Organically Speaking: Writing that Makes a Difference

Yesterday I received an email out of the blue from a person who asked me to be a featured author at a fund-raising book signing event in Lockhart, the BBQ Capital of Texas. It’s an honor and privilege to be invited to an event because someone discovered my work online.

I’m so excited! Someone actually asked ME to come to their event because they like my writing. I hope this feeling never wears off, no matter how many book signings I’m invited to in the future.

I’ll be posting more details about the date and location of the event on the main website.

Cheers!

Hi all,

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. The book signing at BookPeople over the weekend was awesome. We had quite a crowd, composed of family, friends, and several bookstore shoppers. The vibe was warm, welcoming, and fun. It felt a bit like an extended family gathering. Such a great way to end my first book “tour.” I couldn’t have imagined it being any better—except for the few friends who couldn’t make it for one reason or another.

But in the midst of the preparations and the logistics of putting on a good show, I was able to soak in the experience of it all. Standing up there, sharing my heart and my soul with the people I care most about in the world and seeing and feeling how proud they are of me—tell me, how can it get any better than this?

The BookPeople host Natalie told me my event was one of the best kind, because even the people who didn’t know me left feeling like they were part of the family. And that’s really what it’s all about. Sharing, loving, and touching people. I don’t care how many books we sold. What matters is that I made a few more friends and hopefully touched a few lives with my words.

For those of you who drove great distances to celebrate that day with me, for those of you who cheered me up on the phone and encouraged me (you know who you are), for those of you who have always believed in me and stuck by me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. It really means the world to me.

I plan to post a video clip from the reading soon. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. Also, visit my FaceBook photo album of the event here.

Hi all,

Despite a crashed hard drive and a nasty case of food poisoning last night, I’m happy to say that the San Diego photo album is finally up at my MySpace page.

Enjoy!

M

Howdy all,

I’m officing out of my local Starbucks today, as the storms that ripped through Texas and Oklahoma early this morning left me without power. Thankfully, everything is still standing (including the little nearly-dead tree that became a victim of a spring storm the first year I moved into my house), even the few tulips in my garden.

Unpredictable and often violent weather is one of the things I dislike most about living in Texas. God forgot to ask me what my plans were before He opened up the skies and let the heavens bellow. But even if I have to go three days without power (as I did last year during after a big spring storm), this is a gift. I’m lucky I didn’t lose my house, my life, my livelihood.

Every wrench in our plans is a gift. Some are harder to rationalize than others. What they force us to do is let go of our expectations and rouse us out of our complacency. Humans are creatures of habit—we take comfort in the known, even if our lives aren’t exactly what we’d dreamed about, and we didn’t quite achieve the goals we set for ourselves when we were younger.

Storms bring change. Change is scary. But change is good for the soul. Change stretches us, challenges us to be more than what we are. And those who inspire positive change in us are the people we should keep company with. Even if a storm is brewing on the horizon, hang onto the hope that the sun, indeed, will shine again.

Sorry I’ve been away for a while. I’ve recently discovered the über-addictive qualities of FaceBook. I really believe it’s the concept of being able to see, at least on some small scale, how we are connected to so many other people that fascinates us and draws us into the network concept that is FaceBook.

This concept of networking taps into one of the deepest human longings: a desire for community, of belonging. It’s great.

The past week has been one of spiritual and emotional brokenness. For me, it’s been cathartic. The disappointment of the book signing in College Station affected me, perhaps more than it should have. However, I believe there is a time to cry, to feel the emotions, to embrace them and learn from them. Every person has his or her own way of processing the circumstances of their lives.

For me, the emotions can be profound, intense and sometimes overwhelming. But in the end, the result is always learning. The beginning of wisdom, the renewal of dependence upon God to redeem every situation. The affirmation of continued hope in a thing unseen. Of faith, pure and simple and full of clarity and purpose.

The stripping away of every pretense of self-sufficiency; this is spiritual cleansing, healing and growth. Of finding that you are part of a community much larger than you could ever imagine, and how you are connected in so many unique ways to multitudes of souls that feed and encourage you in exactly the way you need.

Isn’t life awesome?

Hey folks,

The new Los Angeles photo album is up. Meet my friends from Italy here!

Hi all,

The most recent book signing photo album is up on my MySpace page. I’m also working on new photo albums for Los Angeles and San Diego. Hope to have them up this weekend.

Ciao!