Maggie Smith
http://www.maggiesmithwriter.com/
at the Women’s Fiction Writers Association
https://www.womensfictionwriters.org/
interviewed me about my novel, The Winter Loon, on her podcast series:
Click HERE to listen.
Maggie Smith
http://www.maggiesmithwriter.com/
at the Women’s Fiction Writers Association
https://www.womensfictionwriters.org/
interviewed me about my novel, The Winter Loon, on her podcast series:
Click HERE to listen.
On my home page, I say that I believe in synchronicity. For something to be synchronistic and not just coincidence, unrelated events are more than just mere chance. Here’s something that happened last week after I decided to jump back into blogging and set up an Instagram account.
Many years ago I had a dishtowel that I remembered said, “One man’s flower is another man’s weed,” attributed to Tennyson. Fast forward to my launch on Instagram. Not long ago, I learned that dandelions are the first source of nourishment for bees in the spring. Every year in the past I’ve grumbled about the dandelions taking over the grass. For the last week, the bright yellow flowers I’ve always thought of as a weed, have been in full bloom. I took a photo and decided to make my first instagram post about bees and dandelions.
I wanted to say: “To mow or not to mow . . . ” and then add the quote from my long-lost dishtowel. A little voice warned me to be accurate—it was a long time ago and maybe it wasn’t Tennyson. A quick Google search: Tennyson—One Man’s Weed led me to his lovely poem the Flower. My memory kicked in, it was the first stanza on the towel I remembered, not the quote I wanted to use.
Once upon a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed
Up there came a flower
The people said a weed.
Back to Google and who said the quote I remembered about weeds. I had several choices and for no particular reason, chose Susan Wittig Albert who said, “One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower.” She is the award-winning author of many books, including Loving Eleanor, a book I read as part of my research while writing The Winter Loon. I mentioned the book and it’s importance to history in a blog on April 5, 2016. You can read it here.
I don’t think it is mere chance that the memory of my old dishtowel led me to my first post on Instagram that led me to Susan Wittig Albert that led me to my old blog post called Deception and the insight that it gives to Ruth’s character as she embarks on her journey of self-discovery in The Winter Loon.
Synchronicity, the seed that grew into this post.
I’d love to hear about synchronicity in your life. It can be something simple like this post all the way to something life changing.
Thanks for stopping by.
https://www.facebook.com/events/529819520685317/
https://www.facebook.com/events/529819520685317/permalink/532420773758525/
https://www.facebook.com/events/529819520685317/permalink/532420773758525/
My thanks to Chris Molè of http://www.booksavvystudio.com for the book cover and poster.
In 1970 Pride was a political movement to voice demands for LGBT equal rights and protections. As Pride is now celebrated worldwide, itis important toremember that June was chosen to commemorate the Stonewall riots which occurred the end of June 1969 in Manhattan. The month of June is a time to celebrate and honor people from the LGBTQ+ community. It is a time to reflect and continue to fight against discrimination that still occurs and threatens the hard-earned right to marry, to live and work where one choses and shop without the risk of prejudice.
It is pure serendipity that my book The Winter Loon debuts during Pride Month. I missed several self-imposed deadlines for publication and finally in mid-June this year my book is on Amazon available for purchase.
THE WINTER LOON is inspired by my mother, who died when I was nine and who had divulged very little information about her life, refusing even to answer any questions about my biological father. Estranged from her family, she moved across the country from the Midwest to California, ending up in a remote area of the Mojave Desert far from the nearest town. From my earliest memories, the two of us lived as a family with her woman companion until shortly before her death. Some of the things she left behind were a few photos, a newspaper clipping of her as a rodeo competitor, and her master’s degree certificate from the 1930s.
When I started writing, my purpose of embarking on a healing journey gradually transformed into this novel about a young woman who struggles to define herself in a world where she does not seem to fit. As I envisioned how my mother’s life might have been if she was able to live her authentic truth, I realized how much, and how little, has changed for the LGBTQ+ community. It is my hope that this story about the healing power of love will positively influence anyone who reads it.
Yes. I survived my first A to Z Challenge. It has been a great adventure posting and visiting other bloggers taking the Challenge. I’ve learned a lot and made new friends. I had a great time researching and writing my theme, Women in the 1930s.
If you want to find other A to Z Challenges, go to:
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/sign-ups-for-2016-to-z-blogging.html
and check out a theme that interests you.
I’m hopelessly behind in posting and responding to comments. Back soon with new posts and Reflections on the Challenge.
Wake me up for that.
Thanks your stopping by.
Drumroll please. . . I accept the 2016 A to Z Blog Challenge. It’s my kick in the pants to get this blog off to a high-spirited start. A post every day in April, except Sunday. That’s twenty-six posts, one for every letter in the alphabet. That’s the challenge. Read more about it and the over one thousand bloggers taking part in the fun:
There’s a blog for every taste and still ten days to sign up.
My theme is Women in the 1930s. My characters in THE WINTER LOON live in the turmoil of the Thirties. I’ll be writing about issues affecting women in that era. Women who stepped outside the norm. Cowgirls. Women at university and women working during the Great Depression. Women defying the social expectation that they marry, become housewives and mothers. THE WINTER LOON is about the healing power of love and the barriers two women in love face in their everyday life. My theme will embrace all these issues.
You’re gonna do what?