Hibernation Inspiration!

May Day Frolicks!

It's May - here are some fun festivities to try and a song to get you in the mood.

'Around the maypole, gather we,

Dancing and prancing merrily.

To the Lord and Lady in the Green,

In our best frocks and mayflowers must we be seen.

Join in the dance, to bring in May,

With its fertile soil and flowers so gay.

Rise and fall, dip and swirl,

All may dance, come boy, come girl.'

• Take a stick/wooden spoon/branch on a tree and decorate with strips of bright fabric, wool or ribbons, criss-crossing and overlapping colours. Leave some dangling long.
• Dance with long scarves in circles, clockwise then anti-clockwise. Make up patterns and dance moves so the scarves 'dance' with you.
• Decorate your favourite trees and shrubs with coloured threads or ribbons, to say 'thank you' for their beauty and bless their fertility.
• Make some floral head-dresses*, or use face paints/make-up to decorate your face/body with floral patterns [*use strips of card and attach cut-out flowers and leaves that you have painted, or use stickers/foam shapes to decorate your head-dress].

Hibernation Inspiration #5

I've been listening to my favourite composer, Chopin. The variety of pieces have inspired various scenes in my mind. There are some that evoke the incidental music played over silent films of the Twenties: the heroine dashing around in blond curls and a scarf, fleeing a moustached foe in an overly-large tuxedo.

Then there are pieces that suggest a peaceful walk along the Seine on a balmy, Paris summer's evening. Bateaux mooches pass by; lovers embrace on the steps; the happy chatter of people at bistros lining the street rise into the warm night air.

And some compositions have you reminiscing of unforgettable English summers, with long pink and golden sunsets, swallows or bats chasing insects in the fading light. A warm ale, sipped outside a familiar country pub and faithful dogs lingering at their owners' feet, waiting for a hot, vinegar-soaked chip to fall within their reach on the cool grass.

What music whisks you away to pleasant memories?

Write about a happy memory; a place; a person.

Hibernation Inspiration #4

Come into the garden and explore!

I've been watching various things come into bud outside, in our garden and other people's across the way. There are plenty of daffodils and dandelions!

Now and then I venture into the back garden to feel the sunshine and see what is sprouting. I love the earthy smell of the soil and the sweetness of grass. These photographs are from my travels, alas my own garden is not so amazing, but I thought they were immensely cheery!

Perhaps it's time to write about the fairies and other mythical creatures who may be living beneath or inside the plants and flowers of our gardens or wild spaces? Let's take a trip to fantasyland this week, shall we?

'Soft green buds sprout on small trees and shrubs,

Bringing plants back to life.

Through the ground peep shoots, so slender,

Straining bravely against the wind.

You are embraced by the quiet solace of a warm, spring day.'

Hibernation Inspiration #3

Ideas on themes of 'nature' and 'springtime'.

Hello again! What have you been creating? Any good ideas to share? I'm having fun compiling some simple poems about nature and things I can see from the windows of our home.

I was thinking today of perhaps a story, compiled of a series of poems, that could all link together? If you give it a go, let me know how you get on.

'Sun peeps through leaves on the trees.

The church bell peels through the warm afternoon air.

Spring bulbs bob their dainty heads upon the gentle breeze.

A child's hair flies wild as they bounce over green grass,

Cries of joy and excited screams fill the park,

As bikes and skateboards go flying past.'

Hibernation Inspiration #1

For a few posts, I shall be sharing observations on themes of 'hibernation' and 'emergence' as we enter Spring.

In this time of mass hibernation, it can be difficult to distance ourselves from the negativity and find inspiration. For those of us who crave constant creativity, who want to write as well as read others' writings, ideas may be hard to come by.

Having just completed 14 days in self-isolation with my family, due to me being ill, I've encountered the ideas desert; the epitome of the empty wild west town with tumbleweed rolling across my mind.

And so to combat this, and provide some assistance to anyone else out there who would like a little dollop of inspiration, I will be posting some photos and snippets of my own observations that I've attempted to sculpt into poetry. (Please be kind, as I have not written poetry since I was an adolescent!)

'Like the field mouse, hedgehog or mole,

Who winter inside their cosy hole,

We emerge, like the sun on a day anew,

To see the mist settle on green grass, as dew.

Birds eat works and make new nests,

And go hunting for tasty morsels they love best.'

Try some poetry or flash fiction, or begin a short story imagining the daily routine of a field mouse or hedgehog; imagine a blackbird or magpie looking for food and nesting materials.

Find the simplest joy from a tiny morsel of food or basking in the midday sunshine, safe from predators.

Author Interview: Louise Ann Knight

Today's author interview is with debut fantasy author, Louise Ann Knight:

Louise lives in England and loves to read, garden and wander wild places. She writes fantasy, modern and children’s fiction. She is a freelance administration and event volunteer in her local community. After working in business administration, she trained as a meditation teacher. She is currently writing the next novel and producing a children's book for release.

'Sky Drum' is available from Amazon

"Peace. Chaos. Potential. Cosmos. It will take them all to restore the sky drum. Journeys and friendships collide, in this elemental tale of old promises and new hope. Sky Drum is the first in the series about two planets, two suns and the people that unite them."

You can find out more from Louise's website

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1. What was the initial inspiration for your current book/series?

A thunderstorm several years ago reminded me of recurring childhood dreams. I’ve always been fascinated in nature and the cosmos. I began thinking about people interacting and working with them directly. Nature provided the inspiration and the dreams a landscape. I began writing characters that connected them.

2. What aspect of your genre is the most, a) satisfying and b) annoying?

I love creating names – for people, places and things. I enjoy writing about a race of people that have lived through differences and similarities in history (global equality being a difference, plant medicine being a similarity). Continuity is annoying though necessary. Sky Drum required a lot of threads to weave a story through multiple characters and across two worlds. Now that is done, going forward is simpler.

3. Which of your characters is your personal favourite and why?

I enjoy writing all the characters, in different ways. Though the protagonists on each world are my favourites, because they go through the most change in the story. Ora is seeking a lost part of herself. She is willing to dismantle what she believes and thinks, to challenge all she knows. So that she can remember ways of being, that can help others. Illik gives himself in service to a purpose he cannot fully comprehend. He is prepared to be the person that is needed, even though he doubts himself. His trust in the land that shaped him and his love for others, gives him courage in the face of the unknown. And I think everyone can identify with those things, at one time or another.

4. Do you love or loathe research? Do you plan it or look it up as you write?

I love research! I do some initially and inspiration is bound to come from the non-fiction reading I enjoy. Some research takes place as I write. For the fantasy series, as one example, I looked at the food and housing of tribes around the world and throughout history. I then created flora and fauna within the landscape that would enable people on the otherworld to create homes, depending on what climate the settles were based in.

5. If you were to write in another genre, which would it be and why?

I like modern fiction because it is so broad and children’s fiction, because I love to nurture imagination.

6. Describe your ideal writing paradise.

The seasons encourage me to experience writing in different ways. I love writing at a wooden table or in a chair, near a large window. A view of nature. Hills, meadows, beach or barrow. The light, the air, the wind through trees. Or sat on a log or blanket, in amongst it all. Candlelight on dark evenings, a blanket. I write onto a computer though first I draft on paper. I love the tactile experience of ink flowing onto a page. I re-use paper so there's a stack of leftover notebooks people passed me and sheets of printed paper. A jar of pens and pencils. Pukka teas or Lavazza coffee on the hob. Bliss!

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New Beginnings...Hello 2018!

Imbolc Hare                 photo: visualhunt.com

Brighid gave the moon her fire,

Warmed the earth with a lunar pyre,

Freed from icy tombs underground,

Life fed roots and plants did abound.

E.Moxon 2018

The new year has crept in under a cloak of snow; for many a dangerously deep cloak. The Hag of winter has let us feel her icy talents only too well, wreaking chaos and causing us to remain indoors. She is cunning. This enforced hibernation is her plan, so we have sufficiently internalised our intentions for the year ahead - holed up like other mammals at this time of year, to pause and reflect on what it is we want from 2018.

As we emerge into the Celtic festival of Imbolc (ewe's milk), 'Breo sagit' the fiery arrow lights our way. In Pagan circles, the triple goddess is shedding her crone skin and becoming the white virgin maid once more, her birch staff and lantern guiding us from out of the dark wood of winter and into the path of spring. Her companion, the wolf, leads the hunt for nourishment as Brighid's lantern, illuminates the shadows.

Super Moon                                                        photo: visualhunt.com

The super blue blood moon crossing 31st January to 1st February, literally over Imbolc itself, would have been a potent omen in ancient times. They may not have named it as such, but it would have been a symbol of intense feminine lunar power. Rites and rituals were guided by the cycle of the moon and sun and rare spectacles bring with them a particular magic.

Imbolc is, like all Celtic festivals, tied to the cycles of the earth through the seasons. It is the time of first shoots, when we seen green buds forming on some plants and trees. Crows and magpies begin searching for nesting material so they can mate with their partners. It is the season for lambing, with many ewes lactating, hence the root of the festival's name. It can be a time to plant the first seeds now the frosts have ceased.

Spring Meadow                        photo: E. Moxon

In the modern world we can be so disconnected from nature, that we do not pause; we do not see the changing environment around us, except perhaps to moan about the weather on social media. If you take a moment and listen, look around you and observe, you will hear the earth. When she asks you to be still, rest. When she asks you to break into action, react. Move with her and she will reward you, as she does today for many farmers and gardeners.