Big News!

You remember the ebook anthology I put out in November or December of last year?

What, you don't? Well, let me refresh your memory then.

Last year I published Volume 2 of my Ethereal Worlds anthologies as an ebook. fully intending to publish the paperback shortly after that. But, as often happens, life got in the way. Now here I am a year later, and it has finally been published as a paperback!

New Blog for my Writing News!

I have a brand new blog! I've titled it my "Ethereal Worlds Blog" after my anthologies.

Don't worry, I've moved everything (or most, there are some features of my on-site Word Press blog that doesn't translate over to Blogger) over to this site from my old blog, with one major exception: all comments have been deleted on older posts.

New Book Now Available!

I know, it has been a while since I've put out a book. No real excuses, I'd wager. For sure, Parkinson's had zapped my motivation, but I forged ahead, but not with much writing of novels. Mostly blog posts and a short story here and there. But with the advent of my Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery back in Sep. 29 of 2017, my motivation has returned.

Dragnet for Santa

Narr: Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is false. Only the names are true, to protect this author from being accused of making up strange names.

This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I ‘m a cop. My name is Joe Saturday, because the weekends are better.

Adding a Featured Image in Blogger That Will Show Up on Facebook

This isn't so much a writing post as a how to post. Sorry, I don't have a more appropriate blog to put this on. If you are not interested in this technical stuff, you have my permission to skip this one.

Are you angry that your featured image doesn't get picked up by Facebook and other social sites? I used to be too, until I discovered something that worked.  Of course there are other things I'm not too happy about. But that would involve another post. This  would be a companion post to a similar one concerning Word Press blogs.

The Zumbathon for Harvey

I wrote this Pantoum-mime poem in honor of the many people inside and outside of Texas who have given any aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Destroy Dodge Ram 1500! Destroy Copple Family!

I use a popular map app on my phone frequently. Most of the time, it does an excellent job of getting me where I need to go. Sometimes, it even helps me to avoid traffic slowdowns due to wrecks and the like. But there are those times when for reasons unknown, the lady telling me where to go sends me into places I don’t want to be. This is the story of one such instance; a somewhat dramatized but factually accurate recounting of when the map app appeared to have been reprogrammed to destroy my truck and trap us in a sticky situation. I suspected Dr. Smith had broken into their company headquarters to get us lost in the plains.

The Fullness of the Void

I wrote this mainstream fiction story some years ago. I believe in 2010. When I read it to my writers' club, they were telling me it was one of the best things I'd written (up to that point, of course). They were convinced that I should be writing mainstream stories, not all that sci-fi/fantasy stuff. lol. But they asked me if I'd gone through someone close dying before, because the story read as if I had. At the time, I had not. Since then, my step-dad and mother have died. They were astounded that I had nailed the emotions so well, not having gone through it myself.

Anyway, today I was thinking of this story and started looking where I'd posted it. Apparently, I had not. I believe the anthology ebook I put out last year was the first time it had ever been published. So I decided to remedy that oversight. The following story is my second mainstream story I've written. The first one was also loved by more than one. So who knows, maybe I should be writing more mainstream stories. Enjoy this one, on the house.

Dream Births

It is that time of year again: Parkinson's Awareness Month (April). As I've done for the past few years, I've written a poem for the occasion. However, this one is a bit different in that it doesn't address Parkinson's Disease directly, but could apply to any number of tragic happenings and conditions that threaten our future and dreams, leaving many hopeless and feeling helpless.

Yet based on my own experience dealing with such events and diagnosis these past six years, I think there is a different perspective to absorb. With that thought in mind, I present my 2017 Parkinson's Awareness Month poem for your digestion.

______________________________________________

by R. L. Copple

I checked the map,
I picked my goal,
I planed my path,
I was ready to roll.

The road was wide
providing the room
to fulfill the desires
sucking me into gloom.

The way was easy
so I struggled less
and enjoyed addictive
pleasures, I confess.

Then tragic detours
force-dumped my rare
bucket-list of hopes
into a grave of despair.

Leaving my only route
a narrow, climbing path:
rocky, exhausting, austere—
drenched in grief’s wrath.

Among peaks and valleys—
hardened by sun, droughts,
freezing ice and snow—
I clawed through my doubts.

Yet somewhere within,
I found the inner drive
to put one foot forward
rather than let it slide.

I’m not going to lie,
the trip was a pain,
the struggle: surreal—
it drove me insane.

But when I crested a peak,
panting from thirst,
more dreams were born
as they did at the first.

Dreams more precious
despite all the loss;
they became more valuable
due to the high cost.

Now I know that my
destiny is given wings
when my dreams die
and are no longer kings.

I allowed divine passion
to gestate fresh life,
birthing new dreams—
carved by His knife.