20211229 - Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Her words bring to life\ the ability to change,\ the magick of speech.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Hello readers, this review is also available to read on;

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211229-review-howls-moving-castle.html 

https://medium.com/haikuprajna/haikuprajna-review-howls-moving-castle-13d0cfa9921e 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4294872408

...

    "It was, she thought dizzily, as if the man sitting there and the huge, important thing which was kingship were two separate things that just happened to occupy the same chair."

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a novel about Sophie Hatter, the eldest daughter of three at eighteen years old, who is transformed into an older lady by the evil Witch of the Waste. The subsequent adventures led her to forming a contract with the fire demon Calcifer, who controls the eponymous castle, which pushes her into the life of Wizard Howl, all the while showing the power of thought and speech through the deceiving appearances of magic.

    " “What does Howl do to these poor females? I was told he ate their hearts and took their souls away.” Michael laughed uncomfortably. “Then you must come from Market Chipping. Howl sent me down there to blacken his name when we first set up the castle. I—er—I said that sort of thing. It’s what aunts usually say. It’s only true in a manner of speaking.” "

The world which Ingary inhabits is rooted in fantasy, but it incorporates elements of magical realism with roots in metaphysics, logic and morality, using real-world locations and occult concepts such as demonology, chaos, alchemy and ceremonial magick; in effect, the cast's need to keep track of multiple settings in the wizard's castle, their climatic battles and circular studying of spell castings to root out traps are well grounded in relatability. 

    " “Not the servitor,” said Mrs. Pentstemmon. “I do not think he is clever enough to cause me concern. I am talking about Howell, Mrs. Pendragon.” " 

While Howl casts spells and makes demands, Sophie realizes that what she says has the power to create change through charming hats for their owners and bringing objects to life by talking to them. The loveable cast of characters were made to be animated in film, as all of the charm was preserved in its Studio Ghibli adaptation, and watching was just as good of an experience as reading. (Shoutout to April @electricarmchair who loves the Ghibli films)

These Goodreads poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. More can be found on my Book Reviews page: [UPDATED LINK: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-sumarries.html] https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/goodreads-book-reviews.html

Check out #MyYearInBooks @goodreads to discover the books I read in 2021! Add me as a friend! https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2021/83965332 

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

...Updated 221002...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads, to share what we read with each other: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Have been looking for other free kindle books to read, ones that are only free for a day or so, so if you have an ebook on Kindle feel free to share them and I'll download!

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20211221 - Together Forever

Redshifting away,\ black holes evaporating.\ Singularity.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Together in Forever

Today (1221) is my ninth anniversary with April, and we are spending the day working on projects for each other while wrapping Christmas presents, eating finger foods and enjoying some wine and smokes together. 

My project is a story about space piracy and involves a digital pirate finishing a deal with a sentient black hole named Zeus who was holding her lover hostage. Zeus has a list of "most evil" holograms that the pirate murders or steals to capture and jettison toward the black hole. The pirate copes with the guilt of the task but also suffers the consequences of having grown to enjoy this never-ending self-perpetuating cycle. 

We have been keeping ourselves busy this holiday season, so we wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.  

Happy Holidays, and thank you for reading!

Allen and April

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

20211212 - "Escape Perennial City" Free Book Promotion

One final "Escape Perennial City" free book promotion of the year! 

All you need is an Amazon Kindle account to download and keep forever on December 18th here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More info here, including emails from HaikuPrajna 

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

Thank you for reading

These poems are based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City", and can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection. 

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211210 - River Caribou

Feel the flow of life,\ sense passageways in the stream,\ fish to catch meaning.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - River Caribou

These poems are based on my metaphysical magic realism novella, "Fishing for Caribou", and can be found in the third book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

UPDATE 1209: One final "Escape Perennial City" free book promotion of the year! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211208 - Stand on Guard

Make humanity\ apparent upon approach.\ Rigid from caution.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Stand on Guard

These poems are based on my metaphysical magic realism novella, "Fishing for Caribou", and can be found in the third book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211203 - Message of the Wisps

A necessity.\ Information must be shared,\ wisdom passed along.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Message of the Wisps

These poems are based on my metaphysical magic realism novella, "Fishing for Caribou", and can be found in the third book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211201 - Review: Coraline

Long for connection,\ a world older than they know.\ Weaving possessions.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Review: Coraline

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is a modern fairy tale that has woven invaluable lessons on topics like being, love, anxiety, fear and doubt for both children and adults in a simple to understand way.

"It was true: the other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other mother’s button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more. A tolerated pet, whose behavior was no longer amusing"

The dryness of a child's perspective is always refreshing to read, and was far more enjoyable as a book, being a more compelling tale than the movie. What I enjoyed the most was the world building and symbolism shown through the Other Mother's creation of the world and her interactions with its inhabitants, such as the other children before Coraline, displaying a desire to form a loving connection between parent and child.

"Whatever that corridor was was older by far than the other mother. It was deep, and slow, and it knew that she was there… ."

Coraline's displays of courage, empathy and resourcefulness are as real and scary as they are exciting to imagine, creating an excellent model for the young at heart. Neil Gaiman tackles philosophical ideas such as name and form to offer an unsettling happily-ever-after story that anyone will find meaning in.

These Goodreads poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. More can be found on my Book Reviews page: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/goodreads-book-reviews.html

Add me as a friend on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211129 - The Spear-thrower

Undertaking a\ grand odyssey. To places\ unknown, and back home.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - The Spear-thrower

These poems are based on my metaphysical magic realism novella, "Fishing for Caribou", and can be found in the third book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

"Fishing for Caribou" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical magic realism story, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211128 - Fishing for Caribou Release Trailer

Feel the flow of life,\ sense passageways in the stream,\ fish to catch meaning.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Fishing for Caribou Release Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptQo1yWl6lY

Hello, "Fishing for Caribou" is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover!

Blurb:
    "The Spearthrower travels across the land.
    "Having left his family's cave, a paleolithic man searches for other cave-people with the hope of learning about their ways of life. His own nomadic system follows a routine of hunting wild-things, crafting tools and sleeping. Club-bearing caves teach him cutting edge techniques such as cooking and sewing. Over this adventure-epic, he learns how to cope with the changes and losses that accompanies our lives."

The way that the theory of ideas or forms from (Neo-)Platonic philosophies affects our lives is the central theme of this story.

Kindle eBook: https://amazon.ca/dp/B09MDR2JGP
Paperback: https://amazon.ca/Fishing-Caribou-HaikuPrajna-Collection-Book/dp/B09M5KZX2N/
Hardcover: https://amazon.ca/Fishing-Caribou-HaikuPrajna-Collection-Book/dp/B09M7YN9ZJ/
More info: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

I believe this is a story that anyone who has seen and dealt with the effects of change and growth will enjoy.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate your having taken time to express your interest, and please follow us online to share your thoughts about our bite-sized insights.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

Music by Electric Armchair: https://youtube.com/channel/UCxD1X6fY5WIqaImy78u4OXw

More info: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html

Follow us on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

20211118 - Fishing for Caribou Cover and Release Date Reveal

The cover artist for "Fishing for Caribou" is the one and only April Salisbury-White (Electric Armchair) who took our original designs and made us this awesome cover!

"Fishing for Caribou" will release by November 30th. The digital eBook will be on the Kindle store while the paperback and hardcover will be available through Amazon. 

In celebration of the release, we will be rolling out the first wave of "Fishing for Caribou" merchandise on Redbubble; the book links at the top of the page will be updated with more information through the next few days.

Thank you for reading, and for helping spread the news by resharing this post online (tag us on social media)!

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211116 - The Others

Hesitation when\ confronted with salvation.\ The child can't decide.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - The Others

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

Thank you for joining our free book promotions every Friday this November, make sure to leave a review: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211111 - Review: Brave New World

Feelies and good times,\ perfect order from chaos.\ Absorbed in the All.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Review: Brave New World

"What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder." 

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is another ebook where about half of the script has been highlighted. 

During this reread, I again was absorbed in how the author conveyed their philosophy of the metaphysical idea; Huxley's dystopian society had transformed information into something no better than a pharmaceutical drug made in a lab, or a systemized object that affects the systems it is within; both being forms that were created, known and alterable. Examples of this include the injecting of reflexes such as being terrified while interacting with books and flowers, the tendency to judge monogamy negatively, along with Bernard's intoxication and withdrawal from fame where John being part of his system has effects described in the same manner as soma, the ultimate goal of which was to disrupt the "narrowing" of "impulse and energy" to spread that energy out over "every one else".

They not only had systemized ideas or energy, they had turned the idea into a living form through their ritualistic practices, which they refused to even call science, that would almost border on fantasy if it were not for it describing the metaphysical method of forming real-life ideas like corporations, books, characters, art and technology. A less abstract comparison can be made between the hypnopaedic suggestions and the Savage's mythical legends, where Bernard's habitual reciting was the same as John's ability to quote Shakespeare.

To Huxley, dystopian civilization meant a pneumatic system, as in airy or allowing air to pass through, as opposed to hermetic, or self-contained and independent from the outside. In such a system, one still needed naturally living humans and beings contained and segregated from the rest of the system so that society at large could just ignore the parts it failed to absorb, shipping them away, and continue on unhindered. But, is it for the comparison, the need to have an opposite to be defined by? Do the myths either created need someone to consume them?

Perhaps the only criticism to pass would be on a number of exposition dumps through dialogue and narration, but I thought they added to the unnerving factor of this ordered society due to their philosophical nature that, of course, could serve as a description for any reader's perception of modern life.

These Goodreads poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. More can be found on my Book Reviews page: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/goodreads-book-reviews.html

Add me as a friend on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Free book promotions every Friday this November: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211108 - End of the Beginning

The experiment\ is over. Power trades hands,\ never truly free.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - End of the Beginning

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

Free book promotions on Kindle every Friday this November: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211106 - The Black Iron Prison

To be free, you must\ bring down the prison's walls. But,\ we never see them.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - The Black Iron Prison

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

Free book promotions every Friday this November: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/11/20211104-escape-perennial-city-november.html

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

(UPDATED 1209) 20211104 - "Escape Perennial City" November Free Book Promos

UPDATE 1209: One final "Escape Perennial City" free book promotion of the year! 

On December 18th 2021, I'm inviting you to snag a free ebook to keep on your phone or read through a browser at https://read.amazon.com

All you need is an Amazon Kindle account to download on December 18th here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

This is a book for people like Charley Finch who strive to transcend the hindrances to their goals.

Thank you for reading, as always,

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Escape Perennial City (Official Book Trailer #2)

Thank you for reading, hope all is well. Letting you know about the "Escape Perennial City" Free Book Promos happening every Friday this November. 

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

Download through the Amazon Kindle store, and read through your browser at https://read.amazon.com

You can watch a trailer for my superhero, "Metaphysical and Visionary" science fiction novel here: https://youtu.be/_RuRRgl9_9Y

Remember, every Friday this November! NOV 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th 2021

And please remember to leave an honest review! 

These poems are based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City", and can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection. 

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are available through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read with Kindle Unlimited: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

For bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel, including excerpts straight from the book plus more from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair like free reading promotions on books, please follow us online: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

20211031 - Happy Halloween & NaNoWriMo + Inktober Day 20: Sprout

Pumpkin picking patch,\ outside the supermarket,\ growing through concrete.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Inktober Day 20 Sprout

Happy Halloween!

Skipping ahead a number of days because April and I planned a cute flash fiction short story, which I wanted to post today. Much longer than the others will be; 1000 words, where the rest will be definitively within the flash fiction category.

Enjoy! I based this short in part on April and my October Halloween celebrations.

Hope you have a spooky night, and thank you for reading!

...

"Sprouting" - Allen W. McLean

The three Bean children, their parents inside grocery shopping, ogled at the MEGA Supermarket's display of pumpkins.

"If you guys think these orange ones are cool," said their Uncle Trick, a life-long friend of Joe's, who had accompanied their typical weekend trips, "Wait 'til you feast your eyes on the ones in the baskets, over here."

He guided the three through a walkway and around a bend, between two rows of the metal shelves, toward the wooden bins hanging from a display standing in a corner area created by the large orange gourds. In single file, from oldest to shortest, the blue, green and salmon-pink coats followed the maroon-brown faux-leather past dozens of the large and abstractly round pumpkins that were stacked to Trick's eye-level on two levels of grated shelves, lining both sides of the aisle. 

Trick wanted nothing more than to make good memories with the suburban family. He stepped behind, watching the children stand on the toes of their boots and sneakers, to stick their toqued heads into the tiered baskets in the corner at another turn.

"Whoa!" Helvetica, the youngest, said into a bin, "This one is green!"

MEGA MART Superstores had annual pumpkin picking patches outside their stores every October. Large gardens and farms were located along the conurban outskirts, where the closest were a day's ride away by hovercraft. MEGA Corp, well aware of this self-imposed fact, endeavored to provide a suitable replacement for those confining themselves to its city.

The Superstore was on the open south-east end of an unremarkable highway strip-mall which occupied three of the four sides of its connected parking lot. The concrete storefront, with the large red "MART" sign on its second storey, extended out from the entrance to accommodate a roofed curbside pickup area that ran the length of the storefront, which was where the polo-wearing employees had displayed MEGA's impressive number of pumpkins. Kids and their adults came from the neighbouring suburban blocks and headed home with their arms and their minds full of pumpkin. Gutted and carved, the lights and shadows of Jack-o'-lanterns would dance on porches and on doorsteps just in time for Halloween night.

Trick had decided at once, upon seeing the outdoor display as Ruby landed the hover-van, to take the kids pumpkin picking instead of distracting them inside.

Peter, the eldest, had taken credit for this idea for themselves. "I'm so glad we decided to stay outside this time!" 

He exclaimed with the others' gasps and expressions like "Look!" and "Wow!" while looking in the bins at its puny variegated gourds.

They were surrounded by classical pumpkins stacked at different heights on the shelves on either side of them, creating orange-lined walkways, away from the curbside, that turned around corners and into pockets of space along the store's front windows, which looked into the self-service check-outs and the pantry aisles behind them, and which reflected the warm autumn colours back onto the display. Giant cardboard bulk bins full of rejected purple-pink speckled pumpkins were hiding, out of sight, in the furthest reaches. Bundles of purple-red corn cobs and mesh bags of tiny ornamental gourds were piled into the display-stand baskets like the one that the children were rummaging through. 

The different options appeared, to Trick, to be too hindering of a distraction for their curiosity.

Trick said, "You can either pick a big pumpkin and help each other carve it, or you can pick one of the smaller pumpkins on the shelves or in the bins, each."  

Their decision was unanimous, and a relief to Trick's wallet; the kids picked from the smallest ornamental ones because, they said, they were cooler than the speckled rejects. Seven-year-old Kirby turned around with an ugly looking pepper-shaped thing striped with lime-yellow over bumpy patches of a darker forest green.

"Look, Tricky," he said, smiling with his tongue through his missing two top teeth, holding the odd runt of a gourd up toward the taller adult's face, "this one reminds me of you."

"Trick! Trick!" Helvetica's red rain boots clapped hard against the cold concrete as she hopped beside her older brother while holding a yellow and green pumpkin which contrasted her salmon coloured winter jacket. "I've never seen ones so small like these before."

She was lost in the variegation, turning the pinwheel-like colours around in her red mittens; Trick was pleased that the children were interested in all the different options.

"And have you picked anything, Peter?"

He joined his younger siblings with a squat little orange pumpkin the size of his two hands.

"Classic!" Trick clasped his hands. "All right, let's go, before your parents pay for everything. I think I see your mom and dad at the check-outs, now."

At the picnic table in the backyard at home, after the groceries were put away, Ruby sat with her kids in a corduroy overall dress over a black sweater to help them paint their gourds, while Joe, wearing a green and white plaid jacket with jeans, gathered craft supplies for them and Trick. 

He and Helvetica cut construction paper capes for her yellow "Squasha the Vampire", while Joe and Kirby stuck painted bolts into "Gordy the Franken-zombie", and Ruby helped Peter paint clown makeup on "Pumpkin-Pat". Ruby painted fangs on Squasha, Helvetica gave Pumpkin-Pat a removable red nose and a paper knife, and Kirby and Peter covered Gordy in specks of red blood and the impressions of purple bruises.

Outside in the middle of the suburban conurbs, the Bean family, like many others, was making memories and growing through the concrete forests of modern life.

Trick, Peter, Kirby and Helvetica put Squasha, Gordy and Pumpkin-Pat on display by their front door. Soft Christmas string lights were wrapped in the porch's pillars and brightened the red and orange leaves scattered by the maple tree that branched toward the gutters from the edge of their lawn.

The sun had set on the conurban forest hills by then, so Trick said goodnight to the Beans and their children. Before riding off in his hovercar, he promised to accompany them Trick-or-treating the next night.

... 

These Inktober poems and drawings will be collected along with pieces of flash fiction (which will be posted for NaNoWriMo 2021) and a novel-length story as a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection about a character that April named Bucket, and his siblings Train and Ruby. You can read all of them here: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/search/label/Inktober%202021

Are you participating in Inktober or NaNoWriMo this year? Write a haiku and either tag or send to HaikuPrajna or Electric Armchair to share your work with us! 

Source: Https://Instagram.com/ElectricArmchair

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

20211029 - Review: Pride and Prejudice

Dwell on each other.\ Obtaining ideal objects. \Battling ideas.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Review: Pride and Prejudice

"You shall have it in a few words."

Pride and Prejudice is the first Jane Austen book review on HaikuPrajna. The story is an exercise of philosophy and involves battles of logic in both casual family settings and high-tension moments in political-style debates and conversations, where characters capture pieces of information on each other through hearsay, letters and relayed speeches; extreme examples where an unfavorable marriage is like a fatal blow to their mother, or despicable family connections preventing lovers from wedding, with a twist of love overcoming obstacles, where the logistics needed to move on are produced instead of a Romeo and Juliet styled tragedy.

The plot follows predictable romances and relationships, but because its prose matches the style, manners and fashion, it sold me on the genre. The book is very well written thanks to a keep-it-simple philosophy where, even in complex Victorian era relationships, characters reflected the titular themes in every altercation and conversation, in every inner monologue. The families in this world plot stories for their children and are eager to capture both information and relationships of value in order to upkeep and obtain prideful objects; beyond the matrimony and drama lies great wit and depth of mind.

These Goodreads poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. More can be found on my Book Reviews page: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/goodreads-book-reviews.html

Add me as a friend on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

20211028 Inktober Day 6 - Spirit

Watchful eyes ablaze, / their tendrils of shadows burn./ Thoughts malign nightmares.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Inktober Day 6 Spirit

I had planned to extend my Inktober submits into November for National Novel Writing Month, so seeing as I'm behind on posting these I figure it's safe to announce that I will be following this plan. Going to finish what we have started with project "Bucket" by sharing micro fiction that will be included in this future HaikuPrajna Collection along with a feature length story exclusive to the book following Bucket and his siblings. Will be writing and posting them out of order for the rest of these challenges. Intending for there to be little stress involved.

These Inktober poems and drawings will be collected along with pieces of micro fiction (which will be posted later, maybe for NaNoWriMo 2021) and a novel-length story as a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection about a character that April named Bucket, and his siblings Train and Ruby.

Are you participating in Inktober or NaNoWriMo this year? Write a haiku and either tag or send to HaikuPrajna or Electric Armchair to share your work with us! 

Source: Https://Instagram.com/ElectricArmchair

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

20211024 - Fishing for Caribou reveal

Fishing for Caribou title page

Fishing for Caribou first page of Part One

While we finish the cover images, April and I are pleased to more officially announce the third book in the HaikuPrajna Collection, "Fishing for Caribou". I wrote this story during 2020's Inktober and National Novel Writing Month and, while writing this 2021's Inktober and NaNoWriMo, I still have the hopes of tying the two together promotionally through the two annual writing events.

In addition to sharing the pictures in this post with our readers, I wanted to document a few of the changes that the story went through during production. One of Spearthrower's spearheads is a fallen meteorite with a sharp edge, and while the draft does not reflect this, it is referenced in the book's poetry section; at one point the alchemists were apothecaries, then scientists who had a rocket; and the title had developed from "Spear-thrower" to "Fishing for Caribou".

Fishing for Caribou digital ebook table of contents

We are still planning on an October 2021 release, but will probably have to wait until November; sorry for the hold-ups, we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Release date and trailer coming soon!

Thank you, as always, for reading,

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

(I have updated the book page with this information; please come check it out for more "Fishing for Caribou" poetry here https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/spear-thrower.html)

20211023 - Perennial Flowers

 

You don't understand,\ how I've done this before. I'll\ just do it again.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Perennial Flowers

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

If you've read this, please share your thoughts!

20211020 - Platform

Featureless creatures,/ an overwhelming noise. Ground/ your reality

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Platform

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection. Check out the new trailer and free reading promo below!

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

If you've read this, please share your thoughts!

20211018 - Alterations

   

She smiles and the air\ becomes warmer. Huddle to\ get out of the cold.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Alterations

This poem is based on my metaphysical superhero novel, "Escape Perennial City". These poems can be found in "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories", the second book of the HaikuPrajna Collection. Check out the new trailer and free reading promo below!

Kinda late to the party, but I wrote a short story for the SM-SARA HaikuPrajna Collection while playing the 2D Metroids years ago. Now, with Metroid Dread, I'm revisiting the characters. Have always loved the series, the world is fantastic and ever-inspiring.

"Escape Perennial City" eBook, paperback and hardcover are now available through Amazon and on Kindle apps and devices, read with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099C5LJ6W

More bite-sized insights into this metaphysical superhero novel can be found in the link at the top of the page, including excerpts straight from the book: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/escape-perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

For more bite-sized insights from HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair, including free reading promotions on books, please subscribe by email or follow on social media: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html

We're on Goodreads, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and more.

If you've read this, please share your thoughts!