April was packed like a punski…ponski…poonsky…paczki. You know what I mean! National Poetry Month was amazing – there were so many events and loads and loads of poetry being read and shared. I hope it continues!! A packed month makes the month fly by though! Can you believe it’s May? I barely can…and May is a special month because… MY BIRTHDAY IS IN MAY. And this birthday is a biggie. IT’S THE BIG FOUR-OHHHHHHH! I’m pretty excited about it.
Some important things in my life are brewing…and dreams that I’ve been dreaming for a long, long time are so close to coming to fruition my tongue is salivating.
For now, I’d like to invite you to attend or share this poetry poetry workshop I’m doing at the Budimir Library on Tuesday, May 8th with some of the team members from the Windsor Poetry Slam. It’s about how to do a poetry reading – we’ll focus on everything from choosing a poem to read to being comfortable with the mic to holding your book/phone…it’s gonna be epic and totally inspiring! Let us know you’re coming: Facebook event page here!
COOL EVENTS & THINGS TO SHARE!
Bookfest Windsor is putting on a very cool poetry event at the Manchester – Word Wars! That’s tomorrow, May 3rd. Here’s a link to the event.
Three incredible actors from Toronto have started an Indigogo campaign to raise money for their web series entitled ACE OF RODS. I urge you to check it out and give if you can – with money or shares! They are Zoe Cleland, her psychic dad (he really is!) Robin Cleland, and Carly Sztern. Here’s the write-up on the web series:
We are all actors who have been living and working in Toronto for the past decade. Robin and Zoe are a father-daughter team and Carly is an honorary member of the family. All three of us have always been interested in all things spooky, and for many years Robin has also been a well-known tarot reader. A few months ago, the idea for Ace of Rods popped into our heads, and ever since then we have been striving to turn it into a reality that everyone can enjoy.
Ace of Rods is a story about James Castleton, an eccentric psychic, who one day is visited by a woman named Sally who claims to be his long-lost daughter. He lets her into his home, having no idea that she brings with her a storm of chaos and danger. Pretty soon, her ex-lover comes looking for her, and in the middle of a violent altercation he is accidentally killed. Wracked with guilt, James, Sally and his other daughter, Annie, decide to hold a séance to apologize to him, but instead end up bringing his ghost back from the dead. He begins haunting all three of them, determined to enlist their help in completing a mission he began while he was alive. Now James, Sally and Annie must set off on a journey to make amends for their crime and complete his quest.
We are writing ten ten-minute episodes that will lead you through this twisted tale of mischief and magic. It will be a unique experience for the viewer—think Breaking Bad meets Ghost—mixing comedy, suspense and the supernatural. With your help, we want to raise the money to shoot our pilot episode. We want our first episode to be a kick-ass introduction to our show, with a high production value that will maximize the entertainment for the viewer. There is no limit to what we can achieve with this, and the better our first episode is, the more chance we have of drawing the support that will help us bring the rest of our season to life.
Everyone has a dream that they’re working on, right?! I’m happy to help spread the dreams around! Do check out their campaign here! Donate if you can – and please SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!
And… do check out my website…I’ve done a bit of an overhaul. Wanted something new to look at! Still working on some minor changes, but I’m liking the new look.
Be sure to subscribe so you get ME in your inbox as often as once a week! Woohee!
Upcoming posts include an email interview with writer/blogger Bethany Reid, an email interview with make-up artist/creative genius Stephanie Johnston, and still another email interview with Barry Brodie and the SHO Art, Spirit & Performance. I can’t wait to connect you with these amazing creative people! Stay tuned!
The weather has shifted. The moon has fattened to fullness. Change is wrapping itself around me. Can you feel it? Enjoy it.
Peace.
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 