“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”
Henry David Thoreau
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Monthly Archives: May 2015
Contrition – A Novel
“The entire story of my debut novel, Contrition,
came to me fully formed in ten minutes.
I didn’t conceive it so much as hear it
playing in my head, as if it were being
dictated and all I had to do was
commit the major plot points to paper.”
Maura Weiler
I follow the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer (RMFW) blog. Two weeks ago a guest writer, Maura Weiler posted an article, Your Non-Agent Might Know Best. Or Does She? If you commented on the article, you were eligible for a signed copy of Weiler’s debut novel, Contrition. Well guess who won? Yep, me.
Contrition tells the story of twin sisters separated at birth who reconnect through art, faith, and a father who touched the world through his paintings.
I received my signed copy of Contrition last Friday and because I couldn’t put the book down, I finished reading the book in just two days.
I enjoyed Weiler’s writing style along with the storyline. Her descriptions of the paintings in the novel inspire me to visit local museums and art galleries.
I’m sure Contrition will be a big success for Maura Weiler.
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One Step
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Lao Tzu
Overlooking Monument Valley, Utah
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Horses Matter
“I call horses ‘divine mirrors’,
they reflect back the emotions you put in.
If you put in love and respect and
kindness and curiosity,
the horse will return that.”
Allan Hamilton
Victor Espinoza rides American Pharoah to win the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
Every year on the first Saturday of May, you can find me watching the Kentucky Derby. In more than a half a century I have missed only a handful of Derby races.
Sometimes I pick a winner. Sometimes I pick a loser. But, no matter what horse wins or loses it’s a great day, as long as no horse or rider was injured.
The Kentucky Derby’s first run for the roses was in 1875. Just three years before that first famous race, two men set out to prove whether all four feet of a horse were off the ground at full stride. The human eye could not break down the action of the horse, so the former governor of California, Leland Stanford, a businessman and race-horse owner, hired Eadweard Muybridge to prove his belief that a horses four hooves leave the ground at a gallop.
That’s how movies were invented. Who knows, if it wasn’t for Stanford’s love of the horse and Muybridge photographs of a galloping horse, there would be no movies. I like to think that the horse is responsible for the invention of movies. In fact, the horse has played a huge roll in the evolution of man. Because in my opinion, horses matter.
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Rescuing Others
“When we love an animal as our family,
we begin to understand animals are our family.”
Anthony Douglas Willliams
It’s been almost a week since the devastating earthquake hit Nepal. Over 6,000 were killed by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and they estimate that number could double.
The most inspiring story I heard on the news today was a story about six recently trained search and rescue dogs from Southern California who are in Nepal on a mission. One of the dogs, Ripley helped in the rescue of a teenage boy trapped under debris in Kathmandu.
Most of the dogs trained for search and rescue are dogs from the pound. They’re super athletic, super agile, extremely high-drive dogs that just will not stop. They are taught to find humans by using inaccessible human scent. Their reward, isn’t a yummy treat, it’s their favorite toy.
Search and rescue dogs are the unsung heroes of the world. With love, care and training these discarded dogs go from being rescued to rescuing others.
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Chronicles of a Blogaholic 