The book is starting to land in people’s hands, and initial reactions are filled with “Wow”s.
That makes us feel good, of course, but we’d love to hear your feedback about favorite poems, favorite lines, suggested edits, suggestions for how the contest could have been improved, recommendations for a follow-up book (oh, yes, there will be more), or vampires in general.
The line forms below…
I showed my copy to some friends who had scoffed, “What can you say about vampires that hasn’t been said already?” Soon, they ate their words.
Really a fine collection. Some poems take established ideas and push and pull them to new places. Others bring new and surprising ideas. Another strength is the variety of forms and lengths. Well edited and arranged, too. I’m proud to be in it, and I plan to re-read it.
Thanks for the kind words, Rob and John. You can see why I was so excited about the submissions during the contest. Every day seemed to bring another set of poems that made me gasp with surprise. And it was a real joy to arrange the order of pieces in the collection (that’s something I suspect few people think about until they’ve actually tried it). Add my daughter’s cover design (she’s our graphics department), and I could hardly wait to get the thing in print.
The contest itself was a learning experience. I’m still not sure how best to spread the word on Twitter and Facebook without asking people to Retweet and Share This. That’s something I’d love to hear some feedback about.
Next up is learning to use this Web site to further promote the book. Getting it assembled and printed was just the beginning. Now comes spreading the word. Suggestions along those lines are also greatly appreciated.
—Les
It was an honor to be allowed to participate in this book. It was one of the most fun projects I have ever participated in, and the subject matter seemed easy to embrace. I blush to see my name in the same book as actual professional writers! So many of the poems touched me, I can’t choose a favorite, but I love the short form ones dearly. I look forward to reading my way through more books by Popcorn Press (I already have two others). Thanks, Lester!
Wow, indeed! What a terrific collection of poems. I read it cover to cover last Saturday and was delighted especially by “Varietal” and the short story in the middle of the book.
I have one poem in the collection–a lune that is all of 13 syllables-and though I like my piece, there are a dozen others I like even more.
Thanks for this cool collection!