Dragonflies. If you look closely throughout my home, you’ll see they are represented everywhere. Beyond that, they are the title of my newest trilogy, DRAGONFLY EYES, which means it’s pretty obvious I LOVE dragonflies! But where, you might ask, does this strange obsession come from?
Part of the reason is sad, and part of it is magical.
The first part for me is tragic: When my friend, Savannah Anderson was murdered, I went to her graveside at the close of her service. There, darting among the other headstones was a beautiful, angelic blue-green dragonfly, zigging and zagging throughout the air. For some strange reason, the dragonfly brought me a sliver of light in my overwhelming darkness. It felt as if Savannah herself was reminding me that there was more to come after this life. The thought gave me comfort.
Throughout the years, I began to collect all kinds of everything that featured dragonflies: jewelry, vases, quilts, paintings, even a bird feeder (a gift from my sister Joni) represented the beautiful dragonfly. Joni wondered if the dragonfly was my totem animal. I didn’t know what that was, so I looked it up. This is from a site called Emily Gems:
"Totem: animal spirit guides
A totem is any natural or mythical animal to whom you feel a close connection during your life or some particular period of your life. The energy of the totem animal speaks to you in some way that is relevant to your own personality or circumstance in life."
Enough said! I decided that the dragonfly attraction must mean something, so I called it ‘my totem’ ever since.
I was writing my paranormal book centered on Earthbound spirits, but I hadn’t at that point decided on a title. Then, by pure chance, I read that the dragonfly had the best vision of any creature on earth! That, for me, was the magical part! I wondered, (imaginatively speaking) if a dragonfly could see souls in the afterlife. Next, I Googled the symbol of the dragonfly on the Internet. If you haven’t yet looked up dragonfly totems, I dare you! (There are a LOT of sites!) It was as if I had been guided by Savannah all along. My trilogy title has never changed from that point on. What was explained was perfect for me and my book's journey. DRAGONFLY EYES, has been and always will be the title, and believe me, I’ve been working on this project for a LONG time. Making an entirely new world is extremely difficult (applause for J.K. Rowling!) so there have been many false starts and stops, but I am now humming away, my writing foundation laid at last.
As for the sea glass? Ever since childhood, I’ve been enchanted by the thought of the sea transforming glass into jewels. There is a tale that sea glass is actually mermaid tears, so of course I couldn’t resist that kind of magical thinking! To get a silver dragonfly on a piece of sea glass seemed a double enchantment, so I wear this piece a lot when I am writing. Wish me luck as I hone in on the end!
