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Archive for July, 2011

Miracle of the moment

Posted in Musings, tagged , , , on July 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

When I decided to restart the Healing/Meditation Services of Hestia’s Hearth, it was a big step and a big commitment. I really wanted to just sit back and take life easy but found out quickly that my life didn’t work under that premise. Being busy is what mattered.

In the planning, it was important to create a environment in which all participants could find their own way using music as a backdrop to the journey. Choosing an opening song was challenging, but Dan Fogelberg was an amazing song-writer/singer who had a deep and abiding soul. He created some of the most engaging tunes I have ever heard. I met him on the radio one night several years ago singing River of Souls. It was one of those terrible times when a song ends and the DJ does not say who was singing. I had to call the radio station, repeat some of the lines which I could recall and the time I heard the song played before I got the title. I have loved Dan ever since.

When I was preparing the music for the meditation, I listened to the album for inspiration, hearing for the first time, in probably 10 years, the first song, ‘There’s a Magic Every Moment. Sometimes you know immediately that the song fits the bill. During my recent travel to ‘Hollywood’ for ‘judithwould’, I heard that song play over and over in my head. I know that it was admonishing me to pay attention to who I met and what I saw during the short trip. That, Is the magic of music! There were so many miracles of love and support and friendship during my short stay that I have to write about them one by one but I was also able to experience them in the moment by being aware. It’s a lovely feeling.

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Hollywood shuttle bus story

Posted in Comments, tagged , , , , on July 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

To the young man who I met on the shuttle bus, I wish you well.

Sitting next to me on the shuttle bus was a young man with ‘locks’, Jamaican style.  He listened to the adults speaking before tentatively asking some interesting questions of his own.  He told me a little about his background in Louisiana and what he hoped for his future.  He was just seventeen, three years older than my grandson but so poised and informed.  I was surprised that he was travelling across the country to attend basketball camp all by himself.  I thought he was pretty courageous and told him so.  He talked about his mother and what he hoped to do with his life.  I found him engaging and interesting, able to hold a conversation and be most amenable.  He asked a few quesitons about Canada.  I was able to show him how alike we are in both places and what makes us different.  His mother should be proud of him.

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‘judithwould’!

Posted in About the book, tagged , , , , , on July 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

After a whirlwind trip to Hollywood, I can say that I learned a lot about myself and who I could be.
The best part of my trip apart from the business end was meeting with some awesome folks who have done similar things to what I have done, who feel the same anxiety and insecurity about putting out their life’s work, but who did it anyway!

Wow!.. I have been to LA before, thanks to my dearest friend who passed away in 2005. We had a great time on Rodeo Dr., in Malibu and just taking in the sights and sounds of the legendary city. This time I went to fulfill a childhood dream, because the opportunity was presented to me. My hotel was located on The Avenue of Stars surrounded by MGM, Century Fox, etc. You get the idea.

I don’t know how many times I have told my clients that spending time with other people who are sharing your experience builds your own confidence and gives you support. The truth of my words came back to haunt me in the nicest way. Strangely, the concept of shared anxiety and excitement was echoed in my choice of flight movie, Love and Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.   Please see it.

So, one hundred and fifty or so aspiring authors from across Canada and US got together with reps from the industry. Our goal was to sell our compelling stories to the arts media. The ages ranged from 15 to 90+ years. Some of the stories put out were fascinating to me, others less so but what was most compelling was the individual’s own journey into authorship and their belief in the rightness of what they were doing. I was inspired.

I commend the organizers for keeping anxiety to a low level hum, while helping all of us to put our best foot forward in selling our stories. I will write a little more about this journey in the days to come but for now I can ‘chill down’ and think about my next move.

I remember when my second son passed his driver’s test. He walked down the road towards me but didn’t see me immediately. When he did, he jumped up in the air and pumped his fist in utter relief and release for that small challenge met. I am too old to jump and too conservative to do fist pumping but I sure can relate to what he felt that day.

 

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Why I write fanfiction stories

Posted in About the book, Love, Suspect, tagged , , on July 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Writing, or rather story telling has always been a love of mine. Being a hopeless romantic, most of the stories I create will define my ideal of falling in love and overcoming life’s challenges to make it work. This fantasy fiction writing is a little different from the usual romance stories which I love to write. I have found that adding a little adventure and mystery helps me to enjoy the crafting of a story.

I am an old TV baby, growing up in the 50’s. I can remember when we didn’t have TV and the excitmement of getting our first black and white screen back in 1954. Serialized stories were still a big part of radio and early television. I have loved the ‘cliff hanger’ ever since. It allows the imagination to run wild while waiting for the sequel.

I have been a big fan of Beauty and The Beast since the inception of the TV show in 1987. The recent release of the DVD’s was instrumental in motivating me to write into the present time to give Jacob his mother back. The story line was inspired by a friend who took a similar journey. I hope I have done her justice while remaining true to the characters in her life and those of BATB. The concept of lost and found has a great deal of resonance for me. I believe that in birth we lose something of our connection to a greater world and our time spent on earth consists of a yearning to reconnect either with people who drive our life story or a desire to find a higher energy power which to some is known as ‘God’. I did not have the heart to rewrite what others have done in the past. We can’t alter history but we can refashion the future from our vast store of knowledge.

When the show first aired, I was so taken with the love story, it pushed me to fulfill a life long dream of writing my own book. I find it strange that the book was not published for twenty years. I put down the manuscript when the show ended. When I was able to sit and soak up the BATB stories on DVD, I was again inspired to refine and complete that book. At the same time, I felt an obligation to create online BATB stories of my own using some characters from the past as well as new ones who invade my dreams asking for release.

Last year, I was able to publish my book, The Will to be True/In the Shadow of the Blackbird. It is also crafted as a complex love story and set locally in Southern Ontario.

July/2011 update My new novel, Suspect, Love published in May 2011 is also now available from Authorhouse.com or Amazon.com.

 

 

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