how does one so gracefully intertwine love and hate

as if it was an indistinguishable entity ever shifting through fluid states

an amoeba

elusive

esoteric

passion, not a substance but an undefined thing

it might not even exist if not on some quantum microscopic level where i live,

where i have always lived

among the threads of the underworld

tearing through realities

deciphering the dead languages that

may suggest an inclination of truth

we are stuck inside of a perpetual mirage

thirsting in the driest desert

believing we have finally reached water

when there is nothing but sand

Nostalgia runs through my veins like polar ice.

Glaciers cause blood clots.

Frozen blood doesn't run,

So trust me when I tell you I'm frozen.

Longing rages in my head like wildfire.

Everything is blackened and charcoaled.

Blood can't evaporate through the skin, So trust me when I tell you it's boiling.

When the poet meets the artists 

he'll leave her home 

with watercolor stories across his neck

 as if he was decorated with everything 

he wished to give her 

so don't be surprised 

when you mistaken hickies 

for mini galaxies filled with the stars.

 Don't mistake them for acrylic 

, romance doesn't peel away 

just because you find it under your fingernails

 or a not so "Starry Night." 

It holds more of that 

pseudo everlasting appeal of oil. 

Damn will this love ever rot away

When she stays late 

he'll put away his pen

 and treat her inner thighs 

like canvas and strokes away a waterfall. 

Claude Monet aint even have a brush stroke that soft. 

He'll like it there 

nearly drowning in her essence.

 His lips and her lips 

Collapsing the same way he made her walls

When its said and done 

Or should I say written and drawn out.

Etymology

Noun

Charientism

(rhetoric, rare) A figure of speech wherein an insult is disguised as or softened by a jest. n. A figure of speech wherein a taunting expression is softened by a jest; an insult veiled in grace...

Read the rest of the article with smashing infographic on blog.theprose.com

Move over, Big Brother.

Amazon, the world’s leading independent publishing marketplace, has its eyes on everyone with cross-hairs pointed directly at indie authors. That is the overarching message we have gleaned from a topic of intense debate and discussion in the literary world today.

In June, Amazon announced that its policies for book review (among others) would undergo a complete overhaul. The purpose of instituting these changes was, allegedly, to give more credence to “helpful” reviews in the hopes of thwarting junk or spam reviews.

What’s the difference? Is not every review helpful in some way? Authors lean on this form of feedback. Five-star reviews are just as valuable as one-stars, aren’t they? Unfortunately, there are people who have willfully “gamed the system,” delivering low ratings and negative feedback for personal reasons. Because of those people (perhaps more aptly named trolls) the entire indie author population is up in arms- and rightfully so.

As of early last month, Amazon changed its customer review policy which had a major retroactive impact. Not only were thousands of reviews, positive and negative, removed without warning, Amazon automatically disallowed reviews from anyone that the author knows personally. That makes sense, right? Your friends and family, coworkers, colleagues, everyone that knows you would have some sort of bias. Any review they provided then, therefore, would cause the scales to tip unfairly in your favor.

It is not a question of intention or logic, though. One of the most prevalent inquiries that keep popping up is, how does Amazon know who knows whom? The corporate “e-tailer” seems to be in no hurry to answer.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a concern of privacy. We were recently approached by an indie author, one who has contributed to our blog previously, about this issue. On the heels of a huge book launch, Brenda Perlin says that the change in Amazon’s policy, though global, hits hardest in her own back yard:

“The consequences of this new policy may change where authors are selling their books and where readers are buying them. Personally, I am going to do as little as possible with them and have taken my books out of the Kindle Unlimited program. I hesitate to take any drastic steps but eventually I might consider selling my books anywhere but Amazon.”

With the help of readers and fellow authors, she says, it is possible to avoid taking such measures.

But how?

…

Stay tuned for the full article, with sources cited, later today on The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com/blog.

I am drawn

always,

to the things

that I know

can never be mine.

I wonder,

is it part of your charm,

to appear so

unharmed,

unmarred by

all that is I?

You remain

nonchalant

and assured

knowing how

I must feel.

Knowing that

you have wrapped

the very essence

of me

around each of your fingers.

and oh!

how I crave

to sprawl,

to crawl,

to fall

deeply, deeper

into the warmth

I have discovered

is you.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog (read: "word porn") program. Stick around. There's much more to come.

Greetings and welcome once again to Prose, the "top shelf" for readers and writers. Today, for your reading pleasure, we are pleased to introduce renowned writer and prolific blogger, Jill Jepson.

Jill is the author of Writing as a Sacred Path and the Writing a Sacred Path Blog. She offers free weekly strategies for writers and has agreed to be this week's featured guest.

What follows is an article she wrote exclusively for you, dear Prosers, to help us all distinguish fact from fiction in the publishing world...

"Four False Beliefs about Getting Published that May Be Holding You Back"

The publishing industry is a mystery to most writers. Sometimes, it’s a mystery to people who work in it. It has changed so much in recent years that it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen next.

Unfortunately, this has led to a lot of confusion among writers. Rumors circulate and ideas take root that have little basis in fact. In my coaching practice, I often come across writers who have been held back by their false ideas about publishing. Clearing through these mistaken notions can be one of the best steps you take to achieve success as an author.

Here are the 4 most common misconceptions I hear from writers about publishing.

1.) It’s impossible for new authors to get published by traditional publishers.

You can hardly have a conversation with a writer without hearing how difficult it is for first-time authors to break in. This is not new. I was discouraged from going into writing as a child because “very few people make it”—and that was decades ago.

The truth is, it’s always been tough to get published—and it’s gotten tougher over the past few years. But there is a long way between tough and impossible.

First-time writers break through all the time. Every year, new voices are added to the list. In 2014, Katy Simpson Smith, Phil Clay, Lindsay Hunter, Celeste Ng, Matthew Thomas, Molly Antopol, Yannick Grannec, Edan Lepucki, and Michael Pitre all had successful debut novels—and they are just a handful of the many who saw their first novels published last year.

Getting derailed because you believe you don’t stand a chance is one of the great mistakes a lot of writers make. Don’t be one of them.

2.) You need connections to get published.

Not a single one of the successful writers I know got published because they knew someone in the publishing community.

Might connections help? Perhaps to some degree. Your book is more likely to be read by an agent or editor if they know you personally. But that’s not going to take you very far. Even your best friend isn’t likely to put her whole career on the line by supporting your work if it isn’t marketable.

Conversely, if you have something that publishing professionals think is going to sell, they don’t care if they know you personally or not.

3.) Your first book is going to be a bestseller.

I’ve worked with dozens of authors who truly believe their first novel or memoir is going to find a major publisher, land them a lucrative contract, and make them famous over night. We hear so much about going for the gold and thinking positively that I’m reluctant to rain on the parade.

I’m not saying your book isn’t going to be a bestseller. I’m just saying it might not be. And that’s perfectly all right! Very, very few writers land major contracts for their first book and only a tiny percentage of those make large sums of money. That’s true even if your book is powerful, unique, and brilliantly written.

The problem with oversized expectations is that they can lead to some pretty bitter disappointment. They can even make writers give up when they don’t get the spectacular success they were imagining. I’ve known far too many talented writers who abandoned their books—and their writing careers—after five or six rejections.

A much better approach is to realize that a well-written, marketable book could lead to any one of a range of outcomes—from publication by a small publisher to a major contract complete with a movie deal. Most of the time, the outcome is not huge overnight success.

4.) The key to success is writing like [insert famous author of your choice here].

After the Harry Potter series soared into the stratosphere, editors were deluged with stories of children going to wizard school. With the success of Dan Brown’s work, aspiring writers started churning out Da Vinci Code-type novels. Later, many tried to imitate Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

It’s very tempting to get drawn into the idea that what worked for one author is going to work for you. The problem is that you aren’t that author. You’re you. Developing your own style, writing in a genre that you love and that feels natural for you, and being authentic on the page will take you a lot further than trying to be an author you’re not.

A good practice is to be skeptical of any rumors you hear about publishing. They are usually discouraging—and almost always false. Don’t let misconceptions about the industry keep you from getting your work out there and giving it your all.

- Jill Jepson, May 2015

For more information about Jill and her work please visit www.writingasacredpath.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @Jill_Jepson.

__________________________

This #MondayBlogs series seeks to educate readers and writers from the inside out. Have an idea for an article? Want to know more about a specific topic? Humor us! Submit your suggestions via private message here or visit the contact page: www.theprose.com/p/contact.

I promised myself

I'd be kind to my heart.

That I'd do

everything right.

This time.

and forever more.

Because I know

what I deserve

is much bigger and greater

than what I have

now.

I pushed everyone else

out

and made room in my

heart and soul

for you.

All I needed was

your truths.

Betrayed again,

yet no more the victim.