Overcoming Adversity

Nick Wilford has put together an anthology with seventy stories of both fiction and non-fiction as well as poetry about overcoming adversity and is currently selling it as an eBook (It will also be available in print soon.)

The anthology is part of a fundraising effort to send Nick's stepson, Andrew, to a specialist college in England. Andrew has cerebral palsy, and is a remarkable young man with a promising future. However, the free further education options offered in his own country (Scotland) no longer challenge him nor and allow him to progress. In order to access the education he deserves, Andrew will have to pay exorbitant fees.  You can help by purchasing a copy of the book and by sharing this post with other. I know I will.

If you are in the U.S., the price for the Kindle Edition is only $3.54. Just CLICK HERE to go to the page on Amazon.

To order on Amazon in the United Kingdom, CLICK HERE. The cost is
£2.03.

It is also available on SMASHWORDS and GOODREADS.

Oh, and did I mention that it features work by great writers such as E.J. Wesley, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Kyra Lennon. There's even a short piece by me. So why not buy a copy? It's a win-win situation. You get great reading material and Andrew gets one step closer to his educational needs.

Birthday Bash Poetry Contest

This post might be sort of rushed, because I just came up with this birthday bash contest about half an hour ago. In fact, I haven't even sorted out all the details yet but there isn't much time to think. I just need to type, type, type and figure it out as I go, because tomorrow is the big day.

Those who know me well know that though I have a February birthday, mine has already passed. So whose birthday are we celebrating? I'll give you a hint. He wrote one book, two books, three books, four, five books, six book and a whole lot more. He had red books, blue books, yellow, tangerine, and a very famous book about eggs that are green. He wrote rhyming books that brought him great fame. By now you probably all know his name.

That's right. Tomorrow (March 2) is the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. Other pen-names include Theo LeSieg (LeSieg is Geisel spelled backwards) and Rosetta Stone.

In honor of his birthday, I am holding a poetry writing contest. The rules are as follows:

1. The poem must rhyme. After all, Dr. Seuss is best remembered for his ability to write appealing rhyming stories that both children and adults enjoyed reading.

2. The poem must use one of the following four titles.

     The Pig in the Wig
     The Cow in the Towel
     Goats in Petticoats
     The Mouse and his Spouse

Yes, I know. You could probably think of quite a few more titles, maybe even more exciting ones, but those are the four choices. That means there should be no poems entitled Turkey and the Beef Jerky or The Monkey and his Junkie or The Squirrel and the Epidural. If you do send me something like that, I admit that I will probably take great pleasure in reading your work. However, it will not be eligible for the contest.

Also, the poem itself must focus on the title chosen. By that I mean, if you pick The Pig in the Wig, the poem must revolve around a pig who is wearing a wig. You can't write about a boy who is grumpy all day and his parents use all sorts of failed methods to get him to smile and then in the last few lines have him smile because a pig in a wig goes trotting by. 

3. The poems should be rated PG-13 because my daughter will be one of the judges.

4. There is no restriction on how long or short the poem should be. It doesn't even need to be funny. Though we do love funny. Just make sure it has some sort of rhyme scheme. AND you can enter up to 4 times-- once for each title.

5. The deadline is March 16 (that gives you two weeks) and the winners will be announced by March 31. You may post your poem directly in the comments section of this post or if you prefer to send your poem by email, write "I wish to email my poem" in the comments section and I will contact you regarding how to do so. However, please note by entering the contest you give me permission to post it later, because the winning poems will be made public when I announce the winners.

6. Since I just came up with this idea less than an hour ago, I haven't sorted out the prizes yet, but there were be at least two winners. Since this is a poetry contest and I have several friends with poetry books, I am thinking of providing the winners with a list of books available as prizes (or perhaps non-poetry books as well).For instance, I might send them a list of six books and they each get to pick one. And if all else fails, there is always German chocolate. Of course, if anyone has further ideas for prizes, I am open to suggestions.

7. You don't need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but it sure would make me happy.  :-)

I think that's about it. If I've forgotten any details, feel free to ask.

Now go embrace your inner Seuss and start writing. You can write your poem in your car. You can write your poem at the bar. You can write your poem with a magical gnome or write your poem with your dog at home. You can write with pen and ink. You can type your poem by the sink. You can write your poem here or there. You can write it anywhere. Just write it.

And have fun.

Ragged

Yesterday was a day of mishaps. On days when I go to Welzheim (like yesterday) I take the train to Rudersberg and take the bus from there to Welzheim. Instead of getting off at the central station, I went one station further because the bus driver told me last week that for the next 6 weeks the bus will not be stopping at the central train station but in Rudersberg Nord instead. So that's what I did.

I got off the train and walked to the bus stop. Then I noticed a paper hanging there. Not only had they changed the route but the schedule had changed as well. I had to wait 45 minutes in the cold for the next bus to come. It was not fun. I tried to call my friend to let her know I would be late but a message on my cell phone told me my card needed to be loaded (no money left). Wonderful. Then the bus driver forgot to stop at my stop, so I rang the bell again and she stopped right in the middle of the road.

My friends and I were meeting at a different place than usual, at one of the women's houses. I had been there once before but it is sort of hidden. I walked around aimlessly until I found a street corner that looked familiar. I turned right at the corner and followed the hidden drive to the house. I had found it but was 10 minutes late. We had a nice time together and then I headed home.


That evening we made homemade beef vegetable soup. We always make it in our pressure cooker. It's very old (from my husband's grandmother) but still works well. Except something went wrong and for the first time since having it (over 10 years) it had a mini explosion. Not huge, but some of the carrots and celery and leeks and beef  flew up about 6 inches and landed on the counter.

Yep, it was just "one of those days" and I was feeling a little ragged. So I decided to do some online reading before bed and came across a blog post by Sheryl Oder. I know her from participating in the April PAD challenge (write a poem each day from the prompt given by Robert at Poetic Asides). I don't know Sheryl well and have never visited her blog before (I believe she just started blogging not too long ago). Anyway, it must have been poetic fate, because this was exactly what I needed to read. The post with her poem "This April is a Ragged Poem" had me smiling in no time.Maybe you will enjoy it as well.

To go to her blog (Sheryl's Sporadic Word Tag) and read it, CLICK HERE.

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If you liked Sheryl's poem, I hope you left a comment telling her so. And in my comments section? Well, what I'd like to know is...

what is the last bad thing that happened to you? 

AND 

Does it still bother you or can you laugh about it now? 

As always, thanks for stopping by Lind-guistics.

A Kiss for Valentine's Day

In my last post I shared the tearsheet that featured my short story and a photo of a beautiful lady. If you missed that post, you can read it now by CLICKING HERE. Except there was one thing that I didn't tell you then. Not only do I have that story in the February issue of The Poetic Pinup Revue, but I also have a poem featured as well.

Here it is:

In case the print is too small to read, here is the poem.

I've known you for what seems an eternity.
I know all your little secrets, mister,
know the man inside others never get to see,
so don't expect me to write you a love letter
telling you how the world would stop spinning
if you were no longer here and how the big bang theory
would sum up the breaking of my fragile heart.

Don't think for one second that I will profess
with written word my eternal love for you,
because after all this time how could you even
have the audacity to think that a mushy love poem
could express the way that I feel about you when
words could only graze the surface of its depths.

TPPR doesn't list titles on the page with the material, just in the table of contents/credits, but the title is To My Husband, Stefan. So today, on Valentine's Day, this poem is for my husband, who I would be totally lost without.


Did you celebrate Valentine's Day in some way? Did you give gifts? Tell me about.

The Many Faces of Love

The other day I had a few minutes to spare and decided to post something here, but I didn't. Why? you might ask. Well, it wasn't for lack of ideas. The problem is that I had too many idea and not enough time to do any of them justice. So I just signed off and went to bed. Then I stared at the ceiling a bit while all those ideas swirled around in my mind. I wasn't sure which one I would use the next time I sat in front of my laptop, but I decided it would somehow work itself out. It's like when you need to buy a gift for someone but don't know what. You go shopping and as you walk in the store you find the perfect gift setting on the shelf. Yep, that's how it will happen I told myself.

And you know what? That's really how it happened. Except it is not any of the ideas I had thought about the other day. This topic just sort of fell into my lap so to say. I sat down, checked my email, and there it was waiting for me. What was it? My spreadsheet for my flash fiction piece that is featuring in the upcoming (to be released on 12th) February issue of The Poetic Pinup Revue.

Never heard of The Poetic Pinup Revue? Here is how the publication is described on their website:
  
We’re not quite a pinup magazine.  We’re not quite a literary journal.  We’re not quite a poetry rag, or a fine art photography showcase, we’re not quite a lot of things and very much a lot of others.


How would I describe it? It is a magazine that features flash fiction and poetry paired with images. Very artsy. Sometimes those images might be a black and white photograph of a winding staircase or a colorful drawing of a museum scene (both in the October 2012 issue) or a lady drinking from a martini glass (December 2012) or a sketch of a women or even a very tasteful nude. Yes, there is some nudity in TPPR but in the several issues I have seen, they are all artistic works. I liken them more to paintings of nude women in museums, yet with more depth to them because 1) they are doing something other than just posing nude for a painter and 2) the editor (Harlean Carpenter) takes great care in choosing the best image to complement the text (or vice versa). Of course, not all the images are nudes (only a small portion - though I understand the current issue has more than usual, but then again, this issue also has many more pages) and not all pictures even have a person in them. In the December issue which has the theme "food for thought" there was very artsy photo of a cut lemon and some sort of cube (ice?) on a granite countertop. The photo is shades of black and white with shadowing but the lemon is yellow.

Even with all that I've said, I realize this magazine might not be everyone's cup of tea. I really like it, because it is unique and interesting. This is, I believe, the fourth time I have had work featured. Do you want to see my tearsheet? Don't worry. For any of you out there who aren't into nudes, you can breathe easy.

Here it is:

Flash fiction by Linda Hofke, Model: Vicky Lievens (I don't have the photographer info but think it might be by Kelly Van Wonterghem)

I think it looks great. And see? This is not really a pin-up shot, is it? It's so much more. That's what you get with TPPR.

 If you are interested in buying a copy of the magazine (which has the theme The Many Faces of Love), you can click here to get information. If you do purchase a copy, please be sure to fill in the "Who Sent You?" field with my name.

To submit work to The Poetic Pinup Revue, CLICK HERE for information regarding upcoming themes.

To read reviews of TPPR, CLICK HERE.

For general information regarding The Poetic Pinup Revue, CLICK HERE.

AND here is my favorite link of them all. This link has samples from various editions. To see a whole bunch of awesome spreadsheets, CLICK HERE.


I'd love to hear your thoughts on my spreadsheet/my story, about your views on nudity, about photography, poetry, on artistic expression... anything vaguely related to this post. Go ahead. Lay it on me. If you have a thought (c'mon, I know you are thinking something), go ahead and write a comment for me. It will make me happy, and I like being happy.

14 Words...a project you can join!

As you know I've been limiting my time online, especially Facebook. Reading status updates, writing comments, looking at photos, joining writing groups, reading calls from literary journals--it's all well and good but the intended 15 minutes turns into 30 or 40 or sometimes an hour. And while I sit in front of my little laptop, there is a great big world out there waiting to be explored. It makes me wonder why I even go on Facebook.

So, this morning I went for a long walk. Then it started to rain. Soon it was pouring. I rushed back home. I did some wash. Tidied up a bit. On Wednesday my daughter only has school in the morning, so soon I was cooking lunch. And the day went on. I went into town to run errands and did anything but go on the computer.

At 9 PM I finally decided to take 15 minutes (and only 15 minutes--which I managed to do) on Facebook. I read my messages and a few status updates and then...hey, what's this? One of the women in my writer's group (Nancy) posted in a group called 14 Words for One Love on Valentine's Day. I had never heard of it. I clicked on the page link and noticed my friend Paula was also taking part. Now I had to read the description and find out what this was all about.

The project is hosted by Jodi Barnes and is a public event. So anyone can join. (And yes...I did.) Perhaps you might be interested in doing so as well. Here is the description for 14 Words for One Love on Valentine's Day.

On Thursday, Feb. 14, I will hand out small (14-word) poems --any form--to people on the streets of Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, NC. Will you help me in one of two ways?

1. Write a 14-word poem (doesn't need to rhyme or take a specific form). Because "14 words" has a repulsive association with white supremacy, I'm ready to help turn "14 words" into one unifying hopeful piece of love for ONE WORLD, ONE RACE, ONE LOVE. Write 14 words about love--anything related to love, kindness, peace--and post it/them here, let them go, and know that another human being you (probably) don't know will read your little poem(s) and then, who knows?!

2. I also need volunteers to help me distribute the 14-word poems I hope to collect here! MY GOAL IS 1400 POEMS!! If you live anywhere in the Triangle and can take an hour shift somewhere, I'll make sure you have printed out poems to hand out! If you live in another state, you can still help!! Please write some 14-word poems and ask your friends to! No need to "be" a poet. And everyone, REPOST this, please!
 

Please FEEL FREE TO DO THE SAME EVENT WHEREVER YOU MAY LIVE OR WORK. 

Fourteen words. That's all you need to write. Not a sestina or a villanelle or rondeau. Not a long novel or even a first chapter. Nor a flash fiction piece. Only 14 words. Interested?

If you are on Facebook, here is the link to join this event. )

That brings me back to Facebook again. I must admit, it is the easiest way to keep in touch with family and friends back in the states. I guess another reason is things like this. Through Facebook I have taken part in daily photo projects, donated work to poetry anthologies that raised money for charity, joined a random acts of  kindness challenge, learned of writing contests, and so much more. I guess it all depends on how you use it. At least I am not spending my time on there using countless apps (which I noticed some people do).  

Well, that's all for now. I have a writing deadline to meet tomorrow. After that task is completed, I can write my 14 words. Fourteen words on love. The possibilities are endless.

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To visit the blogs of my friends Nancy and/or Paula, click on their names in the text above. To visit the blog of Jodi Barnes, do the same. To read the bio of Jodi Barnes and learn more about her chapbook Unsettled Poems, click here.

Good News

Good news. I checked and I have a pulse. My heart is beating. My lungs are breathing in air.

So, even though I haven't been blogging lately, I am alive. I just needed a break, I guess, to do the things that need to be done, spend time with my husband and daughter, live life. A litte less computer time.

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs


New blog posts will be coming in February. Thanks for understanding.