From the Dalai Lama XIV:

“There is a saying in Tibetan: ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”

Our hearts are broken — again — by the tragedy in Boston, but it is heartening to see how people and our nation gain strength from the pain.  Hope takes a beating when we witness senseless violence, and yet hope grows with each act of kindness and compassion from those who reach out to the victims and their families.  Acts of love and healing outshine acts of hatred like a sky filled with stars outshines a firefly.

Stay strong, friends.  Stay hopeful.

Let me tell you a story.

A devoted father takes his four children out for a pontoon boat cruise on one of Florida’s wild and scenic rivers. The oldest son is nearly twelve. The youngest is only 18 months.

The trip is lovely, but somewhat uneventful, so he lets the oldest pilot the boat. Then the father, who grew up with Florida wildlife, sees a large alligator near the riverbank, which is dense with foliage and Spanish moss hanging from ancient trees. He tells the oldest son to cut the engine and drift toward the bank so they can get a closer look at the gator.

All’s well and good until they near the bank and the lone daughter yells “hornet’s nest” and points to a tree, directly in the path of the pontoon boat’s canopy. The canopy and the nest are destined to collide in seconds.

The father is faced with a terrible decision. In the water somewhere nearby is a twelve foot alligator. Seconds away in an inevitable collision with a basketball sized hornet’s nest, visually swarming with life. What should he do to protect his children? Should they jump into the water to escape the inevitable attack by the hornets, or should they stay in the boat to avoid the alligator?

What would you do? (more…)

Why should we live in such a hurry and waste of life? I wish to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life. I wish to learn what life has to teach, and not, when I come to die, discover that I have not lived.

I do not wish to live what is not life, living is so dear, nor do I wish to practice resignation, unless it is quite necessary. I wish to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.   Henry David Thoreau

Our lives are so precious.  Not just “life” but every single day and minute and moment.  These words by Thoreau, and the image of Walden Pond where he learned “what life has to teach,” are reminders to start each day by opening our eyes as wide as possible to the wonder that surrounds us.

Today was a “Ready, Set, Go” day. You know the kind. You jump out of bed and you start to run. As the day progresses, you run faster and farther, until by day’s end, you’re too tired to do anything except fall back into that same bed you jumped out of hours before.

Tonight even the book I’m reading  about becoming invisible (and no, not the Harry Potter invisibility cloak kind of invisible) won’t keep me awake past ten. I’ll have to stay visible awhile longer for lack of information, or rather my character will, because, of course, the book is research.

A novelist’s day is never done until she closes her eyes. And then she dreams.

I did take a lunch break. Between appointments I wandered over to Panera Bread, chose the salad with the least number of calories, and sat in a corner to watch plainly visible people.

You can learn a lot at Panera. People are not shy about what they say in public. Writers love to eavesdrop, and we love to stare. We also love to spin stories from other people’s utterances, or odd things they do, or the sadness in their eyes. In fact if you’re trying to hide out, don’t sit near a writer, because we’ll be paying attention. My friend Diane Chamberlain frequently blogs or comments on Facebook about things she sees at Starbucks, where she writes portions of her novels.  In fact, a recent novel began with something she saw there and reimagined. (more…)

Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it… If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. -Mary Pickford

Do you feel like a failure?  All of us do from time to time since none of us are perfect.  To be human is to fail frequently.  But as Mary Pickford reminded us, there’s nothing wrong with falling down as long as you get up from wherever you landed, dust yourself off, and get back in the race.  That is truly the secret of success.

Mercury isn’t even in retrograde. I just checked, because despite my skepticism about all things astrological, I want to blame my techie failures in the past twenty-four hours on the alignment of the stars. No such luck, though. Even astrology has failed me. I’m stuck with my own mistakes, me and the increasingly complicated life we all lead these days.

The problems began yesterday as I was driving our new car. The car is fabulous, the nicest one we’ve ever owned because these days we’ll be bisecting the US at least twice a year and probably more. We needed something more comfy than our old, reliable but noisy/bouncy RAV4. So we bought a more luxurious and larger version with more bells and whistles than New Years Eve.

So far so good. Then yesterday on my first solo drive, I decided to call home. That should be easy, right? After all if I could drive this car into my kitchen, it could probably whip up a souffle out of whatever I have in my refrigerator. Having synced it with my iPhone, I thought I was all set.

I told the car to call home. Instead it called my Virginia landscaper, a guy named Mo. No matter how many times I told it not to call him, it ignored me.

Mo, I’m sorry. That crazy phone call from Florida? That’s your former client over on 25th Rd. Say hi to your mom for me, okay? I miss your whole family. (more…)

So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger. Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work… Remember that you are…still learning how to best treasure your connection to others. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter.

Happy Easter — as well as Passover — to all of you.  I found this message by Anna Quindlen to be especially inspirational on these holy days.  Isn’t this the purpose of our lives, to get a life, a real life, in which we make and treasure deep connections to others?  May whichever faith you practice help you find your purpose and the joy that comes with it.

What an exciting time to be an artist, writer, film maker.  Not to mention all those other professions or hobbies where imagination reigns.

This afternoon a friend and I regaled each other with stories about the way our beloved publishing profession has changed.  Even though publishers don’t always acknowledge this, no longer do authors listen and nod when they’re told what to write, how to write it and for what audience.  While most of us continue to respect the publishing houses and professionals we’ve worked with, we know there are other viable ways to publish our work.  Some people even believe “better” ways.  We’re watching closely.

But that’s not the point of this blog.  I want to talk about one of my favorite television shows, Veronica Mars, and an exceptional, powerful new idea called Kickstarter, which is really a symptom of change and an outcome.

Here’s Kickstarter’s own definition of who they are and what they do:

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.  Since our launch on April 28, 2009, over $500 million has been pledged by more than 3 million people, funding more than 35,000 creative projects. If you like stats, there’s lots more.

So what does this mean and where does the money come from?  Well, anybody with a truly wonderful idea can try to raise money to fund it on Kickstarter.  The money?  Well, that comes from you and me.  It’s called crowdfunding.  That’s right.  If you believe in a project and want it to become a living, breathing entity, then you pledge money to see that dream come true.  A little, most likely.  Sometimes a whole lot.

Crazy, right?  Crazy fabulous. (more…)

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth.

All things are connected like the blood that unites us all.

Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.

Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

I share these words attributed to Chief Seattle in celebration of the spring equinox, which occurred on March 21st.

Perhaps spring is not evident in your part of the world, but at least we know that the frigid days of winter are near an end, and we can begin to fantasize about planting gardens and outdoor picnics.  But spring is also a reminder of our deep connection to all of nature.  And the lengthening light stirs us to celebrate and give thanks for this web of life that entwines us.  Happy spring!

I love the approach of a book launch, even when the book was well and truly launched almost nine years ago. Now Wedding Ring, the first book of the Shenandoah Album series, is about to be re-launched on March 26th,  in a new format and with a brand new cover.

Recently I blogged about the way Wedding Ring and eventually, the entire Shenandoah Album series came about. When I began, I had no idea that a series would be born, or that Leisure Arts, a leading craft publisher, would be interested in creating pattern books based on the quilts mentioned in each of  the novels in the series.

I was skeptical when I heard about the offer. Leisure Arts likes to call their books “leaflets” and I had a vision of a page that opened like a map, with a few diagrams and a list of materials. Little did I know that they would be creating a softcover book, with quotes from my novels, breathtaking original and traditional patterns to match my descriptions, and beautifully rendered photographs. I was so thrilled when I saw the finished product. May I say that authors are NOT always thrilled with finished products, but this time, I certainly was.

Now Mira Books, my publisher, is reissuing Wedding Ring, and to celebrate I’ll be doing a pattern book giveaway to go with it. Read on.

How much do the Shenandoah Album books have to do with quilts, quilting, quilters? If you’re not a fan of any of those things, then the question is relevant. Might you enjoy the series anyway?

First and foremost each of the novels is about women, their lives, their relationships, the issues they confront, their joys and their sorrows. Sound familiar? Yes, they’re like my other novels, only this time wrapped in the comfort and beauty of quilts.

Wedding Ring uses an old tattered quilt as a metaphor for marriage.

In the second book, Endless Chain, a major character is befriended by a church quilt group who teaches her to quilt. The quilt pattern she chooses is symbolic of her own dramatic life story.

In the third, Lover’s Knot, a man inherits a quilt that might reveal the secrets of his family, a family he’s never known, but only if he allows his estranged wife to follow the clues.

The fourth, Touching Stars, is about the single mom proprietor of a B&B who uses star quilts to adorn her inn.

The fifth, Sister’s Choice, features a quilt that was given by one sister to another to help her see her destiny, and a new generation whose own destiny is in question.

Intrigued, quilter or not?  I hope so.

To celebrate the return of the first three novels in the series to print, I’ll be giving away autographed copies of the matching pattern books, four patterns books for each novel, one per week. To qualify for the pattern book giveaway, just comment on this blog or any of the blogs under the category Shenandoah Album Series on the right, and tell us why you like quilts, or what you like about them, or even why you don’t like them.

If you don’t quilt and don’t need the pattern book for yourself, your local quilt guild, museum or charity will be thrilled to have it, as would any friend who quilts or even your local library.

Here are the details:  Only one comment per person will be entered. You must have a North American address to qualify. (Sadly the pattern books are too heavy to send overseas.) Your entry will remain valid for the entire length of the contest or until you win a book. The first pattern book will be given away next Tuesday.

So let us hear from you by commenting. I’m looking forward to it.