Blogging Mama

Total Pageviews

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Freezing Time

Six years ago I was living in a camper in a friends backyard. I was driving a car with leaks in the floorboards and a leaky sunroof. I had an infant daughter and was pregnant...the only thing I hadn't managed to mess up was my job. I was single, broke, and yet I'll be honest - I thought I had the world by the balls (as the saying goes). I had always wanted a family and though I was scared to death about how I would feed my family, I knew God would provide.

I wasn't interested in dating really and just thought my position in life was to be a mom and in my heart that felt like perfection. I didn't think being a single parent was hard, in fact it was perfect for an only child because there's no compromise in single-parenthood (especially when Dad isn't involved monetarily or otherwise). I pick the daycare, the school, the place to live, down to the bedtimes and what's on the menu.

This bliss went on for two years and my life came together. I moved out of the camper, bought a more reliable car, started putting money back into my retirement fund, etc...

Four years ago I wanted to go on a date and I called a friend and said exactly this: "I want a reason to get dressed up (other than work) and talk grown up talk. I don't want to get laid or married - know anyone that might want to go eat and chat with me?" My friend Amanda called back a few days later and came up with someone. She thought we would have fun but she told me first things first, I needed to go shopping. Apparently my wardrobe had dwindled down to baby spit-up stained yoga pants and sweatshirts on one side of the closet and black business suits on the other side.

Amanda and I went shopping and she talked me into a green blouse with matching jacket, a new pair of jeans, and then with a smile she told me to buy a new bra because the old one wasn't doing a thing for my figure...only a friend can tell you that your girls are sagging and get away with it.

Our family BEFORE the addition!
A year ago I married that very man who took me on that date. He was about as interested in a relationship as I was and we both enjoyed the food, the conversation, and the company. Somehow though, God had more in the cards for us. Now I have a husband, the children have a father, and we are expecting another child. If I could talk to the me from six years ago she wouldn't believe a word of this story.

Something has become important to me because of all these twists and turns - I am always trying to freeze time one way or another. Is it because I'm afraid of dying? No, not really...I think it's because I hardly believe it myself. We have photo sessions every few months, I'm embracing my baby belly to the point of thinking it's cool when the older children rub my belly in public and I don't even freak out when they encourage strangers to rub with them. And today - we are going to freeze time in another way. We are having a belly cast done so none of us every forget every curve that was Breccan's first home (I should have told you, the baby is a boy and his name is Breccan). The children are going to help and we are already planning how it will be decorated and where the finished product will be hung.

Big thanks goes out to Emily at Beautiful Birth - she is the Doula coming to do the casting today and she has also become a dear friend - check her out:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beautiful-Birth/119792111411362
On the Web: http://www.beautifulbirth.org/



The process will also be photographed and someday I hope to look at them with tears in my eyes and hopefully grandchildren on my knees. Thank you God for all the twists and turns and other broken roads that brought us to this day and thank you for knowing more about what I need than I do.

check out this baby belly!!! (thanks Oh! Photography)
Stay tuned for more posts about my growing belly (and by the way - yesterday I was 3cm so I'm pretty happy this little guy hung in here so we could do this today; the girls will be here in 45 minutes and I'm excited!!!!)

How do you freeze time? Have you ever thought about why it's important to you?

May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, sunshine, and twists and turns to keep you on your toes!
Love,
~Crystal

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Host a Memoir or Sci-Fi/Fantasy WOW! Tour This Fall on Your Blog! (Act Today!!!)

Join WOW! For Some Fabulous Fall Blog Tours!
Just 2 of the 4 Fall WOW! tours still have openings – will your blog be one of the stops? Scroll down and make your decision and then get in touch; I can’t wait to hear from you!
Hugs,
~Crystal
If you are interested, just send me an email (crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com) and let me know the following:

Date you prefer:
Book Title:
Hyperlink to your blog:
Type of involvement: (ie: review + give away or interview + give away)**guest post topics have all been taken

And your choices are…



Book Title: Bringing in Finn


Author: Sara Connell (Seal Press Pub. October 2013)

Genre: Memoir / Family

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/21/2013-11/21/2013

Book Hashtag: #BIFinn


Book Details:

·         Hardcover: 336 pages
·         Publisher: Seal Press (August 28, 2012)
·         Language: English
·         ISBN-10: 1580054102
·         ASIN: B00BJYM6IU


Book Summary:   Bringing in Finn is an incredibly moving story of surrogacy and how it created a bond like no other between a mother and daughter

In February 2011, 61-year-old Kristine Casey delivered the greatest gift of all to her daughter, Sara Connell: Sara’s son, Finnean. At that moment, Kristine—the gestational carrier of Sara and her husband Bill’s child—became the oldest woman ever to give birth in Chicago.  Bringing in Finn: An Extraordinary Surrogacy Story  tells this modern family’s remarkable surrogacy story.

After trying to conceive naturally without success, Sara and her husband Bill dedicated years to a variety of fertility treatments—but after Sara lost a third pregnancy (including the loss of twins at twenty-two weeks), they started to give up their hope. When Kristine offered to be their surrogate, they were shocked; but Kristine was clear that helping Sara become a mother felt like a calling, something she felt inspired to do.

In this achingly honest memoir, Connell recounts the tragedy and heartbreak of losing pregnancies; the process of opening her heart and mind to the idea of her sixty-one-year-old mother carrying her child for her; and the profound bond that blossomed between mother and daughter as a result of their unique experience together.

Bringing in Finn is the true story of a couple who wanted nothing more than to have a family and a mother who would do anything for her daughter. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive naturally, years of fertility treatments, miscarriage and a late term loss of twins, Sara and Bill Connell were emotionally and financially depleted and at a loss as to how they could have a family. When Sara’s mother Kristine offered to be their surrogate, the three embark on the journey that would culminate in Finnean’s miraculous birth and complete a transformation of their at-one-time strained mother-daughter relationship. - See more at: http://www.saraconnell.com/books/#sthash.2dbPO5eJ.dpuf
Bringing in Finn is the true story of a couple who wanted nothing more than to have a family and a mother who would do anything for her daughter. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive naturally, years of fertility treatments, miscarriage and a late term loss of twins, Sara and Bill Connell were emotionally and financially depleted and at a loss as to how they could have a family. When Sara’s mother Kristine offered to be their surrogate, the three embark on the journey that would culminate in Finnean’s miraculous birth and complete a transformation of their at-one-time strained mother-daughter relationship. - See more at: http://www.saraconnell.com/books/#sthash.2dbPO5eJ.dpuf
Author Bio:
Sara Connell is an author, speaker and life coach with a private practice in Chicago. She is a frequent contributor in the media and has appeared on Oprah, NPR, WGN, FOX News Chicago- upcoming: Good Morning America, Nightline an The View. Sara's writing has been featured in: Elle Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, Psychobabble, Evolving Your Spirit and Mindful Metropolis magazines. Her first book- Bringing in Finn; an Extraordinary Surrogacy story- nominated for Book of the Year 2012 by Elle Magazine- is Sara's first book. (Sept 4, 2012 Seal Press)
Finding Sara online:




Book Title: Home World


Author: Bonnie Milani

Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 11/18/2013-12/23/2013

Book Hashtag: #HWorld

Book Summary: 
 Amid the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Waikiki, Jezekiah Van Buren thinks he’s found a way to restore Earth – Home World to the other worlds of the human Commonwealth – to her lost glory. 
Ingenious even by the standards of the genetically enhanced Great Family Van Buren, Jezekiah has achieved the impossible:  he has arranged a treaty that will convert Earth's ancient enemies, the Lupans, to her most powerful allies.  Not only will the treaty terms make  Earth rich again, it will let him escape the Ring that condemns him to be Earth's next ruler.  Best of all, the treaty leaves him free to marry Keiko Yakamoto, the Samuari-trained woman he loves.  Everything’s set.  All Jezekiah has to do is convince his xenophobic sister to accept the Lupan's alpha warlord in marriage. Before, that is, the assassin she's put on his tail succeeds in killing him.  Or the interstellar crime ring called Ho Tong succeed in raising  another rebellion.  Or before his ruling relatives on competing worlds manage to execute him for treason. 
But Jezekiah was bred for politics and trained to rule.  He’s got it all under control. Until his Lupan warlord-partner reaches Earth.  And suddenly these two most powerful men find themselves in love with the same woman.   A woman who just may be the most deadly assassin of them all.


Author Bio:
I still remember the book that made me decide I could out-write another writer: it was a junior reader's biography of Sir William Harvey, the 17th century English physician credited (in the West) with discovering how blood circulates. After about 30 pages of telling myself "I can write better than that!" So I grabbed a crayon that just happened to be blue and started editing. I was maybe 7 at the time. And unfortunately for my juvenile bottom it was a library book. I followed the dream through college and after grad school, freelancing feature articles for newpapers along the East Coast. Even wrote a cover story for Science Digest! Only life and grown up responsibilities caught up with me by my late twenties and I put writing away with too many of my other dreams while I followed a career track. Wasn't until I lost my whole family that I realized story telling wasn't something i just wanted to do - it's the gift God gave me to do. So here I am: a middle-aged pudge working on getting back into a writer's kind of real life.
Finding Bonnie online:
bonnie.milani@yahoo.com 



WOW! Blog Tour - Guest Post by Cami Ostman "Remaking Yourself After Divorce"

Thank you WOW! Women on Writing for introducing me to the amazingly talented Cami Ostman who recently published a very interested anthology. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...First, let's read Cami's guest post:

Remaking Yourself After Divorce
Nothing can knock you off your foundation like a divorce. When people stand in front of their beloved on their wedding day and promise to love and honor forever, they don't have impending plans to separate down the road—but they know that divorce is a possibility.
For me, when I got married at twenty-three (a virgin who had saved herself for God's right man), I not only committed to doing the best I could by my marriage, but I also believed that to leave it would be a sin, an affront against the Almighty One who was in charge of my eternal soul and who had ordained marriage so that each man could have a helpmate. Coming to a decision to leave my marriage meant changing my understanding of God first. Thus, when I divorced my first husband, I had to divorce God in a sense, too.
By the time I was in a headspace that would allow me to leave an unhappy relationship (to a kind man, I hasten to say—I want to be clear that the need to leave was mine), I had unpacked a trunk full of narratives about who God wanted me to be and had thrown out most of what I'd found inside of that trunk. But since I'd based my entire self-image on Someone Else's agenda and oriented my identity around marriage, my story about me was blank, waiting to be rewritten.
Most people, when they divorce, may not face such a dramatic and total re-writing of self, but everyone has to revise their identity to some degree. So how does a person remake, recover, and revise after a divorce? I was lucky in that I'd been working as a marriage and family therapist for a few years before I went through my own divorce and had had the benefit of watching many clients sort through this question—some effectively, some not so much. Here's what I learned and what ultimately helped me move forward:
1. Gather around you a group of flexible friends that has the capacity to watch you change. They should be people who are not invested in you staying the same or being who you've always been. Some of my friends couldn't do that, and at least two of them shunned me. But I had about four good friends who took a "wait and see" stance, who showed up to support me in my grief and let me make statements about myself ("I think I'm someone who likes to take big risks!") which ultimately ended up to NOT be true. These people are a safety net. They give a very precious gift: stability. They stand still while you bounce around. They don't buy into everything you say, but they DO let you say it without countering it because they understand that you don't have your sea legs yet. If you are in the midst of a divorce and you don't have such friends, please do yourself a favor and find a good therapist who can play this role for you.
2. Have faith. I know this may sound odd coming from someone who lost her faith during her divorce, but I only lost my faith in SOME things. I developed a great deal of faith in one or two others. For example, I learned to trust time. Almost nothing you fear is true about yourself in the midst of divorce (I'm useless/I'll be alone forever/I must be terrible for leaving) will last forever. Indeed, some fears last a very, very long time and need a great deal of attention to overcome,  but they still won't stick around forever. Whenever possible, remember this. And move forward as if it is true.
I also learned to trust experimentation. Try a new color on your wall. Cut off your hair. Go dancing. Small acts—doing things you wouldn't "normally" do—give you information about yourself and stretch you just a bit. Your experiments don't have to be drastic. Try ignoring when your ex-spouse pushes your buttons if that's different from your usual response. Then notice how it feels. Does it make you feel more powerful and in charge? Or less? Take that information in and decide what to do with it. What I've noticed when watching clients go through divorce is that the more paralyzed they are by their devastation, the more likely they are to get themselves into another relationship pickle again—soon. Fear invites us to look for something familiar, while undertaking small, self-exploring experiments opens up space for new behaviors and a new self-image to emerge.
3. Finally, be gentle. Remaking yourself is a messy process. In the midst of divorce you are confused. Your family is confused. Things will be messy as you try on the new you. Forgive yourself and others for bumbling through this year or two. It took me two full years to feel comfortable in my own skin. A common rule of thumb is that for every year you were married, you'll need a month to recuperate from a divorce. I was only married to my ex-husband for eleven years, but I'd been with God for two decades. When we get divorced, we're changing more than our marital status, so be gracious with yourself if re-inventing yourself is taking longer than you thought it would.

These are my brief reflections, and I know that every journey is a little different. For those of you facing the difficult time divorce presents, may you breathe your way through and trust that you will make it, emerging on the other side as a more mature, more evolved version of you.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now...a little more about Cami's book:
Book Hashtag: #SLWExtreme

Beyond Belief addresses what happens when women of extreme religions decide to walk away. Editors Susan Tive (a former Orthodox Jew) and Cami Ostman (a de-converted fundamentalist born-again Christian) have compiled a collection of powerful personal stories written by women of varying ages, races, and religious backgrounds who share one commonality: they’ve all experienced and rejected extreme religions.

Covering a wide range of religious communities—including Evangelical, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, Calvinist, Moonie, and Jehovah’s Witness—and containing contributions from authors like Julia Scheeres (Jesus Land), the stories in Beyond Belief reveal how these women became involved, what their lives were like, and why they came to the decision to eventually abandon their faiths. The authors shed a bright light on the rigid expectations and misogyny so often built into religious orthodoxy, yet they also explain the lure—why so many women are attracted to these lifestyles, what they find that’s beautiful about living a religious life, and why leaving can be not only very difficult but also bittersweet.

About the Authors of Beyond Belief: The Secret Lives of Women in Extreme Religions

Cami Ostman is an author, editor, life coach and a licensed marriage and family therapist with publications in her field. She blogs at 7marathons7continents.com and on the psychologytoday.com blogger team. She has appeared in several publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Fitness Magazine, Adventures Northwest, the Mudgee Guardian in Australia, and La Prensa in Chile. Cami is a runner and a dog lover who lives in Bellingham, Washington.





As a writer, editor, and researcher, Susan has worked on a variety of academic articles exploring psychology, feminism and religion. Susan's interest in these subjects led her to become an editor for several non-fiction titles including Faith and Feminism and Rachel's Bag. 

Friday, August 23, 2013

Those Are Racing Stripes ~ Embracing Pregnancy and Motherhood at 36!!

Some of you know my story and I'm in no way ashamed...I was pregnant for the first time at 20 and had a lovely baby girl. She was placed for adoption and we have always been very open with our family about her. It's a pretty heavy concept for a 5 and 6 year old to grasp and I admit it took me by surprise when my 5 year old son asked "why did you sell my sister?" and we have since talked about loving someone so much that you do what's best for them even though it breaks your heart. Anyway - I've been pregnant 6 times. Here's the scoop:

My Age             Pregnancy Details
20 - Had a lovely baby girl after being on bed rest for 3 months
22 - Had a devastating miscarriage
30 - Had a lovely baby girl after being on bed rest for 6 months (3 months in the hospital) "Carmen"
31 - Had a handsome baby boy ... totally text book pregnancy ... no bedrest "Andre"
35 - Had a devastating miscarriage and learned about something called a 'missed miscarriage'

Now - here I am 36 years old and pregnant with our little miracle boy "Breccan" who is due in a few weeks.

I'm explaining all this, because being pregnant at 20 and being a pregnant mom at 36 are so incredibly different that the me back then wouldn't even recognize the me now (did that make any sense?).

Belly Pic - by Oh! Photography
For example, at 20 it was some sort of honor badge to fit into my jeans at 30 weeks pregnant. Didn't matter that I couldn't breathe, I was in the damn things...at 20 I slathered on some sort of coconut oil concoction every morning and night to avoid the dreaded stretch marks, now I proudly display each one and explain to the children that these are mommy's "racing stripes"! We've had several maternity photo sessions to show off my belly ...and...here's the biggest one...at 20 I tried to hide my belly under sweatshirts and baggy clothes, now I'm proud to show off my ever growing belly - so much so we are making a belly cast next weekend!

If you don't know what a belly cast is, it's like paper mache' for the belly! I found someone who is coming to my home to help us make the cast and then once it's dry we are going to paint it and then proudly display it on the wall. Breccan can take a look at his "first apartment" and when he is 6 feet tall and weighs in at 200+ pounds we can all laugh at the fact that he once fit into such a cozy comfy little home!

This is something I wanted to do with the other children, but circumstances didn't allow for it, and now...this might be the last baby blessing God bestows on our family, and I want to cherish every moment. Every little wiggle makes me smile and I groan with every middle of the night bathroom break, but in reality they also make my heart happy. I am all too aware of the mothers out there who are waiting patiently to become pregnant, those mothers who have lost children, and those who have given up hope. I know how incredibly blessed I am and I don't remember this awareness all those years ago.

We are photographing the belly casting and I'll be blogging about it - so stay tuned for more details...and if you don't want to see my racing stripes, you can just skip that blog post - I don't mind - really!

May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, sunshine, and may you always love right where you are at the very moment you are there!
Hugs,
~Crystal

Adding Another WOW! Blog Tour to This Falls LineUp - Swimming With Maya by Eleanor Vincent

I have more great news! Here is another fabulous WOW! Blog Tour you can look forward to as a reader - or get in on as a blogger!

Contact me if you are interested!!! (crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com)





Book Title: Swimming with Maya (Dream of Things Pub. March 2013)


Author: Eleanor Vincent

Genre: Memoir/Parenting

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/14/2013-11/15/2013

Book Hashtag:  #SWMaya

Book Details:
·         Print Length: 340 pages
·         Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0988439042
·         Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
·         Publisher: Dream of Things (March 26, 2013)
·         Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
·         Language: English
·         ASIN: B00BCMCUX0



Book Summary:    In a memoir that has been called "heartbreaking and heart-healing," Eleanor Vincent shares an inspiring true story of courage, creativity, faith, and sheer tenacity as she seeks to find balance after unthinkable tragedy.

Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.

Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.

Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, in one of the most poignant moments you will ever read about, Eleanor has the opportunity to hear her daughter's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as the experiences that shaped Eleanor as a woman and as a mother to Maya.

An inspirational/motivational true story recommended for anyone who has experienced tragedy, who is grappling with traumatic experiences of the past, or who wants to better understand the strength and healing power of the human spirit.


Author Bio:
Eleanor Vincent is an award-winning writer whose debut memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story, was nominated for the Independent Publisher Book Award and was reissued by Dream of Things press early in 2013. She writes about love, loss, and grief recovery with a special focus on the challenges and joys of raising children at any age.
Called “engaging” by BooklistSwimming with Mayachronicles the life and death of Eleanor’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Maya, who was thrown from a horse and pronounced brain-dead at the hospital. Eleanor donated her daughter’s organs to critically ill patients and poignantly describes her friendship with a middle-aged man who was the recipient of Maya’s heart.
Since the initial publication of Swimming with Maya in 2004, Eleanor has been a national spokesperson on grief recovery and organ donation, appearing on CNN and San Francisco’s Evening Magazine. She has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, and been interviewed on radio and television programs around the country.
She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, where she occasionally teaches writing workshops on creative nonfiction and memoir.
Maya as a Teenager
Her essays appear in the anthologies At the End of Life: True Stories about How we Die(edited by Lee Gutkind); This I Believe: On Motherhood; and Impact: An Anthology of Short Memoirs. They celebrate the unique and complicated bonds between mothers and daughters, making hard decisions as a parent – whether your child is 14 or 40 – and navigating midlife transitions with grace and authenticity.
She lives in Oakland, California.

Finding Eleanor online:

List of Guest Post Topics:
-Surviving the Unthinkable Loss of a Child
-Why Writing Swimming with Maya Helped Me Heal
-Thoughts on Organ Donation
-Tips on Writing Creative Non Fiction
-What Every Memoir Writer Should Know
-Motherhood Then and Now
-Challenges of raising kids as a single parent
-Parenting a gifted and/or difficult teen
-Resilience
-Grief Recovery
-Organ donation and transplantation from the perspective of the donor family
-Gifts of Grief – What I’ve learned and how I practice it in my day-to-day life
-Reaching out to readers on social media and book sites (i.e. Goodreads, Amazon, etc.)
-Balancing writing with promotional activities
-Tips for writing “page turning” prose

Some Great Quotes About Swimming With Maya:

Praise for Swimming with Maya

"Vincent's poignant decision to donate Maya's organs will resonate with even hard-boiled readers." Booklist

"Powerful prose with a meaningful and memorable message." Lee Gutkind, Founder, Creative Nonfiction Magazine

A "Pick of the Month" for June 2013 from Alan Caruba, founding member of the National Book Critics Circle and author of Bookviews.

"An important addition to the literature of loss and restoration." Maxine Kumin, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery

"Anyone interested in memoirs in general and mother/daughter relationship in particular will find this a moving saga." Midwest Book Review

"Heartbreaking and heart healing, this compelling story of surviving the death of a child will stay with you long after you've closed the book." Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal andThe Human Line 

"Every reader who has had to deal with traumatic loss will find wisdom and healing in these brave pages.'' Chana Bloch, author of Mrs. Dumpty and Blood Honey 

"Riveting, poignant, and utterly honest... It shows that one can recover from the loss of a child.'' Judy Tatelbaum, author of The Courage to Grieve and You Don't Have to Suffer

"Eleanor Vincent chronicles her grief and the healing that came with helping others." Carol Lin, CNN 

"Blows the reader away with its clarity, its unstinting honesty, and the searing accuracy of its vision of the medical and emotional complexity surrounding the tragic death of a young woman. Highly recommended.'' John Ruark, MD, FACP, author of Dying Dignified

"Thoughtful, honest and beautifully written... a fabulous story about what it means to be a mother.'' Wendy Lichtman, author of Blew and the Death of the Mag and Secrets, Lies and Algebra

"Life trumps death in this beautiful memoir." Linda Joy Myers, author of Don't Call Me Mother--A Daughter's Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness and Power of Memoir


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Do You Have a Writing or Book Blog? Sign Up For A Fall WOW! Women on Writing Blog Tour!

Join WOW! For Some Fabulous Fall Blog Tours!
It’s hard to believe that fall will soon be upon us ~ lucky for me; I live in Wisconsin so fall means sweet corn, apple picking, and some fun jumping in leaves with the kiddos! It also brings the arrival of our new baby (due September 30th) and in the midst of all this, I have 4 WOW! Blog Tours I want to share with you. Please let me know what dates work best for you and I’ll make sure you’re included.
Hugs,
~Crystal
If you are interested, just send me an email (crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com) and let me know the following:

Date you prefer:
Book Title:
Hyperlink to your blog:
Type of involvement: (ie: review + give away or guest post + give away)**if you choose a guest post, please let me know which title you prefer:

And your choices are…


Book Title: The Goodbye Year


Author: Toni Piccinini (Seal Press Pub. October 2013)

Genre: Health & Well Being

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/7/2013-11/7/2013

Book Hashtag: #TGYPiccinini

Book Details:

·         Paperback: 264 pages
·         Publisher: Seal Press (September 10, 2013)
·         Language: English
·         ISBN-10: 1580054862
·         ISBN-13: 978-1580054867


Book Summary:   For many mothers, a child’s senior year brings about a serious look back on the past eighteen. Every event—from Halloween to Mother’s Day—becomes The Last Time.

Toni Piccinini knows exactly what that’s like, and in The Goodbye Year, she offers the loving support every soon-to-be Empty Nester needs. Think of Toni as your bossy-but-loving Italian auntie, with modern sensibilities and a packed pantry. With the wisdom she’s acquired from saying goodbye three times to her own children, she reassuringly holds your hand while encouraging you through the insanity of the college application process, the rejections and the acceptances, and the teary dorm drop-offs. Even better, she reminds every mother that the best is yet to come—freedom, creativity, flexibility, and the Me Years.
Author Bio:

My writing career started when I stapled my first "book" together and launched it at a reading attended by my brother, Scotty, and our Boxer, Lonesome. The title-less story was a mash-up of Hansel and Gretel, The Six Swans, and a Box Car Children adventure, with the protagonists (sister, brother, and dog) risking everything in their quest for a magical lump of coal that would save the town. It was an immediate success. During the fifty years between my first and second book, "The Goodbye Year: Wisdom and Culinary Therapy to Survive Your Child's Senior Year of High School (and Reclaim the YOU of You)" I have--in no order of importance or chronology--opened a "Top 100" San Francisco restaurant, published scientific articles on the efficacies of antibiotics, sang the National Anthem at high school football games, published essays, recipes, and cookbook reviews, and sent three children off to college. I live in Marin County California, which is a long way from my Western Pennsylvania hometown, Heilwood. I am busy on my next book, which may revisit the power found in a magical lump of coal. Thank you for checking in.
Finding Toni online:

List of Guest Post Topics:

-Mothering Teens
-How to Rediscover Oneself Again after Your Kids Leave Home
-Cooking/Food/Recipes to get through certain times in life
-How the Goodbye Year came to be/ writing process
-Your Teens senior year what to expect/how to cope, etc





Book Title: Swimming with Maya (Dream of Things Pub. March 2013)


Author: Eleanor Vincent

Genre: Memoir/Parenting

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/14/2013-11/15/2013

Book Hashtag:  #SWMaya

Book Details:
·         Print Length: 340 pages
·         Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0988439042
·         Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
·         Publisher: Dream of Things (March 26, 2013)
·         Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
·         Language: English
·         ASIN: B00BCMCUX0



Book Summary:    In a memoir that has been called "heartbreaking and heart-healing," Eleanor Vincent shares an inspiring true story of courage, creativity, faith, and sheer tenacity as she seeks to find balance after unthinkable tragedy.

Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.

Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.

Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, in one of the most poignant moments you will ever read about, Eleanor has the opportunity to hear her daughter's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as the experiences that shaped Eleanor as a woman and as a mother to Maya.

An inspirational/motivational true story recommended for anyone who has experienced tragedy, who is grappling with traumatic experiences of the past, or who wants to better understand the strength and healing power of the human spirit.


Author Bio:
Eleanor Vincent is an award-winning writer whose debut memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story, was nominated for the Independent Publisher Book Award and was reissued by Dream of Things press early in 2013. She writes about love, loss, and grief recovery with a special focus on the challenges and joys of raising children at any age.
Called “engaging” by BooklistSwimming with Mayachronicles the life and death of Eleanor’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Maya, who was thrown from a horse and pronounced brain-dead at the hospital. Eleanor donated her daughter’s organs to critically ill patients and poignantly describes her friendship with a middle-aged man who was the recipient of Maya’s heart.
Since the initial publication of Swimming with Maya in 2004, Eleanor has been a national spokesperson on grief recovery and organ donation, appearing on CNN and San Francisco’s Evening Magazine. She has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, and been interviewed on radio and television programs around the country.
She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, where she occasionally teaches writing workshops on creative nonfiction and memoir.
Her essays appear in the anthologies At the End of Life: True Stories about How we Die(edited by Lee Gutkind); This I Believe: On Motherhood; and Impact: An Anthology of Short Memoirs. They celebrate the unique and complicated bonds between mothers and daughters, making hard decisions as a parent – whether your child is 14 or 40 – and navigating midlife transitions with grace and authenticity.
She lives in Oakland, California.

Finding Eleanor online:

List of Guest Post Topics:
-Surviving the Unthinkable Loss of a Child
-Why Writing Swimming with Maya Helped Me Heal
-Thoughts on Organ Donation
-Tips on Writing Creative Non Fiction
-What Every Memoir Writer Should Know
-Motherhood Then and Now









Book Title: Bringing in Finn


Author: Sara Connell (Seal Press Pub. October 2013)

Genre: Memoir / Family

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 10/21/2013-11/21/2013

Book Hashtag: #BIFinn


Book Details:

·         Hardcover: 336 pages
·         Publisher: Seal Press (August 28, 2012)
·         Language: English
·         ISBN-10: 1580054102
·         ASIN: B00BJYM6IU


Book Summary:   Bringing in Finn is an incredibly moving story of surrogacy and how it created a bond like no other between a mother and daughter

In February 2011, 61-year-old Kristine Casey delivered the greatest gift of all to her daughter, Sara Connell: Sara’s son, Finnean. At that moment, Kristine—the gestational carrier of Sara and her husband Bill’s child—became the oldest woman ever to give birth in Chicago.  Bringing in Finn: An Extraordinary Surrogacy Story  tells this modern family’s remarkable surrogacy story.

After trying to conceive naturally without success, Sara and her husband Bill dedicated years to a variety of fertility treatments—but after Sara lost a third pregnancy (including the loss of twins at twenty-two weeks), they started to give up their hope. When Kristine offered to be their surrogate, they were shocked; but Kristine was clear that helping Sara become a mother felt like a calling, something she felt inspired to do.

In this achingly honest memoir, Connell recounts the tragedy and heartbreak of losing pregnancies; the process of opening her heart and mind to the idea of her sixty-one-year-old mother carrying her child for her; and the profound bond that blossomed between mother and daughter as a result of their unique experience together.

Bringing in Finn is the true story of a couple who wanted nothing more than to have a family and a mother who would do anything for her daughter. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive naturally, years of fertility treatments, miscarriage and a late term loss of twins, Sara and Bill Connell were emotionally and financially depleted and at a loss as to how they could have a family. When Sara’s mother Kristine offered to be their surrogate, the three embark on the journey that would culminate in Finnean’s miraculous birth and complete a transformation of their at-one-time strained mother-daughter relationship. - See more at: http://www.saraconnell.com/books/#sthash.2dbPO5eJ.dpuf
Bringing in Finn is the true story of a couple who wanted nothing more than to have a family and a mother who would do anything for her daughter. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive naturally, years of fertility treatments, miscarriage and a late term loss of twins, Sara and Bill Connell were emotionally and financially depleted and at a loss as to how they could have a family. When Sara’s mother Kristine offered to be their surrogate, the three embark on the journey that would culminate in Finnean’s miraculous birth and complete a transformation of their at-one-time strained mother-daughter relationship. - See more at: http://www.saraconnell.com/books/#sthash.2dbPO5eJ.dpuf

Author Bio:
Sara Connell is an author, speaker and life coach with a private practice in Chicago. She is a frequent contributor in the media and has appeared on Oprah, NPR, WGN, FOX News Chicago- upcoming: Good Morning America, Nightline an The View. Sara's writing has been featured in: Elle Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, Psychobabble, Evolving Your Spirit and Mindful Metropolis magazines. Her first book- Bringing in Finn; an Extraordinary Surrogacy story- nominated for Book of the Year 2012 by Elle Magazine- is Sara's first book. (Sept 4, 2012 Seal Press)
Finding Sara online:

List of Guest Post Topics:

-Her son, Finn's, extraordinary birth story. 
-How to cope with grief/loss related to loosing her twins late-term and having miscarriages. 
-Their fertility journey though IVF & surrogacy
-Her unique Mother/Daughter relationship with her mom
-Her coaching/writing life







Book Title: Home World


Author: Bonnie Milani

Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy

WOW! Blog Tour Dates: 11/18/2013-12/23/2013

Book Hashtag: #HWorld

Book Summary: 
 Amid the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Waikiki, Jezekiah Van Buren thinks he’s found a way to restore Earth – Home World to the other worlds of the human Commonwealth – to her lost glory. 
Ingenious even by the standards of the genetically enhanced Great Family Van Buren, Jezekiah has achieved the impossible:  he has arranged a treaty that will convert Earth's ancient enemies, the Lupans, to her most powerful allies.  Not only will the treaty terms make  Earth rich again, it will let him escape the Ring that condemns him to be Earth's next ruler.  Best of all, the treaty leaves him free to marry Keiko Yakamoto, the Samuari-trained woman he loves.  Everything’s set.  All Jezekiah has to do is convince his xenophobic sister to accept the Lupan's alpha warlord in marriage. Before, that is, the assassin she's put on his tail succeeds in killing him.  Or the interstellar crime ring called Ho Tong succeed in raising  another rebellion.  Or before his ruling relatives on competing worlds manage to execute him for treason. 
But Jezekiah was bred for politics and trained to rule.  He’s got it all under control. Until his Lupan warlord-partner reaches Earth.  And suddenly these two most powerful men find themselves in love with the same woman.   A woman who just may be the most deadly assassin of them all.


Author Bio:
I still remember the book that made me decide I could out-write another writer: it was a junior reader's biography of Sir William Harvey, the 17th century English physician credited (in the West) with discovering how blood circulates. After about 30 pages of telling myself "I can write better than that!" So I grabbed a crayon that just happened to be blue and started editing. I was maybe 7 at the time. And unfortunately for my juvenile bottom it was a library book. I followed the dream through college and after grad school, freelancing feature articles for newpapers along the East Coast. Even wrote a cover story for Science Digest! Only life and grown up responsibilities caught up with me by my late twenties and I put writing away with too many of my other dreams while I followed a career track. Wasn't until I lost my whole family that I realized story telling wasn't something i just wanted to do - it's the gift God gave me to do. So here I am: a middle-aged pudge working on getting back into a writer's kind of real life.
Finding Bonnie online:
bonnie.milani@yahoo.com 
List of Guest Post Topics:

1.  So who ARE you, anyway?
2.  Finding Writing Time 
3.  Juggling a Writing Career & Self Employment
4.  Writing your way to health: Finding an Emotional Happy Ground in a Health Crisis
5.  The Importance of Networking for Authors
6.  Where do you get your ideas?
7.  How do you deal with rejection?
8.  Do you believe in writer or critiquing groups?
9.  What makes a good critique?
10. Story-telling: structure vs seat-of-the-pants