Hello, I’m Karen. When I was old enough to climb the stairs into the attic of the colonial house I grew up in, I’d sit in front of the fanlight window and compose poems about the mysteries of the night—the moon, stars, and unseen planets. I still love all things mystical, magical, and provocative. My most inspired moments are still those spent in pondering and sharing ways to help individuals embrace and live their authentic selves regardless of their age or past history.
My love of language, coupled with my identity as an androgenous gay woman manifested an aspiration to delve into academic studies that married my innate passions. I’m a published author and hold a Ph.D. in comparative literature, within the context of women’s meditations regarding gender identity, sexuality, and the gendered body. (I also write queer erotica under Author Annie Moon and I have 800+ followers.)
When I’m not gazing at the night sky, writing or reading, I can be found meditating, cooking Italian specialties, or walking Rachel and Jasper, my two lab-mixed breed companions.
Poet Alex Murdock on Story-Power, Episode 96 aired on 3/13/24
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
Author, Anais Nin
Lilith Nikki Marmery
Hoopla and Libby library e-book apps
Damsel (2024) available on Netflix
Poet Elizabeth Bishop, The Complete Poems 1927 – 1979
PodMatch for Podcasters
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Karen Anne Coccioli, 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.
Story-Power on Patreon and Apple Subscriptions
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription 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. The Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. 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. Or, you can add the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
Barry and I watched all four nights of the Democratic National Convention and I’m so glad we did. The theme of the convention was about bringing back hope, love, and joy. There were so many talented speakers, most of them young, who pledged to continue the work that President Biden and Vice President Harris started to clean up the chaos left by Trump. It’s going to take a long time, but as so many speakers shared, it’s worth it to care for our families and neighbors. It’s worth it to make sure everyone is taken care of in all aspects of our lives. Michelle Obama challenged us to do something when we see a problem whether it’s large or small. And Vice Presidential Nominee, Tim Walz and Presidential Nominee, Kamala Harris echoed the same idea. We need to take care of each other.
There were many moments during the convention that went viral, but one was when Tim Waltz was giving his acceptance speech and told his family how much they meant to him. His son Gus stood, weeping telling and showing everyone how proud he was of his father. “That’s my Dad,” he said. Some ultra-conservatives mocked Gus’s show of emotion. But others, like the MSNBC team praised Gus as just one example of the many displays of healthy masculinity shown throughout the convention and how we need that so desperately now.
I loved every minute I watched of the convention because it felt like we were fixing our hearts, turning away from hate, fear, and greed, toward love and hope for a better future.
One day during the week, I was scrolling YouTube and this video came up of John Denver singing “It’s About Time”. I thought it was so appropriate for the times we live in. Here are the lyrics and link so you can go listen to him sing the song yourself. I miss him but thank heaven we have the love he spread through the songs he left us.
There’s a full moon over India and Gandhi lives again.
Who’s to say you have to lose for someone else to win?
In the eyes of all the people the look is much the same
for the first is just the last one when you play a deadly game.
It’s about time we realize it, we’re all in this together.
It’s about time we find out, it’s all of us or none.
It’s about time we recognize it, these changes in the weather.
It’s about time, it’s about changes, and it’s about time.
There’s a light in the Vatican window for all the world to see
and a voice cries in the wilderness and sometimes he speaks for me.
I suppose I love him most of all when he kneels to kiss the land,
with his lips upon our mother’s breast, he makes his strongest stand.
It’s about time we start to see it, the earth is our only home.
It’s about time we start to face it, we can’t make it here all alone.
It’s about time we start to listen to the voices in the wind,
it’s about time and it’s about changes and it’s about time.
There is a man who is my brother, I just don’t know his name.
But I know his home and family because I know we feel the same.
And it hurts me when he’s hungry and when his children cry.
I too am a father, that little. one is mine.
It’s about time we begin it, to turn the world around.
It’s about time we start to make it, the dream we’ve always known.
It’s about time we start to live it, the family of man.
It’s about time it’s about changes and it’s about time.
It’s about peace and it’s about plenty and it’s about time.
It’s about you and me together and it’s about time.
I plan to do something to make this world a better place in which to live, even if it’s as small as checking in on my neighbors to make sure they’re doing okay.
Thank you all for reading, liking and commenting. Share any of my posts with your friends and family that you like. Let’s spread the love.
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription 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. Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. 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. Or, you can add the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
The Space Between Time
Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. It is now available on the Hoopla App linked to your local library.
Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version and sequel are published.
Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.
Rita Gau’s review: Recently, I finished reading a book titled, The Space Between Time, by my friend, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden. It was the best book I’ve read in a long time. It kept me captivated, which I have not experienced from any other book for the past couple of years. I loved all the little gems of meaningful and what I call spiritual statements throughout the book. You know, those words that make you pause and think, and sometimes have an “aha” from or a deeper awareness about something. And it was entertaining and informational about some of the history in the 1800’s and yet, contemporary. It also reminded me of the importance of “living in community” and how important it is to help one another and be engaged in your community. Thank you Lucinda for a wonderful, entertaining and captivating book!
PodMatch for Podcasters
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.
Allegory: “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.” ~ Oxford Dictionary
Do you remember the story of “The Tortoise and The Hare”? It’s a great teaching allegory. The question it asks the readers/listeners to consider; is it better to be fast and cocky, or slow and steady? I don’t know why I have rarely thought of stories in exactly this way, but I believe most stories are allegories, even the ones that are based on real events. I have told my students, Story-Power listeners, and even readers here that every story has a purpose. And, it’s important to discover what that purpose is, because it might be nefarious. Asking questions about what the story means is a good practice.
Barry and I recently watched the Avatar movies. We had never seen the second one. Since there was so much time in between viewings we refreshed our memories. If you’ve been reading these blog posts or listening to my Story-Power podcast, you probably know that I keep thinking about a great story long after I’ve seen or read it. So, of course, I did that with the Avatar movies and it occurred to me that these movies are allegories that are pretty in our faces about how we’ve come close to destroying our planet. And what would we choose to do if we did? Would we be like The Sky People, and just go confiscate someone else’s planet so we could destroy it too and then move on to the next?
There are stark images of the destruction the invaders wreak on Pandora. It’s as if they don’t see or appreciate the beauty of the forest, the animals that live there, or the oceans and the animals that live there. They are oblivious to the deep connections among all living things that they want to exploit. Most of the things The Sky People do are quite disturbing. Cameron uses the story to get us to make a choice about whether or not we’re going to take care of our planet.
What The Sky People in the movies don’t understand is that their home planet has a spirit just like Eywa is the spirit of Pandora. And like Pandora, everything is connected to everything else. Earth is like this too. If you don’t believe me, go read Finding the Mother Tree, by Suzanne Simard. I’m not a scientist, but she outlines her years of study of trees and the forest in which they live. At first she was a researcher for the Canadian Forestry Service. Then she joined a university and became an independent researcher. She did this for two reasons, first because the forestry service objective was to grow more trees faster so they could make more money. They didn’t think about the dire consequences of their practices. Second because she discovered that trees of different species, the fungus underground, and even other plants in the forest, support each other sharing water, and nutrients as needed at different times of the year to help each plant or tree grow. Suzanne’s discoveries have changed the way we look at the forest and beyond. James Cameron’s concept of the Home Trees for each tribe, and of Eywa in general, was spot on. Eywa connects all life on Pandora. Everything on earth is also connected to everything else.
It’s not just trees that are connected. People like Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and many others have discovered and are continuing to find that many different species of animals, both on land and in water communicate with each other, mourn their dead, and show much greater intelligence than we arrogant humans think possible. If you don’t believe me, go watch the Oscar award winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher, (2020) available on Netflix. A filmmaker in South Africa, depressed because of the pandemic shut down, goes swimming every day in the lagoon near his home and by chance makes friends with an octopus, which he documents over a year. This film gives a whole new perspective on friendship, intelligence, and the meaning of connection.
I recommend watching Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water if you haven’t seen them. They are available on Disney +, or they might even be available at your local library. They are both good examples of stories that have a moral or a lesson to teach us.
I’d love to hear what stories you’re reading or watching and what you’re learning from them.
Welcome new followers. I hope you’re all enjoying the end of summer/winter depending on where you live on this glorious planet we call home.
The Space Between Time (is now available on Hoopla. See if you can check it out from your local library. And give it a review good or bad if you can. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.)
Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.
Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version and sequel are published.
Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.
Rita Gau’s review: Recently, I finished reading a book titled, The Space Between Time, by my friend, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden. It was the best book I’ve read in a long time. It kept me captivated, which I have not experienced from any other book for the past couple of years. I loved all the little gems of meaningful and what I call spiritual statements throughout the book. You know, those words that make you pause and think, and sometimes have an “aha” from or a deeper awareness about something. And it was entertaining and informational about some of the history in the 1800’s and yet, contemporary. It also reminded me of the importance of “living in community” and how important it is to help one another and be engaged in your community. Thank you Lucinda for a wonderful, entertaining and captivating book!
Story-Power on Patreon and Apple Subscriptions
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription 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. Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. 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. Or, you can add the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
PodMatch for podcasters
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.
Morgan McCarver was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Her work is inspired by her female mentors of past and present, as well as her connection to Victorian corsetry through her scoliosis journey. She received an art degree with a ceramics concentration and a double minor in art history and business in 2019 from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. McCarver had the honor of receiving the 2019 Outstanding Art Major Ceramics Award her senior year. As a 2020 701 Center for Contemporary Art prize finalist, she had the honor of being the youngest artist to ever make it that far. She is a multi-award-winning artist who recently received an Artist Support Grant to attend a national ceramics conference. She has had the honor of displaying her work in 2 solo exhibitions, “FemininiTEA” 2020 and “The Strength of a Wildflower” 2022. She recently completed a residency at Edgewood Cottage in Blowing Rock Summer 2023 and participated 2022 as well. McCarver has studios in Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC. Her art can be found in various galleries around the Carolinas and Tennessee. Her first book, “God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery,” was released with Morgan James Publishing January 9, 2024.
Morgan’s Book: God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery
Lilith, Nikki Marmery
Story-Power on Patreon and Apple Subscriptions I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription 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. The Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. 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. Or, you can add the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
PodMatch for Podcasters This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Morgan McCarver, 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.
“Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!” ~ Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame in Auntie Mame (1958)
“Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, and don’t get so worked up about things.” ~ Kenneth Branagh
“If you’re always strict with yourself, life gets miserable. And we’re supposed to enjoy life.” ~ Mia Maestro
It’s interesting how old things become new again. I was scrolling Facebook the other day and came across a post by someone on the TCM group about Angela Lansbury’s career. It happened to be her birthday. It would have been her 98th birthday. She was one of three or four actresses to play an iconic character, Mame Dennis on stage and film. Mame Dennis is based on author Patrick Dennis’ real life aunt who loved life so much she lived to be over 100 years old. When I read the post about Mame, I remembered that one of my favorite movies is the non-musical version, Auntie Mame that came first. Rosalind Russell is mesmerizing in the role. Mame is so full of joy. She’s open-hearted and free-spirited. Nothing is off limits to experience and learn from. And her enthusiasm rubs off on almost everyone she knows, including her young nephew who becomes her ward when his father dies.
The quote above, from which I take the title of this post, is from a line she says in the plays and movies. “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.” Since it feels like we’ve been starved of so many positive things over the last few years, I needed to watch this movie again. It feels to me like we’ve been in the desert on our knees looking for water to nourish our parched bodies. Somehow, in just the last few weeks we’ve made it to the watering hole and joy is coming back to us in the form of VP Kamala Harris and her VP pick, Governor Tim Walz. An old idea that humans can live in joy is coming back and I for one am very grateful.
When I’m writing I usually prefer quiet. But for some reason today I wanted to play Aaron Copland, the iconic American composer. He was born in 1900 and died in 1990, so he was still alive when Barry and I chose music from his The Tender Land opera for our wedding. The first piece I listened to today was his very famous, Fanfare for the Common Man. It was one of my father’s favorites and I weep every time I hear it. It’s so appropriate for today even though Copland wrote it in 1942. The sweeping fanfare is for common people everywhere. It rises like a wave of ecstasy as if the common people are the ones who should be honored rather than the rulers. If you’ve never heard it, I highly recommend listening to it. If your heart doesn’t soar, I will be very much surprised.
The common people are rising up. We want hope and joy. We want to experience the banquet of life. We don’t want to be confined to a small life where we’re fighting for every scrap of food, water, or even toilet paper. Remember those days. It feels like those days are over.
The common people aren’t just rising up here in the U.S. either. There are lots of places around the globe where people aren’t going to allow their leaders to oppress them any longer. I don’t watch the news much, but I saw snippets of the protests in Venezuela over the dictator there declaring himself the winner of the election, when in fact, he wasn’t the winner at all. And the dictator of Bengladesh was just ousted as well. Hope and joy seem to be the order of the day!
If you’re looking for some feel good entertainment, I suggest you watch, Auntie Mame, or even, the musical version Mame, though I prefer the non-musical version. It’s the story of one woman’s crusade to fight closed-mindedness, bigotry, and hate, even though it’s on a small scale. Every little bit helps. Love is contagious.
Auntie Mame is available on Tubi. Yes, there are commercials, but you will get so wrapped up in the story, you won’t notice. Or if you’re lucky, you might be able to check it out of your local library. Let’s spread love, hope, and joy through great stories! I hope you’ll share some of your favorites with the rest of us.
A side note: I just got word that the ebook version of The Space Between Time is now available on Hoopla. So if your local library is connected with that service you can now read my book for free. If you do, please leave a review, good or bad, on Goodreads, or some service like it. Goodreads is now connected to Amazon, so your review will go there too. The sequel, Time’s Echo is a story of the Suffrage Movement that finally got women the vote, paralleled with the Women’s Movement of today. I’m in the midst of revisions and hope to get the manuscript to my writer friend Lisa soon for her comments.
Thanks to my new followers and to those of you who like and comment on my posts. I appreciate your support.
Blessings,
Lucinda Sage-Midgorden
The Space Between Time
Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.
Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version and sequel are published.
Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.
Rita Gau’s review: Recently, I finished reading a book titled, The Space Between Time, by my friend, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden. It was the best book I’ve read in a long time. It kept me captivated, which I have not experienced from any other book for the past couple of years. I loved all the little gems of meaningful and what I call spiritual statements throughout the book. You know, those words that make you pause and think, and sometimes have an “aha” from or a deeper awareness about something. And it was entertaining and informational about some of the history in the 1800’s and yet, contemporary. It also reminded me of the importance of “living in community” and how important it is to help one another and be engaged in your community. Thank you Lucinda for a wonderful, entertaining and captivating book!
Story-Power on Patreon and Apple Subscriptions
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast, Patreon Community, and Apple subscription 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. Apple subscription is $3 a month, again with content not found on the Story-Power podcast. 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. Or, you can add the subscription on Apple podcast where Story-Power is published. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
PodMatch for Podcasters
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.
Sage Woman Chronicles 