A haiku for that midwinter feeling (and if you've ever lived through a Midwest winter, you will truly feel this haiku):
dead of winter
wishing it was warm enough
to snow
"dead of winter," copyright 2020 Amelia Cotter (first published in A Moment’s Longing: Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2019, 2019)
Author, Poet & Storyteller
Monday, February 3, 2020
Friday, January 3, 2020
Poem #4: The Brandenburg
Happy 2020! This poem is one of my favorites, an oldie but a goodie written back when I was in college and still a fearless (if not lonely) dreamer, and so full of hope. It feels like a fitting way to welcome the new year:
I boarded a great ship
It took me to the sea
I was swept into the ocean
Taken far away from me.
Summer’s here and moving slow
The sun is never out
Only rays of longing stretch
Grey shades of endless doubt.
But in my mind—exhilaration
A force propels a change within
A course to sail to leave this place
Be a new girl that I’ve never been.
To wake and live what I’ve dreamt inside
I need only wait a few more seasons
Then seek the last of my desires
In a wake of too long hidden reasons.
Only God can see the future
And my eyes awash with tears
The ship will dock in my hometown
Waves rushing to grasp the pier.
"The Brandenburg," copyright 2020 Amelia Cotter (first published in Way of the Word Limited First Edition
Anthology, 2009)
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Newsletter #7: December 2019
Hello friends! I ended this year and decade by fulfilling a dream to appear on the Travel Channel, and it turned out AMAZING. I would really like to start the next next year and decade in the same way I started these—publishing books, making appearances, having adventures, and inspiring others to explore the world around them in awe and wonder. And honestly, my hobbies, interests, and passions haven't changed all that much in the last ten years, or since I was a kiddo, for that matter. If anything, now in my mid-30s, I have more time and money, along with perspective and gratitude, to really deepen my interests and connect with the communities who share them. I am so much more confident and so much happier entering 2020 than I was when entering 2010, too. I welcome the new year and new decade with open arms. Here's my recap of the last part of 2019:
Recent Publications
"dead of winter," A Moment's Longing: Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2019
October 2019
Upcoming Publications
The chapbook of poetry I have been working on, apparitions, is still hanging in the balance as I await news from publishers. I am still hoping for news by the end of the year, with a goal to publish the book (no matter what!) in spring 2020. It's happening, I promise. A note to aspiring and published writers everywhere: having previous publications does not guarantee that publishing in the future will be any faster or easier.
Likewise, good news may be coming down the pipeline, and is timelier than ever, for the anthology about the lives and experiences of children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, which I was asked to co-edit and contribute a piece to. In the meantime, I am waiting on a few other publications to come through, and look forward to sharing those with you when they happen. I also have some other new (and old...) book projects in the works, and am so hyped for what 2020 will bring!
Recent Appearances
Jonathan and I appeared on Travel Channel's Hometown Horror, in Episode 5: "Three-Ring Terror," on Monday, December 2! The show explores small towns across the U.S. with dark, haunted, and otherwise weird history, and our episode was about beautiful and intriguing Baraboo, Wisconsin. We filmed in Baraboo this spring, where I spoke on the topic of Native American burial mounds, and Jonathan and I shared a strange experience of our own from the Baraboo area. The episode reflects this nicely, and includes some of Baraboo's other amazing locations and people, including our friends Shelly Wells and B.C. Farr of the Old Baraboo Inn. We attended the watch party for the episode at the Inn, and to see myself onscreen with the Travel Channel logo next to my big old head was nothing less than surreal.
In old news, the Scary Stories documentary is available on DVD and streaming on Amazon Prime Video and all major VOD platforms. Additionally, Season 2 and Season 3 of The R.I.P. Files are available on Amazon Prime Video. Season 2 aired again on Really TV in the UK for their October lineup. The show is streaming, as always, on Apple TV, Pluto TV's Conspiracy Channel, Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Stream's Gaia Channel, and other VOD platforms.
I also had some of my best podcast and radio interviews ever this fall, and am very proud to share the following. Please give them a listen:
The Fantastic Story Society, Ep. "Amelia Cotter & Chicago's Serpent Mound"
December 1, 2019
Beyond Reality Radio, Ep. "Stories of the Supernatural - Amelia Cotter"
November 11, 2019
Upcoming Appearances
My events calendar is filling up, and I am looking forward to continuing to fine tune my presentations and collaborate with my husband Jonathan on them as well. Also, as I mentioned in my last Newsletter, I did some consulting this summer for Season 2 of Travel Channel's Paranormal 911, and am looking forward to seeing that air sometime in the near future. Here is what I have on deck so far for the remainder of this year and beyond:
From now on, I'll be publishing my Newsletter biyearly in June and December. Thank you all for sharing in this journey with me and for all of your support. I wish you the happiest of holidays and an awesome New Year! Happy Hauntings, everyone!
~Amelia
"dead of winter," A Moment's Longing: Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2019
October 2019
Upcoming Publications
The chapbook of poetry I have been working on, apparitions, is still hanging in the balance as I await news from publishers. I am still hoping for news by the end of the year, with a goal to publish the book (no matter what!) in spring 2020. It's happening, I promise. A note to aspiring and published writers everywhere: having previous publications does not guarantee that publishing in the future will be any faster or easier.
Likewise, good news may be coming down the pipeline, and is timelier than ever, for the anthology about the lives and experiences of children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, which I was asked to co-edit and contribute a piece to. In the meantime, I am waiting on a few other publications to come through, and look forward to sharing those with you when they happen. I also have some other new (and old...) book projects in the works, and am so hyped for what 2020 will bring!
Recent Appearances
 |
| With Jonathan on Travel Channel's Hometown Horror. |
Jonathan and I appeared on Travel Channel's Hometown Horror, in Episode 5: "Three-Ring Terror," on Monday, December 2! The show explores small towns across the U.S. with dark, haunted, and otherwise weird history, and our episode was about beautiful and intriguing Baraboo, Wisconsin. We filmed in Baraboo this spring, where I spoke on the topic of Native American burial mounds, and Jonathan and I shared a strange experience of our own from the Baraboo area. The episode reflects this nicely, and includes some of Baraboo's other amazing locations and people, including our friends Shelly Wells and B.C. Farr of the Old Baraboo Inn. We attended the watch party for the episode at the Inn, and to see myself onscreen with the Travel Channel logo next to my big old head was nothing less than surreal.
In old news, the Scary Stories documentary is available on DVD and streaming on Amazon Prime Video and all major VOD platforms. Additionally, Season 2 and Season 3 of The R.I.P. Files are available on Amazon Prime Video. Season 2 aired again on Really TV in the UK for their October lineup. The show is streaming, as always, on Apple TV, Pluto TV's Conspiracy Channel, Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Stream's Gaia Channel, and other VOD platforms.
I also had some of my best podcast and radio interviews ever this fall, and am very proud to share the following. Please give them a listen:
December 1, 2019
Beyond Reality Radio, Ep. "Stories of the Supernatural - Amelia Cotter"
November 11, 2019
My events calendar is filling up, and I am looking forward to continuing to fine tune my presentations and collaborate with my husband Jonathan on them as well. Also, as I mentioned in my last Newsletter, I did some consulting this summer for Season 2 of Travel Channel's Paranormal 911, and am looking forward to seeing that air sometime in the near future. Here is what I have on deck so far for the remainder of this year and beyond:
The Paranormal Pride on WBHM-DB
December 16, 2019 at 8 p.m. | 7 p.m. CST
Project PSI Radio
January 12, 2020 at 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. CST
The Outer Realm on 4680Q Niagara Online Radio
February 12, 2020 at 8 p.m. | 7 p.m. CST
Monsters: Fact and Folklore Presentation at Crest Hill Public Library in Crest Hill, Illinois
March 28, 2020 at 1 p.m.
Haunted Road Media ParaCon at Mineral Springs in Alton, Illinois
June 13, 2020
Project PSI Radio
January 12, 2020 at 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. CST
The Outer Realm on 4680Q Niagara Online Radio
February 12, 2020 at 8 p.m. | 7 p.m. CST
Monsters: Fact and Folklore Presentation at Crest Hill Public Library in Crest Hill, Illinois
March 28, 2020 at 1 p.m.
Haunted Road Media ParaCon at Mineral Springs in Alton, Illinois
June 13, 2020
From now on, I'll be publishing my Newsletter biyearly in June and December. Thank you all for sharing in this journey with me and for all of your support. I wish you the happiest of holidays and an awesome New Year! Happy Hauntings, everyone!
~Amelia
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