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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Guest Author-Poet ~ Get Bent! with K. A. M'Lady


Welcome to K. A. M’Lady!

The power of her ‘get bent’ poetry tickles my dark-humor funny bone, and inspires my creative imagination. It’s my fantasy-island vacation with Edgar Allen Poe and Rod Serling. We leisurely sip absinthe, perhaps a frothy tropical drink as well, and indulge in profound conversations. Of course, we take a mental walk on the dark and bizarre side of life. Gales of laughter erupt every now and then. Why not?

Dark humor is part of our human nature, a survival mechanism against the threats we face, the terrible times we all live and love through.

I don’t write the dark-humor realm well, but K. A. M’Lady pens it with saucy verve, pixie dust and exceptional cleverness.

Today, she is here to talk about her poetess journey and her book ~

Ramshackle Castle - Bent Poetry & Other Altered Verse – K.A. M’Lady

Hello HEA – thanks so much for inviting me today. Well, I pondered how to start this blog so you could get to know me a bit and, like much of the works I sit down to write I figured the best way for me to start is to just start. My name is K.A. M’Lady and I am a serious word junkie. It doesn’t really matter where the words come from; I get a new one daily from dictionary.com. I also get a poem a day from the Writer’s Almanac. I have a horrible tendency to throw them out randomly at my youngest son – sometimes to drive him nuts, sometimes in an attempt to teach him something new. But, words are my thing, my gig, my addiction. And poetry… well, poetry has always been my first true love.

Like most long suffering teens I loved the darkness and drama of E.A. Poe. Took drama class once just to hear Shakespeare roll around in a head so far in the clouds I wasn’t sure where the spirits ended and my dreams for more began. All I was certain of was that I was hooked. Drawn to the beauty of words, the angst, the turmoil and the tragedy they stirred within me.

I began to write stories, poems and of course, the occasional rock star-wanna-be death metal songs of my own tragedies. I sucked in each word like a four year-old Pepsi addict stealing momma’s soda; every word a sweet, sugary bit of bliss. Then, life interrupted. Reality commenced and the writing stopped.

One day, beyond that empty darkness, I returned to the page as a means of escape from my own personal demons. I began to write again. About everything; colors, weather, pizza, burnt offerings and lamented souls. And oh, the e-zines I found online. The new poets who captivated me – Billy Collins, John Sweet, Kris T Kahn, Arlene Ang, John Amen, Sharon Olds, etc, etc. How they taught me to feel, to see, to despair. I related and it was beautiful. And, with a bit of encouragement I took that first step - I submitted a poem and then another. One journey led to the next and the poems became prose and the prose full works of fiction – paranormal fiction.

Keeping in tune with my dark, off-beat, paranormal, fantasy side and my love for poetry I put together my newest book, a book of poems that tells a side of the story of some of the characters from our favorite childhood fairytales and limericks, as well as a few remakes of some of the classic poets of all time. With titles like Another Dumb-Ass Lost in the Snow, Dead Birds and the Ghosts of Psycho Ex-Girlfriends and What Becomes of Falling Snow you’ll find a wide variety of verse to wander through. Here’s just a taste:

Get Bent! at the castle...

Ramshackle Castle - Bent Poetry & Other Altered Verse
by
K.A. M'Lady
ISBN: 1-60180-126-2
Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved – Mojocastle Press
www.mojocastle.com

Come, walk the night road through your memory of childhood fairy tales, limericks, ghostly apparitions and the lingering breath of classic poetry gone awry. At the Castle, magick and mayhem are a lyrical delight spun with fairy dust. It may at times be dark, dusty and a bit bent but every word is a glamorous enchantment.

Excerpt:

Dime Store Candy

did you think it were easy
deciding to be a cooker of
children than a maker of
sweets? try as I might I didn’t
choose to toss them into me oven;
the heat set ta swelter; possibilities of
melting me sugared delights running
amok in me head, but that damn
Hansel boy -- what with his lapping
of me lollies and nibbling of me gingers
all through the night; and don’t get me
started on that sister of his -- Gretel,
she be the worst o’ the two -- with the smacking
her lips as she devoured half
of me window o’ pixie-stix edging and
two of me best lolly trees, neither
taking into consideration the countless hours
mixing and turning and folding the sugar
and spices, the separating of yolks,
twas a dash of me very soul in the
gummies lining the walkway, a drop of
me essence in every whorl of
frosting bordering me roof; you ask me they
probably teased those poor crows mad, tis
no wonder they gobbled up
all o’ the bread crumbs -- each caw echoing
throughout the dark forest -- as if to say,
“yer day is coming. yer time is spent.”
~~~

If you would like to read more of my dark tales you can wander through my dark fantasy series Realm. Its accolades include this detail -

Let's see if you can picture this scenario, Barbie, (totally soft, completely blonde, but an expert with a .45 auto) goes walking through a forest filled with creepy, slimy, icky things that would love to melt her down and ship her back to Mattel (TM); got that picture in your brain? Well this book from K.A.M'lady, is beautifully written - total talent here - but scares the shit out of me!
– Desiree - Enchanting Reviews
~~~
Currently available:
Realm Bk I ~ To Tell of Darkness
Realm Bk II ~ Shadow Slave
And my new release – Realm Bk III ~ Illuminated Death
~~~
Or, if you’re into darker things like angels and demons you can take a spiritual journey for the salvation of mankind with Faith Savage – Demon Huntress.
Steph from Bitten By Books says, “This angel/demon world K. A. M’Lady has made is very addictive, and I definitely want more.” ~ bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=58&book_author_id=K.A.%20M’Lady
~~~
Faith Savage – Bonus Story ~ Faith’s Temptation
Bk 1 Glow
Bk 2 Fear No Evil
Bk 3 Transgressions
Book 4 When Angels Fall
Coming Soon – Bk 5 The Ash Collector
Bk 6 Wicked’s Kiss
And my new WIP – Bk 7 Sinner
~~~
For more information on me and my books look me up on the web – http://www.kamlady.net
Or you can find me on Facebook and Myspace.

17 comments:

Savanna Kougar said...

K, Welcome!

Rebecca J Vickery said...

HI K,
Sorry I'm late to the party but seems Hansel and Gretel went on without me. LOL Definitely enjoyed the sampling.
I enjoy poetry of all sorts but don't have the time I would like to absorb it anymore, though you've definitely perked my interest. Your "Dumb-Ass Lost in the Snow" definitely sounds like one that would appeal to me. Congrats on your release and wishing you many more.

Savanna Kougar said...

Rebecca, you're not late! And thanks so much for coming by.

Lindsay Townsend said...

K - wonderful poetry! Congratulations on your release and what amazing work! Thanks so much for sharing.

K.A. M'Lady said...

Savanna - thank you so much for inviting me today and for the warm welcome.

Rebecca - you've already made me smile this morning. There are days that I think I don't even need the snow for the title of that poem to apply to me . Fingers crossed - Ramshackle Castle is scheduled for release next weekend - I hope you find several poems in it that will make you smile.

Best ~ K.

Unknown said...

K--How funny and so very creative. Your mind works in mysterious ways, my dear. Thanks for something different this morning--Celia

K.A. M'Lady said...

Thank you Lindsay! I'm very excited about this new book. The remakes from Poe and Frost were fun to write and tell a story in verse from some of our favorite characters like Snow White and the Troll from Three Billy Goats Gruff really allowed me to think - what might they feel/say if they had a chance to speak?

K.A. M'Lady said...

Thank you, Celia. I know that, for most, poetry is an acquired taste. And most poets you either get or you don't. My other hope with this book was to bring readers to the story that poems tell a few lines at a time.

Jane Richardson said...

Wow, I LOVE this! Fantastic, K.A.! It reminds me a little of Angela Carter's re-writing of fairy tales, not poetry, I know, but similar sort of no-holds-barred rewriting, wonderful. I loved this and am definitely going to buy your collection. Good luck with it all! :)

Jane x

K.A. M'Lady said...

Thank you so much, Jane! I haven't read Ms. Carter's work but now you've given me something exciting to search out. I love fairy tales and have a copy of Grimm's Grimest - it's eerie how scary the actual true version of these tales are... And I do like the odd tales as well. So I'll definately be adding her works to my TBB pile. Thanks so much for the reference and your kind words.

Best ~ K.

K.A. M'Lady said...

Here is another samle from Ramshackle Castle - Bent Poetry & Other Altered Verse:

What becomes of falling snow



the dwarves never understood the longing

and after months in a hovel cleaning

what should have been diamonds

but remained only dust; coal black

and caking on the threshold of a place

now known as home, even doc couldn’t

cure the insatiable need for belonging,

and love, ah that sweet poison,

piercing my heart from a childhood

haunted by shadows and lonely dreams,

I still long for a woodland filled with hope

where the wind, subtly cresting in the night,

sometimes whispers -- maybe,

someday,

maybe…


K.A. M'Lady
Copyright 2010
Coming to Mojocastle Press

K.A. M'Lady
www.kamlady.net
Fantasy Romance Kissed With Dark Sensuality

K.A. M'Lady said...

If you'd like a FREE sample of my poetry you can get a copy of my first poetry chapbook titled 'Crickets Don't Sing the Blues' which was published by Lily Press - this is a more personal journey with me. Here's the link:
www.freewebs.com/lilylitreview/mladychapbook.pdf

Savanna Kougar said...

K, 'What Becomes of Falling Snow' is deep and enthralling. Thanks for sharing.

Jane Richardson said...

Gotta say, I love your poetry. :) I think it's 'The Bloody Chamber' the name of Angela Carter's fairy tale re-writes, but I think she did others as well. Amazing writer who died far too young. I agree with you about the Grimm's tales! I'm reading some Russian fairy tales to my 8 year old now and they're pretty scary - but she loves them. I think the dumbing-down, pink and fluffy way fairy tales are presented now - think certain large movie makers! - is awful. Give me the Brothers Grimm and their ilk any day, and clearly that's how my kids feel too! K.A., you got yourself a fan. :)

Jane x

Serena Shay said...

K,
Oh my, Dime Store Candy is fabulous! I definitely need to read some more. :)

Ah, another fan of dictionary.com and the emailed word of the day... ;)

K.A. M'Lady said...

Thank you, Savanna. You'll find a few quirky, off-beat and silly poems in Ramshackle -- lighter verse in meter as well. I think there is something for everyone. I believe it is important to go back to the classics, learn from them, what they had to say, as well as how they wrote -- it makes for better writing on an authors part in the craft.

Jane - I did do a little wandering for Ms. Carter. Some of her work sounds amazing and my poor pile is growing as I type this but it seems it will be well worth it. Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you can share a poem or two of mine with your daughter...

Blessings ~ K.

K.A. M'Lady said...

Hi, Serena - Yep, you busted me. And today's WOTD - koan. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it in a sentence...