Faith of the Heart

Hi all:  

It's been a hot minute since I posted here.  I am still writing.  It's been about a week since I turned in the last work for Poodle Doodle Press. I worked on some little books with them. Fun experience. I am speaking at the All Y'all Texas Regional Conference  on May 4 and 5. I am going to share Tips and Tricks from a 30-year children's content creator journey, and I will lead a 3-hour intensive about Picture Books: From Dream to Reality (This is going to be work, y'all!). Then I will breathe for three weeks and TEENSPublish begins. This is a publishing program for teens(duh), and this is year 10 of the best thing in my writer's life. I cannot express how much joy these young writers have brought to me. 

The world continues to be different from what I imagine it to be, and I have no idea how to fix the problems. I try to be curious and listen, which seems to help.  

When it comes to writing, I have come to think of myself as having a Townes Van Zandt vibe in children's books (off-the-beaten-path, mucked-up mental health issues, overlooked genius) or like a blackbird singing in the dead of night. Who knows? I love to read and create. The moment when I know I shared what I meant to--it's the best. Add to that my love to mentor others. People are part of me. I love to see folks learn and find success--that inward knowing that they have found a little more of their voice. Joy! Selah. 

I ache in my bones to connect with readers. It's like having a limp you can't fix. It's part of you. I'm not sure that my journey has amounted to a hill of beans, but I'm not sure the whole of the human race has amounted to a hill of beans either.  You get the perspective that you are on a tiny blue dot in a massive universe, and it lowers the high places and raises up the low pretty quick. I limp forward and ache in my bones. Maybe something I say will light up someone's heart, open their eyes, and give them perspective. Faith of the heart keeps me steady.

I've been thinking about poetry. It runs through us all. Here is a little blessing for you. 

May words fall gently from your dreams like spring rain. May words rush out of your heart like rain from a thunderstorm. May words rage from your soul like a tornado reshaping the world.  May you not stop until the stars refuse to shine. May your words echo for a thousand generations. 

Doodle for your heart. A little wren. 

Tune for your soul!

Faith of the Heart by Rod Stewart 

BLOOM: Plumb Crazy is Up!

Hi folks, My novel Plumb Crazy has been released under my pen name Cece Barlow! Here are the links. Here is the Amazon link for paperback.  Here is the link of the ebook.

This is a day of blooming, but blooming does always work out the way you think it will.  Did you ever listen to Paul Harvey. He had these little radio segments called 'The Rest of the Story." He'd share little vignettes about real folks with an unusual twist in their lives. This story is one like that. 

I will tell you sometimes it may feel like it is not working out for your creative soul. Whenever I think this, I remind myself of an alcoholic and bi-polar sufferer. This guy wrote and sang songs. He had a small and devoted fanbase but success did not just jump his way. He didn't have a successful album or single and he had a tough time keeping his records in print. (A feeling I am sort of aware of.) His main stages were dive bars, backwoods cabins, or friends' couches. One of songs was performed by some friends and did pretty well. 

So here is the rest of the story, The song that did pretty well was called "Pancho and Lefty" and was a number one hit for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. Townes Van Zandt's music has been performed by a galaxy of country music stars. The journey of art is worth it. Success can be strange. And finally, every little thing is going to shine.

Here is a link to Townes Van Zandt singing "To Live is To Fly."  I think you will treasure this song as much as I do. I hope that you Bloom anyway!  Just do your art. Don't worry about the rest. I will be back next week with more on the series Bloom.  

The doodle this week is fanart -- Exploding TARDIS. 

Here is a quote for your pocket

Well to live is to fly, all low and high
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes
Shake the dust off of your wings
And the tears out of your eyes

-- Townes Van Zandt