Virtual Blog Tour

I was asked by my friend and fellow creative, Kathryn Dyche  Dechairo, to participate in a virtual blog tour. Its goal is to introduce talented bloggers and have them share insight into their writing and creative process. You can visit her tour post at The Edge of Silence

Kathryn Dyche Dechairo is a self taught mixed media artist and poet living in South Ohio. Kathryn's work has been published in The Pulse of Mixed Media, Artful Blogging 2012, Poetry Nook Vol 3 with her debut collection of poetry and prose 'The Edge of Silence' self published this February.

So grab some coffee and I will share a little about my creative process....

What am I working on?

It’s hard to call it work when I am doing what I love, but there are moments when I put on too many hats. I am in the process of writing my second poetry collection, Insomnia’s Ink. Most of my writing is done in the wee hours of the morning while my second passion, photography takes up much of my daylight. Yes, you would be correct if you assume I don’t get much sleep.

Here is a sneak peek at Insomnia's Ink

Half Lidded Twilight

A few dreams shy of morning

I lie suspended between

the alarm clock and oblivion.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I am not sure how to answer that. The closest I could come is to say my poetry/writing is pretty upfront. The reader has little doubt as to its meaning. Since I began dedicating my time to writing poetry in 2009 it has gone through a metamorphosis. Those early poems came from learning to use my wings so to speak. Many of them referred to butterflies which is something I identify with. My current writing has much more grit and I am experimenting with storytelling. 

Why do I write/create what I do?

It is because I must. For so many years of my life I internalized pain. I am a talker and of course I spoke verbally of things that bothered me, but there was much I kept silent about. From sharing my work I began to see how many identified with it. I was giving voice to things people couldn’t say or didn’t know how to say. When I first started writing only one man read my blog, but with each poem he read he kept telling me to write another one. I can’t imagine life without poetry now.

How does your writing/creating process work?

Visual images are a big part of my creativity. Being an amateur photographer I am always looking at the world around me and hearing it speak through my lens. Whatever I write I feel. It might be joy, sorrow, anger, love or awe that bubbles up from my core to my pen. I can jot down phrases or ideas in the noisiest conditions, but it is usually quiet when I bring it all to completion.

Well, having written enough about me, I would like to present three very talented people you will want to visit on your tour of the blogosphere next Monday, May 26^th.  Laurie, Ben, and Heidi will welcome you into their world of creativity and share their answers to the what, where and why of their art. 

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Laurie Kolp lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, three kids and two dogs. She serves as vice-president of Texas Gulf Coast Writers, and contributes monthly to the online communities dVerse Poets and Poetry Jam. Laurie’s first full-length poetry collection is Upon the Blue Couch, published by Winter Goose Publishing in April 2014.
You can find Laurie's work at  Laurie Kolp Poetry.

.  Ben is a bestselling author of gnomes, plays, poetry and more. He was first published in his college publications the Cornfield Review and KAPOW. Since then he has been featured in several online literary journals including: Flurries of Words, Samizdat Literary Journal, and Shine Journal. Ben lives in Marion, Ohio and is currently working toward his Master's Degree in education at the University of Findlay while substitute teaching. He hopes to instruct high school social studies full-time within the next year. He loves historical documentaries and all things gnome. You can find Ben's work at Nice Old Spice

 Alabama, Depression, Sweetie-pies, Farts, and Profanity. These are the inspiration of a southerner, Heidi Helmer.  She is on a continuing mission to explore strange, new forms; to seek out new prompts and new blogs; to boldly write what she's never written before. Roll Tide! You can find Heidi's work at Bigger Than A Lasagna.