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  1. David Bromige – Collaborative Poems III

    06.22.2009 by Shannon

    ‘There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.” – Terry Pratchett

    More collaborative poems with my mentor David Bromige… (more…)

    Category Poetry, Sonoma County Splendor | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  2. David Bromige – Collaborative Poems II

    06.16.2009 by Shannon

    “A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it to be God.” -Sidney Sheldon

    *     *     *

    More collaborative poems with David Bromige, my mentor… and don’t ask me who Janice or Betty is. Or if you do, I’ll tell you they are perfect illustrations of David’s humor. Putting a name like “Betty” in a poem? Writing about a jazz singer we don’t know? David was always reminding me not to take myself nor poetry too seriously…

    (more…)

    Category Poetry, Sonoma County Splendor | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  3. David Bromige – Collaborative Poems

    06.15.2009 by Shannon

    “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” -Emily Dickinson

    *     *     *

    To honor my mentor David Bromige, who passed away this past week, I will be posting some poems written under his tutelage or in collaboration. We would make a cup of tea, set arbitrary rules, and away we wrote~

    (more…)

    Category Poetry, Writing & Language | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  4. David Bromige (1933-2009)

    06.12.2009 by Shannon

    It is with extreme sadness and spiked loss that I mention the passing of my friend and mentor, David Bromige.  I wanted to be able to write a great spread of prose or poetry, honoring his sharp wit, playful creativity, and a life in words.

    But for now, I will just provide this link and some quotes I captured during our lazy days writing poetry in the garden of his Sebastopol home… because sometimes things need time to sink in before the words come.

    My love and support to his family Cecilia, Maggie & Chris.

    DAVID BROMIGE QUOTES / FOUND POEMS (more…)

    Category Announcements, Poetry, Sonoma County Splendor | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  5. Bearing Witness

    02.21.2009 by Shannon

    Hello, Hanoi
    (Part 9 of Many)

    I have not posted for a few days because sometimes this world cuts me like a stone, and I have to wander around half-dead until breathable air arrives.
    (more…)

    Category Adventures in Asia, Location-Location, Unthinkable Loss | Tags: ,,,,,, | 5 Comments

  6. 2-14

    02.12.2009 by Shannon

    This Saturday is February 14th. For most people it is a day of romance (Hallmark or otherwise); but it is also my brother’s birthday.

    I’m taking the weekend alone in Sapa to write, think, and honor my only and lost brother. Just for him, I booked the deluxe suite with double-balcony views. “You only live once!” I can hear him say.

    …Enjoy the weekend

    Category Adventures in Asia, Location-Location, Unthinkable Loss | Tags: | No Comments

  7. LAUNCHED: Year of No Fear

    01.18.2009 by Shannon

    “Uncertainty means stepping into the unknown… Without uncertainty and the unknown, life is just the stale repetition of outworn memories…Relinquish your attachment to the known, step into the unknown, and you will step into the field of all possibilities…” -Deepak Chopra

    My cousin had the above quote posted on her Facebook page (wow. You know you’re a child of the internet  when you blog about a FB posting… sigh).

    (more…)

    Category PROJECTS, This Modern Life | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  8. Vacation Amnesia

    12.07.2008 by Shannon

    You might think Britney Spears on the iPod while crossing New Zealand’s majestic bays via ferry towards Waiheke Island some kind of sacrilege — but let me assure you, my friends, it is a beautiful (life affirming) combination, the sacred and the profane.

    (more…)

    Category Location-Location, Unthinkable Loss | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  9. Next Exit, Down Under

    11.30.2008 by Shannon

    The sun, ferns, salt and dark lager have bleached my brain. I am now sitting by myself at the (mahogany? kaori wood?) bar at a place called “Schnappa Rock” and enjoying a very tall pint while I write and look at the ocean:

    (more…)

    Category Location-Location, NaNoWriMo, Narrative | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  10. Off Again, Down Under

    11.25.2008 by Shannon

    Tēnā koutou ! I’m in Aukland, New Zealand!

    But don’t have much time to write, because I am jetlagged and have to go… write. Behind quite a bit on my NaNoWriMo novel and have calculated that I need to hit about 4000 words/day to make it happen. (You thought I quit? Oh, come on- you should know me better than that. Don’t you know sarcasm when you read it?)

    Aside from zoning out to Ugly Betty episodes and trying to sleep in uncomfortable no-legroom positions during my 12 hour flight, I did manage to eek out another 1000 words or so — so off I go for the remaining 3 tonight, before I pass out in a jet-lag-gin-and-tonic stupor and wake again tomorrow to head off for the North Island’s Bay of Islands.

    Hei konā ~

    Category Location-Location, NaNoWriMo | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  11. In Loving Memory

    11.20.2008 by Shannon

    Christopher David DeJong
    Feb. 14, 1976 – Nov. 20, 2007

    It’s been a long year since you left us, yet the loss is still fresh. Slowly the pain lessens and is replaced with memory, but the “missing” will always be there.

    Let us miss you without selfishness, without desperation, but only with love.

    You will always be a bright spark in our hearts just as you were in our lives.

    We know you are safe and at peace. Let us follow your example and have peace in our hearts…

    We are taking good care of your dogs.

    We love you, Chris–

    Category Unthinkable Loss | Tags: , | No Comments

  12. A Letter to NaNoWriMo-ians

    11.19.2008 by Shannon

    …ok, team–

    It’s time for a serious heart-to-heart. I know I’m infamous for my abundant pep talks (asked for or not) and Can Do attitude; for my always cheery “cheer up, Slugger!” encouragement and optimistic outlooks.

    Wow. How annoying.

    (more…)

    Category NaNoWriMo | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  13. Quiet as a Taos

    11.09.2008 by Shannon

    Despite being on the road, I’m still NaNo-ing! I’ve made my way back to Taos, New Mexico, sagebrush of my heart, and am snuggling down into 7 (burrr!) degree nights, the cold air like a blanket of quiet.

    Good thing I’m being well taken care of; some friends I met last time have put me up, and are supplying me with plenty of hot chai tea. Then I move on to Mabel Dodge for a week-long writing retreat with Natalie Goldberg. It’s a silent week of meditation, walking, and writing practice, a perfect time to accumulate words as week two of NaNoWriMo is upon us.

    See you in a week, when we’ll have another NaNo wordcount update, with all the usual suspects.

    Category Location-Location, NaNoWriMo | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  14. Word(count) 1

    11.06.2008 by Shannon

    We’re not even through the first week, and already our wordcounts are piling up. Gadzooks! The NaNoWriMo site is so busy that they’ve disabled some of the features, so I can’t install a geeky-neato wordtracker widget. Guess I’ll have to track by hand.

    Our writers (in no particular order):

    (more…)

    Category NaNoWriMo | Tags: ,,,,,, | No Comments

  15. An Early Start

    11.01.2008 by Shannon

    I’m a bad girl, I know (I should be getting my 8 hours, or at the very least out having some Halloween fun like a normal 27-year-old) but I just couldn’t help myself– It’s just past midnight on November first, and it’s officially time to start writing! NaNoWriMo is upon us!

    I have to say, it feels really good to be back at the keys in a fast-n-furious novel showdown, to feel the wind whipping through my fingers as they fly in focused frenzy — and, as I give myself permission to put quantity over quality for the next 30 days. Ye-Ha!

    Word count as of 12:45am: 426 words. 

    Category NaNoWriMo | Tags: | No Comments

  16. It’s NaNoWriMo Time!

    10.30.2008 by Shannon

    It’s almost November, and you know what that means! No, not the election (something even BIGGER than that!)

    Start sharpening your pencils, changing the ribbons on your typewriter, or (if you must) booting up your hard drives, because it’s… National Novel Writing Month!

    I’m gearing up to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days, and I’m not alone! I have at least 4 others with whom I will be in good company for the grand ole word-churn. Let me know if anyone else out there is inspired to do the same, and I’ll be happy to track your progress here on NKS.

    Novels away!

    Category NaNoWriMo | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  17. Celebration

    08.31.2008 by Shannon

    Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of the death of my best friend Jamie. My friend Jill, who grew up with Jamie and I, called me:

    “Just wanted to talk to you to remember how, 5 years ago exactly, we experienced one of the worst days of our lives.”

    Actually, she said “one of the top 3 worst days of my life.” I didn’t ask about the other two.

    (more…)

    Category Unthinkable Loss | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  18. CLOSED: Perspective Fund

    08.21.2008 by Shannon

    A single complaint: $5
    Tally to date: $60
    Learning-the-hard-way-that-complaining-is-a-waste-of-time-and-my-energy- is-better-spent-doing-anything-but: priceless.

    For the sake of rounding up, I am rounding up(:) the Perspective Fund to a crisp $100 (I’d be kidding myself if I didn’t think fallen through the cracks of good behavior slipped a few unrecorded complaint tokens.)

    No, $100 isn’t a lot monetarily, but the good (humbling) lessons that came along with every dollar certainly has to count for something.

    I’m currently considering to which fund to donate. Any suggestions?

    Category Perspective | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  19. Walking Backwards

    07.13.2008 by Shannon

    Oh, who am I kidding-

    There is no Robot-Lego FlashDance going on — I don’t even own legos. (more…)

    Category Unthinkable Loss | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  20. Hanging Tight

    07.09.2008 by Shannon

    Running around like a chicken with her head cut off, your author neglects (temporarily!) to post new material on NKS… but trust that it is all leading to bigger and better things. You can’t stop this girl from writing; she loves it like breath.

    [[-End tedious 3rd person narrative-]] I’m doing another poetry reading this Thursday, working on putting together a chapbook, in the editing (finally!) phase of my grandfather’s memoir, writing mad-hot copy for [confidential!] client, and making headway to return to my other love: Vietnam

    And just in case you think I’ve turned soft on you — worry not. I am only a Sonoma County yippie-poet part time. The rest of the week I still perform the Robot-Lego FlashDance that you all know and love.

    …Hang Tight.

    Category Announcements, Poetry | Tags: ,, | No Comments

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