Raw Earth Ink
spit, mixed with dirt – muddy words flow
It Is Enough
I am dark shadows and tear-stained cheeks.
I am bursting laughter and bruised hips.
I am a brooding damp fog and twisted smiles.
I am tormented memories and soft silk.
I am covered in anguish and measured lines.
I am tracing and repeating and inward mind.
I am troubled of spirit and a passionate desire.
But none of that matters.
Because, to you, and only you,
I am beautiful.
A pale blue star in a sky of bright lights.
You chose me.
And that is enough.
tara caribou | ©2020-22
Read this and more in my poetry book, Four.
Icy Cold
It’s been winter cold, though not extremely so, which means shorter jaunts outside… particularly when the wind is blowing. A quick walk down the beach to shoot a few photos, face/hands/legs numb, but it was worth it!
Stay warm!
tara caribou | ©2023 all photos by me
In the Last Light of the Evening
The leaves on the trees have become smudges, merely a backdrop I look right through. I see nothing. I see everything. Everything. You weren’t able to reach beyond the now into tomorrow. You stay in the past and try for today, but never tomorrow. It’s raining outside, smearing the hillside further. My blotchy pink cheeks are wet. Not from the rain, though. No, they are slick from the storm inside. The first rumble of thunder in the distance came the first time you turned your back. It’s all on me, baby, it’s just me. This is who I am, you said, denying my right to hold you while you were hurting. Your vow was: in health and in the good times, I am yours. When I am strong. But when the winds rose, you withered, folding in on yourself, refusing my hand, my arms, my love. Well now the thunder rolls on. The storm rages. And I will cry for us, alone.
tara caribou | ©2020-22
Read this and more in my poetry book, Four.
As We Close This Year 2022
Dear friends,
Here we are again, at the end of another year. For some it was battles won and lost, new experiences, and a glimmer of hope. For me, as I mentioned in my most recent update, I have grown emotionally, spiritually, and even physically (with my new house and property). Lots more good things coming!
Raw Earth Ink signed seven authors, all of which were such a pleasure to work with and I’ve listed them below for ease, if you’re interested in checking their books out. I also started the imprint Wild Badger Books for non-fiction and children’s books, the first of which you will be hearing about very soon.
Over on Instagram, I shared some of the books I read this past year so here they are for you too. Most of these I’ve written reviews for, which can be found on Goodreads. At the end of this post I’ll add the list, in case any are of interest to you. I hope you’ll check some of these authors out.
Moving into this upcoming year, I have several more books currently in the works to be released from both Raw Earth Ink and Wild Badger Books. This includes the next book from emje mccarty, a new poetry book from G.M. Manzi, Braeden Michaels new book, Brandon White’s third collection, and more.
I will continue doing this that I love, publishing books, writing, and creating art. Please stick with me as we continue our creative adventures and remember, as always, to keep the conversation going!
Love and light to you,
~tara caribou
How about you? What are your plans for this next year? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
- Confession from Eden by RH Alexander
- We Lived Like Kings by G.M. Manzi
- Galdr: thought + memory by Michael Raven
- The Invisible Exhibitionist by emje mccarty
- Coming of Rage by Ray Van Horn Jr.
- For You, Love Always by Braeden Michaels
- The Gift of Mercy by Annette Kalandros
- The Woman With Three Elbows by Rachael Ikins
- Euphoria in Blue by me
- Warflower by Robert Stark
- Passengers by Ryan Deckard
- The God Articles by Steven Colbourne
- Eyes of Fenrir by Jacob Dring
- One of These Years by Tom Alexander
- Polar Vortex by Matthew Mather
- Embers by Craig Robertson
- Flames by Craig Robertson
- Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards
- A Whale of the Wild by Rosanne Parry
- A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry
- White Fang by Jack London
- Effugium by Patrick Walts
- Exsilium by Patrick Walts
- Exitium by Patrick Walts
- Crows in the Bones by Jacob Dring
- The Lupine Walker by Tony Rasch
Early Winter Photos
I’m still learning how to use my new-ish camera. I haven’t taken a lot of opportunities to practice but when I do, it’s worth it. I hope you enjoy a little sample. I used no filters.
I hope you enjoyed these! Have a great day today.
tara caribou | ©2022 all photos by me
Available Now – The Gift of Mercy by Annette Kalandros
Raw Earth Ink is proud to present Annette Kalandros’ book, The Gift of Mercy.
“Some writers access parts of your soul that stay with you a lifetime. Poetry by Annette has always had that effect on me. She is one of those incredibly rare poets who can speak to a lived experience and draw the reader in, where they witness her life as if they themselves lived it. This is necessary as we increasingly become a world unable to truly empathize or appreciate the lives of others. when a writer can evoke, with such visceral intensity, their own journey, and the reader becomes acutely part of that experience, we can say that writer has meaning and staying power… Every time I read her powerful, unfiltered work; I find myself metaphorically on my knees. I have wept and raged with her and chosen to rise out of pain and hold hope as my beacon, alongside her… Even in the depths of loss, there is always love. Poetry has become her way of describing the world and oh how she describes it…” — Candice Louisa Daquin, editor [excerpt taken from the foreword]
A few of my personal favorites were:
I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy of Annette’s book. Available at lulu, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or as an EPUB ebook, Nook, Kobo, Kindle. Goodreads.
© 2022 | Annette Kalandros
Alone Together
stars cover my eyes
blinking, energy flowing within, without
the watchers, in their way, mark the passage
of memory, I reach
hands lifted. eyes follow
spreading my mind wide, far-flung
these words, reveal cracks
from above, you see how far they go
deep and filling the expanse
ideas! art! creation! love and hope!
intermingled with your touch
I stretch, draw forth
these words are a mere pittance
skeletal, the framework
it’s what’s underneath that means anything
echoes of thought, of heart
a yearning to be seen, understood
no longer solitary
yes, the bright ones above bear witness
yet they see and don’t understand
so these words, magnetized
attract lonely others
proof we aren’t so very isolated
after all
tara caribou | ©2022
An Overdue Update
I know, I know. It’s been a month since I’ve been off WordPress. I guess now is as good a time as any to give you a small explanation and update about both me and Raw Earth Ink.
In Real Life…
The beginning of November my new house was (finally) finished, paperwork signed, and I’ve spent the last month moving out of the house I’ve rented for the last 5-1/2 years into the new house and then of course cleaning out the old place. Slightly hampered for a bit there by a bit of snow but overall, it’s been pretty smooth. And I love the house and the property. It’s not a lot, but this was an incredible opportunity for me and I am beyond blessed in it.
Also this last month, my boyfriend and I decided to say our vows soon-ish. I’m a bit of a neo-hippie of course so I won’t do the “official” government-authorized marriage thing… as I don’t believe government has any rights to “license” one’s relationship. But we’ll have a few friends and family members celebrate with us.
Wait, what..?
**slight rant incoming** Yeah. Normally I don’t share much of my actual real life online because it has very little to do with my writing. But the fact is, there are a few quite literally crazy people who read my blog (for some unknown reason which escapes me) who think I either have some relationship with a fellow blogger or wish I did. Sorry, that’s just not the case nor has it ever been. These individuals are ridiculous. I have for several years now dealt with so much psychological manipulation, depression, anxiety, and OCD-related PTSD-like symptoms due to one character in particular who made my life miserable on WordPress. Or rather, I let her influence my emotions and energy. At this point, it’s just ludicrous. I have protected her identity from those who have asked but I’ve decided I won’t anymore. Why have I been? It has done nothing positive for me and I’m done with her games. The other thorn in my paw is backstabbing from certain individuals and I’m not sure why, considering these are random bloggers who quite literally don’t know me and I don’t know them. So it seems petty at best.
Why say any of that above? Because I just don’t care anymore. I used to care about numbers and readership and my WHOLE PURPOSE of starting this blog was to share my thoughts and feelings as I work through… well, life in general. I just wanted to reach out and share and if a couple people along the way were touched emotionally or intellectually or inspirationally…. That was all I wanted.
Of course, by now the blog has morphed and grown and shrunk and (I think) improved over the months and years. My heart towards writing and creating art hasn’t changed. I love reading. I like writing. I love publishing. I don’t particularly care for the cliques and games and weirdos and such but I DO love the interactions, the conversations, and the inspiration. I have met some really, really great people here and honestly only a couple rotten eggs, as they say.
Fair enough. Alright so…
Okay. Moving on… what’s all this mean… well, I’m just not interested in whether I get 50 “likes” or 5 “likes” anymore. I wish I could get more traffic and improve interactions and comment quality. But I’m not into creating “content”… meaning writing just to make sure I’m posting often enough.
Also, (as a side note) it’s really disheartening to publish books which I agonize over for hours and hours, perfecting every page, promises from ‘readers’ that they will get a copy (of which none happen). It’s demoralizing. BUT, I somewhat recently had a change of heart about all that. See… I’m a writer. I’m an artist. That’s not going to change. So I’m going to keep doing that. Even if no one buys the book. Even if no one reads it, I’m going to keep creating. It’s the process that matters. The end result to ME.
How am I changing personally through writing? What lessons have I learned? Am I moving forward? These are the things I will keep asking myself.
That said, ‘tara caribou’ will continue writing and creating art in various media, just as I have been. Sometimes I’ll even share it. Stats be damned!
This is leading somewhere… I’m just sure of it.
Okay, so this post is getting long. Too long. What do the hip-kids say nowadays? TLDR?? Yeah, well, I’m going to write it anyway! Ha!
Raw Earth Ink. Guys, I’ve gotta say, I love publishing. I mean, publishing under my own company rather than for someone else. It brings me so much joy and happiness and satisfaction to do this. Like, I really, really enjoy doing it. I mean, I have the absolute privilege to work with some really great people. Every one of them super talented and just needing a little helping hand to see their dream come true. Wow. It feels so good and I’m proud of what I’m doing.
I’m hoping, going into the new year, now that my house-moving is done, to revamp the publishing company and website a bit. You’re going to see more from Raw Earth Ink than tara caribou because that’s where my passion lies right now.
Currently Raw Earth Ink accepts poetry books, short story collections (my personal favorite), and fiction (except horror or romance). Beginning in 2023, you’ll also start seeing work from my imprint Wild Badger Books which features children’s books, art, photography, and non-fiction.
Additionally, 2023 will be the start of several new Raw Earth Ink writing contests and awards which will include cash prizes for winners. More to come on that front!
I’m also happy to announce that my dear friend Candice Louisa Daquin, of thefeatheredsleep, will be joining me at Raw Earth Ink. I’ve worked with Candice several times, published her work in The Poets Symphony, and I respect and adore her. She’s a really wonderful person and I am delighted she wants to work with me!
Into the Future.
So there’s a lot on the horizon for me and I do hope you’ll stick around and support fellow writers, in word or deed. I’m excited for this next chapter (haha) in my life, both in real life and online. I’ve let go of the garbage that’s been weighing me down and it is onwards and upwards for me, ever growing and changing. Without which, I would stagnate, shrivel, and wither away!
Well, that’s it in a nutshell. At least for now. In 2023 you’ll be seeing another book from me (the art is being worked on as we speak!), also Brandon White’s third book, John A. Graser’s second book, emje mccarty’s first children’s book, Braeden Michaels first children’s book, Annette Kalandros’ first collection of poetry, G.M. Manzi’s second book, and Alex Gallo’s new thriller. All this and more!!
But before I go:
If you’ve made it this far with me: THANK YOU. No, really, Thank You. For realz. I honestly do appreciate you so, so much. Michael, Chris, Braeden, O.D., Jo, Candice, Haze, Jacob, Cassa, River (when you used to), Rob, Jay, Goldie, Matt, John… and on and on and on… so many great people… my heart is full with your friendship and kindness along the way.
Your friend and fellow blogger, tara
Raw Earth Ink 