Starting again

Months have past since my last post. Here's what happened:

For almost a year I was deeply invested in marketing activities for the books that I had published. I used an author services group to improve my outreach. This effort was costly in time, personal effort and money. The events in Santa Fe and Albuquerque seemed so promising. I embraced each opportunity with enthusiasm, but every event was a disappointment with minimal attendance. The few books I sold didn't begin to cover my expenses of driving to the venue and my meal. Undaunted, I decided to try another approach focussing on the parallels between my writing and current events in Arab countries. No one came for the conversation series. This was the final blow.

I became discouraged to the point that I decided not to write anymore. During these months of my absence, I put away all of my writing materials: books, research and magazines. I waited to see what, if anything would happen. Much to my surprise, people began complimenting me on my writing and asking about future books. I even sold a couple books. Then, someone familiar with my current writing project told me how anxious she was to get the book because she felt that it was needed. No one knows how much all of these reinforcing and supportive comments have meant to me. It was enough to prick my interest in writing again.

A couple days ago, I saw the completed book for my current project in my dreams. It came to me without any other dream storyline---just the sight of the completed book.

It's time to start again with new insights and new energy for research. Perhpas I'll post a story from my project in this blog to learn your reaction.

Stay tuned.

It's spring! One way to tell that spring about to arrive is the sight of hot air balloons in the distance as I walk our dogs in the morning. The bulbs have made it through another winter season. At the sight of flowering shrubs and trees, I feel the sides of my mouth curve upward.

This season holds a promise of new beginnings and I feel myself stretching in new directions. I've just finished reading The Meaning of Mary Magdalene by Cynthia Bourgeault. Her work prompts a lot of questions and the main one is, What if the early church authorities got it wrong? What if there's a different way of understanding the lives of Mary and Jesus? Bourgeault supports her ideas with research and biblical quotations. There were so many Mary's that some of them may have been the same person. Why is Mary Magdalene is such a confusing person in the way she is protrayed in the Gospels? Maybe the writers didn't want her to have the close relationship with Jesus and maybe they wanted to mute her leadership role with the apostles.

New beginnings. It will take me some time to figure out how this book will affect my life and my belief system. At the moment, I just want to cheer for Mary Magdalene and enjoy spring.

Amazing Connection

Hello again. Spring is just beginning with crocuses in full bloom near the pond. Buds on the trees are getting fuller and in several more weeks there will be blossoms like those in this photo of our flowering crabapple tree a year or so ago.

Have you ever had an amazing encounter with another person that blew your socks off? It happened to me last week when I was doing a series of author events in Albuquerque. At Bookworks, I was promoting my most recent book, UNPREDICTABLE CROSSING. As people gathered for the presentation a gentleman in the back of the seating area responded to a comment that I made about the independence movement in Mozambique. It turns out that his father, a white Portuguese, had been very active in trying to wrest control of the province away from Portugal. He'd been so active that he was forced to flee Mozambique with his family when the man speaking to me was 14 years old. I learned so much from him in our brief conversation, that I longed to know more.
What an amazing experience! I can hardly believe that someone who lived in Lourenzo Marques, now Maputo, turned up at one of my events. He gave me a much broader awareness of other people who were trying to make changes that I suddenly realized how limited my perspective was. For a moment, my reality and thinking was pulled back to Mozambique in a profound way.

The previous events and other plans in Albuquerque had been unfolding in ways that disheartened me so hearing this man talk buoyed me up for the rest of the week. It still lifts me up to another level as I prepare for an event next Sunday.

Just when you think you know how plans will proceed, life delivers a little jolt to make you pay attention. This one was pleasant and had a longer effect to make me think more deeply about what I say when I'm in front of people and to besure that I allow them to contribute to the discussion.

There have been many learned people who've written about awareness and the importance of now. Decades ago, Paul Tillich wrote The Eternal Now. More recently, Eckart Tolle has written The Power of Now. Other authors focus on the importance of 'being present' or maintaining 'awareness' as we live each day. This encounter made me realize that I had not been fully engaged in the moment. I am so grateful to this gentleman for many reasons and one of them is the reminder that I was not paying attention. How awful it would have been to miss his conversation. I hope that I stay aware of the eternal now as I live each day so that I don't miss any of the good parts.

Marrabenta

Have you ever wondered about dance as more than entertainment? When I lived in Mozambique, we dated in groups. This means that several guys and some girls would come to my house and pick me up so that we could walk together to the home where the party was. There was music and dancing as well as homemade cake and lemonade or other punch to drink.

At some point during the dance, the group made space for two or three guys to dance in a different way to a particular kind of music. I used to tease the other girls about this dance asking them why they didn't get involved with it too. But these occasions were more serious. Everyone pay close attention to those who danced and when they finished, the party atmosphere returned.

It was only when I came home on furlough that I learned the significance of these performances. They were dances of liberation, communicating freedom and much more. While I was home, I attended a conference where a documentary about Freelimo, the Mozambican independence movement, was shown. The film showed footage of the dance and described it as one for communicating with people in the southern part of the country. While I could name the young men who performed the dance,I never knew how it was used to communicate information. Each performance was a bit different and the style of the music was the same but a different song each time I saw it.

Next month I hope to meet a man from Mozambique whose father played the marrabenta music. Panaibra Canda will also perform it as part of a larger choreographed work.
You can see him at 8 pm on both March 11 and March 12 in the North Fourth Theater
(4904 Fourth Street) in Albuquerque. I will participate in a "BackTalk" session following the performance. I hope you can come.

Getting our of ruts

With two of the book events finished, I look back on the evenings to see what I've learned. People generally want to know how many books I sold. While that's important and the main reason for the presentation,there's another important issue. For me it's all about the people I've met and what they taught me with their questions.

At the last event, one woman asked me if I'd read Nelson Mandela's autobiography. I had not. Her question made me wonder why not. I hadn't been avoiding it, but neither had I pursued buying it. Her other questions, especially the most persistent remarks made me reflect carefully on what she was saying. My mental review occurred days later and made me buy Mandela's books.

Not long after this exchange, a good friend made a comment about my reaction to a church situation. It too made me stop and think. The outcome of my mental meanderings, from both conversations, showed me how I'd backed myself into some restrictive corners and that outlook was reflected in my behavior. Locked in this mindset for a few years, I would have never figured out what I'd done to myself had it not been for these two people.

I used to get very annoyed with my mother for the way she labeled people. Her expectations of any interaction with them was governed by her preconceived notions. I often wondered what would happen if the person she was talking to suddenly changed. Would my mother accept the 'new' person? How like my mother I'd become.

There's a story of women in the New Testament whose lives are changed by the encounter with Jesus - the woman who bled, the Samaritan woman, the bent over woman, and more. We know what happened when they met Jesus, but I've always wondered how their family, their neighbors and the community received them the next day. Could everyone change the way they treated these women?

We have many similar situations today of the drug addict to starts over, people released from prison who try to make it on their own, recovering alcoholics and others. Can we relate to these people in new ways? I wonder how much our limited attitudes are a factor in recidivism?

So what am I doing about my mental corners? I'm trying to break out. I'm reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography. I'm also engaging with a church group in a different way.

Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

The Mozambique Trilogy

I haven't talked about my writing in previous blogs, but the time has come to let the cat out of the bag. While my writing wasn't intended to be a secret, I wasn't ready to post it on the blog. Now I'm exploring new ways of doing things. Besides the books named below, I am working on other writing projects with the hope of having them published. Below is the schedule of my appearances in Santa Fe during the holiday season.

For the first event on December 2, there will be a handout which includes a list of six questions.The answers to these questions will be posted after the event. I hope those of you living in the area will be able to attend.

Jonna-Lynn Mandelbaum Discusses Her Mozambique Trilogy in Three Special Appearances

Part I Tribe’s Coffeehouse & Co-Op GalleryThursday, Dec. 2, 6:00 – 8:00 pm3470-A Zafarano Dr. (San Isidro Plaza I, behind the Regal Stadium 14 Cinema)

In this first of three informal discussions by author Jonna-Lynn Mandelbaum, you will learn about the history that formed the basis for her first book in the trilogy, Malarial Fevers. The author will speak on such controversial issues as the missionary as cultural interpreter; death by mosquitoes; African American missionaries in Africa; and the yearning for independence. This historical novel gives a moving account of the early missionary activities in southeast Africa together with the impact of Portuguese colonization that tear the social fabric of African ways.

Part II Jambo CaféThursday, Dec. 9, 3:00 – 5:00 pm2010 Cerrillos Road (near Hobby Lobby)

Unspoken Farewell depicts the U.S. on the wrong side of Mozambique’s war for independence and the author’s experiences living in a police state. Her relationships run the gamut from informers to reformers, including the “Mother of Mozambique,” Graca Mandela.Jonna-Lynn Mandelbaum's professional career in international health led her to Mozambique, where she lived during the critical years leading to that country’s independence. Events are open to the public; there is no cover charge. Food and beverages may be purchased during the first two events; please arrive early to place your order.The Mozambique Trilogy will be available for purchase and autographed by the author.

Part III Unpredictable CrossingPlace & time to be arranged

The third novel in this trilogy explores the unknown horrors of the only survivor of a genocide, a young girl who finds herself trapped on a transatlantic ship with the man who gave the order to massacre her village. For more information, please callMary NeighbourBlessingway Authors’ Services505-474-6309.Come listen and join the discussions; they willbe lively!

Contests

I add this photo because sometimes the rainbow gives unexpected rewards. While I don't remember what the weather was like when I got the news, I received an unexpected reward this autumn.

I generally don't get my hopes up when I enter contests, because I'm seldom the winner, but that changed when I started writing. Since my books have been released, I've entered them in various writing contests. Until this September, the best I had gotten was a certificate of participation. Believe me, opening that envelope in the mail to find that certificate was annoying. Other friends and colleagues who are writers were entering contests and getting some acknowledgement of their work. The idea of submitting my books to more contests discouraged me, but I persisted. A seminar leader attributed his writing success to having won a contest so I heeded his advice with dwindling enthusiasm.

This autumn, things changed. My most recent book is a finalist in two categories for the 2010 New Mexico Book Awards. While I won't know the results until mid-November, I already feel as if I've won. Just being named as a finalist has brought me deep satisfaction and encouragment to keep on writing.

Now I begin to understand some of the fist-pumping, hugging, slapping-on-the- back, whistling and all other behaviors that go with winning. Seeing grown men jumping up and down and generally acting like children after winning a bowl game, the Stanley Cup or World Series amused me. Now, I have to take back my condescending attitude regarding their reactions because I could have pumped my fist, danced or cheered when I received the email about my entry. (I think I might has done some fist-pumping as I read the message.)

Affirmation is a very rare thing these days. I wonder about all of people who provide services whose actions we take for granted. Think of the server in a restaurant, we expect prompt service, quality food---all with a good attitude. While we leave a tips, do we really tell him or her that we genuinely appreciated their efforts on our behalf? We're in contact with people who render us needed services on a daily basis, but do we recognize them and affirm their work?

I met an acquaintance for dinner at a restaurant several days ago. She was very dismissive of the serving staff. Her condescending comportment was more like that of a person of royal lineage. The more rude she was to the server, the more I tried to recognize him and express appreciation for his help. By th end of the meal, she had softened a bit.

If receiving a trophy can bring such boisterous delight to the winners, imagine what simple recognition and appreciation for service can offer that might help people get through the day.

A new goal for myself is to affirm others who help me in some way, whether they are servers in restaurants, trash collectors, or---anyone. This won't stop global warming or win the war in Afghanistan, but maybe it can make our world a better place.