The Sprint or the Marathon

The "Sprint" is my definition of either a short story or a story that

spans a short amount of time as in the day or week

of the characters - sometimes just hours.

The "Marathon" is not necessarily a long story as much

as it spans years during the telling.

Both have issues that must be addressed to be enjoyable.

A sprint requires very in-depth yet drawn out

details for you must learn about the characters and the purpose

of their story.  I am both fascinated with this style of writing

because it is intense even if it is not a drama.

When I wrote "When the War Was Won" it started

as a story spanning years and during the editing I decided

that I needed to shorten the timeline

and concentrate on my main character.  In changing the story

I found that I enjoyed the action, the emotions

and the twists to a greater degree. 

The only Marathon I have written was "The Visitor".  This was

not intentional but initially was just a way to cope with

issues in my life.  I have said frequently that writing is a form

of counseling.  I believe that when you swallow a problem or a feeling

that it sits in your stomach and boils at a low temperature.

I don't think counseling is anything more than an

avenue to release those things you have buried.  Talking about

your feelings and problems lessens their hold on you.

It is not that a counsellor can solve anything but it can give you

the ability to solve things in your own way.

I love "The Visitor" the way I love an old song

that brings back memories of emotional times in my life.  It is

a story that saved me, pulled me up and made me stronger.

I wrote a little every night for one full year.  It rambled, it stalled, I deleted, I cried

I drank a lot of great wine while sitting in a dark room in front

of the computer.  I am happiest in front of my computer which

is not really healthy but it is the way I am.

"The Visitor" should probably be re-edited but

the thought is like trying to remake yourself into a better self.

I enjoy the quirks, the moles and the problems because they are part

of real life.  "The Visitor" was broken up because it was too

long.  The editing left a lot of the original story on the floor of the cutting

room.  A story that spans seventy years is easier for you

become the characters and as one brain creating many characters

who are individual in every way is difficult.

Stepping outside of myself is the greatest challenge.

It's not that I can't create new characters as much as I need to

create different characters.  Drawing from life

is limited - drawing from the unknown, reaching down into your gut

and pulling up the difficult things that hurt or sooth is difficult.

I work better when I am healing than when I am

happy.  I work better with evil than with goodness.  I love killing

characters once I feel they are well rounded.  A story should have an emotional

hook to make me happy.   It is the evil that creates a better life

for otherwise we become complacent.

barb

Skimming Is a Horrible Habit

It is a cold overcast morning that begs me to enjoy my second cup of coffee

I have a horrible habit of skimming when I read and one would think that I took some course on speed reading.  It is really an anomaly between my brain and my eyes that at times I don't control and other times I put a lot of energy into slowly down.

This is particularly bad when my mind is going in other directions instead of taking a deep breath and enjoying the moment of time.  I ran a law office for most of my career and rose to that position because of my innate ability to organize and simplify every aspect of my job.  Fast and simple was my motto.  Speed reading or skimming is a valuable asset if you are able to pick up the information that allows you to determine whether or not you need to go back and read it thoroughly.

I have stopped myself after realizing that I have read a page without even knowing what I have read.  I have given this habit of mine thought and realize that when I am reading there is too much stimulus in the background.  In my youth, I spend hours in the library reading books.  I did check out a lot and was sometimes thankful that there was a limit on the books you could take home.  My best reads were sitting on the floor of a library reading a book that I just couldn't put down.

My library card was my entry into the world beyond my town.  There was no skimming, no distractions and the librarians never objected to my presence in the quiet corner.  The skimming came later in life.  I have decided it is time to break bad habits and to give a book my full attention.  So I shall start 2017 with being more mindful of my love for stories, books and authors.  I owe them my attention.

barb

Is it A Series or Not?

Writing Series is popular mostly because if you create one book it would be thousands and thousands of pages long.  Breaking it up [creating a series] allows you to concentrate on part of the story, allows you to leave a cliff hanger and gives the reader something to look forward to.  The bigger issue is you can avoid ending the story for a while.  Ending is hard because you have to wrap up so many things or you don't want it to end but it is time.  "The Visitor" is a 6 book series that starts with the life of a young woman at the beginning of the civil war and takes you through her adventures over her lifetime.  It is a character rich story.

Another definition of a series is using characters but not story line.  Namely, you write stand alone books that share a time and space or characters.  The "John Ellery Series" is not the same as "The Visitor".  The three books listed under this series shares characters but each book completely stands alone as a story.   Additionally, each book focuses on a character that might have been a minor part of another book.  "When the War Is Over"  focuses mainly on minor characters of John Ellery's story.

The difference is when you start a series that is a continuing story you are committing to the entire series.  When it is only the characters that continue you can pick and choose.  A good example of character series is Agatha Christies detective series Hurcule Poriet.  Every story is solving a mystery using the same detective.  Another is Kerry Greenwood's novels about "Miss Fisher".  There are many well known authors who prefer the same character.  Patterson, Connelly, Cornwall.  The list goes on and on. 

As a reader, I sometimes become addicted to a series and sometimes I don't.  I actually have about 20 books on my Kindle that I want to read but I don't read as much as I want.  In the height of my devouring books, I would go to the used book store off the 17th Street Causeway and buy four or five softbound used books every week.  This is a great way to find books you generally wouldn't read.  My greatest find was The Gunslinger series.  It was 3 books by Stephen King under another name.  I fell in love with all of the characters.  I still prefer the first 3 books to the books that he later added to the series.  I would have to check but I believe this is his only series.  The other famous author is JK Rollin in the Harry Potter series.  I recently went to the theater to see her new story and I think it will be a very good series but I haven't read the book which is a screenplay.

I like both types of series both when I read and write.   I also like that random story that is all by itself.  "Yesterday's Gone" and "My Wild Irish Rose" are both stories that start and end in one book. 

Melting glass and writing romance is my world.  Barb 

Missing In Plain Sight

 

The real world has captured me and sent out ransom demands but no one is willing to let me back into my safe place of fiction.

Holiday time is one of my favorite and yes I will wish you a very Merry Christmas because I am old and it is something from my childhood.  I do also wish everyone who is taking time to celebrate a happy holiday.  I would wish for Peace on Earth but I will spare you my thoughts on the world today which is anything but heading toward Peace.

The weather is cold and the birds are hungry.  So I wear thick socks and feed the birds.  This year we were vendors at the University of New Mexico Craft and Art Show which caters to the college students and faculty.  A portion of my art was sold to support the Water Protectors at Standing Rock and part to support the art students at the university.  Artists would always support artists except artists are usually struggling to make a living leaving little to use for support.  I did my share by buying all of my Christmas presents at the show.

Saturday and Sunday [Dec 10th and 11th] three books will be free for download.  John Ellery's Daughters, Secret of the Isles and When the War is Over will be free.  Kindle Books by Barbara Svetlick

Today is a torch day since I have new glass rods of pink.  First I must go clean off my work bench.  Life is good when you have warm socks, hot coffee and love being an artist.  May your weekend be wonderful.   Barb

 

The Visitor - 6 books Free on Amazon

The Visitor Series

The six books of the Visitor Series is free to download

on Amazon on Veteran's Day and

Saturday

A romantic story of a young girl caught in the midst of the Civil War.

Filled with twists and turns - love and hate a she

accepts the life of the men who accept her into their world

of death and surprise.

Ode to the Elephant Seal

Oh me oh my

the waves broke happily on the shore

white foam stirring up the sand

as the elephants

played happily in the blue beyond

Elephants you say

why they have no legs and a floppy tail

scooting across the wet sand

ah they are seals

with long elephant noses I see

A little treat

of small creatures and smelly sardines

bellies full and hooded eyes

upon the sand

a well deserved nap it shall be

sleep quietly

wallow in the sand until satisfied

lined up like worn out soldiers

in the warm sun

enjoying some time sleepily.

barb

Living in Fiction

My love of ghost stories started at such an early age when I would

order a twenty-five cent soft book from school

every time they had a book drive.

The last one I ordered I never got for some reason or whatever

even though I inquired diligently as to its arrival

school ended with no book.

Why a fascination with ghosts?

It is easier to imagine a ghost, good or bad

then to admit that maybe you are a few crayons short

of the large box.

I love certain spooky stories like when I was

seven and would lay in front of the television watching

the monster movies on Saturday night

I could handle Frankenstein and the Mummy

far easier than the eighties when they unveiled hatchets

and Freddy what's his name.

Ghost stories are simple and the things that cause goosebumps

they are lost souls, horrible mean souls

sometimes they are benevolent but they are always

a mystery and not a fear of something

under the couch that is going to grab you dragging you into

its lair.

I usually write about horrible ghosts

but frequently the ghosts who haunt my stories

are in one's mind.

Ghost stories are my favorite.

barb

Simple Format for Publishing

Writing to me is therapy.

It has always allowed me to step away from life and create a world that either releases my demons or soothed my emotions by taking out my anger, pain or disappointment in a way that keeps my world somewhat level.   Since divorcing after forty years of marriage to my high school boyfriend, I don't have that deep depressive drive to release but I still love to write.

I encourage people to write even if just for that release and to publish if for no other reason than someone might enjoy their work.  Does everyone want to be a world renowned author...well, yeah of course, but that is something only you will achieve by trying.

I have heard many people say they don't know how to create a Kindle book and I understand because I muddled through teaching myself.  I finally found Createspace which I use for all of my books.  I spent years on the computer in a law office working on Word Perfect which to this day I absolutely love but I'm retired and don't need the bells and whistles of WP.

I use Microsoft Words.  Under Layout you will find "Margins" and "Size".  Start with size and at the bottom of the drop down is "More Designs" but you will create your own size of 6x9 inches and click on "Whole Document".  Now got into Margins and hit Custom Margins.  I use 0.5 on the top, bottom, right left and between 0.60 to 0.75 - try both.  This is the "Gutter".  Make sure you click on Mirror Pages and Whole Document.

This is a basic layout design but if you do it before you write your first word, you will see a "page" as you write it.   The third thing is to decide page numbers.  This is under "Insert" - toward the right side of the options is "page number".  Pick your choice.  I usually do bottom centered numbers.  Then you have "Headers" which is where you can put in the name of your book.  [Close "Headers" when you are finished - it is a button far right]  The header will be lighter print which is nice.

This is the majority of setting up a 6x9 book format in Words.  Once you have done this, you can easily upload it on Createspace who will give you a "Review" of your entire book as well as issues that it feels need to be addressed.   You can also design your own cover using their free artwork, use your own or have your cover professionally done. 

Once Createspace feels your book is ready, it will submit it for a 24 hour review.  After the review stage, you can either review it again online or order a copy to review.  I like both ways but have actually used those 24 hours to reread my story where I always find issues.  I think I upload a book 2 or 3 times before I am happy.  One would think that I would find the problems before submitting but the only way that works is if you shelf it for a few days so you have a fresh eye on the words.

After that you go through the distribution issues that are easy if you read the little explanations next to each option. 

If you find errors after it is "live" - you can correct them on your computer file and reload it from your Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Page that each author can set up.  But that's for another discussion. 

If you are not publishing because of the formatting work, I can assure you that you will find it easier than you ever thought. 

A Woman's Rise

Truth and honesty

words we believe are carved deeply in our hearts

yet if you wipe away the pooling blood

looking at the swollen words

do we really believe that we hold them dear

those words that morally question us

to be better...we need to be better

Close your eyes

look back into the past as far as you can go

think about your lessons of life

does your knowledge of the truth and honesty

of the history of your country, your life

your own adherence to those words

follow a straight path...is there not lies

Condensed into misconceptions

washed to take away the very core of our history

hung out in our line of sight

a swift breeze will dry those pages of [not really] lies

to convince your soul that it is what has always been

nothing is different, no hidden meaning or words

just what it is...what you need to see

I stutter at the morality

of the intelligent beings that carry their banner

there's nothing else but what you see

nothing that I haven't regurgitated into an assembly

that leads you down the path

with Pan and his trusty flute comforting your ears

with someone's fantasy...come sing my tune

Control of history

control of what was truth and honesty

control of the words you hear the images you digest

control of the world around you

comes in the little words strung together dishonestly

control of every part of your soul

is the history of how women rose from constant defeat.

barb

When The War Is Over - Free Download

Kindle Version of Book 3 of the Ellery Sisters

is free to download

Saturday, August 13th and Sunday, August 14th

What Is a Writer To Do?

Some writers believe the act of writing to be an art

and in a manner of speaking it is.

Anyone can string together letters, words and sentences

but few can do it with dramatic flair that draws in the reader.

I consider it a peaceful rest from work

which includes cleaning the house and other odd things.

This last weekend I went to Golden, Colorado with my husband

who is a great artist and teacher

It was the first time that I have given a demonstration

on how to make glass flowers.

I consider my glass flowers to be art but like

writing it is because I have spent a lot of years learning

to work on the torch and manipulating molten glass.

When I wasn't working on the torch with the students

I was sitting in the break room with my laptop

working on the new story...

Glass art is magical...books transport you to another world

either way I am happy.

barb

The Country Fair

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT – THE COUNTRY FAIR

          Attention…attention!!  I have Miss Emily here at the information both and she has advised us that her two blue ribbon piglets have escaped their pen and are loose on the Fair Grounds.  If you should spot these two little guys, please advise me because she is quite concerned that they may be lost.

          Attention…attention!!  It has been now brought to my attention that Mrs. Smothers while carrying her pies into the Pie Eating Tent tanged with two little pigs falling backward where her renowned peach pies met an untenable fate.  We are now looking for two little pigs covered in peaches and pie crust.

          Wait…yes Miss Emily…what…okay the pigs’ names are Walter and Jessie.  Okay…attention the pigs are Walter and Jessie.  Now Miss Emily don’t cry.

          Attention…attention!!  We ask that everyone stay clear of the Chicken Coop while the owners attempt to catch the chickens that were set free when two little pigs, while evading capture by Mr. Froggins knocked over the center table sending the chicken crates hither and younger littering the little pigs with chicken feathers that have now stuck to the peaches.  Please let us know if you see these rascals.

          Attention…attention!!  Please make room for the ambulance that is attempting to make its way to the Blue Ribbon Tent where I have been advised that the Widow Green was knocked over by two sticky, feather covered little pigs and Mr. Froggins who was yelling unmannerly as he dove under the table knocking the widow off her walker into the table of preserves sending the pickles across the room where little Tommy Grimm was sitting waiting for his grandmother.  Mrs. Green has been mumbling that she was attacked by fat chickens that smelled like a peach tree.  We believe there are numerous causalities and ask everyone to stay out of the tent until the matter is cleaned up.

          Attention…attention!!  It has been reported that the two little pigs ran through the sheep tent during the shearing contest and after toppling several sheep and scaring the baby lambs who are running loose through the Fairgrounds as the children try to catch them.  Mr. Froggins joining in on the escapade slipped on the sheep shit landing on his back causing his prior injury to reoccur.  We need the paramedics at the sheep tent as soon as they attend to the Widow Green and little Tommy.

          Attention…attention!!  The damn pigs have been spotted slipping into the bullpen and thankfully no one has volunteered to go in after them though it has been reported that they rolled in the bullcrap and then escaped into the east field heading toward the Produce tent.  In anyone sees these rascals, please let us know immediately since Miss Emily’s mother said she is distraught with their safety.

          Attention…it has been twenty minutes since the sighting of the two pigs.  Miss Emily’s parents have had to take her home hysterical, Mr. Froggins will be in traction for an extended length of time, Mrs. Smothers is calling for a recess in judging so she can bake another pie since it was not her fault causing a fight with Miss Ribbons who hit her over the head with her cane, Widow Green has passed out from the excitement and little Tommy says he will never eat another pickle as long as he lives.  If anyone see Walter and Jessie, please feel free to take them home for a barbeque.

Barb

@ October 10, 2013

         

Free Download of The Ellery Sister Series

Today - Saturday July 30th and Sunday July 31st the first two books of the Ellery Sisters are free to download on Kindle.   John Ellery's Daughters and Secrets of the Isle.

The third book was just published, When The War Is Over, on Kindle and Amazon.

John Ellery's Daughters is about five sisters orphaned on their farm in Virginia at the beginning of the civil war and their decisions to find a new life when the war ended.

Secrets of the Isle takes the Ellery Sisters into their own adventures as the youngest deals with the killing of her husband and the mysterious inheritance he leaves her in the Isles of southern Virginia.

When The War Is Over is an indepth story of Rowland Sawyer during the last two years of the war as he deals with the wife of a friend listed as missing or captured.  His love for one of the Ellery Sisters has held him steadfast until meeting Josie Younger.

Serious Discussion on Names

My decision to start publishing my writing on Amazon/Kindle

was something that in hindsight

I should have thought about a little longer

It's not that I have hopes of becoming an overnight success

because I haven't risen to the level

of the writers I cherish and love with all my heart.

My issue at the moment is my name.

It is pronounced Sweat...lick

If you are Slovak or Eastern European you would pronounce

the "V" hard and I do both depending on my mood

but I also sign my name different ways

for no reason that makes any sense even to me

but I do.

My name...it is borrowed and not that to which I was born

I married at the young age of nineteen

so mature I was

but back in the old days a woman proudly

with glee took her husband's name

and passed that name down to her children

obviating her individual existence.

I was married from 1970 until 2009

the name was second nature to my lips and fingertips

I was used to answering "how do you say your name"

or "can I call you Barbara"

when I came to the crossroads of change

I didn't think about taking my maiden name back

because the amount of paperwork and forms to change takes

a lot of time and really what does it matter.

When I remarried in 2011

I did not take my husband's name because of the reason

I didn't go back to my maiden name

too much paperwork.

My art is under my Svetlick name

My books started out under my Svetlick name

my Website is barbarasvetlick.com

I did finally change my Facebook name

I included my new married name on my website

but can't change the address

my issue at the moment as I wait for the kiln to ramp up

is do I take the steps

the mounds of paperwork and standing in line

to change all of the titles, licenses, websites and my overall persona

to my current husband's name?
I can't go back to my maiden name because that would

include filing court papers for permission.

Does it make any difference?

Does my "Ex" care one way or the other

Does my husband now?

Maybe it is just me and maybe I should have just

created a Pen Name for my public image.

Maybe that is what I need.

Maybe I just need to feel comfortable in my own skin.

A pen name (or "nom de plume") is a pseudonym (sometimes a particular form of the real name) adopted by an author (or on the author's behalf by their publishers). Many pen names are used to conceal the author's identity.

barb

Why Do We Read

A reader in our youth

those days of simplicity of yon' years

our world at one time had no books, no written words

that fell into the hands of the people

who told tales

tall tales, colorful tales and tales

of our very history.

Why do we not champion

the inventors and thinkers who believed

that stories should be written and shared forever

encouraging those ancestors

who wanted to tell

their life for those in some future day

dusty breaking mystery.

Why do we read

some just have a yearning to explore

to travel in the minds of those who open their hearts

revealing the secrets

that lurk sweetly

waiting to whisper in your ear

so very whispery.

For every story

that finds its way onto a virgin white page

there is a reader who spends the time enjoying the day

of a story untold

characters that come alive

battling their personal weakness or championed

rich and solid as you and me.

We read

because we love the bond between you and me

the tales of things unsought

the scary, the unrequited love or pain

we read

because it makes us happy.

barb

When The War Is Over

The third book in the Ellery Sisters Series is now available on Kindle and Amazon.

When The War Is Over

Book 3 of Ellery's Sisters series

Captain Rowland Sawyer of the U.S. Army began his career after graduating from Virginia Military Institute. When war broke out across the country, his job was to find and arrest spies, traitors and the growing criminal element in both the government and the Army. During an assignment in the Gap, he crosses paths with Josie Younger the wife of his good friend Thomas Younger who has been reported as missing in action near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Her reckless decision to search for her husband brings together the many friends from the Institute as they stand on opposite sides of the conflict. Rowland finds remaining impartial difficult since Josie reminds him so much of Alison Ellery the young Virginia girl who stole his heart at the beginning of the war. His loyalty to his country is shaken as his heart is torn over the people he cares about.

This novel is about the men who graduated from VMI six years before the Civil War. Captain Rowland Sawyer is a character in the series The Ellery Sisters. It takes place in Virginia during the last two years of the war before Alison Ellery marries Rowland Sawyer.

Opinions, opinions and opinions

Oh dear lord how do I survive...

The opinions I own have been carefully formed

Crafted from my lofty little brain

Usually after a non-nice debate of the third kind

If I stick out my pink tongue...

I can see them fighting for position

wanting permission to break out

into the world of I got this one opinions

I got this they scream out...

as I close my lips smiling so sweetly

you are going to just let some idiot

some biased big mouth win?

They ganged up on me...

stripping away my ability to not respond

as I knew from past experiences

that they didn't care if they were unkind

An idiot they repeatedly chant

it doesn't matter that he's related

regurgitating all those big busted blonde's say

as though their mouths contained the gospel truth

WTF I bite my tongue

behave yourself or I'll cut you out

throw you into the trash bin

where you'll wilt like last night's oil soaked lettuce

An idiot...an idiot of the nth degree

let us loose, let us save your placid face

what good is life without opinions

we're anxious to set the record straight

You know not having a tongue

took a lot of getting used to

but when I had to cut off my fingers

I may have cut off my nose despite my opinions.

barb

Floating In the Middle

It has been a year of news overload

so many issues bubbling up through the lily pads

poking constantly at my opinions

a gnat in my vision...

A woman with strong feelings on life

the words seem to flow from my fingers unbound

from the singular obvious fact

it reinforces the division...

Purpose of the life I have lived happily

power to the beliefs I place my heart upon

I rock the calm waters of today

winding the clock...

It matters not what I actually feel

changes don't hinge on my blue hued soapbox

the world doesn't end

when I reach the end of the dock...

Floating beyond the setting day

I gather up my beliefs and confessions

I put them safely away

shhh, only I know...

With each word and lofty opinion

hypocrisy awaits in the shadows of reality

taking away my voice

with it I shall go.

barb

Free Download of The Visitor Series

Because Saturday is my birthday and because my newest work is still in progress, I am putting the entire Visitor Series [all 6 books] up for free download on Kindle Saturday, June 4th and Sunday, June 5th.

Life has been very, very good and busy.  I am celebrating this birthday because I am reaching that point where why not just enjoy it despite the fact that Medicare is now my friend.  If I could go back and give myself advise it would be:

Don't get married until you meet Lewis [even though I wouldn't know his name]

Don't buy things that soon bore you and instead stash every penny away

Travel - enjoy - try new things - never second guess

Keep your friends close...never let them slip away

Life isn't guaranteed, happiness isn't something you find but something you are, roll with the punches and never blame anyone for the sh*t that happens.  I shall be celebrating on Saturday!

barb

A little bit of Florida a lot of Buffet

Sweet mother of being sixteen years old and moving to Fort Lauderdale

it was semi-sweet since I had to leave my long time friends,

family and the great area around Washington DC

not to mention a boyfriend

but there I was in not but a few miles from Fort Lauderdale Beach

close enough to walk.

Do I miss Florida?

I miss the being sixteen years old so yeah I guess you can

put one with the other for living in South Florida

is an experience that as a teenager is beyond the pale of normal

life was good - life was free

and I did good until I started dating again.

Looking back the signals

were brighter than the railroad crossing as the train approached

sometimes I get angry at how incredibly

unseeing I was and how many opportunities were sitting

waiting for me to grab.

Does anyone ever get it right?

Probably not even though you say 'hey he got it right'

you have no idea what his real dreams were

and what he left on the curbside

now wishing that he could have done that other thing.

I used to believe in numerous lives and all the things

you learn next time around but I think

that this is it and if it is

I don't have time to regret even if I should

there's no backup button

and things are far closer through the windshield

then the rear view mirror.

I am returning to my love of painting and drawing

music and inspiration

for time is ticking, ticking away

and damn but I'm no longer sixteen years old

though Jimmy Buffet

does still make me feel like I am.

barb

A Million Things You Don't Know You Don't Know

There really is no way that you could know everything

even if you spent all of your time learning

traveling, researching or experiencing

there is just too much in this world to learn it all.

I decided after traveling across New Mexico for six years

that I wanted to see the White Sands National Monument though

I had no idea whatsoever what it was other than white

sand - it is formerly a lake between two mountain ranges just

an hour or so from the border...

the sand is actually gypsum

a soft white or gray mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulfate. It occurs chiefly in sedimentary deposits and is used to make plaster of Paris and fertilizers, and in the building industry.

It is the largest deposit of gypsum found in the world. 

This is a photo taken from space with the wind blowing which means

anyone living near this unique area spends a lot of time

sweeping up gypsum on any given day

like living on the beach where the salt invades your home.

I thought the entire area was white sands

but the top part is the missile range and the right side

is the Air Force Base and town.

It was a long way to go to sit in sand but it is a very cool

place - the sand does not get hot because it isn't really sand

but if you want to hike it make sure you are in shape

because it is just dune after dune after dune

with no landmarks...

barb

6 Books of The Vistior Free to Download

Saturday [today] April 9th and Sunday April 10th

The six books of The Visitor are free to download on Kindle.

Stephen King, George R.R. Martin and Me

I have a blank bucket list because honestly

I can't concentrate long enough

to believe what I want to do right now

is what I want to do tomorrow

or next week..

so when I do something that makes me

happy or excites me in some way

I add it to my 'things I didn't know I wanted to do'

non-bucket list..

I have tickets to the auditorium in June

to listen to Stephen King

and George R.R. Martin discuss whatever

the hell they want to discuss

because I just want to be there.

I know rock and roll moves me to the point

that I love to go to concerts

and I did go to one Comicon which

definitely was checked off the list of those things

I really don't want to redo.

At the Comicon we listened

to several comic writers/artists including

Stan Lee

He was funny and entertaining

but it has been years since I have read a comic.

So take in all the bands

excluding The Eagles who are still on my

list despite seeing them so many times

but this upcoming event

has blown my socks away.

Stoked...totally, totally stoked!

barb

Bookmarking My Place in Time

"Youth is wasted on the Young"

it isn't that they do not appreciate those wonderful

vigorous days and years

that window in one's life where everything

is new and exciting sometime scary

it's really not that at all

it is an observation when one gets on in years

when the body slows down

and the days seem to just melt together

it is at that moment

you realize

that with age comes wisdom

understanding and clarity of the hourglass

it is when

you develop hindsight

based on years of living and absorbing

based on experimentation

or denial of abilities and desires

it is at that time

that pure minute of life

that you go through the 'what if I had' thoughts

'what I could have done'

that you pick up the brass lantern

rubbing it with a spit and shine of hindsight

'please let me try again'

just one more time around the track

with the knowledge

gathered like a basket of wildflowers

on a rainy morn'

it is not that it is wasted

for it is a fresh adventure of the heart and mind

a learning curve of life

without a playbook, without an idea

of the powers

deep inside of us hide

I shall bookmark this very moment

savoring each thing I have learned

never regretting but always

wishing

for more time

let me not forget.

barb

Moral throught the Compass of Time

There is nothing that I read that does not make me explore

my feelings, the message or just my curiosity

That being said...I was reading a post on my feed

it was from a distance relative but we're not friends so I couldn't respond

or maybe it was good because it contained one of those

personal buttons that should not be pushed in public

So much, so very much of what we believe or what we think

should not ever be put out in public in black and white

sure you can delete when you realize that it was not a necessary

opinion in the world of a million and one opinions a minute

but then the WTF kicks in and you just want to take a stand

for what I am not sure but your fingers itch as the hover

Morality is tossed around as a 'thing' - is it a thing or is it even

something that can be assigned a definition

"concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior

and the goodness or badness of human character"

Of course, you find morality in fiction, in movies and the lips

of those who believe they are morality checkers

When did one's behavior start to be defined as good or bad

Certainly if you walk up to someone and kill them

you might be considered to have a bad moral basis but

we train millions of people to kill, we come from an ancestral

pool where killing was acceptable, where be strong and cold

meant that you were powerful and good

Morality is alive and well
but despite the fact that it is used in many ways
morality is something that each of us must define for ourselves
and yet I find if you just do what comes naturally that
you don't have to define it for the smug, sanctimoniously
people will assign you a place on their compass of judgement

If you do it, accept it
If you do it, take responsibility for it
If you do it, don't explain it
If you do it, accept that some will not accept it
Follow your own compass for it is yours and yours alone.


barb

Simplicity of Life

I think we have been here before...

but whatever

welcome to another spring

The earth rotates and tips

spinning on some invisible axis

just floating in space

Giving some thought

taking the time to scratch the surface

of the scientific explanation

How do we float

how do we stay on the path

when space has no gravity

No explanation

of the negative existence

known as out there somewhere

Falling into the trap

boggling the minuscule mind

of how things work

Really what is the universe

how did it become

in the very first place

How...do we exist?

Are we in a Petri-dish

can we be the only thing

the only thing...really?

barb

Ides of March

Writing is something we all do but English Class was something few relished at the tender ages of 'life' - youth is truly a two sided blade where you are a sponge for information and yet your other side just wants to explore and play in the social arena.

I learned to read from encyclopedias before I was 'taught' to read in school.  My first reader, of course, was "Dick and Jane".  I brought it home and went into my room reading the entire book.  I know impressive since it had at least 6 to 12 words on a page but I devoured it like a Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket Chocolate Bar.  Do children love to read because they learn how or are they born with the gene?  Later in life I learned that my father was an insatiable reader.  I never knew that because I was not raised with near him or I was out in that social arena.

I can't remember a time that I didn't have a library card or didn't spend an enormous amount of time in a library reading or researching.  I was lousy at researching because I didn't slow down my brain long enough to absorb the 'non-interesting' subjects like I should have done but that is another story.

The Ides of March brings back my 9th grade year in High School.  I had a great English teacher and our desks were in a horseshoe facing him but honestly I can't tell you what he even looked like or his name but he introduced us to the classics like Caesar.  It wasn't until my senior year that I had a teacher who loved Shakespeare.   He was a very cool teacher and I didn't realize then but it is hard to teach teenagers the things you love and the reason that you are a teacher.  In seventh grade, my History teacher was a Civil War buff who formed my love of American History.

School is very important and teachers who love teaching are vital to forming a life long journey in one's soul.  Reading the classics today has a bigger impact on me than it did at fifteen because I see so much more now than I did then.  "E tu Brute."  is one of my favorite expressions - one of betrayal of a close trusted confidant and friend.  This is a sincere part of living - and why trust given so openly can not be mended once it is broken.

We are fragile even when we build that metal shield to stop the bad from rising out of what we hold dear - the Ides of March is about the ultimate betrayal, the ultimate inability to understand that our strength is not complete control but in accepting the feelings and beliefs of others.  Uniqueness is what each of us are and what we should protect but to accept difference is what makes us humble.

Writing is something tangible that controls a writer's thirst - creation is something that soothes a writer's soul - there is never a beginning or ending of a writer.  Long past the dust to dust of our being lives our words, our thoughts and over essence - words are our legacy.

barb

Tolerance and Reward

I have put My Wild Irish Rose up for free download today

and Saturday - link down below.

And I just downloaded Volume II of Echo which is a fast paced

Sci-Fi story of a new writer that I think is very good.

The reason for the free download is that I really, really cannot take much

more of the constant newsfeed on the elections.

Turn off the news?

I can only watch so much Chopped and old movies

while I am writing but I am going to start using my Ipod so I can

tune out the craziness of what our world has become.

I have two books in the works.

One is set in the Pacific Theater of WWII

and it is shelved at the moment because I have to do an

awful lot of research about the war and the people who fought

in the Pacific.  Even though the war is just the backdrop the characters

must be painted with accuracy.

My other story goes back to the Civil War in Virginia

but it is based on the men of the war with a love story that intertwines

through the hardships of the women who were

left to their own devices.  Women have always been the backbone

of life, some have risen to the challenges, some have buckled under the

weight of life and some have taken the wrong road

to survive.  The difference in the men and women is sometimes

elusive.

barb