Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

Bloggers Beware of photo copyright! July 21, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:11 pm
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WordPress encourages use of photos on every blog post.  They won’t use your blog in their featured section without a photo, as a matter of fact.  This means that lots of bloggers grab photos from wherever and put them onto their blog without too much consideration about where the images came from. Because they don’t make money from their blog, aren’t selling the image, or credit the source, they think they’re safe.

You may notice that my blog has very few photos.  This means that I will not become a featured blogger, but hopefully it means I won’t get sued for using material that doesn’t belong to me.  I have endeavoured to use only my own photos, public domain photos (OLD), or book covers on reviews which I am trusting are fair use.

However, a lot of bloggers are out there innocently using images, blithely unaware that they are infringing on copyright.  Roni Loren was one.  She used a photo, and was sued over it.  Here is her very interesting blog post about what she learned.  Thanks Roni for helping us to know what the dangers are.  I will now check through my blog and make sure there isn’t anything there that slipped through my paranoia filters in a moment of laziness!

 

South West black been salad July 19, 2012

Filed under: Commentary,Recipes — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:15 am
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Really fresh, and something different!

Big can (14 oz) of rinsed black beans,

big can (14 oz)  of Niblets corn (I read frozen peaches and cream corn is okay as well)

one each finely diced tomato and red pepper

Tennis ball sized red onion, diced and sprinkled with 1-2 tbsp granulated sugar to weep, then set in microwave for a minute (this takes the burn out of the onion so it stays down)

1/2 c  lime juice

finely chopped fresh cilantro (half a bunch- maybe 1/4 cup worth?)

Let sit a bit for flavours to meld.  May serve with taco chips to scoop.  You could also put it into a taco bowl, or serve on lettuce.

 

July 18, 2012

Filed under: Literature — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:24 pm
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“Writing is not like painting where you add. It is not what you put on the canvas that the reader sees. Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate in order to make the work visible. Even those pages you remove somehow remain” – Elie Wiesel

I have have read Wiesel’s book Night, which is thin, and yet packs a far more powerful punch than many fat works.  For non-fiction, his quote is clearly true:  what you leave out is as significant as what’s left in.  For fiction, however, when everything has to be put in from the author’s imagination, a whole world must be created.  There is no rock to take away from.  There is only dirt, which must be formed into being, like men formed from clay.

 

Reviewing Playing with Matches July 17, 2012

Filed under: book reviews — Shawn L. Bird @ 4:50 pm
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Playing with Matches by Brian KatcherPlaying with Matches by Brian Katcher

Another winner by author Brian Katcher, whose male narrators ring so true.  Katcher has dealt with the complexities of relationships as he examines lust and friendship amid dreams and realities.  In this book, while lusting over the cheer-leader he’s adored since elementary, the main character makes friends with the burn victim who has been the butt of jokes and ignored for years.  Of course, just when their relationship amps up, the cheerleader takes an interest at last.  Confusion, hurt, and angst are common ingredients in fiction for teens, just as it is in their real lives.  Katcher handles it all expertly, revealing the sad truth that there are no easy solutions.

It occurs to me, that aside from Diana Gabaldon, I haven’t been this impressed with an author in a long time.  I think I should get in touch with Katcher and see if we can arrange an interview for this blog.  I want to know more about him.

Hey Brian, if you see this, send me a note on shawn (dot) bird (at) ymail (dot) com and let’s set something up!  🙂

 

jello juice popcicles July 16, 2012

Filed under: Recipes — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:11 am
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Mmmm.  A perfect treat for a hot summer day, and we’ve been getting a lot of those lately!

1 – 100 g (3 oz) package of Jello™

1 – 200 ml (6 oz) 100% juice box  (always Sun-Rype™ for this Kelowna girl!)

250 ml (1 c) boiling water.

popcicle molds

Into a pint (500 ml) measuring cup, pour  in a scant cup of boiling water, add the Jello .  Stir well until the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved.  Pour in the juice, stirring gently, so as not to spill.

Pour into your popcicle molds.   Freeze.

These are packed full of flavour, and they don’t melt as readily as regular popcicles.  Mmmmmm.   😛

 

everything in an instant July 15, 2012

Filed under: Commentary,Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 6:32 pm
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“Everything that ever has been and everything that ever will be happens in an instant.”

Brian Keaney in The Cracked Mirror p. 15

 In an instant, everything changes.  You meet eyes with a stranger.  The baby is born.   The car swerves into your lane.  You make the phone call.  You send the email.  You drop the manuscript in the mail.  The child dashes into the street.  The news arrives.  A letter arrives.

Whether it’s real life or whether it’s fiction, in an instant, everything changes.  What happens next?  How you choose to respond creates the next chapter of the story.

In an instant, everything has changed.  What’s next?

 

An Almost Perfect Review July 14, 2012

Filed under: book reviews — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:55 pm
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I realise that I am posting more book reviews this week than I’ve posted all year, but that has something to do with it being summer.  🙂  I can get through two books a day during the summer time  (or a read of someone else, and some work on my own writing projects).  Here’s a great one for you!

Almost Perfect

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Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher  

ISBN 978-0-385-73665-7

New York: Delacorte Press, 2009.  361 p.

This is a brilliant book. Katcher created fully drawn, believable characters dealing in confusion and sincerity with complex issues. Logan, a kid in a red necked town in Missouri falls for the new cute girl at his school. Much to his shock, she turns out to be transgendered. Issues are explored. Love. Sexuality. Violence. Acceptance. Families. Friendship. Katcher has it all, and it is absolutely wonderful.

A great read for anyone willing to walk a mile in other shoes, straight, or LBGTQ. The courage it takes for Sage to be who she is, makes a profound statement about what a hero is.

Cheers to Brian Katcher. I couldn’t put this book down. Great read.

All 5 stars.

 

9 simple ways to be a better writer from Catherine Coulter July 13, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:49 am
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CATHERINE COULTER has had 62 books on the New York Times bestseller list, so she knows a thing or two about writing.  Here are her 9 SIMPLE WAYS TO BE A BETTER WRITER from her session at Thrillerfest:

1. Nix the adjectives.

2. Avoid other words for “said,” and avoid redundancies.

3. Excise the exclamation marks.

4. Forget the euphemisms.

5. Don’t fall into stereotypes.

6. Use caution in sex scenes.

7. Avoid endless introspection.

8. Skip over-the-top violence and language.

9. “And above all, don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Read the complete article on WritersDigest.com

 

pitching at a conference July 12, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:59 am
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There are 99 days before the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, and I’ve just remembered I have to prepare for my pitch.  I’ve been so excited about my blue pencil appointment with Diana Gabaldon that I’ve completely neglected the fact that I have an agent to meet with.  I anticipate having Grace Awakening Myth ready to pitch, or perhaps Number Eight, a high interest, low vocab novel I have had ‘just about finished’ for two years.  (Seriously, it’s missing about 2000 words, but Grace was a bully and completely took over).

The last time I pitched at a conference, I ended up with a contract for Grace Awakening with a small Vancouver publisher.  This time I’m meeting with a big time New York agent, and I feel a little out of my depth!  Writers’ Digest features a post this week on how to pitch to agents at conferences.  I am eager for the tips, and perhaps you’ll be interested, too.  See you in the appointment line!

 

Review- Lost in Spaaaaaaain July 11, 2012

Filed under: book reviews — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:52 am
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Lost in Spain.

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LOST IN SPAIN by John Wilson

Markham: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2000.  174 p.

YA historical novel

It is a fast read, so it’s not deep, but it did give me a real sense of the Spanish Civil War that fit with what I experienced and heard when I was in Spain earlier this year. Lots of action to keep you flipping pages. I was stunned when I started reading and discovered the book opened in my small BC town! Not what you expect about a book set in Spain, you can imagine. I was irritated by how Ted refers to his father as Will throughout the book. Why doesn’t he call him dad? or father? It’s so strange, it seemed there should be a reason for it. He calls his mother, Mom, after all. An interesting read that seemed to give a good glimpse at the character of the country and the context for the history.