April Rane, circa mid 90’s

Yesterday I met with April Rane and we spent the morning going over the details of the upcoming second book in her mystery series, Louisiana Lady. Much of what we spoke of was technical stuff, like software compatibility. We met for breakfast at The Blueberry Muffin across from the ocean in Indialantic. When I saw the red Mustang pull in, I knew it was hers. I wore red and black and thought she might, too. I was wrong, she wore a deep orange and black. We both ordered our coffee black, with Sweet & Low. We ordered the same breakfast: eggs and potatoes, no toast. I’ve known April for 25+ years as a metaphysical teacher and psychic reader. We spent a few minutes catching up about current events and mutual friends, then discussed Magnolia Murders; Louisiana Lady, the first book in her mystery series. I just finished some technical editing for the print version and next will edit her second novel, Bogota Baby. I can’t wait!  We spent some time talking about the characters and how Amazon tracks book sales, then we drove to her home. April lives on AIA in Melbourne Beach and when I saw her place, it exactly fit her. April is very elegant and understated and her home reflects that. A great location with an ocean view, I thought of it as a mini mansion. A reception area, a parlor, lovely bedrooms and large bathrooms, a pool, sunlight flooding in everywhere, but behind cool blinds and shades. The office was my favorite, exactly the kind of room you can imagine a suspense author working from. Her feline familiar stayed close by and liked being talked to but not touched. We talked about our writing styles and habits. I think we’ll have fun working together and am looking forward to it.

Hello and welcome to the April 2015 edition of Horizons Magazine. It feels good to be back in the gym on a regular basis again. It’s too easy to get out of the habit, to tell myself that I need to do computer work instead, or that my yard work constitutes a workout. When I do the gym first thing in the morning before I go into the office, that lets my work day flow more freely and it’s a more productive and satisfying day. And my life is all about what satisfies me.  I’ve learned that changing a habit is as simple as training myself to have discipline over where I chose to place my focus. When I immerse myself in the world of that which I strive to be, I attract the circumstances and events that support my vision. If I want to get fit and strong, I’ll spend more time in the gym or Googling to learn about muscle structure. I’ll spend less time watching cooking shows or cat videos and talking with friends about fashion. Staying focused and on purpose helps me attract what I want. It’s up to me.   Continue reading →

This is the first time I’ve ever paid a car off. In my 20’s and 30’s, I thought I had to trade up every two years. Sheesh, what we do to impress and keep up with the Joneses…

What keeps you interested in a story? I just had an eye opener. I’ve been reading some Kindle mystery authors. The last time I read suspense novels, they were written by the likes of Stephen King and Agatha Christie, so I see my expectations were high. The good thing about Kindle is anyone can put a book out. I appreciate all over again how April Rane is able to weave a compelling story around interesting characters when many writers are not. What keeps your interest in a story? I want details, I want to be able to set the scene in my mind. I want to know what the self talk is throughout, and I’d like to know the details of what the surroundings look like. If it’s too detailed or boring, I can skim past it, but I like to immerse in the story by knowing the details. When a writer gives too few details, or fails to paint a picture or tell a compelling story, I lose interest.

RELATED:  I get to edit April Rane’s Mystery Series

49 degrees in the courtyard yesterday and 57 degrees this morning! I’m used to walking when it’s dark out, but since I’ve been expanding my territory, I like to wait until daylight so I can see the new sights. I don’t think I’ll be walking the Camino anytime soon but it’s fun to trek around my neighborhood pretending I’m crossing the Pyrenees. There’s not much traffic on the blocks I walk, unless I choose to wander out onto Eldron or Emerson. It is an equal mix of residential homes and wooded lots. Walking the new route at daybreak, I get to observe the wildlife at the edge of the woods out at the road. Bunnies, armadillos, opossum, raccoons, turtles, squirrels, birds, bats, snakes, lizards, butterflies, dragonflies. When I’m walking in new territory, I notice I can walk longer. Maybe that’s because I’m allowing myself to be invigorated by my own excitement of the new sights. The new sights and sounds set up new thoughts in my mind, and those new thoughts replace whatever self-talk I had going on. When I began, my left ankle had a twinge and my right knee as well. By the time I’d walked a few minutes, both stopped. I walked farther than previous, so I was aware of my shins getting a workout. I wore my ultrapadded Timberline hiking boots, which are more comfortable than my Asics for walking. The walking is like a moving meditation and is becoming part of my daily spiritual practice.   Continue reading →

Being a decision maker makes you responsible for the outcome and consequences of your choice. We learn that lesson by making bad choices. As we mature and make better choices, our mistakes will decrease.

I use Web Studio 5.0 to create my websites. To the left is a “preview” of the front page of my horizonsmagazine.com site, showing side by side two covers of the March 2015 magazine. The only problem with that is — as you see on the right — the two images I used were for the April 2015 cover. I have completely deleted the March image jpg file out of the Web Studio file. I inserted the April image jpg twice. It continues to show the old file. The old file links it to the April 2015.pdf magazine so I know the file is being read. But I’ve got code somewhere that is over riding what I do to fix it. Kind of like in life when we’re having a problem trying to achieve something — there’s always some hidden code to clear up before we can move forward. It’s usually the releasing of an old belief and accepting the possibility of a different, expanded, better experience. I guess the moral of that story is even if I think I’m doing all the right things yet still not accomplishing what I set out to accomplish, that means I’ve got old code — or old beliefs and expectations — ingrained in my consciousness somewhere. My job before I can move forward is to keep clearing the cache to weed that out.

I had the most fun this week designing new business cards for a friend. As I do for ads in the magazine, I give a few choices to decide between. A different image, different text placement, different font. What I like is not necessarily what someone else will like, so I give choices. For fun, I also posted the choices on Facebook and asked my FB friends which they preferred. I got some great feedback and we settled upon one of my favorites. I love this part of my job. Designing a custom ad for someone is like treasure mapping, it’s an exercise in creative visualization and pre-paving. Here is the final front and back design for the business cards. I love the image of the lotus, which appreciates the muck it is growing in as needed for growth, all the while rising above it. It was the perfect image for my friend. A galpal asked how I could make a profit if I spent hours making different choices of business cards and playing on Facebook all day with them.  I told her it’s not “how much am I going to make on this job?” it’s more like “how good can I make it feel while I’m in creation mode and technically on the clock?”  Because what I’m feeling in the moment is what I’m attracting for the next moment.  As a result of me making the playful posts on Facebook asking which choices my FBF liked, I attracted three new clients that I’ll create business cards for.  As a Facebook Special thru April, I’ll design your business card and order 100 two sided cards from Vistaprint for you for $100 total. That’s $30.99 to Vistaprint and $69.01 to me for design, layout and ordering, a $175 value. The cards will be mailed directly to you. Email me at horizonsmagazine@gmail.com with your text and artwork, or I can choose the images for you. You can Paypal payment to horizonsmagazine@gmail.com or I can take a credit card over the phone. I’d be thrilled to create one for you.

Several friends are switching to smoking loose tobacco so they can wean themselves off cigarettes naturally. As they research alternatives, some are switching to a pipe so they aren’t inhaling paper from their hand rolled cigarettes. Ayurveda emphasizes prevention of disease, individualization of treatment, and the maintaining of balance between body, mind and spirit. Ayurvedic medicine can be helpful in the treatment of chronic conditions such as asthma, coronary heart disease and more. An Ayurvedic remedy for respiratory problems is adding mullein and ground calamus root to your loose tobacco.  Calamus root has numerous traditional uses aside from helping one to quit smoking. It eliminates phlegm, clears congestion, and tranquilizes the mind. Additional uses include: amnesia, anxiety, heart palpitations, insomnia, tinnitus, chronic bronchitis, and bronchial asthma. You can also steep the leaves and roots to make a tea.  Calamus is a greatly valued herb in Ayurveda, as its stimulating aroma rejuvenates the brain and the nervous system.  Continue reading →