Storyteller's Journey

Season's Greetings!

There's so much for which to be thankful for this holiday season. For me it's all about friends and family. However, I've also experienced the pain of recently losing my mother, Sheila Cardon. (Winter Pond - 12 X 16 oil on panel by Michael Lindstrom)

Therefore, I'll be away from my blog for the next few weeks. I'll be back on Writ of Whimsy in January.

Click here to read my recent quarterly newsletter.

Wishing you and yours the love, joy, and peace of the season!

Storyteller's Journey

Work in Progress Update

Just this week, I completed the first draft of Nimbus Over Normandy, the second novel in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle. After the holidays, I'll begin the arduous task of revising and editing. Then, sometime in February or March, I'll send my transcript to my editor. By the time he's completed his edits, it will be spring. While he's got my transcript, I'll begin outlining the third novel in the series. Right now, it feels good to take a break, do some reading, and enjoy the holidays. Cocoa anyone? 

Below is the flap copy description of Nimbus Over Normandy:

Livvi, Caden, and Mia have barely returned to Chilcott's Academy of Creativity for a new year before the magical and the mysterious again confront them. Lord Abaddon gas assigned the demise of Livvi Biddle to a new antagonist: the shrewd agent, Lilith. In addition to the threat posed by that dark angel, the three friends encounter an enigmatic neighbor in the form of Mrs. Dinwiddie, who bestows a peculiar prophecy on Livvi. However, it is the girls' unexpected trip back in time where they meet an iconic artist in his French country home that presents a truly colossal problem to their survival. Livvi and her pals desperately search for a path back to the present, while dealing with the customs of the past, all as time is slipping away!

Storyteller's Journey

A Bit of My Hometown History

After the war of 1812 the British-owned Hudson Bay Company controlled the Oregon Country which includes my hometown of Vancouver, WA.

Two hundred years ago, in 1824, the HBC headquarters was moved from Astoria, Oregon, to the north bank of the Columbia River, in what is now Vancouver, WA, USA. Fort Vancouver was a bustling hub of commerce during the early 1800's. The British plan was that south of the river would be United States territory and north would be British territory. However, the Treaty of 1846 made that area part of what is now Washington and Oregon. The ties to the British, the military, and the diverse culture that was prevalent during the time of the Hudson Bay Company is still felt in many ways in this area, both big and small.

One way is in the paranormal phenomena that permeates this community. After the Treaty of 1846 it didn't take long for the United States Army to establish a major garrison near Fort Vancouver. Ghosts from that time linger in the Vancouver Barracks, as well as Officers Row in the Vancouver National Historic Reserve District. The oldest house on Officers Row is the Grant House - with its numerous ghosts!

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Ghost Tour at the historic Grant House, presented by author and historian, Jefferson Davis. Jeff has been investigating ghost hauntings and writing ghost stories for decades. Since my current work in progress is a middle grade fantasy series that includes a scene set at the Grant House, I was anxious to hear about the presence of ghosts at the historic site. Learning that the Grant House has numerous reports of the presence of several ghosts, was exciting!

The day after the Ghost Tour at the Grant House, Mr. Davis had a book event not far from where I live, so my husband and I set out to purchase one of his books. Vancouver USA Ghosts Volume I is a fantastic resource of all kinds of paranormal activity in our community! While I was aware of many spooky stories and tales set in this region, I had no idea of just how prevalent the presence of ghosts in Vancouver, WA really was. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, since it's the oldest town in the state of Washington. (Dating back to British rule.)

Many thanks to author-historian, Jefferson Davis. He has a unique style of being curious and open-minded, while not accepting evidence without his due diligence. If you're interested in learning more about this author, check out his website: www.jeffdavisghostguy.com 

On a side note, several years ago my fine artist husband, Michael Lindstrom, painted the Grant House. It's in a collection in the Hudson Building in downtown Vancouver, WA 

The Grant House 24 X 36 Oil on canvas by Michael Lindstrom. 

Storyteller's Journey

Season of Gratitude

Each year at this time I usually post something about gratitude, thankfulness, or even just about my Thanksgiving holiday. To be honest, sometimes my posts feel similar to those of previous years.

But not this year. This year my heart is full of genuine gratitude and an over-abundance of joy after an extremely difficult 2023. 

At this time last year, I had just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and had begun preventative chemotherapy treatment. While I labored to keep a stiff upper lip, the truth was that most days I didn't get out of bed. When I was able to move around a bit, my days looked nothing like my previous life. It was discouraging, depressing, and even frightening. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, while I did have a middle grade novel published in the fall of 2023, I was unable to have a book event or promote it much at all. However, at that time my mind was on more serious matters, like whether I was going to survive or not. I'm still not out of the woods but will take my quarterly and annual checkups in stride as best I can.

Fast forward to 2024. By March I had not only completed my chemotherapy treatment but had learned that my son and daughter-in-law were expecting their first child. (My first grandchild.) As each month passed this year, I could feel myself getting stronger. By the end of summer, I nearly felt like my old self. By October, I was thrilled to welcome my granddaughter, Adeline Joy, into our lives. I was able to have a belated book event earlier this month, and just last week learned from my oncologist, that my quarterly blood work looks good.

While I always have much to be grateful for, 2024 has been something special. Spending Thanksgiving Day with family this year is something I'll always cherish. As the phrase goes, "my cup runneth over."

Hope each of you has a happy holiday weekend!

Storyteller's Journey

From Time to Time

Being a person with a passion for both fantasy and history, it makes sense that I gravitated towards writing time travel into my current work in progress. Historical/fantasy fiction requires research, which I thoroughly enjoy.

When an author delves into time travel as her genre (or part of it), she must establish rules. When you research what other authors' rules for time travel have been, the only true similarity is that they all stay consistent to the rules that they set. How does the time travel occur? How does the main character travel to a specific time or place? 

And on and on...

Researching time travel in general, and not specific people or places, was the most difficult for me. (Science was never my strongest subject!) It required that I study (at least a bit) of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. 

His theories on time include:

1- Time is relative: The rate at which time passes depends on your frame of reference. For example, time passes more slowly for an object in motion than when it is at rest.

2- Time is not absolute: The perception that a second is always a second everywhere in the universe is not true.

3- Time is an illusion: The distinction between past present, and future is only an illusion.

4- Time judgments are based on simultaneity: Judgments of time are based on judgments of what happens at the same time.

5- Time is a construct: Our brains construct a sense of time as if it were flowing from our experience with rhythmic phenomena.

The third theory mentioned that time is an illusion, is like music to my ears. Then, when you add Arthur C. Clarke's quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" adds to the thought that maybe, just maybe, time travel is actually possible! (This idea assists me as I'm writing to make my story more believable.)

A paraphrased version of Arthur C. Clarke's quote is "Magic is just science we haven't yet discovered."

Storyteller's Journey

My Belated Book Event

One of the most exciting times for an author is publication day and the numerous book events that follow. It's like the reward for all the months (sometimes years) of writing by oneself and staying disciplined. It's not why I write, but it's gratifying.                          (Photo from book event 11-1-24)

In September 2023 my first novel in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle was published. I had worked on The Sibylline Scroll for over ten years, including a trip to Europe where I did research for the series. Having that novel published was the culmination of a lot of stress, tears, and time. However, weeks before it was due to be published, I received a diagnosis of cancer. It was devastating news, to say the least. Needless to say, any book events had to be postponed. The last quarter of 2023 was one of the most challenging times of my life.

After having two surgeries, I completed my chemotherapy in February 2024. However, I soon found out that it takes months of recovery to regain your strength and stamina. By the end of last summer, I was feeling much more like myself. My schedule was finally free to schedule a much-belated book event.

Two weeks ago, I had a book signing for not only my newest novel, but for the four previous books I've had published. I have so much for which to be grateful!

In fact, here is my big news!

Stay tuned in the coming months for more updates!

Storyteller's Journey

All is Lost
(or is it?)

If you're a writer, then you're familiar with the "three-act story structure." If you're not, and you're interested, click here. My son Kevin (who's also a writer) and I love to point out items of the three-act story structure while we're watching a movie. We'll say, "That's the inciting incident; that's the midpoint; that's the all is lost moment..." It's actually not a good habit - it prevents us from truly savoring the movie!

One of the most iconic "all is lost" moments in cinematic history comes in The Empire Strikes Back in the Star Wars Series. When Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker, "I am your father," the bottom falls out of Luke's world. Not only of his external world, but of his internal world - his very identity.

In my life I've had at least three "all is lost" moments. Without going into detail, they were all situations where I was in deep despair and found it very difficult to go on. However, I did, due to my faith, perseverance, and the knowledge that I had people depending on me. In every case, the aftermath of those dark days was not easy, but eventually the sun did come out again in my world. Like the protagonist in the Hero's Journey, there is always a rising from the ashes, a resolution. But you must go on to see it.

Last Tuesday night as I watched the results come in for the U.S. Presidential Election, I found myself thinking of the "all is lost" moment. While I'm an Independent, and I won't discuss politics, I realized that many of my friends would have an extremely difficult time processing the election's result. Maybe it's that I'm a writer and accustomed to writing a plot where the protagonist goes through tough trials, but always prevails in the end, that I was so hopeful even at that moment. It's not life's blessings that make us strong, but life's challenges. Either way, we must go forward as a united country.

For decades I've lived by the words that Einstein so eloquently said, 

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."