Did you hear the Fanfare? Fill your holiday with magic (and a copy of my new book!)

Wizard's Guide to Wellington

Yes that right - it's all very exciting some time last week my book "Wizard's Guide to Wellington" hit the bookshelves in Wellington, and for that mighty effort I would love to thank my distributors Greene Phoenix, and my dad, they both managed to get the ball rolling without me so the books are now available in many of the independent bookstores in Wellington and online.  Hooray!

So where have I been?  And when is the launch.  Due to extenuating circumstances there is not going to be a launch as such.  What will happen is Rona Gallery is going to be putting on an art competition with the theme "The Magic of Wellington" 6.30, 14 February 2013.  There will also be signed and numbered copies available as soon as I can organize my way out of a paper bag. Still, now my daughter is out of hospital, and things seem to be on the mend, I'm still expecting to make a come back to the Tuesday Poem blog for the New Year.

Until then Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and best wishes to you all, cheers,


A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus, Arty Bees and good Wellington bookstores.

(paid link)

It's not the Tuesday Poem: Samwise's contribution to Gandalf's lament

Feels weird not doing a Tuesday Poem on the Eve of The Hobbit premiere

I guess because it's hard to focus on other work when so many exciting things happening in Wellington tomorrow and as I suspect I'm going to spend a lot of time peering at red carpet in the distance I feel the following is perhaps this is appropriate for the hobbit even if it is totally the wrong book ;) - maybe I'll break into Bilbo's spider taunt later!!!!

But for now

Samwise's contribution to Frodo's lament for Gandalf (JRR Tolkien)

"The finest rockets ever seen
they burst in stars of blue and green
or after thunder golden showers 
came falling like a rain of flowers."

For it does feel like we're about to be treated to a rather fun local event where everyone is turning up to see the fireworks.  (and the stars)
Of  perhaps I should have started with the beginning - it seems appropriate tonight with the weather and all the excitement -

"When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the hill were heard..."

after all, surely one would be wise to listen out for those footsteps?

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

The Magic of Wellington & The Middle of Middle Earth

Just when the magic of Wellington is becoming a bit of an obsession - what should happen but Wellington transmogrifies into the Middle of Middle Earth - must have been because two advance copies of "Wizard's Guide to Wellington" turned up in the post.

ps Ike and the Wizard's Guide to Wellington can be found here http://wizardsguide.wordpress.com/ with WAY MORE photographs of Wellington in the middle of Hobbit fever (including Red Carpet)
 
A.J.
A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

This and that - busy, busy

Yes, I know I've abandoned my Tuesday Poem posts for a while
but that doesn't mean I have no internet presence at all

Managed for the first time in forever flick off a quick book review - definitely not a book for everyone but a dark and gripping read nonetheless and recommended by one of the book reps who was desperate to talk about it with someone.   Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

And of course Ike has been very busy warning people about anything he feels might be the slightest bit dangerous.  Time Portal and the Tawa Pool

Anyway am having heaps of fun and running at about 12,000 words for Nanowrimo - so while I don't think I'm anywhere near "winning" (and kudos by the way to the souls that are) I am making reasonable progress, so very excited.

cheers and good luck in all your upcoming endeavours

A.J.
 
A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

Sabbatical - there's a story running rampant through my brain

The Sign Off

There's a story running rampant through my brain
and I'd hate to tell it
once again
to fly off to the never
never land
where never stories lurk
because once it's lost -
so it always will remain.

Yup - I'm taking a break - you can partly blame this little guy - Ike.
He's been a rather distracting little Imp - always wanting to know what's happening around Wellington and wanting to be aired out!

Not only that but he's taken residence up at http://wizardsguide.wordpress.com

But mostly there's a story I've been meaning to write and I'm hoping to force it into the world care of NaNoWri Mo (National Novel writing Month)
Ugly yes - but aren't all newborns - except our own?


So thanks everybody for reading and I'll be back properly 1st of Jan - but might pop back and forth a little for the sheer heck of it, "on the spot" poems like this one and other important updates :)


cheers,

A.J. Ponder

A.J.
 
A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

Rational Disbelief

Rational Disbelief

The rational world

is divided into quarks

subatomic probabilities

particles riding on

waves of matter

throwing logic in its wake

like so much

flotsam and jetsam

The rational world

is full of irrational numbers

and nonsensical ideas of

a universal elegance

in a universe

too big to view

with anything less

than infinite scope

and all the while

the space between two points of nothing

and everything in between

is as screwed up

contrarian

counter-intuitive

and diabolically mysterious

as

tiny bosons spinning

away

and polarising all

your favourite assumptions.

A J Ponder 

This poem came from some kind of discussion where someone mentioned they "believed in science" and I thought it was an odd thing to say.  All I could think was - science isn't about belief - because where science falls over is in faulty assumptions, methodologies and dogma. It totally fails when people say something is true and we believe them because of their stature.  So I felt obliged to point the poor unsuspecting believer to the bizarrely compelling and almost unbelievable Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, where he slams the hollow appearance of learning (rote learning) in favour of asking questions and discovering the answers for yourself. So please - whatever you do - don't believe in science and definitely when it comes to science don't believe a word I say - because I say  "if you believe in science you're doing it wrong."

And lastly-

Fun week, very busy - does it ever stop - or as you get older does life run away faster than a dish with a spoon fixation?  I suppose it must - but before the dog gets carried away or the cow jumps over the moon how about sailing through this far less daunting portal to make your way to the lovely poets in the Tuesday Poem blog. 

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

The Final Happily Never After (Part 3)

 If you're not sure what this - or how how intrepid heroes could have got this far - then check out the first edition of Happily Never After, and Happily Never After part 2 or we could kick start everything with the short version - but where's the fun in that? 
   
The short version.   The Narrator is having a bad day.  He (or she) is angry the story-book characters are not behaving like they're supposed to.  They don't want to speak in rhyme and they certainly don't want to get married.  So the narrator's decided to conjure up a giant with the help of his magic book and get rid of these annoying characters once and for all...



And so with no further ado
The next section after part two:

NARRATOR turning page: Ahem. 

Since our heroes would not wed,

The giant came and killed them --

JACK: Stop right there.  We don't want to die.

RAPUNZEL: And marry?  Never.

RAPUNZEL runs to NARRATOR and turns the last page of the narrator's book.

RAPUNZEL: Jack and Rapunzel become famous pilots and live happily ever after.

JACK: But--

RAPUNZEL: And they never get married to anyone.

JACK: Yay. Let's go! 

JACK and RAPUNZEL run off stage.

GIANT (sniffing): But I'm still hungry -- and I can still smell the blood of an Englishman.

NARRATOR: How did you know I was English?

NARRATOR runs off stage followed by GIANT.

THE END

A.J. Ponder

And so the end of our epic tale, the boards are bare,  the heroes have gone home for dinner, and thanks to these people for the book cover.  It's perfect.  (After all, I believe the giant is still chasing that narrator!)

Don't forget to always climb beanstalks when the opportunity presents.  Sometimes there may be giants, but more often I think you'll find geese with golden eggs and other such novelties.  So go on, go, and search for your treasures  at this your local beanstalk.  (Otherwise known as The Tuesday Poem Hub.)
Or this beanstalk leading directly to the Portal of Fairytale Poetry. 

If anybody knows some I've forgotten, please message me (note, poems are in alphabetical order)

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.