A quote on creativity and living to start off 2017

"The beautiful thing about the soul is that it's not the ego, not the personality, and not the mind.  It places no judgments, it is free from expectations. 

The nature of the soul is innocent, childlike. 

The essence of the soul is loving, its essence is joy. Sometimes it is the one unfading note of joy in an entire life symphony of suffering and pain. 

And the soul is active, dynamic. 

Its task is to gain experience of itself, the created world and universe, and the divine. 

The soul's energy--in its human form--is creative energy; its drawn to activities that are creative, especially those that mirror the soul itself as poetry writing (or story telling, imho) does. 

And the soul's goal is to return home--whatever you imagine that to mean--as an experienced being." ~ 

Sandford Lyne

in

Writing poetry from the inside out

An Ode To My Cats

My mother said

I live in a House of Cats

Meaning:

Cats rule the roost

And I

No longer own my house.

I chose to take her words

As a compliment.

My cats make

The faux Persian carpet

That much prettier.

My cats

make my house

Into home.

(Tramp -- DH found her as a tiny, scrawny kitten on the farm. Her mother had died and she was all alone. She's our Alpha Kitty)

(I fell in love with Yoda, when I was helping a friend find homes for her cat's kittens. He's lovable rogue and I should have named him Hans Solo.)

Missing: Gypsy, a calico, who is impossible to photograph and the late, sweet Buckets, who is greatly missed.

Love,

Mina

The Meaning of Patience

"Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn, and seeing the rose, looking at the night, and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full." 

~ Shams Tabrizi, philosopher & spiritual instructor of Rumi

This bit of poetic wisdom, written centuries ago, spoke to my writer's soul. 

Writing is staring at a blank page and seeing a story, then putting in the hard work and time to make that story appear in reality.

Writing is all about patience. ~ Mina Khan

Projects & Resolutions for 2013 Game Plan

Have you ever made resolutions, only to feel guilty about them later because they totally got abandoned? Been there & done that. But I started planning early (hey, before Dec. 31st is early)and did some research to come up with a game plan that will help me achieve my 2013 goals.

Thanks to two different blog posts: From the first, I learned that it's wise to choose bite-sized or manageable goals. From the second, I learned that goals must be revisited, re-evaluated and re-affirmed (or redefined) on a regular basis throughout the year. Also, whenever I feel myself flagging I'm going to read Marc & Angel's wisdom about resolutions & life because I just love their positive and thoughtful take on life.

My Dad died soon after the year changed to 2012 and that made me realize that life can quit anytime and without any advance warning. However, he lived a good life, one he embraced with a generous & adventurous spirit. So to honor my Dad and to apply what I have learned from him, I'm going to live life the fullest, the best I can.

 Being a mom, writer, person with aging parent figures in my life, & a community volunteer, I find my days are unpredictable. So instead of setting myself a daily word count, I'm committing to keep daily log. Whether I write 2K a day or 0, I'm going to write it down. Along with a short description of the day. I'm going to do this for all of January and see where I end up at the end of the month. Then I'll reevaluate and refocus for the next month.

 Another bookish goal I have for 2013 is to start the year by reading poetry. I started out exploring creative expression by writing poems as a child and, well, this is a sort of getting in touch with my roots. Plus, poems use language in a special way, with rhythm and economy and I miss reading and writing in the form. The book I have chosen for my January reading is:

The Hungry Ear: Poems of Food and Drink

And, I'm going to do yoga at least 4 times a week and strive for a healthy balance. Great stretches & stress release :)

 Now, a project that is definitely coming in 2013, that I'm so-gosh-darn excited about is my next djinn story -- The Djinn in the Mirror. Since I was tagged by one my author pals, Laura Bickle in her Next Big Thing Hop, I'll answer a few questions about my new story:

 What is the working title of your book?
 The Djinn in the Mirror

 What genre does your book fall under?
 Paranormal Romance

 Which actors would you choose to play your hero/heroine?

 Dahlia, the heroine, is from a long line of earth witches, but has been raised by her domineering step-father.She is young & a virgin, but with a quiet inner strength and untapped powers. Think of Drew Barrymore in Ever After: A Cinderella Story

Ashmael (Ash) is a 1200-year-old djinn who has spent 800 years trapped in a mirror. His experience has left him bitter and distrustful of women. My inspiration for Ash is Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan...who happens to be HAWT!!!

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? A paranormal Cindrella story with a young witch heroine & a wicked sexy djinn playing fairy godmother (though he's neither a fairy nor very motherly....)

Is it a standalone or part of a series? The Djinn in the Mirror can be read as a standalone, but this is the third story set in my djinn world. I take the opportunity to explore more about the djinns in every story.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? Um, a strange dream made me start wondering what if Cinderella had ended up with genie instead of a fairy godmother...what would be different? Obviously, she'd ditch Prince Charming for the wickedly sexy djinn  : D

So what do you think? What goals are you going for? Do you have a game plan?