Slam Poetry is the Coolest

I love when teachers make literature and/or poetry fun for their students, but more than that I especially love when they help kids express themselves. My oldest son, who's a senior, took a poetry class this year, and not only did he love it, he and a friend who was in the class too, read their poems at a poetry reading at our local theater. They were among poets of all ages, including one who'd been writing poetry for 8o years. This was such a cool event! Here is a picture of Steve and my son Chuck giving me their "poet" pose:

I want to share my son's poem not only to brag a little bit on him, but also because his feelings reflect my own. During the last 10 years or so I have seen and met more kids who were living with parents that didn't want the responsibility of having children. I've seen kids walking to school alone that were far to small to be on their own. I've seen kids come to school dirty, eating candy or popsicles for breakfast. As my kids got older I met teenagers that were bright, creative and basically on their own. Giving a child a bed to sleep in does not mean you are a good parent. Kids need to know they are loved and safe. I can't tell you how many times I've wished I had a home large enough to take in kids that I've met who needed a place to stay where they would feel that way.

(sorry about the formatting..."slam poems are best heard, not read" as my son told me:)

KIDS THESE DAYS
by Charles A. Hyde III

“Kids these days.”
Adults mumble in incredulity,
Recalling a simpler time when children were more respectable,
More lovable, more probable to be tolerable.
They wish that little Johnny would just mow the lawn,
Suzy would take out the trash,
Billy would clean his room,
Brittany would eat her veggies.
And maybe it's true--
But I believe that they have been blinded by a sheaf of nostalgia,
A love of misremembered memories,
Concealing their true motives and recollections.
And it only grows worse as their precious gems reach maturity--
The teenage wasteland that is America enrages them so they cannot even speak.
Yet are these kids any different than their high and mighty parents?
They, too, had many tales of love,
Tales of conflict,
Tales of woe,
Tales of heartbreak and repair.
Tales of their first prom, their worst date,
Their first fight over a girl that wasn’t even worth it.
And yet they persecute the prodigal sons and daughters of my generation,
Preferring to harshly disable them,
Hold them to high expectations, but then bring them down.
Now, I understand that there are good parents,
Role models, heroic figures that would throw themselves upon a grenade for their kin.
And they may be a majority--
Dear God, I hope that they are.
But this is not about them.
This is about the father that causes fractures in their family, physically and formatively.
This is about the mother that makes her masterpiece feel meek and misunderstood.
This is about the parents that should not have been.
Dammit, this is about the so-called “adults” and their never-ending hatred,
Their loathing,
Their putrescent distaste for the good in life.
They wage war, and send the kids they disrespect to fight it.
They allow predators to roam the streets,
And in some cases, they are the predators.
They are responsible for the world,
Not us.
No, not us.
Not yet.
And I hope that when we inherit this disillusioned planet,
We do a damn better job running it than them.
So, to sum it all up, to add up my points,
To break it down for you, in just three words, a simple phrase:
“Adults these days.”

This picture is my son, me and our friend Doowy, who showed up for support and to keep me company.



~Brenda

Featured Book: Take Me Away

I can't imagine how exciting it would be to submit a story, only to find out it's release day is less than a month later. Of course it's also a whirlwind of activity as the author puts together the promotion. Tina has amazed me with her organization and amazing energy as I watched her put everything together for her newest release.

I told her the cover alone will sell this story:) Be sure to watch the trailer below...the ending makes me smile every time.

Take Me Away
by Tina Donahue
She’s everything he escaped…and all that he desires

Three years ago, Kyle turned his back on a pro-football career and being the target of tabloids or gold-digging groupies. Craving privacy, he gets it at his roadhouse in Northern California until Lexi Sands invades his life. Indulged and surely phony, she’s exactly what Kyle fled.

An actress since childhood, Lexi’s fresh out of an anger management program, court-ordered when she lashed out at a badgering paparazzo. Weary of the press’s harsh scrutiny, she sees Kyle’s secluded cabin as the ideal place to hide out and him as a damn-near perfect alpha male. Deliciously virile. Protective. Principled. She offers him serious cash to let her stay for two weeks, assuring there will be no complications or touching.

Yeah, right. Passion flares, along with tenderness. Kyle recognizes how lonely Lexi really is, while she’s falling hard. Through intimate days and impassioned nights, they explore their most shameless needs, until a cruel betrayal exposes their growing love, forcing a choice neither anticipated.




Read an excerpt here:http://www.tinadonahue.com/books/take-me-away/
Buy Take Me Away: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9333-take-me-away.aspx

Tina Donahue is a multi–published novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work; she has reached finals and/or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Three of her erotic novels were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

~Brenda

A Young Author Writes of Zombies

My daughter won the Young Author award again this year, but her subject matter changed drastically. Last year she wrote an essay on the care of cats, which was nonfiction. This year in 5th grade she decided to go the fiction route with a story entitled Zombie High School. No, I did not help her with the theme choice. I seriously did not know what she was writing until it was almost finished. Here is a little bit of her story:

"AJ!" I replied without looking. "How was your trip to your aunt's vacation crypt?" she asked.

I was about to answer when a group of cheerleaders passed by. I hoped more than anything the cheerleaders were better than middle school and that they were nice. They walked up to us, what looked like the head cheerleader said "Ewww FREAAKSS!" She admired her stupidly perfect nails. How does she keep them from rotting?

I looked at my brown, mushy, decaying fingers. My nails were dirty and cracked. I sighed, for once I wanted to be...well to be pretty. "Hey AJ, " I whispered, "when was the last time we got pedicures?" AJ thought for a minute, "well, 1,000, 2,000, well we got that one thing but it wasn't a pedicure." she mumbled.

"5,000 years, " she whispered back. I sighed again.

This is Emily and SHE is not a zombie:


She came home the other day smiling because some of her classmates asked if she was working on a sequel. I think a writer has been born:)

~Brenda

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

I've been seeing the trailer for Dylan Dog the last couple of weeks, and finally looked up the background on the movie and the comic. Originally it was published in Italy, but later was brought to the U.S. by Dark Horse Comics. The cover to the left is for the almost 700 page Dylan Dog Case Files, which was published in 2009. It includes the comic editions from Italy, finally printed in English. They give this description of Dylan Dog:

An ex-cop who now battles against evil as a "nightmare investigator," Dylan Dog is unlike any private eye you've ever met. If creatures from beyond the unknown are after you, and if you can hire him, he just might save your life.




The movie description from their Facebook page:
Brandon Routh stars as Dylan Dog, world famous private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead. His PI business card reads "No Pulse? No Problem." Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans.

The actor who plays Dylan is the same one who played Superman in Superman Returns. He looks a little more edgy, and hopefully will be. This picture has a steampunk feel to it!


The movie opens April 29th, and I think it looks pretty cool. Here are a few links for more information:

Dylan Dog on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/DylanDogDeadofNight

Dylan Dog Film YouTube Channel:
Trailers and TV Spots
http://www.youtube.com/DylanDogFilms

IMDb Page:
Actors, Plot & Pictures
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013860/

~Brenda

Where I've Been Hanging Out

I've been working more on my freelance writing, and my fiction, since the New Year, hence the lack of posts, especially reviews. I've been very active on Good Reads, and it's been working really well for me to put a book on as I start it under "current reads" then do a quick review when I'm finished. You can find my page here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2844600-brenda

I also write for the Old Fashioned Living.com blog and website, so you can find me there too.

The blog is here: http://oldtips.blogspot.com/

I share recipes, cooking, garden and home tips on the blog. My articles are on the website, and I usually

Saturday I was hanging out at the high school auditorium where my son was in their production of Camelot. He's been doing tech for the plays the last couple years, but this was his first on stage performance as King Arthur's herald. He only had 2 lines, but he did a great job yelling them out on stage. Here is a picture of his scene:

I loved this picture though because he looks so suave, and pleased with himself:) The entire musical was great fun, and I adore anything related to King Arthur's legend.


I will try to post more often. It's almost spring, and I've started thinking about gardening. I think I might do some blog posts on herb lore and use. I love growing herbs, and cooking with them, but the lore is also fascinating.

~Brenda

Guest Post: Why Donate the Proceeds

Please welcome author Heather Kuehl with her wonderful reason for donating the proceeds of her new book, Blood Moon.

Dear Readers,

Once Eternal Press accepted Blood Moon, I was faced with a decision. I had a feeling that this book would do well, especially after the cliff hanger at the end of Malevolent Dead. I know, it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, but it was for a good reason. I had wanted to give back to MUSC Children's Hospital for a while, but never had the means to do so. I felt, with Blood Moon, I could finally do that.

Why MUSC Children's Hospital? Two years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Cameron, but around 2 weeks of age I noticed something that was really hard to miss. He was vomiting up his food. The pediatrician thought it was acid reflux, and blew off my "vomiting baby," thinking that I was over reacting because I was a first time mom. I don't blame the pediatrician for thinking this; all first time parents overreact at one time or another. But I just knew in my gut that something was wrong. A week later and nothing was working, so I told the pediatrician that I wanted to do a test they had mentioned before where they do an ultrasound on his stomach to see if something was wrong. The doctor agreed and we were sent to MUSC to do the ultrasound. I had no clue what I was looking at, but the second I saw the white mass on the otherwise dark screen I knew something was wrong.

My son had a condition known as pyloric stenosis. It's where the muscle exiting the stomach closes, refusing to allow nutrients into the body. Prior to the early 1900's, babies would have starved to death from this because doctors didn't know what was wrong. They used to assume it was a milk allergy or some other ailment. Luckily, it was 2008 and the doctors knew exactly what to do. We were immediately admitted into the hospital, and seconds after we arrived in the ER the surgeon was there to meet us and explain what was going to happen. Once we got settled into the hospital room, the surgeon came back in and asked if we had any more questions. We saw him several times before the surgery actually took place the next day, and every time he was very nice and patient with us. The hospital staff was equally kind, even the nurses at 2am who had to help me change Cameron as he continued to vomit the nasty old formula that was in his stomach. No matter where we went, everyone was so nice. The day after his surgery Cam was eating like a champ and barely spitting up, and we were sent home with the surgeons home phone number incase we had any questions or concerns. A week later Cameron was fully healed, with only two little scars from the surgery.

Cameron just turned two back in November, and hasn't been affected at all by his condition or surgery. The doctors said that this problem is one that will never reoccur, so we don't have to worry about him having surgery for pyloric stenosis again. His two little scars are now just one scar, with one of them fading so much that I have to search for almost fifteen minutes in order to find it.

Ever since that day, I wanted to give back to MUSC Children's Hospital for their kindness, and helping my son. That is why I donated the proceeds for Blood Moon to them.

To learn more about MUSC Children's Hospital, please visit http://www.musckids.com/
To learn more about Pyloric Stenosis, please visit http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pyloric_stenosis.html


Blood Moon is the third book in the Sarah Vargas series, picking up right where Malevolent Dead left off.

Blood Moon Blurb: After she broke her contract with the Blood Moon Corporation, Sarah Vargas knew that it was only a matter of time before they came for her. What she didn't know is what lengths they would go to make sure that she had no where to run. Everyone Sarah has every relied on is in danger during a time when friends become enemies, and Sarah quickly realizes that the Blood Moon Corporation will never give up until she is dead. The Blood Moon Corporation is coming, and even Sarah doesn't think she can make it out alive.

Buy Links
Blood Moon: Book Three of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Malevolent Dead: Book Two of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Fade to Black: Book One of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Promises to Keep, Eternal Press

Coming Soon
Epiphany, Decadent Publishing (TBA 2011)

Visit Heather Kuehl online at http://www.heatherkuehl.com/, http://www.heatherkuehl.blogspot.com/ or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Reaping What I Sow: Pink to Black

My daughter was the first grand daughter on both sides of the family. She was showered in pink, and ruffles...all things girly. My husband laughed and said when she was a teen she'd go Goth and everything would turn black. I giggled and said that was okay with me. Last year she announced her favorite color was now blue, and could we not buy her pink. No problem. Last week she spent money she was given for her 11th birthday. She found a new favorite doll:



You can't tell from the picture, but her skin is a light green. She's Frankie Stein, the daughter of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. She also bought her:



This is Clawdeen Wolf. Don't you love her little ears? The one Emily bought was a little bit different than this one. Both dolls are awesome, and they have a website with games and activities. We printed out two bookmarks the other day. They have a note on the site that books are coming soon.

You can see it coming can't you? The Goth phase is around the corner, and what did I expect when I'm such a huge fan of all things paranormal? I'm okay with this, as long as she doesn't get a tattoo or radical piercing before she's 18. I'll confess that I wish this style had been around when I was a teenager because I would have been there, and done that:)

~Brenda