Letter K on The A to Z April Challenge 2014

Today is the letter K on the April A to Z Challenge. My Author is Sue Koenig with her book The Bench. Genre: Poetry, Short Stories Sadly Sue has recently passed away, please just take a moment to have a silent thought or two, thank you. (June 5th)

About The Bench

The Bench’s 60 year history is told in six drabbles, 600 words. It’s a unique method for storytelling and as I say in the Acknowledgment my preferred style. Therefore, my decision for the title of the collection.

Most of the pieces contained in the book were either inspired by a prompt or a prompt was incorporated into the original to comply with challenge requirements. The prompts I used came from the monthly haiku site and the weekly writing group mentioned in my biography, or from friends’ challenges

A writing prompt could be a single word, a short phrase or a photograph. It’s simply a topic, or focal point, around which a fiction writer, or poet, starts jotting down ideas that may lead to a complete story or poem.

For the imaginative reader who loves words and appreciates variety, The Bench includes something for everyone whether you’re seeking the powerfully evocative, the unabashedly strange or simply wish to be entertained.

Take a break on a bench, a bus, or anyplace. Relax. Ignite your senses.

You never know whom you’ll meet.

A man might enthral you with his life story or a thoroughly modern vampire might regale you with his stand up comedy routine.

Cast your eyes to the garden and explore the magical colours of love between a flower and a butterfly.

Better yet, tune into the person standing just outside your peripheral vision reciting poetry and concentrate, you may hear the lingering strands of the last dance, or a symphony in words.

Original, concisely woven storytelling, that at the end allows your mind to conjure up its own images, interpretations and conclusions.

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Rosie’s Review of The Bench;

The Bench is a compilation of short stories and poems. It begins with 6 short tales with 10 year intervals about a series of visitors to a particular park bench and the final aging of the bench after a lifetime of service to the community. I liked the insight into the comings and goings of the people who used the bench.

The next stories took place under a park tree and are split by seasons in the year. The book has a good mix of stories and poems to dip in an out of. After the Dance was a piece inspired by a line from the novel The Help. There is something for everyone, some of the poetry is quite sad and poignant. The writing is accompanied by some lovely photography taken by the author and was a delight to read.

1) Where is your home town?

I live in London, Ontario, Canada

2) How long have you been writing?

I only really started writing in 2009 when I retired from a boring govt job. I first started blogging on My Space where I met writers and poets, and the writing sprouted like weeds in a summer garden.

3) How long did The Bench take to compile?

The pieces in the Bench were written between 2011 and 2014. The trick was deciding which to include.

4) Which 2 poems or stories from the book are your favourites?

I cannot pick two favourites. They’re all my babies

5) Which poems were the hardest to write and why?

One of the most difficult to write was A Place Set Apart because it is about a real person

6) Are all the photo illustrations in the book your own work?

Yes all the images in the book and on the cover are mine.

7) Tell us about your book “Nineteen Hundred”

I published Nineteen Hundred in 2012. It’s actually the preface to The Soul Collector’s Second Chance if it ever gets written. Nineteen Hundred takes place in 1900 and explains my main character’s state of mind at that time and why a second chance now is so important.

8) Is this your first year of the A to Z Challenge?

This will be my second year of A-Z.  Last year I met some wonderful people the theme for a-z this year will be from The Bench.

Thank you Sue, good luck with the rest of the challenge.

Here are some randomly selected links to other bloggers who are taking up the challenge, please find the time to visit them too.

http://lexacain.blogspot.co.uk/

http://moondustwriter.com/

http://susanleighnoble.wordpress.com/

http://jenniferfgarcia.com/

http://thardrandia.blogspot.co.uk/

During the challenge we are asking people to leave as many comments on blogs as possible, all supportive comments are greatly appreciated, thank you.