Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Solo Cyclist for Tibet

I first encountered 64 year old Pa Jamyang Tenzin la during the TYC Indo-Tibet border bike rally organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress in 2020, …

Solo Cyclist for Tibet

My Great Query News + Nudge DIY + Poetry by Jerrice J. Baptiste – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

Black and white photo of profile of Jerrice J. Baptiste.
Jerrice J. Baptiste is a poet, educator and facilitator of poetry for healing and self-expression.
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Omg! Omg! Omg! My fingers are dancing across this keyboard as I write to you! Finally a bit of validation that the first of my three novels is as marketable as I hoped. After a concerted search and query campaign for a wonderful literary agent, one has asked to check out the full manuscript for Flamenco & the Sitting Cat — yay!!!

Much of the discussion over whether to self-publish or to go the traditional route does itself a disservice. Often, it mashes together anything involving words and pages. Seldom does the conversation distinguish non-fiction from fiction, and literary from genre, genre from niche.

To my inexperienced eye, self-publishing stardom belongs to non-fiction and narrow fiction genres. It’s easier for them to top of internet searches without authors having to spend truckloads on marketing. 

My novel falls into the category of upmarket, somewhere between commercial and literary fiction. To become easily findable by readers, those demand a heck of a lot of expertise, time and money, effort, then more time and money. How is that sort of writer to find enough time and focus to write more upmarket novels?

By the way, when I first queried this agent, I didn’t hear back for a while, so I nudged her. Thank goodness I did, because if I hadn’t, there’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be jumping up and down with glee right now. If you’re curious about nudging agents, here’s a link that explains.

I love good news! When I hear it in bad times, It reminds me that good things are possible. During good times, it’s win/win nirvana!…

Today’s guest blog post is by published poet, Jerrice J. Baptiste — yes! — Thunderous applause is due, because from what I’ve heard, poetry is the most daunting to find agents and publishers for. Originally from Haiti, she resides in New York. An educator and facilitator of poetry for healing and self-expression, she’s a Pushcart nominee for 2024 and Best of The Net by Blue Stem in 2022. Her writing appears numerous noted publications, from Artemis Journal to The Yale Review, and quite a lot in between. Moreover, Jerrice’s poetry and collaborative songwriting are featured on the nominated Grammy Award album, Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti. Check out her site for more on her and her writing…

Source: My Great Query News + Nudge DIY + Poetry by Jerrice J. Baptiste – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

Aid ‘still not reaching Gaza’, as top US official warns famine has started | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian

Humanitarian aid packages are dropped from a plane as Israeli attacks continue on the second day of Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

A promised surge in aid into Gaza that Benjamin Netanyahu promised Joe Biden a week ago has so far failed to materialise, aid workers say, as the US aid chief confirmed that famine is beginning to take hold in parts of the besieged coastal strip.

The increase in the number of truck crossing into Gaza claimed by Israel conflicts with UN records and already appears to be faltering.

“There is a lot less than meets the eye so far,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former senior official in the Biden administration, who is now president of the Refugees International aid advocacy organisation. “Very little has actually changed.”

Source: Aid ‘still not reaching Gaza’, as top US official warns famine has started | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian

Songs I Like (22) | beetleypete

Songs I Like (22)

In 1978, the film ‘Saturday Night Fever’ was released in the UK. It became an overnight sensation, made a huge star of John Travolta, and gave the Bee Gees a platform for many worldwide hit songs. I went to the cinema to see it at the age of 26, and I thought it was great. When the vinyl soundtrack album was released, I bought a copy.

However, it wasn’t the rather squeaky voices of the Bee Gees that attracted me, as my favourite song was sung by the American vocal group, Tavares. Featured twice in the film, as it is also sung by the Bee Gees, (who wrote it) this is the one I always come back to.

Source: Songs I Like (22) | beetleypete

खुशी / Happiness  – Kaushal Kishore

 

सरलता मात्र में ही खुशी बढ़ती है,

खुशी के दिखावे में कुछ नहीं रखा है…

जीवन की मिठास में उत्साह दमकती है,

लेकिन डींग मारना महंगा पड़ सकता है…

😊 😊 😊 😊

Happiness soars in sheer simplicity,

Yet flaunting joy holds no true worth…

Life’s sweet moments, aglow with glee,

But boasting may bring a costly dearth… 

*

–Kaushal Kishore 

Source: खुशी / Happiness  – Kaushal Kishore