Snow Race

The sun lit a glare on the snow
like daybreak had suddenly opened in the field
and a new sun was rising beneath
the deer tracks and branches heavy
with the irregular garland of ice.

You lurked at my periphery,
just enough out of the way that I had to
adjust to see you clearly.

It seemed the structure –
the baseline of you and of me –
had slowly been falling apart.

We were degrading as the
foundation of this house.

We were slipping concrete blocks
and creeping marshland.

We were winter snows
and bare feet, and you said,
“I’ll race you to the barn.”

I remember the thin slide
of my t-shirt and the way the cold air
terrorized my flesh.

There was a glint in your eyes,
something wild that sparkled,
and with each discarded piece of clothing
we were bare to one another
for the first time
in a long time.

And I think then, you saw me –

racing across the snow,
my bare feet leaving dark little
tattoos across the perfect crust –

I think you saw me and I know,
for a while,
I forgot all about us.

© Laura A. Lord, 2016

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There are bright moments in any ending. Yesterday we told our children the truth about my husband adopting them. We told them about their birth fathers, and it was, by far, the most difficult discussion of my life. This brought back so many memories, especially about how things ended. I remember this day in the snow and thank MindLoveMiserysMenagerie for her wordle that inspired me to think of this.

Photo by Roksolana Zasiadko, Unsplash

Photo Design by Book Genesis

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Remember to sign up for my mailing list today to get your free coloring book! I promise I will only email you once a month!

Dancer

 

You are the delicate fuchsia flower –
a tempestuous dancer frozen in the middle
of a lustrous pirouette. I found myself
stargazing in the deep purple of
your petals, as if I were watching
for Orion to slip over the knoll
and appear, there, in the soft skin
of your eyelids, closed in fraudulent
sleep. I traced the sunlight, bright
and thick as yolk, as it draped along
your leg. I passed the stain of your
birth, there, at the back of your knee
and minded the flutter your
lashes made. Your breath stuttered,
in spite of your control and I gave myself
up to your kiss – a slow drip of laudanum
that numbed my lips and set you
to dancing, again.

© Laura A. Lord, 2016

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All things considered, I never dated a dancer. I did have a very passionate fling with a gymnast, but it burnt out quickly. Thank you to MindLoveMiserysMenagerie for the wordle prompt that inspired some memories this morning.

Photo by Matthew Wiebe, Unsplash

Design by Book Genesis

Guest Poet On Ink & Quill: Laura. A. Lord

Today I’m being hosted as a guest poet on the amazing Ink and Quill site! Please head on over and shown Jennifer some love. Take a moment to read some of her beautiful work while you are there.

INK AND QUILL

It is with great pleasure, I introduce you to Ink and Quill’s feature guest, Laura. A. Lord. Laura is a very talented poet and I’ve really enjoyed finding out more about her. Her poetry is incredible, edgy and original. Please, follow the link to check out more of her wonderful writing.

NAME: Laura A. Lord
COUNTRY: United States
AGE: 30

Please tell us a little about yourself:
I’m 30 years old and live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with my husband and three children. I have been writing since I was a teenager, but didn’t start publishing my work until my mid-twenties. I have published six collections of poetry and vignettes and one children’s book.

‘Poetry is by far my favorite form to write and what I spend most of my time on.’

In fact, my newest collection set to be released this summer, I Am, in entirely poetry…

View original post 1,170 more words

What Are You Writing?

Every. Single. Time.

I can be one of the most elegant poets (at times) and still haven’t seemed to master the English language enough for every day conversation – especially when that conversation turns around to my writing. Instantly I transform into this blubbering, stumbling, hem-hauling fool who stares off into the distance while turning a very unflattering shade of fire-engine red.

It’s pathetic.

Tell me I’m not alone! Does this happen to you? Are you actually good at speaking to people about your writing? If so, what’s your secret? If not…it’s okay. We were never the “cool kids” anyway.

Shared on Pinterest, here.

Call for Submissions

How would you like to earn yourself a free e-book?

That’s a silly question. Everyone loves free. And this free is super easy to earn.

I’m looking for submissions to help with my book launch. All you have to do is fill in the blank:

I am ___________________.

I want honest, brutal, poetic truths. I want you to tell me exactly what you would say about yourself. You can look at this image I made up with words others choose to fill in the blank to get some ideas.

How to submit:

• a short video (10-30 seconds) saying your line
• a photo of you holding your line written on a paper or poster
• tweet your line with the hashtag #IAM to @LauraAshleyLord

You can send your submissions over to lauraashleylord@gmail.com and when release day hits you’ll get your free e-book in the mail!

Told you it was easy.

 

Suitcase

My grandmother saved stale bread
in a wooden box on the third shelf
in her little pantry closet. She put it
on hold, as if the bread had come to
some strange junction in its life
where famished children must wait
and watch to see what it would become.

No one could question the temerity of
that woman. There was a strong line,
bright as a shining vein of sapphire
that ran in knowing little paths
across hands that could jettison a
fistful of blanks just as easily
as it could tear stale bread into chunks –
transform those chunks into an age-old,
famous stuffing recipe or into the luxurious,
rich mountains of golden baked pineapple.

I frequently found myself sitting on
the suitcase in the pantry closet and
playing with small wooden horses,
there, by the bread box. I wondered
what the stale bread would be by
dinner time and if I would be allowed
to skip to the front of the line,
before my father and his large plate.

And yet,
I never wondered at the contents of
the suitcase.
Or why it was packed.
Or why it never left the floor
of her little pantry closet.

© Laura A. Lord, 2016

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I think, sometimes, poetry is best when it tells a story. My grandmother really did have a little pantry closet, with a bread box, where I would sit and play while both she and my grandfather, and my parents, played cards. I would hide in there with my toys and play for hours, as if that little closet were my own world. Though, she didn’t make the famous stuffing, that was my husband’s grandfather, and the baked pineapple came from my other grandmother, and the suitcase…Well, the best stories have a bit of a lie to them as well. There never was one.

Thank you to MindLoveMisery’sMenagerie for the wordle today and the inspiration!

Don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list! You’ve only got a few more days to get signed up and get a free copy of my book, Rumble Strip, along with a $10 off coupon to Book Genesis and a sneak peak at my upcoming collection, I Am. Sign Up Here!

 

New Mailing

Alright my wonderful, amazing, fantastic readers…I’ve got some good news! I’ve started up a mailing list so that I can share some really cool information with you that you won’t get here on my blog. Like:

– You’ll learn about my upcoming books before anyone else.
– Special contests and giveaways that are only held for those on my mailing list.
– Discount codes for Etsy, Amazon, and Book Genesis.
– Information on open submissions, writerly advice, and more.

But you’ll only get it in my monthly mailing. That’s right…monthly. I’m not going to buy you every day or week. You’ll get one awesome email a month with lots of great information and some neat little surprises.

I hope you’ll help me out while I try to build my list and sign up here.

Thank you for your support and for being the best readers any author could ever have. You all rock!

On Not Writing

I so rarely take the time anymore to just blog. I always regret it. I mean, the day passes and I sit back and think, Well, at least I wrote.

What a shitty attitude.

I spent most all of my day on this computer: writing, editing, designing, researching, and all other things writing related, and yet I so rarely take the time out from all of that to just simply write about my day.

So today, I’m not “writing” in the work sense of the word.

Reasons I'm not #Writing today. #stolemymouse #andmychair #amwriting

A post shared by Laura A. Lord (@captivecrystals) on Feb 24, 2016 at 9:21am PST

I couldn’t even if I wanted to…someone I love dearly keeps stealing my mouse.

And pushing my chair down the hallway.

And all manner of annoying cute one year old behavior.

Amazingly enough, I think he left all his good behavior behind at the National Aquarium. We took the kids two weeks ago for their first ever trip to the aquarium. It was a blast and I got some amazing photos.

@nationalaquarium

A post shared by Laura A. Lord (@captivecrystals) on Feb 5, 2016 at 11:11am PST

It never ceases to amaze me how much inspiration I can find in the beauty of marine animals and sea life and yet still…

@nationalaquarium

A post shared by Laura A. Lord (@captivecrystals) on Feb 5, 2016 at 10:51am PST

be totally and completely terrified of big bodies of water.

I mean, these guys are fantastic and fabulous, but I have absolutely no interest in going anywhere near their natural environment.

@nationalaquarium

A post shared by Laura A. Lord (@captivecrystals) on Feb 5, 2016 at 10:53am PST

Besides, the beach hates people who are as pale as me. It’s best I just stick to the aquarium.

And you can check out more of my awesome aquarium photos…or pictures of my family attempting their ninja picture avoiding skills, over here at my Instagram account. See you there!

Cover Wars – Voting

My book, Of Roots and Wreckage, has been entered for Cover Wars! I hope you’ll take a moment to pop over and give me a vote! Thank you all for your support of my work. Visit here to vote: http://authorshout.com/cover-wars/

Amnesia

I was lost in the apathy of a broken heart,
the disloyalty of dreams that had been
drug mercilessly through the sharp,
splintered edges of a fake romance.
I held animosity close to my chest,
covering myself in the lie that was fear
and cowardice. I courted misery
as if somewhere in the depths of
his indifference I would find hope.
I dressed myself up in swaths of
optimism and met the stare of disdain
with a heart coarsened by hatred.
I searched for endless hours through
the rubble of my faith and staggered
across the first moment I saw him –
the thick sprawl of his lashes
against storm blue eyes and
a smile that sent a lurch through me,
knocking me to my knees.
I remembered how love tasted of
his breath and forced amnesia
for our fragmented love. I forgot it all
and loved him anyway.

© Laura A. Lord, 2016

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Written in response to the prompt at The Reverie Journal.

Coming Soon! I AM!

Some of you may have noticed the facelift I gave my site a few months ago. A big part of that change was adding in the big announcement for I AM. I’m really excited about this book and have been working my butt off on it.

Now, I’m at that point all writers can relate to: I don’t want to look at this book for one more minute! I have edited and trashed and scratched and added and changed and read and read and read…I’m sick of it!

That’s where you come in.

I am looking for 20 reviewers.

Why 20? Well Amazon has this whole magic number thing and 20 seems to be it, so until there are 20 reviews on a book it doesn’t show up much in searches. And that’s every Indie author’s goal – to have their book show up when people are looking!

Here’s all the fun info:
– I’m only looking for 20 readers. 20. 2-0. That’s it.
– You get a free e-book copy of my newest book BEFORE it is out for public sale.…
– You get to take part in a super fun Group Google Chat where you can ask me about writing, poetry, whatever you want with the exception of my social security number or first pet’s name.
– I’ll share with you my Secret Guide to Publishing Every Year and Writing Every Day.
– You’ll agree to review my book on Amazon THE DAY it releases live.
– You get a guest post on my blog to share your works in progress, press releases, upcoming books, or advertisements for current sellers.
– You’ll take part in the overwhelming share fest that day so we can drown the web in posts…LOL Not quite that dramatic, but you’ll be given awesome images from Book Genesis to send around the web and share.

So what do you say? Who wants a free copy of my book?