Melissa Bowersock's Blog, page 13

The Love of Words

I love words. I wouldn’t be a writer if I didn’t.One of my other vocations beside being a writer is being a hypnotherapist. I don’t practice it much; writing is my first love and takes up 99% of my time. As a writer, I have always been enthralled at the power of words to describe, to evoke, to inspire, to create. As a hypnotherapist, I found the power of words took on an entirely new dimension and that is the ability to induce an alternate consciousness. It still amazes me that I can lead a person into an altered state from where they might examine their psychological issues, fears, even past lives, simply with words. What amazes me even more is that I, too, can be coaxed into an alternate state, even when I understand the process inside and out, even when I’m fully aware of what is happening, simply by the use of the right words.
Words, with all their delicate meanings and nuanced emotion, can build empires or bring them down. They can harden hearts or move us to tears. They are freely available and yet only a portion of humans seem to have the will or talent to string them together in meaningful ways. Yet there is simply no denying that words can capture our imaginations and move us in ways that nothing else can.I was reminded of this one morning as I was sitting quietly, taking a mid-morning snack break and listening to the radio when The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel came on. Now I normally have music on but I normally hear very little of it; if I’m concentrating on my writing or any other task, my ears just stop working. I have that kind of attentiveness that lasers in on one thing at a time so any other considerations (husband included; just ask him) fade into white noise. When I’m writing, people often have to call my name several times before I can drag myself up out of the depths of a story to even hear them. It irritates the hell out of some people, but I don’t do it on purpose; it’s just the way I’m wired.So anyway, The Boxer starts to play. This is one of a handful of songs that, when I hear it, I have to stop whatever else I’m doing and just listen (or better yet, sing along) because the way the words are put together just knocks me out.I honestly don’t know what it is. The music and the cadence have a lot to do with it, of course, but the way the words come together is just magical to me. The meter, the rhyme, the images all combine to create a beautiful soap bubble of imagination that just picks me up and floats me away from the rest of the world. It just all comes together flawlessly.Bits of books and movies can do the same thing to me. If I’m channel-surfing and Grapes of Wrath comes on, particularly Tom Joad’s soliloquy, I cannot surf away; I have to watch. I have to listen to every word.

Then I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be ever’where—wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there… I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’—I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folk eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build—why, I’ll be there.

And it doesn’t even have to be an entire verse or a long paragraph. How many of us would kill to know that the first line of our book resonated with and was instantly recognized by millions?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, … Call me Ishmael.

I have some favorite books that I read over and over, but sometimes I might pick one up and read just one scene, one section that stuns me with its perfection. In A Prayer for Owen Meany, I can read the part about getting the Volkswagen off the stage in the school auditorium for the 50th time and still end up crying because it’s so blessedly funny. The same is true for Rita Mae Brown’s Six of One; I can read the part about the Fourth of July parade and end up weak from laughter. These are the kinds of things that writers dream about, when all the right words come together at the right time, in the right combination, in the right meter, the right cadence and the result is absolute perfection. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it doesn’t just flash like a star; it shines like a super-nova.And that’s when we know that, for that one moment in time, we’ve reached the pinnacle of our craft; we’ve attained the highest potential for being a wordsmith, a writer. We’ve strung a few words together that capture the human psyche and take it on a journey of the mind.Then it’s on to the next opus.Your turn: what lines, phrases, passages grab you like this? What are your nominees for the most perfect words ever written?Originally published by Indies Unlimited on June 24, 2014.

Please Nominate Finding Travis for Kindle Scout!

I recently finished my 15th book. It's a time-travel story about a man who inexplicably goes back in time to the year 1877. I have always loved time-travel books, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to write one of my own, but I absolutely love this story. It's funny, tense, sad and immensely satisfying. I think you'll enjoy it.

Now, it's not published yet. Here's the thing. I've entered it in Amazon's Kindle Scout program. This is for unpublished books only, and books that Amazon approves can win a publishing contract with Amazon itself. Needless to say, sounds like fun and worth a try. The approval process is a two-step deal. Amazon evaluates the book on its own merit, but then also considers the nominations by readers-- you . I know most of you haven't read the book yet, but if you know me, you know how I write. You know the stories I tell. So I'm really hoping you could take a minute and nominate Finding Travis. Here's the blurb:

Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.
Sound like a good story? It is! So what's it take to nominate the book? Easy, actually. Just click on the book above or go to this link here:
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2TX4PG7U9X39D
and click on Nominate. You're done! You can only vote once, so no coming back day after day. Just a couple clicks and you're done, and I'll be eternally grateful.
And, as an added incentive, Amazon will send FREE copies of the e-book to ALL the people who nominate a winner! How cool is that? 

Ready to vote? Ready to bring this fun and fabulous story to the world? Vote now. I'll forever be in your debt. I thank you, and Travis thanks you!

Sonnets for Heidi on Sale

My newest book, Sonnets for Heidi, will be on sale from April 10 to April 17. Normally $4.99, the e-book will be only 99 cents during that week. 
Here's the book description:
Trish Munroe never planned to be a caregiver, but circumstances have conspired to make her responsible for her elderly Aunt Heidi. Trish does her best to balance the demands of her job, her own love life and Heidi’s advancing Alzheimer’s, but the pressure is taking its toll. When Heidi passes away, there’s a bittersweet reprieve until Trish uncovers a family secret of forbidden love that takes her on a tragic yet triumphant journey of the heart.

The book is getting some rave reviews. Here's a sample:I was as excited as the characters to know what was to come next. Another home run for Melissa Bowersock. A wonderful story of love thought to be lost, only to find out it was always there. A journey for sure as Trish puts the pieces together of a love so strong, that helps her gain the courage and determination to do what's needed in her own life... I could not put the book down. This story pulled me in like no other.And...Sonnets for Heidi by Melissa Bowersock is a moving read. Mesmerizing and emotionally charged. Realistic and relatable... Well told, this story touched me and pulled me in.The author does a nice job of telling a difficult story but does so with eloquence and grace. This is life. The real deal. Uplifting moments surrounded by sad ones. In a way, this story is about new beginnings. I send out sincere thanks to my fans and readers who scooped up this book right away. It's a real labor of love that had me crying buckets as I wrote the last few pages. Warning: read with kleenex! x

Kindle Scout Campaign - Please Vote!

I recently finished my 15th book. It's a time-travel story about a man who inexplicably goes back in time to the year 1877. I have always loved time-travel books, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to write one of my own, but I absolutely love this story. It's funny, tense, sad and immensely satisfying. I think you'll enjoy it.


Now, it's not published yet. Here's the thing. I've entered it in Amazon's Kindle Scout program. This is for unpublished books only, and books that Amazon approves can win a publishing contract with Amazon itself. Needless to say, sounds like fun and worth a try. The approval process is a two-step deal. Amazon evaluates the book on its own merit, but then also considers the nominations by readers-- you . I know most of you haven't read the book yet, but if you know me, you know how I write. You know the stories I tell. So I'm really hoping you could take a minute and nominate Finding Travis. Here's the blurb:


Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.
Sound like a good story? It is! So what's it take to nominate the book? Easy, actually. Just go to this link here:
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2TX4PG7U9X39D
and click on Nominate. You're done! You can only vote once, so no coming back day after day. Just a couple clicks and you're done, and I'll be eternally grateful.
And, as an added incentive, Amazon will send FREE copies of the e-book to ALL the people who nominate a winner! How cool is that? 
Ready to vote? Ready to bring this fun and fabulous story to the world? Vote now. I'll forever be in your debt. I thank you, and Travis thanks you!

The Power of Creativity

Photo by Melissa BowersockI have often felt that creativity is an archetypal upwelling that is so intrinsic to human nature as to make it a universal truth. I believe it is so pervasive and so deep-seated that, like love, it exists and permeates all cultures around the globe without exception. And, because it is so mysterious and unruly and because it produces ideas of such unfathomable complexity and beauty, it is also powerful. It is a force that the ancients could only partially grasp and therefore it was relegated to the nature of god.A recent article on Scientific American discussed the nature of creativity and really got my neurons firing. I thought it was really interesting to see their round-up of various thinkers and philosophers and their views on what creativity is and where it comes from.

To name just few examples: Plato has Socrates say, in certain dialogues, that when poets produce truly great poetry, they do it not through knowledge or mastery, but rather by being divinely “inspired”—literally, breathed into— by the Muses, in a state of possession that exhibits a kind of madness. Aristotle, in contrast, characterized the work of the poet as a rational, goal-directed activity of making (poeisis), in which the poet employs various means (such as sympathetic characters and plots involving twists of fate) to achieve an end (of eliciting various emotions in the audience). Kant conceived of artistic genius as an innate capacity to produce works of “exemplary originality” through the free play of the imagination, a process which does not consist in following rules, can neither be learned nor taught, and is mysterious even to geniuses themselves. Schopenhauer stressed that the greatest artists are distinguished not only by the technical skill they employ in the production of art, but also by the capacity to “lose themselves” in the experience of what is beautiful and sublime.

You might note the descriptors used: possession, rational, goal-directed, artistic, originality, imagination, learned, taught, mysterious, skill, beautiful and sublime. It’s fairly obvious that the descriptions cover a wide range of ideas and there is little agreement on what creativity actually is except maybe (D) all of the above.I can remember ages ago in my Art History class in high school. Our first studies were of the small clay “Venuses” of stone-age cultures. These Venus sculptures were faceless females, fat with pregnancy, naked in their simple beauty, and relegated to an unremarkable niche of “fertility figures.” I don’t know why, but this generic, tossed-off classification always bothered me. The figures were everywhere, in every culture, even the earliest ones that may have had no inkling of the sexual process of fertilization and birth. (Phallic figures, indicating ancient peoples had come to understand the full process, began appearing in archaeological sites much later.) It seems obvious to me that these stone-age people did not understand how a woman could bring forth new life, so they enlisted the help of the gods to promote the growth of their people.But I don’t believe it was fertility they were worshipping and praying for. I don’t believe fertility was the mysterious power they were trying to harness.I believe it was creation: the ability to create.Creativity produces something that did not exist the moment before. It produces something new, something exciting, something wondrous. Who has that kind of power? God, surely. Only God could create a paradise from nothing; only God could populate the world with plants and animals and humans. Only God could produce life-giving rain from the sky.But then women could give birth. Women could create new life where there was none before.Certainly, this kind of creativity—any kind of creativity—is power. The existence of the Venus figures shows us how the ancients tried to harness that power. They may not have understood it, but they were darn well going to do whatever they could to try to get a handle on it.All humans want and need power. Power gives us the ability to do what we do, to build the kind of lives we want. It may not be power over anything or anyone; it might just be the power to be free, to live, to be who we are, to create. But if a person perceives that he or she does not have power, what then? If they cannot create, how then can they get hold of that kind of power for themselves?Destruction.But destruction is always and only a second-best to creativity. It is always and only an also-ran. Destruction will never have the power of creativity because it does not produce something new that was never there before. It can only tear down and destroy. Any fool can destroy. Not everyone can create.But those of us who do, have a power that no one can ever take away from us.Let’s use it wisely.
This post was published originally by Indies Unlimited on July 15, 2014.

Author Interview: Mary Ann Emmerling

Today I'm sitting down with new author Mary Ann Emmerling, who has just published The Go To Guide to Anxiety and Panic, a very helpful book for anxiety sufferers. It's actually a two-part book in that it is packed with information about what anxiety is and how it's treated, but then in the back is a quick guide for instant relief from anxiety attacks. 



Mary Ann, give us a quick overview of what you hope this book can do for anxiety sufferers.
Anyone who has had anxiety knows how it can take over your life. In writing The Go To Guide to Anxiety and Panic, my goal was to not only to give anxiety sufferers hope, but to provide answers and reassurance for the many questions and fears that anxiety creates. Many sufferers fear being anxious the rest of their lives. Through this book, I want sufferers know that they are not alone in what they feel and that they can recover.
Obviously a worthy cause, as many people experience anxiety in their lives. Who can benefit the most from this book?
Anyone who has anxiety in any form. You can have a diagnosis and be in treatment already or you may have never had anxiety before but are now experiencing symptoms that are interfering in your daily life. My goal is that this book will give sufferers hope and the keys to recovery.
What prompted you to write this particular book?
I always wanted to write a book. I considered fiction, but I couldn't get past the first page. The saying "write what you know" stuck with me. I know anxiety very well. I had panic attacks as a teen into my early 20's. I am also a mental health therapist so I understand anxiety from the treatment aspect as well. The Go To Guide for Anxiety and Panic came about because I wanted to write the book I wanted to read when I suffered with anxiety.
I think that's an important point here: you wrote the book that you wanted to read when you were suffering. The fact that you've been through this and have come out the other side is huge. Now, in the book, you tell some of your own story. Did you find that difficult, or liberating?
Having anxiety is a very isolating experience. And often the sufferer doesn't share their experience due to the fear being judged. In my own recovery and as a mental health therapist, I struggled to talk about what I was going through. But I learned that sharing is a vital part of healing to have support. In this way, I hope writing about my own story of struggle and recovery inspires those with anxiety to reach out for support and understanding.
We all know that having a good idea and then translating it to paper are two different things. What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Rewriting and editing! I wanted this to be a valuable resource that someone could turn to over and over again at any stage in their recovery and find what they needed to answer a question or provide comfort. It was important to me that anyone reading the book would get the tools they needed to overcome anxiety.
What was the easiest part?
The very first draft. I already knew what I wanted to say from all the years of helping clients as well as my personal experience with anxiety. I literally pulled from hundreds of resources over the years to find answers for clients and for myself and that helped tremendously in writing the book.
Sounds like it was an awesome task, but one you were mightily prepared to take on. What’s your primary message to anxiety sufferers?
There is life after anxiety. No matter how long you have suffered or how bad you feel your anxiety may be, you can recover. Hope is found in every step you take through support, resources and self help.
Do you have other projects in mind for the future?
I have a few ideas floating around! Because emotional issues do not get the attention they deserve in our society today, the need for knowledge and understanding is more vital than ever. No one should have to suffer alone. I found writing The Go To Anxiety and Panic Book therapeutic for that reason, and I would find it very rewarding to continue to help others through writing. 
Good for you! We all have times when we can use a little help to get through the rough patches in our lives. I wish you all the best with the new book and hope you get great feedback from readers. Keep me posted on any new projects and we'll have another chat when you've got another book under your belt!

Why I Don’t Do Sequels or Series

As an author, is there any better feeling that that of being on fire? I mean, of course, being inflamed with inspiration, with an idea, with a story. What’s better than that little *pop* as an idea flares to life, blue and orange and yellow, that little flicker that when shielded from the wind, when protected and encouraged begins to bite into the fuel of possibilities and grow, reaching ever upward, ever outward as the possibilities turn into inspired plot points and compelling characters? You know the feeling. But does it happen every time we sit down to write? Does it herald the beginning of every new project?We wish.But even when we are sufficiently inspired, when the creative juices flow and we can’t wait to get to the keyboard to get it all down on paper, does that mean it’s going to be a blockbuster book? Does the flame of divine inspiration ensure that we can convey that spark well enough to put out a book that fires the public’s imagination, as well?Again we wish.What’s my point? That this kind of inspiration is few and far between, and even if it strikes us, it’s difficult to catch that lightning in a bottle. How much more difficult is it if we set out to accomplish just that? If we take our bottle out into the night and hide in the deeper shadows beneath the trees, waiting and hoping to be at the right place at the exact right instant?Okay, stay with me.I’ve had many readers query me about sequels for several of my books. Ask, cajole, even plead. Which is hugely flattering. It’s head-turning. I won’t deny I’ve thought about it. But the biggest problem, at least for me, is that what was once a flash of inspiration then becomes an exercise in mechanics. I’ve told the story that kept me awake nights, the one I didn’t really understand until I’d finished it, the one that came from some place I wasn’t even aware of. Now I was going to go back and try to construct a follow-up? Now I was going to go back and try to logically, intellectually, figure out an encore when the inspiration is not that spark but a willful desire to replicate the spark and try to pass it off as the real thing?With all due respect to those who have penned successful series and sequels, to me this is unimaginable. It’s hard enough to tease out the thread of a compelling story when it’s oozing up from the archetypal subconscious of my brain; thinking about trying to capture this intangible flash, trying to fit a harness to it and train it to sit and stay while I peck out the story just seems ludicrous. I can’t imagine anything less inspired.We’ve all seen it. Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code electrified the world. By the time we got to The Lost Symbol, it all seemed rote to me. More clues, more escapes, more riddles. Borrrrrrrring. I know I’ll catch flak for this, but the Harry Potter books got less and less interesting to me as time went by. And who can forget Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children saga? Again, the first book hit with a bullet, but the ensuing books were more of the same (plus more sex. Can’t you just hear her editors? More sex! More sex!). It feels terribly sad to me when an innovative idea is milked into a desiccated husk of the original. When Fast and Furious XII or Rocky 43 hits the Multiplex.So … I don’t do sequels. I don’t do series. I should qualify that by saying that I might consider it, IF the inspiration for the whole kit and caboodle came at once, and just needed to be separated out into different books because it was too much for one book. But that’s the only way I’d consider it. I think.Here’s my challenge to you. Which sequels/series would you nominate for being as inspiring and phenomenal as the original book? And what are your thoughts on unplanned inspiration vs. planning a follow-up book? If you think I’m off-base on this, I’d love to hear about it from those of you who have done series and/or sequels.Originally published on July 8,2014 by Indies Unlimited

Sonnets for Heidi On Sale!

If you've been holding off on buying my newest book, Sonnets for Heidi, this is your chance. During the second week of February (2/6-2/13) it's on sale for only 99 cents. 




Trish Munroe never planned to be a caregiver, but circumstances have conspired to make her responsible for her elderly Aunt Heidi. Trish does her best to balance the demands of her job, her love life and Heidi’s advancing Alzheimer’s, but the pressure is taking its toll. When Heidi passes away, there’s a bittersweet reprieve until Trish uncovers a family secret of forbidden love that takes her on a tragic yet triumphant journey of the heart.


The book is getting some rave reviews. Here's a sample:

I was as excited as the characters to know what was to come next. Another home run for Melissa Bowersock. A wonderful story of love thought to be lost, only to find out it was always there. A journey for sure as Trish puts the pieces together of a love so strong, that helps her gain the courage and determination to do what's needed in her own life... I could not put the book down. This story pulled me in like no other.

And...

Sonnets for Heidi by Melissa Bowersock is a moving read. Mesmerizing and emotionally charged. Realistic and relatable... Well told, this story touched me and pulled me in.The author does a nice job of telling a difficult story but does so with eloquence and grace. This is life. The real deal. Uplifting moments surrounded by sad ones. In a way, this story is about new beginnings. 

I send out sincere thanks to my fans and readers who scooped up this book right away. It's a real labor of love that had me crying buckets as I wrote the last few pages. Warning: read with kleenex! 

New Release: Sonnets for Heidi

Just released! My 14th book and, as usual, it's nothing like anything I've done before. If you've read my other books, you know I never tell the same story twice. This one is a contemporary drama with a very timely subject. 

Trish Munroe never planned to be a caregiver, but circumstances have conspired to make her responsible for her elderly Aunt Heidi. Trish does her best to balance the demands of her job, her love life and Heidi’s advancing Alzheimer’s, but the pressure is taking its toll. When Heidi passes away, there’s a bittersweet reprieve until Trish uncovers a family secret of forbidden love that takes her on a tragic yet triumphant journey of the heart.
Thanks to my wonderful beta-readers, I already have some great reviews. Here's a sample:
Discovering the enduring cruelty of historic decisions is but one of the many facets of this beautifully illustrative tale of loss, dementia, family dynamics, love and loyalty that makes compelling reading right to the end.—Ian Mathie, author of The African Memoir Series
An emotional story of family secrets written with love, compassion, depth, and confidence.—Laurie Boris, author of A Sudden Gust of Gravity
Sonnets for Heidiis a heartfelt tale in which what-might-have-been becomes a way forward.—Lynne Cantwell, author of The Pipe Woman Chronicles
Sonnets for Heidi is available as a paperback now on Amazon. The e-book version will be available soon. Stay tuned!

Coming Soon: Sonnets for Heidi

I expect to be releasing my latest book, Sonnets for Heidi, in the next few weeks. Along with my very talented support team of writers, editors and designers, I'm making the last tweaks to the cover. I'm very happy with the book overall, and I think my readers will enjoy it, as well. 

Here's a hint of the cover:



And here's the description:

Trish Munroe never planned to be a caregiver, but circumstances have conspired to make her responsible for her elderly Aunt Heidi. Trish does her best to balance the demands of her job, her love life and Heidi’s advancing Alzheimer’s, but the pressure is taking its toll. When Heidi passes away, there’s a bittersweet reprieve until Trish uncovers a family secret of forbidden love that takes her on a tragic yet triumphant journey of the heart.
Stay tuned for the actual release!