Tag: My Books

A Hodge Podge: Poetry Night, 28 Sept. 2025

assorted color paint buckets

Hello, all who either happened to stumble on to my page or regular subscribers. It’s Poetry Night, where I drop some samples of original poetry for your consumption and consideration. The theme for tonight is… all over the place, to be honest. Let’s see what I whip up tonight.

The first poem tonight is me realizing I’m in a fiction writing rut and trying to get out of it with this poem. It’s only sort of working1.

human skeleton on top of a laptop
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

Procrastination

Fort Madison, Iowa, 26 September 2025

Staring at a screen

Which is not the one you need to be staring at

The words don’t come

You want them to appear already

The creation completed

The effort behind you.

But your thoughts

Dart toward endless distractions

And entertainments occupying your mind.

The problem is

While you feel calm when you distract yourself

At the end

There’s just emptiness for time and opportunities

Wasted.

This is not a poem intended to be aimed at anyone in particular. I think it’s something that might apply to many people who think they might need to engage with certain individuals, some they know very well, some little more than strangers. Sometimes it’s better to keep your distance.

house in foggy mountains
Photo by Wendel Rocha de Oliveira on Pexels.com

Hermitage

Fort Madison, Iowa, 26 September 2025

There are people in this world

Who provide anxiety and not comfort

Emotional work and not renewal,

Who drain and don’t cultivate.

You feel you need to engage

To draw them in, to cultivate relationships.

Building relations, networks,

Is the most human of instincts.

But poisoned people you don’t need

In your hermitage of the soul,

You can keep that safe

And thrive on your own.

Now a quick commercial break, lol.

If You’re Interested in the Poetry You See Here… You Might Want to Check Out Some More…

My first collection of poetry is out.

Since Substack doesn’t have the setup for this (that I’m aware of), I’ve set up something at my WordPress sister site, Liegois Media. I have my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. The link is below.

The Flow and the Journey

Anyway, hope your night is going well. I’m doing all right, trust me. See you around the bend of the road, river, or rail, depending2.

-30-

While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. It’s actually not – I just looked at my word count for last week. ↩︎
  2. Thanks to my friend and fellow poet Gesene Oake for her suggestions and revisions to these pieces. ↩︎

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 23 August 2025: About word weaving and word weavers

photography of eyeglasses on top of book

Hi, everyone, subscribers and random readers alike. It’s Poetry Night, the night I drop some brand new selections of verse for your reading pleasure. The use of words and those who use words for a living are the themes of tonight’s offerings.

But first, a quick commercial break 😄.

If You’re Interested in the Poetry You See Here… You Might Want to Check Out Some More…

My first collection of poetry is out.

Since Substack doesn’t have the setup for this (that I’m aware of), I’ve set up something at my WordPress sister site, Liegois Media. I have my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. The link is below.

The Flow and the Journey

Over the years I’ve spent writing in all forms and genres, there’s always been a balancing act between using mountains of words to paint vivid mental pictures or construct grand arguments and keeping what you write short and to the point. Combining this observation with Miles Davis’ statements about how the notes a musician doesn’t play have more significance than the ones they do play were inspiration for this piece.

what is this is all real text with yellow background
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com

Words and Spaces

Fort Madison, Iowa, 22 August 2025

Over time in the years I’ve worked and weaved with words

I’ve used ones which were impactful, obscure, theatrical, stylish, and elaborate.

At times they overcrowded my work

Weary football fans packing onto too-small benches for forgotten games and reasons.

But over years I’ve come to learn

The spaces between words

The things left unsaid and unattended for the reader to ponder

Make a meaningful effect.

Earlier this week was the ninth anniversary of The Tragically Hip’s final live show in their hometown of Windsor, Toronto, Canada. The legendary Canadian band was at the end of its final tour after vocalist and primary songwriter Gord Downie announced he had terminal brain cancer. He’d die a year later at just 53 years old.

I had been vaguely aware of the band during its growth into prominence during the early 90’s, but they were always more Canada’s band than other great Canadian musical acts that found cross-border appeal. Unfortunately, I didn’t get into them heavily until just before his death, so I’ve had to spend the time since sifting through three decades worth of fantastic music.

Tonight, I figured a dude who once wrote a song called “Poets” was probably a good subject for one.

Gord Downie

Words to Remember Gord (A Memorial)

Fort Madison, Iowa, 20 August 2025

I remember the sight of you in white

Jaunty white top hat

Knife-edge lean but a grin as wide as the Ontario prairies

Singing for your home and people with a ferocity born

Knowing it was the last time.

Knowing Death was gathering you up, preparing your space,

As you stood tall on the stage.

You sung of death long before it reached you,

But also of love, friendship, loss, home, and life

You were a poet even as you said not to tell you of them

And what I learned from you is

Life has no dress rehearsal

It is now.

Well, hope I gave you some enjoyment tonight. Hope the rest of August goes well for you. Take care, everyone.

While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 26 July 2025: About cool secluded places. And mushrooms lol.

Hello, all subscribers and anyone happening upon my page this Saturday evening. Tonight is Poetry night once again. This is where I throw out some brand new, never before seen poetry out into the world and see if anyone digs them or not. How about I get started?

If You’re Interested in the Poetry You See Here… You Might Want to Check Out Some More…

My first collection of poetry is out.

Since Substack doesn’t have the setup for this (that I’m aware of), I’ve set up something at my WordPress sister site, Liegois Media. I have my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. The link is below.

The Flow and the Journey

You may have sensed this if you have followed me1, but I am not a fan of the hot weather. When some of my work colleagues in April were praying for sun and warmth, I was thinking of how July 2024 extended into November of the same year and thought to myself oh, don’t worry, you’ll get it soon enough and get it hard.

Some people want to vacation in Cancun or Florida, I would prefer to go to Iceland or the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Some people want to go on cruises to the Caribbean; I would prefer a tour of the Rhine/Main/Danube rivers or a voyage of the Great Loop2.

With all that being said, if I had to go outside, I’d feel a lot more comfortable in a dense, cool, moist forest with plenty of shade rather than a tropical jungle, beach, desert, or other biome3. This, plus a bevy of mushrooms popping up in my yard4, inspired this poem.

Mushroom Hunt in the Forest

Fort Madison, Iowa, 26 July 2025

Crisp breeze

Wet air

Cloudy days

Now is my time.

Sneaking under the pine and oak canopy

On my own

Burlap bag over my shoulder

Mushroom knife in my true right hand

Well-thumbed mushroom guide in

My left.

I wander around the trunks

In the cool shade

On the lookout for

Cauliflower

Chanterelle

Hawks Wing

Honey Mushroom

Lobster

The Prince

And the Truffles.

I put them in my sack

Converse with nature

And get some satisfaction

That I can be resourceful

As my electric-deficient ancestors were.

To be honest, however, the deepest darkest place I tend to hang out in (if I have one) during the depths of the overheated Iowa summers has been a basement. My childhood home in Muscatine had a great basement where I spent most of my waking moments. It was my lair. In the first three homes I owned, they all had basements but were not quite set up for lounging, so I had to come up with alternative locations. My new home here in Fort Madison has a proper basement, with enough space for not only my home office, but a recliner and love seat, breakfast nook table, a utility room/storage area/work bench, more storage, bath and shower, refrigerator, and microwave. I need to be appreciative of the nice stuff I have. 🙂

Man Cave

Fort Madison, Iowa, 25 July 2025

Back when

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Was just Homo Sapiens

Before they built castles

Long houses

Daub and wattle huts

And lean-tos

They gathered inside the natural caverns

In their irregular water and wind-carved

Empty spaces

To make them their own.

They liked the solid cool spaces

Sheltered from the elements

Secure from danger

With a dollop of safety.

I live in different times.

My caves are not rounded and irregular

But squared and measured.

My caves are not wet and living

But dry and dead.

However,

It is a good home for me

Not in tune with the natural world

A concrete, steel, and wood sanctuary

For a civilized boy like me.

That’s it for tonight. Hope you all don’t sweat to death the next couple (or few) of months56.

While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. And how. ↩︎
  2. Here’s some info in case you didn’t know what I was talking about. ↩︎
  3. I am not an outdoorsy person, as you will see. ↩︎
  4. Told you the photos would have some relevance. ↩︎
  5. Iowa only has maybe two perfect months of weather during the year. I have told my wife I do not wish to live anywhere between North and 40° South latitude. Currently, I live at 40°38’05” North. ↩︎
  6. Honestly, I would love to retire and live somewhere around 45° North or South, which would suggest somewhere in Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula, or Alaska. Or maybe southern Patagonia in Argentina. I like cold places, all right? In my final days, I don’t want to sweat to death, even in our climate change world. ↩︎

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 28 June 2025: About what we keep and what we remember

a room with a chair and a desk in it

Hi, it’s Poetry Night once again. I’ve been busy this month with the imminent release of my book The Yank Striker’s Journey, so poetry hasn’t been on the front-burner of my brain1. But I I do have a couple of offerings for you tonight.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here… You Might Want to Check Out Some More

My first collection of poetry is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

As far as poetic inspiration goes, I ended up doing a bit of picking up and rearranging some things I’ve stored for a long time. I mean, some of these items have traveled with me for about twenty years at least and between maybe four different houses. The process inspired at least one poem, which I’ll share with you below2.

crates with potatoes
Photo by Carlos Moura on Pexels.com

Memory Memorials

Fort Madison, Iowa, 28 June 2025

Black plastic mausoleums

Sit ready to entomb

Talismans of memory.

Older resting places

Tearing carboard boxes and dirt-smeared tubs

Disposed for secure memorials.

Letters, trinkets, tickets, and keepsakes

Keys to memories faded or misplaced

Like forgotten jars in the back pantry

And older clothes tucked into the sides of closets.

Talismans tucked away

In hermetically sealed plastic bags and acid-free paper

Then into the black mausoleums stowed on steel shelves

The external hard drives of human memory.

All the thinking about memories, the ones you have and the ones you had, led me to write this related poem below.

bunch of photo print
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Memories Lost

Fort Madison, Iowa, 28 June 2025

Why do memories fade

Other than short circuits and worn wires in the brain

Other than the subconsciousness

Protecting the front of the brain?

Do they get misplaced

Shoved into the back corners of the skull?

Do some memories have shorter life spans than others?

Or does the human hard drive have limited storage

Forced to overwrite older memories for higher priority ones?

It would be good to know

Because finding lost memories

Isn’t as straightforward as finding your phone or house keys.

That’s it for tonight. Hope you’ve had a great June and Pride Month.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. And I’m sorry I blew through my usual deadline for releasing something today (5 p.m. Central). ↩︎
  2. There have been more than a few poems I’ve written not intended for publication (at least not immediately). That’s allowed me to be a bit more free with my experimentation and subject matter than the stuff I write with the express intention to share publicly. ↩︎

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 24 May 2025: Inspiration from different places

Hi, everyone, it’s Poetry Night.

As I’ve mentioned in this space previously, the final steps to bring my latest book, The Yank Striker’s Journey, have occupied much of my mental capacity that hasn’t been drained off by the end of the school year. It’s a bit difficult to write poetry during these times.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here… You Might Want to Check Out Some More

My first collection of poetry is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

The first poem tonight was inspired by a conversation I heard the main character of one of my new projects have with his son. I ended up feeding into the themes of recent poems I’ve written, so I decided to go with it.

red and white boats on water
Photo by Simon Hurry on Pexels.com

What Your River Was Like

Fort Madison, Iowa, 23 May 2025

The boy asked me

What My River was like

I had to think

Because I’d not seen it in years.

There’s a river where we live

We’ve guided our boat down with the flow

But it’s not like My River.

This river is open, framed by surrounding mountains

And the cityscape

My River ambled through the wetlands,

Absorbed the throbbing summer heat

Muddy waters hiding, teeming with life.

I love to take my boy out on the river

But when we glide across the waters

I keep thinking about My River

Where I’ll never return

I wonder if My River would give me as much peace

As it does in my memories.

The second poem was inspired by a recent loss. Shortly after my most recent Poetry Night post, I learned that a close writing acquaintance of mine, Rodney Reeves, passed away after dealing with some health issues. He was a fellow member of the Burlington, Iowa, Society of Great River Poets, which I recently joined. He was a published poet, and at the time of his death was an officer with the Iowa Poetry Association. I can’t claim to have known him as well as many of his friends – we only got to know each other during the past few years of his life. But he was a welcoming presence at Great River Poets meetings who encouraged my initial fumbling with working in verse. I will miss him.

Thanks for the Words (Verse for Rodney)

Fort Madison, Iowa, 23 May 2025

I’ll always remember you sitting there

With a halo of gray hair and a warm smile

Always glad to see me and all the others

Who came to share their words.

You always had a joke,

Or an old music story

I remember how delighted you were

To see the new film about Dylan.

I knew about writing, about words,

I didn’t know how to play with them

Like the poets do

But you invited me and everyone else to the table anyway.

You wrote in the last poem I read of yours before the end

“Be bold never afraid to fail,”

So I’ll keep doing that

Whenever I play with words.

That’s it for tonight. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 27 April 2025: Spring has sprung

Hi, everyone, welcome to Poetry Night.

I have to admit the poetry wasn’t as free flowing as it has been recently. There’s a good explanation for that – I’ve been in the midst of revising my upcoming novel The Yank Striker’s Journey. It’s a bit difficult to write words when you’re trying to trim down words you’ve written, among other skills. It’s especially true when you are trying to write in something approaching verse but revising in prose. But, those are the breaks, and I am dedicating myself to try and actually write poetry rather than just brag I write it every once in a while1. So, as usual, I decided to follow what was going around me as inspiration for today’s offerings.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here…

My first collection of poetry is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

Onto the new words. The first poem is inspired by the arrival of the shortest season in the state of Iowa – Spring.

Spring is Sprung

26 April 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa

It’s a fantastic feeling

Driving with the windows open

No sweat on your brow

Shirtsleeve comfort

Bright sun direct and above

No cloud in the sky

Enjoying the first soft-serve ice cream cone

Of Spring.

There’s a regret wrapped in the joy

Because this is Iowa

And in a few weeks

Summer and corn sweat will fill the air.

I couldn’t get revising off my mind this weekend, so it ended up in a poem.

Disappearing Words

26 April 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa

It’s a wonderful sensation

Just like creation

Of the words and worlds from your mind.

You feel accomplished again

When you read words then

Start making them disappear.

The aim is for

You to say less and not more

While allowing the reader to fill the empty spaces.

You hammer the words

Like the smith beat the swords

And leave yourself something strong and true.

That’s it for tonight. See you poetry fans back here in May.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. 1I’m even writing several poems I’m not planning on publishing right away, which I never used to do. I like having the freedom of writing something without having the pressure of wanting to publish it right away. ↩︎

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 22 March 2025: Poetry all over the place

Hi, everyone, welcome to Poetry Night.

The poetry has been coming fast and loose for me. There’s times where I have no idea what I’m going to write about, and other times when the words flow for me.

You might know I am a teacher, but did you know there is no requirement in the state curriculum of Iowa (where I live and teach) for us to teach about poetry? It’s a fact. But maybe it’s for the best. Poetry is one of those things you can’t force down someone’s throat. They have to be drawn to it, like I was later in life.

I never want to say I’ve got a handle on it, but during the past several months it feels to me I have a better handle on how to be creative in the poetry genre. But I’ve been writing either pro or semi-pro for nearly 30 years now, and there’s no way I will ever say I know everything there is to know about writing. To paraphrase the Russian chess champion Alexander Alekhine, an entire lifetime is not long enough to learn everything there is to know about writing. And I definitely don’t have enough time to learn everything there is to learn about poetry. So, I always have to keep in mind I’m always learning no matter what.

Hi, everyone, welcome to Poetry Night. I’ve got an interesting couple of poems to share with you, about both the digital world and the analog world. Hope you enjoy them.

I’ve been writing poetry with more regularity in recent months. For the year 2025 I have written six of them. At least two of them were not for publication in the short term or maybe even in the long term. It’s been therapeutic to express myself like that and not worry about other people’s opinions.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here…

My first collection of poetry is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

Now, on to the poetry.

This weekend I found myself again (slightly to my surprise) on the road and away from my expected places. I spent a lot of time in between places to stay due to circumstances beyond my control last year around this time, and it ended up inspiring quite a bit of poetry. To me, it’s not a surprise tonight inspired at least one more poem, as well. This was influenced not just by my own situation, but the circumstances of a group of people I have been looking into for research regarding another fiction project I have going on.

gray concrete road under gray sky
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

350 Days

22 March 2025, Des Moines, Iowa

As I hang out

In an overly equipped hotel room

I realize I’ve gone back

To life on the road.

I have to admit I’ve whined

About not knowing the rules of where I’ve traveled

Or the procedures

Or the routines

Or how to pack up and pack out

When I get on the road.

But as I try to accentuate the positive

And eliminate the negative in my life

I learn about how pro wrestlers

Who are people I admire in my life

Had to spend 350 days out of 365

On the road

At their craft

Making money to support themselves and others

On at least two different continents.

I wonder

I speculate

How much change and discombobulation

They had to go through

While getting their bodies and brains beaten in.

I submitted an earlier version of this poem to the Midwest Writing Center’s Iron Pen contest for the poetry category, I thought I did well, but the Society of Great River poets from Burlington, Iowa, had a few good suggestions for me. Those results and my own combine to the poem you will see below.

photo of two native americans playing woodwind instruments
This is what I got when I searched for “Our Tribe.” Photo by Gabriela Custódio da Silva on Pexels.com

Our People, Our Tribe

28 February 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa

I spent years gathering electronic friends through screens large and small

Only to find them as elusive as electrons

And just as invisible.

People who purported to be what they showed me in pictures and videos

But whose existences were no more permanent

Than flashes of static.

Once I traveled the electronic highways and byways to find my own people,

But the bots and electronic beings clogged the wires and waves

With no places for humans.

So I left those places.

I traveled longer in the analog world, epic treks compared to electronic laps

True humans and potential friends were sparse in the expanse

I found them.

People with whom I shared their homes, cooked their meals,

Whom I lived with, not observed and judged

And came to grok.

In the end, I found my modest tribe, insignificant to the electronic hordes,

We built our own world, we few and true

With love for each other.

That’s it for tonight. We’ll see what April brings.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 21 February 2025: Digital and analog life

close up photo of matrix background

Hi, everyone, welcome to Poetry Night. I’ve got an interesting couple of poems to share with you, about both the digital world and the analog world. Hope you enjoy them.

I’ve been writing poetry with more regularity in recent months. For the year 2025 I have written six of them. At least two of them were not for publication in the short term or maybe even in the long term. It’s been therapeutic to express myself like that and not worry about other people’s opinions.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here…

My first collection of poetry1 is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

As I might have mentioned, I’ve become a bit wary of people acting like friends online but eventually seeing me as an opportunity to make some money. That likely prompted the following poem.

close up photography of smartphone icons
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Screening

19 February 2025/Fort Madison, Iowa

Stuck at home

Huddled by yourself

Looking for human relations

You turn to the screen.

The screen is fast

The screen can take you anywhere

The screen sets up the relationship

But you wonder if a relationship can be trusted

As much as a flickering screen

Can a voice and picture on the screen be trusted

If a bot can recreate it

And can a vibe be checked

Through that colorful screen

Even if it covers your living room wall?

The second poem is something of a recollection of how wonderful some analog interaction between people can be. It’s something I increasingly treasure.

family celebrating christmas while holding burning sparklers
Photo by Nicole Michalou on Pexels.com

Greetings

19 February 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa

When you go out of your house

To shake a new person’s hand

To hear a trusted voice say, “I’d like you to meet…”

And words dance through the air

As you find out more about them

Their lives

Their hobbies and interests

How you watched the same movies

Knew about the same types of sports

And you remember how you used to meet and greet

In the days before The Screen and The WiFi.

You take in the panorama of your scene

As the food and drink and laughs flow

And what strikes you is how biological the meeting is

Rather than digital.

That’s it for tonight. I thought I was running out of topics for poetry, but new themes keep popping up in my work. We’ll see what March brings.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.
  1. By the way, feel free to skip over this if you saw it before and move on to the actual poetry. ↩︎

The Writing Life, 1 February 2025: February’s already here, and I’m keeping busy

Welcome to everyone wandering over to this part of the Internet.

Been working on at least a couple projects in various stages of production. I’ll talk about those things and some updated information about where I’ll be during the next few months. I’ll either keep it interesting or to the point – whichever one works lol.

The Home Front

The Home Front

We are done with January, which seemed to last forever last year. Then again, last year was when I was between homes, driving around between homes and hotel rooms and apartments in between the move to Fort Madison and looking out for my kid in Des Moines. In short, January 2024 dragged for me and my family, and I prefer this alternative.

We haven’t had much in the way of massive snow storms around Iowa this year. My own school district has had only one snow day this year (technically a weather day, since it was severe cold rather than snow shutting us down). Many of my co-workers are hoping for sun and warmth, but honestly I am glad it still can get as cold as it has. I thought there was no way Iowa was going to cool down around last October. I will take 28 degree weather rather than 98 degree weather. I’m the freak who prefers the Azores, Shetland, and Faeroe Islands to someplace in the Caribbean.

So far, kids and my wife Laura are doing all right. Not much else to say otherwise.

What I’ve Been Writing

  • The Yank Striker 2: the sequel to my book The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning. The Yank Striker series follows the exploits of a prospective American soccer player who leaves his family behind to try his fortune with an English Premier League team in the East End of London. Book two starts examining what my main character, Daniel John “DJ” Ryan has to face now he is trying to establish himself as a footballer in England.
    I am looking at Saturday of next week as the continuation of the writing process. I wanted to make sure I let the rough draft of the new book sit for at least a few weeks. I set 8 February 2025 as the time to restart my work on the book. As of this moment, this will be the schedule for The Yank Striker 2:
    • Second draft – begun by 8 February and completed by the end of the month at the latest.
    • Beta reads – begun at the start of March and completed by the end of March.
    • Two more rounds of revisions in April.
    • Final editing and proofreading in May and concluding by the end of May.

      This might be the most ambitious release date for any book I’ve ever done. I’m confident in making this work, however, and I’m starting to put things into motion for all of this to happen. I’ll keep you updated on how it’s going, and I think I’ll have to have some big announcement regarding what the official title of the story will be.

      This is the thing, however. Even though I will be reaching out to friends and family about this issue, I am looking for beta readers for The Yank Striker 2. If anyone out there on the Internets or in Substack land will be interested in becoming beta readers for this project and completing your work in a timely fashion, I would be willing to reward you for your hard work.

      Anyone interested in serving as beta readers for the project will get a complimentary paid subscription for this site lasting at least one year. I will sort it out for you. If you are interested, chirp back to me in the comments of this post or in DMs. Thank you for your service ahead of time.
  • The Untitled Pro Wrestling Fiction Project: While waiting for my plans on The Yank Striker 2, this has been dominating my thoughts more and more. Over the past year and a half, this story about a family of pro wrestlers from Texas and a young man’s determination to understand what it all means has been dominating my thoughts for a while. My poor students have had to endure my using wrestling terminology with them regardless of whether they understand it our not. (For example, for those who keep on joking or not taking anything seriously, I occasionally say “I can’t tell if everything you do is a shoot or not.”
    For just screwing around with a rough draft with no set schedule, building up a rough draft to more than 26,000 words is a bit of an accomplishment. It’s going to be the first of a trilogy, though. I’ll keep you up to date on what is going on.
  • Poetry: I managed to self-publish my own chapbook of poetry at the end of 2024. I had a lot of fun with the process, and I can finally call myself a published poet. I don’t have any plans to do a second collection, but I’m not opposed to going forward with it either. Based on the feedback from my poets’ group, I might not even have to choose a theme for it. Or, maybe I will.
  • I have another idea for a book – one aimed at the strangeness and uncertainty we see in this country now. Call it part sci-fi, part fantasy. It might be classified as either, for sure. It has not evolved into more than an abstract idea for now, but I want it to be more. It will not cover the present players and unpleasantness. In all honesty, they are not interesting subjects for fiction, for they are not unique in history.
    In short, the unfairness and oppression many face in my country have tempted me to write something. I have the idea of compassion and empathy spreading among the population. (Enough spoilers there). We’ll see if I make progress with it.

What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing

The Dude in Purple. A bit of a reference to a personage in my hometown. Read up on it if you want.

I have more than a few plans for book fair appearances in the coming months. Recently, I have managed to confirm these, so I will list them here.

  • I will be appearing from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, 22 February at the Johnstown Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Rd, Johnston, IA. I had a great time at this event two years ago and I am honored to be returning there.
  • From 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, 22 March, I will be attending the DSM Book Festival at the Franklin Event Center, 4801 Franklin Ave, Des Moines. This will be the first year of this festival co-sponsored by one of my favorite independent bookstores in Des Moines, Beaverdale Books. Can’t wait to be part of this.
  • Finally, I will be at the the Badger Public Library book fair (Time TBD) on Saturday, 17 May, at the Badger Public Library, 211 1st Ave SE, Badger, Iowa. They were one of the first places ever to participate in a book fair and I absolutely enjoyed the experience.

If there are other events coming up, I’ll let you know. Hopefully, I’ll have one or a few launch parties for my new book to come.

Writing Quote(s) of the Week:

Some things can be both true and not quite true all at once. This statement is one of them.

You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say.

  • Truman Capote

I think Miles Davis said something similar when it comes to music. And I agree with both of them.

A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.

  • Mark Twain

How to support me😊.

Go to the links on the side if you are reading this on a desktop/laptop or the links on my profile. There’s where you can find out about my first book, the journalism thriller The Holy Fool: A Journalist’s Revolt, as well as the first book in my The Yank Striker series, The Yank Striker: a Footballer’s Beginning.

If you go follow the links above, you will be able to buy both the paperback and ebook versions of my books on Amazon. Honestly, if you just put “Jason Liegois” in Google you’ll probably find them on the first page of search results.

If you happen to visit these fine independent book stores in Iowa, you can find my books there:

  • Bent Oak Books, 619 7th St. Fort Madison.
  • Green Point Mercantile, 214 Chestnut St., Muscatine.
  • Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
  • Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines.
  • Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
  • The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.

I’m always looking for some new places to place my books, so feel free to hit me up in the comments if you have a suggestion.

My poetry book The Flow and the Journey is available at Green Point and Burlington By the Book, but it is also available online but not on Amazon. I’ve set up a new online store for copies of my chapbook on Liegois Media. If you want to get a physical copy, go ahead and click on the button below.

The Flow and the Journey

The Flow and the Journey

The first collection of poetry from author Jason Liegois.

$6.00
Shop now

On the subject of Substack, it’s fantastic if you are signed up for my free subscription, but I would love it if you signed up for a paid one. The monthly rate is the lowest I can put it ($5 per month) but my yearly rate of $35 is a steal at less than three/fifths the monthly rate.

Now, if you want to support me but can’t quite afford a full subscription, I am now on Venmo. You can just send whatever you can afford. Just click the button below; anything you can provide helps me keep things going.

Go ahead and buy me a cup of coffee, why don’t you? 😊

Final Thoughts

Hope your week went well, and for you writers, I hope you got something down on paper or on screen. And for everyone else – keep safe out there, things are getting weird.

-30-

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.

Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 26 January 2025

If I haven’t said it to you already, welcome to 2025. Time for some poetry.

If You’re Interested in my Poetry Here…

My first collection of poetry is out now.

Since Substack doesn’t quite have the setup for this, I’ve set up something here at Liegois Media. I set up my own Internet storefront page where you can order my chapbook for $6 per copy. This is the link, as is the one below.

The Flow and the Journey

So, the first poem for today is another winter-themed one. This one’s about a river and what it’s like this time of the year.

Burlington, Iowa, 18 January 2025.

First Freeze

Fort Madison, Iowa, 25 January 2025

Breathing in frost

Air constricting your nostrils

Swaddling in parkas is the only option

To avoid freezing in place

And the last sign the true cold is here

Is when you look across The River

And see its sparkling surface

Due to the sun on the horizon

Has turned dull white and its flow continues

Hidden by the snow-capped ice.

This week I wrote a poem I’m not sure I will share on this page, likely not even later. But I’m beginning to realize poetry is becoming more of an emotional outlet and a way to work out things in my head. So this poem’s about all that.

20 January 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa.

Emergence

25 January 2025, Fort Madison, Iowa

I started playing with words and verse

Just because my fellow writers did

And I wanted a new experience.

But then I discovered

As I faced big events and hard times

I could manage them when I

Entrapped them in words and verse.

Now I’m compelled

To let the words and verses loose

And scatter them on the page

Even if I’m the only one who sees it.

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While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.

Subscribe to my Substack here.