I Believe in Pink: the Power of a Positive Spirit

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Jennifer King

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” – Audrey Hepburn

Me, Jennifer Lyn King, at the Lobkowicz Palace with Friends (Cut Out)

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were invited to an event, a Ball or Gala, held at the Lobkowicz Palace inside the Prague Castle here in Prague. The Gala was a benefit-charity event, was black-tie, and involved exotic things like an immense chocolate fountain, salsa-dancing with a live band, a blackjack table, a performing belly-dancer, and the chance to win a weekend with a Ferrari. The obvious amazing thing was that it all was held in the historic Lobkowicz Palace amongst their family collections of centuries-old armor and paintings. The Gala was the event of the year, and, the event photography proves it. My smile was so wide in each and every photo my eyes disappeared into squinty slits.

But the fun wasn’t from me simply being there. It was from being there with great friends.

Recently, I discovered Audrey Hepburn’s quote (above) and have been unable to stop thinking about it. I especially love the first line: I believe in pink. I love it.

It strikes me not because I’m so outnumbered in my house (1 girl (me) to 3 growing sons + 1 very tall husband). It definitely doesn’t strike me because pink is my favorite color (it’s not). But PINK is in its very nature a POSITIVE color — the hue of strong spring flowers and of hopeful sunrises and peaceful sunsets. Pink, for me, is the color of a positive spirit.

This past weekend, at dear friends’ home for Mother’s Day lunch, one of the teenagers chimed in with a quote I will never forget. We were doing dishes, and brought up the subject of garbage disposals. (No one I know has a garbage disposal. It’s one of the things everyone misses. And it’s possible there may not be a single garbage disposal in Czech Republic.) He said, “A garbage disposal is like heaven at the bottom of the drain.”

We all laughed.

In a life of days filled with tough challenges, the value of laughter with friends is priceless. Shared joy with friends makes that joy multiply, and we’re all empowered to be better than we could be on our own. The power of having positive friends and family is the most important asset, I think, in life.

View over Prague from the Lobkowicz Palace, Hradcany

“Look carefully at the closest associations in your life, for that is the direction you are heading.” -Kevin Eikenberry Continue reading →

Italy’s Lost City of Pompeii: A Photojournal

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Jennifer King

“The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city on the southwestern coast of Italy … Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under nearly 20 ft of ash lava in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Pompeii was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749.” -on Pompeii, guidebook

The Forum, Pompeii, Italy, with Mount Vesuvius volcano in the background

The day I visited the Lost City of Pompeii was an ominous day, threatening rain as I walked the site in southern Italy, near Naples. I visited Pompeii with my family, and we didn’t know much about Pompeii when we arrived, but were amazed by it all when we left. Wow, what an experience!

the view toward Naples, Italy, from Pompeii

ruins of Pompeii, Italy

Like all of the travels in the past three years we’ve lived in Prague as expats, we never dreamed of getting to experience it, especially with our family. (Pinch me, I always think … this is such a dream. Very grateful!) We drove from Prague, straight south, through Munich, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria; Brennero Pass, Italy in the Dolomite Alps; Verona, Italy; through Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio; past Rome and into the Campania region of Italy, along its southwest coast. The trip, though it sounds too far to drive, was a manageable 1000 miles. (We like to drive, to see places.) Europe is amazing by car. Continue reading →

Create a Stunning Garden: 20 Favorite Flowers to Plant

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jennifer King

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece” - Claude Monet

June gardens at the peak of bloom

Gardens, flowers, and nature have long been inspiration for poets, writers, and painters. None is more famous than Monet’s Water Lilies or Van Gogh’s Irises, great paintings of flowers and gardens as Muse.

June Gardens, seats for two

For me, at this time of year, as the gardens spring into bloom, I once again remember how very much I love flowers. The color, the fragrance, the day-after-day beauty. I love it all. If only the world were covered in flowers …

Crimson Tulip

But it is possible to have a garden filled in colorful flowers for many months of the year, even if your garden is the size of a football field or the size of an apron pocket. You just need to know what to plant. Here, I’m posting 20 of my favorite flowers, most photographs taken from my former backyard gardens. For me, it’s a colorful feast! Enjoy! Continue reading →

Italy’s Amalfi Coast: A Photojournal

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jennifer King

“Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” -John Steinbeck, Harper’s Bazaar, 1953

Italy's Amalfi coast from a hike along the Trail of the Gods

Last week, my family and I traveled farther south in Italy than we had ever visited, to the Amalfi Coast, a region of soaring mountains beside a jewel-toned Sea. We stayed in a village beside Positano, called Praiano, where we even saw donkeys used as means of transport. And so our pace of life slowed considerably, and having a seaside cappuccino became the most pressing item for each day. It was spectacular! I’m so glad I had my camera with me, because after we returned from the trip, the beauty of it all didn’t seem possible, or real.

A Church high above Positano, and the view of Capri's Faraglioli (Fingers)

I will always remember the Amalfi Coast as a place unlike no other I have ever seen. It’s a region of village steps and tiny walkways (350 steps down to the Sea in Praiano), of one long coastal road that winds in dangerous turns precariously above the Sea, and of daily seafood, stunning sunsets, and rich ancient legends. But the photos say so much more than I could in words …

Positano and the Bay of the Sirens, from The Odyssey, Italy

La Sirenetta, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Waves Crashing, Positano, Italy, in the background

Thousands of Steps above the Sea, the View from the Trail of the Gods, Praiano, Italy

The Colors of the Amalfi Region

A Slower Pace, Donkeys as Transport, Praiano, Italy

Exquisite Tile Church Dome, Positano, Italy

Boats in the Bay, Amalfi, Italy

Amalfi, Italy

Positano, Italy

The Bell Tower, Praiano, Italy

Driving near Positano, the tiny roads, 3 buses passing

Reflections of Capri along the Mediterranean, from Praiano, Italy

(Jennifer Lyn King) Oil Painting en Plein Air on the Balcony, Praiano, Italy

the Ever-Changing Skies along the Amalfi Coast

Stunning Painting in the Sky, above Capri and the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Amalfi, Positano, Praiano, Ravello, Minori — if you ever have the chance to visit the villages along the Amalfi Coast, your time and experiences will linger in your mind. It’s a place like no other. Just don’t forget to bring your camera!

A big thanks to Erika Robuck for sending the quote and John Steinbeck essay on Positano my way!

Water Lily: 7 Line Teaser

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Jennifer King

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last week, when my family and I were on vacation along Italy’s Amalfi Coast (no internet access to speak of), my dearest friend and writing partner, Erika Robuck, passed along a writing challenge: to post 7 lines from the 77th page of my novel. It’s one of those tag-your-friend challenges and so oodles of novelist friends have been posting teasers from their latest work.

The online world of writers and writer friends has turned out to be one of my most treasured networks of friends, especially since writer friends know what the inside of my head is like (filled with thoughts, stories, and connections of obscure things), and embrace the writing journey alongside me as I work toward publication and life as a career novelist.

Here, a couple of links to friends’ blogs with their teasers:

Erika Robuck, whose upcoming HEMINGWAY’S GIRL will be published by NAL/Penguin in September

Kimberly Brock, whose debut novel THE RIVER WITCH has just been published last week

Hallie Sawyer, whose WIP is on the historical Kansas orphan train

Sarah McCoy, whose THE BAKER’S DAUGHTER was released earlier this year

Jenna Blum, whose stunning novel, THOSE WHO SAVE US, continues to be a bestseller, and her second novel, THE STORMCHASERS, ties into her love for stormchasing

Jennifer Lyn King at L'Orangerie in Paris with Monet's Water Lilies

Me, at L'Orangerie in Paris with Monet's Water Lilies

Okay– now for my 7 lines from page 77 of my novel-on-submission, WATER LILY. Actually, I stretched it to include 12 lines, so it makes more sense … Continue reading →

10 Tips for Traveling Europe on a Budget

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Jennifer King

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sight-seeing.” ~Daniel J. Boorstin

It’s no secret that I love to travel.

For the past three years, as my family and I have lived in Prague as expats, my love for travel has only grown. We have seen and traveled and experienced more languages and countries (over 20) in these three years than I could have ever imagined. Well, more than I could have imagined from my life in the US.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that traveling Europe is doable on a tight budget. Most of Europe is within a day’s drive. It’s all dependent on how you travel.

Following, the top ten tips (from my experience) for how to travel Europe on a budget:

1) Research: buy or borrow a few good books on Europe. Make a list of the top places you’d like to visit in Europe. Start gathering links or clippings on the places you’d like to visit.

Barcelona at the Beach

Continue reading →

Author: A Video

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Jennifer King

au·thor/ˈôTHər/ : A. The writer of a book, article, or other text. b. One who practices writing as a profession.

Author: A Video by Jennifer Lyn King

One day about six years ago, I was deep in the process of writing my first book, and the UPS man pulled up at my house. He brought a package to the front door, from my publisher, Tyndale House. After holding my Boxer back from tackling her favorite Man from the Big Brown Truck, my three boys helped me tear into the package. I’ll never forget what waited for me inside the box.

I had recently received news that Tyndale had contracted with me for the book, and the package was a congratulations follow-up. Inside the box, I found a hefty white coffee mug and a textured white book. The word “Author” had been printed in simple black typewriter font on both the mug and the book. As soon as I saw them, my eyes misted over.

It made it real. I was an Author.

Since that day, I’ve kept my pencils and pens in the mug, at the corner of my desk. And, every so often, I flip through the wonderful book Tyndale sent, the book about being an author.

Author, a screen shot from the video: I Begin.

For those of you who are not writers, the process of writing a book may seem different or mysterious. And for those of us who are writers, we know the tremendous amount of life and love and effort that goes into creating a book or a novel. It’s all-consuming at times.

I’m steeped in research for my next novel, and have been thinking about what goes into writing a book. So, in the midst of this past cold and rainy Prague weekend, I worked with my oldest son to create a video that is inspired by the Author book. I’ve titled it Author: A Video. It’s five minutes long and is filled with color photographs and simple I-statements, about the life an author lives while writing a book.

I hope you enjoy it!

PS. A big thanks to the great 13-year-old at King’s Might Productions for his computer savvy! ***The purpose of this video is for personal and non-commercial use and sharing with author and writer and reader friends. Thanks to Microsoft Office Clipart for free use of its photos for this project.

Water Lily and the Importance of Story

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jennifer King

“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.” -William Faulkner

The seeds of my novel WATER LILY started two-and-a-half years ago, as I juggled visas and packing slips through the whirlwind of my family’s Trans-Atlantic move to Prague from Ohio. My life was chaotic pre- and post-move, but being able to work on one thing, a story, during a time of intense transition was a necessity. And so began WATER LILY.

Then Prague entered my life and my well of inspiration filled to almost bursting at the seams. Beautiful Prague has had a generous hand in Water Lily‘s development.

View over Prague from the Lobkowicz Palace, Hradcany

For the past many years, I’ve written on novels, all of which have been pushed into a writing drawer. But Water Lily is the story that has held on and kept with me. I love the characters and the story. With each rewrite of Water Lily, the story stakes became higher and the characters more complex. And last week, after years of drafts and intense recent work with my wonderful writing partner, I finished the final draft of Water Lily!

The writing journey and the path to publication is a long one, but it’s one I’m very excited about. Following, the pitch for Water Lily: Continue reading →

Blooming Recklessly, Spring

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Jennifer King

The artist is the confidant of nature, flowers carry on dialogues with him through the graceful bending of their stems and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms. Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him. ~Auguste Rodin

Vibrant Tulips

Every year about this time I remember one of my favorite quotes, unknown in source, that says, “If we live to be 100, we’ll get to witness Spring only 100 times.”

This year in Prague, spring tiptoed in. The dark grays and dreary colors so akin to the post-Communist world have clung tightly to winter, yet slowly we are seeing color return to the scene. Green in the grass in spots, a snowdrop flower bobbing in the breeze — yet adding the robin’s-egg blue sky and the warm sunshine, it feels like spring. She is coming!

I love the flowers of spring, and have taken several photos of recent bouquets to share … I can’t wait for the garden flowers to begin to bud and bloom. And yet, the anticipation of spring’s grand performance is part of the joy.

Delicate

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
~William Wordsworth, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” 1804

Bouquet of Sunshine and Fragrance

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~Claude Monet Continue reading →

Prague’s Spires and Magical Golden Lane: A Photojournal

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Jennifer King

“Known as the “golden city of 100 spires” and a “symphony in stone”, Prague boasts architectural styles ranging from the Renaissance and Baroque right up to the art nouveau and cubist styles of the 20th Century.” -Prague Guidebook

To walk around Prague for a day is to walk through time. From the cobblestone streets to the hundreds of spires stretching skyward, Prague is an enchantress.

Even after living in Prague for almost 3 years, I can’t seem to get enough of Prague and her beauty. I savor time out on the Charles Bridge, where tourists pass under the Saints guarding over the Vltava River. I love exploring the nooks carved into the centuries of buildings here, and discovering the artistic palette of a city that does play a symphony with her stones.

Recently, I took my camera along for a day out in Prague. So, following, join me in a photojournal of Prague’s famed artist’s lane, Golden Lane, built inside the Prague Castle wall, and of the spires along the way. I hope you enjoy them, this glimpse of Prague in March at the brink of Spring!

Prague Castle Entrance, Changing of the Guards

Entrance to Prague Castle, facing out

Prague

Continue reading →