Riding the compass

Inevitably, we will follow the threads of spider woman in all directions.  We will head in all the directions because we look for what is necessary to survive.  Midway between true north or deep south you will notice that there are many other roads on the way to the other directions.
Of course finding a different degree of change to bump up the journey and spice the trip could go on forever.  All that we experience is a part of the weave.  And we will weave from the belly of our experience and from the neural network in our brains.  Perhaps creating the longest scarf in the universe to trail behind us as we go on our way into our uncertain direction.

This is the way through, after all.  It’s not a break into the air or a door opening, it’s a change in our understanding, a commitment to a direction.
Conversations with Nic - a mytho-poetic journey through the lands of withdrawal.  http://amzn.to/14jUNUs
The wild blue - a prose poem about the movement from grief to resilience that is about personal loss but also how we are connected to our world and how our lives are folded back into the world again after we lose people or places that we love.  http://amzn.to/13RKQ2i

the journey continues - one way or the other. stay tuned

Conversations with Nic - a mytho-poetic journey through the lands of withdrawal.  Available through Kindle. http://amzn.to/14jUNUs

 The wild blue - a prose poem about the movement from grief to resilience that is about personal loss but also how we are connected to our world and how our lives are folded back into the world again after we lose people or places that we love.   Available through Kindle. http://amzn.to/13RKQ2i

This must be the place

Synch holes, as I call them, are one of the features you’ll come across in a journey.  Though I ran across many myself they’re difficult to point out to others.  But you can know the conditions where they might appear.  A synch hole can also be your introduction into the land of mythos. They are like the firemen’s pole that cartoon characters slide on.  As they’re responding to the fire alarms they jump from their beds, grab the pole and slide through the world of waiting, into their fire suits, down to the fire engine.  And they’re off into the world of experience.  That’s pretty much the story with synch holes.  You fall into them and travel through the world of coincidence at break neck speed.  Synchronicities are events that occur concurrently in time filtered through your experience.  One event will lead to another and they’ll mirror each other and relate in profound ways.  Often, they represent a blending of dimensions.  

            What are some of these synchronicities?  Some, you might say, are one coincidence too many.  I like to think of them as synch holes because it’s similar to a fishing hole that you can return to time and again with a sense of certainty that you’ll catch something.

            I had a bear synch that blended dimensions for me.  Bears came as gifts, as answers to my prayers, as sayings, as visitors to my lean to on a camping trip.  The saying ‘sometimes you eat the ear and sometimes the bear eats you’ transformed through my bear synch into sometimes you become the bear.  I received a bear carving from a friend, a stuffed bear, the bear visitors at the campsite, all without speaking of this bear synch to anyone.  I know that we can inadvertently create our own synchs.  Often by seeking others with similar experiences and desires.            But this means that we’re touching the deep currents of thought and motion in our lives.  You’re bound to do this when your false oars, nicotine and sugar were mine, drop off into the seas leaving you with your own resources to row home.  When you have no place to turn to on the outside you often go inside.  As others have done before.  And this is where you can sometimes see the writings on the wall.  Noticing synchronicities helped me on my way.

Check out the Kindle version of Conversations with Nic at

http://amzn.to/14jUNUs

Also, the wild blues available only on Kindle at http://amzn.to/13RKQ2i

Self-Publish with Merrymorphosis - and change your life

Self-Publish Your Book!

A writer’s workshop with Merry Brennan

From Manuscript through Marketing:

a six-session series

Tuesdays from 7-9 pm, beginning Tuesday, Aug. 13

@ Belmar Arts Council (

608 River Road, Belmar, NJ . www.BelmarArts.org )

$25/session or all six for $125 with BAC membership

Whether your story is destined for the best-seller list or your family reunion,

it’s never been easier to publish your own electronic or print book.

This six-session workshop will give you an overview of your options,

as well as specific steps, resources and costs for preparing, publishing, and

promoting your book. Choose one or more of the following sessions.

1. 1. Make Your Manuscript Shine – Aug. 13

Feel the sizzle? It’s the pop in your prose, the drama

in your dialogue, the sting in your surprise ending.

Learn sure-fire techniques to take your writing to the

next level. For beginners and seasoned scribes

alike, find out how to improve the pull of your

opening lines, the impact of your endings, and wow

with the words in between.

2. The Scoop on Self-Publishing – Aug. 20

The popularity and convenience of self-publishing

has also borne confusion and competition. This

workshop provides a broad look at the growing

number of indie and DIY options, as well as general

information about how to prepare, publish, and

market your book. (These topics are covered indepth

in related workshops.)

3. Create a Kick-Ass Cover – Aug. 27

You know what they say about a picture’s worth, so

you want to create or commission a great design to

get reader’s attention. But a cover is more than just

a graphic image: you also need to craft an intriguing

blurb for the back and include other required details,

including ISBN numbers. This session will offer

ideas, information, and resources for an inviting

book cover that works for you and your readers.

4. Format Your Manuscript – Sept. 3

Even the best stories are left unread if margins are

screwy, lines have gaps, or it just looks

unprofessional. Learn the importance of proper

formatting in e-books and print books, including title

pages, chapter heads, and page numbering. For

print books we’ll also look at choices you have with

the size of your book (known as “trim”), typefaces,

paper, photos/graphics and more.

5. You’re Ready to Self-Publish – Sept. 10

Your manuscript is polished, your cover is amazing,

you have your ISBN number and you’re ready to

publish your book. Now what? This session will

cover step-by-step instructions for e-books and print

books using popular vendors like CreateSpace and

KDP Publishing (Amazon) as examples. We’ll also

talk about strategies for pricing your book.

6. Promoting Your New Book – Sept. 17

After the thrill ebbs from seeing your baby on

Amazon and sending copies to friends and family,

you’ll want to expand your market. Learn basic PR

and marketing tips you can use before and after

publishing to increase sales. We’ll cover the pros,

cons, and how-to’s of media kits, author talks, niche

marketing, book signings, social media and more.

Merry Brennan is an award-winning journalist, communications consultant, adjunct writing

professor and author of the self-published biographical novel,

Peace Pilgrim: walking her talk

against hate

. She’s finishing a teen/’tween realistic fiction, Mystery Scars. The Jersey Shore

resident is mom to three terrific children and an old lab, Scout, who breaks into the refrigerator

when no one’s looking. Connect with her at

www.merrymorphosis.com, where she blogs about

writing, and living in peace. Or email

merrymom@mac.com.

FOR WORKSHOP INFORMATION or REGISTRATION: visit www.BelmarArts.org (732-749-3360)

Nic and the wild blue - journeys we all take

Conversations with Nic                                        A journey through the lands of withdrawal   by freda karpf        http://amzn.to/14jUNUs

 

 

The great privilege would be to share the journey with others. It is my profoundest wish that Conversations with Nic will have something for you, something that echoes your heart song or confirms your suspicions – that yes, you’re on the right trail because another synch hole just opened up for you and your heart’s desire is being confirmed by the wildest and wooliest coincidences that could only come from an interconnected world; a world where spirit matters and matter is spirited.

 

If you’ve ever quit anything or had something quit on you, then you’ll recognize Nic’s journey from the land of withdrawal to another shore, full of hope. “Dealing with Nic is like converting your humanity into a piece of taffy and stretching the “I” to its limit. Remember that whatever is absurd or tidal will pull on you...” on your journey toward home.

 

The wild blue                                    by freda karpf     http://amzn.to/15QB7rO

 

 

The difficult terrain that is grief and the road back that is resilience - this is what the wild blues is about.  Healing from the loss of a loved one’s dying, or from the loss of your home, or a job you identified with or reeling from the loss of a landscape that was changed by a storm or from being forced to relocate – the central idea behind all of these big changes one can experience is loss. … there is a common road many of us will go down before we feel like we’re back in the swing of things again. The trick I’d like to share in the wild blue is really simple, life never left us; nature has always been a part of us, all of us really, and our losses are intricately bound up with all the life on this planet.