Book the Year?
Just when I considered Under the Birch Tree and I to have fallen into a lull after our publication, launch, and events, I am excited to share news with you! Under the Birch Tree is up for Book of the Year at OnlineBookClub.org! Rated 4 out of 4 stars, Under the Birch Tree has been reviewed as " . . . a spectacular and well-written memoir." For a full review and comments, see it at Full Review. Please support this author with your VOTE to make Under the Birch Tree 2018 Book of [...]
What’s in a surname, anyway?
As a youngster, my DNA was evident through my green eyes, light brown hair with a cowlicked plume of honey-streaked hair just above my right eye. Could these physical traits have been carried down the DNA ladder? I recently did one of those DNA tests to find out about my ancestry. With a Polish mother and an English father, I assumed there’d be an even split, half Eastern Europe, half Northwest Europe. However, the percentages didn’t reveal as I expected. Forty-eight percent of Eastern Europe was in my blood, and [...]
Transitioning: book publication to post pub
Your book was published. You cold called indie bookstores and libraries, sent email inquiries to venues for author events, you met up with writing groups, friends, co-workers, fellow writing colleagues, you solicited book reviews and book awards. Publicity and book tours. There was always something to do. Perhaps some authors have no discernable transition because it’s a “business as usual” practice. But for me, that business is no longer usual; it has changed. The “always something” has evolved to not much of anything. My publicity campaign has ended and I [...]
A walk outside-to connect is to belong
There’s a tinge of change in the air. Maybe it’s the air’s cooling in the evening or the lack of sunlight awakening chirpy birds in pre-dawn. Perhaps the change is marked by kids returning to school. Though a season’s transition is knocking on the calendar’s door, I remain driven to the outdoors. Late summer into early fall delivers a changing aura of excitement. Though I realize the months that follow summer’s high season suggest a slowing, a readying for hibernation, I can’t help but to await a sneak peek into [...]
Fuzzy exit signs and writing my memoir
Writing my memoir was like driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Upon my return from being away from the city for a few years, the order of exits was fuzzy in my memory, creating a challenge to my navigation. I had once depended on knowing each exit like a marker signaling when to turn or to keep going. My focus sharpened as I neared the exit sign; I shouted out its name. But then my attention was lost to the next approaching exit where I’d begin the process again. [...]
How we discover connections, let me count the ways!
Whether we realize it or not, we’re making connections every hour of the day. No, I’m not talking about connecting to new friends on Facebook, hashtagging our posts, or following others on Instagram. The connections I’m referring to are organic, emotional and are a part of our walk through the every day. My recent read of Alice Water’s memoir, Coming To My Senses made me more aware of the existence of connections in our lives and of their purposes and this is one author who shows how she connects in [...]
Up in the air
It was a day where the sky was washed in endless blue and I could see where the tips of the trees ended and the heavens began. The air was pure and light as if it could carry a feather swinging in lateral paths. A small airplane flew overhead, dividing the atmosphere. Its nose came into focus, the twin engines running loud; I located the rudder. The plane looked similar to the one I flew a few years ago. I hit the road early on July 1, 2013 with blue [...]
post publication – the unexpected
And what a post publication week it has been! On pub day, Culturalist included Under the Birch Tree in its “Top 10 Inspiring Stories of Self-Discovery to Read When You’re Feeling Lost.” And Buzzfeed listed my memoir as “Five Captivating Memoirs You Need to Read This Summer.” My book made a list? I certainly didn't expect my book to make a list of any kind. Last week's release of Under the Birch Tree was like an opening of the flood gates, the anticipation mounting as the months ticked, moving closer [...]