Introducing another doodle guy

Another doodle character that might become more. Might not. We'll see what Mr. Dirty Sock Head Guy tells me about himself and if he's more interesting than he seems. I'm thinking he might be, as there is a lot of room for brains in that dirty sock head of his, you know, since he basically has no body whatsoever. Maybe he'd be a good tech helper character in the Wiener Man universe.

Sometimes I think I'm funny

Created this all-text comic (if that's even a thing) in celebration of National Handwriting Day. And yes, I created it on a computer, so please don't tell the Handwriting Police!

My 9th Annual Halloweensie Contest Entry

Here is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's 9th Annual Halloweensie Contest. The rules are that the story must be for children (12 and under), and has to be 100 words or less. It must include the words potion, cobweb, and trick. Of  course, it must be Halloween themed. Enjoy mine and comment with your thoughts. Then go to Susanna's website and read all the other entries! Or join in the fun. You have until Halloween at midnight to post your own Halloweensie story!

Trixie the Witch and her Halloween Tricks - Episode 13: Perfect Cobweb Potion (100 words)

Welcome to the show my creepy crones and conjurers.

It's Halloween and cobweb potion is a must for repelling those annoyingly cute trick-or-treaters.

The trick to perfect cobweb potion is using quality cobwebs.

The trick to getting quality cobwebs is finding giant spiders.

The trick to finding giant spiders is going deep into the haunted forest.

The trick to going deep into the haunted forest is not getting eaten by giant spiders.

The trick to not getting eaten by giant spiders is running away empty-handed and giving out candy to those irritatingly cute kids again this year.

Everyone needs an alter-ego!

Frank Frent is just an everyday ordinary mild-mannered actuary whose secret identity isn't that of any super hero who might go by a name that rhymes with beinerban or freinerfan or anything like that. Yup, just a normal average guy going about his business analyzing statistics and calculating insurance risks. Not fighting crime or going up against his arch-enemy whose name might rhyme with bubble-X.

National Doughnut Day!

What better way to celebrate National Doughnut Day than to plug my self-published alphabet book, A Rather Round Alphabet, which features a tasty looking doughnut for the letter D? Okay, yes, a better way to celebrate National Doughnut Day would be to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts in one sitting, but it was a rhetorical question. You can find my fun little book at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Rather-Round-Alphabet-Francis-Poesy/dp/1520775849

Weiner Man and Double Trouble

I doodle a lot. And sometimes I like a doodle so much I decide to make a version of it in Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop. This is Weiner Man and his Arch-nemesis, Double Trouble (aka Double X (the X is for trouble (he always has to explain that which makes him more grumpy))). And sometimes I feel like I need to make up some stories about my doodles. We'll see where this leads. Below is the original doodle, which I did in pencil and then inked over with an Extra Fine Point Sharpie.

The Scariest Thing!

Here is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's 8th Annual Halloweensie Contest. The rules are that the story must be for children (12 and under), and has to be 100 words or less. It must include the words shiver, cauldron, and howl. Of  course, it must be Halloween themed. Enjoy mine and then go to Susanna's website and read all the other entries! Or join in the fun. You have until Halloween at midnight to post your own Halloweensie story!

The Scariest Thing!
(91 words)

My mom is a witch.

She cackles and screeches

And stirs her black cauldron.

She doesn't scare me.

My dad is a werewolf.

He is covered in hair

And he howls at the moon.

He doesn't scare me.

My sister is a ghost.

She shrieks in the night

And wanders through walls.

She doesn't scare me.

My brother is a bat.

He has sharp pointy teeth

And a terrible bite.

He doesn't scare me.

My teacher is human.

She makes my spine shiver.

 'Cause she can give homework,

On Halloween night!

Halloween fun

Having worked with Adobe Illustrator since it was version 1.0 I do a lot of doodling in this very popular vector artwork application. During Drawlloween 2015 I drew these two weirdos for the "candy" prompt.

And just the other day, one of my favorite artists, @scaredofbees posted a weird little candy corn character which got my brain on the candy corn train of thought. Thinking about how weird candy corn is got me thinking about what is weirder than candy corn, and I came up with the following list.

Since the idea made me think of the work of another one of my favorite artists @tomguald I attempted to copy the format of some of his cartoons, as a sort of tribute.

Happy Halloween! And let me know which of the weirdos above is your favorite.

It's January/February Pitch Pick Time!

There are five brilliant children's book pitches up at Susanna Leonard Hill's Blog that require your attention! Five writers (including me) have pitched their story ideas on Susanna's blog in hopes of getting better at pitching, an important step on the road to publication. Their reviewed and polished pitches are now ready to be voted on by you. The writer with the most votes will have their pitch read and commented on by editor Erin Molta! Follow the steps below to cast your vote before Sunday, September 9 at 9PM Eastern! And thanks for your support!

1. Go to the Pitch Pick web page
2. Read through the revised pitches
3. Choose the one you like best
4. Vote for it in the poll

Would You Read It Wednesday!

Children's book author Susanna Leonard Hill has again selected one of my picture book pitches for her latest installment of Would You Read It Wednesday! Wo0t! Go to Susanna's web site to read the pitch for my second finished-ish picture book manuscript and let me know what you think in the comments on her site! Thanks!

Creative Procrastination

A little over a year ago I decided I would buckle down and focus on writing stories for children's books. I've made progress but find one of my biggest problems is what I've decided to call creative procrastination. I come up with ideas for different things and decide they won't take up too much time. Then, with a number of these little projects piled up, I find I haven't worked on my stories.

I really enjoy the quick creative hit these little projects give me and to a certain extent they have made me stick to a schedule as I try to get things done on a daily or weekly basis. So now I just need to schedule in my story writing time.

Here are the procrastination projects I've currently got going or had going recently:

Participation in International Pwoermd Writing Month

Saint Tweet - A Twitter tweet about a lesser known Catholic saint every day

Jubal the Early Worm web comic (posted on F. S. Poesy's Instagram, every Friday)

2-Bit Overlords ABCs of Total World Domination web comic (posted on my Instagram every Wednesday)

My International Pwoermd Writing Month pwoermds

In the words of its discoverentor Geof Huth, the pwoermd is the height of minimalism in literature. It is a one-word poem that has no title save for itself. The pwoermd must make its effects in the smallest of spaces. Read more about pwoermds here.


Please enjoy my pwoermds below from International Pwoermd Writing Month 2018:


fuul


salivery


ginocide


slieme

glomedy


dieverse


curioust


godleast


quexotic


heavyn


dipthsong


qcualm

jumup

shurg


darkleth


shadowns


sacared


torm


lethallow


9ine


flawer


mongirl


8ight


gibberwish


7even


dadabase


6ix


vitreality


5ive


goald


4our


edgelorn


isiot


cumuloss


eggrieve


unver


3hree


ovder


2wo


qwerve


1ne


0ero


finif

My #50PreciousWords 2018 Writing Challenge Entry

I've done it again! I've entered one of those fun #kidlit short-short story contests. This time it is Vivian Kirkfield's #50PreciousWords 2018 Writing Challenge. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. Also feel free to write your own entry and submit it on Vivian's website.

Here's my entry.

If I Ever Get Lost

by Francis S. Poesy (aka Tim Canny)
(50 Words)

Mom said, if I ever get lost,
I should stay put.
Look around for her.
Ask another mom for help.
Look for a police officer.
But nobody is up here.
Maybe she went downstairs.
When I find her I’m going to tell her,
this new house is just too big.

Valentiny Finalists!

Well, I didn't make it into the finals with my Valentiny story, but I am already working it into shape as a full-blown picture-book manuscript, so by my calculations I'm ahead of the game (as long as the game isn't winning the Valentiny contest.)

You should go read the finalists' stories and vote! Now!

My Valentiny Contest Entry

Here is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's Valentiny Writing Contest! Enjoy!

I'm Not A Hugger!

By Francis S. Poesy
(Word Count: 214)

Ugh! Another family gathering, another hug-fest.

Or more like a hug-tastrophe.

"Now when you meet your Great-Aunt Valentine, tell her you are happy to meet her and give her a big hug!"

"I'm not a hugger, Mom."

"Oh, don't be silly, sweetheart. You hug me all the time."

"Uh yeah, you're my mom."

"Well, your great-aunt is family. You should give her a hug."

*I'm not a hugger*

"Don't mumble, dear."

"I've never even met Aunt Valentine! Why should I hug her?"

"Because it's Valentine's day, and it's her 100th birthday party. It would be a nice gesture."

"It's not a nice gesture if she's not a hugger."

"Oh, honey, everyone's a hugger."

*I'm not a hugger*

"Sweetheart, stop mumbling."

I hope Aunt Valentine isn't a hugger.

---------------

"Sweetheart, this is Aunt Valentine! Do you have something to tell her?”

“Happy Birthday, Aunt Valentine. I’m happy to meet you. *I’m not a hugger*.”

“Don’t mumble, dear. Speak up so I can hear you.”

“I’M NOT A HUGGER!”

I kind of yelled that part.

“I’m not much of a hugger, either. In fact I’m about all hugged out. How about a hand shake?”

I took Aunt Valentine’s hand.

She smiled. I smiled back.

She winked at me. I winked back.

I might be a winker!

Would You Read It Wednesday!

Children's book author Susanna Leonard Hill has selected my picture book pitch for her latest installment for Would You Read It Wednesday! Wo0t! Go to Susanna's web site to read the pitch for my first finished picture book manuscript and let me know what you think in the comments on her site! Thanks!

For Sale

My A Rather Round Alphabet Flash/Memory Game cards are now available here.

And the Print-On-Demand version of A Rather Round Alphabet is available here.  You can also find a link there to the Kindle version.

Also, if you are interested in A Rather Round Alphabet buttons or stickers, contact me via email with your mailing address and I'll send some off to you (while supplies last).

And don't forget, only a few more days to enter my Goodreads book giveaway! See the link in the right-hand column.

A Rather Round Contest!

The Kindle version of my Rather Round Alphabet book will be available for free download at Amazon.com from October 16th to October 20th. Go there now and download your FREE copy. While you are there you can also order a copy of the Print-On-Demand version, if you are so inclined. Then come back here and leave a comment saying you have downloaded your copy and be entered to win any number of Rather Round items. I'll be giving away:

Buttons

Stickers

A Set of Flash/Game Cards

A Copy of  the Print-On-Demand Book

To get extra chances, friend me on Twitter, follow my F.S. Poesy Instagram, and my personal Instagram, and tell me that you did in your comment. I'll add an extra chance for each account you follow. I'll also add chances if you share this post on social media and if you follow this page using the button on the right. Just let me know in your comment. I trust you! :)

Also, I'd love it if you checked out my SCBWI BookStop page and maybe left a like and signed the guestbook I'll be picking a winner from those who sign the questbook. And soon I'll be doing a Print On Demand book giveaway on Goodreads if you want to follow me there.

Remembrance of Moon Day and Slipshod Island

For many, today is Moon Day, the day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin took one giant step for mankind by being the first humans to walk on the moon. But for my good friend, and children's book writer, Francis S. Poesy, it is the day that no one remembers. Because while the entire world was focused on the amazing achievement of the moon landing, no one remembers how his home off the northwest coast of Ireland, Slipshod Island, slid back into the ocean after a microseismic event shook it to pieces.

The approximate original location of the now lost Slipshod Island.

Luckily, most occupants of the island were on the mainland to watch the moon landing at a local pub or through the windows of Gilmartin's TV repair shop. But those left on the island were lost to the sea in the geologic convulsions. And this would have been a great tragedy worthy of news headlines except for the fact that all those who stayed behind were selkies and simply transformed back into seals and swam off into the encroaching waters to be with their brethren. But that does not soften the loss of what had been Francis' family's home for centuries.

Francis' mother, Frances Slipshod-Poesy, was the last descendant of the original tribe of Celtic people who settled the island in the 9th century. The Slipshods came from the mainland seeking respite from marauding Vikings. They came with a contingent of monks who built an abbey surrounded by a rough fortress next to the small settlement. The island of Slipshod was virtually a wasteland. However, through hard work, suffering, and reciprocal cooperative relationships with selkies and mudstone sprites, the Slipshod people tugged a living out of the desolate land and the savage waters, while the monks spent their days as scribes, copying ancient texts and histories which they sold on the mainland for profit.

The smartest of the Slipshod children were educated in the abbey where many became monks or nuns. Over the centuries Slipshod Island became known for it scribes, its manuscripts, and its highly educated writers. Francis was educated in the Abbey School until that day in 1969 and he hails from a long line of proud Slipshod writers.

But, to be true, Slipshod was a little and little-known island in the modern space age, where classical learning was no longer valued. By the time the newspapers and reporters found out about Slipshod Island's disappearance, the world had moved on and it was not considered newsworthy. Francis is one of a dwindling few who know, or care, about what happened that day. So, if you raise a glass today to the moon men, please also raise it again in remembrance of the lost island of Slipshod.

Or you could also go to Amazon.com and buy Francis' Kindle book, A Rather Round Alphabet.

Queen Aramina, the Wede Wicche

I'm a big fan of author/illustrator/graphic novelist Ben Hatke. He's the creator of the Zita the Spacegirl and Mighty Jack graphic novels from 01:First Second publishing, as well as author/illustrator of a number of storybooks, etc. This May, Ben has been participating in the #MerMay drawing challenge on Instagram (he's @heybenhatke on IG. Go follow him). His merfolk are amazing and the details beg that a story be told about each one. His latest tattooed mermaid, seen below, caught my eye and I  couldn't stop thinking about what her background was. So I decided to venture into the realm of fan fiction by writing out a brief sketch of what this mermaid was all about. It's not a story. It is more of a guess on my part about what her basic story is. Read it below and let me know what you think of my take on Ben's amazing work. I present a background sketch of Queen Aramina, the Wede Wicche.

   

This is Queen Aramina. She is a wede wicche. She is the queen of her domain which encompasses a large portion of the northern Atlantic close to the British Isles. She is of royal blood and is a wede wicche as her aunt was before her. Queen Aramina is a benevolent monarch and is loved by her subjects, although they still tell stories of her misspent youth. Tattoos are not forbidden for the merfolk, however they are not a mer-art so those who display them are known to have consorted with humans, and usually humans of questionable character. Only her own strong will, bravery, and kind heart kept her from being ostracized for what many thought was too close a connection to pirates and whalers. It also didn't hurt that she was a princess.

A wede wicche, (pronounced ewheade ewitchae in mer tongue but pronounced weed witch in modern day English), is a mermaid with special powers over the plants of the seas. Many think the appearance of the wede wicche is the reason for her name, as she can easily camoflage herself as seaweed if needed. Others think the skill of botanical pharmacology is the extent of the wede wicche's power, but that is not so. While every wede wicche is sure to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the plants of the sea - their potency and their uses - it is a supernatural power that allows her to control plant life, from plankton to all forms of sea weed.

An angered wede wicche can cause an algae bloom that creates toxins, killing fish throughout a large swath of ocean. This may be done to punish treaty breaking fishermen by destroying their catch as they can't sell fish that will poison those who eat it. Or she can cause kelp beds to clog the propellers of boats keeping them trapped in harbor or worse, trapped at sea.

 A benevolent or happy wede wicche might save a fisherman washed overboard in a storm by encapsulating him in a ball of seaweed and floating it to the surface where he can be pulled back aboard by his shipmates. Usually those sailors will then toss a gift overboard to thank the wede wicche. Stories are told of an angry wede wicche sinking a fishing vessel and drowning all aboard when she did not receive a gift for saving one of the fishermen. Some say it is an old wife's tale, and that the storm took the vessel down, but all the fishermen's wives and mothers make sure to send their men to sea with a jewel or other precious gift to please a wede wicche, just in case.

While mermaids do not generally seek out social interaction with humans, it is not unheard of. Most limit their contact to small farming communities or fishing villages. Some wede wicches have been known to help seaside farmers to harvest seaweed for fertilizer, with little or no recompense other than a song on the fiddle or a dinner of boiled potato, root vegetables, and roasted hare. It is believed that their interest in plants sometimes extends to land plants and they enlist the help of humans to learn more about the plants they cannot reach.

Queen Aramina's proclivity for pirates and whalers in her youth caused much consternation in the royal court. She did not limit her contact to a single community. Not all is known of her contacts with humans however it is said that every tattoo tells a story of her adventures before she returned home, saved her kingdom, and assumed her throne.