Echoes and Rain #Monday Musical Memories

During my younger years, I groaned most mornings when my alarm clock woke me up. Even during the fifteen years I worked as a registered music therapist, although I found my work rewarding, it was stressful at times. The alarm’s cheerful tune signaled it was time for me to leave Dreamland and return to reality, and I was often reluctant to do this.

Now, I love what I do as a writer. There’s still some stress but not as much as when I was otherwise employed. Since I’m my own boss, I rarely need an alarm to wake me up. I let myself sleep as long as I can. Then, at about six thirty in the morning,  my feet hit the floor running, and I vow to make the day a good one, no matter what curve balls life throws at me.

Recently, while my smart speaker was shuffling songs by Enya, an artist I discovered almost ten years ago, I found this song. It talks about the sun rising, the moon and stars blowing away, and a new day starting. The last verse talks about night coming, then expresses joy at the beginning of a new day. It has become a part of my morning routine, and it gets me going. The words are sometimes hard to understand. I think they’re in the video, but I’ve copied them from Google and pasted them below.

Echoes in Rain

by Enya

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Wait for the sun
Watching the sky
Black as a crow
Night passes by
Taking the stars
So far away
Everything flows
Here comes another new day
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Into the wind
I throw the night
Silver and gold
Turn into light
I’m on the road
I know the way
Everything flows
Here comes another new day
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Echoes in rain
Drifting in waves
Long journey home
Never too late
Black as a crow
Night comes again
Everything flows
Here comes another new day
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alle-alle alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Aah-aah-aah-aah

***

How about you? When you were younger, did you hate to get up in the morning? How do you feel now when the alarm goes off?

 

New! The Red Dress: A Novel

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

 

My Other Books

 

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome: A Novel

Visit my website.

Like me on Facebook.

Re-Blog: My Happy Place

When I worked as a registered music therapist, my singing often took people’s minds off their pain. Now, it appears that one of my blog posts, along with a piece of music, had the same effect. Please check out Lynda’s post and re-read mine.

 

Via My Happy Place

 

New! The Red Dress: A Novel

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

 

My Other Books

 

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome: A Novel

Visit my website.

Like me on Facebook.

I’m in the Paper #The Red Dress Publicity

hI was recently interviewed by Allyana Darrow, a reporter for my local newspaper, The Sheridan Press, about my new book, The Red Dress. She’s one of the most awesome journalists with whom I’ve worked. After the initial phone interview, she emailed me the introduction to her article, admitting she hadn’t yet read the book and asking me to check for accuracy. A couple of days later, she called with more questions. She was polite, and I really appreciate her attention to detail and in-depth questioning. Now, here’s a link to her article.

The Sheridan Press August 21st 2019

Don’t forget. I’ll be signing copies of The Red Dress tomorrow from 1-3 p.m. at Sheridan Stationery Books and Gallery, located at 206 North Main Street, Sheridan, Wyoming. If you live here or plan to be in the area, please stop by. I’d love to meet you.

 

New! The Red Dress: A Novel

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

 

My Other Books

 

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Click to purchase My Ideal Partner from Smashwords absolutely free!

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome

My Other Links

Visit my website.

Like me on Facebook.

 

Poetry Collection Reflects Natural World #Thursday Book Feature

Star Signs: New and Selected Poems

by Lynda  Lambert

Copyright 2019.

 

The poems in this author’s third book touch on music, travel, and other topics and express a wide range of emotions. They appear in various forms. One even reads like a letter. Notes following some poems explain what inspired them and provide background information.

The book is divided into four sections with each section beginning with a poem related to the section’s title. The introduction describes how the author, also an artist, turned to knitting and poetry after losing her vision. Some of her photographs are included.

I met Lynda Lambert several years ago through Behind Our Eyes, an organization of writers with disabilities, of which I’m now the president. I’ve always been impressed with the imagery in her poems. Having lost her eyesight late in life, she still has visual memory on which to draw when describing objects. Like her, I love classical music. I can appreciate her reference to certain musical terms and pieces.

But my favorite poem is “Great-Grandmother Sings Little Songs,” in which she shares a memory of spending time with her great-grandmother in the woods. Since I never knew my great-grandparents well, I’m glad she has such memories. This book is a must-have for anyone who enjoys poetry, music, art, and the natural world.

 

New! The Red Dress: A Novel

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

 

My Other Books

 

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Click to purchase My Ideal Partner from Smashwords absolutely free!

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome

My Other Links

Visit my website.

Like me on Facebook.

 

My Radio Memories

Today is National Radio Day, according to the national calendar. In this digital age, I wonder how many people still use radios. I rarely do, now that I have a smart speaker that can play the stations to which I enjoy listening.

When I was growing up in Tucson, Arizona, I had a transistor radio. I loved carrying it around the house. After my younger brother was born and I started acting up in second grade, Mother took it away from me for a day or two as punishment. I missed hearing my favorite songs and commercials and occasionally calling in requests. When I was a little older, I discovered an easy listening station with some classical programming that I also liked.

That radio lasted until we moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, in the summer of 1973. We stayed with Grandma for a couple of months until we found a house of our own. I slept with Grandma and loved waking up to her radio each morning. She preferred news programming. At the age of twelve, I couldn’t understand why but soon learned from her the importance of knowing what was going on in the world.

After we were settled in a home of our own, I got a clock radio for Christmas. Because of my limited vision, although I could read the time on the digital display, I couldn’t set it or the alarm. But I enjoyed waking up each morning to the same news programming and listening to popular music.

When I was in high school, one of our A.M. stations started broadcasting old episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, and some comedy. An F.M. station broadcast a mystery theater program. These helped me escape in a way television never did.

In college, my favorite shows were those containing count-downs of the most popular songs in a given week.
When my clock radio finally quit working, I asked my parents for another radio for my birthday during the summer of 1984 and got a lot more. First, there was a receiver, then a cassette deck. For Christmas that year, I finally got a Cd player. It was more than I could ever have dreamed, and since many of my friends in college also had stereos, I was elated. A year later, I discovered public radio and enjoyed news, classical music, jazz, and programs like A Prairie Home Companion. I lost interest in popular music.

Through the years and many radios, I continued listening to public radio. I still do today. I ask Alexa to play my local station each morning so, like my grandmother, I can be aware of what’s going on in the world. While working, I ask Alexa to play the station’s classical and jazz programming. I’ve also re-kindled my interest in songs that were popular when I was growing up. So, I sometimes ask her for Amazon music stations that play 1970’s and 80’s music. I still have a radio/CD player combination that belonged to my late husband, but I rarely use it.

***

How about you? What do you remember about radios when you were growing up? Do you still use one today?

In my new novel, The Red Dress, my main character hears, on her college roommate’s radio, the song to which she danced with the boy of her dreams before catching him in the act with her best friend. I’ll be signing copies of this book on Saturday, August 24th, from 1-3 p.m. at Sheridan Stationery Books and Gallery, located at 206 North Main Street in Sheridan, Wyoming. See below for more information about the book.

This establishment has crated a Facebook event. Even if you’re unable to attend, please at least like the page and be sure to share it with your friends. Thank you.

 

New! The Red Dress: A Novel

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

 

My Other Books

 

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Click to purchase My Ideal Partner from Smashwords absolutely free!

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome

My Other Links

Visit my website.

Like me on Facebook.