Saturday, March 14, 2015

the Whisper of Albion by J S Watts

It's poem or short story week:
I'm pleased that J S Watts has agreed to shared a poem with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



She says, "The poem I’ve chosen to share with you is “A Whisper of Albion” which comes from “Cats and Other Myths”. Where I live now, and in my previous home in St. Albans in the UK, there are lots of old things buried in the soil which get dug up every time you do any gardening or a farmer ploughs a field. This prompted me to write the following poem."


A Whisper of Albion

The earth was whispering

As I dug you up.

It has secrets it frets to share.

Where others see rubbish

It shows treasures:

Flints and porcelain,

Broken pots and bottles

And today a pebble;

Small round stone with no centre,

Just a hole running

All the way through it,

A tiny passageway to eternity

Through which the winds

Of lost centuries blow.

Maybe a bead, a children’s toy,

The lost link to a necklet

Worn by a princess.

Maybe just a small round stone

With a hole through its middle

Amusing my fingers

As I peer through

In search of lost lands

And the hidden whisper

Of Albion’s soil.




A little about the author:

1. Tell me a little about yourself. Anything fun or goofy that we should know?

I’m a British writer and I write poetry, novels and short stories. Much, but not all, of my work, has elements of speculative fiction within it, but I’ll tell you a bit more about that later. I’m a keen amateur photographer, which I find fun and I’m also a French Horn player, which I thoroughly enjoy, but others seem to find a little goofy. I think it’s all the brass tubing that goes to make up a French Horn.


2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?

I live in the UK. I was originally born and grew up in London, but now I live in the large-skied, flat-lands of East Anglia, in the countryside near the city of Cambridge. It is a very beautiful and open part of the countryside to live in and, as a former Londoner, I love the fact that I can walk out of my house and straight into fields and woodland. There are deer, foxes, squirrels and badgers just meandering about on their business and the bird life is extensively wonderful. In summer the fields are filled with a colourful array of butterflies, bees and dragonflies.


3. Tell me a bit about your family/home life (if you don't mind).

These days it's just me and the cat and that’s great for writing, because when the words are flowing I don’t like being disturbed. The cat, however, doesn’t fully appreciate this and still yowls for food, attention and general human-slave functions at regular intervals.


4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits?

As noted above, I write poetry, novels and short stories primarily for adults, but some of my short stories have appeared in magazines for young adults. I have published two books of poetry, “Cats and Other Myths” and “Songs of Steelyard Sue”, and a dark fiction novel, “A Darker Moon”. A second novel, “Witchlight”, is due out this Spring. I am hoping that a third poetry book will follow later this year or beginning of next. My short stories and individual poems are published in varied magazines, in print and online, and I also write book reviews for magazines and e-zines. Much of my work has speculative elements to it: “Songs of Steelyard Sue” combines Science Fiction with a more literary poetic style and tone (the hero of the poetry sequence is a female robot living on an Earth turned into a rubbish heap by mankind), and I like writing which crosses and mixes genre boundaries. The books I enjoy reading most are equally diverse and genre fluid. You can find out more about me and my writing at www.jswatts.co.uk



Out in 2015 from Vagabondage Press, Witchlight, a novel by J.S.Watts. Other books by J.S.Watts: A Darker Moon (novel), Vagabondage Press 2012 - ISBN 978-0615706528; Cats and Other Myths (poetry collection), Lapwing Publications 2011 - ISBN 9781907276644; Songs of Steelyard Sue (poetry pamphlet), Lapwing Publications 2012 - ISBN 9781909252028: NOMINATED for BOTH SFPA and Saboteur Awards Best Poetry Pamphlet 2013.
Website: http://www.jswatts.co.uk/
Find the writer J.S.Watts on Facebook: www.facebook.com/J.S.Watts.page


Book links (US):


Cats and Other Myths http://www.amazon.com/Cats-Other-Myths-J-S-Watts/dp/1907276645/ref=la_B005FFWEZE_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422561666&sr=1-2


Songs of Steelyard Sue http://www.amazon.com/Song-Steelyard-Sue-J-S-Watts/dp/1909252026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422561630&sr=1-1&keywords=Songs+of+Steelyard+Sue


A Darker Moon http://www.amazon.com/Darker-Moon-J-S-Watts/dp/0615706525/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422561575&sr=1-5&keywords=A+Darker+Moon




Book links (UK): (the prices for my poetry books are more sensible in the UK)


Cats and Other Myths http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cats-Other-Myths-J-S-Watts/dp/1907276645/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422567324&sr=1-4&keywords=Cats+and+Other+Myths


Songs of Steelyard Sue http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Steelyard-Sue-J-S-Watts/dp/1909252026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422567268&sr=1-1&keywords=Songs+of+Steelyard+Sue


A Darker Moon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darker-Moon-J-S-Watts/dp/0615706525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422567163&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Darker+Moon

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