Are We Capable of Love Any More?

 

The bronze mists of the haunted jazz club, 

Meilori's,

curled and creamed like

 a dreaded thought 

trying to form itself 

on the fevered edge of consciousness.

"I fold," sighed the ghost of Ray Bradbury, laying his cards gently upon the rune-etched table.

"You folded your cards a long time ago," drily smiled the ghost of William Faulkner, 

"as our friend, Roland, almost did last Halloween."

"What month is it, anyway?" asked Ray Bradbury.

"It's a month away from Valentine's Day, sir," I smiled sadly having lost my Kathleen decades that seemed only months ago.

Faulkner laid down his cigar. "Your living friends these days are incapable of love."

"Here, I find myself standing outside the window of the storefront of humanity, still observing as a writer but unable to reach out and touch with fingers of new prose"

He shook his head.

"Because of the darkness in this world , the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing

 

because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat of wresting something from nothing.

 

You must learn them again. You must teach yourself that the basest of all things is to be afraid.

 And teaching yourself that, 

forget it forever,

 leaving no room in your writing for anything but the old truths of the heart,

 the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed - 

love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice.

 Until you do so, you labor under a curse.

 You write not of love but of lust,

 of defeats in which no one loses anything of value,

 of victories without hope and,

 worst of all, without pity or compassion. Your griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars.

 You write not of the heart but of the sex glands."

He turned, "What do you think, Ray?"

The last breath of winter sighed down my spine, for Mr. Bradbury looked as young as a high school senior.

"What is Love? 

Perhaps we may find that love is the ability of someone to give us back to ourselves when we thought ourselves truly lost forever. 

Maybe love is someone seeing and remembering, handing us back to ourselves just a trifle better than we had dared to hope or dream we could ever be again.”

He turned to me. "What do you think, Roland."

"I think, sir, that it is, indeed, a dark world. 

But if we find love, we don't have to walk it alone. 

Because even if we lose the source of that warmth, its memory will light the way before us."

William Faulkner said, "You trouble me, Roland. You surely do."

"Me, too, sir. Me, too."

***

So, my friends, what do you think about love?

HOW TO KEEP ON WITH YOUR NOVEL

 

HAS IT ALL CAUGHT UP WITH YOU?

You're in good company:

Mark Twain

  Mark Twain's brilliant authorship of American classics such as Huckleberry Finn 

might have had its roots in his tendency to depression. 


But this famous depressed writer also lived with a lot of family drama 


that could have contributed to his STRESS
 and depression. 

Depression's role with creative writing will also be a function of the individual writers,


 their personal history, their circumstances, and the nature of their depressions.

 

Stephen King

  Stephen King, a modern master of suspense and terror, has quite a body of work to his name. 

Yet his fame and talent didn't forestall the devastating effects of the drugs and alcohol 


he allegedly had been using to cope with ongoing unhappiness.

Substance abuse and alcohol use 


often play roles as people struggling with depression attempt to self-medicate. 


During those years, this famous depressed writer also produced some of his best-known works, such as The Shining, Pet Cematary, and Carrie.

 

F. Scott Fitzgerald

  F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were known for their glamorous and tumultuous lifestyle, 

full of wild parties, travel, and larger-than-life characters. 

The Great Gatsby remains his best-known work, 


but other novels such as The Beautiful and the Damned detail a lot of the same ground. 


Their glittering life had a dark side, punctuated by alcoholism and depression for both of them, 


and their legacy includes being famous depressed writers. 

HOW DO YOU KEEP ON WRITING DESPITE FEAR, DOUBT, & SELF-CRITICISM?

1.) ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF YOU'RE WEREN'T AFRAID OR DOUBTFUL.

The mere act of doing usually makes the fear recede in just a few minutes.” 


Pretend, just for a moment, that rejection or failure isn’t the end of life as you know it.

2.) STOP INDULGING YOUR FEARS, DISCOURAGEMENTS, REJECTIONS, & DASHED DREAMS.

Much as we’re driven to write, we feel we must be in the mood – 


as if the clouds should part, the sun should shine and every possible interruption should be silenced

.

None of that matters. Write anyway. 

Don’t think about how you feel or if it’s a perfect time to write 

or that you have a thousand other things to do. 

Write anyway. 

You have nothing to share and nothing to sell if there are no words on the page.

3.) REMEMBER THAT REJECTION ISN'T NECESSARILY ABOUT YOUR WRITING. 

You have to be totally dedicated to your writing. 


Forget about rejections – they’re a mandatory part of any career. 

A writer writes. 

If you feel you’ll keep writing even if you never get published, then you’re a real writer.

The markets want they want.  


Tastes will change.  You will grow as a writer if you do not give up.

4.) SEE PAST YOUR EXCUSES TO YOUR REAL FEARS

Writers need to look at their fears directly.


 Recognize them for what they are, 


and be honest with yourself about why you’re not moving forward with your writing goals.

This can be difficult because we give excuses rather than facing our fears.

5.) SET SMALL GOALS

Long-term goals are great for inspiration, but keep a list of small, attainable goals, too, 


and allow yourself to feel proud when you achieve them. 

Reward yourself for finishing a chapter or short story. 

Recognize that sending a few query letters to agents takes time, thought, and effort, 


and don’t discount the success.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?

 Why Christmas Lights ...

and Nativity Scenes 

stay up until January 6th?

It has to do with the date

celebrated for when 

the 3 Wise Men arrived 

to greet the infant Jesus

It is known as Three Kings Day,

the Epiphany, 

the 12th Day of Christmas

It also marks the official start 

of the Mardi Gras Season

often called Carnival

which comes from

 the Latin words

 carne vale, 

meaning 

"farewell to the flesh."

Which is apt for my new novel

Mardi Gras, Magic, Murder

in 1947 New Orleans

Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, 

Our Lady of Holy Death

is stalking the streets 

killing apparently at random.

Her Acolyte is stalking the shadows 

of the French Quarter

A masked

Ball of the Undead

is held to entrap

hapless mortals.

 

And the bomb 

that has been ticking 

in the midst 

of the cast of characters 

from

Silhouettes in the Key of Scream

 to

 Perchance to Nightmare

 to 

Beware the Jade Christmas

Explodes in

RAZOR VALENTINE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N75DRKC

Interested?

HOW TO FIGHT THE JANUARY BLUES

 

Empty bank accounts, tight waistlines, vomiting bugs, failed detoxes: 

(Guys, it's not a hangover.  It's called alcohol poisoning.)

The post-holiday comedown is a well-dreaded condition. 

January, even at its best, has few redeeming features.

 {At least we in S.W. Louisiana have the Mardi Gras to look forward to.}

 

Ah, last week:

 

This time last week, it was a bright, crisp day heading to New Year’s Eve. 

Feeling optimistic about the months ahead, two-thirds of us made at least one resolution: 

to eat less, to drink less, to get fit. 

Yet, according to a survey by researchers at the University of Bristol, 88 per cent of us will soon break them. 

Half of us already have.  

Ouch!

 

 REASON ONE:

Let's face it: 

most of us had a hard time of it last year.  

We managed to pull it together somehow, put on the brave Christmas face --

Now, we are smack at the beginning once more, looking at running the gauntlet all over again.

 

REASON TWO:

New Year's Eve can be a time of reflection, looking back over the last year ... 

or our whole lives -- and seeing all the plans and dreams cast aside on the shoulder of our life paths.

 

So what can we do to get through the yblues?

1.) Most important: 

make plans for the coming months.

    Organize something you can look forward to. 

    Be creative: watch a movie; listen to music; go for a run. 

    The sun might not be shining – and the lack of sunlight is one factor that’s making us feel sad –

     but get outside and swing yourself about a bit. 

     It’ll make you feel so much better.

 

2.) Positive Perspective is key.

     Dress brightly – even for work. 

     Everything’s so gloomy and dull outside that it’ll make people happy to see someone wearing bright colors. 

     Find yourself frowning?  Force a smile.  Studies show that putting on a grin will unconsciously make you feel more up.

3.) Use the prevailing winds.

     Last year was tough for you, right?  But you made it through!

 

     

It's seems impossible that sailors can move forward with the wind blowing against them, doesn't it?

     How do they do that?

     On a sailboat, wind blowing against the boat at an angle inflates the sail, 

     and it forms a similar foil shape to an airplane's wing, 

creating a difference in pressure that pushes the sail perpendicular to the wind direction.

 

4.) Your mind is your sail.

     It determines the course you sail through life.  

     You must learn how to mentally "tack," 

a term sailors use to describe how they shift the sail 

so the wind blows into a different side of the sail.

      There are people in this world that would give their left hand to be right where you are -- 

     with the blessings you are too familiar with to be thankful for.

     Your struggles have made you smarter, stronger, and more aware of what you can do.

 

5.) Take a moment to realize that you are still here.

     And that is an extraordinary achievement given the pain that you’ve been through.

 

6.) Focus on what you're facing and what you're running from.

      What is just one simple step you can take 

      to maybe move towards the problem rather than away from it? 

     When you step towards problems they shrink, 

     and they become more manageable.

 

7.) Be kind to yourself.

     If you had a best friend in a similar situation, what would your advice be?

     I bet it would be: 

     "Ease up on yourself, friend.  You've done a great job with a lousy situation."

I hope this has helped in some small way, your friend - Roland