When You Close Your Eyes:: A Journey Into the Celebration of Life

I´ve been writing for many years, usually short stories or journalistic pieces. I´ve always enjoyed reading and writing. My dad, Marvin, used to say: "In order to write well, you need to read examples of good writing." My dad was an avid reader from comic books to spy novels. I too became an avid reader of comic books (Archies) and mysteries such as Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. As a matter-of-fact, I still collect Nancy Drew Mystery novels. As I matured, I began reading novels like Maya Angelou’s: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, Angel and Demons, Deception Point. I´ve always loved words, in any language; I especially love to juxtaposition words and phrases to express ideas, thoughts that conjure up images. Poetry came naturally. Literally, I sat down and started writing poetry to express how I felt: about a person, my feelings, my interactions with people, places, things. And before I knew it, I had a myriad of poems. I’ve always read poetry, from Maya Angelou, to Langston Hughes, to Gwendolyn Brooks, Sonja Sanchez, Robert Frost, John Donne and Lord Byron. But I never thought about writing poetry let alone compiling a collection of poems. So, why published now? Honestly, it started out as a way to give a part of me to my closets friends and then it snowballed from there. The more I thought about the more intrigued I became with self-publishing. I remember saying to my brother, Mark, “I don’t know were to begin…” and he responded: “Begin with God. Tell him your heart’s desires and he will lead the way. Let his light shine in you and you will become a light for hope and righteousness.” Wow! I never looked backed. I went online and simply typed in “self-publishing” and stumbled across Xlibris Publishing Corp. I tossed around the idea and the possibility that this could actually happen for me and here I am – publishing my first book. The essence of this book is me … the part that no one ever sees. For those who think they know me, they’ll read some of these poems, especially the “love” ones and say: “I didn’t think she had it in her; all of that bottled up passion.” This book takes you to the deepest part of my soul – the part privy for God.