Isla - my other Muse

My other Golden, Isla (s is silent) was a little jealous to see Fergus hog the limelight lately,  so I thought I better add that -  Isla too often serves as my Muse.

 Her passion is balancing her favorite ball on her nose, like this -

Seeing her in her "element" reminds me that I too am in my "element" when I get to do what I love - create!

My Muse - Fergus

According to the ancient Greeks there were nine Muses - nine daughters of Zeus who inspired artists to create new music or plays or stories.  And of course, in modern times, we writers will often attribute our work to our own personal muse - maybe a spouse or a daughter or.....in my case......Fergus - my Golden Retriever. Here is Fergus after a hard day of swimming in the pond near our house - doing what he was born to do - retrieving a ball, over and over and over again!  And reminding me that we are all at our happiest when we do what we were born to do....CREATE!

Naptime for Fergus

 When I go to visit schools, we talk a lot about this word, INSPIRE.  That's what the Greek muses did - they INSPIRED the writers and artists and musicians.  And the word itself comes from the Latin - in - meaning into,  and Spirare - meaning to breathe life.....so what breathes life into you?

For Fergus, it is swimming in the water to retrieve his ball......for me.....finding words to paint a picture of this wonderful world - this gift of life.

In my story, Inventor McGregor. Hector McGregor discovers inspiration in all that he loves....


I always like to tell children that we are ALL creative in some way or another, because that is the way we were made.  Whether it be a garden, a painting, a story, a dance, a poem, a symphony, a cake, a carving, a song, or a business, the act of creating breathes life into us and makes us feel more alive.

Fergus - full of life and ready to...SWIM and RETRIEVE

Kindness - the Giant King

The other day, on NPR, I heard someone quoting his favorite "words to live by" as - "Be kind to one another for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  The quote is often attributed to Plato, but actually, it is from a Scotsman by the name of Ian MacLaren, or at least that was his pen name; his real name was Rev. John Watson.  I use this quote a lot when I go to schools and talk about my book,  The Giant King as it really sums up the underlying truth of this story.  The wording I use is a little different - "Be kind to one another for you do not know the burdens another may carry." Some children have a hard time with the word, "burden," especially hearing it with my accent, and it is a somewhat old fashioned word.  But after a little discussion, they "get it."  Of course, all of us, every day have some sort of burden in our life, big or small, that can weigh us down and prevent us from being at our best.  It may even make us mean and cranky and downright fierce - as is the case with the Giant in my book.  How to combat such behavior? BE KIND.

A fierce giant terrorizes the townspeople

 It is hard in our culture, especially for boys, to accept that in the face of violence, the most effective stance is actually kindness.

A wee lass is KIND to the Giant and so her act of kindness leads to more acts of kindness

"There is nothing so strong as gentleness and nothing so gentle as real strength." Francis de Sales