Behind The Words

Message Of the Day

I received an email today from one of my nieces in Australia, and it contains a lovely, uplifting message that I would like to share.

Remember this: every minute that you spend being angry, upset or sad, is a minute of happiness you will never get back.  Life is short.  Break the rules now and then.  Forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably.  Enthusiasm is contagious.  Practice being excited and soon you will be.  Count your blessings - they are the savings account of your emotional bank and someday you can draw on them.

Earthquake

To my friends in Chile.  I was shocked and saddened by the catastrophe that befell you this weekend.  I am worried about all of you.  Please e-mail me, or post in my Guestbook, and let me know you are all right.

You are in my prayers.

Barbara

The Future Has Arrived

I had an extraordinary movie experience the other night. I went with some friends to see "Avatar," and I discovered that everything I had heard about this movie is true. The computer graphics are by far the best I have ever seen, and the 3D enhances the effect a thousand-fold. In fact, the viewer is so caught up in the story, so swept away, that he or she forgets that a weird pair of plastic glasses covers one's eyes.

At First Sight

I write about love in its many forms and what I always enjoy creating is the scene where my two main characters first meet. What are the circumstances? Is it by chance or carefully orchestrated? What is the setting, the climate? Is it crowded, noisy, quiet, romantic, terrifying? Will they love eachother or hate each other? Too many options! With this in mind, here's a poem that inspires me. 

The Age Of Aquarius

The hero of my latest novel, "The Divining," is a devout believer in divine messages from the stars, that our fate can be read in the heavens, and so he relies on daily readings of his horoscope in order to plan his day. I have never dabbled in astrology, but of course now I must do some research and as I look into this ancient and fascinating art, I am making a few interesting discoveries.

More Birdies

A year and a half ago, on May 20, 2008, I wrote a blog entry titled "Three Little Birds," about a family of hummingbirds nesting outside my window, and whom I named Maudie and the Twins.

Well, here I am again, writing about birdies.  But this time I am not referring to hummingbirds or any sort of feathered friend.  I am talking about hitting a little white ball into a hole in the ground!  You guessed it - I have taken up golf.  I figured it was about time I tried something new.  It's a great sport, I've discovered, and one that comes with its own foreign language, which I am learning rather quickly.  Everyone has heard of "par" - the number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course (the phrase "par for the course" comes from this).  But did you know that "birdie" means getting the ball into the cup by one stroke below par?  Or that "eagle" means two strokes below par?  On the other side, there are "bogey" (one over par) and "double bogey" (two over par) which brings me to …..

Three Magic Books, Part Three

Congratulations! You have already added two great books to your library - one that teaches you the tools of the English language, and one that offers motivation to get you started on putting that language to use, and to keep going once you are underway. Now for the third of the Three Magic Books - the one that will give you inspiration. And this is one book you won't have to buy!

Three Magic Books, Part Two

Okay, so you took my advice from last week's Blog and purchased William Strunk's "Elements of Style."  You've studied it and learned a few things about punctuation and syntax, and now you wish to apply these newly memorized rules to your novel.  But the problem is, how to get started - or if you have already begun to write your book, how to keep going.  As American satirist Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Three Magic Books

A new year has begun and perhaps some of you are thinking of starting that novel you have been wanting to write (or perhaps you have already started on it but gave up half-way through, and now you want to dust it off and see if you can finish it).  I am frequently asked for advice on how to write a novel, or how to get started, and most especially, how to keep it going once you have started.  My response is usually in about five thousand sentences filled with tips, tricks, advice, warnings, examples and pep talk.  Today, I am going to make it simple and help you to get started by sharing with you the secret of Three Magic Books that will get you on your way to completing a successful novel.

The New Decade

I received an email from a friend yesterday in which she wrote, "Happy New Year and Happy New Decade!"  She then went on to enthuse, "Let's hope this decade is better than the last."  As I was framing my reply, I paused.  Was this truly the beginning of a new decade?  Wouldn't a decade start with the number One?  If you are counting, say, ten apples, you wouldn't pick up the first one and call it Zero.  So how can 2010 be the start of a new decade?  The new decade will begin a year from now, on January first, 2011.

A New Year

2010 is almost here!  Whether you have a celebration planned or are going to spend the new year quietly, I wish you a Happy New Year. 

I don't make new year's resolutions (at least not formally).  I reflect on the  year that is just about to close,  remembering the highs and lows and then move forward with optimism to the new year.   I enter a new year with positive thoughts and the motto that "this is going to be a wonderful year".

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and may 2010 be a truly wonderful year for you too.    Love, Barbara

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your families.

May you find peace, happiness and joy during this holiday season.

Here's one of my favorite carols.

Love, Barbara

A Christmas Carol

The other night I watched what is possibly the hundredth version of the Charles Dickens classic, starring, of all people, Tori Spelling!  I loved it.  Although the story is always the same (a miserable, curmudgeonly person is visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, and is ultimately changed by the experience) the myriad recountings of this beloved tale doesn’t always involve the usual “old man” Scrooge (although the most recent version starring Patrick Stewart is the best of that particular lot).  In one version, Cycely Tyson plays miserly Ebenita, and Vanessa Williams does a great mean-spirited diva named Ebony Scrooge in another.  My personal favorite is Susan Lucci as “Ebbie,” and now we have Tori Spelling in A Carol Christmas.

I Love Christmas

It's that time of the year, my friends. A time of joy and singing and prayer and good food and the congeniality of family and loved ones. It's also time for an annual family tradition in my house: the battle over trimming the Christmas tree. I have discovered through the years that there are as many ways to decorate a Christmas tree as there are people. My family is no exception. We seem to enjoy a good fight as everyone jumps in to rally on their favorite sides: the tinsel throwers vs the tinsel hangers; the multi-colored vs the mono-colored; the angel on the top vs the star on the top; blinking lights vs non-blinking lights; paper chains vs popcorn and cranberries. You get my drift.

It's Time For A Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Motherhood and Fulfillment

Freud said that anatomy is destiny.  But I wonder: is it truly?

During a recent magazine interview, I was asked if it is possible for a woman who has never had children to find fulfillment in life.  This question surprised me, especially in this day and age when there are so many options open to women beyond the roles of wife and mother.  The question presumes that childbearing is woman's only purpose in life and that to seek fulfillment elsewhere is secondary and perhaps even futile.  (I wonder, in fact, how Mother Theresa would have responded to this question.)

What Am I ? (A riddle)

"I am priceless, yet I cost you nothing. You can do anything you want with me, but you can't own me. You can spend me, but you can't keep me. And once you've lost me, there is no getting me back. I'm just … gone. What am I?"

Miracle at Joshua Tree

In December of last year I received an unexpected email from my editor in Germany, informing me that they were planning to publish a beautiful upscale Literary Christmas anthology this year, featuring their most renowned authors, and they wanted me to be part of the project.  The anthology would consist of twenty-four stories patterned after the Christmas advent calendar, those beautifully decorated cardboards with 24 little doors which you open every day from December 1st to 24th, to find a picture or a little gift inside.  The idea of the anthology was to present 24 wintry stories, each involving one specific number.

A Source of Inspiration

I am a big fan of Dolly Parton - I admire the woman, her music, her films, but most of all, her outlook on life.

I recently read an interesting item about her 2008 album, "Backwoods Barbie."  Amazingly, this woman who is one of country music's greatest artists of all time, could not find a major record label to release the album.  Even more amazingly, the music industry seemed to be telling Parton that she was a has-been and no one was interested in her songs any more!  But Dolly Parton was not to be deterred.  Being an optimist at heart, and a clever entrepreneur in her own right, she created her own label and produced the album herself.  It came out to rave reviews and went on to be a smash success.

Congratulations AGAIN, Mr. Obama!

The announcement that President Obama had received the Nobel Peace Prize came as a big surprise to the world - myself included - and prompted both admiration and skepticism.  I am in the former group.

While some say President Obama hasn't really done anything yet to have earned the award, I say he has.  The important thing about this prize is that it has been given to someone who has the power to contribute to peace.  As Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said: "Only very rarely has a person, to the same extent as Obama, captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future."  He cited Obama's extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.  I call that an accomplishment!