The Writer's Life and my Newest Award

“You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

~sports columnist Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith, 1949.

"I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.”
~William Carlos Williams

Words come from an author “drop by drop.”

~Reverend Sydney Smith, 1855

“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written with his blood. Write with blood, and you will experience that blood is spirit. Whoever writes in blood and aphorisms does not want to be read but to be learned by heart.”

~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, 1880s.

“Writing is simple, Muffy,” says Jeff MacNelly’s Perfesser in the comic strip Shoe. “First, you have to make sure you have plenty of paper. . . sharp pencils. . . typewriter ribbon. Then put your belly up to your desk. . . roll a sheet of paper into the typewriter. . . and stare at it until beads of blood appear on your forehead.”

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Yes, the life of a writer. We are familiar with how we sequester ourselves in our office equipped with our computer or even pen and paper. Our companions are our creativity, inspiration, dreams, visions, and our muse sitting on our shoulder. Oftentimes our cat or our dog sit at our feet (or walk across our keyboards)!

When I wrote my first novel, “The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis” I told my husband not to open the door to my office where I was writing unless it was a dire emergency. I had to occasionally remind him that the question, “Where do we keep the peanut butter?” doesn’t count as an emergency.

I penned that first book in 6 weeks. Revising and editing were another matter. Years, actually. My other novels also took years to write.

That is why when we, as authors, receive accolades, good reviews, or letters telling us how our novel changed someone’s life, we rejoice. So, today I rejoice. I was just notified that my latest novel, "The Hidden Abbey" is a finalist in the NIEA (Annual National Indie Excellence Awards) 2020 in the Visionary Fiction category.

A good thing for me to celebrate, especially with my novel's timely visionary message aimed at today's turbulent world: embodied love.

Excerpt from the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) Press Release:

“Winners and Finalists are determined on the basis of superior written matter coupled with excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product. Indie Excellence proudly celebrates the talent, dedication and love authors put into the book product."

Talent, dedication and love. That’s a sure recipe for writing a novel.

What is your sure recipe for writing a novel?

Which of the quotes mentioned here, above and below, is your favorite?

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“You write in order to change the world…if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.”

~James Baldwin

“Write what should not be forgotten.”

~Isabel Allende

“Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?”
~ Anne Lamott

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
~Mark Twain

“I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
~Ray Bradbury, WD

“To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”

~ Allen Ginsburg

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”
—Harper Lee, WD

“Life is like a recycling center, where all the concerns and dramas of humankind get recycled back and forth across the universe. But what you have to offer is your own sensibility, maybe your own sense of humor or insider pathos or meaning. All of us can sing the same song, and there will still be four billion different renditions.”

~ Anne Lamott

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/09/14/writing-bleed/

https://www.indieexcellence.com/

The Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England is the human world counterpart to what my Visionary Fiction novels call the Red Well in the mystical realm of Avalon. My novels center around this magical well, considered a sacred site in England. Many legends originate at this well: Arthurian (site of the Grail), Christian (hiding place of the Chalice from the Last Supper), and pagan (Goddess priestess culture holy site).

My novels focus on the well’s Goddess lore. The cool, burbling water is red tinged due to its high iron content. It is suggested to be the earthly blood of the Goddess in the land of Avalon. There are healing qualities attributed to the well for those who drink its satiating water. The White Spring, situated across the lane from the Chalice Well at the base of the 500 foot hill called the Tor, is considered the masculine energy correspondent to the Red Well.

The wellhead cover is wooden, topped with an iron crafted image of the Vesica Pisces. The Vesica Pisces symbol consists of two interlocking circles with a line (sword) through their center. The symbol represents the notion of duality; such as heaven and earth, masculine and feminine principles, light and dark, physical and spirit. The two interlocking circles form an almond shape at their intersection, portraying the center space of union. This almond shape is often regarded as the Yoni of Divine Feminine creation.

I have had many meditations, spiritual awakenings, and otherworld journeys sitting in the Chalice Well gardens beside these soothing waters. When I lived in Glastonbury for 13 months, I visited this well every day. It was a potent source of peace, ancient memory, and inspiration for me.

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We continue with The Hidden Abbey novel excerpt from last week’s post, where the acolyte priestess Marissa was describing the rituals of the Summer Solstice to the younger students. The scene resumes with Marissa’s experience of the Red Well:

Marissa rolled onto her side and leaned over the spring, running her fingers through the iron-tinged water. The spring burbled, its flow continuous since time immemorial, and its waters cool and clean.

“Why is the well water tinted red?” the High Priestess Alianore asked the group, her voice soft like the breeze that rose up and crested the mound where the small group was assembled. The lessons always began this way, with this question. A question meant to honor and remind them of their community’s source of wellbeing, the holy well they had revered since the first priestesses arrived in Avalon centuries ago, survivors of the demise of Atlantis.

She repeated the question, her eyes resting on Marissa. “Marissa, will you tell us?”

Marissa had learned about the Red Well the hard way, when she was taking her first baby steps and nearly tumbled headfirst into the wellspring. It had been Ciara’s screams that alerted their mother, who’d turned her back for only an instant. It was Elder Vanora who’d promptly lifted the young Marissa up and out of danger.

She answered the question by rote. “The red color is from the minerals. But in Avalon, it is the blood of the Mother, emerging from the underworld to nourish our body and soul.”

“And? What else?” Vanora piped in. Their tutor wasn’t really paying close attention. Her focus was on mending her dark blue, silken stole, the beaded one she wore during ceremonies.

Marissa had an irrational urge to roll her eyes at the Elder, but she was eighteen summers old now, too old for that sort of behavior. Still, Vanora’s constant patronizing tone wore on her nerves. She knew her Elder had her best interests at heart, intending to properly groom her to one day fill Alianore’s shoes. But still. She sat up and rolled her head side to side to ease the ever-present tension that burrowed in her shoulders since Michael’s departure from Avalon. She reminded herself to focus. She must act responsibly and prove herself proficient in priestess lore, ready and eager to one day be a leader.

She answered as was expected. “The water is used for healing, as well as for scrying so we can see into the future.”

Vanora looked up from her stitching. “Scrying is not only to see the future. It is to read the actions of others in the present as well.”

“Of course it is,” Marissa snapped.

“Marissa, tame your temper when speaking to an Elder,” her mother scolded.

“Yes, Mother. Forgive me, Vanora. I confess to feeling anxious about the upcoming Summer Solstice ceremony.” She offered her hands, palm up, to Vanora.

Her tutor nodded acceptance to the apology. “What other magical underpinnings does our holy Red Well have? Shayla?”

Shayla’s head jerked up. Preoccupied again, Marissa thought. She’d never known another priestess to daydream as much as her halfling Faery friend.

“Umm . . . all blood and all tears shed on earth flow into the Underworld River of blood and tears. We see them above ground as the red and white springs of Avalon.”

“Good . . .” Vanora said. Her voice droned on in further instruction about using the waters for scrying.

Marissa turned her attention back to thoughts of Michael. She certainly knew the purpose of scrying well, and not only because she had been formally initiated into the arts of seership one summer ago. How many times had she poured the holy water into her shell bowl and gazed into the shimmering fluid, setting her intent to learn of Michael’s whereabouts. She’d even knelt down on all fours next to the spring, scrutinizing its watery depths, begging the Goddess for some sign of his return. But in six years she had not been privy to any such information. No images appeared to show her where Michael was or how he was doing. It baffled her. It was almost as if something was blocking her watchful eye. Some sort of obstruction she couldn’t discern or move beyond.

drawing by Rana

Summer Solstice and the Visionary Fiction novel, The Hidden Abbey

It is the Summer Solstice. High summer and the longest day. A time of flowers and blossoms (can you smell them?!), bountiful fruits and vines, abundant fertility, vitality, and the greening of the fecund earth.

This is the time to celebrate this lush season!

What is coming to fruition in your life?

What do you think is coming alive, coming to fruition, in the world?

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In my Visionary Fiction novel, The Hidden Abbey, we see what the Summer Solstice meant to the young priestess, Marissa:

Ringed in a semi-circle behind the three young women sat a group of younger students. Marissa listened as they giggled and whispered amongst themselves in their excitement to observe the day’s lesson. The Elders, Alianore and Vanora, sat in front of the group and clapped their hands lightly, bringing them all to attention.

Vanora spoke first. “Today we will talk about the upcoming Summer Solstice Celebrations. Summer is a time of fecundity both in nature and in the bodies of the young women who have started their bleeding cycles.” She pointed to the younger girls. “You are here to begin learning about your role as a priestess in the ritual. For the future, when you are eighteen summers old, like these three.” She pointed at Marissa and Ciara and their halfling friend. “And you three, as newly initiated priestesses, can help us teach today.”

The younger girls, none of whom had experienced their first blood flow yet, tittered and looked around shyly. Marissa had heard these lessons since she was a young girl, like the ones who sat behind her, and could recite the teachings by memory. She rolled onto her side and leaned over the spring, running her fingers through the iron-tinged water. The spring burbled, its flow continuous since time immemorial, and its waters cool and clean.

At the head of the well, a gnarled hawthorn tree and an apple tree shaded them all from the noonday summer sun. Marissa breathed in the scent of their perpetually blooming white and pink blossoms, feeling the vibrancy of nature’s fertility stirring her belly and blood—perfect for rousing the desire needed for the upcoming Solstice Ritual, when young men and women celebrated the mating rites of summer. Too bad her mind and heart weren’t aligned with the greening vitality all around her. She’d always looked forward to participating in the mating rites for the first time, but they wouldn’t be the same with anyone but Michael. And he wasn’t here to participate. She looked down, fighting the longing that had only grown since he’d left Avalon, taking her heart with him. Now she shielded her sorrow with a veneer of prickly brusqueness. She couldn’t help it. It was the best way she knew to protect her broken heart.

Readers' Favorite Review

I am so pleased and honored by this 5 star rating and review from Readers' Favorite for my new novel, The Hidden Abbey. 

___________________________
Review Rating: 5 Stars - 

Reviewed By Romuald Dzemo for Readers’ Favorite

The Hidden Abbey by Jodine Turner is both 
fantasy and visionary fiction, with a 
historical setting in the worlds of Avalon 
and Glastonbury Abbey, split between 
two separate timelines and skillfully 
developed to explore two lovers from a 
distant past reborn into modern day for 
a second chance. The reader is immersed 
into a world of magic and esoteric 
practices, with the Christian perception 
of life merging with 
the pagan.

In sixteenth-century Avalon, Marissa is 
the legendary priestess of the Isle of 
Avalon, an impulsive and spirited, 
beautiful young woman who must 
learn the science of becoming the 
High Priestess. But she has a secret love 
affair with a monk called Michael, the 
same who saved her from drowning as
a child. Marissa and Michael are tasked 
to safeguard the Creation Bowl—the 
sacred vessel containing the wisdom 
of the ancient Goddess tradition that 
has the power to heal the world. But 
when King Henry VIII destroys all the 
abbeys, the treasure is at great risk 
and the struggle to protect it leads to 
the separation of the lovers. 

In the twenty-first century, Marissa and 
Michael are given a second chance. Can 
they rekindle the flame of the love they 
once experienced and lost and also 
bring back the power of the Creation 
Bowl to a world badly in need of it?

A work of great imagination and 
creative genius, The Hidden Abbey is 
a tantalizing narrative with great 
potential to entertain a wide audience.
It contains hints of the historical, 
mystical, and the supernatural. The 
author paints a vivid setting and pulls 
readers in with the power of imagery. 
The characters are elaborately 
developed and filled with depth; 
they are relatable and it is interesting 
how they evolve through the narrative. 

The author creates a powerful 
dialogue between the Christian 
religion and the ancient mysticism 
of the pagan world and weaves a 
narrative that is both uplifting and 
heartwarming. It is a beautifully 
crafted story with powerful 
plotlines, merging the past and
the present in an adventure that is 
exhilarating.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Hidden Abbey

by Jodine Turner

Giveaway ends April 20, 2020.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Kindle Book Review Features The Hidden Abbey

'The Hidden Abbey' is one of Kindle Book Review's Featured Books of the day.

It is also on Sale, today March 2.

https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/

The Hidden Abbey - Sale

Four $100 Amazon eCards will be given away March 2-22.

My Visionary Fiction, Historical Fantasy novel, The Hidden Abbey, is one of those featured and is on SALE for the giveaway. 

I invite you to check it out and enter!

Enter Giveaway Here

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