gratitude Archives - Page 6 of 9 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Do YOU Learn Anything from History or Make the same Mistakes…Again?

I looked up this quote to be certain I quoted it with accuracy and low and behold! Today is the day that Winston Churchill (you all know how much I love him) and Charles Bukowski (you know I am obsessed with him) meet. Considering it’s my blog I guess it was inevitable.

Winston Churchill was one of the greatest ‘coiner of phrases’ that the world has ever seen. He said, ‘those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’ back in the early 1900’s. Not much has changed and it seems that we are, indeed, doomed to repeat and repeat.

Ironically, Bukowski wrote this prose back in the early 1950’s. It could have been written yesterday; we’re still at war, the politicians still suffer from the malady of greed and power. Government still disregards the weak, the old, the impoverished, the helpless……..

putrefaction © (Bukowski)

of late
I’ve had this thought
that this country
has gone backwards
4 or 5 decades
and that all the
social advancement
the good feeling of
person toward
person
has been washed
away
and replaced by the same
old
bigotries.

we have
more than ever
the selfish wants of power
the disregard for the
weak
the old
the impoverished
the
helpless.

we are replacing want with
war
salvation with
slavery.

we have wasted the
gains

we have become
rapidly
less.

we have our Bomb
it is our fear
our damnation
and our
shame.

now
something so sad
has hold of us
that
the breath
leaves
and we can’t even
cry.

‘Oh no!’ you cry, ‘Trish is going all political on us’. Not at all. It’s still about the writing and the wordsmiths of our time.
I just found it so poignant that these two great men, so very different in their calling and their craft would come to the same philosophical place decades apart. One man was a great statesman, a world leader and a wordmaster at the highest level. The other man, a dissolute, drunken, promiscuous, wild genius of a writer. One pronounced wisdom in a pedantic, clear statement, leaving nothing to interpretation or misunderstanding. The other’s rantings makes you see it, breath it, taste it, feel it.

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

In addition to my twice weekly blog I will also feature an interview with another author once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Tasha Alexander, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Jeffrey Deaver was October’s author and Patrick Taylor will join us in November. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.

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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

More from the Opera Singer/AudioBook Narrator/Producer (part 2)

In Part I, I told you how I got started formatting my existing books into audio books with the help of my producer/narrator Carin Gilfry. Here is the rest of Carin’s story.

audio books, books for kids, fairy tales — Carin as Estrella in Life is a Dream at the Santa Fe Opera

Carin Gilfry, narrator: I always knew how each character should sound by the way the dialogue was written. Cheets in particular, the mischievous and very effervescent elf, quickly became my favorite. I always wanted to be a Disney princess, but in reality, I think I was more like Cheets as a child. Eager, loud, and always wanting to be everyone’s friend. I always intended to narrate books when not in a production, but I actually narrated EEElf, while in rehearsals for Offenbach’s La Perichole with New York City Opera. It worked surprisingly well. Though, I did get locked in a hotel closet, trying to find a quiet space to narrate… Adventures of audiobook narration on the road! Continue reading “More from the Opera Singer/AudioBook Narrator/Producer (part 2)”

“Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!

GREAT NEWS! “Emma and the Lost Unicorn” is now AVAILABLE as an AUDIO BOOK
at www.audible.com and www.amazon.com and iTunes.com

In addition to a paperback with wonderful illustrations it is AVAILABLE in AUDIO

Emma Retail Sample Listen

Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlock, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak. The fable ends with a surprise twist, when Hazard’s Lieutenant reveals his secret weakness. It will delight readers young and old. While written for children, this fairy tale is sophisticated enough to appeal to adults as well.

Queens, warlocks, faeries, elves, unicorns, handmaidens, scary henchmen and one small mortal girl child, in an enchanted forest. The rhetorical owl and naughty elf provide much laughter.
This parable offers many subtle lessons. Continue reading ““Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!”

He Always Makes Me Smile…and Think!

More from Charles Bukowski……..His insight is pure truth but who among us would think in quite this way? Never a glass far from his hand, never a woman far from his arm, never a stubby pencil far from his fingers…the genius wrote and wrote and then wrote some more… and very little of it was false.

it’s strange ©

it’s strange when famous people die
whether they have fought the good fight or
the bad one.
it’s strange when famous people die
whether we like them or not
they are like old buildings old streets Continue reading “He Always Makes Me Smile…and Think!”

An Ode to Our Cats…Hank and me (Part 2)

In his later years when he ran out of things to say about drinking, the sad state of the world, women, and brawling, Charles (Hank) Bukowski wrote some really good stuff about his cats. He always had one or two or five hanging around and his love and admiration for them shines through his words.
He inspired me to write an ‘ode’ to my most recent cats. We have a lot in common, Hank and I. Nowadays, I try to have only one cat at a time but in the past I’ve had up to five. My downfall was that I decided to breed Persian cats….but, damn! When the kittens were born, I couldn’t bear to give them up. That ended my breeding days.

Here is an ode to Hank’s mean, old, junk-yard dog of a Cat.

bad fix by Charles Bukowski

old Butch, they fixed him
the girls don’t look like much
anymore.

when Big Sam moved out
of the back
I inherited big Butch,
70 as cats go, old, fixed,
but still as big and
mean a cat as anybody
ever remembered
seeing. Continue reading “An Ode to Our Cats…Hank and me (Part 2)”

An Ode to Our Cats….Hank and me

In this two part post, I write about the love of cats. I know, I know! You either hate ’em or love ’em. Both camps are die-hards. You can’t live with one or you can’t live without one, or two, or three! For all of Charles Bukowski’s hard living, boozing, philandering, drunken brawls and genius writing, he was a complete softie when it came to cats….even cats that weren’t his own. He inspired me to write this ode to my dear old Shadow who died and to my new cat, ‘Wild Thang’. In part two I feature his poetry about his cats.

An Ode to our Cats….Hank and me

she was a feral kitten in the back alley

hiding under the deck

she crept out one day while I sat in the

sun, reading and

the first time I picked Shadow up

she shit all over me, so afraid

she was of any human

Next time, she didn’t shit on me and

slowly we became friends

for the next sixteen years

she was one hundred and twelve

when she died Continue reading “An Ode to Our Cats….Hank and me”

‘Give them a rocky past, harsh problems,debilitating grief and sunny joy’. Part 3 of our chat with author Cathy Lamb

Part 3 of my Interview with author, Cathy Lamb

I first discovered this author when I was looking for something new to read; Henry’s Sisters is still a favorite of mine. Cathy quickly became one of my top ten authors. TS
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Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

A. I start sketching them out in my journal. I first figure out what they do professionally. I then put family and friends around them. The family and friends are not the easiest people, although some are there for humorous purposes only.

I give them a rocky past, harsh problems and difficult challenges, debilitating grief and sunny joy. They get quirks, talents, and a lot of flaws, too. All this can be discovered as the draft is written and each edit is applied. I don’t know everything about my characters when I start writing that first draft. I let them live and breathe. I watch them. I write down what they’re saying, how they’re saying it. What makes them cry or throw things. What makes them fall in love. What has hurt them the most and how they’ve contributed to their own issues. It’s like watching a movie in my own head.

Q. What inspires your story/stories ?

A. Everything. Julia’s Chocolates came to life when I had an image in my head of a woman throwing her wedding dress up into a dead, gnarled tree on a deserted, dusty street. The Last Time I Was Me was inspired when I imagined a woman using an Exacto knife to open up her cheating boyfriend’s condom and slipping peanut oil into the condom using an eye dropper. She sealed it back up with a hot glue gun. The boyfriend is allergic to nuts. So is my husband. I was mad at him that night and a whole story came to me, laying in bed, two in the morning, and I thought of that condom and his allergies.

Such A Pretty Face was inspired when I wrote an article for Oregon Health Sciences University about bariatric surgery for obese people. What a journey that was for them. A Different Kind of Normal was inspired by my interest in people’s ancestral lines. If You Could See What I See was inspired by colorful lingerie, tree houses, blood, and a family owned business.

When I’m writing books, something I see during the day, part of a conversation, a person…all of those things can end up in my book that night, although I’ll twist and curl and turn them inside out to suit the story.

Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?

A. If You Could See What I See is out August 1, 2013. Here’s the first chapter:

Black.
That’s what he was wearing when it happened. I never wear black anymore. He ended up wearing red, too.
That’s what killed my soul. The red.
He haunts me. He stalks me.
For over a year, I have tried to outrun him.
It hasn’t worked.
My name is Meggie.

I live in a tree house.

I am working on my next book, which is untitled for the moment, but due in December. Argh. December? Really?

Q. Do you want to write in another genre?

A. I would love to write screenplays. I would love to learn how to write a play. When I have time, I’ll learn how to do that. I think people should always try new things and meet new people, so it’s on the list! I do write short stories for anthologies and I love the short story format. Short. Sweet. Tight storyline. Easy to edit. Done.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

A. I go to book groups all the time. Sometimes I visit in person, often we visit using Skype. Email me at CathyLamb@frontier.com if you’d like me to join your group for the evening. I’m happy to come.

Thank you for having me on your blog!

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Click here to read Part I and Part II

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview with one once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Raymond Benson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my On the Home page, you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Don’t Miss Part II of my interview with author, Cathy Lamb

being different, outcasts, love, scorn, achievement — A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ really means

COMING TUESDAY! Part II of my Interview with best selling author, Cathy Lamb

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. I can get lost in my story, my characters, for hours. I’ll sit down upstairs, lean against the wall, my computer propped on my lap, and the next thing I know it’s three in the morning and the characters have taken me places I didn’t know we were going and done things that would get a normal person arrested.

To read Part I click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

To receive my posts sign up for my On the right side you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘If You Could See What I See’…by Cathy Lamb * A Review

Five out of 5 quills A Review of Cathy Lamb’s new release, ‘If You Could See What I See’

Every time I read one of Cathy’s amazing stories I think to myself, “this is the best one yet!” And I’ve read them all! Once again Cathy has out done herself with her characters and her story line. I understand from my upcoming INTERVIEW with her, featured here August 22nd, (and runs in three parts) that this author fills journals full of story treatments, characters, and plots before she begins to write her novels. In my opinion it certainly ‘shows’ and we, the readers, benefit from this meticulous work.

Her latest offering ‘If You Could See What I See’ is about a family of women who own and run a lingerie company. Set in current times with a failed economy they struggle to find a way to keep the doors open and their employees working. The grandma, the mother and the three sisters are wonderful, unique in their own way, and quirky to say the least. The teenagers, that make up the fourth generation of this wacky family, lend a charming and fresh angle to an already wonderful novel.
Be ready to cry, laugh, sigh, and feel outrage.

A real page turner, you won’t be able to put it down!

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Don’t miss my Interview with Cathy Lamb August 22, ,27, and 29.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Receive my posts in an email. Sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

If You are Very Lucky…Your Education Never Ends!

‘Education’ is rooted in the word educare–or ex ducare— and the most important aspect of the definition is that it has two meanings. One being to acquire knowledge, from books and study.

The second is to explore and understand that which is within us all. A search, a journey leading to the places where wisdom lies and is crucial to who we might become.

I am a mishmash of both…formal education mixed in with a continuing search for myself, my goals and the wisdom that life wants to give me, if only I’d listen. In the past decade I have pursued the second part: to explore and understand what I’m all about. It is indeed a journey and has led finally to some wisdom, which IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO WHO WE MIGHT BECOME.

So why am I even talking about this? Well, let’s see….knowledge leads to awareness and awareness leads to being a better writer. Wisdom, if you are so lucky to find some, leads to you writing richer characters because you now have the empathy that comes with wisdom. The ‘journey’ in the second part of your education makes YOU a richer character and that leads to your story being fully developed, abounding with interesting characters, fascinating places and good plots.

And if you try hard enough and have a little luck you never stop learning. Even if the only thing that happens in your education today is that you read a new, sometimes obscure, word and have to go and look it up…you are continuing to learn. My favorite thing!!

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is October’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.

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To receive my posts sign up for my

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on the home page; On the right side enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

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