I have published two books of poetry that are out in the world trying to survive, the first book is titled "When There Are Dragons There Is Alzheimer's", the ISBN # is 1-4196-0244-6. The second book is titled "Through The Maze of Life", the ISBN # 1-4241-1785-X, both books are available through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. I made a mistake in the choice of publisher with my book "Through the Maze of Life", it has become a lost book for me, it is a sad experience for me as i have lost 125 of my poems for another four years when the contract i signed is up and the poems revert back to me. If you are an aspiring author, please prevent yourself from being drawn into the same web i was and so many other authors ahead of me. Their logo is that they are a tradition publisher, they pay you a $1.00 when you sign the contract, you are told when the book sells your royalty will be 8% and go up when the sales increase, but somehow the royalties are usually under $5.00 every 6 mos, (does that mean im not selling my books?), they acclaim to send out reviews, editing and grammar checks, and so much more, which never occurs. they end up selling the books to the author instead, not to the public as promised. they are not accepted by many book stores and many reviewers and agents refuse to touch them, your are expected to do all the marketing for your books in order for them to sell and they have a tendency of always selling your books back to you at such discounts, the problem is who can afford to buy enough books to sell on your own. im giving you this warning to protect any author on this website of the hazards out there to them, should you choose to publish, look carefully at the publisher, do get your research done thoroughly, and know their reputation through others, i am talking about staying away from publishamerica or you will lose control of your book for 7 years or how ever long the contract they want you to sign will state. protect your hard work and your dignity. i do not feel a published writer anymore and feel so ashamed of my gullibility and want of seeing my poems in print more than wanting to protect them. authors are very sensitive people and sometimes we dont pay enough attention to the realities of the outside world, it is a dog eat dog world out there for the writer. Please take care of your work and yourself. Thank you for spending some time in my world. and i do hope you still enjoy and ponder over some of my words, they are written for your enjoyment.

my poetry stems from what my mind feels, it became a reality when i cared for my mother who had Alzheimer's and has stayed with me even after her death. poetry is a method of telling stories to entertain, frighten, inspire you or make you laugh, it can make us feel good or make us feel bad, they tell us about history or life and they are therapeutic in difficult times or illnesses. we make it what we want and how we want. the style we use is who we are. a poet is a teacher and you are all our students.we love to teach and we hope you love to learn.i have published two books now, the first one was compiled and published shortly after momma died, it was in a sense a tribute to the mother i had always wanted and it took Alzheimer's to to attain that dream. i dedicated the book to her as well for other to see. i was raised as a military brat and saw much of the world in different aspects of my life, and some historical events as they began to occur. i do feel somewhat priviladged at experiencing them and of being given the chance to grow with the world and see the good, the bad, and the ugly. it all developed me into who i am with my poetry and myself. my new websites name is "The World of Mary Etta's Poetry" you can find it at http://www.pegesus.weebly.com no i am not giving up my website here, i just have another one to share where i can be creative with other things besides poetry, share another world of me