Coyote Speaks

When you don't cover up the world with words and labels,

a sense of the miraculous returns to your life

that was lost a long time ago

when humanity,

instead of using thought,

became possessed by thought.

Eckhart Tolle

I traveled to an event this past weekend with the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime to sell books at the Zaca Mesa Winery on the California coast near Santa Barbara. A fellow writer friend, Krista Lynn, whose book was in the process of being published at the time, agreed to go with me.

On the drive, we were discussing what we can realistically expect to accomplish with one or two books, acknowledging to each other that we just have to stay focused on the writing and not be over-much taken up with the promotion side of the business.  

At that moment, a coyote trotted across the highway in front of the car. He looked straight at us before moving on, basically confirming what we were just talking about.

I try always to be open to nature when it speaks. In animal totem meaning, the coyote is the trickster, full of fun and playfulness, teaching through paradox and revealing the truth behind illusion and chaos. He was affirming our conclusion to not take things too seriously and keep more balance between wisdom and playfulness on our writer journey and we paid attention. I’m very grateful to have a friend that also believes nature speaks to us.

“The wisdom delivered by the coyote spirit animal is rarely direct. The way of the coyote is to teach through ways that do not appear straightforward. It may also use subterfuge or trickery to reach its goal or deliver its message.”  (Spirit animals and animal totems )

Morro Bay

The funny thing about this trip was that everything seemed to be out of sync from that moment on. Kris kept commenting how it seemed like we were wavering between two dimensions where things were reversed or out of order. 

We stopped at Morro Rock

The perfect example was when we got to the hotel where we were staying which I'd never been to before. We walked into the lobby—on the 4^th floor, the rest of the hotel being below that going down to the 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st floors in that order. Then when we got to our room and opened the door, there were already people in it. How often does that happen? And breakfast was on the 3^rd floor. I could never remember which to press for the elevator--up or down.

So why am I talking about this? Coyote teaches that reality is not always what it seems, or what we take it to be; he offers hidden wisdom with a sense of humor. His appearance only confirmed—that things do not always come in the order that would seem logical, and that the ‘magic’ exists in wondrous ways if we only keep our mind open to all possibilities. 

Some would say we are simply twisting what occurs to formulate a magical conclusion, but I would counter that life exists on many levels we can’t see or acknowledge unless our minds stay open.  

The closed mind cannot see outside its self-imposed parameters. (a coraism)

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” ― Isaac Asimov

Did you know that the color blue was not seen until more recent times? We somehow did not see a distinction between green and blue. Now we can argue with all kinds of logical reasons for that, but the point is that there is much in our world we don’t see—for whatever reason—and staying open and flexible seems to bring that hidden ‘magic’ into our awareness.

In the words of Eckhart Tolle, use thought but don’t be possessed by thought. Stay open and observe the wonder around you. 

Have you had an animal encounter that spoke to you? Leave a comment. 

Gothic or Horror, or Gothic Horror?

Horror of horrors, I realized while researching and preparing for a talk at the Hanford Library here in California tomorrow, that I write Gothic Fiction. And all along I thought I wrote Romantic Suspense—and I do, but there’s this little fact that erupted to bring in a whole other dimension. (Oh, and I’ve also been told I write horror fiction—you have to read my short stories to see that.)

My early influences in life were fairy tales before I was in First Grade. I can still remember viewing the fairy tale murals on the walls while listening to the stories read aloud. When I began to read, I absorbed every fairy tale from every country I could get my hands on, and

the Grimm fairy tales were my favorite—the ones with dark themes (not the Anderson/Disney ones)

When all the fairy tales and folk tales were exhausted, I switched to Gothic Romance; Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, Phantom of the Opera —moving on to other Gothic fiction; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Dracula and Interview with a Vampire. I never really thought about the fact that those were all Gothic (a branch of the larger Romantic movement in the late 18^th Century).  

Oh, and did I mention Poe? Yep, popped his Gothic horror stories into my brain like I was eating candy.

According to Wikipedia on Gothic Fiction, there's a heavy emphasis on atmosphere (check!), using setting and diction to build suspense and a sense of unease in the reader (check!). The common subject matter was supernatural, family curses, mystery and madness (check!). So, yeah, I guess I do write Gothic fiction, only updated from settings in European castles and dark foreboding houses to the dark jungles and caves in Mexico’s Yucatan—filled with supernatural elements.

But wait!. Amazon lists it under: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy and Paranormal & Urban. Jeeze! Is it any wonder I can't settle on a niche?

I always felt odd that I couldn’t nail down what I was writing (Was it women’s fiction? Suspense? Romantic suspense with paranormal elements? It was all very slippery and none of those quite captured what I write thoroughly enough. 

So I guess I could describe Dance the Dream Awake as Gothic Romance meets Romancing the Stone with paranormal elements of Carlos Castenada’s Don Juan’s supernatural escapades. Add that it might be Fantasy or Sci-Fi. Whew! See why I have trouble with this?

But wait, Wikipedia weighs in with another possibility; Romantic thriller--think Hitchcock.

"Romantic thriller in discussion of genres, is more a metagenre that merges two or more genres together. It is different from established and historically specific cinema movements like Gothic horror or Golden Age detective. A genre works on two levels. First a specific theme exists. Then general relationships, patterns and structural elements are interwoven to the specific theme. This is why there can be a large variety of visual styles and story structures in romantic thriller."

You see why I'm in a mobius loop with this?

At lease my second novel, Haiku Dance, fits into the Romance genre--historical romance (uh, with erotic overtones and supernatural leanings--oh, well . . .  I'll try to figure it out another day). 

(You can read more about Haiku Dance on my website.)

So, now, your turn—comment and tell if you’ve had that problem with your novel(s), or did you always write clearly in one genre? (I’m jealous if you say yes.)

Am I the only one who’s had this issue?