The Books that Saved A Life

August 6, 2014 / still a dreamer / 12 Comments

A fellow writer and book-loving friend of mine just sent me this link, and as I have a moment, I want to share it that more people will get to see it. Please share.

We have all read books that were in some way life-changing. In this YouTube video series named “Call Me Ishmael,” a fellow, (named Ishmael), transcribes and shares a voicemail of one person each day telling about a book they love. In this day’s video you will hear the call made by a young man named Ethan whose mother was a crack addict and the books that quite literally saved his life. Not to be missed.

The Measure of Success – Fun!

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

We have often heard when the student is ready the teacher arrives. Sometimes that teacher arrives in person, at other times, in the form of an author and her book. Recently a friend bestowed a lovely gift on me, a book by a metaphysical author of whom I’ve been unaware, Gabrielle Bernstein.

In her book, Miracles Now, Gabrielle, (she feels like a friend already), gives us 108 simple tools that we can all apply right now to help ease our stress, feel happier, and find our path in life. These may be in the form of affirmations, meditations, (both short and long), quick ways to change our thoughts, etc. Today – and yesterday – I”m reading the same one – #46. Measure Your Success with How Much Fun You’re Having.

Uh-oh. I suddenly felt I must be failing miserably! Not that I don’t have fun, I do, but as a measure of my success? Hmmm … Methinks I need to up my success rate!

I can’t imagine that this doesn’t strike a chord with anyone reading this post. We are often told by our spiritual teachers and guides that we need to find the joy in the moment – to not worry about the past, because it’s gone, nor the future, because it hasn’t arrived, but to cherish and enjoy the present moment, the never-again-to-be-repeated-NOW. We all know that this is not always that simple … we’re human and live in a challenging world. But I don’t think there’s a one of us that couldn’t bear being happier; however, that means taking responsibility for it, too.

So while success is often measured in what we have or what we do, Gabrielle Bernstein affirms what I think most of us really know to be true; “happiness is an inside job.” Our job is to stay in the flow with joy and let pass all the things in life which we cannot control. Her Miracle Message is “I measure my success by how much fun I’m having.”

Here’s a toast to all of us being enormously successful!

Tough Acts to Follow

July 28, 2014July 29, 2014 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

There’s always a sense of being a bit lost after finishing a fabulous book, not to mention the third and final in a fabulous series. Here I am referring to Deborah Harkness’ The Book of Life, the final in the All Souls Trilogy. But couple that with just having seen the movie, Lucy – well, what will I read or watch that will measure up to either of them?

I can tell you the movie it isn’t and that’s August: Osage County. Great cast, but maybe I’m just not in the mood for such a visually dark movie about family dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, and suicide. And that was the first 20 minutes. All that was needed to take it out of the DVD player.

I searched my many awaiting library sale books – I realized that after Diana Bishop in The Book of Life and Scarlett Johanson in Lucy, I needed to read about another brave heroine, as totally different as those two were. Probably neither this book series nor the movie is for everyone, but both amazed and captured me. (If interested this is a description of Lucy, but it does tell you how it ends, too, and here is Deborah Harkness’ website for more info on the All Souls Trilogy.)

After a search, I came up with Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, whom I know as a brilliant writer in another venue, picture books. Its book jacket describes it as a companion to The Giver, but it is a story that also stands independent of that book. I’m hoping Kira is the heroine who will further capture my imagination.

p.s. Cheers to our small town library! Not only had our librarian remembered my interest in reading The Book of Life, but she e-mailed me the moment it came in to let me know. When I returned it, I asked if The Giver by Lois Lowry might be there, and sure enough, it was. With the movie so close to opening, I expected there’d be a waiting list to read it, but this is small town … and it has its advantages, this one of many.

Following Our Path

July 24, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

This morning I felt called to look into my little metaphysical perpetual calendar, and as always, what I found was perfect for my day.

“For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly.”
~ Carlos Castaneda

There are times in our lives when our path seems to disappear from view. We’ve been drawn down paths to the side that beckon and call, needing or demanding our attention – finances, relationship conflicts, illness, the illness or death of others, job worries, and other challenges and distractions. These paths can lead deeper and deeper into a woods of fading light until we feel quite lost. And then we remember, we have a thread — a simple, single luminous thread to follow. That thread glows more brightly with each step we take out of the darkness to find again the glowing path that is uniquely ours.

May you walk your path — find or refind it — happily and bravely today. May your path be illuminated by the shimmering white light that is you and the Universe, one and the same. May it leave you breathless.

~ stilladreamer

Writing What We Know

July 15, 2014 / still a dreamer / 17 Comments

This started out to be about three aspects of writing what we know, but I see that it would be a ridiculously long post. So I’ll divvy it up and start with a fairly recent example. I received a lovely personal response from an editor at one of the publishing houses represented at an NJ SCBWI event. I am very appreciative to receive such a thoughtful and detailed reply, although, of course, I wish it were better news. She complimented me on tackling a difficult subject, but found it a bit melancholy and added that quiet stories were not selling much in the picture book market these days. Happily, she was also very encouraging about my writing and my pursuing it.

This is where writing what we know comes in. What I know – one of the things, anyway – is about animals and their ability to affect us profoundly, both personally and through literature and imagery. This particular picture book story has a wonderful magical element to it and healing on several levels. While I don’t see it as melancholy, it still behooves me to pay attention to the perception and opinion of one who lives and breathes children’s books. But what stops me is the “quiet story” part.

I like quiet stories. I like funny stories, too, but I also like something that touches the heart and soul in some way, something that’s real, that’s a reflection of what children go through in their young lives. I get that kids like funny and action-filled, but what about the other aspects of a child? Are we no longer looking to feed that as well? Are our increasingly fast-paced and digital lives crushing the inner lives of picture-book age kids? (OK, maybe that’s extreme, but then again …)

As writers, we certainly need to be aware of the trends in the industry and what the market is looking for, otherwise we can be twirling about in our own stew of ideas that will never get published. At the same time, we need to consider what “writing what we know,” (the advice we are always given by editors and agents), actually means and where it fits in what’s being published. It’s a challenge to all of us. So I look at the body of work I have to date. Maybe it’s time to let some of my stories go; maybe I haven’t sent them out often enough and/or to the right publisher/agent who will appreciate a particular “quiet story.”

So where does the rubber hit the road? Where do writing what we know and what’s being published intersect?