Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Audio Series: Finding God in Ordinary Time



Our audio series "The Authors Read. We Listen."  was hatched in a NYC club during BEA back in 2012. It's a fun little series, where authors record themselves reading an excerpt from their own novels, in their own voices, the way their stories were meant to be heard.




Today, a
uthor, public speaker, and educator Christine Eberle reads an excerpt from her book Finding God in Ordinary Time, which releases on 9/17. Christine passionately explores the connections between Scripture, spirituality, and everyday life.  Her 25-year career as a college campus minister has given her countless opportunities to ask her favorite question (Where is God in all this?) and to listen for answers in surprising places.  Christine is a gifted public speaker, retreat leader, and church cantor, and performs dramatic interpretations of Biblical women.  In person and on the page, she invites us to encounter a God who has infinite compassion for people in pain, but little time for pious platitudes.  She currently serves as the Director of Campus Ministry at Gwynedd Mercy University near Philadelphia, PA.  You can follow her at christine-marie-eberle.com.









Click on the soundcloud image below to hear Christine read an excerpt from her book: 







What it's about: 


Take a wide-eyed look at your life--the commonplace, joyful, and even heartbreaking events--and discover the presence of God, hidden in plain sight. Forget bowing your head and closing your eyes. The secret to prayer is what happens when you're not trying to pray.

This is the invitation of Christine Eberle's Finding God in Ordinary Time. Each daily reflection contains a true story and a nugget of spiritual insight, accompanied by thought-provoking questions and a memorable Scripture quote. Together they reveal a God who is playful and affectionate, merciful and compassionate, and always relevant. Warm, accessible, and surprisingly funny, Christine offers spiritual nourishment to people skeptical or weary of religion, while still giving the faithful something to chew on.

Simple enough to be devoured in one sitting, this intimate little book is best enjoyed slowly. Each piece deserves to be savored and revisited through the unfolding of each ordinary, extraordinary day.



*TNBBC and its contributors take no stance on god or religion. 

Monday, August 27, 2018

Where Writers Write: Jennifer Spiegel

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!



Where Writers Write is a series in which authors showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where the authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 






This is Jennifer Spiegel. 

She is the author of three books, The Freak Chronicles (stories),  Love Slave (a novel), and And So We Die, Having First Slept (forthcoming in December from Five Oaks Press). She’s also half of the book-reviewing duo, Snotty Literati.For more information, go to www.jenniferspiegel.com







Where Jennifer Spiegel Writes
Part Deux



Am I the only writer who’s doing this twice? Yes, I wrote about my place before. Check it out here! It looks like I’m pretending to write in panty-hose. Really? Where’s the brie? Get me some shrimp!

Actually, it wasn’t as off as I anticipated. We moved since my last publishing bout. My “office” seems to be the hottest room in the new/now-old house (Why Do We Live In Arizona Again?), and so now I write on the couch, on my laptop, surrounded by miscellaneous pets. Different ones. My blog was (is) called “Bosco’s Going Down,” named—Pathetically? Sweetly?—after my cat, Bosco, who finally went down. Man, Bosco was a great cat. RIP Bosco.



So I write on the couch. (Kids at school, coffee in tow, music off.)



I did write almost the entire first draft of my new novel at a Starbucks in North Phoenix. Things got sad, though, and I left. First, I would’ve preferred a funky, local, downtown-ish coffeehouse, but I live in North Phoenix, home of Walmart/Sprouts/CVS/Starbucks. Second, I started to get sad when I realized I was waaaaayyyyy more attached to my local baristas than they were to me—like I loved them and, to them, I was just another loiterer, albeit white (Sorry! I couldn’t help myself!). Third, I got breast cancer and went through chemo, which resulted in me hiding out for months, bald—a routine I’ve yet to reverse in any real way, though I now have hair.

So, the couch.




Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Where Writers Write: Nicole Rivas

Welcome to another installment of TNBBC's Where Writers Write!


Where Writers Write is a series in which authors showcase their writing spaces using short form essay, photos, and/or video. As a lover of books and all of the hard work that goes into creating them, I thought it would be fun to see where the authors roll up their sleeves and make the magic happen. 







This is Nicole Rivas. 

Nicole is from Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. She earned a B.A. in English from California State University, San Bernardino and an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Alabama, and now lives in Savannah, GA, where she teaches college English at Georgia State University. Her prose has been published in The Journal, Passages North, The Adroit Journal, and elsewhere. She can be found at www.nicolemrivas.com.












Where Nicole Rivas Writes




I sometimes envy writers who have clearly-defined workspaces and production schedules. I never have, though I suppose I enjoy it that way. Some weeks, the only things I write are grocery lists or uninspired text messages. And you're more likely to find me writing lying belly-down on a soft surface than sitting at a proper work station. Still, my desk at home contains some writerly essentials, like a printer, a typewriter (which I rarely use for fiction and more for spur-of-the-moment letters or postcards), and loads of pens and pencils that I like to use for marking up drafts of stories. My desk is also the home of my beloved Djungarian hamster, Cavo.






Writing and revision can be a daunting task, so it's nice to have a friendly rodent in the vicinity when I'm sitting down to work. Plus, I'm a writer who needs the room to be relatively quiet when I eke out sentences, so having a tiny, mostly-nocturnal creature around is up my alley. (Only occasionally do I have to oil that squeaky hamster wheel.) I also like to write by windows when possible--both for the sunlight and for viewing the interesting activity of passerby, both human and otherwise. I live across the street from a popular burger joint in Savannah, Georgia, so when I feel like observing a bit more vivacity, I simply open the blinds. It's much better than T.V.






But again, a desk isn't always my thing. In fact, it's probably not even my thing 50% of the time. A lot of my prose writing takes place in my living room using a combination of the couch and coffee table. I found this bean-shaped table on Facebook Marketplace, and I love that it has two surface areas. When I'm working on a large project, I can spread my laptop, books, notes, and whatever else on its two levels and have plenty of space to create, research, and revise with my feet up.






One thing that you'll always find on my coffee table or desk is a notepad and a Timex watch. If I have any sort of writing regimen at all, it's supported by these two objects. They give me a greater sense of place, grounding, and focus than most other objects. I use the notepad for my daily to-do lists, and also as a place to jot down notes about books I'm reading or ideas I have. (I admit, it's not the best organizational method, but it keeps me productive.) The Timex is for compelling me to write. While I don't have a set schedule for writing each day, I do press myself to write something when I have the time, usually for 30 minutes. Running the chronograph setting on this wristwatch makes the task feel achievable, and with my two cozy writing setups, I'm usually able to write well-past my goal time.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Indie Spotlight: Sarah Ward and Aesop Lake

Sara Ward is the author of the recently released Aesop Lake. In today's Indie Spotlight, Sara explains why it's critical in this day and age to teach our young adults how to combat and overcome bullying and intimidation in an environment that currently appears to encourgage it....






Why Aesop Lake is Relevant Now 
by Sarah Ward




When is the right time for a young adult novel about bullying, harassment and being an ally? In our current political climate, our leaders act like bullies, intimidating others, and dismissing those without power, teaching our youngest generation of adults that the only way to get things done is to use force and coercion.

So, when it is the right time? That time is now.

We have an opportunity to offer stories of ally-ship, confronting the bullies, and standing up in unity.  Aesop Lake is such a novel. Leda Keogh, the 17-year-old protagonist must face the challenge of doing the right thing after witnessing a hate crime against a gay couple.  She can protect her boyfriend and her family, or face the forces that control her, and help bring justice to a terrible situation. All too often we are faced with challenges without the guidance and support of others who can help us navigate to a positive outcome.

In Aesop Lake I’ve used three of Aesop’s Fables to frame the story.  These fables are simple messages that bring us back to core values about being human, might doesn’t make right, gentleness can be more persuasive than force, and there is strength in unity. Without standing on moral high ground, the characters in Aesop Lake must confront each other with words, and actions, and find the strength within to change the future.

Even if you don’t write novels, there are many ways that we can raise our kids to be able to stand up for others and help young adults learn to speak up and be allies to their peers.


Here are Five Ways to Help Young Adults be Allies in the Face of Confrontation


1. Talk about why it’s important to be an ally and what that means. Being an ally means recognizing oppression broadly and standing in solidarity with anyone who experiences oppression—whether or not the ally also belongs to a targeted group. Here is a great list from tolerance.org

- Do listen and ask how you can help / Don’t expect another person to educate you about their identity. 
- Do accept criticism thoughtfully /  Don’t broadcast your qualifications for being an ally.
- Do speak up when you hear biased language / Don’t apologize for the actions of your identity group.
- Do seek support from experienced allies within your identity group / Don’t expect credit for being an ally.
- Do acknowledge intersectionality /  Don’t selectively support one group over another.


2. Demonstrate how to stand up for others, if you don’t know yourself, learn:

- Recognize the feeling in your gut when something is not okay. When your stomach tightens up, your pulse quickens, you can hear the tone shift in a conversation, where someone is trying to exert power over another, verbally or emotionally.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Who else is around? What is your location? If you decide to act, can you reasonably assure your safety and that of the other person?
- Take a deep breath, and center yourself. Finding the courage to step out of your comfort zone and speak up requires some confidence. Many parents actually tell their children to mind their own business, don’t get involved if someone else is causing a problem. As a parent, a social worker and a youth group leader, I’ve talked with many teens who want to do the right thing, but don’t feel well equipped to even try.
- Speak clearly and directly to the person being threatened. Make eye contact with them.  Ask them, “Are you okay?” Do you need help?” Or, “May I talk with you for a moment?
- Wait for them to reply, and if the bully tells you to get lost, you could say, “Excuse me, I am talking with this person.” And then turn your attention back to the victim and repeat your question.
- Ask them to step away and once you have put some space between you, ask if they are okay. What can you do to help?”

3. Get involved in social issues, shining a light on injustices in your community. Participate in events such as gay pride parades, Black Lives Matter events and Take Back the Night marches. Helping young adult see that there are other people in their community that support these issues will build their confidence in standing up for someone. 

4. Set the expectation that they should help out if they see someone being bullied or at risk of being harmed. My friend, Rachel recently sent her son off to college with these words of wisdom; “If you see someone is at risk of being harmed or bullied, we want you to do the right thing and stand up for them. Don’t walk away and pretend you didn’t see it.”

5. Manage your own fears of raising an ally. As parents, we must support our children to learn to take some risks, to let their conscience be their guide. From the first time we watch them get on the school bus with the big kids, to helping them move into their first apartment or dorm room, we have our own worries about what might happen. With a healthy perspective we don’t lay those worries on our young adult, but instead, bolster them with confidence, reassuring them that they can do anything they set their mind to. Raising an ally, following the previous steps, will heighten our own fears, but it shouldn’t keep us from taking the next step.


We live in a world divided by hate groups, people choosing sides, turning their backs on each other. But there are also plenty of calls to action, you can stand up for what you believe in, march, protest and write letters…

The time to do so is now.





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Sarah Ward writes young adult fiction, poetry and journal articles in the field of child welfare. Over a twenty-five-year career as a social worker, Sarah has worked with young adults and families with harrowing backgrounds. She won the 2007 Editor’s Choice Award for the New England Anthology of Poetry for her poem “Warmer Waters,” and she is a member of the League of Vermont Writers since 2008. As a social worker, Sarah has published several journal articles, and was recently a co-author on an article published (December 2016) in Child and Youth Services Review titled, “Building a landscape of resilience after workplace violence in public child welfare.” In her limited spare time, Sarah enjoys a good book, a little yoga and a cup of tea in her home in Williston, Vermont.