A WOMAN’S CROWNING GLORY, A HAT TO MATCH ©

By Polly Guerin, The Fashion Historian

Hats have always functioned as more than mere head coverings. The styles created by different civilizations also proclaimed the rank and status of the wearer. It distinguished people by degrees of social class, profession and religious order. Head gear also defined the etiquette of an era, and hats were always an important part of regional and national costume. So what became of a one’s crowning glory?

DEMISE OF MILLINERY

Hats were an important aspect of American and European fashion, until about the 20th century when men and women started going hatless. Today one hardly ever sees women wearing hats. Exceptions being at church services, weddings, race courses and other special events. Construction workers give us hard hats, baseball caps identify with the all-American spirit, and the beret seems to be mainstay worn by women as well as men in the private and military sectors. Millinery has a broad and ancient history.

THE EGYPTIANS

The early Egyptians were proud of their wig headdresses. In the beginning wigs were adorned with a tasteful gold band. In time, however, this ornamentation became more elaborate and symbols of Gods emerged like ram’s horns or the sun disk. However, it took Queen Nefertiti to introduce the wide-topped crown, but other queens preferred to adopt the vulture headdress, a symbol for motherhood. To top it off the Greeks had their own take on hats.

CROWNING GLORY

Cretans’ hats were a lavish affair---jeweled berets and turbans; huge towering fezzes were worn at a jaunty tilt. Tall, candle-shaped crowns plopped onto wide, flat brings. By the sixth century B.C. women had a nice range of hair styles to choose from. Queens and Goddesses got to wear golden coronets or most regal of all a crescent-shaped diadem, the Stephane. To protect their coifs from the weather, Etruscan men and women might affect a tutulus, a curious pointed hat with an upturned brim. Always the fashion followers by the mid-eighth century, many women copy Charlemagne’s mother, Bertha, who wears her long hair parted in the center and held in place with two thick braids and a headband around her forehead.

THE MIDDLE AGES

When we think of the Middle Ages we picture the period as romantic but it is the era of the Crusades with men going out with snoops, hoods and a variety of hear gear. Women of importance and rank, like Eleanor of Aquitaine wear a high headdress, a pointed cone-shaped hat adorned with a view which helps her to achieve the elongated silhouette inspired by Gothic architecture.

PUTTING ON A THINKING CAP

Men have their day in the 13th century. In an era when most people were illiterate, teachers and philosophers wear square-cut caps which are fit tightly against their skulls and people start talking about “putting on their thinking cap.” Women’s pillbox-shaped caps with their attached chin straps do have some charm but Robin Hood hats with pointed visors and high crowns are in fashion. When Isabelle of Bavaria arrives in France to marry Charles VI, she brings with her outlandish millinery and women of her court sport bourrelets—wide, padded rolls, anchored on top of their hair and the towering cone shaped headdress grows to fantastic proportions. In the Renaissance, the time of Mary Queen of Scots, a veil suspended from a rigid frame was de rigueur.

LOUIS XIV RULE

In the 1670s and 1680s, women adopt a variety of hats---beautifully embroidered snoods stretch over hair buns, hoods for protection and best of all, glamorous wide-brimmed picture hats. By 1735Fashion dolls, exact replicas of fashionable French Ladies, from their headgear down to their makeup travel to the Colonies and American women of rank and wealth adopt Parisian style. However, the saga of fashion hats takes a turn for simplicity for the new settlers and the wide-brimmed bonnet carries them forward into the new frontier. In the world of fashion, women’s hats were hardly functional at all. Like the tiny cocktail hats of the 1930s that perched at angles on a woman’s head, it was pure décor of the most charming of decorative accessories. ♥

Polly Guerin honed her skills as an Accessories Editor at the trade fashion bible, Women’s Wear Daily and later taught product knowledge as professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology, where her definitive textbook and video production, Creative Fashion Presentations, is used even today. In 2009 she was a vice-president of RWA/NYC and currently serves as a board liaison. Visit her at www.pollytalk.com.

BITS OF TECHNOLOGY

Lugging my MacBook was a labor in and of itself yesterday morning. I am used to just carrying my iPod Touch which I have learned to use as a savvy mini computer. The urge to buy it came when I wanted to work on NaNoWriMo, and I figured I could use it to write on. I would say about three-fourths of the story was written on the train with the Touch. I would not have been able to finish it without it. But the MacBook was needed because I was planning to post a new Bits and Pieces today--which will appear here in two weeks--and I cannot edit well on the Touch because it is hard to position the cursor among other things.

But sitting in my favorite ubiquitous cafe, I could not get WiFi on the MacBook, only the Touch which I could not edit on and found out much to my dismay that I was not going to be able to do edits the way I had planned to. I was so frustrated this post was born right then, as I ordered a decaf soy cappucino. As much as we are able to enjoy mobile writing, Internet and social networking, there are downfalls to those very things.

I hate when I am on Twitter and I want to retweet something and it is too long to retweet on the Touch, but if I was on the MacBook it would be a non issue. Or when the network drops and you do not even realize it has dropped and then realize that you have been offline and missed out on a lot of things that you thought you did. Or when you have WiFi in some apps and not in others--the others that you want like Mail or Twitterific!

If I had not had the weird WiFi issue, here would have been my newest Bits and Pieces, instead is my rambling about the downside of a good thing. Believe me it is a good thing when technology goes right, when I am able to work offline in Mail and type a story or blog post and it updates as soon as I have WiFi. The current story I am working on I have never even written on a computer, it was all written on the train on the Touch. Once I was talking to a guy who told me he could tell I was a native New Yorker because I told him I could only read on the train. Now I read and write best on the train, cafes are reserved for social networking. Usually it is a very good life until technology reminds me with all of its advances it is not infallible. Sigh.

RELEASE DAY HONOURS (with an exclusive DARKLY LUMINOUS excerpt and tons of giveaways!)

By Leanna Renee Hieber

In honour of my latest Strangely Beautiful series release, THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER, when Maria asked if I wanted to do a blog post and an excerpt, what immediately came to mind was: Community. RWANYC has been a fruitful, welcoming and supportive community since I first stepped through the doors in 2007, and so much has changed since then. The “Grand Work” of publishing is a very hard business as we all know, and yet we all struggle through together and extend hands of support and congratulations, and encouragement to keep ‘fighting the good fight’ – when amazing things can happen.

One of my favourite things about the Strangely Beautiful series has been developing a loving community in The Guard that well understand that their Grand Work is filled with strife and pain, but joy and reward too. My series is about finding and holding onto that beloved community at all costs, despite all odds, when amazing things do happen. So in honour of the community that I care so much for in real life, here’s an exclusive excerpt from my tight-knit fictional community that I also adore, The Guard. Blessings and I hope starting April 27th, during release week, you’ll do the Strangely Beautiful series the great service of supporting it in your local bookstores. I also hope to see you May 3rd at Lady Jane’s Salon, where I’ll be reading and celebrating!♥


From THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER:

When pronounced man and wife, Alexi lifted the veil to kiss his bride and she fell against him. Their kiss was of such fusion that they felt the ground tremble. The slight sound of angels grew into a bursting chorus. Rising from the candles and met by an aura of light from their bodies, white flame began to pool, merge and expand into a hazy, egg-like form that grew as their kiss sustained. As it ended, the form burst into a great, bird-shaped sun. The avian form threw open expansive wings, and a wave of heat and deafening music blew through the chapel.

The Guard cried out. A phoenix bathed in light, rising from the indomitable love within two mortal hearts—this was raw, divine power, their purpose and origin made manifest. Marianna and Edward squealed. Mina Wilberforce’s hands went to her face. Alexandra gaped, tears streaming down her cheeks. Many of the attendant ghosts breathed sighs and vanished, at last sent to their rest.

Elijah turned to Marianna, Edward and Mina. He pointed a finger toward each set of eyes. “As beautiful as this is,” he began nonchalantly, “I’m terribly sorry, we’ll have to pretend that never happened.” Their gazes clouded, and only selective memories of a more mundane nature remained.

When Withersby turned his fingers in the direction of Alexandra, Alexi stopped him. “No, Elijah. Let my sister keep this sight.”

Alexandra eyed her brother with deepening wonder. “Thank you,” she murmured desperately.

“Are we married now?” Percy breathed, amazed by the blue-coloured flame wreathing her beloved’s eyes and her own. A thin line of the same traced The Guard’s hearts, each to the other, a cord of light binding them fast.

“By the gods themselves, it would seem,” Alexi replied.

The couple walked down the aisle, arm in arm, unable to take their eyes from each other. Jane broke into a jig, and the assembled company bounced out of the chapel, Rebecca taking care to wheel Alexandra to safety as everyone embraced. Jane was lost to her music, a new spirit floating behind her. Aodhan’s hard, deeply masculine features wore affection, and his ghostly hand hovered just above her shoulder. Beside him floated Beatrice Tipton.

Beatrice’s expression was almost threatening. Her voice was kinder. “Go on, my lady,” she said to Percy. “Enjoy what you’ve worked so very long to attain. Enjoy your mortal love and a bit of celebration. There’s time soon enough for the rest. But please take care. Remember all I’ve said.”

Percy swallowed and nodded. She turned to behold Alexi, who was ignorant of all but her. She delighted in his thirsty gaze before turning back to find Beatrice and Aodhan gone.

Michael, unable to contain his overflowing heart, swept Rebecca into a jig. She at first refused, but it was impossible to deny his joy for long and so she acquiesced with a chuckling sigh. It was Josephine’s giggle that alerted them all to the host of gawking professors and students eyeing first their dancing headmistress and second their most mysterious, brooding professor, clearly wedded to and infatuated with their strangest student. Rebecca simply laughed; there was nothing else to be done. Jane continued to play beside Alexandra, who from her wheelchair watched as if the world had been made far more beautiful.

Alexi kissed Percy’s hands and moved to kneel at his sister’s side. “There is an ancient magic within us, Alexandra. I’ve never wished to keep secrets from you—”

She placed her hand on Alexi’s shoulder and shook her head. “Thank you for what you allowed me to see.” Alexandra beamed as Percy knelt at her feet in rustling pool of blue satin. “You look incredible. The both of you…Alexi, what on earth made you finally allow someone close?”

Alexi tucked Percy’s arm in his. “There was no way around this woman’s radiance.”

A huge smile approached, a white crescent against brown skin, and Percy jumped up to welcome Mina. Taking Percy’s ivory hand in a far darker one, she murmured: “Congratulations, Mrs. Rychman. I never doubted your husband’s mind. What I doubted was that he could ever smile. How dear it is that you’re the one to unearth such a miracle. Come find me after your honeymoon, I’ll give you presents—books!”

Alexi bowed his head. “Hello, Miss Wilberforce, thank you for being a part of this special day.”

“No—thank you, Professor, for proving love presses past barriers.” The librarian lifted Percy’s hand in hers, showcasing the contrast that had brought them together, triumphant.

“I’m so glad to share this with you, Mina. It’s been quite a quarter,” Percy whispered.

“I should say.”


(End of Excerpt)



Blessings and thanks RWANYC, for being a part of my beloved community.  Come join me this week for my Darkly Luminous Haunted London Blog Tour and tons of giveaways.  Join the tour at:

 http://www.leannareneehieber.com/haunted-london-blog-tour

As I discuss the real-life ghost stories I use in the book! And, see you at Lady Jane’s Salon!

 Visit Leanna at:

http://www.leannareneehieber.com/
http://www.twitter.com/leannarenee
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/sbsfan

GOOD VIBRATIONS...

by Anne Mohr

No, I’m not peddling the newest pocket rabbit! This is about channeling the good stuff and shutting out the bad. We’ve heard time and again about being positive and avoiding negativity or else, oh no, the universe will whack you with a pile of you know what. But, how do you do that exactly? More specifically, how do you stay positive when the proverbial you know what is hitting the fan?

Many have suggested great ways, such as walks, exercising, listening to music, you name it. However, sometimes it’s just not convenient to throw on a feel-good CD, or disappear for a while and go for a quick run, or whatever. Sometimes, you have to stay put and produce, and it’s especially for those times, that I use this method to keep myself plugged into a positive vibe and ward off the negative crap that life can sometimes throw my way.

There are two mantras that I repeat either out loud or sometimes inside my head and they are: “Think happy thoughts, Peter Pan, and you can fly,” and, my all time favorite Scarlet O’Hara line, “I can’t think about this now; I’ll go crazy if I do. I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Depending upon my mood and the severity of the latest blip, I will repeat one or both of the lines however many times it takes to shut out what I am trying to keep from getting under my skin. This enables me to focus on something else, and that something has to be wonderful and has to have the ability to enable me to transcend whatever negative thing has come my way. It sounds hard, and trust me; sometimes it is very difficult to do. But, it works every time. I’m not crazy, really.

Choose any line(s) that will get your attention away from what you don’t want to think about and then repeat it till you are in a frame of mind to think about something spectacular that will make you immediately feel great. Allow that great feeling to sink in, and you’ll see that suddenly you can focus on your writing or doing whatever thing needs to get done.

There are those who believe that shutting out the negative thoughts and focusing only on positive thoughts is the secret to living a great life. I look at it this way:  Even if it doesn’t bring success and riches, you can be sure that you will feel a lot better, happier and even more productive.♥





Anne Mohr has been a member of RWA/NYC since 1993. Having lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey, most of her life, she recently relocated to California, just because. Currently, she is a real estate agent in both California and New Jersey. Many of her colleagues ask her to help write property descriptions, and all of her clients love her emails. She writes as Jacqueline Stewart, Helen St. James and Max St. James, and is published in short fiction (magazines.) She continues her work on “the book.”

CONTEST SEASON IS UNDERWAY

By Shirley Kelly

Contest season is well underway. If you’re a newbie like I was and wondering whether or not to submit or needing some advice, perhaps my experience with them will help you decide.

I’ve been reading romance novels all of my life, and have always wanted to write them. I had a few aborted attempts over the years but it wasn’t until last year that I actually completed one. Thinking I had written something wonderful I decided to enter contests listed in the national newsletter.

Some contests required me to snail mail my entry but most of them allowed for electronic submissions. Unfortunately, that made it easier for me to submit my work to one contest right after the other. I wouldn’t recommend doing this. Because while some judges thought my work was very good most of them thought it was good but needed work. Next time, I’ll submit, wait to get feedback, rework my chapters and then submit again.

I also made the mistake of entering contests that only wanted a small number of pages from a specific chapter. I had to cut and edit and cut some more just to meet their page requirement. I felt like I was butchering my work.

For each contest I was usually judged by three people. Out of all the contests I entered I received only one snarky reply - she didn’t like anything about my work and didn’t even bother to critique it in a helpful manner. So, let’s just forget about her because everyone else was wonderful! The support I received was simply amazing. The comments made about my work were insightful and really helped me grow as a writer. Each judge took the time to not only correct my work but make suggestions that would make it a better read.

A judge for one contest actually critiqued my synopsis which made me revise the last third of my book. She picked up on the fact that the main male character didn’t really save the day. I write Regencies, so while the heroine can help, it’s particularly important that the hero conquer all. Remember Mr. Darcy from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE doing what needed to be done so that he and Elizabeth Bennet could live happily ever after? I rewrote the ending and thanked the judge whole heartedly because this is a change that will affect not only my first book but all the ones that follow.

After many revisions I entered my novel into the Golden Heart Contest. I was only hoping to get helpful feedback but after I entered I found out they don’t critique the submissions - if only I had asked someone! But I must say I was happy to have a deadline to work towards and proud that I met it!

Hopefully you’ve written something wonderful, and your entry will make it to the finals or even win! That would be a nice addition to your résumé. But even if you don’t win, the feedback you get will be immeasurable. Because the judges don’t know you they’re reading your work with an objective eye.

So, if you’re debating whether or not to submit to contests I say, YES!

Do it intelligently and you will reap the rewards.♥



After years of reading romance novels, Shirley has finally realized her dream of writing one. She has recently completed her first Regency romance, TO CATCH THE WIND. Now she's working on getting it published, along with her children's book, WHEN I GROW UP, FROM A TO Z.

DREADED AUTHOR QUESTION: I Always Wanted to Write a Novel. How Should I Get Started?

By Isabo Kelly


In this monthly series, Isabo talks about the often uncomfortable questions every author gets asked, and how to handle those dreaded inquiries. If you have gotten any of these “dreaded” questions, please share them with us here. If you have an answer, all the better.

From a rude person, this can translate into, “If you can do it, I’m sure I could.” From a nicer person, this translates as, “Novel writing sounds easy—you get to sit around in your pajamas making up stories and people pay you for it. I want to do that. Sounds much easier than my job.”

But if writing books were that easy, everyone would do it. We’d be inundated with more books than anyone could possibly read and no one would do anything else.

Fortunately for us writers, writing isn’t that easy. (Because there is a necessity in the world for other careers—doctors, grocers, farmers, telephone engineers, cupcake makers.)

Writing a novel takes effort, time, commitment to finishing the book, enough concentration to work on the book when there are more interesting things to do, like watch reruns of The View. The motto of a writer is and has to be “butt in chair, words on page.” That’s the only way a novel gets written. How often your butt is in the chair, how many words you put on the page at a time is an individual writer’s prerogative. But without those two things, you can “want to write a novel” all you like. The novel won’t get written.

And putting butt in chair and words on page isn’t always an easy thing to do. Pajamas or not, you still have to get the writing done. Sometimes you have to work when all you want to do is watch movies or take a nap. That’s something non-writers don’t always understand. While writing might be a passion, and it might even be fun, it’s still work. Just like a day job, or any other kind of career you might have, you have to put work into writing.

What if the plot isn’t developing? What if your deadline is looming and you’ve only finished a third of the book? What if your characters have suddenly become uncooperative or you’ve taken a wrong turn in the action and don’t know how to fix the mistake?

Enjoying a career, having fun doing what you do, doesn’t mean that there isn’t work. And that’s where the glamour of being a “writer” tends to wear off. So when people say to me, “I’ve always liked the idea of being a writer. I think I could write a book. Where do I start?” I tell them, “You start with butt in chair, words on page”, and then I tell them a little about my process, what it takes to finish a novel, and what it takes to sell one. If the questioner is still interested in writing after that conversation, they’re writers and I’m happy to encourage them to get their novel done. If they aren’t, they’ll go back to their current careers with a little more appreciation for what they do as well as what a writer does. ♥

Isabo Kelly (aka Katrina Tipton) is the author of multiple science fiction, fantasy and paranormal romances. Her Prism Award Winning novel, SIREN SINGING, has just been released in paperback from Ellora’s Cave (www.ellorascave.com). For more on Isabo’s books, visit her at http://www.isabokelly.com/.

RESPECTING BOOKS

By Shawn Fury

When Louise [his wife] first visited my old apartment in Fargo, she was dismayed to see the number of books I haphazardly tossed into corners or stacked on the floor. Not even the mountain of clothes piled in the closet disgusted her that much. The month-old milk carton loitering in the fridge didn't affect her, but those books did.

Dozens of books littered the two-bedroom apartment, paperbacks sharing space with hardcovers sporting tattered cover pages. The inside pages had line after line polluted by underlined passages. She wondered why I wasn't treating the books with the respect they deserved, which confused me because I thought I'd done just that by buying them and reading every word.

"The written word's a precious thing," she said. "Books have to be handled with care." She sounded like she was talking about a 6-week-old child or a 2-month-old puppy.

I agreed with her first sentence and couldn't find much fault with the second one, though our ideas about proper care for a book differed. Burning them? No. But if a book is worn and appears well-read, with dog-eared pages, that to me indicated it was a great book, one that I enjoyed more than once. And these weren't rare used books I mishandled. It could be a standard John Grisham thriller about a plucky lawyer bucking the odds or a Stephen Ambrose book about World War II. Anything with binding, numbered pages and a cover.

She yelped when she'd see me toss a book on a couch or throw it to the floor from the bed. Eventually she revealed the reason for her obsessive behavior. Books were extremely expensive growing up in Cape Town. Rarely could she afford to buy one. When she did purchase a book, she treated it like the rare piece of art it was to her. It took her several years in America to realize that we can buy a mystery thriller for seven bucks, and a nonfiction tome for 15 or 20 dollars. Still, even today, she maintains this reverence for the actual physical product. It must be loved and cared for, a treasure that should never be taken for granted. Use a bookmark, don't just spread it out when marking the spot at the end of the day.

I thought she was crazy then for this vigilance. That opinion hadn't changed much over the years. It might be changing a bit, now that I've taken a tour of some South African bookstores.

The exchange rate right now is about 7:1. So a book that costs $20 would be about 140 rand. In America we can buy one of James Patterson's 156 paperbacks for maybe 9 bucks. Or a Greg Iles one for $7.99. But in Cape Town, those books were going for R175, sometimes R190. For a paperback mystery or a romance novel. Would anyone pay the equivalent of $25 for a book with a half-naked Fabio on the cover, aside from Fabio himself?

Nonfiction was an even more depressing story. Vincent Bugliosi's book FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER, which dissects Kennedy assassination conspiracies, would cost about $20 in the States. In Cape Town, at Exclusive Books? R420. I've read Bugliosi's book. Enjoyed it. Fully endorse his arguments about the death of JFK. But I wouldn't pay the equivalent of $60 for it, even if it revealed the Cubans conspired with the CIA and the mob to knock Kennedy off, all under the evil direction of Lyndon Johnson.

The bargain book bin offered no help. Each book carrying a discounted marker seemed like the type of book you'd give as a present to a hated cousin or a blind grandmother. An intimate biography of Robbie Williams, which has nearly as many pictures as words? For R70?

Wandering through the bookstore gave me all the evidence I needed to know why Louise rarely bought a book as a kid and helped me understand her maniacal need to care and protect them. If I spent $25 for something adorned with Fabio's laughable locks and masculine looks, I would never even crack open the book. I'd stuff it in an airtight container, protecting it from elements and human hands.

And these prices are in a country where the average income is dwarfed by what the average worker in America earns. So the people make less and are expected to pay much more for the same products. In Cape Town, the median annual income is about 25,000 rand, or less than $7,000 a year. How much money do people have to spend on books?

All of this is why we pack as many books as possible for trips to South Africa. Most of them are paperbacks we read back in America. We give them to Louise's mom and stepfather, who are avid readers. They devour each offering. It seems ludicrous for them to have to spend money on books we can purchase for half the price. We're a human bookmobile, bringing Stephen King and Jonathan Kellerman to the South African masses, or at least Louise's family.

I've always thought of books as treasures. But it wasn't until I visited a South African bookstore that I realized just how valuable they can be. So respect that Harlequin novel or poorly sourced sports biography. Or mail it to someone in South Africa who will really appreciate it. ♥

Shawn Fury is an award-winning writer who has written for newspapers in Minnesota and North Dakota. He currently works as a freelance writer in New York City, where he lives with his wife, Louise. His first book, KEEPING THE FAITH: In the Trenches with College Football's Worst Team, was released by Lyons Press in September 2005. Visit him on http://www.shawnfury.com/ and http://www.shawnfury.blogspot.com/.

HISTORY DOES A NOVEL GOOD

By Karen Sharpe

When I began to prepare for National Novel Writing Month, I was at a bit of a disadvantage. I selected a genre that was unfamiliar to me as far as researching was concerned – historical fiction.

The very first thing I had to do was figure a time and place for my main characters to meet. I selected 1870 New York City, because being a born and raised New Yorker; I knew it wasn’t always a great place to live, especially after the Civil War. I knew there was a melting pot, as seen in the movie “Gangs of New York,” but I wanted to dig deeper into how my characters made their way to New York City out of the many places they had already been.

Since New York is a big place, I started looking at the areas near the piers for clusters of immigrants from various countries, as well as migrants from the South, and came upon a large stretch of land near what is now Chinatown and Little Italy. I started reading about the immigration explosion in the tenements and found out that in 1812, the city’s population was 150,000, and within seven decades, it was close to a million and a half, leaning toward 2 million by 1890.

As I began to pick through reference books in the Central Library in Queens, I found maps and old stereoscopic views of old New York, and was surprised to find things I had no idea of – like Canal Street was named that because there was really a canal! In fact, there was so much polluted water in lower Manhattan that the once fresh water lake called the Collect Pond was filled in with construction debris (and garbage) and became Pearl Street. A few years later, the filling began to emit foul odors; it caved in and concerns about public health hazards were apparent, but the population surrounding this area had no voice to complain with. The area was used as a place for public executions, and then they built a detention center – the notorious Tombs, which also began to sink. Nearby this section was the infamous Five Points slum, which is one of the oldest residential areas in the city.

While going through the photographs, I found one of the slums called Mulberry Bend. I could sense the depression the residents felt, and saw several different ethnic groups thrown together. Then I went through the New York Times archives to get a feel of the time. The police reporter Jacob Riis photographed many scenes of tenement life, and I understood what he meant when he wrote that the residents were “victims of their environment.”

I took copious notes, copied photos and started to piece everything together. Soon I had a binder full of things that could be used … or that were just good to know. There is the Internet Public Library-- http://www.ipl.org/ --that pointed me in other directions regarding the history of the area, and the almshouse that became Bellevue Hospital. I found out what the red light district was; when the first washing machine made it to commercial laundries; what a hot sheet hotel was; and who ran the stale beer dives and rat pits near the South Street Seaport. There was so much going on, I wanted to use everything I found, but stayed focused on the basics.

I didn’t use February to edit my NaNoWriMo novel, instead I decided to give it to a fellow writer to read so she could tell me where it dragged and sagged. I read in one of RWA’s latest magazines that perfectionists like to keep their work to themselves. Even though I am a perfectionist, historical fiction was not my usual genre, so I allowed another writer to see if I had wasted the 30 days on a fruitless pursuit.

Some of it upset her because of the tragic circumstances that brought the main characters together, but when she finished it, she just smiled and said “Don’t change a thing, I felt like I was there!” I thought to myself, that’s just what I wanted to hear! ♥




Karen P. Sharpe has been an astrologer for over three decades. She majored in cartooning and animation, which she uses today in her decorative painting business. Karen worked for years in the typography industry, as a proofreader and quality control specialist. She wrote nonfiction articles for several weekly NYC newspapers, and monthly astrology columns for CableView Magazine, Harlem News Group and Street News. Karen’s NaNoWriMo novel is available on Amazon under her pen name, Sydelle Houston, and she is currently working on a collection of erotic short stories called, THE HOT PAGES.

THE ROAMING ARTIST'S EYE

 Part of what I love best about being a writer is the artist's eye. The ability to be inspired by almost anything anywhere and sometimes that anything is another artist.

Marina Abramovic.

I remember the first time I saw her as part of a contemporary exhibition at MoMA. She was brushing her hair and saying the artist must be beautiful over and over on the film until her enthusiastic brush strokes became pained and yet she kept her mantra. The artist must be beautiful.

I saw her work again as part of a WACK feminist show at PS1 which showed the list of items that were placed on a table and that visitors of that exhibition were able to use in any way they wanted with her. A loaded gun was one of those items. She had several talks around the city at one time and I kept thinking I wanted to go but work and life prevented me.

At FIAF, I watched a documentary about her life and saw the fearless things that she did, including cutting a star of David into her stomach. In all of her performances--as she is a performance artist for the most part-- she uses her body in a way that shows stamina and dedication to her art, in a way I aspire to as an artist.

When I heard that she was going to have a show at MOMA, I was so excited and when I heard she was going to be there in person as part of the exhibition I was floored. I remember being in the museum and seeing a woman all black, very distinguished looking and, like I said with an artist's eye, someone who really caught my attention like a character I wished I had created, her presence was so palpable.

What caught my eye was Marina Abramovic I realized after awhile and I was not even surprised.

I spent an evening with her right before the exhibition started--me and many others at what was billed as an evening with Marina Abramovic-- and she read from her manifesto where she repeated a new mantra, the artist must be erotic, the artist must be erotic, the artist must be erotic...for an aspiring writer of erotica ala Anais Nin, that was a mantra I took and owned.

Going to the exhibition--the first of its kind ever at MoMA-- for a performance artist, where part of the exhibition is people reenacting past performances of her. Abramovic herself performed once again in the Atrium, where she sat in a gown that puddles down to the ground. She does not eat, drink or talk during museum hours but sits in the middle of the vast atrium and anyone can sit across from her and play the ultimate game of chess, as she sits and looks across at them. I have not got a bit of her nerve, and for me as a communicator it would be too hard to sit across from an artist who has inspired me as much as she has and say nothing.

But from the distance, I looked at her, her face calm like a still body of water, nothing nervous about her, her pose as always impeccable and the long gown that puddles over her feet, her body still the ultimate canvas. During museum hours the website for the exhibtion allows you to watch her live. I admire her focus and thought that I need to be into my own creative process—with even a fraction of her stamina, focus and daring.♥

CARO, GEORGE AND PEARL (includes book excerpt)

Allow me to introduce myself: I am Lady Caroline Lamb, born in 1785 to an Irish peer. My friends call me Caro. Because my mother suffered poor health, I was raised and educated at Devonshire House by Aunt Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, a lively center of Whig politics.

It was at Devonshire House that I met William Melbourne and fell madly in love. We were married when I was a mere chit of seventeen. My dear William found me beautiful beyond words. He worshipped me, adored my lisp and loved me to climb into his lap and cuddle, like the child I was. But true love is rarely constant, a bitter lesson that I have learned.

When Willie began to ignore me in favor of pursuing a political career, it drove a wedge between us. When he was elected to parliament, I sought other amusements. I began to have affairs, for I could not live without the love, attention and admiration I had become accustomed to. My mother-in-law chastised me often for my lack of discretion, but I cared nothing for her pompous opinions. Instead, I shocked society by dressing in my page’s uniform and openly scorned convention.

One might say I was reborn in 1812, the year I turned twenty-seven. It was then that I met the great love of my life, the magnificent Lord Byron. This twenty-four year old had just begun to mesmerize society. Having just published CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE, George was lionized everywhere. I called him, ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’--an epithet that amused society. Indeed, I was flattered to learn that many thought it applied to me as well.

Our stormy affair lasted only four months, a lifetime to me. When Byron ended it, I was devastated and made mistakes that would plague me the rest of my life. I became obsessed with him and pursued him for four unhappy years. It was then that I wrote GLENARVON, a novel about my lover. It took the ton by storm, since I didn’t bother to conceal the identity of society members except to change their names. Many felt scalded by my satire. I meant the novel as an expression of my love for my poet, but he took offense, poor boy. Byron married William’s cousin and spent the rest of his life living abroad, perhaps to escape me.

As to William, my husband, his political passion led to becoming Prime Minister and advisor to young Queen Victoria. After we separated in 1825, he never married again, though when I died in 1828 at the age of forty-three, the dear man was at my bedside.

I am happy to inform my readers that I was reincarnated as historical romance author, PEARL WOLF. You will notice a good deal of wit and passion in her works when you read her novels. She learned that from me, I assure you.

Allow me to introduce my protégé *Pearl Wolf—or my reincarnation, if you prefer. Whatever. She was not born to wealth as I was, but she was well brought up during the great depression by a struggling single mother. Not that she chose to obey society’s rules, for like me, she has little patience with propriety. She was the youngest of four children, tortured by them beyond belief. All things have a purpose, however, and it was in combat with her siblings that she learned essential survival skills. Need I add that her escape was in writing fiction?

Her first submission, a short work published by Reader’s Digest, earned her $5.00 when she was fourteen years of age. She writes full time now, having published three children’s books and four novels for adults. Her latest, TOO HOT FOR A RAKE (Kensington, April 2010) is a historical romance set in Regency England. Visit her web site at: http://www.pearlwolf.com/ for a sneak preview of all her works.

Pearl loves to write historical fiction. “History informs us,” she says. “People are the same no matter the historical times in which they live, but their emotions, their reactions to life’s constraints stay the same.”

Here is an excerpt from her latest novel, TOO HOT FOR A RAKE, which illustrates this point.  The setup:  heroine Lady Helena Fairchild, daughter of the Duke of Heatham, nervously awaits her father’s approval to her marriage. Impatient, she bursts into the library hoping to force her stubborn father’s hand.

“Have you decided my fate, then? How kind, Father. How very kind. With all due respect, I beg to differ. No matter what you have to say to it, I am determined to marry Lord Waverley. I am well aware of the fact that his reputation is less than sterling, but that is my own affair. If I don’t care one whit, why should . . .anyone?”

“I see, but . . .”

Her eyes blazed. “Rake or no, this man was prepared to die to save me from ruin! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Noble of him, but I’m trying to . . .”

"I might have died when that horrid Harry Trasker locked me in the old cellar. Indeed, I might not be here if the Earl of Glynhaven had his way. I’d be in France suffering the humiliation of being wed to the worst scoundrel in the world. Lord Waverley risked life and limb to save me.”

“So you’ve said, Helena. However, . . .”

“If you think to throw up in my face once again the fact that the man I love is a rake, you may save your breath because I know all about his past and I don’t care! I love him and I’ll never give him up.”

Exasperated, her father put his hand up and thundered, “Be silent, daughter! Yes, he is a rake. He’s known all over Paris as . . .”

“Le roue’ Anglais!” She folded her arms in defiance. “What difference can it make to you, if it makes none to me?”

Provoked beyond endurance, the duke was roused to anger. “And if you find he hasn’t reformed his ways after you marry, what will you do then, daughter?”

“He wouldn’t be the first man to do such a thing, would he? Are you not the perfect example of such a case?”

The duke turned beet red. “Don‘t force me to change my mind, Helena, a thing I can bloody well do even though I’ve just given my blessings to this marriage!” ♥



*My muse Caro Lamb and I are currently collaborating on another historical romance set in the Regency period. THE HIGHWAYMAN’S LADY involves a beautiful but headstrong young lady who yearns to be a highway person. The London Underworld plays a large role in this one.

BOOK PROMOTION: Seven Common Mistakes Authors Make in Social Media Marketing

by Dana Lynn Smith


Social media marketing is a great book promotion tool, but be careful to avoid these common blunders:


1. Diving in without a plan. Before you begin your book promotion campaign, think through what you are trying to achieve and which websites and marketing methods will be most likely to reach your target audiences. A social media marketing plan can include social networking, microblogging (Twitter), online forums, virtual reader communities, expert sites, media sharing, interactive blogging, and more. Virtual reader communities such as GoodReads are particularly well suited to fiction authors. http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/book_marketing_maven/communities.html

2. Focusing solely on attracting customers. Social marketing is a great place to meet potential customers and stay in touch with existing ones. But you may find it even more valuable for meeting and developing relationships with other authors and experts in your field or genre, as well as publishing and marketing professionals. For example, if you meet a blogger through social networking and that person reviews your book, writes a post mentioning you, or allows you to do a guest post on their blog, you gain exposure to their audience.

3. Trying to do too many things at once. Prioritize your book promotion plan and implement one thing at a time. Don't try to be active on too many social networks. Select a couple of sites as your primary networks, then develop profiles on several other sites that you will visit occasionally.

4. Spending too much time on social marketing while neglecting other tasks. It's easy to get sucked into social sites and spend way too much time there. It's best to set aside a specific amount of time each day for social marketing. If you budget half an hour a day, you might spend 10 minutes on social networking at mid-day, spend 10 minutes in the evening on other social sites, and do several Twitter sessions during the day.

5. Sending friend invitations with no introduction. To increase the chance of acceptance and make a good first impression, always introduce yourself and say why you want to befriend the other person. Just like you would when meeting someone in person, mention what you do, what you have in common with the other person, how you heard about them, etc.

6. Trying to "sell" on social sites. Book promotion is acceptable on social sites as long as you do it sparingly. You don't want to get a reputation as someone who just sends out sales pitches all the time. Add value to the community by making most of your communications about sharing knowledge, ideas, and resources. Fiction authors can talk about their favorite books and authors, discuss their writing process, share websites where readers can find reviews and book recommendations, and mention upcoming events like book signings.

7. Forgetting the "social" part of social networking. Remember to be courteous and to thank anyone who answers a question or does you a favor. Don't forget to inject some personality into your communications and make some personal posts. Share good news or ask for advice. Mention your hobbies, travels, kids, or pets, and link to a photo using a photo sharing site like Twitpic http://www.twitpic.com/ or Flickr http://www.flickr.com/.


If you keep these tips in mind, you'll find that social media sites are great tools for book promotion, building brand recognition and expert status, networking with peers and potential customers, and driving traffic to your website—all steps toward making sales.♥

Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author of THE SAVVY BOOK MARKETER'S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL MARKETING. For more book promotion tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter, visit Dana's book marketing blog, and get a copy of the TOP BOOK MARKETING TIPS ebook when you sign up for her free book marketing newsletter.

LINKS

Book: http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/savvy_book_marketer/successful-social-marketing.html

Blog: http://www.thesavvybookmarketer.com/

Newsletter: http://www.bookmarketingnewsletter.com/

BITS & PIECES: Happy Birthday, Lori Perkins!

This is just a week for fabulous women's birthdays! Bette Davis earlier in the week, and today is Lori Perkins's birthday! Lori is the ultimate dynamo. I remember when she came to the RWA-NYC meeting a few months ago, so full of enthusiasm about Ravenous Romance , which unless you have fallen off the face of the earth you cannot not be aware of, and was talking about erotica, which is my particular love and obsession. Not at all surprising is that she likes Anais Nin and GONE WITH THE WIND.  My own love of erotica started with Nin, and Lori is truly in the vein of her. Ravenous Romance is so much about making all kinds of erotica available for the everyone and bringing new readers to the genre and exploring new themes with old hands.

When we met for dinner at Carmine's in Times Square, I was afraid that she would not remember what I looked liked--we had only met breifly at the meeting--but there was not doubt that I would recognize the stylish blonde that she is the second she walked in. We were seated instantly, and her energy is simply infectious. She has such a level of can-do personality that you can believe--and witness--her doing it all. With all the hats that she wears, including agent and editor, she has a love for what she does that is so genuine; she is not in the least bit jaded. She talks about the industry in a smart way--she is very smart about it--, and she has not lost her sense of excitement at something like discovering a new author.

And she is a Yankees fan--BIG time--so between that and Anais Nin I felt like we were separated at birth! For her I am doing a special birthday Bits & Pieces for the first time on a day besides my usual every other Wedsnesday post. Happy Birthday, Lori--you are such an inspiration!

 

"One of the first things I loved as a young girl was DARK SHADOWS, which was paranormal romance.

"After reading DELTA OF VENUS and LITTLE BIRDS as a teen, I knew then that when I grew up, this is what I wanted to do. I was thinking of starting an erotica magazine. I really love what we are doing at RR. I think we are being innovative and really working cross genres with the romance genre. I hope we are bringing new readers to the romance genre.

"I am a double Aries with Sagittarius rising and Holly Schmidt (her Ravenous Romance partner) is a Sagittarius with Aries rising--it is like two houses on fire burning next to each other. It's great working with someone who is as driven and can-do as I am.

"LUST IN SPACE, sex in outer space, is one of my favorite books>  What is there not to like? I love our erotic Harry Potter series by Cecilia Tan. I met Cecilia Tan when she was reading about a sexual round robin on a starship and I suddenly understood why all these guys liked sci fi.

"Just when you think that that you have successfully managed juggling the 11 plates, there is a 12th, but you get adept at what you doand you realize you can add one more plate. I work a 16 hour day, I work out every day--I read a book on the elliptical. Right now I am reading Stephen King's huge tome, UNDER THE DOME, that you cannot carry on the subway. I am reading for pleasure and I am working out.

"I see things in the city, plays,movies, art exhibits. I edit four books a month for Ravenous Romance. I go to readings. I like doing that, I meet new writers that way. I support existing writers that way.

"I try to forecast the zeitgeist. There are moments I am working on a book and I feel like I am working on the Pentagon papers because an ebook can be published so quickly."I have found that sex can make a novel deeper and richer. I have read a lot of sex writing, both fiction and nonficition. The good writers make each sex scene unique and the bad writers keep doing what they have seen before.

"I also have a degree in art history. I like art that makes you think.

"I also have a degree in journalism from NYU with a magazine concentration so I look at the RR editorial schedule as a magazine. Each novel is like an article assigned in a magazine.

"It has to be an erotic romance for me. (Saying this, she looks at the buttons on her shirt.) If you are churning butter and that is a metaphor for something that is not enough for me.

"With the MM romances, many of our books are written by male authors, so reading our books is like being a fly on the wall. It is a voyeuristic pleasure. The men write about different things than women - the scent of their balls, for instance, so now you know. I never thought about that, but now I do.

"My favorite books - ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1984), DRACULA and GONE WITH THE WIND.  In terms of genre, if you mixed those books up and gave me a cross genre version, I am a happy person. That is what is so great about doing this for women. Women readers can handle cross genres.

"I went to a horror convention, NECon, and someone said you cannot have a zombie romance, and I said, is that a challenge? That is how HUNGRY FOR YOUR LOVE, our zombie romance anthology, was born.

"One day, I was at Orchard Beach drinking margaritas with friends and we had tickets to a Yankees playoff game that afternoon. It was like I was on a private beach and I said to myself, I am the happiest I will ever be. I am such a devoted Yankee fan, that I am exhausted at the end of the season.

"My 17 year old son is my pride and joy. I'm a little amazed that after years of threatening to become a robotics engineer, he did an about face and has decided to major in English and follow in his mom's footsteps. He's off to college in the fall, but he expects to go into publishing as either an editor or agent (or maybe both, like his mom). He's already sold a short story to a major publisher as part of a gaming anthology.

"I've kept a journal since I was 17.  I go back and read parts of it.  It feels like deja vu.  I learn from what I did that did not work.  I say, ' I have done that so let's try something else.' "  (And she does!)

USING YOUR WORST FEARS IN YOUR NOVEL (Plus, contest!)

By Dee Davis

The American Tactical Intelligence Command (A-Tac) is an off the books blacks ops division of the CIA. Hiring only the best and the brightest, A-Tac is made up of academicians with a talent for espionage. Working under the cover of one of the United States’ most renowned think tanks as a part of Sunderland College– A-Tac uses its collegiate status to keep its activities ‘eyes only’.

I suppose my love of academia is in part responsible for the creation of A-Tac. I graduated from Hendrix College in Arkansas. A small liberal arts school, the campus is dotted with ivy shrouded buildings and tree covered grounds. So although I moved my fictional Sunderland to upstate New York, it’s still very much Hendrix that I see as I write. And like Nash Brennon (the hero of DARK DECEPTIONS), my degree is in political science and history. Although unlike Nash, I have never worked for the CIA or taught in the social sciences.

However, I am a mother. Which brings us to our heroine, Annie. I think the biggest fear for any mother, especially of young children, is something happening to them. And as a romantic suspense writer, I’m afraid my mind often runs to the more dire end of that spectrum. So as I began my ‘what if’ questions for DARK DECEPTIONS, I confess to giving in to my worst fear. My child being abducted. And of course from there it only turned more dismal. What if not only was your child kidnapped, but the kidnapper demanded something awful in return for the release?

What if you were asked to kill someone?

It’s a nightmare situation—no matter the circumstances. But for Annie Gallagher it’s accompanied by a horrifying sense of guilt, her past finally catching up with her. An ex-CIA operative and trained assassin, Annie left the life to protect her son. But things have a way of coming full circle, and in the process of trying to rescue her child, Annie comes face to face with the only man she’s ever loved—Nash Brennon.

Only it’s Nash’s job to stop her —at any cost.

As a romantic suspense author, I often capitalize on my worst fears to find plot points. When I lived in Vienna we traveled a great deal by train. In Europe there’s a gap between the train and the platform, and to make it more daunting, a set of steps leading down from the opening. Every time we disembarked from a train, I lived in fear of falling with my daughter in my arms and the stroller over my shoulder. I never did, thankfully, but that fear led to Chloe falling off of a train on to a dead body in JUST BREATHE. Similarly, my lifelong fear of driving off a bridge surfaced in EYE OF THE STORM when the hero and heroine’s car is forced off a causeway into the ocean. The same one I crossed on regular basis as a teenager. And more literally, my irrational fear of revolving doors haunts Vanessa in A MATCH MADE ON MADISON.

So what are your worst fears? And could you use them in a novel?♥




On the brink of turning forty, award winning author Dee Davis realized that life only happens once. In total panic, she decided it was time to stop talking about writing a book and “just do it”. To that end she sat down at the computer and hasn’t left since. The transplanted Texan now lives in Manhattan. The time she doesn’t spend writing is spent with her husband, her daughter, her cat and her Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Visit her online at http://www.deedavis.com/.


CONTEST!!!  Dee is giving away an autographed ARC of Book 3, DESPERATE DEEDS.  Sign up today at http://www.deedavis.com/contact.php#contest.  Good luck.

 

SOCIAL NETWORKING: ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS?

By Karen Cino



That’s the big question many authors, published and unpublished, ask themselves. And the answer is, Yes.

Social Networking is an important element in today’s technological society. It helps link you with people all over the world, opening up a whole new world of research and adventure. It’s also a place to catch up with old classmates, former employees and friends. Using Facebook, I got back in contact with my cousins in Texas and classmates from high school. It has also been a great place to help promote my son’s band, It’s Not Over. And, you can link your website and blog to Facebook too.

Published authors can connect with their readers by creating a fan page on Facebook. Fan pages help authors market and promote their books and upcoming releases. Fan pages can also be used to keep readers abreast of book signings and other events.

Unpublished authors can become fans of editors, publishers and agents. On these pages you can find out exactly what editors and agents are looking for in submissions. Many of these pages also offer podcasts and guest bloggers, helping inspire and guide authors.

But Beware:

1. Watch what you post. It’s out there for everyone to read. Once you put it out there, you can’t take it back.

2. Don’t post your every move. Going to the mall, food shopping, leaving for a nice romantic dinner. Yeah, that’s great. But now an outsider knows that you won’t be home. Post instead when you return.

3. Don’t hide behind your computer. Don’t let your computer take the place of human contact.

4. Never criticize. Again, it’s out there for everyone to read.

5. Don’t complain that you got yet another rejection letter when everyone else loves your book. Suck it up and use your words to revise and create.

6. Watch the addiction. Oh, yes. Facebook can become quite addictive. Don’t get caught up in Mafia Wars, Farmville, the Zoo and so on. You will see your day fly by without doing any writing or revisions if you do.

              

  

One of the most important things to use on Facebook are your privacy settings. The last thing you want are people calling or showing up at your house with a book to be autographed. Nor does the unpublished author want Vanity Press calling offering a better alternative to getting published.

Setting up Facebook is easy. It only takes about 5 to 15 minutes depending on how computer savvy you are. I urge you to set your privacy setting as soon as you create your account, even before you request friends. It’s easy to do. Go the upper right hand corner of the page and select Account, then Privacy Settings. Another screen comes up. Now go to contact information. This will let you choose who can instant message you, who sees your address and phone number. (I suggest that you don’t include this information at all.) Return to the previous screen and select profile. This lets you choose who sees your pictures, interests and any other personal information about you on Facebook.

Facebook is a wonderful way to network. If you aren’t already a member, sign up. You’ll experience a new world full of inspiration and adventure.♥




Presently, Karen is serving as President of the RWA New York City Chapter. She keeps her muse alive by walking every morning down at the boardwalk. Currently, she is shopping for a home for her novel ROSES, and is working on her next novel, MYSTYCAL WONDERS.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM

By Rosalie Brinn

Have a very lonely childhood. Be placed in an out of district school. Be more religious than the people in your public school, but not desirable to the people who go to a Hebrew Day School (Yeshiva). Be taller than everyone else. Be awkward in childhood games and never get picked. Get selected to an intellectually gifted class. Be confused by math, but way ahead in reading and writing skills. Have parents who are nonplussed by the swan in their midst, and an older sibling who won't let you read the books brought home from the library because you read them faster and understand them better.

Have this continue through high school. Never go into the cafeteria because you are afraid of the other kids. Have your mother cut your hair. Wear ugly clothing because that is all you have. Never date, have few friends. Want to go to law school, know your parents will never help. Decide instead to go to Business College.

Start to date, but your parents want you to get married after three dates or stop the relationship. Don't pay attention.

Someone wants to marry you but you don't. You don't want an apartment in Brooklyn, children and neighbors as a lifestyle. You don't want to drag a shopping cart to and from the supermarket all your life either. You study for the MBA from a book. You get in, your boyfriend doesn't. You break up, your parents and sibling are livid.

You write off and on. You get published in newspapers in high school and college, but don't see a future in writing.

You meet your future husband. Your parents tell you not to continue with the MBA. It will ruin your marriage, they say. You laugh and continue.

You get married. Your husband works all the time. You have a child, he works. You have another child, he continues to work. You are alone because you don't drive. You take lessons on your own. You pass the test.

You start managing consultations for your husband. You start to write again. You keep a journal, you write poetry. You make stabs at writing a novel. You continue with the MBA. Your husband is away working all the time. He works 13 days straight.

You don't like sisterhood meetings or organizations. You try to fit in but you don't. You do needlework and write.

A friend gives you an app for an Ivy League invitational. You get in. Everyone is entranced with your writing and wants to know what happens next.

You start stealing time to go to workshops. You get into every invitational you apply for.

Your daughter gets married. She gets pregnant. She miscarries. Your heart is broken so many times, it shatters.

You are there waiting outside. You cry briefly when she emerges but no one comforts you. There is no name that you can call and they come to you.

You start to write a poem. It isn't right. You rewrite it over and over. The last missing word comes from a thesaurus.

You are picked to read for your class at the 92nd Street Y. You cannot believe that it happened to you. You pick the poem about the miscarriage for their online literary magazine. It is the culmination of all the hurt and loneliness of your life.

That is how you write a poem. ♥



Rosalie Brinn lives in Long Island. She has been in invitationals at Bennington, Barnard, the 92nd Street Y (twice for poetry) and New York University (twice for poetry tutorial). She likes writing poetry because it sharpens her writing skills. Rosalie has been a social worker at a day care center and a management consultant to her husband's practice; she’s played the stock and commodity markets, and has been a principle in commercial real estate deals. Rosalie is a wife, mother of adult children, grandmother and former caretaker of all elderly relatives. She started writing as a child and now considers it her passion and true vocation.