Remember the Living

This is a weekend for remembering fallen soldiers, but beyond remembering them, there isn't a whole lot we can do. They're gone. We can't bring them back. So I thought I'd focus on what we can do. We can take care of the troops who are still with us, either still serving or retired. We can help their families cope with their absence. We can make a difference. So, as we remember the fallen, let us also remember the living.

I dug up a few charities that make a huge impact in small ways because sometimes those little things make the biggest difference.

General donations/care packages:

Operation USO Care Package sends care packages to service men and women all over the world. Your $25 donation pays for the items that go into the package.

Operation Gratitude sends care packages to troops overseas. A $15 donation pays for shipping.

Operation Shoebox sends care packages, but accepts donations of products that are sent to them. If you'd rather send items than a monetary donation, this is the one for you.

helmet liner without helmet courtesy
of Packages from Home website

Handmade items:

Warmth for Warriors sends hats and washcloths to active and retired troops. Simple hat patterns and further details are available on their site.

Soldiers' Angels - Blankets of Gratitude group sends knitted, crocheted, and hand-loomed blankets to veterans. (The open work of these items prevents them from being useful in a hospital setting.) Poke around their site for other types of blankets they send to active duty and wounded soldiers.

Packages from home uses hand knitted helmet liners in their care packages. Very specific instructions and a pattern are shown on their site.

How you can earn a free pattern:

If you decide to donate handmade items and would like to use one of my washcloth or hat patterns, leave a comment below with the pattern you intend to use. If you pledge to make two hats or three washcloths from the pattern of your choice, I will send you the pattern free of charge.

However, I want to see pictures! Perhaps I'll post them on Veteran's Day.

Namaste.

Put down Your Book and Pick up Your Hook

Haven't we had enough of reading around here for a little while? I think it's time to get our crochet on and I've found the perfect way to do it. A while back, Samantha emailed me and told me about these great towels she makes using a portion of my Big Girl Towel pattern. I can't remember how it all went down, but we basically decided that she should write up a tutorial that we could each post on our blogs. I think you'll agree with me that the towel and the yarn colors she used for her example are awesome. (I love pink.) Anyhow, please welcome Samantha and her rockin' kitchen  towels.

Hi Everyone!!

I have been asked a few times how I make my Kitchen Towel Toppers:

The crocheted top I use is fashioned after top of Laurie’s hanging kitchen towel patterns (I have most of them), so I asked her if she minded if I created a tutorial and I use her pattern for reference.  Her idea was for me to do this guest post and I happily agreed.

I have made these using worsted weight yarn and dk weight yarn.  I think you could easily adapt it for other weights as well.

Materials needed to start:

·         Yarn
·         Scissors
·         Towel
·         Needle (I use a tapestry needle, but that means I need a thimble to push it through sometimes)

First thing you need to do is cut the towel in half.  You really only need one half of the towel and on the plus side you get more for your money!

I don’t really worry about this being perfectly straight because in the end it is going to be somewhat gathered.

After the cut is made, thread your needle with a long piece of yarn.  I now make mine really long because one time I made it too short and had to redo it and that was not fun.

Next you want to fold down the top of the towel like so:

Folding the towel down like this makes it so you don’t have any raw edge exposed.

Next we want to put the needle through so that the knot is on the edge in the back.

Then we want to start doing the blanket stitch (youtubetutorial found here) across the top of the towel.  Make sure to continue to fold the very top down so the cut edge is not exposed.  You can pin this edge if you want to make it easier for you.

Here’s how mine looks from the back with the top folded down.

Once you have gone all the way across make sure you knot it in the back.

We are going to put one sc in each blanket stitch, so make sure to keep the stitches fairly close together.  Although the thicker the yarn you use the farther apart the stitches can be.  I am using dk yarn in this example.

Now you can start doing sc across the blanket stitch.  I use a larger hook than recommended for the yarn with these, but it is all what you are comfortable with.

Now once you get to the end just chain one and do a few more sc rows.  For worsted weight I tend to do 4 rows, but for this example in dk I did 5 rows.

If it starts to pull in a little that is okay.  We are going to start gathering it and decreasing anyway.

This is where I start to use Laurie’s pattern (Free Big Girl Kitchen Towel).  We want to sc dec

(A sc dec is insert hook into both loops of first stitch being worked, yo, pull up a loop, insert hook into both loops of next stitch, yo, pull up a loop, yo, draw through all 3 loops on hook)

over the next few rows to get down to 6 stitches.  Now this all depends on how many stitches you have.  In this example I have 54 stitches. 

So first row I just do sc dec all the way across and I end up with 27 stitches.

Next I sc dec 7 times, 1 sc, sc dec 6 times to get to 14 stitches.

Then I did sc dec 2 twice, dec over 3 stitches twice, then sc dec twice to get down to 6 stitches.

(dec over 3 stitches is insert hook into both loops of first stitch being worked, yo, pull up a loop, insert hook into both loops of next stitch, yo, pull up a loop, insert hook into both loops of next stitch, yo, pull up a loop, yo, draw through all 4 loops on hook)

Once down to 6 stitches, chain one and sc across.

Continue making the 6 stitch rows

I did about 20 rows.

Next, once it is long enough you will do the row that will become your button hole. 

From Laurie’s pattern:

Note:  Before proceeding, you may wish to fit your hanging loop to the place where you'd like it to hang.  If worked as instructed it will fit the average drawer pull or oven door handle.  If you need to add length simply continue repeating Row 64 as necessary.
Row 82:  ch3 (counts as dc), trc in next st, dtrc in next 2 sts, trc in next st, dc in next st, turn (6 sts)
Note:  The space between the two dtrc is your buttonhole.

Next you want to chain one and sc in the first two sts, two sc in each of the next two sts, and then sc in the last two sts, do not bind off.

Next, you want to sc down the side and stop right where you started the decreases.

Fasten off, then start on the other side where the decreases started.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Sew on a button of your choice.

Sam, I can't thank you enough for dropping in to do this. I LOVE this idea and am going to have to make a couple for a friend this week.

By the way, folks, you can find Samantha's blog HERE.

Happy Crocheting!

Smut Sells?

Well yeah, supposedly smut sells faster than any other fiction category. So I wrote some. Here's the quick story behind the story:

Many thanks to my pal and fellow KAS
Tony Healey for this great cover design

A while back I got an email from my buddy Aaron. He wanted to know whether my contribution to the Kindle All-Stars Resistance Front anthology was actually the abridged, "clean version" of a longer erotica piece. What? ME? Write erotica? Are you crazy?

Sure, I've written plenty of erotica over the years, but never for an audience larger than one. Specifically, one person (at a time) whose interest I wanted to pique. I never dreamed of writing erotica for a consumer audience.

That set the wheels to turning. Suddenly I was full of ideas but short on time. So I've been working on what I fondly refer to as an anthology of smut. It's been slow going because editing projects, personal business, and other concerns that I may divulge in the coming months have taken precedence over my own writing.

The first piece, the teaser if you will, is the "naughty version" of "Fear of the Dark." It is currently available on Amazon for .99 and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. This is not for younger audiences by any means.

Here's the description from Amazon:

A woman steps off a bus into a blackout and must make her way home in the dark. What, or who, will she encounter when she gets there? The "clean version" of this psycho-sexual thriller was featured in the Resistance Front anthology. This new, extended version runs about 4000 words and is definitely NSFW.

And here are a few quotes from the reviews (all five stars):

"If you like your fiction extremely well-written, and a little saucy, then look no further."

"A quick, dirty, fun little read."

"Good writing is a pleasure to read, and for a psycho-sexual story like this one it's a must. Well done."

So snag "Fear of the Dark" and I'll let you know when the big antho is done.

Happy Reading!

Stranger Than Fiction

I have a difficult time saying no to people. Especially Kindle All-Stars people. So when David Hulegaard, my "brotha from anotha motha," sent me an email asking whether he could take over my blog for a day, how could I refuse him? David's latest book, Strangers has just been released and the KAS folks are all over it. Some acted as beta readers and Tony Healey designed the cover. What can I say? We're a fairly close-knit group. Anyhow, read what David has to say about his latest labor of love then pop over to his website to download a sample story from the collection.

Happy Reading!

Humanity can be ugly.

I toyed with several options for a tagline, but in the end, that's the one I felt represented my new book the closest. I didn't necessarily set out to write an uplifting collection of short stories when I started, but all cards on the table, Strangers took many twists and turns that even surprised me.

My original concept was pretty simple. In all my years of traveling, I had met some rather intriguing characters and amassed an impressive collection of too-crazy-to-be-true stories. At business dinners I was constantly being asked to entertain clients by sharing the latest and greatest of my experiences. Without fail, someone would say to me, "You have GOT to write a book of these stories!"

So at long last, that's what I've done. I sifted through years worth of my compiled notes and selected some of my favorites to share in this book. Some of the stories I experienced first-hand, and others were events retold to me by complete strangers as we traveled together. The things that people will tell you thinking that they'll never see you again would astound you.

Strangers contains eight twisted short stories and is available on Kindle now for $2.99. You can download "Chicago" for free here, but be warned... humanity can be ugly.

Laurie Laliberte

One of the contributors this month (I'll resist the temptation to name names) sent me a poem at the 11th hour because s/he had sent the piece to several people to read it before it appeared. S/he wanted to make sure it was "good enough." It was delayed in getting to me because only half the readers actually read it and responded. When s/he told me this, I sent the response you'll read below. I thought it relevant. Besides, you all pretty much know who I am. I'd feel silly introducing myself.

"My philosophy, for want of a better description, about poetry is pretty simple. If it truly comes from your soul, from you, if there's a part of you in it, it's beautiful. Poetry written for the sake of writing poetry is the best kind.

"One poem I wrote years ago, called "Altar" (originally titled "Altars") stemmed from a magazine article about how we tend to build altars in our lives, often without even realizing it. And I had this image in my head of how, for months after my father died, his headphones still hung on the arm of his favorite chair. They were big headphones; the Walkman hadn't been released yet. Nobody but me sat in Dad's chair after he died. When I moved out of the house, I took the chair with me.

"One afternoon, right after reading that magazine article, I happened to look at the chair in the corner of my living room. There it sat, with my roommate's headphones hanging from the arm. I don't know, don't remember, which of us had left them there, but it was comforting somehow to see that same image again. It resonated with me just the way that article had done. That was my altar to my father.

"I sat down and wrote that poem, about 8-10 lines. It's on my blog somewhere I think. Anyhow, I thought the poem was too short, so I added two more stanzas. One as a tribute to my mother and one of my own. They didn't work because they were forced. They didn't come from my heart. They came from a writer's need to round out the body of the poem rather than a writer's need to write. So I scrapped the two added stanzas and ended up with a short, but beautiful, work of literary art. And if it appeals to only me, so be it. I wrote it for me, not for anyone else.

"That, in itself, is poetry. You don't need beta readers to tell you your poetry matters. You just need to trust your own instincts."

Eros and Thanatos will be available on
Amazon as soon as I finish writing it

Twice Shy

Old wounds.
Filthy. Festering. Painful.
Reminders of what once was.
What never was.
Healed scars.
Until you call. Or text. Or email.
Bloodied gauze.
Tears on my pillow.
You don't deserve this power.
You don't deserve me.
But I deserve so much better than you.
There is no room in my life.

 

 Quick Crochet for Kitchen and Bath
will soon be available on Amazon

No room in my heart.
I've moved on.
But I weep.
Because for one short moment
One flicker in time
I was yours.
But you were never mine.
You never wanted me.
The real me.
The me who actually exists.
You loved the illusion
You could pretend I was.
I refuse to fit your mold.
So I nurse my wounds.
Again.

  Resistance Front is available
on Amazon for 99 cents

And I leave you to your delusions.
This time for good.

To borrow a favorite adjective from a fellow All-Star (Courtney Cantrell), this month has been cramazing. I want to extend a huge thank you to all of my colleagues and my readers for joining me on this journey. Next year's poetry slam already promises to be just as special.

My short story "Fear of the Dark" (the clean version) appears in the Kindle All-Stars first charity anthology Resistance Front. All proceeds go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The extended version of "Fear of the Dark" is part of my anthology of erotic shorts, Eros and Thanatos, which will be available in time for summer reading. And my first crochet pattern book, Quick Crochet for Kitchen and Bath, will be available for Kindle devices and in print very soon.

[ed. The extended version of "Fear of the Dark" is NOW available on Amazon as a 99 cent single.]

Namaste.

Courtney Cantrell

What more can I say about Courtney that I didn't tell you in her last post? How about The final book in her Demons of Saltmarch trilogy will be available very soon? Or she's the acquisitions editor for The Consortium, a group of writing professionals that is reinventing the way writers get published? Or, and this one's my favorite, her favorite exclamation is, "Cramazing!"

blueberry beer, u2, and a fedora

Find Shadows after Midnight
right now on Amazon

i stand at the bar 
a lifetime away from the stage as 
thoughts about my identity flood through me 

but i do not struggle to remember who i am

this time, i don’t need to know
because a brown fedora rests on the end of the keyboard. 

the singer claims he still hasn’t found
what he’s looking for 
but i say he’s discovered a rhythm to 
move my blood 
pulse my heart and
throb my core. 

i step forward 
into the open space at the foot of the stage
where the crowd does not dare tread 
in spite of their weizen, their vodka, 
their long island ice tea. 

to my name i have only blueberry beer
it hasn’t replaced my blood 
only infused me with delight 

no eyes on me
i walk on strains of melody 
and my toes tap a syncopated beat. 

at the foot of the stage
i look up 
into the keyboard player’s soul-questioning eyes
i reach up 
and do not blink as i pluck his brown fedora
from where it waits 

with his smile and nod in time to the song
he answers his own question as i step back 
yes 
behind me i feel the crowd’s shocked anticipation 
yes 
and i slide that fedora onto my head 

i let go

and i dance

my hands sweep down my every curve
my lips part to exhale joy 
my body undulates, intoxicated 
by nothing but passion. 

oh release.
how i have missed you. 

with the wondering eyes of the crowd on me
at the foot of the stage 
i dance 
i dance shake rattle and hum

i make love to life
wearing the keyboard player’s brown fedora 

that is how i think it could happen anyway 
as i stand a lifetime away at the bar 
and imagine. 


Courtney Cantrell is a writer of high fantasy, low sci-fi, and medium horror. The making of things and the sharing of those things with others is her passion. She enjoys chocolate and coffee and tries to keep these from making her sentences unnecessarily complicated. http://courtcan.com

Douglas J. Lane

I'll be honest; when I first began reading Doug's submission to the Resistance Front anthology, I rolled my eyes and maybe whined a little. I seriously thought I was going to be stuck reading another 20 pages of oh-my-God-I-can't-take-any-more. The last few pieces I read before "Exhuming Harry Truman" simply didn't make the cut. It happens.

I just realized that makes it sound like I hated the beginning, which is not the case at all. It just took me a page to fall into the story. I was so happy I soldiered on because it was well worth it. Although I firmly believe every piece in the book belongs there, that memory makes Doug's a truly special story for me.

Doug's short story "Exhuming Harry Truman"
appears in the Resistance Front anthology

The Girl On The Bench At Hudson Park


Soft eyes, once;
Tender brown tunnels
To the soul, grown steely;
Too much of the world watched
From strangers' arms
Behind ragged blinds, past midnight.


Red lips washed to pale quivers
pout back from the glass,
forgetful of the warmth
an honest kiss can bring.
No coin in this realm for such
pleasantries.


The embraces are harsh;
probing hands do not
caress, but grope,
voices with hollow words,
no capacity to bear the weight of
wanted words.


Black night, empty with the
fullness of another offer accepted --
for the bench is as cold
as the light from the bare
bulb in the ceiling of the room
around the corner.




Doug Lane is a writer of multiple sorts. Today was poetry day.
He's a transplanted New Yorker who makes his home in Houston, TX.


Find Doug on twitter @finderdoug
More of Doug's work can be found on Pure Francis.