Sunday 13 November 2005

Winter has arrived

This morning, the whir of a strong wind surrounded my house and it darkened noticeably. Then the shriek of hungry birds filled my ears. Scrappy, my big orange tomcat, leapt onto the back of a chair near the living room window, and imitated the bird’s chirping. I looked out, and hundreds of tiny, hyperactive snowbirds swarmed about the mountain ash. In minutes, all the bright red berries clinging to thin empty branches disappeared. Then the birds moved on, leaving behind one more assurance winter has arrived.

Wednesday 9 November 2005

BEYOND THE PURPLE SKY



BEYOND
THE
PURPLE SKY
Above the land of the two rivers, a dusky red sun slides silently and unheeded into the underworld, leaving behind a purple sky. In his bedchamber, the great king’s eyes flutter one last time and he too, slips away, ending a remarkable era.
Although impassable walls surround and protect BABYLON, wealth, intrigue, and murder fill her streets--until her sins reach heaven, setting her demise in motion.
Into this city and political upheaval, two princes are born.
Although his father is the Hebrew Prince of Captivity, Zerubbabel is educated as a Babylonian. A vision of golden scepter, crowned with a charging lion, appears to him as a boy, taunting him. After a supernatural journey to the temple in Jerusalem, he connects these appearances to a birthmark resembling a lion’s claw above his temple, and accepts them as symbols of his destiny.
PRINCE BELSHAZZAR is plagued with insecurities, but grows to be a fair and wise ruler.
The destinies of these two princes intertwine until Belshazzar disregards Zerubbabel’s warning, and a strand breaks.
YAHWEH, the Hebrew God, places Zerubbabel in strategic positions within Babylonian society, that enables him to obtain the wisdom of kings. Then a snare he does not recognize entraps him, almost changing history.
PRINCESS BELSHALTI-NANNER, Belshazzar’s sister, captures Zerubbabel’s heart. She eclipses his pursuit of the golden lion until Yahweh intervenes, setting back into place the divine order of things.
Resuming the quest of his destiny, Zerubbabel leads his people across a dangerous, scorching desert to Jerusalem, to rebuild a temple and a nation. Discouragement, complacency, and irritability are daily obstacles. The Samaritans hinder the progress in every way, but the faithful shun defeat.
Although miles and gods separate them, Zerubbabel and Belshalti-Nanner pour out their love on scrolls and clay tablets, hoping someday an unrelenting God will reconsider. Then King Cyrus betroths Belshalti-Nanner to his son. Zerubbabel refuses to extinguish his love, although he knows he can never act on it.
Bit by bit the new temple rises in the centre of Jerusalem, proclaiming the Hebrews are again a nation in their own land. Then Zerubbabel meets Mary. He is cleansed of Babylon, set free from a forbidden love to claim his own destiny--and a wife the Almighty selected for him.

Tuesday 8 November 2005


Determination
Arriving at the finish line uncontested or writing a colorless story merits no distinction, but persevering through all odds seperates winners from dreamers.

Tuesday 1 November 2005

A Cat in the Sunset

When a new inspiration presents itself, it zooms to the forefront of my imagination and takes over my writing life. Its characters develop from stickmen to people, and embark on an unforgettable journey. Every step they take to reach their destination and every word they speak has a purpose. The storyline is clear and light, but the minute, immediate details bog me down. The pov changes, the passive words, the telling, the fine-tuning, that untended leave a black shape in the forefront of what could have been a marvelous story.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when

you

take your eyes off your goal.