Poems From the Vault #2

Hi Everyone,

As promised, I have looked for (and found) poems that I wrote ages ago. Last week was poems from my Creative Writing module, this week one poem that I wrote at the library course I did and one reworking of an old poem that was submitted for my degree.

Eyeliner

The hallway frames the front door of my home.

Guarding me from well-wishers, I need to be alone.

Seasons, styles or Saturdays, there is always eyeliner,

bold black wings from cut price to designer.

I woke the other day, robbed of my right hand

sudden stolen senses, are hard to understand.

War paint frames my face, I’m ready for the world.

Without eyeliner,  I look a different girl.

Blurred vision, a thousand texts becoming unbearable.

In her best posh voice, she tells me I ‘look terrible’

Healing, time and patience all falls into place

I’m faking being well, with eyeliner on my face.

Samantha Henthorn © 2015

Photo by ud835udc15ud835udc1eud835udc27ud835udc2eud835udc2c ud835udc07ud835udc03 ud835udc0cud835udc1aud835udc24ud835udc1e- ud835udc2eud835udc29 & ud835udc0fud835udc1eud835udc2bud835udc1fud835udc2eud835udc26ud835udc1e on Pexels.com

I’m sorry I didn’t come to your funeral.

The long-distance made it impossible.

Your sister’s phone call echoed strangely,

reminding me of you – I almost knew.

I’m sorry I didn’t go to your funeral. 

Happy days and happy memories,

time dissolved the Christmas card list.

Robins, feathers, bereavement tokens,

I wonder if you know the reason;

how sorry I am I didn’t go to your funeral.  

I don’t know why the above has come out in small writing- I copy/pasted it from a word document.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Samantha xx

I wrote these books! https://t.co/aqJFqYlGWl?a

 

 

Poems From the Vault.

Enough time has passed since the end of my creative writing module so that I can publish some of my degree poems – even though I’m not a poet.

No Through Road

British summertime, always fine in the mid-1980s.

We dragged our feet for miles in the sweltering heat-

a family day out for a Guardian reader.

Not much fun for us, at seven, eight and fifteen.

We halted at a shut gate, obscured by a house.

A dead-end, no through road, my Mum was vexed.

Dad’s rambling book past its sell-by date.

 

A girl sits behind glass like a Pink and Pretty Barbie.

A privileged reflection, same blue eyes, same blond hair,

different opportunities – but at least I was outside.

I smiled and waved at her but she just stared at me,

looking down her nose at my catalogue clothes.

That scene has disappeared now, of

British village life, beauty and dead ends.

A glimpse of the ideal; the grass that’s always greener.

Pink and Pretty Barbie, how did your life turn out?

Photo by Athena on Pexels.com

 

Drama in Pyjamas

 

Remember those insomnia filled nights?

Always something on my mind.

You held me close in cotton, naked

thighs would conspire without you.

My night time leg protectors,

now too old to be any use.

 

Your waistband is frayed and too tight anyway.

Holes in the ankles from when the dog was small.

A bleach-splash stain that sort of blended in.

I hear leopard print is in fashion again.

A favourite since the first time round,

with your never changing spots.

 

Sleeping in pyjamas

became housework in pyjamas,

graduated to gardening in pyjamas.

I almost went shopping

(that’s why I need a new pair).

 

We had some good times,

but now I don’t fit you

and you do not fit me;

tricky to choose something new.

Questioning attachments and familiarity.

Intimate to an unwelcome degree.

Drama in pyjamas please let go of me.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

As you may know, I am studying for a BA in Creative Writing. This is taking ages because I am doing it part-time (got to pace myself!)

Here is a photo of me pacing myself (not).

Photo by Rebeca Gonu00e7alves on Pexels.com

More poetry next week (if I haven’t deleted them)

Happy Wednesday, Samantha xx

I wrote these books! https://t.co/aqJFqYlGWl?amp=1

 

#BookReview #WizardRing by Clare Blanchard @CBcrime @BookFunnel A Touch of History #IARTG

WELL! Hello everyone, I have just finished reading yet another book that I could not put down Wizard Ring: From darkness into light (Wizards Series Book 1)

 

I told you all the other day that my book 1962 (An Uplifting Tale of 1960s Lancashire) has been lucky enough to take part in a BookFunnel promotion called ‘A Touch of History’ this promotion includes some great looking books (I have read two of them now) and runs until the 19th of March 2020. The books are all on special offer and there is a great selection. If you like books written with historical flair, then this sales promo should be right up your street! Including an interesting mix of fiction styles and themes, all with a strong historical element. Click this link to see if you fancy reading any of the titles.

 

BOOK BLURB:

I knew nothing about the alchemist John Dee until one winter’s night in Prague when I met the ghost of a barber.
My name is Sylvia. I was just a burnt-out teacher with a subversive sense of humour. Then my mother gave me a magic ring made in the Prague workshop of John Dee.
I’ve never been the same since.

John Dee, alchemist to Queen Elizabeth I

MY REVIEW: 5/5

Brilliant! Part contemporary, part history. Sylvia is a world-weary teacher, she lives with her mother Svetlana (originally from Prague) and son Rusty. The three make for interesting characters and in-depth family dynamics. The internal politics of the school open up a great storyline – sorcery is all around Sylvia (most of it personality-driven!) Clare Blanchard has provided a clever observation of school on both sides of the desk, the stressful impact of working in any public sector environment, and the notion that the supernatural could save you from this stress. Sylvia’s mother has given her a ring, made in Prague by the alchemist John Dee – history books report he was in Queen Elizabeth I inner trusted circle and sent to Czechoslovakia by the Queen sometime in the 16th century as a spy. This is where the intrigue lies for the history lover, Tudor Royal courts were reportedly ruled by jealous paranoia – completely believable that a sorcerer would manufacture an energy-giving ring capable of influencing those around. Will Sylvia manage this power? A well-observed, interesting and lighthearted glimpse of history influencing today.

 

Clare Blanchard is a British author who lives in the wine-growing country of Czechia near Lower Austria in Central Europe. She writes crime mysteries and urban fantasy novels with a strong historical flavour.
Her debut novel was the crime mystery The Tainted Vintage, published by Fahrenheit Press in July 2018. Set in a small town in Czechia, the novel opens a series featuring the somewhat ill-matched but oddly effective detective duo, Dvorska and Dambersky. It is to be followed soon by the second book in the series, The Russian Dolls, which deals with the world of international art theft, as well as a classic murder mystery.
A fan of Nordic noir, Clare Blanchard likes to treat the locations and historical eras in her books as if they were actual characters in the book. This goes not only for her crime fiction, but also for her new Wizards series, which takes the reader into the realm of historical urban fantasy on the murky borders between magic and science. Wizard Ring is the first of a planned series dealing with the dark arts in modern life that are hidden in plain sight.

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

 

I am going to see how many books I can read during the promotion, next on the list for me is The Witches of Helcolmbe by Harry Bradford.

 

Thank you for reading, and please join me next time I post about this historical fiction book promotion

Happy reading, Samantha x

What’s in a (Character) Name? #GuestPost Alex Cavanagh, poet. #FacebookPage

Hello and thank you for joining me for this month’s ‘writerly rambling’ post. IT’S THE MOMENT THE BURY MASSIVE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR -ALEX CAVANAGH. Today, I am honoured to be joined by Alex Cavanagh, poet. He uses his Facebook page words From Within -a page of spontaneous poetry by Alex Cavanagh to showcase his words!

As a huge fan, I asked Alex why all of his poems are untitled – I am interested in titles and being fascinated with naming characters, his lyrical response blew my mind: 

‘That’s my thing’ Alex said. 

Speaking of having your mind blown, here are a few snippets from Alex’s page – do pay him a visit. 

Hidden beneath my beaming smile,
Is sadness and pain once in a while,
My eyes are filled with the light of life,
But I’m hiding something amidst my strife,
The room is filled with family or friends,
But I’m so lonely there’s things I can’t mend,
For the inner demons claw at my soul,
I grasp the grass climb away from the hole,
I’m successful and clever and loved by all,
I’m big and bold but inside I’m small,
I have children, success, and I know who I am,
But occasionally I don’t give a dam,
About life or love or meaningful things,
About whatever this cloudy day will bring,
I slip away from norm and into a pit,
Deep in my head I don’t give a shit,
A darker place with hate, envy and fear,
I don’t want to be there but don’t want to be here,
People around me just smile and walk by,
Inside I cry out for them to come and say hi,
Please take a second for wounds are best bled,
Never judge anyone till you walked a mile in their head.
So look out for people, never be afraid to ask,
Before it’s too late and they lose their grasp.                       (Copyright Alex Cavanagh 2019)

 

So I whisper in her ear don’t be sad and don’t be down,
For there is nothing more soothing than your lovers sound,
Her woes and troubles seem to fade away,
And from a cloudy start comes a wonderful day,
We get dressed and talk and share a kiss,
These are the moments so easy to miss.

We hold hands and walk down the road of life,
Trusting each other and sharing the strife,
We make love and a family and somewhere to rest,
And we grow this and shape this and expect nothing less,
A bond that comes from the beginning of time,
A old deep feeling that’s yours and mine,
For nearly all people this is their wish,
These are the moments so easy to miss,

So don’t waste a minute of this wonderful gift,
And whenever life gets hard there’s always a lift,
From your lover or brother or sister or friend,
And whatever the problem share it and mend,
Take your time and invest in the people you love,
Don’t get pushed down, embrace them and together rise above,
For days are sometimes dark but the light will shine through,
Love you fellow humans and in turn they will love you,

Copyright Alex Cavanagh 2019

 

Such is the day with no start and no end..
A day born from nothing
spent with a friend…
A day with no wind when the trees have no whisper…
A day spent with parents, brother and sister..
A day on your own with the wind in your hair..
A day of joy and love, life take me there.

Copyright Alex Cavanagh 2019.

I’m drowning amongst the memes and the trash,
Not surfing any more just navigating #,
What is real, what is contrived,
What isn’t true and what’s been derived,
Who are the rich and who is deprived,

Is it clickbait or lose weight or PPI,
Is it missing cat on the island of Skye,
How many likes did my lunch get,
Checking frantically not eaten it yet,
I’ve tagged myself and nobody cares,
I’m sure they’re active but no ones aware,
That even though I’m here with my wife,
I need everybody to follow my life,
For if I’m not noticed and fall down the list,
Whilst I’m here living do I really exist,

So I refresh the page about ten times a min,
Looking for something to please my within,
Hoping that people are following me,
And that all my friends and family can see,
That my days are filled with laughter and fun,
Whist wearing gym clothes but never a run,

There’s a message in here, but I don’t know what,
I’m here for is likes , but not trending hot,
I’m pissed off with the world but that’s all I’ll say,
You’ll have to DM me it’s the only way,
Then I’ll tell you my story without glamour and
Glitz,
And you can meet the real me without all the shit !!

copyright Alex Cavanagh 2019.

There you have it! Titles are not always needed (despite my thoughts in previous posts). I do think that novels need titles though – otherwise we would get awfully mixed up! I expect you’ll want to read more of Alex’s poems, don’t forget to click the link in pink above and follow his page! (All words shared with permission). I recently attended Alex’s in-laws’ birthday party, Alex spent all of four minutes writing a poem which he performed on stage there and then. Looking forward to future spoken-word appearances by Alex

See you same time next month for an illustrated bee story and a special Scottish treat – Happy reading, Samantha xx

 

 

 

Exciting guest posts happening soon on this blog!

Hello from Bury on this Thursday afternoon. Now that serialising Curmudgeon Avenue has come to an end, I have been asking if anyone would like to guest post on my blog to talk about character and title names. And to illustrate bits of book number two of Curmudgeon Avenue The Harold and Edith Adventures I cannot contain myself about the talented folks who have already said yes.

Illustrations coming soon from Lyndsey Prince at https://ellepeablog.wordpress.com/

Here is a sketch Lyndsey Prince did of Wantha Rose, my sassy Mancunian character in the Curmudgeon Avenue series.

Kerry Howarth, at https://www.instagram.com/artbykez_/ has very kindly offered to illustrate a chapter. I predict big things, she is so talented. Please give her a follow on her Instagram, here is a snippet Seven from Stranger Things:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B03k-12hrTn/

Amazing!

Now for a few hints at my author guest posts,

Ahava Trivedi has interviewed her protagonist John Webb from her Hopeless Husband series

And! News just in Deborah J Miles of https://againsttheflowpress.blogspot.com/ fame (advanced league blogging) has kindly written a blog post about her book Orchard View

The above two are going to appear within the month.

Also, when I asked my poet friend Alex Cavanagh why he never titles his poems, he answered ‘It’s just my thing’ blog post about his mindblowing poetry coming soon! Here’s a snippet from his Facebook page HERE Words From Within, a snippet:

Is it deal or no deal no one knows,
What’s going on does anyone know,
Are we in or out, have the government gone,
Who’s in charge now who’s the one,
On Halloween is it time to go,
Is it cards to the chest or time to show,
Were you a stay or leave does it even matter,
The pm is lost and the bench is in tatters,
Do the borders close or do we stay part,
Of some of the greatest countries about,
Do we share in a world with hope and power,
Or do we step out of the sun and into the shower,
Can we feed our family from our own back yard,
Or do we share with our neighbours? Hard,
Decisions now far out of our hands,
The majority bestowed this on our precious land,
So I close my eyes for I dont really follow,
And the thought of change is hard to swallow,
I have no idea what’s comming our way,
No real understanding of shit day to day,
So exit or not something’s going to be,
So until that day I’m just being me.

(A. Cavanagh 2019)

So stay plugged in, to my blog everyone!

Happy reading, Samantha xx

 

Favourite Five Things to Read Final: Blogs!

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I was speaking to one of my friends about reading, she made me laugh because she told me she likes to read nonfiction articles, she wants to read ‘All the internet!’ This is not possible, as with fiction, it would be impossible for me to read ‘all the books!’ This is why I only read books that I like, life is too short. I confess, I am unable to read ‘All the blogs’ as much as I would like to. I confess to having favourites.

https://inkbiotic.com/2018/08/07/all-the-stories/ Inkbiotic is one of my favourite bloggers I have been following her since I joined WordPress nearly two years ago. Click on the link for flash fiction, news of the author Petra Jacob’s latest books and her self-publishing journey.

https://watermelonseeds1.wordpress.com/ Watermelonseeds Elaine Patricia Morris’ poetry site. She posts a poem every day with her endless supply of creativity. I let this daily fix of inspiration and beauty into my life for a moment of calm.

https://sharonboothwriter.com/blog/ Sharon Booth’s blog is another of my favourites. Aside from writing heart-warming books set in Yorkshire, she writes a weekly ‘Five Photos’ blog, inviting a different author each week to share their story and photos. Ideal for those of us that are naturally nosy!

https://gracejreviewerlady.net/ Aside from writing regular book reviews that I hardly dare look at sometimes because they are so good that my TBR list is endless, Grace reviewerlady also makes and sells book cushions, which, having bought one recently, I can report that my night-time reading is much more comfortable. No more hitting myself in the face with my Kindle.

Now, as a final note I am just about to start another year of my degree, as you know I have lots to do, with little energy to do it. I might be reading less, but I’ll still be here reading, blogging, and oh yes, finishing book two of the Curmudgeon Avenue series ‘The Harold and Edith Adventures’, if you want, you can buy book one HERE 

I would be thrilled to bits if someone read it. Happy reading, Samantha x

 

 

 

Now That I am 43.

Now that I am 43,

it’s time the world knew.

I know how to load my dishwasher.

A boring conversation, so why bother?

If I’m having a wine, I’ll do it tomorrow.

Now that I am 43, it’s time for me to say;

ask me if I’m ‘alright’ with your head on one side,

‘am I REALLY alright?’ It’s not your business,

not today.

Now that I am 43 I don’t want to spend hours on the phone.

I’m working from home so please leave me alone.

I’m middle aged you still think I’m a child.

Soon  I will be old and wise,

I’ve got that to look forward to anyway.

Now that I am 43 it’s time the world knew,

that I am free to have my hair dyed blue,

to water the flowers, not the weeds

Life is to short to repeat

the same mistakes.Don’t throw away my

champagne corks

and don’t piss on my chips.

Now that I am 43 I don’t care about the size of my ass,

or anything else, for that matter.

I’ve learnt you can’t polish a turd.

Selfies at my age would be absurd.

Mind my own bee’s wax, easy, unconcerned.

Loving life writing what I write,

I’ve done my time looking after you.

So emotional vampires please keep your drama,

you have my sympathy but not my guilt,

your pity party can remain in situ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/

Female Stag

Shaped by the snow storm

returned to the shed.

Antlers smashed

by last week’s wind

And fallen off.

My garden stag

is now a doe

guarding the shed

and ‘Beware of the Dog’!

 

Brrrr!

You can tell a lot about someone

By how they cope with the snow

I admire his confident capability

Jumping in the car like it’s summer

Not even cold in t-shirt sleeves

Written last week from under my sheets.

Ruminations

 

Gaudy colours and rain.

Whoosh! And round again.

Stomach in my mouth,

there I was. Wondering if

the carriage would come off.

It could happen.

Smile for the camera,

‘ungrateful –  look at you!’

Blackpool pleasure beach

you are bound to see

someone you know.

Why does it have to be the school snob though?

Why do I have to get

some wear out of my sister’s

bell-bottom jeans? In 1982? Why me?

Or those boys laughing at my flat chest

in my pink vest. I didn’t hit puberty,

until after I’d given birth.

They are there in my brain,

the pain of ruminations.

Stacked up like little files of mischief

I wish that I could stop this complaining.

 

Copyright Samantha Henthorn 2018.