Behind the Scene | Carol's Lives

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019

Ladies in Lavender – A Movie I Watched on a Recent Flight

I have long learned not to wear mascara during a flight, for the convenience. A recent 11-hour flight saw me watching three movies. And one of them was Ladies in Lavender.

I can’t believe someone would make such an exquisitely beautiful movie!

We don’t know where that young man Andrea came from when he washed up on the beach. He could be a sailor, a prisoner, a passenger who had been swept off an ocean liner on the way to America, or a spy observing coastal activities – according to the local authority. But it doesn’t matter, does it?

The interest of the landscape painter, beautiful young lady Olga in him could lead to a typical romantic story. The audience expected that. She withdrew when he advanced. We don’t know that part of her story, why she would “lead on” but then withdraw. But it doesn’t matter, does it?

Ursula’s instant affection towards a stranger young man the age of her son could easily lead us to a past-life connection. Or at least, if you do that many past life regression sessions with people like I do. But no. It was not it. A strange love. The movie shows, but it doesn’t tell, and it doesn’t explain, because truly it doesn’t matter, does it?

A random music genius washed up to a random shore on a random after-storm morning saved by random old ladies…

I wept and wept, with other passengers closely around. I didn’t care. This is an other-worldly story with worldly music – beautiful violin! In the not so remotely 1930’s, watched by me from 11585m height at the speed of 705kmh.

Oh love. It hurts so much! And it needs no rescue.

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019

History Drifts by the River

Standing by the Richelieu River flowing to NY

Looking back, I truly couldn’t have asked for a better place to finish off the first draft of the book Carol’s Lives.

The Richelieu River can be as still as a mirror

It was in late May, 2018, invited by Lorraine and Daniel, I went to a small riverside community called Saint-Paul-de-L’île-aux-Noix in Quebec for two weeks, a perfect place and length of time to finish the book that had taken me too long to finish.

On the shore of the Richelieu River, 45 minutes away from Montreal, I got up every morning, settled in the screened gazebo, and opened my laptop. It felt like a boathouse, with an enchanted canal and the Richelieu River all around me. Here I was 10 kilometers away from U.S border and 500 kilometers away from New York, writing about that hectic and sentimental life in Manhattan, in a peaceful and quiet setting. It felt surreal. A lifetime had come to an end. Here I was again.

For two weeks I did nothing else but write. My body and mind felt quite relaxed sitting and writing by the riverside everyday, yet my heart could ache with the darkness and hardship in the life of Carol and Rick. Like the wide river itself, peaceful and calm in the morning and evening, often full of waves following the whims of the wind in the afternoon, yet never giving any indication of the direction it flowed.

The act of writing was very smooth and inspirational. Words flew onto my computer screen as I watched the ever-changing sunlight drifting over the water and the procession of boats going in and out of the canal and down the river.

Across the river I could see Fort Lennox on the island called Ile-aux-Noix, a fortification still standing on a structure that was completed in 1829. History must have witnessed battles here. But right now, it has all come back into this single moment of peace where my finger hit the last key on the first draft of my book.

November 5, 2018February 12, 2019

The Birthing of the Book Cover

One Vancouver summer’s afternoon, Tim and I met Silmara, our photographer and book cover designer, in Kitsilano (Don’t you like the sound of that name? So soft but firm, nearly romantic.)

We were to take some benching pictures overlooking the water for the book cover, to illustrate Tim and I, sitting in Vancouver in this life, looking ahead, through time, into New York City in the 20’s.

That was a relaxing afternoon. Silmara was working at her own pacing, directing and instructing us occasionally. At the same time, Tim and I had our conversations going on sitting on two different benches without being interrupted by Silmara’s work.

Silmara is the owner of The Orange Lamp studio in Kitsilano. We trusted her. Even though the original idea was mine, we had no idea what the final look of the book cover would be. But I could feel the excitement knowing Silmara was going to do the work.

A few weeks later, Silmara delivered three versions.

I liked them all for different reasons. Hard to decide, I put all three cover designs to my FaceBook page asking for opinions. And people say:

Through the covers we can almost read the book.. Great feeling I got from it.
Thank you for sharing yourself with the world my friend.
Despite the third also being great, I feel that the first is “closer” to the story.

Aesthetically the 3rd option pulls my attention more readily. The 1st is more subtle yet feels like you’re stepping into a private moment. Exciting times Kemila.

I am drawn to the third one (post cards).

Sitting with the designed covers for a couple of weeks, I knew I wanted something closer to the content to represent the book. And I knew Silmara hadn’t had the chance to read the book.

So we had another meeting with Silmara. Tim came up with the idea of ocean background, as in one of Carol’s lives, Sijo is living in a pristine ocean island. Tim sent an ocean picture that he took when we were visiting Oregon coast last summer.

And Silmara turned it into a beautiful cover background. Voila, our final cover was born. Even though Silmara went further designed another almost abstract version of the ocean bubbles, the moment I saw them coming into my email inbox, I knew which one I was going to take.

Now what do you think?

August 31, 2018

Ever Wondered…?

Have you ever wondered:

how it is like to be regressed for a past life experience?
if there is life on another planet?
what is future like for humanity?
what it feels like for a hypnotherapist herself to be found in someone’s past life?

Then you will find satisfaction in reading this book. Pre-order it here >>>>

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