Post-weekend Poetry 026: ‘Earth Bound’ by Sandy Hartman

Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the twenty-sixth poem in this series. This week’s piece welcomes back Sandy Hartman.

Earth Bound

A downpour empties the rain-choked bowl of a thundering sky
Earth pauses after the soaking
And basks in a gray green glow
Back lit by brushed metallic radiance
That moment just before a new sun breaks through

The last few fat rain drops
Splat on the tin roof of the chicken coop
Bothering brood hens fluffed wide
Over clutches of satin brown eggs
Each hen, eyes half closed in contentment
Chucking quietly to herself

The moist smell of new straw warmed under feathers rises
Then touches the fragrance of strawberries and lavender
From the garden

My small refuge in this frenzied world gone mad over itself
As it speeds down a highway that cuts through corn fields
Near the hedge rows and apple tree grove

Thank you Sandy, that was delightful.

Sandy is a retired public school teacher at the high school and junior high levels, a member of Pen Women of America, Moxy Laureate for www.Moxywomen.com and the creator of the site www.eonwriter.com.

Her poetry is published in several journals and three poems placed first in various contests.

She does not self-publish, her hubris in creating www.eonwriter.com, she says, is quite enough.

She’s had the good fortune to travel to several countries in Asia and lived for a time in Saigon, Vietnam and Vientiane, Laos during the war. She is most of all, a visionary poet, as you can well see by her site.

If you’d like to submit your poem (40 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with middle grade author Susan Brocker – the four hundred and fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays.

 

Tuesday Tales 028: A lot to learn

The twenty-eighth prompt from online writing group Tuesday Tales (my twenty-second story for them) was ‘city’ and below is the result.

Tuesday Tales provides a new prompt each week, the members write a story inspired by it and post it on our blogs / websites. Then we email the link and first two or three sentences to Jean Joachim. She then posts them on the Tuesday Tales blog (on a Tuesday ), gives us the link then we go out and shout about it. So, without further ado, here is my 933-worder.

A lot to learn

There was something about being a city vet that always appealed to Mark, something about the delight on the children’s faces when they saw a live animal, bigger than the stick insects, gerbils or cats they lived with.

Nothing, however, had prepared him for Brady ‘What’s that?’ Smith.

***

“No-one will take you seriously if you wear an Eyeore tie,” Emily, Mark’s girlfriend, had said that morning.

“I don’t want them to take me seriously, they’re children.”

“What about their teachers? Aren’t you supposed to be setting a good example?”

“AA Milne, Emily. There’s nothing more wholesome than Winnie the Pooh.”

“Eyeore.”

“Exactly.”

With that she’d kissed him goodbye and gone off to her first day with Clampett, Taylor and Browne.

Mark rinsed his cereal bowl, grabbed his black bag, dropped the flat’s Yale latch, then locked above and below it, something they’d never had to do at Broughton Heath.

As newlyweds they had little to steal but if the place didn’t look secure it was an open invitation – or so said Nick and Rachel who’d moved to London a couple of years before, and whose neighbours had both been burgled.

So after checks bordering on OCD, Mark took the no.27 bus making a mental note of the route so he could walk it home.

Entering the surgery immediately felt like home and Mark knew he’d made the right decision.

“Morning, Mark,” his new boss, Tom Sanderson, said before sipping a cup of steaming black coffee. “Want one?”

“Please.”

“If you’re quick, Josie will get it for you… kitchen on the left, from then on you make your own. We all do.”

“Sure. Thanks, Tom.”

“Good to have you on board. We’ve got Roehill Juniors today.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Tell me that again later and I’ll buy you a pint.”

“Deal,” Mark said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

***

Mug in hand, Mark was given a guided tour of the complex then shown to his office and given his itinerary for the day, with 10am ’til noon blocked out for the school visit. This left four early slots for patients; Muffin, a sock-swallowing Beagle; Roger, a sneezing rabbit (who it turns out was allergic to carrots); Daisy the Jack Russell for her first inoculations; and Henry the fat hamster who turned out to Henrietta and fat for a very specific reason.

Mark was writing up Henrietta’s notes when he heard loud voices coming from the car park. Pulling up his blind, he saw a congregation of royal blue-uniformed children running in circles, waving their hands and a couple playing patty cake. There were two teachers with them, a tall blonde lady and a shorter black woman who stopped suddenly, making a couple of the children bump into her, then blew a whistle, the children immediately standing to attention. With a click of her fingers the children formed an orderly line and followed her and her colleague round the corner, towards the building’s front door. Knowing he had a minute or two at most, he finished his notes, screen-locked the computer, and headed out into reception to meet them.

The children were standing gazing up their teachers, the blonde woman talking to one of the receptionists, Sylvie, who was pointing in Mark’s direction.

“Thanks Sylvie,” Mark said, and with a swoop of his arms, said, “Do follow me, ladies and gentlemen,” and the teachers escorted the children, one adult at either end.

Mark walked past his office and the consulting rooms, and through a back door. Some of the children gasped and looked around at the array of animals; the pigs, cows and chickens being the nearest enclosures. Mark turned to the two teachers. “Good morning, I’m Mark Sullivan. I’ll be your guide for today. Any questions at all just let me know.”

“By raising your hand,” the blonde teacher said to the group, then turned to Mark. “Erin Talbot, Mrs, and this is Mrs Jackson.”

“Pleased to meet you Mrs Talbot, Mrs Jackson.”

Mrs Jackson smiled briefly then clicked her fingers at a young boy who had started to wander off. “Keep in the group, Brady.”

The boy duly returned but looked around him rather than at her.

Unsure as to what the children wanted to know, Mark showed them the first pen, of a variety of chickens, and explained the different species, ensuring he didn’t get too technical.

The pigs followed next and while some of the children stayed with Mark, the rest went on to the cows with their two teachers.

Brady stood closest to the pigs, in front of Mark, and started emulating their noises.

“Very good… Brady, is it?”

The boy nodded.

“You like pigs?” Mark asked.

The boy shrugged his shoulders.

“You don’t know?”

Brady shook his head.

“I like pigs,” Mark said.

The boy said nothing but looked up at Mark.

“Do you eat bacon?”

The boy nodded eagerly.

“Ham sandwiches.”

He nodded again.

“Then you like pigs,” Mark said, trying to be helpful.

The boy frowned.

“Bacon… ham… come from pigs and…” Mark stopped talking when the boy screwed up his face and started bawling. Mark went to crouch down to him, to console him, but Brady ran towards Mrs Talbot and buried his face in her skirt.

Mrs Jackson stormed over to Mark. “What have you done?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs Jackson but he didn’t seem to know what a pig was.”

“And you told him?”

“I am a vet.”

“And he’s just a boy.”

As Mark looked at Brady, he realised he had a lot to learn about children before he and Emily started a family.

The links to the earlier prompts, and resulting stories, and the forthcoming prompts can be found on this blog’s Tuesday Tales page. Do go and check out the Tuesday Tales blog – it’s a wonderful idea supported by talented writers.

So, not only can you read these stories but you could also write your own using the prompts given each week. There’s no word count limit. Single-word prompts are something I regularly give my Monday night workshop and it’s amazing how different our stories can be.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

 

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast – short stories episode no.12

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast ‘short stories’ episode number twelve went live today, Monday 18th June.

I’ve been starting off the first few weeks with the flash fiction that have appeared on my blog as ‘Flash Fiction Fridays’, reading out three per fortnight. Do email me (morgen@morgenbailey.com) should you like to submit your own. The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

This episode’s were Bowed out (742 words) by novelist and short story author Marc Nash, Hachette (582 words) by comic fantasy (“and a little horror”) author Will Macmillan-Jones and Over by me, Morgen Bailey.

See the links above to read the stories… or hear my dulcet tones on the podcast.

Marc Nash is London born, bred and resident. He says he’s always resorted to the written word, thinking himself an observer by temperament. After a brief adolescent delusion that he could write lyrics, he passed over into writing stage plays for 10 years from University onwards and then when his twin boys arrived in the world meaning he couldn’t really hang around theatre bars at night, he tried his hand at prose fiction. His blog is www.sulcicollective.blogspot.com, he’s @21stCscribe on Twitter and is very active there. He has a couple of websites on the novels, http://marcnash.weebly.com and http://marcnashNIMN.weebly.com as well as a YouTube channel with 17 literature related videos (just type in sulci collective into the search function).

Will is a fifty-something lover of blues, rock and jazz. He presently lives in South Wales, and has just fulfilled a lifetime ambition by extending his bookcases to fill one entire wall of his home office. Working as a professional tax consultant, he writes to escape the stultifying boredom of his job. He has an irregular blog, www.willmacmillanjones.wordpress.com where he “rambles incoherently about writing” and he can also be found at www.thebannedunderground.weebly.com.

I’m Morgen With An E, a writer of over 7 years (although I do remember writing a story about an ampersand when young and dabbling with limericks in my 20s, although I’ve always had my head in a book; formerly Stephen King but my tastes have softened somewhat… to crime and humour). I’m passionate about the craft, and wanted to share with you my knowledge and experience gleaned to-date, having studied under the tutorledge of Sally Spedding, Judith Allnatt, Sue Moorcroft, Joanna Barnden, Jane Adams, and Myra Schneider, amongst many others (I love going to workshops and conferences) and most recently Helen M Hunt. I write fiction, mainly short stories and novels with some poetry, and have been published in the UK, and rejected in the UK and overseas. I’ve written four and a bit novels (three for NaNoWriMo) and the ‘bit’ is a conversion of my Script Frenzy 2010 script which I’ll continue at some stage. I post three to four items a day here (including interviews, guest blogs, author spotlights, flash fiction and poetry), have eBooks on Amazon and Smashwords including free eShort stories, the $0.99 Story a Day May 2011 collection I mentioned earlier and a 1,000 sentence start writer’s block workbook (which also includes over 50 weekly tips), again on Smashwords for $0.99.

 

Thank you for downloading / listening to this short story episode – I hope you enjoyed it. The next episode will be a hints & tips episode in a fortnight (when I’ll be talking about eBooks) then the short stories return a fortnight thereafter.

All the details of these episodes are listed on the podcast page of this blog and my email address to submit a short story for critique (or reviews for the Short Story Saturdays, mentioned below) is morgen@morgenbailey.com.

The podcast itself is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

 

5PM Fiction 018 (110-word sentence): An Alien Hum

Welcome to the eighteenth in the series: 5pm Fiction.

Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.

I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s prompt was to write a story starting ‘Listening to the orchestra, Billy’, but just to spice it up, I thought I’d make it a 110-word sentence as Gabriel Valjan mentioned in our recent interview. So here is my 110-worder. Let me know if you think it works (or not).

An Alien Hum

Listening to the orchestra, Billy couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong, the melody soothing as it was, the violinist perhaps or the cello, both musicians concentrating on the conductor, as Billy usually did, but today he scanned each instrument in turn, knowing the stroke of each note so intimately, Eric Satie’s Gnossiene no. 1 an all-time favourite, though today there was an alien hum, an extra instrument perhaps, but as he looked around he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard his wife, who was swatting away a summer bee from her floral dress, telling him it was time to come into the shade for lunch.

So, it was all a dream, usually a no-no in fiction… I think I can be forgiven, just this once?

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

 

Author interview no.404 with writer William Bentrim

Welcome to the four hundred and fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with children’s author William Bentrim. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, William. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.

William: First, thank you for the opportunity to promote my books.

Morgen: You’re really welcome, William, lovely to have you here.

William: I’m a retired computer geek living in Bucks County, PA. Writing was on my bucket list.  As a guidance counsellor in a former life I had many experiences with children. Upon retirement I decided to try and put some of my feelings into print.

Morgen: They say write what you know. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

William: Children’s fiction would be my primary genre with fantasy and science fiction a slight glimmer in my future.

Morgen: They’re very popular, and children of any age love fantasy and science fiction. What have you had published to-date?

William: I have seven picture books for children and two chapter books published so far.

Mommy’s Black Eye is my best selling book and attempts to explain domestic violence to primary age children.

I Like To Whine deals with whining in children and strategies on addressing it.

What About Me attempts to explain to the well sibling why their parents are paying too much attention to a sick sibling.

Daddy Goes on A Trip tries to explain why Daddy or Mommy might be deployed or have to travel.

The Christmas Knot addresses parenting and dealing with well meaning primary age children and a mischievous puppy.

A Quirky Christmas is an explanation of friendship relating to the Christmas season and feisty squirrels.

The Wicked Good Stepmother tries to alleviate the fears of children facing the introduction of a new mother to the family unit.

The Adventures of Hardy Belch is a chapter book for older children containing three stories with morals, bullying, intolerance and community cooperation is addressed.

Hardy Belch and Tiny Return is another chapter book.  It deals with the origins of Tiny, Hardy’s best friend and a 240 pound telepathic dog.   Included stories address kindness to a triceratops, friendship, a train robbery and revolutionary era gangsters.

Morgen: What wonderful titles. I love quirky so Hardy Belch sounds hilarious. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

William: Being ornery, independent and patience-less, I am self-published. Therefore if I have any rejection I will need to see a therapist.

Morgen: Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

William: No, success is measured in different ways by different people; to me success is if one single child is helped by one of my books, that book is a success. To me, money and volume are not measurements of success.

Morgen: Me neither. Although I love receiving emails (from Smashwords) saying I’ve sold an eBook it’s those from readers that make it all so special. Talking of eBooks, are your books available as that format? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

William:  My books will be available as eBooks as soon as I get around to it.  I read eBooks but still prefer hard copy.

Morgen: Most do and I think both formats will run alongside. eBooks are certainly not the death of paper, providing we still have some bookshops selling them (postage rates in the UK are horrendous). How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

William: 100%

Morgen: Me too. I’ve only had one author say their publisher does it all and she’s active on Twitter and Facebook. Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?

William: Tiny, my 240 pound telepathic dog would be my favourite.   My friend’s bull mastiff and great dane mutt would be an ideal leading actor.

Morgen: There are some great films with animals. Did you have any help in choosing the titles / covers of your books? How important do you think they are?

William: I pick, choose, layout and design everything.  It is indicative of an anal / retentive personality.  I’m happy with what I have done.

Morgen: Ditto. I do get second (third, fourth, fifth) opinions on all aspects of my eBooks but I enjoy having the final word. What are you working on at the moment / next?

William: Short or Tall Doesn’t Matter at All explains how the shortest girl in 5th grade is able to win over the tallest girl in 5th grade who has been bullying her. The Boy With The Pump explains Type 2 Diabetes and how it has impacted a 12-year-old boy.

Morgen: It’s great that you pick such subjects, and I’m sure they’re touching many lives. I love it when I get comments about something I write because although I write for me, and what I like to write, it’s wonderful thinking that someone enjoys it (or interesting when they don’t). Do you manage to write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

William: I write most days but since I write three blogs as well as books, my writing varies daily.  No block yet but some bumps.

Morgen: Three blogs, wow. I have two (this one and http://morgensauthorinterviews.blogspot.co.uk) and they keep me busy pretty much full-time. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

William: Both, some stories write themselves and others I think through and outline.

Morgen: Do you have a method for creating your characters, and what do you think makes them believable?

William: My characters are based on kids I have known and situations I have experienced as a teacher, coach, counsellor, parent and grandparent.  Even Tiny is based on a real dog, a gawd awful huge but very gentle dog.

Morgen: Do you write any non-fiction, poetry or short stories?

William: I have written a couple of essays reflecting on life.

Morgen: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

William: I was self-editing until I found an excellent editor.

Morgen: The most important person, I think, in a self-publisher’s life. I’m very lucky that I have a great one too. Do you have to do much research?

William: Believe it or not, I took over 100 photos of squirrels and read a variety of papers on squirrels before I wrote A Quirky Christmas.   I’m not sure why because my squirrels were simply avatars for human experiences.

Morgen: But it’ll probably show in your writing, we should always feel as if we know what we’re talking about otherwise there will be someone who will point out the inaccuracies… although of course there will be someone who knows more about a subject than we do and be only too eager to point it out. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

William: According to my editor I often try all three in the same paragraph.

Morgen: I should say “oh dear” here, shouldn’t I. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

William:  Oh, yeah.

Morgen: They’re your rejections, then. While we’re talking negativity (briefly), what’s your least favourite aspect of your writing life?

William: Marketing, I know I should do more but I am happy with how my books sell as is.

Morgen: The trouble with marketing is that it can be so time-consuming and whilst it’s essential, we are writers and we should be writing. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

William:  Same advice that every author I respect has given me, write-write-write and then write some more.

Morgen: If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

William: This needed some pondering.  Historic characters: Ben Franklin, Joan of Arc and Sun Tzu.  Fictional characters: Gandalf, Lazarus Long and Obi Wan Kenobi.

Morgen: A weekend party then. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

William: Dynamite comes in small packages. (Used in reference to under-rated women of diminutive stature.)

Morgen: I love that (although I’m nearly 6ft tall). Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

William: I write a Tech-Philosophic blog and I write Azure Dwarf reviewing science fiction and fantasy and Pick of the Literate which reviews general fiction.  I never do spoilers and I recommend rather than in-depth review.   Too many reviewers ruin a book by revealing far too much of the plot.

Morgen: You’ll have to let me know if you accept unsolicited enquiries and I’ll add you to my reviews page. What do you do when you’re not writing?

William: Besides spending time with my bride, I have the most fun chasing grandchildren around.   I golf poorly, play a fair hand of bridge and absolutely love to read.

Morgen: A very balanced life by the sound of it. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful?

William: http://bookblogs.ning.com and http://www.facebook.com/groups/authorcentral.

Morgen: Are you on any forums or networking sites?

William: LinkedIn and Goodreads.

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

William: Despite the doom and gloom predictions of the demise of the printed book, I feel print will continue.  It may even become on-demand and in home if anyone ever sells laser toner at a reasonable price.  eBooks and multimedia books as well as graphic novels will continue to grow.  The beauty and wonder of today’s technology means that everyone who is so motivated can get a book in print (e or otherwise).  That doesn’t mean that it will be worth reading but it does mean that a revolution in self expression is occurring.   In reviewing books I have discovered genres and authors that I would never have found otherwise.  Some I have embraced with fervour and some are too dreadful to mention.

Morgen: Oh dear. Where can we find out about you and your work?

William: www.bentrim.info is my website.
Pick of the Literate http://bookrevues.blogspot.com
Azure Dwarf’s Horde of SciFi & Fantasy http://azuredwarf.blogspot.com
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2959203.William_G_Bentrim
http://www.shelfari.com/wbentrim
http://www.librarything.com/profile/wbentrim
http://www.amazon.com/William-G.-Bentrim/e/B002ECKEFI
http://www.facebook.com/wbentrim
http://twitter.com/BearlyTolerable
http://www.authorsden.com/williamgbentrim

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

William: If you want to write, evaluate your motivation.  If you have a clear goal as to what you want then whatever you write will make you happy.   If you’re uncertain as to what you want to achieve or have expectations beyond your abilities it is liable to wound you emotionally.

Morgen: They say a successful writer is one who didn’t give up and writers have to be passionate to keep going but I learned really quickly what a wonderful bunch of people they (we) are. It’s certainly like no other industry I’ve come across although I compare it to learning to drive, we all know how hard it is to ‘pass’. Thank you, William. Hopefully see you back in another form in the not too distant future.

William G. Bentrim authors books for children.  He founded, owned and operated food and technology businesses.  Teaching school and counseling from 5th grade to college and from Appalachia to urban suburbia helped define his identity.  He is most proud of being a husband, father and grandfather.   As  someone who cares about the people around him, who wants to improve the society we all live in, who hopes on a daily basis to leave the planet a little better than it was the previous day William is cognizant that the impact he has on the world is minimal. Tilting at windmills is a part of his character as is a deep love for all those who need to be loved. In his own mind he is a complex, multi-layered, unique character in the kaleidoscoping drama of life.

  

  

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If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group

• http://nonfictionwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/335526669896374

Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group

• http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189

Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group

• http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934

Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group

• http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017

Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group

• http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445

We look forward to reading your comments.