Dead azaleas
Up against the manor wall
Waiting for a spark

One down, one to go.

I didn't actually expect to win. It's still disappointing, but what can I do except keep writing and hope I eventually find an audience?

I do become frustrated. "Here, beautiful reader, I have made myself naked and scraped my skin and flesh away. I have pulverized my bones and burnt the marrow to ashes. Here is what remains of me, my heart's soul; the rest is not even dust. I had no one to receive it, so I have entrusted it to you."

Reader 1: "Yeah, I mean, it's got some weird parts and I don't understand subtext..."

Reader 2: "How am I supposed to jerk off to this?"

Reader 3: "It's alright, but I'm more into like, 'Timon & Pumbaa' fanfic."

Readers 4 through 15: *crickets*

Readers 16 and on: *don't exist*

Blah. lol. I'm ok, just venting. I don't have a lot of readers (I hesitate to use the word "fan" because they're more like "friends who also happen to enjoy my work"), but the ones I have are amazing people, for whose esteem I am grateful. So, I've been fortunate in that regard. And I've gotten some very flattering reviews, which is more than most furry writers get.

But on the other hand, there are some people (but not persons who would read my journals, so I'm assuredly -not- talking about you!) with large, enthusiastic readerships whose work is hollow and uninspired. And that's both irksome and discouraging. But, I've been irked and discouraged all along, so it's not likely to stop me now.

"A Gentleman of Strength" has been nominated for both the Ursa Majors and the Coyotls. If you enjoyed the story, please consider voting for it:

http://ursamajorawards.org/voting2016/

http://coyotlawards.org/voting-2/ (You must be a Furry Writers' Guild member to vote in the Coyotls.)

If you haven't read the story and would like to, you may do so here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/22891399/

My story "A Gentleman of Strength" from "Claw The Way To Victory" is a finalist for the Ursa Majors. Vote here, if you're so inclined:

http://www.ursamajorawards.org/voting2016/

My garden of foxtails and milk-thistle,
Alive and wild, more so than tended rows
In growth, has died. I killed them a little,
The crab-grass clumps, Datura and nettle.
“Time and time, I commit these small murders,
To whose benefit?” I ask why and wonder,
The scent of sap on scuffed and bloody hands.
If I indwelt some luring scrap of land
Far from here, secluded, my own to call,
I would welcome these same weeds, one and all,
To plant their roots in my warm, earthen roof,
Just they and I, with no hint of reproof,
And thank the thorns for making a hale fence,
The compost for being my winter blanket.

I have two stories eligible for nominations this year:

"A Gentleman of Strength" - Published in "Claw the Way to Victory"
"The Foreigner" - Published in "Fragments of Life's Heart"

Nominate here: http://ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm

Featuring a story by me.

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Deadly-Sins-Furry-Confessions/dp/1945247096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485892690&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+deadly+sins+howl

“Arachne”

Long ago, we merged our looms together
And wove a single cloth with both patterns.
Looking over the fraying strands of thread,
It’s spider’s work I find, a ready web,
Which I, like a suicidal fly, jumped in.
Blind pirouettes, your spinning-wheel spun
A gold silk of words, a beguiling cocoon.
Your honeyed net enticed me like sundew,
Even now I wonder whether you know…
Your little chelicerae shine like noon.
Better still and desiccated, but near you,
To hear you sing and work the tandem loom.
A husk in your strings, hanging down alone,
Hopeless and worse, doomed never to forget,
But near you, every rope a savored torment.

C'est moi.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7951589/

Don't give into despair. Get angry, get motivated. There's a fight ahead.

[Estimating this one at a 2006 origin. It never had a title, I think I just called it "Halloween Poem."]

First comes the frost, crystals glistening,
A dust like knives that slices gardens dry.
Then comes the fog, tendrils unwinding,
Meandering, grey as timber wolves’ wool.

The dead slide easily from their hollow land,
To seek, to slither, to gather together,
But read! With each word a shade is free
To your home. Are you scared? I’m here, take my hand…

I have long wished to write a four-panel comic strip. I am looking to commission a short run of four-panel comics (yonkoma) in black and white; the number of comics will depend on the cost.

For this project, I would prefer someone who has experience with comic layout and presentation, but am willing to work with someone new to the craft, as I myself shall be.

Hoping to begin in December or January.

EDIT: So, any recommendations would be appreciated.

Journal entry here, please have a look:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7876725/

In order to raise the profile of anthropomorphic literature, various special offers are available. Details here:

https://furrywritersguild.com/furry-book-month/

Seven days had passed when I heard you died,
A missive in the warm morning hours, dawn
Rose, and no one said how I should go on,
Or ford this moor without my only guide.

Flown to space by what callous earth destroyed,
I chase the long-flying radio waves,
Far away from grief and a potter’s grave,
I sift to find again your breathing voice.

Teacher, my every thought was yours to thresh,
So now what sure course would you recommend?
Your kind words turned to shrapnel in the end,
Pieces of you left here in my heart’s flesh.

Lover, did you mean to leave this deep wound?
I would sell my world to kiss you farewell.
Eleven years braving your personal hell,
And all I can say is, “Too soon, too soon…”

Details here:

https://www.gofundme.com/2h9xwd8

Pass it along.

"Fragments of Life's Heart" now available for purchase here: http://www.weaselpress.com/#!fragments/u9lvo

The ebook is coming shortly.

My poem "Muezza" was accepted for the [adjective][species] poetry collection.

http://dogpatch.press/2016/03/29/cl.....ay-to-victory/

Seems Fred likes my work. ^//^

We join the march and draw the ancient strand,
A spider-web’s whisper, thinner than wire,
Tracing words like shadows on the sand,
We call the stars to drink their sacred fire,
While pages turn to rivers in our hands,
The dust we eat and breathe, but never sleep,
And papers stained with scarlet ink we bleed-
Bleed willfully! -we carve from flame and frost
With equal grace, the work is never lost:
Alone we come, alone again we go
From dusk to dusk, on plains of thorn and snow,
And write the signs for those who walk behind,
Like pilgrims all in one unbroken line.

http://clawandquill.net/2016/02/rev.....ture/#more-218

Was really glad to see this, thanks, Jakebe!

And here's where you can purchase the print version: http://tinyurl.com/jro7xgo

The much anticipated (by me) "Claw The Way To Victory" is on sale now from Jaffa Books: http://www.jaffabooks.net/
(These are ebooks, print copies will be available soon.)

If you'd like to peep the list of authors, you may do so here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show.....way-to-victory

Between the strictness of the editor and the talents of my fellow authors, I'm expecting this to be an exceptionally strong furry anthology.

The Ursa Major Awards are now open for nominations. I have two eligible stories:

"The Darkness of Dead Stars" from "The Furry Future"

"Splinters" from "Typewriter Emergencies"

http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm