Contemplation!

 

August 2022 Blog

Contemplation: A Haiku

To write or write not –

Seems more than my navel needs

Attention these days.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(8/1/22)

 

That is the question. Searching for an answer this month.

I find I cannot continue as I am – always promising myself to sit down and write the stories, the novels, this blog. I am only consistent with the Haiku I write daily, and that is probably because it’s become such an ingrained habit.

All else is up for contemplation.

I find very little inspiration in life these days for continuing my writing. Even though the act of writing does offer me those few moments of joy in life I so desperately need, I sometimes wonder if I can continue.

I do have a decent backlist  of books to my credit, and I would certainly like more, but I will never match the well over 100 historical romance novels my good friend, neighbor and landlady has produced.

She cranks out a new one every month or so. I would find that exhausting. But even more exhausting is mentally beating myself up because I have not written, because I can’t seem to carve out the time for writing.

Sometimes I wonder how I ever did. I wrote most of my novels while still working a full time job – mostly writing in the evening propped up in bed for an hour or two.

Now, I don’t work , I have all the time in the world and I just can’t seem to find that time.

Or am I just the world’s best (or worst) procrastinator? I guess I’m the best, because I’m so good at it.

So, do I overcome, or do I succumb to this latest version of writer’s block?

If I succumb, I don’t have to ever worry about missing a deadline again. But, by the same token, I will never know the joy of hearing someone say they enjoyed my work again, or it made them feel better for a little while, or even that they agree with me and I made a slight difference somewhere.

I I can overcome, I will have satisfaction in knowing that I’ve still got it – the drive and the talent.

Hopefully, I can sort it out this month. I guess it boils down to this: If I post a blog next month, I overcame. If I don’t – I succumbed. I’m actually leaning toward overcoming, but we’ll see.

In the meantime, I’ll get my manuscripts todgether and look at what I have already written. Maybe that will inspire me to continue. Or one of my characters may whisper in my ear and get me going again. That has happened before, too.

Hopefully, I can gather my wits about me and continue. Life would be boring without the murder and mayhem my characters can get me caught up in.

While we’re all waiting to see which way the cookie crumbles, feel free to check out my eclectic selection of books on Amazon. There may be something there you have yet to read.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

Until next month, read and write to your heart’s content. Enjoy what respite you can find in your lives.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

It’s now August and the world is heating up. The A/C is working way too hard. Not much rain recently to bring us any relief from the drought. May be a good time to check out: “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis” available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

 

 

 

Hanging by a Thread!

 March 2022 Blog

Standstill: A Haiku

Just when we thought we

Survived pandemic, we yield

Normalcy to war.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/28/22)

My mind grows even more tired. My heart grows even more weary. I still see no end in sight. Normalcy is again the victim.

Never, at the beginning of last month, did I ever imagine I would end up writing this. But for the last six days, I’ve had little else on my mind but the insanity that is one man’s megalomaniacal invasion of a sovereign nation in an attempt to rebuild an empire. Every Haiku for the last six days has be on this absurdity, starting with “Rude Awakening” on February 24^th.

Rude Awakening: A Haiku

The world woke to war

This day – another scourge with

Dire consequences.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/24/22)

Continuing with “Short Supply” on the 25^th, “Untitled” on the 26^th, and “Inconceivable” on the 27^th. The above mentioned “Standstill” was written on the 28^th.

Short Supply: A Haiku

Peace and love to all

Wounded souls this day; would that

Wars were but rumors.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/25/22)

Untitled: A Haiku

I am but cold, and

The world holds no warmth but the

Fire, fury of war.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/26/22)

Inconceivable: A Haiku

One man’s hubris could

Render unlivable the

World he would conquer.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/27/22)

 

And now continuing with “Odorous Harbinger” today.

Odorous Harbinger: A Haiku

I would Spring be in

The air without the stench of

Missiles and gunfire.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(3/1/22)

I normally don’t get involved in political matters or what happens on foreign shores, but I cannot ignore what is happening now, even if it is halfway around the world. Lives are being disrupted and people are dying because one man has it in his tiny mind to rebuild an empire that was dissolved half-a-lifetime ago.

And like the pandemic, we have no idea where any of this is heading or when it will end. I’m not even sure if there will be a world left for me to endow with an April Blog (scariest thought ever).

For it seems, this man (whom we’re not even sure is in possession of all his faculties) has his fingers literally on the button that can do more to destroy this world than Mother Nature, mankind as a whole, and the virus-infected bat population combined.

If that finger slips, we can be globally involved in a nuclear winter that will make all else moot.

And for what? To rebuild an empire ala Adolph Hitler (which was tried and failed almost a hundred years ago)?

I know there is nothing I can do or say that will “amount to a hill of beans” or affect what is happening, but I have to say something. I can only hope that the powers-that-be can dissuade this absurdity (or at least lift that finger off the button).

In the meantime, I’ll keep my head down and continue to write, and edit, and publish as if nothing was dangling over all our heads waiting to annihilate us and/or make the world uninhabitable (which amounts to the same thing).

Assuming there is an April, I hope I can write about Spring and the renewal of the earth with only our normal problems of pandemic and global warming. (At this point these are the lesser of the evils that hang over us.)

If you’d like some relief from the current conflict, check out my Haiku offering on the not much happier subject of Climate Crisis:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

(

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this coming month we can recover from the woes that plague us, and the following month will find us enjoying a beautiful, peaceful Spring.

 

 

Nothing New Under the Sun

 

September 2021 Blog

Unchanged Melody: A Haiku

As the day dawns, there’s

Nothing new under the sun;

It sets as it rose.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Almost two straight years of deadly pandemic, raging storms, endless fires, and angry people. Would love to see something new (and good) as the coming year looms, but I’m not holding my breath.

August has not seen a down-turn in any of the above-mentioned areas. Not sure September will either. But I’m back on track for getting the Sam Rock sequel published by the end of the year. Just a few more tweaks to the final plot points and then on to editing and preparing the manuscript for publication.

     Then I can start wrapping up some of my other projects. Eldreth really wants his novel finished. He says he really needs to be about his dastardly deeds. He hasn’t woven an enemy or a feckless lover into a living tapestry in ages. He’s just itching to get back to in that dungeon.

https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4

Come to think of it, I’m pretty much feeling like him down in that dungeon. I’m really tired of not feeling like going out and doing things. Again, I haven’t  been out to a restaurant in ages. Seems like the only time I get out now is for doctor’s appointments (when a doctor is available) and shopping. Even there, I’m beginning to rely more and more on Amazon. There’s not a lot you can’t get on Amazon these days – or somewhere else on line. Whatever you want seems to be only a Google away.

     I’m not sure if that’s good or bad these days. It’s surely convenient. And the choices are vast. Sometimes I just feel like throwing a dart and choosing that way. I’m sure I could get a good deal on darts somewhere.

     The weather here in Roswell has turned dry again. After an unprecedented monsoon season, we are hardly seeing a cloud in the sky. Our extended forecast day after day lately has been temperature in the mid-nineties for the next ten days out and no chance of precipitation.

I’m really looking forward to the Fall, assuming we actually have a Fall and don’t go straight to Winter again.

Seems we are having another year of unprecedented weather all over. Parts of the Earth are being consumed by fire while other parts are being inundated with raging waters.          Unless of course, you are California, which is running out of water and burning. There’s even smoke at the North Pole for the first time ever (due to fires in Siberia).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

Then there’s the melting ice caps with the release or long-frozen biological entities capable of hatching here-to-fore unknown diseases that will probably surpass Covid in  deadliness.

So far, I’ve seen little about the countries of the world coming together to combat what is undeniable Climate Change rapidly becoming an undeniable Climate Crisis. But then, the countries of the world don’t seem to come together much anymore about anything.

At the start of this year I thought things were going to get so much better, but two-thirds into it, it just seems more of the same with a slightly different cast. Also, I’ve really not seen any progress toward the next year being any different.

I guess I’ll just have to light a candle and hope for the best and do my part to make my little corner of the world the best I can.

Come to think of it, if we all do that, we will improve our little corners and perhaps overlap to help improve more and more expanding corners of the world. At least that is something to look forward to.

I guess I can end this with a smile on my face and a slightly brighter outlook on the near future. September may be better after all.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Also, please feel free to visit me at my Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

 

 

 

Oops!

 

March 2021 Blog

Well that didn’t work!

 

Daylight: A Haiku

Sad – when the day shines

More brightly than I ever

Can hope to again.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But then, it’s been a busy month – and short. And I’m not the brightest tack in the box lately – nor the sharpest bulb.

Most notably, I’ve had my second vaccine shot (Pfizer) and there were no noticeable side effects for either. One more week, and I should be immune.  My husband got his first (Moderna) and gets his second March 15^th. By the end of the month, we can both breathe more easily.

Also, our county is out of our state’s red zone and into the yellow, so more businesses will be reopened. Hope our favorite restaurant, Peppers’s Grill and Bar, makes a comeback. They will be sorely missed if they don’t. They are an institution around here.

The audio version of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” is inching ever more closely to being released. And my narrator, Steven P. Hamm has expressed an interest in doing my “Black Oak” novels, starting with “Town of Joy”. He’s done a preliminary chapterm and it’s just great. It helps to have a talented actor as narrator.

The Sam Rock sequel is inching ever closer to publication. Found that I really like the story behind “Raven’s Roost”, so I’ve been saving the changes I was contemplating for a third Sam Rock novel on how he got kicked off the police force. Spoiler alert – it wasn’t all his fault.

I continue to write (and post to Twitter and Facebook) my daily Haiku. That’s 2,614 Haiku (at least) since Jan. 1, 2014. I’m still going strong, although I’ve considered quitting a few times. I always seem to manage to crank out just one more.

March heralds the coming of Spring, and I’m starting to consider Spring cleaning. I would love to see everything bright and shiny and free of any chance of harboring the Covid-19 virus. I think we all deserve a new start this year, and Spring is a great time for renewal.

Still not planning any trips, nor considering visitors. I feel it’s just too risky. Although I shouldn’t be able to contract the virus, there’s no guarantee that I can’t carry it from something or someone I’ve touched.

You know, that’s really hard for a little old lady who’s used to hugging people. Doubt we’ll even regain the habit of shaking hands anymore. So sad, to feel you shouldn’t touch someone you love.

Hope all my readers and writer friends are doing well and survived what has turned out to be a horrendous winter of vicious cold and storms. I thought we were going to get through the season with only global warming to worry about. Looks like I was wrong. However, it is nice that we have a renewal of concern for the climate change emergency we are faced with. Hopefully, we get the Covid-19 crisis under control, so we can concentrate on alleviating the world-wide crisis.

Always so much to think about. Where do we start? There’s global and domestic hunger and homelessness. Then, there’s world-wide and domestic terrorism. So much unrest and dis-harmony everywhere. Hopeful here, there’s solutions to be found for more than one of our problems.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing, if not to illuminate, then to entertain and allow an avenue for some escape for at least a little while.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content, all the while looking forward to enjoying our lives even more in the coming months. Let’s keep the faith.

Hard to believe that I have eleven books published, All are available on Amazon for your pleasure.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

 

 

 

Stop the World

 

November 2020 Blog

Not even sure whom I am petitioning anymore. Doubt anyone has the answer these days.

 

Cease and Desist: A Haiku

Stop the world and let

Me off, or barring that, give

Respite from the storms.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But I do have #NaNoWriMo in November. So, for one whole month I can lose myself in writing my next novel.

I am sitting outside in the warm sunshine right now, which wouldn’t be strange except that we had eight inches of snow yesterday from a constant snow from two days before. Now it’s supposed to be over 70F in a couple of days.

It would be no wonder that everyone is getting sick, except for the fact that everybody has been getting sick for the last six months or so from that thing that has been going around that shall remain nameless from now on.

Not sure what my writing project for #NaNoWriMo will be. I should be able to finish the two novels I’ve been working on for the last two years – the sequel to “The Seasons of Sam Rock” and the prequel to my “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”. A combined 50,000 words should do it.

I am currently basking in the glory of my newly released Haiku collection, “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis”:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

For the remainder of the year, I am donating $1.00 from each book sold to https://www.planetbee.org/

They are dedicated to the education of children and adults on just how important bees are to our survival on this world.

At least I will feel that we have done something positive for the environment besides throwing words at the problem.

I hope all my readers and fellow writers have survived the Summer, and are heading into the Fall and Winter in good shape. We will need all our survival skills and a lot of luck to come through to the Spring intact.

I know a lot of things have to change before we can breathe easy again and expect to get some joy and satisfaction out of life. I won’t go into what changes we need to make.

All of my friends know where I stand and of what I write. I’m hoping the normal that was my life for so many years may be so again, and soon. I would like to spend my waning years with a modicum of the hope and pleasant anticipation for the future I grew accustomed to.

I smile just thinking about how I used to welcome the thought of retirement and leisure and travel and restaurants and concerts and ballgames and crowds – all maskless and gloveless. And, oh how I would love to hug someone.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all in the mood for some holiday festivities, as this month has not. Not anticipating any family gatherings or even going out to our favorite restaurant to enjoy their wonderful cuisine. Maybe some take-out, but somehow it’s just not the same.

 

 

 

Dichotomy

 

October 2020 Blog

Nothing ever changes; nothing remains the same.

 

Dichotomy: A Haiku

Morning has broken,

Yet the night will not yield, and

The darkness prevails.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

I stand by that first sentence, seeming conflict or not.

I am sitting outside watching the birds scouring the ground for seeds and nuts. (The pecan tree is providing its harvest.) Even the hummingbirds are still visiting their summer nectar. (I provide a colorful feeder, since I cannot grow flowers on this Godforsaken piece of earth.) The squirrels are cavorting up and down the tree trunk, doing their Fall dance before they retire to their nesting place.

All appears to be well. The long, hot  Summer has broken and Fall seems to be on its way.

But all is not well. We are warmer than ever, and all of us are not well. We are sicker than ever – in body and spirit.

Amidst all this, I am launching my latest Haiku collection, “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis”.

 

With its release, I hope to sway some of the folks who may not yet realize that our Earth is in deep trouble, for there’s not much mention of it these days. I’m not sure we even realize how deeply our nation is in trouble with the current pandemic. There are so many other distractions out there. (The upcoming presidential election sitting front and center.)

So, we have been here before in history, and we have never been here before. I see it all as a matter of how a pendulum swings. Either the pendulum will swing in ever widening arcs until it breaks away and flies off in who knows what direction, or – most likely (as pendulums are wont to do) it will swing in ever decreasing arcs as it loses its momentum until it stops dead, fini, complet, the end.

I would hope for better. I would hope we all would vote our conscience in the upcoming election and somehow get back to a more normal life with the health and wellness of all humankind and this planet Earth as our all-consuming concerns – or is that too altruistic of me?

     I guess this book couldn’t be released at a more appropriate time, as we are at the crossroads of a need to react or be doomed. The tipping point is fast closing in on us. As I say in the book, I may not see the demise of life on this Earth, but perhaps our children’s children’s children will. And that is an atrocious legacy for us to leave. One that should haunt us all in whatever final resting place we languish in until we are reunited with the rest of the stardust in the Universe before we wink out into nothingness.

Cheery thought, isn’t it? On a lighter note – Wait, there is no lighter note. Okay, let’s create one.  Let’s look forward to the upcoming season of holidays, and make them the best we can, under the circumstances.

I’m all for eating the Halloween candy we can’t give away, and stuffing the turkey anyway. We can eat leftovers for weeks, if we freeze them. Then sing carols through our masks, send presents and virtual love and hugs everywhere to everyone. Let’s all keep in touch the best way we know how – with the click of a button and a keystroke.

I will push the publish button in the next few days and announce on Twitter and Facebook when it’s up and running and what charity I will be donating a dollar to for every book sold in October. Look for the announcement.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for the publication announcement:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all on the mend and on the upside of this thing, but that’s what I said the last few months, and it didn’t happen yet. However, I am still hoping...