Many thanks…Reflecting on the “Bearing Witness” Book Launch Party

It has been almost two weeks since the launch of my latest book and the memory of an absolutely wonderful evening still lingers.  I am so thankful to all of you who attended the book launch party and to those who assisted me in the days leading up to the event.

The evening was the elegant and intimate celebration that I envisioned. I was able to share my passion with friends and strangers, many of whom shared theirs in return. I have learned so much about myself and others; namely that being grateful sends a call out into the universe to usher a larger measure of prosperity into your life. I have prospered in all of the ways that matter in this life, and I remain committed to helping those who wish to find their passion and purpose; their peace and prosperity.

The days since the book launch find me scheduling appearances and writing classes, tracking sales, managing distribution, staying connected to friends and family and most important, finding time to write.  I cannot rest on the laurels of this book; it is time to write the next one.

There are presently two books in the works; one based on this blog and another that finds its heroine dealing with “the Church”. I will discuss the process of completing each of these offerings as time goes on.

In the meantime, I ask the universe to allow each of you to see your passion clearly. May you garner the courage necessary to bring your passion to fruition; for the universe can give you the vision, but you must give the vision its wings.

As you wait for clarity, be Thankful. When clarity arrives, be thankful; grateful in times of bright light and in ink-black darkness. Resolve to be grateful within the simplicity of “being”. Stay in your “now”: the past is over and the future will take care of itself. It is in the “right now” that your purpose and passion have their say…listen, and say “thank you”…always.

Selah,

Camille

To order “Bearing Witness”, please visit:

https://www.createspace.com/3644992

Change of Season

On Friday, September 23^rd, friends, family, acquaintances and fans will join me to celebrate the launch of my seventh book, “Bearing Witness”. This poetry collection is my most important undertaking to date. It is my best offering; the one in which I am most proud. The combination of previous published poems and the musings that have shaped the past year are a loving and detailed map of my life’s journey.

It is no accident that the date of this book launch is the same day as the Fall Equinox. Just as nature cools down from the scorch of summer and prepares the meadows and foliage for winter’s cold affection, I too am preparing to don my own cloak of cool change; looking forward to the color and growth of next spring.

In addition to book signings, speaking engagements, and my occasional classroom appearances, Fall will find my writing transitioning from poetry to prose. The novel that has begged for my attention for the last three years will finally have its way; as will my unnamed essay collection; and the fifty or so books that are on my “must-read-by-the-end-of-the-year” list. The season will also find me in total surrender to “love”; its honor and challenge, its innocence and clarity.

I remain grateful for my journey and the companionship, support and affection of friends, fans and, yes, the words that continue to accompany me; I celebrate them often, both in public and in private.

Selah,

Camille

*For additional information about the “Bearing Witness” book launch party, please send a message via the following link: http://cammyslanding.yolasite.com/contact-cammyslanding.php.

Perception as Muse

I am often inspired by the way in which people envision the world around them, particularly when they insist that their perception offers little in the way of inspiration for my pen.

For instance, I have a friend who works in the Alaskan tundra (he can actually see Russia from his house!). During a recent conversation, he described his surroundings in cool and barren terms. He mentioned a heavy fog that limited his view to just a few hundred feet ahead; enviable, cool temperatures; and that he stood among several dull, red buildings which flanked one lone green structure, unworthy of any further description.

My response was typical of a writer; I wanted to be there to compare and contrast his point of view to mine. He contended that his landscape would leave my pen dull and my paper bare. And just like that, I felt challenged to discover a revelation within my friend’s skepticism.  A few hours later I presented to him, “Alaskan Fog”, my tribute to his austere vista.

Alaskan Fog (for Greg J.)

He works within the barren tones

of an unforgiving landscape;

insisting there is

no rhyme

or

no reason

for my pen and ink to make its mark

in this tundra of black gold–

I beg to differ.

His purpose grays his surroundings

and antiques nearby scarlet and jade structures nearby;

silver-linings are lost in low clouds

content to insulate fog’s influence

and obstruct farsightedness.

Yet,

in the midst of his existence,

constrained by distance and a gulf of Pacific mist,

he manages to keep me in full view.

© 2011 Camille Gray. All right reserved.

For writers, perception is an undisputed means to harnessing the creative process. I find it especially useful to employ conjecture at times to record the movements of a particular individual in a crowd.

During a recent downtown outing, I noticed a young woman in distress standing on a railroad platform, seemingly waiting for the next train. I could not tell if she was waiting to board or waiting to jump.  She left little distance in her face and in her posture to change her mind about her decision. I recognized the despair in her countenance; I have been its counselor and friend.  

Perhaps it was a mother’s prayer that led this bystander to board the train with me; maybe it was the simple realization that all was in fact not lost or as bad as she perceived it to be. Perhaps it was both.  She left the train two stops later without our exchanging so much as a glance. I continued on to my destination, composing this poem enroute:

Waiting

Melancholy hovers heavily as she waits for the next train:

The memory and demise of Virginia Wolfe and Sylvia Plath

encircle her space along with private demons thought long exorcised.

Don’t judge. You have yours too.

I watch and wonder:

Will she board —

joining the other unhappy travelers on a hapless adventure;

riding until her mind no longer

thinks

or

spins?

Or…

will she join her circle of mischievous spirits–

taking an impolite and well-heeled stride

into the path of her intended;

silencing

all spin

and

all thought?

©2011 Camille Gray. All rights reserved.

So much of creative composition is an exercise into discovering the insight of others. Some of our noblest and innovative creations arrive when we give ourselves permission to be the inventors of and witnesses to fabricated perception, whose outcome gives our audience a clever, climatic and delightfully sensory literary experience.

Selah,

Camille

Editing Life

As an editor, I am confounded by the number of writers who refuse editing; insisting that their work is perfect as it stands. It is especially disheartening to hear this proclamation from novice writers who stand firm in the certainty that their religious beliefs, combined with divine inspiration, somehow exempts them from the issues of grammar, punctuation, subject-verb agreement and numerous other problems that writers new and seasoned inevitably have with their work.

It takes a great degree of arrogance to believe that one’s work is exempt from the entirety of the writing process; that we can simply write without regard to the consequences of the process. I learned very early in my writing career that any work can benefit from a critique, regardless of its source of inspiration. The lessons of the editing process are valuable for one’s work and life.

Every critique I endure is an invitation to improve upon my voice and to examine my way of life. For instance, an editor once told me that I have a tendency to write in “code”. I was encouraged to simply say what must be said. I could trace that observation back to my personal life. The result has been that I am more diplomatically direct in both my creative and personal voice. I reserve the cloak and dagger tendencies in my writing for the most appropriate moments.  

My life and my writing must be edited to accommodate the time and space bestowed upon me by the generosity of the universe. Otherwise, words and opportunities wander aimlessly and may be, consequently, all together lost.

I am more willing than ever to change what must be changed for the good of my work and to accommodate the forces keeping me in touch with my desires and purpose. I wish that new writers would welcome the eye of experience on their creative and personal pursuits. Each of us can benefit from a bit of editing; whether in our writing or in our life.

To be certain, our first draft is never our last.

Camille