Monday, September 16, 2019

Blog Tour Kick Off: Unbraided: Transform Your Pain to Power and Purpose by Karla Monterrosa #SelfHelp #Christian



UNBRAIDED: TRANSFORM YOUR PAIN TO POWER AND PURPOSE
Karla Monterrosa
* Non-fiction/self-help/overcoming abuse/Christian *



Title: UNBRAIDED: TRANSFORM YOUR PAIN TO POWER AND PURPOSE
Author: Karla Monterrosa
Publisher: Inspire Books
Pages: 250
Genre: Non-fiction/self-help/overcoming abuse/Christian


Vulnerable, courageous, and deeply personal, Unbraided: Transform Your Pain Into Power and Purpose, will help you to identify the areas of your life that are being affected by abuse and provide a path for you to experience breakthrough and healing.

Karla Monterrosa experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuses early in her life. She was able to take those negative experiences and use them as fuel to propel her forward for a time, accomplishing personal, educational, and professional successes. Eventually, within the stresses and pressures of marriage and motherhood, her scars became utterly exposed. She realized that her past was beginning to harm her family in the present, and it was then she chose to take courageous steps to heal from abuse—to become the woman, wife, and mother they deserve.

If you’re ready to experience healing from abuse, Unbraided will help you get healthy emotionally and spiritually so you can cultivate the self-confidence and courage needed to follow through to freedom. Learn how to deal with the long-term effects of abuse—fear, shame, lack of trust, and anger—in order to build strong relationships, enjoy intimacy, and experience joy.

Using thought-provoking journaling exercises, biblical principles, and her one-of-a-kind 7 Steps Toward Healing framework, Karla will gently guide you through a journey of self-reflection and healing—while making it feel like an intimate conversation with a trusted friend over coffee. Are you ready to step forward into the life you desire with renewed energy, unshakeable confidence, and purpose?

★★★★★ORDER YOUR COPY★★★★★

 

______________________








I want to begin by congratulating you for your courage to open
this book. The topic of childhood sexual abuse is a difficult and
uncomfortable one, especially if you have experienced it yourself. As
you know, those memories stay with us, sometimes only partially, but
remain difficult to revisit. It is important, however, for us to courageously
reflect, analyze, and feel through those memories in order to experience
healing. When left unaddressed, those traumatic experiences influence
our view of ourselves, how we respond to life’s challenges, and how
we either relate to or distance ourselves from each other. There isn’t a
single thing in our lives that isn’t perceived through the sense of the
victimization we experienced.

If you were sexually abused as a child, or experienced other forms of
abuse in your childhood or adult life, there are areas in your life that are
being affected right now by your trauma and you may not yet know it.
Once you are aware, you can begin to take steps to change this. Once
you are aware of the power those emotional and spiritual wounds have
over you, you can begin to do something about them.

Perhaps you find yourself well-aware, tired, and hurting but don’t
know how to get free from your past. Or perhaps you have pushed
your pain so far under the rug that you are comfortable with it and
don’t really want to bring it out and think about it again. You may be
thinking, Do I really want to read this book and have to deal with this?
I know it can feel heavy, but as with anything that involves work and
struggle, the reward at the other side is so worth it.

I want you to know that I understand. I was there once, and only
through self-reflection did I begin to connect the dots between my
painful past and the struggles I was experiencing in the present.
I was sexually abused by people I knew and trusted between the ages
of five and ten years old. The abuse I suffered early in my life turned
my childhood into a set of dark memories that haunted me for most
of my life. The experience left me feeling ashamed, angry, and unsafe.
When I grew up, for a time I was able to use the pain I felt as fuel.
I achieved personal, educational, and professional successes thanks to
that drive. I stood strong as an educated and professional woman. I
was married and a mother to two beautiful little girls. I spent nearly
twenty years working in government and helping to improve the lives of
women and their families. Our household income exceeded six figures,
and we owned a home in a quiet suburb in Los Angeles. Based on these
achievements, I thought I had overcome the trauma I had experienced
early in my life. I worked hard to break the cycle of abuse I was born
into, and I thought I had won. I had built a life and a home that looked
nothing like the one I was born into. I could see the darkness of my
childhood experiences as a distant past, and yet freedom and healing
eluded me. I didn’t yet know it, but I was actually only halfway through
the dark tunnel of my past—not on the other side as I had thought.
I had suppressed memories and ignored feelings, and fought to do the
opposite of what I had seen in my childhood for nearly three decades. I
had buried the feelings deep inside where I thought they could not hurt
me anymore. In reality, I struggled with fear, anxiety, and an inability
to trust people. For a long time, I didn’t know these feelings were rooted
in the abuse I experienced during my childhood. Meanwhile, they were
influencing my life in insidious ways and affecting my relationships, my
marriage and experience as a mother, and even my career. Eventually, I
arrived at a season when I could no longer ignore my pain.
My efforts to silence the memories proved to be unsuccessful within
the stresses and pressures of marriage and motherhood. It was then that
my scars became utterly exposed. I came into the harsh realization that
I had not healed when the memories relentlessly interrupted my time
with my children. The day my daughter was born and I changed her first
dirty diaper, I realized the abuse I suffered had wounded me profoundly
and motherhood was going to be hard. Diaper changes and bath-time
reminded me of how vulnerable children are. I struggled with this for
years with both of my daughters. For sanitary reasons, those moments
were unavoidable, and yet they made me feel dirty and ashamed, as
though I were violating them when I cleaned and cared for them. I knew
that was not what I should be thinking or feeling in those moments with
my children, but I had no idea how to stop the thoughts from intruding
in my life. It was a constant internal battle.

I struggled with memories, shame, fear, and a feeling of hyper-
protection of my children. The unresolved pain I was still carrying
inside started coming out as aggression. I was defensive and abrasive
toward my husband and struggled to discipline my children with grace
and patience. I could not control the circumstances that triggered
my memories or my automatic responses to them. In moments of
frustration, shame and anger dominated our interactions.
At the same time, I was giving everything at work, and it was never
enough for those I reported to. I was exhausted. By the time I would
arrive home at the end of my day, I would have nothing left to give but
a bad temper, which affected our entire family dynamic. Eventually,
I made a career move that brought my work closer to home in an
attempt to have more time with my family. Unfortunately, the work
environment there was such that I had to work extra-long hours to
keep up the pace, which ultimately resulted in more stress and even less
time and patience for my family. I wound up dissatisfied again. I had
had enough but didn’t know what I should do next. It was then that I
humbly reached out to God for direction.
It started with the decision to take a break from my career. I knew
in my heart for a long time that I was not walking in my purpose and
needed the space to figure out what direction to take. Not knowing
how we would sustain the lifestyle we had grown accustomed to, my
husband and I made the bold decision to trust God fully for our financial
provision, and I quit my job. The career that no longer satisfied me was
in the rearview mirror, and I was ready to pursue new things. I decided
to take some time to reflect and figure out what my next career move
was going to be. It was within that space and that step of faith that God
began to move and reveal himself. I started depending on Him for help
and guidance. He started walking me through a process of healing.
I also recognized that my past was harming my family, and that was
the greatest motivation for me to seek out true healing. I realized I would
have to resolve my childhood wounds if I was going to successfully break
the cycle of abuse and live a truly healthy life with my own family. That
realization added to the desire in me. I wanted more than anything to
finally be free from that trauma. And I had no idea how to go about it.
All I knew was I wanted more than anything to get to know God
for who He truly is, to be present physically and emotionally for my
family, and to align my work with my purpose. Little did I know, God
was about to show me the reality and depth of the damage I still held
onto and how desperately I needed Him. Once He began to connect
the dots for me, I realized the darkness I experienced during childhood
had grown tentacles and was clinging to every area of my being, silently
suffocating all of the best things in my life.
Childhood abuse has deep and long-lasting effects that manifest
themselves in subtle and devastating ways in our lives. Unless we know
it, they remain a part of us, wreaking havoc. I had seen the signs and
had my suspicions, but without the clarity of the Holy Spirit, I couldn’t
see it for what it indeed was.
One of the first things I did differently once I left my job was begin
each day with God. I would drop my children off at school and come
home to brew a pot of coffee and open my Bible. Through prayer,
studying the Bible, and the unconditional love of the people around
me, God began to walk me toward healing.
After a short break to focus on my girls and volunteer at their school,
I began considering my next steps and decided to hire professional
support to do so. I wanted to make the most of my time away from
the workforce, and working with a coach provided me with guidance,
reassurance, and an environment of discovery. It didn’t take long for me
to decide I would pursue my life-long dream of becoming a published
author. I always knew I would share my story with the world one day.
God revealed this to me long ago. I don’t recall exactly when I first
sensed or received that direction, but I have been thinking about this
book for years.
What do I mean when I say I “received direction” from God? How
do I know if a thought is my own or inspired by the one true God? For
me, it can come as a subtle nudge to say or do something, or an all-out
clear instruction to change course.
You may have already had an experience in your life where you
knew God was trying to tell you something. You may know it as your
subconscious, a gut feeling, intuition, or an “Aha! moment.” Sometimes
you listen to it. Other times you ignore it and then think, “I should
have listened to my intuition.” As Christians, we believe those “Aha!
moments” are, in fact, the voice of God or the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit is a gift from God that allows us to see and think in new ways.
God’s voice comes to me in whispers I know are not my own. I
know these thoughts are not mine because they address things I have
been thinking about without having clear direction on my own of what
to do. I recognize His voice because He quiets my fears, answers my
questions, and brings peace where there was doubt. The Bible tells us
that when we draw near to God, He comes near to us (James 4:8). The
more we seek His voice, the more clearly we are able to discern it. As
we deepen our walk with God, we grow in wisdom and are able to see
more clearly the things that make us feel separated from God and those
that bring us closer to Him. The voice of God had been quietly urging
me to write my story and share it with the world.

















Karla Monterrosa, M.P.A. is an author, keynote speaker, and women’s empowerment coach who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of women and families. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning and a Master of Public Administration in Public Sector Management and Leadership from California State University, Northridge.

Karla began her career in the City of Los Angeles, where she quickly became aware of the scale of challenges that large, diverse communities face. She learned how to address needs by best utilizing what was already available and, during her tenure, helped to provide women, youth, and families with programming that increased financial literacy, education, and economic opportunities. Karla’s ability to pinpoint trauma and develop strategic solutions would serve as the launching pad to her own coaching program, Unbraided Life (www.unbraidedlife.com).

A survivor of abuse herself, Karla is passionate about leveraging her skills to help others overcome their past. She specializes in guiding women to discover their God-given purpose through honest self-reflection, application of biblical principles, and her one-of-a-kind 7 Steps Toward Healing framework.

Karla is a certified Mending the Soul support group facilitator, but it’s her almost two decades of experience in community and economic development that make her programming practical, unique, and transformational.

You can find Karla on the internet at www.unbraidedlife.com, @karlabmonterrosa on Instagram, Karla Monterrosa on Facebook.

To book Karla to speak: speaking@unbraidedlife.com.

A sample of keynote topics she offers:

7 Steps Toward Healing
Marriage, Motherhood, and Memories
Breaking the Cycle of Abuse
The Path to Purpose

★WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS★

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlabmonterrosa/ (@karlabmonterrosa)



http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

Monday, September 2, 2019

Blog Tour Kick Off: Twists Turns & Truths by Jayne Sanders #selfhelp #memoir


TWISTS TURNS & TRUTHS
Jayne Sanders
* Self Help/Memoir *


Title: Twists Turns & Truths – The Life and Lines of a Master Scientific Hand Analyst
Author: Jayne Sanders
Publisher: Full Gallop Press
Pages: 204
Genre: Memoir/Self-Help


A master scientific hand analyst and conversational storyteller, Jayne Sanders courageously reveals several of the more emotive high and low experiences of her life—stories about everything from love to animals to abuse, and then connects some of her characteristics involved to relevant markings in her hands. Readers will laugh, cry, cheer, and even wince as they peek into her journey full of challenges, celebrations, and vulnerability. Jayne’s stories demonstrate how Scientific Hand Analysis provides a blueprint to who people are and why they’re here on the planet, their gifts and tripping points, and answers to their big why questions.

How might your stories show up in your hands? Do you have some of the gifts and challenges Jayne shares in these revealing tales?

Jump right in to find out, and prepare for twists, turns, and eye-opening truths.

Praise:

Reviewed By Liz Konkel for Readers’ Favorite
“Twists Turns and Truths: The Life and Lines of a Master Scientific Hand Analyst by Jayne Sanders is a thought-provoking read with an inspiring voice, scientific hand analysis, and personal stories. The book is used to teach readers how everyone’s own experiences are reflected in their hands and how to understand each detail.
Each chapter is written with genuine honesty and an admirable openness, revealing different experiences which she then uses to show how these are seen in her hands. Several examples of hand analysis follow each chapter which makes it easy to understand and learn the significance of every moment in your life through every detail in your hands. Also throughout are lovely poems which tie into various stories. The poems have a stunning lyrical style with profound emotion and depth drawn out of each, making them perfectly fitted to the voice and tone of the memoir aspects. Twists Turns and Truths is a unique read with honest stories told through an emotional lens and with a focus on scientific hand analysis, ideal for those seeking honest memoirs, genuine voices, and unique topics.”

★★★ORDER YOUR COPY★★★

Amazon → https://tinyurl.com/yxzf3kfu

 

______________________






I promise not to chicken out on you.

To start, let me say that I was blown away. The very first Scientific Hand Analysis I received in 2012 answered questions I didn’t even know I had. It explained so much about my life, the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the joys and pains. It also answered big questions I did know I had, gave me deep insight, opened me up to innate gifts I hadn’t recognized, and provided my North Star for purpose, fulfillment, and taking action on problem areas. It changed my life.
So I want to share some of these discoveries with you, told through my memoir of sorts
selected stories of my life that demonstrate many of the traits that are etched in the blueprint in my hands.
My hope is that you will laugh, wince, cry, and cheer with me as you read these stories. It is actually quite scary, vulnerable, to share some of these tales. But I don’t want to hold back, because I know that readers are too smart for that. I know you will see right through me, that you will recognize when I am chickening out and glossing over or leaving out the difficult or potentially embarrassing or controversial stuff. I want to be brave.
Some stories are about horses I have loved, but most involve humans. I have changed the names of people involved, but not the horses, as I know they don’t mind.
What I’ve discovered through my own story and those of my clients is that your hands will tell you about you and your life. They will answer the big questions many people ask—Who am I at my core? Why am I here on the planet? What legacy am I meant to leave? What are my innate gifts and talents? Why do those challenging patterns keep showing up? What can I do to reduce pain and trouble in my life? Why do I feel lost, confused, bored, overwhelmed, or depressed? Why am I experiencing relationship, money, or health issues? How can I adjust, and what steps can I take to make life even better?
My desire with this book is to demonstrate to you the depth and accuracy of Scientific Hand Analysis, using stories from my life and guiding you to apply relevant markings to your life. I want to share how the characteristics I have and have had, show up in my hands. Your hands will tell much of your story too.
My hope is that you will see some similar strengths and challenges in your own life, and if you are interested, learn how to take action to use the strengths for good, and reduce the more troublesome events and feelings. I want to help you, and anyone I can reach, love your life even more and smooth out some rough edges. I want you to crave living in alignment with your innate purpose.
            I’d still be writing if I included every story from my life of any meaning. And I’d also still be writing if I addressed all the markings I have in my hands that are relevant to each story. So I’ve selected a few of the more prominent and important markings and described the topline of each. My intention is not to provide a primer, or a Scientific Hand Analysis (SHA) 101 how-to book. My intentions are to help some of you understand yourselves and your life better, spread the word about this life-changing work, so accurate that forbes.com wrote an article about it, and instill in you the fascination about SHA that most people experience when they hear about it.
             I have referred to some of my markings several times intentionally, so that you can see how the same marking can show up differently in your life, as they do in mine. The more important markings have several messages for us.
I want to trigger some curiosity about what your hands have to tell you and help you identify a bit of what is there. And, I hope some of you can learn from the mistakes I share in some of my stories, perhaps recognizing some of the markings in your own hands and increasing your awareness of how related challenges may show up in your lives so you can take action.
This work is what guided me to living on purpose, finally. SHA profoundly changed me and my life, in the best way.
It is not predictive nor fortune-telling. I can’t tell someone when they will meet their soul mate nor how many children they will have. Nor do I want to. Here is what I know for certain—regardless of how good your life is now, if you take action on the information in your hands, it will only get better. That is the only “prediction” I make.
            So please join me as I take you on a journey through some of the ins and outs, up and downs, struggles and accomplishments, heart wins and heartbreaks of my life—and how they show up in my hands.



I promise not to chicken out on you.

To start, let me say that I was blown away. The very first Scientific Hand Analysis I received in 2012 answered questions I didn’t even know I had. It explained so much about my life, the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the joys and pains. It also answered big questions I did know I had, gave me deep insight, opened me up to innate gifts I hadn’t recognized, and provided my North Star for purpose, fulfillment, and taking action on problem areas. It changed my life.
So I want to share some of these discoveries with you, told through my memoir of sorts
selected stories of my life that demonstrate many of the traits that are etched in the blueprint in my hands.
My hope is that you will laugh, wince, cry, and cheer with me as you read these stories. It is actually quite scary, vulnerable, to share some of these tales. But I don’t want to hold back, because I know that readers are too smart for that. I know you will see right through me, that you will recognize when I am chickening out and glossing over or leaving out the difficult or potentially embarrassing or controversial stuff. I want to be brave.
Some stories are about horses I have loved, but most involve humans. I have changed the names of people involved, but not the horses, as I know they don’t mind.
What I’ve discovered through my own story and those of my clients is that your hands will tell you about you and your life. They will answer the big questions many people ask—Who am I at my core? Why am I here on the planet? What legacy am I meant to leave? What are my innate gifts and talents? Why do those challenging patterns keep showing up? What can I do to reduce pain and trouble in my life? Why do I feel lost, confused, bored, overwhelmed, or depressed? Why am I experiencing relationship, money, or health issues? How can I adjust, and what steps can I take to make life even better?
My desire with this book is to demonstrate to you the depth and accuracy of Scientific Hand Analysis, using stories from my life and guiding you to apply relevant markings to your life. I want to share how the characteristics I have and have had, show up in my hands. Your hands will tell much of your story too.
My hope is that you will see some similar strengths and challenges in your own life, and if you are interested, learn how to take action to use the strengths for good, and reduce the more troublesome events and feelings. I want to help you, and anyone I can reach, love your life even more and smooth out some rough edges. I want you to crave living in alignment with your innate purpose.
            I’d still be writing if I included every story from my life of any meaning. And I’d also still be writing if I addressed all the markings I have in my hands that are relevant to each story. So I’ve selected a few of the more prominent and important markings and described the topline of each. My intention is not to provide a primer, or a Scientific Hand Analysis (SHA) 101 how-to book. My intentions are to help some of you understand yourselves and your life better, spread the word about this life-changing work, so accurate that forbes.com wrote an article about it, and instill in you the fascination about SHA that most people experience when they hear about it.
             I have referred to some of my markings several times intentionally, so that you can see how the same marking can show up differently in your life, as they do in mine. The more important markings have several messages for us.
I want to trigger some curiosity about what your hands have to tell you and help you identify a bit of what is there. And, I hope some of you can learn from the mistakes I share in some of my stories, perhaps recognizing some of the markings in your own hands and increasing your awareness of how related challenges may show up in your lives so you can take action.
This work is what guided me to living on purpose, finally. SHA profoundly changed me and my life, in the best way.
It is not predictive nor fortune-telling. I can’t tell someone when they will meet their soul mate nor how many children they will have. Nor do I want to. Here is what I know for certain—regardless of how good your life is now, if you take action on the information in your hands, it will only get better. That is the only “prediction” I make.
            So please join me as I take you on a journey through some of the ins and outs, up and downs, struggles and accomplishments, heart wins and heartbreaks of my life—and how they show up in my hands.


















A MASTER Scientific Hand Analyst and Purpose & Law of Attraction Coach featured in a FORBES article about her work, Jayne Sanders helps leaders, business owners, and managers love their lives and their work.

After an MBA and many years in the corporate world, Jayne did a complete 180 and now reveals your innate purpose, special gifts, and blind spots, then guides you into the inspired meaning, passion and fulfillment you crave in life and work. Corporate and team benefits are numerous as well.
When not doing her purpose work, Jayne can be found out on the trail riding her beautiful Arabian/Appaloosa horse, Darby, or eating dark chocolate J.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website → https://precisionwisdom.com/
Blog → https://precisionwisdom.com/blog/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/PurposeWisdom/
And → https://www.facebook.com/jayne.sanders.1297
Goodreads → https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47582803-twists-turns-truths
http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

Blog Tour Kick Off: Patrick Turns His Play Into Pay @playintopay #children


PATRICK TURNS HIS PLAY INTO PAY
Shani & Patrick Muhammad
* Children *



Title: PATRICK TURNS HIS PLAY INTO PAY
Author: Patrick Muhammad & Shani Muhammad
Publisher: 5 Star Publishing
Pages: 40
Genre: Children’s Book



Once great and powerful sorcerers, the Amasiti were hunted to the brink of extinction by the Hir and his followers. For four hundred years, their legacy faded from memory waiting for the hope of Aferi to be renewed…

In the Land of Yet

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest

A young woman lives alone.

Forced to fend for herself after the brutal murder of her family, Ameenah Yemini has made a life for herself as a master tanner and farmer, only venturing into the world to earn her living then return to the safety and seclusion of her home.

Until a chance encounter brings her work to the attention of the powerful Hir and her careful life begins to unravel.

Drawn to the hidden magic that lingers in everything she touches, the new Hir insists on having her for himself, using the people around her to force Ameenah into his grasp.

When she realizes that her greatest enemy may hold the key to a secret she thought lost to her forever, Ameenah is determined to reclaim her stolen past.  But, at what cost? As an ancient power waits to be unleashed, Ameenah’s choices will make the difference between awakening a new magic or delivering it into the hands of evil.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

 
 

______________________








South Florida based janitor turned serial entrepreneur, Patrick Muhammad took what some would call an unconventional route to his newest venture.  “What I do now has evolved.  It truly took my passion and has turned it into a profession for me. I can see myself mentoring and sharing my story with young people easily for the next 20 years.  I love talking to young people and showing them, what entrepreneurship looks like. I love sharing my stories of how I came to be.  I didn’t just wake up one day and have all the answers.  My wife and I bumped our head A LOT.  I just want to say to them, look…here’s the blueprint.  Start now, don’t wait until you’re 30.  Passion has no age requirement, and has no limit on how many you can have. I started out as a janitor, then became a baker now I am into motivational speaking. They just have to have the passion and guidance. Anything is possible.”

“Patrick Turns His Play Into Pay” is the 1st book in a series of children’s books authored by husband and wife writing partners, Shani and Patrick Muhammad. The idea for the book was created one night while trying to explain the reason there was a gigantic, neon, pink and orange food-truck, now sitting in their front yard to their then 4 year-old Qadeer.   Patrick and his wife came up with the idea that they would write a keepsake item for all their children, detailing the road they took to becoming entrepreneurs.  The primary message is simple. By tapping into your passion early in life you can turn your playdays into paydays.  Once the book was published they both realized that the story could not only inspire their own children to entrepreneurship, but others as well. Shani figured out how to self-publish it and Patrick would take it to different youth groups in his community.   “I began shopping the book around to childcare centers and non-profits that served young people in the projects and the adults loved it.  “They really loved the idea that it was based on a true story and that the message was coming from a black male perspective. A story their children could relate to.  The images were brown like them and I just always got a positive response.  We took that book everywhere with us, and the response was this is a message that’s needed.  Children can’t be what they can’t see.”

Patrick currently lives in South Florida with his wife and three of his youngest five children.  He has a passion for planting the seed of entrepreneurship and carving out wealth building opportunities for his children’s generation. When he’s not writing books he’s on tour, speaking to groups of young people about basic principles of financial literacy and the benefits of early investing using cryptocurrency as a vehicle to establish future financial goals. When he’s not doing that…he’s on a creek with a fishing pole in his hand.

Shani Muhammad has been married to Patrick for 17 years now.  Together they have 5 children and 3 grandchildren.   Shani has spent the past 15 years in a classroom as a teacher. She too is a serial entrepreneur and has in the past owned a one-price shoe store, group homes and several online businesses. When she’s not working on the next children’s book in their series, she too enjoys researching and investing in crypto currencies and planning her family’s next “staycation.”

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM



http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
 

Blog Tour Kick Off: A Garden On Top Of The World by Virginia Aronson #YA #ecofiction


A GARDEN ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Veronica Aronson
* YA Ecofiction *


Title: A Garden on Top of the World
Author: Virginia Aronson
Publisher: Dixi Books
Pages: 112
Genre: YA Ecofiction



The year is 2066 and life in Greenland is much warmer and more crowded, and lacking in fresh food. Sixteen-year-old Jonnie lives in the Relocation city of Shamed, where hundred-story high rises house extended families from American coastal cities relocated after the Sixth Sea Rise. Work and school are conducted from overcrowded apartments, while the homeless camp out on the streets below. Jonnie is intersex and identifies as she, although her family pressures her to identify as he.
Jonnie’s parents run a high-tech call center out of their apartment. Her older siblings work there, and Jonnie must share a bedroom with two much older nieces. For quiet and privacy, Jonnie often retreats to the empty rooftop.

Red is a homeless man who takes up temporary residence in a pigeon coop on the roof. After Red talks about the seeds in the birds’ droppings, Jonnie gets interested in heirloom seeds. Jonnie knows little about how food grows because meals come in packages ordered online and delivered by drone. Armed with a new understanding of old-fashioned garden-grown food, Jonnie is determined to create her own garden on the roof of her high rise. Along the way, she meets a former cryosphere scientist, a botanist with an urban indoor garden, and twins her own age, one of whom is intersex.

A GARDEN ON TOP OF THE WORLD is environmental fiction for ages 12 and up. Jonnie’s search for who she is and what she might be able to offer the world is one that will resonate with readers of all ages. The information she learns about healthy food, sustainable agriculture, and urban gardens may inspire readers to start their own gardens.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XvMlrd

 
 

______________________







Introduction
"This is the way the world is fed."
Just think about how our world might change in the near future. With the increase in global temperatures, polar ice caps will have experienced significant melting, causing significant rises in sea levels. Coastal cities will be threatened and, unless adequate precautions have been taken, vulnerable areas of the world may have to be evacuated. Food and land will become more scarce, feeding the world much more difficult.
Right now less than a hundred thousand people live in Greenland because most of the country is snow and ice, permafrost. But if our earth grows much warmer, less hospitable areas of the world like Greenland could become more populated as cities facing massive water intrusion relocate residents.
How many people might be homeless if the global situation becomes dire? How many will be unemployed? With advancements in automation, how many will be unable to find work?
In the coming decades, what will the world look like? Where will we live? What will we eat? Will people be different than they are today?
Medical experts have cited an increase in births of intersex babies. Human sexuality is changing, becoming more fluid and less defined. In the future, as the global population advances to 10 billion, such developments could be seen as adaptation, a desirable evolutionary change.
What about sexual (and racial and ethnic) equality? What about pollution? What kind of technological changes will there be in 30, 40, 50 years?
Now imagine that you are a young person living in the year 2066.
And now, meet Jonnie.

Chapter One
Once I finish my schoolwork, I have nothing to do until dinner. Everyone else at my house is working. When I remove my headgear, I can hear them. Talking, talking, talking. The sound is a deep, bone-rattling drone, interrupted by occasional bursts of laughter or yelling.
So annoying.
My family is in the call center business. This means they don't do anything; instead, they talk for a living. Talk, talk, talk. And the work is international. This means they talk all day long and right through the night. You would think they would want some peace and quiet when they're not working, but this is not the case. Even off-duty, my family is always talking. Always gossiping and laughing, shouting and arguing, blathering on and on.
I'm the youngest and there are a lot of them and only one of me, so I rarely get to speak. Not that I want to yack all the time. I prefer quiet. A serene, calm, peaceful quiet. So I've had to adapt. Most of the time I tune them out.
But sometimes I can't block out the noise. That's when I sneak out. I wish I could do something, like hit the streets and explore, but this is not allowed. They think I'm still too young to be out alone where there's poverty and crime. So instead, I go up to the roof. It's not much and there's nothing to do, but it is quiet up there.
I'm going to head up there right now.
First I put on my niece Kamara's soft blubber boots and my dad's dog-fur coat. I slide thick white Dura-Soy socks onto my hands to keep them warm. Nobody at my house owns gloves. My mother says there's no need to go outside in the bad weather. We have everything we need right here, in our home.
I'm not so sure this is true for me. Being stuck inside, studying and hanging out all day, is so boring. Only when I'm reading or researching or doing interesting schoolwork am I content. When my mind is engaged, it goes elsewhere. Zoom! But escape is only temporarily. I always come back here, to a crowded apartment in a crowded building in a crowded city.
I want to go new places. I want to do amazing things.
Right now, however, I have to complete high school. I'm a year ahead, a junior at sixteen. I like being challenged, but digiworld education is pretty easy. However, I love environmental history class and nature science. I love looking at how the world around us used to be, the early people and their simple lives, the wild animals and their natural homes. Everything was so different back then. Nothing looks like it did in back in 2000, 2025, even as recently as 2050. There's been so much rapid environmental change and so many social adjustments, it's a whole new world.
I glide through the living room without disturbing anyone. They rarely notice me anyway, tucked in their tiny cubicles, encapsulated in their surround-sound head screens. I don't walk past my parents, though. Those two have eyes in the back of their heads and they could snatch me by the hoodie and hold me here. Maybe even assign some useless chores. Or, even worse, try to make me do some call work.
No thanks.
But I'm invisible, so out the door I slip and up the stairwell I go. Up, up, up, jogging two stairs at a time, eventually slowing to a brisk step-up walk. My breath comes out in frosty spurts. The stairway is cement and holds the winter chill.
It's a good run up the stairs to the top, so I use it as exercise. I want to be fit and strong so I can go on adventures. Explore other parts of Greenland, then explore the rest of the world. But I'm sort of huffing as I power up the flights. Sitting inside all day is not good training.
At the ninety-ninth floor, I stop for a moment to admire my lucky talisman. An abandoned spider web, which has been here as long as I've been coming up from the second floor. Dusty and wispy, it hangs in the corner off the rough gray wall. The web is perfect, an incredible design still intact. I wish a spider lived in it. I would love to see a real live insect, observe one in its natural habitat.
I remove the sock from my hand and reach up, gently feeling the soft silk. Impressive how a female spider can create such gossamer material inside her own body. I'm not sure what I will create inside mine because I am intersex. That means I am part male and part female. I may have eggs, I may not. Whatever is in store for me, I will never be able to weave beautiful webs, that is certain.
I drag myself up the final flight and lean against the door to the roof. The heavy steel is especially difficult to push open today, which indicates it's extra windy outside. I shove the door with all my strength and, with an aggressive grunt, manage to open it wide enough that I can slide through. I'm small and thin, making it easy for me to fit into some of the places I wish to go. Only I want to go everywhere. Travel the world. Visit the moon. Take up residence at one of the space hotels, and jump on the shuttle to Mars.
Yet here I am, stuck in the sad city of Shamed with my loud telemarketing family.
The wind is biting, it chews at my face and neck. I pull up my hood, feeling sorry I didn't borrow my niece Kamara's seal headdress. That kooky thing makes me look like I have a pile of blubber on my head, but it keeps my ears warm.
I hurry across the vast expanse of the empty roof to my spot. A small bench sits between the solar heating units. The afternoon sun is still bright and, tucked here out of the wind, I am soon warm and cozy.
I drop the hood and turn my face to the sun. Winter all over the globe is mild and brief these days, but here in Greenland it used to be brutal. Back then, nobody could sit outside in March, their face to the winter sun.
Warmed enough now, I pull out my dad's World War Three binoculars and stare at the activity on the streets below. Most working people are inside, at home, probably on their headgear. Those hanging around outside are homeless. Too many Shamed residents are unemployed, and lots of families lose their apartments and end up on the streets. My family is lucky to be employed.
Two raggedy men sit side by side on the icy sidewalk, waiting for donations. I watch an elderly man stop to give them something, but I can't tell what it is. It's flat, kind of square, so it looks like an old book. But books are exceedingly rare, so I doubt anyone here would donate one. After the guy shuffles off, the two beggars argue over the donation. I watch them fighting over their prize until I'm bored.
The streets are harsh today. Gusts of cold wind rip off seal hats and shake solar lamp posts. Kids dressed in layers of oversized clothing huddle in doorways. I feel sorry for them. If you have no place to live and no screens, you have nothing to do. You can't even go to school.
I check the sky, looking for birds. But I don't see any. Usually I don't. There are so few trees in the city that birds are as rare as books.
As I scan the neighboring buildings, I peek in the uncurtained windows. I'm imagining what the residents' lives are like in the apartments that surround ours. Sometimes I can see people moving around their rooms, and I create stories about them in my mind. The women care for others like my mother does. The men have interesting work that keeps them from being bored with the limits of city life.
Two kids who look around my age live in the building just south of ours. A girl and a boy, I think. It's hard to tell because so many kids are intersex. They might be twins, they sure look a lot alike except one has like an afro and the other has long straighter hair. They study and eat together, often huddling to talk. They nudge each other, make funny faces, laugh. Watching them makes me feel both happy and sad. I wish I had someone like that in my life. My siblings are much older than I am. Even my two nieces are in their twenties. My mother told me my birth was a bit of a surprise. Had to be, she was over eighty when I was born. My parents have great-grandkids who are around my age. So my grandnieces and grandnephews are teenagers too.
Confusing, right?
There's no sign of the twins today, and nothing much to see in the other windows. The frosty wind whistles in the distance as I look across a seemingly endless vista of rooftops. Rooftop after rooftop, stark gray and lifeless. No people, no furnishings, no swimming pools or pretty tile patios like in the historic photos of old city buildings in places like New York and Miami, Paris and Shanghai. Here in Shamed, the city skyline looks like an empty parking lot, just gravel and asphalt that stretches as far as you can see. In the early part of the millennium, lots of cities had restaurants and observation decks on building rooftops. How cosmic that must have been! Dining close to the stars! Looking out at the brilliant blue sky, the green vista below with flowering trees and pretty parks. Birds flying by, settling in the treetops. And singing!
When my parents were kids, they lived in an alive world. Such a different world than mine. I feel ripped off. Still staring though my spy glasses, I sigh heavily.
"Feeling grumpy, are we?"
I jump off the bench, my binoculars bouncing against my chest, then whacking my chin. I can feel my heart racing faster than it did when I jogged up the stairs. I've never seen anyone out here on the roof. Nobody comes up here but me.
An old man with reddish gray hair stands a few feet away, his arms outstretched. A smirk escapes from beneath his bushy beard. After a few seconds of us just staring at one another, a large blue-gray pigeon suddenly appears and lands on his right hand.
I startle and step back, but he grins. "Wait. There's more," he says.
Another pigeon, a pudgy brown one this time, lands on his left shoulder. He rolls his eyes and that makes me laugh. I can't help it, he looks crazy!
"There," he says, his grin widening when a white dove plops down on the crown of his head. "That's better."








 






Virginia Aronson, RD, MS, is the author of more than forty books. She is the Director of Food and Nutrition Resources Foundation, a non-profit corporation that supports individuals, organizations, and communities actively seeking to improve access to healthy food, nutrition education, sustainable and regenerative agriculture, and a socially just food system. She is the author of two books of ecofiction: A Garden on Top of the World (Dixi Books, 2019) and Mottainai: A Journey in Search of the Zero Waste Life.

Website Address: https://fnrfoundation.org/

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