Sequel, To Be or Not To Be

I've been working on my next novel and wonder why I succumbed to writing a sequel. A first novel is very easy because you can let the ideas and characters form as you go. With a sequel you have to remember the names, dates, places of all of the characters and sequences of the first novel. The research for new ideas is time consuming but necessary to make the story consistent. All in all I'm enjoying this new experience of making the pages come alive with visuals, dialogue and scenery. Ah! Gotta love a good writing experience.

I’m sitting at the pool doing my Wednesday evening pool duty. I look through the windows of the adjacent fitness room at the television that is clearly showing the Family Guy adult cartoon. It reminds me of my youth and sharing a room with my older sister. We would lie across the bed and watch the silent movies shown on the TV at the next door neighbor’s house. Sometimes we would crawl up in the window space to get a better look. Our neighbor, who had only one child, was glad to share this time with us. Sometimes she would even come out into the gangway and toss us a Popsicle or ice cream bar so we could enjoy the program as her daughter. This went on for a few weeks unknown to our mom. The neighbor would come into her daughter’s room and make sure the curtains were pulled back far enough so we could see what show her daughter was watching.
We would giggle at the black and white images not knowing what was being said only that the movement of the characters was funny. The next day we would meet up with our friend and talk about the movie. We could imagine what was going on in the film. Once we giggled so loud that it brought our mom up the stairs and into our room to see what we were doing. Ah shucks. There goes our nighttime treat because we knew our mom was going to speak to the neighbor. Its simple things like that that make me appreciate a time in my childhood. Such are the memories of a writer.

In The Company of My Sisters

I have recently fondly been called a Facebook addict and I may agree. There is something grand about social media that makes you become more actively involved in your world. So before I go further, please let me give a huge thank you to Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg. I don’t imagine he would have known all of the positive effects his invention would have on humanity. Introverts can through the magic pages of Facebook become extroverts. Loners interact a lot better when they do decide to leave the comfort of their computer screen. Now that I have sufficiently thanked Mr. Zuckerberg let me continue this discourse. Discovering a plethora of tools with which to enhance the work I have been called to do in this season, let me say that none of this would be possible without my personal, spiritual, familiar network of great people. Having come from a large family of mostly girls, I know how to interact with my “sisters” on many levels. I think that having sisters both natural and familiar is a blessing in itself. A very dear female preacher friend (sister in the Lord) lauded the benefits of aligning yourself with a network of sisters. Her message “In the Company of My Sisters” is one that I shall cherish because it helps me understand that you are my sister and that I should be able to count on you for nurturing, love, support and discipline. These characteristics that I look for in you will help me understand my life’s work. If you were thinking that you are an Island and that you are accomplished because of your own sweat and tears let’s just say that somewhere along the way to accomplishment there was a network of sisters and sister/friends that helped build and mold you. This year alone I have connected in an enhanced way, with five great sister networks; my natural sisters, my Christian sisters, (both local and national)

, and the same for my sorority sisters. Now while everything is rosy, I am able to be comfortable with these ladies whose only objective is to better one another. The plans, programs and principles of each worthy group help me understand that I am in the presence of a great company of sisters. As I reach toward the mark of the higher calling my plan is to take you with me.

One day while still serving as a classroom teacher, a child was withdrawn from my class. He had not been a very bright child but one that was growing as I took him under my wings as a special student. He had been placed in my class just a few weeks earlier specifically by the Resource Teacher. He had come from another school where he was in a developmental first grade. It was enough to be in a developmental stage but then to be demoted back to kindergarten could have been a blow to his little ego. I watched him and nurtured him as a mother kangaroo looks after her joey. I sheltered him from the cruel teasing of his classmates. Today, if I were to lead a workshop for new teachers, this sort of nurturing would be unheard of. Today’s instruction is monolithic. Its all about catering to the educational nucleus, the brain power. While the total child is left to put his own puzzle together it is the heartfelt nurturing of the insightful teacher that brings him toward destiny.

Patrice's Thoughts

Day 1 – Butterfly

It is unusually cool for a summer afternoon. Perhaps the winds of a storm have made it so. Sitting in the red, four door Ford, a car purchased from a second chance lot, she watches the high schoolers traipse across the parking lot of the outdoor mall. Waiting for time to pass before her tutoring session begins she watches these children who look like something from the 90210 television show. Many are children of privilege, as are the ones she will shortly tutor. Her mind is on nothing in particular, as she sits and watches the clouds roll up into grayish fists as if they are about to give the earth a liquid beating. Instead the clouds squeeze out balls of heavy air as it sweeps the parking lots and the streets. She pulls out her large blue journal and begins jotting down more thoughts. She has lots of unanswered questions and hopes that by simply studying them in the journal she will find the answers. Although the weather is threatening she lets the cool winds drift through her windows.
“What am I doing out here in the cold? Have I become so complacent that I've lost my drive, my focus and perseverance? Was my lack of ambition procrastination or was it from being in a stupefied state of shock?” She asks the very dangerous question, “Why am I here Lord”? She sighs as she looks out at the sky.

Oops! Did I Do That?

I have been working so hard on my next novel that I seemed to have lost my infringement mind somewhere. After working a whole night and day to get a beautiful post together for my fan page, it was finally ready. What a proud moment! Beautiful illustrations, beautiful pictures and a wonderful sound byte I uploaded from one of my CDs. Oops! Why didn't I check the status of the song to make sure it was available to the public for use? Well all of that work was not in vain because I simply deleted that music, added a voice over, a very lovely voice if I do say so myself, and a new non-infringed song. Voila it was done. And boy is it beautiful. Check it out on Facebook at Patrice Baylor Leigh. Thank you and goodnight.