Tag: book-review

A writer’s thoughts

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

There are millions of us. People who have so many ideas swimming in their heads they don’t have enough time to get them written. People who feel the need to express themselves in words. People who will never be successful writers.

But we write anyway. And in this day of self-publishing for free on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), some really bad books are out there. So are some really good ones. Most, I suspect, fall somewhere in the middle.

My early fiction writing attempts were published by a traditional small press. I never paid anything to have them published, and I made a little money off the sales. Very little. But I wrote anyway, and I look back now and realize a few things about myself. First, my topics are antiquated. I write stories like those written by Janette Oke(Aimee) or the writers of children’s mysteries published in the 1950s and 1960s (The Ghosts of Graceland, Music City Mayhem). The romance themes were sweet and innocent, in a way (Smoky Mountain Brides).

In other words, most people under 80 or older than 10 would not want to read them.

All of those books are out of print now because the publishing company has sold and the time to make them available has expired. So, I rewrote Aimee, changed a few things, and self-published. I believe the newer edition is better. I took the novella in Smoky Mountain Brides and polished it before sell-publishing as Can’t Help Falling in Love.

I know I don’t have what it takes to be like John Grisham or my favorite author Lisa Wingate. I can’t write a Pulitzer Prize winner like Geraldine Brooks did with her book March. And I definitely can’t write books like those by Kristin Hannah, Kristi Harmel, Ann Patchett, and others.

My best selling book so far is the one pictured. Don’t get me wrong, royalties are very small. I think my last royalty check was just under $15. But that’s okay because the purpose of the book is to help people.

I’m more of a journalistic style writer. Like with this blog, I write informally, as though I’m having a conversation (one-sided) with the reader. I kept the book short, knowing most people won’t ffiish a long book. I don’t think my own children have read this book even though it was published two years ago. They’re busy, I know, but neither do they read this blog. People read what interests them, and the number of people with an interest in vision loss or a the information is small.

That’s okay. That knowledge is not stopping me from writing a sequel to it. I’m almost finished with the first draft of what I am currently calling Journey to Sight but will be renaming it before publication.

I’m going to continue to write fiction because I’ve been writing stories since I was seven years old. I still remember the story I wrote and illustrated that my teacher allowed me to read to my class. Suzy the Elephant was about a circus elephant. Wonder where I got that idea? Yes, I loved all things Disney. When I was nine, I wrote the riveting story “The Tale of the Bloody Bluff Brothers” set in Arizona where I lived at the time.

Writing to me was what some of you experienced with Little League and other sports. It was what I loved.

All I ever wanted to do was be a writer, but just like those of you who had dreams of becoming a professional athlete, that never materialized. I focused on reality and discovered interests in other areas.

I’m still going to write fiction. I’ve promised a young girl to finish Secrets of the Smokies, the third in the Mandi mystery series. I’m working on a sequel to Aimee. This one is set in 1911 at the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma, Arizona. By the way, the prison had closed at that point (1909), and when the local high school burned, classes met at the prison from 1910 until 1914. Their mascot to this day? The Criminals. And I’m likely going to rewrite my novella Surf Song that was part of now out-of-print Coastal Promises before next summer. It’s a beach read set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’ve even started on a book for women that can be used in a class setting with a working title of The Woman God Sees.

Writers, you understand how I feel. You love books. You love to write. No matter how unpopular the end product is, you have to express yourself.

A review of Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

I copied this photo from images on the Internet. When I look at it, I see an innocent young girl who had no idea of the life ahead of her. I see what appears to be a loving family. I see a girl who should have everything she wants in life and happiness as a result.

But Lisa’s recently published memoir depicts anything but happiness.

Lisa began writing her memoir but struggled to put it together. About a month before she passed away, she asked her oldest child, Riley Keogh, to help her write it, thereby giving her access to Lisa’s recordings as she described her life, her relationships, her emotional struggles, and her addictions. Because she died before the book was completed, Riley took it upon herself to fill in the gaps and have it published.

The audiobook is structured with Lisa’s actual voice recording at the beginning of each chapter. Julia Roberts reads the part of the book from Lisa’s perspective. Riley reads her own writing. Each chapter contains all three perspectives.

It is obvious that Lisa loved her father and her children more than anyone else in her life. Elvis spoiled her and gave her total freedom at Graceland, and that freedom plus his strong love for her made him the favorite parent. When you find out what happened to her while under Priscilla’s care, it is easy to understand why she loved him the best.

She is open about her own insecurities. She hated fame and was an introvert. She felt unattractive, untalented, and unloved after her father died. Her involvement with scientology had a positive impact on her life, but it didn’t last. Her first husband, Danny Keogh, was the one constant in her adult life despite their divorce and her marriages to Michael Jackson, Nicholas Cage, and Michael Lockwood.

Riley talks about her brother Ben–how he was Lisa’s favorite, how the two had a special connection like Elvis did with his mother, how Ben took his own life. Riley describes how loving Lisa was as a mother, but she is honest about Lisa’s emotional struggles and addictions.

It’s obvious from the book that Lisa never got over losing her father at the age of nine. She carried that grief with her until she died, and I wonder about that. Today is the anniversary of my own father’s death 13 years ago, but I don’t grieve. I was very much a daddy’s girl myself, but I cherish the memories of times with my dad and rejoice that his sufferings have ended. I believe he is in a better place, and I believe I’ll see him again.

Lisa didn’t have that faith. Nor did she have a normal family life.

I often think people without a purpose are the most unhappy people on earth. They have all the money they. need and no reason to work for anything, so that leaves too much time and money so they become bored, indulge their every desire, and fall into unhealthy lifestyles and habits. This book is proof of my belief.

Riley provides a good balance to Lisa’s perspective, and the book shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of their lives.

The book is worth the read. There is some strong language in it, which I don’t appreciate because I’m offended by it, but I realize that for many in the world these days, that’s the normal way of talking. I don’t like it, but my desire to read the book overcame my dislike. If strong language bothers you to the point you don’t want to read anything containing it, don’t read it.

I won’t read it again. Once was enough. But I’m that way with most books.

The title of the book is From Here to the Great Unknown, words taken from the gospel song Elvis recorded “Where No One Stands Alone.” Despite his many weaknesses and arrested development, Elvis loved gospel music above all others. He found solace in it for his own struggles.

Lisa, it seems, found no solace anywhere.