Today’s economy has affected us all in one way or another.  And for those that are looking for employment,  in a job market that has few openings but many applicants, this time can be very stressful.  I remember when my sons were in that position, not that long ago, and can  remember the anxiety of and waiting for the phone call after their interviews.  Thankfully, they both found employment with good companies and in their field, but many haven’t been so lucky.  So when Rebecca, from The Cadence Group,  contacted me about today’s guest, I jumped at the opportunity, in hopes this may help someone you know.  Please help me welcome Mr. Paul Freiberger!

PAUL FREIBERGER

Paul Freiberger is the author of When Can You Start? How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job (Career Upshift Productions, 2013). He is also the President of Shimmering Resumes, a career counseling and professional resume writing company in Northern California.

Connect with Paul at these sites:

GUEST POST

Never Underestimate the Power of Body Language

Your words, whether they are the words that make up your professional resume or the words that make up your side of the job-interview conversation, certainly speak volumes. They are not, however, the only way that you communicate, especially in that interview, and they may not even be the most important part of your interview presentation. Some experts maintain that nonverbal cues account for 93 percent of human communication. Others dispute this, arguing that body language is worth “as little” as 60 percent.

Even if the lower estimate is more accurate, it’s no exaggeration at all to say that an applicant’s body language can sabotage a presentation that would otherwise have been a resounding success.

The problem for applicants is that body language is, above all, an unconscious means of communication in ordinary interactions. We do not tend to be aware of the signals we are giving out. When we receive those signals, we may not be able to articulate what gave us a negative impression of another person, but, even though we can’t put the problem into words, we know there was definitely something that turned us off. The interviewee’s job is to become conscious of the unconscious gestures and mannerisms that have a profound effect on the other person in the room.

Given the unconscious nature of all this nonverbal communication, what can an applicant do?

One option is to record your performance in a practice interview. The camera’s eye is, if nothing else, objective, and video evidence can give you all the clues you need to observe that your body language is not hurting your cause. If that’s not an option, there are a number of general rules that should be part of your very conscious approach to effective interviewing.

Do:

• Be aware that your interview performance begins before you even open your mouth. If your tie needs adjustment or a shoelace is untied, pull everything together before you reach the interview location.
• Avoid excessive makeup or fragrance. They may not count as body language per se, but they do make an impression.
• Stand up when greeting people and offer a smile, along with a handshake that strikes a middle ground between the extremes of dead fish and crusher of bones.
• Sit up straight or lean forward slightly.
• Look alert and interested. Nod when appropriate, but try to avoid constant head-bobbing.
• If given the option, avoid sitting or standing too close to the interviewer. As a general rule, anything closer than 20 inches starts to feel like an invasion of personal space.
• Keep the position of your body in line with that of the interviewer. If your position is facing away from the interviewer, it gives the sense that you are not engaged with the process.
• Say your good-byes with the same confidence and positivity that you displayed when you arrived, even if you are convinced that this was the worst of all possible interviews.

Don’t:

• Slouch in your chair or lean toward the door. Neither posture makes you look like you’re interested in the proceedings.
• Touch your face and hair. Some mannerisms can make you look distracted or unforthcoming.
• Fold your arms across your chest, another posture that gives the impression that you’re disengaged or that you’re not open to what’s happening in front of you. It’s a very defensive position.
• Respond with complete neutrality. A blank stare is not just a failure to show interest. It can actually come across as a means of distancing yourself, actually adding a touch of hostility to the conversation.

Of course it’s easier to come across as a positive, interested and engaged candidate when those feelings are genuine. Sometimes, though, our unconscious habits betray us in ways we would not have imagined. Be aware, then, that body language can speak louder than words, and make sure that your nonverbal communication is doing all it can to get you on the payroll.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From Amazon:
In a tough job market, only a select few succeed at the interview process. How can you do it? The interview is a key step in the job search process. It is a make-or-break moment that can change your life. In this book, Los Angeles Times award-winning author, Paul Freiberger offers a clear, entertaining guide through interview preparation and proven tools to ace the interview and win the job.

You will learn about:
• The Only Question You Must Be Able to Answer
• Not Telling the Interviewer About Your Weaknesses
• Answering Trick and Oddball Questions
• Devising the Best Questions
• Gaining Confidence in Job Interviews
• Avoiding Interview Mistakes
• Negotiate the Salary You Deserve

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Career Upshift Productions (January 25, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0988702800
ISBN-13: 978-0988702806

PURCHASE LINKS:

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Today I have the distinct honor and pleasure to introduce you all to today’s guest as he tours with Partners In Crime Tours.  Everyone…Mr. Athol Dickson!  Welcome!

ATHOL DICKSON

A master of profound suspense.

Athol Dickson’s mystery, suspense, and literary novels have won three Christy Awards and an Audie Award. Suspense fans who enjoyed Athol’s They Shall See God will love his latest novel, January Justice, the first installment in a new mystery series called The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs. The second and third novels in the series, Free Fall in February, and A March Murder, are coming in 2013.

Critics have favorably compared Athol’s work to such diverse authors as Octavia Butler (Publisher’s Weekly), Hermann Hesse (The New York Journal of Books) and Flannery O’Connor (The New York Times). Athol lives with his wife in southern California.
Connect with Mr. Dickson at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Reeling from his wife’s unsolved murder, Malcolm Cutter is just going through the motions as a chauffeur and bodyguard for Hollywood’s rich and famous.

Then a pair of Guatemalan tough guys offer him a job. It’s an open question whether they’re patriotic revolutionaries or vicious terrorists. Either way, Cutter doesn’t much care until he gets a bomb through his window, a gangland beating on the streets of L.A., and three bullets in the chest.

Now there’s another murder on Cutter’s Mind.
His own.

Praise for Athol Dickson’s novels:

“Atmospheric, well-paced and powerfully imagined . . . a highly entertaining nail-biter.” (Publishers Weekly)

“. . . richly imagined . . . lyrically written . . . artfully constructed.” (Bookwire)

“. . . well-written . . . intelligent . . . suspenseful . . . engrossing.” (Library Journal)

“. . . elegant prose . . . very well written.” (The New York Review of Books )

READ AN EXCERPT

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Murder Mystery
Published by: Athol Dickson
Publication Date: 11/30/2012
Number of Pages: 307
ISBN: 978-0-9854302-9-0 // 978-0-9854302-8-3

PURCHASE LINKS:

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When I rad the synopsis of today’s featured book, I knew I wanted to share it with all of you.  So Brianne, from Media Connect/Finn Partners is stopping by to introduce us to the author, Ms. Kathleen Long.  Welcome to CMash Reads!

Kathleen Jones

Connect with Kathleen at these sites:

GUEST POST

Writing and Reading:  
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Yes and yes. Much of the emotion in my writing and (in the case of Changing Lanes) a few scenes are borrowed directly from my life. I’d imagine that many authors operate in the same way. For character emotions to work, they have to be real and relatable. What better way to achieve that than to mine my own experiences and memories. As far as current events go, I am forever jotting down story ideas based on a new article or an overheard conversation. If only I could unlock the secret to getting every story idea written! I suppose that boils down to more butt in the chair time, quite simply.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
Every book is different. Back when I wrote suspense exclusively, I rarely envisioned the ending of my books. I would start with the premise, then build the characters and go from there. I used a very linear process and frequently broke down the entire book on a color-coded plotting board. For my two women’s fiction titles, Changing Lanes and Chasing Rainbows, I wrote the last scene—or at least a very detailed idea of the last scene—before I wrote the book. That being said, I wrote the rest of the story basically in order—start to finish. If I got stuck, sure, I’d skip to another plot thread and write a scene or two to kick my brain back into gear, but I find the emotions and turning points of a story resonate more strongly if I write them in order. That way, I feel the conflict and growth just as my characters do.

Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
My only routine is the lack of routine. I have good intentions of writing faithfully each morning, but I confess to being easily distracted. Between the Internet, the house, and my family, my brain is constantly hopping from what it should be writing to what it should be doing. As a matter of fact, my best writing is done when I leave the house—preferably for the comfort of our local library. That brings me to my biggest idiosyncrasy. I cannot sit at the computer and write. My creative brain is happiest anywhere BUT in front of the computer, preferably the library, a sunny spot outside, or on the beach. That’s my idea of the perfect writing location.

Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Yes, writing is absolutely my full time job. How lucky am I?!

Who are some of your favorite authors?
My favorite authors are Claire Cook, Kristan Higgins, and Elizabeth Berg on the women’s fiction side. They are Lisa Gardner, Lisa Unger, and Harlan Coben on the suspense side. Actually, there are countless other writers I’d like to include on both lists. Narrowing down favorites is a tough job!

What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg. The beauty and emotion of her writing never ceases to leave me humbled and in awe.

Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
Yes! I am actually working on two projects. The first is a new women’s fiction novel which follows a group of four women on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Are We There Yet? deals with relatable crises that face women of a variety of ages—late teens, thirties, forties, and fifties. My second new project, Vanished, is a romantic thriller that will revitalize The Body Hunters, a team of cold case investigators who were at the center of a reader-favorite trilogy I wrote a few years back.

Fun Questions
Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
That is a fun question! It’s also an easy question for me to answer. One thing about my writing process that I neglected to mention in my earlier answer is that I make a collage for every work in progress. For Changing Lanes, the background of the collage was a map of the fictional town. The foreground included photos of buildings, small town streets, bridges, and my imaginary cast. I always pictured someone like Rachel McAdams playing the lead character, Abby. The second-chance romantic interest, Mick, definitely deserves to be played by someone like Gerard Butler. I can picture his personality in this part. Abby’s two best friends, Jessica and Destiny, would be perfectly played by Jessica Capshaw and Sara Ramirez (both of Grey’s Anatomy fame). A movie…wouldn’t that be a dream come true?!

Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
I am not a huge TV watcher at all. I do love to curl up with a good movie now and then, but honestly, I’m a book lover through and through. I don’t read as much as I used to, and I miss it. The time I used to carve out for reading, I now carve out for writing. I hereby resolve to do a better job of managing both! Great question.

Favorite food?
That’s a tough question! The answer varies by time of year, actually. Right now, I’m shamelessly hooked on shrimp and pasta. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s because it’s an easy meal, and my husband and I are both on the same kick. In the summer time, my favorite meal is a slice of Mack and Manco’s pizza from the boardwalk. There’s just something about the boardwalk, the salt air, the sound of the ocean, and that pizza. Yum!

Favorite beverage?
My favorite beverage is coffee. Boring, I know! I recently gave it up completely and was successful for about five weeks. Then, I started sneaking one cup each day…then two…now three. Perhaps that’s part of my writing process. Actually, that’s not a bad excuse for drinking even more!

Thanks for the great questions, Cheryl, and for including me in your Author Spotlight!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance—not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).

Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry—like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.

Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.

Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life—and the enduring promise of second chances.

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Amazon Publishing; (May 14, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1611099455
ISBN-13: 978-1611099454

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO BRIANNE AT FINN PARTNERS
I HAVE TWO (2) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
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As most of you know, my favorite genre is mystery/suspense.  When Linda, from GCP/The Hatchette Book Club emailed me about today’s book, I wanted to know more and share with you also.   So without further ado, Mr. Chris Culver!!  Welcome to our group!

CHRIS CULVER

Chris Culver is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Rashid series of mysteries. After graduate school, Chris taught courses in ethics and comparative religion at a small liberal arts university in southern Arkansas. Between classes, he wrote The Abbey, which spent sixteen weeks on the New York Times ebook bestseller list. He, his wife, and their Labrador retriever currently live near St. Louis, Missouri, where Chris is working on his next novel.

Connect with Chris at these sites:

GUEST POST

Hi Chris.  Thank you for visiting CMash Reads!

I don’t know if you guys are like me, but if you are, you probably watch an unhealthy amount of television. The news, documentaries, home and garden shows – you name it, and I probably watch it. More than anything else, though, I like watching crime shows. Some are better than others, obviously, but most are exciting and, at the very least, entertaining. Most of them have fairly good characters, they have a sense of mystery, and even a hint of sudden violence that could erupt at any moment.

Since I write crime fiction for a living, I do a lot of research about crime and law enforcement. I talk to a lot of real-life detectives, forensic scientists, attorneys, journalists, and even a judge on occasion. Maybe because of this background, I’m always a little perplexed when television detectives bring a suspect back to their station for an interrogation. If you’ve ever seen a Law & Order rerun, you know what I’m talking about. Two gruff detectives – one of whom will likely have a snappy sense of humor and the other will have unspoken “issues” – lead a smarmy suspect into a small room constructed of cinderblocks and held together by fifty layers of institutional-green paint. Our hero detectives will sit that suspect down at a steel table and start talking. It seems like a reasonable thing to do. But can you spot the problem with that scenario?

If you said, “The detectives can’t see the suspect’s legs” you’re right.

One thing I’ve learned while researching my books is that your feet and legs don’t lie. It sounds strange, but think back to the last time you had an uncomfortable conversation  – maybe it was with your boss or a subordinate or even a stranger. If you were sitting down, what were you doing? Were you massaging your thighs? Tapping your foot? Pointing your feet toward the exit? All of those indicate nervousness. If you were a police officer and a suspect started doing any of those things in an interrogation, I bet you’d want to see them. They might indicate merely that your suspect is nervous about talking to the police [who wouldn’t be?], but it also might indicate that he’s lying and is afraid you’ll notice. It’s another piece of information a good investigator could use in an interrogation.

Or suppose your suspect shifted his balance backward while crossing his legs. If so, that might indicate that he felt very comfortable and very much in control of the situation.

But wait, what if your suspect crossed his legs and turned his hips away from you? That’s a blocking behavior, which might indicate hostility or that he’s no longer interested in the conversation. If you were a police officer, that behavior would tell you that your current line of questioning won’t get anywhere and that you should try a new tact.

Suppose, though, that your suspect crossed his legs, turned his hips so he could face you and leaned forward. If your suspect does that, you know you’re doing something right because he’s indicating comfort and openness to the conversation.

A good liar – or a good criminal – can probably control the messages he’s conveying with his face and his hands pretty well. It’s a little tougher with the legs. People don’t always think about what their legs do during a conversation. A good observer – a good detective – notices these things and uses them where appropriate. So the next time you see the police interrogating a suspect on your favorite crime show, think about all the information they’re missing by having that table in the interrogation room.

Or maybe you shouldn’t do that at all. Maybe a TV show is just a TV show.

Thanks, Cheryl.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ash Rashid is a former homicide detective who can’t stand the thought of handling another death investigation. In another year, he’ll be out of the department completely. That’s the plan, at least, until his niece’s body is found in the guest home of one of his city’s most wealthy citizens. The coroner calls it an overdose, but the case doesn’t add up. Against orders, Ash launches an investigation to find his niece’s murderer, but the longer he searches, the more entangled he becomes in a case that hits increasingly close to home. If he doesn’t solve it fast, his niece won’t be the only family member he has to bury.

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455527416
ISBN-13: 978-1455527410

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO LINDA AT GCP/THE HATCHETTE BOOK GROUP,
I HAVE 3 (3) SETS (SIGNED) OF THE ABBEY & THE OUTSIDER TO GIVE AWAY.

     
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We have a very special guest visiting today in honor of Mother’s Day.  I want to thank Samantha, from JKS Communications, for giving me the opportunity of hosting Mr. Johnny Tan.  Welcome to the group!

JOHNNY TAN

Johnny Tan lived a life of unconditional love for the last 33 years. His journey began when he started college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Adopted at birth by his Malaysian mom, he realized the rich spiritual connections that resulted from meeting his foster mom in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and 7 other women who would play important roles in his life. They represented his teachers, coaches, and counselors. Guided by his business achievements and his 9 moms, Johnny experienced the passion to compose From My Mamaʼs Kitchen to honor his moms and mothers everywhere. Released with the endorsement of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers, the book has won five awards and made the Amazon Best Seller List in several categories.

The bookʼs success lead Johnny to establish a powerful platform. He launched his consulting and speaking career to teach strategies on how to use the power of unconditional love to attain harmony. Johnny is also a featured host of a weekly Internet radio program, FMMK Talk Radio, which ranks in the top .1% of Blog Talk Radioʼs most popular shows. Guests have included The New Times number one best-selling authors and experts from the U.S. and other countries.

Johnny’s leadership experience extends from being a former corporate executive for eight years to owning his own business. He also served his community as chairman of Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitor Bureau in 2001, commissioner of Baton Rouge Sister Cities Commission in 2000, chairman of Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Committee in 1998, as well as chairman of Project Baton Rouge 2020—a Vision of Opportunity with a World of Possibility in 1997, and president of Louisiana Restaurant Association Baton Rouge Chapter in 1995.

Vision and Mission Statement

Johnny believes the best way to know him is through his personal vision and mission statement, which he composed in January 1996.

For Myself: Using my gift of creativity and imagination, I will continue to invent the future by expressing my visions courageously in words and actions. I will always be a professional – honoring integrity, justice, kindness, and will always be humble and have a sense of humor in everything I do.

For My Family: They are my treasure. I will always promote and take the lead in building healthy and loving relationships that allow each of us to become his or her best.

For My Professional Life: I will create a learning environment that is fair and honest. I will cultivate and inspire others to greatness and success by acting as a catalyst in a shared vision.

For My Community: I am committed to enriching the lives of all who cross my path. I will let potent leadership permeate through the community. I will join hands with my brothers and sisters respecting everyone’s rights. I will support the people I represent, and endeavor to bolster their spirits and the good of the community.

Connect with Johnny Tan at these sites:

GUEST POST

Celebrating Mother’s Love

The Mother’s Day that we celebrate today tracks back to ancient times. The Greek’s spring festival honored Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of many deities in Greek mythology. The Romans used their spring festival, Hilaria, as a dedication to Cybele, a mother goddess. Early Christians celebrated the fourth Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ. England later designated it to be Mothering Sunday, to honor all mothers.

Various observances honoring mothers existed in America during the 1870’s and 1880‘s. However, the modern Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in America. She secured a trademark creating the Mother’s Day International Association in 1912. Thanks to her courageous effort, today, over 140 countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day some time during the year. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first official Mother’s Day on May 9, 1914.

From My Mama’s Kitchen –“food for the soul, recipes for living” celebrates Mother’s Day throughout the year. Mothers all over the world share an abundance of unconditional love for their loved ones. The power of unconditional love transcends all religious beliefs, genders, cultures and ages. It reminds us that we are all part of the bigger world, and we all have potential to succeed in life.

The content of my book pays tribute to my 9 moms and moms everywhere. What started as a project of collecting recipes evolved over seven years into a collection of 30 timeless recipes for living I received from his 9 moms. The book reminds each of us that a strong home team supports us and our efforts of learning and growing. It rekindles those incredible feelings we shared with our mothers and those we considered as mothers. When love is given without regard to conditions it provides us with the empowerment that drives our ambition to succeed.

How did I manage to have 9 moms, you ask? Most of the time, before I have a chance to answer, people would follow up with, “Is it a blessing or a curse?” My answer is always a blessing, a tremendous blessing. Adopted at birth by my Malaysian mom, I spent the first 18 years learning from her. Among the many things she taught me, everyone of us holds a seed of greatness—the key to success in life. The gem of this seed is the asset that develops our dreams, goals and wishes. At 18 I came to the United States to attend LouisianaStateUniversity in Baton Rouge. Here is where I began to meet my eight other moms one at a time over a period of the next 18 years. Starting with the first, my Southern Belle mom, Eleanora Carter, to the last, my German mom, Dianne Heise, they were my teachers, coaches, and counselors, always available to listen to my ideas and console me during need. Most of my 9 moms have since passed away, but each of them has left me with a valuable lesson that collectively formed the basis of my success.

Many look forward to this Mother’s Day with anticipation to express love for their mom. Whether it is an expensive gift or a just a nice dinner that mom doesn’t have to cook, she will know it was from the heart. Mothers have a way to mould the soul and guide the heart. For those whose mothers have passed on, Mother’s Day gives us a chance to recall those magical loving moments. It is this unconditional motherly love that makes us who we are. The book offers solutions and provides the skills and wisdom to assist us to become better teachers, coaches and counselors to our loved ones.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From My Mama’s Kitchen book is dedicated to the realization and mastery of the power of unconditional love as potent leadership. It offers a wealth of wisdom, practical living skills, and effective communication techniques.  The book reveals 30 timeless recipes for living, ranging from the power of relationships to the nature of love and the meaning of life brought to the reader in the nurturing comfort of a kitchen setting. From the virtue of spiritual awareness to self-actualization, Johnny Tan’s 9 moms have nourished him with their wisdom to become a person defined by his thoughts and actions.

Released with the endorsement of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers, the book has won five awards: Mom’s Choice Awards, Mr. Dad Seal of Recognition, Publisher’s Choice Awards by Family Magazine Group, International Book Awards, and National Indie Excellence Book Awards. The book also made the Amazon Best Seller List in the following categories: Parenting & Family Relationships: Parent and Adult Child, Self Help: Spiritual and Motivational, and Cooking, Food & Wine: Essay.

Designed as a keepsake for all occasions, meant to last and inspire forever. The book has a dedication page for readers to inscribe their own loved one’s name, and a space where readers can record their recipes for living.  At the end of the book, Johnny incorporates nine of his favorite food recipes.

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 150 pages
Publisher: THC Investments (January 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0982023502
ISBN-13: 978-0982023501

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO SAAMANTHA AT JKS COMMUNICATIONS,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

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We have a very esteemed and award winning guest today.  So without further ado, welcome Dr. Joan Steinau Lester!!

JOAN STEINAU LESTER

Connect with Dr. Lester at these sites:

GUEST POST

Being a fulltime writer is a strange occupation. I work all day alone in a tiny cottage behind my house, hunched over my computer, lost in an imaginary world. If I weren’t producing coherent literature, some might consider this behavior peculiar, at best–or worthy of psychiatric intervention.

Even at night my characters follow me, so real are they. I hear their voices, worry over their troubles, wish they hadn’t decided to do that.  “Oh no,” I want to warn, while I grit my teeth and let them have their way.

Odder yet, I’m always maintaining a dual perspective, for at the same time I feel enmeshed with my fictional people (“Ruby, please call home!”) I am simultaneously aware of my role as their creator, and consumed by technical issues. Take verb choices, for instance: which one will give the most accurate and vivid picture of my characters’ reality? Does Solomon, the father in my novel Mama’s Child, stride into a room, lope, or guiltily sidle in, after he misses an urgent parent meeting with the head of his daughter Ruby’s school?

Yet despite my sometimes sleepless nights as I mull over the best possible word to describe my character’s behavior–words in harmony with the kind of person he is–I love the solitary life, creating worlds over which I have total control.

And then, another oddity of the writing life occurs, if one is successful: after years of happily laboring alone, growing intimately acquainted with my characters’ lives over a span of time (in Mama’s Child we watch the family fracture and reassemble over forty years), then, suddenly, it’s publication day! Now a whole big world comes tumbling in. Reviewers, readers, interviewers–everyone has a response, everyone wants their say. My private imaginary world is suddenly a public one.

Even as I’m thrilled to hear others’ enthusiasm for Elizabeth, Solomon, Ruby, and Che, my characters in Mama’s Child, I mourn that quiet period when they were my creatures alone. Like a parent whose child is growing up, leaving home, I have to say Good-bye, knowing that I have done my absolute best to prepare her for the world, and let her go.

ABOUT THE BOOK

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Atria Books; Original edition (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451693184
ISBN-13: 978-1451693188

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO SAMANTHA AT JKS COMMUNICATIONS,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 24th AT 6PM EST

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Renee, from WOW!, is visiting for the first time and is here to introduce us to another talented female author.  So I ask that you help me in giving them a warm welcome to CMash Reads.  Welcome Ms Jennifer Richardson!

JENNIFER RICHARDSON

Jennifer Richardson is a writer whose first book, Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage, is out now. In addition to her initial experience with multiple sclerosis, Americashire chronicles the three years Jennifer spent living in a Cotswold village populated by fumbling aristocrats, gentlemen farmers, and a cast of eccentrics clad in corduroy and tweed. She currently lives in Santa Monica, California along with her British husband and her royal wedding tea towel collection.

Connect with Jennifer at GoodReads, Pinterest and these sites:

GUEST POST

Life with My So-Called Chronic Disease

In my kingdom of the sick, the emperor has no clothes

With one obvious exception, the word chronic never refers to anything good. Someone is a chronic liar or a country is in a chronic state of civil war. Or someone has a chronic disease. Like me.

Four months into my multiple sclerosis diagnosis—and four years since the first symptoms that caused a neurologist to warn me that such a diagnosis might be coming—it still feels weird to acknowledge the fact that I am sick. I don’t feel sick. Unlike those diagnosed with other chronic diseases, like, say, rheumatoid arthritis or Chron’s disease, I endure no pain from my illness. My symptoms—some mild slurring, followed by numbness on half my face—have only impacted four weeks of the last four years and, while annoying, were neither debilitating nor readily detectable to anybody I was interacting with.

In fact, the entire infrastructure of the disease has been far more annoying and debilitating than any of the symptoms. Navigating the various doctors’ offices, insurance companies, drug companies, and pharmacies that comprise the US healthcare system experience for someone like me—that is, someone who is lucky enough to have good health insurance—is not an activity fit for someone who has just been diagnosed with a disease. You are flighty and distracted and can’t remember to ask your doctor important questions, but that is the exact moment when the execution of your own healthcare requires you to have the steely nerves of a crane operator combined with the determination of a blood hound. Even when you’ve charted a course through that labyrinth, any sense of victory is diminished by a nagging concern over what it would be like without your prized health insurance and the eight months still to go until the pre-existing conditions clause of Obama Care kicks in. (To put a number on that anxiety, consider that the latest MS treatment, a pill that has more or less been around for twenty years to treat psoriasis, was recently released at a wholesale price of $54,900 per patient per year.)

Faced with this you naturally wonder, as do people who should know better, like your husband and your shrink, if you should even bother taking medication for your mostly invisible disease. Surely you are about to wake from the absurdist dream you’ve been having where you, a needle phobic, are now supposed to shoot up a medicine every Thursday that makes you feel like you have the flu for sixteen hours in order to treat a disease that is currently presenting zero symptoms. But then the second opinion neurologist, the one who is a foremost expert in the field, tells you in her calm Texas drawl that, yes, you have to take the preventative medicine; that first neurologist you saw wasn’t just making that up. Your disease may feel like a fraud now, but MS has the astonishing potential to morph from an annoyance to, say, paralysis, an outcome you don’t want to dice with much.

In her recent book, In the Kingdom of the Sick, Laurie Edwards writes about her experience growing up of frequent doctor appointments to treat what was eventually diagnosed as a chronic and very rare lung disease. She notes that she never perceived her experience then in terms of a chronic illness. Rather she experienced each incident separately, in a reactionary mode, and only as an adult did she make the emotional adjustment to acknowledge the long-term nature of what she was dealing with. This, she says, “is the most daunting aspect of any chronic illness, whether you are the patient grappling with a diagnosis or a healthy person who hopes it never happens to you: It isn’t going to go away.”

And she is right, especially the part about the healthy people. This explains why most my friends never ask me much about my MS. I am a living, breathing incarnation of what they hope never happens to them, and they’d understandably rather not talk about it. Frankly, it is a preferable state of affairs to those who do ask me about it because, invariably, these types want to know if I am going to change my lifestyle. This, of course, is just a polite way of asking me if I am going to drink less wine. I am not, both because I like wine and because drinking wine does not cause MS (I asked my neurologist). But as I once was, these people are desperate to believe that there is something I (read: they) can do to control bad things, like MS, from happening. Deep down there is some little part of them desperate to believe that there must be a reason (read: something bad I did) I got MS.

I am neither surprised nor angered by this reaction, but that is probably because MS has not yet, and hopefully never will, made me very sick. Just the other day I heard a reasonably intelligent person imply that the rise in women’s cancers is due to women letting themselves get burnt out. On behalf of the three women in my life who have recently lost both their breasts to cancer, I wanted to ring this woman’s neck, or at least buy her a copy of Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor. Thirty-five years have passed since Sontag pointed out the lunacy of using romanticized language to create an acceptable way to blame the victims of disease and, yet, it is still fairly commonplace to hear people imply stress or bottled emotions or some other similarly nebulous thing is to blame.

I, however, am not blameless when it comes to hiding behind language to deal with my disease. In my book, Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage, I write about renaming the permanent lesions on my brain—the main physiological manifestation of my MS:

In the absence of any answers from science I turned to the transformative power of language. Lesions were for lepers or people with venereal disease. They simply would not do. Therefore, I decided I had les ions, pronounced lā-ē-uh, with a trademark French grunt on the last syllable. It still sounded vaguely scientific, yet at the same time foreign and alluring. And best of all, it made me feel, just for a moment, like I was in control.

Despite my wariness over the use of flowery language when it comes to illness, I am giving myself a pass on this one. I liken it to the same rule of the universe that makes it OK for me, but nobody else—especially my husband—to make fun of my immediate family. After all, MS is my disease, and I can call it anything I want.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When an American woman and her British husband decide to buy a two-hundred-year-old cottage in the heart of the Cotswolds, they’re hoping for an escape from their London lives. Instead, their decision about whether or not to have a child plays out against a backdrop of village fêtes, rural rambles, and a cast of eccentrics clad in corduroy and tweed.

Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage begins with the simultaneous purchase of a Cotswold cottage and Richardson’s ill-advised decision to tell her grandchild-hungry parents that she is going to try to have a baby. As she transitions from urban to rural life, she is forced to confront both her ambivalence about the idea of motherhood and the reality of living with a spouse who sees the world as a glass half-full. Part memoir, part travelogue – and including field guides to narrative-related Cotswold walks – Americashire is a candid, compelling, and humorous tale of marriage, illness, and difficult life decisions.

BOOK DETAILS:

Perfect Paperback: 164 pages
Publisher: She Writes Press (April 23, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938314301
ISBN-13: 978-1938314308

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO AUTHOR, JENNIFER RICHARDSON
and RENEE FROM WOW!,
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OPEN TO U.S. and CANADA RESIDENTS–PRINT
or EBOOK–OPEN TO ALL

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Beyond thrilled today.  I became a fan of today’s guest when I read Megan’s Way back in July of 2011.  And she didn’t disappoint with her subsequent novels,  Come Back To Me and Traces Of Kara.  Melissa has been a frequent visitor and today she is back to tell us about her latest book.  Welcome back!!!!

MELISSA FOSTER

Melissa Foster is the award-winning author of four International bestselling novels. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on The Women’s Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Connect with Melissa at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Alison Tillman has called Forrest Town, Arkansas home for the past eighteen years. Her mother’s Blue Bonnet meetings, her father toiling night and day on the family farm, and the division of life between the whites and the blacks are all Alison knows. The winter of 1967, just a few months before marrying her high school sweetheart, Alison finds the body of a black man floating in the river, and she begins to view her existence with new perspective. The oppression and hate of the south, the ugliness she once was able to avert her eyes from, now demands her attention.

When a secretive friendship with a young black man takes an unexpected romantic turn, Alison is forced to choose between her predetermined future, and the dangerous path that her heart yearns for.
Watch for my review in the coming weeks.

THE REVIEWS:

“A gripping and poignant novel dealing with a subject once taboo in American society.” Hagerstown Magazine

“Have No Shame is a powerful testimony to love and the progressive, logical evolution of social consciousness, with an outcome that readers will find engrossing, unexpected, and ultimately eye-opening.” Midwest Book Review

“A historical novel of love and its triumph, told with a unique and compelling voice.” Bestselling Author Kathleen Shoop

“Have No Shame is a delightful eye opener and a rather poignant book that everyone everywhere should put on their must-read list.” Readers’ Favorite

“A dynamic and heartwarming tale of young love, giving testament to those who struggled so we can live in an integrated society.” Author Rachelle Ayala

“[HAVE NO SHAME] Perfectly catches the South at the dawning of the Civil Rights Movement. Melissa Foster takes us on an adventure that twists and turns unpredictably to a tense climax that renders this novel a true page-turner. This is undoubtedly the best novel I have read in a long time.”  Roderick Craig Low, Author of ‘Promises of Love and Good Behaviour’

“This book is not just a story; it’s an experience.” Author G.E. Johnson

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: World Literary Press (May 6, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 098905084X
ISBN-13: 978-0989050845

PURCHASE LINKS:

THE REWARDS:

Megan’s Way
2011 Beach Book Award Winner (Spirituality)
2011 Readers Favorite Awards, Winner (Fiction/Drama), Finalist (Women’s Fiction)
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Award, Finalist (Spirituality)
2011 New England Book Festival, Honorable Mention (Spirituality)
Chasing Amanda
2011 Readers Favorite Awards, Winner (Paranormal), Finalist, (Women’s Fiction, Mystery)
2011 Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards, Winner, (Paranormal)
Top 10 Books of 2011, Pixel of Ink
Amazon Top 100 75+ Days running
Indie Reader’s Bestselling List That Counts (8 weeks)
Top Books of 2011, The Write Agenda
Come Back To Me
2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist,
2012 Readers Favorite Awards, Finalist
2012 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Books Award, Finalist
2011 Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards, Finalist

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.