Fooling Around with Light

My dear friend Jamie and I went to a cocktail party held at a good friend's house. We went outside to enjoy the cooler night air and there, we found the security light by the garage door.

Getting started

A few shadow puppets later, we decided to play with the pretty pattern on Jamie's shawl.

You can (sort of) see the paisley pattern.

A better look.

Ta-dah!

Spring is coming, I promise.

My friends in the Midwest and East Coast are experiencing exciting and crazy weather. In order keep spirits up, here are some pictures from our trip to Hawaii.

On the Island of Maui, in the town of Lahaina, there is a banyan tree that is the size of an entire city block. Visiting this tree was one of the highlights of our trip.

I have a tender spot in my heart for trees, especially large, brave trees like this one. So imagine yourself with a yummy shave ice and sitting in the shade of this beautiful tree. And spring will come, I promise. :)

The Charming Man relaxing.

That bright thing is the sun. It is very nifty, and someday, we will all see it again.

Into the branches.

Lawn project updates.

And here are the latest pictures of the back yard renovation project. Amazing what can be done in two days!  Especially by people who know what they are doing. :) Which would be (drum roll, please....)

 Orlando Construction, Inc.

I cannot rave enough about how fantastic the owner James and the rest of his crew are. They are magnificent! Here are a few shots from after less than a day and a half of work.

The underpinnings of what will be a path through the front yard.

The graceful curve around the house.

The flagstones for the path.

What was our tiny, buggy, overwhelmed back yard.

What will be the end of the path in the backyard.

This is going to be a flagstone 'landing strip' next to the driveway.

Working hard on Book Three

Yes. This does count as working.

My author picture

Photo by Michael Baxter

This is the picture that we chose for my author photo! I think it is arty, moody, and makes me look like someone who would write vampire novels.

The Muse.

Portrait of me as a Muse, by Michael Baxter

I could pull my History Geek Cred out and talk about the Nine Muses of Classical Greece*, but today I'm going to talk about something more immediate.

Who are your Muses? With whom do you collaborate and attempt to inspire?

I could list all my Muses, but instead, I'm going to talk about just one.

Meet Michael Baxter, the world's foremost photographer of Belly Dance. Michael is, in short, a genius. He is a feminist, a visionary of light, and an old school geek. (He and The Charming Man are also dear friends).

Go ahead, follow the link. I'll be here when you come back from looking at the links.


No, I mean it. Go look at them. :)

Michael's love of dance, music, light, and myth  have inspired me since we met in 2008. I had never seen a photographer able to photograph all shapes, sizes, and colors with such ease and joy. We've since corresponded and shot photos together. He makes us see ourselves as we truly are.

I had truly terrible body image issues until I met him. I knew that I wasn't a hideously scarred Two-Face, but I never knew in what way I was attractive. He showed me my own goofy, playful charm.

Since learning this from Michael, I try to take all my characters on a voyage of self discovery to find their beauty. I try to show all my friends how beautiful they are, what they might not see about themselves. I am inspired to be kinder, more patient (not easy for me), and share the light that Michael has shown me.

I hope he will inspire you, too, with his skill with color, setting, and bringing dreams alive.

*All right, I couldn't help myself.

Calliope: Epic poetry. Emblem: Writing tablet (Too bad such a cool chick got stuck with such a hideous instrument)
Clio: History, Scrolls
Erato: Love_poetry: Cithara
Euterpe:Lyric Poetry, Aulos
Melpomene: Tragedy,Tragic mask<
Polyhymnia: Sacred poetry,Veil
Terpsichore: Choral Dance and song, Lyre
Thalia:Comedy, Comic mask<
Urania: Astronomy, compass