I love to live in twilight, it is my favorite time of day.
The mystery of the in-between…
… an hour when one doesn’t know whether they are coming or going…
…whether it is the end…
…or just the beginning.
And then we choose, we choose together, to continue on.
Although the light is fading…
…making the path uncertain…
…we trust in our internal guide…
…and the bedrock solid shoulders of loved ones…
…to steer us straight into the new beyond.
One can linger in such moments…
…the dreaming and pondering can be delicious…
…or one can buckle down, dig in and do.
In the twilight, everything seems possible. Details grow, becoming crisp.
And then the moon and stars appear…
…as reassuring as old friends.
In the beautiful village of Gordes in the heart of the Luberon…
…I walked the high-wire through the gloaming…
…until I crossed into the deep true of night.
Step by step, without looking back…
…and dazzled by believing’s shining light.
This post was written as a little Happy Birthday sonata for a lovely woman who writes under the nom de plume of Vickie Lester at one of my very favorite blogs, Beguiling Hollywood. Vickie has been hard at work on her novel, It’s in his kiss, which takes place in, “A camera-ready world of fantasy fulfilled, artifice and bone-deep glamour.” Now, doesn’t that grab your interest? It should. Each chapter that I have read had my heart racing, leaving me hungry for the next. For you see, Ms. Lester is not only a brilliant writer but the real deal who writes about Hollywood, it’s wonders and foibles, from the deep insider point of view. And some of the scandalous tidbits? Well, they very well might be a slightly disguised truth, which we all know is stranger than fiction.
But not so long ago, after the final edit had been sealed and the book cover designed, Vickie discovered that the publishing team that she had been working so hard with had been dissolved. Just like that, quicker than a sunset. Can you imagine? Years of work. So what to do? In the in-between, we have to make a choice. And rather than lie down on the floor and sob for a few weeks – which is frankly, what I would have done most likely – she kept going. Yes, just like a heroine in one of those old movies that we love and that Vickie knows like the back of her hand (her knowledge of Hollywood, old and new, is positively encyclopedic). And so now, she is bravely stepping forward into the world of self-publishing, a high-wire if there ever was one. She is surrounded and supported by all who know her because she is that kind of woman. So when our mutual friend George Kaplan asked if I would participate in a virtual birthday celebration for Vickie, I said, “Oui” in a heartbeat.
Now, let’s get this party started:
I believe in you Vickie and you truly inspire me. May this year ahead be as great of an adventure as I feel it will be for you, I am sure of it…
Happy Birthday!
To read another tribute to Vickie, please see the very moving testimony on the power of friendship, beautifully written (as always) by Lanier at Scents Memory: here.
For The Perfumed Dandy’s tribute, please click here.
To read Beguiling Hollywood, please click here.
And to learn more about “It’s in his kiss” and to listen the the lead character’s soundtrack, please click here.
Lovely photos – so beautiful. I need to come to Provence!
Discovery and disappearance and arrival-
meditatively you guide us
through colorful and diverse places,
beauty slowly unfolds.
Happy Birthday to Vickie.
Happy Valentine's Day.
Such a lovely post for your friend, Heather…I'm popping across to her blog now; she sounds wonderful.
Happy Weekend xx
what a wonderful story….
Thank you very much Heather for introducing Vicky Lester's fab blog. It's a love at first sight. I enjoyed the archives and subscribed instantly.
Please share your favorites more often.
Beautiful post, everything really does seem possible at twilight, and it is. Best wishes to Vicky, the trick is to never give up. The Universe admires action, being constantly in action itself. XXXX
What a sweet post. You are such a good friend, Heather.
Oy vey, Vicky's story is what I am terrified of as I pluck away at my own novel. Whenever I get those negative thoughts, I'll stop by here and reread your words because there is always another solution.
Best, best, best of luck to Vicky and Happy Birthday. Now excuse, I'm heading over to Beguiling Hollywood, because you pretty much had me at bone-deep glamour!
De trés belles photos de Gordes et de la poésie en plus! Trés approprié à consoler Madame Vickie Lester un tout petit peu! Elle doit être trés, trés deçu! Bon courage et bonne anniversaire Vickie Lester!
Fort adorable aussi les deux copains 'de fourrure' côte à côte!
Ah, what a lovely, lovely birthday greeting; and I do love a gloaming.
oh heather!
twinkle lights, goldens, twilight and birthday wishes.
how delicious.
many happy returns to Miss Vickie Lester
and hello all the way across the world to You.
Happy Birthday, Vickie, and may your book be a roaring success! I love the French word for twilight….crépuscule. It's somehow so evocative. Your photos nearly broke my heart,they are so beautiful.
What a wonderful gift. I am now going down the rabbit hole of your fantastic friends treasure trove of a website. oh, and I can't wait to read her book!
Heather, this post is a beautiful gift to which I will return often. What you are able to "say" with words and images is unparalleled.
Happy Birthday and Every Best Wish, Vickie…I look forward to reading your new book!
Leslie in Portland, Oregon
Beautiful words and images. Wishing Vickie all the best of luck. I am sure she will have heaps of success.
Please pardon my spelling error of your name, Vickie …
Go Heather! … Go Vicky! … into the twilight and wonderful mystery of your next steps. Excellent post, Heather. Mahalo et Merci
Your beautiful writing and images never cease to move me Heather. May Vickie's vision, persistence and courage be rewarded. Bisous
Well, gosh, this was lovely. I fell hard for that moving picture of Kipling (or is that Ben?) but so many images after that one gripped my heart with a pleasant ease. Just inspired, H.
Your imagery, as always, is magical. And Vickie's determination is inspiring!
I feel like I woke in an enchanted place far across the sea, and I HAVE. Thank you, Heather, for your gifts of friendship, astonishing beauty, and world class elegance. You darling, have got it going on. From my half century I can say you are a rare bird, indeed!
Lovely, Heather. It's morning here and I see pink clouds out the window that look like they could be sisters of the ones in the first photo. I think my favorite pic has to be Kipling and Ben taking it all in.
I wanted to cry just hearing Vickie's tale. How maddening! Good for her (and how inspiring) to not let it stop her.
Happy Wednesday! XOXO
This is just so beautiful Heather. You have such grace and beauty. Happy Birthday Vickie!
Gorgeous thoughts and images. Thank you.
Happy birthday Vickie. I wish you all the best with your new strategy for publishing your book. Heather, your pictures are beautiful. I love Gordes at any time of the day, especially when there are not too many tourists wandering this Plus Beaux Village. Have a great day.
…when one doesn't know if we are coming and going…is it the beginning or is it the end. So wonderful how you expressed your feelings about twilight, Heather. It wasn't twilight that morning but after a bad sleep I saw a rainbow
over a red golden group of trees , the sky in a deep inkblue , grey, orange…I couldn't either breath nor take my eyes of this natural wonder, I just gazed ..and my day was made …a good one as I wish you as well. Vicky did right keep going , it's the only choice to survive . My best wishes to her, although we never met.
Happy Birthday Vickie! I wish you much success.
Lovely tribute.
Part of the keep going can include a good lie down and sob on the floor. Its like an inverted fasting on pity without the party, pastries allowed.