December 28, 2015

Meet the Author!

Full Name: Rose Corcoran
Age: Twenty-Six
Height: 5’3”        
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Brown
Likes: Tea, books, movies, video games, pineapples, rabbits, Lewis Carroll, being outdoors, changing seasons, animals, theology, Japan
Dislikes: Injustice, lack of catharsis in fiction, shirts with hems that are different lengths in the front and back, first person present tense POV, rosehips and hibiscus in herbal tea
Occupation: Author
Favorite Food: Bread, cheese, and any combination thereof
Place of Birth: Arizona
Spirit Animal: Cat
Spirit Vegetable Fruit: Strawberry
Little Known Fact: She can lick her elbow.

December 21, 2015

Sestina: Hades

There she was, playing with her friends,  
oblivious to all the evils in the world,
unaware that she was being watched by a cold
figure. Hard as stone
is what they call me, heartless as I am cruel, 
but not so cruel as to not let her finish her last necklace of seeds.

December 14, 2015

Beat Tea Poetry

I know the title makes no sense.
Beat tea poetry:
shouldn't it be tea beat poetry,
or beat poetry on tea?
I'm not even sure it's beat to be honest.
Beat honest.
Beat honest about your non-beat poetry,
poet-tea—
A beat-boxing poet's beat poem about tea
that steeps. The kettle keeps time
as she types on the keys,
tries to rhyme as the water turns green
and the leaves unfurl, swirl.
Then the steam from the kettle breaks free.
Second steeping, not time to be stopping,
she leaps to the water, fills the pot to the brim,
then it's back to typing her piping hot poem.
The tea simmers and she goes on hitting keys
and dreaming, trying to get what's in her head
out
so it won't turn bitter.

December 7, 2015

NaNoRaMble

NaNoWriMo is over, and I lost spectacularly, completing only 20,119 words out of 50,000 (but then again, I only wrote from November 8th through the 22nd ). So, having done better on this  NaNo than I ever have before, I thought I'd share some thoughts with you.

November 30, 2015

Tale of a White Rabbit

“Bostwick,” Emmaline began tentatively, “do you think, maybe, you could take me out of your pocket?”
“Why?”
“Well, It's just… a little too much jostling for my tastes.”
In reality, the repeated swaying and bumping that came with riding in the magician's side coat pocket had given her a combination of nausea and headache, but she had been raised to put things delicately, and moreover, the magician had done enough complaining for both of them that day.
“You want me to carry you again?” Bostwick asked in a resigned tone.
“I can try hopping beside you for a while.”
“Okay.” He gently pulled her out of his pocket, still a little unsure of how exactly to hold a rabbit that was actually a person, and set her on the rocky path beside him. “But try to keep up.”

November 23, 2015

Meet Emmaline!

Full Name: Emmaline Camellia, Twelfth Heir to the Principality of Camellia
Age: Fourteen (Thirteen in "Tale of a White Rabbit")
Height: 4’11”  /  4½” when on all fours
Eyes: Brown  /  black
Hair: Long, blonde, and curly  /  White fur
Likes: Tea, politics, history, logic, international relations, blue birds
Dislikes: Being cursed, hasenpfeffer, tyrants, rudeness
Occupation: Princess  /  Magician’s rabbit
Favorite Food: Tea sandwiches
Place of Birth: Camellia, Empire
Spirit Animal: Rabbit
Spirit Vegetable: Sweet potato
Little Known Fact: She is twelfth in line for the throne of Camellia, behind her eleven siblings, and thus has absolutely no aspirations for the throne.

November 16, 2015

The World of Miscast Spells: Goblin Names

The inhabitants of Ataxia and Pandemonium have a deep respect for verbal nonsense and pointless violence. Hence, goblins name their children after goblinical ideals, similar to the way humans might name their children after virtues like Patience, Hope, or Charity.

November 9, 2015

NaNoWriMo~ish

November is known as "National Novel Writing Month", or NaNoWriMo (or just NaNo), a time when ambitious authors try to write 50,000 words, which is either a complete novella or a good start to a novel. To be honest, I have tried and failed at NaNo several times, mostly due to this being a busy time of school and life (summer is oh-so-much better for writing, in my opinion). Now, though, my life has become less complicated and, moreover, I'm itching to get a good bit of writing done, so I decided to do a modified NaNo this year. I'm still going to try for 50,000 words, but I'm not going to tie myself down to one novel. I have at least three good novel ideas vying for attention in my head, as well as some more versatile project ideas for this website. Thus, I will write whatever novel, serial, or short story comes easiest.

November 2, 2015

Immortal

I
Moonlight crashes down in waves around us,
as we face each other,
Death and I.
She is beautiful,
even with her bone white smile
and merciless eyes.
And I stand at the ready
for a battle or a dance,
whichever she decides.

October 26, 2015

My First Time Flying


Another witch poem, this time from the younger sister's perspective.  Though it is a companion piece, you'll notice that this one employs assonance, while the older sister's doesn't. 


My First Time Flying

The wind is blowing way too much.
This death-trap that you call a broom
is bucking like a wild horse.
If I fall off, I’m blaming you.

I hold you tight around the waist
and look below to see my doom.
Cat-black pavement fills my sight,
like an unlucky, asphalt tomb.

Now nauseated, I look up,
and I’m blinded as I do.
The setting sun dies bright and bold,
a blazing beacon in the gloom.

I gasp, astounded by this sight,
and wonder how I never knew
how breathtaking it is to fly
above the clouds, below the moon.


October 18, 2015

Poem for Sarah in October

We walked wearing black through the yellow neighborhood,
         there and back,
                  under the blue, blue sky
And talked about the changing colors and how life begins
         and how seeds stay dormant
                  and we wondered why.

October 13, 2015

Goblins and Ghosts

Delilah paced the upstairs greenhouse, tugged her elbow length gloves all the way back up, donned her plain black mask, and gave her spiky pink hair an experimental shake, then stuck her head out the window to look down at Millicent, who was pulling laundry down from a long clothesline.
“Oh, Millie, are you almost done with that?”
“Almost. I just want to bring this in before it gets dark.”
“Hmm, yes.” Delilah grinned at the lengthening shadows in the garden, happy that her plan to keep Millicent busy and out of the castle all day had worked. “Anyway, I don't want you to be late, so...”
“Late? Late for what?”
“The party. My party. It's being held in the throne room.”

October 6, 2015

Book Delays and Better Days


This week's blog post is not a ghost story, as was promised. Also, it's a day late in coming. The story is almost done, but a lot has happened to make writing a bit difficult, particularly in the last few days. Nothing major, just little annoyances that pile up. Long story short, the past week had a personal vendetta against me. First, there were stressful situations at work, topped off by my deftly carrying a coffee cup up two flights of stairs only to set it down, drop it, and watch it shatter on the floor. Then there was the day when I was going to pick up my brother, but my phone was dying so I turned it off for the day, and drove to the spot where we had arranged to meet, only to turn on my phone to find that he had texted me earlier saying he no longer needed a ride. On the way back, I hit every red light. To make matters worse, I took a trip for the weekend with my mother, leaving my car at home with the windows slightly down—it rained all weekend.

But what has been weighing on me the most is that there's been a kerfuffle with the cover of Miscast Spells, and some debate about the release date. The interior of the book is written, edited, and formatted (the headers alone cut my life shorter by several years, but it was worth it), but the cover is proving to be an unstickable situation. Thus, there's no possible way for the book to come out this fall. I worried about that for a while, which is why this week's short story isn't done, but then I came to the conclusion that this delay is all for the best. Months ago, I had misgivings about a fall release, since Miscast Spells is really more of a spring/summer book. These current delays further cement the idea in my head that a later date is better, so I am setting the official release as February 2016 (not technically spring, but it's still close enough without being unduly late.)

PS: As for that goblinical ghost story, I'll post it next Monday. :)

September 28, 2015

Meet Delilah!

Full Name: Queen Delilah Glossolalia of Styx
Age: Fifty-six (whatever that means for a goblin); fifty-three in "Goblins and Ghosts"
Height: 5’11”        
Eyes: Large and yellow with snake pupils
Hair: Long, spiky, and bubblegum pink,
Likes: Fashion, lounging around, string, springs, practical and impractical jokes, pineapples, teasing people, the color purple
Dislikes: Losing, being mistaken for a human, anyone who threatens Styx
Occupation: Queen of Styx
Favorite Food: Black Jelly
Place of Hatching: Styx Castle, Styx
Spirit Animal: Cat
Spirit Vegetable Fruit: Pineapple
Little Known Fact: She gets her hair from her father’s side of the family. Most Styxians have blue or green hair.

September 21, 2015

Two Poems I Wrote in High School

Embarrassment

One day I thought I’d go
to a castle out in Spain,
but sadly my poor map got wet,
and the ink ran in the rain.

And at the end of my adventures,
my face turned bright, bright red,
for I was not in Spain at all,
but Singapore instead.

September 14, 2015

My Love is Like a Stripy Scarf

The following is a traditional goblin poem by Circuitous Root. Note the lack of consistent rhythm and meter, as well as the needless repetition, as is proper for goblin poetry.

 
My Love is Like a Stripy Scarf

My love is like a stripy scarf
I wear in wintry weather
and wrap and wrap around myself
as we go out together.

September 6, 2015

Fall Like Lightning

You look out of your tower painted white
and hear the teeming masses shout your name.
Do you regret the wicked price of fame,
the beatific gift you lost that night?
And do you still believe it is the same—
these peacock feathers tinged with darkened flame,
a pale imitation of your light?

This sovereignty constructed out of bones,
where your unshriven vassalage must dwell—
Was this what you desired when you fell?
Can you not hear those pitiable moans
above the words your legionaries yell?
It is the song of pride that burns in hell
and echoes off the alabaster stones.

August 31, 2015

Curiosity and the Cat

          Sealed on the immortal beast's back, the map was safely locked away in the library of Catawampus, protected by that institution’s labyrinthine shelves, thus closing the chapter on the Gammon-Catawampus War.
Sebastian sat, surrounded by other books on the subject of goblin military history, and stared at the page. An immortal beast mentioned by name and location in a history textbook was something he had never encountered before. If Alistair had known about it, then maybe… He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present moment. There was no point speculating about what might or might not have happened in the past.

August 24, 2015

Meet Sebastian!

Full Name: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Height: 1’5” when sitting        
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Black and white fur
Likes: Reading, sulking, magical theory, humans, sweets
Dislikes: Delilah, Styx, being touched suddenly, seeing people being manipulated
Occupation: Unknown
Favorite Food: Unknown
Place of Birth: Unknown
Spirit Animal: Cat
Spirit Vegetable Fruit: Lemon
Little Known Fact: He has only 
tried fish once, and he hated it. Still, if Millicent offered him some (she assumes he likes it, since he is a cat), he would probably eat it anyway.

August 16, 2015

Sonnet for a Desperate Mobster

I find another body at my feet
And, damn it, it’s my bullet in his head.
Now that this place is lousy with the heat
I’ve come to wish this mug was not so dead.

This stiff will soon begin to decompose,
Festering quite rankly in my trunk,
And any cop who’s got a working nose
Will come to see what’s making such a funk.

Should he sleep with the fishes?  Ah, no dice;
That’s where the flatfoots always check at first.
Maybe I should think before I ice;
This predicament has got to be the worst.

That’s it! I’m giving up! I’ve had enough!
Compared to this, the big house ain’t so tough.

August 9, 2015

Perdition

This week, have another fanfiction poem! This one is inspired by the Soul Eater manga (not the anime) and the character of Justin Law.  It’s full of spoilers.


Perdition

I was born a guillotine.
I played the role of priest.
I made myself a Reaper’s scythe,
         but now I serve a beast.
They called me a prodigy.
My medium was death
and 99 demonic souls
         deprived of their last breath.
I’d paint the town a bloodshot red
when metal met cold stone.
I always worked to music,
         and I always worked alone.

August 3, 2015

Doll

From my painted glass eyes
I see a place I don't belong.
If I move, I’m quickly trampled
by people who are giants.

July 27, 2015

Hatchdays and Laydays

The spider scrambled from one side of the overturned glass to the other, looking for an escape route.
“It's okay,” Millicent said, making sure to keep the playing card flat against the open end of the glass. “Soon, you'll be safe and sound.”
She carried the creature down the steps into the garden and over to the hedge maze, where a topiary chess knight stood waiting. Carefully, she removed the cup from the card and watched the spider fall onto the knight and scurry into the leaves.
“There you go. There are lots of nooks and crannies for building webs in there.”

July 20, 2015

Meet Millicent!

Full Name: Millicent Minikin
Age: Fifteen going on sixteen (thirteen in "Hatchdays and Laydays")
Height: 5’3”        
So cute!  Illustration by Claire Corcoran.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Leafy green bob
Likes: Animals, picnics, cleaning, cooking, magic, inventions, the color yellow
Dislikes: Failure, spicy food, mildew, sticky film on surfaces that ought to be clean, eels
Occupation: Maid, cook, doorman, gardener…
Favorite food: Marzipan
Place of Birth: South Wellington, Empire
Spirit Animal: Dik-dik
Spirit Vegetable Fruit: Strawberry
Little Known Fact: She has a slightly dark sense of humor, but almost never shows it

July 13, 2015

Satellite Song: Kurow no Monogatari

Here is a fanfiction poem I wrote after playing Okamiden. It's sort of spoilery, so go ahead and skip this one if you ever want to play that game.


July 4, 2015

Your First Time Flying

I watch the city slip away.
A gust of wind comes roaring past.
My dyed-black ringlets waver as
atop my broom I freely fly.

Behind, you clutch me, terrified,
around the middle, for dear life,
and glare down at the road below,
as hard as death is imminent.

If you would simply raise your eyes
from off the pavement to the sky
you’d see the clouds, all flame and fire,
a pink and orange sunset blaze.

Your grip is loosened and I hear
a gasp of wide-eyed wonderment.
We travel on, two sister’s, we,
into the star filled dome of night.

June 28, 2015

Her Eyes Were Limpet Pools

“ARE YOU READY,” the third year girl cried into a rolled up paper that served as a megaphone, “for this fine institution's FIRST. EVER. MAGIC DUEL?”
The sea of girls that had flooded the theater of Melieh’s Academy of Magic screamed, and Bostwick had an eerie premonition of things to come. He had agreed to this ridiculous duel only because he knew he would win, but standing here on stage for the first time, he couldn't shake the feeling that Clarence had something up his sleeve.
“In this corner,” the announcer continued, as if the hastily cobbled-together stage performance was a boxing match, “is Bostwick von Dogsbody, top of the second year class. His goal in life is to become a court magician for one of the royal families of the Empire.”

June 22, 2015

Meet Bostwick!

Full Name: Bostwick von Dogsbody
Age: Seventeen (Fourteen in "Her Eyes Were Limpet Pools")
Height:  5’8”        
So grumpy! Illustration by Claire Corcoran.
Eyes: Blue
Hair:  Brown, short
Likes: magic, poetry, hearty food, reading
Dislikes: Delilah, being disrespected, getting wet, being annoyed, nonsense, chaos
Occupation: Court magician Door-to-door magician Butler
Favorite Food: Stew
Place of Birth: The Capital, Empire
Spirit Animal: Badger
Spirit Vegetable: Eggplant
Little Known Fact:  Though he pretends not to care about it, he has learned a lot about stationery from his parents and actually likes it a lot.

June 15, 2015

Taking a Walk with You

The sun is high overhead,
and the gravel is low underfoot,
and I’m trying to think of a word to describe
how I feel, and I want it well put.

There’s light through leaves like stained glass,
and light in your hair like a glow,
and I’m soaking it up as we’re walking along
and that’s why we’re taking it slow.

A zephyr glides gently our way.
It’s warm as our honey-gold bands
and just as soft as your palm in mine
in absent-mindedly intertwined hands.

Now I’m catching the scent of the brook,
that wonderful cattail bouquet.
It’s getting mixed up with your orchid perfume
and I’m getting swept clean away.

Light laughter comes from the distance,
from a potluck-and-picnicking crowd,
but all I can hear is my love for you
and I hope that it isn’t too loud.