Armchair travelers, people who like to read biographies, the curious, the interested . . . A Sense of Place by Michael Shapiro is for you. Michael explores travel writers’ views about the craft of writing, the world, and home, wherever that may be. Michael travels the globe, engaging in intimate conversations with these authors in their homes. Isabel Allende in San Rafael, California Bill Bryson in Hanover, New Hampshire Tim Cahill in Livingston, Montana Arthur Frommer in New York City Jeff Greenwald in Oakland, California Pico Iyer in Santa Barbara, California Peter Matthiessen in Sagaponack, New York Frances Mayes in Cortona, Italy Tom Miller in Tucson, Arizona Jan Morris in Llanystumdwy, Wales Eric Newby in Guildford, England Brad Newsham in Oakland, California Redmond O’Hanlon in Oxford, England Jonathan Raban in Seattle, Washington Rick Steves in Edmonds, Washington Paul Theroux in Oahu, Hawaii Sara Wheeler in London, England Simon Winchester in Great…
Month: November 2019
The Creative Spark
Isn’t this a beautiful cover? The Creative Spark: How musicians, writers, explorers, and other artists found their inner fire and followed their dreams by Michael Shapiro. People are talking about The Creative Spark Michael has interviewed some of the world’s most creative minds, bringing sparks of joy, enlightenment, and entertainment into our lives. It makes sense for the next endeavor for Michael to publish these extraordinary interviews in a book. After reading the Lucinda Williams chapter, Solas House publisher James O’Reilly “went straight to listen to her album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. I must have been living under a rock to not know her. I love her voice and music and intensity. This book is all about meeting people you’ll love who you never knew, or who you thought you knew but didn’t.” “I’ve been asking myself, why did I let music drift out of my life?…
Creativity as magic
Michael Shapiro’s latest book is a winner. Below is an excerpt from the introduction of The Creative Spark: How musicians, writers, explorers, and other artists found their inner fire and followed their dreams. It reminds me of an important message for every one: We are all unique and have our stories to tell. No one else can tell your story. Only you can. From The Creative Spark by Michael Shapiro Something magical happened as I completed this book. One evening just before sunset I was in our backyard watering the planter boxes. On a stem of parsley I noticed a startling pattern of color, concentric rings of orange and black dots. Looking closer I saw the segments of a swallowtail caterpillar and could identify its tiny feet. For the next few days the caterpillar chomped on the parsley plant, absorbing energy for the next stage of its life. I placed a stick…
Yesterday. Prompt #456
Sometimes writing prompts are complex: Physical location and action to describe emotional state – Prompt #12 And: Location, or place as a character – Prompt #8 And: Imagine you are invited. . . Prompt #64 Sometimes writing prompts are simple, like today’s writing prompt: Yesterday . . . Don’t over think. Just write! Prompt: Yesterday . . .