Writer Joy on the Pickle Ball Court By Robert Ronning

 

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Along about midday I crave escaping from my desk, acutely aware that a static writing life could lead to a shorter life. I’ve tried aerobics and weights, golf, cycling, and just plain walking, all in quiet desperation to complete another novel or two before I drift off to join carefree writers in the great beyond. I’ve tried alternative writing stations: standing desk, treadmill, a laptop actually on my lap in an easy chair … alas, all roads lead back to a standard chair and desk.

Yet the writer body cries out for movement, which drew me to pickleball. If you’re from Planet Wack-ado and you haven’t heard about pickleball, here are a few words about this fastest growing sport, with courts sprouting in converted mall space, abandoned tennis courts, and HOAs. They are popping up everywhere to accommodate a tidal wave of retired boomers, including those nursing old sports injuries and looking for less demanding exercise. (Warning: Pickleball is demanding; urgent care clinics are treating eager older players suffering a variety of court injuries—I’ve got a drawerful of ACE wraps for securing a limb or a hinge during play.)

Once I was a jaded golfer carrying a heavy handicap, begrudging the time spent hitting a little white ball until I found a new passion in pickleball. In only half the time I spent on golf, I could duck away from my desk for a few rounds of hitting a plastic ball with a paddle.

As writers are wont, I imagine pickleball as an action-filled venue with compelling characters, my chosen site being the Y’s basketball court. Action unfolds through a variety of plot lines; dramatic faceoffs easily stray into comedy or slapstick. As for characters, the game has its usual suspects—think of childhood back on the school playground at recess. Now, it’s bickering and clowning adults, player cliques, and much laughter. As the sport has flourished, the only real drawback is the waiting time between games. Still, idleness offers a chance to socialize—the buzz of voices trading gossip and backstories is usually worth the time. 

I’ve cautioned newbies to the game that pickleball is quite addictive. There’s always a core group of intense competitors who get an extra high on the sport. At a game’s end, panting foursomes usually walk off the court with smiley faces, win or lose, as if they’ve just returned from a ticket to paradise. Gathering together to play a few times a week, there’s mostly an aura of joy and camaraderie.

Crucially, I don’t think the game would be half as much fun without the gender mix. An agile or athletic woman will play the game at a high level against a macho man who just hates being scorched by the opposite sex. 

Enough said. Now I’m off to play a few more games and escape the paralyzing stasis of the deskbound. 

Robert Ronning writes about wildlife and conservation, and published his adventure novel, Wild Call to Boulder Field in 2023. He and wife Kathleen live in Tucson and summer in a cabin in Arizona’s White Mountains, a few minutes daily dog walk from National Forest and wildlife. He considers his proudest achievements rescuing and assisting the rescue of lost dogs. A recovering golfer, now an avid Pickleball player, he likes to unwind with a crossword puzzle. See   www.RobertRonningAuthor.com 

Building a Galaxy by Daniel Dickinson

 

PART 2: Gaiman’s Galaxies

“If you like fantasy and you want to be the next Tolkien, don’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies—Tolkien didn’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies, he read books on Finnish philology. Go and read outside of your comfort zone, go and learn stuff.” – Neil Gaiman

In contrast to Tolkien’s lush but laser-focused realm of Middle Earth stand the vast worlds and dimensions of Neil Gaiman. A “feral child who was raised in libraries,” as he calls himself, the award-winning author of Stardust, American Gods, and Coraline among others, uses broad paint strokes to create a larger-than-life world where mythology and denizens of alternate dimensions play a key part in expanding the borders of reality. Deep, dark, and dreary, Gaiman’s strange domains are equally as vibrant as Tolkien’s. Where the two authors differ substantially is in their approach to world-building.

Where Tolkien’s Middle Earth emerges of necessity as his characters move through their journey, Gaiman’s alternate realities play an integral part in his stories. For example, American Gods uses gods, themselves, as characters— diving deep into their milieu to drive the narrative. Thus, although the story takes place in a recognizable U.S., the Old and New Gods’ otherworldly mythology is very present.

Here is an example from Chapter 6 of American Gods to illustrate: “When the people came to America they brought us with them. They brought me, and Loki and Thor, Anansi and the Lion-God, Leprechauns and Kobolds and Banshees, Kubera and Frau Holle and Ashtaroth, and they brought you. We rode here in their minds, and we took root. We traveled with the settlers to the new lands across the ocean. The land is vast. Soon enough, our people abandoned us, remembered us only as creatures of the old land, as things that had not come with them to the new. Our true believers passed on, or stopped believing, and we were left, lost and scared and dispossessed, only what little smidgens of worship or belief we could find. And to get by as best we could."

Giving these unearthly characters the freedom to roam both current and past timelines of a familiar quasi-reality instantly expands the scope in which he’s writing. Gaiman’s skill is such that he accomplishes this feat without its ever feeling heavy handed or out of place. As he explains, “When you start writing you’re in a profession which involves making stuff up and inventing stuff. You’re making up people, you’re making up places; you’re talking about things that manifestly aren’t true.“

As in American Gods, the title character of Coraline dives into an alternate dimension of her world. Dark and twisted, it has its own set of rules that govern reality as she moves through it. In one world she finds herself ignored and alone; in the other she is the concentrated focus of attention and is given everything she ever wanted. Gaiman economically presents the “through-the-looking-glass” dimension in this excerpt from Chapter 10:

"Stay here with us," said the voice from the figure at the end of the room. "We will listen to you and play with you and laugh with you. Your other mother will build whole worlds for you to explore, and tear them down every night when you are done. Every day will be better and brighter than the one that went before. Remember the toybox? How much better would a world be built just like that, and all for you?"

Gaiman plays a multiverse of realities to great effect in most of his books. Typically, several realities simultaneously exist within his novels. Even if only briefly hinted at, like those in American Gods, these multiple existences expand time and space and give the reader a sense of grand scale. “Everybody has a secret world inside of them,” he says. “I mean everybody. All of the people in the whole world—I mean everybody—no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds... Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.” 

Like Coraline, some of Gaiman’s stories focus solely on one or two dimensions; however, the presence of a greater cosmos outside the characters purview is there, ever-present in the shadows of the story. His novel, Stardust, unfolds in a multiverse: The star that fell had to come from somewhere. As readers, we have previous knowledge regarding time and space of real-world, earthly England situated in the Milky Way; in another dimension, we also have Stormhold and its galaxy. By using his readers’ prior knowledge and understanding of how the world works, and their preconceived notions of time and space, Gaiman has freed himself from the necessity of writing minutely detailed descriptions—as Tolkien was obliged to write of Middle Earth. 

While the multiverse of his stories is expansive, he tethers an alternate reality to a character’s story arc in a way that makes it relatable to a reader. Gaiman uses the established notion of mythology as a springboard for the metaphors distinguishing many of his stories. Threads of this can be seen around the religious aspects of Gaimen’s world-building: He uses various spiritual beliefs and deities to bring together a greater diversity of thoughts and imaginations.

“Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all,” he says. “God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you—even, perhaps against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers, and triumphs over all opposition.” 

Gaiman’s approach can seem daunting if you’re just beginning. However, as I previously mentioned, it has one major advantage: You don’t need to build what you already have. Almost everyone knows what a stop sign is, understands a gas station, or can imagine a certain American or British town or city. Thus, by utilizing a story set in a world that you, as an author, already inhabit, you put much of the world-building into the hands of your reader.

You may run into issues when the world you’re building becomes fantastical, or rockets through space at near lightspeed, and you suddenly find yourself responsible for an entire cosmos of information, history, conflict, and environments. But that’s where the real fun begin

Beginning at the age of ten, Arizona native Daniel Dickinson has spent a lifetime inventing realistic realms for his fictional characters. His fantasy world, Xonthian— created during his teen years—is an entire domain that allows his characters’ journeys to unfold in a diverse setting. He enjoys giving educational presentations about world-building and fantasy genres, in general. Daniel’s published works include the short story, Escape from Ogre Island; a two-story horror book, Don’t Close Your Eyes: Two Thrilling Tales of Terror; Aggression Factor; and Gathering Tide. More about Daniel at https://www.tigerforce.net/ and https://shoutoutarizona.com/meet-daniel-dickinson-author/ 

Sound, the vibration that created the universe - by Vijaya Schartz

 Sound is a vibration we can perceive, but all vibrations emit sounds. Some of them too high or too low on the scale for us to hear. Although, some animals hear a wider range than we do. Sound is everywhere and sound is powerful.

Vibrations create everything, and according to modern science, the solid matter around us is made of atoms that vibrate in perpetual motion. Change the vibration rate of the atoms and you create a different matter. Outlandish? Not really. People do it every day in their kitchen. By heating food too much you burn it. Through the process of heating, you changed the vibration of the atoms in the food, and turned it into charcoal.

Ancient writings say the universe was created through the vibration of sound. In the beginning was the WORD (sound). Interestingly, the planets emit audible vibrations different for each one, so does our sun and all the stars.

Our bodies are made of vibrating atoms as well, even if we do not feel it. But there is a way to experience it. Boost the volume on that sound system and you can feel the base pounding throughout your body. Get close to a rumbling waterfall, and you will feel it in your bones.

According to the ancient Greek, music is a gift of the gods and has been called mathematics in action. Music also has the power to transport us, alter our moods, even elevate our spirits. I remember having out of body experiences while listening to Gregorian chant in church as a child. I was floating high under the arches, disembodied, free, I was flying through the air. It was a wonderful feeling.

The Native American tribes use drums and chanting to create a trance-like state in which to get insight, wisdom, prophecy, a connection with the natural forces of the universe, and higher spiritual understanding.

Monks in India and Tibet chant for hours each day, creating a vibration liable to elevate their soul, body, and spirit to a higher level of spiritual understanding. Temple chanting in India uses the power of mantras special words with spiritual power, like Ohm… In these traditions, mantras have sacred and transformative powers. There are even places where the sound of the mantra never ends and is reverberated by the earth and the sky.

Vijayanagara in India is a sacred place with temples dedicated to musical sounds. Each temple column emits a different sound when struck, to create sacred music that could lift the gods’ vimanas (spacecraft). According to their traditions, the gods were aliens who came to earth in spacecraft, and lived and taught the people and waged great battles in the sky and on other planets.

Lifting spacecraft through chanting not scientific enough for you? Think. Magnetism and infra-sound technology can counteract gravity. And in labs in every country, scientists are studying sound to develop antigravity technology for future space exploration.

All in all, we are made of vibrations that can be altered by sound. We should work on sound research to help all the people on Earth have stress-free, happy, peaceful, harmonious lives… and explore the universe.

You can also explore the universe in my books. I recommend the Azura Universe, with the Byzantium Space Station series, the Azura Chronicles, and the Blue Phantom series. 

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Enjoy!

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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New Book Release: The Dirty End of the Needle by Elizabeth Ajamie Boyer

 

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Luke slammed the front door. He stormed to his car, getting in. The car was the little Honda Civic Papa bought him when he turned sixteen. He drove toward the highway as heat waves rose off the road in the scorching summer morning. These last days of August were the hottest Phoenix had experienced in a few years. The extreme heat in Arizona summers caused weird wavy mirage lines. Very often the temperatures could be over one hundred degrees by ten a.m. Even the northernmost highways in the State were sizzling hot.

From the front porch, Theo watched the dust blow up off the driveway as Luke went down the road. Shaking his head in disgust, he turned away to his work.

Papa’s once strong frame slowly wilted after Luke drove out of the driveway that day. Like the sensitive plants Mother nursed in front of the porch, he struggled against the heat of Luke’s wrath.

Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer is a committed Christian who is married to TJ Boyer. They have two children and three grandchildren. She has an Associate’s degree and Licensed Practical Nurse License from South Mountain Community College, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Arizona State University. She loves writing, the arts, and travel. Her camera is her friend. She dedicates all her poetry and books to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

New Book Release: Reckless Sex, Lies and JFK by Mike Rothmiller

 

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Drawing on new interviews and previously hidden police and intelligence files, Reckless finally reveals the full corruption of America’s Camelot.

‘Reads like James Ellroy’– Daily Telegraph

‘JFK didn’t hesitate to employ deception, espionage and covert action’ – Timothy Naftali, Wall Street Journal

Mike Rothmiller is a New York Times Bestselling Author, nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, historian, and former cop and Army medic. He has also served as a TV reporter, an award-winning documentary producer, and television host for ESPN, PBS, and other international television markets. He has written and produced more than 25 television documentaries, numerous TV and radio ads, and has authored movie scripts. His nonfiction book, My Hero. Military Kids Write About Their Moms and Dads (St. Martin's Press) received international acclaim and holds the honor of being the only book in history to have forwards written by three living Presidents and General Norman Schwarzkopf. Coming this summer, Prime Witness has just been optioned for television. 

In addition to his other, eclectic careers, Mike has been a corporate President/CEO and directed three divisions of Sony Electronics EMCS-America. He's authored 23 books and his recent Secrets, Lies and Deception and Other Amazing Pieces of History was featured on Fox News and over 40 Television News Stations across America. Readers of his books include three Presidents, former First Lady Laura Bush, the late Charlton Heston, and Queen Elizabeth II. 

New Book Release: I Dream I Wake I Write by Jane Ruby

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This book contains stories that began as writing exercises for a creative writing class. Stellar grades from the instructor indicated merit to the writing, so they and additional works were composed and compiled into a book. Most came from real life experiences while others came from dreams. All story characters came from people the author had the pleasure or pain of meeting in real life.

Author Jane Frances Ruby grew up in the baby-booming, blue-collar suburb of Willowick, Ohio. Loathing to write, she did so only for her college degrees and job security. She wrote several technical papers for The Lubrizol Corporation, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while in that company’s Research Department. Having married and started a family in Phoenix, AZ, she turned to fictional writing. Her first novel, The Azurite Encounter, and its sequel, Voiceless Whispers, were written with help from her daughters, both avid readers of Young Adult fiction

Whatever happened to etiquette? - by Vijaya Shartz

 Raised in Europe, I remember learning to set a table as a child, and I hated all these useless conventions. Who cared about where the water glass or the wine glass went. How close to the plate, on which side, and in what order the knives, spoons, and forks should go. But knowing it served me well when writing historical stories.

The British still keep many rules of etiquette, from what temperature to serve tea, how to curtsy, or what “fascinator” to wear for each occasion… probably due to the Monarchy.

Japan still honors the “Tea ceremony,” a complicated ritual to make the perfect cup of tea to show appreciation for someone special.

Japan also adheres to a stringent etiquette and applies it to their business dealings. Here, again, maybe it’s a lingering remnant of the Samurai and of the Imperium. Like walking to the left of, and one step behind a superior, a teacher (Martial arts) or a husband (for a woman).

The Samurai cast used to not just bow and obey without question, but they would lay down their lives for the honor of their overlord… even committing Seppuku (ritual suicide) taking the blame to preserve their lord’s honor.

My mom used to say that punctuality was the politeness of the kings, their only way to show respect to others. Ever since, I like to be punctual, if not early for every circumstance. Maybe it’s a sign of self-importance on my part? It makes me feel like royalty.

In the US, however, except for a formal dinner at the White House, etiquette seems to have vanished from daily lives. There used to be a dress code to board a plane. Not anymore.

If I believe the dating sites, not showing up or showing up late for a date is common place. No one seems to care anymore. Is this a lack of respect for others? Or just a sign of the times. Our hectic lives give us all kinds of excuses to skip formalities.

I used to send good wishes to friends and family for the new year, a letter, a card. Now, they are lucky to get an email every other year. Still, some of my friends keep making hand-made cards and sending them in the mail for special occasions. She says she enjoys making them, and it’s like a relaxing hobby.

I feel guilty for not reciprocating, but who has the time? Still, I keep these hand-made cards, like precious relics of a tradition which will soon disappear. You can’t stop progress, but maybe we should sometimes look back and consider what we lost in the bargain.

I use many details of cultural etiquette in my books, even in Science Fiction, even with strong heroines and brave heroes. 

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Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author
Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Solar Eclipse by Four Writers Who Were There

 

On April 8, 2024, much of North America will experience a solar eclipse: an alignment of Sun, Moon, and Earth. The Moon’s shadow path will begin on the Pacific coast of Mexico, pass from Texas to Maine, then leave North America through Newfoundland and Canada, before continuing into the Atlantic Ocean.

Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 

It grew darker and darker and blacker and blacker, while I struggled with those awkward sixth-century clothes. It got to be pitch dark, at last, and the multitude groaned with horror to feel the cold uncanny night breezes fan through the place and see the stars come out and twinkle in the sky. At last the eclipse was total, and I was very glad of it, but everybody else was in misery; which was quite natural. I said: “The king, by his silence, still stands to the terms.” Then I lifted up my hands—stood just so a moment—then I said, with the most awful solemnity: “Let the enchantment dissolve and pass harmless away!” There was no response, for a moment, in that deep darkness and that graveyard hush. But when the silver rim of the sun pushed itself out, a moment or two later, the assemblage broke loose with a vast shout and came pouring sown like a deluge to smother me with blessings and gratitude; and Clarence was not the last of the wash, to be sure. 

Virginia Wolf 

But now the colour was going out. The clouds were turning pale; a reddish black colour. Down in the valley it was an extraordinary scrumble of red and black; there was the one light burning; all was cloud down there, and very beautiful, so delicately tinted. Nothing could be seen through the cloud. The 24 seconds were passing. Then one looked back again at the blue; and rapidly, very very quickly, all the colours faded; it became darker and darker as at the beginning of a violent storm; the light sank and sank; we kept saying this is the shadow; and we thought now it is over— this is the shadow; when suddenly the light went out.We had fallen. It was extinct. There was no colour. The earth was dead. That was the astonishing moment; and the next when as if a ball had rebounded the cloud took colour on itself again, only a sparky ethereal colour and so the light came back. I had very strongly the feeling as the light went out of some vast obeisance; something kneeling down and suddenly raised up when the colours came. They came back astonishingly lightly and quickly and beautifully in the valley and over the hills— t first with a miraculous glittering and ethereality, later normally almost, but with a great sense of relief. It was like recovery. We had been much worse than we had expected. We had seen the world dead. This was within the power of nature.

James Fennimore Cooper 

At twelve minutes past eleven, the moon stood revealed in its greatest distinctness—a vast black orb, so nearly obscuring the sun that the face of the great luminary was entirely and absolutely darkened, though a corona of rays of light appeared beyond. The gloom of night was upon us. A breathless intensity of interest was felt by all. There would appear to be something instinctive in the feeling with which man gazes at all phenomena in the heavens. The peaceful rainbow, the heavy clouds of a great storm, the vivid flash of electricity, the falling meteor, the beautiful lights of the aurora borealis, fickle as the play of fancy—these never fail to fix the attention with something of a peculiar feeling, different in character from that with which we observe any spectacle on the earth.

Annie Dillard: Teaching a Stone to Talk 

From all the hills came screams. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere; it was a flat disk; it was almost over the sun. That is when there were screams. At once this disk of sky slid over the sun like a lid. The sky snapped over the sun like a lens cover. The hatch in the brain slammed. Abruptly it was dark night, on the land and in the sky. In the night sky was a tiny ring of light. The hole where the sun belongs is very small. A thin ring of light marked its place. There was no sound. The eyes dried, the arteries drained, the lungs hushed. There was no world… We got the light wrong. In the sky was something that should not be there. In the black sky was a ring of light. It was a thin ring, and old, thin silver wedding band, and old, worn ring. It was an old wedding band in the sky, or a morsel of bone. There were stars. It was all over. 

Stuck in the Middle By Dan Baldwin

Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you

And I'm wondering what it is I should do…

That lyric from the Steelers Wheel hit expresses well the writer’s dilemma of facing a dragging mid-section, chapter, or scene. The mid-book slump is a frequent topic of discussion among writers. “I’m stuck! How do I get out of this mess!” The answer is to stop stressing out, find the problem, address it, and move on.

The following are common problems:

Clarity of Action. Does the character have a clear focus that drives the action? Can the reader comprehend this focus or is he left wandering in the wasteland of the author’s prose? Every scene must have a purpose, and that purpose must be clearly stated through word or deed.

Too Much Dialog. Dialog should inhabit as many words or pages as necessary to move the story forward. Provided readers are kept aware of who is saying what and are inspired/entertained/interested, they’ll continue reading. That being said, a character’s occasional ear-scratching or foot-shuffling helps keep the reader grounded.

Too Much Back Story. Authors often provide detailed information even when it bogs down the story. For example, Jill discovers that her husband is unfaithful and confronts him. Rather than writing a lengthy paragraph or page about her frustration, her growing anger, her sense of betrayal, you could show the same thing in a couple of lines of action: Woodrow sauntered through the front door, placed his briefcase on the floor, and sniffed a burned something or other from the kitchen. “Jill, honey—” Jill stepped out of the hallway, suitcase in hand. She slapped his face. “How could you! With her!”

Too Much Pacino. Al Pacino is an American treasure but, often, his emotional level is far too high for a scene. It’s easy to mistake going over the top for grand literature. Beware the tendency to create “art” when you should just be telling a good story.

Not Enough Teasing. A scene, and especially a chapter, must lead into the next scene. For example, at the end of Chapter One your detective knocks on a door. As Chapter Two opens, he steps in only to hear the “click” of a revolver being cocked. Why not end Chapter One with the sound of that click? The reader is compelled to turn the page…

Losing Your Place. Sometimes minor characters become so interesting that there’s a tendency to follow their adventures. That’s okay, provided their story lines lead back to the main character and drive the story forward. A good secondary character who drags the writer from the core of the story may need his own tale in a separate piece.

Making Their Story Your Story. The story is what happens to your characters, how they feel about it, and how they act within it. When the writer takes over, it’s robbery. In my western novel, Caldera III – A Man of Blood, I had meticulously planned out some important action to move the story forward. Fortunately, my protagonist jumped out of my computer screen, grabbed me by my brain, and said, “I’d never do it that way, Dummy!” He was right. I followed his advice, wrote it as he described the incident, and the novel is much better for it.

If you’re stuck in the muddle, consider the above possible causes. Most important, listen to your characters and you’ll find your way out.

The author of westerns, mysteries, thrillers, short story collections, and books on the paranormal, Dan Baldwin has won numerous local, regional, and national awards for writing and directing film and video projects. He earned an Honorable Mention from the Society of Southwestern Authors for his short story, Flat Busted, and was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards with Trapp Canyon and Caldera III – A Man of Blood. Baldwin was a finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Sparky and the King; his Bock’s Canyon won their 2017 Best Book Awards. Baldwin’s paranormal works are The Practical Pendulum – A Swinging Guide, Find Me as told to Dan Baldwin, and They Are Not Yet Lost, among others. They Are Not Yet Lost won the New Mexico-Arizona Book Competition, and How Find Me Lost Me won the Best Book Awards 2017 competition. Find Dan’s tips for writing and more at https://fourknightspress.com. 

How to Interview Celebrities by Jack Hawn

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Penny Orloff, the new editor of the AAA Digest, thought this subject might be of interest to members, so I Googled it. Surprise! The Web must have several thousand suggestions. It never occurred to me there are so many options. At my age, I don’t want to start another book. So, I’ll just focus on how not to interview a celebrity, if that singer is Eartha Kitt or anyone like her.

Even though I’m old enough to remember Eartha, I had never met her before my wife and I were ushered into her dressing room where she was preparing for her performance at the Vine St. Bar & Grill in Hollywood. 

 Wearing a drab, unflattering, wrap-around robe and smudged sneakers, sipping red wine and smoking a cigarette, Eartha Kitt was far from a glamorous celebrity. 

 Her hair was pinned up at weird angles, and a makeup artist was darting in and out with brushes and eye pencils between her words—no simple task. Kitt’s words often came with machine-gun rapidity, particularly when the subject was heavy.

I had arrived with a list of questions I was anxious to ask Kitt, who was noted for delving into controversial issues, particularly racial issues. 

 Having just finished editing the article I had written about Eartha more than 40 years ago for the Los Angeles Times, I’m going to lift a few paragraphs from “Nostalgia: Stars of Yesteryear,” my current project nearing completion. 

 Before typing a word of my own, I decided to quote a poem Eartha had composed that morning. It was a perfect start for the article—an angle that hopefully would hook my readers. It did, at least, hook me.

A published author working on her third book, Kitt said she writes something every day, “even if it’s nothing.” Her poem was something. It impressed me. 

 “I am not white enough to pass, and I am not black enough to be. I’m caught in between. But still I have to be me.” 

 I don’t recall my response to the poem, or perhaps a question about it, but whatever came out of my mouth should have been left on a back burner...way back. It was an uncomfortable few moments. I thought the interview had concluded before it began.

But there was so much more she wanted to express, mostly racial inequality from using kitchen doors to perform in Las Vegas to breaking rules in South Africa. She remembered drinking champagne on stage, then passing the glass to front-row spectators, black and white, each taking sips and passing it on. 

“It was not permitted,” she said, “but I did it. When you break a precedent, the precedent is broken.” 

 Okaaay…so what came next? The short reply: a flood of other admirable examples of how she would have liked to change the world. But it was almost show time. My wife and I found our reserved, up-front table, ordered drinks and soon, there she was—a glamourous celebrity. 

Almost magically, her appearance and personality had changed as effortlessly as changing gears. 

 Makeup in place, hair suitably styled, a sexy, black-sequined gown and heels replacing the drab robe and sneakers, Eartha Kitt batted her lashes and began purring those familiar sounds heard for decades. 

 And I learned something of value that night: Save the tough questions for last, folks.

Born in 1930 in Nebraska, Jack Hawn later spent four years assigned to the army’s public information offices. In civilian life, he then found work as a copyboy at a Hollywood newspaper, was paid $5 to review plays and nightclub acts, and—a year later—filled a sports desk vacancy. Working for the LA Times, Jack Hawn’s journalism career covered sports and entertainment. He earned extra income as a television dramatist and wrote TV and radio scripts for sportscasters. During his 43-year career, he covered Muhammad Ali title fights, boxing at the 1984 Olympics, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and other celebrities until his retirement from the LA Times in 1991. His books include Blind Journey: A Journalist's Memoirs and Insomnia: Two Wives, Childhood Memories and Crazy Dreams 

New Release: Her Wild Yellow Roses by Sally Harper Bates

 

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How could a single woman with seven children survive in the territory of New Mexico and the early statehood of Arizona? With guts, and grit and a lot of prayer! Born in a covered wagon in New Mexico in 1900, she lived to see men walk on the moon!

Follow the path of this brave, bold woman as she works her way through stocking shelves in a general store for five cents an hour to finishing school and becoming a registered nurse.

Seven children, unique in every way, cause heartache and grief, bring joy and love, grow through a depression, and find their way into the twenty-first century.

Sally was born in Prescott, Arizona, and has never lived more than an hour’s drive from the county she grew up in. Her roots run deep into the state; seven generations deep on both sides of her family tree. Raised on ranches and remaining involved in the livestock industry has provided much fodder for her books, poetry and photography.

She’s been writing most of her life, but only seriously began publishing for the past ten years. She started a small publishing company just to help friends get their books in print, and to date there are over 50 books on her website. She’s honored and amazed at the awards on her wall from Women Writing the West, New Mexico Arizona Book Awards, and five author/publisher awards from Will Rogers Medallion Awards.

She and her husband, Pat, have a small home in Chino Valley where she continues to write and create when she’s not helping with family. She’s a mother of two daughters, a teacher and a nurse practitioner, with four granddaughters and six great grandchildren.

Introducing Tai-Chi in my next series - by Vijaya Schartz

  As I’m writing the last book of the Blue Phantom series, set in the Azura Universe (Angel Revenge – October 2024) I wonder about the theme of my next science fiction series. There will be a little fantasy, of course, (Magic is only science we do not yet understand). A strong heroine is a must and I already have her. As for my next hero, I’m thinking of making him a Tai-Chi man.

I have been practicing Tai-Chi daily for over a decade, and teaching it for years, and for some reason I never used it for a character in a book. So, for the start of my next series, one of the protagonists will be a Tai-Chi practitioner.

In a violent universe often at war and fighting back evil forces, the art of Tai-Chi, a soft and graceful martial discipline might offer a different perspective. Tai-Chi works with energy gathered from all around us.

Long ago, in imperial China, this secret Marcial Art was practiced by the feudal Chen and Yang families, hence the two main different styles. Chen is more aggressive, and Yang more flowing, but both are deadly.

Intrigued by this secret technique, the emperor summoned the heads of the Chen and Yang families and ordered them to teach his guard the secret art of Tai-Chi. Since they could not refuse the emperor, the two clans taught Tai-Chi not as a Martial Art, but rather as a dance or an exercise for health purposes. So, the fighting applications of each movement were lost in the official Tai-Chi spread through imperial China.

But through the centuries, the Chen and Yang families kept the secret fighting techniques for themselves. Today, with all the dissemination of information, many of these secrets have resurfaced, and although most Chinese masters are reluctant to teach these techniques to Westerners, a few of their students have come forward to teach in the West.

I was lucky to find a teacher who knew about these fighting applications, and as a practitioner of many other martial arts over the years, (Aikido black belt and instructor, Karate, Judo, sword, etc.) I jumped at the opportunity to learn this technique.

Tai-Chi is for everyone, young or old. It has been called stillness in motion. The health benefits have been studied at Harvard Medical School and definitively proven. It’s a long list. Find a Tai-Chi school near you. There are videos on U-Tube. Or watch movies like “Man of Tai-Chi” on Plex with Keanu Reeves as a villain, or “Shang Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings” with Simu Liu.

SHANG CHI and the legend of the Ten Rings

Through my next series, it will be my privilege to open a window on this ancient Martial Art, and maybe inspire some Westerners to try it. The health benefits alone are worth it.

Tai Chi in the park on Tai Chi Day, a few years ago.

In the meantime, you can read about my fighting angels, as they confront evil and demons bent on subjugating the universe. Be prepared for epic space battles.

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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New Release: CANYON COWBOY - by Sally Harper Bates

 

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The fun story about a young cowboy who grew up riding mules. When it came time for him to leave home, where would he go and what would he do where he could remain in the midst of his favorite animals? He finds his way to the great Grand Canyon in Arizona, and spends his life doing what the cowboys do who work at the Grand Canyon Mule Barn.

Sally was born in Prescott, Arizona, and has never lived more than an hour’s drive from the county she grew up in. Her roots run deep into the state; seven generations deep on both sides of her family tree. Raised on ranches and remaining involved in the livestock industry has provided much fodder for her books, poetry and photography.

She’s been writing most of her life, but only seriously began publishing for the past ten years. She started a small publishing company just to help friends get their books in print, and to date there are over 50 books on her website. She’s honored and amazed at the awards on her wall from Women Writing the West, New Mexico Arizona Book Awards, and five author/publisher awards from Will Rogers Medallion Awards.

She and her husband, Pat, have a small home in Chino Valley where she continues to write and create when she’s not helping with family. She’s a mother of two daughters, a teacher and a nurse practitioner, with four granddaughters and six great grandchildren.

Penny’s Two Cents by Penny Orloff

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 Is it already 2024? Another year rides off into the sunset... Six years, and I’m still procrastinating on my book, Who Would You Be If You Had Nothing to Bitch About? 

Oh, what to do, what to do… 

Although we feared their individual wrath, my siblings and I really made an effort not to displease both of our parents at the same time. For, in their ire, together they dreamed up ever-more-dastardly tortures to get us to toe the mark. By far the worst one The Parents could think of, the one that really got our attention and kept it, was “NO TV FOR A WEEK!!!”

Aaarrrgghhhh! No Mickey Mouse Club, no Leave It to Beaver, no Superman? Even if joy was certainly not what Joe and Ruetta Orloff had in mind with so heinous a punishment, those television-less weeks were the birth of my passion for costume design, the germination of my playwriting skills, the perfection of my double pirouette. After all, I suddenly had hours of boredom to kill, and kids are nothing if not creative.

So, why not try it—how ‘bout I turn off the TV for a week? That goes for Netflix on the ol’ computer, too. And the endless scrolling through Facebook and Twitter feeds on the iPhone. 

I—who have “no time” to finish that book, practice the piano, become fluent in French—how much time will I have suddenly exhumed? Might I have found even an hour a day? Half an hour?? If I’m watching TV and/or vegging online anywhere near the national average of four hours a day—and I am—I’d have more than a thousand hours a year. Writing at the slow rate of half a page an hour that’s still a pretty hefty book, even after my customary slash-and-burn editing.

How badly do I want to finish this third book, to see those who believe in me rejoice over my accomplishment? To revenge myself on the people who doubted me… Resolution for the New Year: Right now—RIGHT NOW!!—I commit to one measly week without television and Facebook and Twitter and Netflix and YouTube, no matter what might be happening on ESPN+ or Murder in Boston. I may like my freedom so much that I never go back. (Yeah, that’ll happen…)

Every book seems the struggle of a whole life. And then, when it is done — pouf! Never happened. Best thing is to get the words down every day. And it is time to start now.

John Steinbeck

Penny Orloff was a working actress and dancer in LA when she relocated to New York on a Juilliard opera scholarship. She played featured parts on Broadway after 7 seasons and more than 20 Principal Soprano roles at New York City Opera. Her solo show, Jewish Thighs on Broadway (based on her award-winning novel, available on Amazon), played off-Broadway and toured the U.S. for a decade. Her new show, Songs and Stories From a Not-Quite-Kosher Life, is currently touring. More at www.pennyorloff.com