anderson epi kite nanm yo rete nan Woods yo. Kado sa a se pou ou, pou forè a. Pran nanm yo ak san yo. Mwen di ou mèsi pou sa ou bay. Pran yo kounye a."

Madison laughed, "What the hell was that?"

"Obviously mumbo jumbo, who wants to play Monopoly?" Jim asked. He knew what he said. Jackson helped him with the translation. He said bears of Cougar Mountain hear my voice. Come to me tonight and take your blood prize. You will take Madison McDonald and Rick Anderson and let their souls remain in the woods. This gift is for you, for the forest. Take their souls and their blood. I thank you for what you provide. Take them now.
"Monopoly? Come on buddy leave that for the kiddies. Poker," Rick said.

Cara grabbed the cards and brought in bottles of whiskey. Jim shuffled the cards. They played two hands of poker, when deep and thunderous roars resounded off the walls. Madison dropped her glass on the floor.

"What was that?" Madison asked and quivered.

"I don’t know," Jim said. He stood up and looked out the window. He saw dark shapes creep to the edge of the property. The bears had come.

"You guys are not going to believe this," Jim said. The others came to the window. And they saw dozens of black bears walking in circles around the cabin. They stood on their legs at the same time and roared. Madison screamed.

"Fuck Jim that was real. What the fuck are we going to do?" Madison screamed.

"No, baby, it’s bad weed," Rick reasoned with her.

"I’m not smoking and I see them, Rick. What are we going to do, Jim?" Cara said.

"Just wait until morning. They should be gone, right?" he answered.

"There’s no way this is possible," Cara said. "We have to get out of here. If they are doing this then who is to say they won’t attack us?"

Jim came over and hugged Cara and then kissed her head, "you’re right. We got to go. We just need someone to open the gate."

"We can just drive right through the gate. You can fix your fucking car," Rick yelled as the bears roared again.

"Are there any guns, Jim?" Madison asked.

"No, I didn’t see any," Jim said.

The bear circle moved closer to the house. Madison and Rick quivered on the couch. Cara sat opposite them. Jim stayed at the window. The bears roared and roared they were moving closer.

Rick pulled out his cell phone, "fuck there is no signal. Baby, try yours."

Madison took hers out and shook her head.

"Jim, maybe we should call animal control," Cara suggested.

"How the fuck can you sit there so calm?" Madison snapped.

"What else am I going to do?"

"There should be a phone in the kitchen, I don’t know if it works," Jim said.

Cara stood up and walked to the kitchen. There were bears on the deck looking at her. Her legs rattled but she had to keep it together. The bears let a mighty roar and started to paw the windows and the door on the back porch. They were pawing the sides of the cabin and clawing at the windows. Madison and Rick screamed and ran upstairs. The door slammed. Cara picked up the phone and set it back down. She went over to Jim,

"Now what?" she whispered.

"I have a plan," Jim answered. He started muttering the strange language once again.

Jackson Crass was a partner at the firm. And he was one of those people that Jim just clicked with right away. In a way, he was kind of like Rick but he was mature and grown up. Jackson was slowly becoming his new best friend. When Jim failed Cara and started sleeping with Madison once again, he consulted Jackson for advice. Jackson, was a good man with a good wife and family and Jim wanted that with Cara and only Cara. Madison was a stupid mistake. Jackson told him about his family’s cabin and the power that it contained. He said him and Cara could use it make things right. See, Madison never changed her will and if anything were to happen to her, Cara would get the business. It was all legal eagle. Jackson suggested Jim get a policy on Rick because Jim had too much debt from college and law school. And why not, Rick was once his pal but he couldn’t get over Cara. He trusted Cara but not Rick. He always went too far.

Jackson brought Cara and Jim for the weekend with Jackson’s wife. He showed them the bears. Jackson’s wife, already saw the bears and was not impressed. Jackson made the bears dance and put on a show. Jim only told part of the story about the shaman and Jackson’s family to Madison and Rick. The truth was Jackson’s great great grandpa stepped in front of a bullet that was meant to kill the old shaman for his bear trick. The shaman was grateful and not only did he save great great grandpa’s life but gave him the secret of the bears. This secret was passed down through the generations.

Several minutes later, the bears roared once more and retreated into the forest. But Jim knew they were still there. He had to get Madison and Rick outside.

"Maddie, Rick, the bears, they are gone, this our chance to get the fuck out of here," Jim yelled at the top of the stairs."

"Really, Jim?" Madison asked.

"Come on, we better go. The car is about ten feet away and unlocked," Jim said.

He heard their footsteps shuffle upstairs and then down.

Cara went over and kissed Jim, "if we don’t make it through, I just want to tell you how much I love you."

Jim held her chin and looked into her eyes, he smiled with them, "we are all going to make it. If I die honey, you go and get to safety"

Jim swung open the door and the others followed behind him. Once on the porch, Rick broke free from the pack and started to run to the car. Madison followed. Two bears rushed from the right and tackled Rick down. He screamed. Madison shrieked and started back to the porch, but two other bears came from the side of the house and attacked. Other bears came and roared as they pawed at the two former friends. Their muffled screams fell silent as the bears continued to rip at their flesh and eat it. Jim and Cara sat in the chairs and just watched.

Was it minutes or mere seconds? Cara didn’t know and she didn’t care. Jim stood up and spoke them, "thank you, bears of cougar mountain." Slowly the bears turned and looked at Jim and bowed their heads ever so slightly and retreated back into the forest just as day break seeped in overhead.

"I guess we better call someone," Jim said.

Their bodies lay half eaten with blood pooling around them.

"Are you sad?" Jim asked after several moments of silence.

"I am working on it. I am trying to be a wreck. I never thought this would be the hardest part," Cara said and forced herself to cry by thinking of when her grandmother died.

"He was my cousin and he will be missed," Jim said nonchalantly.

More tears sprung from Cara’s eyes, "better make that call before the tears dry up."

Jim grabbed her hand and they went inside and called the sheriff and the ambulance. Their dear friends were attacked by bears. They just wanted to have a little fun. Cara and Jim were in their room when they heard Madison and Rick scream; there was nothing they could do. It was too late. That’s what they told the sheriff in between tears and hysterics, of course. The remains were zipped up and carted away like road kill. The sheriff offered his condolences and said, "God damn bears, hunting season should be extended and this shit wouldn’t happen. There are too many bears around these parts. Such a sad thing to see young people killed this way."

Friday, March 6, 2015

Ya- Yas Under the Dome

I know why many times books and their respective movies are sometimes different from each other. One reason is in the  differences between a novel and a screenplay. In a novel, you write everything, you suck the reader in so they keep changing the page. You really have as many pages as you want. In a typical screenplay (Not including those long ass movies like Lord of the Rings or Titanic) the movie is around 120-130 minutes. When you write a screenplay one page (on average) of script is equal to one minute of live action. So that is one reason why movies and books are so different. Many times, the book is much better than the movie. Though, I do think some movies do a damn good job reflecting the book. One example  I can think of is Harry Potter.

If someone wanted to make a movie out of my first novel (yes, this is total hint and tell your friends in Hollywood or Indie film makers, the movie rights are available) Moonswallow Gates, I know for fact the script would be vastly different. The novel flips back and forth through time, a family's bloody legacy is in those pages. I suppose someone could make a mini-series or something similar. I do not want to write the screenplay for Moonswallow Gates, at least not yet, I do not how to really write a screenplay. I do plan on taking one screenwriting class in school. But you know, what I am cool with whatever changes that have to be made because one my novel would be a movie ,and two I would be paid quite well for the movie rights. I guess some hardcore people would bitch but not me. I think it would be awesome for Moonswallow Gates to be made into a movie.  I do have two ideas for scripts believe it or not. One is based on a short story I wrote and I want to sell it to ABC Family for their 25 days of Christmas and the other I have an idea for I want to sell to ScyFy Channel. So if anyone has any idea how to get my script to these studios let me know. I will definitely study screenwriting form on my own if I have to.

Now for today's topic...

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. I absolutely love this book, except for the ending, but that is minor because I just loved the book so much. I just read the book this last week.  And just by happenstance, the movie was on Netflix and I am like why not. The movie, I didn't like as much. It was okay and Sandra Bullock was almost how I imagined Siddalee Walker. The movie was okay and I probably would have liked the movie better if I never read the book. Though I did like how Sidda was a writer in the movie as opposed to a play director, it made more sense.  The movie did keep many of the important events in the novel but it was just too different from each other.

Under the Dome. Now here is a weird one, I started watching the show on CBS and I liked it. In fact, I could not wait for season 3 to get here, I dug out the book and read it a few days. I like the show way better than the book. In fact, I found the book a little lackluster and kind of disappointing. I like Barbie and Junior better in the show. I also think Hank (I have no idea what his real name is but the DEA agent from Breaking Bad) is the perfect Big Jim.  I also like the four hands and the egg and all that other stuff that is not in the book.  I think this one of those cases, where the idea was there and it is interesting but maybe Mr King couldn't just get it right but he is given a second chance with the show. He is Stephen King and I don't think it matters what he publishes because people will buy it. I get it though, I have stuff that isn't so great and then I have stuff that I sit back and wonder if I really wrote that.

So there you go, those are my thoughts for the day. The weather is improving and I am looking forward to finally defrosting my toes, I think they have been frozen since December.

Till next time...

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Electric Soup

You and I are life forms of the quantum soup.
Chi is the driver of life and
stagnation is the antithesis of chi.
the quantum soup is reaching it’s tipping point,
Who do you want to be?

The soup is too hot and
chi is found in my coffee cup.
I say let the soup spill to the ground,
mix it with a branch and sell
mud pies to the travelers.

You and I are the dream weavers of the new world.
we exist as super-charged electrons and
we dream, we dream, we are reborn.
This circuit never ends,
have you found your circuit?

Those dreams wake me in the night
and in predawn, I find the remote
control is broken and the circuit
floating on melting snow.
Sleep offers only demise and no reprise.

You and I are messengers of the multiverse.
Complexity is the driver of rejuvenation and
to traverse the story is to be one with it.
Unifying stardust is now happening worldwide,
can you feel the electricity?

Electricity comes from the live
socket where the broken light bulb rests
the jolt races my heart and I stick my
fingers in once again, it tells
me I am alive because sometimes I forget.


*** Hey all, this poem was created using a poetry prompt from Found Poetry Review. I love generators, sometimes I can find some clever phrases. Some I have used in my  poetry collages. Many of the italicized passages does not come from the generator. The only exception is "have you found your circuit?" I just made it italics so it matched the rest of the poem. I did add in the word "and" when appropriate, and of course punctuation where needed.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

It's Too Damn Cold and Other Happenings

That's right it's too damn cold. I actually got excited the other night when the low temperature was mid twenties, I thought it was a heat wave. I don't really want to talk about the cold, you are already inundated with icy pictures from the east coast. 

Okay so it seems Blogger will be marking blogs with sexually explicit scenes, which means Suburban Vampires will have to removed or my blog will become private. I suppose I should have at least finished the series. I do have two options: I keep it and then be private or delete the series and stay public. Well since I want to be read and have people enjoy my work, I will do the first choice and move the series to Kindle, where I still have free reign to write to what I want. Normally, I would be going ape shit but since I am not paying to use Blogger and it is an effective tool to gain readers, I will play by the rules. I have until 3/23/15 to remove the story, so read what I have so far and if you want me to finish let me know and I will make it number one priority, finish it and publish it to Kindle. All you have to do is just clicky the comment button. To read it as of now, just click the page heading called "Suburban Vampires".

So onto other business, I am making progress on Gone Before Dawn. I have a couple of chapters to write and then insert within the novel and it will be ready for my beta readers. While they are reading the novel, I have a bunch of other projects that will come to fruition. The first thing is...

Blood on the Carpet, this will be a Kindle only short story collection where the stories are all  in the mystery genre. These stories are several years old and perhaps not my best stuff, but I think they are still worthy to be read. There will be one short story that reach over 6,000 words and the rest fall under 2,000 each. I have to work on a book cover and then assemble the book.

The second order of business is Moonswallow Gates. I am going to copyedit it once again. I gave away almost 60 copies of the book. And that one star review had two people say it was helpful which means, I have to look at it again with fresh eyes. I think since I have been back in school, my grammar has improved. So if you have a copy, check for updates in about a month or so. I may even add a QR code. I just got an app to make these bad boys and I can't wait to try it out.

And lastly, it has been awhile since I posted a short story on here (don't worry it won't have to be taken down) and I will be finishing a story I started in September, while I was camping. I will try to keep it around to 2,000-2,500 words but we will see. I have been wanting to get back to writing for at least the week or so. Maybe I am so inspired from reading lately.

Let's talk about school... this term is almost over, I am in the last week right now. Next week is my week break so I plan on working on writing next week. The next term I will be taking Anthropology and Screen Writing for the New Media.  I am looking forward to the screen writing class because eventually I want to do more freelance work in copywriting and advertising. 

And that's all for the day. Don't forget to check out Suburban Vampires before March 23, 2015. If you want more tell me and I will write for Kindle.

Till next time....