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*****A Note from the Author***** It’s cold when I ‘m writing this. Snow is drifted along the cobblestone street on which I live.
And snow removal is not a big priority.
It’s quiet. Sounds of television dribble up from downstairs, where a young YA writer lives and spins the stories of his generation. And up here, where I’m writing, I love looking around and seeing a cozy pile of books waiting for me across the room. Soon, when I finish this, I’ll head over and nibble on a chapter of a couple of books I’ve been previewing. And then, I’ll think about May when I sit on my front porch and read late into the night. No mosquitoes yet in May, in New York City. Just a quiet street that holds its history close to its vest.
My new book, OH GOOD NOW THIS, is about making history, making memories –again—after life has erased the good history—the good memories-- and has left only the hard day to day work of building a new life. The quiet is not always a friend when looking to move forward. My protagonist, Vivi, lives through the Sunday night quiet in her new life, in her tiny, new apartment, in the town she has come to live in. She tries to blot it out with television, with scrubbing the floor, with doing what she can to keep busy. But, after the dishes are done, the tub is scrubbed, television has whined itself to a close, she is alone with her memories and that’s when she speaks to the people of her past.
That’s when they visit, before the moon goes down and the sun comes up. Then, she is alone in moon glow and has to figure out how she will simply take the next step and make a new life. She knows no one can do it for her, but it sure would be nice to be rescued. That’s not going to happen.
Eventually, after ghosts, and fleeing lovers and silly crushes and planting new gardens, her eternal spring shows up. She figures out that meeting every new thing with a sense of humor and adventure will lead her into the future with guts and joy – respect for the ghosts and delight in what’s to come.
She steps on the first step of her newly built labyrinth. “Oh, good! Now,this!” she says as she takes the first step. And then the next.And the next.
Starting over is hard enough but when ghosts decide to hitch a ride into the future—things can get complicated.
Widowed Vivi leaves California for a new start back east landing in a college town near her old friend Vikram, now the local ‘spiritual’ leader and disappointing lover. But the two have old business which leads them to uncovering the ghosts they conjured long before and the ones that are haunting them now. Vivi reclaims her life, -- with the help of a couple different dimensions-- saying hi to the ghosts who choose to hang around, and growing a new garden and a new life.
Enjoy an Excerpt
They have settled into their chairs and Tara is tossing some cards, shuffling them and getting a feel. She flips over three cards.
“Oh, my dear. Some bleak times, past, yes?”
Vivi is startled by this pronouncement. “Well, it’s been a time of change, I’d say.”
“Change?” says Tara. “You betcha. This Tower card is about the whole thing coming crashing down. But it’s in the past position. See here? This is the present,” she shows Vivi the 7 of cups. It’s a picture of a man taking a look at a whole gallery of possibilities. “Look at him”, Tara says. “He’s got lots of things to choose from.”
“Well, that sounds good,” says Vivi tentatively.
“Not bad. Don’t get over infatuated with the possibilities. And the last one… here. The Hermit. Yep.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Oh it’s fine. Just a time to go inside and let things percolate. Inner wisdom and all that. Not a bad sentence!” Tara laughs again. “Now. Anything specific on your mind?” Tara continues to flip cards. “So,” she says. “Who is this guy? This King keeps showing up. King of Cups? He fell out of the deck twice while I was shuffling. “Who is this guy who won’t leave you alone?”
Vivi is mystified. “How did you…?"
“Oh, it’s not magic. The cards just know, that’s all. They pick up what you bring. Who is this guy?”
About the Author
The author has also done a series of five videos regarding the use of Tarot for writers (for more information, visit her website):
1: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores Tarot to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #1: INTRODUCTION
An introduction to using your own intuitive powers to tap into the resonance of Tarot images, packed with archetypes and symbols, to jumpstart inspiration for your artistic projects.
**CORRECTION: The Raziel Tarot Deck is designed by artist Robert Place with commentary by Rachel Pollack.
2: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/Amazon), explores TAROT cards to jumpstart your writing, TAROT FOR WRITERS #2: LANDSCAPE
Explore the landscape of story. Entering the world of the card offers visceral clues to the landscape of your writing.
3: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #3: CHARACTER.
A brief exploration of character and how to find their first basic journey. Look deeply at the character clues in the cards and throw three cards to begin their adventure.
4: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #4: WHAT STORY SHOULD I WRITE TODAY
On pulling cards to intuitively discover the story, the genre, the themes and the major turning points of a new story.
5: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT to jumpstart your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS/ #5 TIMELINES AND DEEPER DIVE INTO RELATIONSHIPS
Timelines and going deeper into relationships with pro and antagonists. The more cards you draw the more information you can gather.
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Sounds like a good book!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very good book.
ReplyDeleteI like the book cover.
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