Fairy Fridays on Facebook

This week I created my official Facebook Author Page. You can like me on the handy button to the left of my blog, or go to https://www.facebook.com/MaryWJensenFanPage. I've started up Fairy Fridays. Each Friday I will post to my Author Page something about fairies, whether it's a picture, something from one of my books, or other fairy fun.

English: A resin statue of a Fairy in natural surroundings. 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day

As a writer, my teddy pretty much attends work every day. But I figured this would be a great time to repost my Teddy Tribute.

Cocoa: the cuddly kind, not the edible kind
originally posted 11/14/07

I am grateful for teddy bears. My bear Cocoa was given to me when I was ten years old. My family was about to move to the other end of the state, and my best friend threw me a going away party. I got gifts from various friends, and the bear was what she gave to me. The moment I saw him I knew his name. Moving away from all my friends was very hard for me. That night after getting Cocoa, I fell asleep holding him. He represented all I was leaving behind.

Cocoa was always a comfort to me. I slept with him every night, even taking him on sleepovers and campouts. He soaked up many tears, and was always there. I've written two poems about him. The first one I wrote in Junior High and was my very first Haiku. It was sometime during High School that I wrote the second.

Brown, soft, and furry, 
He comforts me through the night--
My teddy Cocoa.

My Teddy
I live a lonely life these days,
There's not much that can comfort me;
Just a letter from a friend, my life-long journal,
And Cocoa, my cherished teddy.
A bear will always listen,
And never dispute a claim;
Won't ever tell your secret,
Or give away the game.
He'll always be there for you,
If you just want to talk,
Or need something to hold to,
Like algae to a rock.
He'll never walk away from you,
Or leave you all alone.
He's more a comfort to me
Than talking on the phone.
I love my teddy Cocoa,
He means so much to me.
I'm not complete without him,
Just leaves without a tree.

As a confession, I slept with him up to the night before my wedding. There were times I even took him to school with me. It was a comfort knowing he was there in my backpack, and I took him out during lunch as I sat at my locker. I didn't care what people thought. Even now, when I'm not feeling well or having a bad day, I will cuddle up with him. He's the one stuffed animal I won't let B  play with. So many memories wrapped up in one bear.

Upcoming Writers Conference

One week from today is the Muse Online Writers Conference, an annual online and FREE conference. It goes from Oct 7 to 13. This will be my sixth year attending. Check it out! You can read more about it and my experiences in my post on the Poetic Muselings blog yesterday about the Muse Conference.

Hope to see some of you there! I’ll be attending as my usual persona, feywriter.

Stepping Stones to Being More Than an Extra

English: Stepping stones. Stepping stones in Deepdale Beck (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Been making more of an effort to put myself and my work out there. Reviving my blog is one part of that. I have a poetry book I've begun submitting to publishers. And today I signed up for Writers Village University.

I need to step out of my shell. Writing doesn't have to be so lonely. There's a big community of writers out there. I merely need to put down my walls and step outside my comfort zone.

If you've been wondering some of the things I've been up to in my absence, I have been blogging over at Poetic-Muselings.net on a more regular basis.