The 365-Day Novel

First of all, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year, with the sincere hope that you all enjoy health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year.

And speaking of which: I recently read a great Karen Lamb quote in which she said, "A year from now you will wish you had started today."

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday time with your families and friends.

In honor of my European readers, I have chosen a snowy wonderland to accompany my greeting. 

Love,
Barbara :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's Thanksgiving in two days: The busiest travel day in the United States where family and friends fly or drive all across the country to be with loved ones. 

I'd like to wish my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope that you enjoy this special holiday. 

I am currently writing a sequel to SOUL FLAME. Soul Flame is a book I am asked about repeatedly, with the most common question being, "will you write a sequel and what happens to Ulrika"? I am almost finished with the manuscript and will keep you updated on my website.

A Splash of Magnificent Glory

As you know, I love to collect quotes that I find inspiring, motivating, and food for thought.  Words to enrich our lives and perhaps guide us in new and exciting directions.  I keep a special notebook and add words of wisdom as I come across them.  As I've been doing this for years, needless to say the notebook is becoming quite a fat little treasure trove.  I have shared a few of these gems in the three years that I have been writing this Blog, and decided that it was time to be generous once again.

Here are the latest from my treasury of interesting quotations:

Awesome!

I was in my favorite coffee shop the other day, ordering breakfast.  When I told my server I would like wheat toast, he smiled and said, "Awesome."

This gave me pause.  The word sounded familiar.  I realized I had been hearing it a lot lately.  In a popular clothing store, I was standing next to a teenage girl picking out a blouse.  "Mom, isn't this just awesome?"  I had to turn and look at the awesome blouse.  It was plain white with a few butterflies.  Where was the awesomeness?

Cats and Dogs

The great comedian, George Carlin, once noted that the reason humans think dogs have personalities and cats do not is because dogs have eyebrows while cats don't.  Although it is tempting to equate facial expressions with the possession of a personality, I cannot agree.  Cats have personalities and emotions.  They simply choose not to show them.

Another debate is over which is smarter, cats or dogs.  I don't know who said it, but I think it's true that you will never see eight cats pulling a sled through snow.

I Remember Patricia Neal

I was sad to hear of the passing of actress Patricia Neal (1926-2010). She was a fabulous and courageous lady whom I had the great honor of meeting once, years ago. One of the side benefits of being a published novelist is the chance to meet celebrities. A typical book and author luncheon, for example, will feature four authors: one who has written a non-fiction book; another who has written a children's book or coffee table book; a novelist; and someone (usually famous) who has written an autobiography. At these luncheons, which are usually fund raisers for charitable causes, as many as five hundred guests will come to hear a panel of authors speak, each for about twenty minutes. Over the years I have had the good fortune to attend many such events at which notable celebrities have appeared.

Making Love

The other night I was watching an old "I Love Lucy" episode, which was filmed in the 1950's, and Ethel and Fred Mertz are arguing.  Lucy comes in and says, "Don't you two ever stop fighting?"  And Ethel replies, "We're not fighting.  That's how Fred and I make love."

It sounded strange, because today the phrase "making love" refers to sexual intercourse.  When, I wondered, did the meaning change?

It reminded me of another time I had heard that phrase, and it was also from the time of the Fifties: In the beautiful and romantic 1957 film, "Sayonara," starring Marlon Brando and one of my all-time favorites.  There is a scene in which Ricardo Montalban, playing a Japanese character, says to the American leading lady, Patricia Owens, "Do not worry, Miss Webster, I am not necessarily making love to you."

My Continued Rebellion

In my last blog entry, I talked about launching a campaign to eradicate that annoying phrase: “go ahead and.” Now I must expand my rebellion against another new and pointless quirk of the English language. I was in my kitchen this morning, brewing coffee from a “pre-measured” pouch. I paused to think: What is the difference between measured and pre-measured? And then I made a sandwich out of “pre-sliced” cheese. What on earth comes before slicing? I wanted to bake some french fries to go with the sandwich, and the recipe called for “pre-heating” the oven. Isn’t that just heating the oven?

A Personal Campaign

I was at the hair dresser the other day, and as I was getting my hair cut, I overheard a conversation between a client and the receptionist that went like this: Customer: "Should I just go ahead and make my next appointment now?" Receptionist: "Let me go ahead and check the book. Okay, yes. Let's go ahead and do that." On another day, I was sitting in my car waiting to pull up to a clown face at a fast food drive-thru, and as I waited for the car in front of me to move on, I overhead this conversation between that driver and the clown face:

If Dogs Were Teachers

A friend sent me an email that contains what I believe is a very valuable lesson, and I would like to share it.  It goes like this --

If dogs were teachers, we would learn things like:
 
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
 
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
 
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
 
Take naps.
 
Stretch before rising.

Confessions Of A Golfer

Golf can be a rewarding game, it can also be a tough and frustrating game - what Mark Twain called "a nice walk ruined."  In the three months that I have been taking lessons, I have learned two keys to being a successful golfer.  But let me begin by saying that being a successful golfer has nothing to do with skill or strength or talent.  Forget about your score, your handicap, or how well you can hit the ball.  And certainly don't worry about your grip, your swing, your stance.  All you need to be really good at the game (or at least to make people think you are good at it), are these two secrets:

Computer Games

I have a confession to make.  I play computer games.

Okay, they're not the big massively multi-player online role-playing type.  In fact, there's nothing big about the two little games I indulge in.  They are arcade style, made for just one person, with no bells and whistles, just an opportunity for quiet thought and pretty graphics.  And the best thing about them is they are free!

Finding Your Inner Wolf

I recently re-read a book that I enjoyed as much the second time around as I did the first. And so I would like to share it with you. "Women Who Run With the Wolves," is written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a Jungian analyst who urges modern women to get in touch with their inner, intuitive selves. There is, Estes tells us, in our contemporary culture, the injunction for women to be perfect - that is, to behave, be nice, be modest, be polite. This injunction is not only nonsense, it is impossible, because to be perfect means you have to sit perfectly still and that nothing about you can ever change. To live such a life would be boring to say the least, and not at all productive.

Walking Through Stories

I went for my daily walk this morning, and as I followed the streets in my neighborhood, where it is quiet except for the call of a kestrel falcon and the bark of the Wilsons' Rottweiler, I was reminded of the heroines in my novels, who are on quests that take them on exotic roads to distant places.  I think about those ladies, whom I named Joanna and Samantha and Selene, and I imagine their journeys as they pass through towns and villages where houses and cottages and huts glow with lights from within - dwellings that are filled with the sounds of people laughing for joy, shouting in anger, wailing with grief.

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.