Normally, when we have a guest at the bar, I admit defeat (having planned the post ahead of time) and try to include the SoCS prompt in the introduction. Normally, bonus points aren’t on the line. This puts me in an awkward situation, for two reasons: One, I can’t undo what I’ve done. Two, I don’t want to give up on those bonus points. SoCS bonus points are the carnival midway gift a person wants to win. The kind that keeps you buying three more shots with the rifle with a bent sight, three more balls to throw at the weighted milk bottles. You want to walk around with the big stuffed animal that says, “I Won!”
And it appears I did.
Linda G. Hill hosts Stream of Consciousness Saturday each week. This week, she gave us the following:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘one/won.’ Use one, use them both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, you would have arrived early, knowing we had a guest coming.
“Dan, I see an auto-rickshaw pulling up to the door. I think Smitha has arrived.”
“Thanks Cheryl. Let’s get this party started.”
“I’ll have…”
“Um, David, I think we should wait for Smitha.”
“OK, Cheryl.”
“Hi Smitha. I’m glad you could join us today.”
“Hi Dan. It’s great to be here.”
“Hi Smitha. Before one of the regulars goes crazy, can I get you something to drink?”
“Hi Cheryl. Yes, a glass of Pinot Noir. Thank you.”
“Hi Smitha. I’m David, a.k.a. the regular who was about to go crazy. I’ve been reading some of your blog posts, and I’ve been wondering about the name. Could you explain where that comes from?”
“I’m glad you asked this question, David. I started my blog in twenty-sixteen under the name ‘Life a teacher’. I chose the name then because I wanted to share my experiences with the world – things that life had taught me. But it didn’t take me too long to realize that the name was not only boring, but it had a didactic ring to it. So, I changed it to ‘Penning’s…One Woman’s Journey’ – I was happy with the name for a while but it still didn’t feel right. However, I worried that changing the name again may not be good for the blog. So, I stuck with it.”
“But that’s not the name today.”
“No. In 2020, I chanced upon Hugh’s post on keeping the ‘About’ page updated and not being afraid to change the look and feel of the blog to represent your current self. I had all the time in the world due to the lockdown. I started looking for words that represented my writing. That’s how Eúnoia happened. Eúnoia, is a Greek word that means beautiful thinking, a well and pure mind. As per the Cambridge dictionary, it means the goodwill the speaker creates with the audience. It sounded and felt perfect to me then and thankfully, it still does.”
“Hugh? I assume you’re referring to Hugh’s Views and News. I updated my About page after reading one of his posts. He’s a great blogging resource and a wonderful writer. Anyway, Eúnoia is catchy name.”
“Yes, Dan, That’s Hugh. An interesting fact about the word, ‘Eúnoia’, is that it’s the only word in the dictionary which has all five vowels in it. So, it is unique just like each one of us.”
“Speaking of your About Page, I love your explanation about your blog being written in layman’s English. Your blog is very well written. There’s a certain freedom—an honesty about your writing on the blog. Do you write posts with a purpose in mind, or do you just go with your thoughts?”
“Thanks, Dan, for your appreciation of my blog. As you know I started my blog when I was still working. All I was speaking at the time was corporate English. Although I read extensively until college, I had stopped reading fiction once I began working. I was totally immersed in work and raising a family. I had no idea about blogging, or the skills required to write. I did not want anyone visiting the blog returning dissatisfied with the content. And that is why I came clean in the About page. I told people what they could expect from the blog. Declaring that the posts would be written in ‘layman’s English’ allowed me the freedom to write what I wanted to in the manner I liked without the fear of being judged. I’m happy to know that you feel the freedom and honesty in my writing. It means I am achieving my purpose.”
“Smitha, I know Dan is eager to talk about your book, I am, too, but as I’ve been reading your blog, I noticed that you’ve traveled a lot, and you have lived in many places for extended periods. Is there any place you prefer? Is there any place you’d like to go back to and visit as a tourist but not reside?”
“Yes, David, I have traveled a lot. I enjoy exploring places and seeing new cultures and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do this. I’d love to visit Italy again. I’ve written all about our visit in the blog and I’ve said many times that I’d love to go back. I even threw a coin in the Trevi fountain when it was under construction and the fountain wasn’t even working. The coins fell with a clang, and I made a wish. It is said if you make a wish at the Trevi fountain to return, your wish will be granted. I hope saying that wish out aloud does not jinx it.”
“I think David’s wish is nullified, since he asked the question.”
“Cheryl. My wish is for another glass of John Howell’s Bourbon. You’re not going to deny that, are you?”
“No, David. Smitha, I hope you are able to visit again.”
“Thanks Cheryl. This time if I do get to visit, I even have a friend there thanks to blogging. A friend who shares beautiful doors every week on the Thursday Doors challenge hosted by Dan.”
“You must mean, Manja. I think she’s responsible for my meeting you. I love how blogging helps us to meet people from all around the world.”
“I agree, Dan. That’s a wonderful benefit of blogging.”
“If I have the timing correct, you and I might have something in common. You began blogging while still employed but am I correct that you began writing your book after retiring from banking. Can you tell us about that transition? Was writing a novel a goal when you retired? I know you were writing poetry and sharing things on your blog before that. I’m just wondering if it was a goal or if it grew out of your finally having the time?”
“Dan, I think that was three questions.”
“I know, David, but I get tangled in my thoughts sometimes.”
“You’re being kind to yourself. I’m sorry, Smitha, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Dan is correct. I began writing my book after leaving the bank in twenty-eighteen and moving out of the country. It may sound strange when I say I didn’t have a goal when I left. My dad was in India, and I was happy that I could be with him. That was the only goal I had. Since Mumbai was new to me, I also thought it would help my blogging by providing me with new experiences. I told a friend sometime at the end of twenty-eighteen that I had a story I wanted to write but I had no idea how to write it. She said she was certain that I would find a way to write it and that she had complete faith in my ability. That gave me confidence- especially since she writes exceptionally well for a living.”
“Is that when you started writing your book?”
“No, I did not begin writing the story until twenty-twenty, after dad passed away. In two months, I lost three members of my family. I think writing the novel, and painting helped me escape from the real world. They were tools I adopted to survive the loss and get past the grief.”
“Smitha, before these two go off on a tangent, can you tell us a little about your novel, Coming Home?”
“Ha ha, yes, Cheryl. Coming Home is the journey of Shanaya, a twenty-six-year-old girl who loses her mother and finds her world turned upside down after the loss. It explores the change in family dynamics on the death of a loved one and how loss often makes people question everything they know about themselves, people they love and life itself.
“With so many deaths in my family and so many people facing the loss of a loved one during the pandemic, this was a story I had to tell. In writing the story I was answering questions that I had about death and healing, and I hoped those answers would reach those who needed to hear it- that it takes time to heal and there’s no one way to do it.”
“Smitha, I’ve begun reading your book. I apologize for not having finished it, but I do have a question. You open the book with a poem. The opening stanza is remarkable:
I dare to make mistakes
I dare to ask for help
I dare to change
Is that Smitha?”
“Yes, Dan, it is. This poem defines me and my approach to life. I wrote it sometime in twenty eighteen. It’s published in the poetry book I co-authored with a fellow blogger, Vandana Bhasin. When you read ‘Coming Home’ you’ll see why it made sense to include it in the book.”
“Smitha, you recently shared a post about your concern about not finding the words or ideas for a second novel. It’s fair to say that the consensus among the people who commented was that you were pretty busy at the time (busier than I’ve ever been) and that the words would come. Now that you’re home, do you feel differently about the prospects going forward?
“David, I enjoyed every bit of my trip to Norway and then Calcutta soon after, but I guess it got a little much for the writer in me. It takes time for the mind and body to stabilize after a roller-coaster ride—the writer in me is still unwinding from the trip. I’m grateful to those who commented on that post and told me, ‘It’s okay not to write and to live life.’ I love the blogging community. They’ve helped me through some rough patches that I’ve had over the last few years by simply listening, understanding, and sharing their wisdom.”
“So you will be writing again?”
“I do have ideas that I want to write about but they’re like one big, knotted ball of wool. It’ll take time for me to unravel it. I hope I’ll be able to.”
“Smitha, we like to let our guest choose when it comes time to have some food. Is there something special you would like?”
“In my book, I’ve described a roasted masala papad. That’s what they offer in Mumbai with drinks. That and roasted corn. Do you think your chef could make that?” “I found a recipe online, I think we have all these ingreients, and he’s always eager to try something new. One roasted masala papad, coming up.”
“Thanks Cheryl, and thank you guys for having me here today. I enjoyed remembering how all of this began.”
If you want to make the roasted masala papad, click here.
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
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