An Unpleasant Place

Updates on Everything Writing-Related, Illustration-Related, and Chicken-Related

This week’s newsletter to our fans feels like it is going to be a collection of various news items, some good, some not-so-good.

I am working on my third revision and editing of The Great Gardener’s Son, and am very close to just calling out “I QUIT!” Though I did read an excellent article yesterday about the difference between Perfection and Excellence. (They are not the same thing, and the latter is preferred. Perfection strives to be better than everyone. Excellence strives to be better than yourself.)

For Starters…

This week, I did write a post that ended up on my GraciePress WordPress website. That is a link to the story, and below is the illustration that went with it.

Illustration by the Author

It is a dystopian view of a world that is being destroyed by mankind’s evils like greed and self-centered behavior. I can honestly say that with other events this week, my feelings are reflected in the face of the main character who doesn‘t appear to know how all of this has come about or what to do.

The Not-So-Good Part…

Sometime in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, a predator got into the coop that was home to Bessie and Amelia, and it caused a catastrophe. I now have only Pearl, and she seems confused about being alone as the last chicken. We will need to be strong for each other and use this tragedy as a motivation to make their lives matter and to write and illustrate with the knowledge that they gave much more to the world than they ever took from the world.

Next Topic…

I shared with you in a previous newsletter about how the folks at WestBow Press had told me about the problem with talking animals in stories, and so I did a “rethink” about this and went back to the original stories about Gracie and the chickens and how listening with the heart is the key to communication. Listening with the heart is something chickens are able to do as soon as they hatch, but something that people must learn to do. So, I started imagining a book to be titled Learning to Listen or simply Listening with the Heart.

Illustration by the Author

I believe very much in the message about the importance of listening to others with the heart. It is what people need to do more often, and I do believe animals help us develop these heart listening skills.

If you have a dog or a cat, then you know what they are telling you through their body language and sounds. Ernest, my stray cat who adopted me, has been a great comfort with the drastic change in our backyard family. He knows something has happened that has caused me to be sad, and he has spent time sitting in my lap and letting me know that I’m not alone. I still have Pearl, and I still have him.

The three of us—Pearl, Ernest, and myself—will do our best to give more to the world than we have ever taken from the world.

Thank you for reading,

John, Pearl, and Ernest with fondest memories of Gracie, Bessie, Blanche, Emily, and Amelia