2024 Annual Report & "WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" Last 2024 GIVEAWAY Winner!
Happy mid-point of the 1st Quarter of 2025 Fishbowl Review!
My New Year’s resolution was to write y’all an update about what’s swirling in the Fishbowl AND FINALLY draw the winner of the 4th Quarter Winner-Winner Giveaway first thing… January 1st…
Well, that’s one broken resolution out of the way. (Have no fear, I will announce the winner shortly.) First the news!
The end of 2024 beginning of 2025 knocked me sideways. (Maybe not for the reason you might imagine.) My mother decided it was time to move on to better. Mom had been ill, physically and/or mentally for most of her life. On her 88th birthday, August 27th, she told me she was done, that there was such a thing as living too long. When Mary Ellen Silva made up her mind to do a thing, she did. She passed gently into brightness on Jan 3rd.
What some of you know is that my mother, what she lacked in physicality she made up for in creativity.
Several years back, Mom began drawing cards with fun pictures and saying on them, which she generously mailed to family and friends. Then, an avid reader, she turned to creating bookmarks. Bookmarks decorated with fun doodles, stickers, clever sayings and quiz show-style questions (answers on the back.)
This card of Elvis is one of her earliest—and a personal fav. It hangs in my office.
One day I asked if I could put some of them in the books in my Little Free Library. Mom flew into production. On a weekly basis she’d send me manila envelopes filled with bookmarks, which I happily popped into my LFL books. (The books often returned; the bookmarks never did.)
Mom’s last project was to be sure every caregiver received an envelope filled with bookmarks created especially for them—some 30-plus caregivers.
As mom lay dying, and in those days after she passed, everyone I saw at Cascades, her assisted living, told me about her bookmarks. Many had one in their pockets. So yes, Mary Ellen Silva McAndrews, artist name “Merry,” will live on, in all of us and her art.
People often ask me why I became a writer—more than that an author.
I think that’s why. In the same way, as much as mom loved creating art, she loved sharing it and enjoyed the idea of other people being moved by her creations—and by the idea of immortality through art.
Mom had this “glamour shot” taken when she and my grandmother went to a Vegas show. It was one she particularly liked—and why not?
The agony and the ecstasy! I’m writing on the tailwind of an incredible, once unimaginable, cycle trip in Southern Cambodia and Vietnam. A short clip of me riding through a village near Seim Reap is on youtube:
Big deal? Yes, it is! I planted my feet, smelled cooking, feasted on roadside visions, heard voices, music, laughter I had imagined more than 20 years ago. Literally! What many of you may not know is that along with my writing partner of 20 years, Ronnie Davidson (our pen name is “Jill Max”) I wrote a middle-grade memoir about a boy’s struggle to survive in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime—aka “time of the Killing Fields.”
The book, a memoir of a boy (now father) called “Mok” is the result of more than 4 years of Saturday interviews with “Mok” and copious hours spent reading everything we could to find out what the heck really happened in Cambodia, and why. The book was finally published several years after it was finished, after long agonizing years of “Yes, send it!” from editors followed by crickets. (Most deemed the subject too “tough” for children to handle.)
Strangers in Black by Jill Max, was published in 2006 by Royal Fireworks Press.
(Yes, the book is still in print. Available from the publisher and other booksellers, Amazon included.)
One delightful event during my time in Cambodia was a visit to The Green School, a non-profit school which supplements the free education program in Kampong Tralach. In Cambodia, free education is 4 hours a day, 6 days a week, with elementary schools in most villages but beyond that children must travel (sometimes long distances) for more. An expensive commitment for the family, and with education non-compulsory, not a priority. The Green School focuses on Computer Training, English, Ethics and it has a library. (I donated copies of my books, of course. What a thrill imaging people learning English with my stories.) Here’s a video from the visit.
What else? Segueing faster than a Ruthian hit, my non-fiction picture book The House That Ruth Built about the opening day game in the original Yankee Stadium, baseball history, and Babe Ruth’s big wish needs YOUR help!
While baseball folks of all ages—Sox fans exclude)—love the book! (The sidebars trivia, facts, and photos combined with Susanna Covelli’s authentic, gorgeous art are worth the price alone.) It hasn’t garnered the attention it deserves.
That’s where YOU come in. If you have baseball fans in your life—better on your gift list—buy it.
Even if you don’t: review it, add it to your reading lists, share it on your social, even just look at it on Amazon. Every bit helps!
Up Next? More Baseball! More Babe! Call it Spring Training for baseball lovers. It’s a gift book really. (Think Father’s Day, Birthday, Graduation, Inspiration—the what folks by for the baseball fans in their lives book! While I was collecting baseball facts and photos for The House That Ruth Built, I kept jotting down quotes by and about Babe worth chewing on. And better, became acquainted with Babe’s grandson and great-grandson Brent and their family friend Stu Dressler. The three of us, Brent, Stu and I, approached Familus with the idea of compiling them in a collection along with some photos from the family collection and elsewhere.
Out of the Mouth of Babe
comes out April 15th from Familius.
Check it out! Better yet, Pre-order it NOW! for everyone in your family (Red Sox fans INcluded).
And now! The moment you’ve all been awaiting: The Winner of the 2024 4th Quarter “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Give-Away is….
(First an announcement: This will be the last quarterly giveaway. At least for the foreseeable future. Instead I’ll be hosting other giveaways. More about those later. )
The Winner of the 2024 4th Quarter “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Give-Away is…
jpuglow
*jpuglow I removed your email ending to protect you from sneaks—but YOU know who you are! Besides, you will be notified by email, so check your spam folder.)
The lucky winner will win dinner with a chicken or their choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
More exciting stuff! Along with writing a poem a day—for more than 3200 days—and creating weekly prompts to share with you, Cindy Faughnan and I began submitting our poems and have had several published. Most recently, my poem was chosen as Rattle Poetry’s poem of the month in November. Here’s the link to “All The Fixings”. It includes a clip of me reading it, yum!
And that’s not all! The weekly 7-minute Poetry Challenge will continue. I have more book news coming, which I’ll share soon. What’s most? I hope 2025 brings you all copious belly laughs! and lots of creative moments. I appreciate your support!
Glugs and hugs from the Fishbowl, Kelly
Poetry Challenge #59-If The Form Fits . . .
Sometimes You Feel Like Going Commando—poetically speaking, of course. Sometimes (often in my case) some structure, foundation, form is needed.
Poetic forms are like puzzles. You need to fit the right number of syllables or a pattern of rhyme or some other word trick into your poem and still come up with a subject.
They are fun to play with—and the results can be surprising!
Poetry Challenge #59
The Form Fits!
Today’s form is the Terza Rima.
The Terza Rima, which means “third rhyme” originated in Italy. Most English examples of Terza Rima are written in iambic pentameter.
This form creates three line stanzas with lines of any length where the first and third line rhyme.
The second line becomes the rhyme for the next stanza.
Keep writing stanzas until you’re done with your poem. The last stanza should be two lines that rhyme.
If you’re better at reading rhyme scheme, it goes like this: ABA BCB CDC DED EE
Here’s an example Cindy created :
Tah-Dah! Now it’s your turn!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
This puzzle is one from Bags of Love—a site where you can have custom puzzles made! Crazy!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3200 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #57-One, Two, Three…GO!
In traditional Western storytelling, 3 is the magic number.
The hero tries 3 times before succeeding (or failing). The genie grants 3 wishes. There are 3 pigs, 3 Billy Goats Gruff, 3 stooges… so let’s go with that!
Poetry Challenge #57
One-Two-Three….GO!
For today’s prompt, write a poem with three words on each line.
Try to write ten or more lines and see where your poem goes.
If you need a starter, use: I collect…
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Count those words! One, two, three, GO!
Find oodles of ways to celebrate WORLD READ-ALOUD DAY at LitWorld! (and your library!)
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3200 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #56-Kid’s Stuff
Feb 5th is World Read Aloud Day!
Created in 2011 by LitWorld, World Read Aloud Day is a day set aside to “Bring awareness to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories as well as advocating for literacy as a human right.”
In short an excuse to read—and get kiddos reading—in case you need one! So to celebrate World Read Aloud Day, let’s keep the fun going by using books to kick start our challenge.
Poetry Challenge #56
Kid’s Stuff
Grab the nearest picture book, turn to the last page, the last words.
Use the last line of text as the first line of your poem.
And if you’d like, use the cover illustrations below as inspiration. Let the child in you run with it and PLAY! And READ!!!
. . . and it was still hot!
. . . goodnight noises everywhere.
. . . Yes, David
And because I love having the last word:
Guess what the last words in this finny book are?
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Find oodles of ways to celebrate WORLD READ-ALOUD DAY at LitWorld! (and your library!)
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3020 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #56.5-Nano-Nano
Nano-Nano! That’s alien speak for hello, goodbye, cheers…whatever. (Mork pronounced it “nanu-nanu” so that’s how it came to be known.) Robin Williams, the unpredictable, hilarious, wacky, innovative comedian, got his break as the alien Mork in the late 70’s sitcom Mork and Mindy.
I read somewhere (sorry but I can’t recall exactly where…if you know, tell me) that Williams cinched the role when he walked into the audition and sat on the couch upside down—because that’s how an alien would sit. Talk about getting into character!
Which sort of has nothing to do with this challenge, except that nano-nano came to mind when I read about an alien poetic form: Zeno.
The poetic form “Zeno” was created by children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“I call the form a "zeno," so named for Zeno, the philosopher of paradoxes, especially the dichotomy paradox, according to which getting anywhere involves first getting half way there and then again halfway there, and so on ad infinitum. I'm dividing each line in half of the previous one.”-J. Patrick Lewis.
Here are two of J. Patrick Lewis’ zeno poems (or better zeno-zeno)!
Poetry Challenge #56.6
Nano-Nano Zeno-Zeno
Let’s take seven to stretch our creative muscles with a Zeno.
Zeno is a 10-line verse form with a repeating syllable count of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1.
With all of the one syllable words/lines rhyming.
Just for grins, title your poem “Mork.” As it’s a made up name for an alien. Let it be your inspiration to let your poem go where none has bravely gone before.
Nano-Nano! (or Nanu-Nanu, depending on your planet of origin).
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3020 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #55-Poem Stew
Bill Cosby (the comedian before he became the predator) was hilarious! One bit I still chuckle over (and admittedly copy) was him riffing on how his mother could turn anything into a weapon.
“But mom, it’s just a shoe…”
“Just a shoe…I’ll show you just a shoe!!!”
“But Mom… I asked for scrambled eggs?”
“You want scrambled? I’ll give you scrambled—with bacon!”
This is not a selfie…really!
Which got me chuckling about what Bill’s mom could have done with stew? or jam? or pickle?
Maybe not the weapon part,
but definitely the both a noun and a verb part.
Poetry Challenge #55
Poem Stew
Time for another poem stew! You need:
1. One noun-something you can see or touch, not capitalized if possible.
2. One noun that can also be used as a verb (like stew or pickle)
3. A color
4. A place (not capitalized),
5. An adjective (a word that describes)
6. A verb (an action—yes this absolutely can be #2)
7. One abstract noun (a word that you can’t touch that names an idea: beauty, hope, justice, chance).
Noun list to get you going:
negligee, mannequin, pink, garage sale, awkward, refrain, subterfuge
Stew on the words you’ve chosen for a bit and then mix them up into a savory—or sweet jam— poem.
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3000 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #54-Alphabet Jam
Sometimes—often—the most interesting things begin with “I Can’t…”
That’s exactly what I said when author/teacher/mentor/friend Tim Wynne Jones shared this prompt at a VCFA session quite a few years back. But, once I committed to giving it a try, it turned out I Could! And best, had fun! And the results were interesting. With hopes you’ll find it the same, here goes:
Poetry Challenge #54
Alphabet Jam
Plant a subject you’d like to explore in your mind. It can be as broad as “Sports” or “Weather;” it can be specific as “My tenth birthday” or “Daisy,” your choice.
Now, beginning with the letter A, work your way through the alphabet assigning one word to each letter in order: A-B-C-D…end with Z. (X is wild, or if you can use a word that begins with the “ex” sound.)
There are only 2 rules:
1. While the sequence you create might be outlandish, it must make sense—i.e. work as a sentence or series of sentences.
2. You cannot insert or delete letters.
Consider the 26 word sequence you created: Did you stick with your initial subject? Did you veer off in a different direction? Did you surprise yourself?
Lastly, keeping the words in alphabetical order, use line breaks and punctuation to shape your Alphabet Jam into a 26 word poem.
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3000 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge sent to your email? Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl).
Poetry Challenge #53-Shandorma Anyone?
Sometimes when you want to write a poem, it helps to use a poetic form. It helps you stretch…
Poetry Challenge #53
Shandorma Anyone?
The Shadorma is a six-line poem which originated in Spain.
A Shandorma has a fixed number of syllables on each line: 3/5/3/3/7/5. That’s it. That’s the one rule.
A Shandorma can be written about any subject. It does not need to rhyme.
You can connect many together to write a longer poem.
Here are two samples Cindy Faughnan wrote:
Now it’s your turn (and mine)!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it. (Below is an image for inspiration.)
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 3000 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!