One year later...

It occurred to me today as I was gardening that I've been a published author for almost one year now. In celebration (of the year, not of me actually remembering this {G}) I'm going to do some inspiration blogs. See, I don't believe in a "muse" per se, but I find inspiration in the strangest (and sometimes most obvious) of places. I'm like a neurotic magpie that way, hoarding shiny bits of information and getting excited about life's happy surprises.

Some of these are things that I'm not sure anyone else would get turned on about. The NY Times' science section, for example, is something I find unbelievably sexy. (It's all right. You can call me a geek. I don't mind.) Other things, like the Neon Boneyard here in Las Vegas -- which I'm hoping to return to sometime in the next couple of weeks -- have clearly resonated with readers as well. So I'm going to share some images and kernels of inspiration for the world of the Zodiac, and if there's anything you've been wondering about in either of the books, please let me know and I'll riff on that as well.

For now, I thought I'd share something that's playing a heavy role in the creation of book4 (though not in an obvious way). Here's a video of American tribal bellydancer Rachel Brice ... one of my current obsessions. She's a goddess, and a cool chick to boot. Dance is her passion, her religion, her meditation, and the way she expresses herself in this world. Rather like me with my writing. Gotta love that.

Here's her talking a bit about her dance, and her approach to it:

Tribal Style Belly Dance is so incredible on so many levels, the most important I think being community and self-acceptance. The movements themselves are based on body language that communicates strength and poise, and I think that's an amazing partner to femininity. I remember one man telling me after a show that he'd never seen sensuality paired with elegance before, and it transformed the way he saw women. Pretty cool.

One difficulty for me is that it is such a commercial venture, and we have to "sell" our show. I don't have control over a lot of the advertising, and I'm very particular about how the dance is portrayed. Some of the write-ups of our show are very "male": they focus on the skin and sensuality and miss the power, and that's difficult to take sometimes.

I think, however, my main struggle is that of growing as a dancer when there's no time to create. We're always performing, so that leaves very little time to go watch other dance forms, find new music, sneak into the underground for costuming ideas, practice yoga with new teachers, or make new dances ... newness is one of the things I require to feel passionate about my dancing,

IOW, she's a kindred spirit.

Here's a video that shows her style and playfulness and power, though it can't relate her incredible skill in entirety. For that, I suggest you google Rachel Brice.

More soon!
(BTW, cover flats are winging the way to all the winners. Thank you all again for answering!)