If you are a frequent visitor, then you know that the ladies of WOW! Women On Writing, always have amazing female authors for us to meet.  Today is no exception.  So without further ado, Ms. Pamela King Cable!!

PAMELA KING CABLE

Pamela King Cable was born a coal miner’s granddaughter and raised by a tribe of wild Pentecostals and storytellers. She is an award-winning, multi-published author who loves to write about religion and spirituality with paranormal twists she unearths from her family’s history. Married to a megachurch ministry team member as a young adult, she attended years of megachurch services. Pamela studied creative writing at The University of Akron and Kent State University. She has taught at many writing conferences, and speaks to book clubs, women’s groups, national and local civic organizations, and at churches across the country. Nearly a decade in the writing, Televenge is her debut novel. She lives in Ohio with her husband, Michael, and is currently working on her next novel.
Visit Pamela at her Website, Blog, Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Andie Oliver is a faithful woman—to God, to husband Joe, and to televangelist Calvin Artury, a Godfather in a Mafia of holy men. Joe works limitless hours on the megachurch ministry team, falling deeper into debauchery, while Andie attempts to free him from the Reverend’s control and far-reaching influence. Uncovering long-hidden truths—even murder—she loses everything, including her children. Andie fights for redemption for her family and herself, confronting the very definition of sin, and shaking the Christian evangelical world to its core. Evading ruthless adversaries who will go to any lengths to protect Reverend Artury, Andie battles the dark side of televangelism.

THANKS TO THE AUTHOR, PAMELA KING CABLE, I HAVE
ONE (1) PB COPY TO GIVE AWAY. OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

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.

If you visit often, then you know, the ladies of WOW always stop by with the most amazing female authors.  Well today is no different.  Robyn is going to introduce us to another talented writer.  So I ask that you help me give them a warm welcome to CMash Reads!

SONIA KORN-GRIMANI

Sonia Korn-Grimani earned her doctorate in French literature and the teaching of foreign languages, and directed a multi-cultural language program at UNESCO. With her husband John, and their children Anthony and Renee, Sonia traveled and lived all over the world. She taught foreign languages at the university level, and performed frequently to the delight of audiences worldwide. In her album Cantos al Amor, Sonia sings in 16 languages.

In 1989, Dr. Korn-Grimani was knighted Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and in 1996 she was decorated Officier des Palmes Académiques. These decorations were awarded in recognition of her lifelong dedication to and promotion of French culture and language.

Sonia continues to sing regularly at UNESCO events inFrance, and is also frequently invited to share her Holocaust experiences as a guest speaker in high schools, universities, synagogues and churches.

GUEST POST

On the Power of Love and Forgiveness

 In the spring of 1961, shortly after we moved to Malaysia, UNESCO called my husband John to Paris. The prospect of visiting my mother, giving her time with baby Renee—her new grand-daughter, and sightseeing around Paris was too great a temptation to refuse. Those days in Paris are perhaps the happiest days of my life, walking around arm-in-arm with Mother.

We sit down at a café, and she tells me that she is planning to stay in Germany for a few months. Would Renee and I go with her? I want to be with her, but the thought of confronting our past of persecution and anguish, our lost youth, our lost family, makes me very anxious. So much is lost there—wouldn’t it be better to just leave it be?

Something in me wanted to go if only for mother’s sake. So we all went for a few days to Wuppertal-Elberfeld, the city from which we had to flee twenty-two years earlier, after my brother, mother and I were declared enemies of the German State. We walked the sunny streets and picnicked on potato-herring and meat salads in the parks, the parks which I remember well, before we were banned from them for being Jewish. We visit our street and our building—the last address in Germany before we were forced to leave. The building has aged, appearing grey and sad.

I have no desire to enter and do not wish to be confronted with our ex-Nazi neighbors, some of whom now remember their treatment of us altogether differently from how we experienced it. War and time have a way of altering memory. Some neighbors had now justified their treatment of Jews in general, and of us in particular to themselves, but now, twenty-two years later, the only person I would like to see is Frau Rohland, the only one of our neighbors who stayed friends with us until the end, who comforted us when mother was arrested; who had slipped us butter sandwiches that would sustain us all night long on our arduous journey on foot to the Belgian border. Alas, her family was away on vacation.

But we are close to Belgium, and I want to visit the orphanage where I had under a false identity for the second half of the war. Perhaps it was having my own children that made me want to revisit one more part of my past, to find closure with one more part of my life. I wanted to visit the one person whom I felt I could never forgive, Madame J.

She was the proprietress of the orphanage. I was 11 when I arrived with my brother at her doorstep, and Madame J took us in, but only after my mother had begged on her knees and agreed to have the resistance pay her twice times the amount she usually took in foodstuffs. Surely the separation from my mother was difficult, but Madame J.’s spartan guardianship of the children in her care did not make the adjustment any easier.

But there was another part of the story that I found out after almost two years of living at the orphanage. I had discovered that Madame J. hoarded food given to her by the resistance that was supposed to go for the orphan’s care—she was hiding the food in her bedroom and selling it on the black market, probably for a very hefty profit.

I remember when she coolly met my eyes after I had discovered her secret. Even though I was only thirteen at the time, I understood her game, and I also understood the dire consequences if I were to reveal her secret—all of us orphans hiding under her care would have been exposed. I concealed my anger and kept my emotions in check, but never in my life had I felt such revulsion, such sadness. We are all so hungry and some of us suffering from malnutrition, which we thought was because we were living during wartime, but there were boxes and boxes of food in her room, just sitting there!

All of these emotions were swirling in my head as baby Renee and I took the train to Ottignies, and made our way to the orphanage to see Madame J. I needed, more than anything, to find peace with what happened within myself, to find closure within my heart.

As I approach the orphanage, I remember my first arrival in 1942 as a young naive girl; I feel a similar anxiety, but for other reasons. All is too familiar. The sights of the past dredge up the feelings of the past.

I knock, just as I had knocked then, and am greeted by a smiling face and trembling hands. Madame J. sweeps me into her arms and seems truly moved to see me again.

“Come into my parlor, my darling Sonia. So nice that you have not forgotten me who was once your godmother! Come and sit down.”

I sit on the very same couch where my mother had sat during her first interview, that is, until she knelt to beg Madame J. to take my brother and me in and save our lives. I recoil at the thought and lean back into the couch for support.

“Would you like some tea or coffee?” Madame J. inquires pleasantly, oblivious to the pain I am feeling.

In a daze, I accept her offer; glad to have her occupied while I try to sort out my recollections, without being overpowered by their weight. Madame J. serves me on very delicate china. Her cakes are delicious.

She brings out photo albums and proudly shows me pictures of us. “How I enjoyed having you and the other Jewish children, all so refined, so bright, so obedient—particularly you, Sonia.”

I then remember how she had shown me albums of the Spanish War orphans who preceded us at Le Joli Coin, and how she had compared us unfavorably to them, offering them as intangible standard of an excellence we could not possibly attain.

I listen to her reluctantly. This is 1961! I feel like shouting. So much has happened in the intervening years and yet you are still fixated on the past. I remain mute.

She breaks into my reverie. “Would you like to visit the home? I am now taking care of a group of young delinquent, homeless boys.”

I follow her and see the familiar navy-blue uniformed, thin and pale bodies of her new charges. They look as forlorn as we had looked so many years before. Although the war is not even in their memories, it seems clear that Madame J. has not changed her tactics in dealing with this new group of children.

It took me years of reflection after this visit to come to terms with my desire to forgive her, and not being able to.  I remember watching Renee and my son Anthony, now an infant, as they played in the dappled sun of the coconut tree in our yard in Kuala Lumpur.

“She did save your life and at great personal risk, Sonia,” argued my husband John. “You might have perished during the war if it weren’t for her, so you need to recognize her for that.” And I do feel lucky to have survived the war at all.

When I think back to my discovery of the boxes in her room—I keenly remember my shock and certainty that she was hoarding food for her personal gain. As an adult, I cannot be certain. I try to be fair. Perhaps she used the contents, which were unavailable on the open market, to buy silence from people who would have otherwise exposed us.

And I try to live up to the nickname given to me at the orphanage: La Tourterelle Généreuse, the generous dove. “Yes, we went hungry. No, she was not a nurturing guardian. But she saved more than 20 children and several adults. Looking at it now, as an adult, I feel gratitude towards Madame J.”

I would never wish the experiences of living under her care in wartime, or the harrowing and constricted life we had before, on anyone. Yet Madame J. was an honorable person who despite the danger saved many lives. And just perhaps, the very trials of my youth forged that strength of character which has allowed me to sing—both literally and metaphorically—in my adult life.

And for the closure in my heart, I feel grateful. I watch Renee and Anthony giggle and play on the blanket in the warm sunshine, and I feel alive and happy in the present. Whatever has happened to you in your past for better or for worse, this has made you who are and gives you the strength to do what you are destined to do. When we harness the energy from love and not from anger and resentment or things we cannot change, we are capable of doing great things.

ABOUT THE BOOK

At the age of eight, little Sonia Korn is declared an enemy of theGermanState. She and her family are given a grim option; either find a way to disappear, or be rounded up and sent to certain death. After a perilous escape to the Belgian border, and becoming caught in the chaos and carnage of war-torn France and Belgium, Sonia finds that she must give up everything she knows and loves just to survive. This is the complex true story of one girl, who rises from war’s ashes to sing the songs of hope and love world-wide. A heart-wrenching and poignant memoir, by internationally renowned singer Sonia Korn-Grimani.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, SONIA KORN-GRIMANI, I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED
COPY OF THIS MEMOIR TO GIVE AWAY.    INTERNATIONAL.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

I’ll admit, I am quite thrilled to have today’s guest visiting for a few reasons.  First, by now, you know that the ladies from WOW! Women On Writing, always stop by and introduces us to amazing female authors.  Today’s author may sound familiar to you since she had visited back in December 2011.  At that time, I had read and reviewed her first book, A Whisper To A Scream and thoroughly enjoyed it.  So much so, that at the time, I had asked Jodi, from WOW, if she would put me on the list for when Ms. Berner’s next novel went on tour.  And today’s the day!!  So I ask that you help me welcome back, Ms. Karen Berner!!

KAREN  WOJCIK BERNER

The ladies (and man) of the Bibliophiles Book Club are back!  This time the spotlight is on Catherine. Catherine Elbert has never been good at making decisions, whether it was choosing an ice cream flavor as a child or figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. The only thing Catherine knew for sure was there had to be more to her life than being stuck on her family’s farm.

So Catherine became enamored with the complete opposite of the flat farmlands of Burkesville, Wisconsin – the ocean, lobsters, and rugged coast of Portland, Oregon. Despite her parents’ threat to disown her and her brothers’ bets on how many days until she comes home Catherine heads for Peaks Island, off the coast of Portland.

She is finally free. Or so she thought. What Catherine forgot was that you can’t run away from yourself!

Watch for my review in the coming weeks.
Read my review of A Scream To A Whisper here.

THE SERIES

THANKS TO AUTHOR, KAREN WOJCIK BERNER,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF UNTIL MY SOUL GET’S IT RIGHT TO GIVE AWAY.
EITHER A PRINT COPY (U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY)
OR EBOOK EDITION (OPEN TO ALL)

WANT A CHANCE TO WIN A WHISPER TO A SCREAM?
THEN HEAD ON OVER TO KAREN BERNER’S WEBSITE TO ENTER HERE

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

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.

Our friend, Jodi, from WOW has a very special treat for us today.  As she always does, she will be introducing us to a very special author who is an expert in her field.  So even though it may be a little early, I am asking that you get comfortable and instead of grabbing a coffee, that you raise your wine glass and welcome today’s guest, Ms. Sara Fasolino!

SARA FASOLINO

Sara Fasolino is the Beverage Systems Manager at Morton’s The Steakhouse and is recognized in the industry as a Certified Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers, as a Certified Specialist of Wine by the Society of Wine Educators and as an Advanced Mixologist. Fasolino’s role with Morton’s includes overseeing the restaurant’s beverage inventory for all its locations, serving as the restaurant’s liaison with the Court of Master Sommeliers and managing all educational and training materials related to the restaurant’s wines, liquors and beers. Fasolino’s experience in the restaurant industry dates back to her college years in Ohio, where she was a server in a restaurant. Upon graduation from Marietta College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she worked with a beverage marketer and distributor in Ohio before relocating to Chicago in 2005. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Fasolino has been with Morton’s The Steakhouse since 2007, working in its global headquarters.
Visit Sara on GoodReads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Looking for the perfect complement to a juicy ribeye steak, grilled kabobs or even some desserts? Look no further than Cabernet Sauvignon, the “red of all reds” worldwide. Sommelier Sara Fasolino guides you with practical tips for buying and enjoying Cabernet Sauvignon, whether you’re spending $7 or $75.Cabernet Sauvignon for Beginners will shed light on the characteristics of this versatile wine, what contributes to its wide range of flavors, and the best foods to match with it.

Want to learn more about wines.  Visit here, register  and receive a free EBook from the Wine Series during the tour from August 13 to Sept. 7.   Twenty-one (21) books to choose from!How much fun is this?

Robyn, our friend from WOW, has come back to visit us today and as usual, has brought a very multi talented and impressive female author to introduce us to, Ms. Destiny Allison.  So without further ado, let’s welcome them to the CMash blog!

DESTINY ALLISON

Destiny Allison is an artist, a business woman and a writer.  Her work is collected by public institutions and private individuals internationally.  In addition to her numerous awards for excellence in art, she was also recently named Santa Fe Business Woman of the year for 2011.

In addition to being a full time artist, she is also a managing partner in La Tienda at Eldorado — a commercial complex, community center, and arts center inSanta Fe,NM.

She is represented in prominent galleries across the country and owns her own gallery, Destiny Allison Fine Art, located at La Tienda.

Allison’s first love was writing.  Her first poems were published while she was a child and she received numerous awards during adolescence.  The story of how she became a visual artist is told in her book, Shaping Destiny: A quest for meaning in art and life.  While her focus over the last 20 years has been primarily on sculpture, Allison also paints on steel using acids and natural oxidation, and in acrylics.

The eloquence of Allison’s language dates back to her childhood when art was constantly discussed and debated by her father, a writer, and her mother, a painter. Born and raised inSanta Fe,N.M., Allison moved toBostonafter college where she worked as a freelance journalist while raising her three children. It was there that she discovered her voice through sculpture. Predominantly self-taught, Allison apprenticed at a bronze foundry in Massachusetts, and later taught sculpture at the Attleboro Museum of Art and the Fuller Museum of Art, both in Massachusetts. In 1997, Allison returned toSanta Fewhere she currently resides.
Connect with Destiny Allison at her website here.

GUEST AUTHOR POST

Our lives are our greatest works of art:

This morning I woke to possibility.  Sun and birds, the sight of my husband opening his arms to me as I staggered one-eyed into the kitchen, the sound of my dogs rising to greet me, and the smell of breakfast gone cold overwhelmed my senses like the first strokes of  vivid color on the vast white of a blank canvas.  What picture will I paint today?

Will I push the dogs away as they nuzzle against me?  Will I ask my husband why he didn’t wait for me to join him for breakfast?  Will I rub the sleep out of my eyes and settle into my computer chair to greet the day electronically – placing emails and analytics over the realities of my life?  Will I let habit win, or will I do something different?  What would the day look like if I made time to kiss my husband deeply or dropped to the ground to play with my loving mutts?

It seems that every minute of every day, I am faced with these kinds of choices.  Most of the time, my decisions are out of habit or necessity.  My husband is ok with his quick hug and the dogs never seem to mind when I ignore them.  They all know my routines and understand that I will greet them, if there is time, once my eyes are fully open. But what if I surprised them?  What if I surprised myself?

Making art is wrought with similar questions.  Every day I am faced with the possibilities of a blank canvas, a blank screen, or the cold grey sheets of metal on the floor of my blackened studio.  What will I make today?  In art, every line and plane matter.  A sculpture that leans as little as an eighth of an inch must be cut apart and re-welded. In sculpture, balance is everything.  When I muddy a canvas because I was impatient, I kill the painting.

The challenge of being an artist is that I never really know where I’m going until I get there.  I have to listen to the voices inside me as they manifest on canvas, page, or metal.  I have to throw away all the junk that comes to the surface as I try to find that one shining thread I am called to follow.

I believe that living my life is just like making art.  When I listen, am not afraid to try new things, and clear my junk (habit, self-indulgence, and my need to control), my life becomes rich, clear, and filled with meaning.  When I don’t, days blend into a long, running stream of muddy memories and my life is without form.

The beauty of living life like making art is that everything matters and contributes to the whole.  The kiss we shared in the kitchen forms shape of my day.  That couple of minutes on the rug wrestling my dogs becomes an ongoing joy that balances mundane frustrations.  Over time, those moments shared deeply and authentically with my husband and dogs become some of the lines, planes, and colors of my life.  My junk will always be in the way, but if I want my art to speak and my life to be art, I have to clear it to the best of my ability.  Then, my life will have form, my smile will be contagious, and my days will be wrought with meaning.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Shaping Destiny is the inspiring story of Allison’s life from the creation of her first sculpture to her acceptance into a prominentSanta Feart gallery.  The book, which recounts her journey from traditional female roles to self-actualization and independence, is told with three voices: the emotional, the intellectual and the instructional.  Though she had no formal training, Allison moved quickly from small, Plasticine clay sculptures to an apprenticeship at a foundry to teaching in a small museum. Along the way, the author wrestled with shedding and then reclaiming family. To add to the extended metaphor binding her story to the theory and language of sculpture, Allison infuses an ample dose of popular philosophy in lessons culled from childhood days spent with her father. The 22 lessons at the beginning of each chapter intend to guide readers’ passage through the complexities of clay and life; each lesson works with the idea that art is a process, as is life.

Watch the trailer:

THANKS TO AUTHOR, DESTINY ALLISON, I HAVE
ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF HER MEMOIR TO GIVE
AWAY. OPEN TO U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

If you visit often then you know that when Robyn, from WOW stops by, she has an amazing author to introduce us to.  And she is here today with a multi talented and esteemed author, Ms. Mohanalakshmi  Rajakumar.  Please join me in welcoming our guests to the CMash blog!!

MOHANALAKSHMI RAJAKUMAR

Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar is a writer who has lived in Qatarsince 2005. She has a PhD from the Universityof Floridawith a focus on gender and postcolonial theory. Her dissertation project was published as Haram in the Harem (Peter Lang, 2009) a literary analysis of the works of three Muslim women authors in India, Algeria, and Pakistan. She is the creator and co-editor of five books in the Qatar Narratives series, as well as the Qatari Voices anthology which features essays by Qataris on modern life inDoha (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2010). Her research has been published in numerous journals and anthologies.

She was the Associate Editor of Vox, a fashion and lifestyle magazine based in Doha and a winner of the She Writes We Love New Novelists competition.   She has been a regular contributor for Variety Arabia, AudioFile Magazine, Explore Qatar, Woman Today, The Woman, Writers and Artists Yearbook, QatarClick, Expat Arrivals, Speak Without Interruption and Qatar Explorer. She hosted two seasons of the Cover to Cover book show on Qatar Foundation Radio.

Currently Mohana is working on a collection of essays related to her experiences as a female South Asian American living in the Arabian Gulf and a novel based inQatar. She believes words can help us understand ourselves and others.
Catch up on her latest via her blog or follow her on Twitter @moha_doha.

GUEST POST

Is Love a Choice?
By Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

A few years ago I was stuck while writing my latest book, Love Comes Later. All the characters were ready; like actors on a stage they were on set, dressed, waiting for the curtain to open.

The problem was, their playwright wasn’t sure what their lines were. I was writing a contemporary novel that had at its core a love story. But I couldn’t figure out how the characters fell in love.

It was all there in my outline: Abdulla is engaged to Hind. Neither of them want to get married. After a chance meeting, Sangita falls in love with her roommate’s fiancé. Made sense.

Except that spark, the chemistry, the magic they throw around in romantic comedies was missing. I knew by the end of Act II or around the middle of the book, they would need to have a big fight to leave the readers wondering what happens next.

But the first part, the falling scene wouldn’t surface.

I started asking people. At toddler birthday parties, I cornered the dads, all nursing beers, evidence of their marital love running riot around us: “How do people fall in love?”

At dinner, with friends who had arranged marriages, I pestered, “When do you think love starts?”

Everyone hemmed and hawed.

“You had a love marriage,” someone said. As in, I, not my parents or family chose my spouse after dating him. “Don’t you know?”

“Our story was so unique,” I said. “I don’t think other people can relate.” My sweetie and I met in the Arabian desert (he’s American, so no, fiction is not imitating life in case you were wondering) and we were ten months later. Not a typical story from which you can extract universal elements of the love machine.

I grew frustrated until I remembered: married people are the worst to talk to about love. We see the commitment and responsibility as a way of connecting, solidifying, stabilizing.

Finally at Thanksgiving a newlywed couple came over and after everyone else had left, they stayed. He sat on the couch, very close to her, and stroked her hair the entire time she talked. The entire time.

I found it creepy and said so to my husband. Who laughed.

“He’s in love,” he said.

I thought back to the way they were sitting on the sofa in our house and something began to stir. Memories of the embers of infatuation that no matter what age can make you do the most nonsensical things. When you can’t get enough of someone. When you feel the attraction, the chemistry, my single friends mentioned right away on their list of necessities in the recipe for love. The spark in the air that makes what you’re wearing, saying, or doing irrelevant.

And that mighty moment, either in a supervised meeting or over days, weeks, months, years, when that spark becomes the flame of attraction, fed by respect, admiration, and trust.

I had my answer. A magnetic connection, yes, in the beginning, to signal a burgeoning of so much more.

How have you fallen in love? Do you think it’s more choice or emotion? Check out the Sangita, Abudlla, Hind love triangle and tell me what you think.

ABOUT THE BOOK

THANKS TO AUTHOR, MOHANA RAJAKUMAR, AND WOW,
I HAVE ONE (1) DIGITAL EDITION (.MOBI OR PDF)
TO GIVE AWAY. OPEN TO ALL.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

AUTHOR, MOHANA RAJAKUMAR IS ALSO HOSTING A
GRAND PRIZE GIVE AWAY OF A KINDLE FIRE.
VISIT HER BLOG HERE OR USE RAFFLECOPTER WIDGET BELOW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

If you are a frequent visitor here at the CMash blog, then you know that Jodi from WOW, always stops by and introduces us to amazing and talented female authors.  And today is no exception.  So I ask, to help me welcome, Ms. Caryn Miriam-Goldberg!

CARYN MIRIAM-GOLDBERG

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the Poet Laureate of Kansas, and the author of 14 books, including a forthcoming non-fiction book, Needle in the Bone: How a Holocaust Survivor and Polish Resistance Fighter Beat the Odds and Found Each Other (Potomac Books); The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community & Coming Home to the Body (Ice Cube Books); the anthologies An Endless Skyway: Poetry from the State Poets Laureate (co-editor, Ice Cube Books) and Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems (editor, Woodley Press); and four collections of poetry. Founder of Transformative Language Arts – a master’s program in social and personal transformation through the written, spoken and sung word – at Goddard College where she teaches, Mirriam-Goldberg also leads writing workshops widely. With singer Kelley Hunt, she co-writes songs, offers collaborative performances, and leads writing and singing Brave Voice retreats.
Connect with the author at her website.

GUEST POST

The Long Way Home: Writing As a Way of Healing

            Growing up as someone who had to make something to feel right in the world, I used to draw incessantly, but when I was 14, I switched on a dime to writing. The reason? My parents’ outlandish, long-winded and terrifying divorce pointed me toward words to make sense out of a reality that included my father kidnapping my mother’s Hummel figurines and neither of them moving out of the house during a year of court battles.

            There’s an old Yiddish saying that everything is bearable is it’s part of a story, and I know that was true for me. By narrating what I was living as a teenager caught in the middle of a domestic war, I could see some kind of crazy coherence to what was happening, a narrative thread that helped me track the symbolic moments that I knew I would need to bring to therapy sessions for years ahead as well as gain enough distance to see sign posts of hope and courage along the way. From the year of the divorce through the next year of living as my father’s wife-daughter through the final year of our family merging with a very different kind of family, I wrote. I knew that once day I would write a novel about all of this.

So it was no surprise that within weeks of turning in my PhD dissertation, I started writing The Divorce Girl. Having been through a lot of good therapy and, even more so, the passage of time, and now being a mother myself, I had arrived at the place where I had the perspective I needed to start this novel.

That starting place was 17 years ago, which I know is an outrageously long time to write a book, but the process itself has been right on time. I wrote the first draft during a long, hot summer, sitting at my husband’s grandfather’s giant desk in my basement. Having composted in me for decades, the novel came out in a rush, and I often wrote 10 to 20 pages each day. Then, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly depressed and too exhausted to even walk upstairs to the couch or my bed, I curled up on the carpet under the desk and took a nap. Strangely enough, I woke 15 minutes later, refreshed, and within an hour or so I was positively elated.

This went on until autumn when I had a solid draft. Then I let it air itself out for a year until I was ready and had time to start revising it with giant rewrites and re-configurations of characters or new threading or a core theme through the novel.

The writing time was herded into small spaces by the happenings in my life: I had full-time work teaching and leading writing workshops, three kids (my youngest was a newborn when I started the book), a house in the country with too much weeding to ever finish, cars that needed work, dishes that were never done, and lot of other writing projects. During this time, I’ve had 12 books published (poetry, a memoir, anthologies, a writing guide), which also took center stage, one at a time, for long periods. But I also took so long on the book because it took many years of working with agents and editors to find the right press for it.

Yet sometimes when we can’t find the right door to open for something we care about, it can be blessing to wait. Taking so much time helped me come to cleaner terms with the most impossible time and people in my life, writing my way through old hurts and aging anger. That spaciousness also allowed me to get very clear about what this book was and wasn’t truly about beyond my longing to see it published. That process entailed editing out what didn’t serve the book (“killing my darlings” as the saying goes) and searching out what this book is truly about after peeling away my own feelings about its healing role in my life.

What I realized was that I wanted to share with readers a story of someone who found her way through making things — in my main character’s case, photographs — that helped her discover herself and her calling. I wanted to lift of a story of how we can find our way through soul-battering life experiences and learn, even in the hardest moments, to trust our innate voices and take creative risks to land us where we need to be.

Writing The Divorce Girl has been healing for me, and now I hope it’s healing for readers too.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Meet Deborah Shapiro, a New Jersey teenage photographer whose parents’ outrageous divorce lands her in the biggest flea market in the free world, a Greek diner with immigration issues, a New York City taxi company, a radical suburban synagogue, a hippie-owned boutique, and bowling alleys, beaches and bagel shops. As her home explodes apart, a first love, a series of almost-mothers, and a comical collection of eccentric mentors show Deborah how to make art out of life, and life from the wreckage of a broken home. This debut novel of Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg travels through wild loss, untended grief and bad behavior with humor and imagination. Reminiscent of the works of Wally Lamb, Stephanie Kallos, and Kaye Gibbons, this coming of age story illuminates how a daring heart can turn a broken girl into a woman strong enough to craft a life of art, soul and beauty.
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Young Adult
Just Thought You Should Know (from WOW):
We feel The Divorce Girl will appeal to a YA audience but, because there is some violence and sexual scenes, we’d like to appeal to YA bloggers followed by older teens (15 and up) not the tween market.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, CARYN MIRIAM-GOLDBERG, I HAVE
ONE (1) BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.  U.S and CANADA RESIDENTS.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

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.

I love doing tours with the ladies from WOW!   I have hosted and reviewed books by very talented women authors because of Robyn and Jodi.  And today is no exception.  Robyn is stopping by to introduce us to another amazing writer.  However, today is going to be packed with a lot of fun stuff.  So get comfortable and enjoy!!  I present Ms. Barbara Conelli!  Welcome!!

BARBARA CONELLI

Barbara Conelli is an internationally published bestselling author, seasoned travel writer specializing inItaly, and Chiquenist on the mission to bring Fantastic Fearless Feminine Fun into women’s lives. In her charming, delightful and humorous Chique Books filled with Italian passion, Barb invites women to exploreItalyfrom the comfort of their home with elegance, grace and style, encouraging them to live their own Dolce Vita no matter where they are in the world.

Barb learned to read and write at the age of four, and a year later, she wrote her first bestselling book that became a big hit in local kindergartens. She turned into an overnight success that lasted for twelve exciting hours. Since then, she has never separated from her writing endeavors. Barb writes even in her sleep and she can often be seen sitting on her bed atthree a.m.with a flashlight frantically processing her somnambulant ideas. A born nomad and adventurer, she’s been there, she’s done it, and she’s not afraid to write about it.

An entertaining storyteller, Barb has a unique ability to capture the magical atmosphere of the places she writes about. Through the pages of her books, Barb takes your hand and guides you through the irresistible beauty, captivating secrets, unrepeatable spell and fugitive moments ofItaly. She makes them come alive easily and spontaneously, and her writing is like a magic carpet that carries you toItalyand back in the blink of an eye. She introduces you to fascinating women who have created the face ofItaly, lifts the shroud of their mysteries, and reveals adorable places off the beaten track where the authentic Italian heart hasn’t stopped beating.

As a naturally curious person who loves traveling, meeting new people and discovering their life stories, Barbara founded Chique Show, an entertaining radio show for women and about women. On Chique Show, Barbara shares her Dolce Vita adventures and interviews inspiring women authors and experts who show listeners how to live their sweet life with gusto.

Barb lives betweenNew York and Milan, and as a real globetrotter, she’s always on the move, accompanied by her adorable and very spoiled beagle. To her, writing is like breathing, and she’s currently working on her new book.
Visit Barbara at her websites here and here. 

Barbara is running two (2) contests on her blog:

An Italian Phrase contest

Learn Italian (and win a prize!)
Every Tuesday & Thursday from now through August 23, 2012 Barbara will be posting a new Italian word (+ audio)

Visit Barbara’s blog (http://barbaraconelliblog.com/category/writers-life/find-the-phrase-contest/) every Tuesday & Thursday to see and hear a new Italian word. At the end of the tour put all the words together into a phrase and enter it at Barbara’s blog site (http://www.barbaraconelli.com/findthephrase.htm). One winner will be drawn from those with the correct phrase. Prize is a chique leather wallet!

Contest is open internationally. Words will be posted along with audio link. Winner will be announced Thursday, August 23, 2012.

Essay Contest
If I Lived in Italy I Would…

What would you do if you lived in Italy? Dream big and start writing!

Your essay should be as long as you need it to be to express yourself! Submit your essays at the Essay Contest page at Barbara’s blog (http://www.barbaraconelli.com/essaycontest.htm). One winner will be chosen to receive a Chique Kindle Sleeve!

Barbara will be hosting her own Q & A on her radio show; here are the links to pages where readers can submit their questions.

Questions on writing and publishing on July 20
http://www.barbaraconelli.com/writingandpublishing.htm

Questions about Italy and travel on August 17:
http://www.barbaraconelli.com/italyandtravel.htm

Then tune in to the Chique Show on July 20^th and August 17^th for the pre-recorded sessions. http://www.barbaraconelli.com/radio.htm

ABOUT THE BOOK

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF AUTHOR, BARBARA CONELLI,
I HAVE ONE (1) TOTE BAG TO GIVE AWAY. OPEN TO ALL.

IN ADDITION, EVERY PERSON WHO LEAVES A
COMMENT ON THIS PAGE (YOU MUST LEAVE AN
EMAIL ADDRESS) WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR
A DOWNLOADABLE GIFTBAG CONSISTING OF:
Chique Virtual Tour: The Secret Gems of Italy Every Woman Must Know
1st five chapters of Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita
1st five chapters of Chique Secrets of Dolce Amore
Chique Blog Tour Special Gift (Only for the tour!): E-Book: The Most Romantic Chique Places to Fall in Love in (and with) Milan

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE CMash GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

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.