Author Archives: Mara Purl

Uni-Tea of Head and Heart

February 13, 2012 by Mara Purl

Every journey has its especially sparkling moments, and for my Winter Western States Book Tour, this was it. Elegance and style, generosity and community, connections with old friends and new—a unifying experience for all. The setting—a historic home in the mountain canyons of Santa Barbara; the time—Valentine’s weekend; the opportunity—helping others.

I had the privilege of working with a superb charity in co-creating a fund-raiser/ friend-raiser author tea. This is truly my favorite kind of event because of its synergy—which makes it a win-win-win: for the charity, for the guests, and for the author. In this case, there’s a fourth winner: the community of Santa Barbara, which benefits so directly from the services this charity provides.… Read more

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Mara Purl on book tour enjoyed signing books at several Barnes & Noble stores, which have their own culture and place in local communities.
February 6, 2012 by Mara Purl |Leave a comment

Book Tour-The Amazing Indies

January 31, 2012 by Mara Purl

I write this from the road . . . an author on tour again . . . this time through the Western States of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. [If you’d like to follow my tour, visit the Milford-Haven Novels Facebook page, where the whole tour is detailed.]

Some tours are accomplished by hopping from city to city by plane. This time it’s a road trip, with the special joy that my husband is traveling with me. True, it’s a lot of driving—about 2,000 miles by the time it concludes. But we’re traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet.

… Read more
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Magical Dragon of China

January 23, 2012 by Mara Purl

This month I’ve been focusing on the universally iconic figure of the dragon. (See my last two posts: Happy Dragon of Wales and The Dragon and the Heroine’s Journey.) So here’s the third and final musing. Fittingly, today’s offering is about the mythical dragon of China on the actual date of the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

In Asia, the year of the dragon is cause for great celebration, for the dragon represents exuberant, dynamic creativity, as well as potent powers including control over water. And it’s a symbol of strength and good luck. In energy-flow terms, the dragon is yang, with its counterpart being the yin Phoenix.… Read more

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Happy Dragon of Wales

January 16, 2012 by Mara Purl

In this new Year of the Dragon, here’s my second musing on this mythological figure that has so many versions in different cultures. This time I honor my own ancestral beast, the happy dragon of Wales. I say “happy” because to me the beautifully exuberant creature emblazoned on the flag of Wales represents courage and energy, and an unstoppable drive to achieve the goal.

One of the qualities of this dragon is surely his magic—he breaths fire, he flies through the air, he journeys through time. So perhaps this sense of magic is one of the things we need to invoke when we have a goal in mind.… Read more

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The Dragon and the Heroine’s Journey

January 9, 2012 by Mara Purl

Since this is the Year of the Dragon, I’ve been doing some meditating on this iconic figure. Actually, the lore is so rich, I’ll be writing about it three times this month, beginning today.

The Hero’s Journey always has a specific goal, and a major obstacle: a dragon to be slain. In most Occidental tales, the dragon is quite literal: a fire-breathing reptile with towering strength, powerful wings and fearsome teeth ready to devour.

While I was a college student, I was also working as a performer in New York City, where I had the honor to be part of a production at The Open Eye, a theatre owned by Joseph Campbell and his wife Jean Erdman.… Read more

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Happy New Orbit!

January 2, 2012 by Mara Purl

What kicks off the new year celebrated so avidly around the globe is a gift given by the universe itself—a new orbit. In fact, my character Cornelius Smith and my friend Laurance Doyle —both of whom are astronomers—give this as their annual greeting. “Happy New Orbit!” Makes me smile every time.

Fresh starts . . . a clean slate . . . infinite possibilities. . . . The precious sense that all things are new again is valued throughout the world. Some of us want almost everything to change; some of us probably want a few things to change. And most of us desire a sense of progress so we create a theme or a list to help us establish the landmarks of transformation.… Read more

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The Magic of Christmas Boxes

December 26, 2011 by Mara Purl

Much as I adore Christmas, I love Boxing Day almost as much. First, it’s a Christmas-extender, just like the 23rd is—a date I refer to as Christmas-Eve-Eve.

December 26th is Boxing Day with a wonderful tradition of its own. Observed in the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, it started as a day following Christmas when aristocrats, tasked with the welfare of those who worked on their estates, delivered boxes of food and gifts. In South Africa, the occasion evolved into the renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994, and in Ireland it’s called St. Stephen’s Day. The European tradition of giving gifts and money to those in need dates back to the Middle Ages.… Read more

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Women, Books & Jewelry

December 19, 2011 by Mara Purl

I’ve known for a long time that there’s a connection between women and jewelry. In fact, that’s probably a connection I made at about age three. Was that when I first admired Mommy’s shiny baubles? Hmm. I think by then, I was actually asking for baubles of my own.

One of the earliest pieces to grace my collection was my very first charm bracelet. How I loved its shiny silver trinkets with their magical moving parts! Each time my parents took me someplace special, a new charm was added, until from every single link dangled a treasured memento: the Rockettes kicked up their legs all in a row; five candles poked through a birthday cake with pink enamel icing; a split oval twisted to become a heart.… Read more

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My Holiday Story

December 12, 2011 by Mara Purl

The holidays richly contain many different kinds of segments. There’s the decorating. Of course there’s the shopping. There’s the cooking. There’s the card-writing. There are outings to visit family or friends. Sometimes there’s travel. Sometimes there are house guests. Whatever the circumstances, there always seem to be elements of excitement and frustration, pressure and relaxation, laughter and sentimentality.

For me, there comes a moment sometime during the holidays when what I long for is the perfect book to read. I prowl the shelves and night stands searching for the perfect volume. If I don’t find it at home, I start searching the bookstore or library shelves—or an e-reader store these days—until the right tale captures my attention.… Read more

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