All Creation

April 27, 2020 / inkspeare

Photo by M.A.D.

With everything that is going on these days, pandemic news, and all, sometimes one has to look elsewhere and see. This is one of my favorite psalms, and I find it beautiful, so I decided to share its beauty here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do because it is truly lovely and sweet.

Psalm 148 (All creation summoned to praise)

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

give praise in the heights.

Praise him, all you angels;

give praise all you hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon;

give praise all shining stars.

Praise him, highest heavens,

you waters above the heavens.

Let them all praise the Lord’s name;

for the Lord commanded and they were created,

Assigned them duties forever,

gave them tasks that will never change.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you sea monsters and all deep waters;

You lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

storm winds that fulfill his command;

You mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars;

You animals wild and tame,

you creatures that crawl and fly;

You kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all who govern on earth;

Young men and women too,

old and young alike.

Let them all praise the Lord’s name,

for his name alone is exalted,

majestic above earth and heaven.

The Lord has lifted high the horn of his people;

to the glory of all the faithful,

of Israel, the people near to their God.

Hallelujah!

My Common Thread, Good vs. Evil

April 20, 2020 / inkspeare

A common thread in my novels is the theme of good vs. evil/the divine/angels/devil. This topic has fascinated me since I can remember. I don’t know if it has to do with my Catholic upbringing by a very strict grandmother or not, but the curiosity about this topic has always been present. I have regretted not studying theology instead; I think it would have been more purposeful. Aside from my Christian faith, I’ve asked myself, why this interest? Other than it responds to human nature – the search for a being bigger than ourselves, and by default the archenemy, the yin and yang/positive and negative, or the dichotomy of the natural world, I don’t have a straight answer.

At this point, I can comfortably write in this way, and I assume future works will continue to reflect this interest. It permeates heavily through Moonlit Valley, The Dinorah Chronicles trilogy, and in a different way in The Five-dollar Miracle. I have been open to know myself a bit more as a writer, and I don’t see myself writing without this underlying theme. I enjoy reading a variety of genres, which is why this question arises. I’ve heard this advice over and over – Find your niche. I guess I’ve found mine.

Lady Moon

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 / inkspeare

As I was ready to go to bed last night, I glanced outside and saw this beautiful sight. I have been mesmerized by the moon since I was a little girl. My mom says that as a toddler, I used to point at it and call her lulu (for luna – moon in Spanish). I have looked at the moon countless of times since then, and each time I find it more beautiful. I hope we never damage it, as our species does with everything else. Here are a few pictures of the moon as I saw it last night. These were taken from inside because I was already in my PJs and ready to sleep but I could not pass the opportunity of taking just a few pictures of this beauty.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Isn’t she gorgeous?

A Crow’s Tale

April 8, 2020April 9, 2020 / inkspeare

If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that I love crows and ravens. I think they are underappreciated beautiful birds. These birds have been misrepresented for many years, centuries, and they have been given a negative label, used in horror movies, Halloween spooky props, and associated with evil and darkness. Poor little ones. They are nature’s creatures just as a white dove is, or a puppy, or even a regal peacock. Their song is mocked, called a screech; what is up with that? Have you ever heard a peacock sing or a fox calling?

I am happy to have many crows in my neck of the woods, and I love to see them hopping (yes, they hop like little bunnies) around. One thing that is particular about them is that I see them walking around in the light rain like there is nothing going on, while other birds tend to wait until the sun comes back out and the rain stops. I have been on a birdie binge, and I thought about including these pictures on the previous bird watching posts, but decided to give the crow its own spotlight. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I did. For the love of crows.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

My favorite. Walking around after the rain, all wet. Pardon the focus, and look at that stride.

Photo by M.A.D.

Hope you enjoyed these.

40 Tips from Best Selling Authors

April 5, 2020 / inkspeare

Revisiting one of my very old posts on this blog. Maybe it could be of inspiration to someone struggling in their writing career. It happens different for everybody as you can tell. There is no magic formula other than “keep at it.”

Inkspeare

Revisited – I wrote this sometime ago and decided to revisit it as I think these tips from best selling authors are worth reading once more.

As a writer, I love to hear what other writers have to say about writing, especially, best-selling authors. I sat down, coffee at hand, and listened to many interviews of best-selling authors. Many hours later, a list of their recommendations was born. The following list is full of tips, recommendations, and inspiration, from best-selling authors to aspiring writers, although these authors have been published the traditional way, and we all know that the eBook is shaking the publishing world; however, these tips are worth considering.

1. Write, Write, Write.

2. Accept rejection.

3. Send hundreds of queries.

4. Don’t take no for an answer; keep at it. Eventually you will get a yes.

5. It took Janet Evanovich 10 years of trying to get…

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Beauty Remains

April 2, 2020 / inkspeare

Among all the chaos during these challenging times, beauty remains untouched, nature prevails in its own way as it has always been since the beginning of time. When we are feeling sad, scared, hopeless, and searching for a silver lining, God blesses us in many ways, even when we cannot see it right away or understand it.

I have been taking pictures of birds from time to time, and many times, I have shared a few on this blog. Birds are beautiful. I took a few pictures the other day, and these were taken from the inside of my home and through window glass, so they are not perfect. However, looking at them I saw something I had not seen before. I looked at those bird’s faces and expressions, and there I saw a miracle, I saw beauty, but more than that, I saw innocence, purity, hope; I saw the love of God. Here, I share a few with you.