Been busy scheduling booksigning/readings in the immediate area. Have a scheduled event at the Muncy Library on Dec. 12th 6:30-8pm. The library is located on South Main Street, phone # 570-546-5014. Also scheduled to be at Montgomery House Library on Jan 21st from 6-7pm and trying to coordinate a similiar signing at the Milton Library for a date near with daytime hours. more to come as I am also scheduled for an event in January at the Wellsboro bookstore.
Am also developing a website for "Every Two Minutes" that will include more details about the book and a calendar of events. watch for it coming soon!! I have located a few b&w pictures from childhood that you might find interesting as well as responses from readers. Happy Thanksgiving!

as the 50th anniversary of the assination of President Kennedy approaches, I am reminded of the impact that the tragedy would have on my life. A segment from Chapter 8 of Every Two Minutes:
"Mrs/ Fred Fischer, a widow at 22. My only role model for surviving those first few agonizing seconds, minutes and hours was Jacqueline Kennedy. Just sixteen months earlier, I, along with the nation, watched intently as she bravely dealt with her husband's death. Her poise inspired me to function, to move through the rituals and to make decisions which seemed meaningless compared to the decision whether to live or die inside. But I consciously decided that if Mrs. Kennedy could survive, so could Mrs. Fischer."

Tomorrow I will be speaking with the Classified Staff at Penn College focused on my story, specifically, the journey thru education and professional  career. I am honored to be given an opportunity to "give back" to the school where I was given somuch encouragement as a nontraditional student. I will be reading segments of "Every Two Minutes" during my speech.
such as:"Just before my graduation, one of the officers resigned. I was encouraged to apply for the position... Graduation was Sunday and Monday morning I sat proudly behind the desk as the first female child support officer in Lycoming County Court System's history".

becoming a press release agent for "Every Two Minutes" and managing the marketing aspect of the book publishing world. A new world but interesting.
Also, considering a sequel to the book or another project in developing a history of local area. Both offer another opportunity to continue writing and publishing. If you have any suggestions, let me know. the sequel would expand on the incredible love of my partner to withstand the unhealthy life of a spouse. My goal would be to address the partners and spouses of someone who has been sexually abused.

an excerpt: "We were married on October 16, 1965, surrounded by loved ones, well wishers and two very young children." "The church pews were filled with those people in my life who mourned my loss in February, now rejoiced with us in October. Doug and Lorraine, our most precious guests, enjoyed the celebration in toddler fashion, captivating the hearts of all present as they danced in the arms of Mommy and their new Daddy at our reception. Paul truly loved them as his own."
Today, to honor our 48th anniversary, I traveled to the place where we started our life together. Red roses mark the memory ground of our joyful honeymoon.

just checked Amazon Bookstore and tell your friends and family; they can order Every Two Minutes thru that website.

wanted to share the beginning of Chapter 13: Reentry
"There I stood at a crossroads. With a twelve-year-old high school diploma and a brief work history just as old, I knew my employment chances were slim. I turned instead toward community college business courses. Dad's voice of encouragement for education echoed in my mind. Since I had been away from the job market for over 10 years, I decided to upgrade my skills first. The staff at Williamsport Area Community College assured me that I could attain an associate degree in business with part-time evening classes which would allow time for both college and family. The timing seemed perfect. Valerie would be entering kindergarten when I was graduating from college."

some exciting news! have been asked to speak to Penn College staff to tell personal and professional development. Great apportunity to "pay it forward" since the college is where I turned when I realized I needed to reenter the business world and 10 yrs had passed since I had worked outside my home.

today, my book publisher sent out 500 media outlet press releases across the country. wow! hoping to get some interest generated by this contact. Also, made initial contact with Barnes & Noble in Lewisburg that also in the Bucknell bookstore. possible reading/discussion at the bookstore and coordinated w/Bucknell's Women's Resouce Center whose focus this year is sexual assaults. College campuses are often a casualty of sexual attacks with a high degree of pressure to not report incidents.
 For those of you are survivors of sexual assault, please know that you are not alone and your ability to speak to a trusted person about the assault is healthy and healing. Continue your journey, it is important!

the opportunity to write about this new adventure called marketing, publishing, writing and producing and achieving this manuscript completion has been and continues to be an enlightening journey. Today at my regular morning excerse at Silver Sneakers class I was offered a chance to speak to the class of seniors about "Every Two Minutes". even tho I was just intending to share the book w/the leader, she encouraged me to take a few minutes before class started to discuss the book. I was surprised and pleased to have a moment to "show and tell"!!
The importance of the topic of sexual traumas and the impact that these crimes have on the innocence of vulnerable persons remains front page news. Just yesterday, a local television station reported that police approached a car in a public parking lot and discovered a priest sexually assaulting a 15 yr-old boy. the crime of sexual violations continues. "Every Two Minutes" can offer an understanding of the lasting effects of such crimes and the healing that is possible. I encourage victims/survivors as well as their loved ones to read "Every Two Minutes".

This week a day late in posting; busier than usual. just received a professional press release from Lulu marketing department. will be sending out to 5 cities of my choice including Harrisburg, Lancaster,Wilkes Barre, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. I will share the quote from Every Two Minutes that the marketing department choose for the press release:
This narrative was part of my confrontation with one of my assalants.
"I lost my joy in living; I lost my happiness, I lost my belief in a god: I lost my trust in everyone. When you raped me, I died a painful death. I was still walking, talking, moving from minute to minute but each movement brought deep pain."
Have a good weekend!

after an exciting experience at Friday's booksigning, this week is an opportunity to thank so many individuals who have made this journey possible. there is a passage in Every Two Minutes that expressed a message of my gratitude.
"When you are small, you trust and love the world. When that trust and love comes crashing down around you, you are destroyed and lay among the rubble. When you look up from the heap, all you see is the destruction around you at first. Finally, you search long and hard and see a ray of light and stare into the light until you have blocked out all the darkness and devastation...
Sometimes someone around you offers nourishment for your journey and the coldness subsides for a time. Sharing your journey with another is worth it. Traveling together will shorten the loneliness and you can find laughter and contentment along the way."

early journal entry as I opened up myself  to new awarenesses:
"Good morning, Goddess, the sunrise starts with such serenity and a quiet greeting into a new and challenging sunrise. Occasionally I wonder where i will be led; just what my role here in this place is to mean. For awhile now, I realize that your plans include a certain path, however, the details still are not known. Sometimes I long to look ahead with excitement but just knowing that you are walking with me is excitement enough, knowlede enough for now."

As I prepare for Friday's booksigning, the reality of my journey is still exciting and ongoing awareness.

This week's blog is short and sweet! thanks to UPS, I woke one morning to find 200 books delivered to my 2nd floor deck! yea. the delivery gent and I had a conversation earlier in the week and I think he took pity on this little ole' lady and walked the delivery up the flight of outside steps. I managed to carry 10 books at a time into the aptmt until Greg hauled the load inside.
Have an interview scheduled to appear in next week's Webb Weekly and Otto's Bookstore owner, Betsy has done a review for the Sun Gazette. So the first booksigning is right around the corner for next Friday.
When I realize that dreams do come true I am grateful to so many folks who encouraged this project and me to persue the end result. Hopefully, I will have a chance to thank them all. Including all of you who have taken the time to read this blog regularly-thanks

August 21st: ordering posters, 200 books on their way, setting up possible interviews, and groundwork set for 1st booksigning at Otto's on 9/6. Yesterday, my classmates were all supportive of my new adventure and I am humbled by these great friends who have stood by my side in challenging times.

I chose a journal entry this week. Journal entries really opened up my awareness:
"My dream. I have a sense of a cellar door and I'm trying to close it but there is a monster or a blob forcing it open. Even oozing out around the edges of the door. I don't have enough strength to force the door closed. Is anger my monster that oozes around the door? That can't be locked up anymore?"

Today will be jumping into marketing in a big way! This aspect of publishing opens up a whole new world but excited to learn. Sept. 6th, first booksigning downtown at Otto's from 5-8pm, expecting to greet and thank lots of you-know-who-you-are folks who believed in my dream too.

one of those chapters in Every Two Minutes that lay the groundwork for a new awareness:
 On February 22, 1988, I was just regaining consciousness after surgery while Paul stood vigilant by my side in the recovery room when Dr. Leonard approached. Although my mind was still cloudy, a very clear message flashed like lightning bolts through the fog. I HAD BREAST CANCER. There was a monster invading my body and its name was cancer. I immediately closed the walls around me and asked the doctor for as much literature on breast cancer as she had available.
(what I later came to realize was there was another monster invading my body, mind, and spirit.)

Share my excitment as I have now become a published author!!

 

Hope you all will use the link to see Every Two Minutes paperback and you can also check out my Facebook page.

Lulu Publishing: Every Two Minutes: One Woman’s Healing Journey through Sexual Traumas

Facebook: Rosemary Neidig

 

 

As a child, Rosemary D. Neidig learned to be silent and suppress her fears in order to appease her peace-loving mother, who was focused on presenting a perfect image to others. But when Rosemary was diagnosed with breast cancer at age forty-seven, she embarked on a therapeutic journey that forced her to face her lost memories and realize that her perfect world was only a façade. In her candid memoir, Rosemary recalls the events of her life, explaining how daily journaling and weekly therapy sessions helped her to unearth trauma from her subconscious. She managed to resolve inner conflicts and bravely confront an assailant; she also details how she eventually faced the truth and learned to move on as once-buried secrets slowly carried her down a path to forgiveness and healing. Every Two Minutes shares the unforgettable story of one woman’s journey as she moved from behind the walls of secrecy and shame and discovered the power of the human spirit.

 

OMG! I just got word that Every Two Minutes is going live on LULU's website Friday of this week. The retail price is set plus shipping. I have also arranged a book signing at Otto's Bookstore for Sept.6th 5-8pm when I will sell the book for $15.99 plus tax. Hope to see some of you there. In the meantime, I've chose an excerpt from Chapter 4 High School Tales:
I squared my shoulders as I approached the crowd at the school's entrance. Walking as casually as I could to disguise my pounding heart, I headed toward the group of my classmates but focused intently on the huddle of Senior boys where Dave was standing. I positioned myself so that he couldn't miss noticing my profile that morning. Nothing else mattered; nothing , that is until I finally heard a chorus of voices calling my name. "Rosemary! Rosemary! What are you doing?" My friends' voices jolted me out of my fantasy. I realized that everyone including Dave was staring. They all discovered my secret. My plan was destroyed. Instead of getting Prince Charming's attention, I was in the eye of a shameful tornade sweeping up and tearing me apart. The sound of laughter was everywhere. My best friends created a protective circle until the sound of the school beel signaled the start of classes. I slipped into the girls' lavatory and removed those stiff, pointy foam-rubber creatures that had betrayed me when I needed them the most." Body image was everything to a female teenager growing up in the 50s.

One step closer to publication! just finished review of cover and text. Some modifications but very few. Will receive revised cover and text and if all is okay, off to the presses!!
Like to share an excerpt from Chapter 20: The Voice. My journal entries were key to recovery and I have included pages from them in several parts of the manuscript. Most are conversations with God as I know her.
    "create in me a new heart, one that is full of compassion and understanding for those around me. You will be my guide and my strength through the journey that lies ahead."
    " come dance with me today and every day of your life. Sing a song of joy, sing praises to my name. Begin to teach my message to those around you so that they too my sing my praises and know my ways... I now am telling you to follow without hesitation, without reservation, without questions for I will provide all that your soul will need, all that your spirit requires and all that your body needs to serve me.... Together we are about to begin."
   This chapter is the beginning of my healing journey to face the long buried traumas.

WOW! just received the proof of the cover and text for review. The cover is terrific; the designers created an attractive front and back covers. the next step is for my review of both and then off to the presses.
section of Chapter 8: The sound still echoes in my ears. "Your husband is dead." ...Fred had been shopping for a different car. Earlier that evening, he had decided to go the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area...After I tucked Doug and Lorraine into bed for the night I settled down with a novel until I dozed off. "Your husband fell asleep while driving and he is dead." ...
   My body moved among the mourners passing from one sympathetic embrace to another. My ears registered sounds of sobbing, voices of shock and condolence, my daughter's cry of protest, my son's innocent question "Where is daddy?" and my own quivering response "He's in heaven."

this is a section of chapter 4: High School Tales
I noticed that my body was a problem in seventh grade gym class at South Williamsport High School. This foreign land called high school held many new experiences but gym class was the most awkward. When I stepped into the girls' locker room, I entered an area of cold, grey cinder block walls, grey cement floor, blinding naked fluorescent bulbs hanging from high ceilings, dark green metal lockers and cold, narrow benches. I briefly thought that this must be like prison as I rushed to meet the demands of the instructor barking out orders, "get into that gym suit now! Be out on the gym floor immediately." She snapped her orders with the authority of a head warden. We all undressed quickly out of skirts, blouses and loafers and donned our shapeless, blue cotton suits and white sneakers while jamming clothing, books and purses into the nearby lockers as ordered.

just learned that if you want to comment on any blog, click "no comments" to view each post where the comment box is. weird but just the way blogspot works.
update of publishing process; cover copy service now proceeding, takes 7-10 days.

sorry I missed last week; busy with putting finishing touches on manuscript. sent it off to publisher last night but will wait to hear that moving to next step that will configure book into paperback size. wow, learning all about the business end of being an author.
there is a section of Chapter 1: "Sarah, the neighbor hood matriarch, lived across the street from our home. There neighorhood women and children gathered around her kitchen table to help prepare meals for her large family while drinking warm coffee and filling Sarah's entire home with chatter. 
Sarah was a soft, gentle woman.  Her softness was her size,too. She had a full figure clad in housedresses and aprons. When I hugged her, I felt her softness and warmth, unlike Mom's body that was always restricted with a girdle stiffness around her middle.  Sarah's belly and chest were unrestrained. No false imressions and no make up; Sarah's only powder was flour smudged on her cheeks or nose from her daily kitchen chores."

this past week, I received an edit review from the publisher. comments "this is a powerful narrative. the author tackles an extremely difficult subject but does so by using elements of creative nonfiction. This stylistic choice is a good one. It successfully intrduces a topic that most would choose to ignore..." the recommendations included word repetitions, so I am spending time going through the manuscript and reviewing word choices. thank goodness for computer "drop down boxes!"
here is a quote from Part 2 Chapter 1:Searching for Answers: Anne Lamoot explains that our psychic muscles "cramp around our wounds-the pain from our childhood, the losses and disappointments of adulthood, the humiliation suffered in both-to keep us from getting hurt in the same place again, to keep foreign substances out. Perfectionism is one way our muscles cramp. In some cases we don't even know that the wounds and the cramping are there, but both limit us."

today I discussed the editing aspect of self publishing with specialist. I'll be reviewing the recommendations and deciding what I will or will not choose to change. This process is intended to enhance the content.
would like to share an excerpt from the foreword of the book written by Vaness Hunter, YWCA Director of empowerment: "There are moments in reading Every Two Minutes that I related so deeply to the writer's search for peace and self-actualization and times when the writer's honesty provided me with hope for women and men to gain deeper appreciation for one another and an ever greater understanding and forgiveness for one's own self as well."

the choice of title "Every Two Minutes" is important to me since someone in the United States is sexually assaulted every two minutes. My personal story includes those minutes when I was sexually assaulted. The impact of these seconds, minutes made an indelibal mark on my life for many long and painful years for those who wanted to love me and those I longed to love.

As I begin to tell my story, I long for women to step out of the shadows into the bright light of self realization, fulfillment and positive self regard. This wish begins with me and extends to the women and men of the world. I tell my story to step into that light of healing. I ask you to take my hand and walk with me through my decades of darkness into the light.

I have created this blog to be able to update you on the progress of my memoir "Every Two Minutes".