When Things Take a Turn for .....



The colors of my life!

 My protagonist sees things like this first photograph... with rose colored glasses, that is until she enters a war zone.  The day she took  them off is the day that her heart stopped.




Here are the seedlings again!

The children in my story are like the seedlings in the pots...small, puny and unloved.  But with human touch, kind words and food prepared with love, some of them begin to heal.  A few struggle grabbing on to that which they have come to know.  They hold on to the darkness that they have come to call "home," wondering if any light will shine in their lives.



My how we have grown!



Those children who thrive are like the thick and healthy morning glory in the third picture.  Hearty blooms and strong stems make them fit for the elements of rain and wind. Just like the children who need a strong constitution to survive the after effects of war.

We get a lot of surprises in life. Do you run and hide and shake with fear? Or do you let it wash over you and become stronger? My fictional children do a little of both, but I am proud of all of them for they have filled my heart with a better understanding of what it really means to forgive.

The Pitter Patter of Little Feet with a Butterfly and a Bluejay



Imagine that butterfly landing here!



I am in place with my storyline where my emotions are running high.  Pulled around a snowy mountain with my two protagonists, where intrigue is the word of the day....I am exhausted from the running.  The children are getting used to living with danger, but their caregivers never vasillate from their decision to protect them at all costs.  There are fires in the distance and the sounds of gunfire...is commonplace. No one understands why it continues....the fighting is over....isn't it?

But it's what the children talk about that has grabbed and broken my heart at the same time. It's intense...
so sometimes when I write, I look out onto my garden to just "go away" for a moment.  Today a yellow and black butterfly  landed on a bright pink flower.  I ran to grab my camera....but the moment was fleeting.  From inside, I heard one of my dogs scratching and groaning.  I heard the slow movements of an old dog getting up and walking away.

I could have sworn it was my Buddy....my golden who passed away a few months ago.  I walked inside....and saw my 3 puppies blissfully sleeping and I wondered. Was the butterfly a sign from Buddy, letting me know that he was still with me?  Perhaps...It feels nice to hope for that.

And then.....a blue jay landed on my deck, looked right at me and picked up a small piece of dog food in his mouth before he flew away. Maybe Buddy was hungry in heaven and the blue jay was bringing him take-out!

My point is....and yes there is a point...that even in the midst of the heartache that I am writing about, there is joy around us. The children in my story are so good at teaching me to see it!  It is a wonderful gift when you open your eyes....throw a little fairy dust and believe!

Noah's Ark

Everyone is so tired of the rain and complaining about the weather. When I look at this picture I am grateful for the rain.  Flowers are blooming like crazy and it gives me something beautiful to look at...unlike my protagonist who is still on a mountain top where all that grows is the dark green moss that makes things slippery. I smell clean rain here, but she must endure the dank, damp smell of mold and the constant chill in the air that seems to predict things to come. Always on edge.....she waits....wondering....will it be today?

A Little Slice of Paradise

Today is a cleaning day....garage and garden!  It's always good to be ruthless when you clean.  Throw out junk, give away that which you can no longer use...but can be used, and weed your garden.  We all know that "weeding the garden" is the literal work to keep our flowers healthy.  But...weeding our garden also refers to surrounding yourself with that which gives you peace, and weeding out that which gives you a headache!

Flowers make me smile.  Dogs make me smile... so I have them around me!  I have wonderful friends that are invited into my life. Hmmm but my protagonist is locked in a place where she cannot choose who is in her circle, for she has a mission and  her work is not done.

When it is done....the world with know....with monumental repercussions.

Sometimes I say..." Writing is like having a baby!"

One of the babies!

Two other babies who just got caught on the furniture!

Sometimes when I finish a chapter, or a book or a synopsis I feel the same fatique I felt, after delivering one of my children. This flower in the picture took less effort, but a lot of love to grow from seeds.  I delight in every new sprout as I delight in my puppies naughty behavior!

As I give someone blue eyes and mousy brown hair or a bad attitude with a great job, I delight in the piece of life I have created knowing once more....and I repeat...."Real life doesn't always have happy endings!"

And So It Goes....

Turning a corner in your life takes courage.  It's funny, but I think that I learn things from the characters I write about.  I wonder about the process of creating them and which comes first....my idea about a person....or the characteristic that I give to them? When they do something heroic, I cheer for them.  When something sad happens, I cry with them.  When they make a bad decision, I want to have a long conversation with them....and ask them why?

It is always good to keep learning...especially about yourself.

The Plan

Do you have a plan in life or do you wing everything allowing things to unfold and unwind naturally? 

When my protagonists end up in a war ravaged country they begin to wonder why they made this choice.  As circumstances reveal themselves, it is evident that specific planning would have been beneficial....but virtually impossible.  Nothing they experience is predictable.  Nothing goes the way they expect, and nothing they have learned in life can prepare them for what they see....for what they hear.  What was predictable, was the way that they react to the sadness around them...for that one thing had been the same their entire life.  They are the same people in life as they are in the aftermath of tragedy.