Monday, November 14, 2011

TwitterView with Laurie Bellesheim about Surviving Emily

On October 19, 2011 I had the esteemed pleasure of interviewing Laurie Bellesheim, the author of Surviving Emilya heartbreaking story that leaves us all with a feeling of hope and a recognition of the healing power of love. This is Laurie's first published novel and I am happy to be a part of the party shouting it out to the world!

Here's a description of the book from the Surviving Emily website.
Abigail Hooper and Stephen Sparks had never heard of Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy until one fatal morning in November when it crushed their hopes and dreams. Twelve years after the devastating loss of their dearest friend Emily, they find themselves still affected by the trauma.
Abigail, married and newly pregnant, helps others through her work for the Department of Children and Families. When a new client with epilepsy unexpectedly forces her to re-examine the past, Abigail realizes she’s the one who needs saving. Stephen has struggled emotionally, physically and spiritually after losing the love of his life, and the long-term effects of his grief have kept him from truly living and finding love again.


If you missed the TwitterView, there's no need for you to be sad, I saved it all for you! Here it is, in it's entirety. Enjoy! 
riverand 1:01pm via HootSuite
@LaBellesheim first of all, congrats on publishing your 1st novel #SurvivingEmily. It must be so exciting!

@riverand I'm very excited about it! I'm so happy to see it out there , its been a great experience

@LaBellesheim how long have you been #writing in general & how long did you work on #SurvivingEmily?

@riverand I've been writing since I was a small kid, on and off over the years. It took me 3 yrs. to complete Surviving Emily

@LaBellesheim 3 years! WOW! A labor of love, for sure!!


LaBellesheim 1:03pm via TweetDeck
I had several versions of Surviving Emily before I stuck to one so it took me a bit longer


@riverand It was a labor of love, it means a great deal to me :)


LaBellesheim 1:04pm via TweetDeck
@riverand After several versions and revisions, I finally decided to publish


@LaBellesheim What was is about THIS version of #SurvivingEmily that told you "This is IT"?


@riverand I realized that it was finally expressing what I was trying to get across. And knew if I didn't stop tinkering I'd never finish

@LaBellesheim Ah YES!I read that you got that great piece of advice from a writing class - finish first, then go back. <3 it #SurvivingEmily

@riverand I also knew I was done when the story made me tear up :)


@LaBellesheim a good sign, for sure #SurvivingEmily


So, @LaBellesheim when the BIG DAY came did you have any kind of celebration when you received your first PUBLISHED copy of #SurvivingEmily?


@riverand My husband celebrated it by buying me a really nice pen to sign all my books with, lol.

@riverand I also had a celebration dinner with some friends and a good bottle of wine :)

riverand 1:12pm via HootSuite @LaBellesheim Ooo! I love cool pens! What a great gift! So thoughtful. (Thumbs up to the hubby!)  


@riverand It was sweet. The best was when my 3yr old saw the book and saw my picture on it & got all excited!

@Labellesheim friends, food and wine - a perfect celebration!! #SurvivingEmily

@LaBellesheim since the hubby has come up, rumor has it you are also a mom of 3. That's a handful! #momauthor #SurvivingEmily

@riverand Nothing can beat your own book arriving at your door!

@riverand YES! I am a mother to 3. My girls are 3 and 4 and are very much like having twins.

@LaBellesheim you see we both went straight to thinking of the kids! This leads to my next question. #SurvivingEmily

@LaBellesheim HOW did you find the time and quiet space to #write while raising 3 children? #momauthor #SurvivingEmily

@riverand That's a good question. It was very hard and it slowed me down quite a bit but when u want something bad enough u make it happen.

@riverand I used to have a babysitter come 1x a week for 4 hours to help me with this.

@riverand Early mornings and late nights helped too :)

@LaBellesheim Would you consider yourself a naptime writer? :) #momauthor #SurvivingEmily

@riverand I wish! My kids refuse to take naps :) They stopped napping too early.

@LaBellesheim I think the babysitter is a wonderful investment and a great idea!! #momauthor #SurvivingEmily

@riverand The goods news is that my son is a teen and in school for a good portion of the day so that was at least 1 down.

@riverand Yes, it was great t ohave the babysitter - she helped me clear my mind


@riverand This year the younger ones go to preschool 3x a week so now I have started writing again!

@LaBellesheim my next question brings us back to the writing process again. A question of curiosity, I suppose... #SurvivingEmily

@LaBellesheim Who did you show your book, #SurvivingEmily, to first? Husband, friend, editor, #WritingGroup? And why that person?

@riverand Prior to publishing it was my friends. But on that BIG day, I showed my husband first.

@riverand I waited to show the hubby because I wanted to surprise him with the finished copy

LaBellesheim 1:23pm via TweetDeck
@riverand I also dedicated my novel to my husband and children & I didn't show him until it arrived :)

@LaBellesheim Had your husband been reading along during the pre-published stages with your friends? #SurvivingEmily

This is so sweet :) RT @labellesheim: @riverand I also dedicated my novel to my husband and children & I didn't show him until it arrived :)

@riverand He did in the very beginning but when I kept changing it around & revising he stopped. He figured he'd wait

@riverand Us women think alike! :)

@LaBellesheim Wow, so the finished product must've been very exciting on SO many levels!! #SurvivingEmily

@riverand Yes, I still can't get over seeing my name on the cover sometimes

we do :) RT @labellesheim: @riverand Us women think alike! :)

**SO COOL!!** RT @labellesheim: @riverand Yes, I still can't get over seeing my name on the cover sometimes

@riverand It's nice to have achieved this goal of mine

OK @LaBellesheim I have some questions about the story #SurvivingEmily and your inspirations/experiences relating to it, ready?

@riverand Sure!

@LaBellesheim your job in social work must expose you to so many stories.How much of THAT reality influences your writing? #SurvivingEmily

@riverand My SW experiences have given me MUCH to write about but realistically I only used a small piece of it in the story

@riverand I think I might use more of those experiences in the next novel

@riverand I tried to be careful in Surviving Emily to keep some of those experiences fictional but close to the truth

@LaBellesheim true however do you think your exposure to so many diff people through SW helped in character development? #SurvivingEmily

@riverand Absolutely - the role of Nancy in my story is very similar to many of the young clients i worked with

answering later questions! Yay!! ---> RT @labellesheim: @riverand I think I might use more of those experiences in the next novel

@riverand The attitudes your faced with out in the field of SW are similar to that of Nancy's

@LaBellesheim Understandable, my experience with various attitudes/emotions/reactions as a teacher gives me juicy details for characters!

@riverand In Surviving Emily, Nancy is the character who brings back the painful memories for Abigail

@LaBellesheim Nancy is a nice segue to my next question #SurvivingEmily

@riverand It's fun creating characters based of real experiences with other people

#SurvivingEmily mirrors a sad event from your life w #SUDEP - how difficult was it to relive that through your writing? @LaBellesheim

@riverand It was very difficult at times because it brought back a lot of memories for me as well, even some that I had forgotten.

@riverand But in a way, it was also therapeutic and helped me work past some it

@riverand In a few scenes or chapters , I shed a few tears

@LaBellesheim do you think writing the book helped you in your grieving process? #SurvivingEmily #SUDEP

@riverand I do. Surviving Emily first started off years ago as a writing journal for me to help in the grieving process.

Wonderful!! RT @labellesheim: @riverand But in a way, it was also therapeutic and helped me work past some it

@LaBellesheim in #SurvivingEmily Emily's death was initially suspicious & investigated by cops. Is this common in #SUDEP cases?

@riverand At first I never imagined Surviving Emily becoming a published novel, it was more for me but it became something else over time

@riverand I'm not sure if it's common, but its very likely as most times there is no known cause for the death

@LaBellesheim Publishing #SurvivingEmily was a fantastic move 1.you bring awareness to #SUDEP and 2. who knows how many ppl NEED this story!

@riverand In my case, I really didn't know my friend had epilepsy & her death was a huge shock

So scary! RT @labellesheim: @riverand In my case, I really didn't know my friend had epilepsy & her death was a huge shock

@riverand That's exactly what I'm hoping for in this story - to help raise awareness

You made ME aware!! I had no idea! RT @labellesheim: @riverand That's exactly what I'm hoping for in this story - to help raise awareness

@riverand I know a person like myself could have really used a story like this back whe nit had happened to me

EXACTLY! RT @labellesheim: @riverand I know a person like myself could have really used a story like this back whe nit had happened to me

@riverand I didn't hear about SUDEP until several years AFTER my friend passed away.

So we know that Abigail's character was modeled after you. What about Stephen's character? @LaBellesheim #SurvivingEmily

@riverand At the time of her death, SUDEP was unheard of

Wait! What?! Amazing. RT @labellesheim: @riverand I didn't hear about SUDEP until several years AFTER my friend passed away.

@riverand Stephen's character is slightly based off an actual person who was involved in this story

Oh W-O-W. RT @labellesheim: @riverand At the time of her death, SUDEP was unheard of

@riverand Very true

@LaBellesheim if you could, what advice would you give to Abigail, Stephen or anyone dealing with loss suffered from #SUDEP? #SurvivingEmily

@riverand SUDEP didn't become a medical term used on death certificates until years after her death

@riverand My advice would be to search out others who have experienced the same tragedy, to find a support group

@LaBellesheim I am so happy for you that you were finally able to put a name to the mysterious death! #SurvivingEmily #SUDEP

@riverand I would also suggest to research more about epilepsy and SUDEP and find out ways to help raise awareness

@riverand It was quite a turning moment in my life to learn about SUDEP and put a name to my friends death

@LaBellesheim excellent advice. I would add read #SurvivingEmily. I think it's quite powerful to see your own reality played out in fiction.

@riverand I've learned so much about epilespy and SUDEP since then & I hope to help educate others too

Well, @LaBellesheim, I think it is time we tell people where they can find more info about you & #SurvivingEmily. Where should people go?

@riverand It was a challenge to write fiction based off real experience.

I believe that! RT @labellesheim: @riverand It was a challenge to write fiction based off real experience. #SurvivingEmily

@riverand More info on Surviving Emily can be found on my website at SurvivingEmily.com

RT @labellesheim: @riverand More info on Surviving Emily can be found on my website at SurvivingEmily.com

@riverand A excerpt and my bio can be found on the website

@riverand Surviving Emily is also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

@LaBellesheim excellent, and although I believe you alluded to this earlier, I have one more question for you! #SurvivingEmily

@riverand Sure :)

1 more thing before we let you go, @LaBellesheim! Are you working on a new project for all of us to look forward to after #SurvivingEmily?

@riverand Yes! I am happy to report that I've already started novel #2, another women's fiction novel.

@riverand I plan to keep going and writing for many more years to come! :)

@riverand Thank you for this chat! it's been really nice sharing this with you and everyone here on twitter :)

@LaBellesheim With the kids in preschool, this one should be here in a flash! ;) We look forward to it!! #SurvivingEmily

@riverand Thanks! The next novel will surely take much less time!

riverand 2:01pm via HootSuite @LaBellesheim I don't want to keep you from that 2nd novel any longer! Remember everyone ow.ly/72w7r for #SurvivingEmily  


And that was it. I hope you you learned a little something about Laurie's book, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy, writing and this great new author, Laurie Bellesheim!

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