Birthright

Once a year our writing group, WriteOn Joliet, participates in the Open Mic at the Book and Bean Cafe. This year, as always, I read one of my Southern Shorts entitled, OPEN MIC EVENT.  Enjoy!

BryonySeries First Blog Tour Sue Midlock Vampires 1. What makes your vampires different from those that you've read? The characters are well-developed and three-dimensional. No doe-eyed teen romancers. No mindless, senseless blood debauchers. All four vampires (John Simons, Henry Matthews, Kellen Wechsler, and Ed Calkins) were once "real" people and are now undead. 2. Are your vampires completely fabricated or do you follow the mainstream...typical vampire? If by mainstream, you mean: super-violent and gory, romantic, misunderstood, vegetarian; and/or alive and infected with a virus...then no. If you mean created from existing vampire lore, then yes. Here's what 1970s teen protagonist Melissa Marchellis learned from her library book: Creatures of the Night: Witches, Werewolves, and Vampires. All of these elements appear in the BryonySeries. * By day, vampires repose in their burial places; at night, they rise to feed, either to kill or control. * Once under t...

I went to a special last night for Marketing ideas, what works and what doesn't and it was really good. A lot of good came out of it and though we all would like to do well with our books, we know that can't always be possible. I know I never will and I'm happy with that. I'm happy for those who do my books and that I have a small fan base in Utica, Illinois. I'm happy! What I'd like to discuss with you is writing. Just write for the love of writing if nothing else.  "There's no question that only through persistent writing will you generate a lot of good idas. But joy and fun are important, too. We must find a balance." (Writer's Digest) I'll be quoting tons of stuff that I read from Writer's Digest Magazine, because the article was very informative. "Unfortunately, there is no magic elixir we writers can brew to conjure ideas from the air, and though we've been told many times we're so creative, we often don't fe...

Are the disruptions of daily life getting in the way of your writing goals? These tips will help you reach your destination faster and happier...without sacrificing sleep or sanity.   By Sage Cohen Most writers want more time. Yet many of us aren't making the most of the time we already have. What gets in our way? Anne Lamott famously said, "My mind is a bad neighborhood I try to not to go into alone." It's our attitudes and habits that can make the neighborhoods of our minds difficult to navigate. There are 11 steps. 1. Know your destination When you know what matters most to you in your writing life, you can steer the time you have toward getting there. 2. Chart your course. In your writing life, understanding how side errands inform the path toward your goal can likewise help you chart your course. If you want to complete a short story collection and are also building a social media platform, it's important to recognize whether and how one goal informs...

The demons, they keep a constant vigil. Their pointy heads and glaring eyes, stare at my face…beckoning. Just one wrong move…          One pointless and needless move...and I am dirt. Ready to be stomped on Again…                 And again… And though I keep on, with head held high, a smile on my face, inside I am shredded… So much so that I am ill, weak and cry myself to sleep, for days on end.   I am in need of solace. I am singled out, tormented at best. These evil creatures who torture my will to no end have not met their fate, for in time, I will win out. I will be the victor and I will have…peace.

It has come to my attention that not only do kids get bullied at school but so do teachers. Yes, you heard me correctly. Teachers are bullied. They, teachers, give so much of themselves to teach children to get a good education, to get their dreams started, to build characters that one day will be a great success later in life. They even go above and beyond just teaching. They give positive feedback, they help build their students to be their best, to DO their best, they make sure they have supplies, which they buy themselves. Do they have too? No. They do it because they care.  So where does the bullying come into play if this is how they treat their students? There are some, not many, but some who, for whatever reason, need a lot of attention. They crave it and when they don't get the fix right away, they make bad choices. It's trying, especially when you have 29 other students to deal with. I have dealt with many students, in varying ranges in behavior and disabilities....

Words, though calm have sharp edges that cut... wound... bleed. Eyes that look bore deep and broken the shield that is my strength. You are not what I thought the monster revealed and now all is lost I am forsaken. **** Distrust is given my strength lost. **** It's an annoying beastie that ruins my day who shuts the light out and dulls it gray. Whose words are repeated like an old folk song grinding my nerves as the day is long.