It probably won’t surprise you that I’ve been thinking a lot about growth lately. More specifically, regrowth. After all, I’m a gardener. And one of the things I’ve spent a lot of time doing lately is regrowing vegetables. It’s not only a cost-effective way to eat well; it’s also fascinating to watch the stub of a vegetable become yet another vegetable. The same, and yet different. Also not all that surprising is that the regrowth always begins at the ‘heart’ of the stub.

I’ve been experiencing regrowth of my own, and it’s made me think about dreams. My daughter mentioned the other day that I demonstrated a particularly good ‘mom moment’. It was in a conversation about how, when she needed to step away from college, I just said, ok, let’s do what you need to do. That she could always go back. This, in direct opposition to the usual admonitions that one must always finish what one starts and one will never go back once an endeavor is laid aside undone.
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I’m living proof that is simply not true. Left college at twenty years of age, due to life having other plans for me and my family. Got my degree at forty-eight. Fought my way out of wheelchairs and braces more than once. Started my life over with nothing four times. I could keep going but you probably have the point of this now.
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'Bloom where you are planted' is a well-known adage. I would add, 'trim those roots and regrow where you’re planted, over and over again'. Dreams do come true, with hard work and a lot of pruning. Get out those garden shears and get started! Your heart is ready.

A very special night in June of 2015 resulted in a new children's book. Some friends were out with my daughter and I, celebrating Ellie's first book release. We had finished up our Chinese food (appropriate given her "slight fried rice obsession") and were driving home, under the bright light of the June full moon. Our friend Dan began to talk about his earliest childhood memory... asking his mother, "why does the moon follow me?"

I settled into  my chair back at home and wrote the text of what would become my second illustrated children's book. I sent it to Jessica, who is an amazing artist as well as Dan's fiancée, and we decided to release the book in July of 2016, as a surprise in honor of Dan's birthday.

Since then, the beautiful illustrations have brought my story to life. Ellie added her own special inspired images to Jessica's, and I couldn't be happier with the result. A very special coloring activity book compliments the story book, which itself is a quiet, sweet lullaby in a book.

I love writing and I love sharing my work by publishing my books. I especially love working with others like Jessica and Ellie, to bring my children's books to life. I hope you'll love this collaboration as much as I do. Why Does the Moon Follow Me? releases July 9, 2016.

I had the pleasure of discussing the origins and manifestations of creative inspiration with a friend today, spurred by this Georgia O'Keefe quote. Let me start there...

My friend wrote: This is pretty close .. but I would add the best expression comes when there is an agreement between me and the elements that come together to create something else. First we agree the new idea is worthy of the destruction of what is at hand then the energy of the participants agree to merge.. and work together to execute a new form .. that's when every stitch, cut and knot falls into the perfect position the first time. When this is not present.. the effort is pretty close to drudgery.

Asking me what I thought, I responded: When I write, it's very different and, yet, maybe a little similar. I can't just sit down to write. I have to wait for a story to appear to me. Then, I type. Like Bradbury said, it's like taking dictation. When I let it just flow, I read back later and have no memory of the writing. No idea where many of the stories came from. And my characters let me know when I try to force them to do or say something they are not meant to do or say. 

WAB: "I think it will be interesting to notice as time goes on if it's possible to will the properly energetic equation or if it is necessary to allow the agreement to come to pass. Do we bring past knowledge into this present state or perhaps we are gifted by our muses? Any and all seem possible.

Me: All good questions. I definitely feel that this is a soul-driven process and, as such, ego interferes when pressed. For me, my best work takes place, whether drawing or sewing or writing, if I get out of the way and let Soul have it's say.

And that is exactly what writing is for me... a soul-driven process. I cannot make it happen. I cannot will it to happen. And, if I do not listen when my Soul speaks, I lose the words. I can't find them again later, no matter how hard I try to pick up the pieces, even though I remember the story line. Soul dictates and I type. Characters have voices all their own and will nag me senseless if I deviate from what they want to say. Stories go where I least expect them, surprising me with twists and turns. "Walk on" characters appear and alter the course of the story, sometimes just a little, other times quite significantly. Hours pass as I type, mindlessly as the story unfolds in my subconscious, and I am often amazed at what I have created. More than once, I wondered where it really came from. Soul tells stories; I write them down.

If I listen and let Soul do the writing, it is always an adventure. And like O'Keefe, Soul writes of things I have no words for.

Last week, I saw the dream of a lifetime realized. I saw a story I wrote for sale on Amazon. This week, another dream... I actually held a copy of this book I'd published in own my hands. I never set out to be a writer and, yet, life has those strange twists and turns that take you by surprise, to places and experiences you didn't even dream of.

I was very ill years ago, in more pain than can be put into words, and unable to sleep. Lack of sleep makes you a bit crazy, in my experience. But hours and hours of silence, when everyone else is sleeping, is even worse. I had always told my children to make up stories when they couldn't sleep, finding that it helped them relax and drift off. Seeing it work for them, I tried that trick for myself. In my case, the stories grew into full novellas and novels. So, I sat up night after night, typing out the stories. I couldn't hold a pen or pencil but I could type. And, type I did.

The result was over 100 stories. Some will never see the light of day, being far too personal to share or being fan-fiction that simply amused me to write. Others, however, are now going to be reworked and published. I still prefer keyboard to pen or pencil, even as I work on my next story about a wayward letter and the resulting connection two people make. This blog will chronicle my keyboard musings as I go and maybe even inspire someone else to take that leap of faith and publish their writing.