Patricia Sands

Author

Emmie Mears

Getting back on track …

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Full disclosure: I have to admit taking a week to breathe, away from writing and social media, was truly a gift. I’m so glad I gave it to myself.

Having finally written the ending to my next novel … even though we all know novels are never really *finished* … it was time to re-focus on all those other parts of my life that I felt had been just a tad neglected recently.

I spent a lot of time having leisurely chats and lunches with friends and family, golfing, hosting a dinner party, catching up on blogs, watching fabulous tennis from the ATP tour (the French Open, from Paris, is on right now, OF COURSE, I’m watching!!!) taking in the spring concert and amazing art exhibit at the school our 11 and 13-year-old granddaughters attend, and spending the weekend with The Adorables (our two youngest grandchildren, ages 3 and 4) while their parents had a wee break. My “Huh … ???” moment on the weekend was when Kate, only recently turned 3, asked, “Nana, am I your BFF?”  I didn’t think Dora The Explorer talked about stuff like that!

I also went to see “Cavalia’s ODYSSEO” with my DH, one of our wonderful daughters and her equally wonderful husband and our granddaughters mentioned above. It was spectacular! Cirque Du Soleil with horses and remarkable special effects! Take a look at the video in this link. If the show comes to your area, be sure to catch it.

AND I READ! Talk about joy and bliss! Books, magazines, newspapers, words written by other people. It was wonderful to read without feeling pressed to get back to my writing. In the past six months, it has become increasingly difficult to focus on anything but my own words … self-absorbed would be an apt description. *hanging head at the memory*

Writers do what they do for the love of it, there is no simpler explanation. Unfortunately, along with meeting our writing goals come challenges, research, deadlines and before long the task takes over our life. The additional demands of social media … well, let’s not even get into that here … Kate MacNicol recently shared a fabulous post about that issue.

It’s often difficult to find the balance between your writing/professional/day-job life, whatever it is you do,  and everything else. The good news is that most of us recognize this and do take steps to make amends at some point. If you feel your life has been unbalanced lately, take a tip from me and give yourself the same gift I did. Take a week to breathe … you’ll be glad you did.

Before I dive back into editing, revising, getting published and also working on a new exciting project with fellow author Susan Sommers (more on that coming soon…), I also have a couple of overdue *thank you* words to mention.

Thank you to Indie Reader Discovery Awards 2012 for making The Bridge Club a Finalist in the General Fiction category and to the National Indie Excellence Awards for 2012 where The Bridge Club was a Finalist in the Women’s Issues category.

Several weeks ago, writer/blogger Emmie Mears very kindly bestowed upon me The Beautiful Blogger award and I kept putting off acknowledging this honour because I was waiting until I had enough time to fill out the requirements. I’m supposed to tell you seven things you don’t already know about me … and I will … just not now. I do want to thank Emmie and encourage you to read her always thought-provoking, informative and entertaining blog. She is young, talented, hard-working, and full of hopes and dreams which I know she is going to make come true. I have a lot of time for Emmie.

I’m also sending a belated thank you to writer/blogger Lesann Berry  who awarded me the Smart Cookie Biscuit designation. I’m not sure how she knew but I suspect this award has something to do with the number of cookies I’d been eating while I was writing! So thanks, Lesann, and I want you to know I have now cut sugar out of my diet. Honest! Don’t miss her posts. Check out this poster from her blog. This will tell you precisely the type of person she is. Awesome.

The list I could give you of amazing bloggers simply boggles my mind and I’m determined to make more of an effort to share those names each week. Watch for them and feel free to share your own links. Many of them are on my Blog Roll in the left column here, just a click away!

Do you ever give yourself the gift of a break from your job, routines, and demands? What works for you? You know we all want to hear about it and you might just encourage someone else to do the same.

February 14th is V-Day – not just hearts and flowers

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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

As people all over the globe celebrate this very commercial day of spreading love … and I’m all for the sentiment behind it … I’m asking you to take some time to put thought and effort into another kind of call to action for February 14th.

V-Day is an organized response against violence toward women.

V-Day is a vision: We see a world where women live safely and freely.

V-Day is a demand: Rape, incest, battery, genital mutilation and sexual slavery must end now.

V-Day is a spirit: We believe women should spend their lives creating and thriving rather than surviving or recovering from terrible atrocities.

V-Day is a catalyst: By raising money and consciousness, it will unify and strengthen existing anti-violence efforts. Triggering far-reaching awareness, it will lay the groundwork for new educational, protective, and legislative endeavors throughout the world.

V-Day is a process: We will work as long as it takes. We will not stop until the violence stops.

V-Day is a day. We proclaim Valentine’s Day as V-Day, to celebrate women and end the violence.

V-Day is a fierce, wild, unstoppable movement and community. Join us!

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. Click here for the official website and information about how you can participate and spread the word.

Question: What is V-Day?
Answer: A global movement to stop violence against women and girls by raising funds and increasing awareness, V-Day has its roots in Valentine’s Day, February 14, and the award-winning play The Vagina Monlogues, written by Eve Ensler.
 An activist and playwright, Eve Ensler founded V-Day on February 14, 1998, when she organized a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The event sold out the 2500-seat venue and raised $250,000 for local NYC anti-violence groups. Among the 20 actors performing in the first V-Day production were Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Winona Ryder, Calista Flockhard, Margaret Cho, Gloria Steinem, and Eve Ensler herself.In 1999, V-Day launched its College Campaign with 66 participating schools across North America performingThe Vagina Monologues; over 20,000 people attended V-Day events. Over in the UK, a benefit performance at London’s Old Vic Theatre featured Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Isabella Rosellini, Christiane Amanpour, and Gillian Anderson.

In 2000, the College Campaign expanded to 150 colleges and universities around the globe. In 2001, a February 10th V-Day performance in New York City’s Madison Square Garden sold out 18,000 seats and raised $1 million. Also that year, the Worldwide Campaign took off; V-Day events in over 40 cities raised over $350,000 to local organizations.

By V-Day’s tenth anniversary in February 2008, thousands of benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues (including a run on Broadway) had raised over 50 million dollars for anti-violence programs around the world. Over 120 countries have staged V-Day events.

Although V-Day is most closely associated with Valentine’s Day, V-Day events typically take place anywhere from February through April.

According to the V-Day website, “The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.” The V-Day logo is a simple graphic interpretation (using a standard computer/typewriter keyboard) of that portion of the female anatomy:

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Eve has raised over $85 million dollars to stop violence against women. She has helped found a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo where statistics show approximately 48 women are raped per hour. A city where women can go to be safe and heal and learn. It’s called the City of Joy.The hope for the Democratic Republic of the Congo lies in the women of that land. Dr. Denis Mukwege is helping to make sure that hope is not snuffed out. Partnered with Eve Ensler, they have founded the City of Joy, which is a place women can go to recover more fully, to learn skills, and to become whole again. It opened last year, and its first class just graduated.

February 14th is V-Day. Take time to celebrate as you wish but please also help share the message of hope that this powerful movement embodies. Take some action, no matter how small. Tweet about it #vday. Tell everyone you know. Donate. Create dialogue in whatever way works for you.

I would not have known so much about this had I not been reading the inspiring and painfully honest posts Emmie Mears has been sharing on her blog. She has a powerful voice. Go there. I’ll end this with the final words on today’s post on Emmie’s blog.

“Together we can affect change. Together we can break the silence.

Until the Violence Stops.”

Are you aware of the V-Day movement? Have you seen The Vagina Monologues performed anywhere? Do you know of  programs in your area that work toward educating men and women about these issues? Thanks for doing whatever you can to help share the messages of the V-Day movement.