Word-Art

In my last post, I whined about having too many irons in the fire. I'm happy to report that I finished one of my projects. Last night I presented the poetry lesson on word-art at the Nebraska Writers Workshop. Here is the piece I created using the knowledge from the lesson.



Haida
Raven Tribe Raven Tribe
Ancient sea warriors
Canoes with sixty paddlers
Sixty Great canoes
Great canoes carved from single red cedars
Sixty canoes with sixty paddlers
3000 Raven warriors
3000 Raven warriors
Pike adorned Canoes
Pikes for the heads of my enemies
Their women and children my slaves
Two hundred thousand moons
My ancestors came
Over the water from the setting sun
Sixty-eight-thousand seasons
My ancestors came
Across the icy sea
Filling the red cedar forests
Trading with the eagle tribe
the sea lion warriors
the river people
My totems tell the story
The mother of my mother's mother
Mother From Inside the Glacier
From the Direction of the North Wind
My people came
Filling the islands
Do not resist
I strike with honor
With the outside Edge of a Branch
You will taste bitter water
I will burn your bones
I will paint your skull
with Raven tribe symbols
With symbols of the raven people
I will paint your skull
Paint your skull



That's one project down, 285 to go.
Next up, synopsis.

Too Many Irons in the Fire

Welp, I did it again. I sail along on a work in progress, Spencer Murdoch and the Island of Magic, while thoughts of other projects I want to write bounce around in my head. Then, I dabble on the other works and everything slows down. It's not the first time I've done this. I jus' cain't help it. Inspired by fellow poet and local, world-travelled professor David Prinz Hufford, rather than finishing the final edits on my latest novel, I wrote a Shakespearean sonnet. In preparation for an upcoming presentation on word art at the Nebraska Writers Workshop, I've delved deep into indigenous northwest art, particularly Tlingit and Haida. This highly stylized art form is poetry without words. Using inspiration from Michigan artist Keemo, my current favorite, I'm going to insert words into a Haida inspired painting.

Not only have I done numerous sketches for the painting's design, I've also gathered information for the poem, which I think will also be Tinglit and Haida inspired. The raven is and essential in their culture, so I almost feel compelled the add some kind of Edgar Allen Poe influence. Maybe even a little Lewis Carrol. I have a wonderfully energetic writer Annie Douglas Lima asking for an in depth interview. She has many good writing questions. I'll see what I can do to answer her. I'm writing a script about a high school class discussing TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. And there's that pesky new round of query letters waiting to be written. Oh, and I took time out to write this blog just for you.
Speaking of you.
Do you ever get too many irons in the fire?
How does it affect your production?
Or, are you one that finishes a project before moving on?
Jim

Spots on Pluto

Spots on Pluto
James M M Baldwin

Pluto splashed his haunted mind
Onto the underworlds' souls

His Ambitions beaded on the surface until fermented
Hunting gateways through the thought fabric protecting inner layers

Inside, minuscule particles spread across a vast blue synapse expanse
Bit by bit, literary granules seep deeper

Wrapped in damp fog blankets
Gathering,
condensing into clouds
Forming puffy white images
floating
A bear
A lion
Growing darker
Growing larger
A dragon

Lightning bolts race from synapse to synapse
Thunder's rumble portends catastrophe

Teardrops fall on a windblown path
An explosion of understanding
Hitting fertile neurons
Gushing torrents

Nourishing the sapling as it sprouts and rises
Branching out, producing fruit

Aspiration achieved

New Horizons Pluto Flyby

At more than 3,000,000,000 (3 billion) miles, flying between 30,000 and 50,000 MPH, it has taken our New Horizons spacecraft nine years to reach Pluto. How long would that same trip take using the ship in my short story "Son of Thunder?" At one-tenth the speed of light, my fictional series III nuclear propelled space shuttle could make the trip in 5 days. To read more about light speed space travel and my proposed methods, see my blog post titled, "Light Speed Travel, Part I." Read the story "Son of Thunder" in "Orion’s Arm; Tales from the Milky Way" here https://www.createspace.com/3836037 .
‪#‎NASA‬ ‪#‎NewHorizons‬ ‪#‎PlutoFlyby‬

Spotify Top 50 Rock (A Poem)

Next Wednesday I'll be presenting a poetry lesson on observations for the Nebraska Writers Workshop. The object of the lesson is notice unusual things in your surroundings. The observations won't necessarily become a poem but could wind up being just the right detail to get across a particular intention.

I love my Spotify. I listen to it almost every waking hour. I've discovered many new bands I otherwise would have never listened to. While listening to Spotify's current top 50 rock songs, I noticed how poetic all of the names of the songs, albums, and artists are. I know, that's kind of the point of music. But anyhow, I wrote them all down in the form of a poem to show you. Let me know what you think. Maybe next week I'll turn out a poem using titles from the top 1930's jazz recordings.

So, without any further ado

Spotify Top 50 Rock
James M M Baldwin

Hit the Lights, Bring Me the Horizon
Cried the Man Overboard
Drowning, Neck Deep in a Brand New All Time Low
A Low Lower than Atlantis

Spilling Royal Blood
Of The Earl of Grey
The Pale Emperor
As it is, All of Them Witches

I Survived the Great Flood
The Days of War
Play the Gaslight Anthem
Telling the Story so far of Three Days Grace

The Muse Refused to lose
Entering as Romans do, Breaking Benjamins
The Offspring Puppy of an Incubus in Early November
36 Crazyfists Carry the Fire of Jekyll and Hyde

Real Friends Finding Superheaven
With a Bullet for My Valentine
Perfecting the Art of Dying
What's Next?

With Next to Nothing
With no Way Out
When God Comes Back
With Lightning at the Door

Heavy is the Head in the Church of Noise
While She Sleeps Beyond the Gates
of a Broken Generation of Mice and Men
We Explode in Brainwashed Madness

Lonely the Brave
Sleeping With Sirens
Skeletons in the Gallows
Get Out of the Way

Feast and Famine
Time and Trauma
Man is not a Bird
Fly! Fly Like a Leaf

Rise Up, Set it Straight
Stay Vicious, Get Hurt
Move, Shake, Hide, Bloom, Breathe
Something's Gotta Give

Get Lost, Find Yourself
Find the Gold Hidden on the Black Map
On Backroads, On Sonic Highways
An Odyssey with No Way Out

Imbue the Great Beyond with Your Smile
Set me on Fire Between the Stars
I Don't Love you Anymore
Everything Will be Alright in the End

The World I Used to know
Is Coming for You
I Am Machine
No Mercy
*

Cover Reveal

Today is the reveal of the new cover for "Spencer Murdoch and the Portals of Erzandor."

Without any further ado.
Drum roll please.


A construction worker risks his family’s safety to fulfill a prophecy and stop a global storm ushering in the reign of an evil ruler. Spencer Murdoch unearths a supernatural portal and discovers an ancient being guarding a gateway between heaven and hell. Spencer must find the person chosen to enter the portal before a power hungry doctor can use it to release evil into the world.


James M M Baldwin writes speculative fiction with an interaction between spirituality, science, and humanity. His science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing interjects spiritual self-awareness and its influence on the natural environment and the universe. Adding to the relationship between human nature and enlightenment, the occasional rocket ship and alien creature color his imaginary worlds. James is an author, artist, poet, musician, and an avid bicyclist. He is an active participant in the Nebraska Writers Workshop and lives in Omaha with his wife and children, their dogs Flash and Waldo, cats Wink and Ash, and ferrets Merlin and Magic.


The new paperback version is smaller than the original with a more compact interior.
This version retains all of the original artistic interior details of the original, the smaller size combined with fewer pages allows me to offer it at a reduced price.
Although the official relaunch won't be for a couple more weeks, the book with the new cover is available now at the following outlets;
The book is available at Amazon in both soft cover and electronic versions. If you get the softer cover addition at Amazon, the Matchbook Program allows you to download the e-book for free.
You can also get the book direct from my CreateSpace store here.
For a limited time you can use discount code 4LY6WWV6 and receive an additional $2.00 of at my CreateSpace store.
You can get "Spencer Murdoch and the Portals of Erzandor" at the ridiculously low price of $8.99.
So don't delay. Get yours today.

I also want to thank the good folks over at Writely Designed for all their hard work creating a beautiful cover. Take a look at their design options for your latest project, please go here; http://bit.ly/1zw7qOE

Cover Reveal in One Week

Check here next Friday, April 24th, for the unveiling of the new cover of the second edition of “Spencer Murdoch and the Portals of Erzandor.” And don't forget to check out the designers over at Writely Designed who worked very hard creating the new design. Take a closer look at their design options here; http://bit.ly/1zw7qOE

Watch This Space- Coming Soon

Watch This Space- Coming Soon
Cover reveal.
I've been very busy lately. I'm on chapter 19 of a 30 chapter rewrite of the second novel in my "Spencer Murdoch" series. Soon I'll be releasing a smaller, less expensive, second edition of the first "Spencer Murdoch" novel titled "Spencer Murdoch and the Portals of Erzandor." The wonderful designers at Writely Designed have worked very hard on creating a beautiful cover. If you'd like to take a closer look at their design options for your latest project, please go here; http://bit.ly/1zw7qOE

Big Announcement

I didn’t want to release this until everything was confirmed so as not to jinx it. Now that the ink is dry on the contract, I’m free to say:

Due to my longstanding relationship with PepsiCo, specifically Diet Pepsi, they have offered me a ten year contract allowing me to obtain the property for my writers retreat in Aspen. As of April 1st, 2015, I will be moving to Colorado to supervise construction.

In exchange, all I have to do is wear their shirt when making public appearances. i.e. speeches, readings, presentations, and concerts.

I want to thank Pepsi for this opportunity. I look forward to many late night, caffeine fueled writing sessions.

Jim