Be the change you want to see – one of my heroes – Cesar Manrique – Creative, compassionate & inspiring

In a previous blog, I wrote about my recent visit to the literary Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jose Saramago’s house while in Lanzarote which you can read here. Today’s post is all about one of my hero’s -Spanish artist and architect Cesar Manrique. I’ve promised myself I’ll make this post short. My family has told me I have a tendency to go on a bit where Cesar is concerned and have pointed out not everyone is interested.

Fair point.

But they should be…

I’m not going to write about Cesar’s early life, his glamorous spell living in New York, instead, focusing on when he returned to his birthplace of Lanzarote in 1966. Cesar adored the island, adored nature, and was years ahead of his time with recycling and caring for the environment, fearing that tourism could potentially destroy the place he loved so much. He lobbied tirelessly for the government to adopt his plans which would ensure the island thrived but remained unspoiled, retaining its own unique landscape.

Cesar was responsible for planning regulations inflicting height regulations on hotels, ensuring telephone cables were buried underground, that roads were built through the remnants of volcanic eruptions, rather than clearing them away, blending the roads in with the landscape. He proposed resorts were kept to three areas of the island and that all houses were whitewashed with shutters and doors painted blue for properties facing towards the sea and green for those facing inland keeping the island picturesque and aesthetically pleasing. He persuaded the government to take a long-term view to preserve the island rather than focusing on short term financial gain, banning advertising billboards. During a film I watched about him, he relayed a story of how when adverts did appear he would go and dig them up with his mini digger during the night.

This is why everyone should be interested – be kind and work in harmony with nature were principles he lived by, principles we should ALL live by. “I believe that we are witnessing a historical moment where the huge danger to the environment is so evident that we must conceive a new responsibility with respect to the future.”

As well as his tell-tale pieces of art around the island, many of Lanzarote’s tourist attractions have a magical feel and were carefully and considerately created by him utilising lava bubbles and caves forged by previous volcanic eruptions. Cesar really embodied ‘Be the change you want to see’ and it’s a shame his work was cut short after his death in a car accident. He really inspires me that with passion and vision, kindness and compassion, we can all make a difference if we work together and never give up.

We visited Cesar Manrique’s foundation which was also his home full of chill out areas in lava bubbles, a pool and a dance floor with a tree growing through the lounge floor, the house he lived in until his death, his cactus garden. His first project Jameos del Agua which was birthed from a collapsed lava tube housing a pool in which thousands of tiny albino crabs live (it’s a great place to have a coffee and chill).  The Mirador del Rio which has the most stunning views across the island.

You can find out more about Cesar Manrique here.

A Million Sales & a HUGE Thank You

 

As many of you know writing The Sister was a way for me to cope with losing my mobility, to attempt to take my mind off my chronic pain. To try to claw my way out of clinical depression. Grace and Charlie, along with the other characters in the book transported me to a different world. A joyful world. And little by little I began to feel better.

When Bookouture offered to publish my debut I felt a mixture of excitement and terror. Before I accepted the deal they were proposing I had a long and frank conversation with my prospective editor. I told her I wasn’t really a writer. Shared the reasons I had started writing and admitted that to me the story was real and all I had to do was to type it up. I wasn’t sure I could ever write another novel again. She reassured me that she thought I could but before I would sign I sat and made a list of everyone I thought might buy the book, I really didn’t want them to invest time into me if no-one would ever read it. I told her I was confident of seventeen sales. She told me Bookouture would try to get me a ‘few more than that.’

This week it’s been exactly two years since The Sister was published and thanks to my editor having more faith in me than I had in myself I’ve since written The Gift, The Surrogate and The Date. Today, I’ve learned that I’ve surpassed the million sales mark in English language books (my nineteen translation deals aren’t included in that figure). You can read the official announcement here. Although I should have the words to express how I feel, I just can’t. As much as I try, I can’t envisage a million anything, even chocolate hob nobs. I’m happy, tearful, and incredibly grateful that at a time in my life when I’d really hit rock bottom I decided to tell a story.

This achievement is very much a team effort so a huge thanks all at my digital and audio publishers, Bookouture, my paperback publishers, Sphere and to my agent Rory Scarfe. I’m also very grateful to my family for their continued support.

But most of all, thanks to the readers who have read, reviewed, shared and brighten up my day with emails and messages, not to mention hanging out with me daily on social media. None of it would have been possible without you.

Louise X

Bookouture Publishing Director Jenny Geras said ‘What Louise has achieved in just two years is incredible. What Louise’s readers constantly tell us is that in a crowded genre, her novels stand out as being the most gripping, the hardest to put down, with the best twists and the most standout hooks. We congratulate her on this amazing sales milestone, which couldn’t be more deserved.’

 

50 Happy Things 2018: Bloggers Unite to Flood the Internet with Gratitude

 

Hurrah! It’s one of my favourite times of year again – the annual ‘Bloggers flood the internet with gratitude’ co-ordinated by the fabulous Dawn from Tales from the Motherland. If you haven’t joined in before it’s super easy. Set a timer and write a list of things that you have felt grateful for this past year. Full instructions are below. Here’s mine!

 

1. My children – I made humans – actual humans! They always make me laugh/smile/my heart swell with pride.
2. My sister – she’s my hero for many reasons.
3. My husband – often the one who holds everything together while I write ‘just one more page…’. 
4. My mum – I wouldn’t be here without her. 
5. My family – It may be getting smaller but they take up a large space in my heart.
6. My friends – I value them dearly. 
7. My puppy – he may currently be chewing his way through EVERYTHING but he lifts my day – always. 
8. My cat – whoever said cats don’t love has never met our affectionate ball of fur. 
9. The NHS – it’s helped me literally get back on my feet.
10. A mattress – a sufferer of chronic pain I value a soft place to lay.
11. A home – a place I can just be.
12. My garden – I love the outdoors.
13. Nature – The world is so beautiful if we just stop and pause.
14. Mindfulness – my practice enables me to appreciate the here and now.
15. Food – a luxury I never take for granted.
16. Words – I adore the English language.
17. Stories – I’m making a career making stuff up – a dream come true.
18. Water – we turn on taps and voila – we’re incredibly lucky.
19. Fresh air – I live near the countryside and it’s lovely to just breathe.
20. Bloggers – such a supportive community.
21. Charity – we can all do something.
22. The animal kingdom – It’s humbling observing them in their natural habitat.
23. Education – my son is off to uni this year & I’m so excited for his future.
24. Chocolate – Heavenly.
25. Readers – I love meeting and hearing from those who read my novels.
26. My publishers who reach an audience with my books. 
27. My literary agent who has guided me this past year.
28. Music – I play piano (badly) and love going to gigs.
29. Creativity – Art, music, writing – it’s all so inspiring.
30. A dining table. Nothing makes me happier than sharing a good meal with my family.
31. My gratitude journal – the last thing I write before I go to sleep.
32. Kindness – no act is too small.
33. A smile from a stranger often makes my day.
34. Literary festivals – a chance to hang out with other writers and readers & I spoke at my first events this year. 
35. Books – my favourite pastime – always.
36. Wine – a luxury at the end of the day.
37. Flowers – Watching bees buzz lazily around the borders.
38. Colour – makes everything seem a little brighter.
39. Photos – I still print mine out and stick in an album.
40. A car – not being too mobile I’d be lost without mine.
41. Stationery – Nothing cheers me up like a notebook.
42. Cake – baking is therapeutic.
43. A hug – human contact has the power to heal.
44. Medicine – I’m incredibly grateful for the advances we have made.
45. Random acts of kindness.
46. Memories – Making new ones every day.
47. Laughter
48. Time – the greatest gift of all.
49. Electricity
50. Mistakes – I’ve learned & grown & I’ll make them again!

Gratitude is so important. Here you can read how and why I keep a gratitude journal every day.

To join in with ’50 things’ set a timer for 15 minutes. Once you start the timer, start your list. The goal is to write things that make you happy, or things you feel grateful for. Don’t think too hard; just write what comes to mind in the time allotted. If you use the numbered mode and just type what comes to mind, it’s easy. When the timer’s done stop writing; finish whatever sentence you’re on. If you haven’t written 50 things, don’t worry. If you have more than 50 things great; you can’t feel too happy or too grateful! Add the photos, links, instructions, etc after you finish the list––the timer doesn’t matter for getting these details down; it applies to the list only. Add your link here.

 

The one thing I loathe about Christmas has taught me this…

There are rolls of sparkly wrapping paper stacked in the corner of my bedroom, a bag of silver bows, shiny red tags. Today, the first of the gifts I ordered from Amazon arrived and I had a fleeting thought I should wrap up the presents as I buy them, before dismissing it instantly. It’s my least favourite job. There’s never enough room cramped around the table and my back screams with pain if I’m hunched on the floor. No matter how careful I am, I can never, ever, locate the end of the Sellotape and making anything beyond a square shape look enticing is far outside my very limited capabilities.

With a sinking feeling, I totted up the amount of presents I’ve yet to buy, calculating the amount I’ll have to wrap, until a slow and sickening dawning crept over me.

Yet again, there will be less under the tree than last year.

The children are older, two of them adults now, and the enormous pile of plastic, noisy, toys we used to accumulate are long gone. Instead, a sleek gift-wrapped gadget or two will replace all the smaller, cheaper presents, they’d shake and sniff, hazarding wild guesses before excitedly tearing off the paper to see if they were right.

It’s not only my growing family responsible for diminishing the pile of presents under our tree, there’s the inevitable, heart-wrenching loss we’ve experienced. One less person to buy for. One empty space at our dining table. One less cracker to pull. And suddenly having lots to wrap doesn’t feel like the worst thing, having nothing to wrap does.

Tonight I shall pour a glass of red wine before sliding off the plastic coating from my rolls of paper and think how grateful I am to still have people I love to buy gifts for, and the money to buy them, and you never know, my most loathed job, might just become my favourite.

Can you visualise your way onto the bestsellers list?

 

Recently, I blogged about my passion for positivity and how I use vision boards to help create a life I love (you can read that post here) and keep a gratitude journal which makes me feel all warm and squishy inside every day when I realise just how lucky I am (you can read that post here).

Last week I had lunch with fellow author Darren O’Sullivan, whose Harper Collins debut Our Little Secret was a smash hit this summer, so much so his digital only deal has now been expanded to include paperbacks.

Darren was telling me about his long struggle to finish, and publish his novel and how his career only took off once he changed his mindset. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to discuss this properly so I am delighted to welcome Darren onto my YouTube channel today where we chat further about our belief that our thoughts really can shape our world.

I’d love to hear what you think.

You can find Darren over at Amazon here.

On Twitter here.

And Facebook here.

Peanuts!

 

There are lots of things I miss about childhood; the sense of euphoria on the last day of term, as endless balmy summer days stretched before me; the ability to bend and twist my body into any conceivable shape and hurl myself down hills without fear, waking on Christmas morning, stomach lurching, eyes straining in the dark, has Santa been? Snoopy.

The peanuts gang were a huge and much loved part of my life. Even now, as an adult, as a mother, I’m not ashamed to admit whenever I feel life get on top of me and I feel like giving up, I channel my inner Charlie Brown. As much as I felt his frustration every time Lucy pulled the football away I admired his determination to try again, the quiet hope that this time could be different. This time he could succeed.

I did a little snoopy happy dance when I checked the cinema listings and saw the Peanuts movie is out today. Shoes are on, tickets booked, three hours to go. I am so excited.

Written for Streams of Consciousness Saturday. Write the first thing that comes to mind following a prompt and post. No editing allowed. This weeks prompt is ‘miss.’ Read the other entries here.

 

There’s always tomorrow

 

Success. Finally. I can virtually taste it. If it was a tangible thing I could grasp I would press it
against my pounding heart of joy. This moment is the one I’ve been waiting for, striving for and now it’s here. I’m close, so close.

I hold my breath, something’s wrong. Euphoria is washed away by tears of frustration. I shrug off my cloak of failure, take this feeling and stack it neatly with my pile of nearlys, virtuallys and just abouts. My wall of possibilities grows higher and higher.

It almost worked, almost.

There’s always tomorrow.

The Streams of Consciousness prompt today was ‘almost.’ I immediately thought of Thomas Edison’s inspiring quote ‘I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.’ He never gave up trying to invent the lightbulb. Never give up on your dreams.