Author: James Pack

James Pack is a member of the Horror Writers Association and has published several collections of poetry and short fiction. He is the editor of the left leaning political blog, www.theproperdeal.com. Learn more about James and his collected works on his personal blog www.thejamespack.com. He lives in Tucson, AZ.
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Coffee and Contemplation: Halloween Remembrance Day

This is a thing I made up. Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day, I celebrate Halloween again. Both holidays involve candy so it kind of works. The idea came about a couple years ago. I knew several people who, even if they had partners, they hated Valentine’s Day and everything about it. They also all enjoyed Halloween over every other holiday. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Will it catch on and become a big thing? I don’t know. That’s not my goal. The main purpose is to give people something else to celebrate that maybe doesn’t make them feel awful for not have a romantic partner.

It’s rumored that more breakups occur on February 14th than any other day of the year with New Year’s Eve being a close second. I don’t know if there are any real statistics for this. I’ve never bothered to research. Some Latin American countries know the day as Día del Amor y la Amistad (the day of love and friendship). It’s isn’t just about lovers but showing gratitude towards friends as well. So why now show your love for your favorite holiday with your friends and celebrate Halloween Remembrance Day? Dress up or don’t. Eat candy or don’t. Have a feast with friends. Or watch horror movies with a Valentine’s theme. There are many fun, creative ways to celebrate Halloween Remembrance Day. Enjoy!

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Black Chaos is Coming

Official Announcement Time: My next collection of poetry is coming April 13th. The cover reveal is below. This collection will feature 30 new poems. That’s all. It’s a short collection compared to my many others. I took the advice from a reviewer and didn’t put so many poems in this time. There are a couple poems that might feel out of place, but it relates to several months of growth I experienced. You can pre-order the eBook on B&N Nook and Amazon Kindle. The paperback will be available in April. It will be a small paperback. I also plan to have some bookmarks available for sale to go along with the release of the book.

So, what’s this collection about? Here’s the online description: “Depression is black chaos. A chaos that destroys the soul and pushes friends and family away. This collection features poetry about loss and solitude. It’s a journey of rediscovering and learning to love one’s self. A journey of hitting rock bottom and climbing out of the deep pit of despair.” Maybe that’s not your cup of tea, but writing these poems was the beginning of recovery for me. I will never stop fighting this battle. It will get easier with time. Anyway, once I decide on a design for the bookmarks, I’ll ask everyone’s opinion before printing them. Tell me what you think of the cover in the comments.

The Cover

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Snapshot Saturday: Bench

On today’s Snapshot Saturday, we have an exciting bench to show you. It’s a very special bench. I spent the Summer of 2019 in Fairbanks, AK. A friend of mine from middle school had bought an ice cream business and I helped get things rolling that first season. This is one of the many places people sat during their ice cream eating adventures. It looked so good with the pink background that I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

Bench. July 2019. f/4. 1/250. 75mm.

I had only had my Canon Rebel T7i camera for a few weeks and was still getting used to all the features. This was when I first bought my 75mm-300mm telephoto lens and was very happy with the shots I could get with it. This was a super fun day of photo taking. I think it would make a good postcard too. Check out some of my other snapshots on my Photography Page. I don’t currently have any prints for sale but if you’d like one, please don’t hesitate to ask.