Interview with nonfiction/self-help writer Jesse LeBeau

On the blog today is memoir writer Jesse LeBeau to share a bit about his book Among the Giants.

Jesse will be awarding a signed Deuce Brand watch to a randomly drawn winner during his tour. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Jesse LeBeau is one of the premiere trick artists with a basketball in the world. He has entertained millions in commercials, movies, and televised games alongside top celebrities like Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Heidi Klum, and Justin Bieber.

Undersized and overlooked his whole life, Jesse was able to overcome the odds and go from a remote island in Alaska to the Hollywood big screen. He continues to use his talents, speaking engagements, and new book Among The Giants to inspire other to live life to the fullest!

Welcome, Jesse. Please tell us about your book.

Among the Giants is a self-help memoir for young and old alike! I tell my inspirational story (the story of a self confessed “underdog”), with hopes to inspire and motivate the you, the reader, to challenge yourself toward your own dreams and aspirations. I clearly define the success principles every young person needs to follow, not only to pursue their goals, but to pursue a full and rewarding LIFE!

Watch the trailer. 

What inspired you to write this book?

I was speaking to kids around the country but I was only able to give them so much in 45 minutes. I realized if I wrote a book, I would be able to give them a resource that could really make a difference in their life long after I left. That was my motivation to take the time to write Among the Giants.

Excerpt from Among the Giants:

You probably aren’t going to like this, and maybe you won’t even agree with me, but I’m here to tell you this today: if you aren’t happy with your life, it’s your own fault. We all possess the ability to create the life we want. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and make your life what you want it to be. Stop blaming other people. Stop making excuses. Imagine if you took that wasted time and energy and used it to change your circumstances and fix the things you don’t like. What kind of life would you have then? I’d be willing to bet it would be a lot better. The highest achievers don’t blame others and make excuses. They don’t expect someone else to make them happy, and they don’t have a sense of entitlement and expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. They make it happen. They start taking different action steps to get different results. This attitude is what makes all the difference between those who are great and live happy lives and those who don’t.

There is only one person who is responsible for the quality of your life, and you guessed it: that person is you. Everything that is happening in your life is the result of your previous actions or lack thereof. That makes you the grand master in charge of the current state of your life. Our human nature conditions us to blame external factors that are out of our control to give us a scapegoat. But the truth of the matter is, it all comes back to how we choose to respond to each event that determines our outcome. Like I mentioned before, we can’t always control the things that happen to us; the only thing we have the power to control is our attitude and how we choose to respond. The choice is yours. Take charge of your life. Think better thoughts. Visualize more positive outcomes. Take the action necessary to get what you want. This will determine everything for you and your life. Stop wasting your time being unhappy. Choose wisely, and take 100 percent ownership for your life.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Right now I am focused on speaking and promoting this book and getting ready for a possible tour with the Globe Trotters!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think everyone has a story to share that can entertain or help others, they just have to take action on it. There are all sorts of resources today that can help anyone write and publish a book. If you want to do it, there is nothing stopping you!

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

My full-time gig is my speaking business and in the last 3 years I’ve been making most of my income as an actor. I’ve been in lots of commercials and movies and you can check out some of my work online at www.JesseLeBeau.com

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

All I wanted to do when I grew up was be a basketball player, and I’ve found a way to do it even though I am not an NBA player. I entertain people in commercials, games, and movies and then do tricks as part of speaking routine.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Attitude is everything! I hope my book will inspire your readers to life a live according to their passion no matter what obstacles they are facing. To keep tabs on me and to get free resources they can check me out at my website and follow me on Twitter. If they want a digitial download of my e-book What Allen Iverson Taught Me About Life and a download from my DVD for FREE they can text the word “Giants” to 58885 or visit my website.

Book site | Facebook | Instagram

Purchase Among the Giants on Amazon.  

To get a free download from his DVD visit: http://bit.ly/U9w32m

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Interview with novelist Karen J. Hicks

I have Karen J. Hicks here today to talk about her new novel The Coming Woman. 

The Coming Woman is a novel based on the life of feminist Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for U.S. President, 50 years before women could even vote!

Bio:

Karen J. Hicks is retired and lives in Henderson, Nevada. She recently published her second novel, The Coming Woman, based on the life of the infamous feminist Victoria C. Woodhull, who was the first woman to run for U.S. President. Her first book was a self-help book titled The Tao of an Uncluttered Life. Karen served as in-house editor for author Steve Allen and has written several screenplays, as well as poetry, short stories, and essays. To learn more, go to http://www.karenjhicks.com/

Welcome, Karen. Please tell us about your current release.

The Coming Woman is a novel based on the life of Victoria C. Woodhull, the first woman to run for U.S. President, 50 years before women could even vote! Victoria was also the first woman to own a successful Wall Street brokerage firm, the first to publish a successful national newspaper, the first to head the two-million-member Spiritualist Association, and the first to petition the Senate Judiciary Committee, advocating for woman’s suffrage. Daring to take on society and religion and fight hypocrisy, Victoria exposed the extramarital affairs of the most popular religious figure of the day (Henry Ward Beecher), which led to the longest, most infamous trial of the 19^th century and her own imprisonment and persecution for exercising her First Amendment rights. But she would not be defeated and continued to fight for equal rights for all until her death of old age.

What inspired you to write this book? 

My friend Twyla first shared Victoria’s story with me back in the 1980s. She had written a college paper on her, and I was fascinated from the first word. I was never an avid student of history, but when I began reading more and researching Victoria’s life and times, my fascination grew—to full-blown obsession. Over the years I penned her story in several different formats, the hardest task being to whittle all the incredible material down to a manageable size. Feeling most of the books I read about Victoria were geared toward readers who loved history and/or biographies, I wanted to tell the story in a way that attracted those who prefer a good novel. So that’s what I did.

Excerpt from The Coming Woman:

The early spring drizzle on Great Jones Street doesn’t deter newsboys from hawking the April 2, 1870 headlines up and down the thoroughfare between the beer gardens and dance halls of the Bowery and the opulent emporiums of Broadway.

“Petticoat Politician Victoria C. Woodhull to run for President!”

“Indian raids in Wyoming!”

“Sergeant Patrick Gass of Lewis and Clark expedition dies at ninety-eight!”

The heavy, mahogany front door at No. 17 flies open. Victoria Woodhull, lithe and fair at thirty, skips lightly down the steps of the elegant four-story brownstone. Her bobbed and curled brown hair bounces gently against her high forehead. A diamond ring glitters on her right thumb.

“Queen of Finance takes on Government!” yells a newsboy.

Victoria smiles as she hails him. He hands her a New York Herald.

“So Mrs. Woodhull is to run for President, is she?” she asks. “What do you think of that?”

“No offense or nuthin’ to you as a woman, Ma’am, but it’s plum crazy.” The boy looks down and shuffles his feet.

Another newsboy waves and calls out, “Mornin’, Mrs. Woodhull! You’re stirrin’ things up for sure today!” He runs on yelling: “Bewitching Broker in dash to the White House!”

The mortified boy on the steps turns as red as the fresh rose pinned to the black velvet band at Victoria’s throat. She pats his cheek; her laughter is soft and melodic.

“Don’t be embarrassed, son. I’m sure you won’t be the only one of your opinion. And I shouldn’t have tricked you. Here’s an extra penny to apologize.”

“Thank you, Ma’am!” The boy scoots away, calling out: “Asa Brainard pitches fifteenth straight win for Cincinnati Red Stockings! New York Knickerbockers can’t stop ‘em!”

Victoria skips back up the steps, flipping through the newspaper. Glancing up as she opens the door, she spies tall, scarecrow-looking Stephen Pearl Andrews skirting puddles, hurrying toward her. His bony nose, bushy gray hair, and grizzled beard glisten with droplets of rain. His calf-length black coat flaps wildly in the breeze.  Victoria grins and goes to meet him, blue eyes sparkling like sunlit waves. She takes his arm and Andrews’ wildness softens at her touch. He pats her hand.

“So did the Herald print your announcement?” he asks.

“The entire thing!  And Ashley Cole wrote the perfect headline and introduction!”

“You are on your way to your destiny, la mia stella.”

Inside the house, Victoria walks past tall vases of fragrant flowers and a staircase that curls upward to the second floor.  She stops at a marble statue of the famous Greek orator Demosthenes—classic tunic, laced sandals, laurel wreath on his head. 

“Demosthenes’ promise to me as a child—that I would live in a mansion in a city surrounded by ships and rule my people—It’s all coming true! How do you say thank you in Greek, Pearl?”

“Efharisto.”

“Efharisto, Demosthenes! I will fight for freedom for our people as you did for the Greeks.” She pecks Andrews on the cheek. “Demosthenes’ prophecy has driven my entire life, Pearl, but you are his corporeal representation and have given me the courage to act on it. So thank you, too.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s look at this announcement now.”

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have a first draft completed on a short novel titled Crystal Dreams. It is a romance that calls on my background in the advertising and entertainment industries of Nashville and Hollywood for its setting. Add my interest and respect for spiritual practices and my deep respect for the American Indian culture, and you have what I consider to be a funny, poignant, and sexy story. This is my first book written out of whole fantasy and I must say I love the freedom of that.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Since early childhood it has always been my dream to write, and I have dabbled with poetry, short stories and the like since an early age. But it wasn’t until my son graduated from high school that I began calling myself a writer—and thereafter actually published my first book.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I am retired so I have as much time as I want to write now. When I was a single parent and holding a 9-to-5 job to pay the bills, I would get up in the wee hours of the morning and write before going off to the office. Having been raised on a dairy farm, I am still fond of the early morning. I confess I have a very casual attitude toward writing and sit down to it only when I feel I can channel the Universe through my fingers onto the keyboard. This comes from my belief that it is not me or any particular talent of mine that makes me a writer, but rather an openness to be a conduit for the Higher Power.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I think I am a better editor than writer so I always make many passes through a draft before I am satisfied.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Well, as a very young gal, I wanted to be Annie Oakley and live on a horse ranch in Texas. When I was older I thought about being an English teacher. But I always knew, no matter what else I did, I would always write, even if it was only in my journal. I still keep one of those and write in it daily. My mother died when I was four and some years ago her sister, my Aunt Fran, gave me copies of letters my mother had written over the two years she had battled cancer. That peek into my early years is absolutely priceless, so I also keep a separate journal about my granddaughter Sophie’s life so when she grows up she will have a similar treasure. 

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I hope you enjoy my book and if you have a dream, never give up on it. It took almost 30 years for this book to become a reality and many times it ended up on a back shelf, but if you visualize, keep the faith, and do your part, I believe your dream can be realized. Namaste.

The Coming Woman was published by Sartoris Literary Group in August 2014 and is available for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Website | Facebook | Goodreads 

Thanks for being here today, Karen.

Excerpt from A Matter of Grave Concern by Brenda Novak

The historical romantic suspense novel, A Matter of Grave Concern by Brenda Novak is the focus today.

Brenda will be awarding a $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner during her virtual book tour. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too! 

Blurb about A Matter of Grave Concern:

When Maximillian Wilder joins the notorious body snatchers known as the London Supply Company, the last thing on his mind is love. He’s worried about Madeline, his vanished half sister, who was last seen in the company of Jack Hurtsill, the gang’s conscienceless leader. Raiding graveyards, stealing corpses, and selling them to medical colleges as dissection material is dirty work, but he has to gain Jack’s trust. He’s determined to find out what happened to Madeline—and to bring Jack to justice if she was murdered for the coin her body could bring.

Beautiful, spirited Abigail Hale, daughter of the surgeon at Aldersgate School of Medicine, detests the challenging, hard-bargaining Max. But she must procure the necessary specimens if she is to save the college and her father’s career. She believes she is going to be successful—until Jack double-crosses her. Then she’s swept into a plot of danger and intrigue, one where Max must intervene and protect her, no matter the risk to his plan . . . or his heart.

Excerpt from A Matter of Grave Concern:

“Make that fifteen.” A deep voice interrupted, and for the first time, Abigail looked directly at the man standing to the side and slightly behind Big Jack. His clothes bore as much dirt and his face as much beard growth as the rest of the group, but he was different. Not only was he significantly taller, he carried himself with a certain…authority.

How had she not noticed him before?

She’d been doing her best to block him and the others from her consciousness, she reminded herself.

Her gaze locked with an intense pair of sea-green eyes. “Why, that’s highway robbery! My father has never paid a resurrectionist more than nine guineas, six shillings. I’ve got it all in a book, right here.” She tapped the top of the desk to convince him.

When he smiled, his teeth looked clean and mostly straight, another detail that set him apart from his companions. “Evidently, you’re not a pupil of economics, or not a very good one, Miss Hale. Short supply, high demand, prices go up. Sometimes significantly. Fifteen guineas. No less.”

Those short, clipped sentences bore no Cockney accent and revealed a definite culture to his voice, causing Abigail to wonder if she had been dealing with the wrong man all along. She couldn’t imagine this stranger taking orders from anyone, much less the likes of Jack Hurtsill.

“Blimey, Max,” one of the other men muttered.

Drawing herself up to her fullest height, which was at least ten inches shy of this Max’s six feet something, Abigail clung tenaciously to her composure. “At this point, I would rather you take your ‘large’ and go.” Surely, there had to be other resurrection men she could contact; she hadn’t gone through all the names she heard muttered about the halls of the college and St. Bart’s Hospital next door. “I have seen naught but the head, and that small sample revealed a nasty wound.”

“There’s not a mark on the rest of him,” Max responded coolly. “We offered to show you, but you refused.”

Abigail had no intention of letting this body-snatcher tempt her into dumping the body out onto the rug as she had almost let them do before. “Mr. Hurtsill—I mean, Big Jack, here, was about to say ten guineas. I will go that high.”

“I’m afraid it’s not high enough,” Max countered.

“You’re a fast study, mate.” Jack slapped him on the back but didn’t interfere. Instead, he turned a challenging smile on Abigail and waited for her response.

“Then go,” she said, shooing them away. “Take Mr. Whoever He Is and leave. I will not let you rob me. Not if I can help it.”

“And what if you can’t?” Insolence lit the eyes of the man identified as Max. “Perhaps we should wait here for your father. No doubt he will have better sense of what a corpse is worth at the present time, although I doubt he would want us loitering about the place. What’s it been…eighteen months or so since those two surgeons were prosecuted for receiving and dissecting stolen bodies? With a possible knighthood on the horizon, and such a close tie to Sir Astley Cooper—the sergeant surgeon of the late king himself, no less—it would be quite unfortunate if your father were to be found dealing with the likes of us, wouldn’t you say?”

Abigail’s jaw dropped at the not-so-subtle threat. Perhaps she had underestimated these sack ’em up men. This man, anyway. “If what you have brought is worth so much Mr.…Max, is it?”

He gave her a mocking bow and added his last name, as if to prove he feared nothing from her. “Wilder. Maximillian Wilder at your service, Miss.”

Author bio and links:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak is the author of more than fifty books. A four-time Rita nominee, she has won many awards, including the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Book Buyer’s Best, the Daphne, and the Holt Medallion. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised over $2 million. For more about Brenda, please visit my website.

You can also follow me on Twitter, and like me on Facebook. Here's the buy link. 

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Book excerpt for historical romance novel Royalties by Andy Marx

The feature today is the historical romance novel Royalties by Andy Marx.

Andy will be giving away a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to one randomly chosen winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Blurb about Royalties:

America has never seen anything to match the innovation, energy, romance, and excitement of the 20th Century. And the embodiment of all this is Eve Solomon, a young woman who embraces the vitality of the times with a fervor. Determined to make a name for herself in the fledgling music business of 1908, she ultimately becomes wildly successful. But the same steely determination that takes her to the heights of the entertainment world cannot bring her the one thing she wants more than anything: the love of her life, Alex Getz, a struggling Vaudeville comic who becomes one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. As their careers and lives intersect across the years, there is a price to pay—a royalty for true love that can never be measured.

Enjoy an excerpt from Royalties:

To Alex, Saturday night crowds were the best and tonight’s show in Milwaukee had been no different: a full house, several spontaneous bursts of applause during his act, and two curtain calls.

And Alex knew the evening would only get better. In less than an hour he expected a visit from a local prostitute, a date arranged by his friend, Charlie Chaplin.

“She’s the best in Milwaukee, maybe even the whole state of Wisconsin,” Chaplin informed Alex the night before.

As Alex finished taking off his make-up, he wondered what Chaplin’s gift would look like. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t agree to meet a hooker sight unseen, but he knew Charlie to be a good judge of talent. Besides, his friend even offered to pay for it.

Hearing a knock at the door, Alex looked at his watch. Only ten-thirty. She wasn’t due for another thirty minutes, he thought. There would be no time for showering or putting on a fresh change of clothes. On second thought, he reasoned, why bother getting dressed? We’re just going to take our clothes off anyway.

Following another knock, he got up and sauntered to the door in only his towel. He threw open the door and stared at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Author bio:

Andy Marx is an award-winning writer and photographer, whose work has appeared in Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly, among others. He is also the co-founder of the comedy website, Hollywood & Swine, known for its lampooning of the entertainment industry. His paternal grandfather was the legendary comedian, Groucho Marx, and his maternal grandfather, the renowned songwriter, Gus Kahn. Marx lives in Beverly Hills with his wife and three children.

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Interview with YA contemp romance author Marian Cheatham

I have YA contemporary romance author Marian Cheatham here today. She's doing a virtual tour for her novel Ruined, Book One in the Stratford High Series with Goddess Fish Promotions.

At each stop during her tour, Marian will be awarding an e-book copy of Ruined to a randomly drawn commenter. A Grand Prize of a signed paperback copy of Ruined plus a new DVD of Much Ado About Nothing starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson will be awarded to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour (US ONLY). To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit Marian's other tour stops and enter there, too!

Welcome, Marian. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Full-time writer of Young Adult novels, part-time everything else - spouse, parent, caregiver, chef, housekeeper, and animal guardian. In my free time, I love to read, walk, garden, and travel. My husband and I work hard (and have fun) ticking off items on our Bucket List.

Please tell us about your current release.

Ruined, Book One in the Stratford High Series. A modern twist on Shakespeare’s classic romance, Much Ado About Nothing. All the books in the series will be contemporary retellings of a Shakespeare play. The books are not related except for the setting (Stratford High) and don’t have to be read in any order. You can pick and choose what book you’d like to read. Or read them all! That would be great. The only character that will appear in every book is the principal, Dr. Bard - Shakespeare re-incarnated. Just a bit of fun for my readers (and for me to write).

What inspired you to write this book?

I adore Shakespeare! My father took me and my brother to see Hamlet at the Goodman Theater in Chicago when we were both in junior high. My brother fell asleep. I fell in love. Since then, I’ve tried to see every play possible. I read Shakespeare biographies. I’ve visited Stratford, Canada for a summer festival and have traveled to Stratford-Upon-the Avon in Great Britain to see his birthplace and the home he shared with Anne Hathaway (his wife, not the young actress). In London, I took a tour of the new Globe Theater. You could say I’m obsessed, but I like to think of myself as just some crazy groupie. So when I was contemplating a new novel, I couldn’t help but think of Shakespeare. But so much has already been written. How could I make something that was fresh and new? I thought about one of my favorite plays, Much Ado, and how to tell that story in a way that would be appealing and fun for teen readers. I was struck with the idea of a series, and of course, it had to take place at Stratford High, every town, America.

Excerpt:
BLYTHE MESSINA

6

I’d been bitchy and on edge ever since that blasted luau last Saturday. Seeing DB, talking to him, being near him again, had taken my life off course. For days now, I’d been ordering my brain to STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM. We were ancient history, two people doomed from the start, like Antony and Cleopatra or Marie Antoinette and King Louis. So why couldn’t I regain control of my world? I snatched up my backpack and my Coach crossbody bag, and did a quick once-over in my bedroom mirror. The hair was tied back in a no-fuss ponytail. The jeans were clean, well, relatively. This faded ASPCA tee was past its expiration date, but good enough for school. I turned off my bedroom light and went in search of Bonni.

She wasn’t in her room or downstairs in the kitchen. So I grabbed a frosted Pop-Up and headed into the garage, where I was blinded by piercing sunlight. Someone had left the outer door open, and my new hybrid was nowhere to be found. I shaded my eyes and peered outside.

Halfway down our long driveway, I spied Bonni and Uncle Leo with their backs to me, their heads together under the opened hood of my car. They were talking, but in this quiet morning air, their voices carried. Even from this distance, I could hear fragments of their conversation. And if I heard them, so could our neighbors. I was hurrying toward the hybrid, anxious to warn my cousin and uncle to keep it down, when I heard something that stopped me in mid-stride.

“… believe what Cory told me … DB and Blythe …”

Had Bonni just mentioned DB and me in the same sentence?

I ducked behind the six-foot-tall hedges lining the drive.

“What else did Cory say?” Uncle Leo asked.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Right now, I’m writing the first draft of Book Two in the Stratford Series. No title yet, but the novel is inspired by Shakespeare’s controversial romance, The Merchant of Venice. Hope you’ll stay tuned for more details to come!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I signed with a New York agent after finishing my first Young Adult novel. She never did sell that manuscript, and we’ve since parted ways, but that initial phone call from her was one of the highlights of my writing life.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I try desperately to write full-time which for me would mean at least 6 uninterrupted hours at my laptop. But of course, there’s always interruptions, so I settle for whatever time I can whittle out of my day. My mother has Alzheimer’s, and though she’s in a special care facility, I have to check on her often. And then there’s our pets – Spike, our young English Bulldog, and our three cats, Ruby, Onnie, and Tobi who insist on taking up my time. There’s household chores, laundry, groceries, a hard-working husband to feed, and of course, a little “me” time to work out. But outside of that, I’m at my desk, plugging away on my latest project. Whew! I’m exhausted.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My love of cats. I let them roam all over my desk, mess up my neat piles of “things to do,” and generally interfere with everything going on. But they keep me calm and sane, and for that, I keep them around.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always only wanted to be one thing – a teacher. And I was for years. I taught special education to primary-aged children and loved it!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I’ve enjoyed sharing my stories with you. It’s been a long writing journey to this point in my life, and I thank all of you for stopping by to visit today. I hope you’ll stick around to see what the future brings. And what develops at Stratford High!

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Thanks, Marian. Readers, don't forget about the giveaways!

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Interview with Christian non-fiction author Karen Adams

Karen Adams is here today talking about her memoir, Trying to Outrun the Love of God. 

How can God reach someone who appears unreachable? Will the love of God be enough to break every chain and loose the trap of the enemy? In her debut book, Author Karen Adams struggles to understand how a loving God would allow life to be so unbearable. Facing childhood molestation, years of crack addiction, nervous breakdowns, and admissions to mental wards, she learned that no matter how difficult life was, God continued to extend His love. Trying to Outrun the Love of God, is a deeply moving story of one woman’s journey filled with suffering and pain, but one that ultimately finds wholeness and deliverance in the arms of a loving Savior. A must read for all those who think they are alone.

Bio:

Karen Adams is an evangelist who teaches and preaches on the transforming love of God. Having survived childhood sexual molestation, drug addiction, and mental illness that landed her twice in the mental ward of hospitals, she has a burning desire to bring hope to the hurting.

Welcome, Karen. Please tell us about your book.

It is my journey from childhood molestation, four nervous breakdowns, and crack addiction. I stress how God’s love made the difference in my life no matter how hard I tried to run from him.

What inspired you to write this book?

The need for others to be encouraged.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I work as a Patient Financial Associate at a large hospital. I found time to write after work and on my days off. I read an awful lot.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A teacher.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Be encouraged and know no matter how hard your past and even today may be, God can and will make something beautiful out of your life.

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Thanks, Karen. Readers, you can find Karen's other tour stops here.

Interview with debut memoirst Tara Meissner

Welcome to October, Readers! Where has the year gone? Fall has arrived here in New England with the cool evenings and warmish days bringing lots of color.

My special author guest today is debut memoirist Tara Meissner and her book Stress Fracture: A Memoir of Psychosis. The book cover really captures my attention.

Tara has graciously provided an e-book copy for one lucky giveaway commenter on this post. So if you'd like to be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below and a way for me to get in touch with you if you're the lucky one! 

Bio:

Tara Meissner is a former journalist and a lifelong creative writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and works part-time at her local library. Tara lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Mike, and their three sons. She writes longhand in composition notebooks. Stress Fracture: A Memoir of Psychosis is her first book.

Welcome, Tara. Please tell us about your book.

Stress Fracture: A Memoir of Psychosis chronicles my journey to mental wellness following what is commonly referred to as a nervous breakdown. The first-person narrative describes my enduring a psychotic break in 2010 and the yearlong recovery that followed. As a person living with bipolar disorder, I shared my account of reality to add a voice to the conversation of mental illness.

What inspired you to write this book?

It was with great care that I put this story on paper in the spirit that it may spark understanding and acceptance. People with mental illness often walk silently, too afraid to appear crazy. However, I was more fearful of secrets; I vowed to live my life out loud. With the memoir, I found a whisper that revealed the tragedy of psychosis in the context of a bipolar illness and the hope that treatment offers. My voice is quiet and capable of telling just one story of a disorder that manifests itself uniquely in each person who is afflicted. I aspired to clearly and accurately reflect on an illness that has crippled my mind and efforts to the point of insanity.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I'm working on a novel.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Only in hindsight can I see that I have been a writer since the first grade, when I, like my peers, learned to write. It always seemed audacious to consider myself a writer. It was hard to feel deserving of the title. I think I actually accepted the fact that I was a writer around the age of 25 when I had business cards at the newspaper that stated "staff writer." Even now, I am not sure if I am a writer or if it is just something that I do.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I have plenty of time to write. I also find time to be with my three kids, my husband, volunteer in the community, and work part time at the library. Most of the time there is a balance, sometimes it gets out of whack. I don't really have a routine, other than capture the moments that exist and do the most with them. I feel best when I can work on a writing project for 10 hours in a week. I also feel best when I can journal everyday for about 10-15 minutes.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write longhand in composition notebooks for my journals and on legal pads for my writing projects. Over the years, people have given me lots of beautiful journals for gifts. I can't write in them. I am just too messy to write on the fancy pages. I do love to collect them though!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A clown, I wanted to make people happy.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Thank you for showing interest in mental health.

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Thanks for visiting today, Tara.

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