Thursday Coffee Talk: What I learned from Thomas Rodin & other musings;)

Its not often that I share the letters from readers but I have marveled at the spectrum of thoughts about my dark hero, Thomas Rodin (The Master and the Muses) and find it fascinating what people are saying about him. Thomas of course, is used to both criticism and flattery, taking both with a mere shrug of his shoulder, simply as that is the way of this man. On a personal level, I find Thomas an intriguing and frustrating man--complex , yes and yet, not really. In his world of artists and creative-types, the ego-centric attitude is not uncommon. "One has to be I suppose out of survival of the fittest," Thomas would tell me.

And it dawned on me then, that "survival" seems to be a reoccuring theme in many of my stories. Perhaps it reaches far back into my personal life, perhaps it's simply that I enjoy seeing the ordinary person step up to the plate and become extraordinary in their own right.

Thomas, poor boy, never aspired to be anyone's champion, other than his own. But life, as it often does, interferred and crossing his path came three women who would over time, turn his neat little world upside down-causing him to look at the man in the mirror and make a change.

If you haven't yet read the book, I shan't tell you which of these everyday beauty's captured his heart in the end, you should find that out for yourself;)

Everyone deserves a little happiness. That may be temporal or forever, life is funny that way. We never know which it will be. Savor each moment. Thomas taught me this in the way he enjoyed his walks in nature, in the way he found beauty in the ordinary, in the sound of a poet's word, in the stroke of his brush. A dreamer, poet, rogue--Thomas lived in the moment. And that's something we could all take a lesson from...

Random reader thoughts about Masters & the Muses....

"From the first chapter you are hooked and you can't stop reading until you put the book down. There is mystery, happiness, profound sadness for some of the characters at times, in the end well........... lets say the author wraps up the book nicely and doesn't leave any strings hanging which I hate.." Reader

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"Amanda has such a way with her writing that you feel as though you are behind the curtain, behind the door... As if you are watching the things unfold right in front of your eyes... " Reader

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"Rodin is resolved to show them that entire he deserves his spot among the masters and the stories follow his pursuit of his dream along with three special women who play apart in his work and his life. Each woman is very different and brings something new into Thomas's life as he ushers them into a world of art and beauty and one of desire and abandon as well. "...Reader

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"Thomas Rodin is a man of many talents and many pleasures. He finds it hard to refuse himself, after all he is the master of his domain, the master artisan. He's passionate to a fault with his muses, trying to be what they all want as they try to conform to his life. He is a true artist, able to see the beauty in the world around him, as well as the not so pretty world that in reality, he must live in..." Reader

Go out there today and savor every moment!

Amanda