tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78528009437724894742024-03-19T02:33:29.680-07:00Coming Down the MountainKaren Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.comBlogger622125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-33781855265011334842024-03-06T09:51:00.000-08:002024-03-06T09:51:59.532-08:00A Few Questions for Writers<p>One of my favorite books on writers and writing is called <i>Process: The Writing Lives of Great Authors</i> by Sarah Stodola. I've read it numerous times, reading it now in fact, and finding it interesting how different writers approach their work. Of course the ones in this book are or have been famous, their work widely read with high acclaim.</p><p>How about the lowly writer like myself? Is anyone interested in how we folks view our work and our process? Well, I for one am very interested, which is why I feel sad that so many of my peers have left blogging. It was where writers wrote about writing, the challenges and processes and successes, small though these may seem compared to the rich and famous in the literary world.</p><p>Even without writer blogs, in my work with WiDo I have come to know a wide range of writers. I've seen healthy attitudes and unhealthy ones and those in the middle, maybe depending on the response to their submission or their book once it comes out.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguY-G2ceFamYNsQUHOAjFR3uX5sOH3bdKw1kjC2BKgZs-hT93Xh8yu8AEaO713px5_odGHgnXbXLqwTwxspSWoYdN0Je6XCH5OjTCLT-gLojpwcPZIccuWFwom69FjL4Z8Cql3r4pL3ezXRzkMyyL529ALCd-F_6J2P87gIb3f7I5I_elz7fNrdudpOec/s640/filler-4840419_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguY-G2ceFamYNsQUHOAjFR3uX5sOH3bdKw1kjC2BKgZs-hT93Xh8yu8AEaO713px5_odGHgnXbXLqwTwxspSWoYdN0Je6XCH5OjTCLT-gLojpwcPZIccuWFwom69FjL4Z8Cql3r4pL3ezXRzkMyyL529ALCd-F_6J2P87gIb3f7I5I_elz7fNrdudpOec/s320/filler-4840419_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Here are a few questions I'd like to ask every writer:</p><p><i>Are you excited about the idea of people reading your work, or would you rather keep it private? </i></p><p><i>Do you have an audience in mind when you write?</i></p><p><i>Have you always wanted to write a book? </i></p><p><i>If you have written your book, do you feel satisfied with it or discouraged and disappointed?</i></p><p><i>How many forms of writing do you like to do? For example, journaling, poetry, blogging, fiction, personal stories or memoir? </i></p><p><i>Is your voice the same regardless of the format?</i></p><p><i>If you have published a book, what do you think determines how well it sells?</i></p><p><i>How do you feel about critical reviews? Do you shrug and move on or do you feel devastated by them?</i></p><p><i>Do you feel that book publishing only counts if it's done in a certain way, such as through an agent or a particular publishing company?</i></p><p>I know that other writers as well as avid readers are interested in these kinds of questions and answers. I'd love to see the return of the writer blogs--the ordinary ones, not the professional or monetized ones, wouldn't you?</p><p>And if anyone reading this post is a writer, I'd love to see your responses to this list of thought questions!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-50873085281056957882024-02-13T09:17:00.000-08:002024-02-14T13:47:02.291-08:00A Sweet and Gentle Star is Born<p>Recently I read a post on <a href="https://createdbybb.blogspot.com/2024/02/what-should-have-won-best-picture-1952.html">BB's Creations</a> about best movies of 1952. I thought about watching them, but it can be hard to find what you want on streaming services. </p><p>Amazon makes you pay for nearly every film they offer, even if you have Prime. Netflix never has anything good anymore. HBO Max isn't too bad and offers a nice variety of classic films. They had Singin' In the Rain, one mentioned in Birgit's post. I was sorry they didn't have The Quiet Man because it sounded good. </p><p>Singin' in the Rain has the dance numbers, the music, Gene Kelly dancing through puddles--these well-known clips that show up everywhere. Yet I had never seen it in its entirety and didn't know the story.</p><p>Well, I watched it and wasn't that impressed. Now, White Christmas is another movie with familiar music. The story holds up and decades later, it's still mesmerizing. Singin' in the Rain, on the other hand, has a thin plot and predictable characters. I couldn't see how it qualifies as one of the greatest films ever made, Academy Award-worthy, or deserving of all the praise heaped on it in its Wikipedia description.</p><p>What I did find interesting was Debbie Reynolds, who was only eighteen when she filmed it. This was her first real role and it made her a star. A beloved star who is 100% real and honest and as true to who she was at eighteen as at eighty. </p><p>I then watched Bright Lights, also on HBO Max, a documentary about her and her daughter Carrie Fisher, and their close relationship. It's especially poignant knowing they died within a day of each other. Carrie died of heart issues at 60. The next day while discussing arrangements with her son Todd, Debbie said, "I just want to be with Carrie." She died shortly after that at age 84.</p><p>Debbie's beautiful spirit shines through her eyes in Bright Lights, filmed a year before they died, just as it did 70 years ago in Singin' in the Rain. Despite aging, she still had that special quality of goodness and honesty that made people love her in every movie she did. Singin' in the Rain is worth watching to see the emergence of this eighteen-year-old actress who doesn't look anything like a movie star. She just looks like a really nice and kind person.</p><p>And watch it for the dancing, of course, and all of the fun music that just makes you happy to hear it.</p><p><br /></p>Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-90481621511958911852024-02-06T12:52:00.000-08:002024-02-06T12:52:49.387-08:00Good Morning from Veracruz<p> Finishing my last book gave me the freedom to blog again. </p><p>It was a tough book to write, taking ten years. Other things of higher priority came first. I thought maybe I should at least try blogging but decided not to. It's the only form of social media that can get addictive for me, and I have to guard against that. The book had to come first.</p><p>I am back at work on another book, but that's okay. I can still blog because I'm in a regular work routine and have been for a couple years now.</p><p>I do random other social media but don't find it as fun or interesting as blogging for some reason. Actually, I do know the reasons but they're boring so why go into them. Instead, I'll share a couple recent photos from an early morning walk. Veracruz is on the Eastern shore of Mexico and is lovely in the mornings. The second one may look like a sunset but no, it is the sunrise. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxLMfPWQew35fWTQ2rqUXz28AMVF0B0LjOUu6udDqE9uNue_I9B_y517IiI84wE29k0Am25c_lsjgiL6ux8MboCjuKrISgtXWFWkXIm7Zoi1w881Tl0m0LL6ct4pGatwhKPU1Ka24uuUtzdGsEDgSUNciubwkj2SKbZDchyhPetd_umgNfCEcBLzzL44/s4624/20230920_063643.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxLMfPWQew35fWTQ2rqUXz28AMVF0B0LjOUu6udDqE9uNue_I9B_y517IiI84wE29k0Am25c_lsjgiL6ux8MboCjuKrISgtXWFWkXIm7Zoi1w881Tl0m0LL6ct4pGatwhKPU1Ka24uuUtzdGsEDgSUNciubwkj2SKbZDchyhPetd_umgNfCEcBLzzL44/s320/20230920_063643.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Seeing the sunrise in the morning always feels special to me, because it's a rare opportunity to actually be awake and present at the right time and place for a significant event. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDg83WcT6xfrEdTTG-mKKwdX-l-rdFEzb2E0dW2JmU29vVL16qfD5X54P5ivw0MyhhkuE6BddRck_o4o6D3bEROazmzDNjzG5GlaKvO_tSU_Ea4FoB5F9sXA57ybF33COO8F_UqlRRMWlcpJyBsURqmyAVUh4nZjOzQiOZZhdV9Dp3T5FYrU_mgDPJj0/s4624/20230920_062405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDg83WcT6xfrEdTTG-mKKwdX-l-rdFEzb2E0dW2JmU29vVL16qfD5X54P5ivw0MyhhkuE6BddRck_o4o6D3bEROazmzDNjzG5GlaKvO_tSU_Ea4FoB5F9sXA57ybF33COO8F_UqlRRMWlcpJyBsURqmyAVUh4nZjOzQiOZZhdV9Dp3T5FYrU_mgDPJj0/s320/20230920_062405.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>To see it actually pop up from the horizon as it seems to do is remarkable. (This picture does not do it justice.) You must wait patiently, eyes focused on the horizon where there's light with its play of colors but no sun yet. Turn away for a second and you miss the moment when it appears. <p></p><p>First comes an even more glorious display of light as the top of the sun peeks out. Then the full circle follows, quickly it seems, and you can't stare any longer for the brightness. It is the sun after all, although after watching it wake up step by step, you feel like you're now friends and you should be able to look at it directly. </p><p>Have you ever seen a full eclipse of the sun? To witness Emperor Sun completely covered by tiny, reclusive Queen Moon is more astounding than I ever supposed it would be. Unthinkable that our Sun can get blocked out like that, even for a brief moment. You see it but can hardly believe it. And then it passes, leaving you with the sense that something extremely meaningful just happened.</p><p>My next book is about the summer my son and I traveled to Chile for the full eclipse in June 2019. Afterward, we bussed north to Peru where we lingered for over two months. That was the year I wanted to walk the earth. Those plans were of course cut short by the pandemic six months later. </p><p>There's a full eclipse crossing northern Mexico in April of this year. I haven't decided yet if I'll travel north to see it or not. That's how far I've come from wanting to walk the earth.</p><br /><p><br /></p>Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-56188358739583456872022-12-12T03:56:00.003-08:002022-12-12T08:30:35.849-08:00Minimalism<p> Such a long time since I posted on this blog! Not really, only since 2020 but how many of us feel like the time from 2020 to now feels more like ten years than two? </p><p>WordPress informed me that the cost of my domain and website karenjonesgowen.com is going up by a dollar a year, from $18 to $19. All well and good, although the minimalist in me is saying, Do you really need two websites? I hardly use one let alone two. And I greatly dislike the Wordpress block format, find the Dashboard difficult to navigate, while posting on Blogger here is essentially the same as it has always been. </p><p>I would happily let go of the website but then I'd also need to let go of the domain. It's my name. My author name. I'm not yet done with my name. I hesitate to let go of it. </p>Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-14740423306980597682020-03-22T14:35:00.001-07:002020-03-22T14:35:33.925-07:00Lament of the Empty Nest COVID-19<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #444444; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.7142; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Today, hunkering down in my apartment in my paradise of Veracruz, Mexico during my 90 day retreat that– due to the corona virus– has turned into 5 month retreat. I’m not sure why, but I’m feeling unusually sad. Maybe because it’s Sunday and church of course is still canceled. No church, no family all under one roof to draw close and be one during these uncertain, scary days.... <a href="https://karenjonesgowen.com/2020/03/22/lament-of-the-empty-nest-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">Full post on my website</a></span>Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-80817951181365502182019-08-11T09:10:00.000-07:002019-08-11T09:29:54.393-07:00SolteraMy son and I arrived to Cusco at different times. He came from Puno via bus, I traveled from Arequipa by plane. I had no desire to visit Puno and wanted to stay in Arequipa as long as possible. After a month there, the city felt familiar and, as one does after awhile in one place, I had a routine that felt comfortable.<br />
<br />
Still, I looked forward to Cusco. I had booked an apartment as a pleasant change from hotel rooms. And then there was Machu Picchu! Cusco is the major hub to get there as well as to many other Inca ruins in the area.<br />
<br />
My first look at the apartment was disappointing. Yes, it was spacious with two bedrooms but the kitchen could hardly be called a kitchen, not even a kitchenette. There was no refrigerator, no pots and pans for cooking, and although the website had said "oven" it was just a two burner propane unit on a table next to the tiny sink.<br />
<br />
Forrest, who had arrived earlier in the day, reported the shower was just lukewarm, the WiFi wasn't great, and "Look, Mom, how dirty the floors are--" the bottoms of his bare feet were black. Also, within a few hours, there was no water at all!<br />
<br />
The water eventually came back on. Apparently this is Cusco's dry season and water has to be rationed. I understood that since we experienced the same thing in Guatemala when we lived in Panajachel. I kept water stored in jugs for these times. But I had just arrived here and it was all too much!<br />
<br />
I went to bed feeling very frustrated. I kept checking on Booking.com for something else. Finally, I decided not to be rash or impulsive and to give it 24 hours.<br />
<br />
The next morning, Forrest left on his 5-day trekking journey along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. As for me, nothing looked better in the morning light. As so often happens during these kinds of situations, I sat there crying and thinking if only Bruce were here, he'd make everything better. We'd see it as an adventure and would immediately set to work tackling the problems together, rather than me sitting here alone wondering what went wrong.<br />
<br />
I imagined how Bruce would handle things, what he would do first. From my vantage point in bed under three heavy blankets, I saw a clock on the wall in the not-really-a-kitchenette. It wasn't keeping time (one more lame thing about this crappy place.) I knew that right off Bruce would get one of the AA batteries I brought for my camera and put it in the clock. So I dragged myself out from under the covers to get the battery and put it in the clock and set it on the right time.<br />
<br />
The dear little clock started ticking, a comforting sound that made me feel immediately better. What else would my capable husband go after?<br />
<br />
"What should I do next, my love?" I asked him, and then wrote out a list of simple tasks we'd undertake if he were in this situation with me.<br />
<br />
One of them was to talk to my contact person for the apartment. I put that one way down on the list, because when you're feeling discouraged and sorry for yourself, you don't want to talk to anyone.<br />
<br />
Finally, after I completed everything else, I messaged the person, saying I had some questions about the apartment and could they come by. At 11:30 a.m., there's a knock on the door, and it's these two smiling women, one with a baby in a backpack. Turns out they're mother and daughter, and I'd been messaging the daughter as my contact person.<br />
<br />
I ask about turning on the heater, about turning on the hot water, about cleaning the floor, and what about no pans to cook with, not even a little one to fry an egg. The mother said, "I'll clean the floor right now!" I told her I wouldn't mind doing it, but I had no supplies. During all this, I saw a man in the hall carrying a mini-fridge down the stairs from another apartment.<br />
<br />
I said, "I wish I had one of those here," and they said, "We will bring you one, and pots and pans later today."<br />
<br />
While the mom mopped, she asked why I was in Cusco. I showed her a picture of my husband, saying he died last year and I just needed to get away from everything familiar. She understood, said "Ah, tu eres soltera," told me her mother was also a widow and very independent, just like me. We had a nice conversation, although with the stress of the past couple days, my Spanish wasn't very good.<br />
<br />
When they left, everything looked so much better after having all the rooms mopped. It felt clean and, with the sun now shining brightly through the apartment, more like home.<br />
<br />
Around six pm, they come by again with a man who's probably the husband. He is carrying a mini-fridge, still wrapped in plastic from the store. The women have a big box with new pans, cooking utensils, a cutting board and a knife. Also, a brand new broom and dustpan. The mom calls me Karencita which is so sweet. And they dropped the rent by $50.<br />
<br />
This day that had started off so badly with my dark thoughts, ended with joyful gratitude, a day I would never forget. I felt hopeful, blessed, and just happy to know people like this would be my landlords for one month in Cusco.Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-30024660910128515122019-07-25T11:56:00.002-07:002019-07-25T13:28:15.098-07:00Hola from Chile and PeruMy youngest son and I are traveling in South America this summer. We are one month into our trip, the first week spent in Coquimbo/La Serena, Chile to see the eclipse. This eclipse had a very narrow view for totality. You basically had to go to South America to experience it. Not that either of us are eclipse chasers, but as long as we had plans to go why not arrange things to see that?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5n5_IUQZb6s1d7M0HAMvmXt7O3aXL36zUGzc-gvN8NJNueWlyCV_dP9kfR8qiThyphenhyphenm-MJBILUATA-ajrBYDdrPTWUiCplzkmiHC3UFYpR8JfLaMV9_AfBsbeO8HWsamepvUVWjEpdUVT8/s1600/IMG_3120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5n5_IUQZb6s1d7M0HAMvmXt7O3aXL36zUGzc-gvN8NJNueWlyCV_dP9kfR8qiThyphenhyphenm-MJBILUATA-ajrBYDdrPTWUiCplzkmiHC3UFYpR8JfLaMV9_AfBsbeO8HWsamepvUVWjEpdUVT8/s320/IMG_3120.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
We saw it from the beach, which was incredible and this photo doesn't do it justice. They never do. You've got to have some kind of special camera to really photograph totality. But with this shot we can appreciate how dark it is, like the sun has set, yet it's still quite far above the horizon. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We only stayed in this area for a week, as it was quite expensive. Every day I walked for hours on the beach. It was cold, since it's winter now in Chile, but not too bad in the afternoon with the sun shining. I loved those beach walks, especially the pelicans! I admire how they're so relaxed and companionable, but when it's time to eat they go after it with a vengeance, dive-bombing straight into the water. I never tired of watching them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUkFMXRbUi82CfUpEcXa7NwdmIMaqFUw1Convxpcf7zyOLzdPX7gpchZmL8UMQVoJB8-KkB2zyHI0MLO37FcvxigZzDrxiDEcroMNiULmKT3EflkNdPnFU2RmTpMfqgg3BaDuLRB5jeU/s1600/IMG_3129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUkFMXRbUi82CfUpEcXa7NwdmIMaqFUw1Convxpcf7zyOLzdPX7gpchZmL8UMQVoJB8-KkB2zyHI0MLO37FcvxigZzDrxiDEcroMNiULmKT3EflkNdPnFU2RmTpMfqgg3BaDuLRB5jeU/s320/IMG_3129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
We bussed from La Serena north to the Chile/Peru border, stopping here and there along the way. It took about a week until we finally crossed the border and headed to Irequipa, Peru, where we decided to stay for a month.<br />
<br />
I love it in Arequipa. The weather is fantastic, sunny and in the low to mid-seventies every day. The prices for lodging and food are quite reasonable, even cheap, especially compared to Chile. I've checked out a few places for long-term rentals for maybe next year when I'd like to come back and stay for six months. I could totally live here for $500 to $800 a month, including food and incidentals. So I just might do that.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkx-yJpZ1WOdVV0rgp3OjRNRLRXmWzDGYaUIacMdG16Npe-j9S7aT-vqz6YNY7toPM2C9otdU6I2qhQVjdbS-ZX8URTHNHgtHDM6vm0gpeyxzIC80IBn6-G8ajeFcCKFCKkMjz1cTXZUg/s1600/IMG_3180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkx-yJpZ1WOdVV0rgp3OjRNRLRXmWzDGYaUIacMdG16Npe-j9S7aT-vqz6YNY7toPM2C9otdU6I2qhQVjdbS-ZX8URTHNHgtHDM6vm0gpeyxzIC80IBn6-G8ajeFcCKFCKkMjz1cTXZUg/s320/IMG_3180.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Here's my son buying two hand-knit alpaca sweaters for just $10 each. Both he and the vendor were very happy with their transaction. He's wearing one of them, isn't it beautiful? And so soft! I haven't found one yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open. Today I bought a hat. Everyone here wears hats because of the intensity of the sun.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm posting photos regularly on my Instagram @travelingnonny if you want to see more of my travels through Chile and Peru!</div>
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-40728357875625560402019-06-24T17:29:00.001-07:002019-06-24T18:59:04.990-07:00Keeper of the Memories<div>
One of the toughest things I've experienced in the ten months since my husband died has been carrying the burden of our memories. I would never have expected memories to be anything other than a pleasant, welcome diversion. One of the frequent comments people made was something to the effect of "You had so many good years together, and all those memories."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like those who made the comments, I too would have thought it would be a positive thing. Having 48 years together was lovely, although naturally I wanted more. Reflecting back on our life should be a comfort, right? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a way, yes and in a way, no. When something comes up from our past, whether good or bad, who do I share it with? I can't turn to Bruce and say, "Remember when....?" Instead, it stays within, crying to be shared with the one who, like me, knew it from firsthand experience. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How I'd love to talk over some of those rough times with him when they come to mind:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"How did we ever get through it?" </div>
<div>
"Things worked out pretty well after all, funny about that."</div>
<div>
"What do you wish we'd done differently?"</div>
<div>
"Here's what I learned from it, how about you?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Being left as the sole keeper of the memories is not as pleasant as one would expect. It can be a lonely job. In the book <i>The Giver </i>by Lois Lowry, there's the giver and the receiver of memory. The receiver's duty is to take in memories of the society from the giver. When the giver passes on, the receiver carries on until a new receiver shows up, and then the other becomes the giver.<br />
<br />
I think I need to appoint someone in my family as Receiver and I will be the Giver, for as long as it takes. Although in the book, they are not appointed, they just are. So I'll keep my eyes out for the right one.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEDhqKxByxpzF872-_-2O9TzAPHgbhyoc3OiCzuDNJ5wXfufd6X-WZkENxp9y27kxKCExp96_CNR5_9KgHTmZlul9YrHAl6FYJtyEVInMNsgF9b9UGVZVJDSNg_aBaUW6R69Qt7rPllU/s1600/Guatamala+%2528173%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEDhqKxByxpzF872-_-2O9TzAPHgbhyoc3OiCzuDNJ5wXfufd6X-WZkENxp9y27kxKCExp96_CNR5_9KgHTmZlul9YrHAl6FYJtyEVInMNsgF9b9UGVZVJDSNg_aBaUW6R69Qt7rPllU/s400/Guatamala+%2528173%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-45064565384622697902019-05-04T06:19:00.001-07:002019-05-04T07:49:08.980-07:00Where in the World am I?It's been less than two years since my last post in November, 2017, but to me it feels like forever. Time is like that when everything changes and your world goes topsy turvy. Two years ago, my husband and I were living in Salt Lake City and planning our next move/trip/lifestyle change.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG09e2q91zQoTqJ79sjITOjBdOQmwTvNsvpPbz29vEmS1ycHY_qATyE3AGuFY7hFBUHaiq_4aHbg7584aro1MW9u81XQGX9-FQL7UpVHQ_eP3DtMb-cVsSXwFK7BeaaabTDSTtbg7R9M/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG09e2q91zQoTqJ79sjITOjBdOQmwTvNsvpPbz29vEmS1ycHY_qATyE3AGuFY7hFBUHaiq_4aHbg7584aro1MW9u81XQGX9-FQL7UpVHQ_eP3DtMb-cVsSXwFK7BeaaabTDSTtbg7R9M/s320/IMG_1417.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At home in the Guatamala highlands, near Lake Atitlan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbZOLAoR9wPC-z9kmFWKgy_ePbu3uKQOf3c0B-hpX69aaMYYMLXY_TcxKWY0_qsC_YezeeyRih7GH45bnRlgalYpXdE_rbTvFvkD1VUqI1Qg_5ntVVhOayckU_jgUTBWDtbYsMH4lrTs/s1600/270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbZOLAoR9wPC-z9kmFWKgy_ePbu3uKQOf3c0B-hpX69aaMYYMLXY_TcxKWY0_qsC_YezeeyRih7GH45bnRlgalYpXdE_rbTvFvkD1VUqI1Qg_5ntVVhOayckU_jgUTBWDtbYsMH4lrTs/s1600/270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>On our list was Cambodia, India, the Philippines, definitely Vietnam. And maybe back to Mexico because we had loved living in Comitan, Chiapas. When we left Comitan, ou<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbZOLAoR9wPC-z9kmFWKgy_ePbu3uKQOf3c0B-hpX69aaMYYMLXY_TcxKWY0_qsC_YezeeyRih7GH45bnRlgalYpXdE_rbTvFvkD1VUqI1Qg_5ntVVhOayckU_jgUTBWDtbYsMH4lrTs/s1600/270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a>r landlord said the apartment would be ours if we ever came back. Considering we could live comfortably in this friendly mid-sized town in southern Mexico for just $800 a month for <i>everything</i>, we certainly discussed moving back.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG09e2q91zQoTqJ79sjITOjBdOQmwTvNsvpPbz29vEmS1ycHY_qATyE3AGuFY7hFBUHaiq_4aHbg7584aro1MW9u81XQGX9-FQL7UpVHQ_eP3DtMb-cVsSXwFK7BeaaabTDSTtbg7R9M/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>But God had other plans for us. A year ago, my husband had emergency surgery for a dissected aorta. It ruptured on the operating table, before they were able to properly prep him for surgery. Miraculously, they did save his life and he did wake up from the surgery. Although he had a long road ahead of him if he were to fully recover from the trauma his body had gone through.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc1DDsG2CRwyvw9TYi2fqdU0IjIzQz5xFscLqTl1D9DIs_8MLIvy682g2Ou1NPRVDIZ76fBnzb_BwDBif3FjJhRf1zKdHo3OqIfCfhw_zkpfeQVp7ry3Gu5m05LTaePwTybr5yOwDPR7E/s1600/IMG4472261376085035194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc1DDsG2CRwyvw9TYi2fqdU0IjIzQz5xFscLqTl1D9DIs_8MLIvy682g2Ou1NPRVDIZ76fBnzb_BwDBif3FjJhRf1zKdHo3OqIfCfhw_zkpfeQVp7ry3Gu5m05LTaePwTybr5yOwDPR7E/s320/IMG4472261376085035194.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
It was four months of ups and downs, much fasting and prayer for healing, many hospitals as they moved him around based on whether he was progressing or not. In July, it seemed like he might make it. Finally, he seemed to be improving. My hope was renewed.<br />
<br />
Until an infection they'd kept at bay with powerful antibiotics flared up again. With a vengeance. Within days he was admitted to LDS Hospital, since the care center in Salt Lake didn't have the means to handle the situation. I saw him go downhill so fast it scared me. I felt this was the end. I cried buckets of tears that week.<br />
<br />
He passed away on August 23, ten days after our 48th wedding anniversary. On our anniversary, he'd been lucid and even written a sweet note in a card one of our sons brought to him to sign for me. Five days after that, I knew it was over and five days after that, he was gone.<br />
<br />
He died surrounded by our family, surrounded by love. He had fought valiantly for four months after surgery to recover and stay with us. We were grateful for the courage he showed through this battle, but also grateful he was now released from his pain-racked, very ill body to return home to his Heavenly Father.<br />
<br />
I've been blessed to feel his spirit with me often since that day, my eternal companion. We were married in 1970 in the Oakland, California temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for time and eternity. Our church believes that families are forever, that the bonds of marriage and family are not for this life only but can continue on after death. The work done in our holy temples is simply that of uniting families for eternity. I've never been so grateful for that work as I have since Bruce died.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl_J-xeUC0Nave4RYzbNtRoNOYddW39d8e9eJ5NHS2N_zMUW1lAUQONgLMKi1g3sGbViDhJccKHeAPDka4mZrQLoMDEX3Cur63s1FB9HVpduVsNdo6i8tLav4KG23pPJreX96a5H4qgk/s1600/beautiful+temple%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl_J-xeUC0Nave4RYzbNtRoNOYddW39d8e9eJ5NHS2N_zMUW1lAUQONgLMKi1g3sGbViDhJccKHeAPDka4mZrQLoMDEX3Cur63s1FB9HVpduVsNdo6i8tLav4KG23pPJreX96a5H4qgk/s320/beautiful+temple%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quetzaltenango temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So where in the world am I? Currently staying with one of my sons and his family in Cedar City, Utah, while I get my bearings and decide what should be my next move.<br />
<br />
I'll end this by sharing a picture of Bruce and me taken in 1970, our first Christmas as a newly married couple, heading out to travel to Illinois to spend the holidays with my family. We were so young! We had no idea what lay ahead of us, but as long as we had each other nothing else really mattered. And that is still true.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMt2VtgpCl-__PfPd1hhmJ9uw6O2kXqHm8eeQRkDRaqrNX0HjNQdaYmQsXAmv3EJrucL1GNmAES5QGVuzAj6cIgw9-6cFVewH6WkqO67BSSNbsNRAVeiJ4XfGmDVwAEfzo0wgjyuDQM0/s1600/Bruce+and+Karen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="960" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMt2VtgpCl-__PfPd1hhmJ9uw6O2kXqHm8eeQRkDRaqrNX0HjNQdaYmQsXAmv3EJrucL1GNmAES5QGVuzAj6cIgw9-6cFVewH6WkqO67BSSNbsNRAVeiJ4XfGmDVwAEfzo0wgjyuDQM0/s320/Bruce+and+Karen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-30294099953217055582017-11-17T08:32:00.000-08:002017-11-17T08:33:10.838-08:00When the Work Gets SuffocatedLiving outside the country for three years freed me up creatively. I completed my novel, Afraid of Everything, started and finished the self-help memoir, Slim Within, and wrote first drafts of another novel and a travel memoir. A very productive time for the writing!<br />
<br />
Once I came back, it stopped. We've been in the States a year now, and I haven't worked on any of my manuscript drafts. They're stashed away, waiting.<br />
<br />
This past year has been a whirlwind of catching up with family and doing all the things we missed out on while away, like being with our kids and our grandchildren. Earning money. Getting to the doctors and specialists and dentists.<br />
<br />
And even then, there doesn't seem to be enough time for anything. Especially for being with my family, since I know we'll leave again before too long.<br />
<br />
Not that I'm complaining because I'm not. I'm okay with setting aside my creative work for awhile. I don't know why that doesn't bother me like it seems to bother many other writers. Do I not care enough? Am I not committed enough?<br />
<br />
Living a full and balanced life is what matters the most. And sometimes that doesn't include writing the next book. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll get back to it...I always do!<br />
<br />
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-38242128036610282302017-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:002017-11-07T05:00:13.539-08:00My Review of FAREWELL, ALEPPO by Claudette E. Sutton<div class="m_-738048521205579688m_-1978326398269681459gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulzzTFpcP0F_qGBotn4cNHRGLYNxOcGHvmskGWw7rP_5DFm7xNWuWALga16PY5YrqQK0Cc9gkHdBzOghfqPx2TfD4W61BK0oBTS8xLBMK_snaeZLF8VcPkJLqIwABphpn4cs1NWxvzHc/s1600/FarewellAleppo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="287" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulzzTFpcP0F_qGBotn4cNHRGLYNxOcGHvmskGWw7rP_5DFm7xNWuWALga16PY5YrqQK0Cc9gkHdBzOghfqPx2TfD4W61BK0oBTS8xLBMK_snaeZLF8VcPkJLqIwABphpn4cs1NWxvzHc/s320/FarewellAleppo.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Paperback: 180 Pages</span></div>
<div class="m_-738048521205579688m_-1978326398269681459gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7852800943772489474" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" style="cursor: move;" /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7852800943772489474" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" style="cursor: move;" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Genre: Memoir<br />Publisher: Terra Nova Books (October 1, 2014)<br />ISBN-10: 1938288408</span></div>
<div class="m_-738048521205579688m_-1978326398269681459gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">ISBN-13: 978-1938288401</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Amazon Link: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Aleppo-Father-People-Journey/dp/1938288408/ref%3Dsr_1_1?s%3Dbooks%26ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1504150531%26sr%3D1-1%26keywords%3Dfarewell%2Baleppo/?tag%3Dwowwomenonwri-20&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNGlJGgynxrUd62TzrlwxdFCm2lSjg" href="https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Aleppo-Father-People-Journey/dp/1938288408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504150531&sr=1-1&keywords=farewell+aleppo/?tag=wowwomenonwri-20" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">click here</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Jews of Aleppo, Syria, had been part of the city’s fabric for more than two thousand years, in good times and bad, through conquerors and kings. But in the middle years of the twentieth century, all that changed.<br /><br />To Selim Sutton, a merchant with centuries of roots in the Syrian soil, the dangers of rising anti-Semitism made clear that his family must find a new home. With several young children and no prospect of securing visas to the United States, he devised a savvy plan for getting his family out: “exporting” his sons. In December 1940, he told the two oldest, Meïr and Saleh, that arrangements had been made for their transit to Shanghai, where they would work in an uncle’s export business. China, he hoped, would provide a short-term safe harbor and a steppingstone to America.<br /><br />But the world intervened for the young men, now renamed Mike and Sal by their Uncle Joe. Sal became ill with tuberculosis soon after arriving and was sent back to Aleppo alone. And the war that soon would engulf every inhabited land loomed closer each day. Joe, Syrian-born but a naturalized American citizen, barely escaped on the last ship to sail for the U.S. before Pearl Harbor was bombed and the Japanese seized Shanghai. Mike was alone, a teen-ager in an occupied city, across the world from his family, with only his mettle to rely on as he strived to survive personally and economically in the face of increasing deprivation.<br /><br />Farewell, Aleppo is the story—told by his daughter—of the journey that would ultimately take him from the insular Jewish community of Aleppo to the solitary task of building a new life in America. It is both her father’s tale that journalist Claudette Sutton describes and also the harrowing experiences of the family members he left behind in Syria, forced to smuggle themselves out of the country after it closed its borders to Jewish emigration.<br /><br />The picture Sutton paints is both a poignant narrative of individual lives and the broader canvas of a people’s survival over millennia, in their native land and far away, through the strength of their faith and their communities. Multiple threads come richly together as she observes their world from inside and outside the fold, shares an important and nearly forgotten epoch of Jewish history, and explores universal questions of identity, family, and culture.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>My Review of FAREWELL, ALEPPO</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was pretty excited to read this book and participate in its Women on Writing blog tour. The cover is compelling, with the photo of this handsome, dark-haired young man (the author's father) looking a bit lost yet brave and tough all at once.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And the idea of Jews having lived and thrived in Syria for thousands of years-- who knew? Where did they all go? Why did they leave? Well, that last question seems obvious, considering what's been going on in the Middle East in recent times, and especially in Syria.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Not to be disappointed, I learned a great deal about the handsome man on the cover, and about the Syrian Jews. Sutton's book is part family history, part Jewish/Middle East history, and yet somehow she manages to tie all the various threads together into a cohesive whole.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At the same time, it is much like the story of many others who have come to America because of terrible conditions in their own countries. And where, in the end, do they really belong? Reflecting on my own grandmother, the child of Norwegian immigrants in the late 19th century, she taught me that it wasn't so much their own futures they worked and sacrificed for, but for their children and grandchildren.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7852800943772489474" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sutton states in the book: "Our identification as Syrian Jews seemed defined not so much by place as by the culture they took with them."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><i>Farewell, Aleppo</i> is a thorough yet personal account of the author's father and his circuitous journey from Syria to China and, finally, to America. I learned so much from it! Well worth a read, especially to history buffs and those interested in the Middle East.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">About the Author: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Bqvgh2xNq58X20OOG3AYkeG_3cMcCuCKQgNUVNbhQEfYdCqHa6KVGRd5jVVgkBdQ5azydoCNYWB_lIIInlnzaoiz-VqhVz_M3GI294awEd-SyUD5hChD7AqHYwDxXWwjdnSAj1H7S7w/s1600/Claudette_Sutton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Bqvgh2xNq58X20OOG3AYkeG_3cMcCuCKQgNUVNbhQEfYdCqHa6KVGRd5jVVgkBdQ5azydoCNYWB_lIIInlnzaoiz-VqhVz_M3GI294awEd-SyUD5hChD7AqHYwDxXWwjdnSAj1H7S7w/s1600/Claudette_Sutton.jpg" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s no coincidence that family is the central focus of both Farewell, Aleppo and the work that has been the driving force of its author’s professional life.<br /><br />Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in the close-knit community of Syrian Jews all were part of Claudette Sutton’s childhood in suburban Maryland, along with her parents and siblings. Years later, as a young mother in Santa Fe, it seemed only natural to think of creating a similar kind of close support for families in her new hometown by means of her journalism training and experience.<br /><br />Thus began what is now Tumbleweeds, an award-winning local publication that for over twenty years has been expanding its role in serving the city’s families. As the quarterly newspaper has grown, so have its scope and community contributions, mixing news, commentary, personal writing, advice, and activity guides—all reflecting Claudette’s vision of a community resource to help her neighbors face the challenges of parenting.<br /><br />Claudette’s eloquent writing, the other great strength she combines with the paper’s wide-ranging utility, has been a door to the world for her since she was a teen-ager. As a reporter, she realized early, “You can learn about everything”—a much more appealing option after high school than the enforced specialization of college.<br /><br />After three years writing for the Montgomery County Sentinel in Maryland, Claudette moved to New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree from the New School for Social Research. Living in proximity to another side of her extensive family, she built a deeper understanding of the Jewish exodus from Syria that has formed the backdrop for the story she tells so movingly in Farewell, Aleppo.<br /><br />The narrative chronicles her father’s youth, his odyssey across oceans and continents, and the new life he made in America. But as Claudette talked with him and researched more deeply, she saw also the essential elements of the larger tale. What began as one man’s story grew into a portrait of the history that made his journey necessary, and of how a vibrant people have preserved their community and culture through the thousands of years from biblical times to today.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Find Claudette Online:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">IMPORTANT, please embed YouTube Book Trailer where possible:</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://youtu.be/5uIs82lSdds&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNFQa4HIyLk7rGT3eja-Zh47ts1YPA" href="https://youtu.be/5uIs82lSdds" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://youtu.be/5uIs82lSdds</span></b></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Amazon: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Aleppo-Father-People-Journey/dp/1938288408/ref%3Dsr_1_1?ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1408983365%26sr%3D8-1%26keywords%3Dbooks%2Babout%2Baleppo%2Bsyria&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNEV1FWwRPf5idOQXGUCWEb8av8SWw" href="https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Aleppo-Father-People-Journey/dp/1938288408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408983365&sr=8-1&keywords=books+about+aleppo+syria" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://www.amazon.com/Farewel<wbr></wbr>l-Aleppo-Father-People-Journey<wbr></wbr>/dp/1938288408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=<wbr></wbr>UTF8&qid=1408983365&sr=8-1&<wbr></wbr>keywords=books+about+aleppo+<wbr></wbr>syria</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Website: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.claudettesutton.com/&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNGyrdNOB1GALIS-tJLvzlaPcQlcpg" href="http://www.claudettesutton.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">www.claudettesutton.com</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Twitter: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://twitter.com/FarewellAleppo&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNFtYPO2hTCKqY9iHDF6c7_LzAhbww" href="https://twitter.com/FarewellAleppo" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://twitter.com/FarewellAl<wbr></wbr>eppo</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Facebook: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.facebook.com/FarewellAleppo&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNGVH7kdVvzAarFZknUJfYUVZv8H8Q" href="https://www.facebook.com/FarewellAleppo" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://www.facebook.com/Farew<wbr></wbr>ellAleppo</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Pinterest: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.pinterest.com/claudette0589/farewell-aleppo-the-book/&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNFuh2aBcK5i0F9fGFSBeWqu3KSB6g" href="https://www.pinterest.com/claudette0589/farewell-aleppo-the-book/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://www.pinterest.com/clau<wbr></wbr>dette0589/farewell-aleppo-the-<wbr></wbr>book/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;">Google Plus: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://plus.google.com/u/0/%2BClaudettesutton&source=gmail&ust=1508967855598000&usg=AFQjCNGrCsy-qS-KyQAHmw3nvxbv08iT_g" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Claudettesutton" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , serif;">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+C<wbr></wbr>laudettesutton</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Praise:</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">"A multi-faceted biography of her father and his long-ago journey from ancient Aleppo to skyscraper America, the story of the vanished Syrian-Jewish culture in Aleppo, now a battleground in Syria's civil war, [and] a look at how that culture still survives. A treasure of a book."</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">-Bernard Kalb, former correspondent for the New York Times, CBS News and NBC News, moderator of CNN's Reliable Sources and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />"Sutton merges the best of family biography with relevant and fascinating historical, social, and religious knowledge. Incorporating elements of history, religious struggles, pursuit of dreams, and the strength of kinship to create a stirring tribute to the foresight of her grandfather and the strength and perseverance of his offspring, Sutton craftily weaves interesting story lines into an encouraging and intriguing narrative."</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">-Foreword Reviews</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Claudette Sutton takes the reader on a courageous journey as she tells the story of her father, whose world changed with the winds of World War II.<i>Farewell, Aleppo</i> is a story of how people are shaped by their past. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to explore this rich culture that many people do not know very much about.<br /><i>- Elise Cooper, Jewish Book Council</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">An engaging, evocative, deeply touching book that is part memoir, part history and part a personal journey....virtually a love-story of a daughter to a father.<br /><br />– James McGrath Morris, author of <i>Pulitzer,</i> and <i>Eyes on the Struggle</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This book is a jewel box, and Sutton's father's shimmering memories of growing up Jewish in Aleppo, Turkey, and Shanghai are the precious jewels. I could taste the food, feel the anxiety after the founding of Israel, experience the highs and lows of life in Shanghai during the Second World War. The specificity of the Mizrahi lifestyle––which continues in America to this day–– will be of great interest to readers.<br /><br />- Judith Fein, author of <i>The Spoon From Minkowitz</i> and <i>Life is A Trip</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sutton manages to walk that fine, fine line of making the personal universal and the universal personal. [She] interviewed her dad over a period of nearly twenty years and did a tremendous amount of research for this book, but the sprawling story of “China Mike” is somehow concise, a tidy 155 pages in a pleasing design with photos, maps, and enough historical context to complete the reader’s understanding. We are indebted to her for this outstanding book.<br /><br />- Barbara Gerber, author of <i>"Love and Death in a Perfect World"</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Farewell, Aleppo: My Father, My People, and Their Long Journey Home</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> offers the reader a graceful blend of “China Mike's” biography and a history of the Jewish people of Aleppo. When I finished Claudette Sutton's tribute, I felt I'd traveled many miles and gotten to know Miro, Son of Selim Sutton. A true father-daughter story, Farewell, Aleppo is loving, informative and unforgettable.<br /><br />-Elaine Pinkerton Coleman, author of <i>From Calcutta with Love </i>and<i> The Goodbye Baby</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">There certainly must have been something unique about the Jews of Aleppo to have allowed them to survive there for thousands of years and preserve a sense of tradition and community in America for the last 100 years. A remarkable tale of the power of family, tradition, culture and history. Makes the current devastation of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War all the more tragic.<br /><br />- Ellen Zieselman, retired Curator of Education, New Mexico Mexico Museum of Art; Youth Director, Temple Beth Shalom</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 13.65pt;">
<br /></div>
Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-14847489761957046872017-10-14T04:58:00.000-07:002017-10-14T05:10:23.671-07:00The Voice of the Writer in MemoirThis past year, ever since we came back to the States, I've been all wrapped up in work for WiDo Publishing. It's our ten-year anniversary and we are very close to having our 100th book published.<br />
<br />
We also started a new imprint, <a href="http://widopublishing.com/e-l-marker/" target="_blank">E.L. Marker</a>, a hybrid company that offers traditional publishing services to self-publishing authors.<br />
<br />
It's been a crazy busy year. The only writing I've done is journaling (my personal psychotherapy) and writing emails to authors whose work I'm editing and/or preparing for publication. So many emails.<br />
<br />
I've edited a number of memoirs this year for both WiDo and E.L. Marker, and it's got me thinking about the writer's voice. In any kind of writing, voice will attract or repel readers. But in memoir it's especially important. If you dislike the voice of the narrator, you won't keep reading, since the memoir is <i>about</i> the narrator.<br />
<br />
There a few tricks of the trade in editing a memoir to make the voice more appealing. Strangely enough, one of them is to <i>tone it down. </i>You might think, "But why? It's about this person so why not put as much personality in there as you can? So the reader can feel like they know them?"<br />
<br />
A good question. The entire book is about the individual, in first person, their story, but it's also about other people they've included in their story. And those other people are part of what makes the memoir whole and balanced.<br />
<br />
Putting in too much of the writer's personality, in the form of little asides or sarcasm or other types of humor, can quickly turn the reader off. It tends to make the narrator come across as self-absorbed and thus unlikable--the last thing we want to see happen in a memoir.<br />
<br />
If you'd like to take a look at WiDo's selection of memoirs, click on this link to<a href="http://widopublishing.com/ourtitles/" target="_blank"> our bookstore</a> and see the tab for Memoir.<br />
<br />
Memoir is currently my favorite genre. I can't get enough of them, which I guess is why I've chosen to edit so many lately, rather than passing them along to other WiDo editors.<br />
<br />
How do you feel about memoir, either writing or reading them?<br />
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-90493781864516985442017-09-29T05:00:00.000-07:002017-09-29T05:00:01.770-07:00What Part Does Luck Play in Success?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwM0KRbezaR2g_QL6MkvG7dgRQQHCMiazXJT3o9T2u1fGkg-__lstF1dmHWbVkwvJLxvZRVMHE-xirnh0_2-2S170hwRw2MSyCzyI7XzX_Vy3Rm6I2SMrC7ABOH-hRAjTrqLE2xgARuDI/s1600/Risen_CVR_SML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwM0KRbezaR2g_QL6MkvG7dgRQQHCMiazXJT3o9T2u1fGkg-__lstF1dmHWbVkwvJLxvZRVMHE-xirnh0_2-2S170hwRw2MSyCzyI7XzX_Vy3Rm6I2SMrC7ABOH-hRAjTrqLE2xgARuDI/s320/Risen_CVR_SML.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Today I'm hosting Eric Trant as part of his WOW blog tour for his new novel,<i> Risen</i>. First, a little bit about this intriguing book, and then a really thoughtful and inspiring post as Eric guest blogs today on Coming Down the Mountain.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">RISEN by Eric Trant</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black;">Haunted by visions of a demonic angel and sold into servitude by his father, young Alberto battles to survive the horrors of a nineteenth century Sicilian sulfur mine.</span><br />
<br />
Suffering merciless brutality, Alberto must save not only himself but his deformed older brother, both pawns in their father’s mad plan to overthrow a group of wealthy landowners.<br />
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
Bound by a death-debt to his hunchback master, Alberto discovers a door the miners call Porta dell’Inferno, the Door to Hell, deep within the sulfur mines. When he learns the demon-angel of his dreams stalks the caverns beyond the door, Alberto realizes a strange fate has lured him and his brother to the gates leading to the underworld.<br />
<br />
Now Alberto must face the creature from his visions and rise to become the man his father demands him to be, or remain forever trapped in a hellish world where none escape.<br />
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Print Length: 182 Pages</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Genre: Historical Supernatural Fiction</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Publisher: WiDo Publishing (August 15, 2017)</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /><b><i>Risen</i></b><span class="m_7280772677640636214gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span>is available in print on</span><span class="m_7280772677640636214gmail-apple-converted-space"><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Risen-Eric-Trant-ebook/dp/B0746P5MTS/ref%3Dsr_1_fkmr0_1?ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1501038758%26sr%3D8-1-fkmr0%26keywords%3Drise%2Bby%2Beric%2Btrant/?tag%3Dwowwomenonwri-20&source=gmail&ust=1505971397121000&usg=AFQjCNFYud-i5T5srjDWpi4X3tTT30MCnA" href="https://www.amazon.com/Risen-Eric-Trant-ebook/dp/B0746P5MTS/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501038758&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=rise+by+eric+trant/?tag=wowwomenonwri-20" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"> Amazon</a>.</span></u></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What Part Does Luck Play in Success?</span></b><br />
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span class="m_7280772677640636214gmail-apple-converted-space"><u><br /></u></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prepare for lightning</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When it
comes to success in any discipline, we discuss things such education, talent
and experience, but something we only mention tangentially is the element of
~luck~.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Opportunity knocks softly. Fifteen minutes of fame. Every
dog has its day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And so on.
We sense luck in our success and in our opportunities, but we do not openly
discuss and prepare for it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For
instance, let's say you meet a well-known author-agent in a coffee shop. It is
a chance meeting, and by equal chance they are open to discussing your books
(they will usually trip you and run), and by monumental chance they represent
books in your genre, and by God's grace they are seeking a new author for an
open slot in their release schedule next year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Would you be
ready for that stroke of luck? Are you prepared for lightning to strike?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="line-height: 107%;">Do not break the big break<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
See, success
requires a great deal of luck. Every successful story begins first with vision,
then with hard work crafting that vision into reality, and concludes with a
~big break~ that changes everything. Whether it is building a company or publishing
a book, I challenge you to find a success story that does not follow this
well-grooved arc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So, you chat
with the agent. Her name is Rebecca. She is insanely pretty and kind of intimidating
because she smells like the mall, is sharply dressed and well-kempt, and totes a
purse that is probably more expensive than your Hyundai, and large enough to
bag it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Not really.
She is an author-agent. She is wearing a workout shirt and yoga pants, no
makeup, hair in a ponytail, and she has two black labs tied up outside named
Joker and Puddin. She is short and a little pudgy, insanely pretty because of
her eyes (avid readers have amazing eyes), and her name really is Rebecca. Call
her Becki, with an 'i'. She is drinking a seventeen-syllable iced-something,
and she wants to go outside to sit, so she can water the pups.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is summer
and muggy, but you follow her outside. You sit. This is your big break.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You spill
your coffee on her dogs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="line-height: 107%;">After the strike</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But you were
prepared for Becki, with an 'i'. She laughs and says it is no big deal, they
love to get wet, and you thank God Almighty you ordered iced mocha instead of
your usual scalding-hot Americana, another stroke of luck. A barista appears
with a towel, helps you with the dogs, takes the empty cup and says she will
bring you another drink, what was it you ordered?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Just a
mocha, iced.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Neither of
you brought your computer, and you do not carry your books around, so what do
you say to her?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, you
tell her about your books. You ~do~ have more than one book, don't you? Of
course you do. You wrote several, along with some short stories, and penned at
least a dozen total, not all of them published. You forget how many short stories.
A bunch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Do you have
a blog? Absolutely. What about a fan page on Facebook? Not really, but you
belong to some online groups, and collected a fair number of followers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What are
your sales like? Ouch. Still, you confess your sins, and she purses her bottom
lip, but then says, I might be able to fix that. Tell me what you are working
on next.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="line-height: 107%;">You pull out your elevator pitch, the one you began
practicing the instant you selected a working title for your WiP.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is
tentatively called WISH. It's about a family implosion following the loss of a
toddler, and focuses on the five-year-old daughter, who meets a silly little
man sitting on a spring-fed well, and makes a wish she wishes she hadn't.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(That is my
next piece, actually. This is what I would say to Becki.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="line-height: 107%;">Go on...<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Go on, Becki
says.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You tell her
more about WISH, describe your current release, RISEN, from WiDo Publishing,
how you amped up your marketing and have now built a bit of a backlog you can
leverage for plus-one sales.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nice, she
says.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Your respawned
iced mocha shows up. There is a pause as the barista asks if you need anything
else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Afterward,
you sip and chat, and turn the discussion away from writing and toward personal
things. She has a husband who is an engineer like yourself. He is tall, though,
and played basketball in college. She had to throw that in, you suppose,
because you are not tall, and let's admit it, most engineers are short folks
who are good at math and bad at sports. He really is an exception.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At some
point, numbers and emails are exchanged, and she makes a full-request read for
your upcoming WISH novel, when you finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Give me a
month, you say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No rush, she
says. I won't be able to look at it for another fifteen weeks. I'll queue it
up, though, so mark the date and don't forget me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in; text-align: center;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">Luck is sudden and rare. Stay ready.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span class="m_7280772677640636214gmail-apple-converted-space"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Otherwise, without all your preparation, a wet dog might be all luck remembers of you.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She says
that last part over her shoulder as she leashes her pups, and how could you
possibly forget her? This moment is scalded into your memory bank.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You rappel
from your cloud as she walks away with her dogs, stunned that luck slapped you
during your afternoon commute, thankful you stopped here and not the pub
(honoring your wife's firm request), and amazed that something like this
actually happened to someone like you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Above all,
though, you are thankful you were prepared when luck tapped your shoulder.<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /><b><u>About the Author:</u></b><br /><br />Eric resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and children, where he writes and manages his own business. His writing combines literary characterization with supernatural elements, all the while engaging the reader's senses with constant movement and vivid settings. His books are designed to be one-sitters, meaning they can and should be read in one (or a few) sittings, owing to the fast-paced nature of the writing.</span><u></u><u></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black;">You can visit Eric at </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.erictrant.com/&source=gmail&ust=1505971397121000&usg=AFQjCNEBN1-VRRAsOK8WLabBV-NS1t5DbA" href="http://www.erictrant.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">http://www.EricTrant.com</span></a>, or see his blog at <span style="color: black;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://DiggingWithTheWorms.blogspot.com&source=gmail&ust=1505971397121000&usg=AFQjCNFiYW6D5nfLZ41yGBWeOowgdowBpA" href="http://diggingwiththeworms.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">DiggingWithTheWorms.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a></span>.</div>
Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-33937104000009957932017-07-09T04:17:00.000-07:002017-07-09T04:17:50.818-07:00My Good Old-Fashioned Blogging StyleIn many areas, I've tried to move with the times. Like my mother before me, I want to keep on learning, growing in interest and curiousity about the world and what's going on there. But I think where this blog is concerned, nothing significant will change. I really don't want it to.<br />
<br />
When my husband and I owned a home with lawn and gardens, I'd go outdoors to pull weeds, plant flowers, shrubs or trees, water, tend to my vegetables. These close to the earth activities would calm my soul as I connected with the natural cycle of life.<br />
<br />
But now we live in an apartment and my only garden is a pot of basil on the patio. I'm okay with that. Neither of us want the responsibility of home ownership right now. We relish the freedom of knowing we can leave the country for years if we want, without worrying about a house. Or maybe just leave for a long weekend, with no weeds taking over while we're gone.<br />
<br />
I rather enjoy the fact that blogging the way I do has become a relic of sorts. All the rage, the big new thing a decade or so ago, many were started then abandoned for the ease of other social media. I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram-- they're fast and easy but not as comforting as the good 'ol blog. It's like my big untended garden.<br />
<br />
I'll come back to it when I feel like things are moving too fast and furious everywhere else. And the old-fashioned blog awaits. Here I can ramble on and putter around and say hello to the neighbors who pass by.<br />
<br />
I'm not at all interested in adding links or ads or "making money with my blog!!!" or getting listed anywhere up and coming or being relevant. I don't plan on changing a thing. I quite prefer my out-dated, go nowhere blogging style, thank you very much.<br />
<br />
And thanks for stopping by, neighbor. I made cookies, help yourself!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrv6RD6CnwNEC-6XSVkuq3rlOp2e1EuqagciSyxAp9FRfb1Pc988uyQu2J8n5MOjGVUWNBgnI84dnZFIuNKZng1hCTfTEN1_UjZQGIPKfwGqgYRKtS9nRSA4GHL11dLFVxfCB4x27MbHM/s1600/Cookies+cooling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrv6RD6CnwNEC-6XSVkuq3rlOp2e1EuqagciSyxAp9FRfb1Pc988uyQu2J8n5MOjGVUWNBgnI84dnZFIuNKZng1hCTfTEN1_UjZQGIPKfwGqgYRKtS9nRSA4GHL11dLFVxfCB4x27MbHM/s320/Cookies+cooling.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-51847653298453857942017-05-22T04:46:00.000-07:002017-05-22T05:59:08.949-07:00If Your Choice is to Quit Then Own ItThe stories are everywhere: why a once-enthusiastic and committed writer stops writing or doing anything further for their career. They may share online or just quietly disappear. Anyone involved in a writing community at all, online or otherwise, has seen it happen over and over.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it's because things change in one's life and writing takes a back seat. Sometimes it's because the hoped-for success is too slow in coming, so slow it's no longer possible to believe it ever will. Lately, I've seen posts about jealousy, and how comparing one's own success or lack of it to others is too discouraging to even continue trying.<br />
<br />
There's the one book that gets finished, it's pretty good and finds an agent but never sold to a publisher. It would be tough to get to work on the next book when that's happened. Or maybe it gets published with disappointing sales. Again, no motivation to write another.<br />
<br />
Or maybe they try it on their own with self-publishing. The hope rises as they see other self-pubbed authors and the success they are having. But then when it doesn't happen, discouragement hits again. Why bother?<br />
<br />
As a publisher, I've seen writers with stellar marketing plans and excellent books give up promoting after barely 30 days.They go back to writing the next book, since that's more comfortable than blogging or reaching out on Facebook or trying to set up author events or any of the other things they said they'd do in their promotion plan. But without committed and regular promotion, the next book won't fare any better. Eventually, they give up on the writing dream altogether.<br />
<br />
As a writer who follows other writers online, I've seen the cycle played out on writer groups, blog posts, frustrated Facebook complaints:<br />
<br />
"I can't compete with the success of others. This is making me miserable and I'm giving it up."<br />
<br />
"I'm too introverted to market. I don't feel comfortable with that part of it."<br />
<br />
"Writing is hard work. I can't fit it into my schedule."<br />
<br />
"Amazon's algorithms and buy buttons and Kindle Unlimited have hurt my sales. I'm making half what I did a few years ago."<br />
<br />
"I hate social media. If that's what it takes to sell books then forget it."<br />
<br />
"Trolls who leave hurtful reviews have poisoned everything for me."<br />
<br />
"My publisher went out of business and ruined my life."<br />
<br />
"My publisher doesn't do anything to sell my book."<br />
<br />
"Blogging is dead, and that was the only thing I liked to do to keep my name out there."<br />
<br />
"My family isn't supportive."<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Stephen King has written nearly 100 books. Neil Gaiman has written 66. Agatha Christie wrote 69. Barbara Cartland probably tops the record at 722 novels published. I'm pretty sure these people all faced the same kinds of challenges that any other person does who tries to make a living as a writer.<br />
<br />
Everyone has personal trials. Everyone has petty jealousies. It's human nature to condemn others for our failures rather than suck it up and figure out how to do better. It's easier to blame outside forces than to look within ourselves, accept responsibility, and make real changes.<br />
<br />
I can identify. I'm fully aware of what it takes to make a success at this, and it is extremely difficult. But at the same time I think if someone decides to quit writing, to give it all up, that's fine and dandy-- just <i>own</i> it and don't put it on any outside forces. Writing comes from within, and <i>not writing</i> comes from within, too.<br />
<br />
Am I being too harsh? Have you been seeing these kinds of complaints and "why I'm quitting" writer posts? What's your response? Can you identify, or not?Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-6103969361699619262017-04-17T13:01:00.001-07:002017-04-17T13:15:17.585-07:00The Crazy Book Publishing BusinessToday I'm one of three publishers featured on the <a href="http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/2017/04/three-publishers-weigh-in-on-queries.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group.</a> We answer a few questions about the business of submitting and publishing one's book. I really appreciate being included in the post, as I never get tired of talking about this fascinating business, and about WiDo's mission to publish books that are:<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Readable but not formulaic.</li>
<li>Entertaining without being fluff.</li>
<li>Uplifting without being preachy.</li>
<li>Literary but not obtuse.</li>
<li>Realistic and thought-provoking</li>
<li>without being graphic.</li>
<li>Above all, books that tell a darn good story!</li>
</ul>
<br />
Ten years ago WiDo was born, July 2007, with the publication of <a href="http://widopublishing.com/farm-girl-by-karen-jones-gowen/" target="_blank"> Farm Girl.</a> And as wonderful as the experience has been, a company that's in business for that long will upset a few people. This usually happens when someone feels disappointed in book sales, and they'll blame the publisher for not doing enough. I can understand the frustration. One's book is near and dear to the heart, like a child, and authors can get extremely protective about what happens or doesn't happen with their written offspring.<br />
<br />
Recently, there was an unsettling situation with a new editor I'd signed on. She had emailed me, seemed personable, eager, and proficient. However, against my usual practice, I didn't ask for a resume or research her at all. I sent her a sample manuscript to edit and, liking her work, followed it with a contract, which she promptly signed and returned.<br />
<br />
Then things got weird. Constant emails containing requests for more money. Questions about why she wasn't getting more money. Comparisons with how WiDo pays compared to the indie authors she had edited for. Asking for the work to be sent in a different format than what we'd agreed on.<br />
<br />
It felt like I was being stalked! But I answered her emails as thoroughly as I could. Then came one saying unless we paid her more, she'd request the contract be cancelled. I said, Sorry, this is the agreed on price, and she replied saying this was her resignation and please cancel her contract.<br />
<br />
I was happy to do so, since her unprofessional conduct had escalated since she turned in her contract. Mistakenly, I figured that would be the end of it. Two or three emails a day started coming in, asking for a second chance. She was wrong, she'd listened to indie authors who had influenced her, she wanted to try again.<br />
<br />
I ignored the emails for about four days, until finally I decided okay, I'll answer and maybe that will end the stalking. I wrote and told her we will let things stand, sorry it didn't work out and good luck with your future career.<br />
<br />
Her response stunned me: I was selfish, cold-hearted, cruel, and nothing good ever deserved to happen to me. Because everyone deserved a second chance and how could I be so mean. Oh, and by the way, she wrote, don't respond to this or write me again because I will delete your emails without reading them.<br />
<br />
Anyone who deals with the public for any length of time will make a few enemies, upset a few people. But still, there's a stunned sensation that lingers long after the last vitriolic email comes into the inbox. <i>Did that really just happen?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Have you ever had to deal with an unhinged individual in your personal or professional life? How did you handle it?<br />
<br />
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-81156520576033169512017-04-12T08:42:00.000-07:002017-04-12T09:20:54.370-07:00On Having Too Much Stuff and Getting Rid of ItThere's a link going around Facebook to an online article titled: <a href="http://www.nextavenue.org/nobody-wants-parents-stuff/" target="_blank">"Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents' Stuff."</a> Since I've been through it, both on the daughter/ daughter-in-law side as well as the mother/homeowner side, I could totally relate.<br />
<br />
My mother and my mother-in-law were worlds apart regarding stuff and how to deal with it. Both were widows, and that's where the resemblance ended. My mother chose to downsize as much as she could, while my mother-in-law bought a larger house with more room for her possessions.<br />
<br />
Being my mother's daughter and admiring simplicity, I am still fascinated with how my mother-in-law collected, stored, added on until it seemed she was buried under her stuff. Not that she was a junkaholic or hoarder. Her things were nice, often expensive, and usually well-organized. She had an entire room of her house for fabric, arranged like a retail fabric store. Another similar room for crafts and the supplies related to whatever crafts she'd done or planned to do. Another room for storage of food and household supplies. Two freezers held hundreds of pounds of cheese, butter, nuts and other deliciousness that would take two families a lifetime to consume.<br />
<br />
On the contrary, my mother had as her goal to live in such a way that her daughters (the four of us) would not have to agonize over her possessions when she passed. The more she could get rid of, the happier she was. When she died, my sisters, nieces and nephews who lived nearby were able to completely empty Mom's two bedroom apartment in less than a week. My mom would have been pleased by that.<br />
<br />
When my mother-in-law died, she had a 4000 sq foot house filled with furniture, family history documents and photos, and of course the many years worth of food storage. It took my sister-in-law a decade to completely go through everything and dispose of it one way or another.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying one way is better than another. I think in a way my sister-in-law enjoyed her task, as she was able to spend this time going through all these things related to her mom's life and that of her family going back generations. And getting all the butter, cheese and nuts would have been nice.<br />
<br />
But as for me, I'm more like my mom, taking pleasure in simplicity and knowing my kids won't be burdened with having to deal with piles of stuff when I'm gone. I've already done that job for them.<br />
<br />
My husband and I currently live a very downsized existence. We got rid of nearly everything so we could leave the country three years ago. Now that we're back, neither of us want to start collecting again. Our goal is to stay free and unattached so we can pack up and go again when we feel like it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePeP02lXwUGPdGHQaZPKZrgogparddy7NB3QXXCCoW9M068I8cxFwWfu8Gx9vNHWwptjt5ENqy1hDKm2F9qtRoDFcIeGWvxn7anytpq1R0esEdjp8KNoWO3y2j8w62srcZFRe7D1EPhM/s1600/IMG_20170412_072419316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePeP02lXwUGPdGHQaZPKZrgogparddy7NB3QXXCCoW9M068I8cxFwWfu8Gx9vNHWwptjt5ENqy1hDKm2F9qtRoDFcIeGWvxn7anytpq1R0esEdjp8KNoWO3y2j8w62srcZFRe7D1EPhM/s400/IMG_20170412_072419316.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
This is our living room, a spare space furnished at very low cost. The most expensive thing we bought was the couch for $25.<br />
<br />
I have a couple of antique wall hangings I plan on getting framed for those two bare walls. I know once we leave, my daughter will be happy to take them for her home. She's already told me where she would hang them.<br />
<br />
We did buy the TV cabinet. My husband needed a place to keep office supplies so we got it for $15 at Restore. It's one of those brown things that nobody really wants anymore. And if they did, they'd paint it. Since painting stresses me out, I'm okay leaving it as is, although I admit it's too dark for my taste.<br />
<br />
I paid $3.00 for the basil plant on the table. It's going to get repotted and put on the patio. And basil isn't permanent, except in beautiful Guatemala where it grows up into a year round tree of abundance. In Utah, it dies with the frost.<br />
<br />
This was a pretty long blog post to talk about living simply. Clearly I have more words than I have stuff, which is exactly the way I like it.Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-82568518565524588072016-09-14T23:50:00.000-07:002016-09-14T23:59:52.760-07:00The Palenque Archeological Site and Why I Won't Go There AgainBruce and I never made it to Guatemala's Tikal, the largest Maya ruins in Central America. We were determined not to miss Palenque in Mexico, considered to be a very large and important site in Chiapas, Mexico, and although not as large as Tikal, comparable to it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwn0HydP6h1ZluvWaoih7fxT9qFNqHoWcAkCbtgQ38eQCKlJi8B6k2QNKOhdvP5VWQbPrfFfVXv-tPCy1GYKCiFdxnIc_8svFllLdlk4mmf9YvtFs7zQezRgxTgGqA-8Yh97OlRfxuqI/s1600/14352608_10207043096817739_7229052087314259753_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwn0HydP6h1ZluvWaoih7fxT9qFNqHoWcAkCbtgQ38eQCKlJi8B6k2QNKOhdvP5VWQbPrfFfVXv-tPCy1GYKCiFdxnIc_8svFllLdlk4mmf9YvtFs7zQezRgxTgGqA-8Yh97OlRfxuqI/s400/14352608_10207043096817739_7229052087314259753_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We had visited other Maya ruins in both Guatemala and Chiapas. All the sites we'd been to before had been peaceful, tranquil settings, where I wanted to just sit and bask in the feelings of these ancient cities. We supposed we'd have a similar experience upon visiting Palenque, although on a grander and more glorious scale, making us really excited about the trip.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt_Zt3iBxjhsAPQmY5ZlPehyphenhyphenDJGz5cNDnDyFgI9lN_-FTSCJN_r98IcAM1rN_7rA45tUGogAr-XJjVu_2BqX-Ow1adReR5eudtQLXpfzjaN4G0B7YUZaBHbPxVZFQFaxM6_XRxgIW3ik/s1600/14311327_10207043100177823_7494166667004490035_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt_Zt3iBxjhsAPQmY5ZlPehyphenhyphenDJGz5cNDnDyFgI9lN_-FTSCJN_r98IcAM1rN_7rA45tUGogAr-XJjVu_2BqX-Ow1adReR5eudtQLXpfzjaN4G0B7YUZaBHbPxVZFQFaxM6_XRxgIW3ik/s400/14311327_10207043100177823_7494166667004490035_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
How surprised I was to find that Palenque was the opposite. No sooner did I step foot on the land than I had a compelling desire to leave. But we had traveled many miles to get here. My restless emotional state seemed silly. Nonetheless, I couldn't relax. I started walking and just kept going as fast as I could through the park, hardly stopping to look at the buildings.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRodRxno_K-D79iN5mlkX7g00UUbUpq9RgBb9BHhaDSuyEHrgqjFaZ0dzUezCNRGRbPtGaQY99qyIQYU6bXa4tZ9hk_lSqN9mWRfWXc_6f1Y1u5CodVQBc_uF9gWPR1XDB9Oxi_w3dGsk/s1600/14258306_10207043098177773_5757836380596545073_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRodRxno_K-D79iN5mlkX7g00UUbUpq9RgBb9BHhaDSuyEHrgqjFaZ0dzUezCNRGRbPtGaQY99qyIQYU6bXa4tZ9hk_lSqN9mWRfWXc_6f1Y1u5CodVQBc_uF9gWPR1XDB9Oxi_w3dGsk/s400/14258306_10207043098177773_5757836380596545073_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
People were climbing steps and wandering through the palaces on top of the structures. All I could do was follow the pathways around and through the site, giving just a quick glance around. Bruce wanted to go slowly and take photos, while I wanted to walk far and fast as quickly as possible. We agreed to meet at a central location in an hour and a half, at 11 am.<br />
<br />
He took all the photos while I felt the frantic urge to just get away.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluFPocUQUs81-TZdL3ZU41Xye_WvEzVGWU1WVWbu7LuILKE8lNHnJ8Wb5SmPQ-4zEQahPvf-bHX57FjY7NKtmPyGPZF-QedgxxdWDqtOLisHM6CGHzm9gdZNaiKeR8ZK_mu58dHlINvE/s1600/14362666_10207043098537782_2862972260562694238_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluFPocUQUs81-TZdL3ZU41Xye_WvEzVGWU1WVWbu7LuILKE8lNHnJ8Wb5SmPQ-4zEQahPvf-bHX57FjY7NKtmPyGPZF-QedgxxdWDqtOLisHM6CGHzm9gdZNaiKeR8ZK_mu58dHlINvE/s320/14362666_10207043098537782_2862972260562694238_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghB0AgyClNwv0_-ldci5PVg4pox8Lx1xoHB70d6lTUKbtzuZboAqMnl-uiKRX5RZtVGE7Bq0qwpqgurLe4ZJM4pw6PCcsYQLW8c12Q_fSuHJIdFuKcu3HSU5R_z-H6TXfN5JiEDfyzVuo/s1600/14311377_10207043094737687_4367484424499215770_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghB0AgyClNwv0_-ldci5PVg4pox8Lx1xoHB70d6lTUKbtzuZboAqMnl-uiKRX5RZtVGE7Bq0qwpqgurLe4ZJM4pw6PCcsYQLW8c12Q_fSuHJIdFuKcu3HSU5R_z-H6TXfN5JiEDfyzVuo/s320/14311377_10207043094737687_4367484424499215770_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
After thirty minutes I was done, wishing we'd set up our meeting time for earlier. I walked around the edge of the park to kill another thirty minutes, then wandered toward our meeting place hoping I'd run into Bruce.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjshH92p_w18Fb6EoTnEj0T8CoKJeh70KC-VrU_VenSEsnfrLYsihztC6r18xNP7FJIogmF8y41bYUFeRLiBOYJFrYR576ZDM3uiXKdY5abzDVTD-3XOj5Rx9slEPFh5kxm0h9JfKbmiE/s1600/14311401_10207043100417829_3730304783845350121_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALJpX_tS6BeQMorjTgddtex_sLbPC2ZpzgvCxIH8ZUcbx_AuOxm1pocSCcvHPi3YWthqF7APM-IPJFz89yoUDxiEV1WQuLc7VEO3VEctTteV-YQLPyuKytkIbQvtTxDt2ulrwXiNLjlw/s1600/14311401_10207043100417829_3730304783845350121_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALJpX_tS6BeQMorjTgddtex_sLbPC2ZpzgvCxIH8ZUcbx_AuOxm1pocSCcvHPi3YWthqF7APM-IPJFz89yoUDxiEV1WQuLc7VEO3VEctTteV-YQLPyuKytkIbQvtTxDt2ulrwXiNLjlw/s320/14311401_10207043100417829_3730304783845350121_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp7ZHwxxMTLphFb0sRgVC3-OiRrAQOoDy36LrIofEvc1MzBpauzorvRJWmX3yJcecT71Azcil3m7EMJzfAyQwTNIH6XU1Hj1EQ21YF6lMmHN01YyW0Wn_cSHaBO35h2tV1hSTo8zOYHo/s1600/14311315_10207043102257875_1383026025163759963_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp7ZHwxxMTLphFb0sRgVC3-OiRrAQOoDy36LrIofEvc1MzBpauzorvRJWmX3yJcecT71Azcil3m7EMJzfAyQwTNIH6XU1Hj1EQ21YF6lMmHN01YyW0Wn_cSHaBO35h2tV1hSTo8zOYHo/s320/14311315_10207043102257875_1383026025163759963_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFx8by9eSQL_RokvhQOPPc5NPtBjWlrM4FeRzxNI_Up4W4vnm1ZlLDQXV6ixJbIyRDx-N7dGt0-0-ul4zdK9l3661WeTDI4v5NrE-B41V_528fSRnig9tyxIJMBCWuTHKNGI3mV6INgg/s1600/14352106_10207043101017844_6783697003997610097_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFx8by9eSQL_RokvhQOPPc5NPtBjWlrM4FeRzxNI_Up4W4vnm1ZlLDQXV6ixJbIyRDx-N7dGt0-0-ul4zdK9l3661WeTDI4v5NrE-B41V_528fSRnig9tyxIJMBCWuTHKNGI3mV6INgg/s320/14352106_10207043101017844_6783697003997610097_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
At last I saw him with his ever present backpack and cowboy hat making his way down the stairs of one of the structures. I walked across the grassy area towards him, thinking how nice it was that we'd found each other ahead of schedule. I visualized the two of us running across the field in a joyous reunion.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5OEnRlXY4n_OQVGC7xUGw3QEFzThTzCqaSVAG-22UlCUbWc6IhyphenhyphenSJpB3l3qfH_woTcpSJkfoYUGhnFjZFSaUmBLZ6K4BZTNQUlqoPXeA-NMPd1I9FgFIPMufwZnCEpgkUvg3_8V0eUc/s1600/14361458_10207043101817864_1725781774277508293_o+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5OEnRlXY4n_OQVGC7xUGw3QEFzThTzCqaSVAG-22UlCUbWc6IhyphenhyphenSJpB3l3qfH_woTcpSJkfoYUGhnFjZFSaUmBLZ6K4BZTNQUlqoPXeA-NMPd1I9FgFIPMufwZnCEpgkUvg3_8V0eUc/s400/14361458_10207043101817864_1725781774277508293_o+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>On the contrary, Bruce plopped down heavily on the bottom step of the edifice. I couldn't bring myself to go to the structures I'd been avoiding for the past hour and sat down on a stump in the field. We were within shouting distance of each other so we conversed in loud voices.<br />
<br />
"Are you ready to go?" I hollered.<br />
<br />
"Almost, just need to rest a bit. I'm really tired," he said back in barely a whisper.<br />
<br />
"What? I can't hear you."<br />
<br />
He repeated himself loud enough for me to hear. A young couple walking hand in hand nearby must have thought we were crazy. Why were we shouting? Why not just sit together? What was wrong with us?<br />
<br />
Always sensitive to what people were thinking about me, I forced myself to get up and go sit next to him. He told me how tired he was, how heavy his nearly empty backpack felt on his shoulders, how he had to rest a bit, then he'd be ready to leave.<br />
<br />
Finally, we got out of there. Later, we reflected on our varied experiences. He had felt this strange, unbearable exhaustion and heaviness after exploring the structures, especially the tunnel pictured below. I'd felt an inexplicable need to get away. There were several other strange occurrences that I won't go into.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjwk-kQFi2BSNCiTUTgQBwU3984a5ugNDLVFX2HDjeDenEPJWEIX2fkiK6KjmYny1RyBo_3N5p3e-u8n6CrNJ7O6TKvZbAaUanpeIdSX-4tC7VsekS_gc8Pr88pc2i7-SUOEs35a04zs/s1600/14258267_10207043097137747_8861322969536875039_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjwk-kQFi2BSNCiTUTgQBwU3984a5ugNDLVFX2HDjeDenEPJWEIX2fkiK6KjmYny1RyBo_3N5p3e-u8n6CrNJ7O6TKvZbAaUanpeIdSX-4tC7VsekS_gc8Pr88pc2i7-SUOEs35a04zs/s320/14258267_10207043097137747_8861322969536875039_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of darkness </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the end, our conclusion was that bad things must have happened in this area those many centuries ago.<br />
<br />
Anyone who wants to know more about Palenque can easily find information online. What I'm sharing is not ancient history but personal history, how the two of us felt very negative vibes coming from this place. A place I never want to visit ever again.<br />
<br />
Has this sort of thing ever happened to you, where you felt terribly uncomfortable in an environment for no sensible reason?Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-25116647072087934332016-08-29T09:02:00.000-07:002016-09-10T13:27:23.174-07:00Remodeling & Modernizing a WebsiteThe<a href="http://widopublishing.com/" target="_blank"> WiDo Publishing website</a> is getting a remodel! I'm as excited as if it were my house. The designer asked me to send her links of sites I like What a super fun little task!<br />
<br />
I LOVE looking at publishing and author websites. It's like an obsession of mine. My favorite designs are sleek and streamlined, without clutter, without a lot of movement and easy to navigate. The WiDo website hasn't had any significant change for years. It's due for a facelift.<br />
<br />
Still, I'm nervous. I don't want to lose the tone and temperament of it, since it clearly represents what our company is about. So many of our authors have mentioned the WiDo website as a motivating force in submitting to us.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">“After viewing their website, I discovered they had an approach to books that very much matched my own – books that tell good stories!" --Ruth Fox</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"> "WiDo had a large number of women authors in their list. I felt from reading the website that WiDo editors would 'get' this collection, which is a deeply personal book.” --Patty Somlo</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">“My book is too special to me to be looked at like a product. WiDo takes a personal approach to its books and that really appeals to me." --Melissa Palmer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">"When I read the WiDo mission statement, I felt as if the editors were reading my mind, so I knew I had to submit." --Donelle Dreese</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">“As I browsed in the fiction section of a local bookstore, I picked up a book published by a company called WiDo. I remember admiring the beautiful cover. I searched WiDo’s website, and read editor Karen Jones Gowen’s article</span><a href="http://widopublishing.com/a-new-renaissance-in-literature-karen-jones-gowen/" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, "bitstream charter", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;" target="_blank">, ‘A New Renaissance in Literature.</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">’ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">Karen’s philosophy matches my own thoughts. She even mentioned William Tyndale, a hero of mine." --Carol Pratt Bradley</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">“I did my research and narrowed my short list down to two small publishers with beautiful, amazing books and authors who loved to work with them. " --C.R. Asay</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;">“I have studied literally hundreds of publisher websites over the years, and since submission via email is now the norm, the state of the website is of crucial importance for writers looking to submit. So, when I found the WiDo website, not only was it a pleasure exploring its different components, but I was impressed with the straightforward, unfussy submissions guidelines.” --Rebecca Lloyd</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span>
Reading these quotes along with those of other excellent authors who submit based on their positive impressions from our website, and one can understand why I feel nervous about changing it.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.8px;"> </span><br />
<br />
But it feels like the time is right. I'm excited to see what the designer comes up with!Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-511809774927544982016-07-26T14:34:00.000-07:002016-07-26T14:34:39.434-07:00The Creative PauseI don't believe in "writer's block." Although of course there are days when one's creativity is in full swing and others when it seems to disappear, when the writing doesn't go well for whatever reason.<br />
<br />
I like to think of those periods as a pause in creativity. No block. Nothing I can't change when I'm good and ready, just a slight pause.<br />
<br />
There's plenty to do when it happens, things that are part of a writer's work. Update the website. Read articles about the publishing business. Stay involved on social media. Organize files. Read books!<br />
<br />
One nice thing about a creative pause is feeling like a normal person instead of a slave to whatever book is after you, pushing itself to get written. You can relax and enjoy life instead of agonizing over every "wasted" moment not spent writing.<br />
<br />
Writer's block has negative connotations. The creative pause is rather nice. It can be a welcome respite from the intense productivity that comes when creativity is in its fullness with its prodding, pushing, unrelentless attack on your time, talents and energy.<br />
<br />
No need to dread the creative pause, is what I tell myself. Welcome and embrace it, enjoy it, make the most of it. Like all good things, it will come to an end in its own good time.Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-12618361169946583352016-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-01T06:00:00.972-07:00Memoir Review: ACCIDENTAL SOLDIER: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">…At age nineteen, Dorit Sasson, a dual American-Israeli citizen, was trying to make the status quo work as a college student―until she realized that if she didn’t distance herself from her neurotic, worrywart of a mother, she would become just like her.</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></b>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This book caught my interest. I'm reviewing ACCIDENTAL SOLDIER as part of the WOW blog tour.</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwXI26Dzki4w7U7cwwhwDZJP9DZ_KVcT-ii1MO_LNEExHuT-qSq1aJ-gpheDodptbbr0WdZ5nEsreN8lleYW4gxKdd43Vh5DlV7_SpSFJVCKJU8nJ_l6EeWdFUpW34Hhj1lU2DTe-Qzw/s1600/Dorit+Sasson+Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwXI26Dzki4w7U7cwwhwDZJP9DZ_KVcT-ii1MO_LNEExHuT-qSq1aJ-gpheDodptbbr0WdZ5nEsreN8lleYW4gxKdd43Vh5DlV7_SpSFJVCKJU8nJ_l6EeWdFUpW34Hhj1lU2DTe-Qzw/s320/Dorit+Sasson+Book+Cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Paperback: 337 pages</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Genre: Memoir<br />Publisher: She Writes Press (June 14, 2016)<br />ISBN-10: 1631520350</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">ISBN-13: 978-1631520358</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Amazon Link: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Soldier-Service-Sacrifice-Defense/dp/1631520350/?tag=wowwomenonwri-20" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">click here</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Book Summary:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial;">
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">At age nineteen, Dorit Sasson, a dual American-Israeli citizen, was trying to make the status quo work as a college student―until she realized that if she didn’t distance herself from her neurotic, worrywart of a mother, she would become just like her.<br /><br />Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces is Sasson’s story of how she dropped out of college and volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces in an effort to change her life―and how, in stepping out of her comfort zone and into a war zone, she discovered courage and faith she didn’t know she was capable of.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><b>My review of ACCIDENTAL SOLDIER</b></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Dorit's relationship with her mother is the motivating force for her decision to join the Israel Defense Forces, although her father's influence was a strong part of it as well. Her Israeli-born father, divorced from her mother and remarried, realizes if Dorit doesn't do something to break the unhealthy psychological ties with her mother, she may turn out just like her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">The mother in Dorit's story is a minor character in some ways, yet looms huge throughout the book due to her influence on Dorit. The mother is actually fascinating, one of those kinds of people you can't imagine functions in real life, yet you want to know every detail. If Dorit ever writes a memoir about her mother's life, that would be one not to miss.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Once Dorit is in Israel, my favorite parts of the book were her descriptions about the country and people. I found it interesting how she felt safe there, like the whole country had her back. And the citizens love their IDF, feeling like this strong group of committed soldiers has their back. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Altogether, this memoir has a fascinating dynamic, going from the dysfunctional family life Dorit experiences in New York City, to kibbutz life as an eighteen-year-old, and at last breaking into a strong independent adult as a member of the IDF. </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRASgLCqLNRYK37Hv3dnb-MgFGWCasz2jdmTJiTKcxBj3BPZfvvkKrnJa1OmJ8kv4x58ZcGbX4JYNBOqmYL7tzd1peIDxrO4PChCGZU126d5vEQfsrAI61wt4uHZ5_LWKGgNg5EpNt7M/s1600/Dorit+Sasson+Head+Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRASgLCqLNRYK37Hv3dnb-MgFGWCasz2jdmTJiTKcxBj3BPZfvvkKrnJa1OmJ8kv4x58ZcGbX4JYNBOqmYL7tzd1peIDxrO4PChCGZU126d5vEQfsrAI61wt4uHZ5_LWKGgNg5EpNt7M/s320/Dorit+Sasson+Head+Shot.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">About the Author: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Dorit Sasson writes for a wide range of print and online publications, including The Huffington Post and The Writer, and speaks at conferences, libraries, and community centers. She is the author of the a featured chapter in Pebbles in the Pond: Transforming the World One Person at a Time, the latest installment of that best-selling series, and. She is the host of the global radio show "Giving Voice to Your Courageous Story." She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two children.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 12.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Find Dorit Sasson Online:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Website: </span><a href="http://www.doritsasson.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.DoritSasson.com</a>,<wbr></wbr> <a href="http://www.givingavoicetothevoicelessbook.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.<wbr></wbr>GivingaVoicetotheVoicelessbook<wbr></wbr>.com</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Facebook: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DoritSassonauthorAccidentalSoldier/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr></wbr>facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>DoritSassonauthorAccidentalSol<wbr></wbr>dier/</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Twitter: @VoicetoStory</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;">Pinterest: </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/givingvoice/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr></wbr>pinterest.com/givingvoice/</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 20.7px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13.65pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13.65pt;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-50879029886386773632016-06-29T15:50:00.000-07:002016-06-29T16:17:52.373-07:00How It Used to Be for Women WritersI went through a spell of reading books that were highly acclaimed back in the 1950s and 1960s. They were ones I had missed reading since in the 1950s I was a kid reading Nancy Drew and Beverly Cleary.<br />
<br />
In the Sixties when I was in high school, my favorite books were <i>Les Miserables</i>, <i>Great Expectations</i> and<i> David Copperfield. </i>I loved my classics and had no interest in the current fiction of the day back then.<br />
<br />
I won't name the books or writers I read during my recent catch-up phase. They were all extremely well-regarded, prize-winning novels by famous literary people.<br />
<br />
And I could barely stomach them, giving me much fodder to reflect on how much the literary culture has changed since those days of the 1950s through the 1970s. And thank heavens for that.<br />
<br />
As managing editor at WiDo, I can say unequivocally that if any one of those prize-winning novels had come to us as a submission, we'd have turned it down flat. They were that bad.<br />
<br />
Hardly any story, themes that made no sense, unlikable characters. No heart, no soul. Yet these books and their famous authors were such a big deal back then.<br />
<br />
In fifty plus years, the world of books is completely different. To me, that's a very good thing. I'm so thankful I got busy with marriage and children and didn't try to have a career in those days as a novelist. I'd have been shot down so bad I may have never recovered.<br />
<br />
Women writers didn't fare too well in that era except in the romance genre. The literary giants were largely all men.<br />
<br />
Women with literary aspirations instead would often attach themselves to literary men--college professors, published poets, playwrights and novelists--and the women would write their poetry, essays and stories, maybe teach and maybe get published in little literary magazines or win an award now and then.<br />
<br />
What I did was write children's stories and sell them to magazines for kids. Not exactly literary aspirations but it kept me in the game.<br />
<br />
Joyce Carol Oates was different. She is one of my heroes and favorite writers of all time. I'm not sure how much her books made though, compared to men writers of the same era. She continued working throughout her career as a college professor rather than going full time as a writer. Either she loved to teach or she needed the financial security it provided, who can say.<br />
<br />
JK Rowling, still using her initials since the publisher didn't figure the book would sell if people thought the author was a woman, changed all that. She gave women writers a voice.<br />
<br />
Every woman writing and publishing today owes a debt of gratitude to JK Rowling. She opened up the era of publishers actually believing women could write outside of the romance genre and do it very, very well.<br />
<br />
On the heels of the Harry Potter phenomenon came the Kindle revolution, further giving women an outlet for their work via self-publishing. The Kindle revolution along with POD publishing also provided the means for many small publishers like <a href="http://widopublishing.com/" target="_blank">WiDo </a>to remain profitable.<br />
<br />
Many of these small publishers have overwhelmingly embraced female authors, and given older women a chance as well. One of WiDo's bestselling books is<i> In the Mirror: A Memoir of Shattered Secrets </i>by <a href="http://anncarbinebest.com/" target="_blank">Ann Carbine Best</a>, published when Ann was 72.<br />
<br />
Now books written by women rule the bestseller lists. For those of us my age who clearly remember the way it used to be, this is pretty awesome.Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-84935202351255861762016-05-26T14:14:00.000-07:002016-05-26T17:42:43.916-07:00Wall Art of ComitanComitan is a great walking city. There are wide sidewalks stretching off into interesting places, and often hordes of other people around strolling, shopping, visiting. My husband and I have been all over town and not once felt anything but safe. He takes his camera when he goes and especially enjoys taking pictures of the wall art that's everywhere.<br />
<br />
I thought I'd post a few of my favorites. This leopard is the winner, followed by the snake. The leopard is regal and majestic, the snake just cute and friendly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rUW0HWoDDKJVlLpddrpcMD1JJPkETG4xEjyVUmbbcr2h5VeVY4gCWyRDml6yCut-516JFt4zvrAxiLS8T2XJsF7shizHP9tAiF6edNogN9UzYyvaJ-tVYCTepVF7RebTjoBmEM6xILY/s1600/13244653_10206224966805000_9167967825373387826_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rUW0HWoDDKJVlLpddrpcMD1JJPkETG4xEjyVUmbbcr2h5VeVY4gCWyRDml6yCut-516JFt4zvrAxiLS8T2XJsF7shizHP9tAiF6edNogN9UzYyvaJ-tVYCTepVF7RebTjoBmEM6xILY/s400/13244653_10206224966805000_9167967825373387826_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRE8cEX6o22PbHl3-xNv40WY9e_pao1dtMJeGzytyqAV-Bdg9M6L2mE3-6DVGm5DS9z-xHIkqTXRvj3_hxmCjvChbyyefrQR8fCNReasrbxaJVanqeezvsPzXstfFni596idgQUtfJvRo/s1600/13301298_10206264109783550_991678197417335752_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRE8cEX6o22PbHl3-xNv40WY9e_pao1dtMJeGzytyqAV-Bdg9M6L2mE3-6DVGm5DS9z-xHIkqTXRvj3_hxmCjvChbyyefrQR8fCNReasrbxaJVanqeezvsPzXstfFni596idgQUtfJvRo/s400/13301298_10206264109783550_991678197417335752_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's amazing to me how an artist can paint on such a large canvas as a wall, with great detail that one has to move far away to appreciate. How do they do it? And when do they do it? I've never seen anyone painting the walls, then one day it's done.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZH-0TObFUgcWYawbBXRh-TfLdcUNHAS5EHNBhAakJINbnvjtlQg-v_MHipEFMUoQFCka_h9K6uhYc3K6cnolaOuaWCh0p731MhoP4Z0vbcjBuOW40BdoZdk6doznMnI0zSsb-bi3InY/s1600/13247954_10206264046781975_76392095833521420_o+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZH-0TObFUgcWYawbBXRh-TfLdcUNHAS5EHNBhAakJINbnvjtlQg-v_MHipEFMUoQFCka_h9K6uhYc3K6cnolaOuaWCh0p731MhoP4Z0vbcjBuOW40BdoZdk6doznMnI0zSsb-bi3InY/s400/13247954_10206264046781975_76392095833521420_o+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tc179GtcQ9KLWwGI0LvmGGpRcO7XPV1AjVfyZNPjZy3yNd02YnWjh1UN2mGRDdrw0AKJzbdfE5FblHXsfhtIG2mGrKY6VMaP60m_0AkffelqTAiNvc2bEgdStuJ23DN9yhf35r6_se8/s1600/13301555_10206264047181985_7421010790440308335_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tc179GtcQ9KLWwGI0LvmGGpRcO7XPV1AjVfyZNPjZy3yNd02YnWjh1UN2mGRDdrw0AKJzbdfE5FblHXsfhtIG2mGrKY6VMaP60m_0AkffelqTAiNvc2bEgdStuJ23DN9yhf35r6_se8/s400/13301555_10206264047181985_7421010790440308335_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm glad the authorities don't go around arresting or fining anyone, or painting over their work. The artists don't get anything for their creations except the joy of doing it for public display. For the joy it gives them and gives those who see it as they go around town.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dP2E9-TFXyv08qIAoe1tYE253tvrZazsdRWhLa7B4z4vDccYKpPSwJ04ey6Q5TSEZFiVbQpZqYvACle_LVkMJTu4VmLXjK5CdAMjeVCu-XUxaN90fM4fCMO03HJ6ZYxlSzOq0ayGHT0/s1600/13246199_10206264108143509_2194713024844797426_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dP2E9-TFXyv08qIAoe1tYE253tvrZazsdRWhLa7B4z4vDccYKpPSwJ04ey6Q5TSEZFiVbQpZqYvACle_LVkMJTu4VmLXjK5CdAMjeVCu-XUxaN90fM4fCMO03HJ6ZYxlSzOq0ayGHT0/s400/13246199_10206264108143509_2194713024844797426_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The scene below is painted on a wall in a children's park. It's so sweet and charming, illustrating the culture of an earlier time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLbb0nfHwn_zPX09keVe6ArbwLaRJzr2uJURJd6H4QRQ245lQVeGGEHfmuneerwBP-99js5NvbDwetXf5HSsB7SjcUrHGSXJ_rh8VhIRsmBacvfcKWzt39-k_HybatgapA52gU7ZbOiI/s1600/13301337_10206264109063532_8443923874157054947_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLbb0nfHwn_zPX09keVe6ArbwLaRJzr2uJURJd6H4QRQ245lQVeGGEHfmuneerwBP-99js5NvbDwetXf5HSsB7SjcUrHGSXJ_rh8VhIRsmBacvfcKWzt39-k_HybatgapA52gU7ZbOiI/s400/13301337_10206264109063532_8443923874157054947_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Ending with another depiction of an earlier era, the Aztec culture. We lived among the Mayan culture in Guatemala. Mexico is land of the Aztecs. They are much friendlier these days, thank goodness. And the food is amazing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rc5h0Z5gX_lvLgk7-6vjybuSMAohxBI2BIZBtKwW94sIRVeJz2R43F2wFqYr_NiDb0hg5rXL487GMAxFi60k_TubeTGSUJ8_0CCTtFqt4o7OyU0KCrF0AaL42FK3k9VX9BCRVJ3sBQ4/s1600/13254847_10206224978005280_4785002315605411058_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rc5h0Z5gX_lvLgk7-6vjybuSMAohxBI2BIZBtKwW94sIRVeJz2R43F2wFqYr_NiDb0hg5rXL487GMAxFi60k_TubeTGSUJ8_0CCTtFqt4o7OyU0KCrF0AaL42FK3k9VX9BCRVJ3sBQ4/s400/13254847_10206224978005280_4785002315605411058_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-91614487307857347122016-05-11T10:03:00.001-07:002016-09-10T13:29:08.670-07:00Our Guatemala ExperienceI'm currently working on a book about our Guatemala experience. We sold everything we had, moved to Guatemala and stayed there two years. Right now we live in Mexico, and yet Guatemala is fresh on my mind. I can't write fast enough. There's so much that happened to us, so much to write about.<br />
<br />
I published a blog post on my website, an excerpt from the book, <a href="https://karenjonesgowen.com/2016/05/09/animales/" target="_blank">here</a>. They say writing a memoir is painful. I certainly felt that with my self-help memoir, as I wrote about on my last post<i>. </i><br />
<br />
I'm not feeling that kind of pain with this new project. Mostly just an urgency to get it all down before the memories fade away.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqc1e752xGlh4oG4oEJDD7Y02bDuvTKoEG-EhS-JIHztkgXcM2Hh_lShRGZXqj9xajFnTd2R2cnbGoW43_hb1hGVZ-dkbD6q5CA5WjlNhR-_dZytk3aFduDw4-fVUYgxYpdNwSbnBUOA/s1600/Coming+down+the+mountain+in+Guatemala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqc1e752xGlh4oG4oEJDD7Y02bDuvTKoEG-EhS-JIHztkgXcM2Hh_lShRGZXqj9xajFnTd2R2cnbGoW43_hb1hGVZ-dkbD6q5CA5WjlNhR-_dZytk3aFduDw4-fVUYgxYpdNwSbnBUOA/s400/Coming+down+the+mountain+in+Guatemala.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852800943772489474.post-77170365903512937052016-03-31T05:30:00.000-07:002016-03-31T05:30:00.863-07:00A Writer's Story: AN INCREDIBLE TALENT FOR EXISTING<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tHSD0MK9Ejp_VNdvOxT9anCM8Q4VAGJfxxDH6tO2DJJaUOWyf86vWLsjGprzUpwujUcOZRR1AMhmeKxY7GE9eJmVqECh_WWK_qfwVC8qNm0YixP7Eamug3HVXN31T6Sgxyy897o_mCE/s1600/Pamela+Jane+Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tHSD0MK9Ejp_VNdvOxT9anCM8Q4VAGJfxxDH6tO2DJJaUOWyf86vWLsjGprzUpwujUcOZRR1AMhmeKxY7GE9eJmVqECh_WWK_qfwVC8qNm0YixP7Eamug3HVXN31T6Sgxyy897o_mCE/s400/Pamela+Jane+Book+Cover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I am participating in the WOW! Women on Writing tour for a memoir that every writer needs to read. It's called <i>An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story</i> by Pamela Jane. Intrigued? I was! </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.2pt;">My review follows the book information:</span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A Young woman longs for an idyllic past, despite her revolutionary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">belief that everything that exists must be destroyed.</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Paperback: 246 pages</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Genre:
Memoir<br />
Publisher: Open Books Press (February 1,
2016)<br />
ISBN-10: 1941799213 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">ISBN-13: 978-1941799215<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon Link: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Talent-Existing-Pamela-Jane/dp/1941799213/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454113381&sr=8-2&keywords=author+pamela+jane/?tag=wowwomenonwri-20">click
here</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Book Summary:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“An Incredible Talent For
Existing: A Writer’s Story”</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">summary:
</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">It is 1965, the era of love, light and revolution. While the
romantic narrator imagines a bucolic future in an old country house with
children running through the dappled sunlight, her husband plots to organize a
revolution and fight a guerrilla war in the Catskills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Their
fantasies are on a collision course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
clash of visions turns into an inner war of identities when the author embraces
radical feminism; she and her husband are comrades in revolution but combatants
in marriage; she is a woman warrior who spends her days sewing long silk
dresses reminiscent of a Henry James novel. One half of her isn't speaking to
the other half.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 10.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">And
then, just when it seems that things cannot possibly get more explosive, her
wilderness cabin burns down and Pamela finds herself left with only the clothes
on her back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">From her vividly evoked existential childhood ("the only
way I would know for sure that I existed was if others lots of others
acknowledged it") to writing her first children's book on a sugar high
during a glucose tolerance test, Pamela Jane takes the reader along on a highly
entertaining personal, political, and psychological adventure.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">My Review of <i>An Incredible Talent for Existing</i></b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was especially intrigued by this memoir because 1) I'm a writer and writing--or not writing--is a theme of this book and 2) I also came of age during the mid 1960's, the time when most of the events occur. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I found Pamela Jane's account absolutely fascinating, where I started and finished it in an entire sitting, due entirely to the magical way she weaves her story. It begins with her childhood, where the main character "Pamie" creates ongoing stories in her head. This charming little girl evolves into a not so charming teen and college student but well...it was the times, wasn't it? </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;">The narrative following Pamie into her nontraditional marriage and beyond is compelling. I found myself thinking more than once, <i>"How is she ever going to get out of this fix?"</i> And of course I had to keep reading to see what came next, where Pamie's choices would land her this time. From Connecticut to Michigan to Portland to New York to San Francisco and back to New York, following Pamie's life and loves is like a high speed trip across the U.S. during these volatile, changing decades of her young life.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;">And never leaving her side are the hopes of one day being a "real writer." One statement early in the book struck me as descriptive of a writer's life. These feelings came when she was a child, when the writing dream was just beginning: "Voices of the past sighed by me in the wind and whispered in the waiting fullness of the shadows." Voices that haunted her for years until she was able to give them words on paper.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 16.8pt;">With imagery that carries me to another time and place, descriptions that make the settings come alive to the senses, darkness laced with humor, this is a book not to miss. If you enjoy memoirs, if you are a writer yourself, if you want to get immersed into the era of the 1960's, then <i>get this book!</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9zWlXZp-RaGG2B27VBsvGnH-Wtgft8GfyaL87GvpVJ2WPWTahozyGPEKc0s963xmhFf8FyvcRm5Trnc_omNjrgaGlnYD9ZRwZInm4z4eE4W2BPpEkUe0mW0Uf8K5hWbTjgyTs9gF1eU/s1600/Pamela+Jane+Head+Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9zWlXZp-RaGG2B27VBsvGnH-Wtgft8GfyaL87GvpVJ2WPWTahozyGPEKc0s963xmhFf8FyvcRm5Trnc_omNjrgaGlnYD9ZRwZInm4z4eE4W2BPpEkUe0mW0Uf8K5hWbTjgyTs9gF1eU/s400/Pamela+Jane+Head+Shot.jpg" /></a>About the Author:
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Pamela Jane has published
over twenty-five children’s books with Houghton Mifflin, Atheneum, Simon &
Schuster, Penguin-Putnam, and Harper. Her books include Noelle of
the Nutcracker illustrated by Jan Brett, Little Goblins
Ten illustrated by NY Times best-selling illustrator, Jane
Manning, and Little Elfie One (Harper 2015). Pride and Prejudice
and Kitties: A Cat-Lover’s Romp Through Jane Austen’s Classic (Skyhorse)
was featured in The Wall Street Journal, BBC America, The
Huffington Post, The New York Times Sunday Book Review and The
Daily Dot, and has just come out in paper. Pamela Jane has published short
stories and essays with The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Antigonish Review,
Literary Mama. Pamela Jane is a writer and editor for </span><a href="http://womensmemoirs.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">womensmemoirs.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<b><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Below are three clips of her work:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary Mama</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<a href="http://www.literarymama.com/creativenonfiction/archives/2015/10/the-ambivalent-agnostic-an-adoption-story.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #386eff; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.literarymama.com/creativenonfiction/archives/2015/10/the-ambivalent-agnostic-an-adoption-story.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Womensmemoirs:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<a href="http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing-prompts/5-tips-for-getting-your-memoir-published-in-2016/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #386eff; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing-prompts/5-tips-for-getting-your-memoir-published-in-2016/</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<a href="http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing/memoir-writers-take-note-help-i-cant-press-the-send-button/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #386eff; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing/memoir-writers-take-note-help-i-cant-press-the-send-button/</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><b><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Find Pamela Jane Online:</span></u></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Website: <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><a href="http://www.memoircoaching.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.memoircoaching.com</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><a href="http://www.pamelajane.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.pamelajane.com</span></b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">(children’s books)</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<a href="http://www.prideandprejudiceandkitties.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.prideandprejudiceandkitties.com</span></b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">(humorous book)</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Facebook: </span></b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pamela.jane1" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.facebook.com/pamela.jane1</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter: @memoircoaching, @austencats</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-left: 24.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Book Trailer for “An Incredible Talent for Existing”: </span></b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA1znyLsaGY" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA1znyLsaGY</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
Karen Jones Gowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.com5