Beyond the Beyond

My latest releases: Spectral Evidence and...

 

...the third book of my Navaho Code Talker series, All of Me

 

I don't see any boundaries between any of the art forms.

I think they all inter-relate completely.

~ David Bowie ~

 

BWL website

 

One of my favorite stories that my friend Juilene Osborne-McKnight tells is of a boy whose mother loves him "beyond the beyond." Ah, the musical way the phrase rolls off the tongue of this wonderful Irish-American shanachie! And what a boundary-breaking image it conjures.

It's good to have friends who help you venture "beyond the beyond..."

Creative people participate in many and appreciate all forms of creative expression. I thought of that when I was urged to sing by my grandson's piano teacher. 

Also when my fingers ache for a piece of chalk so I can make a sidewalk creation beside a treasured child.

Speaking of treasured children, has anyone seen my grandson among his troop of monkeys?

I pushed my own creative writing boundaries recently with two future book projects. After saying that my specialty in the long form of the novel, I decided to take on two (count 'em two!) collections of short stories. Me? Who never met a plot that couldn't be expanded to book length??? Well, here I go, with the blessings of my deeply missed co-writer, Jude Pittman. I hope you'll try both The Ghosts of Bell Island and Vermont Gothic, due out in 2027.

  

Another wonderful writer friend, Eileen O'Finlan, recently asked me to do a character voice for promotion of her series focused on an Irish-American immigrant family. Have you read them? Kelegeen was followed by Erin's Children and they are great, well-researched tales powered by unforgettable characters. I have not acted in a long time. But will I take the project on? Of course.

Creativity feeds creativity. What ways do you exercise your creative intelligence, friends? What takes you "beyond the beyond?"

New Year’s Resolutions, Tweets, and Confessions for 2019 By Connie Vines

Personally, I don't make many New Year's resolutions because I always end up being one of the 80 percent of people who abandon them by February. It's hard to change habits. and these Twitter tweets prove I’m not the only one.

And, if your New Year's resolution is to simply keep your head above the water in 2019, you're in good company.  I’ve shared a medley of Tweets I found on Twitter Moments.

1. Abby Russell: My New Year’s Resolution this year is to finally throw away those three empty Domino’s Pizza boxes sitting in the bottom of my fridge. This was my resolution last year, too, but 2019 feels like a year for change.

2. Monika:  My new year's resolution is to pretend i have the willpower to magically fix all my problems   **Monika I’m adopting this resolution as my own!”*

3. Introverted Life:  New Year’s Resolution: avoid getting talked to by a stranger while waiting in a line of any kind.

If you I’d to lower the bar for your New Year’s Resolutions, these sure-fire successes:

4 Pet more dogs.


5 Drink more coffee.

However, I must confession that I, too, am a repeat offender when it comes to multiple attempts at New Year Resolutions.

• To maintain the illusion of control, I purchase numerous calendars/journals (because my IPhone calendar isn’t always accurate).  To date I have in my possession: a purse size Academic Calendar for my purse, a small calendar for my car, and an elaborate calendar/journal from my husband, “She Lives Life in Her Own Little Fairy Tale” which he purchased at B&N (which I carry with me everywhere).  He also gave me a wall calendar for my office (Yes, he is an enabler), a back-up wall calendar—just in case (of what, I’m not certain).

• Obviously, I have a bit of a stationary fixation too.  I have stationary, notebooks and binders, pens and pencils that match.  No, I do not have every color available (I do have self-control, after all). Pink, Purple, and light blue (Cinderella Blue). Since I reside in SoCal, my office has many Disneyland items (photos of which I’ve share on Instagram, FB, and my website). 

• 2019 is the year I’m evoking Tweet #2 (wink).  Since I’m on Winter Break (and if you’ve studied Numerology, I’m entering a # 7 year—Creative Expression) I’ve begun to sort and organize my house—currently I’m my office.

• I’ve also managed to ‘confine’ myself at the gym for 45 minutes 3 – 4 evenings a week.  I’ve substituted green tea for 1/3 of my day coffee consumption. And, I no longer eat “Green Bean Casserole” at family gathering/ church/ school potlucks—nor do I make excuses. Oh, I also ordered a daily food tracking (purse size logs) because I can’t always use my iPhone to log into my Fitness Pal app.

Purchase Connie's eBoosk/ Books

Do you have any confessions about failed Resolutions? 

Any pending New Year’s Resolutions you’d like to share?

Warm Wishes and Happily-Ever-After in 2019,

Connie