Cityscapes: Urban Treasure, Urban Detritus

Our city streets contain a multitude of objects that people have left behind, lost, or abandoned—a single tap dancing shoe, a lost lipstick lid, a forgotten mug. These wayward items represent our untold stories, our lost moments stolen by time and place. This poetry collection is a linked series that focuses on those objects that we fail to notice as we walk our sidewalks and travel down our streets.

Colors

COLORS, by Celaine Charles

We live in a colorful world, one that speaks if we listen.

This collection of poetry captures the shades and tints of color I find in my walk along life. The world shines in hues of sorrow, fear, joy, and victory. It’s quiet and thoughtful, though has the potential to scream at the top of its lungs. The world is full of color, even when it appears colorless. And, there is always chroma within the softest of hues.

My wish is to inspire a color in readers with each poem read. Not everyone experiences color the same, but perhaps they will revitalize by taking a moment to perceive what emotions are felt...when noticing them more deeply.

For six months, I published two poems each week, Mondays and Fridays. One to start the week, and one to finish. All proceeds from this series are donated through Channillo Charities to “Mary’s Place,” a Seattle-based organization helping children and families facing homelessness.

I welcome your thoughts in the comments along this journey. My hope is to polish this collection for publication in the end.* Your encouragement and critique will pave that roadway, helping me leave a legacy of color to the world in gratitude of its muse.

*Thank you for your support and encouragement, as I was able to publish a collection including 31 of my Channillo poems (along with a few new ones) into a pictureque book, Colors Collected, Poetry Inspired by the Hues of Life. It's available on Amazon, and I couldn't feel more honored and proud. Thank you Channillo!

Feminist Flicker - Decoding Sexism In Movies

Have you ever watched a movie and wondered why it left you with a feeling of dissatisfaction so subtle that you couldn't quite put your finger on it? Have you ever wondered how to tell if you're watching a movie through the male gaze? Then look no further. Feminist Flicker is here to shine a light on those shadiest of cinematic corners.

It is an unfortunate, but inescapable truth that sexism in society is supported and promoted by sexism in the media - especially movies. Indeed, even the most beloved of films can sometimes be unmasked as a hive of insidious white patriarchal messages. 

But fret not, dear reader. Just as Morpheus revealed the nature of the Matrix to Neo, so Feminist Flicker is on hand to expose the truth to you - by decoding sexism in movies, one film at a time.

Uncharted

The world can be funny or terrifying depending on your outlook. Join our hero as he navigates the daily grind, experiencing life so you don't have to.

Searching For Cereus

“I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can.” -Jack Gilbert

Death at Delphi

Whose bones lie in Caroline’s grave?

A mysterious drowning. A dead person seen alive. A secret society reviving ancient rites. Rumours of smuggling, espionage and betrayal.

When a handsome stranger asks Jayne for help, her quest takes her to Greece where a web of lies, intrigue, and jealousy is soon laid bare. 

But how can Jayne unravel the intrigue of her friend’s death, when no one will believe her? 

And where is Caroline now?

Waiting

 Whether we await good news, or expect to be disappointed, our character is revealed through our actions while we are being forced to wait. Join me on this journey of self-discovery and the exploration of the human condition. In between the big moments, nestled in the pauses and the quiet, lives the chaos where our lives are truly being lived.

My Life as a Rocket Scientist (and other lies I tell myself)

Who am I really?

Well, that is the everlasting question. The answer that still eludes me, and so many others to this day.

My quest is to find some sort of answer to the complexities of life. Join me on this perilous journey, as I slay dragons, defeat zombies, and uncover the hidden truths inside.

Poking holes through tough situations, and learning to find the humor in everyday life. Sometimes, life sucks, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. (not yet, I promise)

Quips of Profanity may ensue. 

Series Release: Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Series Now Finished.

Silent Spaces

A selection of speculative short stories on life, death, and change. 

1. Dig - A conversation between a gravedigger and a strange visitor to the cemetery. (April 30, 2019)

2. Wildmoore - An intellectual physician confronts memories of the past when he attempts to cure a young heiress who has come down with a mysterious illness. (May 31, 2019)

3. Letters - After the death of her mother, Eliza discovers more than junk when cleaning out the attic. (June 30, 2019)

4. Small Magic - Bee's grandmother feels a change in the wind. Soon, Bee does, too. (August 31, 2019)

A Touch of Noir

A Touch of Noir is a collection of short stories written in "noir" style, featuring immoral, desperate, and sinister characters set in the foggy, shadowy and hilly landscape of post-WWII San Francisco, as well as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Manhattan, and Chicago.  The stories are primarily told in first person, using language typical of 1940s-1960s.

**Update: A Touch of Noir was released in paperback and ebook format on Amazon (+Kindle), Barnes and Noble (+Nook), iBooks, Kobo and Googleplay. Six new tales not available on Channillo are available in this version.

The Blossom of the Soul

The year is 1615. In a Benedictine convent in Northern France a woman named Mary Seton, who was once lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots is nearing the end of her life. 

She wants to tell you her story. 

windows

poems that offer glimpses into lives, into minds and hearts, into moments

picture walking down the road and glancing into windows, or driving and glancing out, each look offering a snapshot of the scene you've seen

might be good, might be bad, might be nonsense.. but it will be something

Sera Storme

Eight years ago, Sera Storme was forced to give up her baby daughter, Lani, for safekeeping. On the run from the Trillium criminal organization, she became a bounty hunter and mercenary for hire, taking jobs where she could, staying low-key. 

On her most dangerous assignment yet, she and Lani are reunited. Sera Storme is a hotheaded bounty hunter, a crack shot and a master of unarmed combat. Being a mother was not something she was prepared for. 

Now Sera must track down and defeat Xane Mori, a dangerous psychic from Mars, in the Sol system, while keeping eight-year-old Lani safe from the Trillium soldiers hunting them. Her only ally is the icy Sabian Delain. Sera’s mission will force her to confront her past, and to find a way to forge a bond with the daughter she left behind.

Ghosts of Eagle Valley

Ask anyone in Eagle Valley, Virginia, and they’ll be happy to tell you the history of their little town. After all, it’s a fascinating story. Way back in the 1700s, some of the town’s bravest young men marched off to fight in the Revolutionary War. Later, Eagle Valley’s mill brought the American Dream right to their doorsteps. During the Civil War, families were split between staying loyal to Virginia or re-joining the Union. Even as recently as World War II, Eagle Valley locals fought for victory half a world away. The town of Eagle Valley is proud of its long history, and even more proud of the ancestors that built their town.

Of course, if you ask the ghosts that still haunt Eagle Valley’s streets, you just might hear another side of the story. In this four-story collection, the ghosts of Eagle Valley set the record straight. Every town has its secrets, and these skeletons are ready to come out of their closets.

Ghosts of Eagle Valley is the companion short story collection to Ellen Smith’s debut novel, Reluctant Cassandra. Available only on Channillo for Charity, proceeds from Ghosts of Eagle Valley will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. 

trees like paintbrushes

trees like paintbrushes
dipped in yellow, red, orange
left on end to dry

this collection celebrates nature, in every aspect.. come see the world with me..

*cover painted by kathie nooms saxby, inspired by my haiku, above.. which then inspired this collection

Unorthodox Sympathy

"You fill your eyes to their laurel brims

With the beauty that seeps from the cracks

Of the world, broken

Like shattered pottery."

Minute portraits of ordinary life - mere moments in time - that concentrate on the notion that broken things are beautiful.


Winner of the 2016 Channillo Award for Best Poetry Series

Runner-Up of the 2017 Channillo Award for Best Poetry Series

Hamster Stew and Other Stories

Hamster Stew is a diary-style comedy serial about the adventures of an Irish mom, Trish McTaggart, struggling with her teenage son, a scary ten year old daughter, and an out of control life which lurches from disaster to chaos. All she wants is a part-time job, more passion with her Scottish husband, and a hands-off mother-in-law but life, and her daughter, are conspiring against her dreams.

Perhaps the lessons her friend is giving her in "how to say no" will help?

Waite Community Announcements (from a Neighboring Dimension)

"...the lab equipment is missing. A heavy, cloying smell chokes us as we enter the room."

It's 1922 and the school year has just begun at Waite College, a women's institute just outside of Arkham, and peculiar events are happening all over campus. The sister school to the infamous Miskatonic University, Waite is no stranger to unusual stories about men going mad or missing. But for the first time evil appears to have crept into their dormitories and offices, to the horror of faculty and students alike.

Consisting of found documents including journal entries, incident reports, evaluations, official memos, and graffitied messages, Waite Community Announcements will trace the events leading up to the school's mass disappearances in 1923--which to this day historians do not quite understand.

 20% of the proceeds from subscriptions will be donated to Sweet Briar College, recently saved from closure in June 2015.

Lines in the Gravel

Lines in the Gravel is an engaging, often humorous, series of snapshots about Al Ainsworth's experiences growing up in rural Star, Mississippi. It is one story—told by a collection of stories—of family and faith that transcends his own experience to connect with others who seek to perpetuate their own values through the stories they tell…and re-tell.

The Resurrection of Gideon

Vampire Gideon Gower was a monster. Ruthless, bloodthirsty, and violent. A swift and brutal death awaiting anyone who happened to cross his path. He existed this way for centuries, until a shocking encounter in the 1930s left him reliving heartbreaking memories of loved ones long dead, touching on a pain that he hadn't allowed himself to feel for three hundred and seventy years.

Fast forward to 2018.

Eighty-five years have now passed and Gideon hasn't preyed on a single human since that night, instead choosing to feed off of animals in the Everglades and hiding away in a small house in Miami. But the quiet of his self-imposed isolation is shattered by the unexpected appearance of Meegan, a beautiful woman from his grisly past who's determined to return him to the fiend he once was. As Meegan attempts to drag him back down into bloody temptation, Gideon has to decide. With the man and the raging beast within pulling him in two different directions at once, does he continue to fight his instincts or allow the baser, darker part to take over once again, the latter tremendously more appealing.

Eventually Gideon finds purpose in newly forged friendship and rediscovered family, but when a gruesome murder committed by Meegan during Prohibition comes back to haunt her ninety years later, threatening not only exposure for Gideon and herself, but the safety of his family as well, Gideon must do everything he can to protect them. Even if it means unleashing the side that he's tried to keep caged for eight and a half decades.

The question is, can he close that door again once it's opened? Gideon is willing to take that chance. For them. But at what cost to himself?

There's a monster in my bed. Oh wait. It's a baby.

No self-respecting modern woman wants a baby, until you do and then you’re stuffed.

There’s a monster in my bed. Oh wait. It’s a baby is a series of satirical columns about surviving life with a baby and a boyfriend in a modern world that forgot it’s not 1950 something.

Briana takes on all things babies and boyfriend as she discovers motherhood is like riding a wild horse that’s out of control. Only the horse is not a horse, it’s a donkey. And it’s going backwards.

Written with a lot of sarcasm, a little humor and not enough coffee by a woman who wishes she was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now?

They call it The Rocket, this streetcar, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a slow boat, a barge on its way down the Limpopo, steamy in summer; in winter, gritty underfoot and rank with the smell of wet wool. On rainy days the windows blur and water from boots and umbrellas pools on the dirty floor.

On this long, long journey across the city I’m with you, though you don’t know me. You’re talking on your phone. About your mother, your date last night, what you want for dinner. Or maybe you’re talking about your next court date, your drug problem, your divorce. Your recent sexual enlightenment, the pain in your leg (or your heart) that won’t go away. Can you hear me now, you ask, when your phone cuts out for a second. You’re not talking to me.

But I hear you. I’m listening. Here are some of the stories you’ve told me.

The Last Minuters

When recent divorcee Margaret Ayinger decides to end her life, she wants to go out in style.  For those who have done their homework and for whom money is no object there is only one place for that: The Precipice Hotel.  Like a hospice for the terminally eccentric, it has stood for over a hundred years in a region plagued by yearly forest fires.  Upon arrival, Margaret finds the old place nothing like what was advertised. 

Oh sure, the staff are friendly.  And the food?  Positively four star!  Something about it though just doesn't sit well with her.  For instance, the people who randomly swan dive from their balconies late at night, the impossible thing living in her bedroom, and the automatons in black body stockings roaming the halls.  Oh, and the purple monster named Fred who lives in the gorge.  

The Art of Ascendance

Meditative collections of experience.

Heartbreak, healing, A new feeling.

It can be impeccably difficult to break the mold. This collection is my knowledge of perserverance through adversity using the means of creativity.

I love you.

You should love yourself too. 

Ghost

Life was simple, until I kidnapped her.

Ghost. The name of a man who is known for his ability to do the impossible. Of course, a hitman of his caliber is hard to find and his skills do not come cheap. Ghost has trained himself to be cold. A necessity when eliminating his victims. Take a job, complete it, get paid. Nothing more. Do as you're told. He has been successful with every hit he was assigned. When living in this hellhole some call a town, a man finds him and asks Ghost for his services. Accepted. First target, a girl. Heiress to the White family. Easy. A simple hit. This girl, that when he puts the gun to her head, intrigues him more than she should. He hesitates. What to do? Follow orders? Or take the first step down a road that could destroy him?

*If you do not wish to wait for the full story, "Ghost" is available for sale at your favorite eBook retailer

Allie's Choice

Allie comes home when her grandmother dies to finish the B&B that her grandmother had planned. While working on the house she finds a wooden box and opens a door to the past which changes her family in ways she could never imagine.

December Dead

From an amazing discovery in the jungles of the Amazon, to the serene mountain village of Hogsback in South Africa, something deadly has been unleashed, and the responsibility of ensuring humanity survives this unbelievable event has been placed in the unprepared hands of single parent Amanda Hoyer and her twelve year old son, Jimmy. Lost in the unforgiving mountains of the Amatola, and up against a relentless military force led by the cold-hearted General Peterson, Amanda and Jimmy will have to dig deeper than ever before in order to find the courage to overcome the mounting odds! With Jimmy possibly the only thing standing between the world as we know it and total annihilation, Amanda has no choice but to ensure she protects him - at whatever cost! This December may be the last...

No Vacancy

No Vacancy is a collection of humorous personal essays. Each essay is independent of each other, but together the collection weaves an autobiographical tapestry, at times sad, bizarre, and deeply personal. No skeleton in her closet is safe.

Lisa tackles subjects including grand conspiracies, generation gaps, memory loss, aging, nostalgia, modern technology, Corporate America, airline industry, affairs, addiction, unorthodox relationships, male species, and female anatomy, to name just a few.

Love Ballads Written in Moon Dust

Your weekly fix of romantic poetry written in the beautiful mindset of miss Luna Lynn. She is the dreamer in me, and I invite you to find the dreamer inside of yourself. A series of love ballads based in a cosmic wonderland, that will allow your mind to get lost in a fantastical world of starlight dreams.

Put a little moon dust in your Monday's! ;)

The Warlock Case Files

It's tough being a warlock in Washington, DC. Magic doesn't pay the bills, and sometimes you have to take on other jobs. 

I'm Dafydd Smith, and I'm a warlock. No, not the "sold my soul to the devil" type warlock. The "male witch" kind. (Everyone gets those confused, so don't feel bad.) 

One day I'm minding my own business, heading out for a bite to eat after a hard day exorcising ghosts, when I run into a vampire. Yeah, you heard that right. A vampire. With his fangs in some guy's neck. It was kind of sexy and scary all at the same time. 

What did I do? Well, read on, and I'll tell you how I got rid of a ghost haunting a vampire. And if you enjoy that one, there will be more stories. Hanging around with a vampire appears bring on all sorts of supernatural stuff. Who would have thought it?

I'm changed the frequency to once a month, and I will be adding a new short each month until I get back to working on the next book.

Cover Image Credit: Captblack76 | Dreamstime.com - Vampire Portrait Photo

Madness Intact

A young woman undergoes various physical and emotional changes as she clings desperately to her insanity, all the while watching the relationships around her crumble and fall. As time carries on, new truths are revealed and old secrets emerge with the arrival of the nefarious "they". Watch and witness a verifiable plunge into the depths of madness and mania. 

Blissful Sorrow

Living with Depression involves a multitude of emotions just wanting to be felt. It is the art of living between the light and shadows.

Words can be deep and catastrophic, but they can also bring light to a sensitive and serious subject. 

These poems dwell in the darker crevices of the mind. Where good and bad collide.

There is more to depression than crippling sadness. It's a mixture of joy, elation, anger, love and everything in between. 

The Gulmohur Tales

East meets west in these tales of honor, intrigue and humor as the lives of everyday characters intersect only to become inextricably intertwined. The result is a tapestry celebrating one humanity.

1. Hooghly's Child
A young member of a growing Indian resistance finds himself and his toddler stalked by assassins in 1876 Calcutta as a Swedish couple seeks distraction from a sorrow that unites them.

2. The Appointment
It is 1987 and seven-year-old Niyaz has the chance to emigrate to America. The future holds endless possibilities.

3. Bus To Triplicane
John Perry and his local guide, Asif, take a bus ride in the Madras metropolis of South India. John runs into a spot of trouble.

4. A Mall Encounter
Vinod Belchada sees the killer of his parents in a shopping mall, or so he imagines.

5. Lunch On Lower Wacker
Little Zeenat makes a trip to the mosque downtown to join her Girl Scout troop in packing lunches for the homeless. She has a heart-warming experience as she gives away the last of the lunches.

6. The Wager
Young India is finding its voice in this little story set in 1904. William Mortimer makes a wager with his wife, but the Indian boys he engages to win his bet have a wager of their own.

7. A Change Of Heart
A suicide bomber in a Chicago cafe has a change of heart, but his plan is set in motion and his body is trained to execute. 

8. Living
Age and mental illness have taken their toll on a veteran, but he still recognizes love and service when he sees it.

9. The Sound Of Bangles
Matthew Lambton is robbed of his merchandise and left wounded on a dirt road in 1763 Agra, India. A sweet village girl takes him to her home where Lambton matches wits with the girl's grandmother and finds himself at a loss for words.

10. For Here Or To Go
A young and bright programmer experiences the stresses of American acculturation on his first day in the States.

And I Remembered

The suicide attempt was supposed to be the end for Elisabeth. Instead, it was yet another beginning for her, but it forced her to look back at every event in the previous five years that had brought her to this point.

Miami was a light, carefree, airy place where Elisabeth thought she had found herself, and found someone else, a professional hockey player who was starting his own adult life - just like she was. Until it took a grave turn.

Chicago was dark and lonely, a place where Elisabeth wanted to find herself, but lost herself. 

Jumping into the ocean forced her to consider what direction she decided to go in next. But it also helped Elisabeth understand how she grew, struggled and nearly gave up. And how she had to put it all back together.

Vulpine One

Andrus Ovega is accused of murdering his own parents. He is a fugitive from Earth and AWOL from the space army of the International Space eXploration Commission. Left for dead aboard a burning ship, he is forced to assume the role of a notorious mercenary, "Vulpine One." But as he hunts for hope for the future, his past chases him through the cosmos. He'll need all the weaponry, cunning and help from the artificial intelligence "Foxtrot" to survive the criminal underground, corrupt government agencies, evil secret societies and space mutated monsters as he searches for revenge and clues to the origins of the mysterious order of Vulpine. 

Untested

On the day the riders came to town, they kidnapped Kella and brought her to Lord Perrin’s keep. To win her freedom, she must cure Perrin’s son from the magic poisoning his blood. Where Kella is from, it is dangerous if people find out that you are a magic-user. That’s why she and her mother had never settled in one spot for long—as soon as rumors started circulating about her abilities, she had to disappear fast. She never learned how to properly use her gifts. But at Perrin's keep she meets Taroy, who is tasked with guarding against her escape. He wants to protect her and keep her safe, but Kella is on her own when it comes to the magic that must be worked. In a race against time, Kella begins her journey to master the magic within and save Perrin's son—despite her fear that she is just not good enough to perform such complicated magic. Untested is a fantasy story for young adults that follows a young woman's journey of discovering that believing in yourself is a magic of its own.

Miss Exclusive

     Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, right?  Well, almost everyone. 

     They call me "Miss Exclusive."  People just seem to want to tell me their stories, and I print them in my newspaper column of the same name.  I've talked to some really interesting and amazing people, and you never know who's going to come out of the woodwork to tell me their story...or when the story will tell itself.

2015 Short Story Contest Finalists

This is a monthly series featuring the 12 finalists of our 2015 Channillo Short Story Contest. The stories will be released in random order as follows.

"Green Means Stop" by Opher Goodwin    

"Under the Cover of Dreams" by Lynn Forest

"Beverage Therapy" by Eliza Leone

"The Scar" by Tom Farr

"The Slush Pile" by Ryan Lackey

"Gas Station Flowers" by C.E. Stokes (3rd Place)

"Monster Mash" by Julia Patt (1st Place)

"New Age Digital Hero" by Joe Prosit (2nd Place)

"Hair Dying" by Melissa Algood

"Visitation" by Devan Burton

"The Cricket Breeder" by Justin Overton

"The Children of Muspell" by Katie Drake

**Subscribing to this series will not count toward your subscription limit. This is a bonus series created by Channillo.com

The Typist

In the vein of classics from Lovecraft and Poe comes the horror tale of Henry Pickman. A disillusioned newspaper editor down on his luck, Pickman's fate takes terrifying twist when he finds an antique typewriter with a dark secret and the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to fade.

Spilled Gravy - Advice on Love, Life, & Acceptance from a Man Uniquely Unqualified to give it

A witty take on recovery, romance, and showbiz—from a gifted comedian and award-winning writer.