There are alphabets in the sky! Ducks and geese are forming their “V’s,” Strait-line winds are driving clouds in cursive flourishes, and the last of the leaves are queuing up in blazing orange sentences and tapping out red and yellow punctuation on my windows. Nature is an epic in four volumes each to be read once a year. Having four distinct seasons has always encouraged me to believe in miracles. For all the conflict and chaos of the elements, nothing can stop each discrete outpost of life from reaching for perfection whether it is merely waiting its time or living it to the max.
However you measure renewal in your part of the world, I hope nothing stops you from reaching for your ideals.
At the moment, I guess some of my quest for excellence is wrapped up in a novel-in-progress entitled H.E.R.S. & H.I.M.S. I like what I see, as it is my most ambitious project since writing THE PHASES OF HARRY MOON, a Pulitzer Prize nominated novel. And because it is a return to my mainstream roots, it will require a whole new direction in marketing. That in itself is daunting. Moving away from an area where I’ve had some success is an act of faith and a need for the faith of others. I’ll be reaching for whatever helping hands are out there. I’ve never followed the herd, and that’s made it difficult for people to find me. Sort of like trying to discover the nationality of a man without a country. Critics have called me “a writer for all seasons,” so maybe I should go back and re-read my own first paragraph about those four seasons -- a time for waiting, a time for living. And it does require a miracle these days.
The many e-mails about last month’s column “Inspiration is a Duet” [ http://www.storytellersunplugged.com/thomas-sullivan-inspiration-is-a-duet ] and newsletter [ http://www.thomassullivanauthor.com/newsletters/10162008.htm ] are much appreciated. Several people mentioned the white feather (talk about surviving the elements), and so I’ve included the most recent photo below, taken a few days ago. Also, a better photo of the Golden Meadow, as requested by David Niall Wilson. And to those readers who noticed an attribute last month to a photo that wasn’t in the newsletter, you are correct. I simply left it out. My bad. Below is the missing photo and the attribute was: “The Tin-Man photo comes with a particularly penetrating note from the evil Dr. Foto (Mark Manrique) which I shall only characterize as involving Rustoleum and body parts.” There are two photos of my daughter and I that go with the column mentioned in the next paragraph, and the remaining photo? That’s right -- SNOW! The snow guns are on at Elm Creek, and today I made the first snowball and carved the first initials. If any links do not work, all columns and newsletters are available at my website on the News & Articles page. Also want to thank water polo guru Chuck Hines from Asheville, North Carolina, who has quoted some comments of mine in his upcoming book WATER POLO THE Y’S WAY due out from AuthorHouse in a couple of months and available from Amazon upon publication.
This month’s column over on Storytellersunplugged.com [ http://www.storytellersunplugged.com/thomas-sullivan-growing-up-dead ] examines how writers are like failed children, which is sort of a funny cautionary tale against growing up dead, which is really a look at how to free your imagination. It was inspired by a visit from my son and daughter. Sean (a.k.a. Shane or the Lad) lives just 25 miles from me, and Colleen -- well, Colleen used to live in Oregon but was on her way to Turkey when she fell in love with a guy from Georgia and is now moving back to Oregon. Some relationships are so natural they are just automatic.
I’ve received several birthday cards/wishes this month and one last month that I’ll have to call UNbirthday cards, because my birthday is yet to come. Dunno why I keep my birthday a secret, especially since the Internet and a writer’s calendar almost always put it up -- incorrectly -- anyway. Maybe it’s related to the obsessively private life of my family, as described in last month’s column. Well, I was born on November 32nd. All right, but it was in November. I usually don’t celebrate, but last year I received the best present I ever had on November 20th. (There.) Funny how life is like that. When you least expect something, it comes to you. Of course, you have to open the door, pick up the phone, or otherwise welcome it. I’ve never had good timing, but I try to persevere, because I’ve noticed that other people whose lives seem out of sync like mine often miss out by looking remorsefully in the rearview mirror instead of through the windshield to steer their lives. Focusing on making the impossible possible doesn’t seem to work on small things, but it definitely does when it’s something that resonates your heart, mind and soul. It’s given me everything important that I have, and it saved my son’s life once. You don’t need to win the battles. You just need to win the wars.
Thomas “Sully”
Sullivan
http://www.thomassullivanauthor.com/