Helene Kwong: Renaissance Woman

Craig Lancaster: Inspiration from Montana

Post author By helene
Post date June 28, 2011
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P1120184 — Montana Sunset in 2009. Photo by me.

(Disclaimer: I am writing this post out of pure inspiration for the writer mentioned. I did not receive any payment for this.)

Have any of you all heard of Craig Lancaster? Maybe, maybe not. He’s one of those underrated writers…needs more publicity!

Craig is a Montana-based writer and has published two books so far, 600 Hours of Edward and The Summer Son. I have devoured both of them this year (ok, not literally). Both books touch on the theme of father-son relationships, but…I feel anyone from any walk of life could identify with the parent-child relationship.

Also, I find both books’ settings very intriguing (both set in Montana for the most part). Yes, I am biased in some ways, because I have been to Montana and I know how beautiful that state is. It’s refreshing to read fiction set in off-the-beaten-path places. I think we have enough books set in New York or San Francisco or wherever else (not that that’s entirely bad….). People need to give a chance to books set in small places/towns.

As for Craig himself, he is a very personable, kind man. I have had the chance to correspond with him via Twitter and Facebook; he responds in a timely manner and is always so gracious. I like that in any person I interact with, especially people who have more exposure to the public than I do. Shows that they don’t let the fame get to their head.

Anyway, I just want more people to check out Craig’s books. You won’t regret it! Below are links to buy the books and also brief summaries of my reviews of the books (via Goodreads):

600 Hours of Edward ($14 plus $4 S&H via Craig’s own website) – “600 Hours of Edward” was amazing to read. In many ways, I could relate to Edward’s illness. But, despite the illness, I could see how Edward had the same issues to grapple with like anyone else.

Sure, at times it got a little annoying to read about Edward’s timetable, but I also understood why he did the things he did. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is something that exists in basically everyone, but in varying degrees. (Side note: another cool thing about this book was that it was written during NaNoWriMo! Score.)

The Summer Son ($13.95 plus $4 S&H via Craig’s own website) – This is the kind of fiction I like.

It was fate for me to pick up “The Summer Son” and read it when I did. I gobbled up the whole book in 2-3 days because it was so riveting. The storyline, albeit about a father-son relationship that’s been tense for many years, spoke to my own current life situation so much.

Most importantly, the protagonist, Mitch, was very realistic, and not annoying (I’ve had my share of fiction with annoying protagonists in the past 2 years+). I could empathize with his internal struggles/thoughts about his father, someone he wanted to love more but couldn’t because of secrets/a past Mitch didn’t know about.

(Extra perk about purchasing the books directly from Craig: he signs each copy with special note!)

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Slice of Life

Life Lesson Through Pottery

Post author By helene
Post date June 25, 2011
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I have a tendency to focus too much on the future. Or the past.

Let’s think about what I could have done better with this situation, or that one, or…

What if this happens in the future? What if THIS? Oh my….

It’s a human crime, to keep preparing for the unknown and to keep pining for what’s behind us.

I have only been able to really, really dive into the present through my pottery class.

In each class, I made sure I kept my hands focused on the clay, to keep it centered; if I let my mind wander, then the clay went out-of-whack. And there went the pottery idea I had.

I was in a small class with jovial classmates for eight weeks. I didn’t ask for much help from the instructor; I just sat there at my pottery wheel, mesmerized by the clay forming in my hands, wondering what the finished product would look like.

Trimming away the pieces, trying to “perfect” the final form before it goes into the kiln for the first round of firing…this whole process also taught me that imperfections are normal. Nobody/nothing is or can be perfect. My pieces came out as bowls with dips in the rim, uneven bottoms, etc. But I wanted them that way. I wanted them to be imperfectly beautiful.

And when I held my first completed piece of pottery in my hands, glazed and everything: a huge sense of awe and pride. This piece of art was created by me. Nobody can take that away from me.

goals

Imperfections of a Brilliant Mind

Post author By helene
Post date June 21, 2011
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What I’ve discovered about myself these past three months is this: I have many many great ideas, but I lack focus.

I want to do EVERYTHING.

ALL AT ONCE.

Take for instance, my recent entry back into crafts. I’ll scour the web for craft tutorials, how-tos, etc. I keep collecting all these tidbits of information. And then, I don’t even know what I want to start with anymore.

On a greater scale, this happens with my career goals. I can’t *JUST* be a business owner; I also want to be a writer. I also want to be a personal trainer. I also want to…wait…

I’m sure I’m not the only one in the world to grapple with this lack of focus.

Of course it isn’t a bad thing to have many dreams, many goals. It’s great to just D R E A M.

But having too many to think about, worry about….that doesn’t help out my focus.

change life

Three Months of Change

So, it may appear I haven’t updated this blog since March. Not true at all; I was merely backdating a lot of entries in the first three months of this year. And then I fell behind. So my attempt at The Daily Post has failed. But, I figured it was too trivial of a quest for me to get stressed out over.

There’s been a lot going on in the past three months though, especially being back in my hometown. I don’t mean to sound cliche, but I’ve done a lot of soul-searching. Questioning. Grappling with my own mind.

Because in the end, that’s what I need to be taking care of anyway: my own mind, my own life, myself. For so long, I put myself second to everyone else around me. I felt I had to take care of everyone, that they needed me or else they wouldn’t survive. Meanwhile, I suffered mentally and emotionally for myself.

Only now, with my own control taken away from me (ever so slightly by my parents), I realize all this time that I should have been focusing on myself more than anything.

And I should be treating myself a lot better than I have been.

So that’s the sum of all that’s happened these past three months. More will be written about specific topics soon.