Sage Woman Chronicles

The Writer’s Job: Get the Reader to Think, Feel, and See the World in a New Way

Ken Weene loves words. At times he is so captivated by them that they cannot hold the flow back and they tumble out as novels, short stories, poems, essays, and stage plays. Although Ken desperately tries to hold back those word floods and endlessly edit them, they find their ways into print and electronic form, which can be found by looking for Ken’s name anywhere on the internet. He is, after all, the only Kenneth Weene in captivity so he cannot hide from your searches, not on Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, Truth Social, or LinkedIn.
When you do that search, you will learn that Ken grew up as a broody New Englander, has a PhD in Psychology, worked for years as a therapist and teacher in New York, and moved/retired to Arizona in 2003 when he decided to focus on his writing. Married for 58 years to the late artist Rosalyn Weene, much of Ken’s work is dedicated and about the love of his life and their love for life.

Website , Facebook, (X), LinkedIn, Bluesky, TruthSocial, YouTube, Amazon

Books and Plays

Coursing, The Boat and Ashes(With Umar O. Abdul)Memoirs From The Asylum, Jumping Over the Ram (With Deng Atem) Times To Try the Soul of Man

Mario Puzo, The Godfather, book and screenplay

Sleeping Dogs (2024) Russell Crowe

Guy Morris, Story-Power guest, Episode 140 aired on November 19, 2025, Books: Swarm,The Image, The Last Ark

Red Bird, Diandra Ford, Story-Power Episode 132 aired on July 30, 2025

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Travels With Charlie

John Dos Passos, Upton Sinclair, authors

Canio’s Books, Shelter Island, NY

One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey

The Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Gadsden Hotel, Douglas, Arizona

Dave Dahl, Story-Power guest, Episodes 1 aired on July 22, 2020, and 21 aired on July 21, 2021

Story-Power on Patreon

I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.

Prolific Writers Life

My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.

They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.

PodMatch for Podcasters Affiliate Link below.

If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.

Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters: Legally Blonde

“Be curious, not judgmental.” ~ Walt Whitman

Legally Blonde (2001) is a seemingly fluffy movie about Elle Woods a Fashion Marketing major, who expects her longtime boyfriend, Warner, to ask her to marry him just as they are about to graduate. She’s the president of her sorority and extremely popular with her friends. They are all supporting for her.

But when they get to the restaurant, it becomes clear he has other plans. He explains that he’s been thinking about his future. He’s going to enter Harvard Law School in the fall and just as she is expecting a proposal, Warner tells her he’s breaking up with her. They’ve had fun but he needs someone serious who can help him with his law practice and then his political career. Elle begins to cry loud enough for the other patrons to hear.

Elle says, “You’re breaking up with me because I’m too … blonde?”

Warner, “Well, no. That’s not entirely true …”

Elle, “Then what? My boobs are too big?”

By now almost everyone in the restaurant has heard the argument. Elle gets up and leaves offended that he doesn’t think she’s smart enough. For awhile, she’s heart broken, but when her friends take her for a spa day to cheer her up, she sees a photo of Warner’s older brother in a fashion magazine with his decidedly unattractive fiancée and she is inspired to follow Warner to Harvard and enter Law School herself so she can win Warner back.

She studies hard for the LSATs and when she gets her results back, she’s earned a 179 out of 180 which is the top score. She sends off her video essay, transcripts, and LSAT score. Since the admission committee is made up of men, and Elle is wearing revealing clothing in her video essay, they agree to admit her. In a way they can’t refuse because of her extremely high test score.

The problem when she gets to Harvard is that she’s a fish out of water. She looks like a California model instead of a serious law student. Because of this everyone assumes she’s an airhead. On top of that, it turns out that Warner has become engaged to a fellow law student, Vivian. And Vivian displays her jealousy by being rude whenever she can. Elle is excluded from all of the study groups. But she doesn’t let that stop her. By the end she has proven herself to be quite intelligent shattering all the stereotypes everyone thought about her.

Maybe it’s human nature to try to categorize people, but this movie shows that appearances can be deceiving. By the end of the movie, Elle is graduating at the head of her class. Poor Warner is at the bottom and has lost Vivian to boot.

If you’ve never seen Legally Blonde, I recommend you check it out. It’s fun and has some great lessons to share. Elle is accepting of everyone, which eventually wins her friends. This movie could be considered to be a precursor to Barbie (2023).

Here is my discussion about the movie with my sister, Celeste. Come join us on YouTube and our Facebook Group. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

The Healing Power of Music and The Arts

Tamara is a Creator & Connector with an undeniable gift for inviting others into Community. She focuses on fostering hope, community, and belonging through art and teaching, inspiring a joy that transforms hearts and mindsets.

Tamara is a creative entrepreneur passionate about kids, families, and communities. Through her work as the founder of Love In A Big World, her impact is evident across the US and beyond. With a Master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University, she has devoted over thirty years of service as an educator and program developer. As a seasoned leader of both nonprofit and for-profit businesses, she models community support and engagement. With an unwavering commitment to making a positive difference in the world, she has persevered through life’s ups and downs. Through her writings, songs, and paintings, she shares her story of finding her voice. Her healing journey inspires others to seek wholeness.

Tamara lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is the proud mother of three adopted adult children.

Tamara Fyke’s Website

Love in a Big World.com

Tommy E. Black, musical collaborator

BMI, Broadcast Music Inc.

ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

SESAC, Society of European Stage Authors and Composers

PodMatch for Podcasters Affiliate link below.

This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Tamara Fyke, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.

Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here.

Story-Power on Patreon

Prolific Writers Life

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

Classic Cinema: Roman Holiday

In Roman Holiday, (1953) Princess Ann (played by Audrey Hepburn) has had enough! She doesn’t have any time to herself on her world tour so she does what any self-respecting Princess does, she escapes her handlers for a day of new experiences and fun in the iconic city, Rome. The first obstacle is the fact that she’s been given a shot to make her sleep, which she does on a short wall near a deserted street. Fortunately, journalist Joe Bradley (played by Gregory Peck) happens along and saves her from getting arrested or worse. He doesn’t recognize her so at first he tries to find out where she lives so he can send her home. Of course, he thinks she drunk. However, eventually he takes her to his tiny apartment. He does this partly because she keeps saying strange things like, “So Happy,” and “You may sit down” not to mention she quotes poetry to him. But he protects he because she seems so vulnerable. He’s intrigue by her.

It’s only the next morning when he goes in late to the newspaper office that he discovers who is sleeping on his couch. At first he thinks he can get a lucrative story out of the situation, but as the day goes along and he gets to know Ann, he finds he can’t spoil her reputation. His friend and photographer, Irving (played by Eddie Albert) has some great but damning photos of the Princess and her day on the town. But eventually he too, can’t turn them into cash. Ann is completely innocent and unaware of how regular people live. Her day teaches her a great deal mostly how to stand up for herself. Joe and Irving become her friends, and eventually Ann and Joe are drawn to each other romantically in a way that changes them both. In the end, they know that they can never be together, but their one day together has changed both of them for the better.

This was Audrey Hepburn’s first starring role and during the filming process, Gregory Peck who was the only actor who’s name was going to be above the title, recognized Audrey’s genius. He told the studio heads that she was going to win an Oscar and they’d better put her name above the title with his. They believed him and did as he asked and Audrey Hepburn did win the best actress Oscar and her career was cemented. Audrey’s pure goodness and luminosity shine through on the screen and we the viewers fall in love with her too.

If you haven’t seen this gem of a movie, I suggest you find it as soon as possible. It’s particuarly timely since the issue of the pressures of being a royal are quite prominent in the news of late. I don’t know about you, but I thought that the royals could do as they pleased, not realizing that they were completely constrained by conventions and committments that the rest of us are not subjected to. Doing one’s duty over choosing freedom to follow one’s heart is a big theme of this movie. Wouldn’t it have been nice if Ann and Joe could be together in the end? We can dream it was so.

Have a great weekend and the rest of summer. Fall will be here sooner than we think.

Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters Links

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.

NFBClub Building the First Audiobook Ecosystem that Benefits Authors and Listeners

David Gutierrez is the co-founder of Non-Fungible Book Club (NFBC), an independent audiobook platform focused on helping authors retain greater ownership, control, and revenue from their work. Built around a creator-first philosophy, NFBC was founded on the belief that writers deserve a more meaningful relationship with both their audience and the success of their art.

David is also the author of Punkz Awaken: Disconnecting the Minted, a young adult science fiction novella that blends action, rebellion, and retro-futuristic themes inspired by 90s internet culture. Filled with callbacks to the era of 56k dial-up modems, underground digital culture, and analog nostalgia, the story follows a young protagonist who grows disillusioned with the pressures and inequities of the adult world and ultimately joins a rebellion searching for something more human, authentic, and free.

David’s experience as an independent author helped inspire his passion for supporting creators and building better opportunities for writers within the audiobook industry.

Today, through NFBC, David and his team work with independent authors and publishers to help bring audiobooks directly to audiences while allowing creators to keep significantly more of their earnings than traditional industry models typically allow. NFBC’s mission centers on empowering authors, preserving creative independence, and building deeper communities around books and storytelling.