Ta-Da!

OMG! I am about to become a published poet! On my son's birthday, no less, I got a message from Silver Boomer Books about a poem, "Child of Summer," that I submitted ages and ages ago. They want to include it in their upcoming anthology. I am going to link their blog to this blogsite as soon as I figure out how. I can include the URL, and that's what I will do now... www.silverboomerbooks.com

I got a REAL contract and even though I am but one piece in the book, this is a real "MOMENT" for me. I am thrilled!

A "lesson" is forming itself in my brain even as I write this. The biggest expenditure of my creative energy goes into writing fiction and/or non-fiction for kids. I belong to GROUPS, I READ, I STUDY, I LEARN how-to's and not how-to's, and I SUBMIT! I get rejections. Now, my poetry? That comes from WITHIN. The lesson is continuing to form itself. Right now, it is misty and wispy. You see, I DO need to know the industry, in terms of writing prose. Really. But I am trying so hard to do it RIGHT. Am I leaving myself out of the formula in the process? I need to really chew on this one!

In the meantime, I have to say that I feel so happy today. Linda, the Poet! OMG.

"If it could happen to me..." by Kristen Landon

I get The Writer, among other magazines, to assist me with the craft. The very last page of the Jan, 2009 issue has an interview with Kristen Landon, who writes Science-Fiction. I was glued to her every word. Science- Fiction is my favorite genre to write, in terms of fiction. I adore the notion of creating vast, as yet to be realized settings; believable, compelling, seemingly insurmountable obstacles for the very human characters that my imagination gives birth to; checking in with the laws of Quantum Physics to see which ones I can adhere to or need to override; the excitement that boils up in every cell of my body as the writing makes all of this take shape. My heroes are of course, Albert, who is the ultimate in having made sense of what doesn't, as well as Stephen Hawking, who is also brilliant beyond numbers, and Michio Kaku, whose books are at my side as I weave my way though parallel universes, and such. He's so amazing that it hurts!
Anyway, at the end of the interview, Landon gives advice. "Take chances. Work hard... Grab the luck... ...if your heart isn't in it, don't write it. Find the issues that spark your passion and build your stories around them. If this is really what you want - if you're telling your stories - then you've got a chance. If it could happen to me..."
Whoa. I'm there. I'm not published, but I am there. I found my passion many years ago. Now, I need to make it happen! And, I will.