Many thanks…Reflecting on the “Bearing Witness” Book Launch Party

It has been almost two weeks since the launch of my latest book and the memory of an absolutely wonderful evening still lingers.  I am so thankful to all of you who attended the book launch party and to those who assisted me in the days leading up to the event.

The evening was the elegant and intimate celebration that I envisioned. I was able to share my passion with friends and strangers, many of whom shared theirs in return. I have learned so much about myself and others; namely that being grateful sends a call out into the universe to usher a larger measure of prosperity into your life. I have prospered in all of the ways that matter in this life, and I remain committed to helping those who wish to find their passion and purpose; their peace and prosperity.

The days since the book launch find me scheduling appearances and writing classes, tracking sales, managing distribution, staying connected to friends and family and most important, finding time to write.  I cannot rest on the laurels of this book; it is time to write the next one.

There are presently two books in the works; one based on this blog and another that finds its heroine dealing with “the Church”. I will discuss the process of completing each of these offerings as time goes on.

In the meantime, I ask the universe to allow each of you to see your passion clearly. May you garner the courage necessary to bring your passion to fruition; for the universe can give you the vision, but you must give the vision its wings.

As you wait for clarity, be Thankful. When clarity arrives, be thankful; grateful in times of bright light and in ink-black darkness. Resolve to be grateful within the simplicity of “being”. Stay in your “now”: the past is over and the future will take care of itself. It is in the “right now” that your purpose and passion have their say…listen, and say “thank you”…always.

Selah,

Camille

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Change of Season

On Friday, September 23^rd, friends, family, acquaintances and fans will join me to celebrate the launch of my seventh book, “Bearing Witness”. This poetry collection is my most important undertaking to date. It is my best offering; the one in which I am most proud. The combination of previous published poems and the musings that have shaped the past year are a loving and detailed map of my life’s journey.

It is no accident that the date of this book launch is the same day as the Fall Equinox. Just as nature cools down from the scorch of summer and prepares the meadows and foliage for winter’s cold affection, I too am preparing to don my own cloak of cool change; looking forward to the color and growth of next spring.

In addition to book signings, speaking engagements, and my occasional classroom appearances, Fall will find my writing transitioning from poetry to prose. The novel that has begged for my attention for the last three years will finally have its way; as will my unnamed essay collection; and the fifty or so books that are on my “must-read-by-the-end-of-the-year” list. The season will also find me in total surrender to “love”; its honor and challenge, its innocence and clarity.

I remain grateful for my journey and the companionship, support and affection of friends, fans and, yes, the words that continue to accompany me; I celebrate them often, both in public and in private.

Selah,

Camille

*For additional information about the “Bearing Witness” book launch party, please send a message via the following link: http://cammyslanding.yolasite.com/contact-cammyslanding.php.

Bearing Witness: One Voice in Time

“I love to write! Words are my constant and faithful companion.”

-Camille Gray, PhD

I have just completed the last of the changes required for the release of my latest poetry collection entitled, “Bearing Witness”. That it has been a labor of love is an insufficient cliché; the labor is minimal while the love is infinite in each of my literary undertakings.

My sister once described the whimsical and piercing anthems of her infant son as his “testing the range of his voice”. “Bearing Witness” is an anthology of my own vocal development; a chronological testimony in verse as to how the art and my craft utterly and wholly changed my voice and my life.

Perhaps the most challenging element to preparing this collection was resisting the temptation to edit my previously published work.

After consulting with writers of varying genres and experience, I concluded that, except for the slightest of corrections, I should preserve the voice of my past. It was the purest voice for that moment; any change, no matter how noble the intention, would violate the authenticity of my own lyrical narrative.

To be certain, a few of the old poems were tough to read in the present; some made me blush; others reminded me of times that are happily and firmly behind me. Still more have positively reminded me that I have used the power of my pen for good.

“Bearing Witness” reflects four and a half (!) stages of my personal and writing progression. I am not the protagonist of every poem. I am, however, a witness to time and emotion in the global economy of the human experience.

The poems that make-up “Talking to Myself, are not punctuated; reflecting my once undeveloped, puerile voice. As dictated in many immature acts, I seemed more concerned with saying what I wanted to say with little regard for how I wanted to say it.

“Alive, but Unconscious”, was written during the time when Oprah issued an invitation and a challenge to women to live their best lives; that so many of us had been walking through our lives, hardly aware of ourselves and oblivious to any palatable reasoning for our largely predictable actions. These poems opened my eyes to perceptions of my own insufficiency and left me on the fringes of finally feeling and being “enough”.

By the time I completed “Pillow Talk”, I was in love with the sound, the range and the color of my own voice. More important, I was completely pleased and hopelessly in love with…me!  Self awareness and appreciation is the honeymoon that never ends. I may not have known exactly what I wanted then, but I knew what I did not want, and that was half the battle.

“Dallas Rain” was written last fall during a few days of much welcomed beautiful, but frightening thunderstorms. Love touched me slightly during that time; evaporating and falling elsewhere almost as quickly as the rains visited upon and withdrew from my abode. Another love, newly defined and free of most ego-driven attachment (I am a work in progress) showers over me; it is a nourishing, steady stream; pooling me into a reflection of balance and awareness. It is a generous, unconditional muse.

“In the Alaskan Fog”, is my “present”. It is only as complete as each passing moment. These poems are my reward for living in the “Now”. As I let my life “be”, my poems…“become”. Poetry written in the moment summons every one of the senses to attention; and I endeavor to faithfully record all that touches, flavors, perfumes, glances and reverberates in this world.

“Bearing Witness” is my humble offering. I pray that I have been a gracious steward of my muse

…you know who you are.

Selah,

Camille

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