I’ve been pouring over my proof copy of SALSA! The Taste of Life, my new book coming out soon to your local bookstores. It occurred to me that I am in a great place in my life right now ! Then this song popped in my head and so I had to share it with you, my amazing audience. So now I’ll get back to some more weeding out of last minute typos! HAPPY LABOR DAY 🙂
Live!
I find that people who put themselves in a box are blasé and quite boring…
They spend their drab lives asleep, loudly snoring, while life slips by them…
Then, one day, they wake up and are upset because they claim that those of us who enjoy our lives are being loud and rude; our busy and productive lives make so much noise, it awoke them! Well, I’ll tell ya- excuse me for stepping on your boring and mundane toes. If my too-much activity stirs you to anger, well then, perhaps it’s for your good. Wake up! Take a chance!
Smell the roses, and I don’t mean the one you’ve picked out to deck your early coffin. Live and let live! Yes, this means you! Praise Him who made you. Stop your whining and complaining. Be glad He chose to keep you alive!
-EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2012
HAVE A GREAT WEEK-END EVERYONE!!! 🙂
I ‘m back! I took some days off to rest after a family ordeal. All’s well that ends well I say 🙂 Where is my book?? That’s what I’d like to know 🙂 Seriously, the last stage seems the longest and the hardest of anything including the publishing of a book. So here is another preview of Salsa! the Taste of Life. This poem I edited out of the book and I hope you enjoy it. Smile and keep smiling because it makes your enemies nuts!
The Five W’s
Everyone has asked,
What are you?
What can you do for me?
Who are you?
Why are you that way?
Where did you come from?
When are you leaving?
Then you came along,
You didn’t assault me
With all manner of intrusive questions.
You said, “Eres mi hija. You are my daughter.”
That’s all I want from you,
Don’t matter who you are,
You’re one of mine now,
I love you…
Just the way you are.
I know where you came from,
A place of sorrow, torment and pain.
I know so
Because I too have been there before:
Familiar with peace of mind,
Also aware of what it is
To feel like you’re going insane.
I know who you are,
You’re one of mine now;
Doesn’t matter who, what, when, where why or how.
Thank you for taking me in,
For not bothering me with the five W’s,
For being what I need,
For giving me what I crave:
A feeling of belonging.
Though I’ve buried many things in a grave,
You are heaven sent,
To help me heal, find and restore.
I’ll never ask you
For anything more,
‘cause what you do
Is a perfect gift
From heaven above.
Te amo! Te quiero! Te adoro!
Thank you, siempre, for your unconditional love.
-EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2012
Salsa! The Taste of Life, my new book soon to be released is a volume of short stories and poems. For the past few posts I’ve shared some of the material I had to edit because it would have made too big of a book to market. This poem I wrote is about one of the closest friends I’ve ever had. Every once in a while, God will send someone into our lives with such a sweet spirit, that when they are no longer a part of our life, we feel their absence much like a piece of dried bread misses its butter 🙂 As you read this, let your friends know how much you appreciate them!
The Song of the Swallow
This morning I was down,
that is until I heard.
What did I hear?
The song, el canto de la golondrina.
What a breathtaking sound!
What sound?
Pues la cancion de la golondrina.
It lifted my spirit,
soothed my weary soul,
brought peace to my home.
What was that? I heard you ask-
Pues la dulce cancion de la golondrina.
My restless children heard it,
and peace returned to them at once.
They cheered as they heard the melodic sound.
Otra vez, caramba! What sound you ask?
Pues la bella melodia de la golondrina.
No se como explicarlo.
All I know is the song of that grace filled swallow
set to flight, ten thousand of hell’s demons,
and once again peace was restored to my heart.
-EVA SANTIAGO Copyright 2012
I have GREAT news! Salsa! The Taste of Life, my second book I keep ranting about has now moved to the layout design part of the process!!! The contractions are coming closer now and this “baby” is going live soon! 🙂 I heard word from my editor yesterday and she said the editing part is complete. That was music to my ears.
Picking a title for your book is a lot like picking a name for your child.You want just the right name to represent your child and his/her character for their whole life. Same thing with a book; you want the title to not only represent your work well and also jump off the book shelf and grab your audience’s attention! During the writing of Salsa!, I played around with several ideas before deciding on Salsa! The Taste of Life.
I found this article today and I thought you would enjoy knowing that other writers have to go through a title picking “struggle” as well.
What 10 Classic Books Were Almost Called
Remember when your high school summer reading list included Atticus, Fiesta, and The Last Man in Europe? You will once you see what these books were renamed before they hit bookshelves.
Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/70037#ixzz22JkdZgrT
–brought to you by mental_floss!
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald went through quite a few titles for his most well-known book before deciding on The Great Gatsby. If he hadn’t arrived at that title, high school kids would be pondering the themes of Trimalchio in West Egg; Among Ash-Heaps and Millionaires; On the Road to West Egg; Under the Red, White, and Blue; Gold-Hatted Gatsby; and The High-Bouncing Lover.
2. George Orwell’s publisher didn’t feel the title to Orwell’s novel The Last Man in Europe was terribly commercial and recommended using the other title he had been kicking around—1984.
3. Before it was Atlas Shrugged, it was The Strike, which is how Ayn Rand referred to her magnum opus for quite some time. In 1956, a year before the book was released, she decided the title gave away too much plot detail. Her husband suggested Atlas Shrugged and it stuck.
4. The title of Bram Stoker’s famous Gothic novel sounded more like a spoof before he landed on Dracula—one of the names Stoker considered was The Dead Un-Dead.
5. Ernest Hemingway’s original title for The Sun Also Rises was used for foreign-language editions—Fiesta. He changed the American English version to The Sun Also Rises at the behest of his publisher.
6. It’s because of Frank Sinatra that we use the phrase “Catch-22” today. Well, sort of. Author Joseph Heller tried out Catch-11, but because the original Ocean’s Eleven movie was newly in theaters, it was scrapped to avoid confusion. He also wanted Catch-18, but, again, a recent publication made him switch titles to avoid confusion: Leon Uris’ Mila 18. The number 22 was finally chosen because it was 11 doubled.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird was simply Atticus before Harper Lee decided the title focused too narrowly on one character.
8. An apt precursor to the Pride and Prejudice title Jane Austen finally decided on: First Impressions.
9. Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Secretly, apparently. Mistress Mary, taken from the classic nursery rhyme, was the working title for Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.
10. Originally called Ulysses in Dublin, James Joyce’s Dubliners featured characters that would later
Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/70037#ixzz22JkUB3Cm
–brought to you by mental_floss!
How is your Sunday so far? Mine is consisting of a little house work, a bit of Olympic games viewing and now giving you yet another preview of my new book coming out SOON!. When I was writing Salsa! The Taste of Life, I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough material. Now, after editing it turns out I had a surplus! I’m so glad too because I get to use this edited material to promote Salsa! before it goes live.
My editor suggested that I save this material I had to cut out for another book. I thought of it and then I realized I don’t have to. Do you know why? because this writer knows that her creative fountain will never run dry. You see, the creative process is a marvelous thing. I write when I have something to say. There are times when I only journal my personal thoughts. So I keep writing. Then after seeping in my own creative juices after a little while, VOILA! The flow starts back up. That’s why I can share my edited work with the world on my blog right now; because I know there’s more coming!
Children No More
always being taught
to ignore the Golden Rule,
What they learn is for naught.
The children in school all day,
told what to do every hour,
even told how they can play;
their disposition is quite sour.
The children in school all week;
they never learn about God.
Taught to be selfish instead of meek,
at home the parents spare the rod.
The children in school all year;
taught to be good for nothing,
filling them up with knowledge, facts, and fear,
out after twelve years, knowing nothing at all.
From the crib to the daycare,
from the daycare to the classroom,
all they learn is to defy God and swear.
The children are in school…
Today, to be a child is quite rare.
-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012
DISCLAIMER! This poem is in no way meant to offend any teacher who works in the public school system. I have many friends who teach in public schools and I respect them all for the tremendous job they do in a failed system.
Well today was a great day! I found out from my editor, Amber Losson that I will be able to put more pictures in my new book due out soon; SALSA! THE TASTE OF LIFE. You see, I also like to paint and I was going to include some of my art work already. I can have more of my art work married to my poems and stories in the new book I am so excited about. I can’t stop ranting about it. And I can’t wait to share it with the world! Enjoy today’s post, it’s also another one of my edited poems from my book. I Love it when a plan comes together; and what I love more, is when a dream becomes reality!
Heart Song
So we meet again,
and I see that love,
True love, the deep achy kind
is never for naught.
To love another human being
is truly divine
Whether the beloved
Accepts it or not…
Or if it’s something you fought.
Ignoring it
does not degrade or demean;
Love is pure gold.
It never loses its value.
Instead, the more you love,
its market value soars.
So if I tell you, “Te quiero,”
and you run off
scared and bewildered,
is that my fault?
I used to think so,
and now I’m convinced otherwise.
I gave you some gold from my vault
and gave it freely.
With no strings attached?
Sure. No frills, really!
You couldn’t handle my freedom
And do you know why?
Because what I’ve always given
Is something you’ve never, ever had.
Love must be chosen;
It can never be forced,
for once it’s coerced,
it ceases being love.
Love is a dove
Perched high up above.
Once you hunt it,
trap it, and cage it,
you kill its sweet song
So here I am again,
Offering you what I did
all those many years ago,
and you still do as before.
Stand still as if paralyzed
by the warmth of my fuego,
No seas tonto niño
Esto no es un juego…
Games are for children!
So I’ve decided to be still,
give you all the space,
hide my radiant face
from you…
‘til you wake up
and come to your senses
and answer the call.
Otherwise if I manipulate
guilt and coerce,
what I’ve always felt
will lose purity and intensity
and then I’ll be left
with something far lesser,
cheap and of no value;
Fool’s gold.
All that glitters is not gold.
My love for you
doesn’t just glitter;
it sparkles and shines.
It lights up my days
and gives me warmth
on the cold, coldest of nights.
If this wasn’t real,
it would have
by now vanished…
But to prove it to you
as if I need to at all,
the love in my heart
that only keeps growing
one day at a time
will always keep glowing…
whether you like it or not!
Love endures, love never ends.
If this was selfish,
I would have done all I could
in my feeble power and strength
to cause the bending of our wills.
But true love is beyond all
that useless struggle and striving.
For you see:
To truly love someone
is to be more concerned
with the state of their soul,
instead of being impressed
by their fancy outward
display of their flesh.
When love is true,
all self-centered motives go out the door.
And you see the object of your affection
just as you see yourself;
Cold, needy, and poor.
Take all your time…
Ha! Been feeling like this
for so very long
that it’s now turned
from letters on a page
to my heart’s song.
Don’t misunderstand;
this friendship of ours,
it’s quite grand.
I will never let you go.
I am not looking for answers,
not even your look of approval,
much less your acceptance.
Those, I already have.
Just wanted you to know,
I’m no longer touch and go.
Will you allow me to write
on the pages of your heart
things never written before?
Or will you hold me at arm’s length?
Rejection has taught me
A valuable lesson:
Things aren’t always what they seem.
It’s never about me,
in the language of love…
It’s usually about others.
That’s how I’ve learned
of contentment
with very, very little.
The seeds we have sown,
Where have they all gone?
Fiddle dee-dee sang the fiddle…
Now after many long winters,
watch ‘em sprouting.
We were never doubting,
always knowing
we would see the light of day!
-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012
I like cats a lot. Dogs are cool but cats DO rule! When I was a child in and living in Colombia, I have more memories of playing with cats than with dogs. Then I came to the US to live with my uncle he hated cats so all we had were dogs. When I met my husband he was a cat lover and I rediscovered my love of felines. As I look back, I see that I have written several poems about cats and hardly any about dogs. Hmmmm what does that tell you? 🙂
Today I share with you a poem that you won’t be reading in my new book do out SOON, Salsa! The Taste of Life. I wrote this during a writing session I had with Writing Royalty, my writing group. I hope this makes you smile as you face your Monday!
Madame Fifi
I am Madame Fifi;
I stand four feet three.
I live in gay Paris.
I have three cats,
Fiddle, Faddle, and Didi.
We live in a loft,
where the clouds hang low and soft.
I go to the opera house,
once or twice per week,
with Frederic Chopin, my pet mouse.
Oh, he’s such a fine gentleman;
I curtsy, and he takes a bow,
and opens the door as we leave our house.
I wear my mink stole,
in all kinds of weather.
I have several hats also,
one with a beautiful peacock feather.
I’m so in love,
with wonderful, clever me.
My name fits like a glove.
I love others as well,
but none love me better
than my cats and pet mouse,
and the old lady that sits at the well.
She is my sister;
we are great friends.
We laugh and get mad;
we tell each other to go to hell.
And through it all,
I know I am loved,
or my name would not be Fifi.
-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012
Salsa! The Taste of Life, my new book is soon to be released and here is another one of my edited poems. Life is a dance! Some of us move and flow with the music. Others have a hard time following or even keeping up at all. Enjoy your day with your loved ones as you read this poem ask yourself, when was the last time I really let my hair down and danced? If you haven’t, and it’s been a while, just go for it. if you are like me who is still dancing after everything life has thrown at me, then grab someone’s hand who hasn’t danced in a while and dance!
Dancin’ Shoes
Teach me Your dance,
show me Your steps.
Put Your rhythms in my feet,
make me follow Your beat,
make me follow Your lead.
I want to dance to the sounds,
of Your holy music.
You initiated this pas de deux long ago;
as You formed me in seclusion.
I’m just now awakening,
to the joyous serenade.
All my life I waited and waited,
for the dance to commence.
It began on the day that You took my hand,
and invited me to dance;
now I know I will tango, mambo,
salsa,
my way into eternity.
I will not be a mere guest,
because I am already a member in this heavenly ball!
-Eva Santiago copyright 2012
Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are enjoying my latest posts; edited parts of my new book, Salsa! The Taste of Life. These never made it into my book because it would have been too big a volume and as I learned, the bigger the book, the harder it is to market. So I had to weed out some things and this was one I hope you enjoy as much as I did, when I penned it. Hug a loved one today and let them know how special they are to you 🙂
Cat Walk
Palm trees are fashion models who stand tall,
poised, and wide awake.
Ready to wave their bandanas in the air
as they greet the dawn.
All throughout the day,
holding their perfect posture,
models on a cat walk,
awaiting their cue to take the run way.
As they strut their stuff—
Wave your hands up in the air!
They seem to beckon.
Kick up your feet and enjoy your day!
Toward dusk they are still
as the breezes die down
and the day is wrapping up.
Having done their job well,
they come out and take a bow.
As the lights go out…the show is over.
They exit the runway,
their arms still a-swaying.
They’ll be back tomorrow at first light
for an encore presentation.
-Eva Santiago copyright 2012
Eva Santiago 