I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or not, but two of my clients are writers. One is retired from academia, and the other has her foot in the world of education. Both are, among other things, well regarded poets.
Dr Ivan Brady’s latest foray, however, is as a writer of mystery novels. The Aaron McCaan Mysteries take place around 2000, and involve an ex-Marine who stumbles into some serious trouble in and around the Mojave desert. The first novel, Sagebrush Kill, introduces us to a number of interesting characters including a dead Indian who has the audacity to keep walking around. The opening chapter to the follow-up, Ritual Overkill, may be too much for the more squeamish readers out there. We’ll find out when it’s released in 2012.
You can find Brady’s site which includes his blog here.
Georgia Popoff had the stones to give herself a title when there was none to accurately depict her position. She calls herself a community poet, and I think we’d all be better off if more communities had them. Her latest book, co-authored with a poet from Chicago is called Our Difficult Sunlight. More than a mere book of poetry, this is a call to – and an teaching piece for – educators to introduce classes young and old to poetry, and to use art in general and poetry in particular as a way of expanding the horizons of students. A noble calling if ever there was one. Georgia’s blog can be found here.
Ever say to yourself, “I wish I’d been a fly on the wall when. . .?” Ever wonder what it would be like to mix two cool compounds together and maybe be the one to discover a new super element? I had both of those privileges today. I put Brady and Georgia together at a table in Barnes & Noble and watched magic happen. Instead of adding to one another, their mix of backgrounds, sources, networks and experience multiplied. No, their skill sets raised the others’ to the power of 10. I heard a lot of the discussion, and some of it frankly I did not understand. But if half of what they talked about comes to fruition, it will be an amazing series of literary events.
And purely on the level of an ego stroke, both actually get what I teach my clients about self promotion. And they are practicing it! If you have any interest in poetry or education, you will hear more about these two in the next 24 months. You can find links to their books on Amazon from the recommendation widget on this page.