I am honored to be the featured author for October on LitChic. I was fun to be interviewed by Kylie. She asked so many interesting questions that made me really think about my writing process and how I see writing as an ongoing pursuit.
Author: Elizabeth Hein
Elizabeth Hein is a mother, author, and cancer survivor. She writes women's fiction with a bit of a sharp edge. She is fascinated by how friendship and human connection can help a person through the most difficult moments in their lives. When not writing, she is trying to raise two young women and a husband.
Look for her books - How To Climb The Eiffel Tower, Escape Plan, and Overlook.
Launch party and updates
We had a lovely time at the launch party for How To Climb The Eiffel Tower.
I was overjoyed that we had such a nice crowd for a short reading and question and answer period. After the months of preparation, it was great to finally be able to talk with people about the book. The folks at our local Barnes & Noble were extremely gracious and even found more chairs when we ran out. Thanks, Val.
On another note, I have several guest posts running this week. Check out these blogs to read my posts, then click around a bit and get to know Eileen and Julie.
Guest post on Booktalk With Eileen
How To Climb The Eiffel Tower
Book blurb:
Lara Blaine believes that she can hide from her past by clinging to a rigid routine of work and exercise. She endures her self-imposed isolation until a cancer diagnosis cracks her hard exterior. Lara’s journey through cancer treatment should be the worst year of her life. Instead, it is the year that she learns how to live. She befriends Jane, another cancer patient who teaches her how to be powerful even in the face of death. Accepting help from the people around her allows Lara to confront the past and discover that she is not alone in the world. With the support of her new friends, Lara gains the courage to love and embrace life. Like climbing the Eiffel Tower, the year Lara meets Jane is tough, painful, and totally worth it.
How I Found The Write Path collection now available
You may remember a few months back, I contributed to a project where I was asked to give advice to a younger version of myself regarding my writing career. Well, the project is complete. Carrie Butler and PK Hrezo did a wonderful job putting the collection together and I am honored to be included in its pages.
Here is what Carrie said about the project. –
Hey there, fellow writer!
Here’s the lowdown on this project: To celebrate my third blogoversary, I decided to pay it forward by inviting the writing/blogging community to help those just starting on their publishing journey. Why? Because it’s one of the most crucial periods in a writer’s life—full of nerves and hope we refuse to acknowledge. We’ve all been there.
That’s why over sixty of us have written letters to our past selves, candidly sharing things we don’t always discuss in public. The hope is that those of you who haven’t published will learn from our experiences. And those of you who have published? Well, you just might realize you’re not alone.
Let’s keep this going. 🙂
– Carrie Butler
P.S. I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend and fellow compiler, P.K. Hrezo. She really helped rally support for this project!
Please share this project with your writing friends. It is filled with great advice.
Where to pick up your copy of this free compilation:
► Amazon Kindle (US)
► Barnes & Noble Nook
► Kobo
► iTunes
► Smashwords
► Txtr
► Scribd
► Amazon Kindle (UK)
► Amazon Kindle (AU)
Someday is Today
September is Blood Cancer Awareness month. Every seven minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a type of lymphoma—that is why it is so important to not only raise awareness for this disease, but to fund cutting-edge research to one day find a cure. If you would like to donate to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, click on the link. They are making great strides toward finding a cure.
Even though I write about cancer, I have not talked about my own cancer very much. I am one of the over 700,000 Americans currently living with, or in remission from, the different types of lymphoma. I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2002 at the age of 34. I was older than the average Hodgkins patient. Many of the other patients I met were teenagers. A few times, a nurse or technician looked around the waiting room assuming I was the mother of the patient, rather than being the patient. As the mother of two young girls at the time, my heart went out to the moms and dads sitting in the waiting rooms with their children. I’m sure they would have traded places with their child any day.
Thankfully, there was an effective treatment regimen of chemotherapy and radiation when I was diagnosed. The treatments were awful, but effective. I quickly went into remission and have been cancer free since 2002. In the last decade, research has shown that less harsh regimens are as effective, so people diagnosed today have an even better prognosis than I did.
Please, be aware of the symptoms of lymphoma (swollen lymph nodes, unexplained fever, weight loss, night sweats, lack of energy, itchy skin) and take them seriously. Early detection is key in successfully treating cancer of all types.
Be well.
Book Review – People I Want To Punch in the Throat
A hilarious new book by Jen Mann is appearing in bookstores everywhere today. I read an advanced copy of it a month or so ago and loved it.
People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, and Other Suburban Scourges by Jen Mann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I would hang out in the carpool line with Jen Mann any day. This collection of snarky stories made me laugh out loud. I felt like Mann had been looking over my shoulder during PTA fundraisers and poking fun at the the funny things we saw. Jen Mann’s take on the convoluted politics of PTA’s and play groups is hilariously spot on. She gives us a glimpse into the ridiculousness of mom’s groups and modern day Tupperware parties with the honesty only found in a true insider.
This would be a perfect book to keep in your tote to read while waiting in the car pool line or while your kids are at their many lessons.
This review originally appeared on Goodreads. I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Visit Jen’s hilarious blog at People I Want To Punch In The Throat
elizabethhein.com 