Category Archives: Writing

Feb 21
0

Bel Kaufman, An inspiring woman at 101

By | Uncategorized, Writing | 4 Comments

From time to time we are asked the question: “What if this was your last day?”  Instead I was wondering: “What you would do if you knew you were going to live to be 100?”  How would you live differently?  Would you still retire at 62 or 65 or even 70?  What interests would you pursue if you knew you had another 35 or 40 year to pursue them in after retirement?  What ways would you contribute to the world during those 35 to 40 years?

ImageRecently I was sent a delightful YouTube of 101-year-old Bel Kaufman. She said that retiring is like retiring from life and is quoted to have said, “I’m too busy to get old.”  At 100 she taught a college class on Jewish humor at Hunter College.  Even she seemed impressed by being asked to teach a class at her age.  She still has a sharp mind and a great sense of humor, as you will see on this YouTube on fascinating elders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg0_ITG01bs

Bel Kaufman was born in 1911 in Berlin, Germany where her father was studying medicine, but her native language was Russian.  She was raised in Odessa and Kiev (present-day Republic of Ukraine) until she was twelve and her family immigrated to the US.

Bel is best know for having written a best selling 1965 novel Up the Down Staircase that was turned into a movie.  The book was based on some of her experiences as a high school teacher.  Her grandfather who wrote the stories that were developed into Fiddler on the Roof and who corresponded with other Russian authors such as Leo Tolstoy influenced her.

Here is a talk she gave at Iona College.  It well worth listening to the YouTube. Bel talks about humor, her novel, and her experience of having her novel being made into a movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YwnFDLeK64

“What you would do if you knew you were going to live to be 100?”  Did these YouTubes change your idea of what it is like to be old.  I hesitate to say senior since Bel said being called a senior reminded her of senior prom.

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Jun 12
0

Our Kickstarter Adventure

By | Uncategorized, Writing | 3 Comments

Today I’m posting a guest blog by Anna Skarie on her experience with Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a great website for funding creative projects. Anna and her mother, Joy Dey, have written a wonderful, unique dragon book that allows children to chose what they want to do. Here is their description of the book:

“In a DoU Adventure, your child is the hero, making choices on every page that lead through over 75 possible pathways, out of the frying pan into the fire, until they get back home safely. Whew! Each choice has an icon that matches a tab. Kids use the tabs to navigate their customized adventures.”

As many authors know, finding a publisher is hard work, and self-publishing is hard work WITH a large cash outlay. We decided to go the hardest of these and start our own publishing company, because what is life without the adventure? “Just Another Monday” (the book that started all of this) is an interactive children’s picture book. In short, the hero chooses their own adventure by following tabs along the right edge of the book. If you check out our Kickstarter video or go to our website, there is a longer explanation with pictures.
We’re here to tell you the things we’ve learned so far on our search for the funding portion of this. If you have any questions after reading, please don’t hesitate to contact us (info@swakpublishing.com). In return, we’d like you to consider passing the word along via backing, facebook likes, following, pins, blogging, or whatever your preferred method is.

 

The basics…
First, if you already know what Kickstarter is all about, you can skip this paragraph. Kickstarter is basically a seed funding website. If you have a project (or a book), and you need money to get that project started (or publish your book), I highly recommend this approach, even though we’re only three quarters of the way through our journey so far. You can make an account to back other projects and/or upload your own. The idea is that each project has a monetary goal and “backers” try to help you reach your goal. They may do this out of the goodness of their hearts, or for the rewards. Reward tiers are decided by the project creator (you), and usually offer something extra (eg, signing or creativity). This last bit is important though: if you don’t reach your goal, you don’t get any money. That’s the basics, and hopefully the following will fill in the gaps.

Our start…
Our journey began long ago (in May), surrounded by some brilliant minds, on my living room sofa. Every Tuesday, we have a “mastermind” meeting of brainstorming any projects we’re working on, and my sister-in-law, came to this meeting with this “Kickstarter” thing none of us had heard of. I have since learned that kickstarter is currently responsible for 10% of the venture capital funding in the United States. We had been racking our brains for how to come up with the $20,000 required to print a larger run of Just Another Monday. The larger run is required because the tabs need to be die-cut (ie, have their shape stamped out of the paper) and the heavy dies cost money up front. The larger the run, the more that cost is spread out over the books. Cue kickstarter!

Why kickstarter…
Pros:
– little or no monetary risk (depending on how you market yourself)
– you will likely get “Kickstarters” who back you and are not part of your network
– succeed or not, it gets your name out and gives you contacts who are interested in your project
Cons:
– it’s up to you to get the word out
– projects with previous followings generally have an easier time of it (maybe not a con depending on your project)
– you MIGHT be rejected (although you can resubmit easily and well thought-out book projects seem to have a high acceptance rate)

Notes:
1. Your network – it really matters how much time/effort/interest/money you can drum up yourself. Kickstarter funders, although generous, won’t fund a project completely on their own, and you probably shouldn’t even count on “mostly”. Friends, current followers, family, friends of friends, anyone who can help you pass the word on (even if they don’t back you) is an important part of your network.

2. Social media is also important. If you don’t use facebook, twitter, pinterest, reddit, stumbleupon…you get the idea…you should find a helper who does. Getting higher on Kickstarter’s “popular” pages (and thus viewed more often) seems to be some combination of your backers, comments, % of goal, and such on Kickstarter; your links, facebook likes, and other buzz on the web; and the place your project is at (you get a boost at the beginning and end of your project)

3. It is a lot of work to keep buzz going through the life of the project. Be ready to have to flog for the length you set (30 days is usually the most successful), and have some fun doing it 🙂

What it has been like for us…
Some of this sounds so ominous, but really kickstarter is an amazing resource for anyone looking to fund a dream project (Like us!). We’ve fleshed out our idea the more we’ve blogged, facebooked, commented, and talked to people about it. One thing that really worked for us is a card with how to get to the kickstarter page on it. Since our project is a printed book, it made sense for us to try a few approaches for people who are less likely to use the internet. It also makes great “small” talk. We’ve had a lot of fun hearing people’s takes and opinions. It’s a great feeling whenever someone puts their belief in you. We really appreciate people doing whatever they can. Every time a friend or acquaintance wrote something like this we were very touched:

“One of my girlfriends and her mother made a children’s book. I have actually seen a copy of it and it is awesome. They are trying to get this book published with the publishing company that they created and need help. If you like the book and can pledge money towards it that’s great but she also understands that money can be tight. Even if you could just keep passing this along to others it would be a great help. The following links are to their Facebook page and to a kickstarter page (it is where you can propose ideas and get the word out to get funding).
http://www.facebook.com/SWAKpublishing
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1541772125/just-another-monday-2”

 

All in all, it’s been a wonderful adventure. We haven’t succeeded yet, but here’s hoping and I still completely recommend the kickstarter journey. If you plan it, prepare it, and push push push it, they will come 🙂

Cheers, and happy adventuring!

~ Anna Skarie

co-founder of S.W.A.K. Publishing

(sit with a kid!)

 

 

We’re happy to answer questions. To contact us or lend us some support, here are the links…
our email: info@swakpublishing.com
our project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1541772125/just-another-monday-2

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SWAKpublishing
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SWAKpublishing
pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sitwithakid
our blog: http://sitwithakid.wordpress.com

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Nov 04
0

Past Lives: Ali and Heidi Interview

By | Writing | 52 Comments

Recently Ali Wylie interviewed me on the theme of quests, past lives and about my book Red Willow’s Quest on her postcast program Into the Beyond. The interview includes such topics as how to remember your own past lives and what is the spiritual benefit is of remembering past lives.  Enjoy this chat with Ali and me and be sure to leave your comments. Do you have a spiritual quest? Have you had a past life remembrance?

The following is a copy of a podcast from Ali Wylie podcast Into the Beyond. Ali’s website is astralwings.com where she give techniques to learn how to astral travel.

[gigya height=”80px” src=”http://soulwings.podomatic.com/swf/joeplayer_v18c.swf” flashvars=”minicast=false&jsonLocation=http%3A%2F%2Fsoulwings.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2011-10-19T02_05_27-07_00%26color%3Df8ae06%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85″ allowFullScreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=’always’ ] share this:
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May 22
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Conscious Women Conscious Relationships

By | Book Review, Writing | 5 Comments

Darlene Montgomery has a new book in her conscious women series:

Conscious Women Conscious Relationships

True Stories of Wisdom and Awareness on the Path of Relationships.

Compiled by Darlene Montgomery

I have a story in the book called Three Gold Coins about my journey as a writer. In the story I talk about getting the story idea for my first book through a series of six dreams that were like watching an action/adventure movie.  I also talk about the amazing experiences that happen when I listened to my inner guidance while promoting Red Willow’s Quest.

The following is a quote from my story.

“We each come into this life with unique gifts and talents. It’s up to us to discover what they are, to develop and believe in them, despite the obstacles. We are always being guided and aided in our mission, if we listen and stay tuned to the highest part of ourselves. When we follow our heart and serve our purpose it opens the door for great joy and brings a passion for living to our lives. Equally important, it inspires others to do the same.”

The book includes a story by Oprah Winfrey called On Success.   Other stories are by Jo Leonard author of The Would Be Saint, Darlene Montogomery author of the Dream Yourself Awake, Ellie Braun-Haley author of A Little Door, A Little Light, and Monique Rider founder of Body Life Dynamics

Here is a quote from the introduction to the book by Darlene Montgomery.

‘”Nothing in our lives challenges us, sculpts us, nor moves us to grow or reflect the way our relationships do. Relationships of all kinds, from: spouses, parents, children, friends, relatives, workmates and more are the soil from which we harvest the qualities of patience, humility, harmony, detachment and most importantly, Divine Love. All of our relationships are for one thing: Ultimately they lead us to a greater relationship with our self and ultimately God.

All the stories in this book bear a lesson. Among them: forgiveness, letting go, humility and discipline. But above all these is the lesson of Divine Love. By using Divine Love in all life situations, we naturally learn its by-products of forgiveness, harmony and patience.”

Do you have a story about a lesson you learned from life and your relations?  Please share it as a comment so others can learn benefit from what you learned?

What People Are Saying About

Conscious Women Conscious Relationships

“Conscious Women, Conscious Relationships combines wise journeys of women’s struggles and joys with transcendent poetic images. The spiritual truths in these stories shine divine light onto the murkiest paths. Let these women inspire you to create your own conscious life.”

~Linda Anderson, co-founder, Angel Animals Network, www.angelanimals.com

“This is a book I have waited for my whole life. The stories are our own. Dare to find yourself in these pages!”

~Maxine Hyndman, Author, The Naked Millionaire and The Organic Entrepreneur

“The Conscious Women series of books is like a hug during uncertain times. It’s healthy and helpful for us to look at other women’s lives, their struggles and their triumphs. It helps us realize that—to paraphrase someone wiser than I am—no matter what lies ahead of us, it can’t possibly measure up to what lies within us. Here’s to conscious living—and Conscious Women! ”

~Erin Davis, Radio Host, CHFI

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May 22
0

Inspiring People

By | Book Review, Writing | One Comment

BookI’m inspired by people who are wonderfully alive and still contributing to the world in their later years. It opens me the possibility that I, too, can be productive and giving to the world as I age.  This winter when I was at an art gallery in Hawaii I saw on display clay figurines of animals created by a women in her eighties.  They were charming sculptures and she has quite a following of people who collect her work.  The woman still teaches art classes as well as selling her artwork.  I left the art gallery thinking about how wonderful it was that she could still do what she loved and pass her skill along to others.

This week I had another experience with a person who is contributing to life.  The man was Chungliang Al Huang. He is 73 years old and full of energy, love, and life.  I attended one of his workshops on Tai Ji. Huang is the founder and president of the Living Tao Foundation and the author of numerous books.  Accompanying Huang was Dave Darling who is an award-winning Cellist.

I came away from the workshop recharge and inspired.  Huang talked about Tai Ji as an ever-constant ever-changing creative process.  He teaches his students to be spontaneous and to dance with the movements.

In his book, Spirit of the Dancing Warrior, he says that “Your primary intention is to discover how to play, train, work and live in alignment with our heart.”   He quoted the Buddha who said, “Your work is to discover your greatness and to give your self to it.”  Huang went on to say, “When you function from a heart-space . . . you demonstrate integrity, affirm yourself and others, and seek the extraordinary in each day.”

In an article in Internal Arts Magazine July- August 1988 Huang told a story about a man who came to a Zen master.  He said was a doctor and told all about himself, then said he wanted to learn from the master about Zen Buddhism.  The master asked him to have some tea, and then poured the tea into a cup.  He continued pouring even though the cup had overflowed.  The doctor said, “The tea is spilling over.” The master said,  “You come with a full cup.  Your cup is already overflowing with knowledge.  Unless you come with emptiness and openness, I can give you nothing.”  Huang said, “We need that kind of innocence, that kind of ignorance, in learning and dealing with things every day.”

In the class Huang talked about the same idea.  The Chinese phrase is Wu Wei.  Doing by not getting in the way, or going with the flow.  I think of it as letting go.  Not getting in the way of life.  So often we have to release something in order for something new to come.  Be grateful for the wonderful things we experience and then let them go so new things can come in.

Darling led a part of the workshop as well.  He taught us to let go of all limitations about our musical abilities whether singing, dancing, or playing a musical instrument.  Forget any teacher that said you couldn’t carry a note or discouraged you in some way. Darling said that when he works with cello students he doesn’t say this is going to be a difficult piece, he said this is a beautiful piece and we will have fun learning it.  We sang and danced to his beautiful cello music, letting ourselves be free and enjoy the energy of the other people in the room.

Spirit of the Dancing Warriors is by Huang and Dr. Jerry Lynch.  The book uses a meditation program based on warrior virtues.  It is a soulful path to motivation, inspiration, and wisdom for athletics, fitness, and life.  Huang’s website is www.livingtao.org.

Have you read any books lately that inspired you?  Please share the book and tell us why it inspired you.

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