CARON GUILLO, STORIES, AND DREAMS 05/23/2011
 Caron Guillo WITH LOVE AND INSPIRATION. We embark on a journey with Caron Guillo, a writer and Certified International Tour Manager for Queenslander Tours. We celebrate a woman who did not quit when the hours turned dark on her writing, and later when her plans to teach summer school were derailed. We welcome Caron, who has reached a special moment in her life. The hours of light and joy with two dreams realized: the publication of her debut novel, AN UNCOMMON CRUSADE, and the bliss of working with Queenslander Tours, a company she loves, doing what she loves--traveling, learning, and discovering new ways to tell her stories. This month also marks another wish come true for Caron. AN UNCOMMON CRUSADE was recently named the Winner in the Religious Fiction category of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Caron's dedication and perseverance inspire me. And I think of Steven Pressfield and what he wrote in The War of Art--Winning Your Inner Creative Battle: The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration. Thank you, Caron, for being an inspiration and for being here. Thanks so much for sharing with us moments from your journey, for reminding us to follow and trust our dreams. To not give up. -Mia  A CHAT WITH CARON WHAT DID YOU LOVE AND LIKED LEAST ABOUT YOUR SIX-YEAR PUBLICATION JOURNEY? WHAT KEPT YOU GOING DURING THE DIFFICULT TIMES? It seems strange that I really did love having six years from the time I actually started writing AN UNCOMMON CRUSADE until it was published. It gave me lots of time to grow as a writer, polish the manuscript and double check my research so that I could be proud of the finished product. On the other hand, of course, was my old friend Impatience. It's easy to get discouraged. It's hard to hear one publisher or another say, "It's an interesting story, but it's just not right for us." At one point, I thought of serializing the novel online. In the end, I just couldn't let my daughter see me quit. I have sons, too, but it is my daughter who will most look to me for guidance on what it means to live courageously. YOUR DEBUT NOVEL, AN UNCOMMON CRUSADE, WAS PUBLISHED EARLIER THIS YEAR. HOW DID IT FEEL WHEN YOU HELD YOUR BOOK IN ITS PUBLISHED FORM? It seemed very familiar, for I'd been envisioning it for years. TELL US ABOUT THE MOMENT WHEN YOU WENT FROM BEING A MATH TEACHER WORKING IN A BASEMENT CLASSROOM TO A TOUR LEADER AND TRAVELER? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE THAT LEAP? Trust me, that middle school basement was inspiration enough! I'd really been thinking of making the transition for a few years, but was always waiting for the right time. One year my plans to teach summer school were derailed by a paperwork glitch. A coworker asked, "What are you going to do with your summer?"  That's all she asked, but for some reason, it seemed to echo down that basement hallway and sounded like, "What are you going to do with your life?" I had no idea. Within a couple of days, however, my friend Mark Story, the owner of QueensLander Tours, emailed to ask when would I go through training so that I could lead tours for him. And in that moment, I knew what I would do with my summer. I enrolled in the International Guide Academy (Denver), earned my certification as an International Tour Manager in the hopes that "sometime in the future" I'd be ready to make the career leap, and then swallowed my fear when Mark offered me two tours that season. They conflicted with the school calendar, but I could see it was the right time to align myself with the thriving QueensLander Tours--a company I really believe in and love working for--and so I resigned my contract that summer and haven't looked back. ✶ Don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. -Ella Fitzgerald ✶ Join us here next week on May 30, 2011 for the second segment of Caron's journey. She shares with us her fears and the ways she combats them. Find out what project she has in the works. ✶ A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily. May 2011.  CommentsBarbara Killen 05/24/2011 6:24am
It is so exciting reading about Caron's good news and travels. It is especially thrilling for me to say that I knew her when.....she was in that basement or even before she made it to the basement. She is a blessing to know. Enjoy your journey. 05/29/2011 6:44am
Barbara, 06/04/2011 8:30am
Barbara! Thank you for taking time to read and comment. I enjoyed working with you! Leave a Reply |  ✶CONNECTING AND SHARING OUR JOURNEYS through the moments, travels, stories, treasures and dreams. ✶AT FOUR DAYS A WEEK. ✶Aspiring and inspiring. FROM HERE TO THERE. ✶LET'S DO. DREAM. BELIEVE.✶ -Mia T. Starr
CONTRIBUTORS & GUESTS
_✶ Click here for our special guests posts since 2010, or click on an image above to take you there. ✶
NEWS & NOTES
✶ This year's special guests include: ✶Donald Verger, award-winning photographer; ✶Melissa Sawatsky, writer, poet, and editor; and more to come (✶Jade Webber, painter, teacher, and environmental activist; and ✶Matt Michaels, graduate journalism student at Northwestern University).
✶ Cheers to Naoko Stoop (one of our special guests) on her new book, All Creatures Great and Small. Well done, Naoko!
✶ Stephen Webber, an excellent writing teacher who helped Mia with her MORNING SUN in Tuscany, is offering Wellness and Writing Immersion ~ Online Writing Classes.
✶ Gems along the way for MORNING SUN, a historical fiction in progress. No matter how dark the morning, the sun always rises. -Mia T. Starr
   SWEET TWEETS
✶ We treasure your tweets, comments, and emails. Thanks so much for sharing and sending them. Thanks for being here and making this corner of the World Wide Web a special one. ✶
TOP STORIES The posts and stories that captured your hearts and imagination, here and at Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily, The Becoming Daily, and other online papers. Thank you so much. ❤ ✶*¨¨*•*¨*✶☼
✶ In Venice ~ an awakening. In a swirl of art and joy. Above the grandeur. Photos, moments, and poetry.
✶ A daughter makes a visit to her father's village of Mong Phu in Vietnam. A family passage.
✶ HG handed the story to Mom and said, "Put it in my packpack. Please. I want to read it in school. Okay?"
✶ MORE TOP STORIES ✶ ƒ๏ℓℓ๏ω YOUR HEART AND INTUITION ✶ experience ✶ TAKING FLIGHT WITH LIFE ✶ something new ✶ BEYOND THE TRAIL ✶ THE WAY TO THE SKY, THE WAY TO THE STARS ✶ AN IMMERSION into Writing, Bliss, and the ARTFUL LIFE ✶ AM WRITING MORNING SUN ✶ MOM'S GARDEN From Vietnam to Michigan ✶SPRING ETERNAL ✶ WISHES AND CRANES WITH LOVE ✶ JOURNEYS OF HOPE ✶IF YOU FOLD A Thousand Cranes ✶ PRELUDE TO MORNING SUN ✶ A HISTORICAL FICTION In Progress ✶¨*✶•*¨*☼✶
READERS SHARE
✶ I loved your post and your description of the secret garden! Your words to me right there. :) Thank you for that experience. -Carolyn CJ Jones
✶ Beautiful post! You have such an excellent ability to impart the feeling of the retreat experience. I love this. -Stephen
✶ Mia, you do such beautiful and inspiring things. Simple, effective, wonderful. Thank you. -Stan Stewart
✶ dearest mia, your presence is breath-
taking. as is your writing, your face, your pictures. -Rachel Awes 
✶ Action! I can almost hear the director pulling this film together, firm voice rising above the din. I know, it's a book. But you write with the taste and feel of film. The gift of vivid, clean storytelling. I look forward to the next installment! Thanks for sharing this. @virtualDavis
✶ How lovely, Mia! Thank you for sharing these poignant thoughts about
your beautiful, strong grandmother and the excerpt from your WIP. It
reads like poetry. -Caron Guillo
✶ Mia, what an amazing thing to wake up to ... that was the most beautiful imagery I've ever seen ... and your words, as beautiful as your spirit ... I can't thank you enough for sharing it. And to think I never would have seen it if it weren't for lovely you ... -Jennifer Valentine
✶ Thank you for sharing the wonderful story about how you found my artwork ... these comments are treasure for me as well as it's fuel for my next creation. -Naoko Stoop
✶ Thank you for your kind comments about my post "expanding my horizons" ... I popped over to your site for a visit, what a wonderful place you have there! I am adding you to my blog roll, I definitely need to visit, often ... -Kelly Letky
✶ Mia, you are such an inspiration with your writing, travel, advocacy and all. I am so happy to have met you here. Bless you! -Anita Bondi
BELIEVING AND FOLLOWING OUR BLISS. FROM HERE TO THERE.
  TREASURES ALONG THE WAY ~ DOING WHAT YOU LOVE.
 
Lush little book by Naoko Stoop.
 Freedom by Kate.
 Vintage assemblage jewelry by Sacred Cake.
 In 1965 a nine-year-old son gave his mom a magnolia tree and planted it in front of their home in Toledo, Ohio. Each spring the tree grew and blossomed, carrying with it the spirit of life. This year the flowers of the tree were dancing to the winds on a clear, blue sky day. Photo by Beth Bingle.
 
GIVE VOICE TO YOUR DREAMS.
LEAP FEARLESSLY. In being fearless
you are not without fear, rather you are withstanding fear. You are moving forward in spite of it. -Meredith Pignon MUSINGS CATEGORIESAll  Become a possibilitarian.
No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities-- always see them, for they're always there. -Dr. Norman Peale- ✶ PHOTO CREDITS ✶
Most photos throughout this site were taken by Mia T. Starr. All others provided by our readers and featured guests. Please contact us for additional information and permission to use the photos. Site banner created by Van T. Nguyen. |
