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.

WINDOW TO THE SOUL

Linda Swift is our guest today. She has had over 100 poems published and won numerous awards for her work. She is a lifetime member and former president of the Kentucky State Poetry Society .

She maintains a Poetry Page on her website at http://www.lindaswift.net/  . Her collection of poems, HUMANLY SPEAKING, Conversations With God, will soon be released as a e-book and in print by Willow Moon Publishing. (posted by Celia Yeary)

WINDOW TO THE SOUL

Linda Swift

I'm honored to be included in this HEA Week of Poetry blog And it's fortunate that I am required to submit my comments before reading the Poetry Week's other contributors or I'd probably disqualify myself. For I do not consider myself a poet. I write poems and I think there is a difference. Let me share my definition of the categories of this genre and you'll see why.

Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are two examples of poets; people who lived for their poetry which has proved timeless.  Some modern day poets will eventually be added to this list. Then there are those who write poems; people who have something to say from the heart that touches other hearts. Next are the verse writers. Think Hallmark greetings here.

My own definition is that poetry is a window to the soul. I write many types of fiction; novels, short stories, articles and plays. I am involved with each piece I create but I am more emotionally invested in each poem I write. Let me give you an example. I once read a 7,000 word "short" story to an audience of two hundred professional authors at an Indiana U. Writers' Conference and didn't have a single tremor. But when I read a simple poem to a writer's group meeting of less than a dozen, I tend to hyperventilate. Why? Because my poems expose my innermost being.

When something touches me deeply, making me either sad or glad, I sometimes "write it out" in a short story. But if the feeling is so deep that it's hard to find words to express it, then I resort to poems. So perhaps my poems are in a sense my therapy.

http://willowmoonpublishing.com/  

The Holy Scriptures are filled with

beautiful stories of strong characters

who are role models for all of us. But

what about the weaker characters in

these ancient books? Those who were

least favored, those with obvious flaws.

Let's take a closer look at some of

them—Esau, Tamar, Jonah, Rahab—

and try to understand their actions.

Perhaps there are lessons to be

learned from their mistakes. You may

see some of the Bible's imperfect

people from a different point of view.

Have you ever wondered why Cain's

offering was rejected? Or if Jezebel

was as wicked as she first appeared?

How do you feel about Job's suffering?

Do you agree that Martha's role was

less important than Mary's?

Join the author in these conversations

with God if humanly speaking, you

have a need to know.

HUMANLY SPEAKING, LORD

Humanly speaking, Lord, there are many things

about the Holy Bible that bewilder me.

I don't mean philosophical issues

such as where Adam's sons got their wives

the date of Christ's second coming

an explanation of the Trinity

or whether to include the Apocrypha.

Nor am I concerned with the decency code

though the Old Testament has risque language

by anyone's standards, such as the expression

"All them that pisseth against the wall."

And I'm certain every Board of Education

has long ago banned all other books

that give explicit details of drunken orgies

evil spirits and devil worship

and daughters who seduce their fathers.

My questions deal with simple things,

Lord, but I hope you'll hear me out.

Now, regarding the parables that Jesus taught,

why would a man risk ninety-nine sheep

to look for one he might not find?

And why would those who labored for an hour

be worth as much as those who worked all day?

(I believe in equal work for equal pay)

Was it right for five wise virgins to deny

the foolish ones a share of light?

And who does not sympathize with the servant

having little, afraid to take a chance with it?

(It proves once again those who have, get more)

Was it wrong of the man who would follow Jesus

to want to say goodbye to his family?

(Isn't consideration and commitment Christian?)

And how could the prodigal's brother feel otherwise

when he had labored long and hard

but never had a feast in his honor

much less a ring and shoes and handsome robe?

Then there are all those stories

of disciples, saints, and sinners

whose actions and reactions perplex me so.

I don't mean to be sacrilegious, Lord

but humanly speaking, I have a need to know.

by Linda Swift

Poetry ~ Goddess Romance and Revenge

Geez, the middle of June already. Can you believe it? The storms have been relentless on the tame prairie and a bolt of lightning out of the blue zapped my phone line several days ago. That required days of finding out the specific problems, then having a new modem installed.

Since no one was scheduled to blog, I thought I’d jump in and offer up a poem I wrote yesterday under the influence of the New Moon and because of Flash Fiction Sunday at the Liquid Silver blog ~ that is, before I enter deep into the edit cave.

Poetic vibes must be in the stormy air or in the stars, since there was exceptional poetry instead of the usual flash-ing at Liquid Silver.

This X-poem is about my goddess heroine in a novella [not pubbed] that I wrote about ten years ago, titled ~ Goddess from the Dark Side of the Moon ~

Silvery translucence
she slid down his cheek
as one drop of rain.
To torment him further
she rained herself
upon his dark golden hair.
To torture his need for her
she sluiced her goddess essence
over his Apollo-handsome physique
caressing every bold muscle,
every masculine plane of him
until he raised his face
to Earth’s gray pearl sky
and silently shouted her name.
She bathed him in her
beauteous Venus nature
until he clenched his eyelids
and begged for her.
She showered him with her desires
until he groaned like Mt. Vesuvius.
Until he screamed through the cosmos
pleading for her favor.
His human body strained,
a statue of blazing marble for her.
Only her.
Taking her woman’s revenge
she whirled as sheets of rain around
his naked body, shuddering him.
She saturated him with her
erotic dreams of him.
Only him.
Slowly, she slid her watery being,
her silvered transparency
down his taut agonized groin
and spun up his pillar-standing phallus.
Wickedly, she drove him to the brink
of ecstasy, then flowed from him,
denying him, leaving him to feel
the lava blazes of Hades,
as if the Lord of the Underworld
consumed his flesh to punish his
lover’s misdeeds, his betrayal of her.
Satisfied, still she cried her own tears
as splashing drops of rain
upon the thirsty Earth.
Transforming to ethereal goddess
above him, she whispered his name.
He opened his dark-as-midnight eyes
and she vanished from him
like wisps of fairy mist
before the gold-soft brilliance
of the morning’s risen sun.
~~~~~~

May your romance reading dreams come true...

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Green - Just One Color Of Spring

Top o' the morning to ya on this fabulous St. Patrick's Day.

The sun is shining down on me here in the formerly frozen north, I've got my green on and the thought of beautiful blooms fill my brain. There are so many different varieties of flowers available to fill me with the blissful happiness of natures smiles. Which do I choose?

Tulips - their stately beauty and gentle lines take my breath away and leave me softened and ready to be filled with love.

Guarded within the old red wall's embrace,
Marshalled like soldiers in gay company,
The tulips stand arrayed. Here infantry
Wheels out into the sunlight. What bold grace
Sets off their tunics, white with crimson lace!
A Tulip Garden by Amy Lowell

Crocus - Delicate blooms of the gentlest color carpeting the ground, proceeding the grass to herold the coming of spring at last.

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus. ~Lilja Rogers

Daffodils - The sunny yellows and pure whites beckon us to come enjoy a spot of tea.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Daffodils by William Wordsworth

Impatiens - The excited overachievers of the flower world, spreading their glorious colors.

Primrose, Lilacs and Peonies - Beauty in shrubbed form to brighten my day, but what to choose to line my way?

Sadly, the shrubbed flowers are not available to me this year, simply no room for them so I will have to enjoy them from a far. Darling Diva and I shall, however, indulge our visual needs with potted plants. Though the fields shall be reduced to bits, we are grateful to have the area to do something rather than nothing. :)

How about you out there, what flowers must you have in your gardens? What flowers make you smile?

Have a wonderful day and remember, anyone not wearing green today gets a pinch. Here's to hoping we all find someone sexy who forgot! hehe