Having a 'blonde day'

Seriously, from the moment I got out of bed, this morning, I should have known it was going to be one of those days. I've been exhibiting symptoms of a pending blonde day for a few days now. You know, forgetting what was said to you, five seconds ago, forgetting the most elemental things on your mental shopping list at the pharmacy, forgetting what day it is...just blonde moments, in general.

So, I should have been more alert this morning when I got up and couldn't decide whether it was Wednesday or Thursday when I had, just seconds before, received a txt on my phone from my partner who was at uni--where she onlygoes on Thursdays.

But no. I sallied forth into the kitchen oblivious.

First, I put the kettle on for my iced coffee... okay it was pepsi, but I was trying not to let on that I occasionally drink a can of pepsi max first thing in the morning!

Then, I got a papercut, opening the box of instant oats. Any sane person would have quit right there. Not me! I kept right on going.

Mixed some bran in with the oats, added (too much) water, put it into the microwave oven and then cheerfully set the oven on full power and clocked up 90 seconds. Simple.

Uhuh, tell that to the woman who had to clean up the resultant mess when the damn stuff boiled over and caked itself like some kind of gelatinous blob of evil onto the oven turntable. That was when I remembered that 70% power is quite sufficient to cook the instant oats, thank you very much. *sigh*

And that's not even getting into the email debacle that I'd unwittingly set myself up for before going to bed last night!

If you want me? I'll be in my bunk!

Tarot and Writing

One of the things I forgot to mention after my trip to Rockhampton a couple of weeks ago, was the gorgeous gift my sister gave to me while I was there. I don't know how I could have neglected to tell about this, but there you go it's BLASS (Brain like a sieve syndrome).

The cards are an early birthday gift from my sister and the deck is The Dragon Tarot by Nigel Suckling.

They're gorgeous cards to look at, and sweet to work with.


Back of Cards

I fell in love with them the minute I touched them, they just have a beautiful 'vibration' to them.

I've done a little work with them the past few nights, using them to brainstorm ideas and outline a novel I want to write after I finish my current WIP.

I did a course in "Tarot for the Writer" last year and find this a brilliant way to unlock my creativity and inspire me to think outside the box.

I don't do tarot readings for real people, but I have done them for characters. In fact, my novel Hunter's Dawn: Laying the Ghosts was inspired by a tarot spread which I did for the main characters.

If you'd like more information about "Tarot for the Writer" the course I did is run by Tarot by Arwen. It was an interesting course and has been helpful to me in my writing since I did it.

Anyway, back to the cards. The imagery on them is utterly gorgeous and they handle better than any tarot deck I own. I think these will become my favorite set!


Ace of Pentacles

As a tool for creativity, I think Tarot works, because of the randomness of turning over a card to see what is depicted. It could be kind of like the method some writers employ of rolling a dice, or drawing a plot device out of a hat. Plus you get the mystical magical feeling that tarot cards impart to the whole deal.

I've also recently purchased a book by the title Tarot for Writers by Corinne Kenner which I am looking forward to receiving in the mail. Anything to keep those creative synapses firing!

So, thanks to my Sis, I have got a deck of cards that just sizzles with creative energy whenever I touch it, and hopefully, that will inspire many a plot point to come!

You can find more information about all the cards, books, and courses mentioned in this blog by following the links below!

Hunter's Dawn: Laying the Ghosts

The Dragon Tarot by Nigel Suckling

Tarot by Arwen

Tarot for Writers

Differences of Opinion

Yeesh, I seem to be having one of those days--or evenings, depending on your perspective. I have not set out to deliberately cross swords with, or offend anyone today, but so far I can count three distinct incidences where it seems I have done so.

Might be best if I just shut my mouth and write for the remaining few hours and avoid anymore flying bullets or snapping teeth that clash together an inch away from the end of my nose. O_O

Actually, one of the incidences was more of a debate than a disagreement, and I thought I would share it here.

One of my author pals and I had a lively debate earlier this evening on the subject of reviewing books.

My friend is of the opinion that writers ought not to review other writer's works and I think that it is fine for any reader (writer or otherwise) to offer their opinion of a book, that's what a review is, basically and whilst I don't call myself a 'professional' reviewer, I don't see anything wrong with reviewing or giving an opinion about another writer's work

I don't think that anything I say could really influence sales of a book, but my friend thinks that it is unfair for a writer--unless they have won the nobel prize for literature, to criticise a work and possibly cause a decrease in sales with their opinion.

Q4U: What do you think? Can anyone review a book, or should it be left to 'professional, qualified' reviewers?

Review: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Some readers may find the following review too 'spoilery.'

Writing and daydreams

Well, it seems like my slave driving muse is well and truly back from vacation mode. I finished chapter nineteen of The Colt, last night and the muse is already whispering in my ear about ideas for chapter twenty.

Meanwhile my lazy streak seems to be alive and well too. I've been daydreaming today about a mini vacation...yeah, I know I just got home from one, but I've got a yen to see Cairns, or Townsville, maybe both. I'm getting good at this solo vacation thing, although it would be nice if someone would  go with me, but everyone I know who might possibly travel with me is either too far away, too busy with work, too broke, (not that I am rich by any means) or too busy with studies. Hmmm.

So if I want to see more of Australia (and I do!) then I will just have to travel solo.

I wonder when mosquito season in Tropical Queensland ends, or at least lulls--'cause, even though the thought of tropical beaches, white sand, blue water and all of that appeals to me, at the same time, Dengue Fever could put a real damper on my vacation.

I figure I need at least 5-6 months for my bank account to recover before I can consider it seriously, so that will give me time to research and might even allow enough time for the current dengue outbreaks to settle.

Ah day dreaming...tis a wonderful distraction!

The Colt

31133 / 50000 words. 62% done!

Mindfulness

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the whole day in bed, suffering from pain that was very much self-inflicted. I'm not looking for sympathy here. I should have been more mindful of what I was doing.

Mindfulness is something that I find acceptable, noble, and worth commiting myself to, but when it comes to actually being mindful I don't often get it right. For those who might not know what I mean when I speak of mindfulness, here are a few definitions of the term:

Definitions of Mindfulness

"Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis." (Marlatt & Kristeller)

"Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally" (Kabat-Zinn).

"The non-judgmental observation of the ongoing stream of internal and external stimuli as they arise." (Baer)

"Awareness of present experience with acceptance." (Germer, Segal, Fulton)

One way that I have mostly mastered this art of being present to experience on a moment-to-moment basis, is in what I eat. When I weighed 120kg (260#), I decided that I wanted to lose weight. To do that, I had to learn to be aware, moment-to-moment, of what I was eating. I had an added incentive to learn this mindfulness about eating, so it was pretty easy. I started by keeping a food diary and writing down every little thing I put into my mouth. This brought me to the awareness of what I was doing with relation to food, and taught me, very quickly where I was going wrong, and how to correct it. The end result being that because I was aware of my eating, I lost 54kg (118#). So, Mindfulness works. You can't get much better proof than that.

The reason for losing the weight, was health related. I have gallstones, so cutting fat from my diet, and from my body seemed like a good thing to do. It is a good thing to do. In the time I've been working at being mindful of my eating, I have had only rare, and mild attacks of gall stone pain.

So, to get back to the beginning of this post: Yesterday I had a gall stone attack. Why? Because over the weekend, I forgot to be mindful of my eating. This wasn't anyone's fault, but my own. Ergo, self inflicted.

But it was a good reminder to me about being mindful, of watching and monitoring myself moment-to-moment and being aware of how, and what I eat.

Now, if only I could find a way to get myself to be mindful in other ways.

Do you practice mindfulness? How did you train yourself to be aware?

Retrobricks

One of the things I love most about being a writer is the fun things you learn or revisit when researching for a story. Tonight's fun Du Jour is Retrobricks--old style cell phones.

The first call ever made from a cell phone was made back in 1973 when Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola placed a call to his main rival Joel Engel, Bell Labs head of research.

Motorola was first to make a cell/mobile phone commercially available in the United States. It was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x and was first approved for distribution within the USA in 1983.

Sad though it may seem, I can remember seeing people using these. They retailed in the USA for $3,995USD! ( I didn't own one!)

According to another site I discovered, there were 7000 people in the USA in 1984 who owned a cell phone but sales rocketed from there on until today, where annual cell phones sales number in the billions!

It's not difficult to see, though, why these things were and are, called bricks. Compared to the sleek, slim little models we see today this thing is just a monster, and apparently had the capacity to fry a human brain, according to one site I read. I can believe it. What kind of radiation was this thing putting out?

I can remember when using my own cell phone--I got my first one in about 1990--left me with a strange taste in my mouth afterward if I used it too long, and it also would make my ear hot!

So I did all this research to decide whether it would be pheasible to have either of my protags in The Colt, or anyone they know, own a cell phone. I've decided that given the price range and the very small number of sales at the time when the novel is set, they probably didn't. It certainly makes things interesting when you're writing a story and someone can't just pull a cell phone out of his pocket to make or receive a call.

Just for fun and comparison, here is a picture of a typical cell phone in 2010



Come on now, play nice. Just because it's an iPhone doesn't mean it's not real. *g*

If you'd like to read more about the first cell phone, you can go here. You might even like to buy yourself one! Only 149GBP!