Welcome to this week’s Book Reading and Interview that features the authors on the shelves of Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore. After setting the cafe up last year I intend now to use as the focal point for all book promotions here on Smorgasbord. Once in the cafe, authors can be updated in the twice weekly posts with their new releases and also excellent reviews… but they can now also do a book reading and interview as they might do in a real bookstore.
This is intended to be an interactive interview with you the reader and it would be wonderful if you could therefore ask guests your questions in the comments section.
My guest today is Sue Vincent who has supported my blogging and writing efforts almost from the beginning of my life here online. Very supportive of other writers, you will find guest posts as well as wonderful features on some of our spiritual and ancient parts of Britain. Ably assisted by her office manager, a small black dog called Ani.
Sue is a prolific author and has also co-written a book with Dr. G. Michael Vasey and over recent years a substantial number with Stuart France. Here is a small selection.
Sue Vincent is a Yorkshire born writer currently living in the south of England, largely due to an unfortunate incident with a map, a pin and a blindfold. Raised in a spiritually eclectic family she has always had an unorthodox view on life, particularly the inner life, which is often reflected in her writing, poetry and paintings.
Sue lived in France for several years, sharing a Bohemian lifestyle and writing songs before returning to England where the youngest of her two sons was born. She began writing and teaching online several years ago, and was invited to collaborate with Dr G Michael Vasey on their book, “The Mystical Hexagram: The Seven Inner Stars of Power” (Datura Press).
Stuart France and Sue Vincent are also the authors of the Doomsday series.
Find out more about their work together: http://www.franceandvincent.com/
Sue, along with Steve Tanham and Stuart France, is a Director of the Silent Eye School of Consciousness, an international modern Mystery School that seeks to allow its students to find the inherent magic in living and being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk
Also by Sue Vincent
Discover all of Sue Vincent’s books: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Vincent/e/B00F2L730W
Now it is time for Sue to join us with the three questions she has chosen from the menu and her three personalised questions I have asked her. Please add your questions in the comments section and Sue will be delighted to answer them in the next couple of days.
Do you have a favourite quote? What does it means to you as an individual?
A few years ago I would have said that my favourite quote was one that is generally attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” When I first read those words, they put pretty much everything into perspective. These days, I’ll credit my co-author, Stuart France, with my favourite quote and say simply, “Find the path and stay on it.” Whatever path speaks to your heart, what else is there to do but follow it from the heart?
If you were offered three wishes to change the world, what would they be?
Three wishes to change the world? I would wish that humankind would look into the mirror of their own being, collectively and as individuals and see ourselves as we truly are, the good, the bad, our origins in earth and our origins in spirit. I would wish for us to have the courage to acknowledge what we see in ourselves and each other… and for the clarity of vision that lets us see ourselves looking out from every pair of eyes that we meet. I think that would change humanity’s perspective and shift the focus towards compassion and understanding.
What is your definition of success?
Finding the path and staying on it. We all know, in our heart of hearts, who we should be. We all have dreams… as well as the responsibilities that come with living in society. Success, to me, cannot be counted in terms of fame and fortune, but only in whether or not you have been true to yourself. Most of us spend a large part of our lives in casting around for the path we need to take, making side-trips, hitting dead ends…and making a lot of mistakes along the way, if we are honest with ourselves. Success, to me, is the ability to learn from that journey enough to recognise the right path for you… then allowing it to lead you forward.
Has your style as a writer changed since your first book Sword of Destiny and if so how?
I started writing Sword many years ago. I would like to think that my ‘formal’ writing style is now more confident, less wordy and more open. The less formal style that I use with most blog posts is the biggest change. I stopped writing how I thought I ought to write and started writing as me instead. This has found its way into everything that I write; even writing as a character, you have to write from the centre of yourself. I must have written more than five million words in the past five years; the words soon add up when you write every day. With that kind of volume, you can’t pretend to be something you are not for long and expect to get away with it!
You have co-written several books with Stuart France – what are the key elements of working with another author?
I have never found it difficult to work with other writers. My first collaboration was ‘The Mystical Hexagram’ with G. Michael Vasey, a project very close to his heart.
Working with Stuart is easy; we talk a lot and share many of the experiences about which we write. If I had to name the qualities you need to write with another author, they would be respect, trust and communication. I cannot see how such a collaboration could work without them. I have the utmost respect for Stuart’s knowledge and abilities as a writer, trust him absolutely and … we talk a lot.
It is clear that you have a huge amount of respect for the natural world and our ancient heritage. Is there a specific time in our history that you would have liked to have lived and if so why?
Only if I could remember it now! Ancient Egypt would be a must, Paris in la belle époque and here, at the time the great stone circles were built. There are scenes in my mind that feel like memories and I am a believer in reincarnation, so who knows? Perhaps they are no more than dreams and images crafted by the imagination around acquired facts and ideas. Perhaps the memories are genetic, as recent research suggests we carry many of our ancestral memories at that level of being. Or perhaps I already did. If so, I wish I could remember more!
Sue has chosen to share this poem with us.
Tall the cliffs of stone
That mark the entry to my heart’s domain,
Wild and empty in its vastness
The solitude of living earth.
The wind lifts the heart
And bears it through the storm
Where the lichen crusted rocks
Cling to the clouds.
Part of my heart remains there
Scattered with the ashes of a lost love,
Mingled with the joy and pain of memory,
Of childhood wonder and a lover’s kiss.
Deep the roots which bind me to that land,
As weathered pines that cling for life
To the purple hillside…
Genuflecting, but standing, still,
Naked in the mist.
Great stones,
Ice carved in aeons past
Into a landscape of dreams,
Marked by ancient hands
With figures of Light,
That I may stand beside them,
Millennia apart,
And recognise my kin.
A reminder of where you can discover all of Sue Vincent’s books and read the reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Sue Vincent/e/B00F2L730W
Connect to Sue Vincent
Blog: http://scvincent.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scvincent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/S-C-Vincent/17967259931?ref=hl
Silent Eye Website: http://thesilenteye.co.uk/
Website (books) : http://www.franceandvincent.com/
Silent Eye Authors FB: https://www.facebook.com/silenteyeauthors?ref=hl
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Vincent/e/B00F2L730W
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Sue-Vincent/e/B00F2L730W
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6551588.Sue_Vincent
Thank you for joining us today and I am sure you must have some questions that you would like to ask Sue about her life and work.. Please leave your questions in the comments section and Sue will answer them when she is popping in. Thanks Sally.
If you would like to do a book reading and interview you will find the details in this directory.
https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/sallys-cafe-and-bookstore/
Pingback: Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Book Reading and Interview – Sue Vincent | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Thank you for sharing Chris.. hugs xx
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My pleasure Sally – Hugs back and have a great weekend XXX 😀
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Thank you ever so much for reblogging, Chris 🙂 x
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My pleasure Sue ❤
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❤
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She is one of the best, and that is reflected here, especially in the interview. Thanks, Sally.
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Glad you enjoyed Van. thank you.. xx
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Thanks, Van ❤
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I love both the quotes, Sue. I hadn’t heard Stuart’s before but I’ll remember it – especially when I find I’ve hit a dead end and shouldn’t have tried that side road.
What do you think people in 5,000 years will make of us? There’s optimism for you – not assuming we will have totally destroyed our planet.
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Thanks for the question Mary. x
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Stu’s quote is one to live by, Mary 🙂
Five thousand years… well, I’m an optimist too. I think we will be seen as mere children by most… though some will appreciate the leaps we have made in science, technology and the understanding of the environment. I hope we will not be seen as those who lived in the golden age, when we understood what we had and could still enjoy it, before we became the generations responsible for its destruction.
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I was pondering my question when I was out for a walk and wondering on what artefacts we will be understood thousands of years in the future. We have stone circles from thousands of years ago, we have younger but still ancient cathedrals but we are building nothing today which will even survive a few hundred years. The schools, hospitals, homes we build today won’t last – some of them start falling to bits as soon as they are built!
Let’s hope enough people find the right path and stay on it!
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I’ve pondered the same. All our technology is pretty fragile when compared to the passage of time…and progress renders so much of it obsolete so quickly that it will one day be unreadable. The buildings will fail and be replaced… I hope that our libraries and archives will keep pace with the changes enough to leave something for the future though.
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A map, a pin, and a blindfold! I’d like to hear more about that.so many interesting books- well done! I liked your quote about staying on the path. Has your path been straight, or curvy, uphill and downhill? Thanks and all the best to you!
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Thanks, Jena. My paths have been many… some of them exceedingly convoluted, but the central one leading arrow-straight to today.
The whole thing with the map was a mistake…next time I try that, I am going to cheat, peek and aim for the north 😉
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Thanks for the question Jena.. xx
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Reblogged this on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo and commented:
Sally has thrown open the doors of her virtual bookstore to her fellow writers…and today I am her guest. Thank you so much for having me over, Sally!
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Delighted to have you over Sue and thanks for the wonderful responses. xx
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I hope there will be more questions yet 🙂 x
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Reblogged this on Words To Captivate ~ by John Fioravanti and commented:
This is a fascinating interview with prolific author and blogger, Sue Vincent.
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Thank you for sharing, John 🙂
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Entirely my pleasure, Sue!
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🙂
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Thank you very much for sharing John.
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My pleasure, Sally!
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Sue never ceases to fascinate me with her blog posts!!! A great interview!
My main question is “Will we meet this year at the Bash?”
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Thanks, Ritu… I’m working on it. The dates are ll too close to Silent Eye events…but if I can’t make the Bash, I’ll try and be in London the morning of it and see who I can meet 🙂
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Oh I do hope we can!! 😍
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I’ll do my utmost! There are too many people I really want to meet coming this year 🙂
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I know. After going last year I’m even more eager to see everyone!!!
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I went the first year…missed it last year. Fingers crossed for June 🙂
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Fingers crossed over here too 😘
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🙂
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“You can’t pretend to be something you are not, for long” This really resonated with me Sue. So true, even if we think we are fooling others, we’d live with the truth inside. Wonderful post. and I can’t help but wonder if you had the chance to go back to those days living in Paris, would you still want to? ❤ 🙂
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It would be so uncomfortable trying to be someone else all the time …and I’ve grown into liking my comfort 🙂
Would I go back to Paris? Ah… given the circumstances I seem to recall from the Belle Epoque, possibly not…though I wouldn’t mind a visit 😉 But then, I lived there and haunted Montmartre for years in my youth, friends with the artists, tramps and prositutes that lived and worked there…and it was an utterly magical time. I loved those years! But would I go back? No, not now. They were years that formed part of who I am today…and the me today is happier and more content than at any other time of her life.
But I wouldn’t mind borrowing that youthful figure back for a bit 😉
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Lol Sue. Makes sense. That’s why our memories are so sacred and beautiful. When we try to actually relive, nothing is ever the same. Keep those memories under lock and key, and save them for your inspiration. 🙂 ❤
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I let a few out to play, now and then 😉 ❤
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It’s healthy. 🙂
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It’s also fun 😉
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🙂
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A lovely post about Sue and her books, Sally. I recently read Notes from a small dog to my Michael and we both loved it. We did a joint review of this book. I am waiting for Laughter lines to arrive (I ordered it from Amazon UK) but it seems to take an awful long time at the moment – I don’t know why. Michael asks me very day whether it is here yet.
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Delighted you enjoyed Robbie and that you and Michael have discovered the lovely Ani.. I am sure Sue will be delighted. xxx
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What a delightful and insightful interview with Sue! I’ve followed her blog for some time, but did not realize until today the depth of her spiritual consciousness. I LOVE it. I’ve always wanted to attend one of the Mystery Schools and immerse myself in the divine. Sue, how would I go about being accepted as a student? Great post and thank you, Sally. Hugs to both!
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Thanks for sharing Jan and the question. xx
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Hi Jan, thank you!
The Silent Eye operates through its online presence…as well as hosting regular workshops where anyone can come along, meet us and see what we do. There are full details of the course, events and the way we work on the Silent Eye website…but I have your email, so I’ll send a brochure over for you to have a look at.
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Reblogged this on Writing and Music and commented:
Meet author extraordinaire and spiritualist, Sue Vincent! And don’t miss the amazing poem at the bottom of the post.
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Thank you Jan.. hugs xx
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Re-Blogged on Writing and Music!
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Great questions and answers. I do love Sue’s writing. Spot on about writing from your true self. Creative expression direct from the soul is the only way to go! Here’s a ?: Have you written all your life, or was there a certain age that it began to take hold of you? I remember you did a lot of visual art in your earlier years.
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Thanks, Eliza. I’ve always written… mostly very bad poetry early on. I grew up with both my grandfather and mother writing around me, so never thought I might be as good at it as them. I was a dancer till broken bones put a stop to that career choice… then it was the painting that gave me an outlet and making gardens. Writing came to the fore as something to do i the silent hours while my late partner was ill and as a way to preserve some of the old tales. Then the internet happened and I was caught up in several forums…I met Gary Vasey online…then Stuart and the rest is public knowledge via the blog and books 🙂
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Artistic from the beginning, right in your DNA! 🙂
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It was always encouraged, one way or another 🙂
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Thanks for the question Eliza.
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Reblogged this on firefly465.
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A great interview, Sally and Sue xx. Sue, I would like to ask if you have a favourite poet and a favourite poem, two questions I know. lol xx
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Thanks, Adele. Yes, I suppose I do… the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It is a long story, but I tend to carry the poem around with me. For years it was a very special copy…now I have it on my phone and the dog-eared book is kept safe. https://scvincent.com/2014/05/02/handbag-philosophy-2/
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A beautiful tale of a much loved book. One of my favourite poems is
THE CAT AND THE MOON
by: W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)
HE cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
“The Cat and the Moon” is reprinted from The Wild Swans at Coole. W.B. Yeats. New York: Macmillan, 1919.
MORE POEMS BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
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Thanks for sharing Adele.. that is a wonderful Yeats poem.. xx
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I hadn’t read that for years…Thanks, Adele, for reminding of it. That’s the third Yeats this week…I’ll have to dig him out of the shelves 🙂
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Thanks Adele.. xx
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My pleasure, ladies. xx
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I’m glad you love the poem as much as I do. xx
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Super answers, Sue. I love your three wishes. I share some of the same with you. Thanks, Sally.
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Thanks, John. It is a nice thought… we just need a determined genie 🙂
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With a kevlar vest.
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I’m sure he could manage that 😉
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So nice to get a little deeper look into who you are, Sue. I really liked the reflection on how you feel you’ve changed as a writer (and blogger). It seems that with experience there is an opportunity to shift from writing as an application of form to writing as an expression of who we are, something deeper and more meaningful woven through the words. Wonderful interview, through and through. ❤
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Thanks for dropping in Diana hugs xx
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Hugs, Sally and Sue. 🙂
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Thanks, Diana. I hide so little when I write that it seems odd that people don’t know much ‘about’ me. Most of my writing is drawn from experience, one way or another but I think you are right. What begins by using words as a tool to shape expression hopefully ends up as a vessel for the heart of the writer. x
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I do feel like I know a lot about you from reading your blog, Sue, but there are still bits and pieces that come to light – either in a new way of telling or because I’m paying attention differently. 🙂 I enjoy it either way.
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We are kaleidoscopic beings, I suppose…and every twist shows a new design 🙂
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Sally and Sue,
What a brilliant chat. I was spellbound both by the main body and everyone’s questions.
You have certainly struck chords Sue, I know you did with me. The line ‘Success, to me, is the ability to learn from that journey enough to recognise the right path for you… then allowing it to lead you forward.’
Slapped me round the chops like a wet kipper it did! I found I’d stopped, took a breath, and re-read it and paused. It went in deep. Consciously I have no idea why it resonated so much. But I think it is something that will resurface again and again in the next few days with all sorts of fresh insights into things I’d never even thought about. Can’t wait!
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Thanks Paul.. I am delighted that the new format has created so many more questions than I could ask.. Look forward to yours in a few weeks x
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I’m really enjoying the questions too! Great idea Sally 🙂 x
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Thanks, Paul. There is a joy in being a wet kipper sometimes…or at least the wielding hand 😉
Seriously, you sometimes don’t know…and maybe don’t need to… but things come out of the blue like that and switch lights on. Even if you don’t always know where 😉
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That’s very true Sue, a couple of days and one cold later and I can still feel it running through me deep and silent. I might never consciously know the changes it wrought but I do know that something has (like you said) switched on inside.
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That’s all it needs…though I could wishh t would switch off the cold bugs while it is in there. Here too 😦
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I knew this would be a wonderful interview, and I was not disappointed. I think Stuart is a very wise man and that quote is definitely one that resonates with me!
My question for you Sue is, what do you do to relax, or ease stress? I know you have had some very traumatic moments in your life and I just wondered how you managed to hold yourself together?
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Thanks, Judy. I’m inclined to agree with you there 😉
The easy anwser to your question is that I do something just for me… But I suppose what I really do is change the focus. I meditate daily and seldom ‘feel’ stressed, though I know stress still gets to me behind the scenes. Sometimes all it takes to relax is walking the dog a bit farther or curling up in a hot bath with a book. When I’m on a tight leash, so to speak, I take it out on the housework…or go out and dig earth. I’ve made a few gardens that way with HUGE flowerbeds 😉
My preference, though, is to get in the car and find hills… the moors always put things into their true perspective and human problems seem very small against the backdrop of eternity.
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It sounds as though you have got the balance just right, Sue. I love how you ‘take it out on the housework’ or go and dig in the garden. That way you get something positive out of it in the end and, in the case of the garden, something beautiful too.
I think of the sea, in the way that you do hills… 🙂
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We’ve all got that special place in our hearts somewhere. X
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xx
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Reblogged this on Edwina's Episodes and commented:
Check out Sue and Sally’s interview 🙂
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Thanks for reblogging, Judy 🙂
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My pleasure, Sue 🙂
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🙂
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Thanks for sharing Judy and so pleased you enjoyed.. hugs xx
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Yes, I did, Sally. 🙂
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I echo another comment here – I knew this was going to be a fascinating interview, and that my time spent reading would be rewarded. I would like to read what you’d say to being asked to name two things you learned from each of your children and from Ani.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
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‘Morning, Madelyn 🙂 A nice, awkward question before my second coffee 🙂
It is so hard to choose just two things for each of them, because they have all taught me so very much…things so intimately woven through who I am that separating the strands is more difficult than it looks. If I had to pick two, then from Ani it would be focus and joy. Focus, because she can remain utterly motionless for so long when she is ‘setting’ a tennis ball…and joy just because she is.
From Nick I would have to go for determination and endurance… the past eight years, watching him daily pursue an impossible goal…and attain it too. Not in the way he imagined when he thought that spending every waking moment working on his physical recovery from such a dreadful attack would give him his life back, but from the richness of the life he has found within himself.
From my younger son, Alex, I learned about courage and the love that looks beyond its own needs. When I think back to when Nick was in the hospital, in the earliest stages of his recovery from the coma, the first memory that comes to mind is a picture of my sons; Alex holding his brother’s hand quietly, with a world of love in his eyes and a smile on his face. There was a light around that bed. Yet, outside in the corridors, Alex’s grief was ripping him apart. He has held my hand in just the same way, with his heart breaking, when I have been close to death myself and I know how much strength and comfort that love pours into you. My sons are exceptional human beings.
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Great responses – especially from an under-caffeinated brain. 🙂 I’ll never get used to the fact that you are just waking up as I am preparing to head for bed.
I’m not surprised at your answers, however. What is it they say about apples not falling far from their trees and monkey see, monkey do?
Kindness and love begets the same, even from the animals with whom we share our lives.
xx,
mgh
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I’m just surprised I know there is a world out there before the second coffee 😉
No matter who or what I may be, the biggest lesson from all of this is awareness… to be aware of the things people do unconsciously changes the dynamics of life. xx
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Awareness and appreciation. For all the chatter about gratitude, so many of us fail to focus on people and events deserving of great appreciation. Me too, btw, even though I attempt to remain aware (easier after a pot of coffee lol)
xx,
mgh
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Everything is easier after coffee 🙂 Wonder if I have time for another cup before I go to work? xx
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MAKE time! 🙂
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I think I will 🙂 xx
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Beautiful Sue XX
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Thanks, Sally x
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A fabulous interview. What an interesting life you have had Sue. It has been so great to learn more about you. I love your quotes. What writer would you say has influenced you the most?
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Thanks for the question Darlene.. xx
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Thank you Sally and Sue. I really enjoyed your interview and I shall pop over to your blog Sue. Blessings. 😊
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Thank you Brigid.. hugs xx
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Thanks, Brigid… one of the nicest things about being over on Sally’s blog is meeting new people 🙂
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Yes Sally is a star. 😊
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I agree with you there, Brigid, she is 🙂
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Reblogged this on Judith Barrow and commented:
Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore .A fasciating author interview with Sue Vincent
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Thank you for sharing Judith.. xxx
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Thanks, Judith x
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I remember once despairing because I thought someone was ruining her life by her actions. A friend of mine; a reiki healer, told me ‘she’s following her own path. Let her.’ It was difficult to see at the time but all worked out fine in the end. I’ve often wondered what would have happened if I’d really interfered. As often happens, with you, Sue, your words here have brought something for me to reflect on. Thank you, both.x
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Thanks, Judith. I know that feeling and the desire to help. Sometimes just being there for your friends is enough and all that is needed. We all have our own path and it seems designed to teach us what we really need to learn, especially as we usually carve it ourselves through our actions. xx
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
Check out this guest post by Sue Vincent on the Smorgasbord Invitation blog
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Thanks, Don 🙂 We have to stop meeting like this ….;)
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You’re welcome. I enjoy our meeting 🙂
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😀
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Thank you for sharing Don.
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You’re welcome.
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I love this interview! Be back with a question (though I feel a lot of mine have been answered). That first quote…one of my favorites. 💖
This fills me with joy: “I stopped writing how I thought I ought to write and started writing as me instead.” That’s the only way to write, IMO. 🙂
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It is, Sarah… though when you are very young, you may feel that the only way to go is down a tried and tested path that someone else has forged. 🙂 It is so much more comfortable just being yourself 🙂
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Thanks for dropping in Sarah.. xx
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Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
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Thank you, Kate 🙂 x
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Lovely interview, Sue! I’ll be contemplating much of what you said for days and days. Thanks, Sally, for this great feature! So nice to learn more about other writers! 🙂
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Thank you Marcia.. just the tip of the iceberg. I am delighted that so many are throwing in questions I would not necessarily thought about. hugs xx
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Pingback: Asking the question | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo
lovely to read this interview, Sue & Sally. Sue is a writer/blogger I greatly admire.
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Thank you, Susan. I really enjoyed being here 🙂
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Thank you Susan so pleased you enjoyed.. Sally
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Pingback: Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Book Reading and Interview – Sue Vincent | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life | Just Olga
Great format and great guest. I must try to get here sooner but the questions themselves are well worth a read. Thanks so much, Sally and Sue!
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Thank you Olga and for sharing.. I hope that you will do a book reading at some point in the future.. hugs xx
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Thanks, Olga…it was great fun doing this :)… and thank you for reblogging it too 🙂
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It’s great to read more about you, Sue. I know we met at the very first Bloggers Bash, but the day went so quickly and even though there were only 20 of us there, I never got to talk to Stuart and you as much as I would have liked to. I always enjoy participating in your #writephoto challenges and thank you for putting up with me recording them rather than writing them. 😀 Some of the stories your challenges produced out of me ended up in my book and that’s something I’d like to thank you for.
My question to you is what were the names of your favourite books you read as a child and did the author(s) of those books influence the way you write today?
Thanks so much for putting this fabulous post, about Sue, together, Sally.
Hugs to you both.
xx
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There is never enough time at such events to spend with everyone, Hugh. I’m still working on getting down to London this year pre-Bash, even if I can’t make the Bash itself.
I never expected the challenge to take off as it did… a suggestion from KL Caley…and off we went 🙂
Favourite childhood books? C.S Lewis. No contest… and they still are, though I have read more than just his Narnia books these days and find his spiritual writings applicable to more than just his own faith. Alan Garner’s books, “Little Grey Men” and Tolkien. Edward Lear’s nonsense and “Borrobil” by William Croft Dickinson… I loved the old myths and legends too and read many of them from across the world. Lots of fantastical places and creatures, alternative versions of nature and history… symbols, magic, rhyme and humour…
I don’t know if any of that has influenced me at all… *falls over laughing*
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No, I don’t think so at all, Sue *picking myself up off the floor* but it’s interesting to hear what books you were reading and if they influenced you. Just goes to prove how somethings steer us on our path of life.
Hope to see you at the Bash, but if not, then let me know when you are in London as I’m thinking of spending a few extra days there.
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Those early adventures into the lands of imagination can’t help but influence us somehow 🙂 Though Ani says she objects to being classed as a fantastical creature. She says fantastic would have done 😉
Will do, Hugh xx
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Thanks Hugh glad you enjoyed.. I hope you will take part at some point when you have the time. hugs xx
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I certainly will, Sally. xx
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Love that poem, Sue. And I’ve always thought that is a great quote, although I never knew who said. Mind you, I really like Stuart’s advice too. My question is to you is, how do you find your path? I still haven’t discovered mine. 😕
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Thanks, Ali. I don’t think you find your path really…it finds you when you wander close and calls with a voice you can’t ignore. When you turn to it and place your feet upon it, it feels like coming home.
You can wander down many avenues before finding the right path for you. Sometimes you get sent back to the start and realise that the Path of the Hearthfire is the one you must walk, for a lifetime or just for a while…and that too is a sacred path if walked with intent and reverence. In my late twenties I was all set to join an organisation I had aspired to for many years. I had finally been accepted… and realised it was ‘not yet’. The Hearthfire was mine to tend until the boys were grown.
So I studied and learned how to bring the sacred into the mundane, within myself… and one day, when the boys had become men, found myself going full circle. I reapplied, was accepted again… and then read an article by another spiritual teacher. It moved me deeply… felt like coming home… and instead of following my head, I followed my heart and studied with her. It led me here, to a place where I can honestly say I have never been happier.
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I love that story, Sue. You have certainly led an interesting and eventful life. I take hope from that, that things will become less confused in time, but at my age, I had kind of hoped it would have happened by now. Some people are always searching and never find what they’re looking for. I don’t want to be one of them. Thanks for sharing your experience. 😊
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When we spoke, I had the feeling you had been called…but maybe the time was not yet ripe x
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