Thank You, Manchester Library!

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024Leave a comment

I had the honor of presenting a program I titled “Enduring Life’s Waves” at the Manchester Township branch of the Ocean County Library on Monday, July 22 with 24 guests present.

It was my first public presentation about my novel. I brought many brochures I picked up on my first two Dublin trips, as well as my travel journals and photo books to enhance my presentation. While preparing my talk and accompanying presentation, I looked at a number of images I took ten years ago while on my first trip to Dublin and more from my 2016 trip I call my “Mission from the Universe,” and marveled how when I took these pictures and saw these locations with my own eyes, I had no idea my novel would be the end result. Having faith in following the signs that appeared in my days changed my life in so many unanticipated ways.

I spoke about just that, trusting the path even when you cannot see the first step, and how important it is to be present in the moment at hand. So many times we go rushing through our lives, meeting this benchmark and crossing this or that task off our lists that we fail to stop and recognize with all of our senses where we are in the present moment. That’s one of the points of James Joyce’s masterpieces Ulysses, a writer and work that played pivotal roles in my journey.

Having Joyce’s inspiration mesh and meld with my path was not something I would have expected, but here we are, and I look to the pompous bloke as wise because I shifted my view and looked through different lenses upon him, and to be honest, upon everything over the past ten years.

I would like to thank everyone who came to Monday’s program and the staff of Manchester branch of the Ocean County Library for trusting me with presenting a quality program where I hope everyone felt included and learned to follow their inner compasses.

If you are local, I’d love for you to join me on August 15 in downtown Toms River from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Garden State Distillery! We’re planning a fun evening with short readings, Q & A, and mixing & mingling.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). It’s a great beach read, and since it’s beach season, what are you waiting for? Order it. already!

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

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“Thank You, Manchester Library” was posted on jillocone.com on July 24, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

Thank You, Bethany Beach Books!

June 30, 2024Leave a comment

I traveled to Bethany Beach, Delaware last week with one of my best friends for my first real author event at a bookstore. Bethany Beach Books accepted my request for an author event earlier this year and it was an amazing milestone! I am forever grateful for Bethany Beach Books for hosting me. If you are in the Bethany Beach area, I highly recommend you visit this quaint book store. Might I add seeing my book near Elin Hildebrand’s most recent release was surreal!

Signed copies left at Bethany Beach Books waiting to be shelved.

I crossed off a few “firsts” on this quick getaway, including taking the Cape May/Lewes Ferry for the first time. We stayed at Hotel Bethany Beach, which I also wholeheartedly recommend. The price was right, the location perfect, and the accomodations wonderful. For meals, we enjoyed dinner at Mickey’s Family Crab House and The Cottage Cafe, and for lunch we sat next to The Gipper, Ronald Reagan himself, at Ropewalk. We enjoyed walking the main strip and browsing many surf shops and coastal decor stores. A few years ago, my niece and I stayed in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for a few days, which is about 13 miles north. Delaware’s shore area is similar to Jersey but has a very different vibe and feel, and I hope to return someday.

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

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“Thank You, Bethany Beach Books!” was posted on jillocone.com on June 30, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

About Time to Promote “About Time”

April 19, 2024Leave a comment

I am pleased to announce the publication of About Time: A Coming of Age Poetry Anthology published by Red Penguin Books.

I had the distinct pleasure of serving as the collection’s guest editor, which was the first time I held such a role for an anthology. As editor, I sifted through the submissions after printing them and cutting off any identifiable information from each poem because I personally knew a few of the poets who submitted their work for publication consideration. I wanted every poet to have a fair chance regardless of whether I had a prior connection with them or not, so I blindly read each poem five times during the selection phase.

The challenge of whittling down the number of accepted poems from the pool of over 300 submitted poems was real. I ultimately divided up the poems into three categories: yes, no, and maybe, then carefully read each poem two more times before making the final selections.

The hardest part of the process was contacting the poets in the “no” pile. I have received more rejections than acceptances in my writing life and know firsthand how it stings to find out my work wasn’t accepted. I did my best to pen a graceful and encouraging rejection letter, and to my surprise, received some replies from poets thanking me for such a kindly worded email.

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of my role as guest editor for About Time, from redesigning the book’s cover and selecting poems that best exemplified the book’s vision and theme to providing a publishing credit for many new writers. I hope to work with Red Penguin again in the future!

You can order a copy of About Time by clicking this link.

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

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“About Time to Promote ‘About Time” was posted on jillocone.com on April 19, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

Today I Am Grateful-A Thanksgiving Reflection

November 25, 2021Leave a comment

Today I am grateful

For the darkness and the light,

For the struggles and the strife,

For the hearts who live in mine,

For the rain and bright sunshine.

Today I am grateful

For my partner and soulmate,

For moments small and great,

For morning’s singing birds,

For notebooks, pens, and words.

Today I am grateful

For cherished family love,

For those in heaven above,

For mornings, noons, and nights,

For taste, and smell, and sight.

Today I am grateful

For friends both near and far,

For dawn’s and dusk’s bright stars,

For food and drink aplenty,

For the dollars, coins, and pennies.

Today I am grateful

For rock bottom and the wins,

For forgiveness for my sins,

For the waves, the sea, the bay,

For each smile along my way,

Today I am grateful

For everything and how,

For the path to here and now,

For one more chance to give,

For one more day to live.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Thanks for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you’re here.

With gratitude,

Jill

“Today I Am Grateful’” was posted on jillocone.com on November 25, 2021. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any employer. Copyright 2021, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact jillocone@gmail.com with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries.

PUBLISHED IN “FROM THE SOIL: A HOMETOWN ANTHOLOGY”

December 27, 20201 Comment

*From the Soil: A Hometown Anthology,* Published on December 22, 2020

I am very excited to announce that my poem titled “Boro Kids” was selected for publication in From the Soil: A Hometown Anthology, published by Exeter Publishing.

From the Amazon Sales Page:

“Our hometowns raised us all differently. Our roots absorbed different values and experiences that turned us into the people we are today. Whether we realize it or not, it influenced our art in some way. Our first anthology is dedicated to hometowns.“

From the Soil-A Hometown Anthology is available for purchase on Amazon.com in Paperback for $15.00.

From the Soil-A Hometown Anthology is also available as an interactive .pdf version available for $5.

“Boro Kids” is a poem about growing up in my hometown of Point Pleasant Boro, New Jersey. I wrote it in early September 2015 as a tribute to my friend Roscoe, a fellow Boro Kid, who passed away after being dealt a bad cancer hand at the age of 43. The poem ended up resonating with many Boro Kids who grew up alongside us, so much so that several inquired about purchasing custom canvas prints of the poem over the years since. I reworked the poem for publication in the anthology so it differs slightly from the original version.

Thanks for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you’re here.

With gratitude,

Jill

“Published in “From the Soil-A Hometown Anthology” was posted on jillocone.com and on soulseaker.com on December 27, 2020. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any employer. Copyright 2020, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact jillocone@gmail.com with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries.

Sublime

September 7, 20201 Comment

Sometimes,

There are

No words

To describe

The incredulous

Beauty of

Our world.

The rising sun

Stretches her hues

To dapple

The current,

The ocean’s color

As the light

Shimmies

And dances

Atop the waves

Divine.

How could I

Have been

Created by

The same being

Who built

And I bask in

Such beauty?

The day begins,

The sublime sunlight

And in the

Sheer glory of

Being alive.

Thanks for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you’re here.

With gratitude,

Jill

“Sublime” was posted on jillocone.com and on soulseaker.com on September 7, 2020. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity, and do not represent the views of any employer. Copyright 2020, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact jillocone@gmail.com with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries.

A Dedication to Fellow Dreamers

May 24, 2020May 24, 20201 Comment

“A Dedication to Fellow Dreamers” – May 24, 2020

This is for all of the dreamers out there…

The ones who chase the rainbows

And take a front-row seat as the birdies perform their daily concerto…

The ones who rejoice at the birth of the seedling

As its tiny green head sprouts up through the dirt…

The ones who joyfully in the rain

And let the snowflakes tickle their eyelashes.

This goes out to the ones who make dandelion wishes

And leave the heads-up penny on the ground for someone who needs it more…

The ones who blow iridescent bubbles into the wafting breeze

And take the long way home on a Friday afternoon…

The ones whose skin prickles as the sun peeks up from beneath the horizon

And are inspired by the day’s end masterpiece.

This is for all who let the wet sand flow between their toes

As the sea’s wave caresses their feet…

The ones who accept a little hand into theirs

As they walk alongside the future…

The ones who continue their search for the light

In spite of overwhelming darkness…

The ones who believe in love

And faith

And hope

And joy.

This goes out to

You.

cropped-img_0764 Thanks for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you’re here.

With gratitude,

Jill

“A Dedication to Fellow Dreamers” was posted on jillocone.com and on soulseaker.com on May 24, 2020. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not compensated in any way by any entity. Copyright 2020, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact jillocone@gmail.com with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries.

New Year’s Morning

January 1, 2020January 5, 20202 Comments

“New Year’s Morn. “Taken January 1, 2020 at sunrise in Melbourne Beach, Florida with my iPhone (no filters). Copyright Jill Ocone, 2020.

It’s quiet and calm

At the beach before dawn

As the sun peeks its head

Over the horizon.

Slowly yet deliberately,

It casts joy and hope

Masked in its first light

On a new day,

A new month,

A new year,

A new decade,

A new me.

Its grows and ascends

As it magnificently

Ignites every cloud in the sky

And shell on the sand

With its splendor of colors

And radiant light.

As it says,

Good morning, world.

Here’s a brand new day,

Another fresh start

Created just for you…

and if this one doesn’t work out,

I’ll be back around

Same time tomorrow,

With another new day,

Another fresh start,

Teeming with a new batch of

Joy, hope, and faith,

Waiting just for you.

Happy new day. Happy new month. Happy new year. Happy new decade.

And Happy New You.

cropped-img_0764 Thanks for joining me on my journey. I’m glad you’re here.

With gratitude,

Jill

“New Year’s Morning” was posted on jillocone.com and on soulseaker.com on January 1, 2020. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer who was not compensated in any way by any entity. Copyright 2020, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact jillocone@gmail.com with licensing and publishing inquiries.