And the Winnah.....

...as drawn by the pointy claws of Maurice the cat...

....is....



Pissenlit!

Please email kc dyer at telus dot net and she can talk details.

Thanks to all for waxing poetic. A new contest next week !

~Darby

One more day -- Skateboard Haiku Contest Closes Tomorrow!

I think the title of this post just about says it all.

Get your haiku in before tomorrow at 6 pm. Winner will be posted after 8 pm.

Details HERE.

Maurice and I can't WAIT to pick the winner!

~Darby

Skateboard Haiku Contest Continues...and MORE!

Hmmm...

Not as good as Jacquie's!

The skateboard haiku contest is going great guns, with lots of good entries so far. Add yours to the list! You could win a copy of Jacqueline Pearce's MANGA TOUCH, a copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW, and -- to celebrate seasonally -- a few chocolate-covered cherries to sweeten the prize.

You can add your haiku to the comments below, or in any post from now until Friday, April 24th when the draw will be made. And if you link to this blog with your blog -- we'll add your name to the draw again!

Now speaking of things poetic -- here's a link to another contest that may interest you...Mitali's Fire Escape is holding the 7th Annual Fire Escape Contest for teen-authored poetry and short stories. This is a special contest for Canadian and American kids who were born -- or whose parents were born -- in a country other than the US or Canada. Sounds like fun -- check for details HERE.

Lots of chances to win -- sharpen those haiku pencils!

~Darby

Skateboard Haiku Contest

Okay -- for those of you having trouble finding a way to put the word 'skateboard' into your haiku...here's an example from an expert.






Jacqueline Pearce is mistress of the haiku. And nothing shows a winning edge like a haiku with a skateboard in it...so let 'er rip, Jacquie!

crushed cherry blossoms
graffiti the skateboard ramp
the scented air calls

Wow. See what I mean?

So -- now it's your turn. Leave your skateboard haiku (and don't forget the seasonal reference!) in the comments section of any of the posts between now and Friday, April 24th. We'll enter your name in the draw for the prize once for every haiku you write (that meets the specs, of course: 17 syllables, 3 lines, 5/7/5 breakdown).

And if you link to this post on your blog, we'll enter your name an extra time in the draw.

The prize? A signed copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW. A copy of Jacqueline Pearce's book MANGA TOUCH (she's about to go off on a tour of Japan -- to the very city where her story is set!) AND a selection of chocolate-covered cherries, to celebrate the spring-time.

Awesome prize package -- so get writing your haiku, and spread the word!

~Darby

Pee Ess... Make sure you check out kc dyer's blog later today. She's getting involved with Operation TBD -- sounds mysterious!

NaPoMo Celebration Continues

Okay, riders and readers, listen up.

National Poetry Month continues throughout April, and I've broken you in the easy way with a limerick contest.

DA was the winner, and a deserving winner she was, too.

Now is time to up the ante.

See this picture?



Cherry tree, just across the street. What does it mean to you...?

(Hint -- think spring -- think poetry...)

Why -- haiku, of course!

Now, a haiku is a lot more structured than a limerick, so don't think you're getting off easy, just because it is only 17 syllables long.

From wikipedia:

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 morae (or on), in three metrical phrases of 5, 7 and 5 morae respectively. Haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference, and a kireji or verbal caesura. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines, to parallel the three metrical phrases of Japanese haiku[2]. Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century.


Here's what I'm looking for :

3 lines, seasonal reference, and (of course) the word skateboard must appear somewhere.

Think you are up to the challenge?

Contest closes April 24th. And tomorrow, I am hoping to have an expert example (written by a haiku professional) to start things off. Prizes? They'll be great!

Check in tomorrow to read the sample haiku and the list of prizes!

~Darby

Tony Hawk celebrates Easter...

My hero Tony Hawk celebrates Easter in the best possible way...by giving away his kind of eggs...

(skateboard decks!!!!)




Click here to see the picture: Tony Hawk's Eggs

How cool is that?

Check in tomorrow for news of our new contest to celebrate NaPoMo!

~Darby

Fantastic Friday Skateboard Limerick Winner

Wow.

And Purrrr. [That's Maurice's opinion, btw...]






Did we get some AWESOME entries for this contest?

We did.

A tonne of entries, a further tonne of other blog mentions...Darby Speaks readers really ROCK!

Thanks to ALL for participating!

And if you are (sadly) not the winner this week...despair not! National Poetry Month [NaPoMo] continues, and so do the tributes to Canadian poets here on Darby Speaks. Tune into tomorrow's blog posting to find out about our NEW contest...

I'll give you a hint. This contest DOES involve a very short poetic form -- haiku. And it DOES NOT involve skateboards. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the details, because ...

...now it's time to announce this week's winner.

But first -- the winning limerick:

You don't know how it feels,
'Til you've skimmed along on four wheels.
Rollin' along,
Singing your song,
On your board wearing shoes with no heels.

It's funny that this one was the one that Maurice swept out of the hat with his paw, because I think it may have been the only skateboard limerick entered that didn't involve Serious Injury.

The winner is DA!

DA wins a signed copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW and also, in honour of poetry week, a signed (I hope...!) copy of Bernice Lever's amazing book NEVER A STRAIGHT LINE. Bernice is an author and poet who lives on Bowen Island, and if kc can corner her, we'll make sure we get a signature before your books get sent out, DA.

Make sure you drop kc at line (with your mailing address) at kcdyer at telus dot net.

Congratulations!!!

Remember to check in here tomorrow for the details of next week's contest.

And a Happy Easter and Passover to all!

~Darby

Shout Outs!

First, to liviania and In Bed With Books for running an interview with kc dyer and a contest, featuring MY story, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW.

Next, to taterbug and scottsgal, who were the winners of said contest. Books will be flying your way very soon!

And last (but not least) to Becca of Complete and Utter Poppycock for mentioning my skateboard limerick contest on her blog. Thanks, Becca -- that puts you in our Friday night draw!

Have you entered your skateboard limerick yet? Throw one into the comment section below and win yourself TWO new books!

The draw is Friday...don't miss it.

~Darby

How NOT to do an Ollie

Courtesy of Failblog.

Have you entered your skateboard limerick yet? You have until Friday, April 10th to get your entry in -- win a copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW. (And here's a hint: to get your name entered TWICE into the draw, link a blog post or a tweet on your own account back here - spread the word and increase your chances to win!)

~Darby

Erika Lynn Vlogs!

One of my way-cool readers has just posted her first vlog on Kiss My Book. It looks to me like she has a BIG pile of books to read, but the first on the pile seems to be A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW.





So YAY for Erika Lynn! And because of her creativity, she gets entered into our Skateboard Limerick contest. Win a copy of A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW and ALSO a book of Canadian poetry (in honour of NaPoMo...)

Have you entered yet? You can leave your limerick in the comment section below, or any day this week. Draw is Friday night -- April 10th.

Check out the comments for the past few days. We've got some serious limerickers around here!

~Darby

edited to add....

Thanks to Bridget for a mention of the contest on her blog West of Mars. We'll add your name to the draw an extra time, Bridget!


And BIG thanks to Steph Su for the review on her blog for Don Calame's SWIM THE FLY -- she gave it 41/2 stars out of 5!!!!!

Winner...

....with apologies for the delay in posting.


Launch week activities kept Maurice too busy to help make the draw, but I poured a little milk in a saucer and it did the trick.

He slowed down long enough to declare...




BJ is the winner of a signed novel by the swashbuckling CC Humphreys.

Congratulations, BJ!

Email kcdyer@telus.net with your snail mail address and the book will be yours.

And don't forget -- our Skateboard Limerick Contest (in honour of NaPoMo -- National Poetry Month) is going strong...lots of crash-bang, smach-up entries -- just the way I like 'em!

There is still time to enter. Just drop your skateboard limerick into the comments section of this post (or any other post this week) and your name will be entered into the draw. And if you post a mention of this contest on your own blog -- we'll put your name in twice and double your chances!

Keep boarding!

~Darby

Spring Into Fantasy -- This SUNDAY!

If you can make it out to kc dyer's Surrey event, she'd love to see you. She'll be featuring A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW (starring MOI, the one and only Darby C.) and will be hanging out with fellow authors James McCann and Lee Edward Fodi.

There will be games, crafts, snacks, cupcakes, book draws -- you name it!

Details....

Strawberry Hills Chapters -- 12101 72 Ave, Surrey BC
1-4 pm, Sunday, April 5th

Spread the word -- hope to see you there!

~Darby

Pee Ess

Don't forget our Poetry Contest in support of NaPoMo -- have you written your limerick yet? Book draw on Friday for the winner!

It's NaPoMo -- And No Foolin'

Well, here it is, April first -- spring is supposed to be sproinging, but from all accounts I've heard it's still pretty...well, Canadian out there.

So to take your mind off the snow and wet and floods...how about a new contest here at Darby Central?

It's National Poetry Month, and we are going to celebrate with a book give-away each week. The winner will receive a copy of my new book A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW, plus a copy of a book of Canadian poetry. (More on that title, later.)

Here's what you have to do to win this week. We're going to start with a subject near and dear to my heart -- skateboarding. Because riding a board is such a phat and phun phenomena, it needs a snappy poetic form. How about a limerick?

Here's one to get you started...




Now, it's your turn. Surely...SURELY you can do better than this...!**

Enter as often as you like -- one limerick at a time.

No illustration required, of course -- it's the poetry that feeds us, man.

We're already doing a draw on Friday, April 3 for CC Humphrey's book, so let's make this draw for next Friday... April 10th, that is. And if you post about this contest on your own blog (or give us a tweet on twitter) and link back to show us where, Maurice and I will throw your name into the hat an extra time.

Okay -- let's do it. Show us your limerick, throw in a skateboard and a new book could be yours!

And I promise we'll elevate the poetic form for the next draw. Maurice is fond of a decent sonnet...


~Darby

**
A boarder named Darby was skating
Along Yonge Street when she hit a large grating
Through the air she did fly
In the blink of an eye
Now a body-cast she's contemplating.