Lucinda Moebius's Blog, page 3

Words

Words speak

So quiet in my mind

Hope

Loss

Peace

War

Love

Hate

They want to heard

They cry out to be heard

No longer quiet

They are heard

What book should everyone read in their lifetime?

I recently asked this question of my facebook friends.  I didn’t expect the responses I received.  Check this out and see what books you have read and which ones you still need to read.  Feel free to add your own recommendations.  I took out the names of the posters to protect their identity and just left their initials.  If you are one of the posters feel free to claim your comment.

I’m making a list of authors or books every person should read at least once in their lifetime. Give me your ideas please!

K.C. The Neverending Story. Least, I think so.

A.A. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

L. C. Needful Things by Stephen King and Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

K. C. Arshad, The Alchemist? Really? I am in the minority of people who really disliked that book. I couldn’t finish it. It just struck me as being so preachy and pretentious. Maybe I should try again.

M.F. The Lord of The Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.

K. C. Authors: William Shakespeare, Louis de Bernieres, Mary Shelley, Mary Renault, Tim Winton, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Anne Sexton, Maurice Gee, Phillip Pullman, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Ruth Park, David Malouf, Darcy Niland, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kurt Vonnegut, Ethel

Turner, Louisa May Alcott, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Kostova, Cormac MacCarthy, Raymond E. Feist, GRR Martin, Monica Ali, Khaled Hosseini, Kahlil Gibran, Thea Astley, Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally, John Boyne, Roddy Doyle, Anne Frank, Sylvia Plath, Dr. Seuss, Lynley Dodd, Betty Brock, Rohinton Ministry (if you like tales of woe), Aldous Huxley, John Wyndham, George Orwell, Harper Lee, DBC Pierre, Iris Murdoch, Ray Bradbury … I could go on.

M.W. S. ‎”Grendel” by John Gardner

M.F. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (not sure which specific book to recommend out of that).

A. W. T. ‎”One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez. “Galápagos” by Kurt Vonnegut if you have never read anything else by the man, “Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said” by Philip K. Dick, “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf.

K. C. I forgot John Marsden, Marcus Zusak, Geraldine Brooks, and Margaret Atwood.

A. W. The Bible. If religious people actually read what it says, there would be a lot less religious people lol!

S. B. L. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

A.W. T. To ad to what K. said — A Handsmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a must read.

A. W.T. And to Alex Weise — many athiests exist because they have actually studied biblical text. [image error]

K. C. The Old Testament is a ripping yarn though.

A. W. T. Yeah — that whole: God deciding randomly to destroy the entire project about 5 times (that we know of), then being all remorseful after the fact — more Alanon than spiritual. IMO.

K. C. Yes, but it’s the incest, baby killing, and attempted human sacrifice (nice one, Abraham), as well as Jonah surviving inside a whale’s stomach for that long, that really make it worthwhile. And you thought GRR Martin was bad. [image error]

A. W. T. Yeah, old testament has God ( in our own image) more bumbling agressive alcoholic father, than deity. Sorry to the devout, but if you read it, I don’t know how anyone can fail to make that connection.

A.W. T. IMO

M. W. S. And there goes this thread…

A. W. T. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett changed my life and is one of my favorites. (Even have a 9 inch tattoo across my back that relates to said story)

A. W. T. That bring it back, Matthew? [image error]

K. C. Yes, The Secret Garden is awesome. Let’s not forget Judy Blume, Paul Jennings, Susan Coolidge, SE Hinton. LM Montomery, EB White, Astrid Lindgren, Robert C O’Brien and Mary O’Hara.

L. M. Holy cow! This is the most active thread I have ever posted on Facebook! Keep the awesome titles coming!

L. M. As for the bible bashing thread, I recommend reading all religious texts, they give us insight into the hearts of men in all its evil, gory detail. I believe in God, it’s mans’ interpretation and manipulation that makes it so messed up.

B. W. W.L. ‎”It is only with the heart that one sees clearly. That which is essential is invisible to the eye.”

-The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A. W. That was my point exactly lol!

M. F. Frankenstien. The Maltese Falcon.

H. B. The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch.

G. A. I’m glad we can stay on topic…Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

C. B. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie. The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. The Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte. The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler.

A. S. Most of the ones I thought of have already been listed, with the addition of The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

P. F. I’m late to the party with Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby… I’d add Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein), Great Expectations (Dickens), The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood), and don’t forget 1984, Animal Farm, and Brave New World. Invisible Man, Black Like Me. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn… Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Gone With The Wind.

P. F. I was just thinking this morning of three short story collections that have stayed with me: Alice Munro’s “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” Elmore Leonard’s “When the Women Come Out to Dance,” and Nathan Englander’s “For the Relief of Unbearable Urges.” Good short stories can be FABULOUS.

S.W. H. I have read the majority of those ‘classic’ books and I appreciate understanding the cultural touchstones involved, but can’t say I liked more than a few of them. I think everyone should read the Harry Potters and it’s even better if you have or can borrow a child to read it to.

S. W.H. Though now that I read the list again, I realize I liked more than I thought–all the Vonneguts, Tolkien, Mark Twain, a bunch of others; I even managed to finish all of Elizabeth Kostova’s vampire book.

C.D.-R. I still think of “The Grapes of Wrath”

C. D-R. But the BEST writing I’ve found is just about ANYTHING by David Foster Wallace. Start with “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.” It’s a bonbon for the mind.

C. D-R. God that makes me want to go read it

M.F. Has anyone suggested Neil Gaiman yet? He’s my favourite author, I’d suggest starting with either Neverwhere, or Good Omens which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.

L. C. ooh,ooh! ::raises hand:: 1984! Like Patrice Fitzgerald said! And don’t forget Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

M. C. Neuromancer by William Gibson

Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

Lord Of Light by Roger Zelazny

The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.

Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison

L. M. You guys are all amazing! I’m going to send you all friend requests. I’ve read most of these books and have some of them on my kindle. I’m going to see if I can get the ones I haven’t read downloaded. Thank you, and keep them coming. 1984 is one of my favorites.

D. J B.  Terry Goodkind – Sword of Truth series; Kim Harrison – The Hollows Series; Sherrilyn Kenyon/Kinley MacGregor – Dark Hunters, Dream Hunters, Werehunters (the three share a storyline with characters from the others), Lords of Avalon, Brotherh…ood of the Sword, Chronicles of Nick, The League series, BAD series; anything by Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy and the Jason Bourne books by Robert Ludlum and continued by Eric Van Lustbader as well as Eric van Lustbader’s Peral series.See More

D. J B. That’s for starters.

C. B. Eric Jerome Dickey, Beverly Jenkins and J.R. Ward

D.J B. Patricia Briggs, Christina Dodd, Charlaine Harris, Tara K Harper, W.E.B. Griffin, James Patterson.

Amazon Gift Card Give-a-Way

It’s time for another give-a-way.  This time I am giving away a $25 Amazon gift card.  If you would like a chance to win this gift card all you have to do is these two things:

1.  Go to my face book fan page and give it a like.  Lucinda Moebius fan page. If you already like it you are halfway there, you don’t have to like it again.

2.  Check out my past blog posts.  What do you like?  What would you like to see more of?  I would love to hear suggestions for blog posts.  Once you post your suggestions to this blog your name will be antered into the drawing for the gift card.

Anyone can enter to win.  All you have to so is respond to this blog post with a suggestion for a blog idea.  The drawing will be held July 1, 2012 antithe winner will be notified via Facebook.  Good luck and dream big.

 

 

Humanity

What is it to be a Human?  I mean,what separates Mankind from the lesser Animals?  These are the questions we all ask ourselves.  Science tries to answer these questions.  It tells us the ability to communicate, think, use tools and any other number of simplistic seeming ideas, makes us human.  Doctors point to x-rays and cat scans and tell us our unique bone structure and our ability to walk upright and being bipedal allowed us free range of motion with our hands, therefore we were able to adapt to the world with greater aility than our animal counterparts.   Psychologists look at the structure of the brain.  The human brain is larger, more complex and is heavily populated by dendrites, more so than any other creature on Earth.  So many definitions to create one man.

It is hard to nail down exactly what makes us human.  What makes us think we are grter than say a dolphin, or a dog or even a pig?  Couldn’t a dolphin be thinking, “Wow, I’m the greatest creature God ever created.  I’ve learned to live in the water and still breath air.  I can interact with my pod-mates, swim in the deepest parts of the ocean with sharks and whales and sting rays and still come out smelling like, well, I still smell like a fish, but fish aren’t all that bad.  I AM the greatest creature God ever created.” 

So, what is it to be human?  As I create my novels and develop characters I have to constantly think about this question.  After all, I want my characters to be believable.  I believe humanity means to be human.  I am watching a program about a doctor whose mission in life is to remove nearly inoperable tumors.  This doctor travels to foreign countries at his own expence and begs hospitals to allow him to perform these surgeries.  He doesn’t do this for glory or fame, in fact at one point he kicked camera crews out of the room.  He does it because he believes no one should suffer and every one should have the opportunity to live life free of pain and suffering.  Every person has the right to live.

This program shows every side of humanity.  The family and friends of the patients rally and support their loved one without fear or cringing.  Perfect strangers fear the tumors, or stare, take pictures or are cruel and hateful.  This is part of humanity as well.  We don’t like strangeness and we fear that which we do not understand.  We want to thrust it away from us with force and power.

It is impossible to define what it is to be human, but humanity is to feel, to love, to hate, to hurt, to be.  There is power in humanity, beyond just what it is be human.  One of these days I too will be able to swim in the deepest part of the ocean and breath air and after all, fish aren’t that bad.

Wind

The wind speaks to me

Whistling as it tries to form words

I can hear the rattle of old bones

The cry of a child

The loss

The longing

It rages

Pulling at my hair

My body

My soul

Will it rip me from myself?

Cry out wind!

Do what you will!

I do not fear you!

Bring in what monsters you will.

I will fight.

Beware of what you post on Facebook

This was perhaps the best thread I had on Facebook for a long time. I’m looking forward to writing some interesting story lines. The best part was I posted this as a joke.

Of course I will write you into my next novel….. Now how exactly would you to die?

Angela Moonstarr can you have me die and go to fairy world to live as an immortal

Scott Whitney As a Soldier who was captured while fighting off a holdout band of cannibals in the Owyhee Mountains!

Angela Moonstarr Im in a spaceship going through a wormhole and space and time stop, I am dead but I dont know it because I’m in the fairy relm now but everyone on earth thinks I am dead, it leaves an opening for me to come back to life ehh?

Scott Whitney But you may have to make me take a pill that would make my muscle tissue and organs toxic to the tribe that eats me.

Angela Moonstarr lol ha ha ha omg that hillarious

Lucinda Hawks Moebius Holey Cow Scott. This is going to end up in my next book. I was going to write in some cannabilistic creatures into the story. I really like your idea.

Scott Whitney I think the Owyhee Mountains would work best as the carrying capacity of the land would mean that the anti-government types that ran to that quarter of the land would soon overhunt the area and would need to resort to cannibalism faster tha…

Scott Whitney And if I was genetically altered to be able to withstand poisons, the pill making me toxic to the cannibals would have no effect on me.

Lucinda Hawks Moebius I think you’re right. The cannibalism was a thread that just developed last week (as a response to the events in the news). This just solidified the story thread. [image error]

Lucinda Hawks Moebius Angela, your story will have to wait until I write my fantasy novels.

Grandpa

The other night my grandfather came to visit me. He always seems to know when I need him and is always there for me when I need to feel loved or have a shoulder to cry on. Grandpa showed up at about three in the morning with a message for me.

Oh, did I mention my grandfather passed away about eight years ago?

I was fast asleep when I was suddenly jerked awake by the feeling of someone passing through my room at a very fast pace. It was like he was driving a horse-drawn chariot and I could feel the drumming of horses hooves and the wind of the wheels. Within seconds I was thinking about my brothers did sisters and all the things I needed to do for them. My family loves and supports each other despite all of our personality differences.

I know my grandfather had a message for me about my family. I don’t know what the message is, maybe he just wanted to check up on me and see what I was up to. Maybe he is concerned about my siblings and he wanted to let me know to watch out for them.

Whatever the message is, don’t worry grandpa, I’m listening.

So, how much of this is a dream and how much of this is real? All I know is it took me about two hours to go back to sleep.

Once I finish the Haven series I am going to write a couple of ghost stories.

In the smoke

In the smoke

I stand

Alone

In the smoke

I fight

I live

I love

In the smoke

I learn

In the smoke

I burn

Free copy of Echoes of Savanna

I am giving away five free copies of my first novel, Echoes of Savanna. In order to get a free copy this is what your have to do….

1. Go to Amazon or Smashwords and preview the book.

2. Post a response to this blog describing why you are interested in reading the novel.

3. Like my facebook fan page: Lucinda moebius fan page.

4. Friend me on facebook and Goodreads

The first five people who fulfill all these requirements will receive a coupon code to receive a copy of the novel from Smashwords. Smashwords will allow you to download a copy of the novel to any type of digital device.

The final favor I would ask from those who receive the gift of the novel is for them to write an honest review of the novel and post it on Amazon and Smashwords. I’m looking forward to hearing from you all.

Who was Juliet?

One of the most tragically, romantic figures of all time. Juliet, the beautiful daughter of the Capulet house. Her story is one of the most recognizable and quoted stories of all time. Juliet, who loved Romeo so desperately, she was willing to drink a potion that put her to sleep just so she could be with him is perhaps the most tragic heroines of all times.

The nurse’s pet name for her, Jule, brings to mind the most precious jewels designed to adorn the fingers, throats and crowns of royalty. This beautiful flower of the Capulet family was the adored child of Lord Capulet’s old age. She was destined to be gifted to the most noble of men in Verona.

When Lord Paris came calling we find out she is desirable above all women. He loved her just for her beauty alone. Like many men in Verona, he wanted her to be his wife. Juliet’s father knew he was worthy to be a husband to her, his only concern, his daughter was two and a half weeks away from being fourteen, too young to be a bride. Of course the play was written over five-hundred years ago so Paris’s response to Lord Capulet “Younger than she are happy mothers made”. (I.ii) is of course reasonable considering most women were married by the time they were twelve years old. When Lord Capulet renews his objection by saying the women who are made mothers so early are marred you realize he is talking through experience. Lord Capulet was at least in his fitness if not older in the play. His wife, who claimed she was already Juliet’s mother by the time she was fourteen, was a victim of this young marriage. Lady Capulet was only 28 at the oldest. She should have been in her best childbearing years. We can only assume she was so badly damaged during Juliet’s delivery she would never be able to carry another child.

So, what of this child Juliet? Was she a victim of society? Did she love Romeo to the point she really was willing to die for him? Was she just a rebellious teenager who was spoiled beyond recognition?

When we first meet Juliet we discover her mother didn’t even have a good relationship with her. I mean, she couldn’t even talk to her daughter without the nurse present. Most of her questions were directed at Juliet through the nurse. At first Juliet seems biddable enough. Mom asked her what she thought about marriage and like any reasonable teenager, she said “ya, know I never really thought about it”. (ok, I took a little poetic lisence). When mom asks her if she could love Paris Juliet responded with “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly”. (I.iii) She agreed to check out Paris, but she wouldn’t do anything about it unless her parents okayed it.

Juliet changed from being the obedient daughter to the rebellious teenager as soon as Romeo came on the scene. The first time they meet they create a sonnet together.

[To JULIET] If I profane with my unworthiest hand

This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:

My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET

Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,

Which mannerly devotion shows in this;

For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,

And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.

ROMEO

Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?

JULIET

Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO

O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;

They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET

Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.

ROMEO

Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take. (I.v)

This most romantic formulaic poetic device was the epitome of true love. From the moment Juliet met Romeo you knew their love was doomed. It is no surprise they both end up dead at the end of the play. So, my question for you, my friends, was Juliet a rebellious teenager from the beginning of the play, or did her love for Romeo change her? You tell me, but remember, defend your answer.