What if we could affect someone else's tomorrow?
I awoke to the sound of the fire alarm, not quite five in the morning. Saturday. The house quiet, me alone. A thought blossomed as I pondered what to do for the day: what are others doing? Are we somehow connected? Have the same rope others have yet different because it is our own? I read the Bible, still amazed at the stories it tells: seemingly contemporary tales of love, ambition, jealousy, mercy. Tales. A Tale To Tell. I had the title before the story!
War news dominated the papers: wounded, dead, handicapped, beings torn from usual surroundings — could they begin anew? Could I? They, we, have nurses, family, friends, advocates ... people who may need some loving care themselves but who nevertheless are there when needed. Yet, what we mostly choose to ignore, which we have in common, is within us, that otherness that pulls us up from anywhere, anytime, given the chance.
As the months passed, I amassed clippings and wrote notes. That was 2008, but the tale, although slightly different from what I had intended that morning, is just beginning.
Not just the e-cover and eventually the paperback cover too, but EVERYTHING. Might as well. Even though it is copyrighted, I have nothing else for it. Still editing here and there.
MINE TO GIVE: needs a paperback cover. It must be exact for printing. May finish a mock up and order a copy to see it on hand.
It's the proverbial vicious circle: do this for that, but need that for the other.
But it is what I've done
I now write in Scrivener and on paper (paper being any surface that accepts my writing), yet I do not use Scrivener to its full potential. But the main goal is to write, and for that I don't need bells and whistles.
Adobe is a monster worth knowing (forget mastering). Between stumbling, YouTube, and advise from my designer son, I am figuring out a process that works. Will endeavor to learn more in a proper manner.
innocuous: harmless, inoffensive, insipid
The website has proven more difficult than the books themselves. Stories just happen, whereas a website must be planned and organized meticulously (so I am told), though I believe it should just happen too. This one is a mix of planning and then going off the cuff.
off the cuff: casually & spontaneously; extemporaneous; impromptu
As my designer guru assures me, I must plan. Which is not my thing. Except when I travel, and although planning for travel reaps benefits, the unknown and surprising also make a journey special. I know this quite well ... in travel, just like in writing, I love going off the cuff.
of Aromatic Touchdowns
was born years ago but has yet to develop. Not sure there is enough for it to stand on its own (except as a novella, which I'd rather it were not). Thought of it while taking a bath and it is, in a way, about baths — it's why the touchdowns are aromatic.
With delightful insight,
Agnes entices her husband of 25 years
to share with her one hour in a scented bath
in exchange for time in front of the television
... watching football.
After the first,
they make a pact to give each other
three hours a week to watch football and soak in a tub, and end up falling in love with life
all over again.
"Let's take a bath."
"Sure, just what I want to do on a Sunday afternoon."
"No, let's instead watch another football game and little yellow hankies blowing in the air!"
"Let's is a stretch, you have never watched a game. And those are not ankerchifs."
She doesn't correct him, believing she has a once-in-a-lifetime chance ... and waits.
"They are flags."
"Flags?"
"Yes, flags."
A Book of Letters
At work one day I was astounded by some colleagues, mostly men, and as I tried to find words to describe them I was truly at a loss — which is saying something. Are there enough letters in the alphabet? The thought sparked an idea that thrilled and made me laugh. I first asked men for words that begin with certain letters, for fun, to see how they compare with mine, but now just ask anyone to see what jumps from within. We'll see.
From and TO Children
I saved an incredibly fun story one of my nephews wanted me to write for him when he was little many years ago, he is now in college, and have since written a few of my own. This section and perhaps an actual book (s) will be dedicated to, and will benefit, children.
a Prequel — Untitled
"If I could make a soul start a new life, here or anywhere, and get over a loss like the one that haunts me and at the same time keeps my heart beating within these walls, that keeps my mind wondering day and night, the pain would be worth everything. To provide the means for peace, those ounces of peace that sometimes I feel within the boundaries of this convent ..."
The tale of Sinjin's great-great-great-grandmother
Sinjin, he who thirsts, the great-great-great-grandson of an heiress that did not conceal her passion and lived against the grain. The lady in a story handed down by the fathers to the sons, a story that has defined them as men on honor and passion, and, above all, respect for a woman in love.
excerpts from Mine To Give
“It’s a man secret, for-our-ears-only kine of thing. But I can sae that Chloé, my unconventional great-great-great-grandmo-ther, did things maybe to shock, maybe to be her self. Why is irrelevant. I wish I had known her.”
“Then we wouldn’t have met.”
“That’s true. And you, what secrets do you have?”
While discussing love with friends, a tumultuous thought occurred to me because of the specific type of love discussed ~ cannot divulge it. I thought that yes, it is possible to love nevertheless, and contrived a plausible tale. Semi-plausible at least. I believe in it. Love is powerful and pure.
Chloé's predicament, as I don't have the details yet, I had for some time, but she became Sinjin's great-great-great grandmother after I created an ancestor in Mine To Give for the purpose of a dress. It just happened.
I love, love, writing.
coming . . . on their way . . . soon (ish)
© Inés Santiago 2019-2022 | all rights reserved | member of The Authors Guild
We travel with our bodies
and withIN ouR minds
a Tale To Tell Not a story of secrets, but of what we keep inside.
What if we could affect someone else's tomorrow?
I awoke to the sound of the fire alarm, not quite five in the morning. Saturday. The house quiet, me alone. A thought blossomed as I pondered what to do for the day: what are others doing? Are we somehow connected? Have the same rope, others have yet different because it is our own? I read the Bible, still amazed at the stories it tells: seemingly contemporary tales of love, ambition, jealousy, mercy. Tales. A Tale To Tell. I had the title before the story!
War news dominated the papers: wounded, dead, handicapped, beings torn from usual surroundings — could they begin anew? Could I? They, we, have nurses, family, friends, advocates ... people who may need some loving care themselves but who nevertheless are there when needed. Yet, what we mostly choose to ignore, which we have in common, is within us, that otherness that pulls us up from anywhere, anytime, given the chance.
As the months passed, I amassed clippings and wrote notes. That was 2008, but the tale, although slightly different from what I had intended that morning, is just beginning.
Not just the e-cover and eventually the paperback cover too, but EVERYTHING. Might as well. Even though it is copyrighted, I have nothing else for it. Still editing here and there.
MINE TO GIVE: needs a paperback cover. It must be exact for printing. May finish a mock up and order a copy to see it on hand.
It's the proverbial vicious circle: do this for that, but need that for the other.
SCRIVENER & ADOBE Attaining software knowledge when one doesn't want to learn by the book is not wise.
But it is what I've done
I now write in Scrivener and on paper (paper being any surface that accepts my writing), yet I do not use Scrivener to its full potential. But the main goal is to write, and for that I don't need bells and whistles.
Adobe is a monster worth knowing (forget mastering). Between stumbling, YouTube, and advise from my designer son, I am figuring out a process that works. Will endeavor to learn more in a proper manner.
innocuous: harmless, inoffensive, insipid
The website has proven more difficult than the books themselves. Stories just happen, whereas a website must be planned and organized meticulously (so I am told), though I believe it should just happen too. This one is a mix of planning and then going off the cuff.
off the cuff: casually & spontaneously; extemporaneous; impromptu
As my designer guru assures me, I must plan. Which is not my thing. Except when I travel, and although planning for travel reaps benefits, the unknown and surprising also make a journey special. I know this quite well ... in travel, just like in writing, I love going off the cuff.
of Aromatic Touchdowns
a Tale To Tell Not a story of secrets, but of what we keep inside.
SCRIVENER & ADOBE Attaining software knowledge when one doesn't want to learn by the book is not wise.
a Tale To TellNot a story of secrets, but of what we keep inside.
What if we could affect someone else's tomorrow?
I awoke to the sound of the fire alarm, not quite five in the morning. Saturday. The house quiet, me alone. A thought blossomed as I pondered what to do for the day: what are others doing? Are we somehow connected? Have the same rope, others have yet different because it is our own? I read the Bible, still amazed at the stories it tells: seemingly contemporary tales of love, ambition, jealousy, mercy. Tales. A Tale To Tell. I had the title before the story!
War news dominated the papers: wounded, dead, handicapped, beings torn from usual surroundings — could they begin anew? Could I? They, we, have nurses, family, friends, advocates . . . people who may need some loving care themselves but who nevertheless are there when needed. Yet , what we mostly choose to ignore, which we have in common, is within us, that otherness that pulls us up from anywhere, anytime, given the chance.
As the months passed, I amassed clippings and wrote notes. That was 2008, but the tale, although slightly different from what I had intended that morning, is just beginning.
Like a Blue Thread book coverMath, planning and organizing, more math . . .
Not just the e-cover and eventually the paperback cover too, but EVERYTHING. Might as well. Even though it is copyrighted, I have nothing else for it. Still editing here and there.
MINE TO GIVE: needs a paperback cover. It must be exact for printing. May finish a mock up and order a copy to see it on hand.
It's the proverbial vicious circle: do this for that, but need that for the other.
SCRIVENER & ADOBE Attaining software knowledge when one doesn't want to learn by the book is not wise.
But it is what I've done
I now write in Scrivener and on paper (paper being any surface that accepts my writing), yet I do not use Scrivener to its full potential. But the main goal is to write, and for that I don't need bells and whistles.
Adobe is a monster worth knowing (forget mastering). Between stumbling, YouTube, and advise from my designer son, I am figuring out a process that works. Will endeavor to learn more in a proper manner.
THIS WEBSITE It all started in such an innocuous way.
innocuous: harmless, inoffensive, insipid
The website has proven more difficult than the books themselves. Stories just happen, whereas a website must be planned and organized meticulously (so I am told), though I believe it should just happen too. This one is a mix of planning and then going off the cuff.
off the cuff: casually & spontaneously; extemporaneous; impromptu
As my designer guru assures me, I must plan. Which is not my thing. Except when I travel, and although planning for travel reaps benefits, the unknown and surprising also make a journey special. I know this quite well . . . in travel, just like in writing, I love going off the cuff.