STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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Special Treat ??“ Barbara Elliott Carpenter

Aug 13, 2005? 

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FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Barbara Elliott Carpenter

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ? ? ???When you follow your bliss, the world falls into place around you.???

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Writing, whether fiction, prose, articles, poetry or journaling, has been an important part of my life since I discovered the alphabet.?  Discovered is the appropriate word, for I had felt as if I had made a great discovery when the letters became words to me.?  Writing followed as naturally as reading, and I began to ???make up stories??? at the age of nine.

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It was only recently, while working on the sequel to my first novel, that the connection between writing and my bliss was pointed out to me by my editor, Laura Berry Bengelsdorf.?  Laura edited chapter by chapter, so she had no idea what characters or scenarios would follow in the succeeding pages.?  She was quite surprised when General Chuck Yeager appeared in this book of fiction.

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I mentioned to her that one of the characters in the book is based upon a former classmate and long-time friend, who had been under the command of Chuck Yeager, Brigadier? ?  General, USAF (Retired), who was a Colonel during the late nineteen sixties.?  My friend contacted General Yeager ( www.chuckyeager.com ) and sought permission for me to use his recollections about the General in the book.? ?  General Yeager graciously granted that permission to me.? ? ? 

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Laura??™s reply to this bit of information started with the quote at the beginning of this article:?  ???When you follow your bliss, the world falls into place around you.????  She went on to say that, ???I firmly believe that when we are following our bliss, all the puzzle pieces in our lives fit themselves easily into their proper places, because we are living from the core of our being and not just from our heads.?  I believe that the God who made each of us has put into our hearts the urge to go and be the one He knows us to be.?  When we respond to that spark of what is the most joyful idea we ever found in ourselves, we are following our bliss.???? 

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I knew immediately what Laura meant!?  Writing, creating characters, maneuvering them and watching their lives unfold beneath my fingers??”that is ???blissful??? to me.?  There are times when I??™m so happy with a development, a thought, a surprising turn of events, that I get up from the computer and do a little dance of joy around my chair.? ?  For me, writing equals bliss.?  What a beautiful equation!

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Laura mentioned a favorite poem of hers, which is also a favorite of mine, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN, by Robert Frost.?  The ???one less traveled by??? may not always be the easier road, but it seems to me that it??™s the one most likely to lead to the wayfarer??™s bliss.?  I??™m enjoying both the path and the scenery along the way, delighting in each blissful moment.

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Award-winning author Barbara Elliott Carpenter??™s second novel, Wish I May, Wish I Might??¦ was recently released and will be available in bookstores and through online booksellers by September 1^st.? ?  It continues the saga of the Bannister family, as introduced in Starlight, Starbright??¦.?  The third and final book in the series, The Wish I Wish Tonight, will be released in summer of 2006.? ?  All are and will be available through online booksellers and bookstores.? ?  Her website is www.barbaraelliottcarpenter.com and her email address is bjlogger2@aol.com.? ?