Short and Strange volume 2 is now available!

The link to the print version.
The link to the Kindle version.

This is a collection of 21 stories that were written from December 17th, 2017 to October 15th, 2019. They are all based on unusual black and white photos that I found. Some themes will become apparent – monkeys, alligators, names, citizenship. Who is “in” and who is “out”? What is “normal” – and who decides?The photo is the basis of every story. I select pictures that are odd, that seem to have a backstory. Yet, none exists. The human brain needs completion to feel at rest, even if the completion to the narrative isn’t necessarily true. So I write what the picture tells me to write. It is a little like being a detective, and a lot like being an artist. What would you create with limited ingredients or information? Sometimes a limit can be helpful. It forces you to focus on what you have. These stories might disturb you. They might make you think. Both can be useful. It is up to you to decide. These were initially posted on my blog, betsybeadhead.com. Many have been polished up for this book. If there is a difference between the version on my blog and the one here, the printed version is preferred.

The Abandoned Project is now available!

The Abandoned Project (volume 1) Short stories inspired by pictures of abandoned doors and gateways. Published 5/16/19    ISBN: 9781799149507

Current list of books I’ve written

Free Range Faith.   Essays on following Jesus and not Christianity.  Published 12/11/2014.  ISBN-13: 978-1502367679

Fortunate Stamps.  Collage using stamps and fortune cookie messages. Published 1/17/2015.  ISBN-13: 978-1507623480

The Condensed Gospel.  The Gospel, as one story, in order, with no repetition.  Published 12/19/2015.  ISBN-13: 978-1505514940

Travel by Stamps.  An all-ages story using vintage stamps for the illustrations.  Published 12/27/2015.  ISBN-13: 978-1522947127

Some for the Road: Meditations and milestones on the road of recovery. Daily meditations on recovery. Published 4/22/2017.   ISBN -13: 978-1507633588

Images of God (in color).  Inspirational poetry and pictures, in full color.  Published 6/21/2017.   ISBN-13 978-1546815129

Images of God (in black and white).  Inspirational poetry and pictures, in a more affordable black and white format.  Published 6/23/2017.   ISBN-13 978-1548191023

Short and Strange. 25 unusual short stories inspired by vintage photographs.   Published 9/26/2017.   ISBN-13:  978-1974103669

maps for lost places. 27 speculative fiction short stories.  Published 1/6/2018. ISBN-13: 978-1981396856

Creating a Life. Essays about being an artist with a full-time life. Published 2/17/2018.  ISBN-13: 978-1985022140

home is a place in your heart. Essays, poems, workbook-style prompts and full color pictures exploring the idea of “home”. Published 10/30/18   ISBN-13: 978-1726019750

The Invisible House series.    Essays and tales about negative space and impermanence. It is more of an art piece than anything else. It is non-classifiable.   ISBN 9781795706964   Kindle edition published 2-27-19

The Abandoned Project (volume 1) Short stories inspired by pictures of abandoned doors and gateways. Published 5/16/19    ISBN: 9781799149507

Short and Strange volume 2    21 short stories inspired by unusual black and white vintage photographs. Published 11/22/19   ISBN: 978-1703976113

Stamp Stories   A diverse collection of art and stories illustrated by stamps and ephemera.  In color.  Published 3-23-20.   ISBN: 979-8629681601

Tuesday Buffet   A series of photographs taken once a week of a tree, for a year. Published 3/31/20.    ISBN: 979-8632414265

Female Trouble: stuff we don’t talk about   Essays on womanhood in 21st century America.  Published 5/8/20    ISBN: 9798644132874

poems for hard times    47 poems of inspiration and uplift, written between 6/30/13 and 1/31/19.  Published 5/14/20   ISBN: 9798645747121

Wander    Essays, poems and stories inspired by The Wander Society.  Written between February 2016 and June 2018.  Published 6/23/20    ISBN: 9798656489744

A Walk Through the Bible Essays about the Bible, written April 2013 to July 2020. Published 8/14/20. ISBN: 9798672088235

The View From Here    125 essays on an array of topics that will probably improve the world if people actually read them. Written between October 2013 and January 2021.  Published 2/18/21   ISBN: 9798708113092

A Life in the Margins  126 essays, written between January 2013 and April 2021 about nearly 2 decades of working for a public library. Published 6/28/21   ISBN: 9798528401553

Further Along the Road  85 essays, written between May 2013 and December 2019 on recovery and health. Published 10/12/21   ISBN: 9798495431485

Cabinet of Curiosities – a short story collection.   These 35 stories were written between February 16, 2016 and November 24, 2020. Published 12/22/21  ISBN: 9798788030609

All titles are available through Amazon. Most titles are also available on Kindle unlimited.
Author page: amazon.com/author/betsynelson

“maps for lost places” is now available!

My latest book, “maps for lost places” is now available on Amazon. It is a collection of 27 short stories. They are snapshots and sketches of a half-glimpsed world – observations of life between the lines.

Cover image for Maps

Here is the link to the book on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/maps-lost-places-Betsy-Nelson/dp/1981396853/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515342113&sr=1-1&keywords=maps+for+lost+places

Here is the link to the Kindle version –

“Short and Strange” is now available!

cover

 

Twins. Talking dolls. Aliens. Mis-matched couples. What’s not to love about short stories that are a little bit strange? You get to wander into an unusual world for just a little bit – but not too long. You don’t want to get stuck there, do you? You might never come back… Every story in this collection was inspired by an unusual black and white photograph the author found. These stories were written between October 2015 and July 2017.

 

Now available on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/Short-Strange-Betsy-Nelson/dp/1974103668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506792348&sr=8-1&keywords=%22Short+and+Strange%22

“Images of God” is now available!

My 6th book, “Images of God” is now available on Amazon. It is a collection of inspirational poetry and photographs. I have published it in two versions – black and white (seen above) and color.

Here is a link to the black and white version –

https://www.amazon.com/Images-black-white-Betsy-Nelson/dp/1548191027/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498665462&sr=8-2&keywords=images+of+God+betsy+nelson

The color version is more expensive due to the publishing process that has to be used.

Here is a link to it –

“Images of God” photographs

These are the color images of the photographs in my newest book, Images of God.  The color version of the book is expensive to produce, so I have also produced it as a black and white version.  This page serves as a supplement to that version.  All images are owned by me and cannot be used for any purpose by anyone unless specific permission is granted by me in writing.

 

p.1 Grandfather Mountain waves. Waves of mountains, like the sea.  Grandfather Mtn, NC.  Fall 2015, while taking my Father’s ashes to scatter.

gm waves 2

p.7  Autumn tree.  Taken in October 2016 in Old Hickory, TN, at the Old Hickory Church of Christ. I photographed this tree several times a week for the months necessary to document the change from summer to autumn.

autumn a

p.14  Japanese lantern.  Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  Summer 2015, on the trip to retrieve the ashes of my grandparents and father.

Japanese lantern a

p.18  Tree in snow.  Winter 2016.  Hermitage TN.  A Bradford Pear – white in winter, white in Spring.  A study in colorlessness.

tree in snow a

p.24  Bricks.  Lewisburg, TN.  On the side of a Presbyterian church on the main square, downtown.  Old and new bricks, two different colors, working together to build this building. Thanksgiving, 2015.

bricks a

p.33  Mary at Calvary.  Taken at Calvary Cemetery, Nashville, October 2016.  This is a Catholic-only cemetery, with many graves of people who were born in Ireland.

Mary in Calvary a

p.39  DuBose.  Dubose Conference Center, near Sewanee, TN.  (University of the South).  An Episcopal retreat center.  Probably Spring 2013.  The trees in the courtyard had been cut down since the last time I was there, at Cursillo.

DuBose1a

p.44  Lantern and tea house. Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  Summer 2015.

lantern and tea house a

p.49.   Mercy Door.  Spring 2015, probably.  Mercy convent, Donelson TN.  Not to be confused with the Mercy Doors that opened in 2016 on order of Pope Francis to grant a plenary indulgence.  This door is to the sunroom for retreatants at this retirement center for Sisters of Mercy.

Mercy door a

p.54    Grandparent’s home.  Birmingham, AL Summer 2015.  Mountain Brook area. When I knew it, it was just white, and the privet gave privacy to the front porch. My grandfather painted one side of the house white every year, rotating around.  Simple and efficient. This looks difficult to maintain.  Here, I said a prayer for this new family, that they not be haunted by the ghost of my father, who died here.

grandparents home a

p.61   Church front.  Downtown Nashville TN.  Fall 2012.  On break from a Diversity in Dialogue class taken through work.  Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ.  The sign on the door said that it was open to all, but it was locked.

church1a

p. 69. Nest. At a meeting place called Atmology, in Nashville TN.  Probably 2015, at a Compassionate Nashville coffeehouse event.  A sitting area near a window – all cushions and rugs.  No chairs.  Intimate and cozy.

Nest a

p.74   Mailboxes. Old Hickory, TN.  Fall 2016.  Rusted, anonymous.  More mailboxes than buildings to go to.

Mailboxes a

p.79  Torii gate.  Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  Summer 2015.  A place of demarcation, a gate without a lock.  I was in Birmingham to retrieve the urns filled with the ashes of my paternal grandparents and my father – all dead over 20 years.  Time to bury or scatter – no longer in a niche, hidden away at the back of a funeral home, at the end of a corridor filled with filing cabinets. Since I was going to Birmingham, I chose to be a tourist to all the places my grandparents never took me. The Botanical Gardens are free, and have a lovely Japanese Garden section.

Torii a

p.86  Shell sanctuary.  A miniature Zen garden I created in my back yard.  Moss, rocks, a broken salvaged shell as the tea house.  Photo taken at a very low angle, very close.  Micro photography.  Summer 2015.

shell a

p.90   Mary blue.  Taken at Mercy Convent, Donelson TN, perhaps fall of 2015.  Blue skies, downcast gaze.  She too is outside, in all weather, suffering with us.

Mary blue a

p.95  Door knocker.  At Palmas Verdes, Hermitage TN 37076.  Probably 2014.  This is the entrance to the Ladies’ restroom.  Such detail and beauty in such an in-elegant location.

door knocker a

p.102  Mexican door.  Taken 2016, Hermitage TN at the Palmas Verdes Mexican restaurant.  I’d long admired this door with these lovely trees.  I’d planned to sketch it, but I was always in a hurry, or there was a car parked in the best spot in front of it, or the sky was overcast.  I took pictures so I could sketch it later when conditions improved.  In the meantime, they have cut down the trees and removed the beautiful hardware.

Mexican door a

p.106  Courtyard gate.  Entrance to the courtyard behind Rembrandt’s coffeehouse, Chattanooga TN.  Bluff View Arts District, maybe Fall 2015.  A hidden gem – easily overlooked with this unassuming, unpretentious, and yet somewhat forbidding gate.  Open, yet invisible, yet also warding off.

courtyard gate a

p.113  Courtyard.  Behind Rembrandt’s coffeehouse, Chattanooga TN.  Bluff View Arts District.  One of my favorite hidden nooks. There are benches and a water fountain here.  Very serene.

courtyard a

p.120  Window.  Detail of a stained-glass window at Mercy Convent, Donelson TN.  The colors speak to me.  When I see these windows, I know I’m there.  This is a motif throughout the building.

window a

p.126  Holy light.  St. Meinrad’s archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN, September 2015.   The light near the aumbry, where the reserved sacrament is kept (the communion wafers that have been blessed) denotes the Real Presence of Christ, according to Catholics.

holy light a

p.135  Church towers.  Downtown Nashville TN.  Fall 2012.  On break from a Diversity in Dialogue class taken through work.   Spires.  Belltower?

church2a

p.140  Tree with knobs.  Near the Hermitage Public Library, on a lunchtime walk.  There is a small park with trees, a huge sundial made of airplane wings, and a stream.

tree with knobs a

p.147 Spires at Calvary.  Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Nashville TN.  October 2016.  Dedicated to an Irishman who moved to Nashville in the 1800s.  A Holy Temple in miniature.

spires at Calvary a

p.151   Detail.  Detail of a small stained-glass window depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove.  At Mercy Convent, Donelson TN.  Probably Spring 2015.  The prism turns the light into rainbows.  The statue of Mary next to it is illuminated by this light.

detail a

p.157  Rust map.  A trash bin, rusted, paint peeling.  It looks like a map of some city I’ll never find in this lifetime.  Hermitage TN recycling center, near the Goodwill and Big Lots and Hobby Lobby, perhaps Autumn of 2014.

rust map a

p.163  Communion.  The cut-glass dish for holding communion wafers at Mercy Convent, Donelson TN.  The image reveals the Star of David. The people taking communion would not see this because it normally would be covered by the wafers and/or held by the priest.

Communion a

p.167  Mary at St. Meinrads.  The images of Mary at the monastery of St. Meinrad’s (in St. Meinrad, IN) are in the woods.  She is not in the church.  She is outside, in the wilderness.  You have to look hard to find her. She is not on the map.

Mary at stm a

p.172  Abandoned house. Across from Blu Fig restaurant in Nolensville, TN.  Possibly spring 2016.  This structure is no longer present. Presumably abandoned because of the nearby road construction.

abandoned

 

Author photo

author photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1)