“Fishin’ for a good time starts with throwin’ in your line.”
Tom Waits New Coat of Paint

March is here. The rain seems mostly behind us (for better or worse). Spring is a time for renewal of possibilities and growth. For exploring paths that are new for you. For crafting a life that increasingly reflects what you want.

Wind Wishes
By Paul Manchester

I love bright days
when the Wind flies free
and thoughts are unencumbered.
Smells are sweet,
my heart is light,
my dreams cannot be numbered.

Wishes tumble round and round
within the clouds above.
Sometimes I think that’s where they’re born
in wispy, swirling nests
of dreamy thoughts, and airplane dust,
bits of smog and mist,
and yearnings I cannot recall.

I shall not just subsist.

I shall not just subsist.

The Wind awakens wishes
and flies them down to me
to show a fleeting glimpse
of all that I might be.

2011

(updated 2022)

This poem is in my book Pursuits of Whimsey. Sometimes poems grow like other living things, and after eleven years I found myself squinting at the poem and it needed to change a bit. It has pretty much been my best seller with adults and kids alike… though it has been out much longer than my others.

The Alabaster Hedgehog is too sexy for kids (but it is a lot of fun… more sex comedy than sex scenes). Olly Olly Oxen Frey is an illustrated epic adventure and I’m still trying to figure out how best to market it. It is wonderful and unabashedly fantastic. My latest two books are stand-alone fantasy-adventure books with a gay teen as its hero. With each, I wanted to explore that transition in one’s teen years when one first starts embracing one’s sexuality. OOOF‘s hero is 15 going on 16 and Jack is learning about becoming comfortable in his body and owning his sense of self. TAH‘s hero is 18, and Thaddeus is questioning what is involved with losing his virginity? Does it need to be with someone special? Or can it just be with someone really hot? With faerie folk in the equation and an eccentric gay, great-uncle, it is a playful comedy of errors. It was fun to write.

On May 3, Q-Con is coming to WeHo! I’ve applied for a half of a table to promote my three books and ThePurpleFantastic.com. I’m quite excited about it and intend to make my bit of table a little… well… fantastic! I am a designer after all and I do have a bit of time to prepare. It will be a fun design challenge to deal with the limitation of four feet and whatever space I have behind me. It will be my first book festival-like experience. I look forward to the possibilities.

Wholesome Queers is still bumping along with hikes, neighborhood walks, theater, and other assorted adventures. It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of wonderful people and I appreciate that the members represent the spectrum on the LGBTQ+ alphabet. Our connection to others is our strength in these uncertain times of national craziness.