Saturday, March 14, 2015

Blog Tour Review - Like a Box of Chocolates by Justin Bienvenue



Description:

Take every notion, feeling, experience and expectation that you have on poetry and throw it up in the air, just take everything you’ve ever known about it and toss it aside. Not because the boundaries of what makes it so are being broken, and not because simple fundamentals and poetic structures are being altered, no that’s not it at all. Simply take a deep breath, relax and remember that nothing is off limits, nothing is too right or too wrong or completely outside the box(pun totally intended). So untie that bow, put your hand on the corner and open…open the book and take in that fresh page aroma and all the splendid “flavors” that is poetry.

Excerpt:

Marshmallow Street

The birds glide and fly in the air
Doing what they do best
Just like a road the skies they share
as their driving is put to the test

A pilot flies his jet with force
Doing tricks and trying to break sound
As he maneuvers, nature takes it course
As he lands safely upon the ground

A plane travels high above
As it departs from city to city
Look out, look down and fall in love
As the site is beyond pretty

All these things may share the sky
But one thing makes them complete
And if you yourself could also fly
You could join them on Marshmallow street

Bio:


My name is Justin Bienvenue, I was born in and reside in Massachusetts. I am a friendly and outgoing person. Always enjoy meeting new people. I graduated high school in 2006. As an author and poet, I have three published books, A book of Horror Poetry entitled, The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore published in 2011 and a Western Horror, A Bloody Bloody Mess In The Wild Wild West published in 2013 and Like A Box of Chocolates published in 2014. While I mainly enjoy writing poetry I have recently expanded my horizons and started writing stories, narratives and short stories. I enjoy writing and it always makes me satisfied to have others enjoy my work. I like to be creative and different, always trying new things. I have a background in creative writing which really helped me develop my writing and expand my imagination. When I’m not writing I also enjoy playing games and watching sports such as football, baseball and basketball. I also enjoy the outdoors, always playing sports whenever I get the chance and going for walks to gather my thoughts looking for my next best creative idea. Some of my interests include, History, Egyptology, Ufology, The Wild West and The Civil War.

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Review


Like a box of chocolates was an interesting collection of poetry. One word to describe it would be eclectic. The author writes about various topics, some dark, some lighter, and the poems themselves varied from more literal to a bit more metaphoric.

As a poet myself, I read this collection with a more critical eye, looking for depth and nuances and things that made me stop and think. This collection was more on the simpler side, which is not a bad thing. The differences between the pieces showcases the author's range of creativity. I have read a lot of poetry that I just could find no meaning to, but with this collection I was able to see where the author was going with his words, what picture he was trying to build for the reader, or what emotion he was trying to invoke.

It's a good start towards a serious path as a poet if that is what the author wishes to pursue. Go on and give this a read.

Three stars!


Sunday, March 8, 2015

That Writing Life

Surprise! I'm still busy and still have not found time to blog regularly. Or maybe that's not really a surprise.

So what have I been up to lately? Affairs two has been turned in to my publisher and I'm eager to start edits on it and get it ready for release, which will hopefully be in April. And even though I didn't think I'd get into book three this quickly, it's on a roll. Which is good because book two is coming out two years after Affairs of the Dead, which is too big of a gap in my opinion but I had great excuses: pregnancy, new mommyhood, and massive writer's block. But I'm determined not to let two years pass before book three comes out so who knows, I may have two releases this year!

So far book three isn't producing any major headaches, I've gotten to about 15k words and still know where I'm going even though I haven't written many notes at all. Definitely a book I'm pantsing. I won't get too optimistic though, I got all the way to the halfway mark with book two before I hit that impenetrable wall. But, it's good to be writing. To be able to incorporate that into my life with everything else I have going on feels very much like a victory. Plus it's exciting to get a series going, I love developing my characters and expanding the world they live in.

On another front, the blog tour business is doing well. Red Moon Book Tours has been open for a little over two months and between current, upcoming, past, and now booking, I've got about seventeen tours. It's challenging, but I enjoy the work, and enjoy helping authors get exposure for their books.

Only bummer in my literary life is that I have not been reading. At all. The time for that just isn't forthcoming. I have a lot of books I've started, and books I want to start. So I guess that's the next thing I have to tackle. For now I'll just be envious of all of you who can read, read, read!