My muse needs Florida sunshine!

I’m very curious what other writers experience. What does your muse require to stay healthy, happy, and inspired?

"Hemingway is great in that alone of living writers he has saturated his work with the memory of physical pleasure, with sunshine and salt water, with food, wine and making love and the remorse which is the shadow of that sun." ~Cyril Connolly 

I read this quote today on Dictionary.com and it resonated with me. Last fall my husband and I visited Key West, where bits of trivia about how Hemingway’s love of coastal life seemed interwoven into history of the island. 

Recently, I’ve learned how critically my environment influences what I write, as well as the depth and tone of my writing. Lately, my writing muse began begging to be more connected with the outdoor world, Florida sunshine. I’ve been busy for weeks, attached to my main computer with dozens of files constantly open, creating interesting guest posts for my blog tour—jobs too complex to accomplish on my netbook out on our dock. I even took a few days and let my muse work on a new book, but that didn’t seem to satisfy her. Daily word counts were met, so what was her problem? After a few more days spent with a frustrated muse who left my nerves in a bunch, I realized she needed to feel the inspiration of the warm sunshine and rhythm of the waves. I’ve always known I write my best while outside, but didn’t grasp how essential it really was. My discontented muse finally got through to me--she must recharge outside at regular intervals in order to write contentedly inside for a period. 

So, when I stumbled upon this quote, I was pleased to feel a kinship to the great author. I understand his connection to the year-round, summer-like sun of Florida, the salt water and how it flavors the air. The inspiration of coastal life is huge and something that becomes a part of you, in your blood. 

Here are some other quotes on the same topic which connected for me. 

The richest of all lords is Use,
And ruddy Health the loftiest Muse.
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea,
Drink the wild air's salubrity.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This verse by Emerson is a more formal, pastoral representation of the same idea. The sun and sea restore and revitalize the spirit, and in turn health.

the thousand colors
in her plain brown hair—
morning sunshine

~Bernard Lionel Einbond

Those lines are so simple, yet lovely. They help me appreciate how I pull fantasy scenes and storylines from my time spent enjoying nature. The sunshine illuminates, opens my mind to more…

“The two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk. Did you know that? That's a fact. The two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk. Did you know that? That's a fact.”

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~Waldo Salt

This is fun! Again, the same idea. I might change out the coconut milk for iced tea or a variety of exotic rum drink, but the tropical ease of being around coconut palms is important beyond satisfying my palate.

I’m very curious what other writers experience. What does your muse require to stay healthy, happy, and inspired?

Magical Monday: lunar eclipse home photos

This week’s Magical Monday revisits the lunar eclipse from the night of December 21st. 

During our celebration my husband, Steve, took photos I’d like to share. It was an unusually cold night here south of Tampa, about 40 degrees, but the skies were perfectly clear, allowing some good opportunities for photos. However, even with a tripod, the long exposure made focusing and avoiding slight camera shake difficult.



The early hours of the eclipse with the Earth’s shadow just beginning to pass over the moon:

 

Total eclipse gave a pink-orange glow. The color was caused by the sun’s rays passing the sides of the Earth, through our planet’s atmosphere and refracting in those gases, to bend as orange wavelengths onto the moon’s surface. Those reflected to us, hence the observation of the eerie orange moon. Science aside…quite a magical site!

Sex is in the air

Springtime is all about sex, plenty of sex - ORGIES!

My first spring living in Florida and I wasn't prepared for the seasonal journey into hedonism.

Cooler winter temperatures suddenly gave way and soared into the 80s. Blossoms signaled the start of the party. Billboard-sized hydrangeas advertised themselves as neighborhood brothels. In the heat their pistils dripped with nectar, screaming with desire to be caressed by pollen of nearby stamen. An ages-old trick, they used their sweet fragrance of sex to lure all types of residents. Tiny feet, wings and tongues trailed yellow dust across their intimate parts.

Even my own vine I brought, packed into the car, all the way from Ohio succumbed to local evil ways like I never expected. I've raised the enormous vine from a single sprout, included in a "get-well" planter I received after my appendectomy thirteen years ago. It remains unidentified, nameless, but still a family member none-the-less. (If anyone reading this can tell me the species of my vine, I'd be very grateful.)

This past week my vine shamelessly exposed itself, hanging heavy with maybe a hundred flower whorls. Normally, I see a dozen or so, but a hundred? Florida turned my vine into a hussie! Embarrassed, I hoped no one else noticed, but no. Closer inspection revealed a dozen horny creatures already hanging on blossoms, prepared to give their best "come on" lines to potential mates. Butterflies flashed their gaudy colors. Little male lizards extended bright orange throat pouches to impress the next lady lizard who passed. Intoxicated by the scent and sticky nectar from my vine, along with their own bodies screaming for release, they didn't even notice me snapping photos.


“The flower is a jumble of thighs, the sun's harem - the most oriental thing imaginable.”
~ Malcolm De Chazal