The Winning Poems!

I know it's been awhile, but Tasya (my West Coast publicist and a poet herself) and I have finally chosen winners for the "O, JULIET Love Poetry Competition." The two Grand Prize Winners will receive a signed copy of O, JULIET, and an absolutely gorgeous leather journal from La Vida Bella & Company. I didn't realize how spectacular they were until I held one in my hands. Just looking at these journals would inspire you to write poetry or your memoirs. I suggest you visit their website (www.lavidabellacompany.com) and check out their lovingly handcrafted works of art.


In the adult category was Boof's entry "How Did You Know?" She wrote saying, "I'm not poet..." but we heartily disagree. Boof is a literary blogger. Her blog is called The Book Whisperer and can be found at http://boofsbookshelf.com.

How did you know?

The rain became prisms upon petals
The wind became the breath of the mountains
The frost became the cobwebs of silver spiders
I knew you were on your way

Flowers laughed their shy, silky giggles
Leaves danced in the mountains breath
My new reflection shone in the silvery panes
I knew you were on your way

When did I learn to breathe again?
When did I remember how to see?
When did I know how to feel alive?
You were here

In the young adult category Anne Sophie's entry "Psyche's Spring" takes the prize. She writes that this was her first poem. We're sure it won't be her last.

Psyche's Spring

I have a secret
It wakes me up at dawn
Quite weak with longing
I lie awake hearing the birdsong

I laugh without cause
I twirl and tumble down the garden
Feeling my lips moist
My heart thudding with desire

But only he knows the secret
At night I dream of him
All day I wait to see him
Oh, I am in such a fever for his touch

Our eyes meet
Our gazes lock
I dare not stare too long
For the temptation of his smile is so strong

There were two runners-up, both of them bloggers who kindly hosted me on my O, JULIET blog tour. Here is Cherie Burbach's "For True Love I Said a Prayer." Cherie's blog is
http://workingwritersandbloggers.com.

FOR TRUE LOVE I SAID A PRAYER

As the morning sun kissed the sleepy earth,
I smiled and touched his face.
Gone from our midst was mere fondness,
and love somehow took it's place.

Those eyes,
that had watched me grow with him,
now begged me to come near.

Those lips,
that had spoke of kind advice,
now whispered in my ear.

Never more than just a friend,
I thought,
but now, he somehow is.

For true love, I then said a prayer,
and pressed my lips to his.

And this is Gautami Tripathy's "washed by words." Her blog is: http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com

washed by words

one-legged, tilted to one side-
rusted garden bench
now sprouted with weeds
witness of my past deeds

the way I used to sit there
waiting. waiting for you.
the glances, the kisses
we shared, curled to its corner

we talked of our future
you did. I only listened
totally washed by your words
love radiating from me

which could be felt from
a radii of a kilometre.
it went on and on
basking in your words forever

one similar day, same place
same me, but not you. never again.
no words. sound of breath,
one's own, is so hard to listen to.

this present, which in a way
is well into the future of what
not to be, is as colourful
as the drab earth you joined.

twenty odd years, I still can't let you
out of me. whole of me. in the
bigger picture of my dead life
farewell holds no meaning

Thanks to everyone for entering. There were lots of other wonderful entries. If you want to read them all, please visit the earlier post announcing the competition.

Congratulations to the winners!

Lots of love,

Love Poetry Competition Update

Hi All,

Hope you had a great holiday weekend. All the entries are in for the O, JULIET Poetry Competition, and the judging has begun! In the next week or so I'll be preparing a new newsletter so that the winners can be announced to a larger audience. Again, the prizes for the adult and young adult categories are a signed copy of O, JULIET and a Renaissance style "Torbat" journal from the wonderful La Vida Bella Company in New Hampshire.

Lots of love,

O, JULIET is Published!

I'm thrilled to announce that my eighth baby has finally and officially come into the world. Many times, just after I've finished writing a book, I experience a sense of loss and a bit of free-floating anxiety. I've lived in the world I've re-created and been intimate with my characters for so long that I feel at loose ends and hardly know what to do with myself.

With O, JULIET, I extended my "pregnancy" for a full six months while I created and pursued this "extravaganza of shameless self-promotion" (a big virtual book tour, this new blog, the "Love Games," an updated website, and a newsletter), all of it focused on the web. You can read about this experience in my latest blog for The Huffington Post, "Publishing Revolution: Historical Fiction Evolves in Digital Age," right here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-maxwell/publishing-revolution-his_b_444851.html

But now that the bun is truly out of the over, it's reckoning time. O, JULIET will hit the front tables at Barnes and Noble and Borders next week (the Barnes and Noble chain has agreed to feature it for a full 4 weeks!). A blog ad campaign sponsored by my publishers, Penguin/NAL, will begin soon, and O, JULIET will be getting its very own "iPhone app" - a sneak peek at the first chapter - starting February 15th.

It's all in the hands of the Publishing Gods now.

Love Poetry Contest Deadline Extended

It's been exciting to read the heartfelt poems you've been posting here on my blog, but they've been trickling in veeeeery slowly. I've been thinking that once people have a chance to read O, JULIET, they might get inspired by the brilliant verse of the great Dante (whom I so liberally quote in the book), or they might become brave and take a chance like I did, (sharing my amateur poems in Romeo's and Juliet's voices with the public for the first time). So to give my readers some more wiggle room, I'm extending the deadline for the O, JULIET Poetry Competition for another two whole months -- till April 1st. Please take a chance and share your love!

Love Made Her Crazy!

I'm happy to announce the randomly selected winner of the third and final "O, JULIET Love Games Giveaway." Laura Robinson's wonderful story about the craziest thing she ever did for love -- separating from her beloved for a time to study abroad -- turned out to be the best thing the couple could have done for their relationship. The time apart gave them a sense of strength and independence and when they came together again, they realized just what a great team they were. They've been married now for ten years.

Laura has won a signed copy of O, JULIET and the beautiful hand-crafted, solid silver heart necklace...just in time for Valentine's Day!

A Winner for the "Words of Love Challenge!"

Hello everybody! I'm so excited about the response to this giveaway -- almost sixty of you wrote in with your favorite quotes about love. There was poetry, song and prose, and the entries were as diverse as they were moving. Though there's only one winner (chosen randomly) I hope you'll take some time and read these beautiful sentiments. And the winner is...Elizabeth! Here is the winning entry, which I find particularly wonderful, as it reminds me a lot of Max and me.

Elizabeth said...

This is kind of long. It's from St. Augustine, and I think it should be read by every couple who fancy themselves "in love."

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine

So Elizabeth, a geography teacher from New England, will receive a signed copy of O, JULIET (my copies arrived just a few moments ago) and the beautiful blown glass heart necklace. Congratulations!

There's still another week left to enter your own love poetry to win a Renaissance style leather-bound journal.

And don't forget the "Love Makes You Crazy" Giveaway (that gorgeous solid silver heart necklace is the prize). There's still another week to go for that one as well. It seems a lot fewer folks are sharing their crazy-love experiences, but I've really enjoyed all the stories that have come in so far.

Lots of love,

ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A BLOG POST

This is a whopper of a blog post. It's got three parts. I hope you'll persevere, scroll down, read them all and play the Love Games. I'm announcing the commencement of "The O, JULIET Love Poetry Competition," the last of the "O, JULIET Love Games" Giveaways, and the winner of the first. Finally, on the right are my first two Youtube author videos. They'll give you a peek into my own personal love story and a real-life adventure I wish I'd never had. Here goes!