Full Moon on the Rise

I can’t help it, everytime I see a full moon, I smile! Then I look around and try to see if I can spot a werewolf. Oh yeah, it’s true. Just like when I was a kid and was certain vampires were in the shadows. Full moons always make think of werewolves and then I have to look.

* Like in the meadow a few miles from my home. A full moon lights up that meadow, bathing it in warm light. I’m sure one day I’ll see a werewolf racing through the tall grass though so far…all I’ve spotted are deer and turkeys!

* Like on the ridge above the river. Moonlight showers down on the ridge and I search knowing that if I look long enough, a werewolf will stand tall against the night sky. So far, all I’ve seen is well–nothing. Not even a turkey.

* Like at the river’s edge. Surely a werewolf will follow the moon’s light to the river’s edge where it can drink before racing away again. So far, all I’ve see are deer, moose, and procupines.

Where oh where are the werewolves? Far from the city’s lights where trees are everywhere, the river runs wide and clear, and the hunting is good, the moon showers down and calls to the werewolves. I’ve looked and looked. Have I caught even a clue. Nope.

Nothing. Anywhere. Ever. But…I’m not giving up. After all, a full moon is on the rise!

The Eye of the Beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a phrase we’ve heard forever. The truth of it can’t be denied. Beauty really is different for each of us and that’s part of what makes the world so wonderful. The same is true of imagination. What seems normal and run of the mill to most people is something completely different for me. Case in point, fog. Not long ago, standing in my office many floors above the street, I gaze out the window and watch as the weather changes. Suddenly, my imagination takes flight! To everyone around me it simply looks as though a fog bank is rolling in. Not to me. My mind goes somewhere else entirely. I’m thinking…what if it’s not fog? What if vampires are invading my city. I race back to my desk, grab my camera and snap a picture out the window. To capture the world that sent my imagination spinning.

The eye of the beholder. You might see fog…or maybe you see vampires too…

Skin Walker in the morning

I would venture to say that every writer is routinely asked, “where do you get your ideas?” Hard question to answer because for me they come from EVERYWHERE! Take this morning for example. Sunday mornings @ 6:30 is run time for a group from my triathlon club. It’s a great group and we have an awesome time. This morning it was colder than a witch’s…well, you know where I’m going with this…and to top off the cold, I’d left my mp3 player in my office. Cold run, no tunes, what to do? Plot my short story for an upcoming anthology that’s what!! For the better part of five miles it was a fantasyland of shapeshifters and witches (the good guys) and the ever frightening skin walker (the bad guy). It’s amazing how fast five miles can go when you’re deep inside your head. My story plot was complete by the time I made it back to Starbucks. I may just have to forget my tunes more often.

Five Things I Learned From Vampires

I know I’ve been away from here far too long. Have I been busy? Terribly. Have I neglected this blog? Absolutely. Have I learned anything while I’ve been away? Damn straight!! To kick off my return, how about the five things I’ve learned from vampires?

1.  Don’t give up. It might look like the end but it could just be the beginning of something new and exciting.

2.  Don’t be afraid of the dark. No matter how dark it might seem, the light will always come again.

3.  Don’t be afraid to make friends. A true forever friend may walk into your world at any moment.

4. Don’t be intolerant. Despite differences in race, religion, sex, or sexual preference, beneath it all we’re the same: human beings.

5.  Don’t wallow in self-pity. Just because something happened to you that isn’t fair and changes your life, don’t let it destroy you. Stand up, dust yourself off, and find a way to live in your new reality.

So there it is, the five things I’ve learned from vampires. Yes, it’s true, vampires might be the stuff of legends and good horror movies, but you know, they might just have something to teach us all.