Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

I just want to express my deepest sympathies to those affected by this terrible incident. To the families and friends of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I send my condolences, and I want you to know that I am praying for you all.

15 Copies Sold!

A Collection of Reflections is doing pretty well, all things considered.

:)

Give the post title a click if you'd like to purchase your own copy of my first book.

Future Plans

I plan to continue my college education so that I may have an opportunity to work in the publishing business, and I also plan to continue writing as often as possible. I have hundreds of ideas, and would love to see them take shape in print. I want to lead a productive, successful life that would have made my Miss Connie proud to call me her friend.

My ultimate goal is to become a full-time writer.

Inspiration

My role model, Miss Connie Lynne Holmes, was always encouraging and inspiring me to live my life to the fullest and to do everything I do to the best of my ability. I hope that this would have made her proud, even though she is now with me only in spirit. My friends and family inspire me on a daily basis. Music also helps a lot. I have a great passion for enjoying art in all its forms, and I believe that creative excellence begets creative excellence.

Motivation for Book

When I was younger, I tended to bottle my emotions and not vent. It caused me a lot of problems, and I even had to go through anger management therapy for a time. My therapist, Kendra, suggested that I use my writing as an outlet when she found out that I wrote. It worked beautifully, and I decided to publish my collection of poetry as a testament to it. I also want to use it as a way to encourage other young men and women who have trouble handling their feelings to find a healthy, creative outlet for it.

Author's Age

I was twenty years old when I published A Collection of Reflections, and it took me eight years to write and organize all the poems for this book. One of my dearest friends, to whom I was dedicating this book, died in her sleep in the spring of last year, never having had the opportunity to read it. Every copy of this book that sells will stand to honor her memory.

I am now twenty-one, and I continue to write.

How long have you been writing?

I have always been a writer, I think. Even as a child, I always had a knack for spinning the most magnificent tales in my head. Many of them never found their way to paper when I was young, but once I was old enough to hold myself to a task without getting horribly distracted, I started writing, and I haven't stopped ever since.

Setting

The poems take place over various time periods in different places. Some are archaic, alluding to the gods of Greek myth themselves, while others are embroiled in the tribulations of the unforeseeable future. Some take place in peaceful paradise-like lands long since lost to us, and some are modern, very much in the here and now. Many are ambiguous enough to be universal in nature, which I believe is part of their appeal.

Main Characters

Since this is a collection of largely unrelated poetry, the main characters change depending on which poem you are reading. It could be anybody--your sister, or the boy next door; a mythical princess from an ancient time, or a futuristic trouble-maker. Most importantly, I believe that when you read the poems you will become the main character, as I was when I wrote them.

Synopsis

This collection of poetry ranges from a seven-poem collection that takes the reader through a different paradigm on each of the seven deadly sins, to bright, hopeful romantic poems, and a plethora of poems that fall somewhere in between the two. They were collected over a period of about eight years, and inspired by a flurry of different emotions. Aside from the collection focusing on the seven deadly sins, the rest are largely unrelated to one another. Some were assignments for creative writing that turned into pet projects, but most were creative reactions to things that were happening in my life at the time that they were written.

*Note: The title of each post links to a site relevant to A Collection of Reflections and my writing career, so feel free to click and explore.*

Why I Decided to Publish A Collection of Reflections

Someone recently asked me why I decided to publish my first collection of poetry while I was still in college, so this is my answer.

I decided to pursue this for several reasons. Some of the reasons are listed in the foreword of A Collection of Reflections. I've kept others to myself. Those are the ones I want to discuss now.

I've always felt like I'm on the outside looking in, even among my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I know they care about me, but sometimes it's really hard for me to see it because of my own issues. I know I'm the freak of the litter, that has been made abundantly clear over the years. That doesn't mean that I don't have feelings.

I feel quite intensely, to tell you the truth. I've just never been good at expressing my feelings on an interpersonal basis. I write poetry because I'm shy, insecure, and I don't want to risk pushing people even farther away from me. I've been off in my own little world ever since my Granny Hattie died. I've never recovered from it, and the truth is it's because I don't want to recover. I never want to care that much about another human being again.

Still, I've always cared more than I should, and it's gotten me hurt more times than I can count. Even the little things hurt me deeply. That's why I'm so cold and vicious to some people. I snarl and snap and push people away because I don't want them to see how hurt and vulnerable I am. I mask my pain with pride and bitter rhetoric. I alienate people on purpose, before they have the chance to exploit my vulnerabilities.

I'm not asking for pity. As a matter of fact, I resent that emotion more than almost anything else in this world. I know I've never been pretty, funny, popular, or even properly socially engaging. I'm not the kind of girl that you can talk about hunting and fishing with. I'm not the cool drummer who can hang out with anybody.

Guys will never fall over themselves to ask me out. Most never even make the effort, and the ones that do are rarely the kind of guy that I could have real feelings for.

Of the people I graduated with, almost everyone had something wonderful to offer the world. Just about everyone had something that made them special; everybody but me. I decided to publish this collection of poetry because writing is all I have to offer. I was never valedictorian, an honors student, homecoming queen, or a class favorite--not that I blame anyone. I know my personality sucks.

I guess what I truly, desperately wanted when I set out to publish this poetry was to prove that, in spite of my multitude of flaws, I do have some small gift to offer the world. I just hope that it turns out to be worth something.

About A Collection of Reflections

Author Chelsea Clemmons stirs up her readers with a flurry of inspired emotions. As you turn the pages of A Collection of Reflections, you will be creatively transported through time and space.

Follow Clemmons' poetic imagination through the archaic, dark, and gothic. Then reverse course and launch straight into the modern, bright, and hopeful. In between, delve deeply into a serial collection on the seven deadly sins. As the author expresses her emotional reactions to a myriad of life experiences, you will be enhanced by her moving reflections on numerous themes…from family and friends to mythical heroines and futuristic trouble-makers. You will be mesmerized as you morph with the many insightful characters who lyrically and lovingly take center stage. Clemmons' poetry is universal in nature. It is tenderly designed to encourage other young men and women to discover a healthy and creative outlet to express their own emotions.

About the Author

Author Chelsea Clemmons is a college student at Troy University, Alabama. She is a natural storyteller who loves to capture her readers' imaginations. Clemmons is studying to be a writer, majoring in English and minoring in Business Administration. She is working on a second book titled Poisoned Apples. When she is not on campus at Troy, Clemmons lives in Bay Minette, Alabama, where she is surrounded by family.

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