TIME TO ADJUST ONE’S SAILS!
"Well, we have a whole new year ahead of us. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, a little more loving, and have a little more empathy, and maybe next year at this time we'd like each other a little more." Judy Garland
Every year brings new challenges with it, doesn’t it? Do we run about like headless chickens, trying to solve them all or do we work our way through, one step at a time?
"Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives, not looking for flaws, but looking for potential." Ellen Goodman
Despite my hectic professional schedule, running a household with the help of an extremely supportive better half, and of course, my multifarious writing projects, I still managed to smile through it all, mainly because I loved everything I was doing. Isn’t that the key to enjoying life? Doing what you love?
On the one hand, I had taken over as the Director of my mother's school on January 1st, and it was a task rife with challenges
especially after two long years of COVID-19. Being with young ones made it all
worth it, and the feeling of being able to make positive changes, however
small, made me smile at the end of the day. In fact, one quote that keeps me
going is by BB King.
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can
take it away from you.”
Of course, my days ended long after midnight, when I sat down to finish my writing tasks. The #Blogchatter #WriteAPageADay and the BlogchatterAToZChallenge2022 were tough but satisfying as they made me sit down and write every single day to create a body of work that I could look back upon with pride. The second challenge was turned into an e-book which I christened ‘Literary Characters with Character – (Pun Intended!)’ I also put together an anthology of Shakespearean tales for children, replete with illustrations by some amazing young artists, and hope that it will soon see the light of day.
2022 found me rekindling my poetry genes and writing poems
for vibrant writing groups like Chrysanthemum Chronicles, Readomania and Soul
Craft. My pieces found their space in anthologies like Songs of a Mermaid,
Remnants of Loss, Unkahi: The Unsung, The Aniconic Cosmic Dancer and Lockdown –
Tales from the Pandemic Era.
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The one cloud on my horizon was when Amazon suddenly woke up one morning and banned all my book reviews. They gave me no reason, sensible or otherwise. Since I had been writing reviews for over a decade, it hit me hard. I did fight but realised that I was up against AI minions with neither the acumen nor the emotions to understand the anguish of a dedicated writer. After months of protests and struggling through my social media campaign which I called #GoliathtomyDavid, the wonderful Himalayan Writing Retreat group, whom I want to thank from the bottom of my heart, came to my rescue by highlighting my ‘Amazonian’ issue.
https://www.himalayanwritingretreat.com/behind-the-amazon-reviews-in-india/
20th August 2022 was a red-letter day, the day
when I was able to pay a public tribute to my mother, Mrs. Nalini Chandran, who
has spent a lifetime in the field of education, apart from having founded a school
which will turn 45 in 2023. Ms. Kalpana Ramesh, a close friend and erstwhile
teacher in our school, and I burnt the midnight oil, putting this tome together
and we were thrilled and relieved when it was finally done. Logos Books,
Pattambi, published the book for us, and were extremely pleasant to work with. ‘Defying
Destiny: Nalini Chandran – A Life Sketch’ was launched at an event that saw many
luminaries attend and applaud.
I have always maintained that I am a thriller writer, but
even I didn’t realise that I would slip into the horror genre, until I turned
into the Guest Editor for a graphic horror anthology titled ‘The Abandoned
House Horror’ published by Chrysanthemum Chronicles. The coffee table anthology
has just come out, and its graphics and content are certainly going to give its
readers sleepless nights and the heebie-jeebies!
I also did my usual Christmas reading, taking a passage
from ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’, a tale that I have always loved.
https://www.facebook.com/deepti.menon.98/videos/204208506266457
“It seems like everything sleeps in winter, but it’s really a time of renewal and reflection.”
Elizabeth Camden
Lessons I have learnt over the year:
a.
Do things in mini doses without making grandiose
resolutions.
b.
Write, write, write with enjoyment, and edit
with determination.
c.
Maintain relationships with friends, especially
reader and writer mates.
d.
Keep myself alive on social media.
e.
Read for all I am worth, write reviews (forget
Goliath)
f.
Make friends wherever I can, unless they lock
their profiles against me!
g.
Keep my funny bone honed… never know where it
may come in handy!
h.
Dedicate myself to whatever I do, be it
reading, writing, speaking, administering and strive for almost perfection.
Nothing in life is perfect.
i.
Accept the good with the bad – praise with
criticism. Both help.
j.
Finally, accept that I am human. I can do
what I can do, and leave the rest!
“God
bless us, every one!”
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