I'm pleased to be hosting a blog stop for Phyllis Schieber's virtual book tour for her latest novel, a satisfying ode to the power of female friendship.  However, since the mothership gets way more traffic than this poor little stepchild of a blog, I've decided to host the tour over there.

Click here for all the scoop on this fun novel!

We are once again pleased to be a part of a Promo 101 Virtual Blog Spot Tour, and today's guest is Mark Tewart, author of How To Be A Sales Superstar.

Please don't roll you eyes at the word "sales," because, as Tewart explans, there is nothing more important than sales and marketing: "The world as you know it exists because of sales. If someone, somewhere, somehow is not selling every single day, you wouldn’t have food to eat, a car to drive, or a house to live in. We can live a day without the skills of a lawyer, or even a doctor but you can’t live even one single day without the skills of a salesperson."

Food for thought, eh? And never have sales been more important to master than right now, as we suffer through a recession that came on fast and hard. You ignore mastering the art of sales at your own peril. Here's a bit more info about the book,and be sure to scroll to the end to find out where to get a look at the first chapter and some great bonuses:

How to Be a Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It A handy guide that every sales professional or business person can use to become a sales superstar. These days, making the sale is tougher than ever. That's why sales professionals and business owners need more than just smooth talk to make it in the business. Selling is a job that requires an updated toolkit for real, lasting success.

How to Be a Sales Superstar teaches salespeople all the specialized skills they need to be a superstar and shows them how to implement those skills immediately. Readers will master the people skills necessary to relate to prospects and read their meaning; the life skills needed to be successful at any endeavor; the marketing skills to draw in new customers and keep the old ones; and the sales skills to eliminate objections and close the deal.

You can become a sales superstar—and get rich doing it.

About Mark Tewart Mark Tewart is renowned expert on sales, sales marketing, sales management and creating a high performance life. Mark is a motivational speaker, consultant, coach, entrepreneur and owner of four businesses, and author of "How To Be A Sales Superstar - Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It" published by Wiley which is available in book stores and Amazon.

Mark has spoken to over 2,000 audiences in the last fifteen years. Also, Mark has published hundreds of articles in numerous trade magazines and authored numerous books, audios, videos and online training materials. Mark has had a top ranked Satellite TV show and been interviewed by magazines, newspapers, radio and TV shows across the world.

Mark Tewart’s websites include: www.marktewartlive.com, www.marktewart.com and www.howtobeasalessuperstar.info

To read the first chapter of How to be a Sales Superstar and to receive several FREE bonuses from Mark Tewart, visit www.marktewartlive.com.

Full tour details are posted at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-be-sales-superstar-by-mark.html

Here's an interview with Larina:

1. As business owners, why do we need to become confident leaders?

Whether you own a business of 1 (you) or 1,000, you are the leader—of yourself, your business, your life. As a leader, your confidence will determine what you achieve as well as how others respond to you and your business.

In terms of business growth, your confidence will enable you to take on key challenges in growing your business, such as:

* Describing the benefits of your business and educating others why they should do business with you.
* Getting yourself to do the marketing activities that you want to avoid (things like public speaking, networking, running a blog) but you know would help you build your business.
* Inspiring others (your employees, virtual assistants, contractors) to stay motivated and see the big picture.
* Presenting your business from a standpoint of conviction and value (which attracts others and makes them want to do business with you) rather than insecurity or desperation.

2. How can we tell if we (or others) lack confidence?

The number one thing to look for is avoidance. When people have confidence, they will take on all sorts of things, feeling secure that even if they “fail,” they’ll work it out. On the other hand, when we lack confidence, we tend to avoid situations when we fear we could fail, embarrass ourselves, or let ourselves or others done.

Keep in mind that avoidance can be subtle. It may not be as obvious as declining to participate in a project. More often, we’ll attempt something but do it half-heartedly or rely on crutches.

For example, let’s say that you lack confidence in your ability to introduce yourself. You may not avoid it (you know you can’t sit there and say nothing), but you use the crutches of speaking really fast, looking down, and not saying an interesting fact about yourself.

Or let’s say that someone lacked confidence about confronting people and having difficult conversations. She may attempt to confront someone but she tries so hard to be nice and not offend that person (her crutch) that she lacks assertiveness and doesn’t express her needs.

3. What if we come across as too confident?

Many people worry about appearing arrogant and would rather appear less confident than over-confident. In reality, it is often a lack of confidence that makes people come across as over-confident.

When we lack confidence, we tend to overcompensate. And it is the overcompensation makes people look over-confident (or look like they’re trying too hard) and puts others off.

If someone is worried that he will come across as unintelligent, he’ll try to use fancy language, and will look like he thinks he’s so smart. If someone worries that she will come across as boring, she will try to be interesting, and will look like she loves to talk about herself.

There are exceptions. Sometimes people actually are arrogant and have an inflated image of themselves. You would know if this were you because you’d think that you can do no wrong, your opinion of yourself would be higher than others (you’d be shocked by Bs on papers or performance reviews that were not 100% glowing). You’d dominate conversations and not be interested in others’ viewpoints. If this is you, then these things need to change. If this is not you, then you really don’t need to worry.

4. What are 3 simple things we can do to build our confidence?

1. Develop your growth mindset. This is your ability to ask yourself questions like, “What can I learn?” from situations regardless of their outcome and NOT to judge yourself from the outcome.
2. Take on strategic challenges. Push yourself about 20% past your comfort zone by seeking out and taking on challenges (not just dealing with them as they arise).
3. Give yourself credit. Reward your efforts (not your results) when you have done something difficult.

5. I’m not a business leader- should I check out The Confident Leader?

This book is really more about leading yourself than leading others. It’s about challenging yourself, pushing your boundaries, staying motivated, and standing out. There’s a detailed description (and some great bonuses) here:

http://www.ConfidentLeaderBook.com 

2008 Little, Brown and Company
$22.95

Reviewed by Paula Harris

A mother and her three children walk from the nearest bus stop to their isolated country home. It’s a beautiful, warm day in late summer. The mother struggles down the rough, road with the baby, Joseph, in a stroller, the other two children, Jessica, 8 and Joanna, 6, run along side with the family dog. They stop for a small picnic while the mother nurses the baby before walking on. Before they’ve gone very far, they see a young man approaching, walking very fast. Though they try to flee, the young man catches and kills them. All except Joanna, who obeys her mother’s last scream and runs as fast and as far as she can into the ripe wheat.

Skip thirty years to the present. Jackson Brodie, whom Atkinson fans will remember from the author’s previous books, Case Histories and One Good Turn, who cannot believe that the child borne by his ex-girl friend, Julia, is not his child. No matter what Julia says. We find him in a small northern England village, determined to get proof.

Skip to present day Edinburgh and meet Reggie Chase, a brilliant, newly orphaned girl of sixteen, struggling to cope with the death of her mother, a sociopath brother, and to continue her education. Through Reggie, we meet Mrs. MacDonald and Dr. Joanna Hunter and family.  Mrs. MacDonald tutors Reggie toward her academic goals and Dr. Hunter employs her as a mother’s helper, which keeps the rent paid.

Skip Back to Jackson Brodie who has somehow lost his way on a moorland road. After some wandering and maundering, he does find his way to the A1 Motor Way and civilization.

Skip to another part of Edinburgh, where we find DCI Louise Monroe, also a character from One Good Turn, now working a domestic violence case that seems to have nothing to do with any of the foregoing.

At this point, though I’m a fairly patient reader, I begin to wonder where on earth Kate is going with all this? But I love Kate Atkinson’s work, I truly do. My faith in her as a writer keeps me plowing on instead of taking the book back to the library.

Trust pays off. It doesn’t take much more reading for Ms. Atkinson to bring it all together in a believable, interesting and unpredictable way so that the last half of the novel is fairly intense. Taken all together, When Will There Be Good News? is a most enjoyable read.  And the ending leaves the reader knowing that there’s much more to be heard from several of the main characters. 

Maybe in the next book; hope so. I will be watching when the next offering from Kate Atkinson is due. And I will look forward to that book, too. I just hope that next time, she doesn’t skip around quite so much or take quite so long to let the reader see how the different elements of the story fit together. Or, if she must use this technique that she or an editor will prune out some of the overly long naval gazing by various characters. One page can tell as much as ten about what a character is experiencing and feeling, as Ms Atkinson herself quite capably demonstrates at her best.

Paula Harris had the fabulous good fortune to be born and raised in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, and also the luck to have lived in most of the major cities up and down the west coast in years past. She has been happily back home in Oregon for some years now. Happy mom of four sons, adoring grandmother of six, she lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, her old cat, and her books, with the detritus of her many other hobbies and projects scattered comfortingly in and around the house.

Combining the knowledge of physics with intuitive practice is no small task. The two disciplines often use the same words to mean entirely different things. Written for the seeker with more than a casual interest, The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom demystifies complex ideas with intelligent analogies and examples designed to appeal to both the scientist and the natural intuitive.

Four years in the writing, this expansive new work combines knowledge from the physical sciences and the intuitive arts to present a visionary perspective that harmonizes these diverse disciplines into one body of knowledge.

With a well-researched approach to its subjects, The Sage Age covers a broad range of material from ancient to modern thought, frontier science and current intuitive practice to deliver a depth and breadth of understanding that culminates in a holistic perspective for our time.

Living up to its mantra of "new models for new thought," The Sage Age is certain to be a catalyst for dialogue and is destined to be a major work in its field.  

MaAnna Stephenson Bio

While currently known as a visionary thinker and new author, MaAnna Stephenson is a true Renaissance woman. From an early age she was exposed to a myriad of influences including her father's engineering and artistic endeavors, her maternal line of intuitives, and an intrinsic fascination with sound and music. Born in the small town of Humboldt, Tennessee, MaAnna began her journey as the youngest of three children with a huge age gap between her siblings and herself. Constant inclusion in the world of adults led to an early maturity and perhaps a different view of the world than most children experience – especially with the special gifts of the adults in her family. None of it was lost on young MaAnna. "My mother was also an intuitive, as
were all the women in my immediate family. Having psychic senses was quite normal and the information derived from these methods was respected and adhered to. I became accustomed quite early to the fact that there were things - forces and powers - which could not be measured with a ruler but were just as real as anything I could see or touch."

An additional gift was bestowed by her paternal grandmother – the gift of music. Time spent at the organ with her grandmother, who was well known for her passion for music, ignited a flame in MaAnna as well. By the time she was a teenager, she was already a multi-instrumentalist and composer, exploring sounds and techniques with special interest in how they affected listeners spiritually and emotionally. Her advanced education continued this line of exploration as she attended Jackson State Community College and Lambuth University concurrently, double majoring in Music and Acoustics with a special apprenticeship at a local recording studio as a sound engineer.

MaAnna transferred to Jackson Area Vocational and Technical School, acquiring a degree in Electronics. This led to a prestigious job offer and subsequent move to Dallas, TX in 1984. She continued her work in sound engineering and music with several international hits to her credit.

After a decade in the big city, she accepted a field assignment in Nashville, TN where she has resided since. It was in Nashville that she began her writing career with a short story triggering what she calls "soul memories." In response to her experience, MaAnna began her self-education in the fields of technical, scientific and New Age thought, exploring ancient mysticism and the rational sciences with equal emphasis. After a five-year preparation period, she was initiated as a shamanka. Her training for this initiation further contributed to her education process as she continued her studies in reconciling the rational sciences and the intuitive arts. This process has culminated in the writing of the newly released "The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom".

While maintaining this intense pace, MaAnna has somehow found time to feed her inner artist, working in stained glass, wood carving and, of course, continuing to indulge her love of music. A member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, she considers herself a "bridge builder" as well as an artist, composer, scholar and author. Her current focus on "new models for new thought" is leading her to develop interactive classes that continue to explore the concepts in "The Sage Age".

And finally, here is an article by MaAnna about one of my favorite new sources of fascination, The Hadron Collider.

The Mythos of the Large Hadron Collider
by MaAnna Stephenson

Billions of years from now, a father and his young daughter may be enjoying the twinkling beauty of a clear summer night when she asks, “Dad, how did all those stars get there?” To which he will reply, “It all started with a big bang.” Today, as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ramps up to speed, speculations abound as to whether science is on the verge of the biggest breakthrough in history or on the event horizon of creating a black hole. Even some physicists are concerned that while we think we are safely recreating only the first instant of the Big Bang, we may actually be hitting the “Reset” button on the entire cycle of creation instead.

High energy particle colliders are nothing new. The first ones were developed in the 1930s and called cyclotrons. This type of device used large magnets to guide and accelerate particles ever faster through a spiral configuration. By the early 1940s, such a device was used to enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. The cyclotrons were eventually developed into extreme high-energy particle colliders which were the biggest machines ever conceived and can only be seen in their entirety from the air because, instead of spiral tracks, they use full circles that are miles wide. They are often referred to as “atom smashers” because they send two particles at high speed around a circle in opposite directions and then document their collision. There are currently seventy-five particle colliders located on six continents around the world. Of the largest, one is the International Linear Collider located at Fermilab. The other is the Large Hadron Collider built for CERN, which is the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The expanded use of so many colliders opened the door for multiple research projects revealing the existence of one new particle after another. Of course, with every new particle came its anti-particle twin. The cornucopia of new particle discovery was so plentiful that it eventually became known as “the particle zoo.” It’s important to realize that few, if any, of these anti-particles have actually been recorded. They are merely theorized to keep the mathematical equations balanced. This same sort of theoretical balancing act is also applied to the existence of many fields and forces. For every force, there must be a particle to carry it. Conversely, every new particle found by the colliders must be associated with a force.

The most elusive of these particles, and one that the LHC was specifically designed to find, is the Higgs Boson, which is associated with the Higgs Field. It is commonly referenced in science circles as the “God particle” and is thought to be the reason why things have mass. The force of gravity is associated with mass. In Einstein’s pursuit of a single Theory of Everything (TOE), he simply could not get gravity to play well with relativity theory. And neither could anyone else. Mass and gravity have successfully provided a monkey wrench to thwart all attempts by physicists to establish a Grand Unified Theory (GUT).

Considering the fact that much of the science behind the experiments that will be conducted at the LHC are, at best, theoretical, is it any wonder so many folks are nervous about what might happen? Let’s get a historical perspective. Even though theories of the world being round instead of flat were recorded as early as fourth century B.C., many still thought that Columbus would certainly fall of the edge of the Earth if he sailed west into the unknown. Many people, scientists among them, thought that a plane would simply explode if it attempted to break the sound barrier. When the U.S. was ready to send a living being into orbit, they chose a chimp rather than a human because they were concerned about unknown contaminations from space. It’s often overlooked that Einstein did not win his Nobel Prize in Physics for E=mc2. At the time, relativity theory was looked upon with a raised eyebrow and the scientific community withheld its laurels until the theory could be substantiated. History shows us that new theories are usually not embraced immediately. More often than not, they are fully accepted only after they are proven.

Will the LHC create an uncontrollable Big Bang or a black hole big enough to swallow the Earth and all its surrounding space, as sensationalized by the popular media? Not likely. It’s more likely that the quantum leap of faith taken by a few contemporary physicists will demonstrate a lack of fear based on an understanding that transcends the science and the math. In doing so, they just might give us a small glimpse from a unique perspective into the nature of reality.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

To learn more about MaAnna Stephenson and The Sage Age, visit www.sageage.net and you can subscribe to The Sage Age Newsletter while you are there.

For more tour information, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/09/sage-age-by-maanna-step...

You can order your own copy of The Sage Age at http://www.amazon.com/Sage-Age-MaAnna-Stephenson/dp/1933449632

The Forbidden Daughter
By Shobhan Bantwal

Reviewed by Lori Eads

I have to be honest, the first chapter of this book is sad and depressing.  It may have been my own frame of mind at the time, but I almost had to force myself to keep reading into the second chapter.  I am so very glad I did. 

When we first meet Isha Tilak, she is a young pregnant widow with a four year old daughter.  She and her husband Nikhil, and their daughter Priya lived with his parents, as is common in Indian society.  Isha’s own parents are dead.  

What caught my interest was the conversation our main character has with an old man - “supposedly a sadhu – a sage or holy man” outside the walled compound of a temple.
He prophesizes about the unborn child she is carrying, talks about her husband and his parents, and also the grief and pain she is struggling with.  They have a conversation that leaves her feeling she has more questions than answers. 

The second chapter takes us back three months.  Nikhil and Isha are visiting her obstetrician to have an ultrasound test done.  Both are nervous, remembering how disappointed Nikhil’s parents were when Isha’s first pregnancy revealed herself to be a granddaughter – girls are “useless” to them.  When the doctor reveals this second baby is a girl, he discreetly offers to “fix” that.  Nikhil and Isha are offended and angry, even though they both are wary of the response they will encounter from his parents when they arrive home.  As expected, his parents are upset,  and will not let the topic rest.  They even suggest an abortion.  The house becomes full of bitterness and animosity, and as time passes, the elder Tilaks ultimately forbid them to have the child, and order them to abort. Nikhil refuses, and tells them to not bring the topic up again. 

Then Nikhil is murdered.  Nikhil’s death has left Isha and Priya living in a home where they had always received second-class treatment.  Priya, for being a girl, and Isha for giving birth to her.   Now that the Tilaks have lost their beloved son, they blame the unborn girl Isha is carrying for his death.  They believe she is a curse, and if the abortion had been done, Nikhil would still be alive.  Five weeks of grief and mourning, bitterness and blame comes to a head one morning when Srikant, Nikhil’s father, repeatedly strikes Priya.  She was crying for her father, not eating her breakfast and getting ready for school as she was told to do.  

Isha suddenly realizes that life in that house will never improve, and that she must leave.  Her in-laws scoff at her, reminding her that she has “no family, nothing.”

Undeterred, Isha packs their belongings and she and Priya walk away. 

We follow Isha as she struggles to find a place for she and her daughter to stay, while awaiting the birth of her second “forbidden” daughter.  It’s a joy to watch her begin to trust herself and her own decisions, as well as taking care of both girls.  She is still grieving for her husband and the life they shared, while struggling to make her way in her new world.  Isha finds people coming into her life that support and help her, as she grows and becomes more comfortable with her independence.  Surprisingly, even members of her husband’s family reappear and some very sweet and heartwarming scenarios occur.

Aside from the main story of Isha, a second plot line develops that involves Nikhil’s murder.  Isha’s now happy world is threatened, and I was not only surprised by the emergence of this storyline, I was genuinely worried and caught up in the suspense.  I was also impressed with the author’s ability to merge the two storylines.  Honestly, the scene just after the tense climax made me cry. 
Happy tears – in case you were wondering. 

I am very fond of many of Mrs. Bantwal’s characters.  Each has varied emotions, and relatable human frailties.  Even the main “bad guy” is developed into more than a one-dimensional villain into one who knows his actions are wrong – but he is very aware that he is in too deep.  His henchman, of course, is slightly psychotic – but not a stereotypical “hired gun” who has no other life than his criminal dealings.  You won’t feel bad that the police have caught up with him, but the people around him that are affected will break your heart. 

The ending is perfect.  It veers away from the staple “Woman and Man get married and all is perfect in the world” ending.  Isha has gained an independent, self-reliant life that she enjoys.   There is a promising relationship on the horizon, but by now Isha has changed into a woman with a wider, more clear, and yet still cautious view.  The future relationship is hinted at, and it seems so right, as the reader has watched the two become closer.  But she is not running headlong into another man’s arms for safety.  She knows she can take care of herself, and her daughters.  But she’s not averse to letting him into their world.

As the author’s note describes, she wrote The Forbidden Daughter to draw her readers’ attention to the horrid social issue of selectively aborting female fetuses, thanks to the development of ultrasound technology.  India is a patriarchal society, where female children are not always or often welcomed.  They are viewed as a burden because of the dowry and other persistent, archaic customs. 

This is direct from her note: “The Lancet, a British medical journal, reported in January 2006 that according to a study nearly 10 million female fetuses may have been aborted in India over the last two decades” 

A law was passed in 1994, banning the use of ultrasound machines to reveal fetus gender, and a 2002 amendment stiffened the penalties for such actions.  However, the practice supposedly continues. 

This book was an eye-opening experience with regard to the infuriating social issue at it’s center, but also interwoven with a lovely, romantic story.  The author’s  word choices and sentence structure are so well crafted I felt at times I could hear her voice in my head. 

Shobhan Bantwal not only goes on my favorite author list, but now I am in search of another of her books.  Reading The Forbidden Daughter was such a surprising experience, from my initial hesitation to my tears at it’s conclusion.  I’m so very glad I was given this book to review.

Interview with Shobhan Bantwal 

By Lori Eads

Mrs. Bantwal, I have to thank you profusely for allowing me to interview you – but even more so for creating such an incredible book.  The Forbidden Daughter is amazing.  I was so affected by your writing, and your characters’ experiences.  I think you have a wonderful voice, and personally cannot wait to read more of your work.  You also have an excellent website – including recipes!

Lori, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog. It is a thrill to hear such glowing remarks about my book as well as my website. One of my goals in picking a controversial topic like gender-based abortion was to educate, inform, and entertain my readers at the same time. If you found The Forbidden Daughter met all those criteria, then I am happy that I have accomplished what I set out to do.

I’d like to begin by asking you about your writing life.  I read your biography on your website (www.shobhanbantwal.com) and noted that you never imagined that you would want to be a writer until your “half-century” birthday.  Did you do any sort of creative writing in school or as a hobby?

Other than the usual school and college essays and term papers, I had not delved into any type of creative writing. I had won a top prize for an article I had written for the college year book in my senior year, but that was my only claim to fame or even to being called an author.

I call my creative writing a “menopausal epiphany” because I turned to creative writing as a quiet and absorbing hobby in my empty-nester years. What started out as a hobby soon turned into a second career. Now, if I could only earn enough money to make a living off of it, I would be a happy woman.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?  How do you begin a project – do you start out hand-writing thoughts or do you work primarily on a computer?

I primarily use a computer, but I find that the thoughts that swirl around in my brain while I am driving to and from work or staring at the ceiling in the middle of night because to insomnia, do not flow all that well when I seat myself before a computer. But I force myself to do it nonetheless. I am an undisciplined writer, so I have to try harder than most to focus on my writing.

When you are involved in a project, do you have a writing schedule that you adhere to or do you write when the “muse” appears?

My creative spurts are few and far between, so I try to make the most of those rare, short periods when the muse whispers in my ear. When the creativity ebbs, I generally use that time to edit and revise what I have written up to that point.

Is there a time of day or night that you feel you work best?

Mornings are generally my best time. Sadly, on weekdays, I have to go to my full-time job, which pays the bills. My job is quite demanding, hence I come home too exhausted to write much. But I try to take full advantage of my weekend mornings as much as I can. My husband is very supportive of my writing, so he often lets me works for hours on end on the weekends, while he takes care of the daily chores.

Do you ever have writer’s block?  If so, how do you get past it?

I have writer’s block a majority of the time. I have not come across a cure for it. However, reading good books by my favorite authors sometimes helps to wake up the slumbering muse and end a dry spell. It is amazing how other authors can be so inspiring to the rest of us.

Many authors admit to having a writing “quirk” – using specific pens to hand-write the first draft, wearing certain clothes helps them think, etc… Do you have any writing quirks?

I don’t have any writing quirks other than the need for a quiet atmosphere. I can’t write when there is a radio or television in the background. Peace and tranquility are my only requirements for writing. A piping hot cup of spiced Indian tea is always a great inspiration as well.

Now, I’d like to talk with you about your most recent book, The Forbidden Daughter.  I think you’ve opened many readers’ eyes to an issue many of us knew little or nothing about.  How did you decide to make the practice of selectively aborting female fetuses the central theme of this story?

Both my undergrad and graduate degrees are in sociology. I was always interested in social-political issues like dowry, arranged marriage, and women’s emancipation. When I took up fiction writing, I automatically veered toward using some of these controversial topics as the main themes for my books. They have proved to be very interesting topics for a lot of non-Indian readers and eye-openers for folks who have not been aware of such atrocities in other parts of the world.

Gender-based abortion is relatively new in Indian society (about two decades), but it has proliferated so much so quickly that I felt it needed to be addressed. I had not come across any other author who had tackled this rather touchy subject, and I snatched it up.

Your first book, The Dowry Bride also has an appalling social issue at its core, the abuse and killings of dowry brides.  In an interview, you talked about how the story began as a short story assignment from your creative writing class.  How did choose that particular issue?

The practice of dowry has been around for centuries, not only in India and similar cultures, but also in Europe. But while the Europeans have more or less given up the archaic practice, Indians and other South Asians have clung to it through the ages. Despite all the modernization and education, certain communities in India still practice the giving and taking of dowry, and in the process bankrupting the bride’s family. In fact, in recent years, the practice has escalated, mainly because the Asian economic boom has given rise to a new class of wealthy people who can afford larger dowries and lavish weddings.

Again, dowry killings and abuse made a fascinating subject around which to weave a story, and I decided to write about it, first as a short story and then as full-length fiction, since no other author had used it as a main theme.

Both books take place in the town of Palgaum.  Is it based on your own hometown of Belgaum?  Does writing about it make you nostalgic or homesick for India?

The fictitious town of Palgaum is indeed fashioned after my hometown of Belgaum. When I write about Palgaum, what I have before my eyes is the small town I was born and raised in. Belgaum, which is growing by leaps and bounds, is now a fairly large city and no longer resembles the rural hamlet I remember from my childhood.

But to answer your question, yes, writing about the streets, the landmarks, the scenes, the scents, and my characters’ experiences invariably brings on a wave of nostalgia every now and then. That fact in itself makes it so much fun to set my books in the simulated version of my old hometown.

Can you tell us a bit about your next project?

My next project is based in the U.S. and not India. The theme too is not intense or controversial like The Dowry Bride and The Forbidden Daughter. At the moment, my editor and I are doing some revising and changing of the title, so my publisher does not want me to discuss it until we whip it into shape. In a few months I will hopefully be able to have a title and a polished manuscript, and be able to talk about it in interviews. But I appreciate your interest, and I hope you will read that book as well, whenever it is published.

Thank you again for this interview, and for your wonderful books.

Once again, I appreciate your kind words about my books, and thank you for hosting me on your blog. This interview was a lot of fun. 

For more information about Shobhan Bantwal’s virtual tour, visit – http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/09/forbidden-daughter-by-shobhan-bantwal.html

The Forbidden Daughter can be ordered at: http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Daughter-Shobhan-Bantwal/dp/0758220308

You can visit Shobhan Bantwal at her website – www.shobhanbantwal.com
 

A native of the Las Vegas valley, Lori won her first writing contest in fifth grade and knew that writing was going to be an important part of her life.   From then on, even during her 18 year career as an ophthalmic technician and surgical assistant, she has dreamt of writing for a living.   She left ophthalmology in 2007 to work full-time on her first novel, take writing classes, start a blog, and write freelance articles.  She spends her free time haunting the shelves of her neighborhood library, or curled up at home – lost in a book.  Lori, her husband and their two kids, two cats, two birds and spoiled rotten dog still live in Las Vegas, close to grandparents and her favorite used book stores. 

I'm pleased to offer you something a little different today.  Bookstrumpet is hosting a blog stop for the DVD Quest for Success by producer/director/writer Lili Fournier.  Read a bit about the DVD below, but first let me tell you about its incredible success--it has been seen on 90 million households on PBS, as well as on television networks in Canada, Europe and Israel.   After you read about the series, scroll down for two interview excerpts from the series, one from Richard Branson and one from Marci Shimoff.  Enjoy!

(You'll find all the info on where to find Lili Fournier at the end of this post).

Quest for Success

Today’s most influential thinkers, visionaries, authors and heroes share their wisdom and key principles to success, and personal and societal change. These people include: Sir Richard Branson, Russell Simmons, Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield, John Assaraf, Harv Eker, Marci Shimoff, Byron Katie, Wayne Muller, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dahli Lama.

This Quest For Success explores what it takes to live a life of true happiness, personal fulfillment and authentic success. This is an extraordinary journey on that most profound of human longings, our search for happiness and fulfillment, and the wisdom we will need to find it.

Each of us has a heroic path to walk. This is a call to greatness that begins with you. And igniting that spirit, that passion for the possible, is where the journey begins.

“This critically acclaimed PBS series features the essential teachings from the great leaders of our time. This remarkable series is a treasure chest of wisdom with the power to transform your life. My praise could not be more sincere” – Jack Canfield, “Chicken Soup for the Soul”

Richard Branson Interview Excerpt: Richard Branson The Risk Taker

Sir Richard Branson is best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records. With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways. An inveterate adventurer, his current passions include Virgin Mobile and the upcoming Virgin Galactic. Sir Richard is a noted philanthropist and member of the Clinton Global Initiative, who has devoted billions of dollars to reviving the ecology.

LILI: So what do you think has been your core strength and has made you take all these enormous risks? I mean, the sort of dangerous element of the challenges you’ve taken on physically and in business? Is there something in your childhood that has driven you to these kinds of adventurous extremes?

RICHARD: I think the adventure side of me, I suspect, has been brought up by my mother, in particular. I remember age 5 we were driving to my grandmothers’, and two miles before we got there she dropped me off in the countryside and told me to make my own way there. She would’ve gotten arrested today. And I got horribly lost, but it was her way of trying to get me to stand on my own two feet. Age 8, she doesn’t even drive me, she puts me on a bicycle and tells me to ride 300 miles to granny’s house. And so on, and so on.

LILI: 300 miles?

RICHARD: Yes. She taught me to stand on my own two feet. And we were never allowed to watch television, we always had to be… I remember Peter Scott, who died trying to get to the Antarctic, was a relative of ours, Douglas Barr, was the man who was in the Second World War on tin legs, and he was a great friend. I knew him as a young man, and I used to steal one of his tin legs, and he would recant all his wonderful stories. So I was brought up in an atmosphere of adventure. And I suppose I’ve been fortunate enough in life to have done some magnificent adventures, as well as being an entrepreneur, and I think that being an adventurer is kind of similar to being an entrepreneur. You’re setting out to do something that man’s never done before. And you’re setting out to do it better, you’re setting out to protect the downside. The downside in that case is your life, you obviously want to make sure you come home, and on occasion we’ve come close, but I think we’ve managed to cover the downside, and get rescued when things go wrong.

LILI: That was a hot air balloon?

RICHARD: My very first big adventure was trying to get across the Atlantic in the fastest time on a boat, and we sank 200 miles from England, and we were picked up by a banana boat. And actually the first time I saw a picture of myself, and this lady on the banana boat…I was dripping wet, and she said, you poor boy. You most likely haven’t seen, but they’ve gotten you, son. And there it was, a picture right on the front page of the newspaper. But then the following year we built another boat and broke the record. And then for many years I tried to be the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, and succeeded, although we splashed in the water again. Rescued by helicopters, and then we did the same across the Pacific. We made many attempts to try to go across the world, and there were magnificent trips in the Himalayas and other places, but the weather always intervened.

Marci Shimoff Interview Excerpt: About Knowing Who You Are

Marci Shimoff is the woman's face of the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her six bestselling titles in the series, including Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, have met with stunning success, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide. Marci is one of the bestselling female nonfiction authors of all time. Her breakthrough methods for personal fulfillment and professional success are summed up in her own bestseller Happy for No Reason.

MARCI: I think we were put on the planet here for two reasons. One is to learn our lessons. What is it that you as an individual soul here are here to learn? The second is to love. To learn and to love, and those are the two reasons that we’re in this human incarnation is to learn the lesson that we are love, that we are a divinity within.

LILI: Well, that brings up an interesting conversation that I wanted to have with you about how we can draw abundance and prosperity into our lives because so often reality, so to speak, is two parallel universes. One is a lack and one is abundance, and at any given moment, we have the choice. We have the power of choice as to which universe we’re going to live in. You talked about the power of awareness and awakening, and so what we’re really traversing at times is the moment that we’re choosing to live in love or we’re choosing to live in fear.

MARCI: There’s a great story about a Cherokee elder who was talking to his grandson that there are really two energies within each human being… and they’re like two wolves…I’m sorry. I’m not remembering this story. (takes a moment to remember)

There’s a great story that’s told about a Cherokee elder who was talking to his grandson and is telling his grandson that the human condition is like we each have a battle inside of ourselves, and the battle is between two wolves. One wolf is the wolf of unhappiness. It’s the wolf of fear and anger and jealousy and frustration. And the other wolf is the wolf of love. It’s the wolf of gratitude of gratitude, of appreciation, of kindness, of generosity, of forgiveness, of compassion. And the grandson says, “Well, which wolf will win?” And the grandfather says, “Whichever one you feed.”

So it’s up to us in every moment which wolf inside we’re going feed. Are we going to feed love? Are we going to give more attention and more energy to love? Or are we going to give more attention and energy to fear? They’re both there. And what I’ve found is that people who are the happiest are those who have just learned to make a habit of giving more of their attention and energy to love. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to really win this battle between fear and love. And I don’t think we do it through fighting in the normal sense of fighting a battle. We do it through not resisting, through opening up, through embracing. I don’t think the way is through denying the negatives, but it’s through opening up and embracing those, all that shows up. And then what we find is then the fear and the anger dissolve into the energy of love because there is no more powerful energy on the planet than the energy of love.

There’s this story from one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books that I love to tell, and it’s about how important it is to express love and appreciation for people. There is a woman who’s designed these blue ribbons that say, “Who you are makes a difference.” And a high school teacher from New York City had heard about these ribbons and decided to do a little experiment with her class. She ordered up a whole bunch of ribbons for her class. And one day, she invited each student forward, one by one, and gave each one of them a blue ribbon, and she acknowledged them for how specifically they had contributed to her life. ‘So, Susie, I appreciate so much because you’re such a great listener. You seem so attentive.’ And ‘John, I appreciate you so much because you have such a great sense of humour.’ After the ceremony was over, she asked them how it felt, and they said, “That was great! We loved it!” She said, “Good. We’re not going to stop this here. I want you all to take home with you three ribbons. I want you to walk up to one person in your life who’s made a difference, and I want you to tell them how they’ve made a difference in your life and hand them a ribbon. Then hand them the other two and ask them to pass them along, and in a week, report back the results.

That afternoon, one of the kids went to his part-time job and went up to his boss and said, “You know, I’m just a punk teenage kid, but six months ago, you believed enough in me to give me a job and give me a chance and because of you, I’ve been able to make enough money to go to college in the fall. Who you are has made a big difference in my life, and here’s a ribbon that says so. And here’s another ribbon, please pass it along.” That afternoon, his boss went to the company president and said, “I’ve worked here for ten years and I’ve never told you I think you’re a creative genius. You inspire me every day with your creativity. Here’s a ribbon that says, ‘Who you are makes a difference.’ You’ve made a big difference in my life. Oh, and here’s another ribbon, please pass it along.” That evening, the company president was driving home and thinking who could he give this ribbon to, and he realized it had been a long time since he’d said anything positive or uplifting to his fourteen year old son.

So that evening, he called his son into the living room and sat him down and said, “You know, son, most of the time I just yell at you for all the things you do wrong, but I realized tonight on the drive home that you’re the most important person to me besides your mother. You mean so much to me. I don’t know who I would do without you…what I would do without you. I love you so much.” At that, his son burst into tears and ran out the door causing his father to think that he might have made a mistake. A few minutes later, however, his son walked back into the room, and his son was carrying something in his hand. His tears were cleared up, but he had something in his hand. And as his father…As the son got closer to the father, his father could see that what he had was a gun. The boy looked up at his father and said, “Dad, I was going to commit suicide tomorrow because I didn’t think that you loved me. Now, I don’t need to. Please take this from me.”

That is a true story about the effect that one person had on another person’s life just by telling them that they appreciate them. Now, I don’t know this for a fact, but I believe that we would have a lot more peace on this planet of ours, that certainly needs more peace, if people on a more regular basis were to tell the people around them that they appreciate them. So here’s a little assignment. Tonight, before you go to sleep, tell one person in your life why you appreciate them. Don’t just tell them that you do, give them a reason why. Tell them why you appreciate them. And notice not only how you feel different, but how it changes the people around you as well.

For additional information visit http://www.questforwealth.org/

To learn about all of Lili Fournier's products, visit http://www.questthejourney.com/products/products.html

The complete list of tour stops is available at: http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/09/quest-for-success-dvd-d...

The other great thing is the amazing amount of information on books that you can find on the internet.  This site and others offer reviews, interviews, essays, and opinion about every aspect of the book world.  We've got some great things coming up here this month and I'm listing them below.  Be sure to stop back and check it out!

Monday, October 13th--Lili Fournier's Quest For Success DVD.  This PBS series has been wildly successful and I'm thrilled to be part of Lili's blog tour.  Come back by on Monday for more information about the DVD and excerpts from two, count 'em, two, interviews from it.

Wednesday, October 15th--Shobhan Bantwal.  Another great cyber tour.  We'll have a review of Shobhans' latest book, The Forbidden Daughter, and an interview with her as well, both my regular contributor Lori Eads.

Thursday, October 23rd--MaAnna Stephenson.  Join us to learn all about her book, The Sage Age.

Coming Soon--I'm really excited to begin a special series of a Featured Book.  This will be a page including including all kinds of information on a book and author.  The first Featured Book is The Ethical Executive by Bob Hoyk. 

Reviewed by Charlotte Rains Dixon

As the novel Bobby's Diner, opens, the heroine, Georgette, is at the reading of her recently deceased husband, Bobby's, will.  Also in attendance are her husband's ex-wife, Vanessa, and Vanessa's daughter, Roberta.  The meeting proceeds much as everyone expected, until Bobby's attorney shocks the women with the news that Bobby left equal shares of his thriving business to Georgette and Vanessa.  The business is Bobby's Diner, and the two women have no choice but to run it together.

The first night the diner reopens is a disaster, with most of the wait staff calling in either sick or drunk, and the situation does not improve much from there.  Georgette and Vanessa are angry and suspicious of each other, feelings that run deep and long.  After all, Vanessa had been married to Bobby for many years when young and beautiful Georgette appeared at the diner one day and stole his heart.  The subsequent divorce and remarriage scandalized the small Arizona town of Sunnydale, and many of the residents have not yet accepted or forgiven Georgette, even 15 years later.

To add to Georgette's woes, there is trouble afoot in the normally quiet backwater town located north of Phoenix.  Shifty developer Zach Pinzer, as well as the town's underhanded mayor, Harold Pyle, want to develop the land the diner sits on as part of their idea to make Sunnydale into the new Sedona.  When Georgette and Vanessa refuse to cave in to their ridiculous demands, the action accelerates until everything comes to a dramatic head.  Beneath this plot line, however, strong threads and themes emerge--with questions about what constitutes family, love, loyalty, and the kinds of choices we make.  Because of Bobby's crazy idea to have Georgette and Vanessa run the diner together, Georgette is a different person at novel's end.  So is Vanessa, and her daughter Roberta, and the entire town of Sunnydale, for that matter.

As Georgette muses when pondering God and the bible, "...but I didn't write that book.  Can you imagine if I had?  I think there would be the only one rule if I wrote it.  It would go like this: love every living thing."  A nice sentiment, and Georgette's path to learning it, is long and interesting.

There were many things to like about this novel, including the Sunnydale setting and the location of the diner itself.  I enjoyed traveling along Georgette's character arc as she grew and changed, and I especially liked some of the minor characters, such as the mayor's wife, Helen, and the master gardener, Jose.  What bothered me about the novel were the long stretches of narrative exposition, some of which could easily have been made into scenes to heighten the drama.  I also felt that at times the author strained a bit to make Georgette a kick ass character and I thought the throughline of her and Vanessa's relationship got a bit wobbly at times.

The whole idea of ebooks is interesting to me.  I had a brief and not-so-shining career as an editor of erotic romance ebooks, but that involved mostly reading submissions, which I would print out, and not finished ebooks.  This is the first book I've read entirely on the computer.  I expected to hate it, but it really wasn't bad--the format of the book (granted, I had an advance copy) was easy on the eyes, with large type.  So if you've been resisting the ebook thing because you didn't want to print it out, give it another try, you might be surprised.

I was fortunate to not only get to read Beth Fehlbaum's book, Courage in Patience, but also interview her.  The novel, published earlier this month by Kunati, is a searing, yet hopeful read--quite an accomplishment to combine both those elements, wouldn't you say?  And even if the subject matter of sexual abuse usually turns you off, there's much more to the book than that, though it is the central theme of the novel.  Fehlbaum excels at creating a believable heroine, Ashley Asher.    One of the best aspects of the book is its focus on truth, honesty, and authenticity, which is delivered primarily through the efforts of Ashley's stepmother, a teacher, to inspire her summer school class.  As Ashley takes part in the class and watches the other class members, a bunch of misfits, respond for the first time, she too begins to come out of her shell.  The book touches on  many issues that are of importance to young people and adults today.--racism, censorship, and having the courage to be who you are, which is sometimes the scariest thing of all.

Here's the interview:

--What was your inspiration for writing the book?

I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. In the course of treatment and through my recovery process, I have used writing as a way to work through feelings.  After about a year of writing poems and short stories and sharing them with my therapist, he suggested that I write a novel. I played with it for about four months, stopping and starting. It was only when I pulled myself out of my own head and began to imagine another person's life that I was able to bring Ashley Nicole Asher, age 15, to life, and create a world for her,  which became Courage in Patience.

--What kind of research did you do for it?

I drew on my experiences as a teacher to create the character of Beverly, Ashley's stepmother who is a high school English teacher. I drew on my experiences of being an abuse survivor to communicate what it is like inside the mind of a person who has been sexually abused.

--How long did it take to write?

From start of book to selling it, about one year. Then the editing and revising process took about four more months.

--You're a teacher--how much does your teacher impact your writing?

I have an understanding of secondary English curriculum, because I taught middle school for much of my career. I majored in English and minored in Secondary Education. I based the characters in the summer school class on composites of students I have had over the years.

--What led you to use Ironman, the YA novel, as such an important part of your book?

While writing Courage in Patience, I discovered Chris Crutcher's work when I was looking for a book to read while on the treadmill, and I went into one of my daughters' bedrooms and browsed her bookcase. First I read Crutcher's Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes-- which let me know that there was an audience for the stories I have inside of me. The other Crutcher book on my daughter's shelf was Ironman, which I devoured with equal ferocity. The honesty in the story struck me to my core, and I became very interested in Chris Crutcher's writing. I researched him and found out that his books are some of the most banned works of fiction for young adults-- and also the most highly regarded by organizations such as The American Library Association. I already knew that Patience was a town of many layers and that there were people there who would have issues with a book like Ironman being taught in the classroom. It -- using Ironman in the book-- went from there. After I finished writing draft one of Courage in Patience, I e-mailed Chris Crutcher and told him about my book, that I was seeking publication for it, and asked for his permission to integrate thematic elements of Ironman into it. Writing it just for myself was one thing, but going public with a story like Courage in Patience meant making sure that Chris would not have a problem with Ironman being used as it is. Luckily for me, Chris graciously agreed to allow me to go forth with publication with the story using Ironman as a cornerstone of the plot.

--Honesty, truth, and authenticity are cornerstones of the novel.  How do these relate to writing?

Writing for me is as fundamental as breathing. In my life, I seek to be honest and authentic with myself and others. I have found that it is the only way to freedom. I believe that writers of realistic fiction must be willing to paint life as it is-- warts and all.

--Parts of the novel are quite searing.  Were they difficult to write?

Yes. I know they are also difficult to read, which makes the healing that takes place all the more dramatic and fulfilling.

--The novel focuses on abuse, racism, and censorship, all huge issues.  Did you ever get nervous about what you were writing?

Not nervous; if anything, I felt empowered and also angry that these things exist. I tried very hard to communicate those feelings through the characters.
 
--Since teaching is your day job, how do you find time to write?

I wrote most of Courage in Patience in the middle of the night and on the weekends and holidays. Strangely, I did not feel all that tired the next day at school, because my mind was working overtime at story-weaving.

--Are you working on another book?

Yes, I am working on the sequel to Courage in Patience. It's called Hope in Patience. The title comes from something a good friend once said to me: "Hope is the opposite of fear."
 I am already receiving letters from people who did not want Courage in Patience to end. They wanted to know more of Ashley's story. And I also need to find out how her story turns out in the end, so I'll be learning more about her life as I write it!

-- I really enjoyed the novel and think many others will be touched by it.

Thank you, Charlotte, for allowing me to guest on your site! 

Visit Beth's website here.