Review: Fearless Confessions

Sue William Silverman, a writer, teacher, and speaker has written a book that will appeal to both experienced and beginning writers. It offers a thorough and understandable explanation of how to write memoir and how it differs from other types of literary nonfiction. More creative nonfiction writing classes should use this as one of their textbooks.

Amazingly straight-forward and helpful in the quest for our authentic self, the book is an account of her journey as a writer interspersed with unique and thoughtful exercises that are clearly written with students in mind,  There are reading selections here and there, but the book manages to make these elements feel like seamless parts of a carefully considered whole. Silverman offers san excellent description of voice I've and explains the craft of writing, and elements such as “the voice of innocence” and “the voice of experience” She includes websites, books, marketing opportunities, and publishing options.

This is probably the most important memoir writing instruction and inspiration that I've ever read. Extremely powerful and transforming!  For anyone who has ever thought of writing a memoir, this is the first and last book you will ever need. I would recommend this to everyone, whether you are writing a memoir or not. Even journal writers will find ideas and suggestions in this short book that shed light on why we write.

Bio: Sue William Silverman won an Association of Writers and Writing Programs award for Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You. A speaker on child abuse and addiction, she teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts. As a professional speaker and writer, Sue has appeared on many nationally syndicated radio and TV programs including The View, Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN; a John Stossel Special on ABC-TV; CNN-Headline News; the Montel Williams Show; the Ricki Lake Show; the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet; and both the U. S. and Canadian Discovery Channels. She was also featured in an episode of "The Secret Lives of Women" on WE-TV.

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Merry Christmas

As a Christmas gift to my readers, I have posted a charming painting that a very talented on-line writer and artist friend of mine recently created. I love the simplicity of it. It sums up what Christmas is all about. Her name is Carol Apple.
Check out her website

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Cindy Vine's New Book

Purchase at Amazon

Writer Cindy Vine's newest book, How to Say No to Sex and other Survival Tips for the Suddenly Single, offers an easy-to-read practical approach to coping with a newly single life and getting back on track after that nasty break-up.

After the success of her first book,  Fear Phobias and Frozen Feet, which tackled how to break the cycle of bad relationships in your life, Cindy decided to stick to her light-hearted style and continues to cut out the psycho-babble.  In her new book, she gives many useful survival tips and strategies for even the most devastated..

Being single after an intense relationship is a daunting prospect for many. Cindy shows how to overcome the grief experienced when a relationship ends, how to get your life back in order again, and how to avoid making the same mistakes next time round. In addition, she has  included sections on how to sort out your finances, how to avoid common mistakes made during sex, ten uses for an old photo of your ex., and finally how to end up being really happy. You will find many other useful tips to get you on the road to healing.

The chapter How to say no to sex discusses how to avoid  jumping into bed with all and sundry to make yourself feel better. The title may be misleading, as some readers may think the whole book is about abstinence, but it is not. It's about getting your life back on track again when you feel low and devastated.  It's about how to become happy again and start focusing on the positive.


Biography

Cindy Vine was  born in Cape Town, South Africa but have lived in many different countries. She is  the author of the self-help book Fear, Phobias and Frozen Feet as well as the novel Stop the world, I need to pee! a fictional account of the life and crimes of Fenella Fisher. In January 2010 she published The Case of Billy B which is a story about a father and son who face some immense challenges in life, including a psychopathic stalker. In April of this year, she finished Fighting Fisi, a children's picture book about bullying which is in the process of being published.
Check out Cindy's blog.

Changes in the World of Publishing

New York, NY (October 31, 2011) HarperCollins Publishers today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Thomas Nelson, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the calendar year, is subject to regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions.

Thomas Nelson is one of the leading trade publishers in the United States. The Company provides multiple forms of inspirational content including: books, Bibles, e-books, journals, audio, video, curriculum and digital applications available for download on “smart” electronic devices. It has published some of the bestselling books in the industry, including the current #1 bestseller Heaven Is For Real, and the books of many popular authors, such as Billy Graham, Max Lucado, and Dave Ramsey.

“Founded in 1798 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thomas Nelson shares a long and rich heritage with both New York’s Harper Brothers and Scotland’s William Collins & Sons. It is thus with great pleasure that I look forward to welcoming Thomas Nelson to the HarperCollins family,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide. “HarperCollins’ global print and digital publishing platform, which includes e-book distribution into more than 175 markets, Print-on-Demand, Digital-to-Print at Retail, and worldwide marketing reach, provides an opportunity to further expand the readership of Thomas Nelson’s distinguished authors.”

“Additionally, Thomas Nelson adds further balance to our existing publishing programs. Its broad inspirational appeal is a good complement to Zondervan, which will continue to publish books consistent with its mission,” added Murray.

“We are excited to be joining HarperCollins Publishers,” said Mark Schoenwald, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson. “We believe this transaction represents an attractive strategic fit for our company. With HarperCollins’ resources and capabilities to draw on, we will capitalize on the many opportunities in this rapidly changing world of publishing.” 

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Review: The Paris Wife

I finally finished the Glass Castle...great book, really enjoyed it. I am starting the Paris Wife today and will tell you more about it when I finish it. In the meantime, here is a review from GoodReads and an interesting video.

In this novel about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, the object of the 20-year-old Hemingway's affections was Hadley Richardson, a pretty but unglamorous Midwesterner who was eight years his senior. It was Richardson who shared Hemingway's years as a poor, still-unknown writer in Paris. The story of their romance and marriage has been fictionalized in Paula McLain's new novel, The Paris Wife.
 
Hadley Richardson appears here and there in Hemingway's book about his Paris years, A Moveable Feast — and these glimpses of Hemingway's first wife caught McLain's eye. They made her curious about this woman whom Hemingway seemed to idealize in the memoir he wrote toward the end of his life.



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Book Review: The Glass Castle

I love this book. I'm half way through and have slowed down considerably because I don't want it to end. The following is a review from Goodreads:

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. 

Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days.

As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.

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Appalachia: Dispelling the myth

"...So many lies have been written about us, the mountain people, that folks from other states have formed an image of a gun-totin', tabaccer -spittin , whiskey drinkin', barefooted, foolish hillbilly who never existed except in the minds of people who have written such things as The Beverly Hillbillies...No matter what we do, we can't make folks believe we are any different...we have been disgraced in the e yes of the outside world."  from What My Heart Wants To Tell by Verna Mae Slone, Lexington, Kentucky 1978.

When I moved to Kentucky and discovered how beautiful and interesting it was, I wanted to know all about it. I was fascinated by the history, especially that of the folks in Appalachia. I must admit that I am one of the people who had a stereotypical impression of that area. Being extremely curious and an avid reader, I started reading a lot about it and came across the quote at the beginning of this chapter. I was so struck by the pathos of it that I had to know more about the people.

I had the good fortune to have a couple of professors from the University of Kentucky come to stay with me, Elizabeth and Charlie. They both were sociologists and Charlie was an expert on Appalachia and would talk to me for hours about the area and the people. He completely changed the impression I, like so many others outside the area, had.

I learned that the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S. state of Alabama. And that the cultural region of Appalachia typically refers only to the central and southern portions of the range. I was surprised to find out that in 2005 approximately 23 million people lived there. Along with Scotch-Irish immigrants, there were German and English settlers in western Pennsylvania, Northwestern Virginia, and Western Maryland.


Charlie and I spent hours talking about the discovery of the Cumberland Gap in 1750 and the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 and how after that settlers moved deeper into the mountains of upper Eastern Tennessee, Northwestern North Carolina, Upstate South Carolina, and Central Kentucky. He told me about the treaties with the Cherokee and other tribes that opened up lands in North Georgia, Northeast Alabama, the Tennessee Valley, the Cumberland Plateau regions, and the highlands along what is now the Tennessee-North Carolina border.


I had always pictured an Appalachian hunter or pioneer wearing a coonskin cap and buckskin clothing, and carrying a long rifle and shoulder-strapped powder horn like Daniel Boone, living on high mountain ridges and fending for themselves against the elements and attacks from the Indians. Charlie said this was pretty much accurate.

*This piece is the first in a series of excerpts from a longer article I wrote some time ago. If you found this one interesting, you might enjoy returning to read the next three. I will publish one every Friday while I am part of the blogging challenge.  Thanks, Nancy

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