Today's work and the progress of my collection.

I'm now adding my 'extra' poems to my collection. I have made a copy of the existing collection which numbers twenty. That has been saved for reference. To the copy I have inserted the new poems where I think they fit most appropriately. At this stage they are still moveable. I want to read through the whole collection next to see if they 'flow' well in that order. If they don't they can be re-arranged. When they do all fit and at times when things strike me, I shall be editing the new poems. Running concurrently with this I am still submitting poems to magazines. I sent four poems to Fleeting Magazine today. I have sent them stuff before but so far I haven't had anything accepted by them. I did read a few of the poems in their magazine archive to give me an idea of what they like. It always pays to do this when you can. Also, I have worked on another chapter of my crime novel. All in all, a good days writing.

Charting my new collection.

I haven't written much here for a while but I have decided from today to keep journal style entries here to show how my recently accepted collection is coming along. So far I have read and signed the contract and returned it.I also had to send in a photograph for promotional purposes.
The contract was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I have used music business contracts in the past and the standard contracts used by the Musicians Union. This one was a lot easier to understand and for that I was grateful. I also needed to ask a few people who were credible in the world of poetry to read my work and write a bit of 'blurb' for the back cover . I am very pleased that two talented poets who I admire and respect have agreed to do this. Angela France and Alison Brackenbury will be reading my collection at a later date.The next step was to establish whether the amount of poems I had sent in was to be the total number in the collection or whether I could add to it. The way the collection was first viewed was via a six-poem selection, followed up a few months later by a further fourteen. It now transpires that I can (and will) add to this number. I have about six months to finalise the next set of poems which currently numbers ten or eleven. My next question to the publisher will be whether I should send the poems in as I feel each one is finished, or send them in en-masse at the end. This is quite an exciting time. My first collection was self-published. (If Robert Graves felt it was OK then it's fine by me). The next was via a publisher who rewarded me and other people who had appeared in many of their collections by printing a collection of our works. I hadn't realized there were so many ways to get work published when I first began to send my work out. This is all very interesting and I am enjoying the learning curve and the experience. As I work on the poems I shall put it down here. It will be nice to look back on when I am at the other end of the publishing process.

What a very good month.

This year has started very well indeed. I am just about back to normal after the bout of pneumonia and my writing head is firmly back in place. I have had eight poems accepted so far this year. Two by The Dawntreader magazine. One by The Pen in the USA, one by Aspire Magazine, one by United Press and three by Message In a Bottle Magazine. True, most of them were actually submitted last year, these things taking the time they do, but the actual acceptance letters came through recently so I can class them as this years. The best thing though is this: I found out yesterday that my collection of poems entitled 'Flying Through Houses' has been accepted for publication by Indigo Dreams Press. These lovely people have been using my individual poems for ages in their three magazines. I sent the collection last August. First the sample poems, then the full collection in September. The long wait has been worth it. I haven' told anyone yet, except Harry of course. I'm waiting until the contract is signed, then I can be really pleased. I don't think many people look at this blog so I'ms sure it will stay quiet until l I am ready. I'm pleased and nervous in equal measure. Silly really as I have had two previous collections out. They weren't as good as this one though and they weren't taken up by such a good company. Am I allowed to be pleased with myself? yes,Ithink I am.

Getting started again/last years statistics.

I can't believe just how long it is taking to get my writing head back on. I'm not back to full health yet and the constant tiredness is getting me down. However I have started editing again and over the three days of this week I have begun to submit poems to various magazines. I should be back in my stride soon. I have three collections that I am currently working on , The Pneumonia Journal, Cornish Memories and my Shell Island Poems. I also have a lot of work in my 'work in progress folder'. this being the case I won't worry if I don't begin anything new just yet. Editing will keep me occupied and the creative streak will show itself when it is ready. I am disappointed not to have been able to go to Buzzwords last Sunday. I always find the workshop and guest poet very stimulating. I am determined to be at the February Buzzwords, pen poised and raring to go. I missed the Writers in the Brewery too in Cirencester. Another stimulating and entertaining poetry group. Oh well, things will settle soon enough and be back to normal. In the meantime I shall try a few writing exercises and see what happens.

One thing I have done is to work out the stats. of the work I did last year. Just for interests sake, I have put them below.



Stats. 2011. January ’11 to January’12.

Sent work off to 110 places.
55 magazines.
8 small presses.
3 collections. 10-20 poems each.

33 poems published this year.
2 competitions won.

Out of this figure of 110 submissions/entries a huge number of places did not acknowledge receipt or rejection.
I think 33 acceptances is quite a good figure for acceptances over a 12 month period.

A Christmas Poem.

Here is a Christmas poem, for you.

Christmas Box.

I fill a Christmas box
With things I want to share.
First in goes love,
Wrapped in an angels’ wing.
Then there is peace
Tied up with a ribbon of diplomacy.

Then I add prosperity
laid in a cup of common-sense
And medicine,
folded into a nurses uniform.
I put in compassion,
in pieces small enough

to place in your heart
And understanding sweetened
with sympathy so that
You may eat of it and
feel it from within.
Next comes empathy.

Enough to share with others.
Then joy to lighten the darkest day.
And hope in a dish
that never will be found empty,
Wrapped in a cloth of strength
to get you through the worst times.

There is magic too. Just a pinch.
To make one small thing happen-
By reading this,
you have opened the box
And all those things inside it
now belong to you.



Wishing you all the very best at Christmas and for the New Year.

Love and Peace to all
From Miki Byrne.

The Pneumonia Journal.

My time being ill with Phenomenon, plus the stay in hospital has resulted in 25 short poems that reflect how I felt. They are not depressing. I've tried to maintain good humour and a sense of optimism. Some are quite dark but I think that is to be expected. I also found drug induced feelings were quite interesting. A bit like being a Hippy again and on a quest for mind expansion. When I have edited the poems I shall put a few on here. In the meantime, to anyone reading this, Have a great Christmas and New Year. Love and peace to all. Miki.x

A confusing time.

I haven't written this blog since about the middle of November. I developed Pneumonia which has lasted till now and Is still making itself felt. My knee replacement operation was cancelled. Yesterday I saw my chest specialist at Cheltenham General. His opinion was that I still have a severe infection in my lungs and should be admitted to hospital for ten days to receive intra-venous antibiotics. I baulked at the ten day stay as it brings me right to Christmas and I have things to do, plus, I don't want to leave Harry for that length of time. It's possible that a shorter course might do the trick but I don't know till I start it. Since yesterday morning then , I have been waiting for a phone call that hasn't happened. I'm stuck to the house because of it and I can't pack half of the things I need because things like my drugs (many and varied) and my toiletries are needed every day anyway. Following after the confusing, inconvenient and discourteous way my knee op was cancelled I feel that this wait is too annoying for words. I can guarantee that when someone does call it will be couched in urgent terms and they will expect me to jump into action. Also, this is going to cost a fortune for Harry to visit me in Cheltenham and to park at the hospital. This is so stressful . On top of feeling ill in the first place. I do wish that the NHS was structured to include a little basic courtesy to patients. I am sick of medical appointments, brusque Doctors, lack of information and the whole dismissive-de-humanising ethos that is prevalent in the NHS today. Yes. It's a great institution. I appreciate that and all the the good people who do their best but right now I am seriously fed up with the whole thing. The only good thing to happen is that I have written a sequence of poems, about 16 in all, while I have been ill. When they are edited I shall put a few on this blog. I'm just contemplating phoning my chest specialists secretary to see if I can glean any information but I'm not holding my breath.