
Adele's poetry book Dreaming of Days in Astophel
(byline Lyn C. A. Gardner) is available signed from
the author. Please include "Dreaming of Days in Astophel"
in the subject line.
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Only a few left! $6 plus postage; signed!
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(c) Copyright to photographs
on this page (except publication covers) owned by Adele Gardner;
her creation and/or from her collection. Menu portraits
by Daniel Michael Hegarty Sr. (left) and Adele Gardner (right).
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Mystery
Weekly Magazine,
Nov. 2018 |

“Bonnie Parker Sings the Blues” by Adele
Gardner: In a parallel world, Bonnie & Clyde didn't die in a
hail of bullets; they became jazz musicians. But the Bonnie who
died in our reality is still greedy to be reunited with Clyde, and
she fights to steal the living Clyde from Bonnie the jazz singer.
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Short Version
Adele Gardner (www.gardnercastle.com) is a cat-loving
cataloging librarian and the award-winning creator of over 400
published poems, stories, illustrations, songs, and essays who's
a professional member of writing and art organizations that include
SCBWI, SFWA, HWA, SFPA, Sisters in Crime, and the Hampton Arts
League. With master's degrees in English literature and library
science, Gardner's a professional editor and librarian, as well
as literary executor for father and mentor Dr. Delbert R. Gardner.
Long Version
Though I miss the Finger Lakes
region of upstate New York, I enjoy so many things about Tidewater
Virginia--especially the chance to stay close to my family, with
daily views of the water. I'm a cat-loving cataloging librarian
with master's degrees in English literature and library science.
Over the years, I've edited numerous professional projects, such
as the journal Virginia Libraries and books and exhibits
for the Mariners' Museum. Thanks to Dad's mentorship, I began
submitting my creative work at fourteen and first received poetry
acceptances at sixteen.
Speaking of Delbert R. Gardner,
I'm fortunate to have been Dad's agent and collaborator since
2008. I made a sacred promise to share his work with the world
as his literary executor--entirely fitting, since he guided me
into the world of literature, submissions, and creative writing.
An accomplished poet, fiction writer, essayist, and critic, as
well as a veteran of World War II, Dr. Delbert R. Gardner taught
English literature and creative writing at Keuka College in upstate
New York, where he wrote An "Idle Singer" and His
Audience: A Study of William Morris's Poetic Reputation in England,
1858-1900. To honor him, since 2012 I've lived and published
exclusively under my middle name (given for Del, my namesake as
well as my mentor).
In creative terms, I'm a poet, fiction writer, photographer, artist,
editor, musician, and essayist. Under one previous byline, Lyn
C. A. Gardner, my first poetry collection Dreaming of Days
in Astophel came out in 2011. I've accumulated a few poetry
awards: first place (Bess Gresham Memorial) and third place (twice:
Casablanca Memorial in 2019 and Don Frew and John Newcomb Memorial
in 2018) from the Poetry Society of Virginia; third place (both
Long and Short) in the Rhysling Awards of the Science Fiction
and Fantasy Poetry Association; and third place in the Balticon
Poetry Contest (Baltimore Science Fiction Society). Two stories
and a poem earned honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy
and Horror (St. Martin's Press). I'm a graduate of the Clarion
West Writers Workshop and a member of the Science
Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
(Active), Horror
Writers Association (Active), Sisters
in Crime (Professional), Mystery
by the Sea (Southeastern Virginia Chapter of Sisters in Crime),
Science Fiction
and Fantasy Poetry Association, Poetry
Society of Virginia, and Hampton
Arts League. My photographs have shown at the Charles Taylor
Arts Center (including the Virginia Artists Juried Exhibition);
Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art; Gloucester Arts on Main;
and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, among others.
Not counting journalism for The Mariners' Museum, I've had over
400 separate works of poetry/music, short fiction, art/photography,
and nonfiction published in assorted venues such as Deep Magic,
Daily Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Legends
of the Pendragon, The Doom of Camelot, PodCastle,
Pedestal Magazine, NewMyths.com, American
Arts Quarterly, The Cape Rock, Dreams &
Nightmares, Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy,
and more. I've got a master's in English literature (emphasis
in creative writing and Victorian Literature) from Old Dominion
University, an MLIS from Florida State University, and two-thirds
of an associate's in Photography from Thomas Nelson Community
College (they're cutting the program after spring 2022--not sure
I'll have time to complete the degree, since I'm a full-time librarian).
Some of my favorite non-publication-oriented pasttimes include
swimming in lakes, slow-jogging past trees and interesting houses,
reading or watching TV with my cats, and skating (especially ice
& sidewalk skates). I love cats, owls, trees, snow, the stars,
Halloween, the color blue (especially superintelligent shades),
jazz and folk music, sushi, chambara, anime...and most of all,
my family and friends. I'm carrying on Dad's tradition of writing
& singing songs for his "offspring" and pets: each
of my cats has at least one theme song, and they also enjoy feline
favorites like "Tuna Fish."
Delbert R. Gardner
coined the title "The
Gardner Castle" (and founded it in very real terms).
During the Gardner Golden Age, a call home yielded the following
greeting: "You have reached the Gardner Castle. If you would
like us to return your call, please leave
a message after the beep."--DRG
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Above: Delbert
R. Gardner and Adele.

With Max.

With Rocco.

With Theo, at The
Last Jedi opening, my Han Solo tribute, complete with vintage
Han Solo shirt from Return of the Jedi.
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More about Adele
Gardner
"Haunted
House Author Q&A Part 1: Story Inspirations,"
Fantasy & Gothic Blog, Flame Tree Press, Ed.
Gillian Whitaker, January 16, 2019.
"Haunted
House Author Q&A Part 2: Favourite Tales & Writing
Practices," Fantasy & Gothic Blog, Flame
Tree Press, Ed. Gillian Whitaker, January 23, 2019.
"Lost
Souls Author Q&A Part 1: Story Inspirations,"
Fantasy & Gothic Blog, Flame Tree Press, Ed.
Gillian Whitaker, August 22, 2018.
"Lost
Souls Author Q&A Part 2: Favourite Tales & Writing
Practices," Fantasy & Gothic Blog, Flame
Tree Press, Ed. Gillian Whitaker, August 29, 2018.
"Why
We Write: Adele Gardner," 1888
Center, July 12, 2017.
"The
Witches' Bridge" by Adele Gardner, VIFM Blog,
Virginia Is for Mysteries, Mar. 11, 2016.
"Beach
Chat with Adele Gardner," Life's a Beach …
a beach blog by cozy mystery writer Jayne Ormerod, Feb. 5,
2016.
"Q
& A with Adele Gardner," Third
Flatiron Publishing, Jan. 2016.
"Outposts of Beyond Interview with Speculative Poet
Adele Gardner," Outposts of Beyond, July 2013.
"Openers:
For the Love of Reading" by Lyn C. A. Gardner and Cy
Dillon, Virginia
Libraries, Vol.
54, No. 3-4, July/August/September-October/November/December 2008.
Want a behind-the-scenes
look?
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