Tag Archives: Blogging

1, 2, 3… Aspirate!

Gentle readers, were you aware that ‘aspiration’ has two meanings?

Of course, ‘aspiration’ usually refers to hope or a strong desire to achieve something, but it also refers to the mundane yet necessary process of breathing in and out. We cannot have one thing without the other. You see, hope is absent when we’re no longer breathing. And breathing without hope is like being dead already.

As long as we’re still standing here breathing then let’s aspirate, yes? Let’s dare to reach for the impossible–even if just for a short time–for tomorrow’s a blank page that hasn’t been promised to us. So, shall we fill the blank page that sits here with us today? Right now? In this very hour? Yes. Let’s do that instead of waiting for tomorrow’s pages.

We’ve had a wonderful year at Unbolt. Tony joined the fold and filled up the space with words to complement Tati’s own. We featured some of our treasured readers’ own works. And we received quite a number of awards and writing challenges too!

To celebrate the amazing year that was, we at Unbolt have put together two pages dedicated to the awards and writing challenges we’ve received so far. Why have we done this? Because we want to share those awards and writing challenges with you, dear readers. It’s our way of saying thank you for your support. You mean a lot to us. We want you to know that we appreciate every single one of you! So, please, feel free to click through to the Choose Your Award! and Choose Your Challenge! pages, and have fun!

Oh, and may we also wish you a Happy New Year? Yes, a new start full of breathing and aspiration. Just what the doctor ordered!

Yours ever,
Tati & Tony

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2016

A Sea Change Involving a Cow

We live in exciting times. Anything can happen. Disease and hunger could be wiped out. War could become a thing of the past. A cow could explode into confetti. The possibilities are endless!

And, lo! We – Tati and Tony – now possess the 3D bioprinting technology. We can make the cow. We can stuff the confetti in it. We can make its bottom erupt in an orgy of colour. Happy days are here at last!

Hm. That could get us into trouble with certain animal rights advocates however, so perhaps we should just write more poetry together instead. We’ve known each other for some time now, and we’ve successfully collaborated on a bunch of stuff. And, hell, we want to do more! And so, without further ado, we make our creative partnership official. From this day forth Tony will be joining forces with Tati on Unbolt Me. Exciting times, yes? And we didn’t even need to blow up a cow. Mabel will be quite relieved…

Yours in perpetuity,
Tati & Tony

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2015

Thank You!

It’s happiness and pride for every writer to get grateful and skilled readers, to inspire them, to encourage them for their own oeuvre. Honestly, when we started our trilogy, we didn’t expect such amazing feedback.

We were overwhelmed when we got such a brilliant spin-off of the first installment ‘Bastet’, a heartwarming and intimate story called ‘Triune-Heart’ by Madam Marmoset. The second part ‘Sekhmet’ was awarded with a colorful and daring dilogy ‘In the Corner with Maftet in Bubastis’ by Jonathan Noble.

There are mixed feelings when you watch how your characters move out of your control; it’s a delightful mix of envy and pride. You try to guess their next step, and fail gladly. You want to predict the next twist, but you want even more than that to be surprised. It’s like laying an egg again. You never know what’s going to be inside. Bliss!

We always publish our guest posts with special feelings. We celebrate every new ‘like’ and every warm comment. We’re both very proud and happy.

Thank you, dear community, dear Writers and Readers, friends! Thank you!

Yours ever,
Tati & Tony

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2015

Day 01

Damn! Quotes are such a tricky thing. Especially ones without a context. I’m always very careful with quotations. Yes, I see a question in your eyes. “Why is she whining here?” It’s easy.

I was recently invited by my friends to take part in the ‘03 days 03 quotes challenge’ party and I said, “YAY! Thank you! Of course, you can count on me!”

Prakash Hegade, Sheldon Kleeman, Ethel Beckett! 
Thank you, my dear friends!

Rules:
1) Post 1 quotation a day for 3 days.
2) Nominate 3 other bloggers to participate per post.
3) Thank the blogger who nominated you.

But when I started to write my first post for this challenge I realized the scale of my problem. I’ve since changed my mind three times before opening my rough draft dated June 27 to write these lines.

Of course, it’s not a big deal to find some cool quotes from some cool famous guys and be happy with my own coolness. I even spent about an hour searching for them. But then I suddenly understood that hiding behind other people’s famous words isn’t something that I consider a really cool thing. That was my first thought.

My second thought was to use my own quotes from my various essays and poems. It’s not very modest but at least I could always take responsibility for this bullshit. I’m glad that I didn’t start to do this because I liked my third thought much more…

I don’t want to use famous quotes. I don’t want to use my quotes. My friends! My community! My dearest Writers and Readers! Let me use your quotes!

I was nominated three times, so I will take three quotes and their authors will be my nominees. All agree? Excellent! Let’s go!

Grandpa asked why
I talked to his veggies
said I didn’t know
Didn’t know
how to say
Veggies don’t hurt me

Michael Spahr, ‘Grandpa Had A Garden’

One day,
when it’s time for me to go,
I won’t cry.
I will look back on all these days I got to spend,
and I will smile.
I’ll be glad that I’ve had the chance,
to be alive,
and all in all,
that I’ve lived
a pretty good life.

PROSPERMIND, ‘A pretty good life’

Writers write for they are egomaniacs,
A fancy poem our soul’s aphrodisiac.
Spinning words, the most heinous temptation,
Desperation for eternity our only salvation.

Obsidian Visionary, ‘Writer’s Dissolution’

Hmmm… Yes!
The end.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2015

The Blog Tour Award. The four winds. Part 1 – Boreas

You and me
take three simple words
Sun-Moon-Sky
You and me
start to compose a haiku
Just Five-Seven-Five

You and me
aren’t original
Look – ‘The Sun
shines brightly
The Moon shimmers tenderly
in the boundless Sky’

You and me
juxtapose haikus
We’re amazed
It’s the same
as we spot the difference
between fingerprints

Your Sun warms
My Sun burns, ground out
Your Moon is
for poets
My Moon is for those who have
Lunaphobia

Your Sky… well,
Skies are similar
A canvas
No, rather
a blank sheet of paper for
our diagnoses

You and me
lay under the blue
where two Suns
where two Moons
hang out in one boundless Sky…
Apples-Oranges

the-blog-tour

Well, guys… It’s the first part of my journey where I have been kicked by one charming Babe. And it looks like I decided to turn to dismemberment. Dammit! Yes, my sweetie, it’s too late to apologize!

How does my work differ from others in my genre? It differs almost as much as my gene combination differs from others.
(see poem above)

And today I deliver the first gold ticket to the north, to Matthew Cauffman aka This Mortal Flesh. Matthew, there are proper rules for you:
(your date is Monday, June 15th)

1) Pass the tour on up to four other bloggers.
2) Give your nominees the rules and a specific Monday to post.
3) Answer four questions about your creative process which lets other bloggers and visitors know what inspires you to do what you do.
– How does my work differ from others in my genre?
– How does my writing/creative process work?
– Why do I write or create what I do?
– What am I working on at the moment?
4) Compose a one-time post on a specific Monday (date given from your nominator).

Unbolt has done her duty. Let him go… well, not for long.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2015