Poetry Against Cancer News!

Hello, hello and hello. It's been a while since I blogged - been busy, I'll explain at another point. I come to you today with news of my publication, Poetry Against Cancer. The book, which has been out for over a year now, is an anthology of poems from around the world, on sale to raise money for St John's Ward in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, in Crumlin, Dublin.

A while back, Lulu.com, the POD publisher we're using, emailed to say that books were going to be available through the iBookstore. I can now proudly announce that, as of today - this is when I'm finding out, mind you, not the hard-core facts - the book is now on sale there! I have, as a result of this addition, and in honour of it being so long since we published the book, lowered the price for the ebook. What was once €4, is now a handsome €2.99. This still leaves us with a high enough revenue to make money while also making it that little bit cheaper for you to buy!

The paperback book is still available from Lulu.com. The ebook is now available from both Lulu and Apple. If you're buying the ebook from Lulu, I advise using the ebook link, at least for the time being while Lulu updates the price.

That's about it, I reckon. I hope you'll all consider getting a copy of this book. Until next time!

Irony, Poetry Books and the Weather

Forgive me if I'm wrong about irony, but when I get snow instead of the Robert Frost poetry book I ordered, I wondered what was going on. I'm still waiting. I received half my order of books yesterday - half, being one book. It was an edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, using the original text. What I'm still waiting on is Poems by Robert Frost.

It's not that I have a need for these books of poetry, since they were on my course last semester; I just really liked them. I also have an Elizabeth Bishop poetry book, and when I can afford it from my online survey PayPal vouchers, I'll be getting a book of Tennyson poems. I kind of fell in love with the works of these poets last semester, and I could never find affordable editions of their works in book shops in Dublin (and I have yet to be anywhere with a decent bookshop otherwise... more on that at a later date). So, when I found them online, I jumped at the chance to buy them.

Buy Poetry Against Cancer here

I just wish the Frost book would arrive! I have a feeling the snow and ice here in Dublin is affecting the post... but that doesn't explain why the two halves of my order were sent separately! It doesn't make any sense, dammit!

Also, while I'm here, I'll give Poetry Against Cancer another mention; it's still on sale, and I really, really hope you'll support it. All the money, as I've said several times before, goes to St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital here in Dublin. The book is affordable and makes a great present for poetry fans!

Until next time, take care with this adverse weather! I hope it doesn't affect you too badly.

Out of Service

For a while, this blog will be on a hiatus, along with my Twitter and Facebook accounts. This has nothing to do with anyone but myself - basically, I'm too busy to concern myself with social networks. Go figure.

Not sure when I'll be back, though. I've a lot of stuff coming up, soon. I might be back during the Christmas break. Or in February. I can't be too sure. Twitter will be revived with this blog, though. Facebook... maybe sooner. I don't know.

Until such time that I come back on the scene, I wish you all good health, etc. etc. and, if you can spare the cash, I encourage you to support Poetry Against Cancer, in aid of St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Buy Poetry Against Cancer here

Poetry For Christmas

Hi everyone,

I'm writing today to ask you to consider adding something to your Christmas list, for yourself or for other people: it's a poetry book I edited entitled Poetry Against Cancer, in aid of St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin. St John's is the Oncology and Haematology ward at Ireland's leading children's hospital.

We're not asking for much, here. The book costs €7.50 plus P&P. 100% of the revenue earned on the book - that's all the profit we make from it after the printing costs and the publisher's costs - will go to St John's.

If you order soon, the publisher can guarantee delivery before December 24th.

The book is available by clicking the following link: http://tiny.cc/pacbuy

We hope you will support the cause and please spread the word so that the hospital can benefit even during these tough economic times.

Thank you and God bless,
Paul.

Twitter

Twitter's like a playground; there are games and there are fights, there are weird discussions and there are boring ones.

Twitter's like an assylum for the mentally ill; every day, over two million people talk to themselves, feeling an urge to tell the world (or whoever's listening) that they are there, and they are busy!

Twitter's like Hollywood; there are celebrities, there are creations, there are good deeds done and lots of pretentious attitudes about everyone else (side note: people on Twitter are both the celebrities and the people observing them, and pretentious attitudes, creations, good and bad deeds are all done by both sides of the coin of fame) and you're not likely to know everyone who has some interest in what you have to say.

That pretty much summarises my experience with Twitter in the 51 and a half weeks I've been there. I've see the fights first hand, and I'm not at liberty to discuss them. They're sort of a You-Had-To-Be-There thing, because even though they're broadcast publicly, they're private intimate things. But I've see the games too - they call them "hashtags." Things are tagged with, can you guess, the hash sign (# for those who don't know...). Generally the hashtags are used to get things trending and to identify similar tweets (that's Twitter lingo for what other social networking sites call "Status Updates."). Other times, they're used to spread jokes (for example: #threewordsaftersex)

As to the assylum reference... well, we're all guilty of that on Twitter. Especially me. I spent about an hour yesterday tweeting in the third person, just for the fun of it.

And Hollywood... well, I've seen friends gain a celebrity status (okay, one in particular), but I've also experienced something similar to the celebrity thing... I don't know most of my followers. It's kind of weird. I would have thought they would reply a lot more to the things I say, but no. Just out of the blue, on Writer Wednesday of course, a couple of people I don't know have me down as a recommendation. I don't know where that came from (but I appreciate it!).

Twitter's like a billboard for the masses; something can be advertised on it, and people can ignore it if they want.

Yeah, this comes back to Poetry Against Cancer. I'm sorry to say (if it annoys you that is... otherwise I'm not sorry), but I won't be stopping with the posts about this book for a long time. I want it to sell, and so I have no choice but to talk about it to remind you, again, that it's for a good cause, and we could do with every say.

My copies of it arrived today, by the way. I have twenty-five copies of it with me right now as I write this. And they look amazing! I mean, I knew they would, but I was still delighted with how well they came out. Rachel did a fantastic job on design work, and I'm not the only one to say it. Now, if you wish to buy it, you can click on the link (the name is hightlighted above - it's a link to buy it, like all the links of books I post, though most go to Amazon.com)

Thanks for your time. Let me know what you think of the book if you buy it! (And please, buy it! I don't ask for much, and it's not too expensive!)

Poetry Against Cancer - On Sale Now!

Well, the day is here! Poetry Against Cancer is now on sale.

With an amazing cover and fantastic design work by Rachel, I know people are going to love it, even without reading the wonderful poetry inside! I've read this book three times now, so I know the poems in it are good.

I really do hope you'll purchase a copy - all the money raised goes to St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Dublin. It's a children's cancer ward, and it could do with our help to ensure the continued service the hospital gives to its young patients.

Please visit this page and place your purchase - available for €7.50 plus P&P, and in e-book format, for €4.

Thanking you on behalf of all the staff, patients and families of St John's and Crumlin hospital, and all the people who made this book possible,
Paul.

Poetry Against Cancer available for Pre-Order!

Well, the day's finally come when Poetry Against Cancer is availabe for pre-order! It costs €7.50, plus postage and packaging of €1.50 (€9.00 in total), and will be like that for one week, until it's release. The button to pre-order is in the right-hand sidebar on my blog, right there at the top of the page. Click it... you know you want to.

Just make sure to leave your address so I know where to ship the book. Shipping in the same for everywhere, so you don't have to worry about that.

I was asked earlier - why the pre-order period? Why not just let the Print On Demand do its job? The answer: we plan on having a launch for the book. Right now, I've just waiting for a reply from a bookshop about it, and then we'll be set. If the owner says no, then I'll have to try organise something myself. I might see if Niamh can get the choir to perform for it. That would be awesome indeed. Would need a few songs for it, but it would be during the Easter break, so I'm sure they could muster something... I'll have to see. Everyone's fairly busy these days.

Of course, I can always ask the likes of Rob N' Eoin and Slow Motion Getaway from college to perform, but I'd like to ask Niamh first, based on the bookshop's response of course. Will need a number for the latter band if I'm to ask them though. They're music option number three, since I haven't heard them play before (in actual fact, I've only really heard Rob N' Eoin in class and at mass...)

I would also need a venue that's accessible to everyone. A pub launch might work... it'd be a venue for the musicians and an easy place to contact. The Pint Pub seems to go down well...

Okay, enough hypothetical scheming! This is getting crazy. It hasn't even happened yet. The book isn't even ready for public purchase through Lulu.com! Calm down Paul!

In the meantime, tell your family and friends to buy the book. It's not too expensive, and it's for a good cause! All the money raised goes to St John's Ward at Our Lady's Children's Hospital!

Once the pre-order period is over, the book will only be available from Lulu.com. The postage will be higher then, so don't delay! Order soon!

All the very best,
Paul.

There's Always Tomorrow

I'm having a problem; tomorrow is always there for me to say, "I can do it tomorrow." This gets a lot of stuff put off until a later date, like a project I thought up last night when I couldn't get to sleep, and all of my college work.

I've got a coursework journal to do, on top of two essays, my religion tutorial work (every week for that one...) and I have my own writing to do, as well as maintaining my blog, the Literary Den blog, releasing the Poetry Against Cancer book, and promoting it, and I've got reading and stuff to do... and drama. But that'll last two weeks - the competition will be over by then.

Aside from my "Wrote Today" Chart, what else can I do to keep getting things done? I mean, there's so much to do, so little time, and I can feel my exams creeping closer! Ah!

And yet... here I am on Facebook, playing Cafe World, and watching television. Call me crazy... Actually, that's about it - call me crazy. It might help.

When I find myself able to control the madness in my life, I'll let you know. It might be June by then, but hey, I'll have control....

Just in Case

I figured that tomorrow I might not be able to blog about everything that will happen. So, in short, the things I plan on doing, that better happen...

Number 1 - Tea/Coffee/Hot chocolate with Sophie. We're finally taking advantage of our time off and doing something during the day. Some quality time together, after her short day in college, is much needed. I imagine this will be fantastically fun.

Number 2 - The Blue Ukulele. I intend on buying it. If you follow my tweets, you know I've been talking about this for a while. See, I'd always been sort of interested in the Uke as an instrument (I'm even using Ukulele player language!), and a customer came into my shop a couple of weekends ago and was buying a book on how to play the Ukulele. It kind of set off my need to learn an instrument, so I figure something like this won't seem as challenging as a keyboard, because I can't immediately see at least 56 white keys on it. Four strings = less daunting. And the blue one I saw online is only €20! If Waltons have it in stock, I'll have a Ukulele!

Number 3 - Poetry Night at The Gutter Bookshop! Sophie and I, as you know, put together the Poetry Against Cancer book. I emailed Bob at the Gutter Bookshop about it, and I'll be talking to him in person tomorrow about it too if it's at all possible. While I'm there, I'll also be able to listen to some awesome poetry, possibly read some if I'm feeling up for it, and generally have a good time. Yay Poetry Night!

Number 4 - Choir. This happens every Thursday, so there shouldn't be much of a shock here. I'll have The Blue Ukulele with me, if I can get it, because I'll be going straight there from town, with Sophie. It's going to be awesome! I can imagine some hyperactivity over the tiny instrument (it's not the size that counts, it's how badly I'll be able to play it =P). That should be fun!

Those were all in chronological order. As for the next thing I plan on doing, writing... that'll actually happen earlier in the day. In the morning, actually. I need to keep writing, every day, and fill in the "Wrote Today" Chart as I go along, because it's finally Lent! I'll also have to do some reading of The Jump, Skulduggery Pleasant, and make a start on my coursework journal for college, which will involve some watching of movies, and some transcribing of notes I made during the watching of Beau Travail, the adaptation of Billy Budd. Busy morning... I better wake up at 8 to do this, as I have to have dinner at 2 and be ready to get into town not long afterwards.

In other news, Rachel is putting thought into the cover for Poetry Against Cancer. I can't wait to see it! I know already that it's going to be awesome. It's Rachel, it has to be. Also, Ms Dunne and I are emailing again. I make her laugh, it seems. My confusion over things like an MS Readathon and the mention of a stun gun certainly were funny, I'll admit. Especially the stun gun... It's proverbial, I might add. Teachers aren't allowed to carry weapons.

While my fingers are in type mode, I might try make a start at one of the spin-offs for The Jump. Or if I get an idea for a poem, write one. Actually, I better get some poems ready for the Poetry Night first. Oh it's going to be so exciting! I'll write a blog about that tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have the courage to read!

I took a break

Well, I had a long day of college - the first long day since we started back. Tired, mainly from the waking at 7 thing, I decided not to write too much. Everything I tried doing turned out rubbish anyway, so it's probably best. I'd only have wasted my time in doing work I was going to delete anyway.

On the bright side of things, I did organise the order of the poems for Poetry Against Cancer and send it off to Rachel. Finally! I meant to do that a week ago... my excuse is college and I'm sticking to it!

Also Glee... yes, I'm a Gleek. I can't help it. It's music, it's dancing and it's amazing. I love the songs I've heard them sing on it so far. And yes, I will be buying the soundtrack after I've watched the episodes.

In other news... I've been reuniting with some old friends via Facebook. And I mean old. Primary school friends. I've had miniature conversations with two of them today, and it was great! I look forward to the chance of getting everyone to meet up in Quinn's or something, when Aidan gets back from Wales, of course. Don't want to leave him out.

So in short, life is good. *insert smiley face here*

Getting Ideas

Recently I've been getting ideas for things that aren't all related with writing fiction. That's a strange experience for me; normally my life consists of fiction as an escape from reality. Now I'm in the process of putting together a poetry book, organising my Sooper Sekrit Project, and considering taking on another task that would get my name out there in a different field... non-fiction!

Let's put everything in perspective first of all. My fiction isn't dead, just crazy. Actually, I'm the crazy one, would be more accurate to say. Instead of writing down my ideas for my books, I'm speaking out dialogue in a whisper in the bathroom every time I go in there. Gotta love showers for that - I can spend a few minutes waking up in the water in the morning, then when I'm drying myself, which I spend far too long doing anyway, I can go through plots and conversations and all sorts of stuff. I better start writing them all down though.

As for the poetry book... I need to organise the order of the poems still. I'm going to print them tomorrow before college to encourage me to do it. For now, though, I'm going to arrange promotion. Already setting targets for the followers of the Facebook page to meet in terms of getting new fans - 750 by Friday? Easy. 736 as I'm writing this. People are awesome at reducing World Suck (world suck, for those of you who don't know is a term used my the Vlog Brothers John and Hank Green to describe things that make the world suck.. fairly straightforward, you'll agree).

The Sooper Sekrit Project now has one draft of a List of Awesome, 2010. The list contains ten items that are awesome that will be included in the project in the year, assuming it ever gets going. If I don't get additional help on this, it'll just be me. Scary thought, but I think I can do it.

Then there's that new idea... I want to do a sort of magazine thing. It's going to be a monthly or bi-monthly piece with essays on different things in the world. So I'd have a piece of Theology, which could be discussion of the Church, or a journey of self-discovery, or a piece on Justice. Then there'd be a Poetry section, which might include a couple of specially written poems, maybe some Haiku, and a recommendation for some poetry too (as I'm studying Poetry in college right now, and I run a writers group, this part should be easy). I'm also thinking of a writing piece or two - advice from my own experiences to help people get past problems, a writing experiment or two, an interview with someone I know online, or just an essay on books. And a few reviews, if I have any I'd like to share. Recommended reading for different ages for kids, and stuff like that. I might even have a photography section, if it can be arranged.

As well as topical things like that, I'd also have a kind of follow-up on things happening in my life that are book related - the Den and anything we do, Poetry Against Cancer, the Sooper Sekrit Project, and any info, if any, on my publishing progress.

The entire thing will be in A5 on paper, but also available in e-format. I'd be charging very cheaply for issues after the first, if I go ahead with this, but the first one will be free to keep people coming back for more if they like it.

Which means I'd need a subscriber page, too. Maybe a giveaway...

Good thing I placed an order for some books earlier! I'm already planning one giveaway, but if this gets going I'll plan other stuff. Hopefully if I get a fairly decent reader-size the prizes will fund themselves. It'll be done through Lulu.com, so it'll be easy to manage revenue and whatnot.

Oh, I never told you my name for the magazine. Well, since it's my magazine, about writing and other things, The Anonymous Writer, to fit in with my Twitter and YouTube names. And if this actually makes me any money, I'll have to try get a website. That would be so cool!

Now.. thoughts, anyone?

Weekend War, Part 2

I lost, I think. Eileen updated me on her weekend, and she seems to have trumped mine. Unless a thousand people suddenly vote for me in the Shorty Awards or become fans of the fundraising page for Our Lady's Children's Hosptial, Crumlin, then my weekend is officially worse than hers.

However, it wasn't bad. Pretty good in fact, as far as my weekends normally go. Last night, as I mentioned, was Ciarán's birthday get-together, a lads night, a time when people who hadn't seen each other in a good long while got to just hang out. It was great! We laughed, a lot. And talked, a lot. And loudly, on both accounts. Ciarán liked his present (which I can now reveal to be two books - Obama's Blackberry and The Average American Male - and the latest Mighty Boosh Live DVD, which is the show we all went to see when it came to Dublin!). It was definitely a good night. And there was pizza. Delicious pizza.

I slept in. That's always fun. Actually, it's more accurate to say I had a lie-in, because I wasn't actually going anywhere. I didn't send my letter to America, or buy books, but I can do those things tomorrow.

I cleaned my room. I know that might not sound like a good thing, but now my dad will stop bothering me about it. Win!

I also got to watch Heroes, after an amazing Sunday Roast dinner. The episode was less exciting than the first two (which aired last Saturday), but it was essential in terms of character introduction, development, and power demonstration, and it furthered the plot, continued story arks, and brought about a whole new level of suspense. Fantastic!

Had a relaxing day, overall. Nothing too strenuous. I did, however, give a possible candidate more info on the Sooper Sekrit Project my followers on Twitter have been hearing about so much. Nice guy, lives in America.

Might as well tell all readers here - the project, details remaining secret for now, requires one person to work on it with me who likes to read and is comfortable talking to a camera. Specific types of books are in mind, so if you're applying for this sooper fun project, please bare don't feel bad if you get turned away for reading something else. It's just not the type of books I'm going for with this, at least not this year.

Nice finish to the weekend - seeing the follower numbers for the Poetry Against Cancer Facebook page (the fundraising page already mentioned) with 680 followers! That's over 400 followers since Monday. How cool is that? Take that World Suck!

Weekend War, Part 1

Well, it's the weekend. You know what that means? Time for a Weekend War with Eileen. See, on Facebook she started listing all the things she was doing, or the little treats she was going to eat, and I thought, "Why isn't my weekend that good?"

Now I'm in a personal war with her to have the better weekend. As we all know, of course, the weekend starts on Friday night. At least it does in Ireland, or else the pubs would be empty. So...how have my hours been spent?

Well, last night I went to see Up In The Air, staring George Clooney, and a cast of people I've never heard of. It was a "rom-com" without much romance at all. More like casual sex. Delightful. And the comedy... well, it wasn't in-your-face comedy like The Hangover; it was more like dry humour, where the characters just had to speak in some cases to be funny. And I went to see it with friends from secondary school, so even better!

Today... well, I was in work. Now, that might sound bad, but it was only for six hours and the wonderful Alan O'Neill, one of the coolest teachers ever from my secondary school dropped in. We had a chat about stuf in general, like college, and the school, and it made my day a little better. And at lunch I treated myself to a cake from the bakery... it's okay, I'm allowed to...

Got home at about a quater past four, or thereabouts anyway, and got on the PC to play a Warhammer game. It's explosive, it's violent and it's virtual - perfect!

And later? Well, later's the fun part - "lads night" at Ciarán's house to celebrate his birthday! (note to self - wrap his present!). I've no idea what we'll be doing, but it should be fun. Plus I get to see all my old friends again. Yay!

Tomorrow will be boring in comparison unless I do something, so I'm going to work on the Poetry Against Cancer book and do some editing work on Meet Sam. (which, by the way, a lecturer in my college liked! Yuss!) I also have to place in an order for some books and send a letter to America - fun! And I get to watch Heroes, which I have to record tonight due to lack of being home.

Oh, and during this blog post... I lost the Game. Sorry everybody.

A Very Late Update

Hello all!

Well, things in NaNoWriMo are now officially good. In my earlier days this month, I wasn't doing too well. I had a low word count and was actually behind on my word count at the end of the first week. That wasn't encouraging. Then I went to Write or Die on drwicked.com and boom! At the end of Week Three I have 45,313 words at the time I'm writing this. To get to the site, click: http://writeordie.drwicked.com -- I advise using Kamikaze mode, Strict timing, and with a word goal of 200 words for every 5 minutes. That'll make sense when you click the link.

What next... oh of course! My friend Sophie and I are putting together a book of poetry called Poetry Against Cancer, in aid of St John's Ward in Crumlin, Dublin. It's Ireland's only children's cancer ward, so it's a very worthy cause. We're looking for public submissions by December 15th. More info @ http://poetryagainstcancer.wordpress.com -- Please submit and spread the word!

Is there more? I can't remember... Well, I plan on writing a book that will go straight to a blog, but I want to know what the audience will be like first. I suppose I'll have to start writing it for that. But first, I need to edit Meet Sam. I'm hoping that between the end of The Wedding Singer and the end of my second semester at college I can edit it and get it sent off to a publisher.

Rebecca Woodhead and I were only talking about this on Twitter recently. We now refuse to use the word "if" when talking about us being published. It's now "when" we're both published. We've promised to do an event together, and sign our respective books for each other. I look forward to that day, whenever it might be.

Also related to Rebecca, because she's one of the coolest people ever (!), I'm going to be sending her a copy of the Poetry Against Cancer book when it's published. ^_^

Christmas is in less than five weeks - I have to get everything ready for it! And next Friday is Andrew's birthday party thingy, so I have to get wrapping paper for his present. And a card for him. I can't wait! ^_^

That's it, for now. Check out those two sites I told you about... OR ELSE!! (I love that term when it's in caps lock...)

Beatha agus sláine,
Paul