Tag: announcement

Due

Published on by Susi Bocks34 Comments

Last year when I took off the month of August, it was evident that I did a good thing for my well-being, so I’m doing it again except in September this year!

While I will be intentionally unplugging from blogging, reading blogs, and limiting social media, I’ve already scheduled my Redux posts for Tuesdays, Reblogs for Wednesdays, and The Short of It features on Fridays, so you will still see some content published. Feel free to comment or not, and if you do, rest assured, I will respond when I get back.

In addition to this announcement, this post will also be my last “inspired” post for the month. Enjoy! See you again soon, as I’m sure the time will fly by quickly!

Free Google Images

Inspired by Sadje’s What do you see? #149

with nothing in our paths
and the day-to-day distractions far away
freshness is inhaled
expanding our lungs
the air is clean and wholesome
our adventures await

Featured image – Christian Wiediger – Unsplash

2 Pieces Accepted for Wounds I Healed Anthology!!

Published on by Susi Bocks58 Comments

Good news, first thing this morning! The upcoming anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women notified me that my two pieces My Self Evolving and Loud, were selected! This highly anticipated anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton (Short Prose) and published by Ingrid Wilson (Experiments in Fiction), debuts in early June 2022. I’m grateful they felt my thoughts spoke the message of this anthology—the power and boldness of strong women. Thank you so much, Gabriela and Ingrid.

Stay tuned for more information about its upcoming release!

Published in Pine Cone Review – Survival Issue

Published on by Susi Bocks31 Comments
The Pinecone Review

I am so pleased and grateful to Susmita Paul – Founder and Editor-in-Chief, and all those on the editorial team facilitating the selection process at Pinecone Review, for accepting my piece Sleeping in Colors for this special edition! How wonderful to have been chosen to be amongst these talented writers, poets, and artists in this issue on such a relevant topic in today’s world. Thank you so much! I am honored to be in this publication.

You can find this online edition by clicking HERE. I do hope you enjoy all the valuable contributions presented there. You can find all their thoughts by clicking on the Prose, Poetry, and Visual Artworks tabs at the bottom of the post.

Authors in Indie Blu(e) Anthologies: Susi Bocks

Published on by Susi Bocks12 Comments

Thank you to all the staff at Indie Blu(e) for this wonderful and unexpected feature on your blog! I am so fortunate that you’ve selected many of my pieces for the anthologies you’ve published. I am eternally grateful to be alongside all the wonderful voices you selected, and that we spoke to many important issues of our time, and revealed our humanity. A special thanks to Candice for what she has written and shared, making me blush more than once reading the positive compliments, reminding me how fortunate we are to have become such good friends. ❤ Thank you so much for sharing more about me with your readers. I appreciate that very much!

Indie Blu(e) Publishing

One idea we had that we thought might be fun is to highlight some of the authors, artists and writers IN Indie Blu(e) Anthologies. So with some regularity that’s the plan. If you have had work in an Indie Blu(e) anthology we’d LOVE to hear from you about your latest work and plug it here.

Indie Blu(e) believes passionately in getting to know our authors/artists/writers and this is one way the rest of you can find out more about the incredible people we’ve had the honor to host in our anthologies. Perhaps it will also bewitch you into purchasing a copy, but first and foremost, we want you to meet our talent.

With that in mind I’d like to introduce you to Susi Bockswho has been in several Indie Blu(e) anthologies including SMITTEN – This Is What Love Looks Like: Poetry by Women for Women, Through the Looking…

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The Short of It Pushcart Prize Nominations

Published on by Susi Bocks26 Comments
carte blanche - Pushcart Prize News! - carte blanche

Since the beginning, my goal has been to promote the work of poets and writers with a gift for expression in a minute fashion. I’m thankful that this reputable organization exists to help further that effort.

I am very happy to announce the following poets’ pieces were submitted to the Pushcart Prize Committee. Those selected were nominated for their contributions to the Sound of Brilliance Anthology—a collection of the best featured on the online publication. It was so hard to trim it down to only six pieces as the contributions were already the best of the best!

So, please give a round of applause and wish them the best!

Scars by Goff James

Silence by Lisa Tomey

Sailing by Freya Pickard

Thunderstorm Conversations by Ali Grimshaw

Fulfillment by Marisela Brazfield

A Monarch Task by Anita Neal

Honored with a Pushcart Nomination!

Published on by Susi Bocks43 Comments
Prolific Pulse Press – Heart Beats on Amazon

I am so happy to share with you that Lisa Tomey of Prolific Pulse Press, LLC emailed to inform me my piece “Sweet Embrace,” featured in the anthology Heart Beats, was nominated for the illustrious Pushcart Prize!! I’m blown away and filled with gratitude for this news! Lisa’s support and belief in my work continue to push me to greater heights. For that, I am very thankful. It means so, so much to me—what a great end to my day!

Here is the poem which tugged at her heart to prompt the nomination.

Sweet Embrace 

even though life burdens us with chronic ills – unfortunate, inconvenient, and untimely  
they are all these  
but regardless of diminishing delights, despite the looming fear 
our wants still long for self-determined joy 

parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, close friends, lovers, children  
and the cultural norms of some countries laid aside 
we demand what once was so common, that which we’ve side-lined out of concern 
and care for the living and vulnerable 

while we slowly readjust to a new reality, creativity forces our hand 
determined to fill the wants that now have become needs 
saving us from further despair, no more taking hits to our equilibrium 
as the plastic curtain crinkles in the arms of who we love 

Another Piece Published in Edge of Humanity Magazine!!

Published on by Susi Bocks36 Comments

A big thanks to Joelcy Kay – Editor and Curator for accepting and publishing “Perpetual Pain” in the Edge of Humanity Magazine today! I really appreciate being showcased along with so much other amazing talent! THANK YOU!

Click this link to read the entire piece.

Hello Again, WordPress Friends and Community!

Published on by Susi Bocks66 Comments

I’M BACK!!

The month of August was wonderful! Not only did I celebrate my 59th birthday but I enjoyed a lovely vacation with my husband in Mexico. Taking a step back from blogging gave me the much needed rest I was hoping for.

Not to say there weren’t some ups and downs. We enjoyed some excitement in Cancun due to Hurricane Grace! Thankfully, it was only a Category 1 but we experienced heavy winds! Oh, and our room ended up with lots of water. You can see how beautiful the beach was afterwards. The rest of the vacation was lovely and it was so hard to say goodbye.

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on my Peace Out post, I hope I didn’t miss responding to anyone. If I did, please let me know! Also, since I didn’t read any blogs in August, please do share any links you think I should check out.

One of the reasons I wanted to take off August was to get back what felt had been missing in my writing. After much thought and reflection, I think it came down to me feeling pressured to provide content and specifically not the content I want to put out. So, I’ve decided that I will continue to do my reblogs three times a week, the challenges I’ve always participated in, and create new poetry the rest of the time. And I will only post once per day. Of course, this will change slightly when I post the featured The Short of It writer every Friday starting in January 2022.

I will no longer do stories because that just isn’t what turns me on the most about writing. My initial intent with IWH was to speak the truth about myself including occasional opionating and pontificating, sharing my thoughts and being philosophical, dredging up the past on worked through issues and sharing the writing of others’ precious work. I want to get back to my roots, so to speak. Stories, especially the ones from 5 Day Tales/Kindle Vella or anything more than 100 word stories requires a different kind of creativity that isn’t really the direction I want my writing to take.

Following this new schedule will allow me more time to submit my creations elsewhere but more importantly, by limiting daily posts, I will have more time for creativity. And hopefully, meet a need for those readers who read my contributions every day.

Speaking of Kindle Vella – please don’t forget you can read those stories uploaded for free if you use the FREE tokens they gave to the new readers! Every story that is read does pay a divident to the author, so please, go read them!! Thank you!

For your convenience, here are all the stories on Amazon!

The Little Red Suitcase

The Boss

Dipped in Yellow

Falling from the Tree

The Dark Park

An American Conflict

C

The Shifting Sands

Led Astray

3025

The Passageway

Bridge to the Stars

Secrets Between Lovers

News on The Short of It Submissions – it started off with a lot of interest and I’ve been in contact with many who have already been accepted and are scheduled to be featured in January – April! For those who sent in their submissions while I was off, I promise to be getting to you soon! 🙂 I’m so grateful for your support. And if you haven’t sent anything in yet, there is still time. Submissions will be accepted until December 31st.

That’s all for now! See you again tomorrow. ❤

Peace Out

Published on by Susi Bocks76 Comments
green palm plant during daytime
Jeremy Bishop – Unsplash

This is a message to all my readers, whether you’ve been here since the beginning a little over three and a half years ago or just started following me. While I have appreciated all the support, the interaction, the comments and the love, it’s time for me to take a rest and step back.

I’ve felt a gnawing in my brain that is taking bites out of my creativity. This has left me feeling empty while producing daily contributions to the blog. While I’m not lacking for inspiration, I do not feel as inspired and for this reason, I need to take some time to figure out where I need to head next. I’m sure it will be writing, always, but I need to understand if it means continuing such structured blogging as before or not.

I know many of those people who’ve been following the stories were expecting my next one to arrive on Kindle Vella in August but my brain, in its current state, has not found “the story” yet. Because I’ve been struggling to create it these last few weeks, with still nothing more than a few concepts and no material, this is what prompted me to decide to take the time off. I didn’t want to continue to feel so pressured to deliver when it seems I’m just not able to.

In addition, from taking a break from writing and reading blogs on WordPress, I will also leave Social Media behind for the most part. I do think this desire to detach is coming from feeling burned out. And this comes from many things – Covid, politics mostly – with a bit of aging and the new problems that come with it. I need a break!

For those of you who have submitted to The Short of It, rest assured that I will be still fully engaged in the reading of all your work and will communicate with you via email about the status of your contributions.

So, this is my last post for this month and I will be back in September. I will read your comments today, but after today, I’ll be off of WP until next month. Hopefully, by then I will have figured out a way forward. I appreciate your patience and understanding! I love you all!

Thank You on wooden blocks
Courtney Hedger – Unsplash