Free to interpret

          When I write, I don't normally think about exactly what other people think about my work.  I write because I love to do it.  I write because it is my primal instinct to create stories.  Even before I could read, I wanted to look at intricate illustrations in order to make a story out of them.  Telling stories is just what I've always done. 
          Now, I have learned over time that writing is more difficult if it is based on reality.  That is why, as in the case of She's Facing Me I chose to write my autobiography in poetry.  It comes naturally for me to tell my story to others in this way.  However, that leaves many things open for interpretation.  You may think you get it, but do you really?  Some poems are pretty straight forward, but some are more abstract.  The images that you get may be steeped in mythology, but there's something there that connects with my own reality, some parallel that exists in order for me to get out what must be said.
          Sometimes, especially when I put my soul out there for everyone to read, it can make me weak.  Sometimes I want to burn everything I've ever written, move to another country and start over.  Those times are rare, but they do exist.  Other times I look at my work and am humbled to be the vessel through which forces work to create these things. 
          I had a moment the other day that made me want to burn all my books and never write again.  Someone said something about one of the poems, and they had an interpretation that I had never imagined.  It was terribly offensive to someone that I love and I never meant to offend anyone by writing it.  After all, it is a book about my own life, not the lives of others.  Therefore it is steeped in my own emotions and no others.  However, what they said to me made me wish that I had never written the poem.

Things like this are bound to happen when you are a writer!

          I didn't burn the books, though, because I remembered who that book was for.  It was for me, it was for my mother, and it was for a little girl that I've never met.  I know she's out there somewhere.  A little girl like I used to be.  She needs the hope that this book brings.  She needs to know that forgiveness is possible and she needs to know that life gets better.
         Despite getting my feelings hurt and being embarrassed, I know that I put it in there for a reason.  And it doesn't matter what anyone else makes it out to be.  I have to respect the opinions and interpretations of others.  After all, that is the point of the kind of poetry that I write.  Not only does it speak to your emotions, it speaks to your imagination.  I want it to inspire.  I want you to have your own interpretation.  After all, not everyone can listen to the same song and get the same feelings or images in their head.  It is the same with my poetry.  I never meant any offense to anyone when I wrote the book.  So I will not apologize.  Apologies are for the guilty.  If you are offended, then that is something that you have put upon yourself.  I still love the person that said it, just like I still love my mother.  If anything, I take what they said to me as a lesson for the future.

So, I will continue to sell my work and let it be what it is.  Whether you like it or not, I will continue.  For me.  For my mother and for that little girl.

Little girl, wherever you are, it does get better.  I promise!

Ghost of the Wandering Child

So, here's some insight into something I'm working on.  The characters will make an appearance in the final work, but this poem (probably) won't.   What does this mean to you, if anything?

 Ghost of the Wandering Child

Are you me
or the woman I could be?

Is she here to make you remember
or did you call her here to forget?

This wandering child
alone in the world

crossed paths with your blade
the one regret you couldn't make

so she's back at your door
maybe in ghost form

she's wandering still,
just a chance meeting you here.

You never have to follow
she never has to see

Whether you're me
or just the woman I should be.

Summer 2013 (or what I've been up to)

So time goes by as it always has.  It sneaks up on me and then zips away before I even realized what just happened.  That's how it is though. 

I'm working on several exciting things.  In the upcoming weeks, I'll be announcing some exciting contests, which will allow artists to become part of my website.  I also have some artistic endeavors of my own which I hope will help get the word out about my previous writings. 

Speaking of writing, I haven't forgotten what I love to do the most...

I have been working on not one, but two epic poems, a book of short stories (or perhaps a novel, depending on how it goes) with a character named Gracie.  I think you'll like her.  She's a little different from any other character that I've encountered in my writing ventures.  I'm also collaborating with a good friend of mine on a book of nonfiction essays.  Then there's the second Ruby Mountains with my daughter and finally the second Angels & Shadows, which is currently untitled, but I'm sure it will be named in the forthcoming months.

If that's not enough to keep a woman busy, there's the day to day things...laundry, yardwork, gardening, working part time at the library, and helping others publish their works through my publishing company Reimann Books.

So, I'd love to blog on here more and I will try to keep you updated.  Until then, you can usually find me on facebook (through which I've recently given sneak peeks into the next Angels & Shadows.  So it's worth checking out just for that). https://www.facebook.com/klstewartbooks


Until next time,

Have Fun! 

Talking Angels with Allana Lowe

For those of you who have not yet read The Angel Series by author Allana Lowe,  I urge you to give it a try.  Like Angels & Shadows, there is a struggle between good and evil, a forbidden romance, and of course Angels!  I very much enjoyed the suspense and struggles of the characters in this trilogy.  I recently sent Ms. Lowe some questions about not only her books, but what the writing experience is like for her.  Please enjoy her responses, which I've posted below and don't forget to leave comments to let us know what you thought of the interview!

Allana, where did the idea for this book series come from?

Honestly i was sitting by the water one day and my eyes were closed and it came to me as if it were a dream.

Did you know when you started writing it that it would be a series, or did that happen as you wrote?

I honestly thought it would just be one novel. When i finished the first one i just knew that i couldn't stop there.

When you are writing, what helps you find your muse: do you listen to music, is there a certain movie or person that inspires you, or is it something all together different?

I actually have a playlist on my ipod specifically for when i am writing which consists of both upbeat and tragic instrumentals.

What character in this series do you relate to the most and why?

That would have to be Becca. I can relate with her on so many levels. Feeling alone yet people are always there for her and her heart breaking over and over again.

Which character is your favorite?

I love all of my characters its really hard to choose a favorite but if i had to i would definitely go with Rowan. Every girl can only dream of finding her own Rowan to rescue her.

Who is you favorite author and/or authors?

I absolutely love Stephenie Meyer. Her writing is dark yet light enough for any age group. I also like Nicholas Sparks. His way of putting romanticism in with tragedy has always been an inspiration to me.

Are you writing more books for us to read?

Absolutely. I am currently working on three different projects.

When I was reading the books, I enjoyed the internal battle of the third book.  It was a bit different than the first two in that respect.  What made you decide to take that direction with the third book?

I didn't even realize i was doing it until i wrote it. I got lost in my music and that is what came of it.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to any aspiring authors?

Never give up. Never let anyone hold you back. Only you hold the power to make your dreams come true.

If you were an angel, what power would you have and what color wings would you have?

This has got to be the hardest yet most asked question. I would definitely want rainbow colored wings. Ive always been different. I wouldn't want to be like everyone else. My power is a bit tricky. There are so many choices but due to my big heart I believe I would choose the power to heal.

For further reading and information about Allana Lowe and the Angel Series, please visit her website:  http://www.authorallanalowe.com/

 

The Little Things

I recently moved back to the house of my childhood.  This is a great place of healing and nonstop inspiration.  For instance, just as I was leaving the house this morning, I noticed the way the morning sunlight sparkled off of the frost covered rocks in the driveway.  To some this must have just been an act of nature, frost on rocks.  To me, though, there was a story there.  A meticulous tip-toeing of frost fairies throughout the night, gliding daintily along under bright beautiful stars...dancing and singing in circles, spiraling hand in hand...then there was the scene of the trees.  Tall and dark, against the morning sun, with shadows coldly stretching out past the road, into the field beyond.  What are they reaching for?  I'm reminded of a dream.  These are the things of my dreams. Shadow trees, stretching, invading territory beyond their own lands.  Lurking tall and ominous against a distant light too far away for me to comprehend or fully understand...were there fairies nestled in the shadow trees, waiting to ambush me as I rode to work?  Were they perhaps feeling angry that I left without properly thanking them after they had provided me with such sparkle and shine for my morning, or do they not care either way?  Do they know that I even noticed their hard work one cold morning as I stepped into my car?  Are they perhaps at war with each other, these creatures of light and creatures of shadow?  One can only imagine what lies in the thoughts of invisibles...

...and so begins another story in my head...

Angels & Shadows Trivia

A lot of others don't understand how a story can change its shape over time.  Angels & Shadows certainly evolved between its concept in 1995 to it's second release in 2013.  Here are a few interesting things that you might like to know about the book.

1.  The book was originally a short story concept.  I started writing it in the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years in middle school.

2.  My dark angels were originally vampires, but as it progressed, I decided that what I had created was really nothing like a vampire, so I made them into something altogether different.

3.  In the original story, Sark was not a cold place.  It actually took place in a more temperate climate.

4.  Slatkin was originally supposed to turn to stone when he slept.  The idea was that he was something like a gargoyle.

5.  Amicus was originally a wizard, not a Shean god.

6.  The Shean god Amicus got his name from the word Amigo.  I remember it plainly.  I was sitting in an 8th grade English class and someone said the word Amigo, and the word Amicus just came to me.  I just thought it would be a cool name for a wizard.

7.  The hunters were not even created until many years after writing the book.  Originally, it was just a group of human characters.  (I can't imagine the books without them now.  The second book is grounded in their story!)

8.  The original series title for the book (back in 1995) was Six Kinds, Two Lands, Two Times. (I still have a mixed tape that has that title.  I recorded songs on it that helped me write.)

9.  The original book was hand written in red ink (to be symbolic of blood).

10.  I still have the first pen that I originally used to write the then short story.  (It was a Bic ballpoint pen with a kind of Southwestern type design).

I hope these entertain for now.  It's certainly great memories for me!  Maybe I'll have more to share soon.  

Time Past

I've been thinking about life lately.  It passes before we can get a full grasp of it.  It's here and we're so busy living (or choosing not to live) that it really is gone in a wink.  Looking through old writings today, I realized that I have numerous unfinished works that are really good.  I should get them together and make something of them.  As I searched through old notebooks and scraps of little papers that I had saved, I could remember exactly when some of them were created.  It was almost like they froze that moment of my life.  Many of them went back to (what I could not believe, even as I stared at the date) more than ten years ago.  I started looking back to that time of my life and I couldn't believe how much time had past.  Where have the years gone?

One thing that is for sure, since I graduated high school, the years have passed all too quickly.  And since I got married in 2007, they've gone by so fast that they have all ran together.  That must mean that I'm enjoying my life.  It's true.  I am.  And why shouldn't I?

I'm living my dream...to write books.  It's not exactly how I envisioned it, but that doesn't matter.  What does matter is that I'm finding a way to make it happen.  Now, no one can do things alone in this world, that is for sure.  I have been blessed with a husband who is constantly pushing me to succeed, a daughter who is a muse like no other, and family and friends who are always there to support and love me no matter what else is going on in their lives.

Even those who lived before me, and who I miss dearly, are still guiding me in some way from wherever it is that they vanish to when they leave us. I know this because sometimes I can still feel them, leading me forward, guiding my heart to what is right.  

So, I just want to ask, what is it that I can do for the world?  I have some large shoes to fill if I am to ever be as great as my mother, father, and grandparents before me.  They may have seemed to live small lives, but their love made them great people.  I only hope that I can be as great as they are.  To make the sacrifices that they have made, to overcome the things that they overcame.  Until I can be as great as they are, being just another writer seems a small feat indeed!  Tonight, as I write this, I am thankful that I came from this lineage, and that my ancestors are still with me, guiding me.  

I am thankful.  Truly thankful for my many blessings!