It Has to be Somethin' Koo, Kinda Krazy.

It Has to be Somethin' Koo, Kinda Krazy.

Paula was an aspiring writer. She had a few little things published, and of course, thirsted for more. For what, she really didn't know. Paula knew for certain that she would write the "Harry Potter" of the Northwest. Her friend Carry said "And we want you to!" There was of course the illusion that she was on unemployment, and there was some sort of Depression going on. It was amusing to her how there was a buzz that this was a Recession. But really, this is the Depression of 2010. It would take a lot to really feel like the depression as it was in 30's. For the difference is in accordance with enlightenment. Just as a piano scale, we start at a low note and progressively go higher, we grow, and learn, and improve until... Bamm we hit a bottom. It was great though on the way up, a little ego building "I can do this, I"ve found my style, I know now what works for me. Wow, it is such a beautiful life, such a 'guru moment.'" Then, numerous challenges arise. And, any one of the infinite negative responses may ensue to where a bottom has been hit, but it is higher than the last "low note." Kinda brings a different meaning to the term "a new low."

We'll this society has done just that, it's raised itself in technology, raised in organizations and funds available, raised in conscienceness to where our fall has left us just a little higher. And so, a generation or so from now will talk of the Depression of 2010, and how we lived in denial and thought it was a recession. We had our cyclic 'Guru Moment,' fell, and am building back up. So, how to get out of this?

The money is out there, it is just the peicing together of words to attract the buyer who will find value in it and enjoy reading it. And what to write about. Paula was sure that if her writing tended toward Jane Austen, there would be someone from the village who would say "Duuu...she's trying to act like a 'White Girl'." Although she started her literary career writing about Native life, non-fiction, did it always have to stay in that vein. It was fun having a variety of Euro blood, it gave a girl a chance to say "Oh my god, my great-grandfather came from England, I wander if our family and Jane Austen's ever met?" There were so many interests pulling at Paula, it was just a matter of deciding which way to go.

The popular message is to "follow your bliss," "do what you love," "let your work be your vacation." Messages like this seems to keep echoing down the ages. But how many actually try it out.

Paula's son Christopher walked in. "How's the job search?" Knowing that when he was doing job searches, he would go in there (the net), made his three searches and get out. But his mother would take hours. She didn't like searching and would start each day with a game of spider solitare, just to relax before diving in you know.

"Terrible!" As she finished putting a few touches on her latest blog. It was suppose to be a scholarly, literature, "gonna be a big writer" blog, but it turned out to be a spot to throw in odds and ends.

"Well... back to the real world!"

She closed down the page, and started on her job search... again.

Pride & Prejudice Ch. 1 P. 2

This Truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of one or other of their daughters.

And so it is as each eligible male enters the community, either by birth or relocation, let's not forget the occasional visitor, enters the community, minds are buzzing to establish creative forms of future connections. Neighboring communities and circles kept tabs on eligible matches. Those of High Born had the advantage of an increased sphere.

In any case, Feasts, Festivals, and other forms of Celebrations required, at times, that groups, clans, and or families to travel beyond their well worn paths to join distant relatives, or new acquaintances. A long lost uncle or aunt may show up with a host of cousins, and perhaps an eligible match.

FYI: You've Got Mail,
one of my favorite movies, Meg Ryan's character proclaims, earlier in the relationship, that she had read Pride and Prejudice 200 times. I had figured out that if she had finished the book on a monthly bases, she could arrive at that number in 16 years and 8 months. To which if she started when she was 14 or 15, she would of course be in the over 30 age as she was when she met Tom Hank's character.

It is not known whether she had reached the 200 mark and then stopped, are continued. Although, she does say something to the effect that she is always worried whether Lizzy and Mr Darcy will get together. It is my guess that she continues to read it, and her reading tab on P&P is higher when the movie ends then when it begins. Although, we only see Tom Hank's character read P&P and not Meg's. I would have loved it, if when she came home dejected because she "failed" to met her pen pal, and flopped on the bed and picked up her well worn edition of P&P!!

To read P&P in a month, one may read about a chapter in the morning and in the evening. Of course you would have to read several chapters more in the end of the month February.

Pride & Prejudice Ch. 1 P. 1

It is a Truth Universally Acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged" The most beautiful words ever written, it means that my favorite story is about to begin. It is also one of the most quoated 6 words in history. I loveit how Jane Austen made that sentence the first paragraph of her book, as apposed to combining them with the second paragraph (which also happens to be one sentence).

In being a "Truth Universally Acknowledged" this is not just an English story, it is played out throughout the world. Females everywhere are envisioning the new Mr. Right who just moved in as their future hubby, checking out how their name name looks with his last name, etc. I had just finished a Pride and Prejudice fest, and watched almost all of the P&P movie versions, including the Mormon and the Bollywood version. Just thinking of any culture one can imagine this plot being played out.

And so P&P begins. Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley must have led a darling of a life. To be surrounded by a bevy of beauties at every turn, where ever they went. The Mr Bingleys appear to be lovin' life, while the Mr Darcys seem a bit jaded with all of that attention for about a decade. But regardless, surely they must be in "want of a wife!!!"

Commitments

A MySpace friend shut down her account to focus on the "Real Life." It had taken me several years to finally take the plunge into blogging. For me, writing is a slow process, and so during the time of writing entries for the Encyclopedias (Encyclopedia of Anthropology; Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Society; Encyclopedia of Time) I had opted to postpone blogging. In this day and age it is practically a given, that if you are a writer, then you should have a blog to keep the buzz going about your work. I've visited various blogs by authors. A really famous author like Stephen King can write about whatever, and whenever he likes. The ones on the rise are more market oriented, and strive to keep in the public's notice. Sadly, my blogs are far from regular, and certainly not marketing magnets.

Jobs, "life partners", children, community commitments have ever been an author's aberration. This modern world affords many distractions for a writer: TV, Movies, on-line searching, e-mails, on-line community, cell phone, twitter, texting etc, etc, etc. Is there a way a writer can divide the time in able to meet writing commitments while trying to stay abreast of all of the extra curricular writing? This is the quest, to stay balanced in an ever diverting world.

Jane Austen - led a non-eventful life (is the famous quote). Yet, in the biography "Jane Austen, A Life" by Claire Tomalin, it is clear to see that Jane led a Very eventful life. Living within a very active family unit, and caring for aging parents, traveling to distant family, balls and parties, and frequent visits from friends and family (both near and far), can be trying on a writer. It is not as easy to get back into the "zone" when the usual routine is upset. Jane's neice Fanny noted how her aunt would laugh and jot something down, then get back to her work (it is surmised to be needlework). This rings an accord with a practice of mine; I am a great buyer of notebooks, I'll come across these notebooks from years gone by and see a story idea started, writing or art project listed out, and book ideas scribbled here and there. There will be dialogs, or brief outlines, parts of poems, brief descriptions. Sometimes I'll come across large envelopes filled with jotted notes, ready to be started, as well as other info that will help with the story. It was noted that after Jane moved from Bath to the Chawton house that she started writing again (after a near decade of apparent abstaining from writing). It just may be that Jane had been keeping notes for her books, little ideas here and there, so that when she finally had the time to write, there was a bountiful resource to work from.

I've had to make a recommitment to my writing. It can be difficult at times, when there are a plethora diversions and disctractions, that writing can continually put aside; to the point where one might realize "I used to be a writer." Now I too, have had to put something aside in order to be more focused. I had joined a Native dance group Kuteeyaa; and had even gone to a performance (In this picture, we are preparing for a performance at a Salmon Festival). But the realization that "X" amount of hours would be taken from me, not only for performances, but the practices, and personal practices to memorize the songs, really hit hard. There is a part of me that looked forward to once again be a part of my culture in this experession, for the drum calls to me; and there has always been a secret desire to dance with a mask (oops, it's not a secret anymore :^). Well, perhaps in the future.

So, it's back to writing... And Gunulsh-Cheesh Ho-ho to the Kuteeyaa dance group, for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of your magnificent dance group, I miss you guys already!!!

Hu-Haa,
Pamela

The Author's Photo

There is definetly an evolution in Author's Photos. In the beginning of course, in the 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia with the "proto-cuneiform" writing, an image of an author accompaning his work wasn't even conceived, much less the practice. Although, there have been hand prints found next to cave drawings, which can be seen as the combined signature and and portrait of the artist/author.


Early authors such as Plato (around 428BC - 347BC) and Sun Tzu of "Art of War" (from around 722BC -221BC) at least had statues of themselfs. Up until the medieval era, men dominated the literary field; that is, until Christine de Pizan became the first professional published female, although she doesn't have a statue, she does have a beautiful portrait painting. Today these author's images may be seen on the front cover of their published works.


Not all books have Author's Photos, some just have "About the Author." And there are countless books without any reference to the author besides "by ___________". Jane Austen for instance never had a professional portrait painted; her sister Cassandra though did do a couple of sketches, and there is a silhouette; since then several attempts have been made to reconstruct what Jane may have looked like. Uh oh, I've just did a fopaux, and assumed familiarity and used Miss Austen's first name (it's an inside Janeite thing). :^)



Some authors have been very creative and illustrated their image, like Robert E. Stanley Sr. of "Northwest Native Arts: Basic Forms, and did his illustration in formline (a Northwest Native Art style). Frederica de Laguna borrowed regalia for her photo, for her edited with additions edition of George Thornton Emmons' "The Tlingit Indians." As it turns out, I did both; on "Legends in Wood, Stories of the Totems" I borrowed my great-grandmother Hannah Cogo's Eagle button blanket, and my grandmother Florence Meilke's spruceroot hat; on "Coloring Alaska, the Greatland on a Summer's Day" I had drawn the picture from "Legends...", who knows there's probably purple crayon all over my face right now, lol.


A great many authors will have a professional photo taken for their book. Salt Publishing.com utilized a funny page on "10 Ways to Take a Bad Author Photo" to emphasize the importance of a good photo. Julie Kramer of "Stalking Susan" checked out other author's photos in her local bookstore, and since she is a television news producer, she had her cameraman/friend do her photo, after her professional makeup artist worked her over, so she could aquire that "edgy" "thriller writer" look:
(Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Stalking An Author Photo http://workingstiffs.blogspot.com/2008/07/stalking-author-photo.html).


There are a couple of books on Author's Photos:
Writers: Photographs
by Nancy Crampton, & Mark Strand

Author Photo: Portraits, 1983 - 2002
by Marion Ettlinger (Photographer)


Why obsess on an Author's Photo? With increasing pressure on authors to have a good photo, and as Martha Woodroof's NPR Morning Edition pointed out in "Author's Photograph Essential In Marking A Book", the author's photo IS part of todays book, and is part of the deciding factor of future readers.




So, while redesigning "Legends...", my original photo will be represented somewhere in the book, but am really courting the idea of a new photo.

For "Transformation Masks" the photo used is one taken just prior to setting off to the 2005 Der Ring des Nibelungen. My editor and friend H. James Birx was seated beside me in the original photo. When relating this story, he said that he had
been "edited out". :^) (the photo on the top of the page)

Well, with digital camera in hand, I'm off to see if I can get a good Author's Photo!

Until Next Time,
Pamela