The American Association of Suicidology's Recent Reviews column posted such a sensitive and insightful review of my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On, that I have to share it verbatim. Reviewed by: Fran Edstrom, Editor at Winona Post in Winona, MN. At 321 pages, Madeline Sharples' memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On, is very readable and well-written. Sharples is a 70-year-old married mother of two whose oldest son died of suicide at age 27. Her memoir recounts her son's battle with Bipolar Disorder, the effect of his illness on the family and on his relationships with his friends. This is not a dispassionate account of mental illness leading to suicide. Sharples makes several references in the narrative to her forays into poetry and prose writing after her son's death. She had a mentor who urged her to use her deep voice, and she does. There is a liberal sprinkling of her poetry throughout the book, which some readers may find enlightening. I imagine … [Read more...]
Two more April PAD challenge poems
I submitted these two poems and three others posted here to the April 2012 PAD challenge contest. Robert Lee Brewer promises results in August. I love succulents. Their colors are like a poem. Day 22. The prompt was to write a judging poem From the looks of it Food TV's Chopped judges all seem to disagree about the texture, taste, seasonings, cooking style, and presentation skills of the chefs competing on the show. And yet, when their bickering time is up, they say,yes, nodding their heads up and down. They know for sure who is in and who is out. How do they do that this viewer wants to know. Day 23. The prompt was to write a morning poem I walk in the dark of the morning, just before a bit of moon and the few remaining stars give up their space in the sky to the first light of dawn. … [Read more...]
I’m querying again
Well, I've already sent out mini query letters to a couple of recommended prospective publishers. I've included information about my book and links to sample chapters of my memoir Leaving the Hall Light On, and I've told them I'll have all the files in native QuarkXpress and pdf. So if they want to add my book to their portfolios it should be a slam-dunk. Plus I'm not interested in another hardback run. I would prefer a paperback and/or e-book. I've also made a little pitch about my current writing work with links to my blogs Choices and Red Room, and to the PsychAlive and Naturally Savvy websites, where I blog every month. And now the waiting begins. I hate this part. The querying and waiting. I thought I wouldn't have to do it again until I'm ready to market my novel. And, now I wonder if it is even worth it. Readers, I need your advice on this one. Should I even try to find a new publisher or should I just go ahead and self-publish? What do you … [Read more...]
Farewell, Lucky Press! What’s next after a publisher quits?
Right in the midst of saying goodbye to friends from Tuscon on Saturday morning, I got the news that Lucky Press was going out of business on April 30 that's today! That announcement gave me a whole three day's notice. What a shock and what a scramble. It took me the better part of that day, a sleepless night, and until the next morning to get over it and consider this event an opportunity, not a disaster. First, I decided my book is way too important to abandon now. Actually I should have seen the writing on the wall when Janice, the owner of Lucky Press, informed me about a month ago that she would not produce my e-book in May as promised. She had been in ill health and just moved. Plus creating graphic designs seems to be her passion and provides her real livelihood. However, I was fortunate that she resonated with my book and offered to publish it. Her attention to detail with my text, photos, and book design was flawless. I am very proud of the book she produced. And it … [Read more...]
Yesterday’s beauty
Seven-thirty in the morning - after the rain - Manhattan Beach … [Read more...]
Create a Time Management Plan Platform Challenge Day 23
Robert Lee Brewer's platform challenge assignment for yesterday was to create a time management plan. He believes that we must manage our time so we can remain connected on our social networks and still spend the majority of our time writing. I have been fully aware of this ever since I retired from my day job in April 2010 and plunked myself in my chair at my home office and began my life as a full-time writer. Even though I allow myself a lot of time to write, I find myself wandering every so often to look at my email, check my Facebook comments and likes, see if anything is happening here at Choices, and respond to Twitter messages and retweets. I feel if I'm going to participate in the social media at all it's a matter of give and take. If someone gives to me, I have to give back. View from my office Just now I found a comment on an article that went live yesterday. If someone was generous enough to make a comment on my piece, I had to write a thank you right away, didn't … [Read more...]
LA Times Festival of Books – was it worth it?
I spent most the last couple of days at the LA Times Festival of Booksheld at the University of Southern California campus. And most of the time I hung at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society booth. I'm holding Paul's Putting a Face on Suicide poster I was pleased to bond with several of the GLAWS members who volunteered to provide hospitality to people interested in joining our group and to help those of us who paid for a selling and signing place at the booth. Here I am with author and actor, Ace Antonio Hall, my GLAWS colleague I also learned a thing or two about my author colleagues. Most were lovely and friendly but as expected kept to themselves and their customers during our signing sessions. However, the woman next to me used her space as well as mine until I told her next time she needs to pay for two places, not one. She didn't bat an eye and just leaned over my table space to yet again sign one of her posters for someone. But I won out in the end. My friends in … [Read more...]
Call to action – April Platform Challenge – Day 19
As part of the April Platform Challenge my task today is to ask you to do two things: Please click on the share buttons - they are big and prominent at the top of the right side bar on this page Please sign-up for my email feed see the little box just under the share buttons. It has room for you to type in your email address. Please click Submit when you've finished. And one more thing that is not part of my assignment: Please join me at the LA Times Festival of Books on the University of California campus either or both Saturday and Sunday June 21 and 22, from 12 noon until 2:00 pm. I'll be at the Greater Los Angeles Writer's Society booth number 970. Hopefully I'll be signing lots of copies of my book: Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide (Lucky Press, 2011). You can't miss me. I'm the one with the long gray hair. … [Read more...]
April poem a day challenge
In honor of National Poetry Month, Robert Lee Brewer, editor at Writer's Digest and creator of Poetic Asides, holds a poem a day challenge. I love to take the challenge because his prompts are always fun. He also provides his examples to help get us started. This month Robert has also created a platform building challenge through his blog: My Name Is Not Bob. I'm doing that one as well. Here are a few of my April PAD poems with Robert's prompts. Day 5.Write a poem about something before your time. Maybe it's a certain time in history. Or a type of music. Or a story that was shared by friends or familybefore your time. Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris brought back a world before my time and people that I would kill to have known: Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald Porter, Baker, Picasso, Man Ray, and Dali all in the raucous 1920s. And for a little more romantic and quiet take he took us even further back to the 1980s Belle Epoque and the artistic worlds … [Read more...]
The Kid with the Bike
I've always said my blog is eclectic, Well, today it will touch on a brand-new subject for me: a movie recommendation. I think I've been influenced by Ann Best's blog. Ann is doing the A to Z Golden Movies Challenge this month. Please check it out. We saw The Kid with the Bike over the weekend, and the sadness of the film still reverberates with me. It is the most stunning piece about rejection and abandonment that I've ever seen. Yet, I feel it has a hopeful ending. I don't want to give it all away. I'll just say it's about a kid, played brilliantly by the young actor Thomas Doret, who is blatantly rejected by his father. The town hairdresser, played by the beautiful Cecile De France, takes him in as her foster child. But before he can really accept her kindness he must act out his hurt, frustration, and disbelief about how his father has treated him. That part was very hard to watch because Thomas made it seem so real. The film, released in Belgium May 2011 in … [Read more...]
Please join me at the LA Times Festival of Books
I'm so excited. Next weekend I'll be participating as an author for the first time at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I'll hopefully be signing lots of books for the hordes of you who come by. I'll be at The Greater Los Angeles Writer's Society Booth Number 970 both Saturday April 21 and Sunday April 22 from 12 noon to 2:00 pm. Please let me sign my book for you. Just yesterday Leaving the Hall Light On got this fantastic 5-star review on Amazon: "An amazing exposition in prose and poetry of the anatomy and physiology of love, grief and fortitude. A must read!" And in case that doesn't convince you please take a look at my book trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TMOVHAmSlc … [Read more...]
My role model redux
I wrote about my Aunt Helen, my role model, on February 28, 2011, and it's time for an update. In a couple of months she will be ninety-six years old, and she's still as sharp as ever. Unfortunately she's not in good health now. She's been battling a lung infection that keeps recurring. I went to visit her in her rehabilitation hospital yesterday and in spite of everything going on with her, she is still beautiful. Even her physical therapist remarked about her beautiful eyes. Here she is at age eighteen - when everyone thought she looked like the movie star, Hedy LaMar. And here she is just a few months ago (sorry this photo isn't too clear). We are thinking lots of healing thoughts for her right now so she can get out of that noisy rehab place soon. … [Read more...]
Great news!
My memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide is now Number One in the bipolar and suicide prevention categories on Amazon. Here's the proof: … [Read more...]
April challenges update
I took a break over the weekend and caught up today with my two April challenges. The Platform Challenge Days 5 through 8: Day 5. Create a blog since you're reading this you know I already have a blog. I also post at several other blog sites you might not know about: http://redroom.com/member/madeline-sharples/blog/ - Red Room blog http://www.naturallysavvy.com/savvy-over-60 - Naturally Savvy Over 60 blog http://www.psychalive.org/index.php?s=madeline+sharples&image.x=15&image.y=7 - PsychAlive blog http://tlswriters.wordpress.com/ - The Last Sunday Writer's group blog Day 6. Comment on a blog: Robert LeeBrewer posted a few possible ways to respond (and he suggested linking back to our own blogs). I think these are great suggestions. I just need to learn to follow them: Share your own experience. If you've experienced something similar to what's covered in the post, share your own story. You don't have to write a book or anything, but maybe a paragraph or two. Add … [Read more...]
Challenges and writing work update
Yesterday and today's assignments for the April platform challenge were to accomplish things I had already done build a Facebook profile and give myself a Twitter name. I also have a Facebook author page. So I was ahead of the game there. However, Robert Lee Brewer is always very generous with his helpful hints. I'll give you the links to Day 3 and Day 4 here and you can visit both sites if you're interested in learning more. I feel that I know very little about how to use Twitter so I can use all the help I can get. I have, however, heard that Re-Tweets are golden. I had two yesterday that got to thousands of followers. I guess I'm doing something right. I'm also keeping up with my goal of writing 1000 words on my novel a week, and I'm now writing a poem a day for Robert Lee Brewer's other April challenge. The prompts are always interesting. Today's was: take the phrase 100% (blank), replace the blank with a word, make that the title of your poem, and then write a poem. So far … [Read more...]
April Platform Challenge – Day 2
Today's platform-building task is to set goals, including short-term and long-term goals. Robert Lee Brewer wants us to also make a list of goals to accomplish by the end of this year; and then, make a list of goals to accomplish before I die. Here are my goal lists: Short-term goals: Complete April Platform Challenge on My Name Is Not Bob blog Complete April PAD Challenge on Poetic Asides blog Get an ebook of my memoir ready for publication Submit poetry to chapbook and full-length book contests Have lots of sales at the LA Times Festival of Books Finish editing Keith Alan Hamilton's Nature IQ book of poetry Answer Daisy's questions for her SunnyRoomStudio blog Keep on with my social network marketing efforts Set up blog tour for release of my ebook Long-term goals (same as goals to accomplish by the end of 2012): Publish my ebook Produce and release a CD with Paul's music Finish my novel and find an agent for it Publish … [Read more...]
April Platform Challenge – Day 1
I've decided to enter Robert Lee Brewer's first ever April Platform Challenge. Anyone want to join me? Here's how he says it will work: On April 1, I'll post a task for writers to complete that day. (I didn't get April 1 until today) Each day afterward, through the month of April, there will be a new task for writers to complete on that day. At the end of the month, every writer who completes the challenge should have a stronger platform and be able to say they took part in the first ever April Platform Challenge. Day 1: Define yourself. I don't want you to worry about where you'd like to be or anything in the future. Instead, I want you to take a look at who you are, what you've done, what you're currently doing, etc. Below is a chart I'm using (with my own answers). Here's my information: Name (as used in byline): Madeline Sharples Position(s): Author of Leaving the Hall Light On (Lucky Press, 2011); Web journalist at Naturally Savvy and PsychAlive, … [Read more...]
Does anyone know how to save a baby hummingbird?
Our post lady rang our bell a while ago to tell us a hummingbird baby was on our front walkway. Because it looked so still I thought it was dead at first, but this little one is still very much alive, and actually opening its mouth and trying to flutter its wings. I moved it up to the garden area next to the path so it wouldn't get stepped on and tried to feed it some agave liquid. Without an eyedropper that ended up being a sloppy mess. I went back inside, watched a video online about how someone saved a little hummer by feeding it sugar water from an eye dropper and walking it around the plants in her garden. It practiced flying from her hand to her arm and back again. Pretty soon it was in a bush, flying from branch to branch. I improvised with a little squeeze bottle with a sugar water mix and went back outside. The bird let me hold it while it took some sips of the liquid drops I squeezed out. And it seems a bit rejuvenated now. It's moving about on the ground, but … [Read more...]
Rejection – another cause of a U-turn
Talk about a U-turn. This must be my week. Here I am facing that U-turn again, and I need to find a way to work myself out of it. It is so easy to get in the rejection doldrums. Any little thing can set it off an unreturned telephone call or email, someone saying they'll do something and they don't, and of course that actual dreaded rejection letter. I'm sure most of my creative readers know what that dreaded word is about it. You've probably experienced it. I know I have. I actually got sixty-eight rejections (by actual letter or by silence) before I got a publishing contract for my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. So I thought I was immune to it. Turns out I'm not. Rejection hurts. In the last month my work has received two rejection emails. And since these rejections were from anthologies I've been featured in before, my first reaction was Whoa, what am I doing wrong here? I better stop and rethink my course of action. Did I just say I'm taking a U-turn? I think … [Read more...]
