book review, books, First Friday Poetry Night

more on WRITING DOWN YOUR SOUL by Janet Conner

writ soul

If you have been awake at all, you must have heard that writing is healing. You don’t have to be a writer, or English teacher, or a good speller, you just have to put your pen/pencil in hand and put it to the paper. No PC or Mac or word processor for this one. Paper & pen. That’s all. No one else is going to read or critique it. You can throw it away when you are finished if you like.

Why write? Because it works. More than the writing, being healing; Conner leads us to do the writing we need. She leads us to emotions even if we don’t know how to get into them, she does. Writing is visual-we see it on the page and what we are writing is pictured in our mind; auditory-we hear what we are saying as we write; and sensory-we feel the pen, the paper, the physical act of writing.

Writing is a mystical experience. Conner takes us into forgiving those who have cut us deeply. You know, the ones that left us scarred for life. The scars may be hidden from the public, but we know they are there. Plus, she shows us why we must forgive, how we benefit by this act as well as the person who hurt you. Conner is extremely honest in her writing, allowing her anguish to fall onto the pages. She holds nothing back. Compassion comes out of that.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, I may do another post on this book. That’s how important I believe it is, to spread the word. It’s my way of helping someone as I have been helped. I uncovered events that I had thought I’d forgotten-thought I’d healed. Surprise! I had just buried them. There is a big difference.

I have had miracles to prove it.

book review, books

WRITING DOWN YOUR SOUL by Janet Conner

writ soulThis book came to me highly recommended. It is so much more than what I expected. Author Janet Conner says: Show up. Open up. Listen up. & Follow up. Miracles will happen. I can attest to that.

Too often, I have read books without doing the writing exercises. Not so with this one. This time I did all the writing exercises requested. I even bought the companion workbook. That’s something else I don’t usually do, thinking that a ruled notebook is sufficient. It may be, if your budget is pinching you. But the workbook offers so much more and it will continue to offer more as I return to it for the quotes, thoughts, and suggestions that will continue to inspire me even now that I have finished the book awhile ago.

This time, I wanted to see if it really makes a difference; if completing the writing exercises in the book is that wee bit extra that makes a giant difference. IT DOES.

Janet Conner put me in touch with my spirit guides. I’ve known for a long time that we all have spirit guides and angels that hang around us, keeping an eye on us and getting us out of trouble from time to time. I didn’t know that they were waiting around for us to actually ask them for help! What a difference that makes!

Thanks to Janet, I found my guide, Timothy who said to me, “It’s about time. I get bored with nothing to do. I cannot do things for you unless you do your job of ASKING for guidance, help, and/or answers.”

Whoa! I never knew that I could actually talk to my guides and get actual answers from them!

There is so much more that I want to tell you about this book. So I am going to end this post and write more in the next post.

A word to the wise, first; when you buy the book be prepared to write on the pages! Yes, this is something else I never allowed myself to do. I’ll be returning to this book over and over again. My writing in the margins, underlining, drawing little attention-getting icons and doodles, are an important part of the education of me, Arlene. WOW!

American History, books, booksigning, Warren FoodWorks

JENNY GORDON GRAY BOOK READING/SIGNING FOR SIR ARCHY

Sir ArchyThe Warren Artists’ Market is hosting a Book Reading/Signing on Thursday, May 28, at the Warren FoodWorks, with Jenny Gordon Gray featuring her first book Sir Archy. Her book is about horses, in particular about the greatest sire the USA has ever known. Sir Archy was born as Robert Burns in 1805. One partner is his ownership, Col. John Tayloe III, changed his name to Sir Archy. These were the days when horse racing was for the gentry only and races would commonly last for four miles. It wasn’t long before no one would race their thoroughbred against him.
It was William Ransom Johnson who brought Sir Archy to Warren County, North Carolina in 1808. That’s when Sir Archy’s fame would become even more so; that’s when, in 1810, he became a stud horse. He was farmed out from one place to another siring more than 400 winners. His bloodline includes such champions in the Racing Hall of Fame as Man O’ War, Seabiscuit, Native Dancer, Secretariat, and Seattle Slew. While Ms. Gray is not into thoroughbred racing, she does own a descendant of Sir Archy and does dressage riding
The public is invited..

anthology, books, wormen writing

A NEW SCENE FOR WRITERS

   Over a period of ten years, I attended the Annual International Women Writers’ Conference of Remember the Magic at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, New York. Each year I came away with writing ideas and guidance that had never entered my mind. I also attended A Writing Retreat weekends in Ohio where the same thing happened. I came home filled with enthusiasm and different approaches to writing.

Changing where you write is something that enhances your writing, gives a fresh new look to something you may have been working on for awhile. Writers need writers. It’s absolutely fulfilling to sit and talk with other writers. There is something about it, not quite like looking into a mirror but a sharing of struggle, accomplishment; of maybe sharing the same talent. An ending you’ve been scratching around for; some little pocket of information that has escaped you.

With that said, let me introduce you to an opportunity that may be just what you need:

DSCF3607 Two books by Jyoti Wind; one written and one edited

The Revolution of Writing
A Women’s Writing Seminar
What if a group of women gathered to write, to express themselves, voicing thoughts and feelings that would have been heretical 150 years ago, let alone the conversation and dress. What if this innocuous writing group was a front for a different model, a present day model of revolution.

Using Fairy Tales, Guided Meditation, Labyrinth walk, and writing prompts, we will have an opportunity to share heartfelt experiences, enhance our writing agility, and open mind-doors to other ways of perceiving life.
Move away from the harbor where you presently are and journey down the coast of our collective evolution.
Please join me for this 2 day Writing Seminar in beautiful Boulder, CO this Summer on July 18 and 19, 2015. Saturday and Sunday, 10-4PM. $200. Each day we will have a 1 ½ hour break for lunch. Lunch is on your own.

Exact location given on registration and payment.

Consider coming ahead of time or staying afterwards to enjoy what Boulder and the surrounding mountainous region has to offer. For hotel and dining info: www.gocolorado.com/Boulder/Hotels

Jyoti Wind has been a writer of poetry and prose since childhood. She has facilitated women’s writing groups for 12 years, led workshops on self-publishing, been a member of The Poetry Society of Colorado and the International Women’s Writing Guild. She also edits manuscripts and coaches those stepping into the self-publishing field. Jyoti has self-published 8 books, including 4 anthologies. Her work has been published in Elephant Journal, Crone Magazine, and various blogs and newsletters.
jyotiwind@gmail.com Payment through Paypal or check to: 2635 Mapleton Ave. #9, Boulder, CO 80304 303.541-9106

anthology, books, general, writing group poetry

WHERE DO YOUR POEMS HIDE?

DSCF3479While nosing around the ‘net, I find a subject that I can fly from and create a writing prompt for my writing friends. Where do you find your poems? Do you make a list, write from one, leave the others for another day? Can you just go on and on, allowing the list to continue expanding like I do? And isn’t poetry just fascinating now that all those rigid rules have been removed? It is for me, anyway. Please enjoy.

WHERE POEMS HIDE
A brilliantly colored leaf falls from a tree
gently floating down
letting me know, autumn is in slow motion

deer that come out of the forest to forage
as I watch quietly
holding my breath; not to scare them away

words of my father flow through my hand
as they touch paper
words that I never chanced to hear him say

re-reading cards sent to me over the years
softening my heart
touch me again as I picture who sent them

peace of home fills me with warmth
thoughts overflowing
head to heart to hand, filling me with love

a pot of tea complimenting the scent
of freshly baked cookies
filling the kitchen with memories of long ago

the table covered with books of blank pages
lay sprawled out
their voices calling me, waiting to be filled
the fireplace crackling, warming my heart
memories of moments

so precious that I re-live them over again
poems hang in the air waiting to be plucked
brought to life
written down to share with the world © 2014

anthology, books, First Friday, Poetry, warren county nc

Sitting with a Drunken Sorceress Anthology

DSCF3180   It’s been a year now that we at WAM (Warren Artists’ Market) published our first anthology, Sitting with a Drunken Sorceress. Many Warren County stores (Hardware Café, Friends Two, InTown Boutique, Brain Freeze, Mary Sherwood Lake Living, Ace Hardware at the Lake,) have supported us by continuing to offer the book for sale. We are grateful to those who believe in our mission to provide a platform for the artists in Warren County and beyond. We have a few copies left in our stockroom that we are offering at the clearance price of $10.00 each, plus $2 shipping. Order yours now-they are great for reading on these cold wintry nights and for giving as a gift. Send a check or money order to WAM in care of: bythebookNC, P O Box 348, Macon NC 27551.Start your new year by reading.
More WAM news—Our First Fridays are returning to the FoodWorks, 108 So. Main St. in Warrenton, NC on the first Friday-February 6 beginning at 7 pm. North Carolina beers & wines are offered along with bites to eat from locally grown foods. We will continue our First Fridays there each month. Join us! Bring your poetry, stories, songs, or bring someone else’s that you would like to read. Or just come out and applaud those who do! You are welcome!

books, cookbooks, general, opinion, Uncategorized, writing

Writing in Cookbooks

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Here’s a question for those who love to spend time in the kitchen and there are still many of us out there, fortunately. How many times have you come across hand written notes in a used cook book you bought? Or one handed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter or thankfully, today to sons, etc.? Have you written adjustments to a recipe to suit your own tastes? I know I have. The first time I try it their way. After that, I’m doing it my way, altering their recipe and sometimes my own to accommodate a healthier recipe.
Think about the way our Moms cooked 40 years ago and how we cook today. Especially if you have changed Mom’s recipes for healthier ones. That is how tastes evolve, restaurants stay at the top of the list; by tasting, adding more of this, less of that, and changing this ingredient or seasoning for that one. It’s like exploring without leaving the kitchen!
We are lucky here in America where immigrants bringing their herbs and spices with them when they came, introduced us to new tastes; even their fish and meat unknown to us as children. I was 40 before I ever tasted goat and 60 before I tasted kale. We definitely have a melting pot of ethnic foods and I have definitely altered cookbook recipes to suit my own taste. Try it……

books, Uncategorized, writing

Writing in Margins

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This kind of writing in books is so very different from writing inscriptions. It was appalling to me to find that people actually wrote in margins, crossed out printed text of the author’s, and put their own words in their place! Sacrilege! This is the very last kind of writing in books that I learned to do.

These past few years I began to follow suit, but only in books I have bought, not borrowed books, be them library or a friend’s. My reading habits have changed, too. I’m reading more non-fiction books, many that require major thinking. So this is the place to respond…..in the margin. Because the word is printed does not mean I have to agree with it. Sometimes I agree with a passion and just have to take note! Placing my small, printed notes in the margin will attract my attention when I read that book again. Who knows? My opinion may change the second time I read it.

I’m not likely to re-read a novel, except for a few chosen classics that have different messages for me as I’ve grown and understand more.
As for buying a used book with notes in the margin……I love the chance to read what someone else has thought about the author’s words. However, I cannot abide a book with underlining or highlighting!!! That, for me, is strictly for studying and I don’t want to read someone else’s book that is so corrupted. Of course I do it myself now as the photo shows you. My writing group is working its way through the Artist’s Rule by Christine Valters Paintner. I find sometimes I do not agree with her statements and sometimes I am very impressed by them.

These books are kept on my shelf and will not go to the used book store or be donated to the library. They are not intended for re-use for others. It would feel like giving my fingerprints away.

books, writing

More on Writing in Books

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My hardcover copy of The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee, first printing in 1970 is also inscribed. To Mary Scoville with affectionate good wishes, Frances Haynes, it states. Somehow I feel that Frances had chosen this book especially, over many other books, like a good friend who really knows you would do. Maybe Mary has a Scottish heritage or spent a lovely visit to Scotland. The name Scoville originated in Cornwall, England and has a registered coat of arms. Peoples of the United Kingdom tended to move around from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and England so it is easily possible.
The inscription makes the book personal beyond what the author accomplished. A treasure is created by the mere touch of a pen that reveals thoughtfulness. It is an addition that doesn’t come with the buying of a new book. It is also a good writing prompt. Can’t you just create a great story around the inscription inside a book?
James Graves has black and white sketches depicting scenes McPhee wrote about. Remember when publishers did that? It gave an artist a helping hand in getting their work and name into print. The reader benefitted, too. I still remember the pleasure my Nancy Drew books, with pictures, gave me when I was growing up. My Nancy Drew books came from the school library but I wonder how many an Aunt set a reader on fire with an inscribed Nancy Drew book.

American History, books, general, opinion, reflection, writing

WRITING IN BOOKS

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DSCF3335Were you taught to not write or mark your books when you were growing up? Teachers especially stressed that the books loaned to us for class had to be reused the next year and the year after that. Strong words were spoken about the love and care of books.

That love and care of books remains with me today and the memories of those teachers. Yet after decades of keeping my books pristine has changed drastically.

In the 90s I came to appreciate and to buy mostly used books. Often I would open a book to see a personal note written on the flyleaf by someone gifting the book. This brought me into the scene of the giver and receiver. A privilege; almost like being invited to share a confidence.

Pictured here, the John Woolman, American Quaker by Janet Whitney book, a first edition published in May 1942, is inscribed, To Cousin Gertrude, a Direct Descendent of John Woolman, with love and best wishes, from H…. Hutchinson Cook. The dots replace the writing I could not read. The first initial could be an H or a TH. I wonder about the relationship between these two cousins. I imagine the delight she felt with receiving this gift. He sounds happy to have found this book for her to read.
The original price in the book is $3.75. It is listed online for $33.00 to $85.00. For serious book collectors the inscription would lower the value of the book. I think of it as adding value.

More on this subject in the near future.