So little....

Still plugging away, making revisions on a novel since last November. Stay tuned.


copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)

And Live in the Light Again

This one is posted on all of my blogs...

And Live in the Light Again

It's bringing the dark down again

shutting me off, pulling me under

I don't mean to take things so hard

but the world spins and I begin to falter...

In the worst of it, I'm drowning

the surface lost and the blue surrounds

too weak to argue, I close my eyes

and I let it keep pullin' me down.

Then you notice me and close the distance

and I forget I'm lost

you make it all seem easy

and now, at last, the void is crossed.

the sun does shine, the wind does blow

see the mountains I can climb

we look down at the busy below

you and me in a world without time

You take my hand, you won't let go

you hold on for the fight

until finally I emerge,

mighty banged up but alright

You wipe my soul with solemn grace

you hold me close and then

you whisper softly, "Give me your hand...

come live in the light again."

c. 2008 Joanna S Kelley

Not a lot

Nothing going on these days. Been lurking at Helium.com and trying to earn side money w/ the writing thing, but it is nearly impossible for me to tolerate the repetition when you are "rating" other folks' work. The writing part is fine, but the rating is so tedious I've all but given up.

copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)

Enter the Zone

Do you ever just enter a place where the words pour out of you seemingly beyond your control? Of course you do...if you are a writer.

Though you won't see evidence of it in this blog today, per se, I've got that going on in my offline works. I am in the flow, in the know, buzzing, humming, rolling. Whatever you choose to call it, the words are coming easily today. Hallelujah!

copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)

Living in dreams

Every now and then, when life gets hard
I turn to dreams, to where you are
I want to stay there, safe in you
but morning comes...erases you.

So I rise and try to shine
slog through work
head for home
I end the day still alone.

Where is my heart?
Where has it gone?
It left with you
when you moved on.

I do not cry
I've no tears left.
I meet the days
with a brave face.

But when night comes
I long to wail
curl up and die
drop in despair.

But hope returns
as hope does.
It fills my lungs
and gives me hugs.

The day is new
the future bright
so might as well
enter the light.





copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)

10 Signs a Book is Written by Me

1) It is set in a place that does not exist. I typically find that since I have not yet enjoyed a lot of travel, I don't know any other cities well enough to bring them to life. So rather than sound like a travel brochure, I make up whole cities. I even used to draw maps when I was a teenager.

2) There's almost always a dog. I think I subconsciously adopted this from either Fern Michaels or Dean Koontz. Not sure which.

3) I mention SOMETHING from pop culture...a movie or a song, a book or a campy product in almost all of my work. (Except, oddly, the items on this website. Hmmm.)

4) My characters eat a lot of yummy food and not a lot of veggies and fruits. Sadly, this is just the author's experience shining through. I have a very limited palate when it comes to these foods. I have tried so hard to incorporate more of them in my diet, but I just hate most of them! I feel like a picky four year old and I suffer a lot of abuse socially for it. *sniff*

5) I am given to melodrama. I try pretty hard not to give in to these urges. But if it isn't over the top, I find myself thinking it isn't quite good enough.

6) Bad childhoods, abuse, and other traumas are common themes for my characters. Another cliche I am fighting against. But I love my moody, wounded heroes. Think Dean Winchester on the TV show Supernatural. Don't you just want to soothe that man?! Gather him up and fix all the wounded parts?! OOOOOH. I get weak just imagining it.

7) The names of my characters are not average names. I used to be a trend-setter, but nowadays it is all the rage to find a goofy name or goofy spelling of a regular name. Like Mayre (Mary) or Tobias. But let me just go on record as saying that I did it before it was the "in" thing to do.

8) I was fascinated (for reasons I cannot explain) with sign language as a child. I have used deaf characters in many of my works. This is not easy in writing because if you aren't careful, you spend too much time trying to explain the way signs look visually or you try to get creative with how many ways you can remind the reader that the character didn't SAY it...they SIGNED it.

9) If there is mention of Phoenix, AZ in the book, you know it is mine. Either someone used to live there, a relative moved "down there", or there is some obscure mention of it in the background of the story. Guess I don't want to forget the old hometown, even if I don't really want to set a story there. Again, my shorter work doesn't do this. I am talking novels here.

10) There will be a happily-ever-after sort of ending. Usually a little bit too saccharine for most people (including me). I just can't end on a bad note. There's too much of that in real life.

copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)

Practical applications

Sometimes everyday writing has its rewards. My boss complimented me today on my letter writing skills. She said she doesn't have to worry about checking my letters for grammar or spelling before they go out, but it wouldn't be fair to have me off on my own. (My "day job" is in the insurance industry, and these are denial letters I am talking about...kinda stupid that our supervisors have to check them...makes us all feel like little high school kids. But it is what it is.)

Nice to have those little affirmations from time to time.



copyright 2008, Joanna S Kelley (pseudonym)