Finding your pearl of great value

  

Some might think that the title of this romance came from the Bible. Well, it could be thought that way, but there is way more to the meaning of pearls than from Scripture.

“As a pearl is formed and its layers grow, a rich iridescence begins to glow. The oyster has taken what was at first an irritation and intrusion and uses it to enrich its value. How can you coat or frame the changes in your life to harvest beauty, brilliance, and wisdom?” – Susan C. Young 

. “Life is made up of a few moments all strung together like pearls. Each moment is a pearl, and it is up to us to pick the ones with the highest luster.” – Joyce Hilfer

“Some give up under pressure, while others rise up and undergo life-transforming experiences. Oyster responds beautifully to external pressure, giving birth to a priceless pearl.” – Mukhtar Aziz 

“A pearl is worthless as long as it’s in its shell.” – Native American Proverb 

These quotes, along with many others, especially the one on the Gospels, speak to what a hidden pearl can mean as well as its value. It also is why it was right for a title in this book. People can seem whole and strong and yet have fought against opening up the hidden part inside themselves. Does that fit romances? I think it very much does as the closest relationships make us face ourselves in ways we won't when not faced with challenges.

 So how does that work with this book? By the way, that sculpture is one of mine. 

 When architect/builder S.T. Taggert returns from a morning run, he finds a call waiting from his Navajo mother. She is concerned that his sister, Shonna, is missing. She asks him to find out if she is okay. This represents a part of his mixed heritage, drunken, white father, and a mother who deserted them to return to her land. Reluctantly, he agrees to see what he can find out about his sister.

Going to his office, S.T. finds something else unwanted. A photojournalist, Christine Talbot, is waiting to do photos of hm, for a series of up and coming young men in Oregon. He doesn't like the idea but finally agrees only because she appeals to the respect he has for those who work.

Christine has another shoot for the series lined up in Roseburg of another man who is making a splash, evangelist, Peter Soul, who has a growing group called Servants of Grace. 

Hence the book begins with conflicts and connections. All will come together, along with S.T.'s search for his missing sister, who had been in the Servants of Grace, with her admiration for Peter Soul, who also wants S.T. to design a larger facility for his growing congregation.

Besides the mystery, the romance, the beauty of Oregon, there is more to explore in this story. One, of course, is what is spiritual truth, how does one find it, is it sometimes corrupted, and if so, how to be aware of that corruption, especially when it might be emotionally very pleasing?

Then there is the question of ancestral heritage. Even if we never lived like modern family members, do we still carry in our DNA their truths? How will that impact our lives if we are living in a very different culture? Is, as this hero believes, there  prejudice against those who carry dual heritages?

It's not like the book presents these questions as some kind of class instruction, but more that the questions are entwined in a heated romance between two very different people, but who find out they have more in common than they thought. Romances can be a lot more than just the basic love story at its heart. How and where do people work out the rest of their lives? More critically, in this book, if there is danger out there, how do they survive it?

To read the blurb, free sample, or buy the book:

Hidden Pearl 

 

 

  

Being Open

When I decided to combine three, finished novellas into one novel, it was something new to me. It meant three couples, with only one of them what might be seen as typical-- even there, the supernatural is involved. As for the themes of the novellas, each was covered loosely in the previous blog. 

Because I am hoping to do more promoting of my Mystic Shadows Series, I got to know these books better, as I edited them for the umpteenth time. Fortunately, for the novellas, their original covers still worked.

Those covers represented three couples, but when the novel came along, what kind of cover would work? Maybe, no couple but background or a monster or two? With its title being Diablo Canyon, I wanted something that represented the challenge these humans were facing. I believe, in many ways, the conflict we still see-- supernatural or physical.

The thing is, although the first novella began with a dream, in actuality, they all were aimed toward the challenge in the last book. It is there, the reason for everything is revealed, with, of course, another romance and how the two earlier ones were doing.

Those, who haven't been reading my blog for very long, might not know that dreams are a big part of my life-- the night-time sort. Some of mine are prosaic or seem that way, pieces of my life, or scenes that I see like going to a movie theater. Mine are usually colorful and the beauty of nature or the sort of art I wish I could have when I wake up. In my experience, dreams don't always make sense. Mine are sometimes where I've been, but not always. They don't have to, as it's the brain playing around, or is it the muse trying to speak to us? In the past, some of my dreams have worked to be inspiration for books. 

The one, that began that first novella, came because I had lost a cat I loved very much. I'd have paid a lot of money to save her life. She was too young to die, but something was catastrophically wrong inside. All I could do was let her go, which happened when the veterinarian came out to the house and gave her a merciful end. I cried so much. I still cry when I think about it, which is why I don't include her picture here. I think we love many animals, but always there is one very special. She was that for me and still is.

 That night I asked for a dream to know if reincarnation was true. I had thought this cat had come to me twice before. Both other times, she'd lived out her whole lifetime. This time I wanted to know-- could I get her again? Was reincarnation true? 

The dream did not turn out to be about my cat, but it was powerful.

A man and woman were on a train. They had been lovers in previous lifetimes, but always star-crossed. This time they were both destined to die early from accidents.

There were two spirit guides looking at what was happening. As the lovers kissed, a gold ring was clearly seen over the kiss. The guides saw it and observed how rare true soul mate love was.

 'They will just ruin things again if we don't let them fix it this time,' they said. 

At the same time, there was another couple, where the woman was plotting to kill the man to get his fortune. What can fates do to fix these two star-crossed lovers? The dream had the answer.

When I woke that morning, I realized I had to write this story. For it to work, as a book, it'd take some adjusting, like no train, but the ideas for what would work were already percolating. I knew it'd be set in the ranching country of Montana. Having raised cattle for a big part of my life, with many trips to Montana, the setting was a natural. The cowboy life has long fascinated me, even though our piece of it is small.

 

After the first came together, it led to a second and then a third novella, each with their own romance and mysticism. I wrote about the general premises of all three in the previous blog. What I didn't expect is to put the three together, with the spice, for which there is no room for in my novellas. That became the novel-- Diablo Canyon.

~~~

 Once again, this blog has ended up too long. The importance of Diablo Canyon, its cover, and theme, that'll be next blog. Remember, what I am trying to do with my blogs on writing is to encourage others to find their own creativity. Sure sales are nice but mainly to know others found something of value in choosing the books.

To me, ironically, Diablo Canyon became my most important book with its combinations of energy and the unexpected way it worked out. Why did that happen? I believe it came about because I was open to it. That is also to me what creativity is all about-- being open in life and our dreams.

Spiritual Places -- What if...

 Mural, one of many painted on Tucson walls. Photo ours as are the rest below.

Editing is a large portion of a writer's life, like it or not. Recently, for me, that began with a book I had edited multiple times. The need for this edit was wanting information for the manuscript that I had abandoned when Covid hit. Rereading and considering where it went next, I discovered I needed more information about characters that would inhabit it-- those of spirit and earthly natures. 

So, back to the book ahead of it, which was much longer than I intended the new one to be. They are all part of a series, which I call Mystic Shadows because of its a mix of mysticism, romance along with darkness. 

There are two earlier ones in that series, which are not telling the stories of the Hemstreet/Cordova families. All Mystic Shadows stories go into the personalities on both sides of the spiritual divide.  I enjoy writing those kinds of books, using my imagination for what might be-- or not be.

The Hemstreet series idea came from the time I drove with Ranch Boss through Barrio Viejo again (we'd been through there years earlier, when it was in much different condition). On one of our times, in 1965, it wasn't as safe. It was though very interesting as we'd see older folks, many of diverse races, sitting in doorways smoking or drinking. I have to say that back then, it had its own level of interest. With many of the doors wide open, there likely wasn't much air conditioning back then. The smells of food cooking made their way to the street.

In 2015, it had changed. I saw the potential for characters and a series involving modern witches. The homes in that barrio had been modernized and yet kept the historic nature. Younger, professional people do things like that. 

Two other things, for me, that always had added to the neighborhood's charm, are shrines, one with a history, El Teradito, and one with some spiritual figures in the altar (years earlier it had had a madonna sculpture. (Unfortunately, I can't remember its name). The shrines add to the mystique of that barrio. Do they have power for believers? Some believe so, as el Teradito also is known as the Wishing Shrine. The desert Southwest has a lot of those kinds of places, often tucked into hillsides with no names, and where you'd only see them if you knew to look for them. 

So, this neighborhood of mysticism, history, and modernization seemed a perfect setting for my imaginary witches to live, work, and find love. They are like ordinary people only born with magical powers. Their goal always is to right wrongs for the benefit of a culture that rejects them. 

Finding where these books fit in the novel, genre world has been a challenge. You can give your own books their genre, but others may not agree. What I have found with my current research is my view of spirituality is out there, but not necessarily in fiction books. More, of it, comes from those who share their culture's own spiritual truths. 

My thinking for these books came also from what I grew up thinking as a little girl living at the end of a gravel road on a hill that abutted wilderness. Lots of space for imagination to grow... or to see more than I might have if I had been busy in a town. Mystical thinking yes, but not part of a total fantasy world, rather our world with secrets most of us are not privy to-- unless we go seeking.

Should we seek? There can be risks, I think, depending on motivations. But, if you have a curious mind, you already may have looked various places to understand the mysteries of life. Perhaps you found an answer or answers that suited you and you quit right there. Or maybe you are a spiritual seeker. If so, you might like my Mystic Shadows series that combines place, spirits, families, romance, adventure, purpose, with questions of what might be here, IF we looked. 

More coming on these books. If such explorations, which will be in the blogs, makes you uneasy, you, you might drop mine for a while, as I delve into our world and that of the spirit-- not one of any particular religion, but maybe a mix of many. Everyone should do what suits best for their lives. Is there one answer for us all? Maybe... or maybe that truth goes beyond an answer to something bigger. Maybe...

 

Sky Daughter -- why this book?

 

 

Having written last week about mysticism vs. science, I thought I'd write a bit about my experience with mysticism. It's not so much direct although there are some dreams that I can't explain. For each of the books in what I regard as a mystical series, I did a lot of research. Some by talking to people, who have experienced things I have not, and some with what I've read through searches.

The first book I wrote about a mystical possibility has much about the human elements on how they can lose touch with reality with a desire for power. When I wrote Sky Daughter, I debated how realistic to make the 'other' side. There were different ways to proceed, but eventually I knew the answer for making this book as real as I could. 

Sky Daughter, with its romance, adventure, and mysticism  is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Daughter-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B0083YU2FI

 

It was in the 1990s when I first wrote this story with no interest at the time in finding a publisher. I wrote a lot back then for the pure joy of putting together characters with plots and seeing how it all worked out. Some years later, along came the option of self-publishing as an independent author and it was one of the books I reworked to bring out for readers who might share my interests in stories.

Some of the inspiration for the story came from trip we had made to Montana, sleeping in our Astro van. I had the radio on as we entered Idaho on our way home and a talk program came on. It eventually found its way into a powerful part of the plot-- not the actual speaker but the ideas. I had spent some time in various parts of Idaho and it became the perfect setting for an imaginary town that was isolated from much of the world. 

As for the rest of the story, I did create a trailer that depicts some of what came together. Such videos are fun for me to create. Check it out. Images bought from CanStock, Deposit Photos, Vikkas, or my own photos. Music I had purchased from Jewel Beat, which unfortunately doesn't still exist. Glad I bought their music when I did.

Sky Daughter Trailer

What dreams can mean

Dreams are a big part of my life-- the night time sort, not daytime. Some have meaning to them but so far no prophetic dreams, which is fine with me. Some are prosaic or seem that way like recently going to a movie theater, which seemed meaningless until the end of it. I'd left the film part way to go to the bathroom. I came back to see the end except it went into scenes of people watching films, with nothing to do with the story I'd left. Those scenes kept going on and on until I realized the story would never return and the meaning was how we wait around for an ending that may never come, and it does relate to life.

Some of my dreams work into parts of books. One became a book that led to two more books. It began because in the fall of 2013, I lost a cat I loved very much. I'd have paid a lot of money to save her life. She was too young to die, but something was catastrophically wrong inside. All I could do was let her go, which happened when the veterinarian came out to the house and gave her a merciful end. I cried so much. I still cry when I think about it, which is why I don't include her picture here.

 That night I asked for a dream to know if reincarnation was true. I had thought this cat had come to me twice. Both other times, she'd lived out her whole lifetime. This time I wanted to know if reincarnation was true. If it was, I hoped I'd get her back again. The dream was not about cats but it was powerful.

A man and woman were on a train. They had been lovers in previous lifetimes. This time they were both destined to die early from accidents.

There were two spirit guides looking at what was happening. As the lovers kissed, a gold ring was clearly seen over the kiss. The guides saw it and

observed how rare that kind of love was. 'They will just ruin things again if we don't let them fix it this time,' they said. At the same time, there was another couple, where the woman was plotting to kill the man to get his money. What can fates do to fix these two unfairnesses? The dream had the answer with a transfer of souls.

Now, it's been a lot of years since the dream, but some elements are still strong in my memory especially that ring over their kiss. I still see it if I think about it and have never heard of such a thing anywhere except in my fiction novella.

When I woke that morning, I realized I had to write this story. There were elements I could not use-- like the train. There were other elements that I added to it to fill out the book of these lovers who had met in high school but never did anything about their feelings until years later when tragedy cuts their time short. I added scenes that fit the characters like a time in the spirit at Bear Mountain. That's what writing is about-- an initial idea and then what!

I wrote the novella, When Fates Conspire, and put it out in January 2014 when I began to think this had potential for something more. 

No dream this time, but the woman who lost her son is having a hard time, in The Dark of the Moon, holding onto the family ranch with her main help gone. A man, who sees the

other side and is trained as a sorcerer, comes to the ranch after hearing of her plight. He offers to help, and it's not hard to see where this is going since it's a romance. 

The mystical side though went beyond the sorcerer as the son who had been killed, who had found joy with his soul mate in their new bodies, begins to feel a draw to a ranch where he's never been and that he can't explain. The soul connection is there when mother and lost son meet. Oh, there is the little matter of villains and a killer bear.

Were two enough? Not close, It takes three. Storm in the Canyon has a shape-shifting druid hero. Langston Agency is called by the restored son to figure out what is happening in a canyon with strange powers growing by the day. This is a canyon known for its tragic endings. The spirit world is also concerned and sends a spirit guide into human form to help. She can't stay forever but is romance in the air? Of course, but so is a logical explanation for why monsters of old might be gaining power in a

Montana ranch canyon.

Three novellas from one dream, but it wasn't the end. I wanted to combine them into one novel-- Diablo Canyon. I also wanted to add in the spice that novellas don't have enough room to have. 

Having three into one has a confusing aspect. If someone doesn't read the whole blurb and buys the novella and then the novel, they might feel they were cheated. The novellas do have one feature, or rather more of it than the novel-- Dante's quotes fit each chapter. What a poet he was.

Remember tonight... for it is the beginning of always.    Dante Alighieri

novellas available at Amazon:  

When Fates Conspire: https://www.amazon.com/Fates-Conspire-Diablo-Canyon-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00I53K8CE

 The Dark of the Moon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K105OVY

Storm in the Canyon: https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Canyon-Diablo-Book-ebook/dp/B00L0LQEG2 

Full length novel with those three and spice put together: https://www.amazon.com/Diablo-Canyon-Trilogy-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B00M9NXVDO

when it begins with a theme

 

As I said before, I can't tell you how to create books here. What I can do is relate how it has worked for me with some of my own. The following will be an example of when I used a theme, the book, Moon Dust.

First, I need to better define what I mean by theme. Frankly, I went to the dictionary for some synonyms that might explain how I am using the word. There were a lot of good ones including: subject, concept, essence, marrow, pith, gist. I don't know if that gets to the heart of what I am trying to describe, which is that, where the topics range from abuse to brainwashing, heartbreak, education, etc. the real theme is healing, and it fits with all that comes up in the book.

My interest in writing the story began with knowing that not only girls are sexually abused but also boys. It's not been taken as seriously when it's a male because they are supposed to be enjoying it. The thing is-- abuse is about power taken away. It's not enjoyable for any victim.

Before I began writing, I researched by reading several books on what the abuse can be when it's a boy as well as what the impact was when they grew up. Men have been too often denied counseling for it. That means its impact can be hidden under other emotional issues.

Moon Dust had another subject that isn't so popular for romances. It begins with a divorce. The male protagonist was a high school principal, who has much responsibility for the teachers and children under his wings. To flesh out the character, I remembered the high school principals I had known. Having a hero involved in concern for kids, led to what education should be and the downside of it-- what about youths who are being brainwashed by those who seek power over them. Principals run into all sorts of problems.

What? That doesn't sound like a romance. Well, romances often aren't what readers expect. They can be; but for me, I need something more and this theme was about people needing to recognize what happened to them and when to get treatment.

Writing this book, even with a difficult subject, was one I enjoyed because I cared about the topics. I helped myself by the heroine being a home decorator, which enabled me to explore what it takes to help someone else find the right decor for their home. It was a lighter touch to add to the heavier theme of divorce and adult emotional disorders due to childhood trauma.

Of course, there was a love story, if not the usual one. Some violence, growth of the characters through what they are learning, and, naturally a happy ending- if not what's expected.  

Moon Dust has not caught on with romance readers maybe because it's more woman's fiction. How do you label books? Don't ask me! I write what works for me and hope it finds readers looking for a little something more in their reading. That key word-- finding-- is always the problem.

I have started other books with a theme in mind, but this is probably one of the strongest. I  like this book. I hoped to write about it here to encourage other writers to also look for what interests them. That will lead to the characters and the plot. Yes, plot and theme are not the same thing.

My photos from a visit to Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland Oregon

amazing place to spend much time.

And so we begin

 

From January and Wild Woman Rising Calendar

Reaching the end of January,  I thought I'd write a bit about calendars. I don't suppose all consider a wall calendar essential with the computer to tell us what date it is. I like them and have bought them for years as a way to inspire myself.

Last year and for many years, mine had the inspiration from Thich Nhat Hanh along with images by various artists like Nicholas Kirsten-Honshin. When I decided to go a different route this year, I had no idea Hanh would die the 22nd of January. I am sure though his calendars will go on with their inspiring thoughts like "The present moment is the only moment that is real. Your most important task is to be here and now and enjoy the present moment."

I thought that maybe having the thoughts by a woman would be good for me. I chose Wild Woman Rising-- Goddess, warrior, healer, rebel-- for this year's. I wanted the inspiration for myself and my writing (which has been in the doldrums). 

This is its inspiring thought for January-- "Practice Tender Fierceness  A sage once said of wild woman: 'She is not fragile like a flower. She is fragile like a bomb.'  It is a sacred charge to hold both our power and tenderness in balance, each deeply reverent of the other. When we speak truth to power, with grace instead of judgment, Wild Woman rises."

So, here we head for a new year, the Year of the Tiger according to Chinese astrology, which will begin February 4th. If though, you follow the Celtic New Year, February 1st is Imbolc, which is ewe's milk. Although we are not at the farm, the first twin lambs have already been born.

 

Beltane

 by Rain Trueax

Despite the calendar telling us that summer doesn't begin until the Solstice, in the Pacific Northwest, it begins May 1 with Beltane. Celtic festivals follow nature and reflect it unrelated to religious demands-- pagan or otherwise.

Beltane

For Beltane, there used to be the May pole to dance around but not sure many still do that. Where I live, and in the lands where the Celtic religion originated, it is the time of hills turning green, trees in leaf, wildflowers everywhere and gardens full of color-- although times of drought tend to dampen the colors.

No matter what the dryness, the days are growing longer; the birds are building nests. It is a time for eager anticipation of summer weather when we can swim in rivers and hike in mountains that winter denied us (unless we snowshoe). It is a time to celebrate the renewal of life. It was the day in 1910 when my father was born in South Dakota.

What I hadn't known about Beltane, until I researched, is that it is also the time of the coming together of the god and goddess, of male and female.

"Handfastings (Pagan marriages) are traditional at this time. It is a time of fertility and harvest, the time for reaping the wealth from the seeds that we have sown. Celebrations include braiding of one's hair (to honour the union of man and woman and Goddess and God), circling the Maypole for fertility and jumping the Beltane fire for luck. Beltane is one of the Major Sabbats of the Wiccan religion. We celebrate sexuality (something we see as holy and intrinsic to us as holy beings), we celebrate life and the unity which fosters it. The myths of Beltane state that the young God has blossomed into manhood, and the Goddess takes him on as her lover. Together, they learn the secrets of the sexual and the sensual, and through their union, all life begins."            From  The Shaman's Well, link above

Romance is the bread of life. Love is a worthy of celebration as artists and writers seek to capture the elusiveness of human reasons for mating.
 

I love thinking of Beltane as a not just a celebration of spring but one of sexuality and love. It is what the continuation of life is all about. And it's not all about opposite sex relationships as love between adults is love wherever it's found. And love, for those who have found each other through all the pitfalls (and there are plenty) is always a precious thing to celebrate.

When I painted, I liked to paint emotional connections between people. When I did sculptures, I looked for poses that illustrated the same. Now it's books; but it's always what I am drawn to capture whether in clay, paint or words.

The sculptures are all fired clay. If I get back to painting again, I hope I can do more couples in various poses reflecting love's moods.

an important date

 by Rain Trueax

Well, it's come around again-- our anniversary. This time it happens on a Saturday, which was the same 56 years ago. I remember a lot of the preparations that day. It was very much a family operation with flowers done by aunts-- except my bouquet, which my grandmother insisted on buying. The groom paid for my wedding gown as well as contact lenses so I could actually see my wedding. I did my own hair (as you can probably tell). Our attendants were two-- my cousin. She and i went shopping for her dress that she'd be able to use for her high school dances. I had no color requirement and she chose a soft green.

My brother was the best man, something that made him never want a wedding with all the trimmings. My mom sang before the service. Afterward, my father-in-law took the photos, except the one he was in. We had the reception back at my parents' small home with again family serving cake, coffee and punch-- no liquor as this was not a drinking family, and I wasn't 21 yet anyway.

 

Thunder Moon

by Rain Trueax

July's Thunder Moon

Because of our times, I wanted to put a warning here. I am going to discuss some cultural issues in this blog. It will appear negative to some. After that will follow what I believe we can do about it, which involves my home. So forewarned is forearmed. If you've had it with negative talk, come on back when Diane posts and next week I'll try to stay away from what is darkening my days. :) Sometimes though, a person just has to voice what they feel about what's going on. It's called venting...

the day after Valentine's Day

by Rain Trueax

If I'd had a blog day for the 14th, I might've written about romantic love between people. What is it? Is it real? Does it last? etc. etc. But this is the day after the day devoted to romance (and buying cards, candy and flowers), and I don't have any specific subject in mind. 

Usually, I start thinking of blogs, sometimes weeks ahead of time, but this time, it was Tuesday and nothing had popped into my head. Then I saw this article. 

The Misconception of Romance Novels

It's a very real prejudice that some would never read a romance novel, but they have no idea what is even in them-- since they never read one. OR they read one from years back, when as that writer suggests men had more to do with what made it into the novels than what evolved once writers took charge through indie publishing.  

Romance novels today vary for what they have in them. Some are virtually novels with complex problems for the characters to work through. I prefer them for my own reading. I like to write and read a story where the main characters are working through something to which most of us can relate. Sure the romance is fun and at the heart of the story; but if that's all it is, it becomes boring to me.

Why can't a romance novel inspire us to deal with issues we also face, as well as entertain? Isn't it nice to have a story where we know the ending will be happy? When it's historical, it can reveal what life was like in a bygone era. When it's contemporary, it can have emotional issues where we can relate-- even if they are not ours. 

There are romance novels where the story is all about the romance for those who need that moment of escape. Fortunately, today, there is room for more complex stories where there are readers who like that too.

by Diane: Update #4, Inspirations incubating

Thank you Rain for putting up a detail of my painting, "Fantasy" as the blog header.   It is a female strong 2019 fantasy interpretation of Henri Rousseau's "The Dream".  It is still a painting in process. Missing is a monkey and tropical birds hiding in the tree. This change will not change this header.

Playing more with knots to plan the second in series.

 Sunday I anticipated some days this week would be so challenging that actual hands on involvement, even for a few minutes, would not be possible. When this post is published, my husband and I will hopefully be learning how he can heal after no improvement from the hiatal hernia repair 12 weeks ago.

Bok Choy

I love vegetables and fixing them.  I spend hours cooking for me and my husband, so as I cook I am preparing to paint. I continue to seek forms that speak to me.

Purple Cabbage

Some of the waste is just too precious to eat.
Last year we couldn't get the bok choy to grow. Maybe the heart will grow better than seeds so loved by the purple finch we invite into our yard by feeding them sunflower seeds.  Maybe these beauties will inspire new work.
                              

 

 Maybe the purple cabbage will be part of an assembliage. I have many ideas. Too many ideas are better than none. Maybe I can tie them together soon.

 

                      

Black swans What do you think?

by Rain Trueax

As a writer, I am always fascinated by terms I hadn't known. Such a one came to me this year-- black swan.

Definition: A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the practice of explaining widespread failure to predict them as simple folly in hindsight.

Some take them only to be about major institutions or events that impact a whole culture or even the world. I think they can be seen as also about our individual lives.

nature's gifts

by Diane and Rain
 

 Arizona sunset 12-4-19

With Diane taking a break until 2020, due to her need to be there for her husband healing from major surgery, her hanging a new show at her town's library, and computer problems, I will be posting all the blogs until after the New Year. I'll keep a regular one on Saturdays, as always, but the others may vary for which days or some might just be photos, such as the one above.

It turned out that sometime back I had put in a Word doc what Diane had written about a small stone she had given me and a painting she had done inspired from it. I instantly loved the stone, loved to touch it for its shape and smoothness. Of course, I had to buy the painting. With it she gave me a poem she had written. The stone and painting are in Oregon. I had taken photos of them thinking someday I might use them in a blog.

This seems the perfect time and season for the words and images.

what if

by Rain Trueax

This is the season where the leaves fall off the trees. Do they also reveal what is otherwise hidden? Do we want to know what that might be? I've written before about the fairy tale for adults angle of why write or read books with supernatural elements. It was the fun part of what these books offer-- magical beings and special powers. 

There is another side-- the scary side. Why do people go to horror films? They might like being scared and looking for a vicarious, safe experience to get the adrenaline rush. In literature, there is the popularity of Stephen King's books to recognize that wanting to be frightened has fans.

Evolution of a book

by Rain Trueax

As a writer, I love all my books. Of course, I do-- if I didn’t, they’d not be out there. Each has something special about them. Some though have more of me in them—not saying which. Some have more fun in them—not saying which. I though thought about one recently and wanted to write about it and why I wrote and love it.

the heart and the catalyst

by Rain Trueax

Another interesting dream that I am still mulling over with two symbols that seemed possible to have meaning.

dreams and Uranus

by Rain Trueax

central Arizona photo

Astrologers say the planet Uranus went retrograde (whatever that means), and from between the 11^th and 12^th   of August until January 2020 it will be a time of intensity (like the world needs more of that...) and a time to look for omens and synchronicities. 

So dreams fit under that category, right? The night of the 12^th, I had two dreams that were kind of linked and kind of not. That I remembered both when I woke up is a little unusual for me. I generally just hold onto one, the last one. 

addictions of a kind of innocent sort... maybe

by Rain Trueax

bobcat in our Tucson backyard

Everybody has ways they waste time… Maybe not everybody but I do. I am not sure I can justify my own choices for what I do instead of something important… Well, maybe we need to define important, but after just going into the immigration issues, I am not going to define anything here—just describe what I do when I should be cleaning house or something more noteworthy, like writing on the next book.

My time waster began innocently enough. Don’t they all! I got interested in people who live a full-time RV life. I can’t describe right now how I found the ones I began to check out on YouTube. Maybe because I joined some Facebook groups about RVs since we have one and were looking at changing to something different. Because I also have a YouTube channel, with very little on it, I had interest in the art form, and know from experience that it isn’t the easiest thing to create something others want to follow.

mystery

by Rain Trueax 

The reason why I write paranormals, despite not having a clear genre where my work fits, is my curiosity as to what might be, a belief that we don't know all we think we do, and my own experiences-- along with the challenge of exploring mystery with characters where it's imaginary ...or is it? 

Mythologies, the stories through which each culture determines the meaning of life and often rules for behavior, don't necessarily have to be imaginary. They could be a remembered history and are part of human life on this planet. In human cultures, some mythologies are more accepted than others; but if it isn't in history or happening now, it is mythology and fits into the world of the paranormal-- that which (despite arguments to the contrary) we cannot test and prove by something currently out there. It is a fascinating realm for those open to wonder and open to going where questions take them.