Tag: Friday Feature
Four Fast Facts about Edgar Allan Poe (that I bet you didn’t know)
- Edgar Allan Poe’s most productive writing period was while he was married to Virginia Clemm Poe. (31 Stories written and published)
- Poe didn’t drink as much as he was rumoured to drink. One visitor to his home, William Gowans wrote:“During that time I saw much of him, and had an opportunity of conversing with him often, and I must say I never saw him the least affected with liquor, nor even descend to any known vice, while he was one of the most courteous, gentlemanly, and intelligent companions I have met with during my journeyings and haltings through divers divisions of the globe; besides, he had an extra inducement to be a good man as well as a good husband, for he had a wife of matchless beauty and loveliness, her eye could match that of any houri, and her face defy the genius of a Canova to imitate…”
- Poe wrote essays about Street Paving, Composition, and even an intelligent, very modern piece, regarding Stonehenge!
- The most famous picture of him was taken after a long sickness and days after a suicide attempt. (not his best picture)
Eddy is about the sickness – his alleged attempted overdose by opium a year before his actual death.
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The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
Jane Craig Stanton
A mother one of his friends who encouraged his poetry, he described her as his first “soul love.”
Elmira Royster
She was the daughter of a wealthy businessman who didn’t appreciate Edgar; When Poe went off to college, her father kept all his letters from her. When Edgar came back to town, her father scurried her off to the countryside so they couldn’t see one another. By the time Edgar returned from college for good, she was betrowed to someone else.
Virginia Clemm
His cousin whom he met when she was thirteen. They married later, and seemed to have a relationship that rivaled the best storybook romances until her death.
Mrs. Whitman.
He was engaged to her for a short time, as they respected each other’s work.
Elmira Royster
Widowed and free – Edgar sought her out and romanced her again. They were engaged when he died.
(This is a repost from Feb 2015)
Since then, I’ve published a number of books, including one inspired by the loves of Edgar Allan Poe. Check out Eddy:
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October means it’s Poe-aween!
Sorry – I get a little childish around this time of year.
October is my favorite month (besides January – mine and Poe’s birthdays!)
I LOVE HALLOWEEN & I LOVE POE
This year, the 170th anniversary of Poe’s death. This is not necessarily a good reason to like October, but it is part of what makes October so memorable.
So… 170 years ago, Edgar Allan Poe visited some friends at a pub, saw a doctor who suggested he not travel, then boarded a train, forgetting his trunk, mistakenly left with the Doctor’s cane, to pick up his “dear Mother,” Maria Clemm. She was to come and live with him and his new fiance, Elmira Royster Shelton.
The rest, we know, is surrounded in mystery. I was interviewed in June regarding my thoughts of what happened. Thank you to the members of Super News Live.
Since the publication of my book Eddy, I’ve read at the Poe Museum at his birthday celebration and published a few other books. This year, I’ve scheduled a number of readings and signings for October in honor of my love for autumn, halloween, and Poe.
Come and see me if you can.
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Writing with Kids…
Writing with kids is more challenging than writing on an upside down rollercoaster.
I am the proud Nana to a beautiful baby boy whom I get to play with pretty often. AND I LOVE IT!
But when my kids were young, I’d be lucky if I got one day of writing done. I’d journal at night, in secret, in the dark, in my room.
Stephen King and Dan Brown say they write every day. Brown writes from 4am to 11am every morning. And they have kids!
But, see, they also have wives! The wives get the kids up, feed them, take them to school or make the dentist or doctor appointments, stay home when the kids or sick or stay up all night with the sick kid. Or at least, this is what I imagine. I don’t actually know because I’ve never read in an interview in which they talk about their wives. Hmmm.
Some women writers have accomplished finished products and publications while being a parent. YAY! Let’s hear it for them. That is quite a task. I’m not sure how they did it, but I do give them kudos. I wonder if they hired a wife to help – you think??
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Awful People, Awful Places
I had the unfortunate displeasure of spending time with people I’m not fond of. I am barely able to tolerate negative people. I can’t stand people who are so mired in their own sense of self importance or righteousness that they can’t see beyond their own bullshit.
I came away regretting my decision to go and feeling very nasty inside, as if a piece of my soul had been burned away. I sat with it all night, no television, no radio, nothing to drown out or distract myself from the boiling nastiness of an impression they left on me.
Then I thought – I’ve never written anything about them. And I can see why. I never want to deal with them or be around them or even think about them ever, ever again.
But that inspired something. One woman has a big round face that appears to be growing from another face. Her husband stared at me as if he was planning the perfect recipe for my kidneys, liver, heart. “A slaw, soaked in buttermilk and vinegar.” I’m pretty sure I heard him say as he passed by.
And then the keepers of the whole chud-like crew.
I’ve been known to write some pretty dark things. People like this are the reason why.
Untitled, but begun.
I will give these soul sucking people a different life. I’m sure they won’t like – if they bother to recognize – themselves.
This will give that scent of madness, the sickly feeling of food poisoning filling my bodily cavities, some place to go and rest.
Use it, ladies and gentlemen, use all the things and people and places you don’t like to fuel your writing.
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Author Interview
I just finished an interview and thought I’d give you guys a little sneak peek.
auQ: When did you start to write fiction and poetry and how would you describe your works?
A: I started writing when I was very young, as soon as I could hold a pencil. I finished my first “novel” when I was eleven. I use the term novel loosely because it wasn’t long enough nor complex enough to be a novel, but it was quite lengthy and angst ridden for a such a young child. These days, I describe my work as literary. It is usually character driven and deals with the darker aspects of human nature and relationships.
Q: What would you say are the benefits of writing on a regular basis?
A: If you’re a writer, writing on a regular basis keeps you in the flow. Ideas flow. Writing comes easier. If you’re not a writer, it helps with articulating thoughts, considering feelings, problem solving, and improves your communication abilities, reading, and diction.
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Author to Author
Hanging out with people who are serious about their writing feeds a writer’s soul.
Here’s me with Dan Rhys, author of The Lone Escapist. Where’s my book?! I need to start carrying a copy with me!
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The Process
How it feels to write after a long time
Noreen Lace 
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