"What If? Why? And Why Not? Understanding the Nuts & Bolts of the Creative Process" Author Sally Wiener Grotta to Speak at at the Mandel JCC in Palm Beach, Florida
(PRWEB) February 19, 2014 -- Sally Wiener Grotta, author of the acclaimed novel "Jo Joe," will be speaking on March 5, 2014, at 2:30 PM, at the Mandel Jewish Community Center, 5221 Hood Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418, Tel: 561-712-5200.
Sally Wiener Grotta will be sharing insights into how she gets from concept and inspiration, drawing from questions of “What if?” “Why?” and “Why not?” to creating a complete comprehensive, meaningful story in book form.
“Writers often reveal the creative process that develops while writing a novel,” Grotta explains. “But what gets left unsaid is exactly how does that initial spark of inspiration translate into an imaginary, but oh-so-real world colored with characters, actions, crises, moral decisions, and resolutions -- what is called world building."
A consummate storyteller, Grotta will share her insights and tales, while also exploring the specifics of how her novel "Jo Joe" grew from an initial real-life interaction with a boy whose dreams were destroyed to a full-blown fictional story that has been garnering raves and buzz among readers and reviewers.
ABOUT: "JO JOE"
Every once in a while, a novel appears that exhibits the hallmarks of one that will endure. Reviewers and readers are discovering that "Jo Joe" by Sally Wiener Grotta has all the elements: a compelling, beautifully crafted story you won’t want to put down; memorable characters readers respond to on a visceral level; and meaningful subject matter that makes readers think, talk and question, long after they have finished the last page.
"Jo Joe" is the story of Judith Ormand, who learned hate and bigotry early in life. As a child, she was the only Black — and the only Jew — in a small insular Pennsylvania mountain village where she was raised by her white Christian grandparents. Now, she must reluctantly break her vow to never return to the town she learned to hate. During her one week visit, she buries and mourns her beloved grandmother, is forced to deal with the white boy who cruelly broke her heart, and is menaced by an old enemy. But with her traumatic discovery of a long buried secret, Judith finds more questions than answers about the prejudice that scarred her childhood.
Published by Pixel Hall Press, "Jo Joe" is available in hardbound, paperback, and all eBook formats. The press should contact Cynthia Dadson (Cynthia AT PixelHallPress DOT.com) to request press review copies and/or to arrange an interview with Sally Wiener Grotta. The public is welcome to download a free excerpt of "Jo Joe" to discover for themselves what’s behind all the rave reviews and Internet buzz.
ABOUT SALLY WIENER GROTTA
"Jo Joe" is the first novel by Sally Wiener Grotta. As a journalist, Grotta’s features and reviews are recognized as being marked by a narrative style that entertains as well as informs. Having traveled on assignment to all seven continents and many of the world’s islands, her work has appeared in scores of magazines and newspapers (including Woman’s Day, American Heritage, Islands, The Robb Report, Popular Science, etc.). A member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors, she is also the co-author of numerous non-fiction books. Her short fiction has appeared in The North Atlantic Review. Her next novel, The Winter Boy, will be published in autumn, 2014.With her varied background and journalistic experiences, Sally Wiener Grotta is a fascinating and entertaining speaker who has appeared at numerous conferences, trade shows, schools, and other venues, as well as on radio and TV.
Further information about Sally Wiener Grotta is available at http://www.Grotta.net. YouTube videos of her include: “Why Do We Hate? A presentation about 'Jo Joe'” and “Reaching Across the Ethnic/Racial Divide: A Minority Counterpoint Interview with Sally Wiener Grotta”.
ABOUT PIXEL HALL PRESS
Pixel Hall Press is a relatively new, old-fashioned small publishing house whose focus is on discovering literary gems and great stories that might have otherwise been overlooked.
In this era of digital technology, Wall Street involvement and merger mania, mainstream publishers seem to have lost sight of the core principles and purpose of publishing. At the other end of the spectrum is an avalanche of self-published books that are notoriously uneven in quality. Small boutique imprints, such as Pixel Hall Press, are reclaiming the heart and soul of publishing by reviving the idea that a publisher's raison d'être is to find and nurture great writers, and to provide readers with beautiful, meaningful, truly enjoyable books.
Cynthia Dadson, Pixel Hall Press, http://www.pixelhallpress.com, +1 (570) 676-5500, [email protected]
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