Category Archives: Art and Entertainment

Milford-Haven U.S.A. Celebrates its 20th Anniversary!

September 16, 2012 by Mara Purl
Mara Purl and her sister Linda Purl host a gathering for cast, crew and supporters of Mara's original radio drama, Milford-Haven USA which became the first American radio serial ever broadcast by the BBC, where it had 4.5 million listeners.
Posted in Art and Entertainment, Audio Drama, California, Cambria, Creativity, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Gifts, Intuition, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Nurturing the soul, San Francisco, synchronicity | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Heart Goes Red for Women

September 14, 2012 by Mara Purl
Mara Purl gives Keynote Address at American Heart Association's annual Go Red for Women in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Posted in about issues of the heart, AHA - American Heart Association, AHA Moments, Art and Entertainment, community and transformation, Connecting through books, Days of Our Lives, Family values, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, Keynote Address, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Non-Profit Organizations, Public Speaking | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Serial Novels are the Dickens

February 20, 2012 by Mara Purl

A world-wide celebration is under way to celebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of an important February birthday—that of one of the great authors of the English language. It seems to be a bit of a mania with exhibits from the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, to an elaborate puppet show festival in Colorado; from multiple offerings in London to Dickens World in Kent, England. Through the decades, Dickens has found his way onto the stage in more productions than can be counted, and onto the silver screen in 320 films, to date.

My own introduction to Charles Dickens came early, and was so woven into the fabric of my childhood that I can’t imagine my life without the presence of his characters with their failures and triumphs.… Read more

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Book Clubs, Books, California, e-books by Mara Purl, Heart, Louis L'amour, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Bellekeep Books, Book Clubs, Book Marketing, Books, California, Connecting through books, energy, familial history, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Heart, Integrating lifes purpose through art, joy, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Novel series, Nurturing the soul, Romance Novels by Mara Purl, Santa Barbara, synchronicity, Uncategorized, What the Heart Knows, What the Heart Knows by Mara Purl | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
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

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

Posted in Art and Entertainment, Audio Drama, Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Books, Coastal regions, E-Books, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, joy, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Newsletters, When Hummers Dream by Mara Purl, womens literature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Book covers by artist Mary Helsaple, book covers painted by artists, Books, California, Creativity, e-books by Mara Purl, familial history, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Gifts, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, Japan, joy, Love of Books, Milford Haven, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Santa Barbara, What the Heart Knows, Women authors, womens literature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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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A Season of Possibility

December 5, 2011 by Mara Purl

Over the course of this first December weekend, at an opulent gathering of friends, we went around the table answering the question, “what’s the significance of Christmas to you?” We all acknowledged the spiritual import of the holiday, and because this was an international gathering, there was acknowledgment from widely divergent religious paradigms.

But we came back around the table again to touch upon that which we could only identify as the “spirit” of this time of year. For some, this is a time to focus more intently upon family and close friends, to offer the gifts of time and food, to open our homes, be they large or small, to experience something cozy and comforting, something timeless needing to be captured at least to the extent of celebrating it.… Read more

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Baby Boomers, Books, California, Cambria, Coastal regions, Connecting through books, Creativity, life's purpose, Santa Barbara, Uncategorized, What the Heart Knows, Women authors, womens literature | Tagged | Leave a comment