Living the Anthro Life
The other day I was in the city and found myself in front of Anthropologie on 5th ave. Of course I had to go in. Once you get anywhere near the air of Anthro and get a whiff of the scented candles that just so happen to linger out to you, well, you’re pulled in.
And once you’re in- you’re in. The Anthro world is so lovely and seductive. There is something about those slightly diffused inky colors that make it so hard to step back into the harsh light of day. It makes me say I want to live and Anthro life. How about you?
Best,
Kwana
Doubt
“You need to learn to Doubt your Doubts.”
These were the best words that I heard over this weekend. They were spoken by my pastor in church this Sunday. The sermon topic was: “Faith that conquers fear”.Fear. My own dear friend and late night snack companion. Then the question came up: well, what do you do when you have doubts?Doubts. Those insidious little creatures that seep into your head telling you that you: can’t write it, have no talent, it won’t work out, you won’t succeed, all is lost, your looks are gone, your body is shot, you don’t have the smarts, it’s over or whatever else your nasty little creature like to whisper.We all have Doubts. But a good way to deal with doubts is to learn to doubt them.Hmm… Doubt the Doubts. Put them on the defensive (eek I hope I used that term right DH). Break the paralyzing hold they have, making them less effective and faith more powerful. Tell that little creature critic to SHUT UP. Brush it off your shoulder and move on. There is work to do. I’m feeling powerful.Sidebar: Um, friends remind me to give this speech to myself again in about 3 or 4 days when I’ll no Doubt (ha) be needing it again.On another note: I was quoted in The New York Times from my earlier post on Frank McCourt. You can read the Times article here. Thanks to all the new visitors who have stopped by. Welcome. I hope you come on back or better yet follow me. Gasp.
The best parts about being in The Times?
1. Honoring Mr. McCourt
2. It’s not that far a stretch from The Bestseller List.
3. Being called a romance writer without a bit of snark or a ripped bodice. WIN!Best,
KwanaThank You Mr. McCourt
I end this day with a heavy heart with the sad news that Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt had passed away at the age of 78. You can read about it here.
He is best known for his Bestselling hit Angela’s Ashes and then the blockbuster movie that followed. But for me it is hard to think of him as Frank McCourt. You see he’ll always be Mr. McCourt to me. The Irish Lit and creative writing teacher from when I was in Stuyvesant High School. The 50 minutes of excitement and brightness to an otherwise dull day.
His class was the class where my imagination would soar and my creativity would thrive. It was where I started to really love the written word and started to crave the writer’s life. Only Mr. McCourt could make suffering desirable. Hell, you were going to suffer in this life anyway you might as well do it doing something you love.I remember clearly the day I was coming down the steps in the old building, looking down and mopey, as I was often doing during that time, and he was coming up and asked what my problem was. I said I was broke (who wasn’t?). He told me to follow him to the schools job board. I did. He looked over the board pick pointed to a job and told me to call. He said, “You’re a smart girl you can do that job.”
Well I did. And I kept that job clear through college. And also met my DH on that job. All thanks to Mr. McCourt.
Years later my DH and I were taking the twins to the Museum of Natural History. The twins must have been about 4 or 5 years old. It just so happens Mr. McCourt was doing a reading and had a huge crowd, but I wanted to go and say hello. I had just left fashion design and had written my first hot mess of a book.
The crowd finally parted and I went up to him. I asked if he remembered me. He did. I told him the story of the job board and the kids. I joked and said that he was responsible for my Dear Twins. To that he responded, “No Way!” with his infectious laugh.
Then I told him that I was now writing and his eyes lit up. He asked what I had written and I told him quickly about my hot mess of a first romance. And this sweet man always looking out for his students gave me the name of his super high powered agent (no he didn’t frown at romance. Ha!). And told me to query her and say that he sent me.
Also to keep writing.
Well I will keep writing Mr. McCourt. Until…
Thank you.
KwanaP.S. you can read my past post where I wrote about Mr. McCourt here
A New POV
So I have a new lover. And shock of all shock, this one isn’t a handbag, but it will fit very nicely inside just about any that I have thankyouverymuch.
It’s the Sony 505. Squeal!!!
I can’t tell you have excited I am over this. I just get all tingly thinking about it. Book upon book upon book all in one slim sexy little device. Just holding it feels positively decadent.Cut to me with the DH sleeping on one side and my 505 on the other. Bliss.So far I have 15 books on my reader. I mean just imagine if I were lugging those 15 books around with me. Not very cute. And the lovely thing about the Sony is I am able to put my own documents on it too so I can read my current work on the go and look it it from a new POV (Point of View).
Could it be that this library lover is a digital girl? I think so.Anything worth you looking at this week from a new POV?Best,KwanaGrateful
What’s Jack up to? Jack is being his usual self. He was out back doing fine hanging with the family until a couple of guys walked down the block that he didn’t know then he was off like a shot sending the DH after him with promises of the moon if he’d just come back. How do you solve a problem like Jack? Well… how?I stole the title of this post from Deidre over at Jumping Tandem after seeing her eerily similar post. This morning the DD came running down. “Mom did you see the tree in the backyard. I was so scared it was going to crash through my window!”What?! How did I sleep through that one?I jumped up and yep, there was a huge tree limb that fell just missing the house. It was from about 50 feet up so I’m sure it would have caused significant damage. It was also about 16 feet long.I’m feeling very grateful today and thanking God for keeping us safe while I was snoring the night away. Oh, scratch that last part. There’s no way I was snoring (Ignore any rogue comments from the DH). LOL.
Best,KwanaThe Magic Box
Inspiration. Who knows where it comes from. For me it comes from everywhere and at the worst and most important times nowhere at all. Sigh.
I was checking out TED which I love. Trolling for inspiration and a little motivation when I came across this wonderful talk from Lost creator J.J. Abrams.
It’s so good especially for this quote: “That blank page is a magic box.” What a fresh way to look at it. With magic. It’s a way to open your work up to endless possibilities. Taking away the restrictions of the critic sitting on your shoulder or the evil little troll in your head saying, “oh no you can’t do it that way or go in that direction.”
Then he gets into the magic of the mystery box. The lure of anticipation, the unknown and the excitement of it. Watch and enjoy.
What’s your mystery box? Mine is a Dell and my Nikon and of course my crazy Gemini mind.
Best,
KwanaHeart of Glass
Growing up I had a small lavender room that was really the dining alcove converted into my bedroom. It was tiny, but I was thrilled to have it and be on my own and out of the room away from my little brothers. I had a fabulous view of the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson River that I now know I didn’t appreciate enough.On the wall facing me was life sized poster of Prince (Le sigh) and on the wall behind me was another life sized poster of Debbie Harry.I also had a cassette player and radio and a pair of headphones that was my lifeline next to my cool circular phone. Music is during these formative years I think just about as important as the books we read. It somehow creeps into our soul and makes us a bit of who we’ll later become. What ideas and ideals we’ll have about life, love, romance, sex is echoed in the music we love. And now that I write that I have to say it does matter what our kids listen too or at least how they process it.
All art that’s put out for human consumption whether through the eyes, ears or mouth matters when it touches the soul. Once it does that it makes a change.
I wonder now how much the playing and replaying of Parallel Lines had on my later relationships.How much the playing of what my kids are listening to now will have on them later?And we won’t even go there with Dirty Mind. Oh Prince. Thanks so much!
Best,
KwanaLovers Game
What’s Jack up to? Little Mr. Determined is just about wearing me out with his demands for attention lately. It’s like he’s doing a great job of being a toddler dog being very pushy and vocal when it come to wanting water, food a walk or a treat. Sigh. I need a life here.
The fun of the internet had me finding, well actually it found me, this cool and I warn you addicting computer game Heart Wild Solitaire.
It’s the game with a romance story made for romance readers! Too cute. A matching card game that leads you on the story of Anne as she leaves her old life behind and sets off to rediscover her true self.You can check I out here.As you click you get further into Anne’s story. Remember my warning: addicting! LOL.
So tell me, what computer games to you play?Best,
KwanaHose Down
Today I’m wishing I could just hose down my house. It needs a serious cleaning something like this:
I just don’t have the energy and really I’d like to be spending my time just writing and not with a mop and bucket. Sigh.When will they make a wash and wear house? Come on, 2010 is right around the corner people! I bet they have something like it in Japan or maybe even Epcot. Hmm…Best,KwanaTweetup
What’s Jack up to? Just chilling on his couch perch as I type this. He’s had a cool and lazy day, then a good night and is in no mood to let it go. I understand Jack.So yesterday I attended my first tweetup hosted hosted by @smartbitches. You remember Sara Wendall from her Beyond Heaving Bosoms guest post here.
“What’s a tweetup?” I hear you asking. Well a tweetup is a sort of meet up with the call going out over Twitter.So Sara sent out the tweet: Come to the Smart Bitches Tweetup tonight @ Irish Rogue @ 530pmAnd I thought about it as I was doing afternoon errands of grocery shopping. I really wanted to head downtown to meet up with friends for a quick drink and some book gab. Really.
So after much back and forth in my mind I was on the train, headed downtown and then…Tweeting up! It was a perfect evening to sit outside and people watch in the city.
See Twitter can be fun!Photo thanks to Sara. Check out co- Bosom author Candy Tan in front lookingso cute in stripes!Best,Kwana
