How To Get The Most Out Of The Lazuli Portals!

Hint: We’re about more than simply writing and publishing our stories!

So we thought we’d compile a post to weave together all the colourful strands of our design so that you can get a better idea of the broader picture! (Maybe there’s something here that you’ll discover for the first time!)

While ‘The Lazuli Portals’ is our partnership and business name, the words also represent the trilogy of novels that we’ve been writing: books about spiritual awakening, featuring stone circles, crystals, parallel worlds, synchronicities, and life-force energy. When it comes to writing, this is our first ‘calling’, and where our writing journey began.

You can find out more about our books here.

You can find out more about us, and how we teamed up, here.

If you are particulary interested in soul connections, then we have our interview with Soulmate Experience here.

Aligned with following that calling, we also offer some ‘bonuses’ on our website, little extras that Joanna created when she was running her Winter Jasmine Reiki business. Now that she’s focusing solely on writing, all those freebies have been incorporated into The Lazuli Portals website.

There are

:: free Reiki self-attunements (Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz, and Clear Quartz)

:: images infused with life-force energy (to give you a boost)

:: beautiful images featuring quotes from the books

:: information about orbs of life (similar to the lovelight orbs we mention in the novels) and

:: information about hand mudras and a free little ‘taster’ of the Gyan mudra energy

(and more!)

Also linking with the Lazuli Portals trilogy of novels are our Cordello Quest A-Z blog posts relating to concepts, ideas, and characters within the trilogy. So if you’re a fan of the novels, and like to explore ‘around’ the books that you read, you might enjoy those! So far we’ve written for the letters A-K, beginning with A is for Ascended Reikan, and ending with K is for Kaleidoscope. L is for Lovelight will be coming soon!

Much as we enjoy writing about life-force energy, spiritual growth, and crystals, we are sometimes tempted in other directions, such as paranormal suspense; we also write flash fiction, poetry and haiku. If that’s up your street then you’ll find lots of micro-fiction and poetry on our blog.

In addition, our little ebook  Crystal, Fire and Water is free for Amazon Kindle and also available through Smashwords for other ereader software.

If you enjoy short stories, then our collections The House of the Stormwind and other short stories and Dark Perfume: Tales of Light and Shadow are also available.

For those of you who are fans of YouTube, then we do have our own channel, which usually gets updated when we launch a new book. Our clips include readings from our stories, and also an interview.

If you enjoy book reviews, then take a look at our Recommended Read blog posts, some of which relate to fiction, others non-fiction. We may be expanding this series in the future to include guided meditation tracks and healing resources – and possibly colouring books for grown-ups! We don’t receive any financial recompense for any of the books or products we review: they’re simply shared because we want to.

                

What about if you want to get in touch with us? Well, obviously you can leave a comment on any of our blog posts – but we’re also on Facebook and Twitter, sharing items we think will uplift, interest, or amuse. Or you can contact us privately through the contact forms on our website or blog, or reply to us when we send you a Newsletter (you can sign up for that here).

If you’re local to Devon/Cornwall, maybe you’ll see us with a stall at a mind-body-spirit fair! We’re happy to sign our books for readers buying from us in-person. 🙂

Ron at Harewood House, waiting for opening time!

Joanna on Day One at Crocadon Sawmill MBS Fair

Phew – putting all that together makes us realise what a lot we’ve achieved over the last few years! Are there any in the list that you didn’t know about – and are now glad that you did?!

We hope at least some of what we’ve shared with you above will be useful to you. If you have friends or family who’d enjoy our ‘offerings’, please do let them know about us! We’re independent authors, so every positive share or recommendation is valuable to us!

Many thanks for reading!

Joanna and Ron | The Lazuli Portals

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Third Novel ‘Update’ + Seasonal Micro-Fiction! :-)

Can you believe it’s already December?! Where has the time gone? Well, a good deal of that time (along with lovelight!) has found its way into the final novel of our Lazuli Portals Trilogy … the book currently known (to you, at least!) as LP3.

We do have a title for the book … and, for the first time, for each of its chapters, too! For now (when Jo’s health and Ron’s ‘free time’ permit) we are still working with our beta readers, and on editing and polishing. Then will come formatting, proofreading, and preparing the book for its Kindle and paperback homes.

The artist who designed the beautiful covers for The Cordello Quest and Mosaic of Light (the fabulous Stuart Cooper) is keen to work with us again, but is not available until after the New Year. Designing and creating a cover from scratch – one which clearly represents the essence of the story – takes a lot of time and dedication! So please, stay hopeful that he will be able to create another fabulous cover for us!

What we can tell you now is that the book’s title is three words long. Just like The Cordello Quest and Mosaic of Light. Three books, each with a three-word title. 3 3 3. Hmm, strange coincidence … or is it synchronicity?! Those repetitive triple numbers rear their head again, something Keira finally learns more about in LP3!

  

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So with the newsy bit out of the way, we have some micro fiction to offer you, little stories of fewer than 250 words each which we’ve crafted in response to the snowy image below. (Believe it or not, despite their similarities, Ron and I wrote these stories independently of one another!) We hope you enjoy them!

[Image © www.Copyright-free-photos.org.uk]

The Evening Before
As the last of the sun’s offerings tinkle the settled snowy branches, the air stills and silence falls over the ancient walkway. Looking up, the new moon sits there trying to make its own mark on a perfect winter’s scene created by the earlier snowfall. The wonder of this quiet solo walk is lifting the dread of tomorrow, which had pervaded my mind all day.

A wave of extreme cold suddenly shoots through me, hitting my back and exiting my chest, prickling the hairs. Wide-eyed I look around. Nothing has moved. Snow sits securely on the firs around me.
Along the pristine snow path in front of me a series of footprints rapidly appear. Nothing visible to make them. They shoot on around the bend.
I stand in shock. No movement.  No sound.
The light is fading. Nervously I look over my shoulder from the direction I had walked. Nothing.
Wait… Where are my footprints? The path is covered with unmarked snow.

My shoes hold traces of the snow kicked up by my steps and are sitting with snow all around them. As I look down, snow replaces my feet and a warmth spreads up my legs as they disappear. I can not move but do not feel ill at ease as my lower body is lost from view.
The footprints in front of me are disappearing as they retrace themselves.

Tomorrow has come early. I am off to my past again.

[242 words © Ron C. Dickerson]

Cold and Crystalline
The only sound is that of my boots squeaking along the snow-covered forest path, and the soft whoosh of my breath where it puffs into a cloud just in front of me. The freezing air is ice on my tongue, tasting of purity and newness.

I stop walking and hold my breath, listening to the cold, crystalline silence. Right here, right now, it’s just me and this white world.

Behind me, my footprints track my past. Ahead lies a path of unbroken snow: pure possibility. I wait, poised, at the fulcrum of time, glad of this stillness, this pause. I gather it in with all my senses, exploring the shape and texture of it, wishing I could commit it to memory.

But memory is the past, and this precise moment will not be experienced again, for even memory is not a perfect replication. In any case, if I spend time back there, then I miss what is happening now. And look, the moment is already changing, a twig cracking somewhere ahead, followed by a russet blur scampering up the shadowed spine of a tree.

Even here, nothing remains the same. Even here, each moment is impermanent.

Releasing my breath, I resume my walk. My Boxing Day afternoon awaits: young nieces and nephews will arrive soon, faces flushed and eyes bright with excitement, their high voices a tumult. Now, my spirit rested and serene, I am ready to return home and immerse myself in the happy hubbub.

[246 words © Joanna Gawn]

***

If you would like to share this blog post, then you are very welcome to do so! The words on this page have been infused with lovelight. Any action you take to share The Lazuli Portals with the wider world is helpful, and a way to offer more love and light!

Also, please feel free to comment below! We love to hear from people who’ve enjoyed what we write. 🙂

With lovelight blessings for a beautiful December, and a New Year full of hope, possibility, and love,

Joanna and Ron | The Lazuli Portals

~ fiction for the awakening ~

 

Recommended For Mindfulness and Meditation: Calm.com

This post is the first in a planned series sharing tools and techniques that I’ve been using for mindfulness and meditation. We hope you enjoy them!

The tool I’m sharing with you today is one I found several years back, and have used a fair bit.

‘Calm’ is free via Google Play, the iTunes store, and for  those who prefer to access via a laptop, can be easily accessed at https://www.calm.com

The moving scenes (videos on a loop) can be used with their accompanying audios (or relaxing music, in some cases) or muted, so that you have purely the moving image as your focus.

There’s a selection of timers to choose from, or you can set your chosen scene to run until you decide to Stop or Pause it. Once the scene has been running for a little while, the timer fades until you want it again.

In addition to immersing yourself in the dozens of natural scenes, the Calm app offers a large number of tailored guided meditations, including Sleep Stories and meditations for children.

One section is shown below. Some require a subscription, but my own feeling is that the app offers plenty for those who wish to stick to the unpaid version.

I’ve used both the desktop version and the Android phone version. Scenes can be downloaded to mobile devices for offline use, which is handy for travel or when data usage is a factor. 🙂

When using the mobile version, a daily meditation reminder can be set. The app also allows you to keep track of the days you meditated – and your longest streak, total number of sessions, and total time spent meditating!

I have my favourite scenes, one of which is the valley river shown above (it happens to remind me of a place which is important to me, and to the 3rd novel in our Lazuli Portals trilogy!)

I’m also a big fan of the falling raindrops (see the first image in the post), falling snow against a midnight blue sky, the waves fluttering into the sunset beach above, the foggy stream, and the deep underwater scene! On mobile devices, it’s easy to swipe backward and forward between scenes.

There is also a selection of music geared toward focus, relaxation, or sleep, depending on your preference.

So there you have it – the ‘Calm’ app. Has this post piqued your interest? Have you found it helpful? We’ll share more apps and audio-visual tools in future posts, and I’ll be talking a bit about colouring for grown-ups, too, I hope!

Leaving you with lovelight blessings!

Joanna and Ron | The Lazuli Portals
fiction for the awakening

Micro-Fiction: ‘Hiding from the World’

Hiding From The World

The grass fringing the lake is my sanctuary. It offers me stillness, isolation from the noise and busyness of the world. For now, that is how I want it to be. Just me, the forest, the mountain, the waders and birds of prey … and the lake. Even the sky is my friend today, its cloud leaking onto the higher reaches of the mountain. I feel it reinforcing my separation from everything else.

I have left the electronic world behind, turned my back on its insistence, its urgency, its pleading. I cannot be found. I cannot be called back. This is where I need to be. Before it is too late.

Here, I can breathe, and my lungs expand with ease. The mirror in my cabin reminded me this morning that I haven’t shaved for three days. But despite the stubble, the face looking back at me seemed younger. The V of lines on my forehead had vanished, and my shoulders seemed lower and looser. It had taken me a while to figure out what else was missing … then I realised it was the haunted look in my eyes, the pain I’d carried with me for ten years absent for the first time. Instead, I saw a clarity, a brightness, a hope.

I will have to go back sometime; the boat passing by with its chattering teens illustrates that quite clearly. This is not my own paradise. This cannot last forever. I will have to go back soon.

But not today.

***

Words © Joanna Gawn

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Book News from The Lazuli Portals

We’ve finished writing the first draft of the 3rd novel of The Lazuli Portals Trilogy!

(Yes, finally! Hooooraaaaay!)

As far as I can tell, I started this one in January 2016 – although I’d written the occasional scene before then, not really knowing if/how they’d fit in, or even what the book would be about!

I remember doing a lot of research before starting to write chapter one, because it’s the finale of the trilogy – this was my last chance to neatly tie up any loose ends from The Cordello Quest and Mosaic of Light.

Then, as this 3rd novel evolved, a huge number of questions arose, most of which I had no clue how to answer … until later chapters revealed the reason or the resolution. So there’s been a great deal to keep track of (lists, spreadsheets and diagrams all over the place!) I’m not usually a ‘planner’ – the story reveals itself to me as I write the scenes – but to write this book without a lot of notes (many ending in question marks!) would have been impossible. It’s definitely been the hardest to write – but perhaps also the most rewarding. 🙂

It’s been quite a journey, through brain fog, massive fatigue, and full-on relapses; and on the more positive side, fitting in stalls at fairs, stories for Writers’ Circle, other business tasks, and daily life too!

So this feels quite an achievement! It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was about halfway through, no clear idea where I was heading with it, and just having to trust my ‘inspiration/spiritual instincts’ and keep going!

Then I wrote another ‘standalone’ scene at the Crocadon MBS fair in June – that, combined with finishing another review of what I’d written so far (and still needed sorting), aligned with a few months of improved health, guided and propelled me on. Enthusiasm from past customers visiting our stall didn’t do any harm, either, as it helped me to trust in what I was doing! My new shattuckite crystal (the blue-black stone in the image below) was called on, too, and I do think that helped with the ‘channelling’ aspect.

Sincere thanks must also go to Ron, for never, ever doubting my vision (such as I could ‘see’ it), my approach to writing, or the story as it evolved! Ron, your encouragement, insight, suggestions, corrections, and pedantry have been invaluable, as always! Thanks, pardner. X

And now it’s done – the characters have told their story (it still blows us away), and I just have to ensure it reaches you, the reader, in as good a state as it possibly can. My various lists can attest to the fact there’s still loads to do before then – I certainly have enough to keep me busy before I can think beyond this series!

So, we’ll leave you with this parting teaser: anyone want to know the title? 😉

With lovelight blessings,
Joanna and Ron | The Lazuli Portals
fiction for the awakening

L is for Lovelight (Cordello Quest A-Z Series) and …. Happy Birthday, Lazuli Portals!

Despite the importance of lovelight in The Lazuli Portals trilogy, I’ve found it difficult to write about it for this blog post series – I don’t want to give away too much to potential readers who haven’t read the books yet! (Spoilers are something I really do prefer to avoid!)

Hopefully we’ve still done it justice. 🙂

In Cordello, lovelight is a precious energy: a beautiful synergy of the life force energy which is available to us all, and love – the feeling or approach or state which is accepting, compassionate, grateful, open, allowing, and supportive. It is a conscious collaboration of the highest and purest kind. No wonder lovelight in Cordello feels so magical!

As with anything deemed valuable, there are often others who wish to find a way to acquire it and twist it for their own ends. This is one of the key conflicts in The Cordello Quest, and the outcome could change everything for the peaceful country of Cordello.

Soon after Keira arrives there, Lord Charls explains that his country is under threat, and that boosting lovelight yet further may be vital in saving it.

“Keira, the Cordellan strength is in working together and in working with our positive energies. In creating lovelight, in spreading it to raise the energy of all others.

If we can raise it high enough, with sufficient focus and intention, it is possible that we can forestall any attack, and find a peaceful resolution. That is why you have come.”

Before she knows it, Keira finds herself in the quest to save lovelight. In the process, she discovers more wonders than she could ever have dreamed of…

During her time in Cordello, Keira also learns about lovelight globes, although making them is a skill she will need to practice. These globes are based on an energy tool I use called the Orb of Life (I received my original Orb, with instructions, from my Reiki Master).

I’ve since ‘made’ well over a hundred of these little spherical stores of universal energy – most for past clients, friends, and family – and use mine daily. They practically wrote themselves into our series! You can read more about Orbs of Life in the Bonus Section of our website.

As with Orbs of Life, making the lovelight globes in Cordello is one thing, but using them is something else altogether. Aligning clear intentions and purity of spirit with lovelight or life-force energy can be a pretty potent combination, especially if it’s for the benefit of the wider world! In the case of Cordello, working in this way is a major part of what life is all about!

Oh, and before we forget, today marks our partnership’s sixth ‘birthday’ (Ron says it feels much longer than that lol). So happy birthday, Lazuli Portals, and may you go from strength to strength, bringing even more insight, lovelight, and reading pleasure to your readers with each year that passes.

Please help yourself to a little slice of calorie-free virtual birthday cake. 🙂

We hope you enjoyed this post! Please Like and/or Leave A Comment if you feel so inclined. Shares are greatly appreciated, too!

Joanna and Ron | The Lazuli Portals

~ fiction for the awakening ~

‘Illusion’ and ‘Tick Tock’: Two Haiku

Illusion

Time is illusion

Your Future slips into Now

Your Now is soon gone

 

Tick, Tock

Tick, tock, never stops

Measure of life passing by

Each second treasured

***

Words © Joanna Gawn

Image from FreeDigitalPhotos.Net (please see blog post of 5 May for direct link)

We’re Talking ‘Stationery Love’ at Jera’s Jamboree!

Are you a bit of a stationery addict? We are…! 🙂

So Ron and I were delighted to be invited back to the wonderful world of  Jera’s Jamboree – with a brand new interview for Shaz’s Stationery Love feature!

To read our interview – and ogle at our photos of quills, wax sticks and seals, and more stationery treasures – please visit Shaz’s blog via this link.

We hope you enjoy it! Why not have a mooch around Jera’s Jamboree while you’re there? 🙂 Shaz has reviewed plenty of books to whet your appetite!

Oh, one last thing … the word count for the first draft of Lazuli Portals 3 has finally crept past 74,000, so the end edges ever closer! (Eek!) At the moment I’ve stopped writing in order to review all the ideas I still have, and all the loose ends that need to be resolved….!

Have a wonderful day!

Joanna & Ron | The Lazuli Portals

~ fiction for the awakening ~