http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Readers ask when Book Three of my intended gay-crime trilogy Blasphemy-Sacrilege-Redemption will be available. The answer is I am not sure. I have not been well and have had to put Redemption on a (very) slow burner. Hopefully, it will be finished one day.
The American publisher of Blasphemy was hoping it would give him better access to the UK market; when it didn't, he changed his mind about publishing the trilogy, making some very rude comments in the process. Thanks for asking, though, and it gives me an excuse to post this poem.
While it’s true to say my foray into fiction hasn’t been a roaring success, I have received some lovely letters and emails from readers so that makes it well worth all the hard work. Nor have I lost out financially even if it hasn’t made me rich. Moreover, readership of my fiction blog continues to rise so that is also very encouraging, especially as I am primarily a poet.
http://rogertaberfiction.blogspot.co.uk
Some people ask why I bother writing poetry or fiction at all unless it’s going to make me rich and famous. Well, I write both because I enjoy it,not least because all fiction has its roots in real life,and I get to have great fun engaging with my characters. Besides, for me, writing is a necessary therapy in my daily fight against depression; readers are always a nice bonus. In any case, I always knew that finding a publisher when I am writing gay-interest as well as general fiction (and poetry) would not be easy.
Find more info about my fiction at:
http://rogertaberfiction.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/news-updates-fiction.html
Any creative activity - including sport - can be a more effective weapon against depression or a troubled mind than antidepressants alone; the arts, gardening, cooking, whatever gives a person pleasure and a sense of achievement. For me, it just happens to be writing, with a special interest in poetry that I inherited from my mother.
Oh, and never measure success by some else's measure of failure.
PAPERBACK LIVES
Walking in the park…
saw you lying on the grass
eyes closed, face turned
to the sun. I had never seen
such beauty. No, not
in anyone. I sat down nearby,
trying hard not to look,
pretending to read a book
upside down, peering
over its worn, torn cover
at my dream lover
Later, we chatted…
my heart skipping beats
like a lamb for the joys
of spring in glorious sunshine
reflected in your smile…
grateful just for living;
too soon, we parted,
your hand in mine so firm
and strong, carrying me
halfway to heaven on wings
of a favourite pop song
I tumbled to earth
as blue as my novel’s
paperback cover,
dreaming a happy ending
for each other, unable
to resist one backward glance,
(an, oh, so wistful look);
Ah, but neither could you
who ran back too,
making real the best chapters
in my paperback novel
Copyright R. N. Taber 2002, rev. 2010
[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Paperback Writer' in First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002.]
Readers ask when Book Three of my intended gay-crime trilogy Blasphemy-Sacrilege-Redemption will be available. The answer is I am not sure. I have not been well and have had to put Redemption on a (very) slow burner. Hopefully, it will be finished one day.
The American publisher of Blasphemy was hoping it would give him better access to the UK market; when it didn't, he changed his mind about publishing the trilogy, making some very rude comments in the process. Thanks for asking, though, and it gives me an excuse to post this poem.
While it’s true to say my foray into fiction hasn’t been a roaring success, I have received some lovely letters and emails from readers so that makes it well worth all the hard work. Nor have I lost out financially even if it hasn’t made me rich. Moreover, readership of my fiction blog continues to rise so that is also very encouraging, especially as I am primarily a poet.
http://rogertaberfiction.blogspot.co.uk
Some people ask why I bother writing poetry or fiction at all unless it’s going to make me rich and famous. Well, I write both because I enjoy it,not least because all fiction has its roots in real life,and I get to have great fun engaging with my characters. Besides, for me, writing is a necessary therapy in my daily fight against depression; readers are always a nice bonus. In any case, I always knew that finding a publisher when I am writing gay-interest as well as general fiction (and poetry) would not be easy.
Find more info about my fiction at:
http://rogertaberfiction.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/news-updates-fiction.html
Any creative activity - including sport - can be a more effective weapon against depression or a troubled mind than antidepressants alone; the arts, gardening, cooking, whatever gives a person pleasure and a sense of achievement. For me, it just happens to be writing, with a special interest in poetry that I inherited from my mother.
Oh, and never measure success by some else's measure of failure.
PAPERBACK LIVES
Walking in the park…
saw you lying on the grass
eyes closed, face turned
to the sun. I had never seen
such beauty. No, not
in anyone. I sat down nearby,
trying hard not to look,
pretending to read a book
upside down, peering
over its worn, torn cover
at my dream lover
Later, we chatted…
my heart skipping beats
like a lamb for the joys
of spring in glorious sunshine
reflected in your smile…
grateful just for living;
too soon, we parted,
your hand in mine so firm
and strong, carrying me
halfway to heaven on wings
of a favourite pop song
I tumbled to earth
as blue as my novel’s
paperback cover,
dreaming a happy ending
for each other, unable
to resist one backward glance,
(an, oh, so wistful look);
Ah, but neither could you
who ran back too,
making real the best chapters
in my paperback novel
Copyright R. N. Taber 2002, rev. 2010
[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Paperback Writer' in First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002.]
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