The Writer's Corner Archives - Page 74 of 74 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Don’t miss an Interview with Jo-Ann Mapson Tuesday

Next Tuesday the second in my series of Interviews will be with Jo-Ann Mapson. I thought my readers might enjoy hearing about other authors’ writing processes. So I created a Question & Answer-type Interview and then began contacting some of my favorite authors to ask them to take part.

In this three-part blog, we will chat with best-selling author, Jo-Ann Mapson. She is one of my favorites and I always wait with bated breath until her next book comes out. Her characters, (men, women, dogs, horses), are vivid and believable and they often return in one of her new books.

I hope that you enjoy her insights, humor and really great stories….

In the coming months: Authors, Susan Elia MacNeal, Rhys Bowen, Walter Mosley, Tasha Alexander, and many more will share their writing life with us!

What was that old song from the ’50’s?

Remember that song from the ’50’s? It was in the Broadway musical, Happy Hunting. “We Belong to a Mut-u-al Ad-mir-a-tion Society”. Best known rendition by Judy Garland. That’s how I feel about Adato Systems and more specifically, Leon Adato.

Last year I took a long hard look at my web site and realized that it was static, lifeless and way behind the times. Absolutely NO one visited it! And I had loved it for so long! So began my journey looking for a web consultant that could bring me into real time with shopping cart, shipping, animation, and far better communication with my readers!

I began by asking an old friend in the computer software industry for a referral….and found Leon. What a treasure! He’s clever, funny and patient! As an added bonus he has a degree in theatre from NYU, so he really gets me. Now that my site is completely finished, I am able to come on-line and ‘play in my cyber sand box‘! And BLOG! Which I have grown passionate about.

The new software is friendly and easy to learn. Did I mention what a good teacher Leon is? I think it really shows off my books and scripts with beautiful illustrations (a nod to my wonderful team of illustrators) and is easy to navigate. I hope my readers and theatre family enjoy it as much as I do!

And now I am a success story on Leon’s site. “………she showcases the work of others. Leveraging her own experience and insight, Trisha is creating reviews of and interviews with other authors, which creates a wonderful sense of community……..”
Click here to read it.
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Anne Purser, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Tasha Alexander, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Lisa Scottoline and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!
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Bullies! Déjà-vu in the most horrific way!

A few weeks ago I published four short plays addressing cyber-bullying and verbal bullying in our schools. My hope was that if teens and their teachers read these plays (and performed them in their classroom) it would maybe open a dialogue about this deadly practice.

In “You’re Fat, You’re Ugly…” Aanya is a beautiful, talented student, much like Amanda Todd, who is driven to attempted suicide by her peers’ relentless bullying. In “Cyber-Hate” Cathy is the victim of bullying that leads to violence. “The Bullies” is about boys who bully.

I wrote these plays depicting different variations of bullying…..Fiction based on dry statistics.

And now in today’s headlines we read about Amanda Todd, (age 15) a beautiful young girl who just couldn’t take anymore. She felt her only option to escape this form of terrorism (bullying) was to take her own life. It saddened me and my love and prayers go out to her family and friends. This pointless loss of a young woman’s life also outraged me. Amanda’s cry for help (I assume) was a previous attempt at suicide by drinking bleach. Her stalker-bully wrote a message to her, “Try harder.” What kind of monster does this??

‘Amanda Todd, a Vancouver-area teenager who posted a story to YouTube last month about being cyber-bullied, was found dead Wednesday night in Coquitlam, Canada. Authorities believe she committed suicide. Amanda’s video tells a heart-wrenching story of the bullying she was subjected to — both online and off. “In 7th grade,” she begins, sharing her message on cue cards, “I would go with friends on webcam [to] meet and talk to new people.” At one point, a stranger flattered her into flashing the camera…..

One year later, a man contacted her on Facebook, threatening to send around the picture of her topless “if [she] don’t put on a show.” Terrifyingly, the stranger knew everything about her: her address, school, friends, relatives, and the names of her family members. Soon, her naked photo had been forwarded “to everyone.”Amanda developed anxiety, depression, and anxiety disorders, she says in the video, followed by a path into drugs and alcohol.’ ~~ Huffington Post

We, as the adults, MUST take control of this deadly game that teens are playing. Maybe the bullies need to see their parents go to jail for their actions. After all, these bullies are just children, and the parents are ultimately responsible for their child’s behavior. The buck stops at the parents’ door step.