New Book!

By now you probably know that my book Finding the Tree has been published--nearly a year in the making this book dives deep into women's rights. Fantasy is a good way to manage themes of this nature. If you haven't picked up a copy as yet, it is only .99 but that price will soon go up! It is irksome that a book that has taken so long and has been edited many times is worth so little to so many people! I hope you can take this in stride, because as a writer, it is a difficult road. But then again I'm not in it for the money--if I were, I'd be LONG GONE!

Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

Waking to the smell of smoke propelled me to my feet, my eyes watering as soon as I opened them. Outside my window flames licked at the dry wood of downed trees, the smell of char and the sound of limbs crashing sending me into a panic. The whispering was now a roar in my ears, the pain of the trees twisting inside my belly. I grabbed my books, the pendant and the comb and threw them into my rucksack, grabbing the water bottle and the rest of the cheese and bread in the larder and adding them to the mix. It was obvious that I didn’t have time to think things over too carefully—the fire was moving toward my little shelter with alarming speed.

Tears welled. The forest had always been my sanctuary, but now it was on fire and there was nothing I could do. Sneaking into the library must have angered God, and now I was being punished for my transgressions. And yet I’d been poised to go, I reminded myself. Maybe this god was on my side after all. But the thought of the trees burning up and the animals running for their lives…and the fox—he was like a pet now, sleeping inside on the colder winter nights and eating from the bowl I left out by the door. I scanned for him but didn’t see him.

Away from the inferno I witnessed a world I no longer recognized. Gone were the brick and wood houses, and the tiny shops; the narrow paths that led between them were covered in rocks and mud. The community square where people sold their goods, the pens that housed the pigs, the pastures filled with horses and goats had literally been obliterated. The windmills lay twisted across the ground. The land was scoured, with large piles of steaming rubble scattered here and there. The only building still standing was the library.

The wooden doors were open and ablaze. I could see the glow of flames within. The books were burning. When I closed my eyes, I could smell the dust and hear the leather sizzling, the whoosh of ancient paper curling into ash and the crack as the glass of the locked cabinet broke apart. I ran for the door and burst inside, holding a scarf over my mouth and nose as I grabbed the charred books that had fallen from the cabinet. The shelves were on fire, flames licking upward as books fell, disintegrating as they landed. In the side room the papers and maps were in flames and the table and chairs were nearly burned away. Perhaps a candle had been left burning after one of the meetings? I scanned quickly for the journal, but it wasn’t there.

I ran for the door, barely making it outside before the shelves exploded, the glass bursting outward and showering the ground with burning embers and ash. There was not another human being in sight. I ran from the village as though the gods were chasing me, shockwaves sending the adrenaline I needed. This wasn’t about me—it was about everyone and everything. My precious books were no more and the only home I’d known was gone.

I must warn sensitive readers--this book is not for the faint of heart--if you've read The Handmaid's Tale, this one is similar in tone. If you are interested, just click on the title in orange to go to Amazon.

Thanks for reading!

Another Year!

The year of the woman? We can only hope and/or stand up for our civil rights. How can we have gone so far backward like this? It's been a long slide and now we are stuck in the mud at the bottom. I have given up on the two party system and am trying very hard to give up the news. I want to focus on the positive...there is now an underground helping women. We are not without resources. But the mere idea that MEN have taken us to this level makes my blood boil. Anyway, enough of that.

Finding The Tree is nearing conclusion. But the ending is giving me fits! The one I'd planned is too derivative and nothing else has presented itself. Normally my characters figure it out--perhaps I am too involved and too impatient? I am leaving it at least for today and using my time to edit. Maybe as I work my way through something will appear. I want this to be published in January so something better show itself soon! If you have forgotten or have not read previous blogs, this book is about a world of the future and a young woman who finds herself falling into a dreamworld and coming into contact with the distant past. But is it actually a dream?

I am also in the planning stages of another book, but this one will be non-fiction. A book about women and their stories. A friend of mine and I are co-creating it. I have already approached a woman living in her car about the project. She will be my first interviewee. But first I have to figure out how to record on my phone! I've done 'notes' so I'm sure it won't be too difficult.

Does this blog seem like a newsletter? Because that's what it feels like. News and thoughts. And speaking of news, I will be doing several very good promos in January. So keep tuned! Check out my website from time to time--I usually put the deals on the home page.

I would LOVE to have comments from any of you so inclined. I thought perhaps I didn't have a place to comment, but I think I do...Thanks for reading!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Solstice message for women

I get up in the morning and wash my face with the gel I got from the skincare lady. I stare at my face and see new wrinkles! My left eye lid is drooping--WHAT? My trip to eye doctor results in some kind of drops that may or may not work--"You've been defying gravity for a long time," the doc says. "If you need more come back."

I scan the internet for new products to apply to my skin. A list of the five best vitamin C serum comes up. I order the first one on the list thinking it must be the best...I stare into my bathroom cabinet where bottles and small jars fill the shelves. Retin-A, vitamin C serums, moisturizers with hyaluronic acid abound. But when I look it up I find that hyaluronic acid is actually not good for dry skin! My skin is ULTRA dry! And when I peruse my creams and serums further I realize that hyaluronic acid is in nearly everything ! I wondered why the moisture surge cream I got from Clinique seemed to dry out my skin, or the Neutrogena wrinkle cream I just bought aged me instead of helping. When my new C serum arrives I send it back. I am now down to a moisturizer that I got from my esthetician and aloe vera cream. The moisturizer is made by company called Cleora and it actually works better under my eyes than the expensive eye cream I ordered and have since thrown away. I am also using a tinted moisturizer with spf that has been tested on animals--I am horrified by my hypocrisy.

Giving you info on which products to buy was not my purpose here. I am a hypocrite when discussing these things but there is a large part of my soul that wants to be free of what society tells us--the idea that we have to look younger than we are. We live in a misogynistic society, our worth gone as soon as our hair turns gray. We are invisible, any idea of being wise women lost in a culture that reveres youth. My own struggle with this is why I'm writing. I do not want to worry about my wrinkles or examine my face for new ones. Obviously I want to look as good as I can, but I don't want to find myself in some doctor's office having some painful procedure done. I want to feel good inside myself so that a new wrinkle doesn't bother me. Where did this self-doubt come from? Are we all doomed to buying into the billion dollar anti-aging industry? Will I succeed in embracing this new idea of self-worth? I really hope so.

As an author I have hesitated to reveal my age--afraid that because I am 'old' my book sales will plummet. And yet what I write is deeper and has more meaning because I have learned things, gone through therapy, been to spiritual retreats, studied with teachers (gurus) and lived through times that younger women know nothing about. I was a hippy, (still am) a protester, a dope smoker, an artist. I trusted the universe and running out of gas on some back road didn't faze me. I had no cell phone when I drove at sixteen from Michigan to Pennsylvania. The world has changed, I get it. But what has happened to the wise woman? The crone? The goddess with three faces--youth, mother and wise woman? We need to take back our power (and reverse our self-doubt) ...stop buying into this needing to stay young crap. I want to age gracefully--do yoga to be supple and calm. To not be stressed in a society that is all about stress. To step away from the mainstream and make my own decisions about my life. To step out in all my beauty as an older women.

Today is the Solstice--give libations to the return of the light! Ask the universe for help in becoming the woman you want to be and send your wishes out into the universe on this auspicious day! Have a wonderful light-filled Yule and embrace the coming NEW year!

And thanks for reading.