Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Happy Pentecost!

What an amazing weekend! We had the great pleasure of listening to the Charleston Symphony perform some of the most beautiful pieces of music--Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei (swoon), Schubert's Mass in G (my heart soared at the Sanctus), and more. I bought tickets at the last minute because we weren't sure whether we'd be going to the priestly ordinations at the St. John the Baptist Cathedral that very night, but with six priests being ordained, I knew there'd hardly be any room. So we went to the concert instead and given that all of it is a prayer, I felt good about offering it for the new priests. Dagny made an interesting observation--that one can sing these beautiful Mass settings for a concert, yet in many places, the Latin Mass is being suppressed. How can that which has always been holy be restricted is beyond my understanding. But that's a discussion for another day. Many in our Charleston Sound Chorus were able to come to listen to our own Danielle Simonian sing. She's amazing. Listen to her hold a looooong note at the very end in her quartet Encore: How Many Hearts Have You Broken (near)


Saturday we sang at Fr. Justin Damask's first Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It was the old Pentecost Vigil, lesser only than the great Easter Vigil, and so very beautiful. Fr. Wilson gave a rousing homily, reminding that in the early church, vigils would go long into the night as the faithful listened to the Word, prayed, and were exhorted to live a good Christian life, and so we participate in that tradition of the Apostles and Mary. Yes, she was there! He spoke about pride, how language becomes a tool to control and the great reversal of Babel at Pentecost. From the beginning, the church is Catholic. It doesn't erase differences, but brings order to chaos. We see the New Covenant reflected in the Old, the Holy Fire, that doesn't annihilate, but transforms. And when we are open, the graces that rain down to us from above overflow. So many blessings! 




Finally, I share a bit of my own artwork. On First Fridays, our local library hosts Crafternoon, so I go there to play for a couple of hours, then off to First Friday Mass (devotion to the Sacred Heart). Given the plethora of AI-generated art that's trained on the work of humans who are not compensated, I wanted to share my first efforts at painting animals. I made the collage for Put a Ring on It quartet that sing the cutest song: A Dress with Pockets (my mother sewed pockets in all of our dresses). The stained glass is a gift from Dagny. Fitting for Pentecost! Come Holy Spirit! May this be a summer of great growth in all the gifts that God has bestowed upon us.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Piccolo Spoleto Debut

Saturday afternoon was amazing! 
We sang well and best of all, we stayed in tune. The chords were definitely ringing. And that space--Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul--was so lovely to sing in. It was so much fun to sing in our hometown to a very responsive audience. This is why I love performing. Thank you to all who came to support us. I loved every moment. While the quartets tested the space before our warmup, I took some pictures. 




And thanks to Laurie Yoh, pictured above, we have videos and the poster below. Seriously, I am so awed by all the talent in our chorus. It's fabulous to sing alongside them.

Our opening number tells you everything about our chorus: As Long As I'm Singing

Take a Chance I couldn't help but think of how much this also applies to the writing life, especially when we're querying and submitting. But I know that no writing is every wasted. Just ask my mewses :) 

We ended with One Moment in Time. I love this song because of all the hopes and dreams and desires I still have. May they be aligned with what our Lord dreams for me. 
 
We're having a guest night on Monday, June 9th. Local ladies, come sing with us!

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

How the Novel Grows--Short Story and Music Edition

My very first writing teacher said that I was a novelist hiding behind the short story. She's right--I'm a reluctant novelist. I'm always looking to compress everything into a short story, finding the essence, that kernel that expresses everything. I like poetry for the same reason. 

Anyway, this whole novel-writing is spawning other ideas (and I'm not even in the middle of the book, which is where the ideas come fast and furious). My brain cannot just sit with the slow unfolding of events but wants to make a short story, a science-fiction one at that. So I turned to Jeff Tanyard's wonderful short story, Mr. Wilson, and I loved re-reading it. But this time I read like a student, paying attention to how he moves back and forth in time, how he handles emotions. But I discovered it has a reference to Sittin' on Top of the World, which we sang at our barbershop competition. Here's a clip of that song and a poster that a very talented lady in our chorus made using pictures from the contest: https://www.facebook.com/reel/730296856233855

My goodness, we are all so excited to be singing at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival this coming Saturday. We have so much fun together singing and to perform in our hometown is something special. Local friends, come join us. So yeah, busy reading, writing, and singing!

Friday, May 23, 2025

How the Novel Grows--the Plot Edition

I've been singing more than writing--practicing for our newly ordained deacon's first Solemn High Mass as well as our barbershop concert at Piccolo Spoleto festival (local friends, please come!), but even so I've begun working on a new novel, a sequel/standalone to BOUND. As I got familiar with the characters again, nearly 20 years after the events that occur in Bound, I realized I needed a proper structure to tell the story. So when a writing friend from over a decade ago (we met at a Highlights workshop) came for a visit we had a chance to talk shop and the discussion turned to plotting. I promised her that I would send her my favorite resource: in nine boxes. I learned this first on Verla Kay's Blueboards (that were bought out by SCBWI, but now sadly shut down, and who knows whether they'll bother to offer that safe and friendly gathering place again online--I was a longtime moderator on the boards and miss it for its congeniality and generosity of the members). I love how organically I can think about my story and the scaffolding it needs so that all the elements fit together. This doesn't address the subplots, but typically, as my characters develop, so do the subplots. Each character will have his or her own journey through the novel.

I'm also fond of the Hero's Journey. But not being content, I took a deep dive online to see what else was there. And holy smokes I came across a compilation: 16 Narrative Structures to Plot a Book With. I love how different people think about story structures and how they might fit. 

Here's a picture of some of them all on a page. Enjoy! And let me know what's your favorite plotting method, or if you write by the seat of your pants. I did try Writing into the Dark (and in essence, that's what I've been doing these past few weeks exploring my characters), but I find that at some point I need structure to guide my writing, otherwise I end up meandering all over the place. My mewses help! 


NB: Has anyone noticed the palindromic nature of the dates beginning 5/20/25? Fun.

Monday, May 12, 2025

How the Garden Grows

 

May is the month of Mary and how lovely it is to offer a flower or two to her. We had a lovely procession after Mass inside the church because it's been raining so much and I do so love all the Marian hymns, invoking her prayers and protection over us. I really enjoyed this recording of children's voices singing our parish hymn: Hail Queen of Heaven... 

Pomegranate
Purslane


New this year are the microgreens--amaranth, arugula, broccoli, radish, etc. They are delicious, bursting with flavors. A great addition to any meal. Outside, we have basil and tomatoes, sweet potatoes and collards. I hope that fig tree survives. Michael has fixed the deer fence so we hope the deer won't be jumping it to eat all our goodies. The raccoons are digging up our ginger and turmeric. They don't eat it but they're so nosy about what we've planted.





 Madonna and Child by Enric Monserday Vidal

Hail, Queen of heaven, the ocean star,

Guide of the wanderer here below,
Thrown on life’s surge, we claim thy care,
Save us from peril and from woe.
Mother of Christ, Star of the sea
Pray for the wanderer, pray for me.

O gentle, chaste, and spotless Maid,
We sinners make our prayers through thee;
Remind thy Son that He has paid
The price of our iniquity.
Virgin most pure, Star of the sea,
Pray for the sinner, pray for me.

Sojourners in this vale of tears,
Blest advocate, to thee we cry,
Assuage our sorrows, calm our fears,
And soothe with hope our misery.
Refuge in grief, Star of the sea
Pray for the mourner, pray for me.

And while to Him Who reigns above
In Godhead one, in Persons three,
The Source of life, of grace, of love,
Homage we pay on bended knee:
Do thou, bright Queen, Star of the sea,
Pray for thy children, pray for me.

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Habemus Papam!!! Happy Mother's Day!!!


We have a new Holy Father--Pope Leo XIV. May he be a true shepherd of the flock, a shepherd after the heart of the Good Shepherd. May the Holy Spirit guide him all the days of his life. 

He's the first pope from the US. I confess I didn't know anything about him until now, but I am certain I will learn more over the years. I really like this picture of him meeting Pope St. John Paul II, considering that May 18th, the day of Pope Leo XIV's installation is the birthday of JPII. 

How fortuitous that on this Mother's Day, it is also the third Sunday after Easter, with my thoughts upon the Holy Father and fatherhood, that traditionally, it is a feast honoring St. Joseph as protector of the Church. I tell you, the riches in The Liturgical Year are inexhaustible.


Wishing all mothers a very happy Mother's Day. I still miss my mom, but not as much now that I have Mary in my life. She's the BEST Mother and I'm so grateful she has made herself known to me, mothered me. Her Magnificat is one of the most beautiful prayers. This is my favorite arrangement, by Palestrina, sung by Voces8. 

Thursday, May 8, 2025

My Conversation with Kiki Latimer

Dagny's birthday was quite eventful--morning brought a delightful conversation with Kiki Latimer. You can listen on WCAT Radio or WCAT TV. How I wish I'd known about her wonderful resources on her website when I was writing Bound. But I only heard about her podcast, the Catholic Bookworm, because of the online Catholic Writing Conference I attended in January. What a joy to discover more about her--she tells lovely stories and I'm looking forward to reading her memoir: Seeing God's Face: A Catholic American Woman in India

Afternoon was for Adoration. I had so much to thank our Blessed Lord Jesus and pray for--my writing, my music, my family, our priests and choirs, and most of all for the conclave that is at this moment deliberating and casting their votes for the next Pope. God already knows, and we pray that the cardinals are listening to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. We pray our next pope will be a man after God's own heart, a good shepherd.

Evening brought choir practice. So many of our choristers are sick or taking care of others who are sick. We pray they will recover. But we had such a good time--with Palestrina and Josquin mostly. This music makes my heart sing. We went to Home Team BBQ afterwards to celebrate Dagny's birthday. Max is toasting her from NYC. My heart is full. (The two outdoor pictures were taken at Momo's at Waterfront Park over the weekend--you should know that we celebrate birthdays all month long :) 


Sunday, April 27, 2025

Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy

What a wonderful Easter! I only just learned about the Via Lucis--the Way of Light--and it is so wonderful meditating on the Resurrection and all that He promises. From Mary Magdalene mistaking the Risen Christ for the gardener to recognizing Him (Noli me tangere by Fra Bartolomeo) to telling the disciples, "I have seen the Lord!" Peter and John running to the empty tomb (Disciples Running by Eugene Burnard) and discovering the folded napkin (it means He's coming back) to the Apostles receiving the power to forgive sins and Thomas believing because he can see and touch our Lord (Incredulity of Thomas by Caravaggio). I am so grateful for Confession, where our Lord's Divine Mercy is poured out on us, making us as new as the day of our baptism. 

Some pictures from our Easter Octave: a visit with my friend from CA, practice with my quartet, Adoration, singing at a wedding, enjoying a meal out, meeting the kids at a brewery (very important for Michael's research), and with my barbershop sisters, dancing on the pier! Every day I am grateful to God for bringing us to beautiful Charleston, where we've grown so much in our faith, thanks to our good and holy priests and our friends.