Eva Pasco's Blog - Posts Tagged "autobiographical"
The Whole Tooth
You know I can't smile without you
I can't smile without you
I can't laugh and I can't sing
I'm finding it hard to do anything
(Lyrics from “I Can’t Smile without You,” a song version sung by Barry Manilow, released in 1978)
The best laid plans of mice, men, and this female writer went awry this week when one of my upper molars reached its breaking point. Laid back on a dental chair, the tooth of the matter became readily apparent when my dentist broke the news that its crack had spread as far as the bone, so he couldn’t save it.
Any hope I had previously harbored for a drill & fill, or even a root canal as a last resort, was purely pulp fiction. Under the influence of Novocain, I endured the extraction of #13. While the gap from a missing tooth is not very discernible, pride in my set of pearly whites behooves me to subdue my toothy grin for the duration it takes for an oral surgeon to screw in an implant, and for my dentist to mold a crown.
Always one to find a silver lining in a cloud, even if it’s not a mercury filling, my sliver of silver is a newfound attitude toward marketing and promoting my upcoming second novel, 'An Enlightening Quiche.' Not so much during the moonlighting stages while it’s in production, but later when I’m hoping for potential readers to acquire it. I don’t plan on sweating the small stuff such as whim in reflecting promising or dismal book sales.
What is most important to me in the grand scheme of things is maintaining good health and sustaining the love of family. Without those two propositions, I couldn’t laugh, sing, and would find it hard to do most anything.
Underlying Notes
I can't smile without you
I can't laugh and I can't sing
I'm finding it hard to do anything
(Lyrics from “I Can’t Smile without You,” a song version sung by Barry Manilow, released in 1978)
The best laid plans of mice, men, and this female writer went awry this week when one of my upper molars reached its breaking point. Laid back on a dental chair, the tooth of the matter became readily apparent when my dentist broke the news that its crack had spread as far as the bone, so he couldn’t save it.
Any hope I had previously harbored for a drill & fill, or even a root canal as a last resort, was purely pulp fiction. Under the influence of Novocain, I endured the extraction of #13. While the gap from a missing tooth is not very discernible, pride in my set of pearly whites behooves me to subdue my toothy grin for the duration it takes for an oral surgeon to screw in an implant, and for my dentist to mold a crown.
Always one to find a silver lining in a cloud, even if it’s not a mercury filling, my sliver of silver is a newfound attitude toward marketing and promoting my upcoming second novel, 'An Enlightening Quiche.' Not so much during the moonlighting stages while it’s in production, but later when I’m hoping for potential readers to acquire it. I don’t plan on sweating the small stuff such as whim in reflecting promising or dismal book sales.
What is most important to me in the grand scheme of things is maintaining good health and sustaining the love of family. Without those two propositions, I couldn’t laugh, sing, and would find it hard to do most anything.
Underlying Notes
Truth of the Matter (A Writer’s Confession)
(Lyrics from “If We’re Honest” - 2014, by singer/ song writer Francesca Battistelli):
Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
But, I shall confide …
Truth of the matter:
I used to be a voracious book reader. Ever since I was a toddler and my mother sat me on her lap to read aloud to me, I had become hooked on books. Looking back to third grade, I recall signing out Frank Baum’s 'Wizard of Oz' from the library several weeks in a row so I could skip, skip, skip to my lou along the yellow brick road over and over again, even if the wizard failed to live up to my expectations. In junior high, I’d already embraced the heady novels of 'Jane Eyre,' 'Rebecca,' 'Gone with the Wind,' and 'The Time Machine.'
As an adult, I remember staying up past midnight, having fallen under the spell of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, a United States writer who pioneered the historical romance genre with the 1972 publication of her novel 'The Flame and the Flower.'
Moving forward, my reading preference detoured to true crime novels. For the longest time I adhered to a steady diet of Stephen King’s novels of contemporary horror and supernatural fiction.
Truth of the matter:
I literally stopped reading for enjoyment in 2007 after finishing 'Blue Shoe' by Ann Lamott, a beloved author of mine who incidentally happens to share my birthday. You see, by then I had retired from teaching. Undergoing a midlife renaissance, I itched to revive my dormant flair for writing. Ann Lamott tapped into my creative reservoir by encouraging me to spin my own cocoon in the genre of Women’s Fiction.
Consequently, I tap into significant issues affecting the lives of ordinary/ extraordinary, flawed women who grapple with, confront, and overcome their personal dilemmas to become empowered in making profound life changes for the better. Secrets, idiosyncrasies, and sardonic humor prevail throughout my writing: 'Underlying Notes' (2007) and 'An Enlightening Quiche' (Coming Soon).
Truth of the matter:
Then, as now, and futuristically, all of my spare time will be devoted to conducting research, along with marketing and promoting on social media which involves the etiquette of reading and commenting on what other scribes and bibliophiles present on a daily basis. That mentioned, I also intend to write short pieces in the category of Memoir. Therefore, I am not keen on opening a book at the end of the day.
Truth of the matter:
I can no longer relax with a book, especially in the genre I write. Because of constantly critiquing my own work, I’ve developed a third eye for subconsciously editing what others have written despite realizing I am far from perfect. I also do not want to become unduly influenced by the author’s voice or storylines.
Truth of the matter:
When I do unwind, I sift through my pile of crossword puzzle books, and usually opt for those which present a challenge. While those who write books advising writers what to do often prescribe genre “reading” to develop one’s creative acumen through aspiration or emulation, I disagree. Writers are born with a special gift God gave us to heed our inner voice, mandating we must wield it at our own expense so someone else can curl up with a good book—preferably one of ours!
Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
But, I shall confide …
Truth of the matter:
I used to be a voracious book reader. Ever since I was a toddler and my mother sat me on her lap to read aloud to me, I had become hooked on books. Looking back to third grade, I recall signing out Frank Baum’s 'Wizard of Oz' from the library several weeks in a row so I could skip, skip, skip to my lou along the yellow brick road over and over again, even if the wizard failed to live up to my expectations. In junior high, I’d already embraced the heady novels of 'Jane Eyre,' 'Rebecca,' 'Gone with the Wind,' and 'The Time Machine.'
As an adult, I remember staying up past midnight, having fallen under the spell of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, a United States writer who pioneered the historical romance genre with the 1972 publication of her novel 'The Flame and the Flower.'
Moving forward, my reading preference detoured to true crime novels. For the longest time I adhered to a steady diet of Stephen King’s novels of contemporary horror and supernatural fiction.
Truth of the matter:
I literally stopped reading for enjoyment in 2007 after finishing 'Blue Shoe' by Ann Lamott, a beloved author of mine who incidentally happens to share my birthday. You see, by then I had retired from teaching. Undergoing a midlife renaissance, I itched to revive my dormant flair for writing. Ann Lamott tapped into my creative reservoir by encouraging me to spin my own cocoon in the genre of Women’s Fiction.
Consequently, I tap into significant issues affecting the lives of ordinary/ extraordinary, flawed women who grapple with, confront, and overcome their personal dilemmas to become empowered in making profound life changes for the better. Secrets, idiosyncrasies, and sardonic humor prevail throughout my writing: 'Underlying Notes' (2007) and 'An Enlightening Quiche' (Coming Soon).
Truth of the matter:
Then, as now, and futuristically, all of my spare time will be devoted to conducting research, along with marketing and promoting on social media which involves the etiquette of reading and commenting on what other scribes and bibliophiles present on a daily basis. That mentioned, I also intend to write short pieces in the category of Memoir. Therefore, I am not keen on opening a book at the end of the day.
Truth of the matter:
I can no longer relax with a book, especially in the genre I write. Because of constantly critiquing my own work, I’ve developed a third eye for subconsciously editing what others have written despite realizing I am far from perfect. I also do not want to become unduly influenced by the author’s voice or storylines.
Truth of the matter:
When I do unwind, I sift through my pile of crossword puzzle books, and usually opt for those which present a challenge. While those who write books advising writers what to do often prescribe genre “reading” to develop one’s creative acumen through aspiration or emulation, I disagree. Writers are born with a special gift God gave us to heed our inner voice, mandating we must wield it at our own expense so someone else can curl up with a good book—preferably one of ours!
