books

Gratitude Continues After Thanksgiving

December 3, 2014 by admin

Mason is ready for his Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love picking up the turkey from a local farm that grew it for us. I love making the menu and trying new recipes. I love the smells wafting from the kitchen. I love the relaxed feeling after enjoying a hearty meal. I really love the leftovers.

I make a full Thanksgiving dinner, even when it’s just the two of us. Fortunately, though, we had company: my stepdaughter Sarah, her fiance Neil, and Mason the dog. Mason, a Maltese/Shih Tzu mix, is a rescue dog who, just over a year ago, didn’t know how to play or walk on a leash. Now he’s flying cross-country.

We had some snow over the holiday, which is unusual for us. On Sunday we drove out to the Olympic National Park, which was a true winter wonderland, and enjoyed a pleasant, though chilly, hike in the woods. I’m grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

Lake Crescent area, Olympic National Park

This week, the opportunities for gratitude continue to pile up. Some are small — I am back on Weight Watchers and lost weight, even on Thanksgiving week. More important, I feel better and more empowered now that I’m back on the program.

When a Grandchild Dies is almost ready to return to print, thanks to on demand publishing. I am checking the proof and making some final changes, and it should be available in a few more days.

Tomorrow I will turn 56 years old, but I am in good enough shape that when I use the book Eight Weeks to a Younger Body by Joan Pagano, I can use the weight program for the 35-44 age range, and the flexibility program for 26-35. I am grateful to be strong and healthy.Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre Emporium

This week, our local playhouse, Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre EmporiumKey City Public Theatre, is presenting Cinderella. KCPT offers fine productions, and I am proud to be a co-sponsor this year as “Nadine Feldman, Author.” It’s my way of starting to come out more as an author while supporting a fine organization. Henry participates from time to time as both an actor and playwright, and I am grateful for the relationships we are building there, especially with Denise Winter, KCPT’s artistic director. I am sharing sponsorship with my good friends at Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre Emporium.

And finally, yesterday, with a swipe of a pen, a judge ended a lawsuit against us. I am cautious about getting too excited about this, because we didn’t “win.” The plaintiffs withdrew the suit without prejudice, so they could re-file the lawsuit. However, for now, at least, a two-year legal battle has ended. We can go back to enjoying life in paradise.

What are you grateful for?

One more Mason photo to add joy to your day!

What Ifs and Wales

November 6, 2014 by admin

What if a man finds himself a prisoner in a place of great beauty, unable to go home? What if he loses his name and is known only as Number 6? What if he raises his fist and refuses to conform, saying, “I am not a number. I am a free man!”

Debonair, charismatic British actor Patrick McGoohan asked those questions in the 1960s during a visit to Portmeirion Village in Wales. The result was The Prisoner, an iconic miniseries that remains a cult favorite.

It’s not surprising that Portmeirion inspired a classic. Sitting on the edge of an estuary, Portmeirion has the look and feel of a hillside Italian village in miniature. Upon seeing it for the first time, I let out an involuntary gasp at the stunning, elegant buildings and the abundant nature surrounding them.

Portmeirion was the brainchild of Clough Williams-Ellis, who asked himself, what if he could create beauty without disturbing the surrounding environment? He spent 50 years working on the answer.

What if? It’s my favorite question. Sometimes “what if” paralyzes me with fear when I’m trying something new and fear the worst. “What if” helps me plan ahead and solve problems before they happen. “What if” ponders my fate had I made different choices as a young woman.

As a writer, I rely on “what if” to come up with story ideas. What if an ambitious female money manager gets caught up in the Madoff scandal and loses the life she knew? What if a troubled young woman with low self-esteem and a burgeoning alcohol problem is the only person who can stop a dangerous bully? What if my great-great grandmother, the one who bore a child out of wedlock and died ten months later of typhoid, was not the victim her story would suggest?

“What if” brought me to Wales. When we decided to visit the U.K., I said, “What if I ask Juliet Greenwood, a Welsh author I met online, if she wants to meet in person?” I did ask, and she said yes. We met first in her home, then she joined us later to relax in Portmeirion.

Juliet recently wrote about her visit here. As you will see, she gathered some incredible nighttime photos!

Juliet is one of those writers for whom I have great respect. She works hard at her craft and has created two lovely novels, Eden’s Garden and We That Are Left. Getting to know her better in person in Portmeirion made the experience that more magical.

What if I worked as hard to build my stories and skills as Juliet does? Hmm. Something to think about.

Rested and recovered with creative juices flowing, we left Portmeirion for Bronte Country. What if we find a Bronte ghost walking on the moors? More about that next week! As they say in The Prisoner, “Be seeing you.”

Back to Work

August 18, 2014 by admin

It’s hard to believe that nine months have passed since my last blog post. I intended to take a short break, and it grew. I have kept in touch with some of you in the meantime on Facebook and blogs, but every now and then the still, small voice inside says, “When do we get to blog again?”

This morning, I knew: today is the day. I knew it as soon as I closed the last page of The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century by David Laskin.

Laskin’s book came to me as part of a series of curious events, which I’ll write more about in a separate post. Let’s just say that adventure is afoot, and life has led me yet again down an extraordinary path. But today, I want to tell you about Laskin’s book, because it is incredible, and I want to sing its praises wherever I can.

Like me, Laskin’s quest to learn his family history started with bits and pieces of information that grew into a larger story. He knew, for example, that his great-aunt, Ida Rosenthal, founded the Maidenform Bra Company, an incredible achievement for an immigrant woman. As he went deeper, however, he learned of three separate family stories: the American immigrants, early Jewish settlers in pre-Israel Palestine, and, sadly, those relatives who stayed in Europe and endured Nazi atrocities.

Having seen the breathtaking beauty of Rosh Ha Nikra, where his relatives first entered Israel, I could almost picture their journey, though I could not imagine their hardships. Through Laskin’s book, I also gained greater understanding of the lives of Polish Jewry at the time my husband’s grandmother left for America…and a more personal sense of the Holocaust.

Prior to reading The Family, I had been reading a novel that just didn’t work for me, to the extent that I didn’t finish it. As a writer who wants to respect other writers, I usually muscle through and hope things will get better, but I finally had to give up. A few paragraphs into The Family, though, and my faith was restored. It is as exquisite, exciting, and gut-wrenching as any novel I have read, and I invite you to add it to your stack.

If anyone is still out there after my long absence, I would love to hear what you’re reading! As for me, I’ll try to not stay away so long.

Book Review Tuesday: Victorian Secrets: How a Woman Finds Herself Via Her Corset

November 19, 2013 by admin

When Sarah Chrisman’s husband presented her with a corset as a birthday present, she didn’t think much of the gift at first. Still, as a lover of history with curiosity aimed mostly at the Victorian era, she gave it a try. Four years later, she wears corsets nearly 24/7.

During the first year, she lost several inches around the waist, and furthered her transformation into a Victorian lady by sewing clothes that matched Victorian times. These days, those of us who live in Port Townsend see Sarah walking around town, with long skirts, parasol, gloves, and hats. Here, in a Victorian town with an annual Victorian festival, she blends right in!

As she continued to wear corsets, her migraines disappeared, and she has avoided back problems that plague others in her family. In person, Sarah radiates the peace and joy of someone who lives her truth. This isn’t a gimmick for her, but an authentic way of life. Isn’t that what we’re all seeking?

Sarah tells her story in Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me About the Past, the Present, and Myself. With intelligence and wit, she dispels myths about the corset and shares a fascinating and personal journey.

I own an original version of this book, which Sarah bound by hand in true Victorian fashion (it would take her about four hours to do so). The new hardback is also gorgeous to behold, complete with full-color photos that show Sarah’s transformation.

There was a time when I was younger when I stopped working on crafts such as knitting because we saw them as tools of oppression. Over time, I reclaimed my crafts and felt empowered as I did so, and I regretted those lost years when I let society’s opinions take me away from what brought me joy. Sarah has done the same with the corset, and I respect her for it. Though I doubt I’ll ever wear a corset on a regular basis (I do during our Victorian Festival), I appreciate her courage, her curiosity, and her willingness to be herself.

World Literary Cafe: Where Readers & Authors Unite

October 25, 2012 by admin

Last year I had a vision. No, it wasn’t the Virgin Mary in my peanut butter, or a visitation from a deceased great-aunt (as described in next week’s Book Recommendation — I can’t wait to share THAT one with you!). Instead, I thought about how I’m better at marketing others’ books vs. my own.

Don’t get me wrong. I write because I love to, because I have to, because without writing my life feels dull and empty. I don’t want or need to be a bestselling author. However, I would like to find more of an audience.

So, I thought, what if we writers got together and helped market each others’ books?

Fortunately, someone else thought of this, too, and she’s done a far better job than I could have envisioned. Melissa Foster, author of the award-winning novel Come Back to Me and others, has conceived a website of breathtaking scope. If you love reading books, this site is for you. If you are an author, this site is for you. Brava, Melissa!

I’ve known about the World Literary Cafe for a while, but I’m just getting into it. To start, I’m connecting with fellow authors through their Facebook author pages, I’ve been able to “talk shop” with people who are generous about sharing information. For example, one author pointed out to me, in the nicest way, that my Amazon author page wasn’t easily accessed. This led to some conversation with Amazon and some updating on my part…and this is just one little piece of how World Literary Cafe helps authors.

If I’ve learned nothing in life, I’ve learned this: When you want to succeed, find people who know what they’re doing and learn from them. As I surround myself with the expertise of people such as Joanna Penn, Joel Friedlander, and Melissa Foster, I’m developing a new plan for marketing my books, both current and future. I am deeply grateful for their wisdom and generosity, and I look forward to putting their recommendations to good use.

Do you have a team of experts to help you in your creative endeavors? Anyone you want to recommend?

Fill the Shelves – An Initiative to Help Underfunded School Libraries

October 18, 2012 by admin

Today I will step aside and let blogger David Gaughran speak for me and for schoolchildren everywhere who go to school with understocked, underfunded libraries. Last year we contributed to a fund to stock a school library near our home. We were invited to come see the newly stocked books, and it was an emotional day for us. I grew up in a blue collar family, but all of us were readers, and I am forever grateful for the libraries that opened the door to my imagination. We wouldn’t have had money to go buy all those books! David offers several ways that all of us can help the cause.

Click here to read David’s post! I would also encourage you to share this on all your networks. Let’s get viral!