Mona Mehas

WHAT'S NEW IN POETRY

 

I composed five new poems in March. None are published yet but 2 are set to appear in the 27 Club Anthology I'm co-editing with Aurynanya. That book will be out this summer.

 

I received 13 copies of my poetry book, Questions I Didn't Know I'd Asked from my Australian publisher, Lachlan McDougal. I have 1 left unspoken for. I just received my first royalty check via PayPal! Granted it wasn't much but every little bit helps.

 

I've been invited to do a guest blog about poetry forms. That will appear online April 17, 2024. I'll write a Meandering post when it's up.

 

Sometime in April, Jen from Meter & Mayhem will interview me for her podcast. I'll talk about Questions I Didn't Know I'd Asked and the book coming out in July, Hand-Me-Downs. My interview will air in May on her YouTube channel.

 

NOVEL PROGRESS

 

Beginning this month, I have 2 two novels to talk about. UNDER THE BUBBLE is basically finished. After a round with 5 beta readers, I did another pass of edits then sent the manuscript to my #1 reader. She has promised she will read it again by May 1. I have the synopsis written; it just needs a little cleanup.  If all goes well, I should start querying agents in May. Once this book is in the query stages, I'll be reporting here how many queries I send, rejections I get, etc. I'm prepared (I think.)

 

I wrote the sequel, DREAMS TO VISIONS, a few years ago. As I begin to rewrite the thing in the first stage of editing, I am seeing how much I have learned about writing. This book is in 2 POV, a male and a female. Ha! I remember wanting to make it 12 POV at first! When I realized what a horrible mess that would be I cut it to 8, then 4. Finally, 2 POV felt right. DREAMS TO VISIONS features a cast of characters but revolves around a handful of people. I focus on 2 of those people for this book.

 

So far, I've written the first chapter 3 times and chapter 2 is about half done. Once I get through these first 2 chapters, I probably won't seek input until the entire first draft is finished. When I was composing UNDER THE BUBBLE originally, I got too many opinions in my ear and in my head early on. That led to too much confusion for me. I won't do that again. If I ask anyone for input it will be only a select few.

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

I don't read enough. I have seven books stacked by my bed in various stages of reading. So, what do I do? I'm starting another book. The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart is one I heard about on a podcast. I need to set aside time each day to read the dang thing. BUT I've had this discussion a lot recently. If I can't get into any book by the end of the first chapter, I won't finish it. I don't owe the book or the author anything. I'm not obligated to read something I'm not into. Which is why it's so important to me to get my first chapter done right.

 

PUBLICATIONS SINCE LAST SCENE BREAK

 

https://www.darkwinterlit.com/post/watcher-by-mona-mehas

https://www.loftbooks.co.uk/ Click last issue; go to page 98. My story is "Unweathered."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXTJKVJ3/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 I have 2 poems in this anthology.

Another site I've published on is Subliminal Surgery. Their message is "content has been eaten but we are in the process of attempting to regurgitate." I'll not post the link here but hopefully I can next month.

 

STAR TREK

 

Yesterday I participated in a Star Trek trivia game online with a Facebook fan group. It was fun and I had no clue how much trivia I actually knew. However, I am not quick enough to win anything, especially the Jeopardy version. I did better on the multiple choice but scored a fat zero on Trekordy. One category was Episodes. I am absolutely horrible at titles of episodes. Anyway, today is another Trek chat at noon with the same Facebook group, Star Trek Family. Tis the season for a new season of Discovery, it's final, so that's mostly what we will chat about.

 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR & TODAY'S PHOTO

 

Patience.

An example is what happened at the Subliminal Surgery site listed above. I also have published poetry at the guy's sister site, "Exist Otherwise." Something must have gone wrong with his equipment or technology. I noticed his last issue of "Exist Otherwise" was missing. I wonder if he received emails with people yelling at him for losing their stuff.

 

This leads me to a whole different conversation of kindness. In some situations, we must realize that no matter what, kindness is the only answer. He didn't lose that writing on purpose. Computers, printers, technology—they fail, hiccup, or otherwise default.

 

I'm trying to be kinder to myself. The other day, I noticed white roses in the forsythia bush outside my kitchen window. At first, I thought there was a hidden rose bush there and it was blooming, protected by the larger forsythia. I just moved to this apartment last August so I wouldn't have known. I went out and found a discarded bouquet of white roses and baby's breath in the bush. Had the neighbors upstairs argued? Maybe he gave her roses but she was still mad so she tossed them overboard? It's possible; I've heard them fight before.

 

I brought the flowers in, trimmed them about 6 inches, and put them in a vase with water. They've done quite well, despite having spent the night outside when it was below freezing. This bouquet is now my gift to myself. The roses are beginning to fade but the photo has preserved them.

 

Thank you for reading my Scene Break.

Be kind to yourself. Buy yourself flowers. Or maybe you will be lucky and rescue a bouquet.

THUNDER MARROTT

 

First, I want to acknowledge the loss of my beloved cat, Thunder on Valentine's Day. He'd had a heart murmur for several years. Thunder would have turned 18 on May 1. When he quit eating and drinking, I knew the end was near. He started falling over when he tried to walk. My other cat, Esse, had done the same thing last April. I took Thunder to the vet, and she said he was in heart failure. He crossed over in my arms. I talked about him a couple days ago in a Meanderings post.

 

By the way, my pets' middle names are their shelter names if they have one. In Thunder's case, his previous owner had named him Marrott, for the apartment building where she lived and found him.

 

WHAT'S NEW IN POETRY

 

My chapbook, Questions I Didn't Know I'd Asked, is finally out in the world! My publisher released it on February 29, Leap Day, 2024. Some of my friends and family have purchased copies. Here is the link to my publisher's site. You can buy the book from him in Australia or from Amazon. He includes a link to Amazon on this page. https://lachlanjmcdougall.wordpress.com/

Right now, that is a 'sticky' post featuring my book. I don't know how long it will be. Lachlan has other irons in the fire so if you are reading this later and don't see my book there, simply scroll down and you will find Questions I Didn't Know I'd Asked.

 

I sent all my poems to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Contest. I had 4 poems for Category 1, which had to be submitted separately along with a fee of $20. For Categories 2-50, I had to compile a list of the poems I was sending and pay my fee of $10. OK if you are keeping up that was 2 submissions on submittable. Next came sending the actual poems themselves for those Categories, 2-50. I didn't write for all of them, so I had 42 poems. You would think I could enter them all as one document. No, that's too easy. This contest is for ALL the state societies. I had to send my 42 poems separately to the states sponsoring the individual contest category. Once I figured that out, I think it took me 2 hours from start to finish.

It cost me $30, it was a lot of work, but the prizes are wonderful. Wish me luck!

 

PROGRESS ON THE NOVEL

 

I finished UNDER THE BUBBLE and sent it to 6 beta readers, 4 of whom have given me their reports. Overall, the reports are good. One reader is a friend who doesn't normally read science fantasy, so she had a tough time with my book, but I took her comments seriously. The other 3 have given me positive results and feedback. There are a couple of areas I need to work on because they agree on those areas. Other than that, the comments have been personal, minor, and fixable. There is one reader I have not heard from at all and I'm a little concerned. I should email her. Another said she'd get back to me this weekend. I've already started edits based on the comments from the other 4.

 

The friend who doesn't read in this genre brought up a valid question which I won't go into here. When the others tell me their opinions, I ask them that question. That is one of the primary areas I need to work on. So, I guess what that means is maybe it's important to have a beta reader who doesn't usually read what you write. They see things through a different lens.

 

WHAT I'M READING

 

Between the poetry contest, my novel, the poetry anthology I'm co-editing, and my duties with the Poetry Society of Indiana, I haven't had much time to read.

 

I'm supposed to be reading a book of short stories and joining in a group discussion on zoom. The book is called Exploring New Suns 2, edited by Nisi Shawl with speculative fiction composed by authors of color. The ones I read last week were really good but I'm too busy to read and keep up with the class discussion. Honestly, the day I got this book in the mail, I was surprised. I'd forgotten I'd even signed up for the classes!

 

What I've read so far has been good and I have added it to my stack of books by my bed. There is one more zoom in a week. I'll try to read for that get-together and then finish the other stories on my own. Since this is 2, there is also Exploring New Suns 1.

 

PUBLICATIONS SINCE LAST SCENE BREAK

 

1.     QUESTIONS I DIDN'T KNOW I'D ASKED https://lachlanjmcdougall.wordpress.com/

2.     Subliminal Surgery, 3 poems on March 1 https://subliminal.surgery/

 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR

 

Rejections aren't always bad. Yeah, that's right. I have 2 examples.

1.     I sent a short story to a journal but got a rejection. In the rejection, the editor said he liked the story, but it doesn't necessarily fit 'right now.' Then he said if I haven't placed it elsewhere in 6 months to resubmit. When I get a cool note like that in my rejection, I mark it in red lettering, so I'll see it when skimming my spreadsheet.

2.     I need to be careful describing this one because I don't want the guy to be swamped. I'd had several poems of a particular form rejected and didn't know why. I thought I was doing the form justice. When I got a rejection from one place the editor said he liked my story a lot and asked if I wanted his help. Of course, I jumped at the chance. After a few back-and-forth emails, he rewrote the poem. I asked him if I could 'steal' it and he said yes. Not only that, but the poem will fit the theme for the next issue, and I can submit it.

 

Most of my rejections are the usual 'we get a million wonderful submissions and it's so hard to choose…blah, blah, blah.' I wonder how many times they want to say, 'I hate the way you write, don't send your stuff again!'

The above 2 super nice rejections are truly diamonds in the rough. Like finding a Petoskey stone in clean blue water and seeing clearly all the tiny mineral deposits inside.

 

STAR TREK

 

I rewatched seasons 1 & 2 of Picard but I didn't rewatch season 3. It seems like I just saw that; it hasn't been that long ago. However, I'd forgotten how good season 1 was. I think that was my favorite of all 3 seasons. But I also like the ending of season 2. I try to keep up with Virtual Trek Con on YouTube. I'm looking forward to new seasons of all iterations of Trek, especially Discovery season 5, even though it will be the last.

One thing is certain. I used to think Enterprise was my favorite Star Trek series. Now I've changed my mind. Deep Space 9 is far and above the best in my opinion. 'Far Beyond the Stars,' season 6, episode 13, is undoubtedly the best Star Trek episode ever aired.

 

TODAY'S PHOTO

 

Instead of drawing a card, I posted a photo of Thunder Marrott and Esse Diamond curled on my couch in Yin Yang position. My friend Liz put their dates on the photo for me. I'd had Esse since she was 3 months old, and she crossed at age 17 ½. I got Thunder when he was 5. He crossed over 3 months before turning 18.

I won't have anymore cats. The litter box is too much for my back.

Thank you for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT'S NEW IN POETRY

46. That's how many poems I'm sending to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. I am entering 43 of the 50 categories. I went through my entire spreadsheet and all my poetry to find any poems not tied up elsewhere. I found 16 and I used 14 for the National contest. That means I wrote 32 new poems. They are due by March 15. I like to have several people who I trust read my poems after I write them so that's what's happening between now and March. Then I'll submit the document around March 1. The top prize for one category is $1000.

Believe it or not, I've written a couple more poems beyond those. I've also been reading at open mikes locally. I'll list the readings in my events.

One thing I've found I enjoy doing is writing a viator poem using tarot. The first card I draw is the repeating line. After that, I draw a card for each line. I've written two viator poems in that fashion. It's a lot of fun.

 

PROGRESS ON THE NOVEL

I'm basically finished writing UNDER THE BUBBLE, my science fantasy novel with women's fiction elements. My last step is listening to Microsoft Word read it to me. I've found that is the best way to eliminate small mistakes. No matter how many times I read a page aloud, my brain fills in a missing word or ignores the misspelling, but the computer doesn't. Once I hear the entire book and make minor corrections, I will send it to my 6 beta readers for a month or so. I'll need to know if they lose interest anywhere, if I repeat myself; things like that. The deadly synopsis is next before querying agents.

 

WHAT I'M READING

I'm kinda still reading what I've said before: the Le Guin poetry collection, the Mohammed Noor book. I also read other stuff all the time like the latest Writer's Digest and the other day I got the Authors Guild Bulletin. Needless to say, I have way, way, too much stuff to read. I don't have a TBR pile, I have a TBR shelf. So, I bought this new poetry book I found online from Jackleg Press. I barely started it today but so far, it's fabulous. The title is Solastalgia, and the author is Brittney Corrigan. It's about devastation of species. I don't dedicate much time to reading like I should, but I believe I'll read this!

 

PUBLICATIONS SINCE LAST SCENE BREAK

1.     'Dislocated' https://www.journalofexpressivewriting.com/post/dislocated

2.     'For Larue,' 'Waning Days,' 'Merry Christmas' https://inparentheses.art/2024/01/21/harvest-and-other-works-by-m-mehas/

3.     'In a Sylvan Wood,' https://campliterary.wordpress.com/sylvan/

4.     'With the Banned https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CS3R6F3Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

5.     'Tarantula,' 'When Dogs Howl at Two AM' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRPGQK45

 

 

JOSE

I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect dog for me. He listens to me and does what I say 99% of the time. Jose was neutered on 1/31 so he is officially mine now. He's still deathly afraid of cars so neighbor Kevin had to lift him in going to Humane Society in the AM and home from Humane Society in the PM. He gets 2 pain pills a day in a hot dog bite and seems to be doing fine.

By the way, our Hamilton County Humane Society (Indiana) is not affiliated with the national. They get no money from them but exist on donations alone. The building and grounds they're in now were (mostly) donated by a local benefactor. I used to volunteer there when I first moved here.

 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR

This section is about what I've learned concerning writing or submitting. I have a third poetry book I'm trying to get published on this side of the pond. I sent it to a publisher that said they were mostly hybrid. So sometimes they would accept books and not require money upfront from the author. That is the reason I sent them my manuscript. I got a contract offer today but for hybrid. I responded by saying I live on a fixed income and can't pay anything up-front. We'll see if I hear back from them. I guess the lesson here is don't fall for the first offer. Keep your head on your shoulders. I learned that mostly from being in the Manuscript Academy for 2 years.

 

STAR TREK

I've been rewatching Lower Decks. Some people say it's their favorite Trek, probably because it's a little bawdy, and it's funny sometimes. It's not my favorite but I love the easter eggs in the episodes. This is my first time rewatching the whole 4 seasons and I think it's better the second time around because I'm picking up more. I'm looking forward to Discovery season 5.

 

TODAY'S CARD

King of Pentacles from Tarot in Pandemic and Revolution by Nomadic Press.

What will I write about confidence and sharing my wealth when I live paycheck to paycheck?