Author: Marissa DeCuir

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Willa Goodfellow’s series of edgy, empathic, and comedic essays sheds light on
an often-misunderstood mood disorder

BEND, Oregon –– She was going to stab her doctor, but she wrote a book instead.

In her new book, “Prozac Monologues: A Voice from the Edge” (Aug. 25, 2020, She Writes Press) mental health journalist and Episcopal priest Willa Goodfellow shares her journey to recovery with transparent detail — from an antidepressant-induced hypomania that hijacked her Costa Rican vacation to the discovery that she had been misdiagnosed to learning how to manage life on the bipolar spectrum.

This raw, vulnerable collection of essays offers both a memoir and a self-help guide to others struggling with mental illness, including those on the bipolar spectrum who, like Goodfellow, are often initially diagnosed with depression.

Part of “Prozac Monologues” was penned in a hypomanic state and allows the reader to witness the inner workings of a racing and agitated mind. But Goodfellow also dedicates much of her work to describing in clear and accessible language the mechanics of a bipolar brain and how it is diagnosed, with the help of academic psychiatrists and current research findings.

“Prozac Monologues: A Voice from the Edge”
Willa Goodfellow | August 25, 2020 | She Writes Press
Paperback ISBN: | Price: $16.95
E-Book ISBN: | Price: $9.95
Self-help/Memoir

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Willa Goodfellow is the author of “Prozac Monologues: A Voice from the Edge” (Aug. 25, 2020, She Writes Press). Her early work with troubled teens as an Episcopal priest shaped an edgy perspective and preaching style. A bachelor’s degree from Reed College and a master’s from Yale gave her the intellectual chops to read and comprehend scientific research about mental illness—and her life mileage taught her to recognize and call out the bull.

So she set out to turn her own misbegotten sojourn in the land of antidepressants into a writing career. Her journalism has attracted the attention of leading psychiatrists who worked on the DSM-5. She is certified in Mental Health First Aid, graduated from NAMI’s Peer-to-Peer program, and has presented on mental health recovery at NAMI events and Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa.

Today she hikes, travels, plans seven-course dinner menus, works on her next writing project, “Bar Tales of Costa Rica,” and stirs up trouble. She lives with her wife, Helen, in Central Oregon, sometimes Costa Rica, and still misses her dog, Mazie. Connect with Willa online at:

https://willagoodfellow.com
https://www.facebook.com/WillaGoodfellowAuthor/
and on Twitter @WillaGoodfellow

In an interview, WILLA GOODFELLOW can discuss:

• What is bipolar disorder: not as simple as the movies make it
• Misdiagnosis and the misuse of antidepressants
• Understanding suicide and suicidal thoughts
• What recovery means for those with chronic or recurring mental illness
• Faith, religion, and mental illness

An Interview with WILLA GOODFELLOW

What motivated you to write this book? Did you experience any hesitation, and if so, how did you overcome this?

The opening scene of the book describes a traumatic experience. My brain was doing strange things. I didn’t know what was real. I was paranoid and scared. “Bizarre”,” the first monologue, was my attempt to deal with that experience by calling it a bizarre “thought” and getting some distance by turning it into a comedy routine. It wasn’t until 14 years later that I really faced it, rewrote the scene, being as specific as I could be, and for the first time took it to my therapist, and asked her to tell me clinically what had happened to me. I still hesitate to talk about it. But the more people have found out about the book, the clearer it has become to me that others really need to hear this story. So, I take a deep breath, and I tell it.

How is bipolar defined? Is it different than depression?

In the DSM, the book that doctors use to make diagnoses, bipolar is a mood disorder that shows up in two ways. Depression is the first way, with symptoms like sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, weight changes, sleep disturbance, agitation, fatigue, feeling worthless or guilty, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, and thinking about suicide. Bipolar is depression plus other experiences of mania or hypomania (mania-lite): intense feeling (whether up or irritable), inflated self-esteem, no need for sleep, flight of ideas, racing thoughts, distractibility, excess activity, and risky behavior. That’s how it’s diagnosed. But inside there is a lot more going on, a whole series of mis-timings and misalignments in a lot of different systems. Bottom line, bipolar is external and internal difficulty in maintaining balance.

Was there a defining moment that made you realize you were wrongly diagnosed?

I was on an airplane, talking with a doctor, a family physician about the first version of my book—the monologues from 2005. When he heard my story, he said when I get home, I should google the Mood Disorder Questionnaire. “Just remember MDQ,” he said. So I did. I added up my score, and it said I should talk with my psychiatrist about whether I have bipolar. Well I didn’t want that diagnosis. I didn’t tell anybody for another year or two, until I just was not getting better. Eventually I realized I wasn’t going to get better until I faced it, so I asked my psychiatrist to look at my diagnosis again, and told her about that time I wrote a book in a week while on vacation in Costa Rica.

Why is misdiagnosis so pervasive in mental illness?

Mental illness diagnoses are made on the basis of external signs and symptoms. They call them symptom silos. You get slotted into the silo that fits best on the day the diagnosis is made. But there’s overlap among diagnoses, variation in how each one shows up, variation over time, plus memory difficulties that affect what you report to the doctor. So when symptoms change, diagnoses change. They don’t use biomarkers in diagnosis, objective measures like blood tests, genetic testing, MRIs and fMRIs, which are pictures from inside the brain. People are doing more research into biomarkers these days, and I do believe they will make a difference.

What advice would you give others who think they may have also been misdiagnosed?

First, learn as much as you can about the bipolar spectrum. I’d recommend a book by Chris Aiken and James Phelps, Bipolar, Not So Much. Take the diagnostic instruments, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire and the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale. Keep records of your own experience, what medications you are taking, what the side effects and your symptoms are. Use a mood chart daily, and track energy level, as well as mood. Get solid, concise information to take to your doctor, not just your vague memories or how you feel on one particular day.

How can people who think they may have been misdiagnosed advocate for themselves?

Now personally I hate this advice, but I take it from Aiken and Phelps. You need to have a good relationship with your doctor, and your doctor needs to feel in control. So, don’t walk in with your own self-diagnosis or overwhelm her/him with questions or challenges. Be precise, have your records in order so you don’t take a lot of time. Express appreciation for how hard you are to treat, or something the doc has done to help you. Ask wondering kinds of questions like “I wonder what this means, that I have these fluctuations of energy, or that I keep having these particular side effects to all the antidepressants we’ve tried.” I also found it helpful to bring my spouse with me to support me and to give information that I didn’t have the insight to give.

What is your relationship with antidepressants?

My personal relationship with antidepressants is that they are the wrong meds for my condition. So, they were dangerous to me. All medications have side effects. And often side effects fade over time, as your body and brain get used to this new chemical that’s been introduced into your system. But the really bad things that antidepressants are accused of, and that happened to me, things that got worse over time instead of better, are sometimes an indication that you’re taking the wrong med. You have to watch out particularly for agitation, irritability, insomnia, and increasing suicidal ideation. Those are things you have to tell your doctor about.

What do you think are the most common misconceptions about taking antidepressants?

One common misconception is that antidepressants are “happy” pills. You just pop the pill and you feel great again. That’s not how it works. Antidepressants don’t help you avoid your problems. Depression is like a coat of concrete that surrounds your thoughts, your emotions, your energy level. If antidepressants work for you, then they break up that concrete so you can move again and become yourself again. But then you have to do the work. You have to think through your situation, whatever that is, understand your feelings, all of them, make good decisions, and show up for your own life.

Similarly, what is your relationship with therapy?

I’m a big fan of therapy. I have had different therapists, each taking a different approach. What worked at one stage was less useful at another. I changed therapists once when we just got stuck. That experience actually helped me later. I learned how to speak up when things weren’t working with the next therapist and to renegotiate our work. Therapy has taught me a lot.

This book chronicles some of the darkest moments of your life, yet you pepper the pages with hope and even humor, something you wouldn’t expect to find in a memoir about mental illness. Why use humor?

Yeah, so many depression memoirs are just so. . . depressing. Now, when somebody isn’t willing to tell me the bad news, then I don’t trust them when they tell me they have good news. So, I try to tell it like it is. On the other hand, I don’t want to make myself miserable when I read my own book. Humor gives me just enough distance from my misery to let me face the ugly truth and then lets me lighten up, so I can get to a realistic hope.

Why do you feel it was important to consult with psychiatrists when writing this book, and what value do you think that it added?

I wanted a book that would not merely tell my story but also help others who might be on the bipolar spectrum to understand it. Bipolar is not simple, and we need all the information we can get to manage it. And to the extent that I am also addressing psychiatrists and psychologists on the topics of diagnosis and treatment, I want them to know that I’m not just shooting from the hip. I’m a really smart person, and I can read the research, but I didn’t go to medical school. So, I am indebted to a couple of research university psychiatrists, Ronald Pies and Jess Fiedorowicz, who helped me make sure that I got my facts right.

Is it true that part of your book was actually written in a hypomanic state?

Oh yes, I still have the scribbled yellow pad pages to prove it. I was driven, I was urgent, it was the most important thing I had ever done in my life, and I could not be diverted from it by something as mundane as. . . walking on the beach in Costa Rica! My wife was upset at the time that I wasn’t doing things with her. But I didn’t have any sense that there was anything wrong. And for years I didn’t understand how worried she had been. You know, even after writing a book about it, there’s a part of me that still thinks she was overreacting. That’s called lack of insight, and that, too, can be part of mania and hypomania.

You are very open about discussing your own struggles with suicidal thoughts. What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about people going through similar experiences?

The biggest misconception is that suicide is a choice, that suicidal people sit down, make a list of pros and cons, think it through, and decide. Suicide happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain, when people just reach the end of what they can do. The second biggest misconception is that there’s nothing you as a friend or family member can do, that only professionals can help. That’s just wrong. You can be a resource. Now, arguing with them doesn’t help. But anything that you do to relieve another person’s pain, any act of kindness helps to tip that balance away from pain and toward life.

You are an Episcopal priest. What difference did your faith make in your mental illness?

First, my religion, belonging to a church itself, gave me a foundational set of practices, a tradition of saints who had suffered in the past, and a wide group of friends that held me, so I knew that I was not alone, no matter what it felt like.

As far as my faith goes, I never believed that God is a fixer for good people, or that prayer works like the drive thru window at a fast food restaurant. Nevertheless, I was angry. I mean, this is happening to a priest? Seriously? –What can I say? The spiritual life is a series of discovering over and over that the God we believe in is not as big as the God Who Is.

How can we change the way we discuss mental health and be better advocates and allies?

The brain is part of the body. Like the rest of the body, it can malfunction. It can also recover. And if it is chronically ill, the illness can be managed. There’s nothing spooky or weird about that. We need people to push for a health care system that treats the whole body, neck up as well as neck down. It’s that simple.

Your book takes readers on a wild ride through your mental health journey. What is your life like now? How do you manage your mental health, and have you instituted any other effective lifestyle changes?

Mental health recovery works on four basic strategies: lifestyle, education and self-awareness, support, and medication. When you’re not in crisis, the most important is lifestyle. It’s been a long time since I was in crisis. But paying attention to my health is still a daily practice, especially keeping to a regular schedule. I stay on top of this, sleep, diet, exercise, therapy, self-monitoring, rescue meds as needed, so I can feel okay, so I can pursue my goals, so I can write, and speak, make dinner for friends, and enjoy my family, my beautiful home with its view of the magnificent Cascade Mountains, and my annual trip to Costa Rica. There are periods when I wobble, and there probably always will be. But my life is good. It is worth the effort.

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – Inspired by two life-changing transcendental experiences, Paul Corson made it his mission to explore the deepest mysteries of life and the afterlife. Now he’s fusing both spirituality and rational science in a groundbreaking examination of who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going at life’s end in his new book, “Regaining Paradise: Forming a New Worldview, Knowing God, and Journeying Into Eternity” (July 21, 2020).

Corson invites the reader away from a life of restless consumerism and unfulfillment, and toward a journey of self-discovery that illuminates answers to life’s biggest questions: What is reality? What is consciousness? How do we discover our best selves? Do we have free will? What happens after we die? Most importantly, is there a God, and if so, what is the nature/role of this infinite force?

Accessible and engaging, here is a guided journey into self-knowledge, identity, empowerment, and sublime understanding that will open the mind’s eye while sharpening the intellect, a journey to personal fulfillment that bestselling spiritual author Dr. Larry Dossey called an “enormous consolation and inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to read it.”

PAUL CORSON:

Corson’s description of his otherworldly experiences have been featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, and on local and national TV. As a pharmacist, Corson established a protocol for the treatment of HIV/AIDs. He received the 2000 Philadelphia Hero Award for his contributions in supporting AIDS survivors. Learn more by visiting his website at https://www.regainingparadise.com/.

“Regaining Paradise: Forming a New Worldview, Knowing God, and Journeying Into Eternity”

Paul Corson 
July 21, 2020
BookLocker
Genre: Spirituality
Hardcover: $33.99 | Paperback: $20.99 | Ebook: $4.99

In an interview, PAUL CORSON can discuss:

• The transcendental experiences he had at age 10 and age 50 which opened his mind to a higher spiritual power and the true nature of self-discovery
• How a consumerist society promises self-knowledge and fulfillment–and then by its very nature undermines those promises
• The necessity of supporting faith and spirituality with rational intellect and scientific knowledge
• Exploring the nature of the afterlife, and the sublime paradise we experience both before we are born and after our lives end
• Exploring the nature of God, and the ways in which God can be explored through various religions, spiritual exploration, and scientific inquiry
• Exploring the nature of consciousness, reality, free will, and energy

An Interview with PAUL CORSON

Can you please describe the transcendental experiences you had at age 10 and age 50 that inspired your current spiritual exploration?

For perspective, my parents were agnostic atheists, as was I, that is, before my transcendent experiences. At both age 10 and age 50, I received distinct messages in my mind that foreshadowed what would happen. At 10 I was led to leave my body and experience the condition of infinity. A moment in time later, I left my body again and was transported to a place beyond the material level: a peaceful, blissful realm.

At age 50, I received a recurring mind message that led to a series of events in which I experienced the place I was in at age 10, and from there I was transported into the white light. At that point I awoke because of the overwhelming intensity of the unconditional love in Heaven.

Still, I felt disappointed because I did not enter into the light. But I was certain that would happen. I just needed to place my trust in the celestial process.

Within a week and I half, upon lying down for the night I entered the white light. I met my deceased father and received an overview of Heaven. I understood in both broad strokes, and also in detail, what I will be experiencing in Heaven.

What are the greatest obstacles to self-discovery and spiritual understanding in our modern, consumerist society?

Vance Packard’s Hidden Persuaders, published in 1967, explained how the advertising industry employs psychoanalytical techniques to sell products. In the past fifty years these techniques have been vastly refined by advertisers, who are driven to increase the bottom line of the corporations that employ them.

From the sixties on the programming of the mind has been unrelenting. In 1988 the late physicist Willis Harman published Global Mind Change in which he observed: “We are literally hypnotized from infancy to perceive the world the way our culture perceives it.”

Wait a minute we may say, are you telling me we’re being brainwashed?

The subtlety of brainwashing or mind control makes the recipient unaware of this intrusion, because this is all taking place on the unconscious level.

The culture of Western society is based on consumerism, which leads us to believe that ownership of the latest and best will lead to satisfaction, contentment. This message is in the air we breathe: it is repeated and reinforced.

The quest for spiritual understanding is derided as being mumbo jumbo by the architects, the movers and shakers of society. It’s inferred that this quixotic quest will divert us from our calling: to revere and attend to our material identity. That’s how we’ve been wired since the time we were young children.

To put it simply: we need to be rewired, which is easier said than done, because the mind resists, both tooth and nail. Ultimately, if the wiring is done tactically with care and delicacy, we can change our priorities. We can heed the ancient Greeks in the sixth century B.C.E. who etched into the stone that formed the archway of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, “Know thyself and thou wilt know the universe and the gods.”

Knowing who we are at our core leads to knowing the god force that created us and the universe.

Some view “faith” and “science” as mutually exclusive. Why do you believe it’s important to support faith / spirituality with rational, scientific inquiry?

Faith and science: Faith is an emotional feeling of trust and certainty, driven by any number of factors, one being an intuitive knowing. Rational, scientific facts are observable, repeatable, and appeal to our intellect, the sensible guardian that we’ve trusted will lead us to truths.

Faith is pulling us in one direction, while the intellect is pulling us vigorously in the opposite direction. In this regard, we’re conflicted, and rightfully so. How can we resolve this matter?

To grasp the all-causative nature of infinity, the intellect will have to reconcile a matter that is essentially beyond its capacity for rational thought. For this to happen, the intellect will have to acknowledge its limitations…but nevertheless yield and reluctantly take it in for review.

Once the intellect has conditionally accepted the separate value of non-empirical evidence, its shift in position opens us to the value of higher intuition; this energizes the human will to exert itself in an endeavor it has been given license to pursue.

How do we resolve the paradox of creation and thus that which is essentially beyond common comprehension?

Faith. The seemingly ‘untraversable’ can be bridged by the power of faith. This is not blind faith in a creed or scripture. Faith, in this case, is a leap of understanding, grounded in higher intuition that is conditionally endorsed by the intellect. Faith allows us to make a further ‘leap.’ Faith grounded in reason allowed me to take this next step in understanding. It can do the same for you.

How can a deeper understanding of the spiritual forces at work in the world (and beyond) benefit one’s personal sense of identity, fulfillment, and empowerment?

Our spiritual sense of self can be heightened when we acknowledge the myth of materiality: “The material cloak—the matter and energy that comprise the body—is not the invincible all-providingness we had believed it to be. That could be emotionally dispiriting because we are likely to believe that life itself and, correspondingly, conscious awareness, the “soul” of who one is, is somehow unexplainably packaged with the matter and energy of the body.

Giving thought to what has been presented, we may consider that consciousness, the scintillating living moment of awareness we experience, might not be a product or by-product of a material process as materialists insist. Instead, consciousness and life itself is an expression of the ‘magical part’ that derives from the otherworldly causal realm.

If we are to embrace the knowledge of our ultimate origin, our true heritage, we must shatter, bit by bit, the timeworn myth that materiality has mystical powers and is preeminent.

Understanding that at our most basic level we are radiating orbs of (divine) energy that is part of an infinite, all-creative source, impacts the way we identify with ourselves and relate to all people. We recognize that we share the same heritage, that we’re all sustained by the same force; we’re linked as cosmic brothers and sisters.

What is the most important thing you hope readers learn from ‘Regaining Paradise’?

The way we interact with people reflects the way we see ourselves on the most fundamental level of our existence. You may believe that you have a fairly good sense of who you are. When you pass by a mirror you may neaten your hair a touch and continue with your day. That’s nothing unusual; I can relate to that, you might think. But, if you see only the image of your self-reflection on those occasions, then you have been missing something truly significant; you have not seen yourself in your entirety. To be more direct, we have an unalienable right to know who and what we are—to know about the unseen ‘better half’—the magical part that enables us to function as conscious, thinking individuals with free will.

The magical half: Consciousness that is weightless and spaceless, did not obtain from the matter and energy, or from the natural forces in the universe since that would be a violation of the most basic universal laws of conservation. By reason that leaves open only one possibility: the life force and consciousness became imbedded into this level by a higher level force from an otherworldly level.

That means, we’ve all received that magical touch, which by definition means we’re veritable miracles. Realizing the sublime divineness that radiates at our very core will motivate us to express ourselves in accordance with that identity.

Praise for  “Regaining Paradise”

“‘[Regaining Paradise]’ resonates deeply with my own views. I am confident, based on what we know about the nonlocal nature of consciousness, that some form of immortality is not optional but is mandated. Paul obviously realizes this and is bold and erudite in asserting it. This book will be of enormous consolation and inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to read it.”

–Larry Dossey, M.D, Author of ‘One Mind: How Our Individual Mind is Part of a Greater Consciousness’ and ‘Why It Matters’ (Hay House, 2013).

“Paul Corson presents a unique, intuitive look at eternal questions: creation, infinity, and what happens after we die…Against the background of scientific thought and rational perspective, Corson further addresses the importance of enlightened spirituality, while successfully avoiding the traps that diminish the value of most religious traditions. He recognizes the power of what we all share, and successfully creates a perspective that allows our differences to exist without causing dissension and turmoil. His vision of the world we could create if we are able to adopt this perspective carries the power of hope for our future.”

–Marc D. Baldwin, Ph.D. in American Literature.

​
“In this expansive book ‒ combining science, physics, logical reasoning, and intuition ‒ Paul Corson bids the reader to step outside their usual range of experience and journey with him to the limits of the cosmos. The ideas set forth here are clearly and successfully articulated and thoroughly referenced.”
​
–Bill Reinsmith, Ph.D., award-winning essayist and Professor of Philosophy at the Philadelphia University of the Sciences authored ‘A Harmony Within: Five Who Took Refuge: A Study in Creative Withdrawal’.

“This book is a brilliant explanation concerning the mysteries of our existence. Corson’s observations are backed by science as well as reason. He addresses the transcendent realm not from the platform of Earth, but from a place beyond the circle of the universe. Corson’s unique perspective recognizes the suprauniversal factors beyond universal time that are genesis for our material existence as well as the source of our spiritual immortality. His genius lies in explaining the origin and nature of universal time and its infinite source. For those who seek answers to existential questions of purpose and meaning, and whether there is actually an Other Side, I highly recommend this book.”

–Wanda Woodward, Ph.D. Philosophy. Author of The Anatomy of The Soul: An Authentic Psychology and The Human Soul: An Ontological Exegenesis of Transcendence

“Having read Paul Corson’s book, ‘Touched by God,’ I was eager to read his current book and was not disappointed. In it he expands upon his scientifically based theological studies which, while complicated to a non-scientist like myself, are well worth taking the time and effort to grasp. His writing is intelligent and inspired ‒ enough to make an agnostic such as myself reconsider my philosophy of life and find hope for a compassionate and meaningful universe.”

–Jamie Brambly, Director of the Fulton County Regional Library, McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“Superb… Dortzbach spins a charming fictional tale in ‘Finding Hemingway’ that is equal parts travelogue and self-discovery memoir, with just enough fantasy to make the story sparkle”
– Readers’ Favorite (5-star review)

MILWAUKEE, WI – A romantic comedy with a touch of magical realism, Ken Dortzbach’s debut novel Finding Hemingway (Cloister Inn Publishing, July 7, 2020) sends its protagonist on a life-changing adventure after she receives a mysterious phone call from Ernest Hemingway.

Hyper-focused, overachieving New York lawyer Callie McGraw has six months between jobs and a hefty severance check when she is called to Spain by Ernest Hemingway. She begins packing her bags for the sun-kissed streets that night. Starting in Barcelona, Callie embarks on a six-month escapade of a lifetime, a whirlwind of Spanish food, wine, art and dancing, with a revolving cast of friends and lovers keeping her company in each new locale. Callie’s next cocktail is never far away, but Hemingway knows her secrets, the demons that plague her deep down. With each mysterious call and each enigmatic clue, Hemingway challenges her to open herself to laughter, passion and love. Ultimately, he defies Callie to face her greatest fears and embrace life on her own terms.

A vividly drawn ode to both Spanish culture and the soul-striking spark of a good book, Finding Hemingway showcases the empowering story of one woman’s journey to self-acceptance and fulfillment.

“Heartwarming… ‘Finding Hemingway’ is a romantic travel adventure with a magical realism twist”
– Foreword Clarion Reviews

“Finding Hemingway”
Ken Dortzbach | July 7, 2020 | Cloister Inn Publishing | Women’s Fiction
Paperback | 978-1-733-624-7-0-1

About the Author

KEN DORTZBACH: Ken Dortzbach is a native of Madison, Wisconsin. A graduate of Princeton University and the Northwestern University School of Law, he practiced law internationally for almost twenty years, including living abroad and working in countries across the globe. During that time, he found a special appreciation for Spain’s history and culture; when it came time to pen his first novel, the country became the perfect backdrop for his book. In combining his passion for Spain with his longstanding interest in Ernest Hemingway, Finding Hemingway was born. He has two kittens—along with two grown children. Ken and his wife now live in Wisconsin and divide their time between Milwaukee and Madison; they enjoy traveling far and wide together. To learn more about Ken’s work, please visit: https://kendortzbach.com

In an interview, Ken Dortzbach can discuss:

• How his career practicing international law may have aided him in writing this book
• His love for Spanish culture, including Spanish food, art, dance, and microtheater, and how he vividly captures it all on the page
• His experience running with the bulls in Pamplona
• His appreciation for Ernest Hemingway
• His experience writing women’s fiction as a male author
• Where the inspiration for Callie’s story came from
• What’s next for him in his writing career

An Interview with Ken Dortzbach

1. Why did you place the book in Spain?

Spanish culture is one of the many cultures I love. The Spanish have a certain skill at living in the moment. So often we do things we need to do — save for retirement, eat right, exercise. Sometimes you just want to do something because you want to do it and you are passionate about it. Sometimes you want to be a little Spanish.

2. Why write women’s fiction?

As I mapped out the story I wanted to tell I realized it worked better with a woman as the main character. It just felt right. But it is not just a book for women. It is a book for anyone who likes to read. My wife teased me that I wrote a “chick book,” but I told her I wrote a book about personal growth and development where the main character happens to be a woman. Callie McGraw is awesome.

3. What inspired this book?

I have had a longstanding interest in Ernest Hemingway. I also have an appreciation for many cultures, one of which is Spanish culture. It made the perfect backdrop for the book and the plot. I was also oddly inspired by the post-impressionist landscape paintings of French painter Paul Cézanne. When you look at his pre-Cubist landscape paintings you see a bunch of block forms and you say, “Hey, those are just a bunch of block forms.” But when you look harder you see how he defines shape and you see more details. I tried to take a similar approach with some parts of my book. For example, most of the characters don’t have last names. Sometimes certain details can distract from the story or what you are trying to develop.

4. Who will enjoy this book?

This book would be enjoyed by anyone who likes to read and is intrigued by Spain. The main character, Callie McGraw, has a special relationship with the book The Sun Also Rises. That provides the basis for part of the story, and it goes from there as you learn more about her and her life. The book is basically a quirky romantic comedy centered around female empowerment. It is a book for people who love books and love to read. It is a book for people who have wrestled with challenges and overcome them. It is a book for people who have fallen in love or want to fall in love.

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sacramento, CA – In Copy Boy (June 23, 2020, She Writes Press), a story of escape, disguise, and coming of age, lecturer and author Shelley Blanton-Stroud follows Jane, a desperate girl seeking work in the Great Depression. Repeatedly turned away from employment, she disguises herself as a boy to get hired, raising questions on women’s struggles in the workplace and how gender norms influence social expectations, then and now, as well as the role of crisis in developing resilience.

Jane leaves her messy family life behind to find work as a newspaper copy boy in San Francisco. Creating a new identity as a man opens new opportunities for her, and Jane uses her disguise to escape crimes she may or may not have committed. Things are looking up…until her father’s picture appears in the paper and threatens her safety and new way of life.

Pulling from her own family’s Dust Bowl history, Blanton-Stroud exposes the need and the cost of ambition and competition through a proactive female protagonist fighting for what she wants. Throughout her career, she has amplified the writing of countless others through teaching college writing in Northern California, consulting with writers in the energy industry, serving on the advisory board of 916 Ink, and co-directing Stories on Stage Sacramento — all leading up to her own electric debut.

Copy Boy
Shelley Blanton-Stroud | June 23, 2020 | She Writes Press | Historical Fiction, Noir
Print ISBN: 978-1-63152-697-81 | Paperback Price: $16.95
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63152-698-5 | Ebook Price: $9.95

More about Shelley Blanton-Stroud

SHELLEY BLANTON-STROUD grew up in California’s Central Valley, the daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants who made good on their ambition to get out of the field. She teaches college writing in Northern California and consults with writers in the energy industry. She co-directs Stories on Stage Sacramento, where actors perform the stories of established and emerging authors, and serves on the advisory board of 916 Ink, an arts-based creative writing nonprofit for children. She has also served on the Writers’ Advisory Board for the Belize Writers’ Conference. Copy Boy is her first novel, and she’s currently working on her second. She also writes and publishes flash fiction and non-fiction, which you can find at such journals as Brevity and Cleaver. She and her husband live in Sacramento with an aging beagle and many photos of their out-of-state sons. To get to know Shelley Blanton-Stroud and her writing better, visit her at https://shelleyblantonstroud.com.

Early Praise

“This is Raymond Chandler for feminists.” — Sharma Shields, award-winning author of The Cassandra

“Copy Boy is a rewarding historical novel with a ferocious, fascinating lead.” — 4-star Foreword Clarion Review

“An expressive and striking story that examines what one does for family and for oneself.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“A stellar debut. Combining the best elements of noir, historical, and coming-of-age fiction, Blanton-Stroud has written a compelling, nuanced story that transports readers to San Francisco in the 1930s. Deftly plotted and expertly executed, Copy Boy is as mesmerizing as the moment when the fog lifts over Nob Hill. Highly recommended.” — Sheldon Siegel, New York Times best-selling author of the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Mystery Series

“Copy Boy is a fantastic story of a young woman’s survival and reinvention. Blanton-Stroud’s prose sings and crackles and brings us into the world of Jane with so much compassion and beauty and wisdom. An engaging, wonderfully original book.” — Karen E. Bender, author of The New Order, long-listed for the Story Prize, and Refund, a National Book Award finalist

“Full of adventure, chutzpah, historical detail, and, most of all, heart, Copy Boy is a thrilling, Depression-era coming-of-age story well suited to our times.” — Maggie Shen King, award-winning author of An Excess Male

Shelley Blanton-Stroud’s Copy Boy is one of those novels that can rekindle your faith in fiction. Her distinctive voice, command of historical details, and sheer storytelling verve show through on every page. Maybe this exact story never happened, but it should have—in exactly this way. A bravura debut—I’m expecting great things from this author. —David Corbett, award-winning author of The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday.

In an interview, Shelley Blanton-Stroud can discuss:

• Her family’s dust bowl history and how that influences her writing
• Grit and resilience and their connection to success
• Women at work
• Gender stereotypes and fluidity
• Why noir is right for now
• Her experience amplifying writers and why she tells her own story now
• Book clubs and their effect on reading life
• Jane’s struggle between her ambition and desire to connect
• Themes of fact vs. fiction and how they relate to the novel

An Interview with Shelley Blanton-Stroud

1. What is your novel’s origin story? How did your family’s dust bowl history influence you and your book?

As a boy, my father lived in a Hooverville tent camp near Wasco, California, convenient to the cotton fields where his family picked. One day, his friend’s mother asked the two boys to get rid of his friend’s daddy, who was drunk again, spending their picking money, putting them further at risk. She told them to drive the man 30 miles south and leave him there by the side of the road. Though they didn’t know how to drive, they did what she said. This was the seed of my novel.

2. Women in the book behave unconventionally. Is this a modern sensibility or did women in the Depression-era act this way?

Depression era photographer, Dorothea Lange—inspiration for one of my characters—used the male pronoun to describe herself. She called herself he and him, explaining that doing so made her believe in her own ability to take the pictures that improved conditions for people living without homes along the side of the road. Women have always behaved unconventionally if they wanted to achieve significant things. It has always been necessary, and it has always created trouble.

3. As a reporter, Jane makes up evidence. What are you saying about facts and truth?

Documentary photographer Dorothea Lange took a quote from Sir Francis Bacon as her credo: “The contemplation of things as they are, without error or confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention.” Yet her artistic eye led her to compose photographs, moving things out of the camera’s view. She was a historian of the contemporary. This selectivity is part of what makes her photographs so compelling. Historians have always shaped selected facts into narratives that align with their own point of view. We all choose where to look, consciously or unconsciously.

In my novel, Copy Boy, my main character, Jane, lies to survive. In the Great Depression, she remakes herself, reinvents herself, becoming a man, changing her name. And, as a result, she gets good work at a newspaper and begins to thrive in the lie. But her willingness to dismiss the gap between fact and truth in that profession creates trouble. The way she negotiates the gap reveals her character. Or maybe it creates it. As it now does for all of us.

4. Many Dust Bowl migrants are still alive. How was their situation like or unlike the situation of homeless Californians today?

There are differences. But the core elements are the same—people have lost their shelter, the very basis of what is necessary to survive, often due to economic facts outside their control. These people, aiming to survive, don’t have the basics they need to get back on their feet. And on top of that struggle they are judged and hated. Now, as then. But also, as a result of this
hardship, some will be crippled in their life’s trajectory, never recovering what or who they
might have been. Others will be made stronger, more resilient, by the test.

5. Does Jane’s cross-dressing mean she’s questioning her gender? If not, how should we see it?

I conceived of Jane cross-dressing not because she is consciously exploring her sexuality or her gender, but because she feels that she is better able to survive and thrive as a man than as a woman, that it is easier to do so as a man. I believe Jane would have many lovers, men and women, in her life, secretly, but also more freely than most women would have because she is surrounded by artistic creatives who, even in the Depression era, were given a bit more latitude. But for me, the main thrust of that choice, for Jane to wear a fedora and suit, was to see who she was capable of becoming without the limitation a woman faces.

6. Why is noir relevant now?

Noir is back. You may know it as a literary and film genre of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye and Farewell My Lovely come to mind. But the genre cycles back when cultural conditions are right, shifting in its particulars according to the zeitgeist.

I love the way novelist Megan Abbott explains it—”In noir, everyone is fallen, and right and wrong are not clearly defined and maybe not even attainable.” Today many of our traditionally moral institutions—government, elections, churches, universities—are doubted and rejected as not worthy of authority. This is a noir sort of world, when a person must struggle to get as close to “right” as possible.

7. You have quite the extensive career helping other writers, what inspired you to write Jane’s story now?

I was a reader first. Though I always dreamt of being a writer, I did not believe in my own ability to make that happen. So I organized my life around being writing-adjacent, guiding other writers into making successful choices. It wasn’t until my husband’s heart failure that we both agreed, if there was something we wanted to do, we’d better get around to doing it.

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

For Arty to miss a day of school, either he is very, very sick or a fairytale-character turf-war has begun in his backyard — such as what begins this particular Wednesday. First, he finds an ax-swinging, bearded, sweaty warrior Dwarf scaring his dogs. Soon enough, Emma, Cry and other middle-school friends also find fairy creatures — Elves, Spriggans, Pixies, and a hoped-for Dragon — crashing into their normal homework-doing, backpack-carrying, phone-charging schooldays.

Why are these magical beings here? What should be done? Is that axe sharp? Can Pixies be given aspirin?
Arty with his friends — and spying jerks, and questionable strangers with long names — follow the clues and try to find out, even as things turn dark and dangerous.

The mythical beings are taking sides. The Gwyllion, that legendary Old Woman of the Mountains, has a sinister plan, turning the neighborhood into a fantasy battleground. One that awaits young heroes.

Professor Welkin Westicotter Marplot, of Coillemuir, Scotland, is a collector of esoteric tales of global wisdom and curator of ancient manuscripts. He is a recluse and, as he claims, has been collecting and collating adventure and fantasy stories for over a century.

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Los Angeles, CA — Anna Penenberg was a dancer, single mother, and therapist dedicated to healing trauma. But when her 16-year-old daughter, Dana, begins showing symptoms of a mysterious illness, Anna becomes engulfed in a trauma more astonishing than she had ever imagined.

“Dancing In The Narrows” (July 7, 2020, She Writes Press) is the story of a single mother’s love and persistence in the face of fear. Anna and her daughter struggle against a debilitating illness with no known cure. In search of wellness, mother and daughter must navigate the labyrinthine world of the American medical system and beyond.

“Dancing in the Narrows” is a touching memoir recounting Anna’s perseverance as she struggles to maintain her relationship with her direly ill daughter. As her condition worsens, mother and daughter embark on a tumultuous journey to find a cure. Full of adventure, laughter, terror, and sheer grit, “Dancing In The Narrows” is a poignant chronicle of Dana and Anna’s multiyear odyssey toward healing.

More about Anna Penenberg and Dancing in the Narrows

“Dancing in the Narrows”
Anna Penenberg | July 7, 2020 | She Writes Press
Paperback | 978-1-63152-838-5 | $16.95
E-book |B07VN5LC5X | $8.99
Memoir

About the Author

Anna Penenberg is a healer by nature and her training is dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by trauma. Her approach integrates neurobiology, psychotherapy, and wisdom traditions into personal pathways of re-patterning. Anna’s métier is the relational field, providing safety, cadence, and dimension in the therapeutic exchange. Navigating the dynamics of trauma through this unique work addresses suffering at its core, fostering compassionate healing connections with oneself and others.

Anna holds a BA in Psychology and MA in Dance Therapy from UCLA and certifications in Marriage & Family Therapy, Body-Mind Centering®, Infant Developmental Movement, and Kundalini Yoga & Meditation. She is the mother of two adult daughters and lives in Topanga, California. Dancing in the Narrows is her first book.

In an interview, Anna Penenberg can discuss:

• Her unique therapeutic methods and approach to spiritual healing
• The importance of self-care and dealing with trauma
• Alternative therapies for dealing with chronic illness
• Her personal experiences dealing with Lyme disease and the American healthcare system
• Cultivating healthy relationships with our children, motherhood, and the mother-daughter bond
• The importance of hope and resilience in the face of trauma and insurmountable uncertainty

An Interview with Anna Penenberg

1. What drew you into healing? How do you approach trauma healing?
I have always been fascinated with how humans grow and develop. I also find all relationships within the human capacity inspiring and feel a need to support healthy relations.

My approach integrates neurobiology, psychotherapy, and wisdom traditions into personal pathways of re-patterning. I work with the relational field, providing safety, cadence, and dimension in the therapeutic exchange. I have developed a sophisticated method of soul retrieval to restore somatic, psychological, and emotional balance—unearthing traumatic fragments held by the inner child and within the physical body. Navigating the dynamics of trauma through this unique work addresses suffering at its core, fostering compassionate healing connections with oneself and others.

2. How does one practice self care when they are consumed with caring for a loved one?

You practice self-care ten minutes here and 10 minutes there, when your loved one is sleeping and sometimes when you can get another to relieve you of care-taking. As a parent of an ill child, I soaked in an Epsom salt bath at night when she was asleep and even read a light story. I also took short walks, swam in a pool, ate well and maintained friendships over phone and text in brief moments when I wasn’t needed by my daughter. It is the little things that help, like cutting a rose from the garden and putting it in a vase where you can see it.

3. How has your own trauma influenced your therapeutic approach?

Without intention I became my own teacher as I witnessed myself going through a very traumatic time. I, my own experiment, as I sensed and felt numb, terror and tiny breaks from fight, flight and freeze. I worked on myself all the time, through focusing my mind and conscious breathing. I developed a keen sense of the layers of trauma. I used multiple modalities to unwind my discomfort, recognize inner constriction, and beliefs that held me back. I learned how to sustain my system health in dire situations and this has deeply informed my work.

4. What did you learn about yourself from taking care of your chronically ill daughter?

I am determined, and have more strength, courage and guts than I ever thought in the face of potentially losing my daughter. There is a place in me that is made of steel, that does not bend when the stakes are high and the right thing needs to be done.

5. What gives you hope?

Life itself gives me hope. It is a powerful force, sometimes with a delicate balance but always with soul and purpose. I believe everyone is here for a reason and that gives me hope.

Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/