Authors Speak, Cryptid Bits
To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries. ~ A.C. Grayling Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Jess Simms “Ascending, Mt. Ararat,” Photo [c] 2014, Sandra Gould Ford, Route 30, Pennsylvania Visit Sandra’s Fine Art America Collections Jess, what phrase inspires your writing and life? I don’t believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously. – Ray Bradbury How have Bradbury’s words helped your writing, your life? I find that my best writing comes out of a place of joy and fun. This quote is an excellent reminder that sometimes the best way to approach a serious subject is to find a place to inject something light—even if it’s in the form of gallows humor, or even if it’s just a small moment of levity in the midst of something heavy. I also find this quote helpful in a broader, life sense. There’s no shortage of serious things happening on a daily basis, from the personal to the global level. If I let myself take all of them seriously all the time, I end up so drained of motivation and energy that it’s hard to keep moving forward. How these words inspired Cryptid Bits When I set out to write Cryptid Bits I wanted it to be fun, first and foremost. My main inspiration was to play with the thought experiment of “modern society plus fantasy creatures.” Using the modern world as my starting point inevitably meant I would have some serious topics at play, but by tweaking the world to include things like brownies and bigfoot, I could treat these real-life details with a wink instead of tackling them straight-faced. Sample Text: It must have been a full moon last Saturday because I ran into a werewolf at the night market. He was at one of the produce booths, a bag of arugula hanging from his right foreclaw and a head of romaine in his left palm. He was comparing the greens as though his paws were scales. Reedsy Review Purchase Here About Jess Simms Jess Simms is a co-founder of Scribble House and the managing editor of After Happy Hour Review. They’re the author of the micro-chapbook Shapeshifter Diaries (Rinky Dink Press, 2023) and their short fiction can be found in MockingOwl Roost, The Oakland Review, and HOOT!, among other publications. They live in an old house in Pittsburgh with two humans and four cats. Web Site: https://www.jesssimms.com/ Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT. NEXT WEEK: Heroic Hearts On Saturday, September 7, LaToya Ruby Frazier’s Monuments of Solidarity show ends at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. Her awesome exhibition includes special selections from several of her works, including “The Last Cruze,” “Flint is Family,” and “On the Making of Steel Genesis,” which presents my artistic life. Here’s a 2-minute video. The Museum of Modern Art is offering some complimentary admissions. My “Steel Genesis” tour and conversation starts at 10:30 am on Saturday, September 7. To join the Guest List, RSVP here. I’m delighted to share this precious experience with you. Sandra Gould Ford
Your Radiance, Summer Meditations
I am inviting you to discover that deeper than any pattern, deeper than personality, deeper than success or failure, deeper than worth or worthlessness, there is a radiance that is undeniable, always present – the truth of who you are. — Gangaji On Summer Solstice, everyone in France is encouraged to play music in the streets, the Fête de la Musique. In the Philippines, people splash each other with water, a playful baptism of blessings. The First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada celebrate their cultures. In Croatia, villages compete to build the biggest bonfires for “Ivanjske krijesove” to honor the god of the Sun and Saint John the Baptist’s birth. Thousands celebrate summer’s grand opening at Stonehenge. In Northern Ireland, Summer Solstice is a Day of Private Reflection, a path to healing. After a bitter war between Protestants and Catholics from 1968 to 1998, people can move from recollections of anger, death and loss to thoughts of healing, peace and regeneration. These reflections can also turn inward. As lifestyle writer Lauren Ash said, summer solstice’s brightness is a good time to acknowledge past mistakes while, “looking forward with compassion for ourselves.” On June 20, 2024, at 4:50 pm Eastern Daylight Time, the sun reached its highest point in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial shift from spring blossoms to summer fruitfulness offers new beginnings and reminds to let the best shine brightest. To make the most of these special weeks, Bustle, the on-line women’s magazine suggests, Celebrate the sun. See the star that warms Earth as, “an omnipotent symbol of ascension and the ultimate triumph of light over darkness.” Honor personal “cycles of growth and change.” Allow fresh starts. Go outside. Enjoy nature. Breathe fresh air. Watch sunrises and sunsets. Wisdom of the Spirit adds, Embrace your inner radiance Glow Express gratitude for blessings In this spirit, let me thank LaToya Ruby Frazier for championing my work and the Museum of Modern Art for presenting my creative life so magnificently. And, keep Joseph Campbell’s words in mind, Change the focus of the eye. When you have done that, then the end of the world as you formerly knew it will have occurred, and you will experience the radiance of the divine presence everywhere, here and now. Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT. Click Here to view Sandra’s 2-Minute, Exhibition Walk Through The background voice is Sandra talking about her steel mill days Two The New York Times articles “LaToya Ruby Frazier is Paying It Forward” “At MoMA, LaToya Ruby Frazier Asks What Our Monuments Should Be” Here’s Information and Special Events during Monuments of Solidarity Exhibition Museum of Modern Art, New York City Note the Free, Online Writing Workshop on July 26, 2024. Sandra’s Steel Mill Memories Few remain who experienced an old-time steel mill’s awesome, harrowing and magical world. As a young mother, I worked at Jones and Laughlin Steel’s Pittsburgh Works during its heyday when over 10,000 people struggled and snoozed, played pranks and died in that fire and brimstone world. I saw the last steel poured inside those bleak walls. I watched those miles of cinder and char change as new life evolved from the mill’s ashes. Steel Genesis presents images and experiences of making steel, the metal and human mettle. Details: 6×9, flexible, high gloss cover, $17 Shop 8×10 Photo Album,flexible, laminated cover, $69 Shop 8×10 Premium Lustre, Hard cover Photo Album $125 Shop Also visit SteelGenesis.com. Shop All Radiant Tree Books Thanks for your support!
Authors Speak & Daughters of the Stone
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. ~ Frederick Douglass Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. Photograph [c] 2017 LaToya Ruby Frazier Sandra at Homewood Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Ms. Llanos-Figueroa, what phrase inspires your writing and life? “Write what should not be forgotten.” Isabel Allende How have Allende’s words helped your writing, your life? I write historical fiction about 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico because I could never find myself in the stories I was given to read. I wanted to give the people in my life faces and voices that were denied to them in this society. I wanted to substitute authenticity and truth for the stereotype and caricature that were projected in the media. Silence and erasure are forms of genocide. I hope that my work opens the door and presents a clear and present image of the diversity that is the fabric of America. How these words inspired Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s book Daughters of the Stone. Daughters of the Stone, the first book in the series, follows the lives of enslaved Africans from the perspective of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women. Their journey begins with capture in West Africa, to life in plantation society Puerto Rico, to immigration to urban America. Sample Text: These are the stories. My stories, their stories — just as they were told to my mother and her mother and hers. They were given to me for safekeeping and now I give them to you. Amazon Review Daughters of the Stone is available at Bookshop.org , local independent bookstores and major online book retailers. Meet the Author Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa writes historical fiction about the Afro-Puerto Rican experience from capture in West Africa to life in 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico to urban New York City. Daughters of the Stone and A Woman of Endurance are her first two published novels.. Web Site: www.dahlmallanosfigueroa.com Follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest @DahlmaLlanosFigueroa Twitter @writer1949 https://www.facebook.com/DaughtersoftheStone/ Photo Credit: Matvey Zabbi Photography Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn COMMENT. This Month, Warm Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed & Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection. Visit the Eleanor’s Insights posts. Mugs are: Ceramic Dishwasher and microwave safe Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce] See All Mugs Shop All Art and Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
Thank You
The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields, and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it. — Michael Josephson This post asks one question: How will you appreciate and enjoy what the world offers today? Comment here. Please know that I appreciate the time you take to read Succeed and Soar. And I’m thankful for all who’ve ever supported this project financially and by sharing. For everyone who helps during November, these Zoom ‘Thank You’ experiences are offered: One, 40-minute Zoom class for each $25 or more investment. Here are the topics: Empower Your Writing with Poetry Envision Your New Year with an Illustrated Wisdom Overcome Writers Block Write An Effective & Engaging Scene One, 40-minute, private writing consultation [via phone or on-line] for each $100 or more investment. Speaking of grateful, LaToya Ruby Frazier must be thanked for her extra-ordinary spiritual and financial gift. See Kraszna-Krausz award ceremony video below. Next year, Succeed and Soar will present “In My Own Backyard,” beautiful images, meditations and lessons learned during four seasons in a 300-square-foot yard surrounded by drug and gang turbulence. Please encourage Succeed and Soar with your financial support this November. Click the green button. Please share how you will enjoy and appreciate this and every day. Comment below. Click here or inside blue box to start video. Wisdoms Collection The inspiring and beautiful work in my Fine Art America collections is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here Thanks for your support! NOTE: size and placement of the art and words]can be changed as well as background colors.