Real Magic

This is about writing and magic.  Wait for it.

A good friend and wise teacher of mine recently said someone asked her if she believes in magic.  My friend said, "Of course I do.  Have you ever looked at a baby?  Have you ever noticed how the baby changes from an infant into a baby, into a pre-toddler, into a toddler, into a child?  That's magic.  LIFE is magical."

Our capacity to learn language as children, simply by hearing others speak, is part of that magic.  Today I accompanied my sister, my brother-in-law and my two little nieces to Greta Jo, the two year old's second riding lesson.  Greta Jo very clearly communicated her feelings and needs during our time in the barn and her time in the saddle.  Every new word was a discovery, from "Bridle" to "Bit!" and "Saddle!"  She conveyed he excitement with, "Up?  Pony.  Saddle!" 

On the drive home, Greta Jo's little sister munched on a teething cracker.  Scrunched up next to the girls in their car seats, I grinned into Clara's blue eyes.  "You like your cracker? 

She straightened up a little, looked straight at me.  Thinking before she said, "Cwacker."  She studied me another moment, as if to make sure I understood, and then laughed.  She knew the name of something.  She said the name, and she knew I understood her.  A magical moment in both our lives.

It still awes me that writers receive the divine gift of taking words, putting them on paper, and creating a story.  That's magical, too.

Marketing

I listened to a delightful teleseminar the other night about marketing for authors.  The speakers, a famous author and well-known promoter, described me to a T, even though we've never met.  (Yet, anyway.)  Most authors are introverted and spend most of their time alone with a keyboard and the people who exist inside them, head to soul.  To succeed as an author,the speakers said, a writer needs to tap into the extrovert part of him or herself.

I have always been very close to the mid-line when it comes to introvert/extrovert tendencies.  For several years now, I've recognized that I'm about 51% introvert and 49% extrovert.  Though I've been shaking the trees about Love is the Thread, organizing readings and signings, the teleconference made me consider how my personality relates to the life I am creating for myself AND for my work.

I'll be thinking about this for a long time.  But I'll be acting on it even longer.  It's time for that 51% -- 49% introvert/extrovert proportion of my personality to flip flop.

Stormy Weather

As the weather makes one of its muscular leaps away from summer and into fall, with a drop in the temperatures and the wind whining around the eaves, I've had a writer day that reflects the tempestuous skies.  Lots of backing and forthing as the publisher and I work with the lovely woman who is working on a blurb for the back cover, under an ever tightening deadline.

All that happened before I sat down with the edits for a client's self-help manuscript, took another run through the beginning of Part II of Judith (I'm about a third of the way through the fine tuning) and also did some shamanic journeying work for another client.

Also completed the nineth issue of my zine, Memory Stick, which is appropriately enough about the weather.  Feeling a little storm tossed tonight, but I've always enjoyed a good storm.

Nearsightedness and Nature

Such a splendid, sparkling morning yesterday.  I've been building up the distance I walk a day, and yesterday it was easy to stay outside.  Sunlight glinted on the grass.  The sycamore leaves applauded as Gizmo and I strolled past.  I could watch long coils of wind toss through the trees the entire length of the ten acre farm.

I realized I've spent a good bit of time lately with my nearsighted eyes less than a foot away from the computer screen, or nearly that close to my manuscript or that of a client.  Characters live in one world, and we live in this one.  In my drive to help bring my characters' world to life (ditto for my clients' characters) I've forgotten the need to replenish myself out in the real world beyond the computer.

Today and yesterday have offered ideal opportunities to do that. 

Author Appearances (Readings, Signings,and Virtual Tour)

Last night someone approached me to ask if I would be willing to give a reading and talk about Love is the Thread.  (Guess what?  The answer was Yes!)  Tonight at a business dinner, someone else began to hammer out the details of an appearance I'll be giving as part of the virtual, online tour for the memoir.  

I've spoken with the staff of a local bookstore about readings.  Several people have asked me to give talks to their clubs.  As specific dates get booked, they will appear on this site's calendar.  But as I prepare to dive into the ocean of author appearances and promotion for Love is the Thread, the book I never planned to write, a story that is as close to my heart as the friendship that inspired it, I have to tell you:  the water's fine!

I'm also reminded of how much Kristine loved "her sister the ocean."