Perfection… a word that means many things. More than anything, I think it means a struggle and I know what that feels like. I also know that failure is the other side of the coin. Susan Tyrpak’s story on perfection and the holes that it burns into the fabric of one’s life is a lesson that we should perhaps all pay heed to. Read on…
My guest in the Red Chair surprised me in our initial chat when he stated outright that he felt he was born with the ability to write. What surprised me was not that he said such a thing, but that I had never thought of writing that way. Some time ago I was asked whether I thought writers were born, not made and I sidestepped the issue by saying I felt at the very least, writers must have imagination and creativity. I remember saying that knowing all the so-called RULES of writing, didn’t necessarily make for a good story-teller. Was I saying the same thing as my guest? That writers are born with the ability? Read on and see what Matt Posner has to say…
For quite a long while readers have asked about the fantasy world of Eirie, and finally, after prompting from my digital publisher MWiDP, I am creating a page and sub-pages to illustrate the world as I know it. I hope it will help any reader who may want to get to know the world more.
Dear Great Aunt J, (mother of pup’s vet)
Mummy said to write and tell you of my latest adventure, but I don’t think it was an adventure. It hurt and I got very frightened.
I got bitten by a BEE today… or a jackjumper ant. Not sure which. But Grandmother T. chases bees and she never gets bitten and it looked such fun!
The New year introduces some changes to the Big Red Chair on Mesmered. Rather than limiting it to just indie writers, I have decided to extend it to people I meet in real life and virtually who fascinate me, in the belief that something of their choices and their activities will interest you as well.
Whilst its summer here in my country and we are lying around on the beach or on chaises under the willows, Cheryl Shireman is staring out at a snow white scene on the edge of a iced-over lake in the middle of a blizzard. Cheryl is the person who conceived the idea of a group of indie writers putting together an inspirational anthology about their writing life. She’s a grounded person with a huge heart and the idea that we are all in this world to help one another as best we can. To say I admire her seems ordinary but I do. To say I wish I had her energy to enact those things in which she believes is an understatement. To say I wish I could have one more day with my children as children is a truth… read on and see what I mean.
A couple of days before Christmas, I went to the framers to collect my stumpwork medieval mirror. I could barely remember what I chose as a frame although I recall I didn’t want any sort of mount on the assumption that the embroidery itself would form a border to the mirror which would rest in the very centre of the stitching.
The above line is from Banjo Paterson‘s great poem, The Man from Snowy River and whilst it is about a horse (the colt from Old Regret), it describes my day.
(NB: A station in Australia is another name for a farm or a property. )
Donna Fasano is a fellow Indie Chick who has been what I craved to be for a long while. A successful mainstream writer. She wrote for Harlequin Books for 20 years before becoming a proud Independent Author. She’s written over 30 romance and women’s fiction novels that have sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. Her books have won awards and made best-seller lists.
