poetry

Being Greek

Posted on by Chrissy

Being Greek means learning how to be clever

before you.

Learning about language and ancestry as a bedtime story.

Living in modern times

with an ancient soul,

in the Corinthian earth,

ghosts

talk

talk

talk

about me.

I make up my own rules

eat words while you sleep

awake before the birds

hunting poems out of my skull

bones

under my olive skin,

kissing my trinity girls.

#5minutewrite

for My soulsistas @jwprebich @lexmeehan

#streamofconsciousness #noediting #amwriting #christinastrigas #poeticsighs #poetsofig #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poetrylovers #poetryisnotdead #poetryisart #canadianpoetry

tag you’re It

from my Instagram

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Release Day of A BOOK OF CHRISSYISMS

Posted on by Chrissy

I’m 50 today and what better way to celebrate than releasing my book…

 

ebook CHRISSYISMS (1)

A Book of Chrissyisms portrays Christina Strigas’s inner perspectives; explaining her viral quotes, popular poems, and an evolving outlook on life. Based off of reader commentary, journal entries, social media, and life, Christina depicts what it all means: being a writer, a mother, a friend, a confidant, a mentor, an editor, a teacher, and a member of society.

Part confessional and part quirk, A Book of Chrissyisms includes essays and a variety of creative writing—a fun, idiosyncratic page-turner which readers and writers can learn from, enjoy, and best of all, relate to.

Christina Strigas started working on this book for fun. She amassed some of her quotes and tweets that were popular on social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram.

It is a non-fiction book.

So many people wonder what it is like to be a writer, to be a creative person. I hope to shed some light from my perspective. The title is A Book of Chrissysisms because that is a word that best describes living in my own mind from Monday to Sunday

This book is a labor of love. In this coffee table book, I write poems, quotes, short essays, and give you my perceptions on various subjects, from public phone calls to narcissists.

M popular quotes that went viral on Twitter are all included in this book. I try to explain in a philosophical and psychological way what has helped me in her path. Creativity and blocking off people who harm you are one of the paths to self-healing. From my own experience and life, as a poet, writer, woman, and mother, I open up my eyes to the multi-dimensional mind inside all of us.

If you love poetry, quotes, and essays, this is a fun easy read for you to delve into and read over and over again, to pass along to a friend and to keep on your coffee table.

 

Thank you for being here and supporting my work. I appreciate it very much.

Much love,

Chrissy

 

Click on the link to check it out:

 

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“A Book of Chrissyisms” by Christina Strigas cover reveal

Posted on by Chrissy

I took the summer off to work on some projects. At the beginning of July, I started working on this book for fun. I was not sure when I would finish it or where I was going with it, but it somehow wrote itself. I amassed some of my quotes and tweets that were popular on social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram.

This is the cover reveal. It is a non-fiction book, based on my thoughts, poems, quotes, and essays. I hope you truly enjoy the philosophy behind the book.

So many people wonder what it is like to be a writer, to be a creative person. I hope to shed some light from my perspective. The title is A Book of Chrissysisms because that is a word that best describes living in my own mind from Monday to Sunday.

I am aiming to publish this book on my 50th birthday, in September.

Let me know what you think of the book cover.

 

Peace & Love,

Chrissy xebook CHRISSYISMS (1).jpg

 

Free Ebook download scam of my fake manuscript copies of “Love & Metaxa” by Christina Strigas circulating on the internet by malicious spam

Posted on by Chrissy

Attention all fans and followers, my book Love & Metaxa is being scammed. Let me explain…

I was sitting down relaxed, drinking my green tea, googling myself like all writers do to see if there is anything going on with my name and books that I am not aware of. You know, the usual protect yourself against trolls day.  Remember, I am on my summer vacation. The goal for me this summer was to take some time off of social media to write. Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion, that I cannot. Unless I become a monk and have no internet access, it is impossible. Every morning I wake up and work on my various projects. I am in the process of editing Love & Metaxa, but I will get to that later.

Out of the blue I see, “Love & Metaxa free read”  “Read online Love & Metaxa ebook by Christina Strigas”  “Title: Love & Metaxa Author: Christina Strigas, PDF Read,  Free Download [Science book]”  “[art book ]Free Download Love & Metaxa/ by Christina Strigas”  “Download PDF/ePub eBook Love & Metaxa” – “Ebookers -love-metaxa”  pop up on the screen….on and on….claiming it is “a chapbook to be released soon.” I read some of the links, which were the same write up I had done for Goodreads. Goodreads is the only place I uploaded the cover art and I wrote three sentences that eighteen links copied and claimed it! I was in shock! I was staring at my computer screen in complete horror. What the heck was going on? What manuscript of Love & Metaxa were they selling when I still had mine on my computer? I clicked.

I clicked on the link, which led me to the exact same photo from Goodreads and the blurb that Love & Metaxa is to be released soon. “Read it here.” One site claimed it had 307 pages and another 174, all these different numbers of pages. All the sites made you click onto another site to pay.  Theses are sites trying to scam readers into downloading my ebook and tons of other books by other authors on their websites to become a member of some site called “moviepin.” They  want you to pay a subscription fee and suddenly you get a pop screen that you won a Samsung galaxy! Just enter your information and get hacked or get a virus through your email. A phishing scam. There were even Amazon and Kindle words being thrown around as if they were in charge! My amazon link was on the page, but not linked just typed up with some cartoon photo of me, Christina Strigas. In another link the sentences did not even make any grammatical sense. They were repeating themselves over and over. Read Love & Metaxa.

I called my brother who is an IT specialist and he said “you can’t do anything, except call anti-fraud Canada,”  which is exactly what I did. I made a claim and reported each link of Love & Metaxa by Christina Strigas to the government and they said they would  further investigate. I also reported these links to Google phishing  : “Report Phishing Page” which took me over two hours to individually report each link.

http://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report/_phish/?hl=en

All these sites took most of the information from Goodreads. I had uploaded the cover art in 2017 because back then I had a publishing company, Mad Wolf Publishing, who was going to publish it, but after the first round of edits, I was not satisfied with what they did to my poetry. Actually, I was mortified. I had paid that company to get it edited and then reverted it back to my original manuscript. What a waste of time! I showed my friend and editor, Alexandra what they did to the edited version of Love & Metaxa, and she could not believe it. She said, “they dumbed it down.” So I started over. I added more poems. Suddenly it wasn’t a chapbook anymore. It started to grow into a poetry book.

Here is the link to Goodreads:

Goodreads link to Love & Metaxa which false manuscripts circulated. 

Here is my link to my Amazon page:

They could have easily taken my image from my Amazon link : I have an Amazon page: my Amazon Author’s page  with my photo and information. 

Love & Metaxa was originally a chapbook. I wrote most of it in forty-eight hours in 2017. During the Fall of 2017 when Alexandra Meehan accepted to be my editor, she worked hard for months to get me to write my best work. Her skills as an editor, assisted me in improving my thoughts and impressions. We have finished the first major rounds of edits, but it is not completely done. Only last month, I added three “positive” poems.

    Love & Metaxa is a dark book of poetry. These sites are claiming it is a [science book] and an [art book. ] It just floors me that there are links to “read Love & Metaxa by Christina Strigas” when I am still editing and adding final poems to it. Granted, it has taken me a while to rewrite and edit my book since I first uploaded the cover art on Goodreads, but still as a writer, I need to protect my name and reputation.

The internet is a war zone. Writers have to protect themselves and search on the internet what other people are stealing or copying. I know they don’t have my book, Love & Metaxa, but what exactly do they have? Apparently, no books. Only viruses or a scam to steal your identity.

There is an interesting article about ebook download scam by Randy Cassingham this is true is an excellent article about the ebook download scam. 

My brother even said, “People that would actually go on these sites to download ebooks illegally are not your real fans. Your fans know when your book is coming out and that you are still writing Love & Metaxa. Also, take it as a compliment. You’re popular.”  If I looked at it from that point of view, I could shrug it off, but I’m neurotic and so I keep looking and reporting these links until I no longer ever see them again.

I keep trying to understand how the internet is such a force and how people can manipulate your name and take advantage of your popularity by illegally scamming people. This is such a shock and I feel that it is necessary for me to share my experience with you, my readers and my fellow writers.

Research your name and books to see if this is going on with your published work. Report these links and sites. There is a site called Blasty that you can become a member of that will research any illegal downloads of your books. There is a free plan, click here:  https://www.blasty.co there is also a paid plan. This site helps you monitor your content online and removes illegal downloads with one click. 

I am supposed to be writing and working on my projects before my beach vacation, but instead I’m forced to protect myself from bootleg scams of Love & Metaxa that don’t even exist. Is it this easy to scam people? Read a book that is “coming soon” by clicking here when the author has not even finished writing it? I could imagine something like this happening to J.K Rowling, but to me? And for a poetry book?! Heck, we poets don’t even make any money, and now these sites are making money off of our books. How unjust and illegal.

Please do not click on any of these links that have pdf documents of Love & Metaxa by Christina Strigas.  I will keep you posted when I am finished Love & Metaxa and when it will be published.  Thank you so much for your support and understanding. Leave me any comments and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

 

 

 

 

Love & Metaxa by Christina Strigas

Posted on by Chrissy

Click on the Goodreads link at the bottom of the page to see the cover of my poetry book that I am working on. I am in the editing stages.

Love & Metaxa will be my fourth poetry book.

I am taking a break to work on the editing stages and finalize the book.

I am hoping to finish it by the end of the summer and send it out to Publishers. My other three books I self-published, but this one I think is a special one.

Alexandra Meehan is editing it and it has a unique style to it. She has pushed me to my limit and continues to tell me “I could do better!”

I write about love, death, sex, drinking, poetry, marriage and being alone in a crowd. Metaxa is the theme of the book.

I am going on vacation next week, but will check in from time to time. Leave me a comment if you have any questions about Love & Metaxa. 

Have a great summer!

Love,

Chrissy

Please go on Goodreads and check it out.   Goodreads link 

Expectations

Posted on by Chrissy

Expectation will ruin your life.

I wrote that because most people have these unrealistic expectations of their loved ones when they know that they have limitations. I can’t expect my husband to take out the trash when he never does. I can’t be disappointed in my book sales when I don’t promote myself like I need to. I can’t expect my friends to read my mind when I run out of restaurants upset. I hate to feel so much. At the same time, I don’t know what it’s like to feel nothing at all. Most people can’t see the cracks in the sidewalk because they are staring at their phone. I read a whold book on a plane and had time to drink. I feel that expectations should be kicked away as far away from reality as possible. Paths have a way of turning into gravel and detour signs are more prevalent now more than ever.

I am working on a book, a journal, a new life.

Chapters don’t need headings all the time.

Life needs to be unpredictable at times.

 

 

 

Nothing

Posted on by Chrissy

In death

people don’t disappear

they brighten up and write poems

on the other side of the sky

wait for you to decipher

their lines.

They bury the flowers

you planted and eat your leftover soup

even if living with the dead was hard

their life in your hands

is as comparable

as empty hands and brick walls.

Woodnotes

Posted on by Chrissy

Last night I fell asleep

before you came home.

I dragged the dog out for a walk

but he hates the cold as much as I do.

He pissed all over the kitchen floor,

he despises being alone.

He ate snacks before bedtime

wallowing in loneliness.

You wanted to have sex

while I had creative writing on my mind.

My blue journal sprawled between

my thighs,

I want my head there, you said.

My pens took precedence

Patience was playing from my phone

I ignored you. I fought your lights.

You take it personal, but I’m a writer

and you know that I can’t interrupt

my flow. Sex came and went,

making love is for another lifetime.

I took the kids out for dinner

ate avocado rolls

veggie burgers

St.Louisbourg burger

with onion rings.

I said, it’s hard to be an artist

to be in a relationship,

I am preparing them

for the heartache, but it’s

Too late.

If the one you’re with

does not understand what a woodnote is

or what defines you.

It’s a natural musical tone

or the song of

some bird

no one cares about trees

nature is becoming extinct.

The young and old have their heads

filled with useless information

school shootings

young wolves writing poems

academia taking the back seat

poets knocking on your door

I am locked in;

dead children

another statistic.

Here we are sleeping together

never at the same time

chaos in our fear.

Writing prompt: word: Woodnotes

#februaryfalls18

Victorious

Posted on by Chrissy

You are in another year

time travels separately

into a victorious collection

of seasons that cleaned up

words into banned secure

parking lots of trash.

I would never meet you again

do not question

why, when, or how.

Count your six trophies

the four naked ones

add them to your collections

of home invasions

and move on to the next

forget the one before.

Look away from the railing.

#februaryfalls18 #writingprompt #christinastrigas #poetry #poetsofig #poem #poet #writer

Tagging a few to do the challenge @fallspoetry @breath_words_ @aseawords

Photo by @cocoluna___ ❤️