Might and Main Monday: Provence Vacation in my Mind
What is a vacation? By my definition, it’s a place where you go to relax and feel happy. In that case, writing is my vacation. It’s where I’m in a “flow” state, where I’m not concerned about every day tasks and feel spiritually at ease. This year I’m taking a Provence vacation as I write this novel. I imagine its countryside, its delicious food, its charming villages. Yes, I want to be there in person, but I can’t, so as I’ve mentioned before, I travel in my mind. I sit outside…
Why a Novel About a Flower That Makes You Forget? Part 2
Last week, in my post about the origins of my novel about a flower (The Forgetting Flower), I talked about the idea of plant scents, memory, and why I thought working in a plant shop would be a fun experience. Of course, I put forth the question of what life would be like if you had a plant whose flower was dangerous to inhale. And who would care for that plant? How would the person have obtained it in the first place? The Flower in Question I’m really into African Violets…
Why a Novel About a Flower That Makes You Forget? Part 1
Most people love fragrant flowers. Who doesn’t want to take in the sweet smell of a lily or antique perfume of a rose? Scents are one of the gifts plants give us. They add to our sensory world. They, more than taste or sight or sound or touch, take us to a time in our lives of memory. Vivid memory. So what if there were a flower whose scent was dangerous? What if there were a scent whose inhalation caused one to lose a memory? Two summer ago, I kept…
Might and Main Monday: Inspired by Lavender
In July, I see lavender everywhere: in my garden as it blooms in the sun, in my mind as I write a novel set in Provence, on public street corners, in the books I read. This year, my summer beams that dark purple color. I’m driven to capture its look, its feel, its fragrance in words. Those soft felty leaves, its awakening scent. And I’m interested in how and when lavender has appeared in literature over the centuries. So I went on a quest to find an inspiring quote about…
Why I Wrote a Novel About a Unique Apple: Excerpt
During these last few weeks, I shared two posts about the origins of and botany in my novel about a unique apple, Harvesting the Sky. The first article covered how I merged issues of an emotional past with plants and the second, my inability to eat apples and subsequent fascination with them. This week I’m posting the final segment of this series with an excerpt from the book’s first chapter. It takes place in Kazakhstan while the rest of the novel, as in The Forgetting Flower, takes place in Paris. I…
