Category Archives: Poems about the Internet

Bet You Didn’t Know!

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My talented author pal Elisa Lorello tagged me in a blog hop, and I thought it would be a fun way for you to learn more about her, more about me (in the interview below), and to ‘meet’ some of my other talented author friends.

Elisa Lorello is a best-selling novelist and the author of four books: Faking It, Ordinary World, Why I Love Singlehood (co-authored with Sarah Girrell), and her latest, Adulation. Currently on sabbatical from teaching, Elisa recently returned to the northeast from North Carolina, where she is busy developing new projects (she’s superstitious and never talks about her works in progress!) and getting re-acquainted with snow. Elisa’s blog post will be about Adulation–perfect for Oscar season! Please visit Elisa at I’ll Have What She’s Having.

I am tagging the following authors in this ‘blog hop.’ Could you please visit them this week? I think you’ll love getting to know them and their work.

Arianna Merritt: Author, M.Ed., Learning and Development Specialist

Website: http://ariannasrandomthoughts.com

Nate Hendley: Author & Freelance Writer

Blog: http://crimestory.wordpress.com/  Website: www.natehendley.com

Mark Stratton: Poet/writer – poetry collection “Tender Mercies” available here: (http://radio-nowhere.org/nb/?page_id=766) and website here: http://radio-nowhere.org/nb

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW…

AN INTERVIEW WITH HEATHER GRACE STEWART

Tell me about your writing process. Do you plan out what you’re writing  or sit down and do it? What was the greatest surprise about this writing process for you?

I plan to write, but I don’t always plan what I’m going to write. Unless I have a magazine deadline or I’m writing a presentation, I set aside time, usually 7:30 in the morning to noon, to write creatively. I try to avoid distractions like the Net and the phone until noon. As far as plot, poems just come to me and I go with the feel of the poem and then edit later. I’m working on a novella right now, and I did plot a little down on paper, including character sketches, but I find what works better for me is to just sit and write for a few weeks without any rules. Just stream of consciousness, every morning.

That’s been the biggest surprise to me. I didn’t realize plotting out can sometimes strain my writing. The Friends I’ve Never Met. was a story that just woke me up like an alarm clock at 4 a.m. every morning for several weeks, without fail, and I found I just had to go write this story down. After a few weeks I went back and made sure the plot and characters were working, and then I fattened everything up, and did many, many edits.

Ideas come to me in the shower, and especially while I’m driving alone, so I have learned to use a small tape recorder whenever I go on a road trip. I used to try to write on a yellow sticky note at the stop lights, but I could never read my writing later. I’m going to try texting myself, too!
What was your worst job ever? (doesn’t have to be about writing) and why? What did you learn from it?

When I was 16 I worked at a Rifle Range. I had to sweep up barracks and clean the toilets. That wasn’t so bad, but the army officer in charge was weird and made me put up heavy tents in the blazing July heat, and then take them down as soon as they’d been put up, as if I were in the army too. I experienced a lot of harassment and sexism that summer. I think it made me ballsier. I didn’t take crap from a boss ever again after that. Ha ha, maybe that’s why I work for myself!
If you knew tonight was your last meal for a week, what would you eat?

Probably many many slices of pineapple cheese pizza with green olives. And a pint of beer – Heineken or Tsing Tao- mabye even a Hoegaarden. And vanilla ice cream for dessert, with Smucker’s hot fudge on top. Okay this interview is making me hungry.


How do you feel about frogs?

 I have a special relationship with frogs. I truly love them! Besides being fascinated by the biology, like how they get oxygen through their skin, since I was very young, I’ve been able to catch them easily ( the other kids coined me the Green Lake Frog Catcher) and get them to stay on my palm for over 10 minutes with out hopping off. I rub their temples and pat them and they stay. I’m the Frog Whisperer.
Where’s your favourite place to chill out, and why?

There’s a private beach on Cape Cod ~ it’s actually the cover of my latest book, Three Spaces, and it’s so quiet and full of fascinating aquatic life. My daughter and husband love exploring it after the tide goes out late afternoon. We try to save crabs and starfish by throwing them in deeper. The private beach belongs to a small motel, and compared to other places we’ve vacationed, it isn’t expensive to stay there, but if I tell you any more it won’t be my favourite place to chill out any more.  :-)

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YOU MADE SPACE FOR IT! THANKS!

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Thank you for reaching out and making space on your Kindles for THREE SPACES. I has been out two weeks tomorrow. And guess what? In two weeks, I’ve sold more Kindle copies of THREE SPACES than any of my other poetry ebooks. In fact, it has already outsold the Kindle copies I sold of Carry On Dancing (mind you, as of end of December 2012 -  I’ve just learned from my publisher – I have sold 242 copies of that book, print and ebook totaled, realizing my goal to sell 200 copies before its 1st anniversary mid-March! I am SO thankful to my publisher, several Chapters bookstores, Kingston’s Novel Idea, and The League of Canadian Poets for your help selling those copies. And of course to you readers for buying & telling others about my work. Please keep spreading the word…

Still haven’t sold as many ebook copies of THREE SPACES as THE FRIENDS I’VE NEVER MET  – that one blew me away! I keep thinking about writing another screenplay, because I never imagined I’d sell so many copies of a SCREENPLAY on the Kindle! (don’t forget it’s also on many other ereaders like Kobo, Nook, Sony, and iBooks).

Since you are my most loyal readers, my dear blog-following friends, you can be the first to know I’m working on a romantic-comedy novella. I say novella because the thought of coming up with 60,000 words when I have 1,000 so far frightens me to death. But I am not giving up! The plan is to write it as a novella, see if it has promise as a novel, and then write it as a screenplay too! Ask me again about this in 2014, because for me, this is a huge project and I’m taking baby steps with it for now.

Amid all this writing, I’m going to be giving a workshop on the wild new world of e-publishing (There’s An App for That: YOU!) at Queen’s University next week, March 9th, and I’ll be the panel of journalists on March 10th.  I’m also going to be signing books & reading at Chapters Pointe Claire Quebec on Sunday, April 14th, to celebrate National Poetry Month, and I’m planning a reading & signing at a beautiful garden in Hudson, Quebec this July.

THREE SPACES will be available on Kobo , Nook and iBooks shortly. Sorry for the delay, hang in there !

Limited First Edition, signed, printed colour copies of THREE SPACES are available for $36 plus shipping. (Yeah, it’s not cheap, but they are in full-eye-popping colour). Just contact me via this page for details. At this point there are nine copies left up for grabs. Second edition copies with a colour cover and black and white interior  will be for sale online (at Amazon stores around the world)  at $14.99 by the end of April.

Speaking of April – here is a little inspiration for those of you living anywhere with snow and sleet in your line of vision every day (like me). These purple tulips are $6 of bliss that keep me going when it’s miserable outside. Hang in there!

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Review of ‘Three Spaces’ by Best-selling Author Elisa Lorello

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Full disclosure: Heather Grace Stewart is my friend. She also happens to be one of my favorite poets. And her poetry collections only get better over time. Her latest, Three Spaces, is proof.

Stewart introduces the collection by informing us: “We are living in an age of three spaces: public space, personal space, and cyberspace. This book is my attempt to connect, take apart, and examine those three spaces that co-exist in our society.” That she does, and more. As always, Heather Grace Stewart integrates verbal and visual by using photographs that splash simplicity and delicate beauty and partnering them with words that evoke the same. Every poem, every picture, every part of this book tells a story.

She also intersperses poems with short prose chock full of depth and introspection. “Everyday Heroes” is an intimate portrait of an early male figure in her life. “To Infinity, and the Bus” is a slice of childhood; and although the child is hers, we can’t help but re-live a moment from our own. Additionally, Stewart uses dialogue and lyrics to tell her stories, and we’re more than happy to join the conversation.

“Cyberspace” offers the most humor, I think. “A Twittertine” is a 25-word love letter that would’ve melted me on the spot, had I been the recipient. Stewart also examines the silent personal connections authors make with readers, one that can’t be measured or detected by analytics or metadata. As an author, I could relate, and it reminded me of just how important those face-to-face interactions still are.

Above all, this collection is a reflection of Heather Grace Stewart’s radiant spirit. She is both a witness and a participant of life. She embraces her inner child as much as she does her daughter. She appreciates and celebrates the little things. She loves and lives out loud.

Buy this book. Get hooked. Add it to your space. You won’t be disappointed.

~ ~ ~

Elisa Lorello is the author of the Amazon best-selling books  Faking It, Ordinary World, Why I Love Singlehood and Adulation. Find her books here

Three Spaces is available in Kindle stores worldwide and coming soon to Kobo, iBooks, Nook, & Sony Reader.

Network of Two

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We’re running in circles on Google Plus,
We’re passing like ships, and what’s the fuss?
I miss conversations that lasted all day,
And privacy, and building on trust.

We share this home, these kids, the WiFi,
At the end of the day we have to try;

To pour some wine, not check our Klout;
To share our stories, not tweet them out.

The connections can thrill;
The Plus 1’s gratify;
But nothing compares
To you and I.

How you read my mind;
How I know what to do—
You and I,
In our network of two.

'Network for Two' copyright 2011 by Heather Grace Stewart


I’m posting this for the fantastic dVerse Poets Tuesday Open Link Night http://dversepoets.com
Please join us!

Thanks for Taking the ‘Leap’! Some Reader Reviews…

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I cannot thank you enough for the star-ratings and reviews you’ve been leaving for me this past year on various websites.

I now have a good collection of reader reviews of ‘Leap’ on Lulu.com, on the U.S. iBooks, Canadian iBooks, and Amazon.com. I suppose I should be collecting these reviews all in one place, so, here goes!

Oct. 3, 2011

*****

arkofthetwilight
on Lulu.com

'Leap' featured in iBooks under 'Great Canadian Poetry' August 2011


“What to say about Leap? Heather Grace Stewart pitches her poetry somewhere between the world we see and regret not having the strength to change as adults, and the world as it can only be experienced through the eyes and words of a child. At times her work betrays an honesty and sadness that breaks the heart both through shocking honesty and the capacity to make people understand her unique but identifiable feminine standpoint. I will never regret my purchase of this collection. Heather Grace Stewart is a rare and brilliant talent, no matter which poetic medium she turns her hand to.

October 3, 2011
“Buy and read Leap by @hgracestewart, it’s a fantastic collection and easily worth ten times its $2.99 price tag.”
Poet Adam White, on Twitter

For Adam’s full 5/5 stars review, please visit: http://poetrybyadamwhite.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-of-leap-by-heather-grace-stewart.html

September 2011

*****

Wonderful

Five stars doesn’t do it justice. A wonderful, heart-lifting read.

Ashleigh, iBook buyer

Ontario

June 2011
“Her poems are clear, honest and rich in detail. Sorrow, confusion, love, satisfaction and humor are to be found in her words.” Poet Mark Stratton
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-leap-by-heather-grace/#ixzz1ZjrMjtKI

June 2011

*****

The best of both worlds

A wondrous synthesis of technological and organic beauty.

Painfully raw in parts, utterly hilarious in others – always sincere.

A great read altogether.

Shawn Halayka

June 2011

*****

This book is fabulous!

by Larry Leitner

Leap is the second compilation of poetry by this talented Canadian. As with her first book “Where the Butterflies Go”, She is able to take you on a journey of the emotions of life. She is able to see life more clearly that almost anyone I have read. There are times she is able to see it through the eyes of her young daughter who happens to be on the book’s cover. There are poems about Loss, Love and Life in general. There will be tears, there will be laughter and everything in between. Beautifully illustrated by Ms. Grace Stewart’s own Photography.

“These accomplished but unforced pieces, engage, entertain and enliven.” Tom Phillips, UK poet and reviewer, Various Artists

“..so direct, political and feminine by turns that it can take your breath away. A must for new and already hooked fans.” -Sally Evans, poet and Editor, Poetry Scotland.

April 2010

By Kimberly Jurado

Wow! From the cover photo to “page from my notebook” in the back, I thoroughly enjoyed this work of art! Refreshingly modern poetry with timeless sentiment woven throughout. Autumn Will, Valley, and Five Thousand Friends (FUN social networking poem) are three of my favorites from this collection of real life poems and photographs. I discovered the author through an Internet search for “facebook, friends, poem” and her work has intrigued me ever since! A big thank you to Heather Grace Stewart for being in tune with the world and for believing in the power of poetry to connect people — whether they are friends, strangers or even a world apart.

Mar. 28, 2010 By Elisa Lorello

Heather Grace Stewart has outdone herself with this collection. These are modern poems for a modern world, full of humor, sincerity, moxie, and sensual beauty. The accompanying photographs add a sense of wonder and depth, and make you want to jump into every scene. Heather Grace Stewart has taken the Leap into greatness, and we cannot help but follow in her footsteps. A must-own for every woman (and man, too!).

Mar. 25, 2010 By Adam Taylor

Buy this.. now! Don’t walk, don’t run…. LEAP! As always Heather captures tiny pieces of life and magnifies them into their most radiant and decadent. A pleasure.

*****

Apr. 28, 2010 By Robert Gervais

The poem ‘Forever August keeps calling me back to my copy of Leap. By way of contrast, I love the black and white instantaneity/foreverness of ‘Coping.’ Heather Grace Stewart has a fine hand that knows how to dip into the emotional well and then paint outside the lines, outside the box, outside of herself, where everyone else is. She has a gift of looking inside a minute, seeing what makes it tick and then explaining it to us. Bravo.

*****

Mar. 8, 2010 By movemout Absolutely love this book! Heather is such a gifted poet. She captured me from the first words, I could not put this book down until I had read it all. Now to read it again and again and savour it. Thanks Heather, what a wonderful gift to the world!

Leap hits #3 in iBooks Canada~Poetry and ‘What’s Hot’ Canada and U.S.

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Check out this photo!

Leap hits #3 in iBooks Canada~Poetry and ‘What’s Ho… on Twitpic.

 

Thank you so much, readers. It all began here, on this blog, with me introducing you to my poetry in the collection, “Where the Butterflies Go.” You’ve shown me nothing but support and friendship since the summer of 2008–and we’ve managed to fund two children’s educations, help out a small school in India, and get pencils for an entire school – twice. Thanks so much for reading and sharing news about my poetry with others. Never stop leaping!

Heather

P.S. Both my poetry collections -in print and digital format – are 15 percent off their already-low prices (ebooks just $2.99 and $1.99 ) till end of day Sept. 26 at http://www.lulu.com – type in OKTOBERFEST305 at checkout.

Leaping to the Top of the iBookstore Charts

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Dear Readers,

Number FIVE! I thought my dream of hitting the top 10 in poetry in the iBookstore by Spring 2012 was a pipe dream. But I did set it as a goal a couple weeks ago, when I realized how well both my poetry ebooks were selling on Lulu.com  I thought, okay, now to top the charts of the iBookstore!

Today, Leap is #5 in Top Poetry Paid Books in the Canadian iBookstore! It is also being featured in the What’s Hot section of the Canadian and US iBookstores.  Where the Butterflies Go is trailing behind at #141 (I published this an a ebook a little later than ‘Leap’) but I’m thrilled it’s on the list at all.

Ebooks don’t make a lot of money. Hell, poetry doesn’t make a lot of money! So I have always felt the thing to do with proceeds from these two collections is to donate half to making a small difference in the world. Since 2008, we’ve been able to help four children go to school for a year, and provided part of the teachers’ salaries too. We’ve contributed a little to the grand expense of building desks for a small school in India, and this past Christmas, we donated pencils to an entire school.

I’m donating to Unicef again today (enough to give pencils to an entire school) as a way of thanking all of you for reading, buying and sharing my poetry links; for helping more people discover my work, and for helping me achieve my charity donation goals.

Thank you. I couldn’t have done any of this without you loyal readers.

Life is short. Keep on laughing. Keep on loving. Never stop leaping.

All my best,
Heather
PS Watch for ‘The Groovy Granny’ as an ebook on Lulu.com and in the iBookstore soon, and my new collection of poetry and photographs by Spring 2012.

#5! Top Paid Poetry Books - iBookstore August 24, 2011


Heather Grace Stewart with the epub 'Leap' for the iPad

iLike myPoetry in iTunes!

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If you’d told me a decade ago if I’d have my own publishing company, I’d have never believed it.

If you’d told me I’d have my poetry collection in a bookstore in an online music store run by the guy who started Apple computers, I’d have wondered what you were drinking. Then, I’d ask you to pour me some, too.

I’ve only had iced tea today, so I know I’m really seeing what I’m seeing: my book ‘Leap,’ has been launched in the ibookstore of itunes–so you can read it on your ipad, ipod, iphone, and more! Take a look:

Leap in the ibookstore at itunes

I used to balk at the thought of reading poetry on any digital device, but you readers have told me time and time again how my words have affected you in big and small ways (thanks so much for telling me, by the way, and for sharing my poems with others, on both special and sombre occasions.) So, I’ve come to the conclusion that if the poetry comes to you in a hardcover, paperback, on an ipad, an ipod, an iphone, your Mac, PC, Blackberry, Sony reader, or the very latest ‘it’ tablet (which according to my engineering hubby is the Asus Eee Pad transformer) as long as the message gets to you, it doesn’t matter how you’re receiving it.

So, go ahead. Take the ‘Leap’ into reading poetry as an epub, and when you do, please LIKE it on FB, and give me a star rating and a short review – those really help spread the word.

If you’re not sure about jumping into this sea of ebooks yet, perhaps trying mine first would be a good way to dip your toes in the water. You can download a free Adobe Digital Editions ereader for your Mac or PC right here Leap the epub for Mac, PC, and ereaders on Lulu.com When you download the epbub -a very easy process – you can read it on that, as well as on a variety of devices like the Blackberry, Sony reader, and other cool tablets.

Poetry isn’t going away – not by a long shot. It’s changing with the times, boldly accommodating itself to new technologies—and coming out cooler than ever. What’s not to LIKE! about that?

Leaping into the itunes ibookstore, June 9, 2011

Making Poetry Cool for School

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I fell in love with a lot of poems when I was given the chance to look at them critically with my own eyes, perhaps even to disagree with the teacher or critics’ opinions, and to debate that point in class with my peers.

Oxford University Press has a new textbook for grade 10 English students, ‘Interface,’ by Oxford Next, which allows students the chance to do just that—on topics as diverse as Careers, Consumerism, Film and War. I’m thrilled that one of my poems, ‘Social Networking’ is featured in the Social Networking section of this modern, intelligent, and engaging textbook.

I got my copy of the texbook on Friday, and–I can’t really say it any other way–I completely flipped out when I saw that my poem is featured alongside poems by Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood, an excerpt from an Amy Tan book, a Hamlet speech by Shakespeare, and part of Barack Obama’s inauguration speech.

I’ve looked over this textbook and am so impressed with how it engages the reader with its modern, web-page-like design; how it asks open-ended questions in the margins, and offers a choice of 3-5 creative projects to help students explore themes further. To have my work featured in a textbook of this quality just blows me away. I hope my poems will ignite young readers’ minds, and stir their souls, or at least give them a chuckle, for many more years.

Interface will soon have an “online interface,” so students can listen to poets read their works, use a personal e-notebook and self assessments, and much more. If you are a Canadian principal or teacher, please check out these incredible textbooks for 21st century students at Oxford Next My poem appears in Interface v2.2, Grade 10 English.

If you’re an educator and you’re interested in this series for your school, here’s a two minute digital video about the Interface series.

I’m a member of the League of Canadian Poets and participate in their ‘Poets in the Schools’ Program for Ontario elementary and high schools (I can visit any locale across Canada as part of Canada Poetry tours). I love reading my poems about computer technology /social networking/ cyber-bullying as part of my school workshops. Please contact the League to make arrangements.