The day of the eclipse, a rabbi friend of mine posted on an interfaith newsletter how a Jewish person might get the most out of the eclipse. As I read his words I marveled at how closely his own ideas paralleled my own tendencies. Later that day, on Facebook, Pagan and Christian friends posted about their own experiences of the eclipse, how they enjoyed it, the energy they felt throughout its duration. Again, I recognized the similarities to my own feelings.<\/p>\n
Me?<\/p>\n
I was at my day job in a small law office, watching the quality of the light change outside my window. There was a palpable shift as it progressed, as if something weighty and intense hovered just around the corner. Everyone seemed to be holding a collective breath. With no eclipse glasses, and no punctured shoebox, I couldn\u2019t actually watch the Moon take bites out of the sun, but I could still feel <\/em>the experience.<\/p>\n Ten minutes before the peak, I took my bottle of bubbles outside (what? You don\u2019t have a bottle of bubbles at work?) and stood under the darkening sky blowing bubbles. A gentle breeze blew them across the grass or over the roof or out into the busy street, but at one point, it blew them back toward me. One largish bubble came so close to me I could see my reflection in its surface, which caught me off-guard. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s happened before, or at least I never noticed if it did\u2014mind you, I am no novice bubble-blower\u2014and it brought back a conversation I had the week before.<\/p>\n My friend William suggested I should write a story that showcases my (non-standard) belief system. I told him I already had. That my beliefs are reflected in all my works. How can something so basic to my nature not show up in what I write? Every one of my stories has some taste of my spirituality, some more than others; my novel, The Founder\u2019s Seed<\/em>, is thick with it. Even were I to write a story about a Christian character, or a Muslim one, or a Jewish one, my own deeply held faith would leave its mark. I can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n Because isn\u2019t everything we do, everything we create, every word we write a reflection of who we are? Whether the threads provide a subtle background or weave shining through the entire piece, they are most certainly present. At least they are in my own work. Behind the plot, between the lines, in the character\u2019s thoughts or deeds\u2014somewhere, in some small (or large) fashion, they shine a light on me and on my own search for answers. Perhaps they even offer potential answers to my questions or dilemmas.<\/p>\n Sometimes my stories stem from<\/em> my beliefs, which prompt me to question everything. Nothing is sacrosanct. \u201cWhat if?\u201d comes naturally to me, and I often wonder at the Machinery of the Universe.<\/p>\n Many of my life experiences also show up in my created worlds. After 57 years, memories create a colorful tapestry of scenes and dilemmas from which to draw. Often my characters are a crazy-quilt of qualities or habits from long-time friends, short-term acquaintances, or someone I met once at the gym.<\/p>\n Just as my breath gave life to those bubbles on Eclipse Day, so too does my essence enliven my work. I absolutely believe that it is these pieces of myself, seeded carefully among my written words, that make my writing worthwhile. I can\u2019t imagine doing this any other way.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The day of the eclipse, a rabbi friend of mine posted on an interfaith newsletter how a Jewish person might get the most out of the eclipse. As I read his words I marveled at how closely his own ideas paralleled my own tendencies. Later that day, on Facebook, Pagan and Christian friends posted about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-4W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":190,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/08\/its-been-how-long\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":0},"title":"It’s Been How Long?","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow \u2026 I just realized it\u2019s been a whole month since I posted \u2013 Sorry y\u2019all! It\u2019s been a crazy few weeks and the time just got away from me. (Read \u201cFinding Time to Write,\u201d also posted today.) Truth is, in the last month, I finished a tiny revision on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2803,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/10\/the-chronicles-of-self-publishing-6th-part-of-my-journey\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":1},"title":"The Chronicles of Self-Publishing: 6th Part of My Journey","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"(or How I Did It, a \".doc\"-umentary) Part 6\/? Latest update: I got word from Duncan, my cover designer, that his wife was home and on the mend. Thank goodness for that! I know he is relieved, as is she. In addition to my joy at that good news, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/downloading-ge77eeae26_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/downloading-ge77eeae26_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/downloading-ge77eeae26_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/downloading-ge77eeae26_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/downloading-ge77eeae26_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2732,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/08\/the-chronicles-of-self-publishing-5th-part-of-my-journey\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":2},"title":"The Chronicles of Self-Publishing: 5th Part of My Journey","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"(or How I Did It, a \".doc\"-umentary) Part 5\/? We\u2019re finally settled into our new home, which means additional tasks that suck time away from my writing and publishing, but I don\u2019t mind. I\u2019ve always loved weeding a garden, as long as the temps aren\u2019t soaring in the upper 80s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WateringCan-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1291,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/10\/outside-the-box\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":3},"title":"Outside the Box","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"After a long dry spell, I\u2019m writing again. At the moment, I\u2019m working on a short story with specfic elements (my norm), and a new, non-specfic novel which I intend to write as a series of letters. Single first-person POV telling a tragic story that will probably be the hardest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "About me"","block_context":{"text":"About me","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/about-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Antigua.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Antigua.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Antigua.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Antigua.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Antigua.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6331,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/im-baaaaaack\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":4},"title":"I’m Baaaaaack!","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi! Remember me? I know it\u2019s been a while. But I haven\u2019t been slacking in the interim, honest. I\u2019ve been busybusybusy. Since my last post, nearly a year ago, I\u2019ve released two-point-two-five books (weird, right? see below), worked with the award-winning Stacey Lind to also release three audiobooks, managed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black background, shadowy hallway with many doors, highlighted in a red central focus. A broken crystal in black-and-white shows multiple faces, one on each of the different facets.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BrokenEbookCover573KB-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1383,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/20\/remember-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":5},"title":"Remember Me?","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m back! Didja miss me? After four weeks of a flash fiction class where we had homework every week, another week of preparing to teach a class for a friend, and three weeks of non-stop editing\/re-reading\/re-editing, I\u2019ve finally sent off my latest draft to the next round of readers. 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