Articles and Essays

Of Intimacy, Revelation and Redemption…

In my recent interview with Tabitha Vinson of Praise and Worship ICU (PWICU), we discussed human intimacy, an aspect that, for Tabitha, played heavily in my recent novel, The House.

That night, it struck me that as with The House, and all good works of fiction, intimacy plays an important role in not simply the emotional narrative of a story.

Intimacy heavily contributes to the establishment of the opening of a work of fiction.

Through presenting the protagonist in a series of intimate relationships, readers get to know the personality of the central character, flaws and all.

From this we gain entrance into their yearnings.

And yearnings always relate to desires and wants, ultimately inner conflicts that get ignited once the protagonist enters the quest to achieve her or his goal.

Of Intimacy, Revelation and Redemption… Read More »

Of Intimacy, Purpose and Healing…

Most recently I gave an interview on blog talk radio with Tabitha Vinson of Praise and Worship ICU (PWICU).

During our discussion of my recent novel, The House, Tabitha asked me to explain intimacy, an aspect that, for her, played heavily in The House.

Immediately I thought of what Marianne Williamson writes of Intimacy in her book, Illuminata. (pp. 151-153)

….

The purpose of intimate partnership is to midwife the perfection in each other.

The point of love is to reveal to us the light inside. …

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“The House” | Listed in 2010 Conversations’ Top 100 Books

Since 2008 Conversations’ “Top 100 Books” has been recognized for being the largest list each year that fairly gathers the best titles released by traditional publishing houses, small presses and even self-published authors worldwide of all genres and gives them the due they deserve.

Cyrus Webb, the founder of the Conversations brand, has been an avid reader all of his life and has worked hard to make sure that there is something on the list for everyone.
This year there were so many great books that Webb had a chance to enjoy that he decided to add two new features in 2010: a Children’s/Young Adult category and a Honorable Mention category for both fiction and non-fiction.

Webb also has included the publishing houses for each title to make is easier for you to identify.
Here are this year’s honorees: http://conversationsmag.blogspot.com/2010/10/cyrus-webb-presents-conversations-top.html
The House, listed #41 in Fiction
Thank you, Cyrus, for this honor.

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Cheryl Snell–Why Do I Write and What Is My Process?

Cheryl Snell is a poet and literary fiction writer, author of seven poetry collections, a book of short stories, and two novels.

She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times, had work chosen for inclusion in the Sundress Best of the Net Anthology, and, in collaboration with her sister Janet, won the Lopside Press chapbook competition for Prisoner’s Dilemma, a collection of art and poetry on game theory.

She can be reached at cherylsnell3@gmail.com

Cheryl keeps two blogs, one devoted to poetry and her sister’s art at http://www.snellsisters.blogspot.com; the other an author’s blog for her debut novel at http://www.shivasarms.blogspot.com

The novel, Shiva’s Arms (The Writer’s Lair Books) explores the relationship between an American woman and her Hindu Brahmin in-laws.
“When I first met my new family, this passage from Wonderland’s Alice popped into my head– “What if I should fall right through the center of the earth…oh, and come out the other side, where people walk upside down?”

I knew the basics—don’t touch the men, no shoes in the house, have a fry pan uncontaminated by meat handy. But there were an overwhelming number of ambiguities to sift through, from the comic head-shaking that looked like No but meant Yes, to the serious conflict between freedom and family.

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Of Shrinking Advances, Entertainment, and That Which Remains Present in Translation…

One of the things we learn as psychotherapists is to interpret what clients are actually saying vs. the words they speak.

This is not to say that clients lie. I have found those with whom I have worked to be incredibly honest. They were investing a substantial amount of time and money into their sessions to learn more about themselves and how they could achieve their goals and dreams.

And yet we all have our defenses.

As a client myself, I have benefited enormously from psychotherapists who could see through my defenses and careful choice of words and lead me to the heart of the truth ebbing or perhaps bleeding through.

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Stacy-Deanne | I Say I Love Writing, But Maybe I’m Just Insane

I never intended to become a writer. It started as a fluke.
I’d always loved reading, had a big imagination and talent for crafting stories but hadn’t inspired to do it professionally until I turned nineteen and got my first computer.
From that moment another world opened up to me.
My very first story started from a vision of this boy on the beach. I just couldn’t get this out of my head.
Everyday I added to that scene and before long I had my first finished novel.
After seeing that nothing else had ever made me feel so good as writing I decided to try to become a published author.

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Kimberly Cain | Author, Musician, Artist

HEAVEN, a novel (& music CD) by Kimberly Cain 2010

Heaven is a novel about the nature of God as seen through the eyes of an exotic dancer.
It is a story of healing the perceived separation between the sacred & the sexual self.

The modern-day Eve is intent on questioning accepted religious norms and presenting her unique ideas about humanity’s relationship to the Divine.

What if the mythical Serpent was really a savior, inviting humanity to awaken from a mindless existence?

What if Eve was a heroine, courageous enough to buck the system and take the Serpent up on his offer to bust out of the cage?



Eve discovers her power to discern truth from falsehood at the hands of her religiously abusive foster family.

She chooses to release her light into a dark world by combining her love for music and dance, stripping naked as a symbol of fearlessly unmasking her true Self.

Her passion for challenging society’s labels as representations of “truth” brings controversial and dangerous repercussions from club patrons, cops, and religious zealots.

Kimberly Cain | Author, Musician, Artist Read More »