Dream Destination Blogfest

To celebrate the launch of their books

Soul Cutter and The Ghosts of Aquinnah

Lexa and Julie invite you to a

Blog-hop and Giveaway!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Beaches of Hawaii? Slopes of Vail? Cancun, Paris, or Rome?

Where is your Dream Destination?

My dream destination is Scotland. Why? Because my ancestors came from there and I'd love to walk the land they walked and the places in between. I love their stubborn independence, tenacity and resiliency. Just think... the ROMANS, the conquerors of the world, couldn't subdue or "civilize" the Scots so they built a wall to keep them out. 

I'd like to spend a month or two... Consequently I couldn't pick just one picture.

Cliffs on the north side of Lunan Bay

The River Don

Dunnottar Castle

Lock Etive

Melrose Abbey

Sweetheart Abbey

Caerlaverock Castle

The village of Neilston with Glasgow in the distance.  

Edinburgh Castle

Glencoe

 Rosslyn Chapel

Standing Stones of Callanish (photo by David Kernow)

Lock Tummel

Scone Palace

City of Perth

Loch Lomond

North Uist

Today and tomorrow

Go to Lexa and Julie’s blog to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway

and use the Linky tool to visit the other bloggers

to see the wonderful places they want to visit!

*Lexa and Julie will give a special prize for the Best Picture*
Rafflecopter Prizes to be announced next week.

Insecure Writer's Support Group

The brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, the 
purpose of the Insecure Writer's Support Group is: to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting is the first Wednesday of every month.

You can sign up HERE.

 The trouble is you think you have time.   Buddha

Anyone besides me guilty of thinking that? Come on, raise your hands, you know you are.

You do know, don't you? that time doesn't exist. It's a figment of our imaginations. Yet we persist in believing in it. We'll do this, that or the other, tomorrow or in a few minutes. But the truth is, there is only the present, the now. Time, like Salvador Dali's watch, isn't what is seems.

The saying, "There is no time like the present," is a true statement.

Now, this moment, this instant, is the only time we have. So let us be about doing and being in the present, for the past is gone and future (as far as we're concerned) doesn't exist.

And while you're busy living in the present, remember to HAVE FUN!

Alternatives for Cause

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

Whatever your cause, whether it's helping those in need or writing, you may be surprised by the number of options you have.

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

accomplish, account, achieve, act, action, activity, advance, agent, agency, aid, aim, alms, alpha and omega, ambition, antecedent, aspiration, attempt, author

base, basis, be all and end all, bear, beget, begin/beginning, belief, be productive, bind, breed, bring, bring about, bring forth, bring into being, bring on, bring to effect, bring to fruition, bring to pass

call, call forth, call up, calling, campaign, case, catalyst/catalyze, cause in court, cause to, causality/causation, charitable/charity, class action, collection box, committal, commitment, community chest, community service, compel, conceive, concern, consideration, conduce (to), constrain, contribute (to), contributor, conviction, court, court-martial, create, creator, crusade, culprit, cultivate,

decide, determine, determinant, develop, dispute, dissent, do/doer, donate, draw on, drive

effect, effectuate, element, elicit, enact, encourage, end, enforce, engender, engineer, enkindle, enterprise, establish, evoke, execute, excuse, explanation

factor, faith, father, force, forward, foster, found, foundation, fountainhead, further

generate, generator, genesis, gestate, get up, give birth to, give occasion to, give origin to, give rise to, goad, goal, good reason, great cause, ground(s), guiding light, guiding star

hatch, have

ideal, impel, impetus, impulse, inaugurate, incentive, incite/incitement, induce/inducement, industrialize,  influence, initiate, innovate, inspire/inspiration, instigation, institute, intention, interest, introduce, invoke, issue

judicial process, justification

launch, lawsuit, lead to, leaven, legal action, legal case, legal proceedings, legal process, legal remedy, lifework, litigation, lodestar

mainspring, make/maker, mass movement, mass-produce, material basis, matter, mission, mother, motivate, motivation, motive, movement, muster up

need, necessity, nourish, nurture

object, objective, obligation, occasion, origin, originate, originator, overproduce

perform, pioneer, precipitate, pretext, prime mover, principle, proceedings, produce/producer, promote, prompt, prosecution, provoke, purpose

realize, reason, reason for being, render, restrain, result in, right, root

sake, score, secure, set, set afloat, set on foot, set up, sire, source, spawn, spring, start, stimulation/stimulus, substance, suit, suit at law, summon up

the why and the wherefore, tie, translate (into), trigger, turn out

ulterior motive, undertaking, use force upon

vocation, volume-produce

warrant, work, work up

yield

We are all familiar with cause and effect. But is it real? Is there truly such as thing as cause and effect or is it all illusion?


What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you doing on the computer reading this blog? You should be with your family and friends stuffing your face!  Now shut the machine off and go have a good time!

And if you really think it's better to be on the computer than with your family (are you feeling guilty yet?) You can read a bunch of interesting little known facts about Thanksgiving HERE.

Waiting: Acquiring Patience Through Metaphor: Part Four

You can read Parts One, Two and Three HERE

The time I spend actually writing usually seems to fly by. The problem is waiting for the responses from publishers or agents or even you crit partners.

            

Fishing is the best metaphor I know for the process of writing and waiting.

            

First you have to get you gear together. This equals gathering the materials you need. Pen and paper, research books and notes, envelopes and stamps and the final finished product, are all part of your gear and pieces of the puzzle.

            

Next you have to find a good fishing hole. This equals researching publishers/agents you hope will be interested in your story. Then, bait your hook and throw out the line. In other words, write your cover letter/query and get it in the mail!

            

Now comes the hard part, waiting for a bite. This is the time to enjoy lounging on the river bank or trolling in the boat. Fishing isn’t about the bait. It’s about being outside and enjoying the scenery. Writing isn’t just about the story. It’s about the whole process, which includes getting ready for the next project.

There’s that nibble. But wait! If you get all excited and jerk the line too soon you’ll probably be disappointed because there won’t be a fish on the hook. Watch the bobber for serious movement but don’t do anything until the pole bends. Even then, be prepared. The hook may not be well set; you could still loose your fish.

                     

So, get out there. Bait your hooks and throw out your lines. If they get tangled, which can happen, whip out Alexander’s sword and chop them to bits. While you’re waiting for a nibble notice that you have moved forward, that you have another story out there or another one taking shape on the page. Notice you have another piece added to your puzzle. You might think about gluing your story together and hanging it on the wall, particularly if it’s accepted. If it keeps coming back to you, consider taking it apart and putting it back in its box for reassembly at a later date.

            

Keep yourself busy with the process of writing; try to enjoy all of its aspects. If you do, you won’t need to be patience. You’ll be so deeply involved with putting your next puzzle together you’ll hardly notice how time has flown by! Then, when that acceptance letter comes, or your story is finally published, it will take you by surprise.

When was the last time you were taken by surprise? Do you like surprises?

Where I Was

I usually post on Thursdays but about a week ago I realized that today is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Fifty years. Many of you probably weren't yet born and have no clear idea of how schizophrenic the '60s and early '70s were. There were horrible riots and the Summer of Love. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy and Woodstock. Viet Nam was funneled into our homes via the nightly news and we saw war in a way that had never been seen before but we also landed on the moon. The National Guard shot four students to death at Kent State and the Merry Pranksters took a road trip across the US.

For all the peace and love, drugs, sex and rock and roll, tune in, turn on and drop out, these were ten terribly turbulent years which, I think, began on November 22, 1963. It marked the end of innocence.

Sometime after 2:30 PM (JFK will killed at 12:30 central time which put the Virgin Islands 2 hours ahead) our school principal came into our classroom to make an announcement. That in itself was unusual because there was a PA system she could have used. I remember there was a worried or sad look on her face as she stood in front of the class and told us that our president, John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated, shot to death, in Dallas. She said our parents were being called and school would be let out early. We normally got out at 3:30, so our day was almost over anyway. It was also a Friday, so we had the week-end to try to wrap our heads around what had happened.

I was thirteen, very naive, and didn't understand the workings of government. I thought the United States was about to descend into some kind of anarchy, that civil war would break out and the country, as I knew it, would cease to exist.

It's odd, but that's really all I remember of that day. I'm sure when I was picked up, my parents explained things to me and that I was reassured. But I don't know. All I remember is how frightened I was.

Four years later, at 17, I got to spend a whole summer with a family in Arlington, Virginia. We kids were free to roam Washington, DC on our own. We spent a lot of time at the Smithsonian. I saw Macbeth on The Mall, walked up the Washington Monument twice, and stood at the feet of that great statue of Abraham Lincoln.

I also went to the Arlington National Cemetery.

The country didn't cease to exist. 

And that summer The Beatles came out with All You Need is Love. What a time to be a teenager.

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy

Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love (Everybody!)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Yee-hai! (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)

Yesterday (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Oh yeah! (Love is all you need)
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah (Love is all you need)
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah (Love is all you need)

What memories do you have that will always stay with you, where you'll always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news?

I have so many... Landing on the moon. The assassination of John Lennon. Apollo 13. The Challenger explosion. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall. The death of Jimi Hendrix. The first time I saw The Beatles on TV.

The Weight of a Feather

Judy Croome is an author from South Africa. When I read her novel, Dancing in the Shadows of Love, I was blown away and did an interview with her which you can read HERE.

Recently I had the opportunity to read her collection of short stories, The Weight of a Feather. Again, I am blown away. 

I absolutely love the depth and breadth of Judy's writing. In this collection of short stories, she takes the reader on a wide variety of journeys. One can feel like a voyeur peeking vicariously into a person’s life, or be swept into a nightmare.

In the dark, beautiful and horrifying story, “The Last Sacrifice,” one is pulled into the distant past, while in “The Wheel Turns” one is taken into a possible future. There is African bush magic in, “The Leopard and the Lizard,” and satirical humor in, “Rainbow Farm.” There are stories of love, loss and redemption, of faith, hope and despair.

Judy is an artist whose canvass is the blank page and whose medium is words. She paints pictures. Some sparse, some detailed. Some modernistic, some classical. But each can be studied, reread, reviewed, many times over. Reading this collection is rather like walking into a museum and being amazed.

The Weight of a Feather, along with her novel Dancing in the Shadows of Love, and a collection of poetry, a Lamp at Midday, is available on Amazon. 

About The Weight of a Feather: 

From the classical form of "The Weight of a Feather", first published by The Huffington Post (2013), to the suggestive allegory of "The Leopard and The Lizard", this collection of short stories by South African author Judy Croome is an ideal mix of the familiar and the startling. These vibrant slices of life testify to the mysterious and luminous resources of the human spirit. Whether feeling the harrowing emotion in "The Last Sacrifice" or the jauntiness of "Jannie Vermaak’s New Bicycle", the reader will delight in a plethora of stories that cross boundaries to both challenge and entertain with their variety.

Visit Judy at her BLOG , on Facebook, or on Twitter