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!