Preview poem from "Words and Bones" forthcoming from Finishing Line Press

Whispered Silence

by LB Sedlacek

                                   

                                       He moved his lips this morning.

There was no sound, but I’d

turned it down, but when I

turned it up all I could hear

was the hum of the signal.

It was faded and blocked by the trees

and those eyesore cell phone

towers that never send a signal

when you need it.  I whacked the

TV but that didn’t help.  My

eyes seized on a caption that

explained why there was no

sound.  I took my cell phone

and whacked it on the counter.

I dropped it in the sink to see

if it would float.  I dropped

one in a toilet two years

ago and it sank like my

hand did when I spotted a

fish and tried to grab it.

His lips keep moving and I

watch them transfixed.  I look

up “transmogrification” in

the dictionary and think there

are more words than I could

ever imagine that start with

“ex.”  I stare at his mouth,

his beard, his curly black

and white hair and realize

that I heard every word.

The book is $13.99. Include $2.99 per copy for shipping and handling.  Please mail all orders with a check payable to Finishing Line Press at PO Box 1626 Georgetown KY 40324 or pre-order online:  Pre-Order “Words and Bones” by LB Sedlacek

A review of The Glass River - reviewed by George Brosi

REVIEW OF "THE GLASS RIVER" - REVIEW

BY GEORGE BROSI:

 "This is a murder mystery set in contemporary Happy Valley, North Carolina, in Wilkes County, the site where Tom Dooley grew up and was buried after he was hanged in Statesville in 1868 for the murder of Laura Foster. L. B. Sedlacek is a prolific writer of poetry and fiction. She is co-host of “Coffee House-to-Go” a podcast and the publisher of “The Poetry Market Ezine.”https://apmtbooks.com/blogs/reviews/march-2018-reviews

Order your copy: The Glass River by LB Sedlacek

Pre-order "Words and Bones" from Finishing Line Press

“Words and Bones” new from Finishing Line Press comes out this summer. “You’d never think a skeleton is a complete person. I would have said the same thing about a poem until LB Sedlacek‘s “Words and Bones” came along. It’s a work which truly strips its poems down to their bare bones with all the un-necessary words nowhere to be found, leaving a manuscript of complete and wonderfully brief pieces…”  ~Rick Lupert, author of “God Wrestler”  

The book is $13.99. Include $2.99 per copy for shipping and handling.  Please mail all orders with a check payable to Finishing Line Press at PO Box 1626 Georgetown KY 40324 or pre-order online:  Pre-Order “Words and Bones” by LB Sedlacek

What's in a Reader or This is Not the Audience I Imagined

Readers come in all shapes and sizes.  When you write, the common mantra is not to just write what you know but to also write for the audience you imagine will read your work.  I don't know that I've ever truly determined who my audience would be.  I've written song lyrics, plays, short stories, non-fiction, memoirs, mysteries, business writing, essays, ads, you name it, and of course poetry.  With all those different kinds of writing that brings different kinds of readers.

Recently I did a poetry reading and wrote a family friendly poetry book with poems all about my local area.  That has brought me a whole different kind of audience that I'd never considered before - local readers! 

Finding local readers is usually suggested when you're looking at marketing ideas for whatever it may be that you are selling.  However, I never would've dreamed that the local part of my latest works ("Only in LA (LA Poems)" and "Traveling with Fish") would stir up such a wide range of interest.  I now have readers that span from elementary school students, to middle school to young adults, adults and seniors!  Not only am I selling more books than ever, I'm reaching all sorts of people with my works. 

I never imagined I would find such a diverse readership.  I think most of the time my readers were fellow poets like myself for the most part. 

I am very happy to discover that my local works have been able to reach so many different people beyond fellow writers.  After all, I don't necessarily write for my work to be read - I write because I have to - but it's a good feeling to have it read and written work is ultimately meant to be read.

So the next time you imagine your audience when you write, go big, go broad, imagine every kind of reader you'd ever want and then go for it.  Now get to writing, your readers are waiting!

Come share poetry with me - Open Mic and Reading

Local poet LB Sedlacek will read from her collection Poetry in L.A. (Lenoir Area) as Poetry Caldwell's featured writer on Friday, March 2 from 5:30-7pm. The event, including a family-friendly open mic, is free and open to all.  Caldwell Arts Council.

#art  #localart  #kidfriendly  #poetry  #ncpoets  #northcarolina  #northcarolinapoetry

Traveling with Fish now available

My new fiction travel novel is now available as an e-book or paperback.

After inheriting a cabin, a travel writer and her family move from the North Carolina mountains to the coast with their dog and fish. "Traveling with Fish" is my travel postcard in literary form all about the NC coast near Hatteras. It's a story that evolves from a travel writer inheriting a fishing cabin from an acquaintance she barely knew and how she and her sons, husband, their dog and their fish all move together and adapt to life on the coast.

Traveling with Fish - Ebook
Traveling with Fish - Book

My interview in South Florida Poetry Journal

South Florida Poetry Journal kindly interviewed me in their January issue in the Five Questions, Three Poets section.  Read it here:  LB Sedlacek - poetry intervew

Watercolor by Firestone Feinberg

My poem “Telescope Confessions” is in the Winter issue of “Blue Heron Review” published earlier this year.

Diving for Fries

New poem, "Diving for Fries" was recently published by "Arcturus"

It's all in the word, a little about the dash, and white space!

Recently I was critiquing a few manuscripts (I also do manuscript critiquing) for some new clients, and I was really surprised at their use of the dash.  This - or -- or --- if you would like a proper visual of it.

One dash here or there is not such a big deal.  When dashes are all over, though, it makes one ignore the words, the poem, the manuscript and just think about the lines at the beginnings, ends, or in the middle of a line.

---!

Not trying to be funny or anything, but it is like a Yellow Light!  That's a caution light here in the states.  For most, it means okay better slow down, get ready to stop.  For some it means, oh the light's turning red so hit the gas and fly on through.  Not exactly a safe way to drive.

So why put a dash in your poem?  To me, a dash is like taking a pause or a breath when speaking.  You know those people that pause all the time when they talk, and those that never do.

I admit it.  I'm a pauser.  I am thinking of what to say next.  When I'm writing, the words and sentences fly out of me so fast I can hardly get them down.  When talking, not so much.  Talking is a struggle for me most of the time ... unless I'm talking about poetry.

The white space, white lines, a space between words in a poem is another pause, another way to shift focus in the poem.  It can be a powerful move using white spaces within the line, between lines, or all the way down the page.

Down
the

page.

Like that--!

Now for the words themselves.  A writer, a poet, most likely is in love with words and/or reading like me.  I read everything, even those stupid ads they put on restaurant tables. I still enjoy reading a newspaper, billboards, ads and reading the dictionary or words of the day for fun.  Word choices will guide your poem, make your poem and be your poem.  Pick words you are familiar with and don't use too many words that most readers won't know or they will likely not finish reading the whole poem.

If you get stuck, think of your favorite words (you know you have some) and write a poem.  Use the words at the beginning, the middle, the end or use one or two in each verse and see what you come up with.

The proper use of the dash, white space thrown in with the right words can really set your poems on fire!  Sizzle            on--      my poet    friends!

Virtual place poetry

Using a popular social media app, I've started a page where I write poems about one specific area around a certain place.  These poems are what I call virtual place poems.  I'm not submitting them anywhere.  I'm not writing them to submit anywhere.  I'm writing them on the go as inspiration strikes.  Sometimes I even include a picture to go with the poem.  It's a new way to write for me, writing all via an app, editing on the go as well.  It's a great way to keep my writing sharp and different.

I do have readers of these poems.  A lot of them are my friends who usually don't read poetry but because these poems are about a place familiar to them, they are reading them.  It's helped me gain new readership as well among acquaintances and friends who didn't know I was a poet.  It's also helped introduce poetry to people who are interested in the place enough to read a poem about it.

To me that's win-win in poetry/poet land!  New readers.  New people familiar with my work.  New way to go about writing poems!

I will probably put the poems into e-book and possibly chapbook form as some point so I can get them out there in other formats.  But right now it's fun to compose a poem on the go!

Everyday, as a writer, it's important to write something to keep your skills fresh and keep yourself motivated!   Look around on your social media apps and figure out what works for you.