Helen Lundström Erwin's Blog, page 3

Meet the Author Events

Read James' Journey and I'll join the discussion in person or via Skype.

https://www.facebook.com/helenerwinwr...

Questions for Group Discussion provided.James' Journey

Holiday Offer

Are you looking for a gift for your friends or family this holiday season?
I'm offering personalized, signed copies with a bookmark depicting some of the historical characters that are portrayed in James' Journey.
Choose between a Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or Solstice bookmark.



And Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Warmest Yule, Happy Kwanzaa.

Go to Signed Copies on my website.
www.helenerwin.com

Sign me for your book club PROMOTION!

Are you a member of a book club?
If you pick James´ Journey as a your next read, I´ll participate in the discussion either physically or via Skype; and the host of the book club meeting will get a free signed copy of James´ Journey.

Book Club Members

I´ve been invited to several book clubs that have read my novel. It´s been incredible to learn what people think and how reading James´ Journey made the readers think of their own transformations in their lives. I learn a lot about myself as well from these conversations.
At the last meeting I attended I was asked how much I saw myself in James and if I had gone through a transformative journey as well.
I realized when we talked that I have, I too moved to New York when I was young and it changed me more than I could have ever expected.

Are you part of a book club?
https://www.facebook.com/helenerwinwr...

Author interview

I have had the honor of being interviewed by Richard Schiver on his Written in Blood Blog.

http://www.richardschiver.com/2016/09...

Harriet on the 20 dollar bill

I'm so happy right now that I can't even describe my feelings.
I will start with just a link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/us/...

Today's slavery debate.

When I researched my novel James´ Journey, I read a lot of books and news paper articles on slavery. Read the debates by those who were for slavery. Read several Anti Tom novels that described how benevolent slavery was, how happy slaves were with their kind masters and how unhappy free African Americans were in the north. How unhappy white factory workers were and how they had it worse than the slaves in the south.

It wasn´t easy to read. It shocked me. I hadn´t fully understood what kind of excuses people used to continue the institution of slavery. My protagonist James grew from this research, he grew up with these ideas, he was fed these lies as a child and as a young man, but he opened his eyes after a while and understood.

Today I have learned that there are people that to this day try to minimize slavery in the same way. They use the same excuses, the same rhetoric to defend a book that depicts George Washington´s slave as a happy chef baking cakes.

I cannot tell you how sad this makes me, sad and angry.

Running

I usually write about my writing here, but I feel so good today that I make an exception and write about running instead.
Today was the fourth run I took where my feet didn´t hurt!! I´m SO so SO happy.
I love running but lately I have been suffering from a foot neuroma, an inflamed nerve between your metatarsal bones in your foot.
It was not fun, I hardly ran at all this fall.
A trip to the podiatrist a cortisone injection and special insoles and I´m back in the game and I feel wonderful!!
I ran in the rain today and I loved it.

Incredible photos of the Underground Railroad

I came across this collection today.
There are several photos that remind me of James´Journey.
The cabin on the plantation for example. The swamps and the cave. Even though my characters did not hide in a cave they hid in a group of tightly standing boulders.
They are powerful images.

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.or...

New Website!

I have a brand new website. Take a look!

:)

www.helenerwin.com