M. Larose's Blog: From the Meadow and the Tower, page 2

Emerging from the Winter Earth

Like the ground around my home, I've been struggling to break free of winter's grip. Concerns with boring yet important things, such as frozen pipes and household budgets, have kept my creativity suppressed. But as I watch the potted tulip bulbs on my kitchen countertop begin to push up green shoots through the soil, I feel my imagination growing complicated, rich scenes that will soon push themselves out as shooting words and swirling sentences, to unfold in a rainbow of emotional images and colors.
And so I wrestle with the balance between impatience for spring's glory and the need for gentle awakening from winter's icy grip. We must be gentle with emerging, and allow the unseen energies to strengthen and bloom in their own proper time. Forced flowers can be beautiful, but their energy soon fades.
So I'm allowing myself to linger in the thawing, and trust that the blooms will be vibrant when my flowers of imagination finally burst forth and are recorded as new scenes in the sequel to The Flower Eater. This is my current flowery vision!

Flower Spirits, Flower Thoughts

Certain flowers have an energy, like a personality, that seems to communicate with you when you walk among them. In my quirky, backyard garden there are many daylilies and "tree-lilies" in shades from orange, to lavender, pink, and red -- and all of them seem to greet me when I stroll among them. Their eager, happy faces remind me of gentle dragons. Unopened lily buds, still closed but just about to bloom, look like friendly lizards, dozing in the sun, just about to open their eyes.
Every type of flower has something wonderful about it. And the tiny creatures who live among their leaves and flower petals - what a delight to find a tiny frog, the size of my thumbnail, sitting on a lily leaf. I saw such a tiny frog one summer. As I stooped to view it better, it put on a stunning acrobatic show, leaping from one long-bladed leaf to another. Finally, the little frog landed, clinging to the pointed tip of one leaf.
Yes, I feel a world of magic when I'm near blooming flowers. I've tried to conjure that feeling in my fantasy writing, in the world of The Flower Eater) -- along with the emotional world of the human characters. And I'll be exploring these ideas further in the sequel.

Thanks for your interest!

I'm starting this blog with a powerful, heartfelt "thanks!" to everyone who entered the contest to win my book, The Flower Eater, and/or added it to your "want to read" shelf, or who's already read it!
Thank you so much!! Your interest is very motivating and encouraging. The response to my Goodreads' giveaway was very exciting. I feel very grateful and optimistic.
It's been a hard winter, but spring is in the air at last. Even though my state is still locked in snow, a warm-up is due soon. And today I saw 5 ants on the kitchen counter -- a sure sign of spring each year!
I've had many distractions recently, including a flooded basement, but the sequel to The Flower Eater is coming along well. I guesstimate it's 1/6th of the way complete. The next scene up for writing is a pivotal one. It will be very dramatic!
That's all I'm saying for now. Thanks again for your interest!