Evangeline’s Miracle

Evangeline’s Miracle

Please check out this book review and interview published yesterday. This kind of coverage makes "marketing" worth the pain.

The Debt Movie Review

     I’m not usually one for ‘violent’ movies. I do see them but they are not top on my priority, unless, of course, Helen Mirren is in them. I saw “The Debt” yesterday with a friend. We try to go weekly to see a movie, hoping there is one playing we want to see. This one seemed like a good bet as the stars are some of my preferred.

     It’s been quite some time-since “Inglorious Bastards” I think-that I’ve seen a movie with a WW II theme to it. That theme got so old at one point because the movies were very similar. This one is from a different point of view. It’s set in three Israeli’s POV’s and that gives it a good ‘twist’. A German doctor from a concentration camp, the “Surgeon of Birkenau”, three Israelis on a mission to find him and bring him to justice. This is the “theme” of the movie. It raises questions. It displays human nature in all its glory or messy detail; one can’t help but see it doesn’t matter what/who you are. We all have common reactions to situations that connect us in one way or another to each other. 

     I talked to my husband about it because I felt the need to get it out of my head a bit. His first comment hit me hard; disbelief, outrage, pity, I wanted to cry. Evidently, out of all the ‘experiments’ practiced upon all the prisoners; Russian, Polish, Jewish, POW’s and intellectuals, Gypsy’s, homosexuals alike, only one went on to actually be used to benefit humankind.  Life preservers. Yes, the ones that go around your head to make sure if you pass out that your head stays above water. This was tested on male prisoners in icy water to see what it was that would either save a life or end it. Be forewarned, graphic photos at this site (http://www.luketravels.com/auschwitz/medical-experiments.htm ) 

Granted this is a big one, a big ‘gift’ for humanity, but really, how many died for it to be discovered?  Nothing else? Out of all that torture, out of all that death and misery the German scientists and doctors have nothing else positive to show for it? I wonder if they felt it was worth the effort. I wonder how the doctors got past their “Hippocratic Oath?”

     The grief the people in the movie experience, the events that changed their lives, I wonder how those who exist today-in reality-feel about this movie? Does it capture their feelings in any way? Does it capture their emotions and experiences?  Or is it too Hollywood-ized? I think it speaks well to what is important to people when put to the test. The setting is uncomfortable but the theme is universal and it isn’t just about good versus evil. It’s about being human, being greedy, being a mother, being a lover, being without a conscious, it’s about paying a debt. It’s about decisions right and wrong and why we make them. I went to a memorial service of a dear friend recently and one thing her daughters had to say about her was that she taught them how to make decisions, good or bad, she taught them to make them, to think and to act. I think this is a true gift. To be able to make a decision and to stand behind it when it’s right, to acknowledge and learn from it when it’s wrong. This is important. This movie is about decisions made and their consequences. This movie is about that color between black and white called human.

Book Signing/Reading Black Mt. North Carolina @ Monte Vista Inn

This invitation is for you. Please join us if you are in the area. The Monte Vista Inn is located in Black Mountain near Asheville, North Carolina in the beautiful Appalachians...

Upcoming book signing/reading invitation...

I'm Back

I haven’t been away from my blog this long since I sincerely started writing in it. There’s so much to write about, but I don’t want to overwhelm anyone, much less myself!  So, starting slowly…

I recently posted a version of this on another site and thought it would do here. Talking about part of what it means to be a writer, to try and share something in a way that makes folks want to read more, the doubts, the hard days…  Sometimes inspiration or just downright self-motivation is difficult to find. I use my blog to help get jump started sometimes. Twitter is also a good way to ease back in for me when I'm unmotivated to move. Posting on my blog, twitter, linked in, wherever, helps get me out of my head. Sometimes making sure I have time to write every day is a challenge. For some reason it scares me to sit and put the words down...I think it has to do with belief in myself and my abilities, my lack of this at times. Writing is not an easy task, but on the other side, it sure feels amazing at the end of a good 'writing' day...

The "Snobs" up in the Appalachian Hills L&G

It may sound like an unattainable dream, but one thing that helps me motivate when I don't feel strong, is to remember Geoffrey, and how he has stuck to his career to give us a very good life. I would LOVE to someday be able to offer the same to him. To give him the choice of whether or not he wants to work outside the home. Whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself or unsure of what I'm doing, I think of him and how he supports me in all ways. How can I do less? This is a key for me, to think outside of myself. Because I feel that when I don't at least try to live up to more than I think I can be, that is being selfish. It works for me to think of others and what I can share with them.  So, I’ll keep writing and dreaming and see where I go…