Yes, I write about strong women. Women who have come out of life’s tornadoes bent but not broken, women who may have started slow but come out ahead in the end, women who bite off more than they can chew then take one more morsel. These are the women I admire. Most of them, I believe, have maintained a positivity about them through thick and thin in spite of what life has dealt them.
As we all know what Proverbs says—“A merry heart doeth good like medicine . . . .” I, myself, am a great believer in nurturing a sense of humor and the notable art and enduring gift of laughter, in general. I’m blessed to have adult children, a husband, a dog and a cat who keep me giggling along with grandkids who constantly make me smile.
I have to add that I’m also pretty good at laughing at myself. I do believe it comes naturally. As I get older, I crack myself up on a daily basis due to mild forgetfulness, a clumsy misstep or my ever-constant companion, sarcasm with a capital S.
My guest blogger is someone who knows a lot about humor for she has the ability to flavor her writing with it. Marilyn Simon Rothstein is the author of Lift and Separate, winner of the Star Award presented by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association for Outstanding Debut Novel. Husbands and Other Sharp Objects is her second novel.
Marilyn grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, began her writing career at Seventeen Magazine, and owned an advertising agency for more than twenty-five years. Marilyn received an MA in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in Judaic Studies from the University of Connecticut. She enjoys speaking at book festivals and community events.
An Interview with Marilyn Simon Rothstein
Can you tell us what your novels are about?
My debut novel, Lift and Separate, is the story of Marcy Hammer, a woman in her fifties whose husband, Harvey, The Bra King, leaves her for a 32DD after thirty-three years of marriage. Marcy has three grown children and has given up her career to raise her family. After the initial shock, and with the help of friends, Marcy becomes determined to lift herself up by her own lacy straps and start all over again.
Husbands and Other Sharp Objects is my new book–released in March by Lake Union Publishers. It continues Marcy’s adventure. The two books can be read independently of each other.
What is the story behind Husbands and Other Sharp Objects?
Now that Marcy Hammer is ready to get herself unhitched everyone else in her life is looking for a commitment. Her new boyfriend wants to get serious and her soon to be ex-husband is desperate to get back with her. When her headstrong daughter announces a secret engagement to Harvey’s attorney, Marcy finds herself planning her daughter’s wedding as she plans her own divorce.
Her daughter Amanda is headstrong. For example, instead of being married by a rabbi, Amanda would like to be married by her psychiatrist. When Marcy meets the shrink at the wedding, he says, “I’ve heard a lot about you”.
When Lake Union published your first book, you were 63. How has your life changed?
It has been a real time saver. Now I don’t have to waste hours each day wishing my book was published.
The truth is I’m almost as busy as I was in my thirties and forties when I raised two daughters, owned an advertising agency, and went to graduate school. Whew. I’m tired just thinking about all of that.
Why did you name the book Husbands and Other Sharp Objects?
The sharpest objects are the ones closest to us. As Marcy recreates her life, it’s her grown children and her new boyfriend and her almost ex-husband who appear to be standing in the way.
Are you married? Is your husband a sharp object?
I met my husband in an elevator and we have been married over forty years.
When Harvey leaves Marcy, they are married thirty-three years. My husband and I have had fights that lasted that long.
The truth is my husband is anything but sharp and anything but dull. We are very different people. His glass is full and I don’t have a glass. Because I write books about the bra business, I’ll describe my husband Alan as supportive and uplifting.
Have you travelled to promote your novels?
Yes! I love speaking at libraries and to community groups. Some of the places I visited last year were Atlanta, Georgia, St. Louis, Missouri, Naples, Florida, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and many places in New York. Also, I travelled a lot in New England. I live in Connecticut.
What is the message in Husbands and Other Sharp Objects?
No matter how difficult it seems and how much determination it takes, a person can change at any age.
Can you talk a bit about your favorite characters in Husbands and Other Sharp Objects?
Well, of course, I love the wit, loving nature and determination of Marcy Hammer. Of the other characters, I had a lot of fun writing the mother of Marcy’s son-in-law. Her name is Mrs. Berger, but Marcy calls her Mrs. Burglar because she steals anything that will fit in her shoulder bag–from tampons in a restroom to muffins on a buffet.
Do you spend much time on social media?
Until my first book was published, I didn’t know the difference between Facebook and face cream, but now I love social media.
I have an author page on Facebook, Marilyn Simon Rothstein Author, as well as just a personal page, Marilyn Simon Rothstein, so I hope your readers will friend me. I am on Twitter @nounsandverbs1. As for Instagram, I am @Marilynsimonrothstein.
What are the Amazon links for your books?
My Amazon links are
amzn.to/2BirM5k http://amzn.to/2EafApA
What are you working on now? Is Marcy in your next book?
No. I’m saying goodbye to Marcy for a while to write a book about a woman who is overweight and can’t stop eating. I’ve done tremendous research on this book my entire life! But just in case I need more information, I am going for ice cream after I finish this interview.
Thank you so much, Marilyn, for taking time to be a guest on my blog.
See everyone in July.
Jody
First on my list, my mother. Yes, my that’s Mama and me. I don’t speak of her a lot; she was what one might call an “interesting” woman. To this day, my sister and brother and I have a hard time explaining her sometimes unique behavior (another story awaits). If you’re as ancient as I am, you know the song, “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.” That was my mother’s theme song. She was creative but strong willed, a good wife and I suppose she was never wrong (or at least that’s what she told me). She never drove a car yet when I was a child, she walked blocks to volunteer at a nearby children’s hospital. She loved to write and concentrated on poetry. Liked to be the center of attention but wasn’t particularly social. An enigma, she passed away over twenty years ago and still remains somewhat of a mystery to me for she never talked about her childhood.
different kind of strength and they’ve acquired it through life’s upheaval, sorrow, hardship, and often survival. These are women who seek out the joy, the calm, and the compassion rather than dwell on the negative and who are laying the groundwork for the future. If there’s a problem, they tackle it, face it, and most of the time find a solution or die fighting. In a time when brave women are speaking out about abuse, voicing their opinions, turning ripples into tsunamis, I have great hope that the women of the future will have even more strength to represent our amazing gender.
I hope everyone had a wonderful and warm holiday season, and you have thawed out.
of writing I will be able to accomplish. I have so many ideas, so many stories swirling around in my little brain. But reality says, “Whoa, Nellie!” Husband, children, grandchildren, bronchitis, holidays, the dog, the cat, etc. I blame my unfinished manuscript or rather my UNPOLISHED manuscript on all of the above. Especially, the dog. There, I’ve said it.
There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of books, websites, and blogs giving help to writers on how to do it correctly, how to avoid mistakes, how to create better characters, better dialogue, more conflict, etc. If I read them all I’d be too busy to write. So I do it backwards. I write the book, have someone else read it, edit it, and then I read someone’s (a smarter person than me) book. REPEAT.
It’s already November. I have to be honest and say I’m glad to see the leaves fall. I really had kind of a rotten summer.
g author, who is a Labor & Delivery Registered Nurse by night and a writer by day. Her love of reading romance novels prompted her at age fifty-seven to write her first contemporary romance manuscript. She loves composing stories about strong women and sweet romance. Her books reflect her love of the performing arts and a twenty-eight-year career in healthcare has influenced the threads of medical drama woven into her storylines.
I discovered something beautiful about our community, and I now have a personal connection to it. Through this project, I’ve learned much as an author. I have written three full-length novels, so to leave my comfort zone and write a story in its shortest form was a victory; a positive experience that will help challenge the writer in me to try new things. The time and commitment I put into Love Around the Table have indeed brought me much in return, and I am grateful.
The other day, my husband, the talented pianist, was practicing a song from La La Land, “The Fools Who Dream.” I identify with that song. I am still, even at my age, one of those people who sees hope that all my dreams will come true.
Let me introduce you to someone who is fulfilling her dreams, my friend, Amazon Best Selling author and four-time RONE Award Finalist, Linda Joyce. Linda writes women’s fiction and romance with 10 books to her name since 2013. She’s published through The Wild Rose Press and Word Works Press. Also, you’ll find her poetry and short memoirs within the pages of a several anthologies.
“She has the ‘Yes’ disease.”
worrying that I’ve already lost it in so many aspects of my life. I’ve accepted that there are way too many things of which I have absolutely no control. Let’s see – hurricanes, storm surges, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, summers that are too hot, winters that are too cold, oh and did I say, hurricanes?
Today, my own personal remote is not so complicated.
Jena C. Henry is an active, high energy gal who is a wife, mother, non-profit volunteer and bon vivant. She created the book series, The Golden Age of Charli, to encourage, entertain and share her joy of living and laughing. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Akron School of Law. Now retired, she and her husband, Alan, live in tropical Ohio where they enjoy their two adult children and darling dog. In addition to her writing, she presents writing workshops to help creatives achieve their dreams of writing a book and publishing it. She reviews books for readersreviewroom.com and hosts book tours and promotions on her website.
Happy Memorial Day! Please take time to honor all our Veterans who died for our country and the freedoms we enjoy today!! 
For the next nine days, Mike and I drove up the magnificent Pacific Coast Highway making stops to visit friends along the way. We ended our tour with two days in San Francisco before we ventured to Sacramento where we had lunch with more friends and dinner with relatives before we caught a flight out the following day back to Georgia.
Mike’s role as chauffeur allowed me to accept the job of voyeur. Along the route, I began to notice the trees. As my husband steered farther north, the trees grew taller. Never have I seen such unusual shapes and shades of green. I, being the tree lover that I am, stood in awe of the variety, the differences and the beauty.
woman and writer, I love the variations on our exteriors. Yes, we are all the same in our basic feelings, wants and needs, but it’s the differences that appeal to me. The distinctions, whether it be facial features, body shapes and sizes, the wearing of old, mismatched clothes or haute couture, melodious or gruff voices, colloquial accents or even mannerisms. It’s what makes life colorful. 
And, by the way, not only was I blessed to be entertained by the beauty of the scenery and the interesting people, I’m positive that I was able to amuse the locals many times with my loud cackling laughter and my southern-fried accent peppered with an occasional “y’all” thrown in for good measure.
With Mother’s Day approaching, we spotlight our mothers whether they are still living or have passed on, and remember fondly how these women have impacted our lives. My mother who was a unique yet troubled woman, taught me life lessons I will never forget. I, being a mother myself, can only hope that I’ve been able to fool my grown children into thinking I’ve passed on some of my positive qualities. (Fingers crossed)![Erin - BlueHair[1960]](https://jodyherpin.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/erin-bluehair1960.jpg?w=199&h=199)
Now, let me welcome my guest blogger, ERIN BARTELS. Erin is a copywriter and freelance editor by day and a novelist by night. Her first novel, The Bone Garden, is currently on submission and her second, I Hold the Wind, was a finalist in the 2015 Rising Star Contest from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Her short story “This Elegant Ruin” was a finalist in The Saturday Evening Post 2014 Great American Fiction Contest. She is also the features editor for and a regular contributor to WFWA’s quarterly newsletter, Write On.
When we get the news—Someone wants to publish my book, and they’re going to PAY me for it!—and that first flush of excitement is swiftly replaced with a rush of anxiety—What if no one buys it? What if I’m awkward in interviews? What if no one shows up to my book-signing?—we can calm ourselves with the knowledge that we have a community of writers who are behind us 100% and will answer our questions and quell our fears. They’ll help us get through this. Cherish that.
April is such a great month and quite eventful! This year, there was Easter, and of course, my birthday and coming up, my wedding anniversary. How cool is that!! We can also include Professional Baseball opening days (like the Braves in their new stadium). On the other side of the coin, there’s Income Tax Day and a few disastrous historical events I won’t mention here. But, to me, personally, April rocks!
BUT. I wasn’t always a writer. I started off as a reader. When I was a child, I took stacks and stacks of books home from our local library: I read all the time, even under my bed covers at night with a flashlight – Harry the Dirty Dog, Frog and Toad, A Wrinkle in Time, and Chronicles of Narnia.
Jody Herpin 