"Unspoken Word" Workshop Invite

With the release date for Missing Pieces just a few days away, there is so much to be done. Publicity materials are starting to arrive, stores and outlets being visited to arrange book signing events etc.... its all nerves and stress. There is a risk that the enjoyment, excitement and privilege of sharing a new publication can get lost and forgotten. With that in mind, I was hugely grateful to Dave and Jules Stocks for an invite to go along to visit the Unspoken Word Poetry Workshop this afternoon. The group encourages the use of poetry to help to voice and vent some of the mental health concerns and emotions being experienced by its participants. While I do have a background in psychology, I definitely do not have a background in poetry... but to hear some of the pieces which the participants performed to the group, was humbling. As I watched the group work together to create a spontaneous piece of poetry, one short piece stood out to me... I realised it perfectly captured the struggles and emotions experienced by Ashley Pyke, the lead protagonist in the Ashley Pyke series. So much so that I asked if he would mind me sharing it here. Here it is...

"Forged in fire

Omen in tow

Raring for battle" by DeeBee