How to get a copy of ‘Lupa’ in the UK
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Marie Marshall
Author. Poet. Editor.
Tag: announcement
November 5, 2013
The Vampires are coming! The Vampires are coming!
I have finished the first rough draft of my teen vampire novella. It’s a trashy blast of steam-goth that ricochets from action-episode to action-episode. it’s unashamedly derivative, paying intertextual teeth-service to the whole vampire genre. Basically, there are only two plots in teen-vamp fiction: plot one is the vampire-as-misunderstood-teenager going steady with the girl from school (think Stephenie Meyer); plot two is the fearless, teenage vampire-killer (think Joss Whedon’s Buffy). Mine is plot two, with a little of the misunderstood teenager thrown in for good luck. I don’t pretend it’s going to be great literature (OMG, I’m channeling JKR!), but I do hope it’s going to be fun. I think its greatest asset is its total implausibility. I wrote it more quickly than I have ever written anything of comparable size.
The next stage is some preliminary proof-reading, and for that I will be roping in a friend or two. After that, it’s going to be sent to the publisher who asked me if I could write a teen vamp story.
I wonder if I will want to get back to serious fiction. I still have notes for at least one novel, along with some trial chapters. It had been giving me a great deal of trouble, and so I was really glad of the light relief of charging head on at this trashy novella. Let’s see if I’m back in the proverbial groove. If not, never mind – faithful readers will be glad to know that my second novel, The Everywhen Angels, is due for publication before Christmas, and hopefully will be available for your stocking via Amazon. Stay tuned.
October 1, 2013
100 free ebook copies of ‘Lupa’!
That’s an offer you can’t refuse. For a limited time, and in a limited amount, my novel Lupa will be available as a free ebook, along with Lyz Russo’s futuristic adventure The Mystery of the Solar Wind, Douglas Pearce’s weirdly witty Almost Dead in Suburbia, and Leslie Hyla Winton Noble’s Tabika for younger readers. There are no strings, but you are invited to take part in round two of the P’kaboo Facebook Share Contest. Step one of round two is reading the book of your choice (all four, if you wish!) and writing a review. Read all about this on Lyz Russo’s blog, or just go direct to P’kaboo’s online bookshop and download any of the books from there.
August 17, 2013
‘My life as a coble’, and other things
Poetry Life & Times has published a poem of mine, ‘My life as a coble’. You can read it here. A coble, by the way, is a clinker-built boat common to the east coast of the UK, particularly Yorkshire; its construction is thought to come down directly from the techniques used to build Viking longships.
Meanwhile, P’kaboo Publishers have taken on my second novel, The Everywhen Angels. More news later, including some possible promotional events.
August 3, 2013
StAnza Poetry Festival: I’m on the ‘Digital Slam’ shortlist!
The podcast of my poem ‘O great maritime bears’ (actually written in imitation of Lisa Jarnot’s ‘Ye white antarctic birds’ and originally featured in qarrtsiluni e-zine) has made it through to the shortlist of the ‘Digital Slam’ competition at StAnza. StAnza is Scotland’s premier poetry festival, and is held in the ancient burgh of St Andrews. The winner is decided by votes cast by visitors to the StAnza blog. For me, it’s gratifying to get as far as the shortlist; of course I have to say that there’s some fine entries by other shortlisted poets, some of whom have submitted YouTube clips and so on, but if you would like cast a vote for me, that would be greatly appreciated.
July 31, 2013
Naboland and Pittenweem
Glenshee – Winter, © Kirstie Behrens
Are you planning to go to Pittenweem Arts festival (3rd to 11th August)? If so, be sure to visit Venue 33, 7 Calman’s Wynd, where you will find the art of Reinhard Behrens, Margaret L Smyth, Kirstie Behrens, and David Behrens. This family group of artists grows in strength year by year, as the younger members hone their skills.
© Reinhard Behrens
Reinhard Behrens is the creator of Naboland, where thrown-away objects find a new life, and a toy submarine voyages in and out of an almost-but-not-quite parallel world. One of Reinhard’s finds, the remains of a teddy bear, inspired me to write a prose poem – had the bear been dropped by a certain creation of Mary Shelley as he sped across the Arctic ice in search of his monstrous creation? I dared think so…
© Marie Marshall
© Reinhard Behrens
July 31, 2013
Aval-Ballan Poetry Competition and other news
Just letting you all know that the results of the Aval-Ballan Poetry Competition are now published. You can see them here.
I don’t know if any of you out there has been involved in judging a poetry competition. It’s not as easy as it sounds, even for a poetry editor like myself. Differentiating between the poems in a long list of about one hundred with a view to making them into a shortlist of thirty is hard enough. Whittling that shortlist to twelve winners is damn tough, particularly as it involves negotiating with other judges. Picking a winner from that short-shortlist is almost impossible, particularly when, as I said when asked, “I can’t get a ciggie paper between the first five or so”.
Having made a decision I then sat back and began to feel like a poet. I have had a lot of poetry published, and even more poetry rejected by publishers – that’s the way it goes. Nothing is going to stop the unsuccessful entrants from being disappointed. Nevertheless I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world.
__________
Atlantean Publishing were kind enough to carry a notice in the July issue of their newsletter, The Supplement, advertising my 2013 collection I am not a fish. The notice also included one of the shorter poems in the collection…
Mr Coelacanth’s nightmare
Mr Coelacanth’s recurring nightmare
is that he is before a committee of hungry cats
who ask him the question, Are you now,
or have you ever been, a fish?
Never, he replies,
trying not to speak in bubbles,
trying hard not to let words
like gill and dorsal enter his mind
Some of my other poetry from this book was featured at the ‘Oversteps Day‘, Saturday 13th July, at Dartington Ways With Words Festival, read by Simon Williams, as part of the ‘A toast to absent friends’ event. Thanks, Simon, for ‘charming’ the audience on my behalf – much appreciated.
July 1, 2013
The Summer 2013 Showcase at ‘the zen space’ is now published.
the zen space is ‘my’ on-line-facility/e-zine/whatever for presenting haiku and related writing. I publish it once every three months, marking the four, Northern-hemisphere seasons. On this occasion I gave over the editorial seat to Angie Werren, a haijin of no little repute. To visit, click here or on the picture above. Enjoy.
June 13, 2013
A wee billet doux from the NLS to my agent
©Bookseeker Agency
May 5, 2013
A Coelacanth in denial swims out to you from Oversteps Books…
My second collection of poetry, I am not a fish, is now officially published by Oversteps Books. You can buy direct from them or order the book from your local bookshop. ISBN 678-1-906856-37-3. There are still a limited number of signed copies left for sale here too.
The poems in this collection have never been published in print or on line anywhere before – it was an entirely new work written for Oversteps. So the only way you will get to read them is by buying the book.
Oversteps Books publishes some of the best in contemporary poetry, covering a wide range of established and new poets. There is a rigorous editorial policy, and the books are produced to the highest standards both in terms of editorial accuracy and the beauty of the finished books. The publishing house was founded in 1992 by the poet and translator, Anne Born (1924 – 2011). The poet and lecturer, Alwyn Marriage, became Managing Editor in 2008.
M
Marie Marshall 