“Spanning the decade of the 1980s, this story of a relationship’s rise and later complications is interwoven with the big news events of that time, including the emergence of yuppies and the AIDS epidemic. Dwight takes her time setting up the romance, focusing on deeply developing Mercedes as an introspective character with a bent toward the philosophical….A lucid…tale of a troubled marriage from a promising author.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“This dramatic and intoxicating novel about how far a mother will go to protect her child will completely seize heartbeats until the last page is read.”
―Working Mother magazine

“Jennifer Dwight’s first novel, The Tolling of Mercedes Bell, will captivate readers from the first page and hold them until the very last. Her ability to capture and portray vivid characters and deliver intense action will result in readers not being able to put the book down.”
―Reader Views Book Awards

“Author Jennifer Dwight takes us on a journey exploring honesty, lies, courage and the power of secrets when they cause complete and utter destruction of someone’s life. Full of surprises with impressive twists, having an insider’s knowledge of the world of law makes it even better. Much like the 80’s, this is a plot showing the world’s subtle indifferences to some of the largest problems, at the time, that the globe had ever seen.”
―Suspense magazine

“Jennifer Dwight crafts a hauntingly realistic story in her debut novel…. [She] does an excellent job of slowly mixing deception and ambiguity within her well-developed characters through the use of dialogue….Although Dwight’s third person narrative incorporates a balanced combination of history and various themes within romantic environs, it is truly first and foremost a story of survival and courage. Dwight keeps her plot constantly flowing by building tension within evasive and unanticipated scenes….The Tolling of Mercedes Bell is an unforgettable page-turner―a must read by all!”
―San Francisco Book Review

“This tale that spans 10 years is crafted to fit the locale, the San Francisco Bay Area, the era, the 1980s to the 90s, and the human foibles of a rich array of characters carefully structured and revealed by author Jennifer Dwight . . . The biggest shift from the minor key of the musical score, yes this is movie material, comes when Mercedes has realized her goal of steady employment at a law firm; however, what follows is eye opening to say the least!”
―Portland Book Review, 4.5 star review

“Romance takes a compellingly dark turn.”
―The Reading Room

“The Tolling of Mercedes Bell, set in San Francisco amid the excess of the eighties, is the suspenseful story of a single mother caught up in a love-turned-lethal. Jennifer Dwight’s skillfully crafted characters and descriptions linger long after the last page, but the novel’s revelation is that our greatest flaw may not be how we deceive others, but how we deceive ourselves―and risk paying the ultimate price.”
―Kristen Harnisch, award-winning author of The Vintner’s Daughter and The California Wife

“In her stunning novel, Jennifer Dwight serves a Bay Area banquet of fashion, food, fraud, and fear deliciously combined and relentlessly plated, page-on-page, with cultured sensitivity and appreciation for the tenuousness of truth and of life. Throughout, her heroine Mercedes Bell cleaves to love and truth, to probity and law as antidotes to the violence, shock, and deception of married life. This work never falters. Its trajectory, entirely direct, trills with both charm and surprise. The reader, as I did, will applaud from page one to the very last chapter the tolling of Mercedes’s bell.”
―Tim Jollymore, author of Observation Hill and the award-winning Listener in the Snow

“The Tolling of Mercedes Bell is Jennifer Dwight’s masterful suspense novel about gripping intrigues spawned in a fictional California law firm in the 1980s. The true-to-life details of this finely wrought tale arise from Dwight’s inside knowledge of law firms, and draw the reader into paralegal Mercedes Bell’s struggle for survival at the hands of a gifted con-artist and attorney, Jack Soutane. This compelling work is a must-read for anyone who has worked in the law or who wants an unforgettable taste of the San Francisco Bay Area during a troubled time. The characters and message of the book will remain long after the last page is read.”
―Chere Estrin, author of Paralegal Career Guide, The Successful Paralegal Job Search Guide, Everything You Need to Know About Marketing Your Paralegal Program, and Hot Jobs & Amazing Careers: Smart Moves for Paralegals; President and Co-founder of The Organization of Legal Professionals

“The flow of the story, from page to page, chapter to chapter, is superb . . . The title, itself, is a clever play on words . . . The book will satisfy anyone who enjoys mystery and intrigue, with light romance thrown in for color . . . Flashbacks are used well . . . I would jump tall buildings in a single bound to find another book by this author! . . . It will be an understatement to say I like the book. This one has ‘winner’ all over it!”
―29th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Judge, 2017

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“A masterful example of quality writing and storytelling. A tremendous achievement in the world of self-help and psychology…for the everyday person struggling with everyday life. A therapy-experience-in-a-book BY a therapist for ME. This is an exceptional place to start your dialogue with yourself and begin to heal. I highly, highly recommend it.”
―PsychCentral

“Whether you are a clinician, a client, or just interested in becoming unstuck, Tuya has provided a powerful resource. You feel like you are an observer in the room, a client in the session, and at times able to be the healer, as well. Tell Me Your Story gifts the reader with insight into professional and personal development, and the read is a rewarding journey.”
―The Therapist

“In her engaging book, Pearl walks readers step by step into a therapy session encouraging the reader to get comfortable. An amazing storyteller…Pearl’s written voice is gentle and calming, grounded in her own healing. You’ll love the list of rewards for awakening, healing, and being freed…Inner Peace: Loss of interest in conflict, loss of ability to worry, and frequent episodes of appreciation. Priceless.”
―Retailing Insight

“In 1978 Scott Peck changed forever the way we understand the nature of psychotherapy–and the way we understand ourselves. In Tell Me Your Story, Tuya Pearl has done no less, at a time in our history in which we desperately need what she has to offer…If healing and hope are what you seek, then look no further. This will be for you a transformative read.”
―Curt Thompson, MD, author of The Soul of Shame and Anatomy of the Soul

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“Green-Light Your Book is a roadmap to what’s really happening inside the publishing industry right now. This is an invaluable book for both aspiring and previously published authors who are brushing up against a changing industry and feeling upended. Brooke Warner is on a quest to level the playing field for authors everywhere―and this book is a first step toward rallying writers to make that happen.”
—Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

“For those of who have struggled with the myriad red light warnings that flare up here and there on the journey to publishing, this book will give you the courage to green-light your work. Green-Light Your Book is a veritable indie publishing workshop that can fit in the palm of your hand. Warner reveals realistic and viable alternatives to the elitism often practiced by traditional publishers. The grace note that makes this book truly sing is the author’s insight that the key to indie success is not to wait to publish, but to fully embrace your spirit of independence and celebrate the creation of a book you will be proud to call your own.”
—Phil Cousineau, author of The Painted Word, Wordcatcher, and The Oldest Story in the World

“Green-Light Your Book is an ideal resource for all aspiring authors, regardless of the path they’re pursuing to getting published. Brooke Warner has the insight, passion, and commitment necessary to help authors grasp what it takes to be successful in today’s publishing environment. Don’t publish your next book before you read this one!”
—Richard Nash, entrepreneur and publishing expert

“Consider Green-Light Your Book a crash course on publishing for new authors. It’s a perfectly balanced package of practical basics and kick-in-the pants encouragement to get any new author on their way to a published book.”
—Dan Blank, founder of WeGrowMedia

“With experience in the worlds of traditional, hybrid, and indie publishing, Brooke Warner provides a refreshingly clear-eyed view of a writer’s many options in this friendly guidebook that reads in parts like an insider confessional. She pulls no punches as she exposes the decisions, big and small, that happen behind the scenes to determine an author’s success―or lack―and empowers writers to take control of their writing careers with eyes wide open.”
—Dana Beth Weinberg, PhD, professor of sociology, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, and author of The Author-Publisher Relationship in a Changing Market

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A SheKnows.com and Mind Body and Green Must-Read! Featured in Buzzfeed, Working Mother Magazine, The Reading Room, Brit and Co., Writer’s Digest, Style, Huffington Post, Jewish Book Council, and Jewish Values Center. 

“A courageous and touching story of the female immigrant experience in the Israel Defense Forces that many readers will sympathize with.”
—Danny Ayalon, Former Ambassador to the US and Deputy Foreign Minister, State of Israel

“Accidental Soldier traces Dorit Sasson’s life as she moved from New York City to Israel in her teenage years. Her writing reflects multiple emotions as her life took many turns as a volunteer and soldier. This is clearly a labor of love.”
—Cindy Chazan, Vice-President, The Wexner Foundation

“If you are a young Jewish woman in New York trying to find yourself, what do you do? Like Private Benjamin, Dorit Sasson joins the army—but in Israel. She finds herself in a strange land that both scares her and beckons to her heart. Join Dorit on a heroine’s journey where she learns how to find courage, strength, and her True Self.”
—Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and author Don’t Call Me Mother: A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness

“Accidental Soldier delivers a unique window into Sasson’s service as a woman in the IDF.”
—Jewish Values Center

“This poignant memoir reminds us that women truly do run the world.”
—SheKnows

“From discovering who she is as a woman to learning to survive solely on courage and human faith, her memoir illuminates that her incredibly risky life change led to more than a battlefield.”
—Brit + Co, “16 Books Every Millennial Should Read”

“If you’re looking for a riveting memoir that celebrates female empowerment and inspires you to reinvent yourself, you must read this real-life, coming-of-age story.”
―Working Mother Magazine, “20 Great Books for Your Working Mom Summer Reading List”

“{Sasson’s] beautiful writing style takes the reader into a new and insightful world―a world of sacrifices, courage, obstacles, comfort zones, doubts, self-awareness, decisions, spiritual gains and transformations…Yes, I can state for now…Dorit Sasson fed my soul with her Accidental Soldier.”
—Writer’s Pay It Forward

“Accidental Soldier is deliciously psychological in other ways, too. It digs deep into the dysfunctional relationship with her mother. And the book provides a wonderful example of how fretful thoughts add to a suspenseful story.”
—Jerry Waxler, MemoryWritersNetwork

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“A wonderful book [for] palliative care workers, doctors, patients, families, anyone interested in learning how to treat a human being nearing the end of life. While some language describing trigger points of pain or the care required, may not be understood by everyone, stick with it as the book will fill you with admiration for [these] hard-working caregivers and a better understanding of palliative care. It may also give you hope that when our time comes, we will be taken care of just as well as the people who have shared their stories here.”
—San Francisco Book Review

“Recounts scenarios that exemplify both best and worst practices, making a strong case for palliative care through clear and descriptive language. Medical professionals can use Allison’s experience to enhance their understanding of palliative care, while caregivers will be encouraged to provide a noble service.”
—Library Journal

“Unlike much of medical literature, even in the area of death and dying, this volume by Helen Allison and Irene Allison is written from the heart and speaks to the heart. Therein lies its transformative power. As a former palliative care physician and future dying human, I am profoundly grateful.”
—Gabor Maté M.D., best-selling author of When The Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress

“I hope this deeply compassionate, wise and enchanting book will be widely read by those who work in ‘mainstream’ medicine, and not just palliative care. We forget that suffering is often the cause and not just the result of illness. Palliative care, with its focus on the alleviation of suffering and the healing power of compassion, has so much to teach modern medicine.”
—Robin Youngson, MD, co-founder of Hearts in Healthcare, author of Time to Care: How to Love your Patients and your Job

“Helen Allison, a compassionate, caring nurse with a special insight into the feelings of patients in pain and a nurse who must have been loved and respected by patients and peers. This book is a must read for all health care professionals.”
—Rhoda Anderson, President, Lakes District Unit, Canadian Cancer Society, Hospice Volunteer, Canada

“Takes us to the places where we feel uncomfortable and fear to go, but where we need to go in order to provide true, holistic palliative care.”
—Millie Cumming-Chalmers, MD, Palliative Care Physician, Canada

“Stories filled with compassion, empathy, and wisdom―heartwarming and instructive.”
—Sandra Martin, The Long Goodbye columnist, The Globe and Mail, author of A Good Death: Making the Most of our Final Choices

The post Stay, Breathe with Me appeared first on She Writes Press.

“Rea offers a small spin on the popular time-travel trope by bringing the past to the very near future. The narrative is full of the practical―and often humorous―problems that arise when one meets an 18th-century libertine . . . In addition, Rea sprinkles bits of well-researched history amid the romantic tension, working in specific details from Casanova’s life, such as his appreciation of intelligent women. Though falling in love with an infamous playboy may be ill-advised, Rea makes it seem like a wonderful idea. A light, enjoyable romp through time.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Conjuring Casanova is a skillfully crafted, delicious tale, successfully integrating contemporary romance, time travel, history, and intrigue . . . Rea’s quick wit and obvious sense of humor shine throughout the narrative.”
―Reader Views

“Casanova got a bad rep for about three centuries. He was confused with Don Juan, censored until 1960, was dismissed as a writer, and lumped together with famous misogynists. After the true text of the Story of my Life appeared in 1960, his admirers hastened to rescue the famous eighteenth-century lover and Illuminist from ignorance and neglect. Melissa Rea has brought him to life in our time. He was hard to resist in his lifetime, and as this novel makes it clear, he’s just as seductive now.”
―Andrei Codrescu, author of Casanova in Bohemia

“Rea takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster in her debut novel, Conjuring Casanova. The story is full of rich characters and extremes; tears to laughter, twists to turns, oh no to oh yes moments, and ahh’s that warm the soul. This fascinating story is entertaining from the first page to the last.”
―Pam Webber, author of The Wiregrass

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“Appetite examines the different ways we seek satisfaction in our lives―some of us are hungry for power, others for love, and some find comfort in duty and tradition. This realistic and engrossing portrait of two generations is a promising first novel with wide appeal.”
―Booklist

“Sheila Grinell’s debut novel Appetite takes us into the heart of a family being torn apart by conflicting beliefs about what constitutes love, marriage, and success. Do parents have the right to try to stop an adult child from marrying if they see disaster looming, or should they back off and wait to pick up the pieces? In this tight, well-written novel, Grinell highlights the conflict between youthful idealism and adult disillusionment in ways that are both moving and thought-provoking.”
―Mary Mackey, author of the New York Times bestseller A Grand Passion

“Appetite is the story of the conflict between a boomer couple, Maggie and Paul Adler, and Jenn, their millennial daughter, over the daughter’s impending marriage to an Indian guru. It is an engrossing account of a struggle to find common ground about how life should be lived. Long-held principles can be lost, debased, and degraded over time, sometimes to disastrous effect, while hopeful and idealistic plans for the future remain untried. This intergenerational drama of relationships, both long-established and newly formed, makes for a gripping journey―not only for the characters but for the reader as well. Sheila Grinell has done a splendid job in this fascinating first novel.”
―Mickey Friedman, author of Hurricane Season

“In her debut novel, Sheila Grinell weaves a rich and sensual tapestry of individuals held together by devotion and duty. Taut and sexy, Appetite is a story about finding your own way and the magnetic appeal of youth, ambition, and freedom. A fun read that will leave you hungry for more.”
―Gina Gotsill, co-author of Surviving the Baby Boomer Exodus: Capturing Knowledge for Gen X and Y Employees

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“The Lucidity Project stirs readers to look at life and their abilities in an exhilarating new way.”
―POPSUGAR

“The Lucidity Project is a summer beach read with a new age fiction twist.”
―Your Tango

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“Cast off by her family and living in the shadow of unthinkable tragedy, Eliza Waite finds the courage to leave her remote island home to join the sea of miners, fortune hunters, con men, and prostitutes in the Klondike during the spring of 1898. Ashley Sweeney’s exquisite descriptions, electrifying plot twists, and hardy yet vulnerable characters will captivate historical fiction fans and leave them yearning for more. Eliza Waite is a stunning debut!”
—Kristen Harnisch, award-winning author of The Vintner’s Daughter and The California Wife

“Meticulously researched, Eliza Waite transports us to the Klondike Gold Rush, where a resourceful young widow searches a more elusive prize: happiness in a re-forged life.”
—Pamela Schoenewaldt, USA Today Bestselling author of When We Were Strangers

“Eliza Waite is a lively and compelling narrative of one woman’s quest to navigate the social turmoil of the late nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest. Traversing the San Juan Islands, Seattle, and the Klondike, Ashley Sweeney offers an insightful look into the challenges and opportunities of the Gold Rush for charting a new course in life.”
—Polly M. Myers, University of Washington History Department

“Sweeney’s debut novel is a beautifully written work of historical fiction tracing one woman’s life in the wilds of nineteenth-century America. Readers will be immersed in Eliza’s world, which Sweeney has so authentically and skillfully rendered.”
—Booklist

“Eliza Waite is carefully crafted, beautifully edited, and masterfully formatted. And all of the old-school baking recipes are an unexpected plus. I highly recommend this story, especially for women. It truly helps give a context for the suffering and struggles of women throughout our American history. Five stars.”
—Readers’ Favorite

“Sweeney has written a brilliant piece of historical fiction whose lead female character has it all. She is a woman who refused to bow to the cruelties of a misogynistic society, only less damnable than her own family. This is a woman who reached down inside and found herself. She is a character who deserves, no, is due the right of having a book named after her. And so it is.”
—The Anchorage Press

“Eliza Waite is a beautifully written historical novel. The perfect choice for a reader’s group.”
—Reader Views

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“As Nye vividly and poignantly details the physical and emotional devastation of the 1991 fire that razed her home, erased her community, and reduced her memories to ‘a past with nothing left to mark its presence,’ she compels each of us to wonder, What would I take? How would I bear up? What does home mean to me?”
—Jill Smolowe, author of Four Funerals and a Wedding: Resilience in a Time of Grief

“Risa Nye’s lyrical, literate and beguiling voice ignites the fear of fire, love for children, and our powerful attachments to home and neighbors. With radiant language that describes the devastating Oakland hills firestorm, she hastens the pulse as an unstoppable catastrophe threatens all and alters reality. With fine memory, this remarkable writer brings us into the intimacy of sudden loss, the wonder of precious family, and the vibrancy of hope.”
—Gus Lee, best-selling author of China Boy and With Schwarzkopf

“You can go home again, as Risa Nye demonstrates in this memoir of before-and-after the Great Oakland Firestorm of 1991which destroyed over 3000 homes. While her blue house with a white door and daffodils in front was a still smoldering mess, she and her husband determined they’d build it back. Home became homecoming, and now with this artful tale Nye embroiders her own life story anew with loving recollections of unique artifacts lost, from her pale pink wedding dress to a secret box of letters between herself and her husband. Home again, with memories of happy earlier days, of devastating loss and the strengths that can arise from adversity.”
—Deirdre English, Professor, Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley

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