Halloween Fun for Everyone

Joyous October Greetings, one and all!

Looking for some great Halloween stories?  Join me (Jade), Anita Marie Moscoso, and the writers of the Soul Food Café for a month-long celebration of the strange, spooky, and sordid at Once Upon a Midnight.

We’re sharing stories, artwork, poetry, video, and every other creation we can scrape together from mis-matched parts and charge with a few volts of inspiration.  And if you’re looking for inspiration, this is the place to be: we’ll be sharing Halloween-y writing prompts to help light a creative fire under your ghosty ass!

Join us… if you dare…

The Festival of the Trees 39: Hidden Among the Trees Online at Arboreality

The Festival of the Trees 39: Hidden Among the Trees is now online at Arboreality.  Visit this monthly blog carnival for stories, poetry, articles, essays, images, and more, all on the subject of secrets, trees, and forests.

To learn more about The Festival of the Trees, submit for the current Festival, or to volunteer to host future Festivals, visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Secrets Among the Trees: The Festival of the Trees Returns to Arboreality

The Festival of the Trees 39 will be hosted here at Arboreality on the theme of Secrets.

But first, the current Festival of the Trees:

The Festival of the Trees 38 comes to us from Chennai, India compliments of Arati at Trees , Plants and more. Highlights for me include a peek at the Eastern Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), so beloved in my former Pennsylvania home, the evergreen Christmas tree farms of North Carolina, and the Jack Fruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), a tree whose equal I have never seen. And then, there’s the mango tree reputed to be “3500 years old [and] bears fruit of a different taste in each branch.”

Thank you, Arati, for bringing us such arboreal diversity and splendor!

Coming up next:

The Festival of the Trees 39 brings this green blog carnival back to Arboreality.

This month’s theme: Secrets

Forests, farms, gardens, urban trees, and ancient-rock-clinging-wind-whipped Bristlecone pine stands can be an escape, a place to hide, a space to rest, a home for buried treasure. This month, I invite you to reveal a small glimpse of a secret among the trees. Consider the quiet spots you go to sit, the trees which have stood in silent observation of the events of your life, the aromatic memory of the garden from a place you have visited. With word, image, sound, or otherwise inspired creation, give us a peek at what you see, or what you can imagine.

Gather your tree-materials, post online, and send me the link:

trees[at]brainripples[dot]com

Deadline for submissions is August 28, 2009.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Drop me an email.

The Festival of the Trees 39 will be hosted in September 2009 at Arboreality  - Tree Blogging on the theme of Secrets.

But first, the current Festival of the Trees:

The Festival of the Trees 38 comes to us from Chennai, India compliments of Arati at Trees , Plants and more. Highlights for me include a peek at the Eastern Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), so beloved in my former Pennsylvania home, the evergreen Christmas tree farms of North Carolina, and the Jack Fruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), a tree whose equal I have never seen. And then, there’s the mango tree reputed to be “3500 years old [and] bears fruit of a different taste in each branch.”

Thank you, Arati, for bringing us such arboreal diversity and splendor!

Coming up next:  The Festival of the Trees 39 brings this green blog carnival back to Arboreality – Tree Blogging created by yours truly, writer and naturalist Jade Leone Blackwater from the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

This month’s theme:  Secrets

“Forests, farms, gardens, urban trees, and ancient-rock-clinging-wind-whipped Bristlecone pine stands can be an escape, a place to hide, a space to rest, a home for buried treasure. This month, I invite you to reveal a small glimpse of a secret among the trees. Consider the quiet spots you go to sit, the trees which have stood in silent observation of the events of your life, the aromatic memory of the garden from a place you have visited. With word, image, sound, or otherwise inspired creation, give us a peek at what you see, or what you can imagine.”

Gather your tree-materials, post online, and send the link to Jade Blackwater:

trees[at]brainripples[dot]com

Deadline for submissions is August 28, 2009.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Contact Jade.

_________________________

The Festival of the Trees is a monthly blog carnival for all things arboreal. Like other blog carnivals, The Festival of the Trees is a collection of links to blog posts and other spots on the web, hosted each month at a different blog. To learn how to take part in the festivities, please visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

We are seeking volunteers to host The Festival of the Trees #40 and beyond! This is a great way to broaden your audience, and of course – have fun in the trees.

To learn more, contact Dave (bontasaurus[at]yahoo[dot]com) and Pablo (editor[at]roundrockjournal[dot]com), and visit the Volunteer to Host page for details.

Philadelphia Writers Make Room to Run Wild

August 1, 2009

For immediate release
1 August 2009
Contact: Lisa Kastner, Founder
lisa[at]runningwildwriters[dot]org
www.runningwildwriters.org
 
Philadelphia Writers Make Room to Run Wild
 
Running Wild Writers, LLC  debuts as Philadelphia’s newest writers’ community with its first Fiction Workshop beginning September 2009.  Founded by Philadelphia-based writer Lisa Diane Kastner, Running Wild provides a venue for writers of all forms and all genres to learn and succeed in the craft.  Kastner is a fiction writer, former correspondent for the Philadelphia Theater Review, freelance journalist for the Delaware County Times, Features Editor for the Picolata Review, and President of Pennwriters, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit writers’ organization.
 
“In my years with the creative writing community, I have repeatedly been asked to provide writers a venue to more thoroughly explore the craft of writing.  Running Wild Writers is the answer to that request.”
 
The inaugural Fiction Workshop will begin September 24 and will run once a week for ten weeks through December 2009. Attendees will have two opportunities to submit up to 5,000 words of original material to be reviewed by participants and to receive a detailed assessment from Kastner.
 
“What makes Running Wild Writers unique is that we believe all forms and genres are valuable. Most workshops specialize in a specific genre such as literary, thriller, mystery, romance and so forth. At Running Wild, we believe that writers can learn and grow by reading and writing across genres,” said Kastner.   “The same is true for form.  Writers need to experiment in creative non-fiction, poetry, and fiction writing to hone their skills and discover who they are as writers.”
 
Workshop Details

Running Wild Writers Community will hold a 10-week Fiction Writers Workshop  from September 24 – December 3, 2009. The group will meet on Thursdays at 7 PM.
 
Participants will have the opportunity to workshop two pieces, maximum of 5,000 words each, during the sessions.  Each work will be given thorough written feedback by the instructor as well as feedback from fellow attendees.  In addition, the instructor will select elements of the craft to discuss during the sessions.  Craft discussions will be based on the pieces workshopped that evening.  Workshops will be held at 1241 Carpenter St., Philadelphia, PA 19147, in the heart of a thriving Philadelphia arts community.
 
Lisa’s Bio
 
Lisa Diane Kastner, fiction writer, creative non-fiction explorer, and former journalist writes fiction from Philadelphia and draws inspiration from her local experience. Kastner promises that her flaming red head tendencies will neither detract nor overly add to the commentary. If anything, it will bring a bit of flavor, like cinnamon.
 
A former correspondent for the Philadelphia Theatre Review and Features Editor for the Picolata Review, Kastner currently writes freelance and by invitation in literature and the arts. Her literary interviews include Charles Baxter (Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature 1997) and Lee Martin (Pulitzer Prize Nominee 2006).
 
Kastner is the Founder of Running Wild Writers Community, LLC and President of Pennwriters, Inc. (www.pennwriters.com) , a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to assisting the novice to the award winning and multipublished writers to learn and succeed in the craft. She is the founder of the Pennwriters King of Prussia and Philadelphia Critique Groups, and can be found throughout the region leading workshops on business communications, and occasionally performing on the local stage with theater companies such as CelebrationTheater.  Her short stories have been published in 63 Channels Journal and The StraightJackets Magazine.
 
For more information go to www.runningwildwriters.org or contact Kastner via email at lisa[at]runningwildwriters[dot]org.

 

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In Vino Veritas (Truth in Wine) Short Fiction Contest at The Clarity of Night

It’s that time again:  Jason Evans is joined by co-host and debut author Jaye Wells for the “In Vino Veritas (Truth in Wine)” Short Fiction Contest at The Clarity of Night.

The “In Vino Veritas (Truth in Wine)” Short Fiction Contest launches today, July 8, 2009, in honor of Jaye Wells.   A signed copy of Jaye Wells’ debut novel Red-Headed Stepchild is included among the usual prizes of Amazon gift certificates.

The contest will be open for one week.  As with past contests, the limit is 250 words. Any genre or form is welcome so long as it is inspired by the “In Vino Veritas (Truth in Wine)” photo.  Complete rules are available at The Clarity of Night blog.  See you there!

Busy at Brainripples

Greetings all: time for a little update on Jade Blackwater’s corner of the world.  Photos, notes, sketches, and ideas all pile up, but time just slips right past.  The June Solstice is a mere 10 days away!

Spring has had three main foci for me: garden, writing, and home.  As many of you know I am recently resettled in my home in the forests of Kitsap County, Washington; after nearly four years away, there’s a lot of work to be done.

The garden (i.e. the food supply) has been an important part of my springtime work, and I am pleased to say that small harvests of greens, herbs, fruits, and other cold-weather veggies are finally back on my table.  Pumpkins, corn, beans, melons, and other warm-weather crops are now in the ground.

My writing, while subdued, is slowly reemerging with the restoration of my personal creative studio and the return to my writing routines.  In addition, I’ve teamed up with Anita Marie Moscoso of Owl Creek Bridge to create the Pacific Northwest Pennwriters Chapter.  More on that ahead!

At the house, there are repairs and improvements to be made.  Mousies, bats, birds, insects, snakes, squirrels, and other beasties have all taken advantage of my absence.  Their slow, careful extrication is a part of chores like painting, sealing, cleaning, and clearing.  Gotta love forest life!

Speaking of forests, I am excited to share that Nalini Nadkarni’s book Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees was selected among the Best Spiritual Books of 2008.  If you haven’t found time to pick up this book, I hope you’ll add it to your reading list this season for a little green inspiration!

My projects this summer will include more of garden, writing, and home, hopefully with extra emphasis on the writing.  Now that I’m nearly settled I can tackle the hairy, scary task of sifting through several boxes of writing notes from the past five (ok, 10) years, and putting those ideas to work.  I’ll let you know when I find something good.

Until then, enjoy a hot, bittersweet cup of inspiration!