If you'd like to purchase Vickie's books, try one of these fine booksellers
3 Heads & a Tail
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print
Kaleidoscope
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print Barnes & Noble for Nook Smashwords
Life's Rhythms
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print
Travelling Light
Amazon for Kindle Smashwords
If you'd like to purchase the Kiwi Series, visit our good friends at Ted E Beans (a li'l division of Inknbeans Press)
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print
Kaleidoscope
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print Barnes & Noble for Nook Smashwords
Life's Rhythms
Amazon for Kindle Amazon Print
Travelling Light
Amazon for Kindle Smashwords
If you'd like to purchase the Kiwi Series, visit our good friends at Ted E Beans (a li'l division of Inknbeans Press)
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Vickie Johnstone lives in London, where she works as a freelance sub-editor on business magazines and editor/proofreader on books. She has a thing about fluffy cats and also loves reading, writing, films, the sea, art, nature, white chocolate and travelling.
In 2011, Vickie self-published the following books: Kaleidoscope (March) – a gathering of 119 poems, divided by chapter themes; Travelling Light – a small, free book of poetry; Kiwi in Cat City – the first in a series about a magical cat and her human pals (April); Kiwi and the Missing Magic (June); Kiwi and the Living Nightmare (October). In October 2011, Vickie signed with Inknbeans Press, who are now publishing her books. The Kiwi books now have illustrations by Nikki McBroom. Books published in 2012, so far: Day of the Living Pizza – a comedy horror for ages 10 up; all profits to charity (May); Life’s Rhythms – a collection of 316 haiku (June); 3 Heads and a Tail – a romantic comedy with walkies, written for NaNoWriMo (June); Kiwi and the Serpent of the Isle (August). Follow Vickie’s blog, twitter, Facebook and author pages: Amazon US author page Amazon UK book page Blog Twitter @Vickiejohnstone Website Facebook: Vickie Johnstone Kiwi in Cat City Kaleidoscope Poetry Vickie Johnstone Editing The Kiwi Series The Kiwi Series is written for readers aged 9 up. They follow the adventures of a magical cat called Kiwi and her two human friends, Amy and James. With a flick of her tail, Kiwi magically changes the two children into kittens and takes them to her other home, Cat City, and to other new worlds. |
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Some samples of Vickie's poetry, both from Kaleidoscope and her free book, Travelling Light.
We ride in cars
Slow to ride
Our comic days
All drowned in wine
In the stifling heat
We ride in cars
With windows down
Singing to strangers
Who cannot sing
Hold the tune
Against the summer breeze
With the dog’s head bobbing
He laps it up
The speeding cars
And the lingering lights
The ripped out trees
Shouting our sights
We ride in cars
Chase the tyre tracks
From dawn til dusk
We hold our fire back
And we scream and laugh
In the silencing
As the dark draws near
And we pretend to sleep
Keep the fires burning
As the dog nods on
In the piercing light
Of the summer sun
Rain
She sits and dreams of making rain
In the dark, shadows dancing mimic
Colours of the aghast
Sights and sounds and murmurs
Still breathing
Watching over the edge
Of everything
The glass splinters into a million shapes
Cast in a myriad of lights
Bright and sparkling, dancing
In the spring sun
And she dreams of making rain
That tears and crashes
Washing away the shards of glass
Splattering the colours rent
With droplets of ice-cold nothing
Cuts and caresses
Shards of grass peeking through
Clouds gathering
Dust.
Poppies
Marching in formation
Across distant lands
Enduring the unendurable
For a distant cause
Marching in formation
Up long, steep hills
Crossing mudflats and seas
For a patriotic cause
Marching in formation
Forever forward
Seeing things never forgotten
For a government’s cause
Marching in formation
For this the poppies grow
In patches of red blood
For the worthiest cause
Moon beams
Distancing the days
In her fragile accolade
The moon reaches down
Towards coloured boats bobbing
Twinkling she shines
Lighting the way
For every stranger passing
And old friends returning
She travels the skies
In a silvery glide
Always remembering
The shortness of time
I don’t mind
I don’t mind
If you stare
Or paint the room in blue
While I sleep
I don’t mind
If you walk a while
Or smile in your style
And mimic your expression
I don’t mind
If the urge to be is too much
Or the strength to see is gone
While I dream
The fox and the mole
Let’s rob a bank
Said the fox to the mole
I’ve got mouths to feed
And I’m feeling the need
Ok, said the mole
But you know I can’t see
I can burrow real deep
But I might fall asleep
Well, said the fox
I can offer my cunning
I will find a way inside
And to you I’ll confide
Wake me up said the mole
When you discover this
As I’ve got a hunch
We’re in a credit crunch
So the fox went off thinking
How to rob the bank
And came up with a plan
While eating a cherry flan
Well then, asked the mole
What do you suggest we do
To steal all the money
But not do anything funny?
Aha, said the fox grinning
I’ll tell you what to do
Just burrow under the bank
While I drive up in a tank
Oh, said the mole frowning
I never thought of that
I didn’t know foxes could drive
Have you told this to your wife?
No, we have to keep this secret
Said the fox to the mole
As she’ll have my guts for garters
And that’s just for starters
So off went the fox and mole
To begin their bank robber life –
They rivalled Bonny and Clyde
Living it up, the law they defied
Bend in the river
Where the sharpest roses grow
Shelter my repose
Mother
(from Travelling Light)
Mother, I called in the summer
Remembering a picture past
You were dressed in red
Hair glistening in the sun
You laughed so easily then
You felt no passing of time
I twisted and pulled that day
Wriggling to play in the sea
But you held on tightly
You wouldn’t let me go
Warm hands protected me
Against the wild elements
Today I remember that summer
How the sun shone so bright
The seagulls whooped and screamed
In their crazy delight
I wanted so much to swim
To leave you and play
You wrestled my independence
Urged me just to stay
Now I live so far, far away
In a city built for strangers
I work in a grey building
Dressed in a greyer suit
Even my skin feels grey beneath
In streets littered with figures
Speed is of the essence here
Substance was cast adrift
As I sit here, memories flood
Seeing you in this photograph
That red dress daring me
To pick up the phone and say hello
Mother, I’m remembering you
Pulling this struggling little boy
So he’d stay just a minute more with you
So we go
(from Kaleidoscope)
Into the night we go
Free as birds
Soundless and unseen
Trivial and green
Unknowing, unthinking
With no boundaries
No obstacles –
With wings, groundless
Ballerinas
(from Kaleidoscope)
Ballet dancers painted by Degas
Bright sweeps across a canvas
Lithe bodies captured in movement
On tiptoes, a fleet of lace
Swan Lake shimmers in snow
White tufts of hazy dew
Tap-tap tapping across the stage
Soaring then to sink and fly
Leaping skyward full of life
Jumping in motions eternal
Over again in a silent curve
Showering the empty stage
Danced out and spent
They sit and wait chattering
Dizzy with a bright energy
That leaves them laughing
Painted with a sharp compass
That scrapes across the skin
The model suffers for her art
But marvels at the result
Captured for an eternity
She shares an enigmatic smile
Standing tall and straight
As still as a porcelain doll
Moonlight
(from Kaleidoscope)
Moonlight remonstrance
Of a twilight dance
Sends shivers through winter
Blessing in disguise
Chills the epoch of time
Uplifted
(from Kaleidoscope)
Breathless I conquer all
Neither big nor small
Everything that the day reigns in
I envelop in the mist
And the love of unravelling
Until my own self is but an imitated sound
The picture
(from Kaleidoscope)
When she breaks
She dances in the mirrors of a sea of broken glass
A myriad of colours burns the fire in her tomb
She breathes in silence the warmth of summer
The sparkle of daylight upon expressive hands
And it shimmers so like developing film
This memory of mine
Fails to tear my eyes from imagining her
She dances on, alone, entombed
My selfish skin closes in again
Where the shape shifts into a swirl of colour
In my arms she plays for me alone
When she laughs
She dances in the mirrors of a shattered, broken dream
Silent now like so many others
Running naked in the night
Pausing to escape the words I never said
Gothic
(from Kaleidoscope)
Gothic glimpses of golden ages
Stricken dumb in unseen places
Giddy up the days in faces
Come and see the wilder traces
Of days once lived and glances
Back.
Journey into the darkest hour
Murder wrapt and bloody sour
Into arms of grim dark ardour
Come and see the wilder fervour
Of days once lived of dusty glamour
Dead.
Scan all the yawning faces scowling
Poor and cold in the daylight yearning
For food and shelter in the dawning
While night unravels winter’s drowning
Of sorrows in ales and dark prowling
Woe.
The fine woman in furs slips her mask
In the light she regrets her one task
That night brings with a single cask
Forgetting numbness come here fast
Lest morning remembers this time past
Hell.
Gothic glimpses of fallen ages
Trembling across unwritten pages
Lived and dreamt on wooden stages
Fuelled by fire and unlocked cages
Come and see the magic of mages
Gone.
War
(from Kaleidoscope)
Acorns in the sand
Grow into bullets in the hand
Wedged still and deep
Bringers of eternal sleep
Smashing a world of hate
That reaps a many splintered fate
We ride in cars
Slow to ride
Our comic days
All drowned in wine
In the stifling heat
We ride in cars
With windows down
Singing to strangers
Who cannot sing
Hold the tune
Against the summer breeze
With the dog’s head bobbing
He laps it up
The speeding cars
And the lingering lights
The ripped out trees
Shouting our sights
We ride in cars
Chase the tyre tracks
From dawn til dusk
We hold our fire back
And we scream and laugh
In the silencing
As the dark draws near
And we pretend to sleep
Keep the fires burning
As the dog nods on
In the piercing light
Of the summer sun
Rain
She sits and dreams of making rain
In the dark, shadows dancing mimic
Colours of the aghast
Sights and sounds and murmurs
Still breathing
Watching over the edge
Of everything
The glass splinters into a million shapes
Cast in a myriad of lights
Bright and sparkling, dancing
In the spring sun
And she dreams of making rain
That tears and crashes
Washing away the shards of glass
Splattering the colours rent
With droplets of ice-cold nothing
Cuts and caresses
Shards of grass peeking through
Clouds gathering
Dust.
Poppies
Marching in formation
Across distant lands
Enduring the unendurable
For a distant cause
Marching in formation
Up long, steep hills
Crossing mudflats and seas
For a patriotic cause
Marching in formation
Forever forward
Seeing things never forgotten
For a government’s cause
Marching in formation
For this the poppies grow
In patches of red blood
For the worthiest cause
Moon beams
Distancing the days
In her fragile accolade
The moon reaches down
Towards coloured boats bobbing
Twinkling she shines
Lighting the way
For every stranger passing
And old friends returning
She travels the skies
In a silvery glide
Always remembering
The shortness of time
I don’t mind
I don’t mind
If you stare
Or paint the room in blue
While I sleep
I don’t mind
If you walk a while
Or smile in your style
And mimic your expression
I don’t mind
If the urge to be is too much
Or the strength to see is gone
While I dream
The fox and the mole
Let’s rob a bank
Said the fox to the mole
I’ve got mouths to feed
And I’m feeling the need
Ok, said the mole
But you know I can’t see
I can burrow real deep
But I might fall asleep
Well, said the fox
I can offer my cunning
I will find a way inside
And to you I’ll confide
Wake me up said the mole
When you discover this
As I’ve got a hunch
We’re in a credit crunch
So the fox went off thinking
How to rob the bank
And came up with a plan
While eating a cherry flan
Well then, asked the mole
What do you suggest we do
To steal all the money
But not do anything funny?
Aha, said the fox grinning
I’ll tell you what to do
Just burrow under the bank
While I drive up in a tank
Oh, said the mole frowning
I never thought of that
I didn’t know foxes could drive
Have you told this to your wife?
No, we have to keep this secret
Said the fox to the mole
As she’ll have my guts for garters
And that’s just for starters
So off went the fox and mole
To begin their bank robber life –
They rivalled Bonny and Clyde
Living it up, the law they defied
Bend in the river
Where the sharpest roses grow
Shelter my repose
Mother
(from Travelling Light)
Mother, I called in the summer
Remembering a picture past
You were dressed in red
Hair glistening in the sun
You laughed so easily then
You felt no passing of time
I twisted and pulled that day
Wriggling to play in the sea
But you held on tightly
You wouldn’t let me go
Warm hands protected me
Against the wild elements
Today I remember that summer
How the sun shone so bright
The seagulls whooped and screamed
In their crazy delight
I wanted so much to swim
To leave you and play
You wrestled my independence
Urged me just to stay
Now I live so far, far away
In a city built for strangers
I work in a grey building
Dressed in a greyer suit
Even my skin feels grey beneath
In streets littered with figures
Speed is of the essence here
Substance was cast adrift
As I sit here, memories flood
Seeing you in this photograph
That red dress daring me
To pick up the phone and say hello
Mother, I’m remembering you
Pulling this struggling little boy
So he’d stay just a minute more with you
So we go
(from Kaleidoscope)
Into the night we go
Free as birds
Soundless and unseen
Trivial and green
Unknowing, unthinking
With no boundaries
No obstacles –
With wings, groundless
Ballerinas
(from Kaleidoscope)
Ballet dancers painted by Degas
Bright sweeps across a canvas
Lithe bodies captured in movement
On tiptoes, a fleet of lace
Swan Lake shimmers in snow
White tufts of hazy dew
Tap-tap tapping across the stage
Soaring then to sink and fly
Leaping skyward full of life
Jumping in motions eternal
Over again in a silent curve
Showering the empty stage
Danced out and spent
They sit and wait chattering
Dizzy with a bright energy
That leaves them laughing
Painted with a sharp compass
That scrapes across the skin
The model suffers for her art
But marvels at the result
Captured for an eternity
She shares an enigmatic smile
Standing tall and straight
As still as a porcelain doll
Moonlight
(from Kaleidoscope)
Moonlight remonstrance
Of a twilight dance
Sends shivers through winter
Blessing in disguise
Chills the epoch of time
Uplifted
(from Kaleidoscope)
Breathless I conquer all
Neither big nor small
Everything that the day reigns in
I envelop in the mist
And the love of unravelling
Until my own self is but an imitated sound
The picture
(from Kaleidoscope)
When she breaks
She dances in the mirrors of a sea of broken glass
A myriad of colours burns the fire in her tomb
She breathes in silence the warmth of summer
The sparkle of daylight upon expressive hands
And it shimmers so like developing film
This memory of mine
Fails to tear my eyes from imagining her
She dances on, alone, entombed
My selfish skin closes in again
Where the shape shifts into a swirl of colour
In my arms she plays for me alone
When she laughs
She dances in the mirrors of a shattered, broken dream
Silent now like so many others
Running naked in the night
Pausing to escape the words I never said
Gothic
(from Kaleidoscope)
Gothic glimpses of golden ages
Stricken dumb in unseen places
Giddy up the days in faces
Come and see the wilder traces
Of days once lived and glances
Back.
Journey into the darkest hour
Murder wrapt and bloody sour
Into arms of grim dark ardour
Come and see the wilder fervour
Of days once lived of dusty glamour
Dead.
Scan all the yawning faces scowling
Poor and cold in the daylight yearning
For food and shelter in the dawning
While night unravels winter’s drowning
Of sorrows in ales and dark prowling
Woe.
The fine woman in furs slips her mask
In the light she regrets her one task
That night brings with a single cask
Forgetting numbness come here fast
Lest morning remembers this time past
Hell.
Gothic glimpses of fallen ages
Trembling across unwritten pages
Lived and dreamt on wooden stages
Fuelled by fire and unlocked cages
Come and see the magic of mages
Gone.
War
(from Kaleidoscope)
Acorns in the sand
Grow into bullets in the hand
Wedged still and deep
Bringers of eternal sleep
Smashing a world of hate
That reaps a many splintered fate