Inspired by Real-Life Events, Kathryn Schleich’s latest Book ‘Darkness and Grace’ is a Compelling Family Saga / Domestic Thriller
Kathryn Schleich has announced the release of her latest book, Darkness and Grace, a family saga / domestic thriller.
Inspired by real-life events, Darkness and Grace is a compelling story of the Pierson family as they discover that neither their money nor their considerable influence can keep them safe from one woman’s malicious intent.
SYNOPSIS
Even the strongest of families aren’t immune to malice, betrayal, and deceit. Supportive, loving, and affluent, the Pierson family is delighted to celebrate the marriage of sensitive middle son Paul Pierson and his wife, Pamela. Everyone rejoices that Paul has finally recovered from the tragic loss of his beloved first wife and looks forward to Paul and Pamela’s new life together. But just as family members are celebrating his happiness, they start noticing that his beautiful bride may not be what she seems.
As the strain between siblings and spouses worsens, the Piersons discover that neither their money nor their considerable influence can keep the family safe from one woman’s malicious intent. When the true nature of this family member is revealed, each of the Piersons is confronted with the quandary of human conduct and moral responsibility.
Darkness and Grace is a compelling story of the classic struggle between good and evil, as well as the violent undercurrent running beneath the illusory serenity of a close-knit Midwestern family.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Darkness and Grace was inspired by real-life events involving my family in the early 1990s. Each time I would discuss the true occurrences, people would comment, “This is a great story. You need to write a book.” After initial trepidation, I recognized this was not only a story worth telling, but it was one that comes to an author only once in a lifetime.
Originally published in 2007 under a pseudonym with the title Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, this book is a work of fiction. To write the narrative, I employed aspects of historical fiction, using authentic news accounts, world events, settings, and descriptions involving entirely fictional characters. Darkness and Grace is of the domestic thriller genre in which familial relationships can prove to be far more dangerous than the world at large.
Excerpt from Chapter 2:
…
“You know, I still feel guilty about what happened and how I reacted. But that night, all I saw was a drunk gold-digger who was not in love with Paul but in love with his money. I’m grateful you were so persistent that I hear Pamela’s side, but even then, it wasn’t easy to forget.”
The incident had been an agonizing experience that had caught everyone off guard. Paul and Pamela had announced their engagement on New Year’s Day, and soon after that, Jack and Michelle, along with Tim and I, took them out for a celebratory dinner. We chose the Lake Elmo Inn. It had been the setting of many Pierson family special occasions, from Easter brunch to anniversaries, and was our first choice for such happy circumstances. The inn was tucked along the main street of Lake Elmo, a small Minnesota town that retained a rural charm while surrounded by sprawling cities and burgeoning suburbs. Only a few miles from the Wisconsin border, it meant driving from one side of the Twin Cities to the other. Even so, the food, service, and memories made it well worth the trip. We would toast Paul and Pamela’s happiness and hear their plans for the wedding.
The evening had started out well, the couple asking each of us to participate in the ceremony. Paul and Pamela had both been through major life traumas, and as their gift, Mother and Dad had offered to pay for the wedding. Pamela started drinking the moment we were seated, ordering a double shot of Jack Daniels. Within thirty minutes, her manner transformed from charming to surly; her voice grew louder and more obnoxious with each drink.
As Pamela was in the middle of describing her designer gown, the custom bridesmaid dresses, the invitations, and the flowers, our waiter appeared, carrying a tray of lemon sorbet. “What the hell is this?” she demanded.
“It’s a sorbet, ma’am, to cleanse your palate before the main course.”
“I don’t want this! Just get me another drink!” She swatted at the waiter as if he were an annoying fly.
“Pamela, please keep your voice down,” Paul said, his tone colored by embarrassment.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” she snapped. “I just need to relax, and you’re being an asshole.” We were acutely aware of the other patrons staring at our table, but Pamela was indifferent. “Has Paul told you about our honeymoon? Three weeks in Paris, London, and Rome, staying at the best five-star hotels.”
“Wow. That sounds expensive,” Jack commented.
“It’s not like your parents can’t afford it, Jack,” Pamela sneered. “Mom and Dad are paying for the honeymoon, too?” I asked. Pamela was undeterred. “Of course they’re paying for it,” she shot back. “They said we could have the wedding and honeymoon that we wanted, and this is what I want.”
“What about what Paul wants?” Michelle asked.
Our waiter had returned, preparing to serve dinner. Pamela demanded her drink. “Where the hell’s my drink?”
“Ma’am, if I could just serve the main course—”
“I want another drink and I want it now!” she shouted. A second waiter intervened, saying he would bring her cocktail right away, the five of us watching in silence, appalled by this side of Pamela we hadn’t seen.
Under the influence of large amounts of alcohol, Pamela was oblivious to her surroundings. She continued talking, blithely describing the trip she and Paul had made to Dayton’s department store to choose their bridal registry items. The list seemed excessive: Waterford crystal in the Lismore pattern, Irish linens, a sterling silver coffee service. The china and sterling flatware were special-order. Even the ordinary items needed to start a home—cookware, appliances, sheets, towels—were top of the line. Pamela relished describing the list, chattering on about our family’s wealthy friends and whom she expected to “pony up” expensive gifts.
As the celebratory dinner continued to deteriorate, I excused myself to use the ladies’ room. I rose from the table and Michelle was suddenly at my elbow. “I’ll go with you,” she said, and we made our way across the crowded main dining room, conscious of the stares. It was the bridal registry that had sent Michelle into a tailspin. As we entered the ladies’ room, she threw her evening bag across the white-and-green-tiled lounge in a rage, the contents spilling across the floor.
“This is not the girl we want Paul to marry!” she shouted. Michelle’s outburst caught me off guard and left me gasping for a response. She slammed her fist against the vanity, continuing her angry rant. “We’ve all been duped! Pamela Schaeffer is a world-class gold-digger!”
I couldn’t deny that Pamela’s behavior was inexcusable, but as a recovering alcoholic myself, I knew firsthand about the stinging consequences of being drunk in public, talking too loudly, stumbling across a room, and making an all-around fool of myself. I also knew it could have been an isolated incident fueled by stress. It didn’t necessarily point to deeper problems. Even as the older sibling who’d always been protective of both of my brothers—but especially Paul—I thought we owed Pamela a bit of grace.
We replaced the contents of Michelle’s purse, and I suggested we give Pamela a second chance. We returned from the restroom just as the evening was ending abruptly. Jack was asking for the check, though desserts were only partially eaten. I hoped we could depart without Pamela making any more of a scene than she already had, but a discreet exit was not to be. We’d been seated in the center of the room, which meant we had to navigate a maze of diners. Pamela stumbled and lurched hard into the nearest table, clinking china and spilling wine as she slammed into it.
“Look what you’ve done!” one of the diners said angrily. “Fuck you!” she retorted, and the dining room grew eerily still. “I am so sorry,” I said, mortified. “We will make this right.”
From the corner of my eye I saw Jack motion to a waiter, handing him a credit card. He whispered something, no doubt giving instructions to purchase a new bottle of wine for the upset patrons.
Tim and Paul each grabbed Pamela by an elbow and guided her out of the restaurant as gracefully as they could. She was spewing venom at everyone. “Let go of me! You are such fucking assholes!”
Every pair of eyes followed us. In the throes of embarrassment, I felt as if I were burning up. Outside, despite the January cold, I tore off my wool coat.
“What are you doing?” Michelle asked in alarm.
“I’m so hot,” I panted, the cold air sharp against my lungs. “This whole evening has been a horrifying mess.”
“And you think we should give her a second chance?” Michelle seethed.
In her wobbly condition, Pamela slipped on the icy black street. Tim and Jack caught her before she fell, but she flailed wildly. The men supported Pamela until they could get her into the back seats of the SUV, where she passed out almost immediately.
We reached Paul and Pamela’s colonial-style home in Edina— an affluent suburb of Minneapolis—45 minutes later. It took both Jack and Tim to carry Pamela’s dead weight into the house, Paul guiding them to the bedroom. Paul was visibly shaken, confessing he had never seen Pamela exhibit this kind of behavior. I did my best to comfort him. On the drive home, Michelle remained insistent that the wedding must be called off.
The next day, Pamela paid a heavy price for her overindulgence. She suffered a head-pounding hangover and couldn’t recall much of the evening, particularly the end, and it caused her great shame. I hoped she did not have a drinking problem, but I knew all too well that blacking out was a sign of trouble ahead. Pamela apologized to each of us, contrite in her quest for forgiveness. She said she had let the stress of her job and planning the wedding get to her and recognized her behavior had been abominable. As I thought about how happy she made Paul, and the transformation that had occurred since they met, I was willing to forgive her. She seemed genuinely sorry. Jack and Tim also accepted her apology, believing this was an unfortunate instance of poor judgment.
Michelle, however, would not be so easily convinced. Her response to the apology was chilly, an attitude Pamela sensed immediately. I implored Michelle to give her an opportunity to redeem herself, reminding her of how far Paul had evolved due to her.
To regain Michelle’s trust, Pamela began by asking for her input. Michelle and Jack had held their wedding reception at the Lafayette Club, and Pamela consulted her for ideas on the menu, seating, music, and decorations. She asked if they would allow Ruthie and Sam to participate as the flower girl and ring bearer. Michelle felt Sam might be too young, but Pamela explained it was important to her to have the children included in what she viewed as a family affair. Michelle began to waver, realizing she was not being fair in holding one unpleasant evening as a benchmark for ending the relationship that had brought Paul so far.
Watching Paul and Pamela’s wedding dance cheek to cheek across the polished hardwood floor, Michelle patted my arm and smiled. “I was wrong to be so judgmental. Paul is happier than I ever thought possible, and Pamela is the reason.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself,” I said. “It was a difficult situation for everyone, but Pamela made amends. That’s what counts.”
…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathryn Schleich has been a writer for more than 30 years. She is best known for her crime novel, Salvation Station, which was published through She Writes Press in 2020. Schleich has also published the short story “Reckless Acts,” featured in After Effects: A Zimbell House Anthology, and “Grand Slam,” published in The Acentos Review. She is also the author of the academic book Hollywood and Catholic Women: Virgins, Whores, Mothers, and Other Images, which evolved from her master’s thesis. Her guest posts have been featured on the Women On Writing blog, The Muffin, and she writes for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s volunteer newsletter. When she’s not writing, Schleich is likely volunteering in the education and arts communities in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, where she lives. Friends, family, good food, wine, and traveling are important aspects of her life.
Darkness and Grace is available for sale on Amazon and on Kathryn’s website: https://www.kathrynschleich.com/product/darkness-and-grace-by-kathryn-schleich/
For more information about Schleich, and to read her latest works, visit KathrynSchleich.com.
To request an interview with Kathryn Schleich or a copy of Darkness and Grace to review, please contact Kelsey Butts at Book Publicity Services at (805) 807-9027 or Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com
Careering: The Pocket Guide to Exploring Your Future Career
So you’re a high school or college student who thinks you know what you want to do with the rest of your life. Or maybe you don’t have the first clue about your future. In either case, Tamara S. Raymond’s Careering: The Pocket Guide to Exploring Your Future Career should be at the top of your reading list.
Tamara wrote Careering to help young adults avoid the traps she fell into as a result of struggling to figure out her career path after college. Today, this successful leadership development coach shares her hard-learned lessons to help you quickly identify your passions and strengths so you can find your way in the world of work. “I want you to avoid spending eight years in the wrong jobs like I did,” she says.
Her concise and easy-to-read pocket guide helps you:
- evaluate your interests, skills, and passions
- identify jobs, internships, and volunteer positions that align with your personal gifts
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identify multiple career exploration avenues, from camps to summer jobs
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put together a resume and references, even if you’ve never had a “real” job
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learn how to network, apply for jobs, and develop interviewing skills
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learn how to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities
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learn how not to use social media if you want to land a job
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and do so much more
Praise:
“As a career coach and recruiter, I am forever meeting people that are unfulfilled and deflated by the work that they do, instead of joyful and deeply satisfied. Tamara offers a solution by empowering students — who are on the very brink of their career — with the steps necessary to create a career path that is custom-made for them, based on their inherent skills, gifts, and passions. Every young person deserves the gift of Careering, and the difference it will make in their lives.”~ Lindsay Putnam Conn Pekar, Career/Life Coach & Recruiter
“Careering is ideal for any young adult at any point in their life — whether they are applying for college, looking for a job or serving our country. It helped me organize my thoughts in a simple yet beneficial way. With personal narratives from different events in her life,positive and negative, Ms. Raymond proves that anyone can be successful once they take the time to prepare themselves. I highly recommend this book to other students. It’s a must read!” ~ Jeremiah Edwards, Undergraduate Student and Announcer for the Hampton University Marching Force
“This subject is so important. Even though I am many decades removed from beginning my career, I still cannot comprehend why high schools do not spend more time on this. You have hit on the right combination of length (short enough to be read in an hour or so) and practical insights (enabling those entering their careers to see from the perspective of potential employers). Your book is very well done and I can highly recommend it. It should be required reading for every high school junior and senior.” ~ Nonfiction Authors Association Book Awards Program
About the Author:
Tamara S. Raymond is a certified leadership coach and career strategist dedicated to helping professionals reach their maximum potential; and young people get on the right career path so they can make a difference. Careering: The Pocket Guide to Exploring Your Future Career is Tamara’s first book. It is available as a paperback, e-book and audiobook. An online course based on the book was released Fall 2020.
In her book, Tamara has woven together her extensive career experience, academic journey and passion for coaching-mentoring youth to share knowledge with teens and young adults. Tamara’s goal is to offer them unique insight into how to excel both academically and in their chosen profession through awareness of their goals, interests and talents, in a purposeful and focused way.
For more information about Tamara and her other projects, including her coaching services, visit www.imcleaders.com.
Readers can connect with Tamara on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
The Accidental Suffragist by Galia Gichon
The Accidental Suffragist is a timely and inspiring Women’s Historical Fiction novel about the women’s suffrage movement and the fight for women’s right to vote. It was released on June 1, 2021, published by Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing.
Synopsis:
It’s 1912, and protagonist Helen Fox is a factory worker living in New York’s tenements. When tragedy strikes in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Helen is seduced by the Suffragist cause and is soon immersed, working alongside famous activists.
As Helen’s involvement with the cause deepens, she encounters myriad sources of tension that test her perseverance: estrangement from her husband, who is blindsided by his wife’s sudden activism; ostracization by neighbors; unease at working side by side with wealthier suffragettes; and worry about her children as she leaves them to picket the White House in Washington.
The narrative spans World War One and concludes with the triumph of 1919. In a time when the obstacles for women, from any background, were insurmountable, Helen discovers her voice as an independent woman and dreams of equality in a male-dominated society.
Excerpt:
CHAPTER 1
January 1911. New York City. Lower East Side
HELEN FOX WALKED UP to her building, dodging wayward neighborhood boys chasing a stray dog, grabbing the last few moments of daylight. Before stepping over the onion peels and picked-over chicken carcasses on the sidewalk, she wrinkled her nose as a carted horse dropped manure in front of the building; she then hastened her way up the stairs. Pausing in the foyer, she raised her arms over her head to stretch her back from being hunched over a sewing machine all day at her job at McKee Button Factory. The closing bell still clanged in her ears. Nearly thirty years old, she wore a high-necked shirt tucked into a simple brown cotton skirt. She sighed as she saw the dust coating her clothing.
As she eased down the tight dark hallway, she almost didn’t stop at the mailboxes, giving them just her usual cursory glance. Then a bright white envelope in the slot marked with their apartment number caught her eye. Surprised, she reached for it, examined “Fox Family” written in swooping calligraphy. The return address was unfamiliar. She stood for a long moment just looking at the envelope. Feeling the weight of the paper in her hands, she started to get excited—something she didn’t feel very often. Something good was in this envelope. She looked over at the other mailboxes. Had her neighbors received one as well? No, but there was another envelope in her box. Two pieces of mail! This one was a bill and Helen’s heart sank. She knew that the doctor’s visit for Eleanor a few weeks ago would come back to haunt her. Putting both envelopes in her skirt pocket, she’d deal with them later. She could savor the heavy envelope later when the children were asleep. Her four chil- dren—Abigail, 12, Walter, 10, Claudia, 8 and Eleanor, 4—were waiting upstairs for her to start supper before her husband, Albert, came home. After climbing the stairs, she hesitated at the front door, stood straight, and tucked in the long brunette hairs that had fallen loose. Worry lines prematurely settled in her forehead and around her mouth.
“Hello Mama,” Abigail, her eldest, said and kissed Helen on the cheek as she entered the main area of their two-room apartment. The sofa sat in the center, doubling as Helen and Albert’s bed at night, with a small kitchen set against the wall by the window facing the street. Shelves holding plates and teacups hung above the limited counter. The only other furni- ture in the main room was a square wooden table with four mismatched chairs. The one bedroom, separated by a faded cream curtain with small flowers, had a bed where the children slept and a pine four-drawer dresser that held all the family’s clothing.
“How was your day?” Abigail asked.
Helen thought about the foreman at her factory, at the end of the day, who stood by the door, holding it open with his dirty gray boot, dangling a set of keys from his fingertips, grin- ning, and saying, “See you in the morning, ladies.” They’d been locked in the factory all day.
“Good, good, had a nice chat with Iris on the way home,” she said, squaring her shoulders, stroking the back of her neck, then walking over to a basin in the kitchen where she cleaned her hands to get the dirt out from under her fingernails. They didn’t need to know.
Abigail went back to the counter and resumed chopping celery for the supper stew.
“Ouch!” she cried out.
“What?” Helen rushed over. She grabbed Abigail’s arm and saw the blood.
“It’s ok. Just a nick,” Abigail reassured, covering the wound with the cloth from the counter.
“You must be more careful. That girl last week at the factory, you remember I told you? The one who cut off her finger. She still isn’t back to work. I heard she has an infection.” Helen fingered the doctor bill in her skirt pocket.
“Yes, Mama.”
Helen composed herself and focused on Claudia and Eleanor; her eyes gleamed and mouth curved into a smile as she saw Claudia chopping potatoes for the stew and Eleanor, in the middle of the kitchen covered in black dust. She was pitching in, gathering coal from the storage area to heat their rooms. Helen walked over to her and patted her dress creating a black swirl.
“Let’s get you cleaned up little one.” Then she scooped her up in her arms, not caring that the dust was getting all over her as well.
Noises came from the street and Abigail stood by the grimy window, observing children standing on a stranded horse cart watching a game of stickball while drying laundry flapped over them on a clothesline between two buildings. They tightly clutched baskets filled with items foraged from the streets. None of them looked as if they had bathed in weeks; dirt smudged on foreheads, shirts untucked, uncombed hair.
Albert burst into the apartment, “I got a few more guys to come to our next meeting. It’s a great start.” The children all crowded around him by the front door, eager to hear his update.
“Papa, Joe at school said you spoke to his father,” Walter said.
“Did he say he was going?”
“Don’t know. He said he didn’t want any trouble. Are you in trouble?”
“Nah. Not at all.”
“Please tell me the owners don’t know yet what you’re doing. If you lose your job … the can in the closet has even fewer coins,” Helen stated. For weeks now, Albert had been coming home late from attending union meetings at his factory job and was now furtively organizing a group.
“Stop your worrying, Helen. We’ll be fine. Change is coming and we can’t stop it!” he bellowed, taking off his boots, durable workwear coat, and flat cap. He had hazel eyes from his English ancestors, a full head of chestnut hair that he slicked back with pomade every morning and still stood lean and tall even though he spent countless hours hunched daily over heavy machines in the garment factory.
Praise:
“The Accidental Suffragist is the so-timely story of the sacrifices one mother makes – to her family, her safety, and her previous identity – when called by a cause and stirred to act. Through the telling of this factory worker’s experience, Gichon reminds us of the grave sacrifices so many women made more than a century ago and the debt of gratitude we owe them today as we see Kamala Harris’s ascent to Vice President. My teenage daughters snatched this book from my hands before I could even finish.” –Alisyn Camerota, CNN Anchor and Author of “Amanda Wakes Up”
“With its captivating heroine and rich historical details, The Accidental Suffragist is a novel that both enlightens and enthralls. A must-read for those interested (and we all should be!) in the fight waged by brave American women determined to secure their right to vote.” –Nina Sankovitch, Author and Historian
“The Accidental Suffragist is an entertaining, meticulously researched novel about the struggles and eventual triumphs of the Suffragist cause in the early twentieth century. Within this fascinating historical context, Gichon also explores the challenge and compromise inherent to working motherhood, a topic equally relevant today as it was then.” –Heather Frimmer, M.D., Physician and Author “Better to Trust”
“Many women wish the world was a kinder, fairer place for them, some women make it so. Gichon, like her heroines, moves through the world fueled by love and a sense of justice, the result is a richly detailed and studiously researched novel that will bring hope to your heart.” –Lorea Canales, Author of “Becoming Marta”
About the Author:
Widely quoted in The New York Times and more, Galia Gichon spent nearly ten years writing financial research for top investment banks before launching Down-to-Earth Finance, a top personal financial advising firm in New York.
Galia is the author of My Money Matters, a personal finance book which received notable press from the New York Times, TODAY Show, CNN, Newsweek, Real Simple and more. Galia Gichon consistently leads seminars for Barnard College where she has taught for 13 years, and other organizations. She is an avid angel investor focusing on women-led and impact startups and actively counsels startups through accelerators.
Readers can connect with Galia on Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads. To learn more, go to: https://www.galiagichonauthor.com
Teko Bernard Announces the Upcoming Release of His New Children’s Chapter Book ‘Bronson Beaver Builds a Robot’
Teko Bernard announced the upcoming release of his new children’s chapter book Bronson Beaver Builds a Robot.
Bronson Beaver Builds a Robot will be released on April 17, 2021, published by Tabron Publishing.
The story is about an inventive and industrious 13-year-old beaver named Bronson who attempts to build a robot to do his chores, so he and his two best friends can play in a video game competition to get the money they need to build their dream workshop.
It’s a slim and fast-paced chapter book created to instill in young readers a spirit of creativity and invention, inspire outdoor exploration in nature, and increase their interest in STEM. It will also teach the importance of honesty, responsibility, hard work, and friendship in a fun way.
This book is designed for boys and girls ages 7-12 who enjoy fast-paced stories with short, action-filled chapters. It’s the right choice for kids who like books about animals, nature, technology, and robots. It’s perfect for reluctant readers and newly independent readers who are looking for more challenging stories.
Synopsis:
Bronson Beaver is a 13-year old master builder and aspiring inventor who has been rigidly groomed since birth to work hard and someday take over his family’s historic wilderness resort lodge. But for the first time in his life, Bronson attempts to ditch hard work. He decides to secretly build a robot to do his chores before his family’s annual pancake festival event. So he can instead play in a high-stakes video game tournament with his fellow-inventor friends Myron Mink and Franny Fox. With the hope of winning its large cash prize so they can finally build their dream workshop. But, when his robot’s wires get crossed, it unwittingly creates more work and trouble for Bronson and threatens to ruin his family’s big event and any chance of making his dream a reality. It will require a lot of help from his friends and family to overcome the robot’s damages, save the event, and keep their hopes and dreams alive. In the end, Bronson ultimately learns the importance of honesty, responsibility, hard work, and friendship.
“This furry family tale will likely become a favorite of young readers, while the positive message should have parents cheering for more.” -US Review of Books
“This fast-paced novel, focusing on a young inventor and his dueling responsibilities, is perfect for middle-grade readers interested in robot fun.” – BookLife Reviews (Publishers Weekly)
“This book is advertised for kids 7-12, and I think it fits just that. With themes of STEM, friendship, responsibility, perseverance, family, and teamwork, it’s one worth checking out.” – Stephen Wolfe, 5th Grade Teacher
Pre-order a copy of Bronson Beaver Builds a Robot by Teko Bernard from Tabron Publishing and get an exclusive signed copy!
Excerpt:
About the Author:
Teko Bernard grew up in the midwest on a 5-acre parcel of wide-open land in the countryside, where he spent his days wandering, playing, and discovering things outdoors. He built forts, worked on bikes, and other inventive projects in his family’s workshop just behind their bustling home. This childhood experience, combined with Teko’s lifelong love for nature, and becoming taken by beaver’s inspiring behaviors and unique engineering abilities, ultimately inspired Teko to write this book.
Teko writes middle-grade chapter books for boys and girls ages 7-12. He is the author of Bernard Jones Is Going Places, The Hoop Kid From Elmdale Park, and Elite Squad. Before pursuing his dream to write for young readers, Teko started his professional life as a graphic designer.
Readers can connect with Teko on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads. To learn more, go to: https://www.tekobernard.com
Katerina Canyon Announces the Release of Her New Poetry Collection ‘Surviving Home’
Award Winning Poet and Best Selling Author Katerina Canyon has announced the release of her new poetry book Surviving Home.
Concisely arresting and challenging the beliefs of family and the fantasies of tradition, the poems in Surviving Home show that home is a place that you endure rather than a place where you are nurtured. With unyielding cadence and unparalleled sadness and warmth, Katerina Canyon contemplates the prejudice and limitations buried in a person’s African American heritage: parents that seem to care for you with one hand and slap you with the other, the secret desires to be released from the daily burdens of life, as well as the surprising ways a child chooses to amuse herself. Finding resilience in the unexpected, this collection tears down the delicate facades of family.
Excerpt:
Sojourner
Truth is where I found you
In the cusp high over ultraviolet waves
Between your time as a slave and mine
Fighting off the results of bondage.
You were a woman who accepted no
Excuses for the lack of rights
For our mothers and daughters,
Demanded more for those who followed.
I am a woman who accepts that most
White men are fixed on one idea
As to how the world should be,
And it is on me to change their minds
Through words, or actions, but never
Through guns or swords, white bonnet
Wrapped on my head as I push
Away racial insults and profanity.
You never forgot to say who a woman
Could be, what a Black woman could do
When we eschewed weakness and misogyny.
No one helped you. You just carved the trail.
No one helps me either. That’s what I learned
It means to be a Black woman.
To be strong, to plough, to plant, to raise barns.
That’s what you did. I do that metaphorically.
Now, I raise children, plough through journals
With my pen. I always remember to never
Pin my tongue for fear of other’s thoughts
This is the way you walked.
I try to get my half measure full,
But I think it is a little less
Difficult for me as it was
For you. Thank you for the
Quarter you earned.
It took us a long way, but
Today, the world is still
Turned upside down
And we are working
Hand by hand to
Flip it
Right side up
Praise:
“A harrowing collection by a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet… The poet’s language can also be visceral and gripping … An often cathartic and poignant set of poems about endurance and the cycle of abuse.” – Kirkus Reviews
About the Author:
Katerina Canyon is an Award Winning Poet, Best Selling Author, civil rights activist, essayist, and poet. She grew up in Los Angeles and much of her writing reflects that experience.
Her first book of poetry, Changing the Lines, was released in August 2017. This work is a conversation between mother and daughter as they examine what it means to operate within the world as black women.
Katerina Canyon is a 2021, 2020, and 2019 Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her stories have been published in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and Folks. Her poetry has been published in CatheXis Northwest, The Esthetic Apostle, Into the Void, Black Napkin, and Waxing & Waning. From 2000 to 2003, she served as the Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga. During that time, she started a poetry festival and ran several poetry readings. She has a B.A. in English, International Studies and Creative Writing from Saint Louis University and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Readers can connect with Katerina on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. To learn more, go to https://www.poetickat.com/
To request a review copy of Surviving Home or an interview Katerina Canyon, please contact Kelsey at Book Publicity Services at (805) 807-9027 or Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com
New Book on Aging ‘On with the Butter!’ Inspires Seniors to Keep Moving, Keep Doing, & Keep Living
Award winning author Heidi Herman’s latest book ‘On with the Butter! Spread More Living onto Everyday Life’ provides a practical how-to guide for readers to follow to add vitality to their own lives. With this book, Heidi Herman hopes to help seniors and elderly to Keep Moving, Keep Doing, Keep Living – even during a pandemic. Many of the items offered are things that can be done in safe socially-distant ways and still provide mental and physical benefits.
“Herman’s inspiring work offers a fresh perspective on living well at any age.” – RECOMMENDED by the US Review
“A sunny self-help guide that aims to reveal the secret to an active and exuberant lifestyle.”– Kirkus Review
On with the Butter! recently won the 2020 IAN Book of the Year Awards as a finalist in the “Self-Help/How-To” category.
What makes Heidi’s new book unique is her inspiration and – in 2018, her 93-year old mother, Ieda, undertook a challenge to have 93 new experiences before her 94th birthday to prove you’re never too old for something new. After Heidi helped her Icelandic mom with that year’s adventure, they were working on turning the experience into a book when Ieda passed away. Heidi finished her mother’s photo journal of experiences but was inspired to go one step further and inspire others to live life with that same vitality. Heidi herself learned to be what she calls a ‘life adventurer’ and her new book “On With the Butter!” provides insight for readers to add vitality to their own life. It also incorporates her Icelandic heritage and the unique Scandinavian life philosophies.
If you’re looking for new ways to add zest to your life or have free time in retirement, this book offers a wide variety of activities and challenges, along with inspiring and heartwarming stories. Discover ways to explore, play, take, chances, try new things, make a difference, and have more fun in life. You’re the activities director, and On with the Butter! is your guidebook.
Keep moving, keep doing, and keep spreading more living onto everyday life. After all, everything’s better with butter.
“On with the Butter” is a wonderful and inspiring book! Through Heidi’s Herman’s vibrant and engaging, and often humorous stories, intertwined with unique ideas and helpful information, she encourages curiosity, connection, and a call to action. This is an excellent book for those who are looking for an exciting next chapter, or even just a little more flavor, to their life! – Laura Haw, Adjunct Instructor in Aging Studies, University of Indianapolis
On with the Butter is available for sale on Amazon. Heidi Herman is available for media interviews. For more information or to request an interview with Heidi Herman, please contact Kelsey at Book Publicity Services at Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com or (805) 807-9027.
To learn more, go to www.heidihermanauthor.com
