tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50715553327152210952024-03-08T07:32:09.427-04:00Glorious Mud StudioArt and Books by S.B. Borgersen
since 1996Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-86695756991939466212023-02-26T12:11:00.002-04:002023-02-26T12:11:54.558-04:00The Sequence Dance<p><br /></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7niRQrLNpbwa49SKG9NTxYqu-iWTJVgs7BlbRGDd5CgAn6HO8VPGCcAc5m5z2IoWAxpYWttxt9QLgsHRgcgEMZJ_w2fNNv9soBSMOCGZt1Ia7KklC4I2VQnSFOlr3KJOuWM_lZtyaS77XEr0Z0cVPmY3oIe_h3ekyEZ3bNufVP27XZU4qd1jEiTx/s1280/thumbnail_TSD.2B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7niRQrLNpbwa49SKG9NTxYqu-iWTJVgs7BlbRGDd5CgAn6HO8VPGCcAc5m5z2IoWAxpYWttxt9QLgsHRgcgEMZJ_w2fNNv9soBSMOCGZt1Ia7KklC4I2VQnSFOlr3KJOuWM_lZtyaS77XEr0Z0cVPmY3oIe_h3ekyEZ3bNufVP27XZU4qd1jEiTx/s320/thumbnail_TSD.2B.jpeg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>The Sequence Dance</b>. Releasing April 18th 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">40 short Fictions. Print. Available for preorder: <span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; text-align: center;">ISBN: 978-1-956692-13-6</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; text-align: center;">Published by Unsolicited Press. </span></span><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p419/THESEQUENCEDANCE.html">https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p419/THESEQUENCEDANCE.html</a></div><p style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The Sequence Dance is a collection that brings together forty award-winning works in one volume. Written over fifteen years, the stories take the reader on a tango around the globe to settings and eras they can smell, they can taste. These are stories filled with human behaviour, intrigue, familiar and yet strange relationships, life’s conflicts and joys, and situations with which a reader may question or connect. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: Arial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The book takes its title from a short work of auto-fiction, a story that, as with much of Borgersen’s work, relies on the author’s memory of a time, a place, a conversation, and those unexpected residual emotions.</span></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-42072501041233418652022-02-09T19:17:00.005-04:002022-10-04T16:05:21.563-03:00Cover reveal - Eva Matson<p>Eva Matson, the novella, was released on May 26th 2022 in digital format. It will be available in print in 2025 as a triple bill with my earlier e-novella, Fishermen's Fingers, and Passport to Perdita (releasing in e-format in 2025).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8pFOBjvTKZlCEunkEQ_OsLQ35RGw0DwOWhr3Ymqy3qZx6woJ2tqHXZJmr9IvMPmN7I6zDEnCqJpkyNFVKDNRkSZE2TqzXuuqNDq9EJIUHenhIK3vQ2KUEJR3WQ70dNRJ7f7kRC4XGpH7DpuuGrsKinx9LuF5NNP86aJAcQ2c1EUdX1YO9xGxXTdCU=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8pFOBjvTKZlCEunkEQ_OsLQ35RGw0DwOWhr3Ymqy3qZx6woJ2tqHXZJmr9IvMPmN7I6zDEnCqJpkyNFVKDNRkSZE2TqzXuuqNDq9EJIUHenhIK3vQ2KUEJR3WQ70dNRJ7f7kRC4XGpH7DpuuGrsKinx9LuF5NNP86aJAcQ2c1EUdX1YO9xGxXTdCU=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-11317183673385057792022-01-31T10:26:00.000-04:002022-01-31T10:26:31.616-04:00When Writing is Akin to Knitting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtJUqhhZPgJcGXJF4saS4S9BE0sAiu_EzfNhvuG2cxWg50ggat81j_lnDLMfooi3oe-hYsn9pBwtxPToKD1nsyZarL7YJPIAl0hIowkf99U-4VpvFS3QkCVdaeVWOfkk99ncgtwnzd9kG3cJCbNGac_hEvIw_Ea8aekDHdLxcjL1mkHFK7A8emlOwv=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtJUqhhZPgJcGXJF4saS4S9BE0sAiu_EzfNhvuG2cxWg50ggat81j_lnDLMfooi3oe-hYsn9pBwtxPToKD1nsyZarL7YJPIAl0hIowkf99U-4VpvFS3QkCVdaeVWOfkk99ncgtwnzd9kG3cJCbNGac_hEvIw_Ea8aekDHdLxcjL1mkHFK7A8emlOwv=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">When Writing is Akin to Knitting</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Writing for me is like knitting a pair of socks: one-word-at-a-time, one-stitch-at a-time. One-sentence-at-a-time, one-row-at-a-time. Turning points and turning heels. Weaving threads. Overcoming challenges. Running out of yarn/momentum. Shaping. Adding colour. Changing up the intricacies. Keeping it simple. Unravelling the tangles. And yes, pulling all the stitches from the needle, winding the yarn and starting over. Rewriting. And having confidence and commitment to keep going.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Until I write: ‘The End'. Or I cast off.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I’m a knitter. I have been since nursery school where I was taught to knit dishcloth squares before I turned four. That was when I was taught to read and write. These three skills have equipped me through life.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9yxVsMjNpGaLACBLXLw7qAS3jRFuD08B2xCew5iDiuDBtA2BpreU11NFssrfS_CSkhgYuD2zwAxBHwUQfayK_VMZqV0cNcdCf4xznA74wMeZM8hE4Vnul7-H5MdW0Q2RbU-_JeWUEXokDyvU3ASwIZc3clsjbSl66cjnz_41JrCquWR9ITx-d-Lbr=s414" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9yxVsMjNpGaLACBLXLw7qAS3jRFuD08B2xCew5iDiuDBtA2BpreU11NFssrfS_CSkhgYuD2zwAxBHwUQfayK_VMZqV0cNcdCf4xznA74wMeZM8hE4Vnul7-H5MdW0Q2RbU-_JeWUEXokDyvU3ASwIZc3clsjbSl66cjnz_41JrCquWR9ITx-d-Lbr=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Susan on the lap of her nursery school teacher circa 1947</div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">My approach to writing is so much on a par with knitting I find selecting skeins in luscious colours and textures, winding with the help of another pair of arms, is no different for me to observing human behaviour, being inspired, researching, discussing ideas, and drafting the first elements of a story.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Casting on those first stitches fill me with anticipation of the creation to come. In writing, I build on that, linking ideas, openings, plots, characters, resolutions, settings.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">When it comes to knitting socks there are stages—so similar to my approach to writing that I find it hard to separate the two. Once I get started I flow with little to stop me. Like telling a story, I just rattle along. The needles click-clacking to a rhythm. Like the keys of my computer, or pen to paper, just tip-tapping along at speed. In both cases, very often without conscious thought.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Then things come to that, all too often, halt. The story isn’t following the plot, the characters are doing their thing and not mine and it is time to take stock, not unlike like spotting a dropped stitch, knowing it has to be corrected, knowing how to fix it. Recounting stitches. Getting out the tape measure. Asking, what’s the word count again? </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Turning the heel for me is a three-part process. Each stage I tackle in one sitting in order not to lose the thread (pardon the pun). These stages hold up the overall process but are so important.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Like my writing—the stage I always refer to as, ‘the mess in the middle’.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">And then it’s bashing onward through the foot to the toe. Bringing the story to a conclusion. Closing the toe. Finishing. Writing: ‘The End’.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">There are no other activities I can so closely compare, as I have the two. I am so thankful for my nursery school teaching</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Which of your early skills do you still find invaluable? Is there anything you do that you can compare with the writing process?</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhORsyJ9LG0aLf1EFahCSmzhGPDgsfILdCNAKbqk1sYcbB03-MtnNXTRoTivLQFkm8RpoRXZyN5PcZN0jjel7wWSCEYmw0AWyJt9skQbK7oBD0ZVVoNV48hLC7CfdahrZ89VuRmw_MfdbCi5EgPi2XA6tvpp5D1Y3mWBlTvgJkMdORmTDGaafHTapBz=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhORsyJ9LG0aLf1EFahCSmzhGPDgsfILdCNAKbqk1sYcbB03-MtnNXTRoTivLQFkm8RpoRXZyN5PcZN0jjel7wWSCEYmw0AWyJt9skQbK7oBD0ZVVoNV48hLC7CfdahrZ89VuRmw_MfdbCi5EgPi2XA6tvpp5D1Y3mWBlTvgJkMdORmTDGaafHTapBz=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-ribbed-socks" target="_blank">here's one of my favourite sock patterns</a><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-88823530488248904282021-09-22T22:11:00.003-03:002021-09-23T05:36:51.216-03:00Books by S.B. Borgersen<p><span style="font-family: times;">The following are my 2021 book releases. They are available from all your favourite outlets:</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Fishermen's Fingers an e-novella, released on January 1st 2021</span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubjDtMvGz1MoRybCipuXbC_yMaY3EY32_dDPMgqmAYmWZYN97l3zKcz31nRZpPB1-z9eovGEWEItapzyqBreZfhNLXsTH8V75McjyjwUcR318w7icNxfnNOjEvHtCtlZ3SB7EGnxD3QE/s500/C47C9EDD-533E-41A7-A039-80D6E9B33CF6_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubjDtMvGz1MoRybCipuXbC_yMaY3EY32_dDPMgqmAYmWZYN97l3zKcz31nRZpPB1-z9eovGEWEItapzyqBreZfhNLXsTH8V75McjyjwUcR318w7icNxfnNOjEvHtCtlZ3SB7EGnxD3QE/s320/C47C9EDD-533E-41A7-A039-80D6E9B33CF6_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="200" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Fishermens-Fingers-S-B-Borgersen-ebook/dp/B08P2HR982" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Fishermen's Fingers, an e-novella for Kindle</a></div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/fishermen-s-fingers/9781005504779-item.html" target="_blank">Fishermen's Fingers, an e-novella for Kobo</a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">While the Kettle Boils. 150 micro fictions released on March 9th 2021. The print edition has the novella Fishermen's Fingers included as a bonus.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTAVlmMHNbNCCckcqyUVXD5MoV_Xim2Z-JmAbnjMbmTg4hC4rDHZb-exTIxOQN5nS-Nz7LW9ueI4YnWimBiu_cUMOYjBSskWui3RTDHV8eB8w0xbnD2w8-X3ayBDjZ-pcjGuQY3JyuBk/s2000/7707C7E6-29AF-484E-934C-0349E0F0D150.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTAVlmMHNbNCCckcqyUVXD5MoV_Xim2Z-JmAbnjMbmTg4hC4rDHZb-exTIxOQN5nS-Nz7LW9ueI4YnWimBiu_cUMOYjBSskWui3RTDHV8eB8w0xbnD2w8-X3ayBDjZ-pcjGuQY3JyuBk/s320/7707C7E6-29AF-484E-934C-0349E0F0D150.png" width="210" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08P533D6P/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">While the Kettle Boils for Kindle</a><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/While-Kettle-Boils-S-Borgersen/dp/1950730743/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times;">While the Kettle Boils, print issue</span></a></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p314/kettle.borgersen.html"><span style="font-family: times;">While the Kettle Boils available from Unsolicited Press</span></a></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;">.</p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Of Daisies and Dead Violins will release on December 8th 2021 </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Available now on preorder</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBma98cNbiXWOvdXWyZnZ2iEfE7llV-1XBCo_TFbAFC6CbFZyMYaF_mrq38zYjT3yezl7gypIIW0k6sccj5LbHK305CXz3KuSLJLWa0a4WBaXONbOXDahNyExVfsCg6t3Gb5vgE_g9yMw/s822/5984B652-146D-4FC3-86F9-B8EF44359DB8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="822" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBma98cNbiXWOvdXWyZnZ2iEfE7llV-1XBCo_TFbAFC6CbFZyMYaF_mrq38zYjT3yezl7gypIIW0k6sccj5LbHK305CXz3KuSLJLWa0a4WBaXONbOXDahNyExVfsCg6t3Gb5vgE_g9yMw/s320/5984B652-146D-4FC3-86F9-B8EF44359DB8.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p335/borgersen.poetry.html">Of Daisies and Dead Violins</a> </span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">and from amazon <a href=" https://www.amazon.ca/Daisies-Dead-Violins-S-Borgersen/dp/1950730867/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=of+daisies+and+dead+violin&qid=1632356884&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> Of Daisies and Dead Violins</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">More books will be released in 2022 and 2023 </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><a href="goog_622236001"><br /></a></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-56218545284633626102021-05-05T18:15:00.001-03:002021-05-05T18:16:29.482-03:00An Interview with the Arts and Literary Journal, ArtAscent<p>It is May 2021. With the launch of Fishermen's Fingers (my e-novella) in January. And While the Kettle Boils (micro fiction) releasing in March, it slipped my mind that I did an interview with the fabulous arts and literary journal, ArtAscent, a couple of months ago. You can watch it here:</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPWf2FUlLw" target="_blank">Link to my interview with ArtAscent.</a></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-37951135681352565042021-03-08T17:49:00.004-04:002021-03-09T08:52:59.211-04:00Publication release for While the Kettle Boils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">While the Kettle Boils released March 9th 2021</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">My long awaited collection of micro fictions is here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">150 stories each of approximately 150 words. These stories were written one-a-week for three years with breaks for Christmas from 2016 to 2019. They were originally drafted, yes, while my kettle boiled (then went through a fair bit of editing in the months that followed). They are humorous, sad, thought-provoking and all points between. They are brief enough to be read while your own kettle boils. Short enough to read from your phone even.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There's a bonus novella at the back. It's supposed to be a surprise!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Availability is noted at the end of this post. A launch will be announced in the early summer. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiyiWhYWVFILl9wecE0AVDheVSFrxxMJEzYFwOvGECUM8kONhaxdrKxZoRvUC1kshpA13_y7riDi50ZypO6BwNmn_sPf98BTWpbUQb1rLTmdxWXLJYbMxEmQzG0cRCb7ga_6EJVbiSCg/s2048/AB7AC7BF-B376-41EB-BDF9-520BCC00D1E9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiyiWhYWVFILl9wecE0AVDheVSFrxxMJEzYFwOvGECUM8kONhaxdrKxZoRvUC1kshpA13_y7riDi50ZypO6BwNmn_sPf98BTWpbUQb1rLTmdxWXLJYbMxEmQzG0cRCb7ga_6EJVbiSCg/s320/AB7AC7BF-B376-41EB-BDF9-520BCC00D1E9.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">978-1-950730-74-2</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's the Press release:</span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="font-family: Helvetica; text-align: center;">While the Kettle Boils</b></span></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Remarkable Nova Scotian Author Pens Flash Fiction Collection</b></div></b></h2>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">PORTLAND, OR; March 9, 2021</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">—Unsolicited Press announces the release of WHILE THE KETTLE BOILS by S.B. Borgersen, a short fiction collection that reaches into the hearts of every reader. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">WHILE THE KETTLE BOILS by S.B. Borgersen is a fervent and economical collection featuring 150 perfectly manicured micro-fictions. Jude Higgins, the event organizer at Bath Flash Fiction, called the collection, “Witty and insightful... Borgersen’s tiny stories have inspired other writers from all over the world.”</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">About S.B. Borgersen</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">S.B. Borgersen is a British/Canadian author, of middle England and Hebridean ancestry, whose favoured genres are flash and micro fiction, and poetry. She had a diverse career path, an analyst in a shoe factory, the same thing for a children’s book publisher, teaching art, and filing for the civil service, but mostly she climbed a precarious ladder in the IT industry culminating in strategy and project management, which, by necessity in those days, included writing writing writing mountains of non-fiction — always allowing herself to be slightly creative with proposals, reports, technical and training documentation.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sue turned her back on industry and commerce in the early nineties, escaping the stressful rat-race and finding the simple life and peaceful place she’d always sought to allow for creativity. That place was Nova Scotia where she returned to her skills from art school and made an uncomplicated living as a visual artist and potter. That is, until she got the creative writing bug. Since 2000 her writing has won prizes, been mentioned in Hansard and published internationally in literary journals and anthologies (print and online). The list of publications is extensive and can be found at <a href="http://www.sueborgersen.com"><span style="color: #1155cc;">www.sueborgersen.com</span></a>. She is a member of both The Society of Authors UK, and The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sue lives in a crumbling old house on the shores of Nova Scotia with her patient husband and a clutch of lovable rowdy dogs. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">About Unsolicited Press</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at <a href="http://w"><span style="color: blue;">www.unsolicitedpress.com</span></a>. Follow the press on Instagram and Twitter @unsolicitedp.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>While the Kettle Boils </b>is available on March 9, 2021 as a paperback (248 p.; 978-1-950730-74-2) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Press only, Unsolicited Press</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eric Rancino</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">619.354.8005 </span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">marketing@unsolicitedpress.com </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">S.B. Borgersen</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">sueborgersen@hotmail.com</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Available from your regular book shop or library, just quote </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">978-1-950730-74-2. and check the Borgersen spelling!</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Some of the places you can find it too:</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p314/kettle.borgersen.html" target="_blank">Unsolicited Press</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/while-the-kettle-boils-sb-borgersen/1138375387" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/while-the-kettle-boils-s-b-borgersen/book/9781950730742.html" target="_blank">https://www.booktopia.com.au/while-the-kettle-boils-s-b-borgersen/book/9781950730742.html</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/while-the-kettle-boils/s-b-borgersen/9781950730742" target="_blank">Waterstones</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://bookshop.org/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781950730742 https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781005388249-item.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></a></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><a href="https://bookshop.org/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781950730742"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">https://bookshop.org/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781950730742</span></a></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781005388249-item.html">https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/while-the-kettle-boils/9781005388249-item.html</a></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-91014493028167985332020-12-04T11:53:00.004-04:002020-12-04T13:08:17.664-04:00Announcing Two Books by S.B. Borgersen<p> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Unsolicited Press is a publisher that does not mess around. Once the proposal is accepted—contracts are agreed and the editorial schedule is established. And this is what happened to me in the summer of 2019.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As a result of working closely with Managing Editor, Summer Stewart, two of my books are now available on pre-order from an Amazon near you, and from Unsolicited Press (be still my beating heart): </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p321/kettle.borgersen.html" target="_blank">Fishermen's Fingers direct from the publisher</a>. <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Fishermens-Fingers-S-B-Borgersen-ebook/dp/B08P2HR982/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Fishermen%27s+Fingers&qid=1606652621&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Or from Amazon</a>. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsBT_PjS0jJac9R17vwRz3_gZ4cR_CESqSEpjIsfch2mrSrsOzu61B0Uz0FScccc_OzydjYpahBANyLw8lH5QYBoD3LwEedrQEjaaTTfgv_2oD6dL2_IVrNUDZXpmzJ2NkU8Ppd8IUOw/s1280/D92EF769-72BB-45D9-8742-F3D092B725A5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsBT_PjS0jJac9R17vwRz3_gZ4cR_CESqSEpjIsfch2mrSrsOzu61B0Uz0FScccc_OzydjYpahBANyLw8lH5QYBoD3LwEedrQEjaaTTfgv_2oD6dL2_IVrNUDZXpmzJ2NkU8Ppd8IUOw/s320/D92EF769-72BB-45D9-8742-F3D092B725A5.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Kicked from one orphanage to another, Lenny’s had a raw deal from his first breath…until the rebel in him finds a way through. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">"Fishermen’s Fingers" peeks into the underbelly of a remote coastal community, revealing how poverty, an unwanted pregnancy, and a bad start in life can lead to a precarious adulthood for those who are different, like Lenny.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">There are no real worries in small communities where houses are not locked and children are sent alone to the store for a loaf of bread, but when 10-year-old Betty isn’t in her usual seat at school, her teacher, Miss Watson, has to explain to students the perils of talking to strangers.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">Like most aftermaths, this becomes a story of ‘if-onlys,’ where naivety and trust blind those who should have seen, should have known.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">But where strong bonds of friendship, love and caring are never far away.</span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">****<br /></span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;">Also announced for pre-order this week is my collection of micro fictions, 150 in all. The print issue will come with a bonus. There is also talk of an audio book, but keep that under your hat for now...</span><br /></span></span><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZB7x2jkcmiIuO1L388LRjXmNYTMPJ2WPtR71cuC2kwWOUY5Ack68kJX_EgvS_FV-jp34aQTlTKHGy6GYA6ze1eIcVLCnUyHHVtUk0qpODoIAS6-qsieNUIVhR18suOX_7G09LwpIgXE/s1280/97461EFB-E08F-46B0-AC8A-BCD3E468F7AA.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZB7x2jkcmiIuO1L388LRjXmNYTMPJ2WPtR71cuC2kwWOUY5Ack68kJX_EgvS_FV-jp34aQTlTKHGy6GYA6ze1eIcVLCnUyHHVtUk0qpODoIAS6-qsieNUIVhR18suOX_7G09LwpIgXE/s320/97461EFB-E08F-46B0-AC8A-BCD3E468F7AA.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); white-space: pre-wrap;">This is what my publisher says: WHILE THE KETTLE BOILS is a spunky and economical micro-fiction collection with 150 baubles to savor. Readers will be thrilled to find a very special surprise at the end of the printed collection. Preorder today for release on March 9th 2021. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As many of you know, this is a collection written over three years. Micro fiction is a favourite genre of mine and forces me to edit out anything extraneous. They are quick reads, but often they make you wonder and want to read again. This is what early readers have said:</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0f1419;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUM3wSDM4i90Qo_3P6B5xWE1Tuqx951akUce0DWW5eM5rsVHmC5gRFia0q4fSJnSOhrgqXAT1I7nk4j_f1QvKyBL64PnZJ-vrF3OMbXy90k2bqfV4UtaxJK7oAjYe8FymKUUu9DWjAGg/s1360/F22C748F-0807-49CC-84D2-CF35B78D1605.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUM3wSDM4i90Qo_3P6B5xWE1Tuqx951akUce0DWW5eM5rsVHmC5gRFia0q4fSJnSOhrgqXAT1I7nk4j_f1QvKyBL64PnZJ-vrF3OMbXy90k2bqfV4UtaxJK7oAjYe8FymKUUu9DWjAGg/s320/F22C748F-0807-49CC-84D2-CF35B78D1605.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, you can pre-order from the publisher <a href="http://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p314/kettle.borgersen.html" target="_blank">Unsolicited Press</a> or from an amazon near you <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/While-Kettle-Boils-S-Borgersen/dp/1950730743/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Borgersen&qid=1606935956&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Amazon.ca books by S.B. Borgersen </a></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My third book for 2021 will be released in December. It is a 20 year collection of Poetry, <i>Of Daisies and Dead Violins</i>. Please let me know if you'd like to be on the mailing list for advanced information. Thank you.</span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-88921325231266632922020-08-02T11:51:00.017-03:002022-10-04T16:15:03.463-03:00S.B. Borgersen, Biography summer/autum 2020<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">It's time to update the bio, I'm told. So here it is, warts and all. This should probably start with the most recent achievement - but that's not the way I roll. </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJosMM6UeNondtD3Ms_Wrysp5_PtZuxuVsUNL9SLT8NeWQAOfZ2ncb7LjSZ29p5AH1qtBPmQdljXyTr-4aqq0rtCDVkZUOTtbmA0gbLfyrFScQcp88GZRDHBBlNeXQZVWPsoYB7pA4LHg/s1600/DSC_7381.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1041" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJosMM6UeNondtD3Ms_Wrysp5_PtZuxuVsUNL9SLT8NeWQAOfZ2ncb7LjSZ29p5AH1qtBPmQdljXyTr-4aqq0rtCDVkZUOTtbmA0gbLfyrFScQcp88GZRDHBBlNeXQZVWPsoYB7pA4LHg/s320/DSC_7381.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">Sporting 87 of my Ad Hoc stories on my Litographs scarf. December 2017</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;">The full version follows this, but if you'd like the short version:</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;">S.B. Borgersen - short biography.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;">Once described in the writing world as a ‘third space inhabitant’, S.B. Borgersen, originally from England, writes and makes art on the glorious shores of Nova Scotia, Canada.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: helvetica; line-height: normal;">Sue’s favoured genres are poetry, short and micro fiction. She is published internationally in anthologies, and arts and literary magazines, in print and online. She’s <span style="font-family: arial; line-height: normal;">currently re-working one of her fourteen NaNoWriMo novels into a novella-in-flash.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal;">S.B. Borgersen is a long-standing member of The Nova Scotia Writers’ Federation, a keen member of the ex-pat writers’ group PENS (Pens Around the World), and a member of The Society of Authors. Sue was a judge for the Atlantic Writing Competition (Poetry Category) 2016 and Hysteria (Poetry) 2017.<br /><br />Her e-novella, Fisherman's Fingers was published on January 1st 2021 followed by her collection of 150 micro fictions, While the Kettle Boils (print and digital), in March. Of Daisies and Dead Violins, collected poems, written over 20 years, became available in print and digital format in December 2021. Eva Matson, an e-novella, was released in May 2022. Her publisher is Unsolicited Press, Oregon.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #021eaa; font-family: arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.sueborgersen.com/">www.sueborgersen.com</a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;"></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"> </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">Here's the fuller story:</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">Achievements and publications - S.B. Borgersen:</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">1958 <i>My Life Story: told by Laika, the sputnik dog</i> in <i>The Crusader, </i>the first school magazine from King Richard School Dhekelia.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">The missing years, mountains of non-fiction, only slightly creative, technical and training documentation.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2000 <i>The Wings of the Doves </i>in <i>A Drop in the Ocean, a collection of six short stories,</i> published by <i>Brave Waves</i>. A writer-initiated project, a result of the NSCC creative writing programme.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2000 2nd place with <i>The White Wisteria </i>in South Shore Literary Society annual competition. ($50 prize!)</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2001 2nd place (poetry) with <i>Life</i> in the Atlantic Writing Competition. (another $50 prize!)</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2009 The big breakthrough: <i>Sister of No Mercy, </i>one of 75 poems from poets around the world in <i>Leonard Cohen You're Our Man</i>, from the Foundation for Public Poetry, to celebrate Mr Cohen’s 75th birthday. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8148784-leonard-cohen" target="_blank">Leonard Cohen You're Our Man</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2011 <i>20 Winners at the Game of Life, </i>essays by successful women, published by Parker and Watson. <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/20-Winners-at-Game-Life/dp/1425150462" target="_blank">20 Winners at the Game of Life</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2012 <i>Mail Order Bride </i>in <i>Foreign Encounters, </i>a Writers Abroad anthology.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Encounters-Writers-Abroad/dp/1491264071" target="_blank">Foreign Encounters </a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2012 <i>Layers, poems and photographs. </i>Self published using<i> Lulu <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Layers-Poetry-S-B-Borgersen-Book-ebook/dp/B00B5IJMFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516289534&sr=1-1&keywords=Layers+Borgersen" target="_blank">Layers</a></i></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2013 Shortlisted by the CBC for <i>The Song that Changed Your Life.</i></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2013 Edited, designed and produced <i>Distant Voices, talking drums </i>A Six Week, Long Distance Poetry Project for More Writers Abroad. Published using <i>Lulu</i>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Distant-voices-talking-Shirley-Gonsalves-ebook/dp/B00C1JV4TY" target="_blank">Distant Voices</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2013 <i>Peeling, 39 poems and photographs </i>written in 2012 and 2013. Published using Lulu</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;"><i>2013 Knickers </i>a creative non-fiction essay, was published in the anthology <i>Foreign and Far Away</i>. This work subsequently received acknowledgement from the provincial government of Nova Scotia for the manner in which it addressed the tragedy of the Bangladesh factory disaster and compared it with excellent working conditions in the Maritime underwear factory, Stanfields, 100 years earlier. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/FOREIGN-FAR-AWAY-Writers-Abroad/dp/1492762008" target="_blank">Foreign and Faraway</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2013 to present: contributed to<i> ArtAscent, </i>the international arts and lit journal with flash fictions: <i>Emergence, The Sequence Dance, The Green Dress, Loved to Death, </i>and<i> Three Anthems for Althea, </i>along with the poems, <i>The Feel of Dark,</i> <i>Eating an Orange Before Breakfast</i>, and <i>Point of View, </i>in addition to visual art. <a href="https://artascent.com/" target="_blank">ArtAscent</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2015 <i>Solas, </i>a collection of short poems on the subject of light was published in<i> Kaleidoscope</i>.<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/writers-abroad/kaleidoscope/paperback/product-22454007.html" target="_blank">Kaleidoscope</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2016 <i>Stiff as Boards, a </i>short story set in the Canadian Maritimes, published by <i>Centum Press</i> in <i>100 Voices Volume 1</i>.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Voices-Centum-Press/dp/1945737034" target="_blank">100 Voices volume 1</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">A consistent contributor to<i> Ad Hoc </i>since January 2016,<i> </i>with her micro story, <i>Walter’s Quest, </i>being pronounced a winner in September 2017. <a href="http://adhocfiction.com/" target="_blank">http://adhocfiction.com</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2016 <i>Then I Kissed Her </i>in <i>Adverbially Challenged</i> published by Chris Fielden. <a href="http://www.christopherfielden.com/" target="_blank">http://www.christopherfielden.com</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2017 <i>Wrong Stones </i>in Nonsensically Challenged also published by Chris Fielden</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2017 <i>Shapes </i>and <i>Trip of a Lifetime, </i>two short stories<i>, </i>shortlisted by <i>Writing </i>magazine.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">2017 <i>Tonight’s the Night</i> longlisted in the Bath Flash Competition and published in <i>To Carry Her Home </i>- <i>Bath Flash Fiction Volume 1. <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2017/03/to-carry-her-home-bath-flash-fiction-volume-one/" target="_blank">To Carry Her Home</a></i><br /><br />2017 Interview with Hysteria <a href="https://www.hysteriauk.co.uk/2017/06/06/an-interview-with-sue-borgersen-poetry-category-judge-for-hysteria-2017/">https://www.hysteriauk.co.uk/2017/06/06/an-interview-with-sue-borgersen-poetry-category-judge-for-hysteria-2017/</a><br /><br />2017 <i>24 Hours of a Canadian Winter</i>, first prize in <i>Writing</i> magazine’s Numbers Poetry competition.</div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;"><div style="font-family: arial;">2018 an interview with Jude Higgins of Bath Flash Fiction Award <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2018/01/on-being-an-adhoccer-s-b-borgersen/">https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2018/01/on-being-an-adhoccer-s-b-borgersen/</a></div><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial;">2018 My poem 'How You Think You Might Find Happiness' was published by ArtAscent in their April 2018 issue. <a href="https://artascent.com/" target="_blank">https://artascent.com</a></div><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial;">2018 Hit the 100 mark with Ad Hoc. That is 100 micro (150 words) story without a break. Looking for a publisher. 100 stories. 100 pages. What's not to like?</div><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">2018 Tuesdays (a short-short story) accepted by </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"> for their 11.1 edition.</span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"><br /></span></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2018 My short The Blackout takes the 'featured story - Gold' place in June's issue of ArtAscent. The review by Oleksandra Osadcha is overwhelming.</span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"><br /></span></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Daniel was accepted in February and published in April by Wells Street Journal <a href="https://wellsstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">https://wellsstreetjournal.com</a> on page 56.</span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"><br /></span></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Coming of Age accepted by Setu. Published May 3rd <a href="https://www.setumag.com/2019/04/Flash-Fiction-S-B-Borgersen.html" target="_blank">Coming of Age</a></span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"><br /></span></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Daylight Robbery Shortlisted by Strands</span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"><br /></span></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Mike and Sophie accepted by 50-words on April 11 2019 <a href="https://fiftywordstories.com/" target="_blank">https://fiftywordstories.com</a></span></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - May 3rd Partners published on The Drabble <a href="http://www.thedrabble.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thedrabble.com</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - May 26th The Mackenzies published by Fewerthan500 <a href="http://fewerthan500.com/the-mackenzies/" target="_blank">The Mackenzies</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - June 1 - Tunnel Vision was longlisted by Micro Madness New Zealand </span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - June 21 - Pink Capri finally found a lovely home with Strands Publishing <a href="https://strandspublishers.weebly.com/lit-sphere/pink-capri" target="_blank">Pink Capri </a></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - July 9th - Trip of a Lifetime published by Cafelit. <a href="http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/2019/07/trip-of-life-time.html" target="_blank">Trip of a Lifetime</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - July 15th - The Escape long-listed by Retreat West </span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - August 18th - Seeing the Light - Published by Fewer than 500 <a href="http://fewerthan500.com/seeing-the-light/" target="_blank">Seeing the Light</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - September - da Vinci's Burlington House Cartoon - poem shortlisted by Writing Magazine</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - September - Micro Fictions Collection of 150 - manuscript <i>While the Kettle Boils </i>accepted for publication by Unsolicited Press.</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - October - Contract signed and Editorial Schedule for <i>While the Kettle Boils</i> agreed. Publication March 2021</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - November - A to Z accepted by Wells Street Journal</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - November - letter printed in Writing Magazine</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - November - Stiff as Boards to get a 2nd publication by Fresh Ink</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - December - Essay 'What is Home' accepted for publication in 2020</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2019 - December - A story with a beginning a middle and end published by Storgy <a href="https://storgy.com/2019/12/10/day-10-a-story-with-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end-by-s-b-borgersen/" target="_blank">Link to story on Storgy</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - January - 4 poems inspired by Nova Scotia season in THE POET <a href="https://www.thepoetmagazine.org/winter-2019---the-seasons" target="_blank">THE POET - seasons issue</a></span><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - February - Blue white gold, a short story, is accepted for publication by Strukturris. <a href="https://strukturriss.net/current-issue/" target="_blank">https://strukturriss.net/current-issue/</a></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - February - Indigo Sweetwater and Joe's Trip to the Library (flash fictions) published by Setu in March/April.</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - April - poem The cookbook given to you by your mother - published by Flora Fiction <a href="https://mailchi.mp/2595f10d9454/need-something-to-read-heres-a-copy-of-our-magazine?e=582f008384" target="_blank">Flora Fiction</a> page 57</span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - April - The long-distance helpful phone call from your mother - accepted in 42 word stories </span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">2020 - April - my poem - Were you once an art teacher - really published by Blue Nib<a href="https://thebluenib.com/a-poem-by-s-b-borgersen/?fbclid=IwAR1p8IBVibgJUjKg8L2d3X3iiqacdzRDBdt_YWJoEUhUGrU2OunUx1KSDn8" target="_blank">Were you once an art teacher, really</a></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - June 2 - stories published by Setumag <a href="https://www.setumag.com/2020/05/indigo-sweetwater-s-b-borgersen.html" target="_blank">Indigo Sweetwater at Setumag</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span>and <a href="https://www.setumag.com/2020/05/joes-trip-to-library-sb-borgersen.html" target="_blank">Joe's Trip to the Library</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - June - Made the top 22 in New Zealand's Flash Frontier Lockdown issue - publishing in video form on Youtube between 1st and 22nd (shortest day in New Zealand. <a href="https://youtu.be/dxTPw2tydso" target="_blank">Reading Two-faced Moira - micro fiction</a></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - June - From Coalman’s Corner to Eternity in Strands <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://strandspublishers.weebly.com/lit-sphere/from-coalmans-corner-to-eternity" target="_blank">From Coalman's Corner to Eternity</a></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - June - Unsolicited Press accepted Of Daisies and Dead Violins - collected poems - for publication in late 2021.</span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - June - Vapour Trail published by <a href="http://pendemic.ie/vapour-trail-a-poem-by-s-b-borgersen/" target="_blank">pendemic</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - June. Long-Distance Care published by LD BabyBabble <a href="https://lockdownbabybabble.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/poetry-long-distance-care-sue-borgersen/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Lockdownbabybabble</a><br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - July - e-novella Fishermen's Fingers accepted for publication by Unsolicited Press. To be published January 1st 2021</span><br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - July - Blink Ink accepted Himalayan Yak Chews for publication <a href="http://www.blink-ink.org/2020/08/" target="_blank">August 2020 edition</a></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2020 - July - Semantics published by ArtAscent in the <a href=" https://www.magcloud.com/user/artascent" target="_blank">Abstract edition</a></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - August - Finding Peace published by paragraph planet <a href="mailto:https://www.paragraphplanet.com/?fbclid=IwAR2sL7vSyKmlZhrG6iqmVXr1xoY5sCHsQJRj8NWhVYfGM6RuVHE3285dSGs" target="_blank">Finding Peace on paragraph planet </a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - August - Where's Home published by Moose House Press has one of my essays - <a href="https://www.moosehousepress.com/product-page/where-s-home" target="_blank">https://www.moosehousepress.com/product-page/where-s-home</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - September - Shortlisted by Retreat West for Hidden Messages</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October - Shortlisted by Strands for The Ballad of Jock McCoy - to be published shortly</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October Published It Wasn't About Bernard on Reedsy <a href="https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/61/submissions/36410/" target="_blank">It Wasn't About Bernard</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October - Shortlisted by Retreat West</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October - Honourable Mentions in Literary Taxidermy for Convent Girls in the Morrison Challenge and Strong and Black in the Huxley challenge.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October - Empty Tables - photographic art accepted by Patchwork Lit mag for publication in winter 2020. issue.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - October - More So received 2nd prize in the Retreat West micro comp. <a href="https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/more-so/" target="_blank">https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/more-so/</a></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - November/December - 2 books announced for pre-order. See above post.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2020 - December. Longlisted in Strands.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2021 has been a roller-coaster. Working with my publisher, Unsolicited Press, on January 1st my novella, Fishermen's Fingers, launched. On March 9th While the Kettle Boils was released. The editorial schedule for Of Daisies and Dead Violins got into full swing—and was released in December. My novella, Eva Matson, was published in digital format in May 2022. And my short story collection, The Sequence Dance, will go out into the world in April 2023.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">In addition, there have been successes with short/microfictions and poetry in Art Ascent (issues 47 and 49). The Miramachi Reader, Paragraph Planet, and National Flash Fiction.</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">August 1st 2021. Bright. Beautiful. And Bold, shortlisted by Lockdown Baby Babble</div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEwdvfZXExTxBetkvZwCofJN-uMDQl0YDYA4TMHi61l5fZTKUCr_Eo-8ncWVPHxTSpqa8BLwwnPtP6gzL3nuxbDwEyipZkG7pfJdVs-aoYUvwPWqSDfrHp0H_e42buoD5BOt-PbpxxFI/s2048/14C9CC91-3F53-44C1-B080-8543F969AED6_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1636" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEwdvfZXExTxBetkvZwCofJN-uMDQl0YDYA4TMHi61l5fZTKUCr_Eo-8ncWVPHxTSpqa8BLwwnPtP6gzL3nuxbDwEyipZkG7pfJdVs-aoYUvwPWqSDfrHp0H_e42buoD5BOt-PbpxxFI/s640/14C9CC91-3F53-44C1-B080-8543F969AED6_1_201_a.jpeg" /></a></div><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><br /><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;"> </span></div>Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-90698153981133307472020-06-27T14:06:00.002-03:002020-06-27T14:06:45.634-03:00The Joy of Editing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Editing. I have always avoided this bogey. Up until recently, editing has filled me with a feeling of doom. Tedious old doom. I suppose I’ve always seen myself as a pioneer. Someone who likes to break new ground and then move on. But since my collection of micro fictions was accepted by my lovely publisher, my view has changed.<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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My editorial schedule with Unsolicited Press in Oregon spans 18 months. Structured. Dates. Deadlines. And really good communication. I am currently at the deadline for the copyedit stage.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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I look at the manuscript with the professional markups and suggestions and my mouth waters as I imagine a school teacher with a big fat red pen might. It’s a brand new feeling for me. Exciting even. <span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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Cutting must be done. And I do it with an eagerness that surprises me.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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The process makes me think of a sculptor armed with chisels and hatchets before a block of marble straight from the mountain. With beautiful veins running through. A sculptor knows that whatever is carved away makes no difference to the beauty of the stone. That whatever was there to begin with, will still be there. The mountains, the life-giving veins.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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And I feel that is the case with my book, ‘While the Kettle Boils, micro fiction’. There are 150 stories in the book written, more or less, weekly from 2016 to 2019. They are being published in the order they were written and, as I read through, I follow my editor’s advice and chop out too may occurrences of certain words — ’so’, for example, I see how I have improved over those three years as the further through the book we go, the fewer edits are required.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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Members of my wonderful writing group, Writers Abroad, had already worked their magic on the manuscript before it was ever sent to the publisher, and they know how many oopsies etc. there were then. Writers Abroad is the village that helped raise this book to its feet. Now, with Unsolicited Press, it is getting it to walk forward.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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And that is the joy of this editing process. Working with good and talented people who are generous with their time and gracious with their help. For me it is like a treasure hunt now, my loot bag is the markup app, and the further we go, the fewer things drop in the bag.<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>While the Kettle Boils</i> will be launched in the spring of 2021. I’ve now signed a second contract with Unsolicited Press to publish my collected poems, <i>Of Daisies and Dead Violins, </i>in late 2021<i>. </i>The editorial schedule for the poetry book is already underway and what a joy that is too.</span></div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-26163948633837117902020-02-07T13:14:00.001-04:002020-02-07T13:15:50.331-04:00Front and Back Matter, does it matter?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0jSwC-Z-MkeOLJjFWmQPpGu5mSvFEJ1gj-x146gAbfeeYf4OYsTudWXNuc1QtPF7SaGh3XO6M1kmphmusiuZTfVacfoxy-HLV8L_62u0U8Tv4CFREOXwFhhTncvCGk9IgW498FfoEOA/s1600/AE9B0B53-7425-4574-91EB-0CA42B978DFE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1075" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0jSwC-Z-MkeOLJjFWmQPpGu5mSvFEJ1gj-x146gAbfeeYf4OYsTudWXNuc1QtPF7SaGh3XO6M1kmphmusiuZTfVacfoxy-HLV8L_62u0U8Tv4CFREOXwFhhTncvCGk9IgW498FfoEOA/s320/AE9B0B53-7425-4574-91EB-0CA42B978DFE.jpeg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I don’t know about you, but when I have a new book in my hand I take time to consider the front matter, from the cover all the way through to the table of contents before I settle down to Chapter one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It does aggravate me, however, when certain e-books swing right into that first chapter, skipping over all the well considered front matter:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Traditionally, front matter is the last thing to be written by the author, but hopefully the first thing the reader reads, well this reader anyway. Some of the formal front matter is provided by the publisher e.g. title, copyright, and table of contents pages. The rest is optional and says much about the author to the reader. Every page of the front matter is numbered in lower case roman numerals beginning with i for the title page.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">All front matter pages should begin on a recto (right hand) page, except the copyright page with is placed on the verso (left hand).</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There is a long list of optional front matter - and for me they all really do matter. This is where the author has applied much thought and it all deserves to be read and considered: </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Dedication</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Author’s introduction</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Prologue - these seem to be making a come-back</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">And finally, before chapter one, the all important acknowledgements - in my experience it takes more than the author to create the finished book - so time for all involved to take a bow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now the back matter. You’ve finished the book, you take a deep breath of regret that it’s over, and another deep breath with appreciation for the creation that has just been shared with you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The back matter can consist of:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">An epilogue or after-word or postscript</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Bibliography, references to sources - could be alternative to author’s notes in the front matter if appropriate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Glossary, if any special vocabulary has been used.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Copyright permissions, where a fee has been paid to use copyrighted lyrics or images for instance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Image credits, linked to the above - but could apply separately to the cover images.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Further reading, often the opening chapter of a sequel or other book by the same author</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Then, on the back cover, or inside the flyleaf, is the all important author biography, usually called ‘About the Author’ with a super mugshot, often with their pet cat or dog, or in their garden surrounded by daisies, or on a balcony overlooking Venice - well you get the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">So, my question to you is, with all the work that goes into the front and back matter, do you read it? Does it really matter to you. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">It really and absolutely matters to me.</span></div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-43901913354172993802019-10-21T10:01:00.001-03:002019-10-21T10:01:30.643-03:00La Crême de la Crême<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Muriel Spark’s Approach to Writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I recently watched a TV documentary about the author Muriel Spark (Dame Muriel Sarah Spark). She was the genius author behind, probably her best known novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In the interview she talked about her approach to writing fiction. She opens the interview as follows, “I think of a title. And I go around telling everyone I’m going to write a book by that name. Then one day I write the title. I put ‘by Muriel Spark’ under it, then I turn the page and I write ‘Chapter One’. And then I write the first sentence and then I go on from there. Really, that’s how it is.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If you’d like to experience the rest of the 60 minute documentary go here. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://youtu.be/v6_u05fMwDA">https://youtu.be/v6_u05fMwDA</a></span> it is mesmerising. At least I found it so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But back to the opening of the interview. I felt so reassured by listening to her speak about her approach to writing. Because it is also close to my own. Maybe not always a title, it can be just one word. A prompt. And a story will begin buzzing. Characters will just show up. Human nature (and all its elements) will take over and carry the story to a place I had not planned. As you know, I write mostly without conscious thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I stop and wonder if I should think. If I should plot. Do some character studies. Give thought to settings. Stick to some of the guidelines in the rules of writing. But no, for me that is a turn off - for me it stilts my fiction - because, for me life (well mine anyway) is not like that. Life just bowls along, or around, or backs up, or falls over, or in fact just stands still. And I don’t see why fiction should be any different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">So I thank Muriel Spark for humbly speaking about her writing. For the genius of her writing. It has given me confidence to continue to do my own thing in my own way and not be one jot concerned with rules.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">How about you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/listen-to-muriel-spark-read-from-her-work-in-honor-of-her-hundredth-birthday">https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/listen-to-muriel-spark-read-from-her-work-in-honor-of-her-hundredth-birthday</a></span></div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-3706004308709176642019-07-14T18:42:00.003-03:002019-07-14T18:42:42.535-03:00Fiction and Truth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“Fiction is a lie that tells us true things” is a quote from Neil Gaiman’s foreword to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I always read the front matter before I embark on any book. Much careful thought goes into forewords and acknowledgements in my humble opinion. And when a statement like Gaiman’s jumps out of the e-page at you at 3 am, you, if you are anything like me, sit up and take notice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">And yes, write it down on that little notebook by the bed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But, why oh why was I reading Fahrenheit 451 at 3 am? Because I’d taken up the Literary Taxidermy challenge earlier this year: to take the opening and closing lines of said novel - and stuff my own words in between. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Oh what joy this challenge was, to find new characters to blossom, to explore settings, to discover emotions. And find a course for these components from opening to closing lines. Not wondering how you would get there, or how you would move everything from A to Z with the limited word count. And to feel just a tad uncomfortable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I re-read my submission this week (after that Gaiman light bulb moment) and, in spite of those constraints of the challenge, I found I had, subconsciously, immersed so many truths in my fiction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It was a moment of realisation. Of understanding why I write fiction. Why I feel I must tell these stories. And why I must trust my instincts to tell things in my own way. I suspect I do this a lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I am appreciative of the gauntlet thrown down by the Literary Taxidermy challenge and admit I wouldn’t have a. written the story at all, or b. read Bradbury (and thereby missed the foreword) without that challenging lure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But most of all I’m thankful for this shift in my deeper understanding of fiction.</span></div>
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<br />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-67031869291769417502019-07-10T13:57:00.002-03:002019-07-11T09:41:43.069-03:00July 2019 updateWork continues to be submitted. And - woo-hoo - work is getting accepted for publication. Here is an update:<br />
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Tunnel vision was long-listed by Micro Madness in New Zealand on June 1st. The story found itself in excellent company - so long-listing was plenty good enough for me.<br />
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Pink Capri won a second placing with Strands Publishing. So nice to get paid. <a href="https://strandspublishers.weebly.com/lit-sphere/pink-capri" target="_blank">you can read it here</a><br />
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Trip of a Lifetime - once shortlisted by Writing Magazine found itself a home on July 9th with Cafelit. <a href="https://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">you can read it here - you may need to scroll down to 9th July</a><br />
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<br />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-64403064237471178532019-04-26T08:28:00.000-03:002019-05-18T16:04:24.525-03:00Recently Published and other news<br />
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May 2019 update<br />
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My short fiction <i>Coming of Age </i>finally published - after a slight formatting hiccough - on May 4th by <a href="https://www.setumag.com/2019/04/Flash-Fiction-S-B-Borgersen.html?fbclid=IwAR0sedfxHozcAQjhwuD3g54lXVVvSQNFVUUhn909UIuPfkBta8F2iDFhDGc" target="_blank">the literary journal Setu</a><br />
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My 50-worder <i>Impossible Choice </i>was published by <a href="https://fiftywordstories.com/2019/05/07/sb-borgersen-an-impossible-choice/" target="_blank">50 Word Stories</a> - you can read it there too.<br />
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The link for The Mackenzies will be posted on May 26th.<br />
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April 2019 saw my short story <i>Daniel </i>published in the Wells Street Journal. If you'd like to read it it's on page 56 <a href="https://wellsstreetjournal.com/issue-11/" target="_blank">Wells Street Journal Liminal Edition</a> - I wasn't able to make the great looking launch in London - but was with all of the other contributors in spirit. My thanks to all at Wells Street for believing in my work.<br />
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A few days later <i>Mike and Sophie </i>was published by 50-words. If you like, you can read it here <a href="https://fiftywordstories.com/page/3/" target="_blank">Mike and Sophie by S.B. Borgersen</a> - you may need to scroll down that page.<br />
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In other writerly news my flash fiction <i>Daylight Robbery </i>was shortlisted by Strands who have announced good news shortly!<br />
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And two flashes, <i>The Mackenzies</i> and <i>Seeing the Light </i>have been accepted by Fewerthan500 for publication later this summer. <i>The Mackenzies</i> will be published on 26 May and <i>Seeing the Light</i> in August.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thedrabble.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thedrabble.com</a> published my micro fiction <i>Partners </i>on May 3rd 2019. They've added a lovely image to the story too.<br />
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Ad Hoc, of course is a continuing saga - to which I've contributed since January 2016.<br />
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<br />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-3566828544426060952019-04-11T11:26:00.002-03:002019-04-11T11:26:46.759-03:00Writing rules - do they inhibit creativity?<div style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(16, 21, 182); color: #1015b6; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
Two members of Writers Abroad, on opposite sides of the North American continent, discuss this age-old topic.</div>
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Part 1 (Part 2 will be posted next week)</div>
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SB: M, You recently said that perfection can be a barrier for a writer, can you expand on that?</div>
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MS: I’m really referring to my own work which I often compare to that of others, I feel my work could be more polished.</div>
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SB: What do you mean by polished M? Do you mean in terms of the rules of writing?</div>
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MS: Yes, and no. It is so beneficial to belong to Writers Abroad and have this wide and diverse membership read my work and offer suggestions for the many ways to change and improve it… but… my concern is that the heart of the work could get diluted. In striving for perfection, will the story lose some of its soul?</div>
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SB: I know exactly what you mean. IMHO, as long as the critiques and reviews are suggestions, they can be taken or otherwise. Who is making the rules anyway. There is a trend now for the writer to be much more true to themselves.</div>
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MS: In what way S?</div>
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SB: Personally, I feel there are times to forget about grammar – for instance, and this is just an example. Let’s take sentence structure, there could be times when, say, a series of two-word (or even one-word) sentences will add to the texture, to the tension, to the rhythm of the work.</div>
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MS: Interesting. When I submit a piece for review that is in the first stage of creation I’d much rather hear about how my work makes a reader feel, than to know I’ve missed out a semi colon for instance. After that, when the work is not as vulnerable, I’m all for suggestions on sentence structure and writing rules, like show, not tell and so on. Then, of course, there’s this polish that many publishers state in their calls for submission.</div>
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SB: Oh yes, when it comes to polish, I’m inclined to look at it a bit like a painting – you know how you can overwork a painting – there has to be a time to leave well alone. Over polishing can take the shine right off. You can take all the perfection away by trying to make it more perfect. But observing the rules – and then breaking them can also work.</div>
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MS: Ha S! Like your Picasso analogy? </div>
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SB: Aaaah, the story goes that Picasso had to go to art school and learn all the rules (and there are good examples of how he executed those rules as a student) – but then he was true to himself, and look at his success. Looking at his work, I do see all the deep understanding of those rules. Not visible. But understood.</div>
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MS: Back to the rules (you see how I have to keep bringing you back on topic!) – are we still talking about grammar here, or rules laid down by publishers.</div>
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SB: Gosh, M. Publishers’ guidelines are a whole n’other kettle of fish. They all seem different. Fonts, formats, etc etc etc. But I think once you find a good fit with a publisher, they will respond very kindly once they see the spirit of the work. But they can still be tricky. I understand Margaret Atwood still, after a lifetime as a successful author, has to negotiate small stuff with her editor (trading a comma with a semi colon for instance). It’s the writing world.</div>
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MS: But what about self publishing – I’ve had great success with mine. At least I could be true to myself with that.</div>
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SB: And that’s the nutshell of it M – being true to ourselves – but also being happy to consider the invaluable suggestions made by our WA members and our teams of beta readers. Happy Birthday by the way.</div>
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Part 2 next week. Join M and S as they take this discussion further, maybe addressing some of your comments and feedback.</div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-63802852907441480512019-02-02T12:57:00.000-04:002019-02-03T08:46:51.128-04:00My Love Affair with Poetry<h2>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">From an early age I loved story books - especially where the stories were told in verse. I was raised on Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses in the 1940s. In the 50s I subscribed to a magazine (6d per fortnight) called Sunny Stories which contained ‘jolly’ poems along with ‘splendid’ stories. In the 1960s, my children loved the Ladybird rhyming stories: Bunnikin’s Picnic Party, Ginger’s Adventures, and Smoke and Fluff. We especially loved Smoke and Fluff, the tale of two naughty kittens. I can hear us reading together until we no longer needed to turn the pages as we remembered every predictable melodic syllable.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Predictability helped remembering. Being able to retell the tale. Throughout history it was easier in verse. Storytelling was as important then as now. And listeners often loved that they already knew how the tale went, finding comfort in its predictability.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">These days we may more often look for poems that are thought-provoking and surprising. Have you noticed how poetry is currently serving many more purposes with wider and wider audiences? In many forms and platforms too. e.g. The Nationwide Building Society is going great guns with its spoken word performance poetic advertising, so is The Royal Navy to mention just a couple.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">And just look at the popularity of rappers like Nicki Minaj with:</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">I said, excuse me you're a hell of a guy</i><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">I mean my, my, my, my you're like pelican fly</i><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">I mean, you're so shy and I'm loving your tie</i><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">You're like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye…</i><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">If that’s not poetry then I don’t know what is.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; background-color: transparent;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;"> won’t talk about well known poets like Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Alfred Lord Tennyson or Dylan Thomas in this blog - instead, I’d like to give a mention to songwriters who were poets, like Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and, of course, The Beatles. Naming but a few of those who often write/wrote the poetry first. They sure found the form, the language and the melody, and in that, their music.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">Poetry can be experimental. Phrases can be spare. Message essences are captured. Then up will pop that spark, followed by a flame which gives us the light to see reason and our own view. Causing us to stop and think. Like therapy. Poetry has a job to do and it does it in so multifaceted ways. Open to interpretation (like a painting.) You don’t necessarily have to understand it either. As a reader, it becomes yours and yours alone. To enjoy the sounds, the rhythms, and yes, the melody.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1a1a1a;">Always there to be revisited. To be rediscovered.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">My love of poetry has never wained through the decades. I have explored the old poets and the very new. The war poets, the romantic poets, the rappers, the translated and the balladeers. I’ve also found an abundance of prolific local poets. I’ve collected books of poetry from Burns to Betjeman. I dip into them - read and reread. On occasions, in just a few lines, I’m transported to unimaginable places and times.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I’ve participated in poetry workshops with well-known and lesser-known poets. I’ve also held poetry workshops myself (I’m one of the lesser-knowns!) in an effort to pass on my love of the art form. Over the years I have written much more poetry than prose. With some publishing successes along the way e.g. in the 2009 anthology below:</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Composing poetry helps with my fiction writing too. I often edit by turning prose into a poem and back into prose (I find that a good exercise).</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I hope I’ve inspired you to read some poetry, we don’t necessarily have to understand it all to enjoy the language and the melody. Or write something, I dare ya! Post a few lines in the comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mary Oliver, the much loved American poet, died on January 17th this year. So I will leave you with the opening to one of her works and hope it helps you to understand this love affair I have with poetry.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Morning Poem</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Every morning</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>the world</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>is created. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Under the orange </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>sticks of the sun</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>the heaped</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>ashes of the night</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>turn into leaves again </i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">All lyrics and images used in this blog are available on public domains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Poetry by S.B. Borgersen can be found on Amazon, Lulu, ArtAscent and at The Foundation for Public Poetry. Links can be found on Sue’s Writers Abroad profile and the website sueborgersen.com.</span></div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-47263302307817069682018-04-03T11:27:00.001-03:002018-04-03T15:07:16.247-03:00January's interviewIn case you missed it - here's ths link:<br />
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<a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2018/01/on-being-an-adhoccer-s-b-borgersen/" target="_blank">On being an Ad Hoccer</a><br />
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<br />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-28879516790480250192018-01-18T11:24:00.005-04:002019-07-26T16:30:31.749-03:00Updated Writing Biography<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
It's time to update the bio, I'm told. So here it is, warts and all. This should probably start with the most recent achievement - but that's not the way I roll. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sporting 87 of my Ad Hoc stories on my Litographs scarf. December 2017</span></div>
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S.B. Borgersen - short biography</div>
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Once described in the writing world as a ‘third space inhabitant’, S.B. Borgersen, originally from England, writes and makes art on the glorious shores of Nova Scotia, Canada.</div>
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Sue’s favoured genres are poetry, short and micro fiction. She is published internationally in anthologies, and arts and literary magazines, in print and online. She’s <span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: normal;">currently re-working one of her eleven NaNoWriMo novels into a novella-in-flash.</span></div>
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S.B. Borgersen is a long-standing member of The Nova Scotia Writers’ Federation, a keen member of the expat writers’ group Writers Abroad, and a founding member of The Liverpool Literary Society. Sue was a judge for the Atlantic Writing Competition (Poetry Category) 2016 and Hysteria (Poetry) 2017.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.sueborgersen.com/">www.sueborgersen.com</a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> </span></div>
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Achievements and publications - S.B. Borgersen:</div>
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1958 <i>My Life Story: told by Laika, the sputnik dog</i> in <i>The Crusader, </i>the first school magazine from King Richard School Dhekelia.</div>
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The missing years, mountains of non-fiction, only slightly creative, technical and training documentation.</div>
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2000 <i>The Wings of the Doves </i>in <i>A Drop in the Ocean, a collection of six short stories,</i> published by <i>Brave Waves</i>. A writer initiated project, a result of the NSCC creative writing programme.</div>
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2000 2nd place with <i>The White Wisteria </i>in South Shore Literary Society annual competition. ($50 prize!)</div>
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2001 2nd place (poetry) with <i>Life</i> in the Atlantic Writing Competition. (another $50 prize!)</div>
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2009 The big breakthrough: <i>Sister of No Mercy, </i>one of 75 poems from poets around the world in <i>Leonard Cohen You're Our Man</i>, from the Foundation for Public Poetry, to celebrate Mr Cohen’s 75th birthday. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8148784-leonard-cohen" target="_blank">Leonard Cohen You're Our Man</a></div>
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2011 <i>20 Winners at the Game of Life, </i>essays by successful women, published by Parker and Watson. <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/20-Winners-at-Game-Life/dp/1425150462" target="_blank">20 Winners at the Game of Life</a></div>
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2012 <i>Mail Order Bride </i>in <i>Foreign Encounters, </i>a Writers Abroad anthology.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Encounters-Writers-Abroad/dp/1491264071" target="_blank">Foreign Encounters </a></div>
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2012 <i>Layers, poems and photographs. </i>Self published using<i> Lulu <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Layers-Poetry-S-B-Borgersen-Book-ebook/dp/B00B5IJMFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516289534&sr=1-1&keywords=Layers+Borgersen" target="_blank">Layers</a></i></div>
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2013 Shortlisted by the CBC for <i>The Song that Changed Your Life.</i></div>
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2013 Edited, designed and produced <i>Distant Voices, talking drums </i>A Six Week, Long Distance Poetry Project for More Writers Abroad. Published using <i>Lulu</i>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Distant-voices-talking-Shirley-Gonsalves-ebook/dp/B00C1JV4TY" target="_blank">Distant Voices</a></div>
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2013 <i>Peeling, 39 poems and photographs </i>written in 2012 and 2013. Published using Lulu</div>
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<i>2013 Knickers </i>a creative non-fiction essay, was published in the anthology <i>Foreign and Far Away</i>. This work subsequently received acknowledgment from the provincial government of Nova Scotia for the manner in which it addressed the tragedy of the Bangladesh factory disaster and compared it with excellent working conditions in the Maritime underwear factory, Stanfields, 100 years earlier. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/FOREIGN-FAR-AWAY-Writers-Abroad/dp/1492762008" target="_blank">Foreign and Faraway</a></div>
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2013 to present: contributed to<i> ArtAscent, </i>the international arts and lit journal with flash fictions: <i>Emergence, The Sequence Dance, The Green Dress, Loved to Death, </i>and<i> Three Anthems for Althea, </i>along with the poems, <i>The Feel of Dark,</i> <i>Eating an Orange Before Breakfast</i>, and <i>Point of View, </i>in addition to visual art. <a href="https://artascent.com/" target="_blank">ArtAscent</a></div>
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2015 <i>Solas, </i>a collection of short poems on the subject of light was published in<i> Kaleidoscope</i>.<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/writers-abroad/kaleidoscope/paperback/product-22454007.html" target="_blank">Kaleidoscope</a></div>
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2016 <i>Stiff as Boards, </i>short story set in the Canadian Maritimes, published by <i>Centum Press</i> in <i>100 Voices Volume 1</i>.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Voices-Centum-Press/dp/1945737034" target="_blank">100 Voices volume 1</a></div>
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A consistent contributor to<i> Ad Hoc </i>since January 2016,<i> </i>with her micro story, <i>Walter’s Quest, </i>being pronounced a winner in September 2017. <a href="http://adhocfiction.com/" target="_blank">http://adhocfiction.com</a></div>
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2016 <i>Then I Kissed Her </i>in <i>Adverbially Challenged</i> published by Chris Fielden. <a href="http://www.christopherfielden.com/" target="_blank">http://www.christopherfielden.com</a></div>
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2017 <i>Wrong Stones </i>in Nonsensically Challenged also published by Chris Fielden</div>
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2017 <i>Shapes </i>and <i>Trip of a Lifetime, </i>two short stories<i>, </i>shortlisted by <i>Writing </i>magazine.</div>
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2017 <i>Tonight’s the Night</i> longlisted in the Bath Flash Competition and published in <i>To Carry Her Home </i>- <i>Bath Flash Fiction Volume 1. <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2017/03/to-carry-her-home-bath-flash-fiction-volume-one/" target="_blank">To Carry Her Home</a></i><br />
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2017 Interview with Hysteria <a href="https://www.hysteriauk.co.uk/2017/06/06/an-interview-with-sue-borgersen-poetry-category-judge-for-hysteria-2017/">https://www.hysteriauk.co.uk/2017/06/06/an-interview-with-sue-borgersen-poetry-category-judge-for-hysteria-2017/</a><br />
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2017 <i>24 Hours of a Canadian Winter</i>, first prize in <i>Writing</i> magazine’s Numbers Poetry competition.</div>
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2018 an interview with Jude Higgins of Bath Flash Fiction Award <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2018/01/on-being-an-adhoccer-s-b-borgersen/">https://bathflashfictionaward.com/2018/01/on-being-an-adhoccer-s-b-borgersen/</a></div>
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2018 My poem 'How You Thing You Might Find Happiness' published by ArtAscent in their April 2018 issue. <a href="https://artascent.com/" target="_blank">https://artascent.com</a></div>
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2018 Hit the 100 mark with Ad Hoc. That is 100 micro (150 words) story without a break. Looking for a publisher. 100 stories. 100 pages. What's not to like?</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">2018 Tuesdays (a short-short story) accepted by </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;"> for their 11.1 edition.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2018 My short The Blackout takes the 'featured story - Gold' place in June's issue of ArtAscent. The review by Oleksandra Osadcha is overwhelming.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Daniel was accepted in February and published in April by Wells Street Journal <a href="https://wellsstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">https://wellsstreetjournal.com</a> on page 56.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Coming of Age accepted by Setu. Published May 3rd <a href="https://www.setumag.com/2019/04/Flash-Fiction-S-B-Borgersen.html" target="_blank">Coming of Age</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Daylight robbery Shortlisted by Strands</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(33, 33, 33); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #212121;">2019 Mike and Sophie accepted by 50-words on April 11 2019 <a href="https://fiftywordstories.com/" target="_blank">https://fiftywordstories.com</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 - May 3rd Partners published on The Drabble <a href="http://www.thedrabble.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thedrabble.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 - June 1 - Tunnel Vision was longlisted my Micro Madness New Zealand </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 - June 21 - Pink Capri finally found a lovely home wiht Strands Publishing <a href="https://strandspublishers.weebly.com/lit-sphere/pink-capri" target="_blank">Pink Capri </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 - July 9th - Trip of a Lifetime published by Cafelit. <a href="http://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/2019/07/trip-of-life-time.html" target="_blank">Trip of a Lifetime</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2019 - July 15th - The Escape long listed by Retreat West </span><br />
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-12453423112834951742017-12-17T13:14:00.000-04:002017-12-17T14:15:11.317-04:00Should We Write When We Are Sick<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #1015b6; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
Not a Christmas blog for you, nevertheless, it is seasonal for many, I am sure.</div>
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You’re as weak as a kitten, high on medication, defying healing advice, and the ‘r’ word: ‘rest’.</div>
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Why the defiance? Why can’t you just give in and concentrate on getting well?</div>
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Because you are a writer of course, and you are at a time in your life when writing is on a par with breathing. You have words to capture, protagonists to develop, and scenes and sequels abounding in your head. And yes, you still have stories to tell.</div>
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Especially in November.</div>
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November seems to be my month for picking up some bug or other and depleting my strength. It keeps me housebound and I get through copious amounts of tea.</div>
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It is also National Novel Writing Month. A month on thousands of writers’ calendars as the 30 days in which to draft a novel. This year was my 11th official year, and I’d almost decided give NaNo a miss. That was until some of the members of my incredible international writing group, Writers Abroad, threw the temptation my way.</div>
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But I was sick.</div>
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I kicked the month off with cellulitis requiring high dose antibiotics, you don’t really need to know that, other than it affected all I did for the rest of the month. Mid-month left-eye cataract surgery meant I was functioning on blurry vision while waiting for the right eye. Then, shock horror, a serious chest infection flattened me. Some of the meds induced hallucinating effects. </div>
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But, you know what, I didn’t stop writing. Hallucinating effects can be precious to a writer. Delirium is like treasure. My NaNo novel was like a runaway train, sometimes clocking up over 3,000 words a day. I began on November 1st with only a title and a book cover design (because that’s the way I roll), and then I wrote up a storm to fill those covers and do the title justice.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I crossed the finish line on November 20th, a week before my 74th birthday. Over 50,000 words accomplished in under 3 weeks.</span></div>
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So, I ask you again, should you write when you are sick? It’s a personal question. My reply is, ‘yes’. This draft novel wouldn’t exist without the NaNo challenge and the team spirit of Writers Abroad, and here’s the thing, those words would be different if I hadn’t been sick, if I’d been bright eyed and bushy tailed. Quite different.</div>
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And that’s what makes our writing unique, we haven’t just captured words, protagonists, scenes et al, we’ve captured the way we, as writers, feel at a particular moment in time.</div>
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And I know that when I open up my draft novel in the new year I will ask myself, ‘did I really write that?'</div>
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My congratulations to my WA colleagues on achieving their NaNo novels too. Between us, we’ve written over a quarter of a million words in 30 days.</div>
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A very happy Christmas to you all.</div>
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<img alt="" src="http://writersabroad.com/gfile/75r4!-!GKIMKD!-!zrzor45!-!PHPOMHFE-MPGI-HDRG-OFSJ-PFRLOSRHEOJH/photo_on_2017-12-01_at_4.13_pm.jpg" height="324" width="160" /></div>
Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-62039317198797507572017-12-14T14:23:00.001-04:002017-12-14T15:03:36.846-04:00Taking Stock<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I guess it is time to catalogue some of my writing successes. Seeing your work in print, out there in the big wide world, gives a tingle of a thrill, I suppose. Listing it is a challenge. I'm sure I'll miss some, but here's a start:</div>
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My little sonnet Twenty Four Hours of a Canadian Winter won first prize in the numbers poetry competition in Writing Magazine 2017 <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(2, 30, 170); color: #021eaa;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/My%20sonnet%20Twenty%20Four%20Hours%20of%20a%20Canadian%20Winter%20won%20first%20prize%20in%20the%20numbers%20poetry%20competition%20in%20Writing%20Magazine%202017%20https://www.writers-online.co.uk/store/buy-the-magazine/writing-magazine-october-2017/%20%20%20%20Find%20my%20poem%20Sister%20of%20No%20mercy%20in%20Leonard%20Cohen%20You%E2%80%99re%20Our%20Man%20published%20to%20coincide%20with%20Mr%20Cohen%E2%80%99s%2075th%20birthday%20in%202009%20%20https://publicpoetry.wordpress.com/leonard-cohen-poet-in-residence-program/leonard-cohen-youre-our-man-book/%20%20%20Regular%20contributor%20of%20poetry,%20short%20prose,%20and%20art%20in%20the%20Arts%20and%20Lit%20Journal%20ArtAscent%20https://artascent.com%20including%20%20Lost%20October%202017%20Point%20of%20View%20August%202017%20Reading%20a%20Poem%20Before%20Breakfast%20June%202017%20Garden%20#1 and Temptation October 2016 Girl in a Green Dress June 2016 Mail-order Bride June 2015 Loved to Death October 2014 The Feel of Dark December 2013 The Sequence Dance October 2013 Mother Earth August 2013 Emergence June 2013" target="_blank">Writers Online October 2017</a></span></div>
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Find my poem Sister of No mercy in Leonard Cohen You’re Our Man published to coincide with Mr Cohen’s 75th birthday in 2009 <a href="https://publicpoetry.wordpress.com/leonard-cohen-poet-in-residence-program/leonard-cohen-youre-our-man-book/" target="_blank">Leonard Cohen You're Our man</a></div>
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I'm also a lucky regular contributor of poetry, short prose, and art</div>
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in the Arts and Lit Journal ArtAscent <a href="https://artascent.com/" target="_blank">ArtAscent</a></div>
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including:</div>
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Lost October 2017</div>
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Point of View August 2017</div>
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Reading a Poem Before Breakfast June 2017</div>
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Garden #1 and Temptation October 2016</div>
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Girl in a Green Dress June 2016</div>
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Mail-order Bride June 2015</div>
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Loved to Death October 2014</div>
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The Feel of Dark December 2013</div>
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The Sequence Dance October 2013</div>
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Mother Earth August 2013</div>
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Emergence June 2013</div>
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AdHoc Fiction - a sub set of Bath Flash have taken my 150 worders every week for close on two years. Ad Hoc is a weekly online book of micro stories. I've also managed to have a couple of my illustrations accepted. My story Walter's Quest was pronounced a winner. You can read it here <a href="http://adhocfiction.com/" target="_blank">Walter's Quest a September winner</a> if you scroll down to September 2017.</div>
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Bath Flash Fiction long listed my short story Tonight's the Night (which had to undergo some editing out of song lyrics before publication) - but it's a great anthology and I'm chuffed to be included. The anthology is called <a href="https://bookshop.adhocfiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=181" target="_blank">To Carry Her Home</a>.</div>
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There is much more - which I will add on an ad hoc basis (don't you just love your Latin!) but for now, I'll leave it right there.</div>
Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-42923342336811334652017-04-19T08:10:00.001-03:002017-04-19T08:18:56.847-03:00Why do we doubt ourselves<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">photo credit V. Conrad</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I was all set to write a blog about the benefits of reading our work in public (note the pic of me seriously reading Love on a Wednesday Afternoon, (you know, the one about the bouncy 4-poster bed, and the trombone lessons) from my Ad Hoc collection to an appreciative coffeehouse gathering recently.</span></div>
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But then this topic won’t go away:</div>
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<b>Why do we doubt ourselves?</b></div>
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You made the resolution this year to just keep sending your writing out - and to keep track of what you’ve sent where and when to expect results. Many of these lit-mag-comps only tell you if you’ve been placed - so when results day arrives, you trawl the sites to read long lists, short lists, and finally the selected work. To find that you’re not there.</div>
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You swallow hard, tell yourself you can’t win them all - but you ‘tip-toe’ away from the websites thinking - ‘again - not good enough’ and it can leave you with a feeling of giving up, doing something completely different, stop banging your head against quite a high brick wall. Consider signing up for donkey rearing for beginners instead.</div>
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Because standards change. You want the standards to be high. You don’t want it, ever, to be a piece of cake. But you work so hard at the writing game and you begin to wonder if you are ‘edgy’ enough. If you should break more grammatical rules, chop your well constructed sentences into fragments, forget about well-place commas, and if you should write more about the current world problems. e.g. The annual Canada Reads CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) awards novel contenders this year needed to be books that ‘Canadians need to read now’ - in other words, novels that centre around current issues, immigration, the environment, world peace (or torment), politics, etc and so forth. A little dictatorial on the part of the CBC - in your honest opinion. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads">http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads</a></div>
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None are novels that you are desperate to read - for those reasons above. You can explore those issues via other means. Can’t you? For you, isn’t a novel a means for you to lose yourself, travel to another world? It is fiction. After all. (please note the chopped unstructured sentences here.)</div>
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So, you ask, is this the reason your work does not hit the mark right now? Are you too fictitious, or do you dwell too much in another era, when dialogue was different, when street talk was polite and grammatically correct?</div>
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You have, this past week, been in correspondence with a British TV producer regarding a shocking storyline on Coronation Street (always known for its quality writing.) You received a reply telling you that the drama uses ‘real life’ situations that people can relate to. You tell them that their writers should be fired for total lack of insensitivity and that cancer is no joke. The upset this story line caused btw was all over the UK tabloids that week. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4369954/Coronation-Street-fans-slam-Sally-Webster-storyline.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4369954/Coronation-Street-fans-slam-Sally-Webster-storyline.html</a><br />
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Writing is a responsibility for sure; your dilemma is this - do you want to be published and to hell with the consequences? Or do you take your responsibility seriously?</div>
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Footnote - after writing this, your sweet little greyhound story was placed 3rd in the 100-word comp run by Morgen Bailey - so maybe, just maybe, all is not lost.</div>
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<a href="https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/results-of-morgens-100-word-competition-march-2017/">https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/results-of-morgens-100-word-competition-march-2017/</a><br />
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This is Nelly (RIP old girl) who inspired the story.</div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-23946623951121437012017-03-02T10:52:00.000-04:002017-03-03T06:08:23.639-04:00In Print Yet Again<br />
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What a joy it is to hold a book, turn the pages, and find a piece of your own work. That is how I felt last week when To Carry Her Home, the Bath Flash Fiction Anthology Volume 1 arrived.<br />
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Embedded deep within 144 other works of fiction is my 300-worder Tonight's the Night, and you can read about the issues concerning music lyrics and the need to 'edit them out' in my previous blog.<br />
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What amazes me the most is to read astounding work from authors of all ages from across the globe - and there sits my humble wee piece. I feel most honoured.<br />
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So thank you Bath Flash Fiction for the opportunity to sit among the big folks. And a big shout out to all other flash writers out there, for some reason you feel like family.<br />
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The links for purchasing the book can be found here: <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/books/" target="_blank">https://bathflashfictionaward.com/books/</a><br />
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You are in for a treat.Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-49567310633296742512017-02-01T10:37:00.000-04:002017-02-01T10:37:48.189-04:00Forget Your Perfect Offering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I began this blog intending to lift the lid and take a peek at music lyrics and copyright issues in our writing. This first cropped up for me last year when I, in my innocence, used threads of lyrics from Carole King’s <i>Will You Still Love Me</i> in my short memoirish story, Tonight’s the Night, soon to be released (now minus the song lyrics) in an anthology by Bath Flash Fiction.</div>
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But you know me, I begin with one train of thought and then I start to wander, and wonder. So I wondered how other authors, well known authors especially, deal with the issue.</div>
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The author who comes immediately to mind is Louise Penny, successful crime writer of the Inspector Gamache novels. <a href="http://www.louisepenny.com/index.html"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(2, 30, 170); color: #021eaa;">http://www.louisepenny.com/index.html</span></a>. Her 9th novel in the Gamache series is titled: ‘How the Light Gets In.’ Such a familiar line from the Leonard Cohen song, <i>Anthem</i>.</div>
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Knowing that a few snatches of lyrics in my 300 word story would have cost in the region $500, I scratched my head and wondered how much it cost for Ms Penny’s publisher to obtain permission to use lines from the Cohen’s lyrics as her title and more lines from the song within the novel itself. Listen. Just like I did in 2013 - just 10 rows from the stage. The thought provoking and inspiring lyrics are provided with this YouTube clip:</div>
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It turns out our late dear clever poetic Mr. Cohen used lines from a very ancient Arabic poem for these lyrics (or so I understand) and, as the original words were written centuries ago Ms Penny probably didn’t need to get permission to use them (although I suspect her publisher did anyway.)</div>
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Thanks to Cohen, Penny and an Arabic poet, because of the lines: <i>‘forget your perfect offering, there is, there is, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in’</i>, my blog about copyright and music lyrics has gone its own way and turned into the topic of perfection in our writing - in fact perfection in all we do and why we think we need to strive for it.</div>
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So why don’t we forget about our perfect offerings, be true to ourselves, and let the light get in - for isn’t that what we really seek through our writing?</div>
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Music and lyrics will still follow me through my life and remind me of my times and experiences through the decades. But using them in my writing now has that extra level of challenge.</div>
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These might be useful links for you:</div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://litreactor.com/columns/five-legal-issues-all-writers-need-to-be-aware-of">https://litreactor.com/columns/five-legal-issues-all-writers-need-to-be-aware-of</a></span></div>
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public domain listing <a href="http://www.pdinfo.com/"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(2, 30, 170); color: #021eaa;">http://www.pdinfo.com</span></a></div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-42064531868138141122016-10-16T21:38:00.001-03:002016-10-16T21:38:07.274-03:00The Genre Game<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="color: #0b0b0b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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I’ve been thinking a lot about genres of late. And those thoughts became very concentrated when, this week, I needed to choose a genre for my 2016 NaNo novel. And further crystalized when I found that mine was not in the drop down list, a list of 19 plus that little luxury - which I dared use - ‘other’.</div>
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I suspect there are many novels that get themselves whacked into the literary fiction or mainstream genre because they have nowhere else to go. And I also wonder what wonderful books get overlooked because they’ve been categorized in such a way.</div>
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But I digress, I really wanted to talk a little about my newly discovered genre, the one I suspect has been looking for me all my writing career, and that is the novella-in-flash - the genre that tripped me up when I entered the Bath Flash Fiction comp. earlier this year.</div>
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It is a startling genre. Nothing like a traditional novella which is described as, and I quote, ‘a work of written fictional narrative prose that is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel’. And startling in a way that each mini chapter is akin to a complete flash story. And you all know how I love writing flash fiction, how I have neither the patience nor staying power for a blockbuster novel, how I love to capture the essence of a story in as few words as possible, and how I am always in haste to ‘git ‘er done.’ Yes, in a flash - pardon the pun.</div>
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I have read (as recommended by Bath) a number of flash novellas now. And they have all startled me. I can think of no better word to describe them. They are unique, punchy, disorienting, curious, questioning, and oft times breathtaking in their delivery. The judge (Meg Pokrass) of the Bath Novella-in-Flash comp. describes them as ‘like stars in the sky.’ So yes, startling in its truest sense.</div>
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As NaNo approaches, I have completed the first steps of registering my novel as 3 Novellas (draft cover below), with the intention of submitting the results to the Bath Novella-in-Flash comp. - deadline end of December.</div>
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Whatever happens, my mouth is now watering with thoughts of where these works will take me. So NaNo - for my 10th time - I’m ready for you.</div>
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Read about Meg Pokrass here: <a href="http://megpokrass.com/">http://megpokrass.com</a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">And the competition here: <a href="https://bathflashfictionaward.com/novella-entry/">https://bathflashfictionaward.com/novella-entry/</a></span></div>
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National Novel Writing Month, as always, is here: <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/">http://nanowrimo.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://writersabroad.com/blog.htm?a=&nid=7069A4AC-144E-4279-830C-10A33F154106#commentsbox" style="color: #443113;">Comments?</a>(3)</div>
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Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071555332715221095.post-36812069175983851062016-09-26T12:31:00.000-03:002016-09-26T12:32:01.399-03:00Meeting the Fans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What an absolute delight it was this weekend to meet the people who enjoy my work. The annual craft fair at The Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows turned out to be a real tonic. True, I didn't sit down all weekend. True, my cheese sandwich curled at the edges as I didn't get to that until mid afternoon. But it was worth it.</div>
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Many people were able to take home a piece of my hand formed silver and bronze from the Scintilla collection. It was good to meet you all. It was also incredible to be able to share work from the new, and as yet, incomplete collection Garden of Eden.</div>
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Then of course there was the fun experimental work with paper bead earrings. Not the best photo, but it gives you an idea.</div>
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So, thank you to all involved in organising this, the 23rd Annual Show - from where I stood it went like clockwork. Thank you to all my clients and those who stood back to admire the work that comes from my head and hands. </div>
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And great big thanks to the talented painter Marg Millard who encouraged me to take part at short notice. I am feeling overflowing with thanks.</div>
<br />Susan Borgersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06735781495621242234noreply@blogger.com0