It's a Beautiful Day!

Tuesday was the summer solstice, the longest day in the northern hemisphere, but we’re still riding its wave.

In human terms a solstice is the time to seek and accumulate energy. Think of a tree finally sending its sap to the outermost leaves and collecting the sun’s energy. This is the moment to learn something special and take-in new ideas. Think ahead and put a few key bits of information aside for this winter. If your thoughts are brewing on a new writing project or a change of plans, today is a great day to jot those ideas down so they won’t be forgotten.

A solstice is a turning or tipping point that signals the time to let go of the pervious direction and head toward a new one. Refuse to allow these exciting times to intimidate you.

On another note last Friday’s U2 concert at the Anaheim Angels Stadium was an amazing experience. I loved every minute of it, especially loved having the chance to dance with my son at his first big concert.

One of my favorite moments was an appearance on the big screen of Commander Mark Kelly from the International Space Station, introducing “Beautiful Day” and telling his wife, Gabby Giffords he loved her from space. “Beautiful Day” was Mark Kelly’s “wake-up” call on shuttle missions. It was Gabby and Mark’s song long before they were married and it means even more now. (I read) Mark hummed it to Gabby in the hospital when her situation was touch and go.

U2 is my touchstone. That’s what U2 has been for me during these many years of fandom. They’re part of my life and they’re there when you need to be lifted up.

There was a distinct paradox about being in a crowd of over 90,000 people, in the presence of this huge show and still feeling connected and intimate with the group. I got a big dose of loving energy that just slammed into me 48 hours after the concert was over. That’s how overwhelming it was. It took a couple of days to fully process it. I’m so grateful I was able to be there and add another voice to the crowd.

XXOO Kat

A little bragging.

This week is busy with graduations, Father’s day and (silent screaming in front of my computer) a U2 concert! I just got my hair cut and styled for Bono. I hope he likes it, and I’m stocked up on dozens of glow sticks, so I think I’m ready to rock.

I’m currently finishing a short story I’m very excited about. This Quickie will be submitted directly to the very woman who inspired me to start writing in the first place. I’m not sure how much I should say at this time so I’d rather be safe than sorry and share more information later. This is just a submission but you better believe I’m amped to the max and anxious as a wet cat walking on a frayed electric cord about doing the very best job I can possibly do on this story. I’ve never written so quickly in my life.

I want to brag shamelessly about a nice surprise I got yesterday. A good review for “Sugar Roux Voodoo” came in and I was mighty pleased with this one:

NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW gave “Sugar Roux Voodoo” 5 Stars Top Pick!

Reviewer Stesha.

It’s 1834, New Orleans. The lovely Lark Le Beau spends her days aboard her riverboat, the Sugar Roux Voodoo Queen, performing acts of beneficent voodoo for her select clientele. Five years earlier, she was seemingly abandoned by her first and still only love, Captain Valcour Curry, a wealthy pirate. Valcour left her with not only the riverboat, but their unborn son as well.

When client Miss Marietta visits Lark for a reading, Lark’s gift of clairvoyance kicks in at full speed. She senses Valcour once again. Soon after Miss Marietta departs, a stranger named Leroy arrives and claims Valcour is alive—but he is now nothing more than a soulless zombie living an almost nonexistence, imprisoned at the hidden Broken Oak Plantation where a black magician named Braeme Payne has stolen his soul.

Lark knows immediately she must go with Leroy to the Broken Oak to save her love. She knows that she will need to risk her own life and use her own brand of magic and love to save the man she loves. But Valcour isn’t the same man any longer. Trapped by his own misdeeds of the past, and held by guilt and black magic, he no longer possesses his own soul or emotions.

Sugar Roux Voodoo is a lushly written sensual novel that will transport you back to nineteenth century New Orleans. The setting is so beautifully painted for you by the author you will imagine yourself aboard the riverboat watching the story unfold before you. Lark is a beautifully written character that the reader will identify with immediately. The love story is compelling and lustily written. Sugar Roux Voodoo is a definite must-read this summer.

(Thank you Night Owl Reviews and Stesha!)

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Stesha-reviews-Sugar-Roux-Voodoo-by-Katalina-Leon.aspx

I want to congratulate my Ellora’s Cave Sisters, Amber Skyze on an excellent 5 Star review for “Sex on the Beach” From Romance Writers Reviews!

http://www.romancewritersreviews.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=3&sobi2Id=105&Itemid=30

And Cerise Deland’s for an excellent 4 Star review from Night Owl Review, for her new Quickie “Me and Mr. Jones.”

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Terrihawk-reviews-Me-And-Mr-Jones-by-Cerise-Deland.aspx

 Good job ladies!

Have a wonderful week. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads and every loving father figure out there who steps up to the plate and makes a positive difference in a child’s life.

XXOO Kat

U2 Rocks!

U2 360 Tour at the Rose Bowl October 25, 2009!

It was my great privilege to attend U2’s 360-tour show at the Rose Bowl on October 25^th. I’ve loved U2 since I was a girl and I knew it was going to be a good experience but I was completely unprepared for the magnitude of this spectacle.

The first thing I noticed was that the crowd of nearly a 100,000 people was very polite and well behaved. It was a pleasure to be in their company. The group was wildly diverse I saw a sampling of everybody and a surprisingly high number of elderly people and children. I’m a people watcher so I was in heaven looking at the human buffet walking by and reminding myself everyone in this massive crowd had their own story, their own hardships and their own reasons for being here. Even though it was only a rock concert, just seeing that many souls together in one place with a common purpose was almost overwhelming.

The next special thing I realized was this concert was being filmed for DVD and streamed live to the world on Youtube. It was very sobering to receive emails that morning from friends all over the world saying they were setting their alarm clocks or switching schedules at work so they could watch the show in real time with us. Our friends from all over the country, South Africa and Ireland emailed to tell us they were with us in spirit and sharing the experience. The planet seemed to shrink a bit.

One of the show highlights was the fact that they projected a live feed from the international space station and astronauts on the space station spoke with earth during the show. Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon was in the audience, so U2 projected a beautiful picture of the moon onto the stage's curved screens so he would feel at home.

The Black Eyed Peas opened the show along with a guest appearance by Gun’s and Roses guitar-hero Slash. They were great! The dancing started and never stopped. My husband and I paid for seats we never used. We were on our feet the entire night dancing and shaking our glow sticks. I went absolutely berserk when U2 took the stage. For the next two hours I was nineteen again. My husband just kept looking at me, smiling.

There was a moment in the show that felt like a prayer. The energy of the crowd rose and when it reached it’s zenith and I couldn’t take the tension a moment longer, a tall spire on the top of the stage lit up, pulsed and shot intense beams of light into space. It truly was an ascended moment and a bit like sending out the “Bat Signal” to God. We all knew we were a small part of a very special moment.

I bless U2 for staying loyal to each other, relevant, creative, aging gracefully and most of all showing us middle-agers we can still rock! Needless to say we will be attending the next U2 concert.

XXOO Katalina Leon