A wayward descendant of Mexico’s national hero, a femme fatale who recites poems in cantinas, a Tunisian prostitute in Barcelona, a Spanish psychiatrist who fights brave bulls, the wise owner of the world’s oldest restaurant. They are just a handful of the characters portrayed in VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain, the first memoir to capture Mexico and Spain from the perspective of an American and the knowledge of an insider. VIDAS explores subjects as diverse as the art of blasphemy, the cult of the Virgin Mary, superstition and witchcraft, the bordellos of Mexico, Spain’s paradise of drink and food, the bullfight and the running of bulls in Pamplona, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Every chapter of this vibrant travel memoir depicts a different person or place, which combined create a cross-section of the most populous Spanish-speaking countries in the New and Old World. VIDAS is a passage from childhood to adolescence and maturity, a tribute to nature and the open road, an exaltation of love, food and wine, a journey from the tender, mortal flesh to the luminous world of the spirit.
Filled with photographs, this engaging and unique memoir provides a sensory travel experience many of us are craving today. VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain offers the opportunity to learn about faraway lands and striking events while never leaving home. This timely "armchair travel" memoir is for anyone searching for an escape during our troubled time.
Book Details: Title: VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain Author: Edward Stanton Genre: nonfiction, travel, memoir, culture Publisher: Waterside Publications (March 1st, 2021) Print length: 178 pages
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD STANTON
A few of your favorite things: books and bonsai trees. These may seem like very different things, but of course paper is made from wood. Not the wood from my bonsais, however. Things you need to throw out: books I’ll never read again. Things you need in order to write: I’m a graphomaniac, so I need things to stop me from writing. Things that hamper your writing: watering, fertilizing, pinching, pruning, and repotting bonsai trees.
Things you love about writing: the solitude. Things you hate about writing: the loneliness.
Easiest thing about being a writer: is there anything easy? Hardest thing about being a writer: knowing when to stop.
Things you love about where you live: clean air and old trees. Things that make you want to move: Republicans.
Things you never want to run out of: books, wine, and trees. Things you wish you’d never bought: anything that runs on gasoline.
Favorite foods: Chiles en nogada and the dozens of moles from Puebla, Mexico. Things that make you want to throw up: all fast food.
Favorite music: Corridos and rancheras from Mexico, cante jondo from Spain. Music that makes your ears bleed: Garth Brooks spoiling an otherwise musically perfect Inauguration.
Favorite beverage: the wines of La Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Spain. Something that gives you a pickle face:all fast food.
Favorite smell: Hawthorn blossoms in May, with memories of Marcel Proust. Something that makes you hold your nose: Trumpty-Dumpty and the suckers who actually believe him.
Something you’re really good at: editing someone else’s work. Something you’re really bad at: editing my own work.
Something you like to do: spend time with Melissa Ann. Something you wish you’d never done: trying and failing to install apps on my computer.
Last best thing you ate: a perfect dal with a garlic nan. Last thing you regret eating: fast food (about 30 years ago).
Things you’d walk a mile for: to see an ancient tree. Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: people who actually believe Trumpty-Dumpty.
Things you always put in your books: tricksters. Things you never put in your books: Republicans.
Things to say to an author: I read your last book twice. Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Cherchez la femme.
Favorite places you’ve been: Nayarit, Mexico; Moutrás, Galicia, Spain. Places you never want to go to again: I’d go anywhere again in the right company.
Favorite things to do: write, care for bonsai, spend time with Melissa Ann. Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: creating a new password.
Things that make you happy: ancient trees, good wine & company. Things that drive you crazy: I’ve already mentioned those.
Proudest moment: my parents seeing me receive an award at their alma mater. Most embarrassing moment: after a certain age nothing should embarrass you.
Biggest lie you’ve ever told: I’ve never told a lie. A lie you wish you’d told: “I’m a conscientious objector” before being sworn into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Best thing you’ve ever done: marry Melissa Ann. Biggest mistake: an earlier marriage.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: surf waves that were too big. Something you chickened out from doing: surfed even bigger waves.
Born in Colorado and raised in California, Edward Stanton has lived in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain. He’s the author of twelve books, some of them translated and published in Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Road of Stars to Santiago, the story of his 500-mile walk on the ancient pilgrimage route to Compostela, was called one of the best books on the subject by the New York Times; Stanton’s environmental novel Wide as the Wind, the first to treat the tragic history of Easter Island, won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Young Adult Fiction and three other international prizes. While teaching at colleges and universities in the Americas and Europe, he’s also published short stories, poems, translations and essays. The Fulbright Commission, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Spanish Ministry of Culture have supported his work with grants and fellowships. Recently his students and colleagues published This Spanish Thing: Essays in Honor of Edward F. Stanton.
Many people know Todd Stottlemyre as an American former professional baseball player, most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. However, Todd Stottlemyre is also an author with a highly personal, transformative story to tell through his new book. The Observer, far from being a fiction novel, is the fable of Todd Stottlemyre’s life. He rose to superstardom winning two World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays but had yet to reach his true “peak” until the journey that began afterward.
Kat has it all (money, success, recognition, influence) except the one thing she desires desperately: a fulfilled life. A business entrepreneur in the high-end sportswear industry, Kat is driven in relentless pursuit of ever-greater success. The two anchors in Kat's frenzied life have been her father; a famous baseball pitcher turned team manager, and her son, who is following in his grandfather's footsteps. When both anchors become unstable, Kat's life tips dangerously out of balance. The market and her finances flip, and relationships start slipping through her fingers. Eager for solutions, she turns to find uncanny wisdom from places she never expected.
The Observer unpacks the idea of 180-degree thinking, which changes everything for Kat. Now, seemingly impossible goals now come into focus with crystal clear clarity. As Kat focuses on the right things, the impossible becomes her new reality.
Book Details: Title: The Observer: A Modern Fable on Mastering Your
Thoughts & Emotions Author: Todd Stottlemyre Genre: *Praised for
breaking the boundaries of both fiction and non-fiction / women’s fiction, sports fiction, business, self-help, motivational,
inspirational, mental health Publisher: Made for Success Publishing
(December 29, 2020) Print length: 200 pages
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH TODD STOTTLEMYRE
Things you need in order to write: clarity, a creative environment, time. Things that hamper your writing: stress, overwhelm that destroys creativity.
Things you love about writing: I love being able to share a message of true-life events and experiences, of tragedy and triumphs to inspire and impact others to pursue their inner greatness. Things you hate about writing: I find I do better talking than writing and my passion comes out deeper in my voice when I am speaking.
Easiest thing about being a writer: sharing personal stories, experiences, and moments. Hardest thing about being a writer: relating to the masses so that it will enrich their lives. Things you love about where you live: I love outdoor opportunities because of our weather and the ease of travel throughout the country because of where we are located. Things that make you want to move: the summer heat in Arizona.
Things you never want to run out of: family and friends. Things you wish you’d never bought: golf courses.
Favorite foods: Poke, sushi, Italian. Things that make you want to throw up: celery, peas, wild rice.
Things you’d walk a mile for: a great meal. Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: negative people.
Things you always put in your books: real-life experiences. Things you never put in your books: to teach something I have never learned through experience.
Favorite places you’ve been: Europe, Hawaii, Turks & Caicos. Places you never want to go to again: bad hotels.
Favorite things to do: vacation with my family, fishing with my brother. Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: cleaning the garage and moving.
Things that make you happy: dates with my wife, great food, inspiring movies, winning. Things that drive you crazy: losing, negative people, messy environments, excuses.
The last thing you did for the first time: rode a Segway. Something you’ll never do again: Pink Jeep Tours.
Todd Stottlemyre is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 15 seasons most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays with whom he won two World Series championships. He also played for the Oakland Athletics, St Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Awarded for his outstanding integrity and dedication to community service, he received the prestigious Branch Ricky Award and the Lou Gehrig Award. After leaving professional baseball, he pursued a career in finance building an asset management business at a high-profile Wall Street firm. He is the co-founder and owner of a private equity fund that owns, manages, and oversees a number of companies. Today, Stottlemyre channels his passion for winning as a high-performance business coach, best-selling author, and keynote speaker. Taking all he has learned both on and off the field, he works to help people achieve unparalleled success in every dimension of their lives. His latest book, The Observer: A Modern Fable on Mastering Your Thoughts & Emotions released on December 29, 2020.
In 1960, on the front lawn of an elementary school in North East Dallas, a tradition was born. A group of seventh-grade boys captured the free time before Thanksgiving dinner to engage in a game of touch football. It was a good day to play. So good, in fact, that the game would resume each year at the same time in the same place.
The last game was held on November 26, 2009, marking 50 years of the Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational. You are invited to celebrate the RTI’s 60-year mark with us on Thanksgiving 2019 as we release our book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story.
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH BRENT PARROTT & BRYAN RENFRO
A few of your favorite things:
Brent: spending time with my grandkids, traveling, my work, working out, being with friends and family.
Bryan: building relationships, weekend getaways, Bible study, sports.
Things you need to throw out:
Brent: not sure of the question, but I pretty much throw out things I don’t need.
Bryan: too many tools!
Things you need in order to write:
Brent: comfort and silence and the internet and my PC.
Bryan: time only.
Things that hamper your writing:
Brent: work, not enough hours in the day, normal distractions.
Bryan: forcing it into a time slot; an impending appointment .
Things you love about writing:
Brent: the creative process, the rush when your on a role, a finished perfection
Bryan: getting it right the first draft
Things you hate about writing:
Brent: writer’s paralysis, brain fog, loss for the right word or sentence.
Bryan: getting it wrong the first time, second, third, fourth…..
Easiest thing about being a writer:
Brent: again, getting on a roll and it just flows.
Bryan: getting the ideas out and on the page .
Hardest thing about being a writer:
Brent: not sure but critiques can be hell.
Bryan: self expectations, discouragement; using the proper words, creating metaphor .
Things you love about where you live:
Brent: born and raised in Dallas, close to family and lots of friends.
Bryan: I live in the house I grew up in, so little change.
Things that make you want to move:
Brent : weather, traffic.
Bryan: August and September.
Brent: couple of timeshares, a 1972 Audi.
Bryan: a swimming pool installation, a motorcycle.
Words that describe you:
Brent: my wife says I’m sarcastic, but I claim I’m creatively sharp and witty; a devoted husband, father and friend; competitive but fair.
Bryan: loyal, diligent, creative, sensitive.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:
Brent: always having to be right; sarcastic; argumentative.
Bryan: too competitive, poor storyteller, poor listener.
Favorite foods:
Brent: a good steak; Mexican food; breakfast food.
Bryan: Pad Tai, enchiladas, cheeseburgers, salad.
Things that make you want to throw up:
Brent: politics; all the hate; beets.
Bryan: politics, financial advisors, afternoon television.
Favorite music or song:
Brent: love my music which is immense.
Bryan: “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.”
Music that make your ears bleed:
Brent: most rap and most heavy metal.
Bryan: rap, warbly vocals, Christmas music after the second week.
Favorite beverage:
Brent: iced tea and beer.
Bryan: Dr Pepper, iced tea, water.
Something that gives you a pickle face:
Brent: my wife’s comments sometimes; political analysts.
Favorite smell:
Brent: my wife’s aroma; fresh baked bread.
Bryan: mown grass on the golf course.
Something that makes you hold your nose:
Brent: some bathroom smells; brussels sprouts.
Something you’re really good at:
Brent: I think I’m good at making my point; swimming; being creative; my work whatever it is.
Bryan: maintaining relationships; Bible study; furniture building and repair.
Brent: travel more, fly a plane, turn back time.
Bryan: write books that challenge and inspire; run as fast and as far as I used to; plumbing and electrical repairs.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
Brent: not sure of this question; I love to learn.
Bryan: say, “Yes, of course I will help you with that.”
Something you like to do:
Brent: workout, time with family and friends, work, get a good night’s sleep.
Bryan: church, relationships, garage sales, wood working projects.
Something you wish you’d never done:
Brent: married my first wife; not taking early school years more serious.
Bryan: I still wince at actions or words I did or said many years ago.
Last best thing you ate:
Brent: a protein shake.
Bryan: a bowl of my wife’s chili on a cold grey day.
Last thing you regret eating:
Brent: old enough to know what not to eat.
Bryan: my promise to help.
Things you’d walk a mile for:
Brent: glad I can walk a mile, so I’d walk a mile to anything I needed to walk a mile to.
Bryan: a two-hour travel time for an important fifteen minute conversation.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
Brent: never would go screaming from the room I’d just leave before it got that bad.
Bryan: my dog threw-up on the sofa.
Things you always put in your books:
Brent: another question not sure what to say, I guess my name and a title.
Bryan: attempts at wisdom, humor, and truth but they never make the conversation.
Things you never put in your books:
Brent: not sure, how bout self-promotion
Bryan: though I try yet always fail, I never achieve wisdom, humor, and truth.
Things to say to an author:
Brent: a successful author or a struggling author? What’s the secret to your success; don’t give up, keep writing if you love it.
Bryan: “How do you write dialogue?”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
Brent: Brent Parrott would be a great name for your next victim you kill off in your next book.
Bryan: in no manner worthy of Lonesome Dove.
Favorite places you’ve been:
Brent: Carmel, California; Italy; Costa Rica.
Bryan: a remote cabin in Montana on honeymoon. “Let’s go again, Babes!”
Places you never want to go to again:
Brent: India.
Bryan: U. S. Army.
People you’d like to invite to dinner:
Brent: any of my good friends; Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi – I could make it work.
Bryan: my house, my table could not accommodate all the deceased friends and family members that I wish I could enjoy one last time.
People you’d cancel dinner on:
Brent: Trump and Pelosi if they did not agree with the agenda.
Favorite things to do:
Brent: watch a great movie, a great sporting event; exercise; and time with the grandkids.
Bryan: working wood in my shop; watching my wife at an antique mall; hearing my daughter and granddaughters laugh till it hurts; hearing my wife pray; having lunch with old friends; a DYI project that went well; bringing a good bible study lesson on Sunday mornings; a good day on the golf course; reading.
Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing:
Brent: literally I’d never do that, figuratively getting my hands dirty; doing this questionnaire again. Editor’s note: the instructions advised not to answer every question!
Bryan: a Christmas party.
Things that make you happy:
Brent: life.
Bryan: getting out of running through a fire wearing gasoline pants; old cars, old airplanes, old friends; a good morning devotional time; a weekend getaway with surprisingly good food, accommodations, and activities; coffee in the den with my wife.
Things that drive you crazy:
Brent: life and sometimes my wife.
Bryan: being no longer able to make simple repairs on an automobile.
Proudest moment:
Brent: when my daughter and when my grandkids were born.
Bryan: watching my children achieve what they perceive as goals.
Most embarrassing moment:
Brent: really don’t get embarrassed, I just roll with it; although I was really embarrassed at my first date when my dad had to tell me to walk her to the door.
Biggest lie you’ve ever told:
Brent: not answering for self-incrimination reasons
Bryan: that I am intelligent, honest, and fearless.
A lie you wish you’d told:
Brent: that I couldn’t afford those timeshares.
Bryan: “I wish I could help you with that but . . .”
Best thing you’ve ever done:
Bryan: respond to God’s calling in my life to trust/receive/believe in Jesus Christ.
Biggest mistake:
Brent: I’ve learned from my mistakes, so no regrets.
Bryan: Going my own way instead of following God’s leading.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
Brent: too many to tell.
Bryan: embraced Brent Parrott as a friend.
Something you chickened out from doing:
Brent: riding out a hurricane in Miami.
Bryan: at one time in my life I thought there was no dare I wouldn’t own but then I sat in the first row at a rodeo and watched bull riding.
The last thing you did for the first time:
Brent: write this book with Bryan.
Something you’ll never do again:
Brent: buy a timeshare; get married.
Bryan: spend so much time answering a questionnaire.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brent Parrott is a writer, former technology executive and teacher, and currently serves as Board Chairman for the charter schools of Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy. With his life-long friend, Bryan Renfro, he is co-author of The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, a memoir about a group of friends who kept an annual touch football game going for 50 straight years.
He is also the author of two new books scheduled for publication in 2020, Jackpot: The Summer of ’69 and What Would You Do? What Would You Not Do? Brent and his wife Robyn (that’s right, two bird names) spend as much time as possible with their daughter Brynn, son-in-law Jacob, and two amazing grandsons. He has always lived, worked, and played in Dallas, Texas.
Bryan Renfro graduated in 1970 from the University of Texas at Arlington and was drafted into the Army the following year during the Vietnam war. He was the editor and sports writer for Sound Off, the base’s newspaper in Fort Meade, Maryland. His work life followed an untraditional path for the times as he experienced a mix of endeavors through the years, including the furniture importing business.
For five decades, he served as the organizer and “Commissioner” of an annual Thanksgiving touch football game in Dallas, Texas. Known locally as the Turkey Bowl, Bryan chronicled his experiences in the book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, with co-author Brent Parrott. The 400-page memoir was published for the game’s 60th anniversary in 2019. Today, Bryan lives in Dallas with his wife LaDonna and enjoys bible study, photography, his woodshop, and nurturing long-time friendships.
Becoming Starlight is a memoir about the process of grief and its relationship to the mysteries concerning the afterlife. This book will bring comfort to those who are feeling unrelenting sorrow over the loss of loved ones. This memoir is a story of surviving grief and mending the wounds of loss.
A: Becoming Starlight is/was truly my life and death struggle with spiritual darkness and loss of faith. Having been raised within a very loving and supportive family, I was totally unprepared for the tragedy that would find its way into my life. I had no idea how to deal with life and death issues so, when death came knocking on my door and spirited away my newborn daughter, I fell into an abyss that had no end. Her death, followed a few years later by the death of my husband, became the impetus for what became the most transformative moment of my life—the SDE (Shared Death Experience)—my night among the stars. Becoming Starlight chronicles my journey from death and despair to being held, cocooned within, and becoming one with the Presence that lives in Starlight-God Himself.
I wrote Becoming Starlight for two reasons. By way of explanation, I work with seriously ill, terminal patients and their families. The question they ask more than any other is “Should I be afraid?” I understand that question on such an intimate level because that is the very question that burned a hole in my Soul but one I didn’t have the courage to ask or, quite possibly one I didn’t want to become vulnerable to! When confronted with a life-altering diagnosis, even the strongest and most fearless among us doesn’t know how to face that worst of all trauma and the darkest of all emotion in life. The fear of abandonment by God, the fear of leaving your family, the fear of falling into nothingness, the fear of losing yourself to the darkness and to the unknown—your gut responds, your jaw drops, and the true nature of your humanity emerges: mortality and you fall. It’s a shattering loss that causes previously unknown fear and anxiety to blot out all other emotion.
I wrote Becoming Starlight for them. For years, I have told all my patients about my Starlight night (my SDE) in an effort to dispel some of the fear. When that question is asked, as it always is, I take each one of them in my arms, hold them tightly, and tell them my story of great loss and despair and the eventual renewal within God’s presence. Giving them part of my Starlight night in hopes they will understand that they are part of all creation; part of something they do not fully understand; part of something so much bigger than themselves; something they cannot see or hear or touch or even imagine; that they are part of God himself; a part of the permanence of all Creation—to dispel the fear of losing themselves to the nothingness of the darkness is something I try to bring to them as I tell them about the light of God that I was taken into. They have all asked me to “write it down, tell the story” so they could have access to my words when we weren’t together. So I did.
The second reason, and by far, the single most important reason for the existence of this book is this: the loves of my life mattered and their story was one that needed to be told.
Q: What do you hope readers will get from this book?
A: There really is only one empowering lesson in Becoming Starlight. But that lesson is multi-faceted. It involves accepting something that none of us wants to accept—that life and death go hand in hand. It involves acceptance, surrender, faith, hope, and an understanding of those things that all of us seek to understand but never fully do understand except from the standpoint of belief in the fact that we are never alone; that we are never separated from the all-loving and all-consuming mercy of the One Who formed us from His very thoughts; that we are all connected, one to the other, by the mere fact that we exist in this universe; and that, above all else, nothing you could ever do could separate you from the love of God. And while we may laugh or cry or shout or rage at the heavens, it matters not how far into the muck you have face planted. You can rise and thrive. Going “through it all” instead of “rising above it” leads you to your victory or at least to a peace that can be life affirming.
Q: How did you come up with the title of your book?
A: The title, Becoming Starlight, was then, is now, and will always be the only title ever considered for my book. Why? Because that is exactly what happened. I didn’t need to search or agonize or go looking anywhere else for the title, and I wouldn’t listen to or consider any other title that was presented to me. Why? Because, once again, I had to be true to the story. I wrote Becoming Starlight for a purpose—to tell a story of a complete fall from Grace, a total and utter loss of faith, a human condition that involved agonizing grief and despair and a need for revenge against life itself and the eventual renewal and life affirming peace that came within a Blessing from Creation Itself. As the Stars came to “collect” me at the moment of my husband’s death, I found myself in the very Presence of God, all within and of Starlight.
Q: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
A: Writing Becoming Starlight was truly a labor of love for me. At the same time, it was one of the most tremendously difficult tasks I have ever assigned myself. When I decided to write this book, I mistakenly thought I would be able to put all emotion aside and just write. Just pick up my computer and start writing. I found out very quickly that my thought process was completely and utterly flawed. Not only did I find it almost impossible to start writing but, once I did get started, I soon found that finishing the book, in its entirety, was going to be almost as difficult. Having to recount the most horrendous events in my life, having to actually put them down on paper, having to relive each and every thought, emotion, and moment of those extremely life altering events—well, let’s just say Becoming Starlight almost didn’t “become.”
Here’s what I found . . . writing this book became my very own daily dose of therapy. In my practice, I tell all my patients to journal because there’s something about writing it down that gets it out of the soul. Issues that remain hidden away from the sunlight become dark and dank so putting it “all” out there where the light can get at it, dispels the darkness. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Sure does, but the reality is quite different. It isn’t easy to pull those memories out of spirit, those memories that are marked with “Danger: Do Not Open.” And that is exactly what I did to myself when I took on this project. I had to open up those “Danger: Do Not Open” portals, and I was even surprised at myself for being so fearful to actually get in there and rip them open. The guards at the gates of these portals are fearsome indeed and getting past them took so much strength and courage that I didn’t even know I possessed. Writing this book, telling this story meant re-living the deaths of two people I carry within my soul always, and that was one of the most difficult tasks I have ever encountered in my life.
Q: If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
A: Full to brimming and in need of emptying every day! As a psychologist, I am privy to some of the most unflattering, selfish, insane, mixed up, tangled up, and downright squirrelly conversations anyone could ever imagine—and I am supposed to straighten them all out! At least, that’s what patients think when they walk through my door. They quickly find out that the only person who can fix their issues is themselves. It takes hard work to get deep down into the recesses of the “no-go zones” of the spirit, and I am a very hard task-master. I will not take “no” for an answer when someone’s life is on the line, and I will dig and peel away at the portals of pain until they open wide and say, “enough already!” You wanna talk about swear jars? I have words that I didn’t even know existed tucked away in those jars! Words for bodily functions that, to this day, I don’t think were ever used in any other conversation anywhere else. Made up words that were, well, let’s just say my patients have great imaginations. I have learned them all and kept some for my own use.
Q: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
A: Actually both! I am introverted in situations where all I want to do is watch and listen. I am a perpetual people-watcher and listener and, as such, I stay in the background in social situations where I feel the need to “see” and “feel” the environment. I choose very carefully where and when I decide to participate in any situation and will very quickly say “No” to something I simply do not want to do. I would much rather stay home with a good book or watch chick flicks and eat Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars all night. I just seriously love my alone time.
But, at the same time, if there is something I really want to do, I will be smack dab in the middle of it all. I choose very carefully who I share my life with and those chosen to be in my inner circle are very special to me. Being with those who are real and true to themselves and to others, and to those who are never false or full of pretense—that is where you will find me laughing and playing and enjoying life to the utmost! Those closest to me are privy to “the real me” in all my incarnations.
Q: What's your favorite snack for movie night?
A: I’m such a chocoholic . . . an entire bag of the stuff doesn’t last 15 minutes with me! I’m seriously addicted. So, for movie night, it’s a line-up of Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars (yes, that’s plural), a bag of Goldenberg Peanut Chews (yummy little nuggets of heaven), some popcorn and, just for health’s cake, a monstrous glass of water filled with lemon slices.
Q: What is the most daring thing you've done?
A: Well, to tell the truth, I don’t know if this was the most daring thing I have ever done or the most stupid! We lived in Memphis, Tennessee for many years and, as almost every person knows, Elvis Presley lived in Memphis at Graceland, his home for many years. One night, many years ago, my sister-in-law and I decided we wanted to go “visit” Elvis. We actually drove to Graceland and told the guard at the gate that we “were here to see Elvis.” Naturally, he very politely told us to vacate the premises. We did, indeed, vacate the premises . . . but only the premises around the gate where he kept watch. We parked our car around the back of the house and proceeded to climb up and over the huge stone barrier that surrounded the property, then ran like crazy people up to the front of the house. We actually made it up to the front door when, what did we hear? Not the hoofs of reindeer on the roof but that of dogs barking . . . great big dogs barking loudly . . . and headed straight for us! Well, needless to say, I didn’t know I could run as fast or jump as high as I did that night, but we left Graceland intact . . . no dog bites and no police with handcuffs. Was it worth it? You bet your life it was worth it! Would I do it again? Only if the ghost of Elvis was reported as being on the premises.
Q: How long did it take you to write this book?
A: It took me three years to complete Becoming Starlight. It was a very difficult book to write. Reliving the most horrendous moments of my life, pulling them out and having to look them square in the face, that took me some time. As a matter of fact, the version that is now “the book” is actually the fourth incarnation of Becoming Starlight. The first two versions were simply nothing less than a horrific outpouring of emotion that I didn’t even know I still harbored in my soul. And the chapter about my daughter’s death took me a full six months to write. I would start and stop . . . sob . . . start and stop . . . and sob again. That one chapter is the very reason the audio of Becoming Starlight is narrated by an amazing woman named Gabrielle Du Cuir . . . I couldn’t read the chapter without my throat closing. I still can’t!
Q: How long have you been writing, and how did you start?
A: Becoming Starlight is my first published book. I’ve been writing for years but only for myself. The only other writing I’ve ever had published is an article I wrote in high school about loneliness in teenagers and an “almost published” poem that I wrote for another student who hadn’t done his homework. Imagine our surprise when the English teacher told him she wanted to send the poem to Reader’s Digest for publication in their magazine column “Up and Comers in High School” . . . try explaining to a high school English teacher that you cheated with another student. Needless to say, that poem wasn’t sent anywhere except to the principal’s office, along with the two of us!
Q: Where do you prefer to do your writing?
A: Now that seemed as if it was going to be a challenge! Everyone had their own idea of exactly how and where I needed to be and what I needed to do . . . none of them worked for me. So figuring it out for myself was something I needed to do.
Contrary to what everyone else told me, I found that I didn’t need to change my physical environment . . . instead, I embraced it. The old Lazy Boy recliner that had been my dad’s “home base” before his death became my sacred space. I felt safe and peaceful there in that chair. It became my home, my sanctuary. My body just seemed to conform to the indentations that had, for years, become its very nature, and I felt as if it “knew” me. I didn’t feel the need to have a totally private, quiet, locked away space that had no recognition of me and the joys and sorrows of my life. It was there, on my dad’s well-loved recliner that Becoming Starlight was birthed. That silly old recliner, worn and old, an extremely ugly faded-out green color is now my go-to place for writing. Matter of fact, I’m sitting in it at this moment!
Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
A: Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” If we all could just accept the fact that we cannot change anyone else, life would be a piece of chocolate cake with whipped cream and cherries on top.
How many times have you said to yourself, “He/she will change if I do this or that . . . or he/she will change if I say this or that . . . or he/she will love me enough to change once they understand.” Those rose-colored glasses everyone puts on when they don’t want to truly “see” that change is not forthcoming, they need to be cleaned with an entire bottle of Windex and some powerful wipes! Having said that, change is possible but only if the person wants it for themselves. Just because you may have an “issue” with certain behaviors doesn’t mean they have to agree with you. Remember that.
There’s no trick here. You must decide what you will accept. What behaviors, belief systems, opinions, lifestyles, etc., you are willing to accept into your life. It’s not your job to change those that you allow into your life. It’s your job to decide who you let in, just as they are! You have no right to complain about or fall victim to those you allowed in, all the while thinking, “I can change them.” Short of abuse that is well-hidden beforehand—you are responsible for “seeing” what you are being shown by everyone who crosses your path.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
A: My passions lie with my family. The two-footed kind and the four-footers. The furry ones, the feathered ones, the scaled ones, the finned ones, and everything in between. My home is a menagerie of sorts and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We are very dedicated animal rescue enthusiasts. And this dedication is not just for what we know as “companion” animals but also for what we, as a nation, deem as “farmed” animals. Recently, we adopted a baby calf, a steer named Miles who was rescued from a slaughter truck. He was exactly one day old when he was separated from his mother and thrown into a slaughter truck. The lack of compassion and respect for the sentient beings we share our planet with is in dire need of radical change! I try every day to change the minds and hearts of those who don’t see or want to acknowledge the cruelty and abuse that exists throughout the system in play today. To be a role model for others to develop an awareness and compassion for these sentient beings by not eating them, wearing them, or using them in any capacity is something I live every day. I hope this is seen and copied by those who are willing to “see.”
When not writing or taking care of my “human” patients, you can find me with hair clipped to the top of my head, wearing rubber boots and heavy gloves to lift the bales of hay to feed my brood or providing huge bottles of milk to rescued farm babes or feeding my fish outside in the Koi pond or playing with my birds of every color and description imaginable or simply lounging somewhere on my beach. It’s all about living . . . not merely existing!
Q: How long is your to-do list?
A: Well, now that I have answered your questions, I can check off one more item! Seriously, I don’t live by a to-do list. I find those lists just too confining. There are so many wonderful things to see, places to go, events to be experienced, and people to bring love into our lives that getting bogged down to some arbitrary “to-do list” just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle. It’s more of a “don’t-do” list for me! Don’t be selfish. Don’t be prideful. Don’t be or bring harm to any living sentient being. Don’t gossip. Don’t abuse. Don’t compare. And, above all, don’t forget to love . . . and that includes loving yourself. See, now doesn’t that work better?
Dr. Sharon Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one. Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE) which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly.
A child born with a heroin addiction suffers from withdrawals. But somehow holds onto life by the grace of God. Overcoming everyday child abuse wasn’t easy. A school life that’s affected by everyday violence does nothing to help the already strained family ties. While the memories of his tainted past remain unresolved, negative thoughts lead to a life as a recluse.
In the long run, he became addicted to alcohol for 18 years to numb his emotional pain. Surviving five suicide attempts, and multiple run-ins with the law. Resulting in a three-year probation sentence.
His heartbreak leads to self-destruction. But somehow, through everything, he finds an inner strength he never knew existed. Will his desperate escape from addiction-free him from the clutches, or will it prolong the inevitable?
A few of your favorite things: cellphone, laptop, wallet. Things you need to throw out: old VHS tapes.
Things you need in order to write: Microsoft Word, I cannot be distracted. Things that hamper your writing: noise, writers block.
Things you love about writing: I enjoy sharing my work with the world. I tend to believe I can make a change in others’ lives. Things you hate about writing: rearranging a manuscript, and the editing process.
Easiest thing about being a writer: being creative. Hardest thing about being a writer: trying to find the right words to flow good throughout a manuscript.
Things you love about where you live: the area is peaceful; I also like the rain in the Northwest. Things that make you want to move: I would like a bigger house.
Favorite foods: mexican, pizza, potatoes. Things that make you want to throw up: eggs, peas, canned corn, grits, fish, peanut butter, brownies, Oreo cookies, coffee.
Favorite music or song: I like a lot. Motown, love ballads, soft rock, 80s, rap, r&b, pop. Music that make your ears bleed: bass songs.
Favorite beverage: orange juice and water. Something that gives you a pickle face: pickles.
Favorite smell: tropical scents. Something that makes you hold your nose: boiled eggs.
Something you’re really good at: art, guitar, cooking. Something you’re really bad at: singing.
Something you like to do: write and creative book covers. Something you wish you’d never done: drink alcohol for 18 years.
People you consider as heroes: my mother and grandmother who are no longer with me. People with a big L on their foreheads: grinding my teeth when I’m upset.
Last best thing you ate: nachos. Last thing you regret eating: cake and cookies.
Things you’d walk a mile for: orange juice. Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: people who continue to ask the same questions.
Things you always put in your books: imprint logo. Things you never put in your books: editor names.
Things to say to an author: What genres do you write? Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Your book sucks!
Favorite places you’ve been: Seaside Oregon. Places you never want to go to again: Jail.
Favorite things to do: work, read, write. Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: fly.
Things that make you happy: work, family, my dogs, Samantha. Things that drive you crazy: when my dogs bark nonstop.
Most embarrassing moment: too many. Proudest moment: releasing my new book.
Best thing you’ve ever done: found Samantha. Biggest mistake: dating my ex-girlfriend Brenda.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: broke glass out of a car window. Something you chickened out from doing: Going on fast rides.
The last thing you did for the first time: answered this question. Something you’ll never do again: drink alcohol.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R. A. Merrill, author of the new book Shattered Memories: Addicted, wrote (his first book) in 2018. He completed the entire manuscript in five months and hasn’t stopped writing since. Mr. Merrill is writing his new book, Her Worst Nightmare. He is 39 years old and a member of the United Lumbee Nation Indian tribe.
He has achieved many awards for outstanding caregiver training. He’ll soon be releasing his fiction series in 2020. He lives in Longview, Washington, with his girlfriend Samantha & stepdaughter Nevaeh. He enjoys spending time with his family. His hobbies include playing piano and guitar, and something sparked his passion for art at the early age of 12. He’s obsessed with doing his absolute best at whatever he does. His life motto is “Keep striving for excellence!”
What does it take to stand out from the crowd? How do you build a brand people notice, connect with, and trust? What does it really take to get (and keep) a constant flow of incoming and loyal customers and opportunities?
In Craved, Keli Hammond walks you through the ins and outs of building a brand that is not only noticed, but sought-after and profitable. She uncovers the key elements needed to craft cohesive and clever marketing campaigns and demystifies the components needed to gain influence and be memorable.
In this book, Hammond combines decades of award-winning industry knowledge with helpful stories and advice that illustrates what not to do in brand building. She walks you through how to build a loyal tribe that advocates for you and endorses you.
Because marketing rules change quickly, the things that worked five years ago are now outdated and old-fashioned. The guidance you get from Craved will help you elevate your profile, attract more people to you, monetize your influence, and set the stage for long-term profit for your personal brand or business.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been at this for a while, this is the resource you need to help make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality. Transform your life by strategically creating a brand people CRAVE.
Book Details:
Title: CRAVED: The Secret Sauce to Building A Highly-Successful, Standout Brand Author: Keli Hammond Genre: Non-Fiction, Business Published: April 9, 2019 Print length: 305 pages
IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH KELI HAMMOND
Ifs
If you could talk to someone (living), who would it be and what would you ask them?
Actress (and producer) Viola Davis, hands-down. She is a triple-threat, being the first black actor to win an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. Her commitment to her own personal excellence is so inspiring. Plus I just love her on How to Get Away With Murder. If I could ask one her one thing, I would want to know how she balances her drive to excel with her personal life and well-being. How does she juggle the two?
If you could talk to someone (dead), who would it be and what would you ask them?
I'd have to say, Nelson Mandela. Having lived through apartheid and 18 years in prison, then going on to become the president of South Africa in his 70s, I mean WOW. That would be a conversation for the record books. I would ask him how it felt to be honored with a Nobel Peace Prize.
If you could live in any time period which would it be?
I’d have to go with New York City In the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance. I'd love to be around greats like Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, and Zora Neal Hurston, just to feel their magnetic energy. I can only imagine the inspiration, not to mention the nightlife. I'd be first In line at the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue.
If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
I would probably be a United Nations Women's Cultural Ambassador or something like that. Someone that travels the world visiting, talking to, and learning about other cultures and teaching women of all ages and cultures how to achieve their personal goals and become leaders in their own right.
If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
I love to work with young ladies, both teenagers and college grads from urban or underserved communities. A lot of times they get so caught up in their surroundings and daily struggles that they don’t believe their dreams are possible. I believe that these women need strong mentors to help them navigate the world and trust in their contributions to society.
If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
Gary Vee (Gary Vaynerchuk)! I just want to pick his brain and soak up all of his infectious energy. I love how blunt and outspoken he is; his ways (and thoughts) remind me so much of my own.
5 favorite possessions:
• cell phone
• Nike apparel (all of it) LOL
• smoothies
• Bose wireless Bluetooth speaker
• my marketing awards and accolades
5 things you need in order to write:
• laptop or my iPad
• inspiration
• coffee
• my notebook for jotting down the millions of ideas in my head
• the TV on in the background (on mute)
5 things you love about where you live:
• there are so many restaurants
• that [weather-wise] we get all four seasons here
• all of the different types of social events
• you can easily drive to so many other awesome major cities
• museums
5 things about you or 5 phrases/words to describe you:
• world-traveler
• energetic
• enthusiastic
• team-builder
• supportive
5 favorite places you’ve been:
There are lots, but here are a few…
• Budapest
• Thailand
• Brazil
• Iceland
• Japan
5 favorite books:
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• Presence by Amy Cuddy
• The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae
• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
• Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
5 living people you’d like to invite to dinner:
• Comedian Trevor Noah
• Rapper J. Cole
• Author Mel Robbins
• Singer Rihanna
• Fashion Designer Christian Siriano (but I need him to bring dresses with him, haha)
5 people you’d like to be stuck in a bookstore with:
• Dave Chapelle
• Charlie Sheen
• Ellen Degeneres
• Jada Pinkett-Smith
• Sean "Diddy" Combs
5 people you consider as heroes:
• Colin Kaepernick
• Michelle Obama (sorry Barack, haha. But this one's for the ladies)
• Shonda Rhimes
• Ryan Coogler
• Lena Waithe
Whats
What’s your all-time favorite place?
Italy, easily. Either Florence or Rome. Italy is such a breathtaking country. It's peaceful, tranquil, historical, very walkable, and oh yeah, the food is amazing.
What’s your favorite song?
"We All Try" by Frank Ocean.
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Jamaica…because it's a whole lot of reggae, rum punch, and relaxation. Oh, and can’t forget about the jerk chicken and coco bread.
What’s your favorite thing to do?
I love to be outside. I find fresh air exhilarating. Just to be outside on a beautiful spring or fall day reinvigorates me, and I love both city sights and outdoor hiking equally.
What’s your favorite dessert?
Love, love, love me some tiramisu (only the cake though, not the pudding).
What’s your favorite beverage?
Any smoothie that includes açaÃ. I became familiar with açaà when I traveled to Brazil in 2010, and ever since then, I've been obsessed.
What’s your favorite quote?
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” by Henry Ford.
What’s your favorite movie snack?
I always go for the raisinets, which is funny to me because I don't like raisins (like at all). LOL. But if I'm at the movies, I never pass up a box of raisinets. It's the strangest thing.
What’s your favorite social media site? Would you rather tweet or post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest . . .?
Instagram, hands-down. I love the connection that you're able to build with people through that specific social networking site. I've met some really fun and awesome folks through IG.
What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
Lip balm. I'm literally obsessed with keeping my lips moisturized. It's bad. HaHa.
What movie genre do you prefer: drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, or horror?
I love all things action/suspense, those keep you on the edge of your seat kind of movies. Think Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Kill Bill.
What do you collect?
Shot glasses and magnets from my travels around the world. They are a great way to remember the places I've been and the people I've met along the way.
What book are you currently working on?
I'm currently working on my second book, which is a mixture of a memoir/self-help/how-to book aimed at helping give people the courage to pursue their passion (despite setbacks) in order to live a more fulfilled life. In that book, I share personal stories and situations to show people how you can rebound from anything and transform yourself into whomever you seek to become.
All-time favorites with pictures:
What’s your all-time favorite picture of yourself?
Me in the red suit. It's colorful and vibrant (which is the way I feel about my personality.
What’s your latest recommendation for:
• Food: Thai is my go-to, Drunken noodles or yellow curry. In the DC-area, Pasara Thai is my favorite.
• Music: Sabrina Claudio, every single song
• Movie: I'm always behind on movies, so I'll just share one of my go-tos. I love 80's and 90's movies. Beverly Hills Cop.
• Book: Forgiveness: 21 Days to Forgive Everyone for Everything by Iyanla Vanzant
• Audiobook: Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• TV: I'm still obsessed with The Walking Dead.
• Netflix/Amazon Prime: Orange Is the New Black
• Miscellaneous: I do interior design on the side (love it). I grew up watching HGTV as a child and that helped me envision how to turn empty spaces and blank canvases into warm, inviting rooms.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Keli Hammond is a nationally-recognized, award-winning expert on marketing. The author of Craved: The Secret Sauce to Building a Highly-Successful, Standout Brand, Keli knows what it takes to make people stop, listen, engage, and invest in brands (both personal and business).
With a focus on brand acceleration and positioning, Keli's expertise helps people pinpoint hurdles to success and pivot their marketing to achieve maximum results and brand loyalty.
Keli distilled more than 15 years of marketing know-how into her debut book, aptly named Craved, which offers practical tips and resources that provide clarity on how to turn a passion into profit by becoming a dynamic marketer.
Keli owns B Classic, a Washington, DC-based marketing and communications agency that helps entrepreneurs, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies better educate, entice, inspire, and engage their target consumers.
A highly sought-after speaker, trainer and writer, Keli regularly speaks to groups of business owners, students, and women about personal branding, marketing, and social media. She has been featured in The Washington Informer and The Start-Up Growth.
Keli holds a BA in Advertising from Temple University and certification in Change Leadership (Change Management) from Cornell University.
Dama has raised her three sons in the village, Flying Dragon. Children- boys- are essential to carry on the family line, but her three sons have failed to produce any and now her pregnant daughter-in-law is living in a hidden cellar to avoid a forced abortion. Meantime Fenghua’s only nephew has been kidnapped, probably sold. In a land where people are viciously punished for wanting to be parents, and where the law keeps changing, peasants will go to desperate lengths in order to have a baby boy, legally or otherwise.
Mingming and Fenghua must make a hearbreading decision in order to have the baby they long for. Dingming wants to marry but his lady is elsewhere. Xingming hasn’t yet met a wife. will dam’s offspring be able to carry on their family line?
Book Details:
Title: Fate
Author: Fengqin Dadswell
Genre: non-fiction
Published: Olympia Publishers (August 31, 2018)
Print length: 325 pages
INTERVIEW WITH FENGQIN DADSWELL
Q: What’s the story behind the title of your book? A: I worked in Population Research Institute of Peking University, China. I did a lot of investigation about the one child policy in China. I got the first-hand material from my research.
Q: Who are you? A: I am retired at home.
Q: Where’s home for you? A: London.
Q: Where did you grow up? A: I grew up in the rural area of China.
Q: What’s your favorite memory? A: I was born in a family of 36 people. My grandmother is head. When my parents moved out I was under 7. They left me behind. Every time I wanted to see my parents I had to walk 10 miles on foot. My grandmother companied me to visit my parents. We took food with us. These journey left me a deep memory.
Q: I'll bet. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned? A: English.
Q: What do you love about where you live? A: Countryside with vegetable garden.
Q: Have you been in any natural disasters? A: Tangshan earthquake in 1976, I was in Beijing, but it affected Beijing.
Q: What is the most daring thing you've done? A: When I was lecturer of University, I help poor students a lot, such as gave them money or food, whatever they need help with.
Q: What is the stupidest thing you've ever done? A: I left my children when they needed me.
Q: What makes you bored? A: Nothing to do.
Q: What is your most embarrassing moment? A: When I gave a speech in front of thousands people, but I lost my voice.
Q: What choices in life would you like to have a redo on? A: I got to know Ron Amitron in 2016, but would like to know him when he just came out in 2005.
Q: What makes you nervous? A: Interviews.
Q: What makes you happy? A: Be here and now.
Q: What makes you scared? A: One day I took my son to swim, but he disappeared in the swimming pool. I jumped into the pool and rescued him.
Q: Wow! What makes you excited? A: To see Ron Amitron.
Q: How did you meet your spouse? A: The first one was my classmate at University. The second one I met in the library of Exeter University. I asked him how to index by the computer. Q: What are your most cherished mementoes? A: When I got fellowship from UN.
Q: If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be? A: Cash.
Q: What brings you delight? A: When I was working in the field in rural areas I got a news to be sent to study in Peking University.
Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes? A: Be here and now.
Q: What’s your favorite line from a book? A: "What could the Chinese peasants do about the authorities? Hundreds of years...thousands of years, the world around them had not changed."
Q: How did you create the plot for this book? A: When Western started to adopt Chinese girl orphans, I wanted to write Fate, to tell them how noble they were.
Q: Are any of your characters inspired by real people? A: The story came from true facts but not one person.
Q: On what real events is your book based? A: Nearly 40 years one child policy in China.
Q: Are you like any of your characters? A: I like Dama and dama’s three sons and their wives. They were kind hearts. Q: Who are your favorite authors? A: Count Lyof N Tolstoi.
Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format? A: Invasion! Constitutional United States of America by Soverein elite Star Command.
Q: What’s one pet peeve you have when you read? A: Truth is within your heart, not in the mind. Q: Do you have a routine for writing? A: No.
Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing? A: I like to write outside, sitting in the grass field if the weather is nice.
Q: Why did you decide to self-publish? A: When I wrote Fate 20 years ago, I tried to publish without money but failed until I got money from my husband. I decided to self publish. I wrote 3 novels, but no publisher to publish without money. I gave up
for more than 20 years. When my husband told me that he would like to
pay, I was very grateful. I chose Fate to publish. My daughter helped me
find my publisher online. It took around 1 year to get published.
Q: What steps to publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service? A: My husband and my daughter did editing. the publisher did editing too, but not enough.
Q: What are you working on now? A: Retired, not working.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fengqin Dadswell was born in a small village in northeast China. Her parents could not read or write. She was lucky to enjoy free education, graduated from Peking University. After working 14 years in this University as a researcher she came to study MA degree in Exeter University. She lives in London. Fate is her first book to be published.
