Halloween is Almost Here

It's October already and that means it will soon be time for Samhain, All Hallows' Eve, Halloween. Three different names (depending on your belief system), but just one dark night when the veil between existences grows thin and the dead walk alongside the living for a few precious hours, but who knows what else might cross over with our dear departed? Who knows what else may already be here living among us and what exactly do you mean by "us" or "I", come to that?

If your idea of a good Halloween is to curl up with a dark and disturbing story, this may be just the right time to order your copy of A Darker Moon, the dark-fiction novel by J.S.Watts.

A Darker Moon is a dark, psychological fantasy. A mythical tale of light and shadow and the unlit places where it is best not to shine even the dimmest light. Reviewers have described it as:

"a powerful first novel"

"very thought-provoking"

"a wonderfully poetic novel, as well as a great read"

"a seductive book"

"a version of the oldest story. The story of what defines human lives in the overwhelming order of creation"

The novel is available in paperback and e-book format in both the UK and the US from a diverse range of outlets including Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk  

So what are you going to be reading this Halloween?

Evoking Eros

Whilst you are contemplating the evocation of place in poetry in time for J.S.Watts' location-setting workshop for Royston Arts Festival on Saturday, 28th September,  you may also like to think about love and romance and their role in poetry (or at least, western, English language poetry).

What better way to do this than read  J.S.Watts' blog post on the topic, which was written for the blog page of the wonderful romantic novelist, Ute Carbone. There's Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Tennyson and Dorothy Parker to name drop just a few of the poets who feature. It's sweet. It's bitter. Go on, read it. You know you want to...

Love Poetry - Counting the Ways

Evoking Place in Poetry

As part of Royston Arts Festival 2013 , J.S.Watts will be running a FREE workshop on evoking/ establishing a sense of place in your poetry.

The workshop will take place on Saturday, 28th September, 10.00am - 12.00 noon at Greneway School, Royston, Hertfordshire. Whilst it is free, you will need to book in advance to attend.

The event is suitable for all ages from age 14 upwards and should suit inexperienced and experienced poets alike.

For further details on the workshop and how to book, click here.

Poetry v Prose

Having published books of both poetry and fiction, J.S.Watts was delighted to be asked to write a guest post for the American writer P.D. Pabst's blog on the subject of both poetry and prose.

If you're interested in the answers to questions such as “Which do you prefer writing, poetry or prose?” and “Don’t you find it a problem switching between poetry and fiction?” then you should follow this link to pdpabst and read the blog post.

New Poems, Short Stories and Reviews

If you are looking for updates about individual poems, short stories and reviews written by J.S.Watts as soon as they are published (and who doesn't like to read stuff that's hot off the press?), the best place to go is J.S.'s Facebook Page. Newly published poems, short stories, flash fiction and reviews are announced there and links provided to the relevant web page(s).

For example, issue 12 of Bete Noire has just been released containing a new dark poem by J.S. This was announced on her Facebook page and a link provided to the magazine's website, but okay, as you're already reading this, you can have the link here too: Bete Noire Magazine You'll have to buy a copy of the zine if you want to read the poem, "Down at the Bottom of the Garden", but J.S.'s work can often be read for free and you'll find links to free publications on her Facebook page.

Alternatively, you can always check out the Acknowledgements Page of this website, which lists most (if not all) of the publications that have taken J.S.Watts' work and, in many cases, provides links to the publication and the published piece (where this is freely available).

So now you know - happy reading!

J.S.Watts 

Live and Reading

J.S.Watts has read and performed her poetry at festivals and events across the UK including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. To find out where's she's reading next, check out the Events page of this website.

You can also watch brief video recordings of some of her readings by clicking on the following links:

J.S.Watts reading at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2011

J.S.Watts reading at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2012

Bardic Picnic 2013

The wonderful Bardic Picnic is taking place next Sunday, 4th August in Delapre Abbey, Northampton starting at 12 noon. There's going to be poetry, music, story-telling and picnics and (fingers crossed) lots of sunshine and it's FREE.

J.S.Watts will be performing, but she will only be one among many and the many are glorious.The Antipoet will be there, fresh from their Glastonbury triumph and Richard Frost (Bard of Stony Stratford) and Joolz Denby and.... you can read it for yourself below and on the Bardic Picnic website.

If you want to read your own poetry there are open mic opportunities. Hope to see you there!