It’s Easter for those who practice many of the varying types of Christianity. So, I figured I’d use one of the gravestone pictures I have. This was at the Glasgow Necropolis in Scotland, and I was saddened to see all the trash thrown into this tomb. As for the poem, I really don’t like this at all, so it may end up completely thrown away (take or leave the rim shot) or mostly rewritten. But we’ll see. Calling the both “Trash Tomb.”
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Another Scotland picture. This one was at Traquair House, where there were lots of random peafowl just wandering around. I really wanted to play with this photo because of the colors—even with the peacock not displaying. The poem…well, should be self-explanatory if you can read it around the corner of the page. Both are called “Not on Display.”
The poem, like all of what I’m posting, is in its rough draft form, though the picture has been tweaked. My aim for the month is composition; I’ll edit later. Please do not copy or share the photos or poems I’m posting. I am not finished, and sharing them can hurt my future plans for these pieces. Thank you!
Sometimes you want to help people you can’t help; sometimes you want to fix situations you can’t fix. That’s what inspired this poem… “Heroes and Monsters.” I had a hard time working a picture to fit it, but I finally settled on one of my Scotland photos, which I called “Lost Lamb.” While Scott and I were hiking to some really cool castle ruins, we saw this lamb bleating from a cliff and it’s mom (we figured) bleating back; both looked stuck. They were well out of our abilities to help, but we took a picture of them. By the time we got back from the castle, we saw both (we think) back on the grass with the rest, so that story had a happier ending than the poem… but not every story has a happy ending; not everyone can be–or wants to be–saved or helped.
The poem, like all of what I’m posting, is in its rough draft form, though the picture has been tweaked some. My aim for the month is composition; I’ll edit later. Please do not copy or share the photos or poems I’m posting. I am not finished, and sharing them can hurt my future plans for these pieces. Thank you!
Back from awesome convention. Watching GOT and then bed and hopefully early wake-up. Bare minimum poem and picture…
This pic is also from Scotland.
Super rough drafts. Please don’t copy. <3
Still hanging out with the New England Speculative Writers at to the NESW Conference , but here’s an Ekphrastic pairing for you anyway! Photo was taken at the Glasgow Necropolis; I rather liked the view of the sun over this particular monument. The poem definitely needs work, but I am rather fond of the title “Necropolis Sunshine.”
Enjoy!
Both are rough and raw; I’ll edit and fix them up later. My April challenge is about the creation, not the finessing. Please do not copy or share the photos or poems I’m posting. I am not finished, and sharing them can hurt my future plans for these pieces. Thank you!
Running out the door to a movie with the Husband of Awesome, so real quick…
Picture is another from Scotland, an old gravestone at an old abbey in Coldingham. There’s more to the story… but perhaps later.
The set is tentatively titled “Momento Mori.”
Remember, the poem is super rough draft, and also please do not share the photos or poems I’m posting; I am not finished, and sharing them can hurt my future plans for these pieces. Thank you!
Not that I figured I’d get far in any poetry journey without a faery poem, but in going through the pictures I’ve taken and am using for inspiration, there’s no less than three that are titled “Faery ________.” If you’ve known me or been following me for some time, I’m sure you’re shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. <insert sarcasm>
This particular photo is “Faery Bed,” and I’ve named the poem to match. I took this picture in Scotland while I was doing research for my MacArthur series of books. It was at this wonderful and magical place, Traquair House, which is the oldest inhabited home. It has a hedge maze; secret passage ways; Victorian furniture (including a writing desk in the room and a canopy bed!); delicious food (with option for a romantic dinner with fancy crystal-ware!); all sorts of trails through the woodlands, wetlands, and gardens; free range farm animals and peafowl; and nesting grey herons that sound like dinosaurs. Really, what else could anyone ask for?
I found this copse of azaleas that looked like a canopy bed and had recently discovered our camera did this “punch” thing with colors that makes them more vivid. (This was 2012, well before cell phone camera and Instagram filters.) Even without the color “punch,” I was intrigued by what looked like a faery bed of purple flower petals beneath a branching canopy of twisted limbs and green leaves. This was the best of several pictures I took, and I knew I’d write something to match it eventually.
The poem, like all of what I’m posting, is in its rough draft form, too. My aim is to compose the poems this month, and then go back and edit later.
Please do not share the photos or poems I’m posting; I am not finished, and sharing them can hurt my future plans for these pieces. Thank you!
Last Chance to Win Scavenger Hunt Swag!
Thank you everyone who participated in my Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt–whether you posted a piece or were hunting through to win one of the awesome prizes!
If you haven’t yet entered, let me remind you of what’s up for grabs:
Prize 1:
A beautiful oval fused glass necklace on an antique backing featuring a kelpie–or, well, a scary looking black horse. It matches the MacArthur tartan, color wise! Made by Renee of Stained Glass Creations!
Prize 2:
More beauty + jewelry! A necklace featuring Vic Caswell’s actual art of the kelpie in a beautiful setting by Art by Stefanie.
Prize 3:
For the non-jewelry inclined: An 11×6 poster of the cover art, signed by the author and artist, plus a set of trading cards based on the scavenger hunt pieces–the characters featured on the cover!
How do you play? Go to the various blogs below and collect the words from the novel excerpts within each of the posts! To make it extra easy, here are the permalinks with the words you need to collect:
Visit the Faery Castle at Kate Kaynak’s blog: http://thedisgruntledbear.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-kelpie.html
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 10th word
Hop over to Scotland at Stained Glass Creations and Beyond: http://stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/a-walk-in-scotland-scavenger-hunt/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 12th word
Check out the artist rendition of Heather MacArthur’s family tartan with Aimee Weinstein at http://tokyowriter.com/2013/03/26/scavenger-hunt-contest-author-and-friend-trisha-wooldridges-new-book-cover/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, first word
Bonus Art!
Meet Heather’s dad, Michael MacArthur, at Valerie Hadden’s blog: http://valeriehadden.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/family-should-be-a-safe-place-where-you-could-have-your-worst-days-and-still-be-loved-an-interview-about-depression-and-family/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 12th word
Cast your eyes upon the kelpie, itself, with Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert at http://suzannereynoldsalpert.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-kelpie_28.html
Scavenger Hunt Goal: 2nd sentence, 2nd word
And feel the snark of Monkey, the fey cat with Justine Graykin at http://justinegraykin.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/monkey-the-fey-cat/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 3rd word
Meet Heather’s best friend, Prince Joseph at, who’s hanging out with author Darby Karchut at http://darbykarchut.blogspot.com/2013/03/cover-reveal-kelpie-by-tj-wooldridge.html
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 17th word
And finally meet Heather, herself, who’s hanging out with one of Trisha’s editors, Laura Ownbey at http://redpenreviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/editing-kelpie-study-in-nuance.html
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, first word
Besides catching the awesome art and some sneak-peaks at the novel, some of my hosts have written their own messages about the novel, about some of the topics in the novel, and (thank you, Laura), about their experience editing the novel. Take a little time to look around these blogs; you may enjoy what else they offer!
Happy Hunting!
ZOMG!! MY COVER! MY COVER! MY COVER! Ahem… er… Please share???
This week, Spencer Hill Press unveils the cover for The Kelpie! You can help us by posting the information for the Scavenger Hunt, as well as the book’s cover, on your blog! Post any time between March 25th and April 1st! When your post is up, feel free to tweet it to @kendrybird or @spencerhillp
I can’t honestly say I was joking when I suggested to my best friend, Joe – Prince Joseph, eldest son of England’s Crown Prince – that we could probably find something the police had missed in regards to the missing children. After all, eleven and twelve year olds like us did that all the time on the telly and in the books we read…
When Heather and Joe decide to be Sleuthy MacSleuths on the property abutting the castle Heather’s family lives in, neither expect to discover the real reason children were going missing:
A Kelpie. A child-eating faerie horse had moved into the loch “next door.
The two barely escape with their lives, but they aren’t safe. Caught in a storm of faerie power, Heather, Joe, and Heather’s whole family are pulled into a maze of talking cats, ghostly secrets, and powerful magick
With another child taken, time is running out to make things right.
To go along with sharing the simply gorgeous cover, author T.J. Wooldridge has enlisted several of her friends who have helped her in the journey of writing this novel to put together a special treat for you!
Each day of the week, search for individual components of the cover–with a bonus piece of art on Wednesday–at these blogs. Collect the right words per the instructions, and unscramble the line of poetry to be entered to win one of three prizes
Prize 1
A handmade fused glass kelpie necklace from Stained Glass Creations and Beyond
Prize 2
A handmade necklace from Art by Stefanie of Vic Caswell’s rendering of the kelpie from the cover!
Prize 3
An 11×16 poster of the cover of the Kelpie signed by T. J. Wooldridge and artist Vic Caswell
5×7 cards of all the cover aspects featured in the Scavenger Hunt
So, how do you take part in the Scavenger Hunt? Here are the details:
Monday 3/25
Visit the Faery Castle at Kate Kaynak’s blog: http://thedisgruntledbear.blogspot.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 10th word
Tuesday 3/26
Hop over to Scotland at Stained Glass Creations and Beyond: http://stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.wordpress.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 12th word
Check out an artist rendition of Heather MacArthur’s family tartan with Aimee Weinstein at tokyowriter.com
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, first word
Wednesday 3/27
Bonus Art!
Meet Heather’s dad, Michael MacArthur, at Valerie Hadden’s blog: http://valeriehadden.wordpress.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 12th word
Thursday 3/28
Cast your eyes upon the kelpie, itself, with Suzane Reynolds-Alpert at http://suzannereynoldsalpert.blogspot.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: 2nd sentence, 2nd word
And feel the snark of Monkey, the fey cat with Justine Graykin at http://justinegraykin.wordpress.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 3rd wor
Friday 3/29:
Meet Heather’s best friend, Prince Joseph at, who’s hanging out with author Darby Karchut at http://darbykarchut.blogspot.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, 17th word
And finally meet Heather, herself, who’s hanging out with one of Trisha’s editors, Laura Ownbey at http://redpenreviews.blogspot.com/
Scavenger Hunt Goal: first sentence, first word
Collect all the words and put them together in a poetic sentence, and enter them into the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win one of the three prizes: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MTBiNjRkMDYwN2U2MWZjNzBmNmM4YWEwNTEyODI0Ojc=/
