This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Susan Merson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
It was so great letting images and ideas for my book OH GOOD NOW THIS find me!
A second time around coming of age story, my protagonist, Vivi, comes to that second Saturn return kind of time in her life when everything explodes! Marriages end, dogs die, cats run away, jobs disappear and fair play evaporates!
As I followed Vivi in her journey to recovery, I used those images and practices that lifted her to a new dimension. The truth is we live our stories from many dimensions, not just the familiar reality that we know, but those realms where dreams live, where ghosts and memories lurk and threaten to overwhelm the present. So, the job during these days of change is to marshal as many tools as we can find to navigate the shifting times and realities… and stay put.
In Vivi’s case, she has a pal who gives her insight from the Tarot. And she ultimately builds a labyrinth where not only her garden will thrive but will provide one step at a time into the future. OH GOOD NOW THIS is the phrase that one says, stepping onto the first step of the labyrinth and getting ready to take the next exciting, thrilling, exhausting, informative next step in the journey.
Disappointing lovers, fickle friends, foolish crushes—they are all part of the game. But if we can take one step at a time, moving into the future, we can enjoy the richness of maturity and the wilderness of being bravely present.
Widowed Vivi leaves California for a new start back east landing in a college town near her old friend Vikram, now the local ‘spiritual’ leader and disappointing lover. But the two have old business which leads them to uncovering the ghosts they conjured long before and the ones that are haunting them now. Vivi reclaims her life, -- with the help of a couple different dimensions-- saying hi to the ghosts who choose to hang around, and growing a new garden and a new life.
The night before she left LA, Vivi went out to the garden. She walked from the butterfly bush she planted when she got the garden show on cable tv, to the poinsettia tree that grew despite itself after Vivi left the Christmas plant discarded near the mulch pile. She moved from corner to corner, touching the leaves, murmuring that she had no choice, that she couldn’t take the entire garden with her wherever she was going and that she was grateful for the beauty that the garden had shared with her. The Dutch hornpipe was in bloom. That huge bulbous balloon of a flower was all puffed up and ready to burst into an elephant ear of color, reflecting all sound, all smell within its radius. It was an outrageous creation. It dripped like flesh when it opened, had no smell of its own, but instead an ineffable ugly wisdom that affirmed the truth that “as you sow, so shall you reap”. It was an extraordinary product of the garden and Vivi respected it, admiring how it took over the fence and nearby trellis with its ganglia.
That was the thing about California. Things grew. And Vivi had thought they would grow, too. She and Jake. They would grow together, like slices of grafted root trees, they would grow strong in one tall ascension. She had been sure that they could make it. But she had to admit, they never did.
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WEBSITE: http://www.susanmerson.com
BUY LINKS:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../oh-good-now.../1138532579
https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1546617489
>A HREF="https://www.amazon.com/Good-Now-This-Susan.../dp/B08RCXVNTX/">https://www.amazon.com/Good-Now-This-Susan.../dp/B08RCXVNTX/
The author has also done a series of five videos regarding the use of Tarot for writers (for more information, visit her website):
1: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores Tarot to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #1: INTRODUCTION
An introduction to using your own intuitive powers to tap into the resonance of Tarot images, packed with archetypes and symbols, to jumpstart inspiration for your artistic projects.
**CORRECTION: The Raziel Tarot Deck is designed by artist Robert Place with commentary by Rachel Pollack. https://youtu.be/LGONsfOayJg
2: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/Amazon), explores TAROT cards to jumpstart your writing, TAROT FOR WRITERS #2: LANDSCAPE
Explore the landscape of story. Entering the world of the card offers visceral clues to the landscape of your writing. https://youtu.be/Mwq9x-I9oQE
3: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #3: CHARACTER.
A brief exploration of character and how to find their first basic journey. Look deeply at the character clues in the cards and throw three cards to begin their adventure. https://youtu.be/CuovTNQ5ztk
4: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #4: WHAT STORY SHOULD I WRITE TODAY
On pulling cards to intuitively discover the story, the genre, the themes and the major turning points of a new story. https://youtu.be/eHm0mVSNaPo
5: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT to jumpstart your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS/ #5 TIMELINES AND DEEPER DIVE INTO RELATIONSHIPS
Timelines and going deeper into relationships with pro and antagonists. The more cards you draw the more information you can gather. https://youtu.be/EClPq0e-H70
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDo you listen to music when you write?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest.