Blog a Beginning

Some things happen outside of time, like running into old friends, or familiar scents, voices, landscapes and lost letters. These moments propel you to places or memories from a time long ago when you were younger, when life was simpler, and when time was not walking with you, shoulder-to-shoulder. All of these places, all past connections are woven so permanently inside the fabric of our being that at any second with the correct chemistry one or more can awake.

Such a moment occurred recently when I was invited to participate in a book club discussion for my novel, Belly of the Whale. The invitation had come many months before from an acquaintance now living in the Cape Ann area, the location of my book. We shared families through marriage, in-laws, cousins and the like but we were not related. Four decades had passed and here I was at her door being welcomed as an author, treated like a celebrity. She was candid with her remarks before the group arrived. I had to read the book first she said before I could recommend it to the club and I loved it.

Soon her home was filled with the hum of female voices. I was deluged with handshakes and introductions. I looked out among the faces and saw women like myself holding copies of Belly of the Whale. Questions began and I answered. How did the story begin, what was the seed? I knew the responses because I’d made them before, but this was different, that night I was a bridge away from Gloucester, from Ten Nettles Cove and Whales Market. One woman after another exclaimed that they looked for the Market and wondered what street it was on and how thoughts of the story remained with them long after the last page.

When would the sequel be released? Was there a sequel? What was I working on now? When would my next book be published? The walls of inertia that had formed around me in the last few months began to crumble. Every writer requires retreat, time to ruminate and I had mine. The alarm was going off in my head. A room full of wonderful women speaking with honesty and passion was my elixir.

On April 10th I will dedicate my blogging to the education and awareness of prostate cancer. In December 2007 Dan Folgelberg died of this disease. He was barely past fifty years old. We all know his music- Same Old Lang Syne and Leader of the Band to name two. I will participate in the promotion of a double CD package called Dan Fogelberg-A Retrospective Interview. The CD’s feature thirteen of Dan’s great songs coupled with Fred Migliore of FM Odyssey Radio and his interview celebrating Dan Fogelberg’s twenty-five years of music in 1997. Three dollars from the sale of this package goes to PCF in Dan’s name to help find a cure.

Please remember to the fight-fight.

Blog what you hear, feel, think and see. Linda