Category Archives: about issues of the heart

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

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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

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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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

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Thanksgiving Fully Present

November 28, 2011 by Mara Purl

There are three things I love about Thanksgiving: the future, the past, and the present.

I think as a child I probably loved Thanksgiving because of the future—it meant Christmas was coming soon! It was also a holiday I anticipated with great joy because it meant we’d go visit Grandma Dorothy. She married my step-grandfather late in life—but just in time for my sister and me to adore her. The house she shared with “Daddy Bob” was a classic New England cottage in Waterbury, Connecticut. Cape-Cod-Blue with white trim, it stood erect despite the steep street that seemed to slice under it.… Read more

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Mile High Tea

November 21, 2011 by Mara Purl

You’ve heard of “Pie in the Sky”—an idiom to convey that which is so unlikely that we shouldn’t count on it, a kind of fool’s gold, a dream only a Pollyanna would dare to dream.

Well, if Pie-In-The-Sky describes what can’t come true, perhaps “Mile High Tea” should be the new descriptor for what can. Why? Because anything Judith Briles touches actually does turn to gold. Judith was my hostess this past weekend for a gorgeous, elaborate and delightful tea at the lovely home where she and her husband, poet and editor John Maling, love to entertain.

So what do I mean by “gold”?… Read more

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Whose Mystery: Our Characters’ or Ours?

November 14, 2011 by Mara Purl

“Who done it?” Why do we get so caught up in solving mysteries? I have several readers—whose names I shall not divulge—who regularly e-mail me demanding to know who killed Chris, and whether she’s really dead, and when the crime will be solved! And I thought I was the only one who couldn’t sleep at night wondering about the characters of Milford-Haven!

My accomplished friend Margaret Coel  has equally marvelous stories about the obsessive nature of readers and how involved they become with her characters. At our event last weekend, she recounted some of the “helpful suggestions” she receives regarding her two protagonists, and how their life-dilemmas might be solved.… Read more

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