Ramblings of a Mad Southern Woman

By Ashley Fontainne

**Special Bonus Edition**

Includes the short story Fine as Frog Hair for the first time in print!

A collection of eclectic poetry that touches upon numerous aspects of life including love, loss, betrayal, pain and joy. These poems will touch your heart and soul in a variety of ways. Followed by a collection of short stories that delve into childhood fears, revenge, rage and redemption, each one will move you from one emotional state to another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RMSW Press
• Release date: Jun 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781475294637

Book preview

DEDICATION

For those of you that are already familiar with my two novels, Accountable to None and Zero Balance, you know that I am a huge fan of the whole suspense/thriller genre style of writing. Putting words on paper that grab the reader, literally forcing them to turn the page to see what happens next, is what I strive for in my writing because that is what draws me to a book.

There is also a much softer side to me, one that is reflected in my poetry that deals with numerous life issues that we all face in some form or another. Poetry is personal.  It lets authors open up their hearts to the readers, revealing innermost thoughts, struggles and emotions. Most of my poetry stems from my great love of Jesus Christ. Without His love and strength I would never have made it through my own personal fires, of which there have been many, just as there are for each of us walking this Earth.

From my reaction to the ridicule from others about my faith in Snickering, to the painful journey I knew I was about to embark upon when I started writing in Dig, the trails emblazoned with pain are evident. Watching a loved one succumb to the tantalizing lure of drugs in White Knight to the fury I felt when writing Accountable to None, which came out in the poem Rage, I let the emotions pour out of me. It was a marvelous, immediate cleansing of my soul as I released these cancerous thoughts that constantly swirl around in my mind.

I also write about the unbelievable love our God has for us in the poem A Perfect Circle, which is based on the Fibonacci sequence found in nature as well as in Troubles, which was actually the very first poem I ever wrote.  Twenty years ago, a dear friend was immersed in her own personal turmoil and I wrote it for her. My beloved son is also a favorite subject, especially when he changed, almost overnight, from my little boy into a man in Sunrise, Sunset, and the moment that we were both touched by Purple Mountains Majesty. I even penned one poem that cat lovers everywhere will appreciate entitled That Is Who I Am, which is my dedication to my cat Furby, a Ragdoll that has owned me for sixteen years. ABC’s Of The Sea sprang from my own fear of the ocean and the thoughts that invade my head each time the water calls to me, thinking what if? I enjoyed penning this one simply because each sentence starts with and follows the alphabet, forming a cohesive story using A-Z.

All of the short stories, except two, are fictional, but do contain a small sliver of the lives of numerous people I have known over the years, watching and listening as their own tragic events unfurled in front of their disbelieving eyes. There are stories around us every day if we just take time to listen.  Stained Concrete arose from years of conversing with numerous battered women and sparked the beginning fires burning to pen Accountable to None. The short Smoldering Ashes is a conglomeration of the emotional scars we each carry from various injuries that are rooted in minute pieces of not only my life, but also the lives of several people I have known that learned to let the fires be extinguished through God’s love.  Stopping violence against women and children is a cause near and dear to my heart, and therefore, ten percent of the sale proceeds of not only this collection, but also Accountable to None, go to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Childhood fears about the frightening things we don’t understand are also touched upon in Death by Shadow, my very first attempt at writing something scary.

The true glimpse of my love for Jesus is told in How 9/11 Saved My Dad, which was the first short story I ever wrote. After that unbelievable experience, I had no choice but to let the words tumble out of me, for the excitement of that day so long ago still provides chill bumps on my skin when I think of how the Lord used me to reach my earthly father. For the most important thing in life is not this earthly journey, but the one traversed in eternity.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the short story A Tale of Two Bulbs that I wrote for my mentor, Melody Berning, while taking her Creative Writing II class in college. Her teaching style was rather unorthodox to some students.  Ms. Berning let us be to tap into our own creative flow without applying strict rules to pigeonhole us into a preconceived mold. Some students balked at this idea while others, like me, latched upon her methods and flourished. A Tale of Two Bulbs is dedicated to this wonderful soul that saw potential and believed in me way before I ever did.

The other short story, Who Is Michael? is dedicated to my loving husband. Without his love and unabashed support, I would not be the woman I am today, for he has shown me what true love really is all about. God truly blessed me the day he walked into my life, and I am forever grateful.

There are so many people that I wish to thank that have played intricate roles in my life during this past year, however, this is supposed to be a collection of poetry and short stories, not an entire novel! There are, however, several special people that I must mention.

Betty Dravis – you are such an inspiration to so many of us and always are a joy to converse with! Your upbeat personality, warmth and vast array of knowledge that you are more than willing to share, makes you not only a legend, but a true treasure to us all.

I hope you enjoy taking a glimpse inside the rambling mind of this Mad Southern Woman, and thank you sincerely for taking the time to make the journey.

God bless – Ashley

FOREWORD

by Betty Dravis

We each have our passions, our favorite things to do. I discovered long ago that my passion is writing and reading, followed only by love of my children. And now that my children are married with children, and moved on to their own passions, I’ve spread my wings to embrace my other passions wholeheartedly.

I evolved from newspaper columnist, to editor, publisher and finally to author. Through the years, I moved from typewriter to computer and embraced the Internet Social Media where I’ve come to belong to an entire community of international artists: writers, painters, musicians, poets, etc. Our community is a warm, helpful one, aiding each other to produce our best material. In addition to writing and promoting my own books, my contribution to the others--after almost fifty years in this business--is to write reviews, book-cover blurbs, book Forewords and to interview them on occasion.

Which brings us to today and Ramblings of a Mad Southern Woman by the gifted, best-selling author Ashley Fontainne…

I’ve read the first two of her Eviscerating the Snake series and was gripped by the depth of her plot and pleased with her understanding of human nature. Thus, I was especially gratified when I received this collection of poetry and short stories. I looked forward to reading them and glimpsing another side of this talented woman, and am honored that she asked me to write the Foreword for this book.

I’m not the best judge of poetry, but Ashley Fontainne’s are filled with such passion, they hooked me. Ranging from deep, dark thoughts to joyous religion and family values, each poem is a treasure. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but one that was particularly thought-provoking to me was Sunrise, Sunset, in which a woman reminisces about her son growing from childhood to manhood. This poem aroused bittersweet memories for me; I smiled as I thought of my own dear son. I’m sure many mothers who read this story will be moved, as well.

As for her short stories, they range from dark tales of murder, revenge, rape and betrayal—such as in Stained Concrete--to an especially moving true story about her own beloved father finding Salvation through Jesus Christ in How 9/11 Saved My Dad.

Congratulations to Ashley Fontainne on a fine collection. She has achieved what most writers hope for: a vast variety of fascinating, complex characters and unique plots that hold her readers captive to the very last word. I’ve read her longer works, as I said above, but am captivated by the shorter ones, as well. As writers will tell you, it’s a huge challenge to compact a story and get it right in a limited amount of words.

Now I invite you into this intoxicating landscape of human emotions that this author has painted with great imagination and deft strokes. Due to a myriad of twists, turns and colorful swirls, if Ramblings of a Mad Southern Woman were a painting it would be a Van Gogh. (Well, she does call herself a Mad Southern Woman, doesn’t she?) 

Betty Dravis

Author/Celebrity Interviewer/Reviewer

April, 2012

POETRY

A QUESTION

"If I allow you to slip in

Will you really see?

Just a glimpse within

What it’s like to be me?

Could you navigate

The bloodied trails?

Would you still berate

After experiencing my personal nails?"

MORALITY BE DAMNED

"Morality be damned,

I lit the match;

Watching the flames devour

Everything in their voracious path.

Pictures, jewels, furniture and dishes,

Toys, clothes and linens,

All twisted, melting piles

That I created.

Memories up in smoke

Thin vapors never to return.

My family’s world, all they’ve ever known

Gone, in one monumental, soot-filled swoop.

Will they ever see?

Will they ever understand?

The intent of this wild-eyed man?

And do I really care if they don’t?

No, obviously not

Because if I did,

I would not be acting out these thoughts

Just for the relief of finances I can gain.

Morality be damned

And family/friends too;

Up in a cloud of smoke it goes

As I smile at the work I do."

A PERFECT CIRCLE

"I

He

I am

I am one

I am one with Him

I am one with Him forever

For He bought me with the ultimate sacrifices

Of His precious blood, sweat, tears as He left Heaven’s throne with one single purpose in mind.

The world mocks Him now, just as they did then, and yet knowing we would, He still walked the hill.

Victory over death is His and He offers it

A free gift begotten by love

I accepted it

And now you

He waits

For

You.

His

Blood

Dripping

Precious blood

Covers the alter

Whitewashes original sin

In agony incomprehensible, He carried

The burdens of all our evil acts on his Holy shoulders, along with our crosses to bear.

Alone in His monumental agony, dark clouds in the sky, ground shaking and veil shredded

His innocent body tortured to the climactic end

Frail form He undertook broken

Spirit ascended

Forgiven

We now

Can

Be."

WORDS

"Your love is like the ocean breeze;

Soft, cooling, gentle on my lonely soul.

Eyes so deeply have entranced me

From their gaze I cannot break.

Radiance streams around your head

As the glint of the morning sun-

Sets its copper strands afire

Melting, my strength puddles.

These words, oh, these lovely words

So soft, patient and kind;

Gently billowing around, caressing your ears

As their feathery flattery I pray you hear.

Our twain beating hearts;

Forever intertwined

From this day forward

I am yours; you are mine."

The bread of life

These words fed me;

Reservoirs of healing water quenched

The parched desert-soul.

"Your presence in my realm

I can stand no longer-leave.

Glaringly I stare

At this wretched wreck before me.

Burning holes in my brain

Leaving stench as your trail-

Be gone! I scream

Exorcising your mark out of memory.

These words, oh, these sinister words

Harsh, full