Category Fiction

Dec 11 2012

Noble Peace Prize Nomination for Activist Mother

This week Susana Trimarco was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts at ending sex trafficking in her native Argentina. After her 23 year old daughter was abducted in 2002 and forced into sexual slavery, Trimarco began a quest that has taken her into the shameful underworld of Argentina’s sex trade. Read the full story written by Emily Schmall.

It seems appropriate to re-post this review of Sibel Hodge’s novel that deals with the issue of sex trafficking.

Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex-Slave  by Sibel Hodge

Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex SlaveSibel Hodge paints a vivid picture of a woman caught up in a global travesty of our time: Sex-Slave Trafficking. Using the Diary format to tell Elena’s story of betrayal, helplessness, and degradation, Hodge sheds light on an industry that preys on thousands of young women every day. Using a novelist’s skill, we come to care for Elena quickly. Women readers can easily relate to Elena and how she feels caught in the trap of prostitution. The piece is gritty, but not gruesome. I read it in one sitting. It left me feeling like I wanted to DO SOMETHING, which I imagine was the reason Sibel diverted from her usual chick-lit fare to tackle a serious subject. Hopefully, the pen truly is mightier than the sword, and “Diary” will help raise awareness and action against one of the most shameful cruelties of modern times. Change begins with resolve. I admire Sibel Hodge for devoting her time and talent to keep this issue in the spotlight.

Change begins with awareness and then the decision that enough is enough. Hopefully, communities and countries will begin to decide that treating their girls as sexual commodities is not acceptable. Susana Trimarco continues searching for her daughter and her tireless battle against the darkness of the sex trade. Follow Human Traffic Watch to keep up with this global travesty against women and children.

Dec 9 2012

Supernal Reading–Three Mystic Books

As my life grows increasingly multi-dimensonal, I am drawn to books that mirror my interests and experiences. Here are three I’ve recently read that are definitely “Supernal” in nature.

Lessons from the Light: A True Story of Angels and Healing by Myra Starr with John Mulkey.

Lessons From The LightThe day she died is the day she began really living. Today Myra Starr is known as a healer and mystic living a quiet life surrounded by nature. Her former occupation as a corporate shark came to an abrupt halt after a Near Death Experience that took her to new realms. Writer John Mulkey does an excellent job of unfolding Myra’s transformation. From her visionary lessons with an angelic guide, Maya, to her beginnings as a healer, Starr strives to offer the best of herself as a healer and teacher. There is a lot of instructional material for spiritual development in the book, that makes it more than a memoir. Mulkey sets an authentic tone that makes for easy reading. Great reading for the spiritual adventurer!

Shadow of the Final Storm by Carol McCLain Craver

Shadow of the Final Storm (The Pink House Series)Time travel and reincarnation weave together in this novel set in present-day Galveston that flashes back to the weeks leading up to the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. By coincidence I read it as Hurricane Sandy was devastating the North East. The main character, Sirena, returns to her childhood bungalow on Galveston on a mission of self-discovery. Greeted by the ghosts of her great-grandparents, she confronts her issues of the present and past to find her future. Craver has a lot of elements working here–basically that a person can be living two lives simultaneously. She manages to pull it off without totally confusing the reader. I admired her courage at taking on the complexities of the storylines. An interesting read–especially when a big hurricane is actually making landfall.

The Opening by Ron Savarese:

The Opening“Visionary Fiction” is definitely on the rise. Reminiscent of Jacob Nordby’s excellent The Divine Arsonist, The Opening deals with a man who goes on a mystical life review. The opening line My appointment with death was less than a month away introduces us to Joe St. John–a typical American, successful middle aged white male. From the book description:

Joe St. John wanders out into a blizzard and falls through an opening that leads him to amazing, sometimes harrowing places where he encounters the major turning points in his life. Along the way, he revisits his missed opportunities, uncovers his life’s core trauma, and is given mysterious geometrical symbols that hold the key to his future. As Joe’s soul hovers between two worlds he will discover the truth about life and death, and be confronted with the ultimate choice: save his own life, or give it up for someone he loves.

The quality of the writing kept me engaged. Sometimes it’s not so much what you say, as how you say it. Savarese has an adroit ability to create mood and characters. The Opening borrows from “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” in theme and throws in a layer of current metaphysical philosophy. An interesting spirit quest for the modern man.

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streamshandsmall     Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping into Healing Energy by Dana Taylor

From customer reviews:

“shares so much information on different ways of accessing all that is available
to us in the vibrational, energy realm of the Universe”

“Highly recommended for anyone with an open mind and an open heart.”

“She covers a lot of territory, sharing the many paths she explores, and does it
with a sense of humor and delight we get to share with her along the way.”

Dec 7 2012

Reluctantly Reiki

It’s that time of year again–Andy Williams singing, strange blow-up Santa’s on people’s lawns and I’m selling “Shiny Green Shoes” in the Christmas story anthology, HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

shoes300The story centers on a black child of the Depression and her unlikely friendship with an aging white actress. Where did the story come from? I’ve rarely told the origin of the idea because people might think I am a little crazy (like that’s something new.) I’ve used the audio version as Christmas card in the past. A friend’s husband (fine Christian fellow) once asked me where the story came from and I told him the truth. I never got invited to their home again.

But, maybe times are changing. I recently received my Reiki Master Certificate from the local community college. Hospitals are offering Reiki treatments. People are now calling me for Reiki treatments. When Bette Lee Crosby invited me to guest blog at her site today and talk about HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS, I decided to reveal the Reiki connection to the story’s inspiration.

Hop over to Bette’s site and read “the rest of the story”– HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS at Words, Wit and Wisdom.

Apr 17 2012

Downward Dog, Upward Fog–meet Meryl Davids Landau

Meryl Davids LandauMeryl Davids Landau makes her fiction debut with Downward Dog, Upward Fog, a book that was just nominated as a General Fiction Book of the Year Finalist by Foreword Reviews. She is a certified yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, and has written many articles for national publications, including O, the Oprah magazine, Reader’s Digest, U.S. News & World Report, Huffington Post and Whole Living. Her writing has won several awards, and was a finalist for a prestigious National Magazine Award.

DT: Thanks for being at Supernal Living today, Meryl. Can you tell us how you approach spirituality in your novel?Downward Dog, Upward Fog

MDL: Everyone on any kind of spiritual path knows there’s a huge difference—a chasm, really– between knowing spiritual principles in your head and living them in your life. My own personal challenges with that became the springboard for the book, where my main character, Lorna, grapples with an awful mother, wacky coworkers, and then a family crisis after she discovers yoga and other spiritual pursuits.

 The book is fun women’s fiction, but the plot revolves completely around how Lorna handles the challenging people and situations all around her—and the answer is, not always perfectly. Readers who are very familiar with yoga, meditation, mindfulness, forgiveness and other spiritual practices tell me they enjoy seeing their passions reflected in a novel. But it’s also been great for me to hear from readers who are using the book as an introduction to spiritual principles, since Lorna discovers many teachings, teachers and approaches as the novel unfolds.

 One thing Lorna does not do is discover enlightenment via a trip to Bali or India or the Aztecs. Books to delicious places like that can be great fun, but the main question I want the novel to address is one the rest of us face in our real life: how do you maintain your spiritual center at the office, in the grocery store, with your workaholic boyfriend or hypercritical mother? The reader roots for Lorna to figure it out—and, I suspect, for herself to do so, too.

 Book description: Lorna Crawford has a great boyfriend, longtime friends, and a well-paying job as special-events coordinator at a premium ice-cream manufacturer. But, out of sorts and filled with self-doubt, the 33 year old soon realizes that what she really wants is to stay on the spiritual path she keeps diving off of. Lorna jump-starts her efforts at a silent yoga retreat. But after returning from the mountain, she quickly loses her connection in the face of scheming coworkers, judgmental girlfriends, and, especially, her overly critical mother. Lorna also wrestles over her future with her boyfriend, a hot guy who takes her to the hottest places, but who can’t discern a meditation cushion from a toad stool. Reading spiritual books and visiting a channeler and energy healer move Lorna forward, but her confusion remains. Lorna’s seeking is put to the ultimate test when personal tragedy strikes. Will she come to truly understand that living spiritually has little to do with how you pretzel yourself on the yoga mat (although she gets plenty good at that), and everything to do with embracing the twists in everyday life?

Download your copy of Downward Dog, Upward Fog and find out for yourself!

 

Mar 29 2012

The Divine Arsonist, a tale of Awakening

The Divine Arsonist: A Tale of AwakeningMy guest reviewer is author, shaman, and energy healer, Carol Woodliff. She is one several wonderful people I met through the Next Top Spiritual Author competition held a couple of years back. Jacob Norby is another of the authors who has become a friend. Here Carol offers her review of Jacob’s just released novel, The Divine Arsonist, a Tale of Awakening.

The Divine Arsonist by Jacob Norby is the story of a businessman who worked hard to climb the ladder of success only to have something whisper to him that perhaps there was something more to discover.  This is his journey of discovery told in a blend of the personal story and fiction.  It immediately spoke to me of the question:  When do we start dreaming a new dream for ourselves and our world?   The old ways are burning us out.  That’s where Jacob is at the beginning of his journey.  There are so many elements of a shamanic journey, vision quest or hero’s journey from old mythology: meeting spiritual guides, being challenged to endure rites of passage, time in the wilderness, facing the shadow and opening to all the levels of reality beyond our day-to-day “get it done” consciousness.  The writing is luscious, descriptive and an easy read.  I could have easily read it in one sitting but I forced myself to turn off the light at night and savor it over the course of several bedtime reading sessions.  There are beautiful teachings that you want to grab the highlighter to remember.

Jacob’s journey toward finding his light is an invitation or challenge to go on your own journey, to claim your own light.  It is a tale that reminds us that life is short and that we are choosing the world we live in right now with each thought and each action we take. It is a story that reminds us that sometimes we have to let go of everything that we think we know to become the person we came to earth to be. Even though I’ve had my own awakening moments, Jacob’s writing made me want to commit to living them on an even deeper level. Isn’t that what we want a spiritual book to do?

I highly recommend Jacob’s book.  I hope you give it a read.  You can buy The Divine Arsonist on Amazon either in book form or Kindle.

Jacob Nordby is an author, speaker and personal transformation mentor. He is published with Jack Canfield in “Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Inspirational Ideas to Live Your Best Life Now“, with Dr. Bernie M. Siegel in “The Thought That Changed My Life” and is currently writing, “The Cosmic Compass: An Adventure of Inner Guidance”. Mr. Nordby is the founder and publisher of the popular e-magazine site, YourAwakenedSelf.com.

 Find our more about Carol Woodliff at www.carolwoodliff.com

 

Mar 17 2012

Intriguing “Runaway Choices”

Runaway Choices - A Christian Speculative Fiction NovelRunaway Choices: A Christian Speculative Novel by Eisley Jacobs is a wonderful example of Indie author creativity. Mixing a Twilight Zone technique with a subtle spiritual message, Jacobs plunges her heroine, Beck, into a fascinating adventure.

Plot Description: Everyone runs from their past; Beck has it mastered. She’s been running for so long, stopping is a foreign concept. With her conning skills and wits at the ready, she’s on a plane to London, free of charge.

Beck believes everything is going as planned, but when reality twists on its axis, she soon wonders whose plan? Teaming up with the gorgeous bellhop, Colin, is a no brainer, especially when they discover their connections are anything but accidental.

In their quest for answers, both are confronted with the demons of their pasts. Beck panics and does what comes naturally — runs. However, she’s not only running from herself, but from the superhuman who has made it his life’s goal to track her down and either remove her from the equation or convince her to join him.

I enjoyed the tale on many levels. First, it is different; not the same story I’ve read a million times. Second, the writing is smooth without the hiccups often seen in Indie authors. Third, Jacobs manages to tell a story with a spiritual message without beating us over the head with message. Using mystical elements and a McGuffin magical necklace, she keeps a plot spinning as Beck learns life lessons. All in all, an interesting excursion into a Rod Serling-like spiritual adventure.