January, a month of two black moons, was Memory Month for me. Maybe that’s because it’s also the month of the Roman God Janus, who sees forward and backward at the same time. Or maybe it’s because Janus is associated with new beginnings, doorways and gates – lots of new beginnings in my past Januarys. In any case, the memory of a gated doorway that opened for me both literally and figuratively in an impoverished part of Santo Domingo is what I’m thinking of at the moment.
It started and ended in a little chapel filled with rich people – rich people who had very little money. I did not know how they were rich that first Sunday, but as we sang a hymn in English and Spanish at the same time, I remember being hugged by a wizened old lady just as I felt my leg being simultaneously hugged by the sweetest little girl, perhaps 6, in a white frilly dress, who most certainly was an angel.
I didn't fully grasp the angel status until a week or so later when I was back in that chapel after working to help build a girls school in the intervening days. This time it was to say goodbye. Not to strangers -- definitely strangers no more by then -- but to the same wonderful people. And when my turn came to say a few words, passing a microphone back and forth with my translator Ruben, I mumbled something about how we had worked all week to mix cement and pour floors but that it was really bridges we were building and that the ceiling fans whirring overhead seemed like the whirring wings of angels watching over the family we had become.
They didn't need my broken Spanish, though I saw some teary eyes as Ruben translated my lapses. I could just as well have laughed and clapped my hands, because they understood the emotion and the bonding and humanity in that small room with its warm yellow bulbs and open gated entrance and windows. And they began to laugh and clap as poor people do who are free in the knowledge that they are rich. To this day I cannot look at a slowly turning ceiling fan without remembering that angels appear not on-demand but when you least expect them.
Much appreciate your email response to last month’s Q&A over on StorytellersUnplugged. I’ll have another Q&A soon, but my latest column deals with cultivating an audience and is called SOULMATE READERS. Here’s the link: http://storytellersunplugged.com/thomassullivan/2014/02/15/thomas-sullivan-soulmate-readers/#respond
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And speaking of cultivating an audience, a very nice thing is happening with one of my novels as I write this. https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/horror-ebooks , a free site that offers special deals to its 2 million+ readers, is featuring the e-book edition of my novel DUST OF EDEN for $.99 right now. They’ve put it in their Horror category, though it could just as easily fit under several others, so I’m hoping for broad exposure to new fans. I pretty much defy categorizing, but if sales continue surging across the board as they are (#3 on Amazon, #2 on Barnes & Noble a week ago), I’m reasonably certain I’ll be releasing CASE WHITE in the months to follow. The $.99 deal is going to be picked up by http://www.bookblast.co/deals.php and other sites running at different times, but the price should remain steady from now to February 19 at Amazon (KINDLE) – http://www.amazon.com/Dust-of-Eden-ebook/dp/B008MQW9Z8/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i – and at Barnes & Noble (NOOK) – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dust-of-eden-thomas-sullivan/1006198562?ean=2940014953320&format=nook-book .
Here is a brief critique by noted reviewer Tony Tremblay:
"Dust of Eden is a fantastic
read. It gives readers chills from the first chapter right up until its
last page. Sully's characterization of all the major players is spot on,
you will have no trouble getting into these people's heads, feeling their fears
and understanding their doubts. The author has penned Dust of Eden
without resorting to tired clichés or tropes; the plot reads fresh and
original. And the binder that holds all of this together? Sully's
writing...it is simply superb.
"If
you enjoy intelligent horror and speculative fiction, I can't recommend, Thomas
Sullivan's, Dust of Eden, enough. The novel is not a quick read, so give
yourself a little bit more time with it than you would usually give horror
tomes. Dust of Eden is meant to provoke thought while it entertains, and
the author gives us plenty to think about."
This month’s photos below include: #1 trail setting near my house; #2 my lad The Boy; #3 me with friends at a lake; #4 skiing at Elm Creek; #5-7 Dominican mission trip; #8 me and hiking friend Lisa; #9 best-selling author Lowell Cauffiel; #10 Santa Sully; #11 full Snow Moon at Elm Creek; #12 Blast-from-the-Past photo in Michigan.
Big smile to “Secret Friend” who sent me this quote anonymously: “Hold fast to dreams/For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes
I pour energy into my dreams, even when they seem inaccessible. That’s how I keep them alive. From what I’ve seen of life, the thing that people don’t realize is that postponing dreams changes the dreamer. It may not be into who we want to be, or who we thought we would be, but it’s who we become. Because all the time we are procrastinating, we are defaulting into the inertia of our life. The lightless shadow of our dreamer self is banning Technicolor and the understudy is writing us out of the script. Whatever we choose to do short of fulfillment resists change and robs us of our transformative power. Weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and the person we were when we dared believe in dreams has left the building.
Speaking for just myself, I don’t ever want to stop being worthy of my dreams or miss the radiant moments and rare connections life offers me. Pursuing ideals is who I am. People ask how come I have so much energy and freedom…well, that’s how! Notice I said “pursue.” We are merely human – we’re never going to reach perfection – but not giving up is enough to remain worthy of our romanticized self. And if we can’t always win, we never have to lose. The choice is either to lie down and die or stay vital with excitement and anticipation. Because dreams are not destinations…they are journeys filled with hope and belief and passion.
Here’s wishing you continued passion (just parlay Valentine’s Day 364 more times), don’t sneeze in the breeze, and dream but never sleep.
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For Kindle and pc users: http://www.amazon.com/Dust-of-Eden-ebook/dp/B008MQW9Z8/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i
For Nook and pc users: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dust-of-eden-thomas-sullivan/1006198562?ean=2940014953320&format=nook-book
