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Getting Close

The printer’s proof is in the mail on its way to me. And here is the book’s cover with Shiloh Sophia’s painting. To my eye She is the perfect image of the Widow in all her paradox. She is the meeting place of opposites: the fiery annihilation of all that was formerly known, meeting the transformation in the present moment; the interpenetration of all colors and forms; the stillness of inner being with the evolution of new life; the suffering heart out of which grows the Tree of Life; the breath of Divine Spirit from which emerges the personal story; the sacred Rose, woman’s mandala of integration and wholeness. She is Wisdom, the brilliance of love, truth and beauty.

After examining my options for publication and balancing them with my understanding of how my writing life fits into the variations of energies in this world, I’ve chosen to continue publishing independently, using CreateSpace as printer, and John’s and my CyberScribe Publications as my publishing imprint. Since 1983, when my first book was published by Loyola University Press, I’ve had experience with virtually every form of publication: large and small traditional publishers, three different literary agents, and finally independent publishing. All of these forms have actually been wonderfully exciting and I’m glad to have had the experience when it was presented. As I age I want my work to increase in simplicity as it also increases in depth. I want the process to be calmer. I’ve come to experience that the encounter between the author and the reader is sacred. No matter which form of publication is chosen, this is so, but I am more conscious of the potential encounter and it’s blending of souls when my spirit is more stillwhen silence has become an open heart. When I publish independently I can approach each detail in a spirit of meditation which becomes a blessing from my heart to the heart of each reader who by some miracle happens upon that book.

Last week John received an email from a man in London. John’s book, Yearning for the Father, had fallen into this man’s hands, and he’d read it closely and with deep meditation. His letter of gratitude highlighted the sections he felt had graced his life. Even one encounter such as this is a source of wonder.

If we should meet some moment in a sentence or a word, I greet you there, and wrap your spirit in veils of grateful wonder.


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