Don't Get it Twisted!

Don’t Get it Twisted!

In this instance you probably should! When life throws you one of those curves that fill you with stress and strain let the “Twists of Life” collectibles by artist Peggy Eldridge-Love do the twisting for you.

Each tiny design is one-of-a kind, is handcrafted, and brings a unique sense of peace and well-being – a tangible reminder to let life just flow.

Collect them for yourself, give them, send them, or bring them as peace offerings when it’s your turn to straighten things out!

Online at First Love Arts

For You

This is one of those things I'm not going to insult by trying to define. It is beyond definition. When I received this note from someone close to me I almost didn't stop to take the time to "listen". What I would have missed had I not. It's your turn:

A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston

radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound, the station has it

posted on their website. Click below to listen to it. It's short.

A MESSAGE FROM LOGAN

http://www.ksbj.org/eblogs/morningShow/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/logan-calf-story.mp3

Dare We Vet?

Last March, life as I thought I knew it came crashing down around me. I suffered a profound loss that was complicated by the circumstances surrounding it. With no prior point of reference, all I knew to do was to take off running emotionally, and to run as far and as fast as I possibly could in the direction of, rather than away from, the source of my heartache and sorrow.

For me, that meant doing something; something major that would "fix" it, or, at the very least, bind up the wounds that were gaping. Going on missions and being a crusader are not new to me. I've been mission and crusade bound most of my life, but this one was the ultimate. In this one I could not fail.

And so, I threw myself and everything and everyone around me into the effort. I believed with all my being that my motives and my goal were pure. I thought that would be beyond question, and although I believed there would certainly be obstacles that need be overcome simply because there are always obstacles and obstructions in any mission, I was - admittedly - totally surprised when I encountered opposition.

Opposition was not an expectation. Opposition threatened to flip me over on my side in a manner in which I might not have been able to get up. After all, I was severely wounded, at times it seemed mortally wounded, but, just when I needed it most there was this miraculous hand - one as strong and as committed as mine - that reached out and helped me right myself to carry on.

Not long ago I reached the place I believed I was running to, but I didn't get there whole like I thought I might, healed like I prayed I would be. There wasn't a celebration of my motives from the people I most needed it from, or a heralding of my foresight and dedication. Rather, scattered all around me, were shards of misunderstanding, suspicion, and resentment that no one could have ever prepared me to anticipate. For a moment, I thought it more than I could possibly ever bear.

But, something else kicked in. Resilience is a must have if you are born to missions and crusades, and when the mission is one that has its roots in the very intake and outlet of the breath you breath, you have to realize the goal is "in spite of whatever".

The place I reached wasn't the end as I thought, rather it was just the beginning. The quest is forever and, in fact and in truth, my motives and my goals are pure. I am committed to the spirit, the gift, the legacy, and the rightful place of someone I know deserves that commitment. I am thankful for whatever I gain in wisdom and understanding of the human spirit as a whole as I travel this road because I will count that knowledge as all joy from here - every single bit of it - and my own ability to love will grow deeper with each and every breath I now take.

Can you say Luqman Hamza?

So Christmas is approaching at the speed of light! It was just here, wasn't it? What caught me up short was the package we received yesterday, beautifully gift wrapped in exciting Chrismas paper, from my sister-in-law. She is always on top of things like birthday, anniversary, graduation and holidays, while I, on the other hand, slide in at the last minute leaving a long dark mark with my heels!

Books will be high on my list of giving this year. I have a few in mind that I believe will be well recieved and appreciated, but along with them I am going to give this CD because of all the music in my collection currently this one brings the most consistent pleasure and joy.



It is not a commercial classic, and unless you happen to catch Luqman Hamza while in Kansas City at the Peachtree Restaurant or at The Blue Room, you might never be exposed to his exquisite sound, but that is a shame. I guess that is why, every time I have an opportunity or think about this CD I have the need to tell somebody about it. It is too good to horde.

If you are on my gift list some Luqman Hamza is probably going to be in your stocking. Bet you'll know how much I think of you then!

Thankfulness

I have a friend and business associate who, on occasion, would look at me and say, "you know, you can make your mouth say anything." This would be in reference to an instance in which someone we had encountered, often times from a podium, had spoken eloquently or loudly or commercially, but not authentically. We knew it, we had been through enough trenches in our quest for economic equality as women in business at that time to almost instantly know fact from fiction, passion from "B.S.", and genuine promise from convenient words of the moment.

I found myself thinking about her declaration this week as this Thanksgiving Holiday was approaching. I thought about 'thankfulness' and all the places I was hearing it, but my spirit of discernment was having trouble with the sincerity of it. Are we really thankful or has thankful just become a buzz word, a feel good word, a slip through the cracks and dodge the truth word? Have we gone to the core of our existence to examine the quantity, quality, and consistency of the individual blessings that we experience moment by moment by moment? Or is the glib declarations of our thankfulness in reference to our acquisitions, our excesses, our greed, and our never ending self-focus?

I am forced to turn internal in search of my true thankfulness this season. I have had a year like no other, with highs and lows beyond my imagination. I've been stripped of illusion as it relates to who I am and what my life contains - a terrifying event because illusion is like cartilage, serving as a cushion between bone and reality - and I have grown in ways I didn't know I still could, or above all, still needed to. As hideously painful as coming to grips with my thankfulness has been I am eternally grateful to be coming into a place of understanding it.

Amazon's New Kindle Ebook Reader

I saw a few references and major newspaper articles regarding the launching of Amazon's new Ebook Reader, Kindle, but I didn't really pay much attention initially. My interest definitely piqued when I received an email that was sharing information about the special format the Amazon Ebooks had to be in, also named Kindle, because I thought I had seen something that suggested my Ebook version of YOU BECKON could fall into that category.

I was quite pleased when I went onto Amazon to its new Kindle site, did a quick search, and sure enough, there it was!

You Beckon - the Kindle Edition! (http://www.amazon.com/You-Beckon/dp/B000R93DSA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195532584&sr=8-4)


Having Amazon exposure is a major plus for the Ebook author. I'm definitely rooting for the success of their new reader - as you might imagine!

"Bought Sense"

A new novel entitled "Bought Sense" is planned for 2008. Here's a brief overview.

It's a novel that centers around pain and betrayal that undermines a family, betrayals which are perpetrated by a family newcomer who, on the exterior, looks like innocence itself, but whose jealous spirit borders on the demoniac.

Solid marriages are ripped asunder by the subtle interferences and revelations dug up and made humiliatingly public by the newcomer, the family's business is suddenly rippled with dissension both from within and without as long time business supporters, customers, and employees are turned into the bitterest of enemies for reasons unknown, and coy advantage, especially financial, is repeatedly taken of other family members and friends through a host of slick schemes and plans launched under the guise of innocence and helplessness.

The family is headed for a certain crash and burn until the newcomer plays one last hand, a hand dealt to another member of the family who has long watched and recognized the demoniac at work, but whose attempted warning to the family matriarch has fallen on insulted deaf ears. But this time it's personal. This time boundaries are crossed that no longer require caution or diplomacy because what is at stake is not negotiable. It's a battle of wills, of good and of evil, and there can only be one victor.

BOUGHT SENSE! Coming to you soon!

Back on Point!

The Gala Opening and Celebration of the Life and Art of Leroy Allen at the Robert Frazier Gallery of Contemporary Art was awesome. A profound thank you to Sonie Ruffin, the gallery director (and yes, she's the world reknown fabric artist and author) for moving mountains and much, much more.

A huge amount of my attention had been focused the last few months on helping make that event a reality, but now that the exhibit is in place (runs through January 2, 2008) it's back to a couple of exciting literary projects. Some doll making (my Wee Be Wee Folk line) and jewelry designing are also on tap since they have found homes in art gallery gift shops! I'll have plenty to keep me busy ahead.

Although bittersweet in many ways, seeing the outpouring of love and appreciation for my brother and his gift that came through the gallery doors hundreds and hundreds of times for the celebration will be a memory I'll cherish forever more. Thank you one and all for the love!

A Hall of Fame Poet

At the end of the day, what I really am as a writer is a poet. I don't always acknowledge that or honor it as I probably should. I aspire to other genres, have had some successes in those endeavors, but the real rewards, the true revelation of what dwells within my writer's soul manifests itself most undeniably through my poetry.

I ran across a link from Wild Poetry Forum in which it listed several poems I'd written while I was very active there that received recognition in their Hall of Fame. Since it has been a few years, I had actually forgotten those achievements.

Wow, I thought, when I took a moment to review what I found. This is no small feat. Some of the most admired and touted comtemporary poets spring from the Wild Poetry Forum and a few of the other wonderful poetry forum and workshops that make up the IBPC (Inter Board Poetry Community)!

I also realized there have been few thrills greater than on those rare occasions when I've awakened to check which poems have been selected from the normally awesome selection of poems submitted on one of the forums such as Wild Poetry Forum or Critical Poets to see that one of mine has been included as an Honorary Mention, Poem of the Week, Hall of Fame Poem, or, as happened a few times, chosen as a particular forums entry into the IBPC Monthly competition.

I haven't been focusing much on my poetry recently, but stumbling upon this link recharged my desire to return as much as possible to that first love. Here's the Wild Poetry Forum link I found with its list of my poems that made its Hall of Fame:

Peggy Eldridge-Love - Wild Poetry Forum Hall of Fame

Here is one of those poems entitled "Habit". I hope you enjoy it.

HABIT

It probably won't get
any higher than 60 today.
The imperfect orange sweater,
knitted her last summer, bears a hint
of moth ball odor,
but it fits snug, it's warm,
it's comforting.

I'll lean back and rock a while
on the porch
in the old wicker chair;
it won't be long now
before we take it in for the winter

and at some point,
lost in thoughts of her,
I know I'll reach
for them like we used to do
as we rocked and traded tales,

and the sublime frustration
of reconciling their absence too
will feel as familiar as my grief.

I'll probably think for a moment
I miss them
until I remember it was them
that took her --
puff by puff by puff.

Copyright 2005 Peggy Eldridge-Love All Rights Reserved

The Nancy Pickard Mystery Section

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a party hosted by a local author, called the Winter Birthday Girl's Party. One of the people in attendance was the award-winning mystery author, Nancy Pickard. Until then, I wasn't familiar with Nancy or her books, but, as often happens, once I met her I started to read her work.

In short order, I became a fan. Over the years I have read a number of her books, and, I remember being thoroughly impressed when I went to a local branch of a major book store chain and there was an entire section within the mystery genre dedicated to Nancy Pickard's books. I was particularly impressed since she hails from the Greater Kansas City area.

It has been a while since I've gone looking for one of her books. Reading time has not been in abundance for me on any level. Time to read anything has become a real luxury. But, I had her book THE WHOLE TRUTH that I had purchased some time ago and recently completed it. I really enjoyed it, so thought I'd run out to the local book store and pick up another one of her "truth" books, since I was finally finding a little time to read. That's when I got a real shock.

I went to the mystery section and began looking in the spot where there had been a Nancy Pickard area set aside. It wasn't there any longer. So, I'm thinking maybe they moved it, but search tho I may, I could not find her books set-aside. So, I began to search for them under the "P" section of mystery books. And, unbelievably, there weren't any there at all. Impossible, I think! She's written over a dozen mystery books, award-winning mystery books. So, I go ask.

A very nice young bookseller takes a gander at their computer and assures me that no, they don't have any of Nancy's mystery books on site. They can order them in for me if I wish, but, with the exception of her newest (which is also an award-winner)they don't have any of her books in stock - period!

Go figure? I don't know the whys or why fors of that decision by that local book store chain, but it just seemed so nonsensical to me! How can they not carry her whole range of mystery books in the mystery section? Anyway, I took a peek at Nancy's web site and she mentions a couple of local bookstore that I'm familiar with that do carry her works. When time permits, I will definitely venture over to one (or both) of them to pick up the books I'm wanting.

One of these days, though, I hope the Country Club Plaza local of that major bookstore chain brings the Nancy Pickard mystery section back!

Another Kind of October Web

Shelia Goss is celebrating a wonderful success this month with the publication of her newest book! PAIGE'S WEB is Shelia's third book, but it is her first that is being published traditionally without having been previously self-published.



An engineer by education, Shelia was also blessed with a literary gift that she gave the same drive and tenacity she used to pursue her engineering degree. This resulted in two exceptional self-published novels, ROSES ARE THORNS, VIOLETS ARE TRUE, and MY INVISIBLE HUSBAND. With a fan base rapidly and soundly established, Shelia determined it was time to seek a traditional publishing relationship. With stats in hand she began her pursuit!



Shelia is quick to tell you that the transtition from self-published to traditional was an often frustrating, heartbreaking venture, but when she did find a publishing home the results have been exceptional. Both of her first self-published titles were republished by her new publisher, Urban Soul, with resounding success and now, as mentioned earlier, comes the debut of this first, never before published effort, PAIGE'S WEB.

We are wishing Shelia every success! PAIGE'S WEB is available everywhere books are sold!

Green, Green and More Green!

I found all these in my front yard earlier this week!I was actually taking a writing break and went out on the porch to enjoy the fresh air and decided to take a look around the yard. I'd found a couple of four-leaf clovers earlier in the summer and just thought I'd give it another glance, especially since we were about to start preparing the yard for next year and that would include putting down some chemicals that sometimes kill clover.

The first four-leaf clover just jumped out at me and from there, all over the yard, but not in patches, I found four-leaf, after four-leaf, after four-leaf! They were everywhere.

The last two that I found actually had heart-shaped leaves, and, the most intriguing thing about those two was that although I attempted several times to take photos of them, the photographs would always be blurred or so infused with light you could barely make them out! Those I pressed and tucked away in my most cherished book... obviously they are special!

Just thought I'd share! If these are by any chance truly lucky may you share in the wealth and good fortune!

Wish It Was Me

Life is so intriguing. Recently I ran across the blog of a new young author who happens to be represented by an agency that also represents a project I'm working on. This young author is just straight forward, honest, and given to giving blow-by-blow detailed information about her interactions with the agent who is also the agent representing our project. She elaborated in her blog on hours long strategy sessions on the telephone, discussions about the anticipation of pre-empts and auctions, excitedly shared how she'd been requested to provide synopsis for yet to be written books to be pitched simultaneously, and, even as a mere blog reader who doesn't know this writer, my heart was thundering at the possibilities and probabilities that await her when all is said and done.

It actually brought tears to my eyes.

Wish it was me.

MipoRadio: Where Poetry Tunes In

Looking for something exceptional in the way of poetry? Then MipoRoadio.net will definitely fit that bill. It is a collection of contemporary poets reading and performing their own works, along with some dynamic poetic programs under the production mastery of DiDi Menendez.

I am profoundly honored that I am one of the poets you can access and listen to on MipoRadio. I hope you'll give us all a listen soon!

If you prefer direct URL addresses, here you go:

MiPoRadio: http://www.miporadio.net/

Peggy Eldridge-Love on MiPoRadion: http://www.miporadio.net/Peggy_Eldridge-Love

Life's A Boomer!

The response has been excellent to the new web site Life's a Boomer. Plans are for it to become a lightening rod site of wonderful things for, to and about those of us who make-up the intriguing Baby Boom generation. We have lived extraordinary lives in extraordinary times and made and are still making contributions no one should ever be able to ignore or forget. Now is an excellent time to begin to share them in all their scents, flavors, sounds, images, and feels!

A Call for Submission (CFS) has gone out to a host of artist, authors, musician and entertainers to share their ante dotes and stories, but above all is the invitation to the everyday member of the Baby Boom generation who feels they have something special to have considered for inclusion. To request information regarding submissions send an email to Submissions Guidelines and details will be sent to you right away.

In the works also, are a series of Life's a Boomer books with themes from the whimsical to the heartfelt, the eye witness to the visionary.

Life's a Boomer! Join us for the journey!

Quasi-Literary Down Time

I haven't intentionally been on "no blog" recently, I just haven't been motivated to stop and reach out as far as writing is concerned. I even had a very nice live interview with one of the country's most talented new recording stars a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't had the fortitude to get that posted yet. It is like I just ran out of a certain kind of steam all of a sudden. I hope this post is an indication I'm getting my energy back.

I find at the moment that working creatively with my hands allows for a certain amount of retrospection that has some special healing properties. At least I think that is what I've been experiencing during this quasi-literary-down-time. I've made an array of new jewelry pieces, even tried my hand at making some of the cell phone jewels that someone brought to my attention. I went through and completely reorganized my beads, stones, crystals, glass, seeds, shells, bone, trade beads, countless findings, silver, gold hooks and posts and other jewelry making paraphernalia. That is saying something since I've been collecting all this stuff for twenty years or more!

I get odd bursts of inspiration for these creative projects too, like this art doll I made a couple of days ago. I named her FATIMA and find myself enjoying her immensely. I think she represents tenacity to me for some reason. Ms. Fatima looks to me like she's become a sage of wisdom through much struggle and difficult experience, not by luck or preferential treatment of any sort. Still she seems content! Hummm.

But, hey, guess what! My right hand is obviously itching for its pen. Time to write. Time to get with it again.

Mud Pie Maker

Okay, I'm letting you in on another part of me! I love to make things out of clay! It started with mud pies when I was about five or six ... not only had I already started to write my own fairy tales but I felt the need to try to illustrated them as well, and ... mud was my medium of choice! I say it started with mud pies because when school was out in the summer one of my favorite past times was making mud pies, and my father made me believe that I was the most creative mud pie maker who ever existed, because he'd stop and examine the ones I had lined up on the sidewalk, and those that he liked he'd pay me a nickle for!
That was all the incentive I needed! I went from mud pies to eggs by the bushel, thinking he might purchase them individually (tee hee hee)
but he was too smart to fall for that! He kept it to a nickle for mud pies, but I was already fascinated with what you could do with dirt and water and words and imagination and making my characters three-dimensional became a way of my little creative life!
I forgot about that part of my creative spirit for a long, long while, but a few years ago while rushing through a craft store my eyes fell on a row of clays and those hot summer Kansas days flashed across my heart and mind and I stopped.
I bet I can still do that, I thought, and half an hour and a sizable number of nickles later I left the craft store with a bag full of multi-colored clays! So, here's the results! There's "The Napper" and
and "The Crown of Thorns",
"The Egg Bearers",
"The Making of a Prince",
"The Champ and His Contender", and,
being the eternal optimist that I am, "The Bushel of Eggs!"

Thanks for indulging me!

Cooperating Muses

A lot of my time in recent months has been spent leaning on my creative muses who, surprisingly, have not been as temperamental as they have a tendency to be under more normal circumstance. They have bonded with the logical and technical me to figure out things I had absolutely no clue about, but were necessary to move to new creative levels.

One of those things was deciding to become more serious about my own visual art, which I've always just more or less toyed with, and seeing if it could reach a level of critical acceptance in the larger art world. I thought I'd see if anyone would be interested in licensing any of my art for prints, and, sure enough, the first one I submitted was approved.

So, I've got my online gallery in motion now. It's the Peggy Allen Love Gallery, and it has only one print today, but I have dozens I'll be adding to it in the near future. Learning the requirements of preparing artwork for presentation is interesting, but I recently inherited a MAC that's loaded for bear with everything I need to get it right, and it seems to be teaching me itself what I need to do next!

Getting that approved was great, but then I also saw my name on Palibra.com's Top 10 Best Seller list for my excerpt from TELL IT LIKE IT IS, and that really was an emotional bonus!

I'm really grateful for these small blessings.

Palibra - Like iTunes for Writers

Not long ago I got an email from an agent making me aware of Palibra. I was in the midst of completing and returning edits to my other agent, as well as juggling a host of other labor intensive projects, so I'd set the information aside.

Well, yesterday was the day I had that extra moment to explore Palibra and my hands got a little clammy with excitement once I did. As the founder, Edwardo Jackson, describes it, it is sort of like an iTunes for Writers, a place where writers can offer their short narratives (8,000 words or less) to readers for immediate download for less than a dollar. Just a penny less than a dollar at .99, but pennies do add up after while!

I was impressed with some of the names I saw that were already contributing. Writers I respect like Gloria Mallette, Karen Quinnoes, Lolita Fields and others. I signed on as a contributing author right then and offered a short work of fiction that speaks to the unspeakable issue of female castration entitled The Grabour Bush, along with another little inspirational piece, Sometime It's Only a Caboose. (Late update! Check out an excerpt from Tell It Like It Is as well!)

I think it is a great concept. It really offers writers the type of sounding board we all have long really needed, but, it also gives readers something tangible and tantalizing too! Palibra sounds like a win-win for everyone to me.

Instant Google

A couple of days ago I finished writing my article for my monthly contribution to Blogging in Black. Its posting date was a few days out, which was good, because I needed to learn the system there for posting in advance. I fiddled for a bit, got a little confused on the military time clock, but, with a little help from a fellow blogger, got it done. I felt like a proud little first grader when I finished, but I still needed to wait until the 4th day of the month to know for sure how well I'd done.

I woke up early this morning, the 4th, and rushed to my computer at the appointed time to pull up the site. My heart dropped. It wasn't there! Doggone it, I thought, I did something wrong. But, with a quick click of my refresh button I realized all it well. It was there, just as it was supposed to be!

While reading over my post, Birth of a Premise, an email notice popped up in the lower corner of my screen. I blinked. It was a Google Alert and it was alerting me to, that's right, the very article I was reading that had posted less than ten minutes or so before! Now that blew me away! Instant Google? Wow!

How things change... for the better!

A Quiet Celebration

May 24th
I celebrate you this day!

Second Life, Webkinz & This World

A name keeps cropping up that just sort of sits out there, with a few words surrounding it that tweak the curiosity just enough for you to remember it, until finally you are curious enough that you say, hum mm, let me take a look at this. So you surf, and bingo it comes up, and you find that it is a virtual world that countless people are starting to gravitate to where they can build a fantasy life and live and be whomever they chose. That one is called Second Life.

Then, the other day, one of our local stations asked the question about how many of us knew anything about Webkinz? They thought we should because local stores could not keep them on their shelf! It seems they have become the new "to die for" toy, the must have gift, the 2007 Beanie Babies!




Well, I certainly didn't know that. I'd never heard of it, but when they started to report I realized that I'd seen a few of the cute, cuddly toys nestled tightly in the arms of little ones in our family, or little cuties strolling through the mall with their parents, but I had no idea that they, too, had a virtual world of their own! Webkinz is a virtual, social world for children! Per a parent that was interviews on our local station, her young ones are learning about the responsibilities of pet ownership, property ownership, and money management through the Webkinz website!

If there are youngsters in your life you might want to ask them about this new phenomena, find out what type of a social impact it is having in their life. You might also want to find about a bit more about social worlds as a whole. As tough as times are in the real one, it might be very tempting to opt for a virtual one where you rule, but I'm not yet convinced.

Tapped by MsJayy

Now this is a bit different for me. I'm not sure what my mindset normally is when I drift here to blog a bit, but it is usually unscripted. But I'm purposely here now because I got tagged by MsJayy. I didn't know it until I was checking my site visits and saw a host were coming from her site. My eyebrow lifted and I hurried on over to see what was up, and there, near the bottom of her eloquent offering on her obsessions, was my name as one of the next five in line to spill all. My goodness, I thought, this is not a good time for me to try to delve into my wounded psyche! So, forgive me if I come up with a lot of fluff, or, if I go all the way off the deep end on the side of melancholia. Life has recently been a very, very bumpy ride.

Obsessions
1) Listening: I listen so hard now it physically hurts, especially if someone I love deeply is talking. I want to hear them. I want to make sure I am really hearing what they are saying, what they mean, and, this is probably the most painful part, trying to hear between the lines to what they aren't saying.

2) Sleeping: Sleep is a commodity that I now value beyond my ability to say. I approach it ritualistically, having been deprived of it for a spell, and I do what I can to ensure that once I have lured it to me, I can keep it for at least four or five hours. Prescription sleep aids were against my better judgement, and over the counter sleep aids would just take me to the door of a good night's sleep and abandon me there, but, I stumbled upon a wonderful tea, made by Tazo, and rightfully named 'Calm'. So I am careful to differentiate that I am obsessed with sleep and not 'Calm', but, at least for the moment, they go hand-in-hand.

3) Direction: My direction is an obsession. Any road taking me there is no longer acceptable. I need to know where I'm headed, what mode of transportation I'm taking, I'm adamant about reading the signs posted along the way, and about what I'm supposed to do when I reach my destination.

4) Possibilities: There are possibilities that have introduced themselves to me in the lives (and deaths) of others that I resent having been opened up as possibilities. Though this may seem an odd statement: I am obsessed with limiting my possibilities. Some of you will understand.

5) Writing: Momentum as a writer stalled momentarily, but it is back in spades. The poet in me is a slave driver now! I weave poetry now as though I were at a spinning wheel with my foot cemented to the pedal. Short bursts of prose or long fiddled with premises are finding themselves hammered out into coherent synopsis, that become respectable outlines, and are turning into long overdue finished projects. I am writing ruthlessly, continuously, passionately, and authentically.

Okay? Next up is Carla, Shelia, and I'm not going to come up with anymore because my FIVE have already been tagged! Did I play fair? I hope so!

Mother's Day: Sachet L'Air du Temps

I know, I know, I've shared this before on Mother's Day, but this is for my mother - now more than ever. Her sweet spirit is ever near.




Sachet L'Air du Temps

The scent of her lingers in folds,
creases and closed boxes,
often sweet surprises stumbled upon
on the worst of days

when angry men and crude
women rip, snatch,
and seek to pry loose

my smallest joy.

The aroma, easing forth at first,
a mere suggestion, strengthens
as if steeped in

freshly warmed care. A sweet sachet
impervious to boundaries seen,
relentless in its mission,
and, when it is gone I find

I am completely whole again.

©2000 Peggy Eldridge-Love
From You Beckon

Tinkering

---

I've been tinkering with watercolor, flinging and slapping, dabbing and stroking, and it has felt good. Just something to do while I wait on something else to materialize. One of them I named 'Or Not'. I'm abstract oriented when it comes to art, but my husband picked that piece up and immediately said that it looked like a face to him. It surprised me that he zoned in on it so quickly. He saw straight through it - so I'll have to 'face it or not'. I'm not as abstract as sometimes I think I am.

I've written a few articles recently that I like. My momentum is picking back up and that is a good thing.

The Stretch

Photo: Pavel Potapov

I understand - now - so I unclench.
We no longer head in that direction
though I do not yet know another.
Senseless to resist - still - so I unfurl
from my fetal curve to stretch.
Trust? So I say. Truth? So I hope.
You did not ask this time.
I am reminded to be still.
To wait.
Now.
©2007 Peggy Eldridge-Love

Next!

It is a good thing that things change. They need to, regardless of how terrifying change and the element of the unknown tends to be. I am altering my routine on numerous different levels, from small little things like what time I shower, to actions that take much more thought and adjustment.

I'm examining my habits, too. The interesting revelation is how many habits I have that I was unaware of. I discover that my mouse has to be in an exact spot before I will click it when I'm using my desktop computer. I note the time when I post an entry into my journal, and though days may pass in between entries, it is almost always the same time within a few (wee hour) minutes of the entry before that I'm jotting out my heart. So, I flipped it. I made an entry first thing in the morning --told myself how I wanted my day to go for a change, rather than telling myself how it went. I'm tired of being so habitual.

And things I cling to. Heck, I want to uncling every where I can. I don't want to allow anything to matter too much. I'm not talking about giving away my possession or all that nonsense, I'm talking about eliminating the unnecessary wherever the unnecessary may be. If I'm having to think about it and it's not productive, it isn't bringing me joy and happiness, it's not helping someone else, and if it is a source of stress or strain, it is time for it to go!

So, it is a season of change for me, time to step away from the comfort zone and into a zone where truth and genuine peace can abide. Change is a good thing.

Blogging in Black

I was recently extended an invitation to become a regular columnist with Blogging in Black, a wonderful blog that deals with books, writers, and the writing business. As the name suggests, the emphasis is primarily on African American literary matters, but the experiences shared, addressed, discussed, lamented, exalted, and explored are universal.

Other regular columnist and guest bloggers include and have included Jewells, Monica Jackson, Carla Curtis, Angela Henry, Tee C. Royal, Linda Dominique Grovesnor, Dakota Knight, Shelia Goss, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, and Cherlyn Michaels, to name but a few. Those are definitely some names that should whet your appetite! Their various insights and prospectives are always invigorating and provocative.




So, here is a link to my first contribution, titled with great originality: Deal or No Deal! I hope you make Blogging in Black a daily part of your Internet browsing from now on.

Ah, Spring!

©Nudgies®

I've had a flurry of positive literary news the last couple of days. Projects moving forward at very respectable clips. Promises of probable new projects in the offing, both fiction and non-fiction. A few articles picked up by a new entity that has a ready checkbook that they aren't afraid to use. But, that also means work, lots and lots of work. You best believe I am happily rolling up my sleeves!

The Woman in the Doorway

I've got that dreaded editing task awaiting me this weekend. I refuse to even call it by name. My eyes now meet each other at the base of my nose whenever I pick up and start to look at this story. I want to be finished with it! Done! But, there is this one quirky scene where someone enters a room and, for the life of me, I can't get it right. It seems so simple. It really is very simple, but I can't get it to flow. Perhaps it shouldn't be there, but it has to be. If it's not there -- nope, it has to stay in! I'll just have to rework it again. Darn it!

You've Got Mail

A few weeks ago, following the startling death of someone I loved beyond words, I wrote a poem titled "You've Got Mail". The one thing that I realized, that absolutely ripped my heart asunder, was that although I spoke to this beloved person virtually everyday by either telephone or email, that when I stopped to think about when I had actually looked him in the eye, actually seen him face to face, it had been weeks. Weeks in which I had not been privy to the erosion of his health and his spirit in ways that perhaps I feel I might have been had I been looking at him, weeks in which he had been able to put up a good front that gave me a false sense of security ...

"You've Got Mail" very fortunately struck a chord with a number of people who heard or read it. A few close friends immediately responded to its message, particularly on the heels of my personal pain, and have shared with me the personal and individual changes they have begun to make in their own lives, with their own loved ones and with friends; changes that bridge the gap (forgive the cliche) that once was so easy to justify because it is 'the way things are now.'

Bob Marcacci was one of those people who immediately responded to "You've Got Mail". He asked, and I readily consented to it being included in an anticipated poetry radio program. When something happened and that program didn't materialize, Bob asked if he could use the poem in another radio podcast he was producing and I gladly obliged.

It is the message of "You've Got Mail" that matters, and I feel it is divine providence that has given it the type of platform it has received! So, I hope you'll take a bit of time to listen to this broadcast that includes "You've Got Mail". It is close to 25 minutes into the program before it comes up, but the other poetry that is here is humbling -- Catherine Daly, with her exquisite poetic resume and the others ... makes me wonder at my good fortune to share the billing with them, so, put on your thinking cap and tune in to this poetic escapade now! If you haven't already, please click on the player and tune in right now to the 2.4 i-outlaw! program. May you never again be the same.

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powered by ODEO

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Something New from Trey Songz

Trey Songz has something new about to be dropped. It looks like June 12th is the target date for release of his new album, TREY DAY, and the single 'Wonder Woman', but the excitement is already beginning to build. Trey is an interesting young artist, and I just took a look at the video for the upcoming single titled "Wonder Woman", but I viewed it with an eye towards the recent uproar about the content, tone, and innuendo of today's music as it impacts young women, especially young African-American women.

"Wonder Woman" is certainly suggestive in its sexual overtones, but the language and graphic degradation is not prevalent. The young woman in the video is rarely seen face on and, when seen, she is usually clothed. The last scene strongly suggests what the desired sexual outcome of Trey and the young video actress will ultimately be, but it stays within the realm of suggestion only.

Trey is a singer that I think will make the coming transition well. The 'after Imus' transition I predict that will spin the music business around at least 180 degrees in the very, very near future, if not further! Whether rap, pop, rhythm and blues, or somewhere in between, the sounds, sights, and message of music will be forced to change, not merely because of a possible eye towards policing or censorship, in my opinion, but because of the impending need for the return to a spirit of love in general, and love between those romantically attracted in particular. I'm personally looking forward to it!

In case you missed Trey Songz' debut album, I GOTTA MAKE IT, there is still time to catch up! He set himself apart from the crowd with this first endeavor with bona fide talent and quality performance.

---

Content copyright © 2007 by Peggy Eldridge-Love. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Peggy Eldridge-Love. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Peggy at plovewriter@gmail.com

What Is In A Writer's Name?

My name has been an object of curiosity of late. Since the name I hyphenate is not my maiden name, my given middle name, nor my married name I've recently had a few gentle (and a few blatant) probes as to just where it came from. This was particularly true since I've had the pleasure of seeing and hearing from a host of friends with whom I attended elementary, junior high, high school, and college, not to mention Sunday school, church, Blue Birds, Campfire Girls, and ... well, you get my drift!

My pat answer is that I'm a writer, and it's the name I write under, which is true. But it goes a little deeper than that. The middle name once upon a time was my last name, and the majority of the people with whom I established my creative life, i.e., music, greeting cards, and poetry, knew me only by that name. So, when my life changed again years later (and I returned to my hometown) and I acquired another beautiful new last name the dilemma was whether to fore go the "good will" and recognizable credit I'd earned under that name or whether to hyphenate it for continuity. After long discuss with my then new spouse the decision to hyphenate was reached.

If I had it to do again, I probably wouldn't. It has been cumbersome and clumsy and I don't think the benefit has offset the lack of same. But it is certainly who I am now as a writer, except I may well begin to craft new works under a new pseudonym - maybe even my given name - yeah, I like the idea, feels right. Maybe I'll start on something new today!

Poetry Radio

I've been added to Miporadio.net as an ongoing contributing poet. You can actually hear some of my poetry there now if you go to http://www.miporadio.net/Peggy_Eldridge-Love . I was laughingly telling some one that we're not 'Def Jam' performers at Miporadio, but, if poetry really resonates with you, you are definitely going to discover some truly exceptional poets there that you will no doubt never forget.

It is National Poetry Month, so I hope you'll take a moment to check www.Miporadio.net out.

Quiet

Photo ©Peggy Eldridge-Love "Worthy" - All Rights Reserved

The thing I value most right now is silence. When I can be still, when I can quiet my spirit, and listen to my heart I find a measure of peace. There is so much love in my heart. It is almost like the ocean, like its evening tide, rushing back and forth, bringing its vast offerings as it comes in, yet rinsing the sand of unwanted deposits and debris as it pulls away again. I am grateful for those moments.

I know eventually some sense of order and normalcy will return to my life. I know in time I'll again laugh freely and have hours in which this thundering agony that now rumbles just beneath the surface won't constantly overwhelm me. I know that day is coming. I am sure of it.

Acrobatic Thoughts

I finished something that had a deadline attached to it last night, but it was a brutal effort trying to get it done. I really cannot think to write at the moment. My mind feels like it has joined Cirque du Soleil. So, for now, I am occupying myself with more technical tasks that are soothing as well as significant. Thankfully, I received information on setting up the planned scholarship endeavor today. I'll saturate myself in getting that right. That is the priority of the moment.

Making Busy

Watercolor "Why Not" Peggy Eldridge-Love - All Rights Reserved

I'm working my way through what seems to be tons of backlog. Thank God. Staying busy has its upside. Especially now. I accepted a position as Poetry Editor of Tribes Magazine about three weeks ago. That should really keep me on my toes. More on that soon.

Peace.

New Morning

Morning breaks crisp, clear,
quiet in its majesty,
full in its promise
that today understanding
will come,
will stay,
will beckon towards
an inner sanctuary
where only brightness
dwells to shed its light
into the tightest recesses
of what we bring as pain.
Wisdom knows, wisdom
awaits, prepares to
elevate and separate
the distortions, filter
out the white noises,
usher in truth in its
gracious robes that
clothe it in sounds
now understood.
Morning embraces with
its new mercies,
pulls tight to its protective
chest and rocks away
with steady rhythm
the sharpest blades of pain.
©2007 Peggy Eldridge-Love

All Rights Reserved

In Loving Memory

Original Art - 18th & Vine - Leroy W. Allen All Rights Reserved

Leroy W. Allen
1951-2007

Promoting What You Write

Thought I'd pass this on! Regardless of your status as an author, i.e., traditional, self-published, debut or established, your role as a promoter of your work has taken on great significance. Linda is known as the Guerilla Princess in some circles, and the success of some very noted authors who have taken her course is testament to the effectiveness of what she teaches.

-----------------------------
Bestselling Authors Know Promotion Course Now Registering for March 18-24, 2007


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Don't miss information on other upcoming courses. If this email was
forwarded to you, join the mailing list by sending a blank email to:
princesschick@gmail.com

How Core are Values?

I've noticed that the sense of urgency that once seemed to fuel the world apparently doesn't currently. There was a time when telephone calls were returned the same day, when emails were responded to promptly, where people called to cancel appointments if they couldn't keep them, and people generally kept their word if they gave it. Those old values no longer seem to be standard, and, at the moment, if you anticipate that they are you may well set yourself up for grave disappointment.

It is not the least uncommon, particularly in the literary community, to hear horror stories about the agony and frustrations encountered because channels of communication were not open between a professional and the individuals and entities they depend upon for their livelihood and well-being. Recently, a long term, very well respected literary professional spoke of tossing his hat in and walking away from the industry because all the rules of the game as he knew it, as he learned it academically and through years and years of practical application, has simply evaporated.

I listened that day as the reversal of his values, the ignorance of what once constituted to him good literature but now seemingly held little weight within the industry was described. I observed the visible anguish this person felt and I envisioned his core touchstones being ground into a powdery dust which someone held in their hands and was blowing into his face with a menancing chuckle. His world, certainly he believed, had changed.

But since then, I find that I cannot help but wonder if these are genuine changes or just blimps on a screen? If, although standards, courtesy, promises, and your basic word might momentarily be socially demoted they won't rebound soon with a vengence? I think I'll try to hold out for that. I think I'll keep being accountable and responsible, if to no one other than myself. And, I think I'll keep expecting that from everyone else, too. I'm not letting anyone off the hook.

If you give me your word be prepared because I'm expecting you to keep it.

The Knoll Frames Come to Life!

Photo:©Peggy Love

My competition award-winning screenplay, The Knoll Frames, has just strolled onto the screen of real life. One of those life imitating fiction or fiction imitating life questions! A couple of people called me on President's Day to ask if I'd seen the snippet on CNN about the JFK film. I caught it then and thought 'hummm, how uncanny' , but, a few days later news about its discovery is all over the airwaves. It really makes me think about the power of attraction.

Now the plot of The Knoll Frames is ultra tight, the premise mind-boggling, and it puts a spin on its own discovered film in a political thriller that has left everyone who has read it asking me one question: "Oh my God, did this really happen?" And, that's a question I simply don't answer.

I think it's movie time. Call me.

Give me an "E"!

My poetry book, You Beckon, has just been released as an eBook. After a lot of posturing and wishy-washy thoughts about whether or not to go that direction, I'll admit to being excited. The eBook has a new cover. Sweet as they were, the children are gone, and the cover now indicates that You Beckon is for grown-ups. Time will tell if that makes a difference, but, for the moment, it feels good.

The photo selected is one that is also inside the book. It is a likeness of the author from many moons ago, yet I remember the day, the hour, the second, the very moment it was taken as though it just occurred. But, (pun intended) life beckoned and I have definitely moved on from days like that when that was my image. But ah, the memories!

Also, eBooks are tricky. Different readers produce different results, so I'm sort of waiting with baited breath, hoping everyone will have excellent viewing experiences. The samples I saw were great. I'm going to trust that everyone else will have equally enjoyable reads!

---

You Beckon - The eBook!

Ringside Dreams Revisited!

Photo: The Late Great Ali!

In a post last year entitled Ringside I admitted to a long held desire to be a ringside boxing announcer. At our house we are such boxing fans our choice of dogs are even Boxers and we name them after favorite or respected boxers, as with our first beloved brindle, Ali! Well, I haven't received that call yet that I've been waiting on to join the guys at ringside, but I did have an opportunity to write my first professional boxing article this weekend entitled Sugar Shane Sweetens with Age. I was holding my breath, wondering what kind of a response I'd get, and of course I shot the link to a few hard-nosed boxing fans that I knew would not cut me any slack. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when the first few responses did trickle in! The critics were impressed! Wow!

I'm still hanging tight to my dream, but, in the interim, I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to strut my stuff on the tip of my pen!

Reeling

Photo: ©Nudgies® - All Rights Reserved

We lived next door to one another until I was seven and she has always remained my mentor, friend, spiritual encourager, and cheerleader. She was a sage of intellect and wisdom. With my first book, I'd learn of a large order of books from one private buyer, and discover later she was the purchaser, and also discover that she was sending copies to the likes of Oprah and others she thought should be aware of me. We were cousins, but our kinship went far deeper than that. Without prelude or warning she departed January 24, 2007. She was private in her gifts and her endlessly generous good deeds, so I must respect that privacy now and not call her by name, but her name is ever imprinted on my soul, in my mind, on the tip of my tongue when I want to define beauty inside and out.

I bid you adieu, dearest one -- until we meet again.

Kudos, First Fridays, and Focus

Intriguing week! I've felt as though I was on a mental seesaw. Up and then down, down and then up, but never really feeling out of balance. I've actually been having some genuine fun.

For a moment I was caught up in a flurry of kudos that left me feeling sort of heady. I felt invincible, as though there wasn't anything I could not accomplish if only I thought I could. That has been my state of mind for the most part of my life, really, but I'd started to waffle somewhat as wisdom kicked in and a few "things" decided to try to take me to the mat. Feeling that all empowering sense once more has been great, it has fueled me, yet it has not made a fool of me. I am reminded that there is nothing I cannot accomplish that is worthy of my time and effort. The time and the effort parts of that statement are what is key. That's when wisdom can now be very swift with its foot if those elements are lacking.

Then, yesterday, I had a nice surprise. A fellow author and friend's second novel has just been released. I have been anxiously awaiting it because a hand-full of us communicate on a fairly regular basis.

First Fridays - Cherlyn Michaels - Hyperion Books

I remember so well the utter euphoric fits we all had when she landed her original deal, (Counting Raindrops Through A Stained Glass Window - Hyperion) and it was hard to believe that she was already releasing the second book of that deal. Plus,the impending release of her second book was being heralded with great critical anticipation. Well, I got my copy of "First Fridays" by Cherlyn Michaels (Hyperion) last evening and thumbing through it I started to read the acknowledgements and saw my name included there. That particular acknowledgement bought quick, hot tears to my eyes. It really meant a lot! And, even though I hadn't planned to do so immediately, I started reading her book. I read the first chapter and I will not lie! It was all I could do to put the book down! It jump starts with a major bang!

Now I have to refocus my attention on "moving my own cheese," as another dear friend frequently says. I have much undone that I cannot ignore. Time to ease off the seesaw and leave the playground. It's time to go take care of my chores!

Speaking of Spirit!

I have the profound pleasure to be working with a publication that has already begun to sweep the globe off its feet. My involvement is freelance, but there is such an aura about this entire endeavor that the experience is continually humbling. It brings to you the best of the best of our essence as women -- women of the world.

What intrigued me first was the title of the magazine: Spirit: A Magazine Designed for the Diverse Woman. My first reaction was, humm, that's a mouth full, but once I had an opportunity to work my way through the product itself, to interact with the people behind the scenes who are making the wheels turn, I realized that not only was the title appropriate, it resonated truth in a way rarely seen in media today. Diversity isn't a 'buzz' word here, diversity is the empowerment of our differences, the power of our gender, and the reach and pull of our strength when we approach life and this world we co-exist in with common purpose and commitment.

That's why, although this is a very young magazine, it is already circulating to over 1,000,000 and growing in leaps and bounds! They have already focused features on China, Poland, Lebanon, Italy, Greece, Mexico and the U.S., and cover those issues that bind us like music, care giving, gifted children, teaching , our teens, our health and that of our families, our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations. Volume 3, Issue 8 is now available and movement towards the next quarterly issue is in progress. Visually, it has the look and feel of a Coffee Table book rather than a quarterly magazine, and, to be honest it's not the kind of book you'd probably ever throw away. It is beautiful!

Okay, enough of my gushing! I just wanted to mention it since I am now moderately involved in selling it, but you can check it out for yourself by clicking here! And if you really want to know more, contact me directly at peggy@spirit-mag.com or plovewriter@gmail.com.

Birthday Gift

Photo: Eddie and Luguine Nash

I received a very unexpected and delightful surprise on my birthday, but it appears that the timing was just a coincidence. In 1999 I posted a couple of inquiries on a genealogy board seeking information on some of my ancestors. I knew some things about them, but, for too many reasons to try to enumerate, there was much, much more that I didn't. One of those inquiries dealt with my great grandparents, Eddie and Luguine Nash, and questions about their parents and, well, their parents parents and so on. Dead air was all I got.

Then, about 2:00 AM this morning I was on line and I heard a little bleep notifying me an Email was coming through. I casually looked at it and it informed me that there was a response to my inquiry regarding my great grandparents. I had no idea what they were talking about because it had been so long since I started the search I had completely forgotten I was searching. That's when I pulled up the response and saw it was to a question posed nearly eight years before and it was an absolute goldmine of information! All day long I have been communicating with the respondent and it seems like I can now trace my roots almost all the way back to King Tut (well, perhaps I embellish a little).

But now I know that somewhere along the line I'm a VanLandingham, a Fox, a Doolin, a Jamison, a Kern, a Meredith, an Ashford and the list goes on and on. I have names and dates that coincide with oral histories and family tales and they dovetail almost perfectly. How liberating to know for sure from whence I come and to whom I belong! What a way to start the new year, both the new calendar year and this new personal year of living. What a gift!

Twilight in Red

My current manuscript has been waking me after just a few hours sleep so that it can take me through a few more paces. I'm not being driven by character's talking a mile a minute. The characters are pretty tame at the moment. It is more the architect building and structuring the story that won't allow me to sleep. The internal sounds of hammering and nailing this piece here, and that piece there demand that I get up so I can at least get a feel of what we're building. Last night it was a time line. A time line that I discovered this morning was an absolute jewel of a tool (I'm not trying to rhyme) which solved an issue of three days within the storyline that just weren't flowing properly!

I vaguely remember mapping out the time frame, drawing lines on a piece of graph paper under days of the week and filling in events and circumstances, but I don't remember switching to the red pen that I made the additional notes with which brought everything into a harmonious flow! I remember nodding, and catching myself a couple of times just a moment before falling asleep with a bang on my desk. I'm sure it was between those twilight moments I picked up that red pen and some uninhibited sense within took pity on me and tapped into some subliminal space that retrieved that information which thereafter gave me what I needed to give myself permission to finally end that marathon session!

Whatever the process, I'm thrilled with my time line. It works and it is most definitely worth a few hours of lost beauty rest.