Neha, rhyme mistress and word wizard of ForgottenMeadows allowed me to be involved in this Virtual Blog Tour. Why and how she put me down as one of her choices for involvement I will never know. I’m a strange man in a strange land.

What can I say about Neha?

Her words are aloe,

Soothing broken and lost souls,

Is her magic gift.

Her poetry is varied. You never know what emotion she will pluck out on any given day, but you know it will happen. But is it her poetry that gets you? I have found the person behind the words is what makes the difference to me. Through exchanged comments and communications I find that her words fail to capture what she is. What can come close is when she opens up her site to allow others to contribute and grow as artists by joining together to create a montage masterpiece under her watchful eye. Wordsmith? Yes. Heart and much more? Definite.

Before you must suffer in my answers regarding my writing and creative process you get to enjoy the TALENTED of this show. How do you choose just three from hundreds of people you follow? I had criteria in my mind. Talent, activity, as in enough to keep them on my mind, and fascination with their passions. To me if there is no passion behind production then it’s pointless. There are many that could have been on this list, but I believe those reading this will agree with those I chose.

In alphabetical order I give you . . .

 The TALENTED

Mara Eastern of Mara Eastern’s Personal Blog-A life in pictures and words.

Mara says this about herself-“I’m apparently not happy enough to nag real people around me and feel compelled to invade also the virtual space. ” “I’m a bad photographer and worse poet, which doesn’t prevent me from sharing my creations with complete strangers.”

From those words above there is obviously modesty inside of Mara as well. Her photography is unique in that it captures more than your traditional postcard picture art you might see from some. There is life in her photography that even she is not aware of. Her eye and talent naturally finds it and I sometimes even am inspired to write a poem. I look forward to her revealing how her process works.

Oscar Hokeah-The Adventures of a Literary Journey

Oscar is . . . inspiring. Yes, he’s an author, but he more than just writes about what he loves he also brings it to life and encourages it. “I have worked with at-risk Native American youth in New Mexico for nearly ten years.  My passion is two fold:  creative writing and empowering Indigenous youth.” For more you must read his About page. There is so much more there.

I chose Oscar because of his passion, his writing, and his spirit. He’s not just an award winner, a scholarship winner, he’s also real. I want to find out how he does what he does. His inspiration is obvious once you have read about him and experienced his site. But I want to know how he takes that inspiration and then turns it into art.

Megan Elizabeth Morales

“If you dream upon a dream, it’ll come true. I always identified with this particular song lyric/inspirational quote, because if I hadn’t worked as hard as I did, I wouldn’t of gotten so far in life.” And that is Megan. Megan is another inspirational author with books being published soon.  Her true story is even more amazing than her creations. But you’ll need to read more about her to discover it all. It’s all in her site. She’s very honest and sharing of her world.

Again I want to know how one so young has been able to accomplish so much. Megan is the best example of write and don’t sweat your life. Just keep writing and get the story done. She’s taken bad and turned it to good. Girl after my own heart.

And now for the . . .

ME

1. What am I working on?

I mainly work on the content for my blog. I greatly enjoy the outlet it gives for my life. Most of what I write, even poetry, is autobiographical in nature.

In regards to works I would like published someday I have a YA adventure novel about a girl and her brother that I need to revise part of and then get into editing. But one work I really would like to attempt is transforming a Paranormal Detective novel I’ve written to include more personal feeling from how I am now. Then there is another book I have that is based on my experience with amnesia but used in a fictional adventure/thriller manner. I have no idea where that idea came from.

I have decided to buckle down and complete the YA adventure revise and editing process. This means perhaps a little less time blogging but then with me who knows.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think I try to bring character realism in regards to emotions, conflicts and the like to the story more than just actions. Even the action that takes place says something about the person because of reactions, choices, and consequences. Is that different from everyone else? I don’t know, but it’s me.

I sit down with each scene and action and decide on the believability of it within the abilities of the character. Even with paranormal, fantasy, or science fiction I attempt to ground as much of the actual aspects of the characters in reality in order for the reader to connect, and in all honesty for myself to connect as well.

I don’t necessarily write for popularity but for release of thoughts and feelings I have. Descriptiveness of environment and setting is less important to me than characterization. I think I look for the reality behind the fiction.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

For my blog I write to rid myself of pain and thoughts. The pain is the physical results of Fibromyalgia and Migraines, not necessarily some emotional trauma, although those two plus amnesia do have some impact on how I see things. I just wanted to make that clear. Sometimes it’s humor or my creations, but depending on the physical trials I am going through I find poetry especially a great outlet.

As for my novel work I believe my reasons have changed over time. At one time it may have been to be a popular writer but now it is too create a place that reflects who I am in the main characters and hopefully make a connection with readers in a way that will make them think. I believe every story has a reader waiting for it to touch and in a way heal.
4. How does my writing/creating process work?

For my poetry I sit down to an empty page, close my eyes and begin to type. Whatever is coming to my mind at that moment I just keep my eyes closed and type the words and descriptions that come to mind. I get out of the way of my mind and heart and just let it flow. Even if it is dark or angry, I let it go. I never sit down to purposefully create a dark piece. Never. I think my mind looks at something and sees what’s behind the image, or imagines what is behind it.

After that first stage I then open my eyes and see if there is something there to share. I sometimes sit down and so want to write a sunshiny piece and end up writing about pain. But somehow a few people might say they find it beautiful and I don’t really understand, or they find comedy in it. I just thank them and close my eyes for the next piece. I tell others that every piece you write has a reader waiting to find it, so don’t be afraid to share it.

Try it yourself. Just close your eyes and begin to type. As you do your thoughts will begin to form into a single line and become a message. Just keep typing until you cannot any longer.

Sometimes I will write a poem about a photograph I see as an escape from the darkness of some of my poetry. It is a much needed reprieve.

As for my novel work it is much like the poetry in that I let the characters write the story. I have an idea of who the main characters are and a basic idea of where I want it to go, but ultimately the characters determine what happens. I don’t force myself to stay on a path to my original intent. I may love a character when I create it before I start but the story ends up having that one be the one people won’t like, even I don’t like, and I go with it. I can’t change it. I have even had the main love interest end up changing within just a few chapters of beginning a project because the two people weren’t connecting.

I also put more and more of me in my work of late. At least I think I do.

Depending on the type of novel there may be a lot of research beforehand, especially if there are historical aspects that tie in with characters or the direction of the novel, such as action/thriller that involved things from WWII that affected current events.

If you made it this far, the wow. You made it through the wilderness and out into the sunshine. I want to thank Neha once again for including me. I never imagined to be involved in something like this. I do hope you all visit those above and see what I so miserably and poorly attempted to explain.

Much Respect

Ronovan

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