Category: Musings

Ready!

Posted on by Admin

I’m officially done with summer! 

Especially since I heard on the radio that for the next four days we’re in for a heat wave, temperatures in the 100s. Okay, Laguna Beach isn’t as hot as inland but my loft bedroom doesn’t have any windows that open. The ex didn’t want to have to screw with the added hassle of installing windows that open when he built the loft.

Upstairs windows 002

As you can see, these windows are made of leaded glass, delicate wisteria blossoms trailing tendrils. Fixed shut. Never to allow a cool evening breeze to wash over me. Instead I have  a giant fan that sounds like a 747 revving up all night long.

Bring on the cool weather of Fall with its magical golden light, its lowering skies, the turning of the leaves (yes, there are trees that “turn” in Southern California–my favorite, the Japanese maple that blazes forth in a magnificent burst of red). And then the cold that will coax the pups back to spooning with me in our queen-sized bed.

And maybe with shorter days I’ll hunker down and get into the follow-up to Loveyoubye, not a whole big book, you understand, perhaps a novella. Not sure yet. That’s what I love about writing. It’s an adventure. But meanwhile I’ve been querying publishers for my African YA novel, Monkey’s Wedding while going through it one last time. I’m very excited about this book. This is where I honed my writing chops. Soon!

 

 

Day 5–Positivity Challenge

Posted on by Admin

My final day of documenting three positive things in my life (Day 1, and what it’s all about). In Day 4’s posting, I remarked how I thought it was more about noting those elements that I appreciate in my life. Today, I want to add one more dimension to this experiment: gratitude. 

  1. I am grateful for the ravens and crows in the vacant lot next door who acknowledge my presence, who return my appreciative gaze with one of their own, the moment frozen in time as we consider each other.
  2. I am so very grateful for my friends, who have provided a safe fertile ground for me to know myself better, where I can sometimes risk being my passionate self without feeling like a fool.
  3. I’m grateful I discovered Ted Kooser, Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. This was about five years ago. But I still seek him out. His poems speak to me. BT, (before Ted) poetry pretty much left me cold.

 

Day 4–Positivity Challenge

Posted on by Admin

Continuing with posting three positive things in my life (Day 1 and explanation). Actually, everything I’ve been posting have been about things I appreciate in my life. Still, I guess I could stretch appreciate into positive with this slender thread of a definition from Merriam-Webster:”. . . thinking about the good qualities of someone or something.” There! 

2014-08-09 01.49.56

  1. My “lucky cat” figurine. It’s perched in front of the leaded-glass window near my front door with beckoning left paw raised. Maneki-neko, literally “beckoning cat,” is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman) believed to bring good luck to the owner. 
  2. Gloria (2013): An award-winning movie set in Santiago and centered on a free-spirited older woman (sheesh! she’s in her late forties), and the realities of her whirlwind relationship with a former naval officer whom she meets out in the clubs. Paulina Garcia’s the star. Fabulous. The movie is subtle, understated, well-acted, no wham bam American slick. Loved it.
  3. Raw salmon. With fresh ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. I have it at least once a week. Cooking ruins salmon for me.

Day 3–Positivity Challenge

Posted on by Admin

Continuing with posting three positive things in my life (Day 1 and explanation).

  1. Atomic Bomb, by Hot Chip. I can’t stop singing this song. It’s also covered by William Onyeabor, a funk Nigerian singer. It’s blasting right now on my recently acquired Mac Air.
  2. Which reminds me, I am so appreciating my MacBook Air. A whole new experience from my PC. Why did I wait so long?
  3. Writing. It has only taken me twenty years to finally feel confident about my ability to express my ideas. Now it is such a part of me, that I feel bereft when I’m not trying to shape words to the page.

 

Day 3–Positivity Challenge

Posted on by Admin

Continuing with posting three positive things in my life (Day 1 and explanation).

  1. Atomic Bomb, by Hot Chip. I can’t stop singing this song. It’s also covered by William Onyeabor, a funk Nigerian singer. It’s blasting right now on my recently acquired Mac Air.
  2. Which reminds me, I am so appreciating my MacBook Air. A whole new experience from my PC. Why did I wait so long?
  3. Writing. It has only taken me twenty years to finally feel confident about my ability to express my ideas. Now it is such a part of me, that I feel bereft when I’m not trying to shape words to the page.

 

 

 

 

Day 2–Positivity Challenge

Posted on by Admin

Continuing with writing three positive things about/in my life for the next five four days, here we go.

Jake Closeup

1. The adoration and anticipation in Jake’s eyes whenever I call him. Quick story, when he was six months old, he jumped ten feet from my bedroom loft onto the floor in front of me in the room below because I called him. And then stood there wagging his tail.  No after effects, still, 10 1/2 years later.

2. Van Morrison’s Sweet Thing, playing right now.

3. Longmire.

5-Day Positivity Challenge–Day 1

Posted on by Admin

Karen Hogenauer, my chassis-shaking, booty-bopping friend tagged me to participate in The 5-Day Positivity Challenge. For five days, I have to write three positive things about my life on my Facebook wall, as well as tag three friends to do the same. I’m going to run with this. For one thing, I have so much to appreciate, and for another I’m going to use this as an opportunity to get back into blogging. For all those people I tag as I go along, you DO NOT have to blog, just post on Facebook.

IMG_3332

Here goes:

1. The way the sunlight illuminates my bonsai Horton-Hears-A-Who Bottle Palm in the morning, (no, it’s not really called that, I just made up the name–looks like those trees in Dr. Seuss’s book, don’t you think?).

2. Whole Foods $1 oyster sale yesterday. Yess!! Only thing, I didn’t have any fresh horseradish, and the brine was missing.  Maybe it was because the guy shucked the oysters and then placed them on ice, which melted by the time I got to them that evening, drowning the oysters. Next time, I’ll eat them right away.

3. The War on Drugs song, Lost in a Dream.

 

 

Digging It

Posted on by Admin

Not to put too fine a point on it, I am absolutely digging my book “tour.” My last appearance was on June 25th at Books Inc. in Berkeley, along with my publisher, Brooke Warner, and sister SWP authors, Jessica Levine and Kay Rae Chomic. Dinner at Spenger’s in Berkeley beforehand: a little seafood, a little Pinot Grigio, and lots of delicious conversation with fellow writers.

IMG_2530

Just three months ago I wanted the earth to swallow me whole before the launch of Loveyoubye at Laguna Beach Books. My first public appearance in any arena. You can read all about my meltdown here.

Just so’s you know, this isn’t some glamorous book tour like in the movies, where the author is flown from one city to another, ferried from place to place, set up in brass-trimmed hotels, and greeted by adoring throngs. While I was ferried from my hotel to Spengers and then to the bookstore by my publicist, Kaye (the hiring of whom is my one claim to The Author Life–and now a friend), I stayed in a seedy hotel and took a shuttle to and from the airport. As for an adoring throng. I was the one doing the adoring, glad for the opportunity they afforded me to connect. I’m not just talking sales, here, it’s so much more than that.

Books, Chocolate, and Wine

Posted on by Admin

Greta Boris tagged me to participate in a chocolate blog hop. Each writer shares a few books they love, chocolate, and the wine they think will go best with both, then they pass the hop along to another author (s).

Picture 4 (2)-2Greta Boris is the author of The Wine and Chocolate Workout – Eat, Drink, and Lose Weight as well as forging the path for a new fiction genre, cozy horror. Visit her at http://gretaboris.com for a free copy of her latest short story:  FAT – A Ghost Story. and sinfully great tips for living happy and healthy. (Available on Amazon.)

For such a cheeky concept (who can resist a wine and chocolate workout?), I’m going with  Salted Caramel Bees along with a small glass of Cockburn Port? (pronounced, co-burn, if you didn’t already know.) 

I’ve got so many favorite books that it’s really hard to decide which ones to pick. But because I just published a memoir, I’m going that route.

Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller.

For this raw authentic story (which takes place in Zambia where I’m from), I’m going to go a little nostalgic and take a detour back to Africa and suggest Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut. I used to eat these bars by the bucket full. And let’s go with a Castle or Lion beer, instead of wine.

Mary Karr’s, Liar’s Club. 

This book gave me permission to let it all out in my own memoir, so I’m going with Deeply Dark and Salted Caramels, and Dom Perignon (love the bubbly).

A Three Dog Life, by Abigail Thomas.

This is one of those books that stays with you, a real gem.  This means Chocolate Covered Figs, imported, mind you, from Spain. They’re filled with a silky smooth, whiskey infused Valrhona dark chocolate ganache and hand-dipped in dark chocolate. (I just had  to describe them.)  I would add something light,  like a nice, chilled Viogner.

I’ll end with The Boys Of My Youth, by Jo Ann Beard.

A smart, funny and moving book of essays about life and its defining moments. A real treat like this calls for Firecracker Truffles. I normally don’t like truffles, too bor-ring, but not these babies. I’m probably off here, but I’m thinking a Lambrusco would go down nicely.

I do hope you enjoyed my little indulgence enough to hop on over to the next chocolate blog-stop, author, Ronda Del Boccio.

ATastyMorsel-ParanormalRomance-byRndaDelBoccioRonda Del Boccio is a best selling, award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Most of her tales take you on adventures that deepen your understanding of what it means to be alive. She also helps people turn your stories and expertise into best selling books.

She Writes, She Reads, She’s Off Again

Posted on by Admin

Can’t chat for long my computer crashed five days ago saved most of it bought a Mac haven’t a clue got a reading next week up in Berkeley with my She Writes Press sisters did the whole {pages} thing on Thursday night remember the cool bookstore in Manhattan Beach it was cool very cool not many people though they all had to be on the freeway took Dawn another SWP author and I two hours to go 58.8 miles made us late for pre-reading dinner at Little Sister that anti-fusion restaurant across the street from {pages} Holy Moly was that the best ever I’m going back shitty traffic and all and I will sit there and eat everything on the menu SWP in LA Meanwhile it’s the first day of summer and you know what that means in Laguna Beach; cars creeping up the canyon past my house while I sit here all smug, well, a little panicky, so much to do, along with cooking up a very bold plan for publicizing my book. )Getting great reviews.)

Loveyoubye

The pic’s  from {pages} I’m the shrimp in the middle in case you didn’t know