ONLY LOVE

Pardon my post today…

I’m in medical mode.

Had some blood tests done recently…

Found out my adrenal glands are fatigued…

Awww

“Stress,” my doc said. “Chronic stress.”

Well duh! I said in my head.

I’ve had stress now for about…hmm, let’s see…my whole life!

So the doc put me on a supplement called Dim.

Love that there’s a supplement or pill for everything.

Love that there’s a test for everything too.

On the drive home…

I got to thinking about all the lab tests there are…

To determine what’s going on inside your body.

And while there are many different tests…

To diagnose the function of the heart…

There’s no test that I know…blood or otherwise…

To determine a broken heart, past or present....

Nor is there a pill, supplement, or elixir to fix it...

And even if there was…

What would it be made of?

Chocolate? Wine? Cheese?

And then I thought, hmm?

If love can break a heart…

Then maybe only love can–

Oh, no! 

I’m channeling an old Gene Pitney song.

Help!

I’ve got Chronic Sappy Old Love Song Lyrics on the brain!

I need a pill! A supplement! Or something!

I never even liked Gene Pitney!

If you’re reading this blog…

Then you’ve been on this earth long enough…

To have had your heart broken…

What have you used to fix your broken heart?

Always, Em-Musing

P.S. If you have the stomach for it...click on the link above to hear Gene Pitney

50 PENNIES FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Coincidence.

According to quantum physics…

There is no such thing…

Because what you imagine, think, and say…

Will manifest in your life.

It’s the metaphysical belief called The Law of Attraction…

And the wisdom found in, The Secret.

Well lately, passion…

Is consuming me…

(specifically passion to find an agent & be published)

So therefore it must be not so coincidently...

That the concept of how passion in your life...

Can manifest success...

Has been crossing my path…

By way of emails for books and tapes.

But positive thinking is only part of the equation…

There’s also the “doing” part.

And that’s why this Youtube video...

That came my way...

In fellow blogger,Jennifer Shirk's, post…

Resonated with me.

Let me know your thoughts on this video.

Or whether you believe in Quantum physics in your life.

And…

Who knew I’d find words of wisdom…

From 50 Cent?

Always, Em-Musing

ROOTING FOR PASSION

Thirteen writers…

Two bathrooms…

One shower.

Three days…

Thank God everyone was respectful…

And thank God I had my own bedroom…

Not that I would have minded sharing…

But as luck would have it…

I ended up with a room of my own.

And then, amidst food, coffee, candy and booze…

We writers worked, brainstorming…

For someone’s scene, story, or character…

That needed to be fleshed out…

Till the buzzer went off...

Then it was giggles, guffaws, and laugh-till-you-pee time…

Then back to work...

All weekend long.

Several times, I stole away to my bedroom…

Set up my laptop…

And in the solitude of the stark room—I wrote…

Differently…

Two thousand words and more.

When I got back home…

Familiarity greeted me...

Routine beckoned…

And something in the air was different...

And not, thank God, a fuming litter box.

It was a creative atmosphere that had dissipated…

Like morning’s fog over the la–

Huh! The lake! Was that it? Is that why I wrote differently?

Was it the water, the boats, or the swans?

Or the stark solitude of that bedroom that was the difference?

No, it was passion!

The passion of other writers!..

Like the difference between watching football on TV…

Or being at a game with a crowd of cheering fans.

So?

Ever get stimulated by the excitement…

Of other writers’ passion?

Always, Em-Musing

MY DEAR, I'M OVER THERE

Today's post can be seen over at:
 http://www.mvrwa.net/
MVRWA is the writer group I belong to.
We had our annual writer retreat this past weekend...
In a cottage, on a lake, in mid-Michigan.
With thirteen creative brains...
And enough food and booze and to satisfy all...
It was one amazing productive time.
So stop on over, and see what inspiration struck me.
Always, Em-Musing

STORMING THE BRAIN

In a cabin…

On a lake…

Somewhere in mid Michigan…

The women sat in a circle…

Cackling, drinking, and conniving ...

The fate of one poor unsuspecting man.

“Maybe he could lose all his money.”

“Or give him a limp somehow.”

"Make him go blind.”

“I know…give him a hump!”

“A hump? Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“OMG! Could you ever make love to a man with a hump?”

“Never on top!”

“Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“Or you could just give him a dog.”

The women looked at each other contemplating…

“Yeah that would work.”

Who, you might ask, are these devious women?

Witches? Bitches?

Not even close.

They're writers! Members of my writer group, MVRWA…

Brainstorming rooting interests for a hero in a story…

At our Writer Retreat last year.

And WOOOO HOOOO!

This weekend we do it all again!

Who knows how many stories we’ll flesh out?

How many new ways to kill we’ll conjure?

How many plots we’ll thicken?

Or?

How many cups of coffee, bowls of chile, glasses of wine...

And how many

We’ll consume!

So that’s my weekend…

Writing, brainstorming…

Eating, drinking and laughing…

Till my stomach hurts.

Have a great weekend!

And oh?

Ever go to a writer retreat?

Or do you have a writer group…

That gets together to brainstorm?

Or…

What kind of company do you keep with other writers?

And do you like cherry Twizzlers?

Always, Em-Musing

A NEW SKEW

First this morning...
I'd like to thank...
My followers for following me...
And of those ...
Those who have recommended my blog.
Seems I've been oblivious...
With the social networking going on, on twitter...
On my behalf.
Second, I'd like to thank...
The agent that rejected me yesterday...
Because you know what?
It was a nice rejection!
"You seem to be a very capable writer with a strong voice,
but I don't often handle novels like this so really worry I'm
not the right choice for you,"
Capable writer? Strong voice?
Oh yeah! I'll take that rejection as a positive!
And so, as I send out more query letters...
I'll feel ever so much more confident...
That my manuscript will eventually...
Match up with the right agent.
And third, and last...
My perspective on rejection...
Although this process if querying feels brutal...
It's nothing compared to the rejections from auditions...
That I used to subject myself to weekly...
When I was a full-time on-camera talent...
And I stood in front of directors and producers...
Reciting lines and acting my little heart out...
Vying with dozens of other talents for the same gig.
At least with querying...
I can sit in my comfy chair, in my comfy clothes...
Sans make-up and done-up hair.
So? 
Ever have a job that was worse than getting rejections?


Always, Em-Musing

KIT-EEEE!

Hmm?

Seems most writers I know…

Have a cat…or two...or more.

While I was bending over this morning…

Cleaning my own cat’s litter…

With my head just inches from the fumes and dust…

I wondered…

Is there a syndrome, disease or some malady…

Associated with breathing in kitty litter dust?

I don’t mean to make light of other lung diseases…

Surely, that would be insensitive of me…

But figure how many times in just one week…

Writer-cat owners have to be subjected…

To litter dust and fumes wafting up?

I mean, one can only hold a nose so long.

And figuring that cats can live upwards of fifteen years.

That’s a whole lotta fumes and litter dust we’re breathing in.

So?

Just wondering if any of you other writer-cat owners…

Are like me and have already contracted…

Me-so-litter-a-phobia?

Always, Em-Musing

HOW DEEP IS YOUR PASSION?

So yesterday I gave away who the author was…

Of the book that I loved—Lit…

But whose protagonist I hated.

Ooops!

This is a memoir…

Written by Mary Karr…

About Mary Karr.

Ooops!.

That’s not very nice of me, is it?

But trust me…by the end of the book…

I am in love with not just by Ms. Karr’s craft…

But with Ms. Karr…

Her courage, her tenacity, her Christianity, and…

Her passion.

She did drugs and booze with a passion…

She went down into depression with a passion…

Then came up from depression and found God with a passion…

Sometimes praying on her knees for hours!

And it’s her passion that sings and rings loudest in her book.

And that got me analyzing…

My passion.

While I’m a whiner for sure…

Is my passion stronger than my whining?

Is my desire for publication bigger than my doubts?

And is praying on your knees proof of passion?

I don’t know…

Because surely I have never prayed on my knees for hours.

What I do know is, I’m hooked on Mary Karr…

And I will go back an start reading her first memoir—The Liar’s Club…

Then on to her second—Cherry…

And I may re-read—Lit because...

God! She's a great writer!

What about you?

How deep is your passion for writing?

And have you read any of Mary Karr’s memoirs?

STUCK IN BOO HOO

I’m just resurfacing out of  one of my rare boo hooey times.

It happened yesterday…

When I was writing, sending more queries…

And researching the author of the book I just finished.

After a few hours though, I felt down about not being published…

Usually I can think (or dance) my way back up…

But not yesterday. It was like…

What’s it all about, Alfie? Is it just for this moment I live?

Because in reality, I’ve had many successes in my life.

So why was I stuck feeling like a failure as a writer?

And actually, I am successful a writer—a copywriter…

For print, radio, TV, video, and film…

Just not for my novels.

So I don’t know why I got stuck wallowing in that.

Anyway, these emotions sparked a dream last night…

About Mary Karr…

I just finished Lit, by her…

And if you remember, a few posts ago I mentioned…

That I LOVED her writing, just not the protagonist.

So in the dream, I’m sitting next to her at some benefit…

And I tell her what I think, (as if she’d care)…

But she did. And then she encourages me.

And I think, wow, Mary Karr will endorse my book (dream on ducky)

I then go to the bathroom…

Where I encounter a clogged yucky toilet.

And why? Will someone please tell me…

What disgusting overflowing toilets mean in a dream?

But there I was, hi-stepping out of it.

I go back and continue talking with her.

And then I see loose head hair all over me…

And three long white hairs under my chin.

Whatever that means, I have no idea either.

But that was it…

I woke up feeling encouraged about my writing…

Though somewhat leery about flushing my toilet.

How about you?

Can you find success in just writing?

Or is being published the only way you'll feel successful?

And, have you ever dreamed of nasty dirty, overflowing toilets?

Always, Em-Musing

UNDER COVER CHICK

This morning, 4:30…

Between the sheets…

And under the cover of my down comforter…

Something delightful happened…(don’t go there)

I thought!

Not that thinking is all that unusual…

But it was delightful and unusual that…

I thought—while still in bed!

You see I had left the window open last night…

The temps had dropped to 37 degrees…

And when I woke up…

My bedroom was faREEZING!

I didn't have the guts to slip even a naked toe out of the covers…

Let alone my whole body.

So I laid there, as I do each morning…

Stretching, and deep breathing to start the day off well…

But instead of bounding out bed and into my office…

I laid  there like a chicken mustering the courage to get up.

And that’s when the thinking started…

In the dark of the bedroom…

Under a mountain of goose feathers…

I thought, and thought, and thought….

About my blog post, my W.I.P., would I twitter today…

And it was delicious!

Because usually in bed…

My brain only drums up dreams and then—oh no!

***INCOMING***

Like a mortar attack out of nowhere I got hit with a…

HOT FLASH!

And this writer pounded out from under the covers…

Before I turned into a fricasseed chicken!

Wiping the sweat off, as I made my coffee, I thought hmm?

This ‘undercover’ thinking is intriguing…

Think I’ll try it again tonight and see what thoughts will hatch.

But? How low will the temps go before this chick chickens out?

So?

Have you ever discovered a delightful new place to think and dream?

Or where do you do your best dreaming?

Always, Em-Musing

OVER THERE

Buenos dias...
First, this morning...
I'd like to say, "Hey"...
To my new followers and "thanks".
Second...
My post today is a bit, well...lame...
As I'm using this quiet time in the A.M....
To go over to my TweetDeck...
And get more familiar with it all.
I'm also going to add a few more Search: columns...
That my writer buddies recommended.
So?
If you have any great 'Search' columns...
Would you share?
But over here, not there...
And when do y'all tweet?
Certain times?
Or do you keep your TweetDeck on all the time?
Oh, and by the way...
My user name is @LeighCaron...


Always, Em-Musing

TWEETIE BLURB

I tawt

I taw…

A tweetie bird.

Yup!

Me!

I tweeted!

OK, yes…I always tweet my blog link…

But that’s not the same as real tweeting…

Where you say something spontaneous...

Amidst hundreds of tweeters tweeting.

So, yesterday…

As I sat cleaning my phone key pad…

Of gooey crud with an X-acto knife…

I realized…

I’m not cleaning…

I’m procrastinating!

And instantly a tweet popped into my head.

And then another, and another, and another.

Now, I’m not saying they were good or clever…

I’m just saying…

I did it.

For months I felt like the kid on the diving board…

Too afraid to jump off…

Or standing by kids with a jump rope…

Not knowing when to jump in.

Well, I jumped, I dove—I tweeted!

And then it dawned on me…

Is tweeting just another form of…

Procrastination?

So?

Are you tweeting?

Has your time paid off?

How?

Always, Em-Musing

GRANDMAHHH! SPA!

Just a short  post today...
I'm working on a script for a video...
But I wanted to share...
What my darling grandkids did for me...
This past weekend.
It's a "Grandma Spa"....
Complete with foot soak & massage...
Head massage...
Shoulder and neck massage...
Hair brushed...
Nails filed...
And blindfold...
To relax me they said.
And I was...
For an hour!
Of course when they asked...
If they could watch a movie...
I said yes...
Even though my daughter had said, 
No TV! They're on a punishment!
But what kind of mean grandma...
Could deny these darlings anything...
After a spa treatment like this?
And so we watched RIO...
With popcorn and pretzels...
And orange slices they prepared for me.
Ahhhhhh!
Does it get any better than this?


Always, Em-Musing
              P.S. Grandma got scolded when my daughter got home, but it was worth it.

REAL BOOGEYMEN

As it turned out…

The scariest story I told my grandkids…

Over the weekend was…

The truth.

Yesterday, while making breakfast…

I had the TV on.

The three of them came down giggling and innocently asked…

“What that on TV, grandma?”

I stopped what I was doing and went into the family room.

For the next hour, we sat and watched the horror of 9/11.

The shock on their faces was real…

As I explained as best I could…

Evil.

“Why did the terrorists want to kill all those people?”

“Why do they hate us?”

“Do they still want to kill us?”

Up until now…

They only evil they’ve seen has been in movies.

They weren’t even on this planet when 9/11 happened.

I could see they were affected by what they saw…

Especially when the towers went down.

They had of course heard about 9/11…

But seeing it was different.

Thankfully, their appetites took over…

And we ate breakfast and talked about other things.

I wish I could make it so they’d never have to experience evil…

But in this day and time…

Evil seems to be everywhere.

I guess that's why I love to read…

It's the best way I've figured out...

To escape.

Even if it’s just for a little while.

So?

How do you escape the scary realities of life?

Always, Em-Musing

ONCE UPON A WEEKEND

Once upon a weekend…

An old woman  was held hostage…

By three unrelenting creatures…

Who wouldn’t let her eat, sleep or think…

Until she conjured up…

Ten new stories!..

“C’mon grandma! You promised!”

And damn it! I had! Last weekend…

When I had taken them to Red Robin.

(Red Robin is a noisy burger joint for kids)

What was I thinking?

Obviously I wasn’t.

My mind must have been altered...

By all the off-key singing waiters...

Clapping wildly for some kid’s birthday.

And so here it is–this weekend…

When I’ll be babysitting my three grandkids.

I’ve not yet packed my bags…

But I’m already practicing my storytelling craft…

Because as sure as my cat…

Is going to hurl a fur ball when I’m gone…

These three pushy little beings...

Are going to pin me down and wail…

“C’mon grandma…tell us a story!”

What, you say? That’s not so hard…

Because I’m a writer and I write everyday…

My blog being proof?

Trust me, my blog is a no brainer…

Compared to the pressure I’ll be under.

These kids aren’t ordinary kids…

They’re critics! They remember every detail, every name…

Of characters I’ve made up for the last 5 years…

Who can remember names I created on the fly?

Like Princess Slewinda, or Pharaoh Toocoolmahnen?

Ha! They do!

Every stinking little detail! I’ll be racking my brains!

So to relax a bit, I’ll do something calming before I leave…

Like sending off a few more queries.

Well, I hope at least you have a calm weekend.

So?

Have you ever been under pressure to tell a story?

Always Em-Musing

RANDOM ACTS OF BOLDNESS

Is the universe trying to tell me something?

Or is my computer sending me cryptic messages?

Because I can’t come up with any other reason…

Why random  Bold Type Face…

Keeps unexplainably turning up in my documents.

Like in my blog posts…

I start the post in a Word document…

I then cut and paste it into Blogger…

Only to have all the type turn Bold…

And then I have to go in and “un”bold it all.

This boldness has also happens... 

With other copy I’ve cut and pasted...

But not all the copy, just some of the type turns itself bold…

And again I have to "un"bold them.

And I don't know why...

But selecting  an entire paragraph to "un" bold doesn't work...

I have to go line by line and "un" bold. Arrgghh!

And then just yesterday…

I was sending out some e-queries…

Some agent's guidelines asked for pages of the manuscript...

So I of course cut and pasted them into an email…

But Arrgghh!

Random Bold face letters and words...

Popped up everywhere!

Thank heavens I didn’t get all excited and hit send…

Before proofing because I would have looked like an idiot!

(Which I can be at times but that has nothing to do with writing)

So? What can I derive…

From these random acts of boldness?

Is the universe or my computer telling me I need to be bold...

And don't wimp out with the queries?.

Or what do you think?

And...

Does the universe ever give you signs?

Always, Em-Musing

A SLICE OF PERSPECTIVE

“Don’t you hate the waiting?” a woman asked me.

“Yes, and worrying,” I said. “Waiting and worrying”…

“And wondering ‘what if’” she added.

“Yes you’re right. Waiting, worrying, and wondering ‘what if’.

“Because we both know the ‘what if’ could go many directions.”

Sitting among a half dozen other strangers…

In a flimsy gown...

Gown? I'd hardly call that thing a gown.

And having just exposed our breasts to another stranger…

We both nodded then stared off…

Into our own space and experience.

Just then the heavy metal door opened…

“Leigh?”

I looked up…

My breath halted...

I felt my blood drain…

My heart gave a thud…

And then…

The stranger smiled and gave a 'thumbs up.'

Suddenly it occurred to me, all the…

Waiting, worrying, and wondering ‘what ifs’…

About query letters and rejection…

Is a piece of cake in comparison…

To those fifteen minutes…

Waiting, worrying, and wondering ‘what if.’

Always, Em-Musing