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People are always asking me "When are you going to publish book number 2?" It's almost like asking the newly married couple when they are going to have their first baby. At first I just wanted to enjoy my first published book. Which I am doing. I am trying to get carried in bookstores and trying to get booked for tv interviews.
But, alas...I am working on book number 2. It isn't about the Maya so sorry to disappoint all my wonderful Maya followers and fellow Mayanists. Although, future Maya works are not all awash. My friend and Mayanist Carl de Borhegyi is deciphering and interpreting pieces of Maya artwork and other closely related ancient art, that is ground breaking. I will continue to share his findings here on my blog. In the meantime, however, the new piece I'm working on is fiction. It would fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller category. So far I've written around 10,000 words. I attended my first Aikido class in the name of research and will be attending a few more. Thank you to Cory & Faith at the Kyoshin Aikido Dojo for letting me be an observer. I do hope to get to try out a few of the moves so I can truly describe the feeling of it to my readers.
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The following photo and excerpt is from my friend Carl de Borhegyi, a leading Maya expert in Minnesota. See his website for more info on Maya art decipherment at www.mushroomstone.com I really do however like the idea of ancient girl power.  The famous bronze statue on the left, of a young women sporting a club-like hand, is from Harappa, early Indus civilization. The figurine is thought to be about 4,500 years old. The standing female figurine on the right, represents a ballplayer from ancient Mexico wearing a protective helmet, ballgame glove and a mushroom-inspired ballgame belt. The figurine comes from the site of Xochipala, Mexico, in the western state of Guerrero, and dates to 1200-900 B.C.E It is now in the Princeton University Art Museum.
In Mesoamerica I believe a ritual beverage made from juice expressed from the Amanita muscaria mushroom (Soma) was probably consumed before battle and before the ritual ballgame, to journey into the Underworld, and to enhance one's bravery, and strength to its wildest levels. Numerous ballplayer figurines have been found at Xochipala and at such other Preclassic sites as Tlatilco and Tlapacoya in the Valley of Mexico. Stephan de Borhegyi conjectured that a change in ballgame rituals and a switch from the Olmec influenced "hand ball game" most likely came as a result of the powerful influence of Teotihuacan and newly instituted Quetzalcoatl rites. (Borhegyi 1980: p. 24). For more on ballgame hand stones and ballgame gloves see Borhegyi, 1961: 129-140. (photograph of Xochipala ballplayer from Whittington, 2001) by Carl de Borhegyi Waking up at 5 am isn't normal routine for me, but it certainly does shake things up. And it was well worth it. I got to see the sunrise and see Lake Minnetonka which I haven't seen in quite a while. Just a gentle reminder of why I moved to Minnesota so many years ago. I beat all the morning rush hour traffic, which was nice, and it didn't take me very long to get there. On my way home it took me twice as long on the drive, which reminds me why I do not like I-494 during rush hour.
I presented to the morning Rotary Club of Lake Minnetonka for the city of Excelsior at Maynards in Excelsior. It's a great place. Great food and ambiance. It sits right on one of the bays of Lake Minnetonka. My presentation was well received and the members of the club were so very nice and welcoming as with the other Rotary Clubs. So far presenting for the local Rotary Clubs has been a great experience and the members are so nice and welcoming. Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking and presenting "Unlocking The Mysteries Of The Ancient Maya" , which is based on my book, to the Bloomington, MN Noon Rotary Club. My presentation was filmed by Bloomington Access Channel TV and will be airing sometime soon on their channel.
After the presentation was over there was time for some Q&A, and then I was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and the Rotary Club made a donation in my name to the End Polio Now Fountation. Tomorrow I am presenting to the Lake Minnetonka/Lake Excelsior Rotary Club. Looking forward to it. I' have a little over 500 Twitter Followers! Twitter is a great place for self promotion. There are lots of authors, musicians, PR people, agents, artists, business men & women all on Twitter. It's a great place for business social connections.
This weekend I was explaining the difference between Twitter and Facebook to my internet socially inept friends. Twitter= Self promotion blurbs to lots of people you've never met before. Facebook = Broadcast news to people you know. As an independent author I really do love the fact that social media is there for me. |
AuthorBonnie Bley is an Award Winning Author. She is a native of Wyoming, spent her formative years in the border reservation town of Hardin, MT, situated in the southeastern corner of Montana. Her educational journey took her to Aberdeen, SD, and Bloomington, MN, where she honed her skills and knowledge. In the late Archives
December 2024
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