Review From Here » memoir

“My Heart Stopped Beating” by Chamed Book Spotlight

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:25:58 +0000

About Chamed

Chamed is not the registry office name of the author, yet it is not a pseudonym. She lives in Tuscany, she works mostly abroad, as a painter on canvas and porcelain. Some of her porcelain works are displayed in exhibitions in Italy, Sweden and Poland, France, Portugal and Brazil. My Heart Stopped Beating is her first novel. A second novel by her is forthcoming.

About My Heart Stopped Beating

Fourteen year old Italian girl, Chamed, is a living miracle after fighting illness since birth to live a normal life. Now fourteen years old, she feels a thrill of freedom when she convinces her parents to let her stay home alone while they go on holiday. She soon regrets that decision when she receives a call from her aunt Patrizia that the worst has happened: her parents have died in a car accident.

Things only get worse for Chamed as she mourns the deaths of her parents and suffers under the care of her aunt and uncle. Her aunt repeatedly abuses her and convinces others that she is an evil child. When Chamed’s best friend’s father sexually harasses her, the blame is placed on Chamed. Deeply depressed, she attempts suicide, only to find herself waking up in a mental hospital. Her nightmare is only beginning as she is subjected to electroshock therapy against her will – and worse from the nurses and doctors.

Finally she finds hope again in Dr. Franco, but will he be enough to save her from this living nightmare?

Interview with Sandi Gelles-Cole, author of “The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe”

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:07:24 +0000

About Sandi Gelles-Cole

The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe is Sandi Gelles-Cole’s latest foray into fiction, building on her more than 35 years’ as a book editor, ghostwriter, and book doctor. She began her publishing career in 1973 with the David McKay Company and later held editorial positions with Dutton/NAL, Rawson Associates, and Dell. In 1983, she founded her editorial agency, Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises, which continues to provide editorial services to agents, publishers, and authors. Over the course of her career, she has edited more than 500 novels and nonfiction books, including more than a dozen bestsellers, an Edgar Award nominee, and a BlackBoard Book of the Year award-winner, among others. The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe is her second novel.

To find out more about Sandi visit:http://www.literaryenterprises.com/about.html or by visiting http://www.TheMemoirofMarilynMonroe.com

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

THE MEMOIR OF MARILYN MONROE is Alternate History. It opens on her 85th birthday June 1 2011 and through this memoir/diary we learn that she did not die in 1962, rather she chose to go under the radar. Marilyn tells us about her life from 1962 until the present, as she is waiting to have a serious operation

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

This book happened to me rather than the other way around. It came as an inspiration out of the blue. I have never really been a MM fan, and it wasn’t until I read a biography by Donald Spoto that I felt I really related to her. It was not her celebrity that drew me to her. I was drawn to who she was as a woman.
I gave myself permission to write her memoir, what she would be like if she lived among us now, because underneath the sequins, champagne parties, and , of course, diamonds, Marilyn is a part of us and a piece of her still lives.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

Lots of people, particularly women, probably feel like me. Marilyn didn’t have to act like she felt that way, because underneath the glam and gorgeous red lips she was just like us and longed for what we need. Read about her and it becomes apparent that everything she did, she did for love.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My golden retriever, Charley

Your biggest critic?

Me.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

I think the answer to that must be woven into my book. We all face countless obstacles and demons in our lives, and I believe — passionately — that each of us has at least the possibility of facing them down and finding some kind of balance in our life. Life never gets easy, and the trials never end. But I believe it’s possible to find a place within ourselves where the obstacles cease to define us, and we can find a measure of peace. Marilyn Monroe had “everything” — except that peace. I wanted to give her a chance to discover — and value — her true self.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

My husband and I have begun an independent publishing list. Our first book, CHILD OF MY CHILD: Poems and Stories for Grandparents was a finalist for best anthology in the Next Generation Independent Publishing Awards 2011. We are learning how to be publishers as well as writers and editors.

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

I really don’t, because — having spent so many years in publishing as an editor, ghostwriter, book doctor and, most recently, an indie publisher — for me writing isn’t a mystical process. It’s all about knuckling down and going to work, and it demands the same discipline, the same focus, and the same ‘heavy lifting’ any other job does.
It’s like W. Somerset Maugham said: “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

I have always written, whether it was poems or narrative. I have been influenced by the hundreds of writers I have worked with as an editor, the people in book publishing who mentored me, my ninth grade English teacher, Miss Sherman; all of the thousands of writers I have read have influenced me. I am inspired or annoyed or irritated or have some emotion about everything I read.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Over the years, I have edited hundreds of books, many of them by writers everyone knows and admires. And that is still primarily what I do when I go to work each day. But, at this point in my life, I also want to make time for my own writing, and make it a higher priority than I have in the past, when other writers’ books crowded it out. My first novel was published in 1984; my second, this year. I don’t think I’ll wait that long again to put my writing at the top of my to-do list.

What are you currently working on?

I am always working with other writers as an editor, and I am doing that right now. I am working with a doctor writing a novel, and I am ghosting for a writer who is writing the biography of a famous person I cannot name, since I am the ghost.
I am beginning to think about what book I will write next. I have a few manuscripts half finished. One is LOUISE NORTH, which is MILDRED PIERCE for our age.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

Writers write. Just keep writing until you have told all of your stories, and don’t think about whether or not you will find a publisher. I have worked in book publishing since 1973—cream always rises to the top.
Readers should purchase literature in some format. There is a lot of free material online, but writers will have to stop writing if they are not supported.

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

I can’t remember a time when books weren’t at the center of my life, and I always knew I would work in the publishing field. So, I guess I have to say that each author I’ve read or worked with has inspired me in some way has been a part of the answer to that question. After all the years of working with books, I still get excited every time a new manuscript lands on my desk, because I never know what I will find in that book — or how it might teach me or inspire me.

About The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe is 85, the victim of a fire set purposefully to destroy her. This is the memoir she writes of what really happened from the night she was rescued in August, ‘62 until June 1, 2011 when the book starts, her 85th birthday.

Told in her own voice and propelled by the various lifestyles she tries on in her search to dig beneath the character that she created for the movies to the real woman inside, the book is two stories. While we read to learn what caused the horrible accident that ruined her face, she writes of her recovery from the addictions that subsumed her in Hollywood, her life as an average woman traveling with a young lover in Europe; her final goodbye to DiMaggio. As senior citizen Marilyn’s face is recreated she tells what happened to her fortune and then how she supported herself, how it felt when her face and body aged, how lust continued into her late years and how she fell in love when she thought all of that was behind her.

THE MEMOIR OF MARILYN MONROE is a mix of fiction, myth and Marilyn history.

The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe Virtual Book Tour May and June 2011

admin — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:06:42 +0000

Join Sandi Gelles-Cole, author of the fictionalized memoir, The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe (Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in May and June on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Sandi Gelles-Cole

To find out more about Sandi visit:http://www.literaryenterprises.com/about.html or by visiting http://www.TheMemoirofMarilynMonroe.com

About The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe

THE MEMOIR OF MARILYN MONROE is a mix of fiction, myth and Marilyn history.

Book Excerpt

They say only the good die young and I guess it’s true because I’m still here. Today is my eighty fifth birthday. During these years I have lived three lives: Before Marilyn, Being Marilyn and After.

I created Marilyn Monroe and then men molded her: studios, agents, and husbands. Ever since the night I did not die, I have tried to leave her behind, but wherever I went, the creature followed. I tried to run. I tried changing my name, my country of residence, my hair color, body type, career and sexual preference. I went to college for coursework in Humanities and studied Russian Literature. But there was no escaping her. The character I created became my own personal monster and devoured me in the ‘50s, and even after she died I could no more be someone else than I could grow a penis, change my skin color, or stop being a movie star.

My so-called death scene is always described the same: My housekeeper, Eunice Murray, finds my wasted, naked body tangled in a sheet, wet from secretions better left unexplained. I am face down with one hand hanging over the telephone. This detail is discussed often; am I answering a call or making one and if I am calling, then whom?

But it did not happen that way. I cheated death. . . .

Sandi Gelles-Cole’s THE MEMOIR OF MARILYN MONROE VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘11 will officially begin on May 23rd and end on June 10th. If you would like to participate in this tour, please contact Tracee Gleichner at tgleichner(at)live(dot)com. Thank you!

Interview with Carla Malden, author of “AfterImage”

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:34:17 +0000

About Carla Malden

Carla Malden grew up in Los Angeles, California. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from U.C.L.A. with a Bachelor of Arts in English and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society for her academic achievement. She worked extensively in the film business, both in production and development.

With her husband, filmmaker Laurence Starkman, she wrote twelve feature screenplays; they also served as rewrite guns-for-hire. The team of Malden & Starkman wrote and produced the short romantic comedy Whit & Charm, which screened at eight major film festivals, including The Hamptons, and won several awards. They also wrote and created a series of Cine Golden Eagle Award-winning Art History films produced in association with The Detroit Institute of Art and The National Gallery.

Along with her father, Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden, Carla co-authored his critically acclaimed memoir, When Do I Start?, published by Simon & Schuster.

AfterImage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of a Charmed Life delivers a fiercely personal account of her battling the before and surviving the after of losing her husband to cancer. It offers an alert for an entire generation: this is not your mother’s widowhood.

Carla Malden lives in Brentwood, California where she is currently completing her first novel as well as a children’s book illustrated by her daughter, Cami Starkman.

Visit her website at www.carlamalden.com.

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

My book is a memoir of my transition to widowhood – the personal story of a last year and a first year: the last year of my husband’s life and my entire life up to that point, and the first year following his death and of my life thereafter. It is part medical journey, part emotional roller coaster, all love story.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

My father was my biggest professional influence. Although he was an actor, not a writer, he taught me to care passionately about you work, to never give less than one hundred percent. He had the most impressive work ethic of anyone I’ve ever known and I hope a bit of that rubbed off on me. I am grateful that he got to read AFTERIMAGE before he died.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

There is no self-help message in this book. It’s a personal account. I think because I had no agenda other than telling my story as it had unfolded – including all the guilt and regret that came along with it – readers are finding themselves and their own experiences of loss reflected there. I discovered that in the literature of loss, there was nothing that evoked my generation’s frame of reference. We, the baby boomers, put our stamp on every human experience in a unique way. I am learning that the same holds true with grief and widowhood. This is not your mother’s widowhood.

What is your favorite past-time?

I am a manic movie-goer, even since I have shelved screenwriting for writing prose. I see almost everything. I have friends who, when we’re choosing a movie to see, will say, “But the reviews for that one were bad.” That makes no difference to me. I like to see everything (except slasher films). And I like to see movies in a theater. I rarely watch a movie at home.

What are you currently working on?

I am just completing my first novel. I’m very excited about it. It allowed me a very different voice from AFTERIMAGE. I have also written a children’s book which my daughter, Cami Starkman, illustrated.

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what ways?

Becoming a widow four years ago made me a very different person. I’m a better person in many ways. My life exploded and part of the fallout was that I became more open in some ways, certainly less afraid. Nothing scares me any more – with the exception of medical waiting rooms. I have also learned to turn to friends in away I never did before. I had one-stop-shopping in my husband, Laurence. Now I need to ask advice or just share news with other people. In that way, this experience has deepened some of my most valued friendships.

About AfterImage

Afterimage. It’s the ghost image that continues to appear, even after the source has faded away. It’s different from having a flashbulb catch you unaware when you’re having your picture taken. That leaves you momentarily blinded, violet and yellow dots kaleidoscoping in front of you. An afterimage is subtler, but more persistent, more enduring, more beguiling. Especially the afterimage that imprints itself on your heart. The one that occurs when your husband has died.

As a generation, we declared ourselves forever young. We assumed it our life’s work to brand every stage of human experience with our own particular stamp. How did we get to widowhood so quickly? Too quickly — while we weren’t looking, while we were still busy trying to figure out how to be grown-ups.

AfterImage is, at its core, a love story, as all real stories of loss must be. It is a story not solely about grief. It’s about battling the before and surviving the after, and dabbling in madness along the way. It is about the small moments that constitute a life well-lived. It is in those moments of human connection that we can search for gratitude through grief.

AfterImage is a story of love more than loss, memory more than sorrow, life more than death. It is a personal story. It’s my story.

Interview with ‘The Hippie’, author of “Snowflake Obsidian”

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:47:01 +0000

About The Hippie

The Hippie received a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Utah and worked briefly as a licensed mental health therapist before leaving her job to pursue writing. She prefers ice cream in the winter, beanies in the summer, and only plays sports when properly guilt-tripped. She currently lives with her husband and two dogs in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit her at www.thehippiewriter.com.

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

It’s the true story documenting my rocky transition into adulthood while dealing with family issues, strained friendships, and falling in love with a drug addict. It chronicles my inability to cope, my dissent into depression, cutting, and then the therapy I received and lessons learned along the way.

It sounds like a downer, but I was able to keep my sense of humor in tact while writing some of the more serious chapters.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

During the time everything was happening I remember going on a hike and having this overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay, and that it would be very important for me to document this time in my life. I always kept detailed journals so that my posterity could know what I ate or who I made fun of on any particular day, but from then on I became even more meticulous. The fight I had with my father in the book is written practically word for word as it originally happened because of this.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

No one specific, just humanity in general, the hardships people traverse on a daily basis and how it can often make them more empathetic and beautiful or, on the contrary, more of a douche, depending on how they choose to deal with it. I became a little of both.

Who is your biggest supporter?

You mean besides the love of my life Colin Firth? I’ve had a lot of great support from family and friends. I think my husband would be my biggest supporter, considering he told me if I didn’t pursue my passion for writing that he’d divorce me! Now that’s love. Am I right?

Your biggest critic?

No one can be a bigger critic of my work than me. I think everything I write is garbage but that also motivates me to take the time to make the project the best it can be.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

I’ve had many causes over the years. The fair treatment of animals, being a voice for the oppressed, speaking out about violence against women. Now I’m mostly passionate about finding the best cookie recipe ever!

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

I am the least flexible certified yoga instructor I know and am always working on improving my strength and flexibility. Last year I finally touched my toes without bending my knees!

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

Besides celebrating with eating cookies? I send the manuscript to fellow writer Lauren T. Hart, Author of, Of God’s and Mortals (www.laurenthart.com) for some honest feedback.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

The first book I ever fell in love with was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry when I was ten years old. The second was The Giver by the same author when I was fifteen. I’ve read both these books several times. They had such an impact on me. I can only assume she influenced me as a writer greatly.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Making sure I don’t miss an episode of Conan. Oh, and my family.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on three projects right now, and they are all very different. Two of them I’ve finished and am rewriting. One is about a sarcastic girl from Jersey coping with the death of her father, another about Zombies falling in love. The one I am actively writing is one I’ve been commissioned to write, it’s a historical non-fiction about the early pioneers.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

Make decisions based on what you love, not what you fear.

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

I never felt particularly “inspired” to be a writer, but if I had to pick I would say Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak, John Green, author of Abundance of Katherine’s and Douglas Adams author of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Those authors, and books, showed me another side of literature that I fell in love with.

What are some of your long term goals?

Write, write, write, and write some more. That’s about all I’ve figured out at this point.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

Truthfully, the fact that I haven’t given up, although I’ve thought about it many times.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

Once I can see a project clearly I will commit to it and see it through no matter what.

Biggest weakness?

Yikes. Too many to name, how can I pick just one?

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

After I finished writing it, I did take a look at a couple other books that specifically dealt with depression and cutting as a memoir. What I found was that the authors had little insight into why they were cutting, which is not the case with mine. Also, I novelized mine so that it wouldn’t feel like a stuffy memoir, and included my dry humor.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “He not busy being born, is busy dying.” Think about it.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Honestly? A picture book of cute and funny looking animals.

About Snowflake Obsidian

Willow is nineteen, naïve, and Mormon. She genuinely sucks at having relationships with the opposite sex, thanks to her daddy issues—as in she has a dad and wishes she didn’t. Her only perfect relationship is with her best friend, Jo. But when Willow and Jo fall for the same guy, Willow finds herself friendless and falling in love with a drug addict. Feeling confused, guilty, and alone, she turns to cutting herself as a way to cope.

Snowflake Obsidian is a memoir about one girl’s transformation from being naïve due to living in a protected religious culture, to understanding the many faces of love in this paradoxical journey. As Willow steps into the world outside her religious ideals she finds herself in situations she’d never imagined: getting a body piercing at a parlor full of sex-toys; purchasing the morning after pill for a friend who had been raped; attending a support group for co-dependents; putting all her faith in a snowflake obsidian stone when she can’t cope with her depression; and living with her boyfriend while trying to remain abstinent on this journey that ultimately illuminates Willow’s dark side which fully allows her to know the light. Her intelligent and humorous voice bluntly shares her story with the perfect blend of nostalgic observance and cynical optimism in this witty memoir about life, love and learning.

The Accidental Millionaire by Gary Fong Book Review

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:00:54 +0000

About Gary Fong

Gary Fong is a world-renowned photographer, inventor and entrepreneur who has made multiple fortunes in business and real estate. From his inauspicious beginnings in a tiny, hairspray-saturated apartment that doubled as his parents’ wig studio, he went on to become, at a very young age, one of the world’s most successful wedding photographers. After making millions by revolutionizing an industry traditionally reserved for small businessmen, he “stumbled” upon serial successes in photo printing, software, real estate and camera accessories by making unconventional decisions based on his own quirky impulses. Gary has photographed celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone, Paul McCartney and Ronald Reagan, invented and marketed the Lightsphere, and co-founded Pictage, which became the largest dedicated online digital/web solution in the United States and sold for $29 million.

His latest book is The Accidental Millionaire: How to Succeed in Life Without Really Trying.

You can visit his website at www.garyfongaccidentalmillionaire.com.

My Review

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I absolutely LOVED this book. Not only is there a great dose of humor, the path that has gotten Mr. Fong to the point he is today is one of the most engaging stories I have read.

Gary’s parents were immigrants and wanted nothing but the best for their only child. They struggled after Gary’s dad lost his job at Boeing and his mom took to styling and selling wigs, prepping them in their small 600 square foot apartment. Can you imagine everything in your home being covered with the lacquer emitted from hair spray? Gary knew by the age of 10 that he needed to take his life into his own hands.

Many of the aspects of this book are pulled from journals that Gary kept as a child and they are such a unique insight into a man who has truly lived up to his full potential. A keen business mind and the determination to try and make a career out of something that showed him a glimpse of success after college made Gary a millionaire.

This book is one that I would highly recommend – even though it is a work of non-fiction (which is not usually something that I would enjoy to be honest) the style of writing is extremely fluid and full of humor, intelligence, and the drive to succeed.

About The Accidental Millionaire: How to Succeed in Life Without Even Trying

The Accidental Millionaire is the memoir of Gary Fong, would-be slacker who revolutionized wedding photography, inventor of popular photography aids, entrepreneur, contrarian, bon vivant and a man who really, really didn’t want to become a doctor. A first-generation Chinese-American, Gary was raised in one of Los Angeles’ least-desirable neighborhoods and was forced to deal—in his own quirky and often very funny way—with the burdens of poverty, crime and his parents’ relentless aspirations. These issues almost overwhelmed him until he had a dramatic epiphany. Spotting a bumper sticker that read “Since I gave up hope, I feel much better,” Gary promptly did just that.

He stopped trying and started succeeding. At turns hilarious, insightful and instructive, The Accidental Millionaire is Horatio Alger-meets-David Sedaris. Turning the traditional self-help principles upside down, The Accidental Millionaire disdains the goal-oriented approaches of traditional self-help philosophies. Sometimes not knowing where you are going is the best possible way to get there.