THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO - Karmic Countdown (Barbara Radecki)

Skip down to Barbara if you've read me already!

As some of you may know, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, my second novel for young adults comes out March 25th from Algonquin Young Readers.

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO tells the story of almost-16-yr-old Francesca “Beans” “Frankie” Schnell who, four years ago witnessed her baby brother, Simon, drown. Guilty and broken, Francesca has hunkered down in the shadows of her life, resolved to play second fiddle to her dead brother’s memory and to her best friend Lisette, a blonde bubbly beauty Francesca lives vicariously through. That is, until she meets a young boy named Frankie Sky who bears an uncanny resemblance to her brother. Frankie brings humor and hope to Francesca’s life, but are all the similarities between Frankie and Simon merely wishful coincidences, or could he be Simon’s reincarnation?

Curious coincidences abound in THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO —not only the overlaps between Simon and Frankie Sky, but also Bradley’s gift to Francesca, Bradley’s bird sighting, and the ties to the statue of  Saint Florian (you'll have to read to know what these are ;)). Midway through the story Francesca starts to think these events can’t really all be coincidences, “but something bigger and magical at work.”

Have you ever experienced strange events that seemed like more than coincidence and made you wonder if fate was at work or that soul and or reincarnation exist?

Throughout the month, I've decided to pose that question to friends, some writers, others bearing other artistic talents, for a brief account of their own experience with karma, kismet or a mystical connection. I leave you to answer the question, “Random or something magical at work?” 

I hope you find these stories as intriguing and lovely as I do.

- gae

Barbara, and her smiley radiant face.

Today I have my dear friend Barbara Radecki sharing a goose-bump-raising story. Barbara is a Toronto-based writer and actor. For three years, she co-wrote the award-winning (and amazingly funny, real, heartwarming) blog, The Middle Ages, and is just finishing her novel, The Darkhouse.

Telling Time

  

My father-in-law died suddenly and unexpectedly at a relatively young age. He’d just moved to Canada from France (his home for 25 years) to be closer to us. Our daughters were 3 years and 1-month old respectively, and my husband and I were thrilled their grandfather would finally be around to shower them with love and attention. He exceeded our every expectation, hosting tea parties and play-dates with our older daughter and engaging in long staring contests with the baby, confidently proclaiming her “a genius”. We were devastated when he passed away only eight months after he’d arrived.

A few months after his death, it was the eve of our baby’s first birthday. Still mourning but back to dealing with ordinary minutia, my husband and I tucked ourselves into bed knowing the next day would be a much-needed celebration of life. 

The karmic clock. Lovely, isn't it?

We were woken from deep sleep by a huge crash on the main floor of our house. Terrified, we crept down the stairs to investigate. The source of the crash turned out to be a clock that we’d inherited from my father-in-law. It’s a gorgeous pendulum clock, large, ornate, hand-painted. We found it on the floor—as if it had been propelled from the wall, the nail still fixed to its spot. Holding our breath, we searched for damage. But the clock was absolutely intact, not a scratch on the paint, not a chip in the wood. My husband noticed its battery on the floor not far away. He examined the clock again. The compartment for the battery is secured with a latched panel. This panel had somehow opened during the fall, expelled the battery, and—before landing on itself on the floor—closed again and re-latched. Then we noticed: the time had frozen to the exact moment of our daughter’s middle-of-the-night birth the year before, on the birthday we were going to celebrate that very day.

Karma or Coincidence? We don’t have any definitive answers or ideology in our family, but this moment had a profound impact on us. We felt—and still feel all these years later—that this was a “sign”, a greeting, a reassurance from him. Call it what you will, but the whole thing felt… magical. The kind of magic where there is no trick, only the goodness and lightness of peace.

- Barbara

The Summer of Letting Go Karma or Coincidence? Countdown (Lori Landau)

If you've read this intro four times already, for Pete's sake, please skip right down to the guest post!

As some of you may know, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, my second novel for young adults comes out March 25th from Algonquin Young Readers.

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO tells the story of almost-16-yr-old Francesca “Beans” “Frankie” Schnell who, four years ago witnessed her baby brother, Simon, drown. Guilty and broken, Francesca has hunkered down in the shadows of her life, resolved to play second fiddle to her dead brother’s memory and to her best friend Lisette, a blonde bubbly beauty Francesca lives vicariously through. That is, until she meets a young boy named Frankie Sky who bears an uncanny resemblance to her brother. Frankie brings humor and hope to Francesca’s life, but are all the similarities between Frankie and Simon merely wishful coincidences, or could he be Simon’s reincarnation?

Curious coincidences abound in THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO —not only the overlaps between Simon and Frankie Sky, but also Bradley’s gift to Francesca, Bradley’s bird sighting, and the ties to the statue of  Saint Florian (you'll have to read to know what these are ;)). Midway through the story Francesca starts to think these events can’t really be coincidences, “but something bigger and magical at work.”

Do you think our lives are random, or do you think there’s “something bigger and magical at work”? Have you ever experienced strange events that seemed like more than coincidence and made you wonder if fate was at work or that soul and or reincarnation exist?

Throughout the month, I've decided to pose that question to friends, some writers, others bearing other artistic talents, for a brief account of their own experience with karma, kismet or a mystical connection. I leave you to answer the question, “Karma or coincidence? Random or something magical at work?” 

- gae

Lori Landau

Today, for a twist, I have my dear friend, Lori Landau, here answering the question "random or magical?" through her ART.

Lori is not only a friend I've known since our teens, but a talented interdisciplinary artist, writer and meditation teacher.
You can read and follow her blog, Conscious Creativity HERE.

Inevitably, when I see one of Lori's drawings, I immediately marvel at how she seems able to capture the essence (or soul) of a person with so few lines. . . Here she is:

artwork, Lori Landau

I never fool myself that I'm adept enough to draw a true likeness of someone. But I'm fascinated with exploring the unseen, the essence of being. 

For me, drawing a portrait is an act of conjuring. I don't draw to reproduce features as they are, but to commune with consciousness and transcribe soul.


I'm often surprised by my own results, in spite of my intention to convey the unknown. What appears on the page, versus what was in my mind when I began drawing becomes a mysterious reverberation of magic. 


There are countless times that I have picked up a pen to draw my husband, or a stranger I see in an airport or restaurant, and what surfaces instead is the face of one of my ancestors, often my grandfather or a great uncle. 

Drawn on a poloroid, this is an actual
magical manifestation of my grandfather. Lori Landau

Here, my uncle arises...

People who are concealed in my memory are revealed when I least expect it, in an act of reverse divination. 

A sense of sorcery shows itself in the eyes and mouths that defy my hand and take on a life of their own in the faces I draw. What rises from the depths of initial inspiration is evidence that there's a larger, secret force at work in the world.

All artwork: Lori Landau

In art and life, I believe there are two dynamics that exist in connection with one another, separate from an objective. It's clear to me that the images that manifest within my portraits are inexplicably bound to a mystical source. They are apparitional bits of visual phenomena, spirit scripts that are beyond my control. 

Each face I draw is in a sense, 
borrowed magic 
masquerading as an image, or a likeness. 

So when I sit down with the aim of drawing someone in particular, someone else entirely might speak to me in an invisible language. 

For me, drawing is an act of summoning. Lines and shading and color become vehicles for coincidence, a collection of two or more conditions, closely related by form which appears unlikely to me when I pick up my pen. 

- Lori



Please check out The Summer of Letting Go and all of Lori's really magnificent ART (portraits, paintings and photography) as well as her meditation information and blog. http://www.consciousnesscreativity.com/. And if you enjoyed this post, check out the rest of this week's posts here:

Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Hart Johnson writing as Alyse Carlson

James King

Barbara O'Connor.

Thanks to all the wonderful friends participating. Stay tuned for next week's posts!

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO - Karma or Coincidence? Countdown (Barbara O'Connor)

If you've read this intro already, by all means, skip right down to the guest post!

As some of you may know, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, my second novel for young adults officially comes out March 25th from Algonquin Young Readers.

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO tells the story of almost-16-yr-old Francesca “Beans” “Frankie” Schnell who, four years ago witnessed her baby brother, Simon, drown. Guilty and broken, Francesca has hunkered down in the shadows of her life, resolved to play second fiddle to her dead brother’s memory and to her best friend Lisette, a blonde bubbly beauty Francesca lives vicariously through. That is, until she meets a young boy named Frankie Sky who bears an uncanny resemblance to her brother. Frankie brings humor and hope to Francesca’s life, but are all the similarities between Frankie and Simon merely wishful coincidences, or could he be Simon’s reincarnation?

Curious coincidences abound in THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO —not only the overlaps between Simon and Frankie Sky, but also Bradley’s gift to Francesca, Bradley’s bird sighting, and the ties to the statue of  Saint Florian (you'll have to read to know what these are ;)). Midway through the story Francesca starts to think these events can’t really be coincidences, “but something bigger and magical at work.”

Have you ever experienced strange events that seemed like more than coincidence and made you wonder if fate was at work or that soul and or reincarnation exist?

Throughout the month, I've decided to pose that question to friends, some writers, others bearing other artistic talents, for a brief account of their own experience with karma, kismet or a mystical connection. I leave you to answer the question, “Karma or coincidence? Random or something magical at work?” 

I hope you find these stories as intriguing and lovely as I do.

- gae

    Today I have the funny, lovely and talented Barbara O'Connor, author of many amazing middle grade novels including her latest, ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO's. (btw, I love the cover to Mr. Mineo's. If you want to see, click on that link...) Anyway, Barbara and I not only share our love of Whoppers malted milk balls, but also a deep affection for my first editor, Frances Foster, who made Barb and me feel like instant and lasting friends just by the sheer connection of sharing such an extraordinary person in common.

Here's Barbara's brush with some kind of karmic connection.

This runway, here. . . 

My father was a major dog lover. He bred Siberian Huskies and always managed to keep at least one puppy from each litter, so that eventually, 

he had a LOT of dogs. They are a very energetic breed and need exercise. 

So my dad would take them to an abandoned Air Force base near his home and drive his van on the runways while the dogs ran along beside him.

When he passed away, at his request, his ashes were scattered beside that runway. 

A couple years after his death, I was visiting the sight. 

It’s very peaceful there and I always feel his presence. 

This particular time, after I was finished chatting with him, I looked up to see a dog standing on a hillside in the distance. 

The dog just watched me, then turned and ran away. As I started to return to my car, I looked down and saw dog prints in the asphalt of the runway. 

It was eerie and cool at the same time. My dad was definitely there with me.

- Barbara

Please check out Barbara's books, and pre-order your copy of THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, today, especially from your favorite Indie Bookseller or brick & mortar store. Oh, and if you want, share your own karma or coincidence story in the comments below. :)

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO- Karma or Coincidence? Countdown (Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman)

As some of you know, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, my second novel for young adults comes out March 25th from Algonquin Young Readers.

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO tells the story of almost-16-yr-old Francesca “Beans” “Frankie” Schnell who, four years ago witnessed her baby brother, Simon, drown. Guilty and broken, Francesca has hunkered down in the shadows of her life, resolved to play second fiddle to her dead brother’s memory and to her best friend Lisette, a blonde bubbly beauty Francesca lives vicariously through. That is, until she meets a young boy named Frankie Sky who bears an uncanny resemblance to her brother. Frankie brings humor and hope to Francesca’s life, but are all the similarities between Frankie and Simon merely wishful coincidences, or could he be Simon’s reincarnation?

Curious coincidences abound in THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO —not only the overlaps between Simon and Frankie Sky, but also Bradley’s gift to Francesca, Bradley’s bird sighting, and the ties to the statue of  Saint Florian (sorry, you'll have to read to know what these are ;)). Midway through the story Francesca starts to think these events can’t really all be coincidences, but maybe are, “something bigger and magical at work.”

Have you ever experienced strange events that seemed like more than just coincidence and made you wonder if fate was at work, or that the soul and/or reincarnation actually exist?

Throughout the month, I've decided to pose that question to friends, some writers, others bearing other artistic talents, for a brief account of their own experience with karma, kismet or a mystical connection. I leave you, the reader, to answer the question, “Random or something magical at work?” 

- gae

Today, I have the lovely Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman,
co-authors of the Sirenz Series including the forthcoming Blonde Ops,

each with her own intriguing story. . .

Author Charlotte Bennardo

Here's Charlotte's story about a special old tool box:

The battered red metal box was stuffed with the odd assortment of tools; some rusted, others part of a set, its siblings long since lost. All were a testament to my father’s life—a vacuum salesman, a builder of the Lunar Module during the Apollo years, a carpenter—and a one-time race car driver and mechanic. When he died, my father left the tools to my brother, a NASCAR mechanic.

But Bill didn’t want them, he had perfectly matched sets of shiny, well cared for tools. And the drawers were jammed from the screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers bouncing around as the box was driven to my home. All too young to remember their grandfather before he died, none of his three grandsons wanted them either. So they sat in a corner of my garage, where occasionally I’d borrow one for some project, thinking fondly of times spent watching my father fix cars or stuck doors or plugged drains.

One May, my oldest son announced he wasn’t going back to college; his first year had been a disaster. What he really wanted to do, but had never revealed to us, was be a mechanic, like his uncle—and his grandfather. I like to think that my dad passed on his passion for cars and mechanics, and through my son, a small piece of him is reincarnated.
- Charlotte

Author Natalie Zaman (I want her hair!)

And, here's Natalie's, about a prescient drawing and a visitor in the night. . .

I knew the voice on the other end of the line. There was no mistaking it, despite the years that lay between that moment and the last time I’d heard it.

“Hi, Dad.”

When I hung up the phone, I could barely remember the conversation. I’d talked to someone who’d come back from the dead; I’d not seen the body, but I’d accepted it, and time had sealed that certainty with a tough scar over my heart. I grappled with myself about staying in touch. Dad’s family had always been a mystery, names without faces, some faces like mine—but they were strangers to me, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to open up that old wound.

Then I had a dream—or more accurately, I saw something. I was awoken by a crunching noise, like someone was walking over ice-crusted snow. When I opened my eyes, I found a small figure standing next to my bed. It was a woman, wearing a distinct, double breasted coat, and a hat with a narrow brim and high crown. I couldn’t see her face. It was as if she was made of powder, all chalky white lines. I stared for a second or two. Yes, I was awake. AND SOMEONE WAS STANDING NEXT TO MY BED. I remember gasping—in surprise, not fear—and then it faded. I recalled the shape long enough to draw it badly in my journal:  

I’d never had a visit like that before, where I’d actually saw a solid shape—and I never have since. The visitor strengthened my resolve. I called my Dad again, and eventually his sister, my Aunt Barbara who sent me an email with family photos. When I saw one labeled “Great Aunt Hattie” I almost fell off my chair. 

My drawing next to Aunt Hattie.

Apparently, she wanted me to stay in touch.

-Natalie

Please check out all of Charlotte and Natalie's books, and don't forget to pick up your copy of THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO. And if you'd like to, please share your own "karma or coincidence" story in the comments!