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."

Storyteller's Journey

VOTE - Make Your Voice Heard!

If you're of voting age, the time to vote is now. (If you're a younger person, tell the adults in your life to vote!) The office of U.S. President is not the only item on this year's ballot. Depending on what state you reside in, there are numerous other candidates and issues for which to cast your vote. Women and minorities fought and sacrificed so much for the right to vote. The least we can do as U.S. citizens is to honor them by voting. There is too much at stake this year not to.

I voted over a week ago.