Stone Wheel

Stone Wheel
Originally uploaded by ldglandon

The Goblin Market is Coming....

Just a quick note to those who are still following this blog, I am releasing the first episode of my upcoming podcast novel, "Goblin Market" via my official website on Wednesday, June 1, 2009.

Tonight, I am holding a special contest, allowing three people a sneak-peek at the first seven minutes of episode one. Tune into http://jenniferhudock.com tonight around 7:30 PM EST for full details on how you can get inside the Goblin Market early. In the meantime, pop on over and visit the site: Goblin Market, have a look around, take a listen to promo one and definitely let me know what you think.

I am so excited about this project, and I cannot wait to share it with you.

The Inner Bean is Moving...

Hello everyone! As I have mentioned over the last few weeks, big, big changes are coming my way. One of those changes was unveiled this morning, so I thought I should pop on over here and spread the news, and hope that you will join me in celebrating. This morning I finally launched my own website: JenniferHudock.com where I will be blogging regularly, sharing snippets of my work, and of course, poetry.

I do hope you will readd me to your blogrolls under this exciting new address, and come to visit me there soon. I have already added many of you to my new blogroll, and once I complete my move, I will be making blog rounds more regularly.

Putting together my own site has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and something I've wanted to do for a long time. I want to thank my friend Jackie for all of the hard work she did to help make this possible. Without Jackie, there would be no awesome new site for me to celebrate, and I appreciate her so much! Jackie, you rule!

So, again, please redirect your visits to me to the new site: JenniferHudock.com. I can't wait to see you there!

Have You Ever Gone Mad?

Well, have you? I have, and let me tell you, it is the most liberating and incredible feeling in the world! That's why this summer over at eMuse we're breaking out the straitjackets and encouraging creative projects inspired by full frontal lobe corrosion.

I mentioned this earlier, but I wanted to go over it again because we are still accepting submissions for the next month. One month from today, June 6th, we will be closing submissions for the Personal Effects: Dark Art Contest that I blogged about just two weeks ago. Yesterday, I made this exciting video in honor of the contest.



If you missed my original post about the contest, and you'd like to read up on it so you can get your submission in, check it out HERE!

Monday Morning

I'm back! I bet you didn't even know I was gone. My daughter and I packed up for the weekend and went off to enjoy the solitude. While I would have been happier with brighter skies and warmer weather, overall it was a great weekend. I got my edits done, I reevaluated my present frame of mind and I discovered some pleasant news while weighing in. The sleeping accommodations left my back in a twist, but long soaks in the hot tub totally made up for that.

So it's Monday morning and I am about to embark on finishing the second draft of my novel. I've got the file open and I'm ready to charge at it later this evening, but first I have errands and a some freelance work to do. I will say that tentatively, on top of everything else I've got going on right now, that I would like to have this second draft completed by the last day in the first week of June. That is June 6th. I can do it. I've won NaNoWriMo once and JulNoWriMo once, and I've already got a pretty strong skeleton to build upon. So that is what is on my agenda.

I am also planning to start piecing together some of my poetry into a chapbook, so be on the lookout for more details to come there.

On top of all this exciting news, I am also preparing to move. Over the next few weeks I will be packing up my life into boxes and by the second week of June, I will be moving into a new place. Wish me luck.

So as I stand on this precipice of change, I leave you with this poetic thought I had:

Fearless
atop the world
looking down
up here
it all seems small
Breathe
sense of knowing
being, eclipsing
exhale
and fall.

I hope you enjoy your Monday, and it isn't too manic for you. Take some time to pop over and visit the awesome people in my blog roll, like James Melzer, J.C. Hutchins, Nicole Ireland, Matthew Wayne Selznick, and Ray Onativia just to name a few. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday again, and though I am swamped down with so many things, I wanted to take a quick moment to offer my thankfulness. Since I've been so busy, I'm going to keep it short this week, and only pay homage to one awesome inspiration.

Helen Ginger. I found Helen's blog through the Blood Red Pencil, as she is a regular editor/blogger on the BRP. Her columns are always insightful and fascinating, so I started to follow her actual blog, Straight from Hel. She covers a wide variety of topics on her blog, including writer interviews, writing advice, editorial advice and trends in publishing. There is never a dull post on Ms. Ginger's blog, so if you have never visited Straight From Hel, I highly recommend it. You can learn a lot from this woman. Take my word for it.

Sorry it's so short this week. It's late and I've got a lot of edits to get done. I'm just about to put this manuscript to bed, so wish me luck!

For the Muse

My muse has been incredibly generous lately, providing me with gallons of inspiration to drink each day. I've got two short stories on the verge of completion, and I've been writing poetry like mad.

I have been so busy trying to get this manuscript completed so I can get it back to my author and things in my personal life have been rocky, but every night I manage to write a poem before bed, and sometimes I write one when I wake up. Since I don't have much time, I wanted to share a quick poem with you. I haven't forgotten about my faithful readers, and hope to find more time to blog soon.

Nectar

I drink you
like nectar
resting in the
cup of a flower
mouth to mouth
skin to skin
we dance around
obstacles, shedding
fabric like
a snake sheds
its skin
then wrap together
like crawling vines
reaching toward
the sun.

I'm off to cram in about 20 more pages of edits, then dreamland. I hope you're all having a fantastic week! I need to make my blog rounds, and I apologize if I haven't popped by to visit you lately. Life certainly has a way of interfering with play time.

Don't forget, tomorrow boasts the return of Thankful Thursday. See you there.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...Turn and Face the Strange...

It's been a gorgeous last couple of days, with plenty of sunshine and a gentle breeze most days. I spent some serious time outdoors contemplating things, and just enjoying the fact that I am alive. As I mentioned in my previous blog, things have been busy, and my life is heading for some major changes. As I step into the precipice before me, I feel like I am wearing a blindfold. I don't know where I am going, only that I am about to drop off into the unknown. It is both terrifying, and liberating.

I have always operated under the philosophy that we are interactive participants in our own destiny. Life is what we make it. When it comes time to making the hard choices, if we shy away out of fear, then we create regret. Regret festers in the soul, and for many people it becomes an infectious disease that eventually overruns their life.

Despite the things I have done in my life, I have no regrets. Regret is not even a word in my vocabulary. There are things I look back on and shake my head at, but I would not ever take a single one of them back. As I step forward, into that which awaits me, it is with trepidation and curiosity. I leave behind aspects of my life that no longer serve me or my future. It is hard to let them go, but I know that if I am to grow into the person I am meant to be, I must sever those ties.

More poetry to come this week, and maybe even some special news. Stay tuned. This is Major Beans to ground control.

Busy Busy Busy...

As anticipated, this week has been incredibly busy. Not only am I juggling two short stories, getting started on some heavy edits for the June edition of eMuse and novel edits for a client, I also had to work all week and save my own personal universe from crumbling in upon itself. There's been a lot going on, needless to say, but despite the pressure, I feel resilient and strong. I've had a very helpful and awesome support system all along. It's been amazing. Thanks friends. :) You all rock.

The weather is finally shifting, and the disappearance of the cold, damp of winter/spring has gone at last. This has completely altered my physical health in a way that confirmed what I believed all along... the death-grip on my lungs all winter was some kind of indoor-allergy. I think it's something in this house. That's insane. When your house becomes your physical enemy and tries to drive you out with disease... hmm, I smell a short story.

With so much to do, and so little time, I'm off to the chocolate factory for a full tour... not really. I'm actually just going to hop in the shower, drop the squeenager off at the mall and sit outdoors with an iced coffee to do some editing. I may check back in later tonight after the wee one is asleep. (I'm keeping my four year old niece over night, YAY!)

I'll leave you with this morning's waking poem:

Dawdling Sun

Empty morning,
too much bed.
Wrapped in cold warmth
and the last fragments
of a quiet dream
still linger.

It's five.
The sun dawdles,
but soon
it will claw
away the last
remnants of
this darkness.
©2009 J. Hudock

Thankful Thursday

red pencil
Originally uploaded by Rat Phlegm

In the tradition of thankfulness, I wanted to spend my thankful Thursday sharing with you one of my favorite blogs: The Blood Red Pencil. The Blood Red pencil is a blog for writers by a group of incredible editors. Each and every day they share their wisdom with a mass of followers, wisdom on everything from grammar and style to editing and publishing one's writing. In the months that I have been following the BRP, I have learned a great deal and been reminded of a few things I let myself forget from time to time. I highly recommend following and subscribing to the Blood Red Pencil. You will not regret it.

I also want to nod my hat this Thankful Thursday to author J.C. Hutchins. J.C. Hutchins inspires me for a number of reasons, and not just because he was kind enough to let us use his novel in our contest over at eMuse. I am one of the fortunate people who gets to Twitter with J.C. every day. Not only is he incredibly prolific and creative (this guy can market, let me tell you,) he is also one of the most positive and uplifting people on Twitter. His attitude is simply amazing, and though he knows that sometimes you might get "no," for your answer, that doesn't mean he won't at least ask the question. He's done amazing things to promote his upcoming novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art, reaching out to some of the biggest names in the horror industry to vlurb the novel, and he's succeeded. Hat's off, J.C. You inspire me every single day, and for that, I thank you.

That's it. That's what I got this week. Thank you to J.C. Hutchins and the awesome bloggers over at the Blood Red Pencil. You all inspire me every day!

Looking forward to another fantastic Friday. See you there.

Warrior Wednesday

notebook noir
Originally uploaded by theilr

I had a great day, and I'm just settling in now to get a bit more writing done before bed. I wanted to pop in and post a couple of poems to tide you over until tomorrow's Thankful Thursday post. :)

Morning

Tin roof rain drops
and wings like sheets
flap toward freedom
perched atop the pine
single branch sways
nothing but the rain
can cleanse me now
face to sky, arms to wind
warrior waiting
behind a peaceful mask
ready to pounce...
always watching.
© 2009 J. Hudock

Numbered

Every night's pain
echoes into silent
voices across the void...
She picks up her pen
and tries to capture
it in words, but
there is only the
way it makes her feel:
speechless, but full
replenished, but alone,
as if she's numbered
every one of her own days
and given them new meaning.
She's sure that
he would never understand,
so she closes her book
and goes to sleep.
© 2009 J. Hudock

Untitled

Let it all writhe
and tangle together
like a bed of snakes
tale to mouth
euroburos

Let it all burn
and smolder together
like a pile of ash
blackened soot
funeral pyre

Let it all fade
and wash away together
like a bed of sand
loose shells
watery grave

Let it all go
and dwindle into nothing
like a galaxy into a black hole
spinning rim round
the end
© 2009 J. Hudock

Have a good evening everyone.

April Showers... Bring May Flowers

Its raining in my backyard-Hooray
Originally uploaded by aussiegall

Sometimes it has to rain. I know that. After a long winter, however, the transition from frigid and icy to beautiful and green is not always smooth. There are a lot of grey and icky days, as the fingers of death uncoil from the spring maiden, allowing her to go forth and bring life back to the sluggish and tired earth. This morning, I woke up to the sound of pouring rain, (as usual, I started to sing Skin Row's "I Remember You... because I am from the 80s, and that is what I do). Before I climbed out of bed, I thought about how sad today was going to be. A lot of intense things are underway in my life right now, some incredibly frightening changes, and the rain and gloom felt perfect for my mood.

I got out of bed, didn't even get dressed, and put my shoes on so I could take Loki the wonderhusky outside for his morning business. It was warm. Not cold, as I had anticipated, and though it was damp, there was humidity to because of the heat. I looked out into the backyard and realized that all the dead and barren plant life had been brushed by the hand of spring. Everything was green. It gave me hope.

I've got a lot to do right now, so my blogs may be a little sporadic. I will try to keep at them daily, as I do enjoy the interaction and sharing with those who take time to read. Today, I leave you with a couple poems that encompass my frame of mind right now perfectly.

Matches

What would she say to me
if she were to live
beyond expectation?
Would she say, "Light the
match," and exhale
smoke in tiny fingers
that dance upon the
wrinkles in her skin?
"My pretty girl, so smart,"
but not smart enough
to outwit her own defeat,
her own indulgences. My
kingdom for a compliment,
my entire world to be
shattered like an old
barn house window.
"Make a wish," then
she blows out the match.
© 2009 J. Hudock


Burn Scar

Sucker punched by the moment,
left struggling for breath.
Long after the heart stops,
pale ghost of want
flounders on the floor--
no one hears it screaming.

Strangled disease ended torment
flat on the back of a dream.
Short pulses of of subtlety
shine like a beacon
pounding at the door of
something to believe in.

Small and curled like a ball
a fetus in a womb of web,
snap judgments tear through
white waves of silence.
Grounded forever more,
nothing but a burn scar.
© 2009 J. Hudock

What is this?
Sundown and the strange
suffocation braces my lungs.

I thought we were over this,
basking in the cure
and absolved from old punishments.

Imprisoned by notion,
barred within my fear...

I open up the cage
and with this final breath
I set you free.

Fly, fly away from me.
© 2009 J. Hudock

Even if it's raining wherever you are, go stand under the downpour,and think of yourself like a flower desperate for a drink. Grow--like a vine if you have to. Stretch your arms toward the sun, even if it's hidden behind clouds. It'll be shining again before you know it, and you'll be all the better from all that rain.


Oh, and before I forget, my friend, James Melzer will be revealing the cover art for his novel, The Zombie Chronicles: Escape, tonight on his personal website at 7:45PM EST. James will also be stopping by Projekt X Radio around 8PM EST to talk about the cover. Check it out! I've sneak peeked the cover, and it's AMAZING!!!

When It Rains... It Pours

Luck of summer rain
Originally uploaded by lepiaf.geo

You know how the old saying goes... when it rains, it pours, well this weekend was a virtual downpour of awesome things. I made a lot of jokes over the weekend about taking over the world piece by piece, but as the ideas kept paying off and the achievements weighing in in my corner, I decided to polish my Hatori Hanzo sword and just Kill Bill.

It started on Friday, which I had decided to dedicate to finishing the short story I've been working on. While I was proofing over what I had already written, this idea arrow struck like lightning. I needed to put together an eMuse contest, as I had mentioned one in passing a couple of times. It was time to act on it, but what could we do that would not only benefit our contributors and readers, but also a fellow writer? That was when the name J.C. Hutchins popped into my head. I've been reading an advanced copy of his upcoming novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art, to review after its release in our June issue, when I thought to myself, "Wow! We could give away copies of the book for an insane asylum related contest." I ran my idea by J.C. and he agreed that it was a great plan, so I drew up a plan, checked on our eMuse funds and dove in.

Later that evening I was talking to my good friend, James Melzer about review writing for eMuse, as he was going to cook up a review for me, when we got to talking about him doing something bigger. The result was integrating him into the zine as a regular columnist and his column, Behind the Mic was born. Not only is James working on publishing his first novel, The Zombie Chronicles: Escape with Permuted Press, but he also has great insight into new media. Needless to say, it's going to be amazing.

I also have another idea for a column that is still in the hush-hush stages, but to give you a little preview, it will be a he said/she said column on writing. We are still working out the details, but stay tuned for news on that.

So just when I thought that my weekend couldn't get any more spectacular than it already was, I went for a walk last night. Did some thinking. Relished in the good feelings that come with achievement and obvious movement in the right direction. I came home, and sat down at my computer planning to get a little writing done, and checked my email. I had an acceptance letter from the editor of , 42 Magazine. She wanted to buy one of the poems I sent to them back in early February. Needless to say, I danced like Snoopy all around the office, drank three beers and proceeded to squee all over anyone who would listen.

Good things. They come to those who wait, and it's so important to remember that just when you think nothing is going your way. Look for little signs that the universe is on your side. It's there, and it wants you to succeed and be happy just as much as you want those things for yourself. If you aren't sure, maybe it's time to think about what you want for yourself, and how badly you want it. A wise man I know is prone to saying that the world don't owe you, and that is definitely true, but you can still go out there, kick some butt and take names every single day. This is your life. Live it!