a brief hiatus

I found this image on the web.  Who knew there was coffee creamer art?

Hello,
BEING's blog tour begins August 4th.  To well prepare, I am taking a brief break from blogging.  I'll be back on August 3rd!

In the meantime, relax, read a good book (*ahem* may I suggest mine) and sip the coffee.

WOD [word of the day]

Today's WOD is GAH.  And not just because it's Stealth's second favorite word.  (Zut being his favorite).
Why gah?  Because it's my word of supreme frustration, and it has been one of those days, all around, where I have gah-ed, gah-ed and gah-ed again.  I suppose we all have days like this.

Here's a prime GAH example.  For dinner I whipped cream to go with our fruit salad, and at first, cream splattered everywhere.  I say to my daughter: "would you mind wiping that up?"  She proceeds to smear it with her finger until it's no longer obvious.

Ummmm.

After dinner I cleaned the bathroom.  NOT my favorite after-dinner activity.  Plus I try, so very hard, to stay out from in front of mirrors.  I mean, and this has been driving me nuts for a while now, there's the sad and sorry reality that I am growing HORiZontally instead of VertiCALLy.  Why why why must our t-cells shorten?

But when I get too far into a GAH rant, like I did tonight, I have my tried and tested ways of reality checking myself.  First of all, I corner my family and tell them they are fabulous.  I thank them for being good people, for helping out with everything, for being supportive.  I say, "I love you guys."

Next, I go for a solo walk, because solo walks and being in a state-of-GAH are incompatible.  There are trees and birds to watch.  There is the evening sky and an occasional deer.  When I solo-walk I feel my place in nature, and can't help but wonder at the small and fragile miracle that is life.

Finally, with my house in order and my day done, I settle into bed with a good book. Perfect!

WIP [work in progress]

Saint-Malo, France

Tonight I'm ignoring my WIP and working on interviews for my upcoming blog tour for BEING.  I'm dwelling on interesting facts, writing out my favorite quotes (which I know by heart and not surprisingly, mostly come from Luq), and talking about what it was like to write BEING.  I can easily sum that here.  It's a complex story, and at times it was maddening.  Enlightening.  Humbling.  Exhilarating.

For the next little while I'll be highlighting where the story takes place.  Tonight?  Saint-Malo.  In BEING, the city of Saint-Malo is sanctuary for Shepherd.  Like so many things in the story, Saint-Malo is both the source of Shepherd's trouble and the key to fixing it.  The book is layered in duel-edged swords; it's part of what makes the story so complex. 

In real life, Saint-Malo is one of France's most independent places.  During the middle ages it was home to the Corsairs (French pirates).  It once succeeded from France to become an independent nation (that didn't last long, though).  It's tucked along the French coastline up near the English Channel.  I've never been there, but like so many places, I'd love to go!

SPT [self-promotion time]

dolmen de penhap, France

In being, the mystery thickens when Shepherd visits the Penhap dolmen.  Megaliths play a significant role in the story--their purpose in being is my own little twist on these ancient, unexplained, eons-old stones.

Dolmens are rumored to have been burial chambers.  I used to wonder how the bronze-age peoples built them, until one day when I asked my husband what he thought.  "You obviously didn't spend a lot of time as a kid playing in dirt," he said.

If his comment didn't help you figure out the dolmen's construction, here it is.  You erect the support stones, then bury them in a hill of dirt, one that tapers into a ramp.  Then, using a lot of guys, you drag the capstone to the top of the hill.  "Still a feat," my husband said, "but do-able."

After the capstone[s] are in place, remove the hill and ta-da!  You've got yourself a Flintstones house.  Or a fabulous place to spend the afterlife.  Or, in my case, the perfect place for Shepherd to begin his genuine journey toward who he really is--and how deeply he loves Tienne.

WOD [words of the day]: passion vs balance

Today's words are not my own.  They're borrowed from Joe Bunting, and I find them inspirational.  Perhaps you will too!

"Passionate people aren’t balanced. Passionate people are actually kind of crazy. They’re willing to sacrifice money, grades, prestige, power, entertainment, and sometimes even relationships for their priorities. And yet, who is happier? Passionate people or balanced people? You decide: are you going to be passionate or balanced."