Storyteller's Journey

Work in Progress Update

After a busy and emotional holiday season, it feels good to get back to my routine. Thankfully, the revision of book II in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle is finally complete. My first draft of Nimbus over Normandy was written closer to a polished draft than I'd remembered.
I'll be sending my editor (my son) my manuscript today. Since he's busy with his own manuscript, and developing video games, I need to give him plenty of time to complete my edits. 

Presently, I'm doing a bit of additional research reading for book III in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle Series. After that, I'll craft a detailed outline for that novel. I'll be posting more on that very soon. 

If you're interested in following all of my book news, subscribe to my quarterly newsletter on my contact page at www.victorialindstrom.com 

Storyteller's Journey

The Healing Power of Nature

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature."

Rachel Carson
 

Recently, I had the time to wander through the "Common Area" in our neighborhood. It always seems so quiet, especially in winter. The magic and majesty of nature always soothes my soul.

On this visit, I walked down a path I rarely tread. This red barn seemed to say, "Stop and look at me!" So, I did. Its bright color seemed to pop against the neutral colors of winter.

Though we had horses and ponies when I was a child, I'm by no stretch of the imagination an equestrian. Still, seeing these beautiful creatures brought back memories of my childhood.

In nearly every challenging time of my life, I have found my way back by spending time in nature. I'm incredibly grateful that in this chapter of my life, I live in such a beautiful natural setting.

"When Nature's finery is wiped away by Winter its raw beauty is revealed." Victoria Lindstrom

Storyteller's Journey

Objects in our Lives, 
Objects in our Stories

As I continue to mourn the passing of my mother, I've found that I find comfort in looking at some of the objects she passed on to me. This old copy of the children's book, Heidi, is the actual book I first read as a child. My mom said, "this is the first big girl book you're going to read - take care of it." (It doesn't look like I heeded her instructions!)

Consequently, this book is one of my most prized possessions. It was given to my mom by her first-grade teacher, when my mom was in fifth grade, in 1945. Little did Emily Elfstrom realize at the time, that eighty years later Sheila's daughter would hold the book so close to her heart.

That's the thing about keepsake possessions; their true value is always given to them by the humans that own them. We cherish them for the memories they conjure up and the people they bring to mind, not for their monetary value. It's almost like they hold a bit of our loved ones within their substance. In a strange way, they're like J.K. Rowling's horcruxes, only in a super positive light.

When I first began to write my series, The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle, I realized that I wanted to include special objects in my story for a similar reason. An antique locket, an old tome, and a sibylline scroll. Objects give an authenticity to our tales, especially if they're close to our protagonist. (If they're magical, all the better!)

This Japanese jewelry box is another object my mother gave to me. My father brought it back to Coronado, CA (where I was later born) from Okinawa when he was in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. My mother loved it.

Keepsake objects have a way of holding our loved ones near to us. 

What objects do you cherish?

Storyteller's Journey

A Moment to Mourn

It's been three weeks since I last posted anything here on Writ of Whimsy. In that short amount of time, my family buried my mother, there's been a terrorist attack in New Orleans, unprecedented urban fires hit Los Angeles, and yesterday our nation said goodbye to an extraordinary public servant, the 39th  President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. 
(Roses in Blue Vase by Michael Lindstrom - 20 X 16 Oil on panel. Not for sale.)

It seems that tragic events are to be our lot, at least for a time. For anyone that is having trouble dealing with it all, I would share this:

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love." Washington Irving

To fully recover, we must express our grief through mourning.