My Ton ~ 10,000 Visits!

I am sure there is some rubric out there that standardizes what the growth of a new blog should be after seventeen months.  Frankly, I don't give a rip what anyone else thinks.  When I saw my blog visits pass 10,000 I was excited!  It is now far enough past that mark to account for all the spam and robo hits.

I still marvel at how popular my post of Yeats' The Stolen Child is and continues to be. Equally remarkable is the response to the Abigail Adams posts earlier this month.  So, I choose to celebrate the benchmark of 10,000 rather than worry about how fast I got there according to someone else.

Thank you for the support, and I hope you continue to find joy and inspiration here. I wrote this in commemoration:

-----------------

My Ton

Ten thousand tentative beginnings.

… stories to tell, audio to share.

… question, “am I a voice, or a story?”

Ten thousand spooky thoughts last October.

… poems, stories, The Goblin Market.

… moments of amazement .

Ten thousand moments of revelation.

… hesitations at calling myself "Author, Storyteller, Artist."

… delights at the joys of my audience.

Ten thousand compositions in my brain.

… post it notes with ideas and thoughts.

… pauses, wondering what to do next.

Ten thousand sleepless nights of worry.

… bright mornings with new inspiration.

… more stories to share.

© Judith Cullen, 2013

HAPPY U.S. INDEPENDENCE DAY!

I have several personal traditions around July 4th, and these are among them.

Abigail Adams is a remarkable woman whom I greatly admire.  Her writings show a quick, incisive intelligence that does not lack humor or circumspection.  The correspondence between her and her husband, Statesman and President John Adams, is an inspiring look inside the lives and minds of unique couple at an important moment in history.  Surely, these two souls, who were "one", were meant for each other, and meant to be exactly where they were in history.

So many amazing women to admire,but if I had to make a list of those whom I would love to sit down to a long afternoon of tea and conversation with, Abigail Adams is the list topper - No Contest!

As with all the audio downloads on this blog, these are offered freely. I am an artist and fledgling indie author.  I only ask if you enjoy the files, you consider leaving something in the tip jar on the right hand margin.  Even $1 helps keep the stories coming!  

Selections from the Letters of Abigail Adams - March 31, 1776 ... Click Here

"… I long to hear that you have declared an independency -- and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors." 

Selections from the Letters of Abigail Adams - May 27, 1776 #1 ... Click Here
"We ought never to despair of what has been once accomplished. How many things have the Idea of impossible been annexed to, that have become easy to those who knew how to take advantage of Time, opportunity, lucky Moments, the Faults of others, different dispositions and an infinite Number of other circumstances." 

Selections from the Letters of Abigail Adams - May 27, 1776 #2 ... Click Here
"And in saying this I make a Sacrifice which those only can judge of whose Hearts are one."

BONUS!

A Selection from the Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776 ... Click Here
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

LAST DAY for A Trio of Cat Tales free for Kindle from Amazon!  See previous posts for reviews and samples.  Click on the tab at the top of the page to go to the Amazon page and download YOUR copy!

FREE PROMOTION! A Trio of Cat Tales!

Starting July 1st, A TRIO OF CAT TALES will be on a Free Kindle Download Promotion through July 4th on Amazon, Amazon UK and other Amazon outlets world wide.

Meet "S" ... a cat of intelligence and character who shares her feline insights and adventures through three delightful short stories . . .

What delighted readers are saying about A TRIO OF CAT TALES
 
"Ms. Cullen's writing is lyrical and touching, the rhythms and characters stick in your mind like a really good tune. I have the feeling she could write about tin cans and readers would come away with a sense of satisfaction and wonder ... Ms. Cullen's level of insight into the feline mind is almost scarey. I can't wait for Cullen's next trio."  ~ Mikey Mac, Amazon Reader


"...In some ways the art of the short story is becoming lost as people have so many more distractions put upon their time. It is wonderful to see an author putting out new stories that can be shared with young and old alike. This small volume can be read quickly and then passed to friends and family for years to come. I defy anyone with any experience with cats to read this and not smile and nod knowingly."  ~ Eric Wilt, Amazon Reader

"All the stories do that thing of both looking at all the things about cats that we find delightful and infuriating in equal measures, but looked at from a cat's eye view, so you get a skewed look at 'normal' life. A great sense of humour and I will definitely be reading that extra story to the children at Christmas."  ~ C.A.S. Blackfeather, Amazon UK Reader 

Check out these free audio samples . . .
 CLICK to listen to a selection from Chapter 1: The Story of S
 CLICK to listen to a selection from Chapter 3: S and the Cable Guy 

LIVE READING THIS SATURDAY!

Judy's Stories will be in the Proctor District of Tacoma this weekend!

Judy's Stories - North Tacoma
Saturday, June 29th at 3pm (60-90 minutes)
Mason United Methodist Church
2710 North Madison Street in the Proctor District

I'll have copies of my three published works and be reading selections from the "damn near released" A TRIO OF MY FATHER'S TALES including The Little Lord Fauntleroy Suit, Flying Down to Coeur d'Alene, and The  Skunk War.

To Listen to Audio Sample from Flying Down to Coeur d'Alene CLICK HERE
 (c)2013 by Judith Cullen

FEELING "FAINT" from the Drabble!

This week, Laurence Simon/Crap Mariner's 100 Word Story Weekly Challenge prompt word was "Faint." (Click on the link to listen to all the challenge contributions!)  I wasn't sure it was a word that would bring me anything.  Then I started writing anyway, as I needed to warm up to get some other writing done (I use haiku and drabble to shake my Writing Muse to wakefulness).  BOOM!  Some ideas from things I have been reading and watching took off.  Here's the result!

Faint

It’s a veggie-carb day on my menu cycle.  It’s self imposed and pretty successful so far. 

I want protein.  I am craving protein.  A hamburger, some barbeque pork, even some refried beans! Thoughts of fried chicken are mocking me.

“Nyah! Nyah!  You can’t have me!”

“Bullshit!  You just WAIT until tomorrow!”

Giggling triumphantly the chicken thoughts dance away, still teasing.

I refill my trusty water bottle. Take a deep breath. Oh God!  Someone’s firing up a barbeque!  Wafting scent of mesquite!  I run around madly shutting windows.

“Get away from me!”

The room starts to spin around.  Fade to black.

##

The Serial Faintress – a Series of Three 100 Word Stories

(with a small nod to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Peter Jackson)

***

Hearing the noise behind me, I turn quickly and gasp aloud. I am positively shocked at what I see.

Sherlock Holmes is standing smiling at me across my home office. Suddenly a gray mist swirls before my eyes, and when it clears he is bending over me, his flask in his hand. 

"My dear lady, I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected." 

“But why are you in Tacoma?”

Then it appears that I faint again for the second time in my life.

My head hits the floor with a dull thud.

***

I open my eyes again with a sharp intake of breath, and blink. 

I see a much younger face than the one I saw before. Dark, swirling hair frames the most remarkable pair of intense, changeable hazel eyes I have ever beheld.  I look puzzled.

Hello there!  They call me “Ben” but my actual name is “Benedict.”  Season 3 of my acclaimed Sherlock series is coming, and I am in the next Hobbit movie.  It’s going to be excellent.  You’re a fan?

The room starts to swirl around in a now familiar way. Everything gets dark, those eyes disappearing last.

***

Returning to consciousness, thinking how unreal this is, I shake my head to clear the haze.

Someone is still here.  Good Lord, won’t they leave me alone?

This one has a brooding forehead, furrowed brows, but somehow he is compelling, breathtakingly handsome.  His temple braids graze my cheeks.

“I am leading my kinsman to retake our homeland and reclaim the legacy of our fathers.  We travel to Erebor.  Have you seen Smaug the Terrible?”

I close my eyes, letting the fog roll back over me, and everything blinks out. 

There’s just no point in getting up until they go away. 

##

To Listen to Audio Recordings of these Stories CLICK HERE
by Judith Cullen (c)2013

As with all the audio downloads on this blog, this one is offered freely. I am an artist and fledgling indie author.  I only ask if you enjoy the files, you consider leaving something in the tip jar on the right hand margin.  Even $1 helps keep the stories coming!  

Visit oneadayuntilthedayidie.com to enjoy the podcast and the other contributors

COMING THIS WEEK:  

~ More Judy's Stories Live in the Proctor District ~ Saturday, June 29th at 3pm

~ More Samples from the soon-to-be-released (really!) A TRIO OF MY FATHER'S TALES

A NEW HAIKU CYCLE ...

by JT Perreault from Creative Commons

Stephanie Mesler's Haiku Throwdown this week was "Journey" which I have been pondering a lot. I figured like MORE THAN it would be five or six haikus in a cycle.  OOPS!  Guess I was wrong there.  This one took off and thirteen cycles later .... where has my mind been at lately, eh?

THE LARGER JOURNEY
(c) 2013 by Judith Cullen
 

looking at one step

that is the start of the path

the hesitation

where will this path lead?

is it like all the others

no two are alike

stepping off freely

the path is unknown to you

what will this one be?

a short, sharp journey?

a lesson timely and true?

friends joined for a time

short friends and paths

they provide the same insight

valuable now

not all paths are so

each purpose is different

short paths, long paths, all

long paths wander in

and out of your life’s landscape

always familiar

long paths give you place

a good sense of your bearings

never wandering far

there are the rare paths

lifetime long, straight, and constant

we search for those paths

hesitate no step

stepping is required of you

all paths are valid

each path brings something

each path has that which you need

do not pick and choose

step away, step on

let the world squish beneath you

squeezing through your toes

step away, step on

all paths await your treading

all are the journey

EXPLORING POTENTIAL ... Looking for the Next Step in Immersive Storytelling

Okay, I know it has only just stopped snowing in some parts of the U.S. and the world.  I have been working on some work samples for various endeavors, and created a video trying to express the concept behind The Dickens Project for a grant.  I am fascinated by the idea of creating interactive environments for presentations of live voice performances.  There is something about hearing a story told live, slightly imperfect, that is different from a recording or audio book.  To me, it feels more personal.  The Dickens Project in 2012 was a beta test that was just the beginning of where I think this approach can go.

Check the video out, and see if you see what I see - Click Here!

(Now, if we can just get people to want to use it as a service!)