Speed Dating Heaven (Grace)

Herotomost here and I know, right off the bat I have all of you taking a deep breath and muttering under your breath that she's married...I'm married...what the hell does he think he's doing? Just because she has a blog titled “Sweet Lust” (yum), doesn't give him the right to assume that she wants any kind of a date with second rate hack of a poet. Well here's what I know:

1. Calm down!!!!!! Its just an interview, we are not officially dating....her husband would sooooo kick my ass and though probably deserving of an ass kicking for a multitude of things, not looking for one at the moment.

2. Yes...yes...I love that fact that her Sweet Lust blog has a bunch of nakedness...love me some nakedness...but I will try and keep it professional and not let my boyness get the best of me.

3. Sherry Blue sky did such a great job interviewing her before (http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.ca/2012/02/life-of-poet-heaven.html ) and asked such a great and very complete set of questions....how can I compete. So the speed dating thing is a quickfire way for all of us to see in an instant whether we really want to go any farther with this interview....my intuition tells me that we will....not because the interview is so effing off the hook, but because the subject is unbelievably talented and very generous with her time, prompts and reviews.

So that being said....let the speed date portion of the interview begin....she was asked for a one or two word answer to the following questions:

Broccoli or Cauliflower? Broccoli

Shameless or Game of Thrones? Games of Thrones

Movie or Picnic? Picnic

Gina Gershon or Eva Mendez? Eva Mendez

Steinbeck or Hemmingway? Steinbeck

Top or bottom (Bunk!!!!!! For goodness sake pull your heads outta the gutter!)? Bottom

Hagar or Roth? Roth

Concert or Museum?Concert

Princess Bride or Matrix?Matrix

Breakfast or Dinner? Dinner

Whewwww!!! OK...now that we have all the tools we need to make a decision, I should give you the chance to tell me whether we should continue on....I should...but yeah, thats not gonna happen. This is my show, I am the one that yells action, I give out the raises, I do the hiring and firing, y'all are dreaming if you think I'm giving up my authoritay! My answer is a great big, hard to lift, slippery when wet, can't get a good hand hold, YES!!!!! So onward and upward.

Formal intro.....I would like you to meet Grace, AKA Heaven (our little slice of Heaven for sure). She hails from Ontario, Canada or thereabouts, she has two blogs that I am aware of, “Sweet Lust”( http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/ ) and “Everyday Amazing”( http://everydayamazin.blogspot.ca/ ) . If you have spent any time at all on these blogs or hanging around this Toads website and many others...you already know that she is a stunning writer and wonderful personality. So, I know that I can't avoid all previously asked interview questions, but, I hope the ones I picked are good enough to keep your interest...and I really hope they kept Heaven's interest.....I really want to do her justice because she is very deserving. Here we go.

C: I don't want to disappoint anyone by not talking about the Sweet Lust blog first, Kerry expects me to...she thinks I am at best twelve years old, but look at the professionalism here with this interview...you make up your own mind. I have had many discussions about how hard it is for man or woman to write about love, passion and intimacy without it seeming forced, cheesy, trite or over wrought. It takes a special writer to approach it with delicate, yet passionate fingers and you seem to be one of those people without a doubt. How do you keep the writing intimate and sensual and hot while keeping it real enough to make the spark believable and all consuming?

G: Less is more as they say in writing haiku. I (try to) apply this when I am writing about love and intimacy. Give just a hint and the rest I leave to the imagination of the readers. Seduction is a mind's game after all.

To make my words sensual, I use the senses of touch, smell and taste often so my reader can imagine and feel my words. I also try to keep it simple so that anyone with intimate experience can understand what I am trying to say.

C: I have one favor to ask...while perusing the poetry on Sweet Lust....I had the oddest feeling come over me. A feeling......like I needed a cold shower. I really think you need to put some sort of cold shower button on your blog space....I hardly think that I am the only one that has had this odd feeling....lol. Ok enough of that, one of the poems that I dearly loved while going through was “Muse".

(http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2012/02/muse.html )I am a sucker for lines that kill, and this one has the line “He smelled your rage in my hair” BAM!!!!!!! That is a potent line. Do you have a line or other lines that still make you tingle when you read them? Can you give us an example of one you think is exceptional?

G: Cold shower button…ha..ha... a good suggestion Corey.

This is a difficult question as an exceptional line depends on the reader. One of the better lines that I like is from The Nightmare ( http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2012/03/nightmare.html )

"i wallow in my sweat, impaled by my sins"

C: That is definitely a great line. On your blog home page, you have a profile statement that says you are new to writing, and I know you recently had a one year blogging anniversary. Congrats...and here's to a hundred more! I for one think your writing has been wonderful since I started reading it, not that long ago really. You also ask if "we" think its getting better...well, since its already good for me and I am pretty sure that most would concur that it is amazing and getting better by the day, I want to know if you feel like you are getting better? Do you feel fulfilled and growing or frustrated and bogged?

G: I wrote that introduction a year ago but reading it now, it is still relevant. Compared to others with published works and credits, I am a novice in both writing and blogging. My educational background and work experience are in business, not literature nor poetry. But I am an eager student, always open to try out poetry forms, and experimenting with shapes and words. The poetry communities I have joined like Real Toads and D’verse are like a school to me…teaching me to improve my craft and gaining confidence in my writing. Despite the lovely words that I receive, I have a realistic assessment of my writing skills. So, yes , I feel very much fulfilled in my writing these days.

C: " Not the first time" I came across this poem on Sweet Lust and immediately loved it for its salty smell of romance dipped in lust and backed with a choir singing the sounds of new love. Deliciously written.What is one of your favorite poems? This is a selfish request often made by interviewers (hedge) so that we can try and read your mind and unearth the impetus for your writing. Or not...but that sounded pretty good. Really want to know what makes you the most proud...pick several if you like, I'll wait.

G: I believe that my best work is still coming. But I am proud of my work in a poetry form as it shows my versatility and openness to write in different ways. Here are some of them:

Framed Couplet: Inside me http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2012/04/inside-me.html

Cinquain: About my parents: http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2011/10/soundless.html

Nonet: This Moment: http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2011/08/this-moment.html

For Free style, I like my spring poem inspired by Pablo Neruda: What I want to do with you

http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2012/03/what-i-want-to-do-to-you.html

And about motherhood: http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2011/12/unmeasurable.htm

In my other blog, Everyday Amazing, I write a lot of haiku. I have learned to write a cascading haiku like this one here: http://everydayamazin.blogspot.ca/2012/02/air-of-spring.html

C: On to your other blog “Everyday Amazing” and I want everyone to know (and anyone that usually reads these already knows) it is equally as stunning as Sweet Lust with a different lilt to it. Why two blogs? Your previous interview with Sherry indicated that Sweet Lust was an alter ego of sorts and that Everyday Amazing is to remember to stay optimistic...great message by the way. Is it important to you to keep these two schools of thought separate?

G: Not everyone knows that I have another blog, where I pen under my real name, Grace. It is a secret..ha..ha.

When I started with Everyday Amazing, it was a journal of my everyday thoughts and events in my life. I wanted it to be inspirational so I will be spurred to write every day. When I became comfortable with blogging, I wanted to write in a different way and direction. I took a hiatus from it and concentrated in building up the persona of Heaven. She is a side of me that I want to express, remember and hold on to. Eventually, I discovered my love for Japanese poetry and decided to reopen my Everyday Amazing to further deepen my skill in writing short poems. Nowadays, the blog is composed mostly of haiku linked up with haiku communities, and occasionally I write about my reflections of my everyday life.

 C: Sorry for giving up the secret...lol....I suck. The poem that was up when I opened Everday Amazing today was "The obligation to have none" Very austere and Zen like in its message and a peek into the mind of what seems to be a proud mother. When you approach writing...is it in a Zen like atmosphere or is if a bit more unorganized. Does it pour forth smoothly or do you have to dig like an archaeologist to get the feel? I love to try and visualize others writing.....is that wrong?

G: Pictures are important to me when I am writing. All of my posts have pictures to help me crystallize the words and make it a visual treat for my readers. Nowadays the words come out quicker when I am writing because, between the two blogs, I am writing almost everyday.

Short, simple words are the best for haiku and micro poetry. After a few months of immersing myself with the form, and joining daily challenges, I have gotten the hang of it that I can think of haiku lines in just minutes. Reading the work of other haiku writers also helped me in framing the words very quickly.

C: I love your haiku....you have a very astute talent for writing those, better than most. I also love the message s and information you convey with the haiku. Do you enjoy form or free better? Long or short? You seem to have something that fits every category, so maybe you don't have a preference?

G: Thank you for the compliments. I enjoy the discipline of writing them, and sharing them in my Haiku Community. I enjoy the challenge of writing in poetry forms but nothing too complicated like a sonnet or sestina. I had a hard time with rhyming patterns before, but now I am getting better at it. Practice and more practice is the way to do it. At this point, I don't have a preference of writing style.

C: You write a bit of prose I see as well and exceptionally I might add. Do you like prose or poetry better? What is your favorite piece of prose that you have written?

G: Prose is my weakest form. I can’t write a straight chapter, without lapsing into some poetic expressions. I think it’s called prose poetry. I wrote a few for Romantic Friday Writers as an experiment like Christmas Star. http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.ca/2011/12/christmas-star.html

One of my goals is to write dark themes, specially in prose format. I get inspired when I read yours, Corey. You are a natural in this form.

For myself, I still have a long way to go in achieving this but I have started writing short stories. When the Haiku Challenge is done by end of April, I will be switching to prose format to make me write longer.

C: Alright I am going to wrap this up with a couple personal questions....stuff everyone asks but stuff that we all share in common as writers so its always interesting.

What does your family think of your writing? Are they Supportive?

G: Yes, they are.

C: Do you write on vacation?

G: I try not to but I keep a paper and pen handy in case my muse comes.

C: Does anyone at work know you write? What do they think?

G: My writing is my creative expression, an outlet for me, outside of work. Some close friends know I write but they don't read my blogs. At this point, I don’t need to advertise myself as I don’t have a published book. I write for my pleasure.

C: If you could have dinner with any writer in the world...who would it be?

G: I enjoy Pablo Neruda's poems so I would like to meet him. Another one I would like to meet is M. Basho as I like haiku.

C: If Kerry emailed and asked you to be the High Queen of Toads for two weeks, would you kick me out of the member roll?

G: No way, I enjoy your work Corey. You are very talented. And I enjoy listening to your music in your blog ~

Heaven.....thanks you so much for putting up with my shenanigans. This has been great fun and I really hope you enjoyed it a least as much as a root canal. I look forward to reading you for as long as you are writing and sharing....and a great big thank you for the sharing part.  It tastes better when you share.

Check out Sweet lust and Everyday Amazing often everyone...you definitely will not be sorry.