Sep
11
2009
Book 1: Butterfly - Tia Brooks at 11 years old, discovering boys, getting her monthly cycle and learning who to trust and what is real.
Book 2: Wolf - Tia Brooks in her thirties, discovering herself.
Book 3: Raven - Tia Brooks! But how old and what is her journey of discovery about this time? All in good time; of course. But I’d like to hear your thoughts…what do you think will be Raven’s topic? If you guess correctly, you might just win something!
Hmm….
Sep
11
2009
It is interesting to me that in the process of writing my books I have managed to discuss some of my main childhood fears. I did not set out or intend to do so, but perhaps this is my way of letting go of the demons! Of course by now everyone knows of my greatest fear of dolls coming to life. Stop laughing. I still say watch any scary movie and you will see at least one scary looking doll or ESPECIALLY clown doll! There is a reason for this: they are freaky and deceptively inanimate!
Butterfly begins with our heroine cleaning out her closets. Wolf begins with our heroine hiding in a closet. Guess what? I was also afraid of closets. Funny that the heroine is not scared while in her closets and yet each story begins and ends with her in it. If my closet door was not shut completely, I couldn’t sleep…even into my thirties. Maybe I shouldn’t have shared that? Oh well, its out there now.
Another more subconscious fear that seems to come up throughout my books is that of abandonment and being left alone. I think a lot of people can relate to this fear. One doesn’t have to be a child to feel it. I hope that in Wolf I was able to find that nice balance of feeling “okay” with finding one’s alone time and being with one’s self.
But what I thought would be fun would be for us to share some childhood fears and how you have overcome them…or maybe not overcome them. I think what’s important is to know that no fear is silly or undeserving. Fears are real and by acknowledging them we can begin to discover their true meaning and hopefully let them go.
So, what are your childhood fears?
Sep
11
2009
Yoga in America, published in 2009, is an interesting mix of short-stories, essays and poems from some of America’s Yoga teachers. And guess what? I’m in it! Not just IN it, but my essay is the very first in the book. And when I asked how that came about, I was told that my essay embodied exactly what the publishers were trying to say.
What an honor.
Yoga in America is an interesting look at Yoga through the eyes of many successful teachers. Although Yoga enthusiasts would most definitely enjoy it, I believe even beginners and those with absolutely no experience with Yoga would find it an enlightening read.
The best part? Proceeds from the sale of the book go to fallen fire-fighters. A poinient thought given today’s date.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy, I have several on hand at One Yoga & Wellness Center. Stop by or make arrangements for me to mail you one. And as always, thank you for your support of my writing career.
Sep
11
2009
Wolf is the second book in what I envision as a trilogy of discovery for our heroine Tia Brooks. While Butterfly concentrated on a pivital point in her life when Tia began her transformation from the shy, uncertain little girl (caterpillar) to the beginning of her journey into womanhood, finding her own voice and discovering boys, truths and what is truly “real;” Wolf rejoins Tia at a point when she is older and yet not much wiser.
In Wolf, Tia reconnects with her friends and family and sets about to determine what she truly wants in her life and how to find real meaning in it. While Butterfly tackled the “tween” years, Wolf jumps ahead and takes a look at the single girl in her thirties.
Sep
11
2009
Butterfly is the 1st book in what I envision as a trilogy for our heroine Tia Brooks. Butterfly begins as an older, married Tia Brooks packs her house in preparation for moving. In this process of clearing out her house she discovers an old box in her closet marked “Dolls.” Immediately she is transported back to when she was eleven years old, growing up in a small southern NJ town. And thus we follow her journey of transformation from the shy, uncertain little girl into the beginning of her maturity to womanhood.
My second book, Wolf, finds Tia now in her thirties and battling to find meaning to her life after a gut-wrenching break-up. It is a story of self-discovery through both reconnecting with family and friends and using her own intuition.
My third book with a working title of Raven once again will rejoin Tia and eventually tie all three books together.
Many people commented that Butterfly seemed to end without an ending. My only comment to them is to follow through the trilogy. In the end, everything will come together.
Sep
11
2009
Excerpt from Introduction:
“Tia began to cry softly, heavily moved by the experience that she was having. She felt connected completely with this animal as if it she were truly there in the clearing with it, experiencing the visualization first-hand. But it was more than that. There was something in the animal’s eyes that told her she couldn’t hide any more – hide her thoughts, her feelings or her hopes and dreams. No, looking into his eyes, Tia knew that for the first time she had truly been seen. This was not just an animal. This was an old teacher that had come to lead her back to herself. And as welcoming as this feeling was, it was also quite overwhelming.”
And so begins Tia Brooks journey. In my second novel, Tia learns that her animal spirit guide is a wolf through an ancient Lakota Indian meditation. Throughout the book each time Tia encounters this spirit guide, she is reminded by this old teacher to trust her intuitive self.
Native American Indians have long honored Wolf energy in their culture. The Wolf is revered as a great teacher and healer as it helps to establish balance and harmony in our lives. The Wolf is an animal tremendously loyal to its family or “pack.” It is intelligent, social and ritualistic in its mannerisms.
The Wolf is aligned to the moon and thus to Lunar energies which teach us to respect our urges, emotions and our unspoiled child-like nature. Wolf represents a need or willingness to accept the darkness within the self. Lunar energies rule the psyche and psychic perceptions, so Wolf medicine teaches us to listen to our own intuition, especially when our mind seems to be compelling us to think otherwise.
Each time Wolf shows up in my novel, it is to help guide Tia through a pivital stage in her life. In fact, the entire book is a pivital stage of Tia’s life as she begins her journey by breaking up with her boyfriend of seven-years, the man that she was convinced was her soul-mate and the love of her life and begins a soul-searching quest to determine just who she is. This journey of self-discovery leads Tia to reconnect with her girlfriends or her “loyal pack” and through their help realize that she is a strong, capable woman. But of what? And thus Tia’s journey to find meaning to her life and to connect to the truth within herself really begins.