



WARREN ARTISTS MARKET WILL BE THERE with all our anthologies PLUS our own published works!
Stop at our table and have a chat!
Category Archives: Poetry
WARRENTON SPRING FEST
SPECIAL EVENT TAKING PLACE, 2 DEC. 2016!

Announcing a special event happening along the border of North Carolina and Virginia. December 2, 2016 from 1 until 3 pm+ at Backyard Birds and Coffee, Hwy 903, Bracey, Virginia (entrance driveway is next to the Sunoco Gas Station) Five local authors of various genres are gathering together for an afternoon of excitement. Bring your questions and comments. Come, join us. Remember that books inscribed by the author make great, unique Christmas gifts! Refreshments served.
Sandra Martin – memoir ~ Snapshots ~ Memories and Recipes
These stories are from Bracey farm girl, to suburban mother and finally to the life of a NYC literary agent. Ms Martin represented clients in the emerging mainstream genres of deep spirituality, ESP and the paranormal, alternative health and then there were the conspiracy books.
Arlene S. Bice – memoir~ A Nosegay of Violets- A Writer’s Memoir of Psychic Awakening
An ordinary girl grows into womanhood while experiencing extraordinary psychic moments. A very personal story unwraps to reveal secrets held for many years.
Ms. Bice is also the author of Ghosts of Warren County, NC & Beyond and other books on true stories of ghosts and hauntings.
Thomas Park – poetry ~ Looking for ‘Cuda Brown
Looking for ‘Cuda Brown tells the stories of many extraordinary characters Thomas has met over the years.
Mr. Park, founder of Warren Artists’ Market, lives and teaches in Warrenton, NC. He has an M.A. in English from Wayne State University and an MFA from Goddard College in Vermont. He was published in Best New Poets of North Carolina.
Merriwether Shipley -fiction ~ Cassandra and the GI P.I.: A Dupont Circle Mystery
Cassandra and the GI P.I., a DuPont Circle Mystery, follow the events that lead to a college student’s chance meeting with a P.I. named Harry Shields in October of 1969. He suffers from shell shock which has followed him for 15 years. An unseen foe is trying to kill him. They work as a team to uncover the terrors, both internal and external, as they pursue life together.
Meriwether Shipley has been an actor, model, producer and director of stage and screen. She now applies her story telling skills to this seven-volume series of books. Ms. Shipley lives in Clarksville, Virginia.
Patricia Bortz, – fiction ~ Hard Truth: Secret of the Back Row
Megan Montgomery isn’t out to save the world, but her best friend, Nadia, is. America is no more. Christians who refuse the “”mark”” are arrested for high treason. Megan trusts Sixtus, the antichrist and President of the New World Order, until his true perverse nature is revealed.
In 1996 Patricia led the theater group at her church in Armonk, New York. She wrote and directed many short dramas and plays for her powerful ministry in prisons, nursing homes and homeless shelters. She was then led to write a full-length play based on the battle of Armageddon. “Hard Truth” was the result. The final performance played to a sold-out, standing room only theater. Mrs. Bortz lives in Bracey, Virginia.
Filed under books, Christmas season, coffee, cookbooks, fiction, hauntings, living with ghosts, Memoir, paranormal, Poetry, wormen writing, writing
THOMAS PARK BOOK READING/SIGNING! LOOKING FOR ‘CUDA BROWN

Heads up! Thomas Park is having his book launch at Robinson Ferry Restaurant on Friday, Sept. 23 starting at 7:30. I can hardly wait for this historic event! It’s gonna be a good one!
Filed under books, booksigning, Poetry
LOOKING FOR ‘CUDA BROWN by Thomas Park- book review

This collection of extraordinary poems tells the story of vivid, African-American characters who have passed through the life of the author in a small, rural town in the South. Sometimes they entertain and sometimes salty tears burst, overflowing the eyelid wells, for the terrible tragedy of a life. Park has reached deep into his soul to let you know that these people lived and died and mattered, without any judgment from him. If these characters were not noticed in life, they will remain with the reader for a long, lingering time.
In all his honesty, Park reports on events that happened . . . and didn’t happen. When dreams blossomed with hope for a community and were taken away leaving disappointment for many who worked hard, giving their all, to bring about ideal living. The author exudes love of his community. He shows this caring by continuing to encourage the arts, the love of words and writing to anyone who wants to participate. I love this book.
DANVILLE, VA BOOK FAIR FESTIVAL coming up. . . .
MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Saturday, Sept. 24th! A BOOK FAIR FESTIVAL at A Brewed Awakening Coffee& Book Shop, 610 Craghead St. Danville, VA. Please come out and say “hello”. !0 am to 2 pm on the sidewalks. Come hungry for books and for some good foods! The event is hosted by Bonnie & John Hale. They host a BOOK FAIR FESTIVAL twice a year, spring & fall.
I’ll be there with books in hand, enjoying the day, talking about ghosts and whatever subjects come up. COME OUT AND SEE WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT!
Filed under Book Fair/Festival, books, booksigning, coffee, espresso, general, hauntings, living with ghosts, paranormal, Poetry, writing
LOVING WHAT I DO
LOVING WHAT I DO
Arlene Sandra Bice
Finishing my memoir-interviewing for the next ghostly book-reaching for submissions for this year’s anthology-seeking recipes for the cookbook, accepting stories for the grandmother’s book-writing lesson plans for the writers’ groups-formatting a teaching program-planning a new poetry book-publishing books for others!
STOP!
It’s about to drive me over the edge
there are not enough hours in the day, yet
I love what I do
I
cannot give up
cooking/eating
time with friends
reading
sleeping
I
will not give up
yoga
meditation
Tai Chai Chih
volunteer work
I love what I do
I’m full
of gratitude for it
thankful for it
so there is no answer
I just love what I do.
Filed under Poetry, wormen writing
A LONELY LEAF IN SNOW
Arlene Sandra Bice 2016.1.26
How is it, when I step out the day after
when everything is still covered by 6 inches
of snow
this solitary leaf
dressed in autumn colors
lays above it all
How does that happen on this day
it sinks into the wet stuff uncovered
by snow
where has it come from
this lonely leaf
bold to be alone
How is it making a mark in this life
leaving an imprint when I pick it up
the snow
doesn’t touch the veins or the tips
yet lays everywhere else
I cannot put it down
the leaf comes inside with me.
Filed under Poetry, reflection, snow, Uncategorized
SNOW & READING. . .
If you are planning to cozy up with a good book after a day of creating snow sculptures, here is a brief excerpt from THE AFTERNOON CROWD.
THE HORSEY SET
Arlene S. Bice © 2016.1.24.
they came with bruised, calloused hands coarser than sandpaper
to lift a shot of whiskey chased by a cold mug of beer, a reward
for hard work done out in the elements, thanks not given, except
what they gave themselves; not a lot of time to linger; even on
Christmas Day horses had regular schedules to keep and these
workers were there to keep ‘em
they came from all parts of the country, from Canada, and the
Caribbean, landed here in the center of New Jersey, to work on
one particular horse farm or another; how did they find us,
I wondered
some from the west or mid-west; wasn’t that a
reversal of history?
They came as owners
foremen
trainers
drivers
jockeys
walkers
water boys
stable hands
more on the list
of guys & gals
hard working
no shifting duties
either you were good
carrying your own weight or you were out
the owners came more often in the evening, for dinner
when the daytime bar folks did not; or they came for a
few celebratory drinks after the races were over
one trainer/owner
who I happened to like above others
usually a pleasant fellow
a common sense guy
never nasty or stupid
always came in alone;
this day he came in, dragging
he carried the look of the lonely on him
I knew he was married and I knew not happily
and I knew this day that his trouble was the
wife, not the horses;
a man has a certain look about him when it is
a woman that weighs on his mind; my heart
went out to him as my ears just listened, that
was all he wanted and couldn’t get anywhere
else to go along with his shot and beer
a year later, when he came in our positions were
reversed;
“good god, you look terrible!” he said, “what’s
happened to you?’ etc. etc. etc.
SNOW, NO HYPE, JUST BEAUTY

It’s been a few days now, that we have been snowed in. Isn’t it lovely? Once you know you can’t get to the workplace, you can relax and enjoy it. I hope you have. Here is a little poem that reflects how I learned to accept what Mother Nature sends to us, since I moved to the forests of North Carolina.
Arlene S. Bice © 2016.1.22.
It was only last year
the nine years previous, too
when I looked at the sky to know
that it was going to snow
and when I woke
the ground covered in white
peace blanketed the entire day
lovely to spend it this way
no need to run out
for eggs, bacon, and bread
the fridge is full, pantry, too
no emergencies to do
so I can use the day
with music thru the house
making biscuits, lots of butter
writing words to softly mutter
a day of staying in
enjoying it without the stress
just gazing out the window
reading, singing, about snow
without the TV hype
the day shows up different
positive, homey, no employ
a day of beauty to enjoy.
Filed under Poetry, reflection, snow, Uncategorized, writing prompt
Poetry from Life & Labyrinth: 