Renee is Writing

I just bought this doll, Princess Merida, from the Disney movie Brave and put her on my writing desk to remind me to be brave and go for the gusto. I am a "play it safe" kind of gal and I need to take more risks. It means writing more and submitting more of my work. It means being brave enough to announce to the world that I believe I have finally found my passion and my desire in writing. I've written in too many genres. But now that I have a poetry collection published and being purchased from poetry readers from amazon.com, I know that I must focus on writing poetry. I am presently working on a new collection and will send out individual poems as they are completed.   I am also going to start a poem a day challenge for National Poetry Month in April. I only have a few days left to decide what my topic and/or form will be. But I will be brave and choose something. I know I can do this. I am looking forward to completing and publishing a second book or chapbook of...

This is such an exciting time for me. My stepson and his wife have given birth to a beautiful baby boy--Giovanni Roman Cassese. He is bright, alert and wonderful. They live two states away and I won't get to hold him for a while but so happy and grateful to welcome this little man into the world and into our hearts. Family is such a treasure to us that it makes us smile knowing our tribe is expanding. The other birth that took place this weekend is my book of poetry "I am My Mother's Only Poem." It is available for sale at the link below. It is a wonderful feeling to see my own book for sale and even more exciting to know I can share my heart and soul with the world. Well with anyone willing to plop down some dollars in order to read what I have written and gaze at the art I have created. Now I am challenged to keep up the momentum and write and publish more books--collections of poetry and short stories, and perhaps one day a novel or two. So much writing to do...

When I first started writing seriously, many years ago, getting published was the ultimate recognition of opening up heart and soul onto the page. Yes there was the fire of inspiration, the slow burn of getting the words down, and then the smoldering work of revising and refining the poem, essay or story. I remember writing two essays about my Dad and thinking that if I could get those published I would be a satisfied writer. As it turned out I placed both essays and rather than quelling the need to be published it simply started a bigger fire. Over the years I have published essays, poems and stories. Novels are a bigger and more difficult sell and so far I haven't reached that goal. Agents and publishers all have their individual needs, likes and moods and who knows what preference or mood a manuscript will meet when it's first read. In response to so much rejection and so many frustrated writers the world of self-publishing opened up. What first appeared as a panacea to ...

Yesterday I arrived home from work to find a box from amazon.com on my doorstep. That's not unusual since amazon's "one-click" ordering allows me to order coveted books by the dozen. I set the book on my dresser, did a kettle bell workout, ate dinner and took a shower. Refreshed and comfy in light cotton PJ's I slit open the box. Had I known what I would find I would have torn it open hours earlier, while still wearing my coat and hauling my purse, lunch bag and tote. Inside the nondescript brown box, nestled beneath wadded up brown paper, I found the proof copy of my poetry collection. WOW!!! What a feeling to see my own book inside an amazon box. There it was, with my title and artwork and name on the front, my author photo on the back, and all my poems and artwork inside its pages. My husband and I gave it a careful reading and only found one error that needs to be fixed. After that people all around the world will be able to order MY book online at www.a...