tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47956289564172549552024-03-13T08:59:53.100-07:00Eldonna Edwards, AuthorAuthor Eldonna Edwards shares her thoughts on life, love and writing. Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-46492372732942344432020-04-28T08:08:00.000-07:002020-04-28T08:08:49.685-07:00Clover Blue out in Paperback Today!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=46469b27d8&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-a:r1202168232382508620&th=171be80037e5ceda&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ-TN5vkRrrbndzrsX0FFt0B7dWcQsBqb9GTG2BI_Ujx7ykR2HT4VTfVCUuXKrk9tlaHEkAadDom00Bn27Zg1ZrS0RliyFFkLonMruE6eU9EWOwpBXFW9ydIN7o&disp=emb&realattid=ii_k9j90crw0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image.png" border="0" class="CToWUd a6T" data-image-whitelisted="" height="227" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=46469b27d8&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-a:r1202168232382508620&th=171be80037e5ceda&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ-TN5vkRrrbndzrsX0FFt0B7dWcQsBqb9GTG2BI_Ujx7ykR2HT4VTfVCUuXKrk9tlaHEkAadDom00Bn27Zg1ZrS0RliyFFkLonMruE6eU9EWOwpBXFW9ydIN7o&disp=emb&realattid=ii_k9j90crw0" style="outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="151" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">My second novel, <i>Clover Blue</i>, comes out in paperback today (April 28) from Kensington Publishing, with a fabulous new cover! This book has won over the hearts of many readers and I couldn't be prouder. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A lot of you, in some way, have supported me in this journey. Thank so much! Words can’t express my gratitude. Due to the current crisis, I've had to cancel in-person events. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you haven't yet, I hope you'll consider reading about the book and buying a copy for yourself or a friend. Please consider ordering a copy from your neighborhood bookstore. Many now provide curbside pick-up or will mail your book and you'll be supporting a small local business!</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (you don’t need to buy the book from Amazon to do this!) are so important and always appreciated. I'd also love to visit with your book club for a discussion via Zoom or Skype!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Thank you again for your support. Please stay healthy and safe.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">With love and gratitude, </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Eldonna Edwards</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">BUY ONLINE</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712900" target="_blank">Amazon: </a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clover-blue-eldonna-edwards/1129474161?ean=9781496712905" target="_blank">B&N: </a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://bookshop.org/books/clover-blue/9781496712905" target="_blank">Bookshop</a> (percentage goes to indie bookstores!)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">PRAISE </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">for <i>Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">“</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><i>Clover Blue</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"> sparkles with love, warmth and magic. The vivid setting and unforgettable characters make you think deeply about what it means to be part of a family, and where the line us between community and cult. I couldn't put it down."</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
<span style="color: black;"><b style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">—Joanne Serling, Pushcart Prizewinner and author of </span><i>Good Neighbors</i></span></b></span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>"</i>An utterly captivating story about the power of secrets to completely twist, bend, and complicate a happy life--in this case, a child's life, and the choices he must make to discover the truth. You will fall in love with <i>Clover Blue</i> and be rooting for him on every page of this masterfully-told gripping tale of family, friendship, love, losss, and ultimately, home."</span></span></div>
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">—Anna Quinn, author of </span><i>The Night Child</i></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"A musical piece of historical fiction, stringing together diverse, interesting, and flawed characters who help and hurt each other on their quests for inner peace and love." </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-style: inherit;">—</span><i>Booklist</i></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"</i>Clover Blue burns with questions of identity, forgiveness, and truth. At the heart of Edwards' clear prose is a desire for community that also reveals the pitfalls of clan. This is a delightful, thoughtful book."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: small;"><i>—</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Melissa Scholes Young, author of Flood </i></span> </b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
"Beautifully written and emotionally resonant."</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b> </b><b style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: small;"><i>—</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of <span style="font-style: inherit;">The Orphan Collector</span></i></span></b><b><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>"Exquisite use of language. Edwards writes with descriptive detail that draws the reader in and in a perfect pace that leaves you wanting more."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: small; font-style: inherit;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Flor Edwards, author of<span style="font-style: inherit;"> Apocalypse Child</span></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-82947471125282765182019-05-26T13:03:00.002-07:002019-05-29T10:52:44.214-07:0013 Reasons Why You Should Read Clover Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUIwTkG-MMs/XOhbHP3a56I/AAAAAAAAEEE/JOt0bfAu_9EiVTUhWSQVVCX_oDptH0dRACLcBGAs/s1600/eldonna%2Bwgvu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUIwTkG-MMs/XOhbHP3a56I/AAAAAAAAEEE/JOt0bfAu_9EiVTUhWSQVVCX_oDptH0dRACLcBGAs/s320/eldonna%2Bwgvu.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At first glance this photo looks like most any author talking up her new book on a tour of multiple radio shows, media interviews, bookstore signings and library events. She's trying not to look tired, despite having flown in from across the country late the night before and getting up on her west coast body clock's 4:00 AM to drive almost an hour for a ten minute segment on <a href="https://www.wgvunews.org/post/clover-blue" target="_blank">local public radio</a>. The truth is she's exhausted, and yet she'd do it again. And again and again and again. Not because it will sell tons of books (although she hopes so) or because she enjoys being in the limelight (soft light, maybe) or even because it makes her publisher happy. The reason she invests so much time, energy, and, yes, her own money, into promoting her book is because she prays this new novel finds a home within the heart of a hungry reader. After all, she spent the last two years creating a patchwork of diverse characters, building their unique outdoor world, and weaving a story about a free-spirited tribe of seekers who reject cultural norms in order to live in nature and follow what they call <i>The Peaceful Way</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On my way back to California from Michigan last week, I had a freak-out moment. With so many fabulous books releasing every single day, why should readers choose <i>my book</i>? I started doubting myself, all the time I'd spent crafting this story and how it might slip through the cracks along with all the other wonderful books that never make it from the store shelves into readers' hands. Why on earth did I quit my job? How would I survive financially and emotionally if the book failed? Who was I kidding, thinking people would want to read about a bunch of hippies in a 1970s commune instead of a thriller or a sizzling romance or a <i>People</i> magazine? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jpd2LTGxJQ/XOsJhJ5wTXI/AAAAAAAAEFA/uI0o3tTRxYwWmKqmd-fqHE0FPzn45VLZgCLcBGAs/s1600/princess%2Borangutan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="393" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jpd2LTGxJQ/XOsJhJ5wTXI/AAAAAAAAEFA/uI0o3tTRxYwWmKqmd-fqHE0FPzn45VLZgCLcBGAs/s320/princess%2Borangutan.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
And then something wonderful happened. The passenger next to me closed her paperback, so I offered her one of my bookmarks. This led to a conversation about books, and that led to us exchanging tidbits about our lives. She shared memories of her time spent in Borneo with the orangutans, including the time when one named "<a href="https://orangutan.org/orangutan-of-the-month-princess/" target="_blank">Princess</a>" stole a canoe and hand-paddled her baby to the other side of the river toward a fruit-laden tree. We chatted for over two hours, exchanging stories and eventually, emails. By the time the plane landed in Denver this woman and I were no longer strangers. I promised to watch the orangutan documentary she'd recommended. She said she was headed straight to <a href="https://www.tatteredcover.com/" target="_blank">Tattered Cover</a> to pre-order Clover Blue. Much like the lilting movements of the airplane, my emotions had swung up and down and back up again. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was nearly midnight when my last plane finally touched down in San Luis Obispo. I thought about my new friend driving through several inches of fresh snow to her cabin in the mountains over Denver. I couldn't help but smile, remembering some of the outrageous adventures she'd shared. I suddenly felt like Princess the orangutan, that I'd courageously paddled my way across this river of uncertainty to reach the fruit, my nascent novel in tow.<br />
<br />
As I rolled my suitcase toward the parking lot, it occurred to me that people don't buy books, they buy <i>experiences</i>. A story is an opportunity to escape into other worlds where we might recognize ourselves and others within the pages. Reading allows us to ponder the character's choices and connect with the emotions they feel. A good book takes us through hope, fear, sadness and joy via tragedy and triumph, just like in our own lives. My greatest success as an author is not determined by sales numbers, but by the number of people who are moved by the experience of reading my stories. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qUGvbvlECA/XOmQc3a0M-I/AAAAAAAAEEs/5z1alc-mnfUQob6mfjsKwjrpoiHsWdqXwCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bseattle%2Bbook%2Bmama%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qUGvbvlECA/XOmQc3a0M-I/AAAAAAAAEEs/5z1alc-mnfUQob6mfjsKwjrpoiHsWdqXwCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bseattle%2Bbook%2Bmama%2B%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
I grew up in a preacher's home where we were raised to be modest and humble. Tooting your own horn was considered boastful. But we creatives need to start owning our talents. I wrote a damn good book and I'm really proud of it. Over the past few months I've slowly introduced the characters in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">Clover Blue</a> here in this blog. I wanted you to recognize your young selves in their youthful, idealistic ambitions. I hoped you'd begin to care about what happens to them. And now I'm asking you to take a chance on this story, <i>their </i>stories, with an assurance that your reading experience will be worth the cover price, about the same as a movie ticket and snacks.<br />
<br />
I promised thirteen reasons why you should read <i>Clover Blue</i>. They are <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-to-grow-guru.html" target="_blank">Goji</a>, <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/04/willow-and-wave-surfer-and-yogi.html" target="_blank">Willow, Wave</a>, Jade, <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/04/meet-coyote-loner-lover-leaver.html" target="_blank">Coyote</a>, <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/01/everybody-loves-rain-when-new-girl.html" target="_blank">Rain</a>, <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-good-doobie-lovable-man-behind-cloud.html" target="_blank">Doobie</a>, Gaia, Sirona, <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/03/finding-harmony-every-protagonist-needs.html" target="_blank">Harmony</a>, Moon, Aura and <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/02/clover-blue-boy-and-book.html" target="_blank">Blue</a>. A guru, a yogi, a surfer, beekeeper, an army deserter, a runaway teen, a pothead. a deadhead, a midwife, a friend, a son, a daughter, and a boy searching for his place among them. And here's a couple more reasons. If you pre-order the book from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or your favorite <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496712899" target="_blank">Indie Bookstore</a>, I'll email you the link to a themed <b><i>Clover Blue Playlist </i></b>with over 120 song titles and send you a signed bookplate for your book, along with my deepest gratitude.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
***************</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Don't miss my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/760169377710727/" target="_blank">Facebook Clover Blue Online Release Party</a>! You could win a signed book, a Kindle PaperWhite, or one of several fun prizes! And if you're local, I'll be at Barnes & Noble in San Luis Obispo this Saturday, June 1 at 2:00 PM. </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1enaC7PTNQM/XOmP3woQ8WI/AAAAAAAAEEo/zyyZvPWNG0UiHJNnlqgNb5bP5MWxmgkawCEwYBhgL/s1600/Clover%2BBlue%2BLaunch%2BParty%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1enaC7PTNQM/XOmP3woQ8WI/AAAAAAAAEEo/zyyZvPWNG0UiHJNnlqgNb5bP5MWxmgkawCEwYBhgL/s320/Clover%2BBlue%2BLaunch%2BParty%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
AND...I hope to see you on my West Coast Summer Book Tour!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCcjo_UT5yc/XOmOkem4AlI/AAAAAAAAEEc/Vi32q5X0AEEOiG8wgt8eIOlHOGr6_th3wCLcBGAs/s1600/eldonna%2Bsummer%2Bbook%2Btour%2B2019%2Bwith%2Banna%2B%25286%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCcjo_UT5yc/XOmOkem4AlI/AAAAAAAAEEc/Vi32q5X0AEEOiG8wgt8eIOlHOGr6_th3wCLcBGAs/s320/eldonna%2Bsummer%2Bbook%2Btour%2B2019%2Bwith%2Banna%2B%25286%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-71157283423292274342019-05-12T12:25:00.001-07:002019-05-12T14:10:52.469-07:00Meet Lotus: The Prodigal Farmer's Wife in CLOVER BLUE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCStCaXIM2U/XNdbyU7GsaI/AAAAAAAAECI/escbzVQRteYd5Fny0qNTVQeVmh8EjrJ8gCLcBGAs/s1600/%25E2%2580%259CEvery%2Btime%2BI%2Bset%2Bfoot%2Bin%2Bthis%2Bcommunity%2Bit%2Bfeels%2Blike%2Bcoming%2Bhome%2Bto%2Bthat%2Bidealistic%2Bversion%2Bof%2Bmyself%252C%2Bthe%2Bdreams%2BI%2Blost%2Bsomewhere%2Balong%2Bthe%2Bway.%25E2%2580%259D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCStCaXIM2U/XNdbyU7GsaI/AAAAAAAAECI/escbzVQRteYd5Fny0qNTVQeVmh8EjrJ8gCLcBGAs/s320/%25E2%2580%259CEvery%2Btime%2BI%2Bset%2Bfoot%2Bin%2Bthis%2Bcommunity%2Bit%2Bfeels%2Blike%2Bcoming%2Bhome%2Bto%2Bthat%2Bidealistic%2Bversion%2Bof%2Bmyself%252C%2Bthe%2Bdreams%2BI%2Blost%2Bsomewhere%2Balong%2Bthe%2Bway.%25E2%2580%259D.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Life gets mighty precious when there's less time of it to waste</i>." --Bonnie Raitt</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I remember when my mom turned fifty and all hell broke loose in our house. She shuffled off the yoke of her existence as a devoted pastor's wife and went back to college to expand her horizons. Mom would stay up late, poring over books and homework. She eventually graduated with honors, using her degree to become a financial aide counselor at the same college she'd attended.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FyK9N9ndUd4/XNhzXkZD4pI/AAAAAAAAEC8/xijk3hoa2Vk1hmB1m_C04LS5gc9s7Oe_QCLcBGAs/s1600/mom%2Bdad%2Bluanne%2Beldonna%2Bcropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="237" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FyK9N9ndUd4/XNhzXkZD4pI/AAAAAAAAEC8/xijk3hoa2Vk1hmB1m_C04LS5gc9s7Oe_QCLcBGAs/s320/mom%2Bdad%2Bluanne%2Beldonna%2Bcropped.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom with my dad and me in 1961</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although he lovingly supported my mother's educational aspirations, I think on some level my dad mourned the loss of his dutiful wife, and realized that her going back to school was likely the first step of his beloved's path to asserting her autonomy. And he was right. My mom was barely twenty when they'd married. Forty years and seven children later, they separated. My dad was heartbroken. My mom, on the other hand, bloomed like a rose, until the piercing thorn of cancer took her permanently from all of us at the age of sixty-four. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saffron Freedom Community, the 1970s commune in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>, is full of youthful people who aspire to create a Utopian society free from the constraints of social norms. Except for a couple of trusted neighbors, outsiders are forbidden from entering SFC. One of those exceptions is Lois Fuller, the farm wife who buys eggs from the commune that borders their property. Mrs. Fuller is a former school teacher who once had aspirations of studying art. She loves spending time with the Saffrron children, encouraging them to explore their interests in art and literature. The more time she spends at SFC the more envious she becomes of their lifestyle, eventually going so far as to want to join them:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><i>“Look,
I know I’m a lot older than all of you, but I’ve been every age you are.” She
turns toward Goji, who listens thoughtfully. “Every time I set foot in this
community it feels like coming home to that idealistic version of myself, the
dreams I lost somewhere along the way.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><i>Goji
leans forward, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands. “You
are like a flower, opening. So very beautiful. I think we should call you Lotus
instead of Lois.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Lotus reminds me a little of my own mother and a lot of myself. Today, on Mother's Day, I want to honor all those mothers who made huge sacrifices to care for the children and those who chose to pursue their dreams, simultaneously or eventually. I also want to honor the women who either couldn't or chose not to have kids. Mothering isn't about giving birth so much as it's about nurturing. We are all mothers in one way or another. Some of us plant gardens. Some of us protect and care for the planet and her creatures. Some of us make art. And some of us write books.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*******</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Only two weeks until the release of CLOVER BLUE. If your mother grew up in the 1960s/1970s she might enjoy this book. And you might learn a little something about her...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">pre-order </a>now. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWpbon-54YY/XNhxK9dT5vI/AAAAAAAAECo/SaSAegJZd6oo84y5mvnz21GI9RQx1qVoQCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bdonna%2Beverhart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWpbon-54YY/XNhxK9dT5vI/AAAAAAAAECo/SaSAegJZd6oo84y5mvnz21GI9RQx1qVoQCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bdonna%2Beverhart.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-68443208837686474912019-05-05T14:50:00.000-07:002019-05-05T14:50:17.423-07:00A Good Doobie: The Lovable Man Behind The Cloud of Smoke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dibao_ftLmM/XBvnWluo2tI/AAAAAAAADt0/cK90Z3Eja_U_hlF6hpTuW6GMMpcj33DaQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/doobie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="460" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dibao_ftLmM/XBvnWluo2tI/AAAAAAAADt0/cK90Z3Eja_U_hlF6hpTuW6GMMpcj33DaQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/doobie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love</i>." --Rumi</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I once briefly dated a man who I later learned carried an expensive engagement ring everywhere with him, wanting to be good and ready if the right woman came along. He scared several women away with his impulsive wedding proposals, myself included. He was a sweet guy, but his gaping need to find a partner felt like a bottomless wound, one so deep that no woman could possibly fill it without losing herself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of my favorite characters in <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">Clover Blue</a></i> is a softhearted pothead called Doobie. (Okay they're all my favorite characters; I'm their mom so I love them equally, nudge-nudge, wink-wink). We don't know much about how Doobie ended up at Saffron Freedom Community but it's implied that he drifted northward from Haight Street in San Francisco sometime around the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Love" target="_blank">Summer of Love</a>. What we do know is that he is a lover in the true sense of the word. He's openly affectionate and loves everyone, and yet, like that man I once dated, he's the one member of SFC who finds romantic love the most elusive. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
From the outside, Doobie is the most "typical" hippie in the family, sporting long hair, dirty clothes, and a ready joint tucked behind one ear. He's always first with a smile, a hug, or an offer to share a smoke when one of his brothers or sisters are feeling down. Doobie loves weed; smoking it and growing it. He cultivates marijuana in the community garden, concealing the plants between rows of sweet corn. But you can't help but feel a little sorry for the man who wants so badly to find a partner to receive all the love he has to give.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's not that Doobie has never enjoyed the company of women. He and former member Gaia</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_we-KNyiQA/XM9MmreuyYI/AAAAAAAAEAw/eB0mU6I06JQjUWke7toSdp_2D_EsH03LwCLcBGAs/s1600/doobbie%2Bquote%2Bclover%2Bblue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_we-KNyiQA/XM9MmreuyYI/AAAAAAAAEAw/eB0mU6I06JQjUWke7toSdp_2D_EsH03LwCLcBGAs/s320/doobbie%2Bquote%2Bclover%2Bblue.png" width="320" /></a></div>
used to be lovers before she abandoned the commune (and her daughter) to follow The Grateful Dead. Later, Doobie sets his eyes on a runaway called <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/01/everybody-loves-rain-when-new-girl.html" target="_blank">Rain</a> who joins the community in the fall of 1974. It doesn't take long for Doobie to realize the new girl is already under l<a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-to-grow-guru.html" target="_blank">eader Goji's </a>spell, and his chances with Rain are zero to nil. As <a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2019/02/clover-blue-boy-and-book.html" target="_blank">Clover Blue's</a> story progresses, we learn that Doobie has developed a mad crush on Stardust, a tarot card reader who lives in town and occasionally buys a dime bag from Doobie. Stardust is in a relationship with the controlling owner of the head shop where her readings take place, but Doobie hopes to woo her away from him.<br />
<br />
Deeper into the story, Doobie falls in love again, this time with an older woman who flees her rural farming life to live at Saffron Freedom Community. But, you'll have to read the book to see how that turns out. ;)<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We've all know people like Doobie. They're sensitive guys who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Women are initially drawn to the silliness and charm, but eventually go looking for a more "challenging" relationship, one that doesn't feel so lopsided. When this happens to our Romeo Doobie, he slinks away, heartbroken. And yet ever the optimist, he continues his search for the one woman who will open her heart to receive the gift of love he so desperately longs to share. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What about you? Have you ever known someone like Doobie? I hope you'll share your story in the comments. And if you haven't already, I hope you'll consider pre-ordering <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>, now just 23 days from our launch date of May 28!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
**********</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712870" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8s0VDvqyArY/XM9Y5FSNGZI/AAAAAAAAEBE/mVHmxb_IaTwzMqCtD1RKkhldq2naUOIoACLcBGAs/s320/This%2BI%2BKnow%2Bbook%2Bmama%2BPAPERBACK%2BRELEASE%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-86381274844762739022019-04-19T13:06:00.000-07:002019-04-19T13:06:05.667-07:00Meet Coyote: The Loner, The Lover, The Leaver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GU1AlZvbdoA/XBv4nJgANKI/AAAAAAAADuo/S2aWWGlxjiotpaaQA1thvWGGNX3zOjSKwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Coyote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GU1AlZvbdoA/XBv4nJgANKI/AAAAAAAADuo/S2aWWGlxjiotpaaQA1thvWGGNX3zOjSKwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Coyote.jpg" width="238" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>The wolf pack will die when scattered by man, lonesome coyote survives</i>. --El Coyote, Kris Kristofferson</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of all the characters within the pages of my forthcoming novel <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>,</i> Coyote was the most unknown to me. Usually when I start a book, I acquaint myself with each person, learn their history, let them tell me their story so I can tell it to you. In Coyote's case, his story was more of a quiet reveal as I got to know him through his actions. This is partly because he's a man of few words, and usually only speaks when he has something worth saying. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of this, the best way to introduce Coyote is to share some excerpts that might offer a few clues about this father, protector, army deserter, and loyal friend. In the following scene, young Clover Blue shares his thoughts in the midst of a powerful storm lashing outside their tree house shelter:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Coyote’s hammock hangs empty across from my bed. He’s an insomniac and often disappears
on walks at night. On nights like this, you’d think he’d want to take shelter
in the tree house, but Coyote loves storms. Nobody knows where he goes but he
usually comes back long after I’m asleep.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Coyote is also a beloved father. His daughter Aura makes her appearance within the first few pages of the book during a home birth with his loving partner, Jade. Aura calls him Yo-Yi. Here's glimpse of Coyote and two-year-old Aura at Saffron Freedom Community.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aura
runs behind Coyote carrying a basket of wild berries in her chubby arms. She
follows him everywhere. Half the time Coyote has Aura’s little legs curled
around his neck as he moves around the compound with her on his shoulders. She
hangs on to his dreadlocks like reins, leaning this way and that as if they’re
two heads on one body. Coyote often has bits of food in his hair from her
munching on apples or carrots while she floats around on his shoulders.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Blue often seeks answers to his many questions from his older brother and confidant. In one of the most telling scenes from the book, Clover Blue wonders about Coyote's motivations for leaving boot camp and fleeing to the commune:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I was just
wondering if you ever wish you didn’t go AWOL. I mean wouldn’t it have been
easier to just do your stint and be done? Or turn yourself in and take the
punishment now that the Vietnam war is over?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dn9w483FXwQ/XLn3_mafq5I/AAAAAAAAD9g/vC6Luq9myMslnpy4SaVIE_KbHarT8VKxQCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bcoyote%2Bwar%2Bquote%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dn9w483FXwQ/XLn3_mafq5I/AAAAAAAAD9g/vC6Luq9myMslnpy4SaVIE_KbHarT8VKxQCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bcoyote%2Bwar%2Bquote%2B%25281%2529.png" title="CLOVER BLUE by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></span></a><i></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Coyote lets the
truck door gently swing back closed. He looks me up and down while he chews </i><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">a little on his lower lip. “You know we live in a bubble here, right? Things are crazy different out there in the real world. They sent all the brothers to Nam, put ’em on the front lines. Most of them came home in body bags. My ‘stint,’ as you call it, meant I’d have to kill people, you realize that?”</i></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> “It was a stupid question.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“No, it’s not. You need to know this. That war was for the military industry. Most are. But the war against the black man is far from over. What they most want to take away from us is our dignity and our freedom.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, Coyote is also quietly compassionate, as revealed by newcomer Rain:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“<i>My first day here, everything was so, I don’t know, different. I was scared. Coyote sat here
on the other side of me. My hand was shaking so bad the food kept falling off
the fork. He put his hand over mine and held it. He said, ‘It’s cool, sister. Everyone
here is your friend.’ His words calmed me down. I’ll never forget that.</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To be frank, as a white woman who grew up in the Midwest, creating a believable character like Coyote, a black man from Oakland, CA, was challenging. But it also presented a unique opportunity to underscore the issues of the day, and give voice to the disparity in African American military recruits who were sent to the front lines, and the unrelenting bigotry they endured. I don't for a minute profess to know what it would be like to walk in Coyote's shoes, but I hope that I've imprinted the reader's heart with one man's indelible footprints.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">********************</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Only 39 days until the release of CLOVER BLUE. I hope you'll <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">pre-order</a> your copy today, currently 34% off the cover price! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsauU8n2nTY/XLn7EHC5MJI/AAAAAAAAD98/Djg4XgZE2L8ICJsDKcahlLth7tONMnOCwCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Ball%2Bauthors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsauU8n2nTY/XLn7EHC5MJI/AAAAAAAAD98/Djg4XgZE2L8ICJsDKcahlLth7tONMnOCwCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Ball%2Bauthors.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And don't forget, my debut novel <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712870" target="_blank">This I Know </a></i>will be out in paperback on April 30. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-20015848066011967962019-04-08T12:04:00.000-07:002019-04-10T09:18:53.709-07:00Willow and Wave: The Surfer and the Yogi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DmApW7-A8WY/Wka4uNq7bmI/AAAAAAAAC5E/8q6IStDp-jIXyYe1RnTI09YYTO0fe1MvwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/cover%2Bclover%2Bkisses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DmApW7-A8WY/Wka4uNq7bmI/AAAAAAAAC5E/8q6IStDp-jIXyYe1RnTI09YYTO0fe1MvwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/cover%2Bclover%2Bkisses.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><i>The wound is the place where the Light enters you. --</i>Rumi</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was a young girl I slipped out from under a blow-up swim ring at the lake near our home. I panicked, flailing and gulping water until a nearby adult grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to safety. From that point on, I was terrified of drowning. Despite a number of swimming lessons throughout my life, I'm still not a strong swimmer.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That childhood experience, and the accompanying emotions are as fresh in my mind as the day it happened.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I begin to write a new book, one of the first things I do is trace a line backward to a source of fear or pain in each new character I create. Relatable human beings, not just flat images on a page, are what draws me in as a reader. I want to know why Sirona took up midwifery, why </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coyote takes lone walks at night, an</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">d why Goji traveled to India to explore mysticism instead of becoming a lawyer. I expect you do, too.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are all molded through the nurturing we received as children. But that form is malleable, shifting shape through a litany of experiences, some that leave indelible scars. In the case of Wave, conventional parents mocked his </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">teen-aged</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">longing to become a singer. He left his home in Fresno and headed for the ocean, where he honed his musical skills and learned to surf. But his ambition and bravery were eventually curbed by the practical aspects of the music industry and the unpredictability of Mother Nature.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the following scene from my forthcoming novel, Clover Blue sits in the woods with Wave, who is teaching his young mentee to play guitar:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I ask how he first came here, Wave traces the scar on his thigh and smiles. “After the shark attack I gave up surfing and spent most days outside a coffee shop in Bodega Bay, singing for tips.”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br style="color: #222222; text-align: start;" /></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">“I don’t blame you for being afraid of the ocean after that.”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br style="color: #222222; text-align: start;" /></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Wave slowly shakes his head. “Respect, not fear. It was a good lesson and I don’t need to learn it twice.” </span></i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">He strokes the neck of his beat-up guitar. “I taught myself how to play when I was your age. I had big dreams of becoming a famous singer either by myself or with a band. In the sixties, everybody and his brother was a folk singer so it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.”</span></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4MErwgHm6CA/XBvGkLu9dHI/AAAAAAAADtM/0ZNDNKA-PpUv9jaS14iPR3BTcNd298mMQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/willow%2Band%2Bwave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4MErwgHm6CA/XBvGkLu9dHI/AAAAAAAADtM/0ZNDNKA-PpUv9jaS14iPR3BTcNd298mMQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/willow%2Band%2Bwave.jpg" width="242" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We later learn that Wave eventually joined Saffron Freedom Community, where he met his soulmate, Willow, a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">yoga enthusiast. Willow is tall and strong and disciplined in her daily practice of yoga and meditation. From the outside, she appears solid and unwavering in her status as the group's alpha female, often delegating chores to the other sister-mothers, though she is the only woman who remains childless. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When a new girl (Rain) arrives at the commune, she asks Clover Blue to help her get to know the others. This is how he describes Willow to her. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Willow holds her thoughts inside. She keeps us on track with things like
homework and chores. She taught me to read by the time I was four."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What neither Blue nor Rain can possibly know is that Willow's deep focus and intense discipline is steeped in the chaos of former experiences. B</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eneath her strong exterior, she harbors a deep pain that grows into a hardened knot, one that no asana can ever unwind.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Willow can try to control herself and the people around her, but eventually she must allow herself to be vulnerable or risk becoming the knot itself.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jumping back to my own childhood swimming trauma, many years later my young son and I signed up for a river rafting expedition while on vacation near Moab. The trip was overbooked, so Jacob and I were put in an inflatable "ducky" kayak and instructed to follow behind the larger raft. I was nervous, of course, but my son was so excited I couldn't back out. Besides, we were wearing life vests. What could go wrong? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few things, as it turns out. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Being an inexperienced kayaker, I paddled too close behind the large raft. When the back end of the big yellow raft lifted out of the river rapids, I over-corrected to keep from nosing under it. The ducky flipped and dumped my son and me into the rapids.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While seasoned company employees rescued Jacob, I found myself stuck under the kayak, unable to right it.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The river current sent me hurtling into yet more frothing rapids. Terrified, I was seven years old all over again, certain I was about to drown.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then something shifted. I stopped panicking and accepted my situation. I remember thinking, "I'm going to drown." I was taking water into my lungs, and yet I relaxed. It was the most peaceful moment I've ever experienced, almost blissful. I could see light shining through the blue plastic of the duckie, like a summer sky. And in that serene moment of acceptance, a voice in the back of my mind said, <i>punch the ducky one more time</i>. So I did, and it flipped off and away from me. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tell this story because so often we react from a place of past fear, guilt, pain or unmet needs. It's human nature to try and fix the past by attempting to control the present. But control is an illusion. Eventually Wave will need to choose whether to face his fears and ride his board into the surf again. Willow will choose whether to confront her past demons as well. It's one of life's biggest questions: Do we let the past form us or <i>in</i>form us?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope you'll lose yourself in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>'s world, surrounded by all these unique characters as they make their choices, good and bad. Only fifty more days to go! You can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">pre-order</a> the book from amazon. Better yet, pre-order CLOVER BLUE from your local bookstore <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496712899" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nrdddZjaH0/XKp7bOCbEzI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/L4OMhKyhIFY2mmyoqjleJ99FFORwacppgCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bsue%2Bcunningham%2Breview.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nrdddZjaH0/XKp7bOCbEzI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/L4OMhKyhIFY2mmyoqjleJ99FFORwacppgCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bsue%2Bcunningham%2Breview.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #b49a8d; font-family: , , sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold;">Join me for the exciting book launch of CLOVER BLUE </span><span style="color: #b49a8d; font-family: , , sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold;">and the paperback release of THIS I KNOW</span></div>
<div class="txtNew" data-packed="true" id="comp-j9yq3c59" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; grid-area: 1 / 1 / 2 / 2; left: 10px; margin: 42px 0px 26px calc((100% - 980px) * 0.5); outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; place-self: start; pointer-events: none; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 962px;">
<h4 class="font_4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-family: Arial, "ms pゴシック", "ms pgothic", 돋움, dotum, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
Upcoming 2019 Dates:</h4>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-family: Arial, "ms pゴシック", "ms pgothic", 돋움, dotum, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="http://loutitlibrary.org/calendar" data-type="external" href="http://loutitlibrary.org/calendar" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Loutit Library</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-family: Arial, "ms pゴシック", "ms pgothic", 돋움, dotum, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
407 Columbus St, Grand Haven, MI<br />
Thurs May 16, 7:00 PM</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-family: Arial, "ms pゴシック", "ms pgothic", 돋움, dotum, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br />
<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="https://bookmanbookstore.indielite.org/" data-type="external" href="https://bookmanbookstore.indielite.org/" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Bookman</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-family: Arial, "ms pゴシック", "ms pgothic", 돋움, dotum, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
714 Washington Grand Haven, MI<br />
Sunday<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> May 19, 1:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: , , sans-serif;"><br /></span><a data-content="https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2676" data-type="external" href="https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2676" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica-w01-light, helvetica-w02-light, sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble </a></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">894 Marsh St.</span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> San Luis Obispo, CA</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saturday June 1, 2:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="http://adventuresbythebook.com/autherevent/mystery-monday-dinner-adventure/" data-type="external" href="http://adventuresbythebook.com/autherevent/mystery-monday-dinner-adventure/" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Mystery Monday Dinner Adventure</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">18512 McArthur Blvd, Irvine, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday June 3, 6:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="http://www.bookloftsolvang.com/" data-type="external" href="http://www.bookloftsolvang.com/" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Book Loft</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1680 Mission Dr. Solvang, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saturday June 8, 1:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/depts/library/" data-type="external" href="http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/depts/library/" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Carlsbad Library</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sunday June 9, 2:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="http://www.chaucersbooks.com/" data-type="external" href="http://www.chaucersbooks.com/" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Chaucer's Bookstore</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3321 State St., Santa Barbara, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday, July 29, 7:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="https://www.booksinc.net/PaloAlto" data-type="external" href="https://www.booksinc.net/PaloAlto" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Books Inc Palo Alto</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thursday, August 1, 7:00 PM</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: , , sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-content="https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/sebastopol" data-type="external" href="https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/sebastopol" rel="undefined" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Copperfield's Books</a></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #1e240b; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">138 N. Main St, Sebastopol, CA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , , "ms pgothic" , , "dotum" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friday August 2, 7:00 PM</span></div>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-47479422761423029592019-03-25T06:49:00.000-07:002019-03-25T07:47:12.161-07:00How to Grow A Guru<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uw8Za2sk5FI/XJfi4dfCNBI/AAAAAAAAD6M/fYgg3CuqDFQHSr7bsO2JXhL7V1mpiEzJgCEwYBhgL/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoji%2Bguru%2Bblog.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uw8Za2sk5FI/XJfi4dfCNBI/AAAAAAAAD6M/fYgg3CuqDFQHSr7bsO2JXhL7V1mpiEzJgCEwYBhgL/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoji%2Bguru%2Bblog.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yv72y36X4_k/XJfOWQV8NhI/AAAAAAAAD5M/asEs1l4nSrQwOnD4qSh8JvUpobRnV8scACEwYBhgL/s1600/Goji%2Bis%2Bthe%2Bleader%252C%2Bbut%2Bhe%2Bdoesn%25E2%2580%2599t%2Bcall%2Bhimself%2Bthat.%2BHe%2Bis%2Bkind%2Bof%2Ba%2Bguru%252C%2Bthough%252C%2Band%2Beveryone%2Blooks%2Bup%2Bto%2Bhim..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Goji is the leader, but he doesn’t call himself that. He is kind of a
guru, though, and everyone looks up to him." --<i>Clover Blue, age 10</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="dDoNo gsrt" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large !important; font-weight: lighter !important; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span data-dobid="hdw">gu·ru</span></div>
<div class="vmod" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<div class="lr_dct_ent_ph" style="font-size: large;">
<span class="lr_dct_ph XpoqFe">/ˈɡo͝oro͞o/</span></div>
<div class="vmod">
<div class="lr_dct_sf_h" style="padding-top: 10px;">
<i>noun </i></div>
<div class="lr_dct_sf_h" style="padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="font-weight: lighter;">A spiritual teacher, especially one who imparts initiation.</span></div>
<ol class="lr_dct_sf_sens" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">
<li style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="PNlCoe XpoqFe" style="font-size: small; margin-left: -20px;">
<div data-dobid="dfn" style="display: inline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My dad was my first guru, an evangelical minister who led congregations with his engaging personality, and who inspired the idea for <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DGLHYD" target="_blank">This I Know</a></i>. My second guru was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Roth" target="_blank">Gabrielle Roth</a>, although I never met her. I did, however, watch her videos, dancing along wildly until I forgot where the floor left off and my feet began. I loved the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five Rhythms</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> as Roth called them, a series of musical selections that beckoned one to move blissfully through varied rhythmic dances. I was so drawn to the spiritual and physical practice I ended up facilitating my own Ecstatic Dance gatherings for a several years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gabrielle Roth certainly had innumerable followers but she'd likely never call herself a guru. Her goal was to convince others to turn inward </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cYYzcTzm6Y" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">using movement as a vehicle</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> for meditation, self-exploration, and, ultimately, personal freedom. Likewise, in creating Goji, the founder of Saffron Freedom Community in </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, I wanted to explore the idea of unintentional gurus, people who hope help others free themselves from outward attachment, only to become the object of blind devotion. And therein lies the challenge of the human ego. As many celebrities will admit, it's difficult not to lose oneself in the thrill of adoration. History teaches us that worship comes with potential abuse of power.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uw8Za2sk5FI/XJfi4dfCNBI/AAAAAAAAD6I/fE3GOmU1pyojfSGGbR3IGieLNkfxhHobwCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoji%2Bguru%2Bblog.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goji started out as a regular guy. His parents expected him to follow in his father's <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">lawyerly footsteps. A combination of a young man's reactionary </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">personality and a</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_mpb_ggj54/XJjhLH2LfiI/AAAAAAAAD7E/DnUiqXnifasFEzoE3aRe_Fdobcc3ABIQACEwYBhgL/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoji%2Bguru%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_mpb_ggj54/XJjhLH2LfiI/AAAAAAAAD7E/DnUiqXnifasFEzoE3aRe_Fdobcc3ABIQACEwYBhgL/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoji%2Bguru%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"> burgeoning cultural revolution gave birth to a generation of seekers. Goji was swept up by a desire for more meaning in his life. He traveled to Asia, where he studied Sufism, Buddhism, Taoism and other various teachings. He eventually returned to the states and became intent on creating a spiritual commune free of societal norms. <i>Saffron Freedom Community</i> was born in 1967, an off-the-grid commune in Northern California filled with other disillusioned young people seeking to escape the rat race.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the commune became over-crowded with people who abused drugs, didn't carry an equal work load, and weren't respectful to nature, Goji created a manifesto of sorts that included a set of guidelines. The Book, as members call it, included a commitment to daily yoga and meditation, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">equal work load, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">vegetarianism, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sacred sexuality, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and rejection of Western medicine, among others. Most of the members fled, leaving a close-knit group devotees that become family. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of the above happens years before the book opens in 1974, when Clover Blue is ten years old. By this time a slow but steady shift has occurred. Despite his proclaimed rejection of tribal hierarchy, Goji has risen to the position of leader of the SFC family. As he comes of age, young Clover Blue begins to more closely measure his beloved teacher's actions. Will Goji choose to cultivate the tenets of his supposed enlightenment or exploit the devotion of others to assuage his own unmet needs?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**********</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two months to go before CLOVER BLUE releases, but the publisher is offering 25 copies ahead of publication on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/290880-clover-blue" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>! Giveaway ends 04.04.19. Good luck!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/290880-clover-blue" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-udm-Cou0pcE/XJflmmbRVfI/AAAAAAAAD6o/kQ9zuQR-ggsYAuySUkoe_yHVuMPOczbUwCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bgoodreads%2Bgiveaway%2B%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-74156849556542584422019-03-05T17:10:00.001-08:002019-03-06T09:54:50.055-08:00Finding Harmony: Every Protagonist Needs a Best Friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1voBQLx8vas/XH8Tcbzu64I/AAAAAAAAD2Y/xDa_BEp519s-f7215WDlQKKrxYTYlPSTgCLcBGAs/s1600/She%2Btosses%2Bthe%2Bstone%2Bto%2Bme.%2BI%2Bwrite%2Bmine%2Bnext%2Bto%2Bhers.%2BHarmony%2BBlue.%2BIt%2Bsounds%2Blike%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthose%2Bherbal%2Bteas%2BSirona%2Bbuys%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Bco-op%2Bin%2BSebastopol.%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1voBQLx8vas/XH8Tcbzu64I/AAAAAAAAD2Y/xDa_BEp519s-f7215WDlQKKrxYTYlPSTgCLcBGAs/s320/She%2Btosses%2Bthe%2Bstone%2Bto%2Bme.%2BI%2Bwrite%2Bmine%2Bnext%2Bto%2Bhers.%2BHarmony%2BBlue.%2BIt%2Bsounds%2Blike%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthose%2Bherbal%2Bteas%2BSirona%2Bbuys%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Bco-op%2Bin%2BSebastopol.%2B%25281%2529.png" title="CLOVER BLUE by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Your heart and my heart are very good friends. </i>--Rumi</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We've all had that one friend. She's more daring than you. She laughs loudly at her own jokes and doesn't hesitate to make you the butt of some of them. She's a little bit wild or maybe a lot wild and she often makes you uncomfortable but you secretly admire her temerity. Above all she's that fiercely loyal friend that champions your successes and mourns your losses. She would probably go to jail for you, if not lay down her life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today we'd call that person our BFF but Clover Blue simply calls her Harmony, the one person who understands him better than anyone else at Saffron Freedom Community. Harmony was just five, the same age as Blue, when she and her mother, Gaia moved to SFC in the fall of 1969. Here's how he describes their arrival in my forthcoming novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdYt6OSIhLc/XH8cSkV2ZmI/AAAAAAAAD2w/G6KOn2aTCC0oACYFZTGno6zVy4dvPxgsgCLcBGAs/s1600/harmony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="298" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdYt6OSIhLc/XH8cSkV2ZmI/AAAAAAAAD2w/G6KOn2aTCC0oACYFZTGno6zVy4dvPxgsgCLcBGAs/s400/harmony.jpg" width="188" /></a><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I
remember Harmony running out from behind her mother’s legs to give me a hug.
Unlike me, she was used to being around strangers. She grabbed my hand and said,
“Let’s go play!” so I took her to see our new chickens. She wasn’t the least
bit afraid. She cornered one of the hens, picked it up, and kissed it. “I love
you!” she said, and squeezed the squawking bird before letting it go and chasing
after the next one. From that day on I’ve spent as much time as possible trying
to absorb her courage, her bright fire. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I loved writing this character, the charming foil to my earnest protagonist's more staid and careful personality. She's an artist who carries her sketchpad everywhere. She pushes Blue, often to the brink of embarrassment, possibly terror, as she romps wildly through the pages of Blue's life. Although all "Youngers" in the commune are considered siblings and the rivalry between Blue and Harmony is apparent, they forge a friendship that goes beyond family, a bond so closely interwoven that each feels lost without the other. When Harmony runs off in a fit a anger, it's Blue who always knows where to find her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When
nobody’s paying attention, I slip behind the outhouse and over the hill and race
toward the woods. Just inside the cover of trees, I hook a quick right along
the edge to our secret deer path. I follow it to a wooden bridge that Harmony
and I made from a fallen log, and cross the creek. I stop when I get to the
hollowed-out trunk. It used to be big enough for us both to curl up inside together
and tell stories. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I drop to my knees
and poke my head inside. Sure enough, there she is, looking as mean and
stubborn as that rooster we had for a while before it got eaten by a bobcat.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blue knows that Harmony's roughshod rebelliousness and unpredictable temper is an attempt to hide the pain she feels after Gaia abandons her. Harmony is just eight years old when her mother leaves for a Grateful Dead concert and doesn't return. Blue understands all too well what it's like not knowing where one's mother is, as he's never been told who his biological parents are. With the urging of his fearless best friend, Harmony, he's finally able to risk everything in his quest for truth.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyfB-LIAnrwmN94GRHr9EGCQmcK61keKvINGTs12h_5u0F0VjdqkHIx4t4liJpzVeqKii0aJUCMUev9ek_mfA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">What about you? Do you have a fiercely loyal friend like Harmony who is the fire to your water, the woo-hoo to your uh-oh? Give them a shout out here, or on my Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EldonnaEdwardsAuthor/" target="_blank">author page </a>where I've linked this post. I'll be drawing a name for two decks of CLOVER BLUE playing cards, one each for you and your friend.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4upTKCvcQIU/XIAJVFH7SVI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/AHQkhJotiW8CkD2Do_IpJv-A_efh1vw3gCLcBGAs/s1600/cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1316" height="155" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4upTKCvcQIU/XIAJVFH7SVI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/AHQkhJotiW8CkD2Do_IpJv-A_efh1vw3gCLcBGAs/s320/cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">**********</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I'm blogging about the characters leading up to the release of CLOVER BLUE, now available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">pre-order</a> online or better yet, pre-order from your <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/" target="_blank">local bookstore</a>! </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Be sure to follow my blog by clicking on the link in the upper right column to be notified of new content and future giveaways!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aqBA69_4NlY/XH8dAHIEXfI/AAAAAAAAD24/BvIRp6j3nFAQR6Mac05DawYmXTJi1sI3wCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Ball%2Bauthors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aqBA69_4NlY/XH8dAHIEXfI/AAAAAAAAD24/BvIRp6j3nFAQR6Mac05DawYmXTJi1sI3wCLcBGAs/s400/clover%2Bblue%2Ball%2Bauthors.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-22128775478328603092019-02-08T12:20:00.003-08:002019-02-08T19:21:13.942-08:00Clover Blue: The Boy and The Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWpFrhs2-PA/XF3ElrEvg-I/AAAAAAAADz8/gl6S16PhPwIAPSrHxhECHcsv8tixcNXnQCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bcover%2Bbaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="601" height="258" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWpFrhs2-PA/XF3ElrEvg-I/AAAAAAAADz8/gl6S16PhPwIAPSrHxhECHcsv8tixcNXnQCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bcover%2Bbaby.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">“Your </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">children</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; text-align: left;"> are not your </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">children</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">. They are the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">sons</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><i> and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. </i>--Kahlil Gibran</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was a child of the seventies but had little awareness of the cultural revolution that book-ended my rural upbringing. Sheltered within the bubble of small town life, the most scandalous thing ever was when a busload of hippies stopped off at our tiny ice cream parlor clad in flowing gauze and scanty bikinis. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember being seriously bummed that I'd missed the spectacle. Although I was the daughter of an evangelical preacher, it was clear to me from a very young age that a drunken stork must have mistaken Lake Michigan for the Pacific Ocean when he dropped me on our doorstep. While other children were playing hopscotch and jumping rope, my teachers would often find me writing poetry in a field beyond the playground. By the age of thirteen I was writing songs, a guitar slung over my back as I hiked beyond the meadow near our home. I loved my family dearly but I longed to find my <i>tribe</i>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In writing CLOVER BLUE I wanted to draw a thread through the the needle of those early longings. Not just the fantasy of what it might be like to grow up in a 1970s commune, but someone who grapples with invisible loyalties between family and tribe. The book opens when young Blue attends a birth. He's been told that all the women are equally his mothers. It's not until he witnesses the love between sister-mother Jade and the biological father (Coyote) of their newborn baby that an ache rises in his belly. He wants to know, <i>must</i> know, which of the women gave birth to him. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Who
did I come out of?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All
heads instantly turn toward me. I look at Willow. “Are you my mother?” Then
down at Jade, now clutching the baby to her bare chest. “Or you?”</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harmony stares at me,
her big eyes suddenly mirroring my question, the one I’m pretty sure I’m not
supposed to ask. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--oTL-PuoKe8/XF3QBpqdYmI/AAAAAAAAD0U/1LsPi5hfsAMZLl4bGnkImcTbCOVC8uqPwCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bmeditating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--oTL-PuoKe8/XF3QBpqdYmI/AAAAAAAAD0U/1LsPi5hfsAMZLl4bGnkImcTbCOVC8uqPwCLcBGAs/s320/clover%2Bblue%2Bmeditating.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And so begins Clover Blue's quest for truth. Although community leader Goji promises to reveal more when Blue is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">older, he's fed mere scraps of truth and anecdotal tidbits as he </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and his best friend Harmony try to weave together the story of his history. Despite his yearning, Clover Blue is conflicted about delving into the unknown because he loves his community and strives to follow the teachings of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Peaceful Way</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. It isn't until he comes of age and begins to unravel inconsistencies in the stories he's been told that he becomes quietly obsessed with his heritage.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I had to describe Clover Blue to an interviewer, I'd say he's intelligent, earnest and eager to please. He's a dedicated follower of the community teachings who embraces what he considers an idyllic life, living in a tree house, surrounded by nature and people who love him. It's Blue's best friend Harmony who brings out his lighter side, constantly taunting him with her wicked humor and relentless teasing. Harmony and Blue have been joined at the hip since her mother (Gaia) brought her to SFC at the age of five. Their kinship is a mix of brother-sister rivalry and devoted comrades. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1062" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iqv6T4lC6-4/XAWANv3Y9qI/AAAAAAAADnY/v8bvok5zAEYutro78gGtI5AF4u4tEWh9gCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Clover%2BBlue%2Brevised.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE by Eldonna Edwards</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love writing coming-of-age stories because they are a reflection of the people we were before we became the people we are. It probably comes as no surprise that I eventually moved to California in search of my tribe. I don't live in a commune, but I have created a sacred space to live, love, laugh and write. I can't wait for you to meet Clover Blue, and hopefully, fall in love with him as deeply as I did. Perhaps you'll recognize someone you know. Perhaps that person is a younger version of the one in your mirror.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>What about you? What were your deepest longings as you came of age? How have those early desires manifested in your adult life?</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*****</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our First Review!</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope you'll pop over and read this extraordinary <a href="https://dbmoone.com/2019/02/03/book-review-clover-blue-a-novel/" target="_blank">in-depth review of CLOVER BLUE by D.B. Moone</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd love it if you leave a comment on her book blog and don't hesitate to share it!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , serif;"><b>"Mesmerizing and riveting.</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , serif; text-align: justify;">Eldonna Edwards has written an artistically gripping story that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , serif;">will leave you book-drunk.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><b>Clover Blue</b></em><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , serif; text-align: justify;"> is a profound, coming of age literary piece of work by an author without limit." --D.B. Moone Book Reviews</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>CLOVER BLUE</b></i> is available for Pre-Order at: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clover-blue-eldonna-edwards/1129474161;jsessionid=92D5A8BF26416F0FFC46544129F3F797.prodny_store01-atgap05?ean=9781496712899&st=AFF&2sid=Kensington%20Publishing%20Corp._8067221_NA&sourceId=AFFKensington%20Publishing%20Corp." rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/book/9781496712899" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Hudson Booksellers</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712897/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549148709&sr=8-1&keywords=9781496712912" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">,</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/search?query=9781496712899&where=All&AID=11871127&PID=8067221&cjevent=3b063df5273e11e9828002f60a24060f" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Books-A-Million</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496712899" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">IndieBound</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=9781496712899&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=3920&AID=11879012&PID=8067221&wmlspartner=CJJ&sourceid=22222333330131204060" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Walmart</a>,</span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=9781496712912" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon (Kindle)</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/clover-blue/id1435006597?mt=11" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Apple</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781496712912&c=books" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Google</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/clover-blue" rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">, and </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clover-blue-eldonna-edwards/1129474161?ean=9781496712912&st=AFF&2sid=Kensington%20Publishing%20Corp._8067221_NA&sourceId=AFFKensington%20Publishing%20Corp." rel="noopener" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366ff; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Nook</a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px;">.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-54825620288062379862019-01-15T11:56:00.001-08:002019-01-21T20:04:14.734-08:00Everybody Loves Rain: When the "New Girl" Shows Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xng66VtZIhY/XD4nrJ-WoLI/AAAAAAAADxg/XHX65kVr1d4G-KEom5WblescCkTRmbd7QCLcBGAs/s1600/blond%2Bteen%2Brain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xng66VtZIhY/XD4nrJ-WoLI/AAAAAAAADxg/XHX65kVr1d4G-KEom5WblescCkTRmbd7QCLcBGAs/s1600/blond%2Bteen%2Brain.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I distinctly remember the day Michelle* first appeared in the halls of our high school during the Spring of my sophomore year. A natural beauty, the shiny, new brunette immediately turned heads. My testosterone-fueled classmates were less than obvious in their remarks as Michelle's perfect body with perky boobs, a full head of gorgeous hair, and a perfect mouth that framed sparkling white teeth, breezed past us on her way to class. Of course, we girls stared, too. Michelle was a freak of nature, carved from some unnatural combination of drop-dead-gorgeous looks and bubbly personality that made it difficult to dislike her, even after she'd plucked your boyfriend from under your arm while you were home recovering from mono. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I knew early on while writing <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a> that although life in a commune would be far from boring, there's nothing like having a stranger arrive to shake up the status quo. Early in the story, a young runaway shows up, guided to Saffron Freedom Community by an estranged former member. The men fawn over the new beauty while the women become overly-protective of her. Despite the free-loving nature of the community, one is never sure if the sisters are more worried about the men seducing this naive young woman or her seducing <i>them</i> with her charming innocence. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What follows is an excerpt from CLOVER BLUE, where young Blue watches as the commune's leader welcomes his newest protege:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The girl stares at her tennis shoes. Other
than a smeared dirt hand print on the front of her white pants, she looks like a
townie; clean like she just climbed out of a bathtub. She’s so beautiful I
can’t stop staring. </span></i></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><i>Goji
puts a finger under the girl’s chin and lifts her face. With his other hand he
sweeps the curtain of white-blond hair out of the way and looks directly into
her bright eyes. I can tell by the blotches on her light skin that she’s been
crying. I can also see that she’s already under Goji’s spell. That’s just the
way it is with him.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kfXbrEg0V6w/XD43FcVibTI/AAAAAAAADyQ/IzCLlxYoGEQoL8nAvNvbylazCN5wsBDMgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2Beverything%2Bthat%2Bis%2Bmade%2Bbeautiful%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kfXbrEg0V6w/XD43FcVibTI/AAAAAAAADyQ/IzCLlxYoGEQoL8nAvNvbylazCN5wsBDMgCEwYBhgL/s320/Copy%2Bof%2Beverything%2Bthat%2Bis%2Bmade%2Bbeautiful%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a>From the time we're babes, we humans long to feel special in the eyes of those we love. It's no surprise then that when a stranger's light threatens to cast us into their shadow, our first reactions are jealously, fear and resentment. Hopefully, as in the case of my high school friend Michelle, we come to judge that person based upon who they truly are rather than any threat to our perceived ranking among family or peers. In my case, I was fortunate to remain friends with Michelle, long after she traded in my ex-boyfriend for a new one. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I loved creating these ragtag characters and I'm looking forward to introducing you to them one by one in the weeks leading up to the release of CLOVER BLUE. In the meantime, think about a time when a stranger showed up in your life. Do you tend to hold back until you get to know a new person, or are you a virtual Welcome Wagon, embracing newcomers to your circle with open arms?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
*Name changed to protect privacy. Sadly, like many bright and beautiful beings, we lost "Michelle" much too soon when her life was cut short by breast cancer. This post is dedicated to her beautiful memory.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
******</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
CLOVER BLUE is now available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">Pre-Order</a>!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxeEpPVy79zLUc8zPF-p3n7WP2xYuH7SUNS52LLSsvmKIo8VglcPptwUqKGINUaUjBgQputoUkZ_JAeIzDCUw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-71811304248978399562019-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:002019-01-03T10:28:12.144-08:00Out On A Limb: World-Building From The Ground Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: merriweather, georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gyjgm-ZsA2w/XC48ZoRsBDI/AAAAAAAADww/d2EKj8c8nVIspk1XDqdlkIg4yaD9YSs4ACEwYBhgL/s1600/treehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="970" height="229" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gyjgm-ZsA2w/XC48ZoRsBDI/AAAAAAAADww/d2EKj8c8nVIspk1XDqdlkIg4yaD9YSs4ACEwYBhgL/s320/treehouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort |<span style="color: #646464; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: right;"> Shi Huai Xun</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</h1>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was a young girl I envied our neighbor's adorable playhouse, a miniature home with tiny windows and a real roof, set back among the trees in their back yard. The little house had long been abandoned by their grown daughter but my sisters and I were not allowed to trespass on their fenced property. That didn't keep me from admiring the secret hideaway from our side of the barrier, which seemed more like a wall than a fence when you're a small child. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I remember most about the playhouse is the ache of jealous</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">y I felt. I've always been a fan of cozy places. I used to love building forts under sheets draped over tables and sofas or between bales of hay in my friend Paula's old barn. I often hid in the linen closet on the second floor of our five-bedroom parsonage where I crawled between the shelves and wrote secret messages with glow-in-the-dark Play-Doh on the board above my head. One of my other favorite places was the small space between the washer and dryer where I would drag a blanket and let the warm rumbling and churning lull me to sleep. I also loved to hide in closets, a habit that helped inform young Grace Carter's visits with her deceased twin in my debut novel about a clairvoyant preacher's daughter, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712870" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to my teens when my dear dad gifted us with the best thing ever, an A-frame tree house nestled into a huge tree on the east side of our new house. At first it was a novelty to my younger sister and little brother, aged eight and twelve, but they quickly bored of it. Not me. I practically moved in, covering the walls with square carpet samples donated by Burcon's Furniture Store, coincidentally owned by the same family who'd lived beyond The Great Wall of our earlier home, the one with the forbidden playhouse and teenagers frolicking in an in-ground swimming pool, also off limits to my siblings and me. At age fourteen I carried my guitar up the rickety ladder of the tree house and sang Joni Mitchell songs and wrote a few aching love songs of my own. Mostly I sat with my legs dangling off the edge of the plywood floor, scribbling bad poetry, my fort swaying as the branch yielded to moody Michigan winds. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given my love for trees and hiding places, it likely comes as no surprise that as a volunteer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ2Q2Db34AA/XC4sv3Qe1zI/AAAAAAAADv0/Ei_-W6iofZ8URZJBz35kOV41aWF6Rl40QCLcBGAs/s1600/shed%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ2Q2Db34AA/XC4sv3Qe1zI/AAAAAAAADv0/Ei_-W6iofZ8URZJBz35kOV41aWF6Rl40QCLcBGAs/s320/shed%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Backyard Writing Shed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">screener with our local film festival, I fell in love with a 2009 </span><a href="https://www.theedgeofparadisefilm.com/about-the-film.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">documentary</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> about a group of free-spirited young people who formed a coalition of independent island-dwellers on the north beach of Kauai. I've long been fascinated by the revolutionary 1960s, the communes, the sloughing off of traditional family structures in favor of tribal life. I've fantasized about living in an intentional community. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At one point I turned my empty-nest home into a sort of boarding house and filled the rooms with young women who needed a safe place to live. My "girls" christened our house The Urban Oasis. They've long-since moved on, some now with families of their own, but those young women will always be remembered as part of my evolving tribe. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I now live in a tiny converted garage next door to that house, what we call a granny unit here in California. I recently built myself a "playhouse," that serves as my writing studio under a Yucca tree in the back yard. Okay yes, it's my grown-up fort. It even has a hanging swing chair.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been almost a decade since I first began to</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> conjure a story that incorporates my love of cozy places with my curiosity toward communal living. In about twenty weeks that story will hit bookstore shelves. In </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">CLOVER BLUE</a>, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the members of </span><a href="https://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2018/12/hippies-and-gurus-and-communes-oh-my.html" target="_blank">Saffron Freedom Community</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">reside among ancient live oak trees, the largest of which supports their many-roomed tree house. They live free from the weight of cultural norms. Free of clothing, if they wish. Free from overcrowded classrooms. Free to raise their own food and treat illness with herbal remedies rather than Western medicine. But as in all civilizations, freedom requires self-regulation, lest people begin to treat their claimed liberation from society's rules as a sense of entitlement. This concept is the moral challenge I sought to pursue through the eyes of a young boy who grows up dedicated to the precepts of his idyllic community and the tribe he loves. That is until he begins to question everything he's ever learned in his quest for truth, beginning the day the family midwife is preparing for a communal birth. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I want to be excited, but I'm a little freaked out. I'm worried Jade's baby might not survive, just like the baby goat that got sick and died. Goji forbids doctors and hospitals. We believe in natural medicines. Sirona probably knows what she's doing, but what if she doesn't? What if none of them know what they're doing? --</i>Clover Blue, age 10</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm counting down the days (145!) until y'all get introduced to young Clover Blue, his best friend Harmony, and the rest of this ragtag clan of tree house dwellers. In the meantime, tell me about your favorite hiding places, your dream oasis, your sacred spaces. Where do/did you go when you need(ed) a quiet place to dream?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Book Trailer for CLOVER BLUE by Eldonna Edwards</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwSKrsb1Ou51t_b83_vp-F8Hb0uMiRSPSN-sNt4sZWT3RrLcF8TntZ4TmUMm1fBj9iGu5ou31A7Ied6ZMPifQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll leave you with this delightful </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shel Silverstein poem from his book,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Where The Sidewalk Ends</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
A tree house, a free house,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A secret you and me house,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A high up in the leafy branches</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cozy as can be house.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A street house, a neat house,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Be sure to wipe your feet house</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is not my kind of house at all- </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Let's go live in a tree house.</div>
</h1>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
<div style="mso-element: comment;">
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1" language="JavaScript">
<!--[if !supportAnnotations]--></div>
<!--[endif]--></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-61353989991879601012018-12-21T13:34:00.000-08:002018-12-22T17:27:37.940-08:00Hippies and Gurus and Communes, Oh My!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MErwgHm6CA/XBvGkLu9dHI/AAAAAAAADtM/94aVt0cA6DkGyj89Rfe_mszZ2B2_9Y46ACEwYBhgL/s1600/willow%2Band%2Bwave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MErwgHm6CA/XBvGkLu9dHI/AAAAAAAADtM/94aVt0cA6DkGyj89Rfe_mszZ2B2_9Y46ACEwYBhgL/s320/willow%2Band%2Bwave.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Back then it was just the six of us: Goji, Willow, Wave, Jade, Doobie<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Holly%20Fairbank" datetime="2018-09-22T10:17">,</ins></span>
and me. I don’t remember much from the first couple years after I came here,
but sometime during that summer my memories kick in<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Eldonna%20Edwards" datetime="2018-10-06T16:08">,</ins></span> as
if my brain suddenly threw the switch that saves stuff. --Clover Blue</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">When I was a girl I envied my sisters for each having a unique nickname, endearingly handed out by my dad. My oldest sibling Sharon was called Queenie due to her towering height. Luanne was LuLu, Mari-Beth was Izzy, Nita was Neat (although she spelled it "Nete") and LaVonne was Ree, short for her middle name, Marie. My baby brother David we called Gus, or more commonly, Gassy Gus, for obvious reasons. Me? I was simply Donna, although my sisters recently informed me that my nickname was actually Pinch-Face so maybe I just blocked the memory. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most thrilling parts of beginning a new novel is getting to name your "children". <span style="line-height: 107%;">CLOVER BLUE is set in a 1960s/70s Northern California spiritual commune led by a quiet but charismatic man who gathers like-minded people to live a life that he terms <i>The Peaceful Way.</i> Each member of Saffron Freedom Community chooses or is given a new name when they join the family. As someone who lives in California and with a twenty-five-year career in massage therapy, I'm pretty sure I've heard every hippie-dippy-woo-woo-hooky-do name out there so I assumed this task would be easy. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKH9uITsqnI/XBvnlIPV5II/AAAAAAAADtw/te_XpBo0WA4_bxJLnPfkhuIxpYqkQhzWQCLcBGAs/s1600/goji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="526" height="208" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKH9uITsqnI/XBvnlIPV5II/AAAAAAAADtw/te_XpBo0WA4_bxJLnPfkhuIxpYqkQhzWQCLcBGAs/s320/goji.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Long before typing the first words of the book, I made a list of my characters and their qualities, then assigned them a unique name. Besides Clover Blue and his best friend Harmony, whose namings are revealed as the story unfolds, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jao Ji was the first name that came to me for the group's founder, given to him by an Indian guru. I wanted the leader's title to be a bit of a puzzle, just as he is. I liked the sound of the word. In Hindi <i>Jao</i> means "go" and <i>Ji</i> is a suffix of respect. So to my mind, having traveled throughout Eastern Asia before starting the commune, it felt like a fitting name for him. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next two names were given to prominent characters Willow and Wave, who, despite the free love enjoyed during the sexual revolution, remain steadfast in their love for each other. Willow is a skilled yogi and Wave a former surfer who abandoned the sea after an encounter with a shark. Another original member, Doobie gets his moniker from not only being the family marijuana cultivator, but also the person who consumes most of the product. It's a friendly name, which reflects Doobie's easy-going personality. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dibao_ftLmM/XBvnWluo2tI/AAAAAAAADts/1H4K9vrQRyYkSWaFOte36-npK_wGxVMcQCLcBGAs/s1600/doobie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="460" height="165" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dibao_ftLmM/XBvnWluo2tI/AAAAAAAADts/1H4K9vrQRyYkSWaFOte36-npK_wGxVMcQCLcBGAs/s200/doobie.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On and on my list went with names like Lyric, Tao, Peace, Feather and Earth, a singer-songwriter, a thespian, a war protester, a bee-keeper and a wildish woman who worships nature. As the story progresses, three more characters show up: a teen-aged girl called Rain, midwife Serena, and Lotus, a neighboring artist. Other characters appear on the list, minor characters, and together I created a lively cast of spiritual seekers devoted to living a peaceful life in nature, far from the madding crowd. But as the story unfolded on the pages and these people came into better focus, they evolved from simple characters to three-dimensional human beings with a past and a purpose. Some wore their names perfectly while others began to slough off the names I'd given them, begging for a more suitable one.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GU1AlZvbdoA/XBv4nJgANKI/AAAAAAAADuk/Dg6xb72klK0vICmsSAowhYbfF-_jkHKsgCLcBGAs/s1600/Coyote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="560" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GU1AlZvbdoA/XBv4nJgANKI/AAAAAAAADuk/Dg6xb72klK0vICmsSAowhYbfF-_jkHKsgCLcBGAs/s200/Coyote.jpg" width="148" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jao Ji became Goji, a bastardization of what his teacher had called him, underscoring his flawed self-</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">image. Rather than "Respected Traveler" his name became simply a plant with berries. Peace was renamed Coyote when he evolved from being just an army deserter to a man whose integrity runs much deeper than his politics. Earth became Gaia as she grew into her unpredictable wildness. I changed Feather to Jade because she is a much stronger, more independent woman than I'd first imagined. And sadly, Lyric and Tao disappeared from the pages as I tightened the cast and killed off my darlings.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I realized while writing Clover Blue is that it would have been easy to take the lazy route and write caricatured versions of every hippie or flower child I've ever met, read about or seen on the screen. But the characters in CLOVER BLUE are more than their names. They are part of a collective tribe yet each with distinct passions and motivations, just like you and me. Mine just happens to be conjuring worlds full of imagined people and places to entertain and hopefully, enlighten readers. I sincerely hope you enjoy the time you spend with them as much as I did creating them.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw2W5w9AdZDw1lPQfAKHWgsCE92aD_M6MvKPmPpvsFygLP3S9_gIDDNwhp7VUFrLpd_CHFGessnTVWOOY7c' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>CLOVER BLUE is now available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">Pre-Order</a>!</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iqv6T4lC6-4/XAWANv3Y9qI/AAAAAAAADnY/v8bvok5zAEYutro78gGtI5AF4u4tEWh9gCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Clover%2BBlue%2Brevised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1062" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iqv6T4lC6-4/XAWANv3Y9qI/AAAAAAAADnY/v8bvok5zAEYutro78gGtI5AF4u4tEWh9gCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Clover%2BBlue%2Brevised.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-73826100871777151172018-12-12T13:11:00.000-08:002018-12-12T13:11:02.556-08:00When Breath Becomes Heir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L_WzaR2kEVk/XBFlHhdbu0I/AAAAAAAADpc/XwYWCw9W62QXdV2EwfKPpVp3Sy-tXj5BgCLcBGAs/s1600/handprint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L_WzaR2kEVk/XBFlHhdbu0I/AAAAAAAADpc/XwYWCw9W62QXdV2EwfKPpVp3Sy-tXj5BgCLcBGAs/s320/handprint.jpg" title="child's handprint" width="292" /></span></a></div>
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">*Note: Beginning <a href="http://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/2018/12/birth-of-book-and-cover-reveal.html" target="_blank">last week</a> with the Cover Reveal for my next book, CLOVER BLUE, I'll be posting weekly-ish peeks into the story ahead of release on May 28, 2019. Be sure to subscribe via the button on the left to stay updated! </i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was about seven years old, I sat at my desk in our tiny elementary school, staring at the pencil between my fingers, turning my hand this way and that. I remember very distinctly a dawning awareness of my hand attached to my arm, my breaths leaving my mouth, my body separate from my thoughts. In that brief existential moment, I suddenly understood that <i>what</i> I was, was not <i>who</i> I was. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a strange feeling, this new realization that my body would grow and change but that the person inside having those thoughts would remain. The experience, however brief, left an indelible mark on my memory. At fifty-nine years old I still remember that epiphany almost as clearly as if it happened yesterday. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As children we accept what we're told and rarely question the past as it fades in the wake of our maturation. And yet for most of us, there comes a point where we begin to ponder our existence, how we fit into the world, our families and the surrounding environment. We yearn to identify as a member of the human tribe that begins with our parents and siblings, stretching outward toward extended family, friends, and community. The older we get, the more our world expands to include our country, our planet, and the seemingly-infinite universe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my next novel, Clover Blue, my young protagonist is missing a piece of his biological puzzle. He lives in a spiritual commune in Northern California without running water or electricity. Each day begins with yoga and ends with meditation. They sleep in an elaborate treehouse, raise their own food, and the Youngers are nature-schooled. Clover Blue is twelve years old when he begins to reflect upon his connections beyond Saffron Freedom Community:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I
have no memory of anything before here. Sometimes when we’re in town at the
library or the store, I hear a voice and it sounds familiar. Once in a while a
smell reaches into my brain and tries to call up the past, but it’s always dark
and flat. Maybe I don’t want to remember. Maybe it was bad. Or maybe it was so
good it would hurt too much to remember.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And so begins Blue's search for identity among the ragtag tribe of folks who've raised</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uTGm5JJL6ME/XBFoRj5Oj8I/AAAAAAAADp8/jWFN4YDd6eUsljHcWZN6syW_UXI1AhaSQCLcBGAs/s1600/clover%2Bblue%2Bmeditation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uTGm5JJL6ME/XBFoRj5Oj8I/AAAAAAAADp8/jWFN4YDd6eUsljHcWZN6syW_UXI1AhaSQCLcBGAs/s200/clover%2Bblue%2Bmeditation.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> him. People like Goji, the commune founder, Jade, their former beekeeper, Wave, a guitar-playing surfer and his "old lady" Willow, a yoga enthusiast. Although Blue loves his unique family--especially his funny and fiercely independent best friend, Harmony--</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he aches to know more about his roots and how he ended up at Saffron Freedom Community. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What about you? Can you remember when you first began to assert your autonomy as an individual? Was it a lightning bolt revelation or was it a more gradual understanding of your place in the world?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
***********</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have I piqued your interest yet? <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;">I hope you'll follow this blog to learn more about my earnest young protagonist and his ragtag tribe. If you add Clover Blue to your </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"> shelf and your </span><a href="https://www.bookbub.com/books/clover-blue-by-eldonna-edwards" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">BookBub</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"> wish-list you'll be notified of any news like giveaways or deals. The book is also available for </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards-ebook/dp/B07H1YCJDY" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">pre-order </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;">online. Descriptions of all my books, including my debut novel <i>This I Know</i> and my memoir <i>Lost In Transplantation </i>can be found<i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eldonna-Edwards/e/B00HGFU1D8" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIfEKyp5VCc/XBFyrU8idiI/AAAAAAAADrg/-mZAp8uoPqk2WCYDXL7tKStM6wQvQ1ASQCLcBGAs/s1600/ere%2Bis%2Balways%2Bsomething%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bthankful%2Bfor.%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIfEKyp5VCc/XBFyrU8idiI/AAAAAAAADrg/-mZAp8uoPqk2WCYDXL7tKStM6wQvQ1ASQCLcBGAs/s320/ere%2Bis%2Balways%2Bsomething%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bthankful%2Bfor.%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxRyv9lcYF4/W42NdTeQz4I/AAAAAAAADhg/Zv1o3t-teiUqWevEIxPdWzKiRoRzkZOWgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/TIK%2Breview%2Bseamless%2Bquote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxRyv9lcYF4/W42NdTeQz4I/AAAAAAAADhg/Zv1o3t-teiUqWevEIxPdWzKiRoRzkZOWgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/TIK%2Breview%2Bseamless%2Bquote.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F9pXlamOqQ8/XBFxCO495lI/AAAAAAAADrI/_j1YfxiY6scu30AKhxMZylXBT0qavbbgACLcBGAs/s1600/ere%2Bis%2Balways%2Bsomething%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bthankful%2Bfor..png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F9pXlamOqQ8/XBFxCO495lI/AAAAAAAADrI/_j1YfxiY6scu30AKhxMZylXBT0qavbbgACLcBGAs/s320/ere%2Bis%2Balways%2Bsomething%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bthankful%2Bfor..png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-73048852995712109882018-12-06T07:23:00.001-08:002018-12-06T07:23:20.621-08:00Birth of A Book (And A Cover Reveal!)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0w_7suFq3Yw/XAVlQQXYZuI/AAAAAAAADm8/psK6UmCS8oEV3RANcCO5yLovV8tzXjRigCLcBGAs/s1600/Birth_of_Venus_Botticelli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0w_7suFq3Yw/XAVlQQXYZuI/AAAAAAAADm8/psK6UmCS8oEV3RANcCO5yLovV8tzXjRigCLcBGAs/s320/Birth_of_Venus_Botticelli.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I read excerpts from my novels while leading a recent writing workshop at our local library, it occurred to me that although not intentional, both <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards-ebook/dp/B074DGLHYD" target="_blank">This I Know</a> and my 2019 release, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496712897" target="_blank">Clover Blue</a> begin with a birth. The prologue of This I Know features twins Grace and Isaac communicating their last thoughts to each other during the final moments before birth:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>I'm spooning my Other, my belly to his back. I love the way his body feels against mine. Although we've changed positions many times, we always come back to this...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My goal was to capture the sibling's love for each other, but also their fear of separation. I'm not a twin and of course I don't remember being in the womb, but I do know how it feels to love. And I have endured the depth and weight of loss many times over so it wasn't that difficult to imagine how vulnerable these two tiny humans might feel as they leave the safety of their mother's womb to face the unknown reality of the outer world. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Authors often compare writing a book to pregnancy, and the eventual release, to birth. It's true that incubating a story takes months, often years, and there's no greater feeling than seeing your book come to life on bookstore shelves and in the hands of readers. Writing, editing, rewriting and revising is hard labor, but the rewards are plenty. One of those rewards is seeing your book cover for the very first time. I remember literally squealing when I first received the cover comps for <i>This I Know</i>. As some of you might remember, the real-life mother of that gorgeous red-headed child on the cover found me on Facebook and shared more photos of her daughter to use in our book trailer. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My next book won't be out for another 175 days (whose counting, right?) but this is the week I get to reveal the cover. Before I do, I'd like to share the opening sentences to give you a feel for the book:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The Olders are letting us watch the birth. Harmony runs up the path ahead of me, her bare feet kicking up a cloud of dust. When she gets to the teepee she turns and yells, "Come on Blue! Aren't you excited?"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This story takes place in a fictional Northern California commune during the 1960s and 70s. The novel opens with young Clover Blue on his way to a birth, attended by the Saffron Freedom Community midwife. His fiercely independent best friend Harmony can't wait for the event but Blue holds back, fearful. And with good reason:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>I walk slowly, taking small steps. I might be old enough at ten, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for this. I can't shake the memory of when our nanny goat, Inga, had a baby a couple years ago. She ate the sac around her kid and other stuff that came out of her afterward. I hope we don't have to eat anything that comes out after Jade's baby is born. We're vegetarian so probably not. But you never know with this family.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I loved writing Clover Blue. It was a unique opportunity to imagine coming of age in a spiritual commune among a tribe of bohemian seekers that includes a beekeeper, an army deserter, a surfer, a yoga enthusiast, a pot farmer, and their guru, among others. What would it be like to sleep in an elaborate tree house? To live in harmony with nature, without electricity or running water? To start each day with yoga and end it with meditation? To be raised equally by all the members, not knowing who your biological parents are?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Starting this week I hope to post weekly sneak peeks of passages from Clover Blue. I read the first several pages in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EldonnaEdwardsAuthor/videos/415697305916491/" target="_blank">Live Video</a> on my Facebook page yesterday (reading starts at 10:30) if you'd like to listen. I hope you'll follow this blog to learn more about my earnest young protagonist and his caretakers. If you add Clover Blue to your <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> shelf and your <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/books/clover-blue-by-eldonna-edwards" target="_blank">BookBub</a> wish-list you'll be notified of any news like giveaways or deals. The book is also available for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards-ebook/dp/B07H1YCJDY" target="_blank">pre-order </a>online. And now...<i>drum roll please</i>...I present the amazing cover for <i>CLOVER BLUE</i>. I look forward to reading your comments!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iqv6T4lC6-4/XAWANv3Y9qI/AAAAAAAADnU/kd1OcFB44eY9Hg6njlWDqSK-f378j4wswCLcBGAs/s1600/Clover%2BBlue%2Brevised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1062" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iqv6T4lC6-4/XAWANv3Y9qI/AAAAAAAADnU/kd1OcFB44eY9Hg6njlWDqSK-f378j4wswCLcBGAs/s320/Clover%2BBlue%2Brevised.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_2" language="JavaScript">
<!--[if !supportAnnotations]--></div>
<!--[endif]--></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-18893193249042525722018-11-10T10:08:00.002-08:002018-11-10T10:39:35.762-08:00Drawn to The Fire: How Tragedy Brings Us Together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BpubrZvimOk/W-b5guL25RI/AAAAAAAADlI/Ik-7AqQxaCMvOA5XzDJxCeKEY3fUcafKgCLcBGAs/s1600/Nobody%2Bsees%2Bme%2Bslip%2Baway%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Bcrowd%2Blike%2Ba%2Bleaping-off%2Bflame%252C%2Bleaving%2Bthem%2Bto%2Bwhisper%2Bin%2Bhushed%2Bvoices..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BpubrZvimOk/W-b5guL25RI/AAAAAAAADlI/Ik-7AqQxaCMvOA5XzDJxCeKEY3fUcafKgCLcBGAs/s320/Nobody%2Bsees%2Bme%2Bslip%2Baway%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Bcrowd%2Blike%2Ba%2Bleaping-off%2Bflame%252C%2Bleaving%2Bthem%2Bto%2Bwhisper%2Bin%2Bhushed%2Bvoices..png" title="THIS I KNOW Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
California is burning. I'm fortunate not to be in close proximity to any of the currently active wildfires, but my son lives just four miles from the <a href="http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2277" target="_blank">Camp Fire</a> in Northern California. Jacob and I communicated by text throughout Thursday night as the fire consumed over 6,400 homes, 230 businesses, and innumerable creatures in its path. His neighborhood was supposedly still safe, but what if the winds shifted? Should he wait or evacuate with a few possessions and his cats? Would he lose the job he'd just started, located a stone's throw from the fire line?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the end my son decided to stay put, although he packed up his car with life-saving necessities, staged valuables near the door, and made sure his gas tank was full and devices charged. While we waited for any new alerts or fire updates, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zl6Gx7vmQw" target="_blank">videos of terrified families</a> began popping up on social media. Cars driving through flames, people abandoning their vehicles to flee on foot, the sounds of exploding propane tanks punctuating the terror. By midway through the next day we learned of several residents who didn't get out in time, of injured firefighters, and of overflowing shelters. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CampFire" target="_blank">#CampFire</a> has already exploded to over 100,000 acres, the largest and most devastating fire loss in California wildfire history. As I write this on Saturday morning, it's just 20% contained. The air quality across the state is equal to Beijing's. And <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires-2018/" target="_blank">more fires</a> have started.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I was a young mother, my car and U-Haul caught on fire while driving with everything we owned from Houston, Texas to Tuscon, Arizona. All my photos and journals, my beloved 12-string guitar, and all our clothing went up in flames. I stood at the side of the road holding my one-year-old baby, watching the black smoke engulf the car. I marveled at how fast the fire grew and how lucky we were to have escaped unharmed. The experience was traumatic, but what I remember most were the people who stopped to help. The family who played with my little girl while I talked with the police. A woman who comforted me as I cried. RV owners who offered us a ride to our destination. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JpccyWpJfmA/W-cKNc_jF6I/AAAAAAAADlk/6YUW-fuEq6Qd21dAYuaEkplDO9paZBohgCEwYBhgL/s1600/helpes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JpccyWpJfmA/W-cKNc_jF6I/AAAAAAAADlk/6YUW-fuEq6Qd21dAYuaEkplDO9paZBohgCEwYBhgL/s320/helpes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Loss changes you, be it physical possessions. a home, a marriage, or a loved one. Fire is a fierce metaphor for transformation. I used it in <i>This I Know</i>, to underscore how tragedy brings people together, and refuels our humanity. We're already seeing it happen around the fires. People who've lost their own homes volunteering at shelters. <a href="https://twitter.com/RandyVMedia/status/1061091958553108481" target="_blank">An evacuee who rescued a puppy</a>. An <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/11/08/paradise-evacuations-couple-rescues-camp-fire-victims/1939257002/" target="_blank">RV couple who picked up p</a>eople fleeing from the fire. And <a href="https://patch.com/california/unioncity/alameda-county-firefighters-rescue-donkey-camp-fire" target="_blank">firefighters who rescued a donkey</a>. At a time when our country feels so divided, it fills me with hope when I see us helping each other. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While the wildfires rage around us, it's the flame within us that propels us forward and defines us as human beings. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Once again I'm reminded of my favorite Ram Dass quote, "We are all just walking each other home." Grab someone's hand. Hold your people close. Remember why we're here. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NlrSsGZ6y48/W-cTeTHJprI/AAAAAAAADl4/IjD2ExCyjWUQuDhoNM8K-StRIbKaZSxxgCLcBGAs/s1600/ram%2Bdass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="We are all just walking each other home" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NlrSsGZ6y48/W-cTeTHJprI/AAAAAAAADl4/IjD2ExCyjWUQuDhoNM8K-StRIbKaZSxxgCLcBGAs/s320/ram%2Bdass.jpg" title="Ram Dass Quote" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
*******</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">If you'd like to contribute to the relief fund for the 6,432 families who lost their homes in a single day, you can join me in contributing to NorCal </span><a href="https://www.norcalunitedway.org/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">United Way</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> <-----by clicking on that link, or texting BUTTERFIRE to 91999. All proceeds from sales of any of my </span><a href="http://www.eldonnaedwards%2Ccom/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">books</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> during the month of November will be donated to victims of the #CampFire in Butte County. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-64103701538449950922018-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:002018-10-23T09:21:08.259-07:00Reteaching A Thing Its Loveliness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ow891XQuQqQ/W8zdqZ2LI5I/AAAAAAAADjA/ugA2Pvs-T1UIqJ4wsCgaJlgclppibI2lACLcBGAs/s1600/Sometimes%2Bit%2Bis%2Bnecessary%2Bto%2Breteach%2Ba%2Bthing%2Bits%2Bloveliness%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ow891XQuQqQ/W8zdqZ2LI5I/AAAAAAAADjA/ugA2Pvs-T1UIqJ4wsCgaJlgclppibI2lACLcBGAs/s320/Sometimes%2Bit%2Bis%2Bnecessary%2Bto%2Breteach%2Ba%2Bthing%2Bits%2Bloveliness%2B%25281%2529.png" title="Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness. (Galway Kinnell)" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness. <br />
(Galway Kinnell)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The bud stands for all things, even for those things that don't flower; for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing..." Galway Kinnell, <i><a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/saint-francis-and-sow" target="_blank">Saint Francis and The Sow</a></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Over the last several weeks I've stayed at various hotels, traveling partly for work and partly for pleasure (although I'm very fortunate to take great pleasure in my work). I love the adventure, but being on the road comes with a plethora of pitfalls, from planning, to packing, to traffic jams to searching for healthy food, to finding accommodations that are clean and comfortable without blowing my travel budget. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of my secrets to happy travels is to always bring my own down-filled pillow from home to guarantee a good night's sleep. As of last week, I shall now add hand-mirror to the list of must-brings because there is a malevolent presence lurking in every hotel bathroom. It lays flat against the tile with an elbow that scissors outward so you can check the bed-head cowlick on the back of your scalp. That's the happy, friendly side. Flip it over and you will come face-to-face, literally, with a magnified image of every pore, every wrinkle, every age spot on your skin. And if you are over fifty, you will die inside, just a little, at the realization that the face you knew or thought you knew has taken leave. Step back a little and you might find that it took your svelte, toned premenopausal body with her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lACXeQHyVFk/W8zz8IGyoPI/AAAAAAAADjk/rTRsfI2QltQNLm573NW_k2LE-Jl7U6-ogCLcBGAs/s1600/mirrorimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="307" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lACXeQHyVFk/W8zz8IGyoPI/AAAAAAAADjk/rTRsfI2QltQNLm573NW_k2LE-Jl7U6-ogCLcBGAs/s200/mirrorimage.jpg" width="150" /></a>As someone who embraces diversity whether it be sexual preference/gender ID, ethnicity, religion, politics or physical differences, why is it so hard to turn that acceptance inward? Why do I <span style="text-align: start;">immediately focus on perceived flaws in my physical body? Am I in denial of the aging process or does it go deeper to that imperfect perfectionism that has plagued me for most of my life? </span>As if on cue my beloved shared <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/saint-francis-and-sow" target="_blank">this poem</a> with me as he sipped his morning tea, merely because it spoke to him. That's the thing about poetry; it fillets a concept and leaves you these beautiful, honest bones to pick between the crevices of one's reality. He took his meaning and I took mine, vowing to be less critical of myself in thoughts and words.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Along with traveling, I've been working against a looming deadline on the final revisions of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712897" target="_blank">Clover Blue</a>. As most writers will admit, we can go from "This is amazing!" to "This sucks!" in a matter of seconds while writing and revising our stories. But this time, as I did my final read, I decided to put away the magnifying lens of perceived imperfection and, as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_Kinnell" target="_blank">Galway Kinnel</a> wrote, <i>remind it of the long perfect loveliness of itself</i>. And it's true. I love this book and I love the characters and I hope you will, too. In the meantime, may we all remember that everything flowers from self-blessing. Except maybe that fucking magnifying mirror. That thing is pure evil.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What about you? Tell me something lovely about yourself, right here, right now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*******************</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pssst! We're still seven months away from publication, but I hope you'll add CLOVER BLUE to your <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41757894-clover-blue" target="_blank">Want-To-Read-List on Goodreads</a> and follow my Facebook Author Page to be notified of giveaways and the Cover Release Party. You can also <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712897" target="_blank">Pre-Order it HERE</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Eldonna Edwards grew up in a large family nestled between cornfields and churches in the provincial Midwest. She eventually escaped the harsh winters, moving to California where she expanded her career from journaling facilitator to author to beloved writing instructor to keynote speaker. Her bestselling debut novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" target="_blank">This I Know</a>, won over the hearts and minds of readers everywhere and was a Delilah Book Club selection. In her second novel <a href="http://amazon.com/Clover-Blue-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712897" target="_blank">Clover Blue</a> (May 2019) Eldonna once again explores themes of otherness and belonging, and the true definition of home. She is also the subject of the award-winning documentary Perfect Strangers that follows one kidney patient and one potential kidney donor in their search for a possible match. Her 2014 memoir <a href="http://amazon.com/Lost-Transplantation-Memoir-Unconventional-Organ-ebook/dp/B00HG68Y1I" target="_blank">Lost in Transplantation</a> chronicles this life-changing decision. Eldonna currently lives and writes in a tiny pink house with her best friend, Brer. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bh4jLjHE3bM/W80QI8PEfUI/AAAAAAAADkI/acQdfDxgb_Ajd0qp0FJZVIOa__8cJGpRQCLcBGAs/s1600/eldonnaedwards.com.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bh4jLjHE3bM/W80QI8PEfUI/AAAAAAAADkI/acQdfDxgb_Ajd0qp0FJZVIOa__8cJGpRQCLcBGAs/s320/eldonnaedwards.com.png" title="THIS I KNOW by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-48277407505713993112018-09-04T10:30:00.000-07:002018-09-04T10:43:45.267-07:00Empty Nest, Full Heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJPgxiTJHls/W412nkJKglI/AAAAAAAADg4/Ur7EfvbmpQ8HRb-43KuDBPF4CeBuGGkYACLcBGAs/s1600/Add%2BsMama%2Bstands%2Band%2Bwalks%2Bacross%2Bthe%2Bporch%2Bto%2Blook%2Bout%2Bover%2Bthe%2Bmeadow.%2BShe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bbarefoot%2Band%2Bwearing%2Ba%2Bsleeveless%2Bsundress%2Bwith%2Btiny%2Byellow%2Bflowers%2Bon%2Bit%2Bthat%2BI%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bnever%2Bseen%2Bbefore.%2BIt%2Bdoesn%25E2%2580%2599t%2Bhave%2Bany%2Bpockets.%2BA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="THIS I KNOW by Eldonna Edwards" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJPgxiTJHls/W412nkJKglI/AAAAAAAADg4/Ur7EfvbmpQ8HRb-43KuDBPF4CeBuGGkYACLcBGAs/s320/Add%2BsMama%2Bstands%2Band%2Bwalks%2Bacross%2Bthe%2Bporch%2Bto%2Blook%2Bout%2Bover%2Bthe%2Bmeadow.%2BShe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bbarefoot%2Band%2Bwearing%2Ba%2Bsleeveless%2Bsundress%2Bwith%2Btiny%2Byellow%2Bflowers%2Bon%2Bit%2Bthat%2BI%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bnever%2Bseen%2Bbefore.%2BIt%2Bdoesn%25E2%2580%2599t%2Bhave%2Bany%2Bpockets.%2BA.png" title="THIS I KNOW by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was just sixteen years old when I left my parents' home to marry a boy the next town over. I'm quite certain some people assumed it was because I "had to" get married. But I wasn't pregnant, I was merely foolish. And stubborn. Really, really stubborn. I actually believed that by moving away, I'd show my mom and dad just how much they'd miss their petulant, free-spirited daughter. Ha!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking back, I can only imagine the private happy dance they shared when I was out of their hair. Sure they'd miss me. They loved me. But man did I make their life difficult. I skipped school. I smoked pot. I went to parties. I played hooky from church. I pretty much did the opposite of everything they demanded of me. Not because I didn't love them--I did--but because I thought I knew better than them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My emancipation came with a price. Suddenly I was in charge of me. I had to figure out how to pay bills which meant getting a job while also finishing high school. I learned how to balance a checkbook, shop for the best deals on groceries, cook meals and run a household. I even learned to change my own oil and spark plugs. At first it was fun, this perpetual date with my high school sweetheart and being addressed as "Mrs." by my teachers. Then one year later I did end up pregnant and gave birth just weeks before my high school graduation. Suddenly it was no longer just me playing house; I was now responsible for another life. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In THIS I KNOW my young protagonist's mother suffers from postpartum depression. There's a very intimate scene between mother and daughter, when Grace sees her mama for the first time as Isabelle Carter the woman with hopes and dreams instead of the person who sews her dresses, cooks her meals and combs the tangles out of her hair. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Mama stands and walks
across the porch to look out over the meadow. She’s barefoot and wearing a
sleeveless sundress with tiny yellow flowers on it that I’ve never seen before.
It doesn’t have any pockets. All of Mama’s clothes have pockets. Most of the
time they’re full. </i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>She turns around
and leans back against the railing. Mama looks radiant in spite of the topic of
our conversation. I can’t remember seeing her this happy. Ever. Which worries
me.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_FzTyobQH8/W42LuIDOW_I/AAAAAAAADhQ/vN55nyRCgtokTKd5-Sv7_JDMSwv3WHHSwCLcBGAs/s1600/mother%2527s%2Bjob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_FzTyobQH8/W42LuIDOW_I/AAAAAAAADhQ/vN55nyRCgtokTKd5-Sv7_JDMSwv3WHHSwCLcBGAs/s200/mother%2527s%2Bjob.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I chose to symbolize the 1960s mother archetype as the family custodian, cleaning behind and picking up after her husband and five children. In this particular scene, Mama escapes reality by envisioning her dream house with a porch swing that overlooks a flowered meadow. She liberates herself from her expected role by wearing a sundress without any pockets. The dress says <i>I'm free and unburdened. </i>Of course, this scares the daylights out of Grace, who tries to convince her mother that she is loved, but what she's really saying is that she's needed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember very clearly the day my youngest son left for college. I cried all the way home. I'd finally gotten that longed-for emancipation and it sucked. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I cherish my idyllic, child-free adult life, I still miss being needed to tie a shoe, to kiss a hurt, or to comfort a heartbroken teen. My pockets might be empty of broken crayons and baby spoons, but my heart is so full of the memory of each of their young faces as they toddled toward me, arms outstretched, brimming with unbridled trust. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parents: What about you? Are you dreading or looking forward to a life without dependents? If your nest is currently empty, are you enjoying your more care-free life? Would you let your adult children move back home to save money on living expenses? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**********</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxRyv9lcYF4/W42NdTeQz4I/AAAAAAAADhc/N2ny6Gub-ScYECvH0hZBG3rCOERDX-DPQCLcBGAs/s1600/TIK%2Breview%2Bseamless%2Bquote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxRyv9lcYF4/W42NdTeQz4I/AAAAAAAADhc/N2ny6Gub-ScYECvH0hZBG3rCOERDX-DPQCLcBGAs/s320/TIK%2Breview%2Bseamless%2Bquote.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">THIS I KNOW by Eldonna Edwards is available at your favorite Independent and Online Bookstores:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9781496712868" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">B&N</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"> </span><a href="http://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/book/9781496712868" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">Hudson Booksellers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/9781496712868" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">Amazon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"> </span><a href="http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=9781496712868" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">Target</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"> </span><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/search?query=9781496712868&where=All" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">BAM</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"></span><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781496712868" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">IndieBound</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"> </span><a href="http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=9781496712868&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=3920" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: #dee9f8; border-radius: 2px; color: #222222; display: inline-block; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 12px; text-transform: capitalize; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">Walmart</a></span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-22501967593790068742018-08-13T11:27:00.000-07:002018-08-13T13:01:32.537-07:00What's in A Name? (Why Choosing Character Names isn't As Easy As You Think)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kabmzh7qFw0/W1z9C2vXQ1I/AAAAAAAADe0/XPjZvpy5K8kALGjcQyRWSNcXmyppmyT0gCLcBGAs/s1600/George.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kabmzh7qFw0/W1z9C2vXQ1I/AAAAAAAADe0/XPjZvpy5K8kALGjcQyRWSNcXmyppmyT0gCLcBGAs/s320/George.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of my favorite parts of writing is choosing character names. It's also one of the most challenging. Just when I think I've settled on the perfect name I discover (usually through polling friends or from beta readers) that the chosen name doesn't work for them, usually because they have a history with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take for example the name Linda. One of my favorite people in the world is named Linda. However at least three of my long-term relationships have been with men who've longingly recounted the torrid, sometimes-unrequited love affair with <i>their</i> Linda. One of my lovers had two special Lindas. All the Lindas in these stories are drop-dead gorgeous, highly intelligent, sexy, hilarious women who've left an indelible mark on these men's version of the ideal women. There's no way I'd not unpack my Linda baggage if I chose it for a character. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In THIS I KNOW, claiming to be inspired by God, Reverend Carter "divines" names for his newborn children. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<i>Mama told us that after each baby was born
Daddy held his fat black Bible over our tiny bodies and the Lord bestowed upon
him a name for his children. To tell you the truth, I don’t think Daddy was
listening very well. Or maybe God changed His plans, because none of us fit our
given names except for maybe Hope, who is the oldest.</i>"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I loved choosing the names that Daddy gives his daughters. I knew I wanted him to screw up because it was important to underscore the ego hidden within the act of projecting personalities upon his progeny. Ironically, as a writer, I am the all-</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VhEbl_aX_Y/W3G69GKJexI/AAAAAAAADfs/xOauxem-db4Gm-uvoK5oG6La7dgzqFl3wCLcBGAs/s1600/I%2Bdon%25E2%2580%2599t%2Blook%2Blike%2Bmy%2Bsisters%2Bone%2Biota.%2Bk%2Blike%2Ba%2Bsourball%2Baccidentally%2Bmixed%2Bin%2Bwith%2Ba%2Bbowl%2Bof%2Bbutterscotch%2Bcandies.%2BBut%2Bthe%2Bthing%2Bthat%2Bseparates%2Bus%2Bmost%2Bisn%25E2%2580%2599t%2Bon%2Bthe%2Boutside..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5VhEbl_aX_Y/W3G69GKJexI/AAAAAAAADfs/xOauxem-db4Gm-uvoK5oG6La7dgzqFl3wCLcBGAs/s320/I%2Bdon%25E2%2580%2599t%2Blook%2Blike%2Bmy%2Bsisters%2Bone%2Biota.%2Bk%2Blike%2Ba%2Bsourball%2Baccidentally%2Bmixed%2Bin%2Bwith%2Ba%2Bbowl%2Bof%2Bbutterscotch%2Bcandies.%2BBut%2Bthe%2Bthing%2Bthat%2Bseparates%2Bus%2Bmost%2Bisn%25E2%2580%2599t%2Bon%2Bthe%2Boutside..png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">powerful name god and I got to name the reverend. I sometimes imagined him standing behind me as I wrote. <i>Henry? Really? Pretty sure I'd be a James or a John, good strong names. (</i>Insert author's maniacal laugh.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In my next book (CLOVER BLUE/June 2019) the characters live in a </span>spiritual<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> commune in 1970s Northern California. Each member chooses a new name for themselves when they join--except for the children, who are named by the guru. The "Olders" pick names like Coyote, Jade, Wave, Willow, Sirona, Gaia, Lotus and Doobie. The children, referred to as "Youngers" are named Harmony, Moon, Aura, Rain and, of course, Clover Blue. You can probably imagine how fun it was to name them, right? Yes, but you wouldn't believe the list of outrageous, often horribly ridiculous hippie-dippy names I waded through before settling on this ragtag cast of characters who live in the woods without plumbing or electricity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bc8PaPVFNWs/W3G7KYH26iI/AAAAAAAADfw/1wzoIUC2oz8ItJhdi3K6uugxhLajPpg8gCLcBGAs/s1600/Unlike%2Bher%2Bname%2Bshe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bmost%2Bserious%2Bpeople%2BI%2Bknow.%2BThe%2Bonly%2Bthing%2Bthat%2Bseems%2Bto%2Bbring%2Bher%2Bany%2Bjoy%2Bis%2Bputting%2Banother%2Bdollar%2Bin%2Bher%2Bpassbook%2Baccount..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bc8PaPVFNWs/W3G7KYH26iI/AAAAAAAADfw/1wzoIUC2oz8ItJhdi3K6uugxhLajPpg8gCLcBGAs/s320/Unlike%2Bher%2Bname%2Bshe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bmost%2Bserious%2Bpeople%2BI%2Bknow.%2BThe%2Bonly%2Bthing%2Bthat%2Bseems%2Bto%2Bbring%2Bher%2Bany%2Bjoy%2Bis%2Bputting%2Banother%2Bdollar%2Bin%2Bher%2Bpassbook%2Baccount..png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel fortunate to have been gifted with a unique name by my mother. Her name was VaLoyce, an uncommon name that rolls off the tongue and sounds exotic. I like to think my mom chose "Eldonna" for me because she believed I was the child who would fully embody such a powerful name. She once told me that she </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">went to high school with an Eldonna and always liked the name, but I call bullshit on that. I think by the time she gave birth to her fifth daughter she ran out of girl names. She probably figured I'd adopt the shortened "Donna" but I never took to it outside our home. I was always Eldonna at school and in the workplace. I also rejected the suggestion from a well-meaning professional to use my nickname Ellie as my author name because "it's more approachable." To</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> my siblings I am Donna. To many of my friends, I'm Ellie. But in my blood and bones, I am Eldonna. Sounds a little melodramatic to say that, but hey, Eldonna is a serious damn name.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What about you? What are your favorite or least-favorite names? Do you like your name? If you could change your name would you? What would you change it to? Have you ever stopped reading a book because you hated the character's name? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*****************</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is a non-monetized blog. If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll share it. If you want to help support an author working on her next book, I hope you'll consider purchasing my books. Thank you! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIJ8y3wOdqY/WahZZv_olCI/AAAAAAAACik/ke3l_1Yd3ZYRfzepY154nm1indWB16XlACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/this_i_know_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="560" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIJ8y3wOdqY/WahZZv_olCI/AAAAAAAACik/ke3l_1Yd3ZYRfzepY154nm1indWB16XlACPcBGAYYCw/s200/this_i_know_FINAL.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards-ebook/dp/B074DGLHYD" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NvCKZg6ULWk/Wi3d4zRc2KI/AAAAAAAAC0I/bSNYtruHGMANl8agw5YFqdA4c-HOdKLOgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Lost%2Bin%2BTransplantation%2B-%2BAmazon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1036" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NvCKZg6ULWk/Wi3d4zRc2KI/AAAAAAAAC0I/bSNYtruHGMANl8agw5YFqdA4c-HOdKLOgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Lost%2Bin%2BTransplantation%2B-%2BAmazon.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HG68Y1I" target="_blank">LOST IN TRANSPLANTATION</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-5419155693507656462018-06-26T10:40:00.001-07:002018-06-26T11:37:27.706-07:00 How Growing Up Poor Made Me A Minimalist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M13plZjAYq0/WzJdQZH9ZaI/AAAAAAAADcY/16CWoSI7e-0Ily6fcMjLU5118duIUnbbACLcBGAs/s1600/Daddy%2Bcuts%2Bcoupons%2Bout%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSunday%2Bpaper%2Bthat%2Bhe%2Bgets%2Bfor%2Bfree%2Bon%2BMonday%2Bbecause%2Bit%25E2%2580%2599s%2Ba%2Bsin%2Bto%2Bbuy%2Banything%2Bon%2Bthe%2BLord%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bday.%2BHe%2Btakes%2Bthe%2Bwhole%2Bwad%2Bwith%2Bhim%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bstore.%252C%2BOne%2Bof%2Bhis%2Bfavorite%2Bthings%2Bis%2Bto%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M13plZjAYq0/WzJdQZH9ZaI/AAAAAAAADcY/16CWoSI7e-0Ily6fcMjLU5118duIUnbbACLcBGAs/s320/Daddy%2Bcuts%2Bcoupons%2Bout%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSunday%2Bpaper%2Bthat%2Bhe%2Bgets%2Bfor%2Bfree%2Bon%2BMonday%2Bbecause%2Bit%25E2%2580%2599s%2Ba%2Bsin%2Bto%2Bbuy%2Banything%2Bon%2Bthe%2BLord%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bday.%2BHe%2Btakes%2Bthe%2Bwhole%2Bwad%2Bwith%2Bhim%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bstore.%252C%2BOne%2Bof%2Bhis%2Bfavorite%2Bthings%2Bis%2Bto%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Call it lack of awareness or naivete, but as a child I had no idea my family was poor. We had food on the table, clothes on our backs and plenty of love to go around so I never felt lacking. It didn't occur to me to question wearing hand-me-down blouses or homemade dresses that my mother sewed for us. Coming from a large family, I just assumed these to be normal, practical things that most families did.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The fact that I was unaware of our socioeconomic status says more about my upbringing than it says about me. I loved the meals my parents prepared out of leftovers, stretching our Sunday pot roast well into mid-week. I felt lucky to inherit one of my older sisters coveted outfits. And sharing a bed with my younger sibling was much more of a comfort than a burden--save for those times she gouged me with a sharp toenail.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It wasn't until I was much older that I began to understand how challenging it must have been to feed seven children on a rural minister's income. I have faint memories of falling asleep in the back seat of our car when my mom drove thirty miles to pick up my dad from his second-shift job. He worked at a Brunswick factory where he'd sometimes bring home defective bowling pins for us to play with. We loved those wooden pins, painting faces on them and gluing yarn on the top for hair. According to family legend he once brought home bowling shoes for us to wear. I was too young to remember it, but I heard how my older sisters pitched a fit and refused to wear the shoes to school. My dad insisted they were the same as saddle shoes and his ungrateful daughters should be happy to have them. My teen sisters begged to differ and the shoes "went missing" after that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When drawing the character of Reverend Carter in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35940516-this-i-know" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a> I drew from my own experience of growing up with a man who could squeeze 200 pennies out of a dollar. He accepted gifts of venison from church members and had it ground with pork suet so his kids wouldn't balk at the wild taste. He milked his clergy discount wherever and whenever he could, often embarrassing my mom. And he cut coupons like nobody's business, stuffing his suit pockets, his wallet, and the glove compartment of our Plymouth until the little door wouldn't stay shut.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of my favorite scenes in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a> is when Grace goes grocery shopping with her Daddy:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><i>When our basket is nearly full, Daddy stops in the middle of
the aisle and thumbs through his stack of coupons looking for ten cents off
Charmin. When he finds it, he pulls three packages off the shelf and dumps them
in the cart. He doesn’t squeeze them even a little bit. I glance over the list
and draw a line through <s>TP.</s> Daddy never spells it out. Maybe he worries
about dropping the list and somebody finding out Pastor Carter wipes his behind
just like everybody else. Which is kind of funny since he spends more time in
the bathroom than anyone else I know.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You'd think that growing up having less would make me want more as an adult, but the opposite is true. My dad taught me the value of love over needless things. I live in a 400 square foot granny unit. I drive a 16 year-old car. I shop at thrift stores. I recycle or re-purpose whenever possible. I cut my own hair. And I rarely buy anything I don't need. Unless. Unless I have a coupon. Or it's a really, really good deal. In which case I've been known to blow money on restaurants, spas, concerts and bookstores. Yesterday I bought a new story board at Office Max. I'd been using push-pins to tack my scenes onto a wall but they had white boards for half off retail. I rationalized that the new dry-erase board would make writing the next book easier but the truth is I inherited the thrill of saving a buck from my dad. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm not cheap--I tip well and happily pay for quality products and services. But I still love a good bargain. I subscribe to <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eldonna-edwards" target="_blank">Bookbub</a>, scour the internet for airfare deals and never pay rack rate for a hotel room. Which is why I want to acknowledge that $26 for a hardcover book is a bit steep for some of our budgets. I'm thrilled to share that my publisher is running a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards-ebook/dp/B074DGLHYD" target="_blank">sale on THIS I KNOW</a> for 90% off the cover price. My dad was frugal but he was also generous. If he were alive today I bet he'd buy every one of you a copy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NOtUEzC1C5s/WzJ3dBDVALI/AAAAAAAADc0/-FOZO9yB-MUBFaEeu8Yjss3Lp52o7c7sACEwYBhgL/s1600/out%2Bnow%2521%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NOtUEzC1C5s/WzJ3dBDVALI/AAAAAAAADc0/-FOZO9yB-MUBFaEeu8Yjss3Lp52o7c7sACEwYBhgL/s320/out%2Bnow%2521%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-62740300798549230652018-06-14T12:22:00.000-07:002018-06-14T12:22:02.231-07:00Faith of Our Fathers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BbLt4WtwNn4/WoXprJWxW2I/AAAAAAAADD0/OkUHEBWGvNsFe0HlZUAeMRk_NH7uFO-sACEwYBhgL/s1600/He%2Bthinks%2BI%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bafraid%2Bof%2Bhim.%2BI%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bmore%2Bafraid%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnot-him%252C%2Bthat%2Bperson%2Bhe%2Bbecomes%2Bwhen%2Bhe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Baround%2Bme..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BbLt4WtwNn4/WoXprJWxW2I/AAAAAAAADD0/OkUHEBWGvNsFe0HlZUAeMRk_NH7uFO-sACEwYBhgL/s320/He%2Bthinks%2BI%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bafraid%2Bof%2Bhim.%2BI%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bmore%2Bafraid%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnot-him%252C%2Bthat%2Bperson%2Bhe%2Bbecomes%2Bwhen%2Bhe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Baround%2Bme..png" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"Faith of our fathers, we will love. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Both friend and foe in all our strife." </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">--Frederic William Faber, Catholic Hymn 1849</span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">When I was a little girl I thought my father was infallible. He was, after all, the minister of our church and shepherd to more than one flock of parishioners. He was firm but kind. Strict but never mean. Compassionate but not a pushover. Well, <i>usually</i> not a pushover. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">People often ask me if Rev. Carter in THIS I KNOW is based upon my real-life dad. The answer is complicated. My dad was a rural preacher so of course I had lots of personal experience a lot to draw on when creating the character of Henry Carter. For example, I stole some of my dad's quirky habits like studying in the (only!) bathroom and using toilet paper as a bookmark for his Bible when one of his seven kids knocked on the door. And like Rev. Carter, my dad was eager to hand out religious tracts to anyone within reach of his fully-stocked pocket and use grocery coupons stored in the other one. But that's pretty much where Pastor Edwards leaves off and Rev. Carter begins.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">One of my main goals in writing THIS I KNOW was to juxtapose a minister's devotion to his</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55rQ9WTctYc/WxBhZigb7rI/AAAAAAAADYE/Amjt-L8cp2MJtvtVtmlN2asoyEu75EAQACLcBGAs/s1600/dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="245" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55rQ9WTctYc/WxBhZigb7rI/AAAAAAAADYE/Amjt-L8cp2MJtvtVtmlN2asoyEu75EAQACLcBGAs/s1600/dad.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> belief system against a father's love for his child. Would he feel forced to choose one over the other? Or would he expand to encompass a belief that embraces the unknowable? Added to these questions was the increased challenge of a time period when children were expected to be seen but not heard. This concept felt like a perfect storm between righteousness and choosing what is morally right.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of my favorite passages from THIS I KNOW demonstrates the dichotomy of a "man of God" struggling against his human ego.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Esther inhales
sharply, startling Daddy and he drops his Bible. Everyone gasps because it’s a
sacrilege to let the Word of God touch the floor, even worse than the American
flag. When Daddy leans over to pick up his Bible, ink pens and tracts fall out
of his shirt pocket, making even more of a mess. Several of the ladies stoop
down to help him, like a flock of teacher’s pets clamoring for an A+. His face
reddens from embarrassment or anger, I’m not sure which. Probably both.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">My dad passed away 17 years ago at the age of 89. Today would have been his birthday. As Father's Day approaches, I can't help but wonder how he would respond to my book. As a man who had strong opinions about the afterlife I suppose he might take issue with young Grace communicating with her deceased twin. But I expect that as my dad, he'd be darn proud of me for writing a novel that seems to have struck a chord with readers from all walks of life. This, I know.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">*********</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlzvXRygFuo/WxGVGD81VzI/AAAAAAAADYU/xLmOAFJHyyQ1SoveUgn1cIpgia_N1hm8ACLcBGAs/s1600/This%2BI%2BKnow%2Bis%2Ba%2Blovely%2Bstory%2Babout%2Bembracing%2Bthe%2Bunknowable%252C%2Babout%2Bthe%2Bredeeming%2Bpowers%2Bof%2Bacceptance%253B%2Bself%2Band%2Bothers...%2BAn%2Bamazing%2Bbook%252C%2Bby%2Ban%2Bequally%2Bamazing%2Bauthor%252C%2BI%2Bthoroughly%2Benjoyed%2Bit%2Band%2BI%2Bknow%2Byou%2Bwil.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlzvXRygFuo/WxGVGD81VzI/AAAAAAAADYU/xLmOAFJHyyQ1SoveUgn1cIpgia_N1hm8ACLcBGAs/s1600/This%2BI%2BKnow%2Bis%2Ba%2Blovely%2Bstory%2Babout%2Bembracing%2Bthe%2Bunknowable%252C%2Babout%2Bthe%2Bredeeming%2Bpowers%2Bof%2Bacceptance%253B%2Bself%2Band%2Bothers...%2BAn%2Bamazing%2Bbook%252C%2Bby%2Ban%2Bequally%2Bamazing%2Bauthor%252C%2BI%2Bthoroughly%2Benjoyed%2Bit%2Band%2BI%2Bknow%2Byou%2Bwil.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Have you heard? THIS I KNOW is <a href="http://www.delilah.com/blog-detail/2018/6/1/june-book-club-this-i-know" target="_blank">Delilah Book Club Selection</a> for June from America's most listened-to female radio host! Pop over to her page to read more of Delilah's discussion of why she chose to recommend my book to her 8 million listeners!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-42812085721339763032018-06-02T10:09:00.000-07:002018-06-02T21:52:19.902-07:00Home is Where Your Tribe Shows Up<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mBVR26HCEd0/WxK5dnOvbgI/AAAAAAAADYw/RVegTRbfSFcPcO290nz6pNxnSihnaoYggCLcBGAs/s1600/Donna_0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mBVR26HCEd0/WxK5dnOvbgI/AAAAAAAADYw/RVegTRbfSFcPcO290nz6pNxnSihnaoYggCLcBGAs/s320/Donna_0011.jpg" title="Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: JackWy Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In his posthumous novel by the same title Thomas Wolfe famously proclaimed that <i>you can't go home again</i> because things change. People grow older and more cynical, the town itself expands into something other than how you remember it or contracts into itself due to economic shifts, and leavers are shunned as traitors to family and community. Especially if one of those leavers writes a book reflecting the author's nostalgic image of that community.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5zxHeVBkBSU/WxK5-DnUzQI/AAAAAAAADZA/SNrleWV8vdoritUnKdctObJVwuQWHRntACEwYBhgL/s1600/el%2Bgordon%2Bsharon%2BB%2526N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="767" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5zxHeVBkBSU/WxK5-DnUzQI/AAAAAAAADZA/SNrleWV8vdoritUnKdctObJVwuQWHRntACEwYBhgL/s200/el%2Bgordon%2Bsharon%2BB%2526N.jpg" width="159" /></a>I'm here to say that not only can you go home again, it will welcome you with open arms, show up at your book events, stand in line for hugs, and delight in reminding you of a thing you did that you'd forgotten or might wish they'd forgotten. But mostly you will laugh, the kind of laugh that starts deep in the belly and hollows out a secret place where tears are stored. Memories collide; the reality of your mortality a mirror staring back at you in all their beautiful faces. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Jeeh5yr1uE/WxK6VdTV5EI/AAAAAAAADaQ/7H81pd1XX8E5S4iiYJ7pfFPblDpS9tIjACEwYBhgL/s1600/Donna_0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Jeeh5yr1uE/WxK6VdTV5EI/AAAAAAAADaQ/7H81pd1XX8E5S4iiYJ7pfFPblDpS9tIjACEwYBhgL/s200/Donna_0028.jpg" width="200" /></a>Last month I traveled to West Michigan for my Midwestern book launch of THIS I KNOW. My biggest fear was not that folks wouldn't buy my book, but that nobody would show up. People are busy with kids and jobs and aging parents. Driving 30-60 minutes to see an author you knew from church or went to school with might not be a priority when there's a wedding to plan, upcoming graduation or work and family obligations. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But show up they did. I signed books for those I sat next to in kindergarten in the 1960's, smoked my<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tUD-Upyd4ZY/WxK6XzLDLVI/AAAAAAAADaU/pz96k6ySC-cX9C7M1BCtVfqmHolzAwPfgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Donna_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tUD-Upyd4ZY/WxK6XzLDLVI/AAAAAAAADaU/pz96k6ySC-cX9C7M1BCtVfqmHolzAwPfgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Donna_0033.jpg" width="200" /></a> first joint with in high school, waited tables together while raising our children, hung out at the beach with every summer, sold real estate for during the 80s, and a critique partner who remembered when THIS I KNOW was just a seed of an idea. There were friends, friends of friends, cousins, nieces and nephews, and people who'd merely heard about me through the grapevine--still the most reliable form of communication in the rural Midwest where decent cell and internet service are as scarce as designer handbags. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-hQ_pwMon4/WxK6VeL0kLI/AAAAAAAADaQ/aXo5UiLO9Z8zRHiDv_1FMBRGGcyT3vaQQCEwYBhgL/s1600/sisters%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1212" height="179" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-hQ_pwMon4/WxK6VeL0kLI/AAAAAAAADaQ/aXo5UiLO9Z8zRHiDv_1FMBRGGcyT3vaQQCEwYBhgL/s320/sisters%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Best of all my five siblings sat grinning from the front row at nearly every event, lined up much like when we scrunched together in that old wooden pew every week as our Dad went into overtime on his vigorous Sunday sermons. On one of those nights we enjoyed a slumber party, scattered around my eldest sister's cottage in our jammies, munching snacks and sharing stories from our current lives but mostly stirring up memories form our shared past.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thank you to every one of you who attended my events, arranged after-parties, put me up in their home, and drove me where I needed to go. A special gratitude to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BNMuskegonMI/" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble Muskegon</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booknookjavashop" target="_blank">Book Nook & Java Shop</a> in Montague and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBookmanBookstore/" target="_blank">The Bookman </a>in Grand Haven for hosting me at your lovely bookstores. After one of my readings an employee handed me a Sharpie and asked me to sign their author wall. I only hesitated for a moment before writing, "You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can't take Michigan out of the girl." Because Thomas Wolfe is wrong. You can go home again. And as we say here, you might should.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
********<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Have you heard? <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a> is </span><a href="http://www.delilah.com/blog-detail/2018/6/1/june-book-club-this-i-know" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Delilah Book Club Selection</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> from America's most listened-to female radio host! Pop over to her page to read Delilah's review and why she chose to recommend my book to her 8 million listeners!</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlzvXRygFuo/WxGVGD81VzI/AAAAAAAADYY/4X3QoNIIWg4A3ahOHSgd0AeN0Rnx5kXWwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/This%2BI%2BKnow%2Bis%2Ba%2Blovely%2Bstory%2Babout%2Bembracing%2Bthe%2Bunknowable%252C%2Babout%2Bthe%2Bredeeming%2Bpowers%2Bof%2Bacceptance%253B%2Bself%2Band%2Bothers...%2BAn%2Bamazing%2Bbook%252C%2Bby%2Ban%2Bequally%2Bamazing%2Bauthor%252C%2BI%2Bthoroughly%2Benjoyed%2Bit%2Band%2BI%2Bknow%2Byou%2Bwil.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XlzvXRygFuo/WxGVGD81VzI/AAAAAAAADYY/4X3QoNIIWg4A3ahOHSgd0AeN0Rnx5kXWwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/This%2BI%2BKnow%2Bis%2Ba%2Blovely%2Bstory%2Babout%2Bembracing%2Bthe%2Bunknowable%252C%2Babout%2Bthe%2Bredeeming%2Bpowers%2Bof%2Bacceptance%253B%2Bself%2Band%2Bothers...%2BAn%2Bamazing%2Bbook%252C%2Bby%2Ban%2Bequally%2Bamazing%2Bauthor%252C%2BI%2Bthoroughly%2Benjoyed%2Bit%2Band%2BI%2Bknow%2Byou%2Bwil.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">
</span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-33530135354814999462018-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:002018-05-11T12:48:26.050-07:00Five Things I Learned from My Mother<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FPRicNfITL0/WvRRbXTYWII/AAAAAAAADRY/ESVHi7O2OrYeCNyM2O8rmy7qj3Si-4y9ACLcBGAs/s1600/mom%2Bdavid%2Bsofter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FPRicNfITL0/WvRRbXTYWII/AAAAAAAADRY/ESVHi7O2OrYeCNyM2O8rmy7qj3Si-4y9ACLcBGAs/s320/mom%2Bdavid%2Bsofter.jpg" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mother at 41 and her 13-pound boy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To say the last few weeks have been a thrilling roller-coaster ride would be an understatement. In the span of a month, my debut novel released, I moved, and my beloved 16-year-old dog Bella died. I sometimes wonder how we survive even one of these events without curling into a tangled ball of stress. But then I remember that for every lowdown low there is an incredible high. Our lives might feel out of control but it's possible to find balance even in the midst of complete chaos. You know how I know this? I learned it from my mom. This photo of her was taken shortly after the birth of her eighth child when she was 41. I realize he looks like a three-month-old baby but my brother David came into this world weighing a whopping 13 pounds. My mother quit babies after that one, but she didn't quit bringing forth life. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Writers often compare launching a new book to giving birth. In my just-released novel THIS I KNOW young Grace Carter inherits her mother's deep intuition. As Mother's Day approaches I've been thinking about what traits my mother gifted me through her genes and by her example; qualities that have made me better equipped to navigate this life.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
1. Laughter cures pretty much everything.</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JpLOdAYzvQ/WvSFrsoFqmI/AAAAAAAADSA/zsntXer9hkIqo3gmnh8aHHS2l1OSc0xVgCLcBGAs/s1600/anna%2Bel%2Blaughing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JpLOdAYzvQ/WvSFrsoFqmI/AAAAAAAADSA/zsntXer9hkIqo3gmnh8aHHS2l1OSc0xVgCLcBGAs/s200/anna%2Bel%2Blaughing.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laughing with Anna Unkovich</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although she suffered from debilitating degenerative disk disease, it's my mother's laugh, not her pain that I remember most clearly. She often shared jokes, ruining the punch line because she couldn't get through it without cracking herself up. The only thing I loved better than making my mom proud was making her laugh so hard she once peed herself while cooking lunch for my sisters and me. Being pregnant with 13-pound baby might have contributed to the bladder release but I happily took credit. I've carried my mom's voluptuous laugh with me into my own parenthood and beyond. When a neighbor moved away a few years ago she shared that the thing she'd miss most about living next door to me was hearing laughter resonating from my home almost every day. She said hearing me laugh made her less lonely. I hope she laughed with me. Or even at me. Because there's nothing like the chortles and howls of a good belly laugh to make you forget for a moment everything you want to cry about. Laughter takes you out of yourself and sends back a love note.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
2. Human touch heals the soul.</h3>
<div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LaVe8zyjguY/WvSGBjDI91I/AAAAAAAADSI/tylXpCA-uZklr-cNGrpMhEIeLNqno17ygCLcBGAs/s1600/touch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="550" height="136" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LaVe8zyjguY/WvSGBjDI91I/AAAAAAAADSI/tylXpCA-uZklr-cNGrpMhEIeLNqno17ygCLcBGAs/s200/touch.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My mother was one of the most affectionate people I've ever known. Severe back pain often prevented her from lifting or bending to hug us so she'd pull us close to pet our heads or massage our ears. When she ended up in traction, she'd often invite me to crawl in beside her on the bed where she lay in traction where we could snuggle and hold hands. I used to think she did this for me but looking back I realize she hungered for the healing properties of touch as much as I did. She died a few years before I started my 25-year career in as a massage therapist. What I wouldn't give to have been able to offer her a healing massage when she was hurting. I'm so thankful for her tenderness, for teaching me the power within our reach not only to heal others, but to heal ourselves.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
3. Your circumstances don't define you. </h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFeKxeaZrcI/WvSY2reSNqI/AAAAAAAADTw/jvmICrH9WSA0w8cBbtgVNIlCMhQqN1PMwCLcBGAs/s1600/thoreau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="504" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFeKxeaZrcI/WvSY2reSNqI/AAAAAAAADTw/jvmICrH9WSA0w8cBbtgVNIlCMhQqN1PMwCLcBGAs/s200/thoreau.jpg" width="200" /></a>Just when her life seemed to peak, my mother was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. The doctor gave her six months to live. Surrounded by all her children when the call came, she bawled into her hands for all of about fifteen minutes. By the end of the day she was calling the doctors liars; she hadn't come this far to accept their doom and gloom sentence. Over the next three years my mother LIVED her life. She endured chemo, radiation and platelet infusions. She researched and delved into alternative therapies, the most memorable being garlic. Everywhere garlic. She danced, she sang, she went to movies, she spent time with old friends and made new ones. Through it all she refused to give in. Of all the things my mother taught me I'm most grateful for learning what resilience looks like. Her strength has shadowed me through every hardship along a path littered with heartbreak and loss, including losing her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
4. It's okay to break the rules.</h3>
<div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wDBWrBN_j9c/WvSNU6IXzHI/AAAAAAAADS8/wGeEk_IRuCk77u2yM27j_CT6sRGu8XiHwCLcBGAs/s1600/dancing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="336" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wDBWrBN_j9c/WvSNU6IXzHI/AAAAAAAADS8/wGeEk_IRuCk77u2yM27j_CT6sRGu8XiHwCLcBGAs/s200/dancing.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
VaLoyce Edwards was a mother and preacher's wife but she was so much more than that. The only thing she loved more than singing was if you sang with her. She often performed in our churches and if I'm being honest. that was about the only time I paid attention. Her voice could make a Buckingham Palace guard cry. We didn't have much in the way of luxuries growing up in a home with seven children and two adults but we always had music. My mom listened to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson records on our hi-fi. Dancing wasn't allowed in our Southern Baptist home but it didn't stop her from swaying. She'd close her eyes and become a like a willow branch, moving with an unseen wind. Later on in life, she gave herself permission to go listen to bands at various venues. I never had the pleasure of tagging along with her but I'm told that once she let loose she burned up the floor. </div>
</div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
5. Never give up on your dreams.</h3>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoJPIzPXrtM/WvSHHh7BIwI/AAAAAAAADSU/IxpmdsW0c2YyV6g4dvyEetxG3-98cPHwQCLcBGAs/s1600/dreamer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoJPIzPXrtM/WvSHHh7BIwI/AAAAAAAADSU/IxpmdsW0c2YyV6g4dvyEetxG3-98cPHwQCLcBGAs/s200/dreamer.jpg" width="180" /></a>I know this one sounds cliche but hear me out. In her late forties, my mother opted for a risky surgery, one that could have left her in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. The outcome of this decision changed her life. Freed from chronic back pain and the unfortunate side effects of pain medications, she enrolled in college and earned her degree in sociology. Immediately upon graduation she was hired by the university as a financial aid counselor, helping others to find ways to pursue their educational goals. Like my mother, I went back to school in my fifties. And also like her, I never gave up on my goal of writing books. I was 54 when <a href="http://amazon.com/Lost-Transplantation-Memoir-Unconventional-Organ-ebook/dp/B00HG68Y1I" target="_blank">LOST IN TRANSPLANTATION</a> published and 59 when my debut novel THIS I KNOW released. I'll be 60 when my next book is out in June of 2019.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been almost three decades since my mother passed away, just shy of her 65th birthday. I know she would be so proud of me for writing a book but prouder still that I channeled her resilience, her laughter, her willingness to break the rules in writing this little story about a girl who longs to rescue her mother from the depths of darkness. Happy Mothers Day, Mom. I love you. This I Know.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>What about you? What did you learn or inherit from your mom-person?</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
**********</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
It's out!</h2>
<div>
My debut novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a> released on April 24 and I'm thrilled with the overwhelming support and positive feedback from so many people. It's available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Sam's Club or order from you Independent Bookstore. I'm headed to Michigan for a book tour May 12-20. If you happen to be within spitting distance, I hope you'll drop in and say hi.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BIuZ8QRjZeU/WvSVAAzFtgI/AAAAAAAADTY/HUQf1r62pHA6kMUP2yGUiXEeokDhgQmJQCLcBGAs/s1600/facebook%2Bcover%2B4.26.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="828" height="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BIuZ8QRjZeU/WvSVAAzFtgI/AAAAAAAADTY/HUQf1r62pHA6kMUP2yGUiXEeokDhgQmJQCLcBGAs/s640/facebook%2Bcover%2B4.26.18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Eldonna Edwards' Upcoming Book Events</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/341432633000386/" target="_blank">May 12 at Barnes & Noble/Muskegon, MI 1 pm</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/591292344583808/" target="_blank">May 18 at Book Nook & Java/Montague, MI 5 pm</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/454868904943064/" target="_blank">May 19 at The Bookman/Grand Haven, MI 1 pm</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/177177409724862/" target="_blank">June 3 at Bang The Drum Brewery/San Luis Obispo, CA 1 pm</a></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-86788723176530976822018-04-09T08:54:00.000-07:002018-04-09T09:00:45.462-07:00Wading in The Wings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUUJp179T-k/Wsp8w8q5pQI/AAAAAAAADMw/ZuqdwSBZxoszOoJhcAKpJn1_fkpSsd2agCEwYBhgL/s1600/I%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bbeen%2Bcounting%2Bdown%2Bthe%2Bmonths%2Buntil%2Bmy%2Bbaptism%252C%2Bwhich%2Bhappens%2Bthe%2Bsummer%2Bwhen%2Byou%25E2%2580%2599re%2Btwelve.%2BPartly%2Bbecause%2BI%2Bwant%2BGod%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bblessing%252C%2Bbut%2Bmostly%2Bbecause%2BI%2Bwant%2BDaddy%25E2%2580%2599s.%2BMaybe%2Bthat%2Bwater%2Breally%2Bdoes%2Bturn%2Bhol%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUUJp179T-k/Wsp8w8q5pQI/AAAAAAAADMw/ZuqdwSBZxoszOoJhcAKpJn1_fkpSsd2agCEwYBhgL/s320/I%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bbeen%2Bcounting%2Bdown%2Bthe%2Bmonths%2Buntil%2Bmy%2Bbaptism%252C%2Bwhich%2Bhappens%2Bthe%2Bsummer%2Bwhen%2Byou%25E2%2580%2599re%2Btwelve.%2BPartly%2Bbecause%2BI%2Bwant%2BGod%25E2%2580%2599s%2Bblessing%252C%2Bbut%2Bmostly%2Bbecause%2BI%2Bwant%2BDaddy%25E2%2580%2599s.%2BMaybe%2Bthat%2Bwater%2Breally%2Bdoes%2Bturn%2Bhol%2B%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“<i>Living in the present moment is the recurring baptism of the soul, forever purifying every new day with a new you.</i>” </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8396281.Alaric_Hutchinson" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;">Alaric Hutchinson</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_22774529" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/42317790" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">L</a>IVING PEACE</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of all the days that stand out from my childhood, the times we gathered at Stony Lake for baptism services feel the most visceral. It was a big deal in our little church and nearly all of our small congregation attended. What I remember most clearly is my dad's sun-deprived white feet under rolled-up pant legs as he stood at the water's edge, holding his weathered Bible in one hand while he spoke. It didn't matter that the pages flapped in the summer breeze; he knew those words by heart, as did most of us.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not Southern or Baptist but something deep and holy stuck to my bones from those annual gatherings at the lake. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two of my favorite scenes in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35940516-this-i-know" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a> are a spirited community baptism that takes place at Cherry Lake and a much more personal one that occurs in a small backyard pond. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To this day I much prefer baths to showers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the first</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9mxiG_1QeU/Wsp98--XReI/AAAAAAAADM0/cXyg_MPvphol1ltfv-7F8FlV-B7RYts2wCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo0129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9mxiG_1QeU/Wsp98--XReI/AAAAAAAADM0/cXyg_MPvphol1ltfv-7F8FlV-B7RYts2wCLcBGAs/s320/Photo0129.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> things I did when I bought my current home was to drop an antique claw foot bathtub in the yard under the trees. It is my sanctuary. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Showers are for rinsing; the bath is more of a prayer, a purification of mind and spirit that transcends mere physical cleansing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Waiting for my book to come out reminds me of those languid summer days wishing my dad would wrap up his long-winded sermon so I could watch him dunk people in the lake. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">As I count down the last several days to the long-awaited release date, I'm reminded of the words we used to sing as we gathered in the long shadows of those sandy Lake Michigan dunes. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When peace like a river, attendeth my way</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When sorrows like sea billows roll</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It is well, it is well, with my soul.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been two years since I gleefully signed a contract with my publisher for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-I-Know-Eldonna-Edwards/dp/1496712862" target="_blank">THIS I KNOW</a>, a story about a young girl trying to navigate her kaleidoscopic understanding of Spirit, juxtaposed against her father's black-and-white image of God. My gratitude goes out to every single one of you who has cheered me on. Thank you to the many pre-release readers wrote to tell me how much you loved my little Grace Marie, shared my good news, and talked about my book to others. Today I truly can say that all is indeed well with my soul.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*******************************************</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please join me for my long-awaited <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/939590046221780" target="_blank">Launch Party </a>on Facebook!</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qngG5tx8_R0/WslAwCl23bI/AAAAAAAADMM/pElxrFjXmlQ2oCyMlP_Sbb6AdKpA0t7uQCLcBGAs/s1600/Launch%2BParty%2B%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qngG5tx8_R0/WslAwCl23bI/AAAAAAAADMM/pElxrFjXmlQ2oCyMlP_Sbb6AdKpA0t7uQCLcBGAs/s320/Launch%2BParty%2B%25283%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-11218729251419403362018-03-20T13:33:00.002-07:002018-03-20T14:47:59.762-07:00Tornado Weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ladqpbezqw/WrFscxxHoFI/AAAAAAAADIc/so18OdW1jyk6VWQT2QZtXFrNsyF0dQXfACLcBGAs/s1600/We%2Btake%2Bour%2Bplace%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bnortheast%2Bcorner%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bbasement%252C%2Bjust%2Blike%2Balways.%2BMy%2Bheart%2Bthundering%2Binside%2Bmy%2Bchest%2Bseems%2Balmost%2Bas%2Bloud%2Bas%2Bthe%2Bstorm%2Boutside..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="We take our place in the northeast corner of the basement, just like always. My heart thundering inside my chest seems almost as loud as the storm outside." border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ladqpbezqw/WrFscxxHoFI/AAAAAAAADIc/so18OdW1jyk6VWQT2QZtXFrNsyF0dQXfACLcBGAs/s320/We%2Btake%2Bour%2Bplace%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bnortheast%2Bcorner%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bbasement%252C%2Bjust%2Blike%2Balways.%2BMy%2Bheart%2Bthundering%2Binside%2Bmy%2Bchest%2Bseems%2Balmost%2Bas%2Bloud%2Bas%2Bthe%2Bstorm%2Boutside..png" title="THIS I KNOW by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SKp_m7B4K78/WqBPZKoxrHI/AAAAAAAADHA/oY3pWMg7gaM-duMMID5TaCEh0baBjbGYgCLcBGAs/s1600/Mama%2Bsays%2Bnobody%2Bhas%2Bwhiter%2Bsheets%2Bthan%2Bshe%2Bdoes.%2BI%2Bcan%2Btell%2Bby%2Bthe%2Bway%2Bshe%2Bsays%2Bit%2Bshe%25E2%2580%2599s%2Breal%2Bproud%2Bof%2Bthis%2Beven%2Bthough%2BDaddy%2Bpreaches%2Bthat%2Bpride%2Bis%2Ba%2Bsin.%2BMama%2Bhands%2Bme%2Ba%2Bpillow%2Bcase%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Bbasket%2Band%2Btakes%2Bone%2Bf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first day of Spring is just around the corner. Here in California that usually means our jade-green Irish hills gradually turn the color of a lion's mane, but due to recent drought, it's probably going to be more like fading from olive to burnt toast. We're getting some rain this week but probably not enough to correct a full dry season. Hopefully we'll be spared another round of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-county-evacuations-20180319-story.html" target="_blank">mudslides</a> to the south.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I come from the Midwest, where precipitation happens all year long. The part when it turns white is mostly what propelled me toward the west coast. I'm not nostalgic about shoveling out of six-foot banks of snow, but I do miss how lightening sparked across a forever sky, followed by booming thunder that sometimes punctuated my dad's hellfire and brimstone sermons. When people ask why I set my first novel in Michigan they assume it's because I grew up there. That's partly why, but it's also because Michigan weather makes for a more interesting backdrop. Rain, thunderstorms, hail, blizzards, ice storms; and let's not forget when the air turns eerily still and the sky a sickly shade of yellow that we call <i>tornado weather.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of my favorite scenes to write in THIS I KNOW is when the family huddles in the basement of their home as a tornado passes overhead. Just recalling the hush of a sticky wind right before the warning sirens pierced my young ears sends me reeling backward in time. I can feel the humidity on my skin, smell the dank corner of our parsonage basement, feel the fear of my family as we waited for the all clear on our transistor radio. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From chapter 16 of THIS I KNOW:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A huge crack of thunder booms above us, rattling the windows.
Chastity scampers over to Mama and Daddy and I follow. The lights flicker on
and off twice before the room goes completely dark. Above us our whole house
shakes, the wind leaning it one way and then the house fighting its way back to
center. Mama starts humming “A Shelter in the Time of Storm,” which is meant to comfort us but for some
reason makes me even more scared. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We don't experience tornadoes as a rule in California, but we do have earthquakes. Mother Nature usually gives you time to take shelter before a funnel cloud reaches for the ground but these tremors come without warning. The best we can do is strap furniture to the wall, keep glassware secured inside cabinets and pray we're not in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9hxfLXZIGs" target="_blank">grocery store</a> when it hits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What about you? How does Mother Nature earn your deepest fear and respect in your neighborhood?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4795628956417254955.post-44304515601536150742018-03-01T10:16:00.001-08:002018-03-01T10:21:40.593-08:00I Only Know What I Don't Know<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASwksDSO4t4/WpdtYqZhTTI/AAAAAAAADFI/cgEKApb0sgIqSsLJib34n3ZoR5pPsbfigCLcBGAs/s1600/I%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bspooning%2Bmy%2BOther%252C%2Bmy%2Bbelly%2Bto%2Bhis%2Bback.%2BI%2Blove%2Bthe%2Bway%2Bhis%2Bbody%2Bfeels%2Bagainst%2Bmine.%2BAlthough%2Bwe%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bchanged%2Bpositions%2Bmany%2Btimes%252C%2Bwe%2Balways%2Bcome%2Bback%2Bto%2Bthis.%2BOver%2Bthe%2Blast%2Bmonth%2Bour%2Bwarm-water%2Bpool%2Bhas%2Bslowly%2Btr.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=""I'm spooning my Other, my belly to his back..."" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASwksDSO4t4/WpdtYqZhTTI/AAAAAAAADFI/cgEKApb0sgIqSsLJib34n3ZoR5pPsbfigCLcBGAs/s320/I%25E2%2580%2599m%2Bspooning%2Bmy%2BOther%252C%2Bmy%2Bbelly%2Bto%2Bhis%2Bback.%2BI%2Blove%2Bthe%2Bway%2Bhis%2Bbody%2Bfeels%2Bagainst%2Bmine.%2BAlthough%2Bwe%25E2%2580%2599ve%2Bchanged%2Bpositions%2Bmany%2Btimes%252C%2Bwe%2Balways%2Bcome%2Bback%2Bto%2Bthis.%2BOver%2Bthe%2Blast%2Bmonth%2Bour%2Bwarm-water%2Bpool%2Bhas%2Bslowly%2Btr.png" title="THIS I KNOW quote about birth by Eldonna Edwards" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lately I've been thinking a lot about birthdays. Not just because I'll be completing another trip around the sun this month, but because I've witnessed so many people at the end of their journey. Having recently midwifed more than a few dear ones across the fragile veil of this life, I've realized just how similar these transitions are to birth; the labored breath, the physical pain, the emotional whiplash and at long last, the rush of love that overwhelms us.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Family legend says I was born in a hospital elevator between the labor room and the delivery theater, all ten-and-a-quarter pounds of me! I don't know if the story is true but I tend to believe it. Patience is not one of my most stellar virtues. On the other hand, I do enjoy my comforts and I'm just as apt to believe I was one of those hangers-on who waited long past my due date to leave the safety of my mother's womb. And to do so on my terms, not the will of my poor mother or the hospital staff.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While writing the opening prologue of THIS I KNOW, I tried to imagine the final moments of unborn twins who communicate their last thoughts to one another right before birth. Do babies experience fear? Excitement? Sadness? Or is the whole experience just a lollapalooza of love during a newborn's entry into the outside world? Here's how my young protagonist Grace Carter describes her memory of a time before birth:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Folks don’t believe me when I tell them I remember being in the womb. They think it’s my wild imagination. “There goes Grace in her fantasy world,” they say. But I know what I know. The thing is, they could remember, too, if they wanted. Maybe they don’t because they’d be sorry they were ever born if they recalled the sweetest place they’ve ever been and how they had to leave it.</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I lean into the final bend of a new decade I'm more inclined to believe we don't know any more about what happens before life than what follows death. When people ask me what I think happens after we die, my answer is that I only know what I don't know. For now, I choose to be awed by the gift of another moment, another day, another candle on this sweet slice of life before me. Because <i>every</i> day is new birth. How will you celebrate that gift today?</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">**********</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pssst! In celebration of my birthday, we're announcing a </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/277991-this-i-know" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Goodreads giveaway for 20 print copies of THIS I KNOW</a> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">beginning March 3.</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you add the book to your Goodreads want-to-read-list you'll be reminded when the giveaway opens. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good luck!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--rNrVPcI37g/WphCur3Xh3I/AAAAAAAADGY/Ql6g6EIpfxYBqqVmpoldEKqp7kGcwnGHACLcBGAs/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2BNever%2Bcompromise%2Bcreativity%2Bfor%2Bthe%2Bsake%2Bof%2Bpropriety.%2B--Eldonna%2BEdwards%252C%2Bauthor%2Bof%2BLOST%2BIN%2BTRANSPLANTATION%2Band%2BTHIS%2BI%2BKNOW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--rNrVPcI37g/WphCur3Xh3I/AAAAAAAADGY/Ql6g6EIpfxYBqqVmpoldEKqp7kGcwnGHACLcBGAs/s320/Copy%2Bof%2BNever%2Bcompromise%2Bcreativity%2Bfor%2Bthe%2Bsake%2Bof%2Bpropriety.%2B--Eldonna%2BEdwards%252C%2Bauthor%2Bof%2BLOST%2BIN%2BTRANSPLANTATION%2Band%2BTHIS%2BI%2BKNOW.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Eldonna Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03252159599888765277noreply@blogger.com2