Napowrimo Day 9 Poem: Noir

Prompt: Noir - actually film noir, but I chose to simply go with something dark.

April 9/13

Noir

Noir.

Dark.

Shadows.

Creates interest,

Intrigue,

Mystery.

Slide up closer.

Turn on the light.

Take a peek.

The boogy man is

Revealed.

Cringe at its

Ugly face,

Jagged teeth,

Knife nails,

As it reaches out to

Stroke your

Soft cheek.

Light flickers.

The truth

Shies away from the

Light,

Comfortable in the

Darkness,

Suited to

Monsters.

Napowrimo Day 8 Poem: Panic

No prompt used. I tried and tried to use the prompt, which was to write an ocatva rima, but it just wasn't working for me. I like the idea of that form, so will try to come back to it. I actually wasn't sure about this poem, but thought I'd post anyway. It's pretty raw and I may come back to it.

April 8/13

Panic

Teeth clenched,

Shaky inside,

A tangled knot.

Darkness oozes,

Fills,

Overcomes.

Paralysis.

Stuck.

Can't move.

Deep breaths

Don't calm.

Overwhelm.

On edge.

Anxiety,

Fear.

Panic

Attacks

Me.

Winner of Fool For Books Giveaway Hop

Thank you to everyone who entered the Fool For Books Giveaway Hop. I loved all the comments about what authors you're a fool for - I now have dozens to look up. Thank you.

The winner of the $15 CDN book from The Book Depository is:

Siti N.

 Congratulations!!!

I have contacted her by email.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by my blog.

Napowrimo: Day 7 Poem

Prompt: Write a poem where each line is a statement and the last line is a question.

April 7/13

The Muses

I know the best people.

We call ourselves The Muses.

I know a woman with a seven foot fairy costume.

I know a woman who sees fairies.

Another friend uses chunky colours to evoke happy feelings on canvas.

Some of us write bad drafts together.

One woman uses Pez containers, clay, and paint to make whimsical statues.

At the coffee shop we drink too much tea, eat gluten free muffins, and stay too long.

Our creative selves are drawn together, no matter our ages or backgrounds.

We get together and laugh, though sometimes we cry.

With these friends, I am safe to be myself, explore, and play.

Don't you wish you had friends like mine?

Book Review: American Gods

Book: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 2005 by Headline Review, 635 pages.

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm or preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, AMERICAN GODS takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what and who it finds there...

My Thoughts:
I want to start off by saying that I loved this book. It captured my interest right away and kept it all the way through. I've been telling everyone about it and can't wait to get my hands on another book by Gaiman. The storyline is unique and off the wall and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then there is the writing. Gaiman is a master of language. There are even passages I marked because I loved them so much and want to reread them again later. All that being said, I did not race through this book, but savored it. It took me a while to read because I didn't want to rush it..

It is not only the writing that's intriguing, but the subject matter.  Gaiman explores interesting issues and philosophies, the way our culture has changed since people started coming to North America, and even what has happened since. This all revolves around the gods - the ancient ones from the old country and the new one's of technology and money.

Shadow is in jail for a bank robbery and, after three years, is going to be released. He has everything to live for, until he finds out that his wife and best friend (also his future employer) have been killed in a car accident. Shadow leaves jail and goes home, unsure of what he will do. Along the way he meets Mr. Wednesday, who offers him a job. It turns out that Wednesday is an old world god, trying to rally up other gods to fight the new world gods for survival.

I don't want to say too much about this book because I don't want to give it away. There are so many twists and turns, rich explorations of ideas, and stunning writing, that it will keep you turning the pages.

One of my favorite quotes (because I love books so much):  

“What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a bookstore it knows it's not fooling a soul.”

Napowrimo Poem: Day 6

Prompt: A valediction (a poem of farewell)

I wrote this one in honour of the novel I'm currently writing called Fatal, which is a mythological fiction about Clytemnestra, Helen of Troy's sister.

April 6/13

A Farewell to Agamemnon from Clytemnestra

"Farewell,"

I say to Agamemnon, my husband,

Who today returned home,

Victorious,

From the Trojan War.

Tonight the victory is mine.

His eyes grow wide, he sits up,

Sloshing water from the tub.

I throw the net over his naked body,

And watch him struggle,

A fly in a web.

The knife at his throat,

Stops his fight.

"Why?" he gasps,

Like he really doesn't know.

I laugh.

"To gain a kingdom,

You ravaged me on the night you made me

A childless widow.

You shredded my life with your knife.

But that wasn't enough for you.

Hate festered when

You traded a ten year battle

Leading the thousand ships,

To return Helen, my beautiful, fickle sister,

To the husband who couldn't keep her

In the first place,

For the life of our daughter.

Iphegenia was an innocent sacrifice.

Though you have blood on your hands,

I sacrifice you to Nemesis,

The goddess of revenge."

I look up and meet the eyes of my lover,

The usurper, Aegisthus,

And pull the knife across my husband's throat.

"Farewell."

Napowrimo: Day 5

Prompt: a cinquain (5 lines, syllables/line = 2-4-6-8-2)

April 5/13

School's Out

Bursting,

Doors flung open,

Freedom, finally,

Laughing, screaming, running, playing,

School's out.

Writing

Thoughts fly,

Frantic scrawling,

Brilliant, I'll change the world,

On second read, it's terrible,

Or not.

Fairies

Peeking

Out from behind

A tree. She beckons me

To dance in the fairy ring. What

a night.

Bloglovin

Hello everyone,

As most of you know, Google is making big changes to Google Friends Connect and Google Reader. I know that Google Reader will be gone in June and I'm not sure what the means for Friends Connect. So, I'm adding Bloglovin to my blog to make it easier to follow and keep track of blogs. Hopefully, you'll join me there. You can click on the link below and I'm adding a button to the sidebar.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Have a great weekend everyone!
Coreena

Book Blast: Sprung

Sprung (Book 2 of the Witchbound Series):

Since she discovered magic, seventeen-year-old Skye Jackson's life is almost perfect. Almost. Even perfect has its glitches.

What happens when the one with all the power makes the biggest mistakes? Welcome to my life.

Four months ago, I couldn’t have been happier. When my parents got divorced, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Especially when Mom married a guy half her age. But then I found out I wasn’t the average Joana. Discovering magic existed and, best of all, I could use it, made everything easier to deal with. That is until I got a little too spell happy. But what girl wouldn't defend her best friend against a world-class creep? Now I’m stuck in a nightmare, forced to make life and death decisions I never dreamed I’d face.

Love the magic, hate the responsibility.

Amazon

Book Trailer

Roots

Seventeen-year-old Baltimore Land just wants to be normal, but magic has other plans. 

I don’t consider myself a witch, that's my parents' thing. I've never really believed in magic either. Sure, I tried it a few times. Fell for the whole “magic happens” thing. But it didn’t happen to me. No amount of rhyming stopped my parents from moving me halfway across the country. Not one spell stopped me from being labeled the town freak.

And worst of all, no matter how many times I begged the Universe to bring my twin back, I was ignored. Until now.

He’s back all right. And in a magical bind of his own. Not the magic-won’t-work-for-me kind either. In fact, it’s working a little too well. Too dark. Too deep.

It turns out our entire family’s magical roots run just as deep and my brother didn’t end up where he is by accident. So I’m going to help him. But magic isn’t really on my side. Nope. Once I finally get the craft under control, I’m expected to abandon the one person in the world who’s closest to me, just to save myself

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Praise for Roots (Book 1):

"I truly enjoyed this story." Jessica, Goodreads
"...a great start to a promising series." Kaylee, Goodreads
"I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Sprung is already on my "to read" list now!" Stacy, Goodreads
"...the first novel I've read by Kelbian Noel but it sure won't be the last." BellaReadz, Goodreads
"This book was great. It showed a different view of witches." Kristy, Amazon
"A refreshing take on a classic theme." looks and literature, Amazon

Author Kelbian Noel

Kelbian Noel is the author of the Witchbound Series and a blogger at Diverse Pages. She lives in Toronto, Ontario with her two children.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Book Blast Giveaway
$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/21/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

NaPoWriMo, Day 4

Prompt: use one of the oddly poetic ship names from the Scottish sci fi writer, Iain M. Banks.

April 4/13

Irregular Apocalypse

The known world,

My world of pain and fear,

Is destroyed

With a simple shift of view.

A small tweak,

And reality is left in the rubble of its former glory.

Some landmarks still stand,

Though looking battered and shabby,

Out of place amongst the ruins.

In time, these too will fall.

Still, I cling to the familiarity of my old ways,

The well-known and comforting darkness

That prickles angst and worry through my soul.

Funny how hard that is to let go,

But it has always been there for me,

A deceptive friend.

But to thrive in the apocalyptic shift

I must embrace the light,

The relief,

The freedom from fear,

And become the pioneer of my self-propelled future.

Time to get rid of the clutter and clear the way.

My old ways have collapsed

With this simple shift.

I will rebuild.