Linda Rosen, author of The Disharmony of Silence, is on Day 10 of her WOW! Women On Writing book blog tour. Choices is pleased to welcome her and her thoughts about how being outdoors helped inspire her creative self. I know the feeling. I walk outdoors a lot – especially to the beach – and I always welcome ideas the eventually become part of my creative material.
Here’s what Linda has to say:
Get Outdoors, Inspire Your Creative Self
by Linda Rosen
Why is it that I always come up with great dialogue while swimming laps with the sun glistening on the water? No, I’m not talking to myself out loud. Swimmers nearby would wonder about my sanity. It’s my characters who are talking to each other, in my head, and sometimes even arguing. Simply gliding through the water, hearing its soft splash as my hand reaches forward and slips down into the aqua pool, completing a stroke, relaxes my mind and when the mind is clear, creativity flows.
One doesn’t have to swim to create gems. Being alone outdoors, quieting your mind whether in a pool or lake, strolling through the woods or climbing a mountain, will stir your imagination. We all need to take a recess from life sometimes. Our brains are preoccupied with minutia, so clear your head. Make it a blank canvas. Breathe in the sweet air and your artistic side will take over.
I once went on a walk with my grand-dog Charley using only one of my five senses. I gave sight, smell, touch and taste a vacation, though I did look where I was going. I simply ignored shapes and colors and kicked up my sense of hearing. It was incredible how loud the sounds became.
Charley and I set off for the park where we walked along a macadam path cutting through the woods. We crossed an old wooden bridge over the rushing Saddle River to a chorus of cicadas. Their pulsing sound permeated the air, sizzling like potatoes thrown in a pot of hot oil. Charley stopped to do his business and I heard the hum of bicycle tires against the black-tarred pavement. Thankfully, the dog was off-road, squatting on the dirt so only I had to move aside. And then an image popped in my head, words took over, a story started to form. It wasn’t anything I wanted to write and the vision was not what I wanted to imagine. Yet, the words wouldn’t leave. Perhaps, if I hadn’t turned off the other four senses, I would have merely been glad Charley preferred dirt to hot tar and I would have had one less story in my portfolio.
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Summary of The Disharmony of Silence
In her desperate quest for family, Carolyn Lee is determined, against all advice, to reveal the shocking eighty-four-year-old secret she uncovered…until she realizes that “family” means more than blood.
In 1915, jealous, bitter Rebecca Roth cuts all ties with her life-long friends, the Pearls. Eight years later, Rebecca’s son and young Lena Pearl begin keeping company in secret. Rebecca agrees to a truce when the couple marries. But the truce is fragile. Rebecca’s resentments run deep.
In 2010, Carolyn Lee, fitness instructor and amateur photographer, must come to grips with the fact that her mother’s imminent death will leave her alone in the world. While preparing her childhood home for sale, she realizes for the first time that her mother’s antique brooch is identical to the one pinned to the lady’s dress in the painting hanging above the fireplace. Coincidence or connection? Carolyn is determined to find out. What she discovers has the potential to tear lives apart or to bring her the closeness and comfort she longs for. It all depends on how she handles her newfound knowledge.
Print Length:
Genre: Women’s Upmarket Fiction
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
ISBN-10: 1684334306
ISBN-13: 9781684334308
The Disharmony of Silence is now available to purchase at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Praise for The Disharmony of Silence
“Linda Rosen spins an intriguing tale of long-held family secrets, an emotional search for identity, and a painting that may just be the key to untangling the complicated past. The bittersweet mystery kept me reading rapidly until the last page!” —Kristin Harmel, bestselling author of The Winemaker’s Wife
Rosen paints a vivid picture of a family torn apart then shows us what true family means. – Pamela Taylor, author of the Second Son Chronicles
A wonderful novelist . . . Ms. Rosen’s writing is both tender and inspiring. The Disharmony of Silence unfolds with emotional and wise insights. – Bunny Shulman, author of After Aida
“A family torn apart by jealousy and reunited by love is devastated again when tragedy strikes. A poignant and moving debut novel about the fragility of life, the power of love, and the cost of keeping a secret.” Gina Sorell author of Mothers and Other Strangers
About the Author, Linda Rosen
Linda Rosen, fitness professional turned writer, lives with her husband splitting their time between New Jersey and Florida. She was a contributor to Women in the Literary Landscape: A WNBA Centennial Publication for the Women’s National Book Association and has had stories published in Foliate Oak and Crack the Spine, both in their online magazine and print anthology. Follow her at www.linda-rosen.com.
Thanks for being with us today, Linda. We wish you much success
with your new book.
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