Who is CJ Heck, Really?

Hi, I'm CJ/

Whether you are an Author, Reader, a Contributing Writer, or a combination, and now My Friend, I thank you.  It's been a pleasure and I'm glad I 'know' you.

Most of you know me as a Blogger. I have three different blogs and I invite articles, short stories and poetry for all of them.

Occasionally, I even write something myself, when I have the time, so you might also know me as a Writer and Poet.

Or maybe I've done some editing for you on an article, a short story, or book, so you know me as a Freelance Editor.

Something else I love to do is help Authors promote their books.  I do that here on CJ's Writer Thoughts, and I also proudly promote books written by Vietnam veterans on my other blog, Memoirs From Nam.

Authors need all the help they can get -- hiring a Book Publicist is often just too expensive and not something that fits into most budgets. As a senior citizen, that's true for me, as well.

Now, that being said ....

Every so often, I like to remind everyone that I Am Also An Author ... I've written three books for children and two for adults.

Children’s Books:  

Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff
(The first book, published in 2000)

Midwest Book Review:
child's perspective. Often funny, sometimes introspective, always honest, these poems form a brilliant introduction for young readers to the magic of poetry and rhyme."

OHIOana Quarterly:
"If children could write poetry about the things in their lives, it might not sound like these poems ... but the feelings they experience are sure to be familiar, as they listen to or read this collection. Insights and thoughts about belly buttons, toe jam, Bandaids, and passing gas will cause chuckles from young readers and their parents." (Barbara Maslekoff)

Poetry Today Online:
"Well, it's time for a little fun, folks. Put away all those boring grownup books and let's sit down and read Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff. This is CJ Heck's first book of children's poetry and it is a delight!"

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Buy at Amazon

Barking Spiders 2 

(the sequel book to Barking Spiders)

Nominated for the 2011 Cybils Children's Book Award in Poetry 

In this long-awaited sequel to her first Barking Spiders book, CJ Heck continues her journey to help children experience life through poetry with her unique blend of humor, insight, sensitivity, and with an understanding that, like adults, children wish to make sense of the world they live in. 

And when it still doesn't make sense? Well, she helps them see that's okay, too, because it doesn't always make sense.

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Buy at Amazon

Me Too! Preschool Poetry
(Poetry for the little ones, to get them started)

Preschool: that brief period of childhood when everything is either black, or white, a time of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and the grey area in between black and white hasn't yet begun. 

It's the last true age of innocence, when mommy and daddy are the good guys, pretending is a profession, and bugs are just tiny friends. 

Wouldn't it be fun to have a grownup friend who understands, someone to say it's okay if the world doesn't always make sense? CJ Heck is that grownup friend. She's been entertaining children and grownups with her poetry since 1999 through her website, and then with the release of her first book "Barking Spiders (and Other Such Stuff)" in 2000. 

Sit back, get comfy, and read "Me Too!" with a child-- it's time to get back in touch with your own inner child again and remember, remember, remember ...

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Buy at Amazon 


Comments:

"You are one of the most gifted children's poets I have ever read!"
~ Todd-Michael St. Pierre 

"CJ, You are every primary teachers dream come true. I have found that rhyming words are important for six year olds when learning to spell and read. I love your poetry! You never cease to amaze me."
~Joyce Bowling 

"How I would have loved to have been a child in your world. Excellent doesn't even come close ..."
~Georg Mateos 

"CJ, your work is not only brilliant, it is a joy to the spirit and restores youth to our hearts. You have a gift for writing what kids think and feel. Thank you CJ."
~ E T Waldron 

"CJ, You fly everyone away on daydreams and wishes, boo-boos and bats, frog legs and monkeys, and old circus clowns. I can't think of a single children's poet(and I've read a few) that has the ability to marry the children's poem with a life's lesson like you do and keep it fun. You need to go on Oprah. Yes, my dear, CJ, you fly."
~Rusty Daily 

"I love your childrens poetry. It's like you revert to the child you're writing about. Sometimes I wish I could go back and make it all different. Your poems help me see what I missed. "
~K. Mulroney 

"My dear CJ, you have a heart of innocence in your adorable, creative writes!"
~Karla Dorman 

"Your work reminds me of Dr. Suess, sincerely. "
~Andy Turner 

"There is a sweet child residing in your heart."
~Victor Buhagiar 

"What a uniquely sensitive mind you have, CJ. The children must adore your writes. I know I sure do."
~Richard Cederberg 

"I love how you get into a child's heart with your writing, CJ."
~Sheila G. 

"You teach simple truths in such a childlike manner. They are delightful to read."
~J.M. 

"Your children's poem, To A Baby Firefly, is a winner nursery rhyme and it belongs in the classic children's bedtime story books."
~Gloria Buono Daly 

"You make me wish I was a kid again."
~Brett Moore 

"Your inner child always shines through in your work."
~Joseph OneLight

Adult Books:  

Anatomy of a Poet

(Poetry for Grownups)

The Story Behind the Book:

"There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken. There is a shatteredness out of which blooms the unshatterable. There is a sorrow beyond all grief, which leads to joy. And a fragility out of whose depths emerges strength. There is a hollow space too vast for words through which we pass with each loss, out of whose darkness we are sanctioned into being." ~ Bri Maya Tiwari

That quote describes not only my life, but the poetry in "Anatomy of a Poet".

One of six children, I grew up in a small Ohio town and married my high school sweetheart at nineteen. A Vietnam War widow at twenty, I went on to marry twice more. I made a lot of choices, some good, some not so good, but as my poem, "Choices", ends,

"... at least I made choices. How sad for those who merely hitchhike along, never daring to choose at all."

"Anatomy of a Poet" was written over a period of nearly forty years. The poetry is rich with memoir, humor and, at times, it is sensual in nature.

Read a Preview
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Comments:

"I have known C.J. Heck as an very talented author for well over a year now. Her words are enlightening and charismatic to people of all ages. It has been a privilege and honor knowing her and reading her prolific pen. I highly recommend her work to all."
~Janet Caldwell (COO Inner Child Press) 

"Your poems are a breath of fresh air."
~John Domino 

"I purchased Anatomy of a Poet today...I could hardly put it down! The poetry is filled with a pleasant mix of emotions. I encourage everyone to buy this book. Love it!"
~Joyce Bowling 

"CJ, I thoroughly enjoyed your book! Too often poetry is written so abstractly that it leaves the reader with more questions as to the point of the writing, rather than the insight, or inspiration. This is NOT true of your poetic verses. Your words are indeed poignant, resonating feelings to the reader intended by you, the writer. Words from the heart that penetrate the soul!"
~Sharla Shultz 

"You are one talented writer."
~Lynn Barry 

"I am not a poetry critic, so I cannot compare CJ's poetry with others, evaluate her mastery of the language use, or classify her to any particular school of poetry. But having read the poems I felt something. The messages she conveys are clear and direct. She does not go through mental elaboration and her poetry touches the heart. Reading her poems made me feel nostalgic and longing at the same time -- as if nostalgia and expectation are one and the same."
~Eleftheria Egel 

"My kind of poetry ... wonderful, marvelous poetry that touches on the realities of life."
~Jack Henry Kraven 

"This is my kind of poetry. Direct, beautifully expressed and without a hint of pretension."
~Allison Cassidy 

"CJ, you have a beautiful way of writing that obviously can get in touch with people and provoke them to think about what you are saying, which is a very difficult skill to grasp. Congratulations on the amazing work."
~Lyrael Myrna 

"CJ is predominately viewed as a writer of works for children, but CJ now carries over her approach to more adult themes. In doing so, she presents a profound world that is deeply sad, incredibly humorous and sometimes intimate."
~Joseph Daly

Bits and Pieces from a Writer's Soul
(A Collection of 22 Short Stories and Flash Fiction)

Publisher's Review:

"A collection of twenty short, and flash fiction stories by published poet, writer, blogger and author, CJ Heck. 

She's been entertaining children, adults, and schools for over a decade with her humor, insight, unique perspective of life, and the human heart, through her poetry. Now, she does it again through her fiction.

Many of the stories have nostalgic themes, others, CJ's own special blend of humor and sensitivity. Covered are many subjects, such as, finding a headless body near a sewer drain in the city, internet dating, and a grandfather and grandson teaching each other about life and love, while feeding pigeons in the park. One of CJ's personal favorites has a surprise ending, one you won't expect."

Read an Excerpt
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Comments:

"CJ's writing ability is a testament to talent and passion. Her ability to craft words into emotion and movement is remarkable."
~Lexy Page (Owner/Freelance Photographer at GA Page Photography) 

"CJ is a writer that comes through as a great communicator but you also have a strong feeling of friendship with her and her pen. She touches your heart in special ways. She makes you feel like you have lived this story."
~James McCraney (Owner, James McCraney Financial, LLC) 

"I loved this book. These are a very clean short stories of a few pages each. When finished, I felt like I knew the writer as if she was a relative or a neighbor, definitely one that I would like to see often. She has a knack for pouring out her soul on paper and it makes you feel as if you have known her for a long time. I would love to meet her in person some day."
~Susan East 

"Might I bow to you in respect for the abilities your pen contains."
~Phillip William Allen 

"CJ, what a gift you have. Every word imparts a vivid image that fills the hearts and souls of your readers with a remembering. Yes, it's the littlest moments that you paint so well and spell out with glowing simplicity."
~Adryan Rotica 

"CJ, You write so well. You are an ispiration."
~Laura Mayer 

"You will enjoy the eclectic stories in "Bits and Pieces" displaying CJ's vivid and wide-ranging imagination. Writers, like CJ Heck, should be allowed to live one hundred fifty years. How else could they reveal all they have to offer? 

Do yourself a favor and read all of CJ's work. She is at the peak of a mountain of talented writers. She writes to the souls of all men, women, and children."
~ Russell Daily 

"You are such a natural and spontaneous writer, who freely gives of her soul to her readers. You never fail to amuse and entertain with your brilliant and witty writes. You have a razor sharp mind and acute awareness of what makes people tick, or tock."
~ Peter Paton 

"Amazing talent."
~Kimmy Van Kooten 

"An incredible writer."
~Rhonda Galizia

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

Short Story: The Christmas Miracle

Walking the Tracks

by CJ Heck

It was late December, during what would someday be called, "The Great Depression".

The blizzard had begun last night just after supper with misleading flurries.

Now, in the early hours before dawn, it was snowing like a son-of-a-bitch and piling up fast.

Jake Simons pulled his coat collar up as high as it would go, hoping to shrink the opening so it was less inviting to wayward flakes. "Never mind," he thought with a sigh, "just never you mind. It's winter and it's snowing. It is what it is."

This morning, like every winter morning, snow or no snow, Jake walked the tracks, picking up rogue coal that had escaped from railroad cars as they bounced along the tracks. Coal couldn't buy food, but each shiny black nugget was precious and went a long way to keep his family warm.

These were tough times. The snow only served to punctuate just how bad things were -- and how much worse they could still get.

Jake plodded on, pushing the snow aside with his foot. Coal was already nearly impossible to see in the dark and the falling snow made it even harder to find. With each step, he grew more despondent, knowing his pockets were nearly empty and probably would stay that way.

How in the world had things ever gotten so bad?

There were few jobs

Only days before Christmas, Jake still hadn't found any work. "Children shouldn't have to grow up this fast." Jake said aloud into the darkness, the wind gobbling each word as it was spoken.

"In their innocent dreams, Santa is alive and well in the North Pole and his elves are busy making toys to deliver in a sleigh on Christmas Eve -- even now in the worst of times."

Jake's Wife and little Sarah

Max, Jake's oldest, delivered groceries and stocked shelves for Burt down at the market on Tuesdays. Their middle child, Tommy, had a paper route. Even his wife worked one day a week cleaning for the Parkers. 

Jeb Parker owned the mill. He did what he could, hiring men for a day here, a day there, but few could afford what the mill produced, so even Jeb was on hard times.

And Sarah, sweet little Sarah. She was only two years old. Hardship was all she had ever known. How he wished he could make everything better for her -- for all of them.

Hours later, Jake had reached his lowest point yet. It was dark again and snowing even harder, if that was possible.

All day, Jake had stood in line for the few jobs that were available -- there were always more men than jobs, and he was not one of the chosen.

Overcome by exhaustion and grief, he sat down hard on the curb, his feet planted in the frozen slush. With his head in his hands, Jake's spirit was broken and he finally recognized complete and utter defeat and a growing resolve to end it all. 

Quiet Desperation

Blinking through tears, he prayed for his immortal soul. "God, please forgive me. To those I love, I'm worth more dead, than alive. Please give me the courage to do what I have to do."

Then, pointing his revolver at the roof of his mouth, he humbly lowered his head.

That's when he noticed something sticking out of the slush between his feet.

He lowered the gun and placed it on the curb beside him. 

In quiet disbelief, he slowly reached down to uncover a soggy, crumpled fifty dollar bill.

His prayer had been answered.

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck