ENKINDLER

“Women in Strange Places”

By Celeste Ramos

As I read the first of nine short stories from “Women in Strange Places” by Celeste Ramos, my mind focused like a falcon’s eye zeroing in on its prey. I began reading the pages faster and faster, searching for as many details as I could find to complete the mysterious algorithm that was unfolding through the characters’ narration. I didn’t foresee where it would end up, but was certain I’d follow it to its conclusion no matter the outcome. My heart began to race as my emotions began to identify with Margaret, the first woman who finds herself in a precarious and perilous situation.

“Panic bullies my memory. Where the hell am I? All I remember

is pulling the key out of the apartment door, opening it, and then

everything goes bright white like I’d opened the door into another

world.” Excerpt from “Women in Strange Places”

When asked Celeste why her characters often find themselves isolated and vulnerable situations. She said, “By placing the women in these situations… a lot ideas are perpetuated when you think you’re the “only one” who thinks or acts or feels a certain way.” “It also forces one to think about how they got into the dangerous position in the first place and what they may have done differently if they had been more aware of their surroundings.”

I met Celeste on Twitter in a writers group. She is from New York, but resides in San Francisco. She is the author of crime drama, suspense, and surrealist fiction. She is a public speaker and editor. I saw her perform in “The Vagina Monologues”, she has a wonderful voice. She is a sexual abuse survivor and activist. She is also spoken word artist.

Here is an example of her poetry.

“Behind Mirrors” by Celeste Ramos

Does none of this sound strange to you?

I told a friend the other day that the right one won’t feel intensity

only genuinely and only obsession with the best of intentions

I‘ve sat here in front of all these mirror silver, banging my head against them

The chards pushing through my fingers

And now look

and now see…

Isn’t it funny?

Yet perfect and clever in my own making that behind that mirror I found a brick wall

And like a super hero enraged my fist bled through pounding

Until beyond that wall

I found a tree growing

from stenching cement and it’s fruit makes a ray of my heart

10,0000 of my heart’s pumping the blood of your own.

When I asked her about her goals, she responded, “My long term plan is to travel and raise awareness to under served people in all parts of the world, particularly families and lone children struggling with AIDS and repercussions of war. My projects are to write books and documentaries that not only inform people all over the world about the problems in “3rd world” and under served nations, but to also teach empowerment and awareness to the people struggling. I want to teach people that they have choices, ownership of and potential and in their lives.”

By purchasing her book you are helping raise money for her cause. Here is a link to her You Tube postings that you may find interesting; http://www.youtube.com/user/womeninstrangeplaces

admin Blog This!, Short Stories