River Countdown: 1 day to go!!!!!

“I have to tell you, readers, I have loved writing a small stone every day for the last 31 days. It’s the most glorious exercise in mindfulness, in pulling yourself into this moment, and if you haven’t tried it yet please give it a go, if only for a week.”
~Rachel Hawes, writer of small stones

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It's the last day of 2011.

The year in which we got married, launched the first River of Stones, created Writing Our Way Home, lost our lovely cat Silver and got our two kittens Roshi & Tsuki.

The year in which Kaspa got ordained, and I finished my psychotherapy training. The year in which I ate lots of cake and drank lots of earl grey. The year in which Kaspa continued to learn the ukulele. The year in which we were, really, pretty busy. The year in which we were very happy indeed.

I've caught 325 moments from this year, like pressed wild flowers, on my blog a small stone.

Catch some moments of your own during January. We begin tomorrow. JOIN US!!!

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If you'd like to join our new River blogroll, look here. And do sign up to our newsletter if you'd like to be kept informed once a week or so - including information about how to submit to the River book after the challenge is over. And thanks all who've invited their friends to join us on Facebook. 639 people are attending, and counting...

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Winter Breakfast:
The last spoonful
of sunlight hits
the leaf covered lawn.

Christian Ward
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting tomorrow. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 2 days to go

“I’m not managing to write something every day. Have I failed already then? I don’t think so. I am looking more closely and I am thinking more clearly, Whether I write it down or not. So, I’m not going to beat myself up but be grateful for the space to reflect on such things.”
~Beth Williamson, writer of small stones

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If, a couple of weeks in, you're not writing a small stone every day, you are not failing.

Follow Beth's advice. When you remember you've forgotten, see if you can find a small stone from where you're sitting and write it down straight away. Each day is a new day.

Even if you experience three seconds of paying more attention during January, I'll consider our River a success.

All the alpine plants that make up that number two started as teensy weensy seeds...

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rusted gurney whispers towards infant incubator
“never really knew anyone the whole damn trip”
and incubator says,
"but love anyway, right?”

Steve Myers
Broken Bats
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

NEW: The River Blogroll

Kaspa writes: Good news. Amy from the wonderful Half-assed Mama blog has volunteered to create a River of Stones blogroll here on the WOWH blog!

Last year we had a phenomenal number of people join in the River of Stones last year and managing it took an inordinate amount of time. This year we simplified.

I gave up on the idea of an aggregate page of everyone's stones. I tried this using Yahoo! Pipes last year and the software couldn't handle the amount of data. In July we tried a different approach, on a separate website, but not many people looked there... We also answered innumerable queries from people unsure where to put their small stones... 

The about page has helped a huge amount in reducing the amount of questions we have to answer. We enjoy hearing from small stone writers, but not repeating the answers to the same questions over and over again.

We originally decided not to do a blogroll for the same reasons. The main thing, after all, is your process of noticing and writing small stones, everything else is secondary. That was our justification, that and getting overwhelmed with management (we are hoping for even more people to take part this year).

But then Amy emailed and volunteered. We jumped at the chance. having an constantly updating blogroll here does give a sense of all of those other people keeping small stone blogs online, and a sense of the whole community of small stoners. It's really wonderful to have a blogroll, and wonderful to have help. Perhaps that's the lesson for me here - to get better at asking.

We're very grateful to Amy. Thank you.

email halfassedmama@gmail.com if you'd like to be added to the roll.

Remember you don't have to have a blog to participate. Each day during January we'll be creating a post here on the WOWH blog where you can leave your small stone as a comment. Or you can do what Lisa from Diary of a Square Toothed Girl is doing and make a beautiful notebook to keep your small stones in.

2 days to go...

River Countdown: 3 days to go

“Writing the small stones was like going on a fast that was simple, cleansing and healing rather than a deprivation. I plan to incorporate it much more regularly into my writing life.”
~Elizabeth Adams, writer of small stones

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Sometimes, we fancy a seven course meal with hors-d'oeuvre and delicious things en croute and elaborate sugar-caged desserts.

Sometimes, we fancy a crisp Braeburn apple and a chunk of ordinary cheddar cheese.

Small stones will take you back to the basics of writing. Experience what is there. Write it down. Fiddle about with it until it looks and sounds right.

Not quite a fast, but an opportunity to enjoy plain food during January. Every bite of life bursting with flavour.

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Spider web:
Pinks and purples shimmer along thin threads.
A lifeless fly bobs up and down.

Kylie Dinning
Pausing to pick up small stones

from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 4 days to go

“At first, writing small stones, I still felt the pressure of producing. Odd how vulnerable we are, but then turning over these small stones is turning over parts of ourselves and then showing others.”
~Margo Roby, writer of small stones

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If you're feeling a bit squeamish about showing your small stones to the world, then you're not the only one.

Writing things down always involves some measure of exposure. We are committing our experience to black and white. Did we see that right? Did we describe that bird's wings properly? Is it any good?

If this is paralysing you, then commit to writing your small stones into a notebook instead. The noticing and the writing is the important thing, not the being-read.

But the being-read is also rather wonderful. If you're feeling nervous about showing your small stones to the world, put your first one in the comments section below. I want to read it. Take a deep breath. Type it out. Press that button. Go on, now.....

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Dried fruit in glass cups
a tea-pot by a nut pie,
autumnal picnic

Claudia Messelodi

from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Eva the Weaver via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 5 days to go

“There are glimpses of hope and so I press on, trying to be more disciplined in my daily writing and reflecting on its value. Perhaps other things have changed that might account for this change of heart, I don’t know, but it seems to me that small stones are building new foundations.”
~Beth Williamson, writer of small stones

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Beth was writing about glimpses of hope in sometimes-otherwise-dark-days.

Your life might be a bed of roses, but mine isn't. Things are often more difficult than I would like! Kittens spill milk all over the floor, and just after recovering from a winter illness, another one appears.

Sometimes our sorrows are more pervasive, with deeper roots.

When you are ready to despair, look around you for a small stone. It's no accident that small stones start SMALL. If small is still too big, start even smaller.

Can you see the light, shining through the raindrops on the window? That one, wobbling in the breeze, twinkling?

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Monuments

‘The problem with this country,’
                                    he said
‘Is we haven't any pyramids.’

Jody Porter
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 6 days to go

“…participating in A River of Stones during the month of January forced me to slow down and take note of life’s simple pleasures.”
~Laurie Kolp, writer of small stones

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Life's simple pleasures.

These are the ones that all-too-often pass us by. An unobtrusive ivory cloud. The zing of fresh orange juice on our tongue. The beauty of spreading rust-stains on a well-loved house number.

Start your small stone practice by seeing how many of life's simple pleasures you can catch today as they slide past. Write one down. Share it in the comments below.

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Winter wraps this land loosely
With an icicle fringed lacy, lethal shawl
Disguised as snow drifted friendliness

S. E. Ingraham

from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 7 days to go

“I believe that all places are holy, and that really seeing and really being seen has the power to awaken, to soften the edges of our hard selves and let a little reality in.”
~Kaspalita, writer of small stones

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If you're celebrating Christmas today or not, I hope you and yours all have a love-filled, cosy, delicious, peaceful day.

And that you find something as wonderfully surprising as Kelly did ; )

Warmest Season's Greetings from me & Kaspa.

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Found clinging to a branch of my Christmas tree: a small, bewildered frog.

Kelly Eastlund
Stars and Willows
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 8 days to go

“The practice of noticing small stones breaks through our habituated responses to the world. […] Over time, it helps us to redefine our likes and dislikes, so we can have a more direct encounter with the other.”

~Fiona Robyn, writer of small stones

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A more direct encounter with the other. This is a really important part of our small stone philosophy.

Often, when we encounter the world, we encounter it through dark ego-tinted glasses.

This cake isn't cake, it's cake-that-Fiona-likes. This person isn't George, it's George-who-is-cleverer-than-Fiona or George-who-was-rude-to-Fiona-four-years-ago.

Writing small stones helps us to take these glasses off, and see objects and people in a more three dimensional way. If we can see George-the-dad and George-the-insecure-person and George-the-generous-contributor-to-charity, we might be able to have a new relationship with him which isn't just based on the things we like or don't like.

Take your ego-glasses off, once a day during January. Join us.

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Christmas stocking
a boy pretends
he hasn't caught Santa

Christine L. Villa
Blossom Rain
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

River Countdown: 9 days to go

“…I keep finding that [writing a small stone] doesn’t eat up time or mental space; on the contrary, time stops and a new space is created.”
~Jean Morris, writer of small stones

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"I haven't got the time."

I know this one. I use it a lot. Is it true?

Sometimes, yes. Usually, no. Usually it's more that I haven't got the inclination, or the mental energy, or the courage.

I've said that you only need three minutes spare a day to join our River of Stones challenge. In some ways, this is true. In some ways, it's disingenuous. Anything worth doing usually means that we encounter some resistance to doing it. You need a bit of gumption to get past these times. You need to make a formal commitment to starting a small stone practice.

You don't HAVE to write one every day. Three during January is better than none. But if you can take this challenge seriously, then it will reward you.

It will stop time and create new space for you.

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when the door rattles
she hides under the bed sheets,
hearing the wind laugh.

Debbi Antebi
from our sister blogzine www.ahandfulofstones.com

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Eva the Weaver via Creative Commons (with gratitude) 

River Countdown: 10 days to go

“Glad because this daily writing of even a few attentive words was truly, wholly, writing, and was slowly, slowly easing me back into the flow of a broader impulse and ability to write.”

~Jean Morris, writer of small stones

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A while ago, someone I know asked me if this writing small stones business actually makes a difference to my lived life. 

I paused before I answered. I didn't want to exaggerate. I thought about it. How different was my life with small stones in it, really?

In some ways, not that different at all. Some days (like today) I'll hastily trawl my memory for a small-stoneish moment and jot it down. Some days I'll forget entirely.

And yet. Just now I paused to consider the feeling of Roshi kitten's warm circle of purr on my lap. I noticed his opalescent eye-lid and his exquisite smile. I felt warmth blossom in me.

These small ordinary moments of connection are important. They cast shadows over the remainder of our days, when we need to get on with sweeping the floor and we forget to notice the bristles bending against the tiles.

One engaged moment a day is better than no moments. Write a small stone every day and you'll find it. 

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The same rain on my window

as on the wrinkled

face of the man

under the bridge at night.

Samantha Duncan

from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by zawtowers via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

The Most Beautiful Thing

Kaspa writes: A few days ago Fiona and I created the cover for her fourth novel, The Most Beautiful Thing.  We'd talked about publishing it ourselves, and this was a step in that direction - although we still weren't sure...

On Sunday we went for a walk in the beautiful Batsford Arboretum and came up with a name for an imprint. This was another step in the self-publishing direction. We came home and registered the domain name: www.woodsmokepress.com.

Woodsmoke.Something that is beautiful in its transience. Something that is to do with the most primal act of creation - making fire. This act of creation also hints at what it is to be human. In creating fire we warm ourselves and fend off the dark - but there is a necessary act of violence at the heart of it. Woodsmoke, like the phoenix, rises from the burning deadwood.

We have talked a lot about publishing The Most Beautiful Thing ourselves. We thought of lots of pros, and a few cons. But I wonder if the real reason is that we each have a small control freak inside of us... It feels great to be involved in each stage of the creation process. We had real fun producing the cover, and I think it looks great.

I've read the manuscript for TMBT and it's excellent. Possibly my favorite of all Fiona's novels. I can't wait for it to be read.

How to find your golden light

Fiona writes: "A tender shoot has started up from a root of grace..."

Last night I went to our local carol service in the beautiful Malvern Priory. The pews were packed. The stained glass glowed golden.

The carols were interspersed with readings from the Bible, with unlikely sounding happenings and descriptions of religious experiences.

River Countdown: 15 days to go

“Writing small observations daily was like a spiritual experience for me. I felt happy, joyous and free. I looked forward to my daily meditation. As a result, I feel awakened and alive; and I am truly thankful.”

~Laurie Kolp, writer of small stones

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Are you attracted to the phrase 'spiritual experience', or does it bring you out in hives?

I don't mind how you define the word 'spiritual'. You can see it is as the spirit of mankind, or of nature. You can see it as something more ineffable.

What's important is remaining open to the possibility of something more than your 'little self' as you open yourself up to small stones. There might be a positive organising principle in the universe, and there might not. But if you can pay enough attention to the meticulous intricacy of spores on the underside of each fern frond, awe and gratitude will enter you. Whether you believe in anything or not.

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In the meeting:
markets
prices
coffee.
above our heads on the lime green wall
a sticky-footed gecko undulates across 

Kuvalaya
Petals on the Wind

from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

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This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by Carlos Sottovia via Creative Commons (with gratitude)

An interview with Gregg Krech: Director of ToDo Institute

This week I'm delighted to welcome Gregg Krech to our series of creativity interviews. Gregg is the founding director of the Todo Institute, and the author of Naikan, Gratitude, Grace and the Japanese Art of Self Reflection. He is also the editor of Thirty Thousand Days: A Journal for Purposeful Living.

I think that the style of Gregg's work, and his approach to life, parallels what we are aiming for here at WOWH. He describes his attiude to mental health as one, "that values action rather than talk, attention to the world rather than attention to oneself, and gratitude for the support of others rather than blaming them for our problems."

Gregg lives in Vermont with his wife Linda, daughters Chani and Abbie, and their Golden Retriever, Barley

Hello Gregg, great to have you with us. One with the first question. What is it that drives your creative work?

I believe the world, particularly western society, is headed in the wrong direction.  My writing is an effort to bring people back to a set of values that make life worth living: gratitude, compassion, kindness, self-awareness, interdependence, purpose and constructive action.  My involvement in Japanese Psychology (Morita and Naikan therapies) was born from a desire to find a way of reconciling our spiritual and psychology worlds.  Many Westerners have discovered profound wisdom in teachings from the East, but struggle with that wisdom and the nearly irresistible pull of contemporary western lifestyles.  We need an approach to everyday life that is unified and grounded, so we don’t get caught up in a current that takes us away from an authentic and meaningful life.  

Ten years ago I stumbled upon the phrase “Thirty Thousand Days” which is the average number of days someone in western society has to live.  This idea is a driving force in my work and in my personal life.  We’re reminded of our own mortality and the preciousness of our human life.  Our limits challenge us to find purpose and meaning in this life.  So my writing is often driven by the desire to remind people of the precious nature of their time and to help them use it wisely.  

Will the universe send me a literary agent?

Fiona writes: "Two summers in Amsterdam. Fourteen year old Joe Salt, obsessed with clouds and falcons and perplexed by humans. His aunt Nel, a chaotic artist with two lovers. Two summers, fifteen years apart. A family secret, which makes sense of everything, and which pushes Joe to breaking point…"

This is the blurb for my fourth unpublished novel, 'The Most Beautiful Thing'. 

I started sending it out to agents in 2010. They said I had an "intimate, relaxed, emotional writing style." "The book is immensely readable."   "Atmospheric and engaging." "Your writing is really strong." "I found Joe to be a very compelling character."

But.

Make a beautiful handmade notebook for your small stones

Fiona writes: So, are you getting excited about our January mindful challenge yet? Simply pay attention to one thing every day and write it down. But where?

Whether you've decided to share your small stones publicly or not, there is merit in jotting them down into something beautiful when you first capture them.

A few years ago I ordered a hand-stitched book made by Julia, a friend in America who makes books at Red Otter Creative. Another of her books is pictured. I used my gorgeous orange & pink notebook for my Buddhist psychotherapy course, and everything I wrote inside seemed blessed by the time and energy and love Julia had poured into making it.

On being an extremely foolish being

Fiona writes: At the weekend, I had a meeting in London. I arranged to meet my girlfried Alex for a cup of coffee beforehand. We made the arrangements via text, and when my train was pulling into Paddington I thought I'd call to say I was arriving.

My male friend Alex (who I haven't seen for a couple of years) answered the phone.

At first my brain froze - what was he doing with my friend Alex's mobile? Had I just dialled the wrong number?

Slowly, the full extent of my foolishness dawned on me. I'd been having a text conversation with the 'wrong' Alex. There were two numbers listed under her name, and I'd been using the wrong one. I looked back at our conversation over the past couple of weeks. That explained why there were no kisses on her texts to me!

River Countdown: 20 days to go

“My father was recently put into Hospice care and dealing with the imminent loss and pain and joy of his journey has become sweeter for me because I am paying attention. That is no small thing.”

~Lisa Haight, writer of small stones

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We don’t just benefit from paying attention to the lovely things in life: the scent of roses, sunlight through glass, a baby's rosy cheeks.

We also stand to gain from paying attention to the balls of cat fur and dust in the corners of the room, or to the stress lines drawn on our husband's forehead.

If we can open our eyes to all of life (and not just the good stuff) then we will start to make friends with it all. We will have less to fear and we will spend less of our precious energy on avoiding things. And remembering the darkness also means that the lights can shine even brighter.

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Everyone in the crowd sang the lyrics in synchronisation as rain drizzled on our upturned faces.

Ruth Stacey
mermaids drown
from our sister blogzine a handful of stones

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This is our countdown to The River, our mindful writing challenge, starting on the 1^st of January. Fall in love with the world through paying proper attention to one thing every day and writing it down. You don’t need any previous experience of writing and you only need three minutes a day. To find out more click here, get our funky badge, and ask your friends to join you.

Image by alamez via Creative Commons (with thanks)

The antidote to having a million things to do

Fiona writes: Sip. Sip. I'm drinking hot earl grey as I type, brought up by my husband. I glance up from the computer screen at the Christmas lights we've draped around the room. A thousand tiny pinpricks of light, pulsing on and off like stars in ultra-fast motion.

Sip. Sip. There are a million things to do.

Christmas cards to write, presents to wrap, the house to clean, articles to write, email to be dealt with. Kittens to be rescued from the top of wardrobes (Roshi has developed a penchant for climbing up but he doesn't know how to get back down again).

An interview with Louise McClary: Artist

For our honeymoon in June, Kaspa & I hunted high and low for the perfect place to spend our week in Cornwall.

We found it in Louise & Matt's Caervallack Garden Cottage in Helston, and as well as Matt's beautiful garden buildings, cob walls and wooden bridge (and their stunning gardens) we were taken by Louise's paintings in the cottage. We're very pleased to welcome her to our series of creativity interviews today. Maybe Matt will be along later...

Bio: born 1958 penzance cornwall * penzance art school 1975 * head decorator troika pottery 1976- 1981 tenant no 6 porthmer studios  1990 - 1995 *

1995 moved to the lizard peninsula * solo shows london , bath , st ives * many selected mixed shows all over England  stations of the cross in cathedrals Truro and southall * arts council award 2003 * work in many private and public collections * www.louisemcclary.com * next exhibition "your green voice " ..Kestle Barton ,manacan , cornwall ..march 31st till may 7th 2012 .. www.kestlebarton.co.uk

Louise, what drives your creative work?
 its not like anything drives it in a way , i have no choice ..

Our community - jagged edges & cookies

Fiona writes: We've just travelled back from The Buddhist House, where Kaspa was ordained as a Buddhist minister.

While we were away, two new members to our community tipped us over the 700 mark.

In less than a year, our little online community has grown and flourished. It has been the source of new friendships and much learning. It's the place where we've run the courses we so love running, and the inspiration for much of the work we do.

I can't help but make comparisons with our sangha, our Buddhist community. Over the past few years, I've seen the human beings in our sangha (with all our jagged edges) bump against each other and hurt each other and I've seen the sparks fly.

Why less is more - remembering what's important at Christmas

Fiona writes: After an expensive shopping trip today I had a flash-back to early last December.

I had to queue up for a parking space, and the streets were seething with people in a frenzy of consumerism.

There were hundreds of them wandering about with twelve different plastic bags each, bulging (I imagine) with novelty boxer shorts and chocolate Santas and fancily packaged letter openers and millions of other things that we don’t really need.

It’s not that I’m anti presents – any tradition that encourages us to appreciate the people we love has got to be a good thing.

But I do wonder if anyone is any happier now that we buy more? Do the 105 extra minutes we get on the limited edition DVD really add anything to the film?  Have we forgotten how to do anything without getting out our wallets?

Conversations with your body

Fiona writes: (From my book A Year of Questions) Once a month I see an aromatherapist who sorts out the knots in my shoulders. She always starts our sessions by letting me know how stressed I’ve been since we last met – she’s always right.

Then she stirs together a delicious smelling concoction of oils, pushes her finger tips and palms into my flesh, and the tension-knots sigh, let go of themselves and melt away.

This week we had a conversation about the links between bodies and emotions from our different perspectives. Her clients often report feeling emotional for a day or so after they see her, after deep-down tension is ‘brought out’ and ‘released’ into the body.

Slow down and fall in love with life - a new course offering

Fiona writes: A Year of Questions.

This is what I'd like to offer you next year.

All the information about this brand new course is here - and there's a Facebook invite here if you'd like to do it with a few of your friends.

I've kept it deliberately affordable (although I know this varies drastically for people, especially in these times!)

We'll be starting on January the 9th. It'd go very nicely with a side dish of River...

I hope you're all having marvellous Mondays. We're both a bit poorly here today so I'm glad you can't catch our germs from there...

Update... feeling much better today! And I synchronously got an email from Lulu offering 30% off this book until Wednesday to people in the UK - if you wanted to get a cheaper copy the code is WINTERSAVEUK305. 

An interview with Brad Colerick: singer-songwriter

Billboard Magazine called Brad Colerick "one of a baker's dozen of acts to watch in the folk community around the world."

He's the first musician we've interviewed, and I'm delighted that we can share his work and his answers with you. (I love a bit of American folk). I've embedded one of his music videos in the post below, so you can listen while you read.

Brad first made contact with WOWH way before we were called Writing Our Way Home, when he had some creativity coaching sessions with Fiona.

Brad hails from Nebraksa but moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and built a successful career making music for commercials. He's had the pleasure of working with a long list of legendary artists including BB King and the late Johnny Cash. Colerick's CDs have landed in the Top 5 of both the Folk DJ and Euro-Americana charts.

Hi Brad, great to have you with us. We begin, as always, with a question about motivation. What drives your creative work?
Unfortunately, it's usually panic and desperation. I observe the world around me, find ideas that resonate within me, then fight like hell to find time to sit and write and bring them to the surface. I feel incredibly fulfilled after finishing a project which is what propels me to the next one.