Wednesday 17 January 2018

The Ionian Magazine - visit to the past

Almost eight years ago, in winter of 2010, I needed a job and decided to create one instead. Thanks to a generous angel seed money from my younger son, Justin, The Ionian magazine was born.For the next five years, the magazine hit the streets of the Ionian islands and neighbouring coastal mainland every month for the six or sometimes seven months between April and October.
However, in 2014, I became ill and after recovering, decided to change my priorities - it was time to go sailing again and focus on my own writing. My older son, Ryan took over the publication in 2014 and the October issue of that year was the last one published.
Enjoy reading.

Friday 22 December 2017

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year


As an alternative to Christmas cards, I would like to share with you this article on Astronomy merging with the Biblical Christmas story:
Celebrating Winter Solstice – The Sun is on the Southern Cross
For thousands of years, carvings on temples, cave walls, monuments and artefacts have honoured the sun: bringer of warmth, security, life and light.  As the days grow shorter in the period leading up to the winter solstice, December 21st, the sun appears to stop moving south or north and stays still for three days (in the northern hemisphere) – the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of December. This is the meaning of the word ‘sol-stice’ – sun standing still. To our ancestors this period symbolized the death of the sun god (son of god) and when three days later on the 25th of December the sun started moving again, the sun was reborn – hence the birth of Jesus at this time – the sun god or son of god, the saviour of mankind. It is no coincidence that our principal day of worship is called Sun Day.


The Bible tells us that three wise men came from the east, following a star that led them to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Messiah.  Sirius is the star in the east, the brightest star in the sky, which on December 24th aligns with the three brightest stars in the constellation of Orion (Orion’s belt). The stars were referred to by many ancient cultures as the Three Kings.


During this three day period, the sun resides in the vicinity of the Southern Cross constellation and appears to ‘hang’ on the cross, hence the story of the crucifixion. However the resurrection of the sun or son is celebrated three months later at the spring equinox when the nights are equal to the daylight (Easter) and when once again the forces of light ‘defeat’ the forces of darkness, and the days grow longer than the nights. (Author: Stella Woods)

“May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you and the pure light within you guide your way on.”

Barbara

Saturday 4 November 2017

Look inside and read on Kindle for free: Salt Water In My Veins

CLICK TO BUY
You can now look inside my new book, Salt Water In My Veins as well as read it for free (today only) on Kindle. What a great deal! Feel free to leave your review after reading!

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Just do it

I finally found a way to discipline myself to write for at least an hour every day.
You know that brushing teeth is not something we long to do each morning or evening. But we don't think about it, or ask whether we feel like it, or are inspired to do. We just do it. It's a habit that doesn't allow input from the mind.
Since I love early mornings and prefer to write then, I decided to treat writing the same way I treat brushing my teeth: I wake up, get dressed, put the coffee on and open my laptop. And then, I write for an hour before doing anything else such as checking my email, reading the news or making breakfast.
So far, it's been easy and I have been very productive, often working much longer than the one hour with pleasure.
The rest of the day, I allow myself to do anything else I want: nap, read, surf the Internet, knit, go for a walk, talk to friends and family on Skype or reluctantly, write or edit. I also need time to contemplate, let my mind wander and absorb my surroundings for the creative part of me to have something to use in my work, so I try not to write any more in the afternoon unless it's quick notes for future reference.
And guess what? The book I have been trying to write for years is finally complete!

Sunday 1 October 2017

Writers' Co-operative, Co-housing Retreat on Ithaka, Greece

 Be inspired. Be amazed. Be surprised. And write all about it. Ithaka, Greece. Homer wrote about it and it's a place of pilgrimage for all writers.

You know how expensive most writers' retreats can be. You save your money all year and go for a week or two and by the time you get oriented and familiarized with everything, it's time to leave and you haven't even began to write. 

Here is an opportunity to stay for up to five months, yes, five months on the island of Ithaka, Greece for the price of a three week retreat elsewhere.

You will have time not only to write as much as you want to but also to see this beautiful island, hike its many paths, experience its history and enjoy its festivals. Spend Christmas Holidays in Greece.

We will share a villa with as many bedrooms as needed for the participants, socialize together (when we want to), cook together, read parts of our manuscripts to each other (if desired) and share the expenses of rental (cheap in winter) and food. 
No one will make a profit, and there is no overhead costs to consider. A two bedroom villa can be had for E600 Euros per month in winter. It will sleep four, so price per person is only $150 Euros per month. If we have more participants, we will rent a bigger villa.
Your participation for the retreat requires a commitment between December 1 to April 30 for at least a month to take advantage of this low price. Participation limited to eight people and the deadline for your application is November 15. Non-smokers only.
Please use the contact form to the right for more information.

Monday 9 November 2015

Things that inspire and moments that take my breath away

Have you ever thought about the two phrases? Inspire means to breathe in. Something that takes my breath away is breathing out. Breathing is what keeps us alive and so being inspired and witnessing breathtaking moments is what keeps us spiritually alive.
So what inspires me and takes my breath away? Here are a few examples:
  • Sunrise
  • Sunset
  • Bonfire
  • Wood burning in a fireplace
  • Walk along a sandy beach
  • Planting seeds in a garden
  • Listening to a live concert 
  •  
So, what inspires you?

Inspiration

A lot of my inspiration comes from my photography or from scenes that I would have liked to photograph if I had a camera handy at the time.
I don't always write about what is in the photograph, but when I look at a beautiful scene, my mind stops yammering and something happens which goes beyond thinking. I access my creative self and then just start typing away.

Writing life - procrastination

As I wait for my new laptop to arrive today, I wonder how soon I will start writing again. For real that is. To send away and hopefully be published. I haven't written anything for at least the past 18 months. My mind just hasn't been up to it.

I left my old laptop on my boat in Greece thinking I would be right back. But this didn't happen and it is now ruined having spent two winters on a damp boat. 
Meanwhile, I have been borrowing my son's IPad and my daughter-in-law's desk top Mac as well as using paper note books to jot things down, and the odd library computer to update my sailing blog. 
But as soon as the new laptop arrives, I will have no more excuses to procrastinate, which means actually finishing something and sending it away to get published.

This past summer, I found a great way of getting boat maintenance done. When I arrived back in Greece, my sailboat Eidos had been neglected for a year and a half while I was ill, and I had a long "to do" list. At first it all seemed to be overwhelming, especially since I was still recovering from recent treatment, but if I ever wanted to get out of the boat yard, I needed to get going. I hired a young woman for two days to help me with the worst of the cleaning and then started keeping a log of all the jobs that I actually completed. this Turned out to be the key to staying motivated.
Every morning, I decided on one job that needed doing, even if it was only unpacking my summer clothes and putting away the winter ones. Then I wrote it down in the log. Very soon, I noticed that I was actually looking forward to checking off the items on my "to do list" and adding them to the log and I often completed several jobs before breakfast. My only rule was to finish at least one job and I could choose which one depending on my mood. 
And so now as I am preparing to return to my writing life after having spent five years publishing a magazine (notice the gap in the dates on this blog), I think I will use the same method to get me going each day.

Saturday 8 December 2007

The magic of writing

I haven't written anything lately. I keep finding other things to do such as updating my address book, catching up on correspondence, doing Internet searches for boat parts, playing solitaire: anything to avoid opening my "manuscripts" file.

I know I'm procrastinating, but I'm being lenient with the writer in me. She has to be in the right mood to create. The editor too has to be in a certain frame of mind to delete and rewrite. And so it's been at least a month since I've written anything new.

Meanwhile, I received a letter of acceptance from one of my publishers, a note offering hope from another and a "we'll look at your manuscript in the future," from a third. All these encouragements do little to get my index finger to click on the "work in progress" file.

Yet, I know that I cannot force the muse to wake. She must be gently coaxed out of slumber. This is not a writer's block - I never have those, they sound too violent to me - an anathema to the creative process. And so I wait, and today finally I peek inside my "submitted" file folder and update the submission record for each of the manuscripts. And then, I just lightly click on the arrow "up" which sends me to the level above, and which has in it the folders with ideas and queries, first, second, and third drafts, ready to submit, submitted, accepted and in print. And then, leave the computer on that page. With no pressure to do anything. Almost as if I forgot to close it.

In a few minutes, the screen saver will cover up the desktop page and I can forget about writing if I choose to but the screen with my work on it will still be there when I come back and hit any key. If I want to do that. I might instead close the lid of the laptop and leave it on stand-by for hours or days. But I don't. Something has happened that I can't resist.

Slowly, like a slumbering giant, or a sleepy princess, the magic process begins to awaken. It unfolds like a flower when it feels the sun. And I, the human instrument can do nothing until the magic happens but when it does, must follow its call.

Friday 7 December 2007

I can't because...

So you've always wanted to be a writer, but keep hitting roadblocks. You don't have enough money saved up to quit your regular job so that you'd have enough time to write that novel, and you don't have enough time and energy left after the job, the family responsibilities and the everyday things like laundry, cooking, cleaning and shopping.
Money, time, energy, job, family responsibilities – the list goes on. They are the reasons, excuses and challenges why we can't do something we say we want to do very badly, such as writing. However, you can have what you really want in your life or your reasons why not. Or come to think of it: both.
Here is how. Take a blank page and write down the heading: "I can't because…" Now tape it to your fridge so you can add the next excuse (sorry: reason or even better: challenge) you think of, of why you just can't write today. And underneath, write a creative solution (even a crazy one).
This is my list to help you get started:
CHALLENGE
I'm not an expert in… (take your pick: psychology, gardening, cooking, auto mechanics). All the non-fiction books are written by PhDs with 20 years practical experience. I have this great idea but no credentials. There are hundreds if not thousands of books and articles on the same topic written by people who really know the subject. What's the point of writing another one? Who will publish it? And who will read it? Book and magazine writing business is so competitive.
SOLUTION

Friday 2 November 2007

On being a writer

I love being a writer. I have many interests and writing focuses me. I get interested in something and then look for a way to write about it. I can write as short or as long about it as I want to. I still have way more ideas than finished projects, but they are in my 'ideas' folder for those times that I'm stuck for a new one (it happens).
Other projects advance through the first, second and third draft (sometimes they get stuck in one of those, too). After the third draft is completed, I write a generic cover letter and start a 'submissions' list.
Then I go through the list of prospective publishers and adjust the cover letter accordingly. I email my submission while a copy of the story with the cover letter and submission list goes into the 'submitted' folder. After that hopefully it goes to 'accepted' and 'in print' folders and after that back to 'submitted' for the second time to publishers who accept reprints.
And now and then, when I don't want to bother with the usual publishers and I'm eager to see a story in 'print,' I post it on my sailing blog.

Thursday 1 November 2007

You should write a book...

Recently, several people said just that.
Sure, I'll do that just as soon as I can lock myself away for a year or two, glue my butt to the chair and find someone who will slide food under the door. I'd love to write a book, but there are so many reasons for not doing it.
* It's hard.
* It's lonely.
* It requires self-discipline and endurance, which I'm not sure I have.
* There is no guarantee of success.
Ok, so what would I do if I were to take the leap? I have lots of ideas and several books "in the works". But none of the people who encourage me to write a book are publishers. Or editors. Or agents. I think I need a guide to take me by the hand as well as massage my feet while I write.
Until I find such a person I think I'll just whine.

Saturday 20 October 2007

A Firm Foundation

"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse; the kind known to yachtsmen, who play with their boats at sea - 'cruising', it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. 'I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it.' What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of 'security'. And in the worship of security. We fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and some form of working activity that yields a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in a material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, and playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade. "The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. "Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?" - Sterling Hayden: Wanderer 

This quote fits perfectly into my present state of being. I’m glad Sterling Hayden wraps being broke in such heroic package. It definitely makes me feel better. 


I have a strange relationship with money. Right now, I have enough to pay for one more month of moorage at the marina where I hope to be for the winter and most of the insurance that should have been deducted already but hasn’t been for some reason. That’s all. None left for food or anything else. And no idea where any more will come from. 


I hope to sell some more of my stories and photos, but there is no guarantee. Perhaps manna will fall from the sky? Speaking of manna, I do have some pasta, rice and TVP (textured vegetable protein) flakes, olive oil, almost a pound of flour and some odds and ends, such as tea, coffee, powder milk, and beef bouillon. Not much else. The camping gas is running out, so I’ll have to buy some and I’ll have to pay for internet access when my remaining eight hours runs out, at nearly 3 euros per hour, so that I can send away my manuscripts. 


Yet it’s not always like this. The last time I went to town, I walked by a shop where four months ago I bought a dress, and a pair of shorts. Not expensive, only about 30 Euros for both, but still. I wore the dress once and the shorts never. Back on the boat, I note a 20-euro lipstick. Another one for 10 euros is in my purse. I know I can get perfectly good lipstick for one Euro, but I wanted a brand name one to show off. Where I don’t know. I think I do this, because I get tired of practical boating clothes and this is perhaps my way of rebelling, of saying, I want it all, and damn it, I’m going to have it all. And so now and then, I want to wear heels, make up, perfume, and an impractical dress that gets dirty just by putting it on. 


My coffee is running out and so are the filters, yet I make each cup separately instead of two cups at a time, which would halve my filter usage. I have started to boil a thermos full of water at a time to save on gas, and today for the first time I made two loaves of bread instead of one. I tried to sell my violin that I haven’t used more than once or twice. Perhaps I’ll have to play it (badly) on the street for spare change one of these days. 


I advertised for crew to come live on board (shared expenses) but no one has responded. It’s winter after all and most people are either back at school, at work or somewhere warm. I decided to stay in Greece this winter because I thought I’d be able to work here, but there is no work when the tourists are gone. Besides, Greeks get priority and I don’t even speak the language. 


I thought, I would be able to find a good safe and free moorage, but only two places have power, which I need for heat and my laptop, and both are marinas that charge 300 euros a month for a boat 10m long. I should be able to earn 15 Euros a day, but so far, I’m struggling. $475US for two articles is barely 340 Euros. I have been writing for the past three weeks steady and have taken the last two days off because I’m empty. I feel drained and spent. 


Time to regroup by reading some sailing magazines. I know I can write what is in those magazines; I just need to gather the photos and hope the publishers can fit me in. In addition, I need to find more magazines to send away to. I know I can do this. 


And so, as I drink my cup of coffee and eat fresh focaccia bread straight from the oven, I think to myself that life is not so bad; I don’t have to anchor out and freeze yet. I might have to later, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make it through the winter first. Come April, I’ll be out again anchoring or tied up to a free dock without heat, but until then, I’m cinching up my belt another notch. 


Sterling Hayden would approve.