On my way out the door for an early walk I glanced back and saw this site. My own dining room in the morning sun. I see this room daily. I dust the room that seldom gets used now that there are only two in the house. I often talk about getting rid of the antique furniture and turn it into a den. I gripe about the neighbor’s trees leaning on my fence and shading my grass so it doesn’t grow as it should. But this morning I stared at the way the light filtered through the trees and across the dusty table—and I saw beauty.
I took a photography course once and the instructor said, “Photography is the capturing of light.” I loved that phrase and remembered it. Morning sun is the best. It is brilliant and soft at the same time. Early morning light is still cool in the Oklahoma August summer though the rays can be blinding. But through the trees that morning they produced lacy shadows that fell across the room in patterns.
“We’re all broken, that’s how the light gets in” has been attributed to Ernest Hemmingway. I often heard it as, “We’re all cracked, that’s how the light gets in,” but one way or another, we’re all damaged in some way or another—lacy and not smooth. And that is what it takes to make us all unique.
I find writing to be sometimes glaringly bright and other times filtered through lacy patterns. As I make my way through a new novel, I plow through light both bright and dull, but somehow the light gets through. Lacy patterns are still light, and they are beautiful and unique in their own way. Shadow is not the absence of light, but the designing of it.
In your writing do you have periods of light and dark and do they show you the way—or make it impossible?
What are you reading/writing this week?
I had a book release this week! Flatiron Death Grip, published by Airship 27 Productions, is a pulp fiction that has been on my desk and the publishers for a long time. It has finally come to fruition, and I couldn’t be happier! 
I have had so much fun lately in my writerly/readerly world. Last week I set up at Comic Con in Enid and yesterday the Enid Writers Club presented Bernhardt at the Manz in the historical Champlin Mansion in Enid 
I spent the day in an alternate universe. I set up and sold my books at Enid’s Comic Con. It was a blast. I was amazed at the characters and all the fabulous costumes. People spared no expense or imagination. Some of the characters I didn’t know, but that was because they may have been gaming characters that I didn’t recognize, or maybe I’m just too old. But I was in awe.
I don’t know if I’m the only one noticing, but it is hot! Oklahoma has had lower temperatures this summer and more rain than normal, but that is beginning to change. I know west of here in Arizona and other places, it has been a hotter than normal summer, so I guess it is our turn. But it is awful outside.
Erin grew up in a loving home – just her and her mom after the death of her father. They had little money, but they were happy. She had friends, family and a plan to go to college to become a lawyer. 
I had a great book signing at Putnam Six Bookstore in Enid yesterday. Friends from all around came in to see me and I sold several books. In fact, I had to come home and order more books for the upcoming ComiCon in Enid. Putnam Six is a great bookstore, and Chloe is always welcoming. People come and go, often picking up what they ordered or just browsing. The music is soft, and the atmosphere is quiet but yet there is a bustle in the background. 
Yesterday was the Oklahoma Author Panel presented by the Enid Public Library and I was proud to be a part of it. Seven authors from around Enid presented their works to a small audience at the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County. We even made the front page of the Enid paper this morning! It was great to get together with people of like minds and promote our craft. I met people from around the town with aspirations for writing and talked to authors I’ve known for a while as I listened to them describe their work. We all have different reasons for writing, but all had the fire within them that prevents them from not writing. If you write—or if you are an artist of any sort—you will understand. It’s a passion that cannot be ignored.
It’s the Fourth of July, Independence Day. A day we set aside to celebrate America’s independence from England. Many people celebrate it with fireworks and hotdogs, I am just enjoying the beautiful morning weather. We’ve had cooler temperatures this summer—so far—and my morning coffee on the patio was fabulous! 
It seems like a magical week. Even though part of the country is burning up with record heat, here in Oklahoma we’re having a reprieve from the high temperatures. The cooler temps and rain could not have been more welcome. 
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 