I think it's time to remind my readers that I have written a few books besides all this blog stuff. Here's some information about a couple of them: Papa's Shoes: A Polish shoemaker and his family settle in small-town America - an award winning historical novel published in April 2019. Here's a few comments about this five-star rated book. "From an insightful storyteller, Papa's Shoes, is a heartwarming story of courage and love. Author Madeline Sharples has created an epic journey with intriguing twists and surprises along the way. From days of old in Poland to cultural and economic realities in America, this is an awe-inspiring novel about families, generational history, and the incredible power of change. You truly won't want to put it down!" --D.A. Hickman, author of Ancients of the Earth: Poems of Time "Author Madeline Sharples tells the intimate story of an American family, of immigration, tragedy, renewal, and love with grace and the delicate touch of a poet. There's a raw … [Read more...]
Progress report
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about all the products I need to complete and get to my new publisher, Aberdeen Bay so my novel, Papa's Shoes can be published. And I'm definitely closing in on it. The list included the following: 1. Author photo 2. Author bio 3. Cover art 4. Reviews for back cover 5. Book synopsis (short and long version) 6. Dedication 7. Acknowledgement 8. Book cover and synopsis for your previously published books And as of today I've finished all but two - the cover art and all the reviews for the back cover. I've found several photos that I think could work for the cover but I don't know their source for getting permission to use them. To combat that problem I'm going to meet with an artist friend of mine and maybe she can reinvent one of these photos so I don't have to worry about getting permission at all. I'm very excited to work with her because I love her very creative and unique work. Here's one of the … [Read more...]
Launching a CD takes months
For the last several days I've been on a mission to finish all the online paperwork necessary to produce the CD of my son Paul's music. On July 11, I wrote that the CD was almost ready, giving credit to the folks who have helped me with this project. However, little did I know how much more work I had to do. Doing the job of picking out the music, enhancing the music, and building the CD took months. While producer Patrick von Wiegandt made the music sound so professional he also provided his expertise about what the launching of a CD entails. Early on he directed me to two sites: CDBaby for digital sales NationwideDisc to produce hard copy CDs complete with a sleeve with front and back cover art (artfully created by my photographer friend, Paul Blieden). It literally took me months to fill our their very detailed forms. I won't go into all the gory details here. Let it suffice to say, that I've just finished hopefully in enough time to have everything ready for the … [Read more...]
Paul Blieden, master photographer
Although he didn't know it, when Paul Blieden invited me to write the poems for his photography book, The Emerging Goddess, he helped save my creative life. At that time I was still writing dark mourning poems for my dead son. As soon as I said yes to Paul's request, my writing turned a corner. When I realized I could write about something other than the death of my son and my memories of him, I climbed out of the deep funk I was in. I loved The Emerging Goddess project as I love the rest of Paul Blieden's photography. His subject matter is endlessly varied. He has done head shots, fashion, fine art, travel, and nature photography since 2001 and has enjoyed every minute. During this time he became a member of the Los Angeles Art Association and was on its board; a member of the Palos Verdes Art Center where he was president of both the Photography and Digital Artist group and the Artist Open Group. He is currently a member of the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society and an avid … [Read more...]
Paul’s CD is almost ready
Last December I wrote that I was intent on putting out a compact disc of my son Paul's music and have all proceeds go to charities that work toward erasing the stigma of mental illness and/or preventing suicide. And I am pleased to say that it is almost ready to go. My plan now is to launch it sometime in the week of September 23 to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of Paul's death. As the date gets closer, I'll let you know where and when the launch will take place. I must credit the three people who have helped make this project a reality: Martin Borsanyi, Paul's friend from their Crossroads high school jazz ensemble days, copied all of Paul's music from the original cassette tapes that Paul left us onto CDs Patrick von Wiegandt, a brilliant recording artist and singer and musician (he leads a band called Swanky), produced and engineered all the songs. He also helped me pick the songs for the CD and the order in which they will appear. Paul Blieden, photographer … [Read more...]
Aging goddesses in my heart
How old would you be if you didn't know your age. Golda Meir A dear friend's mother died this week. She was ninety-five. I only met her one time, but I heard she had a good long life. She lived in the retirement home where another friend's ninety-three-year-old mother lives. My aunt lives there too. She's going on ninety-eight. And I still see her as the beauty she was in her thirties, forties, and fifties. I wrote the poems for Paul Blieden's book of photography, The Emerging Goddess. I dedicate this poem to these ladies. They are in my heart. Aging Goddesses The crones our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, old friends, and teachers walk arm in arm in pairs each one supporting the other on the old cobble-stoned streets. They are squat, stout with veiny legs and thick ankles, their bare feet in flat sandals showing jagged toenails or clothed in thick hose and wide oxfords. Some move slowly barely able to walk, clutching each other for … [Read more...]
Aging Goddesses
I think it makes sense to post a poem about age, having just celebrated a birthday. This is one of a series I wrote for The Emerging Goddess, to accompany Paul Blieden's beautiful photography. Aging Goddesses The crones our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, old friends, and teachers walk arm in arm in pairs each one supporting the other on the old cobble-stoned streets. They are squat, stout with veiny legs and thick ankles, their bare feet in flat sandals showing jagged toenails or clothed in thick hose and wide oxfords. Some move slowly barely able to walk, clutching each other for support. They are perfectly coifed. Their hair short and bleached hides their age but not too much. They wear suits with skirts always below their knees. Jeans just don't do. They talk as they walk closely together. Almost in a whisper they solve the world's problems, impart their age-old wisdom or decide what they'll cook for dinner. They wear their age as an … [Read more...]
