A Poem by Daniel Kemp

A While ago I read this in a twittering by Daniel Kemp and it struck me as one of those tweets you remember among the slush easily skimmed over.

Take your petty criticism

Take away your disdain.

Live your life removed from me,

As I quickly forget your name.

***

Daniel Kemp is the author of 

THE DESOLATE GARDEN

AMAZON

September Again by Hunter S. Jones

AMAZON

***

Once again this author manages to capture and hold my attention the full 97 pages with a story of love, despair, hope, and joy.

In this second September story we continue to follow the life of Liz and her daughter after the death of the great poet Jack O. Savage. Things aren’t easy and the author has managed to bring all the struggles alive in a way that makes the reader root for the characters. The fine details show that the author has either done her research really well of writes what she knows from experience. Either way, it makes for a book with real living characters and scenes.

Her dialogues are never once contrived or stilted and each character speaks how you would expect a person from that age, gender, or social group would.

There is enough detail to the scenes to make them more than just a stage for the characters to play on, but never so much that it drowns out the story. A perfect balance between setting a scene and telling the story from within the character’s point of view.

The only downside to this great story is that I read it way too fast, or it was too short. On the other hand, it was complete. Had the author written more detail in it, or added scenes to make it longer that would probably have ruined what is now a perfect story.

Would I recommend this book? The answer to that is a big, fat YES! And I cannot wait to read the prequel to this all.

Review – September Ends by Hunter S. Jones

This book is one of the few that classify as a true gem! Read my review below and then run to the store to get your copy. Heck, why not? it’s FREE today!

AMAZON

Have you ever read a book you had to put down, because it affected you too much? Have you ever really felt the story touching something deep within you? Has a book ever made you cry, actually cry, I mean sobbing tears, and a band around your heart wrenching inner pain cry? This book had that effect on me. I had to wait a few days after finishing September Ends for the fifth time in two weeks because every time I thought about the book I cried and was at a loss for words. I still can’t seem to find the right words to convey how good this book is. How real, how … basal. It’s more than fiction, poetry, or prose, or even literature. This book is us, it’s you, it is your friend, your enemy. It is humanity shown through words.

Right, enough with the excitement. The cold hard facts? Plot, rock solid with well foreshadowed events, and a proper arc. Characters, fully fleshed out with an emotional growth that is utterly real. Scene setting, well researched and realistic. Dialogue, realistic with a natural flow. Sentence structure, very fitted to the part of the book it is used.

There were a few typos, and by a few I mean I found two, but only during the last reading my eyes spotted those.

So there you have it. This is a book that either turns me into a sobbing, highly emotional blob of a woman, or a removed, analytic, fact scooper. Would I recommend it? Shoot! Yes!I would even say like Venice it’s something you must have ‘seen’ before you die.

(I received no compensation for this review)

Bedlam by Babs Morton

 

Babs Morton runs a giveaway at the moment on Goodreads

until the 31st Oct. you could win 3 paperback books worldwide

About the author

Born in the North East of England, B.A.Morton writes across a number of genres including crime, romance, horror and historical fiction. After a twenty year civil service career, she and her family escaped the rat race and relocated to the remote beauty of the Northumberland National Park. She now works part time in the village GP surgery and lives in a cottage built on the remains of a medieval crypt. Her debut novel “Mrs Jones” a fast paced, romantic, crime thriller set in New York, was runner up in the Yeovil Literary Prize 2011, published by Taylor Street Publishing and closely followed by the sequel “Molly Brown”, and the first in a medieval trilogy “Wildewood Revenge”. Her latest book “Bedlam” is a psychological/horror/thriller.

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BEDLAM

Joe loves Kit. Everyone thinks she’s dead. Joe knows she’s not.

If you lost the love of your life, how far would you go to get them back?

Detective Joe McNeil would do absolutely anything.

When Joe breathes life into a crime scene victim, he discovers what anything really means.

Nell will use whatever is necessary to ensure she survives, including Joe. Is she really a victim or merely the weapon being wielded by a much more cunning foe?

Against the background of a multiple murder investigation, Joe struggles between his love for missing Kit and his growing obsession with the enigmatic Nell. Plunged headlong into a spiralling nightmare of kidnap, murder and betrayal, his relentless search for the truth jeopardises his career, his sanity and his life.

But for Nell, the risk is even greater..

A haunting tale of obsessive love, ultimate sacrifice and deadly consequences

Available at AMAZON

Guest Blogger – Bird Cole on ‘The Bright Side’ and Bullies

Sometimes you encounter people online that in real life you would not have met for the simple reason you live in a different hemisphere, or you travel in different circles. The beauty of internet and the Book of Faces is that you find friends that have a beauty inside of them you just want the world to know about. Bird Cole is one of those people whom I’m proud to count among my friends. I asked him to write a guest post because I felt he has things to say that are just too sensible not to be heard.

Bird, ‘the stage’ is yours.

First thing I want to do is thank Lucy for even considering me, let alone inviting me, to share my thoughts, opinions,  messages, and loves. She doesn’t know this, but I felt a lot of pressure to come up with “something good”. Not because of anything she said…..it’s just….nobody has ever requested that I write something for them (unless my Aunt counts). So, I’ve had to rattle my brain to even come up with ideas. After that failed I decided to start writing this and, maybe, share a few thoughts along the way. After all……quite a bit goes on inside the mind of a guy named Bird!

By now you may have heard, my name is Bird. I’m just a guy with a cool name that likes to make shit rhyme…….sometimes. If there was anything special about me I would have to say that it’s my ability to find the “bright side” to any situation. That ability has given me a life full of true happiness and a smile that drives the ladies wild. People ask me all the time, “Bird, why are you so happy?” “Bird, you can’t be that positive all of the time. Is this some kind of a front?” So, let me tell you all, just a few things about me to clear stuff up. I come from a long line of drug dealers & abusers. Alcoholics, woman beaters, murderers, and child molesters! In the 33 years that I have been alive, and the HUGE family I come from, I can’t name one person that society would accept…..nope, not one. That is because, the few that didn’t follow the path set before us, distanced themselves far from us. I lost count as to how many times the police have kicked in my Mom’s door over the years. Just thinking about how my baby Brother had a gun to his head (before he was even potty trained) quickly brings me to tears! Men beating my Mother in the street and her chasing men out the house with bats and chainsaws were the norm to me. I was an honor roll student but dropped out of school and told everyone I did it so I could sell weed. Everyone thought I quit school “to be cool”, but really, I was arrested for the brutal double murder of two old people and was afraid to be seen! I have done a lot of bad stuff in my life and hurt a lot of good people. But, anyone that knows me knows I can’t kill an animal, let alone, people. I tried to have the “perfect” family once and fucked that up. There came a time when I had nowhere to go and was sitting on a curb, next to a dumpster, at midnight, in the rain, and about to give up…..when an angel came and rescued me. Picked me up and took me away from all the darkness and pain. Showed me a world I did not know and made me smile again. It was Ashley’s love that saved me but it was the life I lived that made me! So, no…I don’t have any reason to put on a front. I have seen the worst life has to offer and decided to rise up. But instead of running away from those I left behind, I want to show them they too can get out, and that is why I am happy all of the time! Society has built a wall to separate the good from the bad. Well, I am here to knock that bitch down and tell them, “no need to be sad,” then let this light of happiness shine in on the ones left in the darkness!

Well, now that I have introduced myself, let’s get to why I am here. At first, I was not really sure what to write about. I then realized school is just starting again, here in the U.S., and a big topic these days is bullies. Everybody seems to agree that “bullies” are bad and for good reasons.  It’s easy to relate to the victims and their pain easily touches the heart.  My beautiful Wife, Ashley, wrote something from the perspective of a victim that I would love to share:

ONE DAY

~ She sits alone watching the others play.

She thinks to herself, “I will have friends too, one day.”

Why do they not like me?

What is it that they see?

Is it because my hair is not the same as theirs?

Are my clothes not as expensive as theirs?

My weight is way more than theirs?

If only they would take the time to get to know me.

Then, they would see, it’s not the outside…personality is the key.

Why, oh why, do they judge me when they don’t even know me?

One day, yes, one day…..they will see.

The day their hair is as thin as can be.

Their clothes old and worn with holes,

they’re so fat they would sell their souls,

and they’re all alone….no one but them.

On that day, I will be there for them.

To hold their hand and to comfort them,

Because……you see……one day they will know what it feels like to be me! ~

 ***

Beautiful, if you ask me. And, very powerful in a narrow minded way.  See, I like to rock the boat once in a while……just to see who belongs in it. We, as a society, have forgotten that these “bullies” are just children. We point our fingers, cast the blame, and talk bad about them. Adults treating children like this and we wonder why they do the same. Parents are quick to say, “Stay away……that kid is a bully!” But, if they took the time to see what weighs on the kid’s mind, they might hear something like this:

~ She is very pretty as she walks down the hall.

He is so cool because he plays football.

The smart kids are playing chess & doing math.

The teachers have their pets & slackers are skipping class!

I am the bully that trips the little kid & tells the lies.

 I will do all kinds of thing to impress you guys.

I don’t care about feelings, everybody laughs when I make you cry.

Teachers can’t talk to me, I YELL IN THE FACE OF AUTHORITY, & will hit you if I need to.

But, have you ever tried……to say, “Hi?”

What you don’t know is

I have no real friends. Just a bunch of kids

that do not know any better because they don’t know (at home) I get tripped & hit.

My dad yells all the time!

My mom hides when she cries and they fight because they, “don’t make a dime!”

 It’s O’K because I get to act out.

They label me a bully and I get kicked out!

But, all I ever wanted was a hug & some love…..

Maybe I’m not a “bully” at all…….

Maybe I’m a victim with HIS back slammed to the wall! ~

  ***

As a proud parent, of 5 wonderful children, I think it’s time we point the finger back at us and take the blame that is rightfully ours.  As a parent, I think we should teach all children the power of love. As a parent, I think it’s important for all children to know the power of a smile. Before I go, I would like to share one more thing with you all. It’s a short story I wrote for my family to help them learn to simply smile, and say, “How are you doing?”

~ A sad man, standing on the side of the street.

Tired and hungry ’cause he hasn’t had anything to eat!

He has been broke since they fired him, and alone since she left. WET ‘CAUSE OF THIS DAMN RAIN

AND NO HOUSE ‘CAUSE THE RENT……..can’t get paid!

Been beggin’ for this change for 400 days.

Finally got enough saved.

Going to buy a gun to put an END TO THESE DAYS AND AN END TO THIS PAIN

WHEN IS THIS LIGHT EVER GONNA CHANGE!

Before he could cross that street, walk that mile, and finally rest awhile.

There was a man that had stood next to him. He looked at the sky and back to him with a smile

and said, “I think it’s going to be a beautiful day, don’t you?”

TEN YEARS GO BY AND IT SEEMS………..he was right?

Now, he is a happy man, sitting in his Lazyboy chair watching the kids play with his wife.

Just goes to show………your smile could save a life! ~

 ***

I hope you have enjoyed reading Birdz Words. I also hope I have opened your minds just a little. If not, fuck it…..what do I know? I’m just a guy named Bird!

~ SMILE MORE, LAUGH OFTEN, & LOVE CONSTANT ~