RAIN ON ME

The sun will shine again.

We will survive.

WE’LL SHINE AGAIN

love

The stars shine each night

to ease our combined fright.

They wait for us to shine.

So, please do not pine.

We’ll make it through this hell

to ring the nightly bell.

HOPES AND DREAMS

HOPES AND DREAMS

Look up at the sky and hope.
Hope for better things.
A better life.
Keep your hopes and dreams close.
They will lead you in the right direction.

A BOOK IS A TREASURE

 

A long journey to become an author,
Days of soul searching and hard work.
The words need to be enticing and clear,
A bridge to the reader’s heart.

A movie camera sweeps across scenes,
So does a book’s point of view. 
One point of view shows one angle,
While changing points of view reveal more.

To be lost in a book is truly a gift,
An escape from the mundane and boring.
A visit to far away places can be
An adventure to open your mind’s eye.

Once completed, a book is a treasure,
A symbol of the author’s hopes and dreams.
A confectioner’s delight to be tasted and savored,
To be remembered by the many or just a few.

WELCOME 2017!

Party with THE DEAD
like there's no tomorrow!

THE DEAD GAME by Susanne Leist

http://amzn.to/1lKvMrP 
http://bit.ly/1lFdqNj

HOPES AND DREAMS

HOPES AND DREAMS

Look up at the sky.

Hope for better things.

Pray for your family.

Wish for happiness.

Your hopes and dreams 

will lead you in the right direction.

WHY DO WE WRITE?

Why do we write?
Our minds want more.
We need to explore the world.
To explore the unknown. 

If we can’t fulfill our dreams in our daily lives,  
Then we can fulfill them in our writing.
Stories about love, evil creatures, and deadly games.

I've always wanted to live in a small town.  
So I created a small town in my book  
And called it, Oasis.

I love to read books.  
The main character moves to Oasis  
And opens a bookstore.

You get the idea.  
The main character, Linda,  
Is living my dream life.

My mind takes a dark turn.
Life is too good and care-free.  
Oasis needs a darker side.

The original residents live in a forest  
And only come out at night.
This is when the fun and games begin.

Do you see where this is going?
If not, you can always read my book.
I finally got my small town, 
Where fantasies come true,  
And some just don’t. 

THE DEAD GAME

A BOOK IS A TREASURE

A long journey to become an author.
Days of soul searching and hard work.
The words need to be enticing and clear.
A bridge to the reader's heart.

A movie camera sweeps across scenes.
So does a book's point of view.
One point of view shows one angle.
Changing points of view can reveal many more.

To be lost in a book is truly a gift.
An escape from the mundane and boring.
A visit to far away places.
An adventure to open your mind's eye.

Once completed, a book is a treasure.
A symbol of an author's hopes and dreams.
A confectioner's delight to be tasted and savored.
To be remembered by many or just a few.

THE RAINBOW

THE RAINBOW

Some days can be heartless.
Some days cruel.
Bringing sorrow and tears.
Bringing you down to you knees.
Until you give up hope.
Give up on your dreams.
Refuse to lift your head.
Refuse to face another day.
Until the rainbow.
Until you by chance look up.
Lift your head ever so slightly.
And see the rainbow.
Will times change?
Will life be better?
Face the rainbow.
Let it lift your spirits up high.

WHO BELIEVES IN MAGIC?

Mountain Goat by nigel3

Who believes in magic?
In miracles?
In ghostly goats?
In unicorns?
What about fairies?
They are part of our dreams.
Our hopes and dreams.
Here’s to fairy dust, wizards, and vampires.
Witches, demons, and monsters.
Without them,
there would be no dreams
or nightmares.

IT'S ALIVE!

lifeisthefight:


The mind is alive.
It grows each day.
New cells are born.
New sprouts of ideas.
Old ones are buried.
Fresh blooms as replacements.
Roots extending and reaching.
For new hopes and dreams.
For new experiences.
Let in with the new
and out with the old.
The mind is alive.
Let it grow and be nurtured.

AN ODE TO THE CLOUDS

The clouds.
The clouds hold our tears.
They hold our hopes and dreams.
Circling us with their never-ending movement.
A special dance among the stars in heaven.
Protecting us from the harsh rays of the sun.
Keep moving and evolving, beautiful clouds,
like our dreams that you hold so dear.

CARBON COPIES OF OURSELVES

Do we have doubles?
Human beings who are
exactly like us?
It would be much easier
to replicate an animal
than another human being.
Someone may look like me, but
there’s no way they could be me.
Someone with the same ambitions,
insecurities, hopes, and dreams like me.
No way!
We’re each unique in our ways.
Would we even want a carbon copy
of ourselves?
I definitely wouldn’t.

GOODBYE TO DEATH

Why does death follow me everywhere?
When will the sun shine for me?
Why can’t I hear the birds chirping?
When will I be free to enjoy life once again?
I can feel the darkness enveloping me
in its sinister grasp.
I need to open my mind to the light
and let it guide me to better times.
Goodbye to nightmares and fears.


Hello to hopes and dreams.

SPARKS OF LIFE

Look up at the sky and hope.
Hope for better things and
a better life for all.
Life is what you make of it.
Keep your hopes and dreams close,
and they will lead you in the right direction.

THE DEEP

deeplovephotography:

The ocean holds mystery in its dark depths;
the myriad of fish and long lost possessions
hidden in its deep waters.
Its waves bury lost secrets, hopes and wishes.
If we venture below, will we find treasures, sunken
ships, or even dead bodies?
Too afraid to find out?
So am I.

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND IMAGINE

OUR IMAGINATION

LOOK UP AT THE SKY.

 

DO YOU SEE STARS?

 

DO YOU SEE LIGHTS?

 

IT’S ALL UP THERE

 

AND IN OUR IMAGINATION. 
 

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND

DARE TO IMAGINE YOUR

HAPPIEST DREAMS AND

DARKEST NIGHTMARES.

Interview With Susanne Leist

Center Stage With John Reinhard Dizon

A great WordPress.com site

Interview With Susanne Leist

Posted on June 11, 2014 by spoiler2010 • Tagged Center Stage, John Reinhard Dizon, Susanne Leist, The Dead Game • Leave a comment

Susanne Leist is a good friend and mutual supporter whose Dead Game is an innovative addition to the indie horror genre. A fellow native Brooklynite, Susanne brings her unique insights and lively personality to Center Stage for our interview…

The town of Oasis was the home of an upscale community in your novel. Did your current hometown of Woodmere, New York provide an inspiration for your story? Did you envision the same kind of people and places when describing Oasis?
The town of Oasis is the polar opposite of Woodmere, Long Island. In Woodmere, no one ever walks. People take their cars everywhere, even to the corner store. Most people don’t bother to say hello when they pass you on the street. Strollers aren’t pushed by mothers but by their housekeepers or maids.
In Oasis, Linda loves to walk each morning through town, waving hello to everyone she meets. Only Charles Wolf refuses to wave back, but that leads to another part of the story. Oasis is a friendly town, except for the supernatural element, but I’m getting ahead of myself again.


Dead Game was an innovative contribution to the vampire genre in incorporating the surrealistic hallucination angle. Was this your original game plan, or did you add the vampire to the concept of End House?
My books was originally going to be a simple murder mystery. A murder mystery in small town. It was to begin with End House and the mysterious party. Two of the young residents were to be murdered. The rest of the book was supposed to be the journey to find the murderer.
Instead, End House became alive to me with trap doors and deadly saws. This turned out to be only the beginning of the whole story. Dead bodies turn up on the beach. The reclusive residents don’t come out at night. The story snowballed into a supernatural thriller with a surprise ending.

Charles Wolf was undoubtedly the bad guy in this novel, but it seemed he took a back seat to Todd Morrison as the more sympathetic figure. Are we going to see more of Morrison, or are you planning a Dead Game II?
The Dead Game is the first book of two books. The first book resolves the murder mystery, but at the same time, opens a Pandora box of new mysteries. Its surprise ending will lead to more surprises.
I  have just begun to work on the sequel. My outline and notes are ready.  My writing often leads me in unknown directions, so I won’t know how the book will end until it does.
Todd Morrison will play an important role in the next book as his relationship with Linda becomes more complicated. That’s all I’m going to say for now.


The novel seemed to portray the guests at End House as being upwardly-mobile professionals who would be considered somewhat materialistic. Could the hallucinations at End House be perceived as an allegory of their self-delusuons and conceits?
No, please no. I left the world of finance to escape into the world of my imagination. My imagination doesn’t include allegories or self-righteousness.

This would be an extenuation of the last question. Could it be argued that the vampires were a further metaphor symbolizing what many feel is upper-class society, feeding on the working class, having the tables turned on them?
Vampires are the upper class. They’re the upper class of all creatures. That’s why they’re bad and have to be stopped.  And now we’ve brought politics into my imagination.

Readers could be excused for perceiving a homosexual relationship between Mike and David. It seemed as if David played a feminine role throughout the novel.
If women are silly and scared all the time, then David played a feminine role. But not all women are silly and easily frightened. And not all men are heroes and act brave. And who wins the woman at the end? Not Mike.

Father John seems as if the stereotypical religious figure in the novel. Were you just going with the generic flow in the horror category, or was there a reason you didn’t choose an evangelical preacher or a rabbi?
I used a priest because that’s who I’ve usually seen in horror movies and read about in books. I can’t picture one of my rabbis running after a vampire or chanting spells.
The church and devil worship have a long-standing relationship. I was just continuing the myth.

Most of your Facebook friends would describe you as a religious person. Does it play an important part in your daily life? Do you feel that writing provides a platform for believers?
My religion guides me on all matters. It has taught me to be kind to others and never to embarrass anyone—ever. My religion has a lot of rules so it definitely affects my everyday life. I usually miss out on a lot of things. The Sabbath, each week, keeps me grounded.
Writing could be a very important platform if used properly. However, I’m not using my writing for this purpose. I’m writing to bring adventure and enjoyment to my readers, and a little escape from the humdrum of day to day living.

You moved from Brooklyn to Woodmere. As a fellow Brooklynite, I’ve seen it change enormously in my time. Do you still have family and friends in Brooklyn, and do you see it evolving when you visit?
After my parents passed away, I had no one left in Brooklyn to visit. All their friends are gone. Everyone my age has left the neighborhood behind. I do go back to see Sheepshead Bay. It was and still is a very beautiful area.

Check out Susanne’s Amazon page!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Susanne-Leist/e/B00F253FE6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1402512364&sr=1-2-ent

KEEP HOPING AND DREAMING

FLOWERS—LIKE HOPE—CAN BLOOM ANYWHERE.
EVEN IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY AND HARDSHIP.
KEEP HOPING AND DREAMING.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

illusionwanderer:

Photo: Greg Mote/Flickr

The Wave, Arizona, U.S.

Our problems can feel insurmountable at times.
Obstacles too big to overcome.
Life can be one long battle.
But if we persevere we can reach our goals.
If we do it one step at a time,
we can fulfill our dreams
and even find new ones.