Archive for the ‘Women’s Health’ Category
Exactly the right words; social networking; taglines; job seekers; grammar; manuscripts; Chinese word for heart
I started a new format for my blog posts on November 16, 2011. Once a month, I will write a post to include 3 sections.
As 22-day Platform-Building Coach– Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days:
Write Your Story Now! PLAYshop with Mary E. Knippel
Are you frustrated trying to find just exactly the right words
- for your blog posts?
-for that end-of-the-year letter to family or customers?
-to update your profile on your website or social media site?
Come and explore how you can overcome your writing challenges and have fun at the same time!
Nov. 19, 2011 9 a.m. -4 p.m. Free Event
$20 holds your seat (refunded at the door)
Workshop in Half Moon Bay, CA
As Editor & Manuscript Consultant–identify themes and archetypes:
Get yourself a book on grammar. I recommend Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner
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Teresa LeYung-Ryan & Mary E. Knippel show writers how to polish their manuscripts before:
- hiring book doctor/developmental editor
- pitching to agents or acquisition editors
- self-publishing
As author of Love Made of Heart:
November is:
- National Family Caregivers Month (books that help caregivers: Help Me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know by Lori Hope; You Want Me To Do What? Journaling for Care Givers by B. Lynn Goodwin; Nothing Can Scare Me Now: Managing Breast Cancer So It Doesn’t Manage You by Juliane Cortino)
- National Inspirational Role Models Month (Coach Teresa’s role models in her workbook Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days are Maxine Hong Kingston, Rita Lakin and Ginger Rogers, deceased. You can sneak preview the 2 exercises for Day 1 of my workbook on Amazon.com Thank you, Maxine, Rita, Ginger, for being heroes!)
- National Lifewriting Month (“The Chinese word for ‘love’ is made up of many brush strokes. In the center of the word ‘love’ is the word ‘heart.’ Love is made of heart… The word ‘heart’ is also in ‘virtue,’ ‘grace,’ ‘compassion,’ ‘ambition,’ patience,’ ‘loyalty, and ‘melancholy.’ Please write the stories that speak from your heart. If you need recommendations for “how to books” on writing, please click here.”)
“Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Please click here for details to Coach Teresa’s event.
Sincerely,
Click on underscored text to jump over to referenced websites. To submit questions/comments to this article/post:
- Click on the blue header (title bar) of this post
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- After you fill in the boxes, you might want to keep a copy of your question/comment before clicking the “submit comment” button. Thank you!
Coach Teresa . . . starting a new format with my blog posts
Since I wear 3 hats, as writing career coach & author who helps you Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days / editor & manuscript consultant who helps you identify themes and archetypes / novelist of Love Made of Heart who encourages adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families, I wish to divide my post into 3 sections.
As 22-day Platform-Building Coach:
Promote yourselves by linking your names & your projects to these recognized events. According to Chase Calendar of Events, November is:
- Adoption Month, National
- Alzheimer’s Disease Month, National
- American Diabetes Month
- American Indian Heritage Month, National
- Aviation History Month
- Banana Pudding Lovers Month
- Diabetes Month, National
- Diabetic Eye Disease Month
- Family Caregivers Month, National
- Georgia Pecan Month, National
- Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
- Inspirational Role Models Month, National
- Lifewriting Month, National
- Long-Term Care Awareness Month, National
- Lung Cancer Awareness Month
- Marrow Awareness Month, National
- Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month
- Pet Cancer Awareness Month
- Pomegranate Month, National
- PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month
- Vegan Month
- Today November 16, 2011 is United Nations: International Day for Tolerance
- the fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.A.
- November 11, 2011 is Veterans Day
Every month is relevant to marketing your literary work. Day 19 of my workbook Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days demonstrates the beauty of linking your name to a date that is celebrated or recognized for the entire month–you’ll have a whole month to re-use one piece of writing.
As Editor & Manuscript Consultant:
Give yourself reasons to plot & write and replot & rewrite!
November is National Novel Writing Month (founder is Chris Baty)
Write Nonfiction In November (founder is Nina Amir)
December is International Plot Writing Month (founder is Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer)
Read or reread a book – I’m reading Nothing Can Scare Me Now: Managing Breast Cancer So It Doesn’t Manage You by Juliane Cortino (a colleague at Women’s National Book Association)
As author of Love Made of Heart:
I found “Veterans and Mental Health: We Owe Them Better” blog post by Mike Fitzpatrick, NAMI Executive Director
Last year, more than 1.2 million veterans were treated by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) health care system, about a third for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That is an increase of about 25 percent from four years before, as troops return home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Washington Post reports that approximately 18 veterans die from suicide every day. Yet in survey released in September, the VA reported that 70 percent of its doctors, nurses and social workers believe the system lacks the staff and space to provide adequate mental health care. More than 37 percent said they cannot schedule an appointment for a new patient within 14-days.
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Mr. Fitzpatrick,
Thank you for writing this post to shed light on what we can do to advocate for better care of our veterans and their families. I linked your post to mine dated November 16, 2011 http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/ so that my blog fans can get resources for their loved ones. My beautiful mom (not a Veteran but was an orphan during World War II) suffered mental illness all her life and I use my writings to honor her. In September I met NAMI Sonoma County board member Ron Shaw at the Sonoma County Book Festival. Rosemary Milbrath, Executive Director at NAMI Sonoma County, has contacted me and I hope to deliver my Heroes, Tricksters & Villains interactive workshop to the Sonoma County community in California in 2012. Sincerely, Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart; mental health advocate
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I hope to see you when I’m at these forums:
- Thursday December 1, 2011 at Women’s National Book Association get-together at San Francisco Public Library Main Branch
- Sunday January 8, 2012 at California Writers Club–Redwood Branch “Writing-Career-Make-Over with Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan”
Please click here for details.
“Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa here… I see in the Book Passage catalog that Lindsay Whiting, Adair Lara, and Amy Rennert will be teaching in November & December 2011 at the store in Corte Madera, CA!
…which made me think about other colleagues . . . the list would go on and on, for days
This is just one post of a series.
I’ll be away for 9 days; please bookmark this blog http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/ and visit soon. Many thanks!
These authors, teachers, editors, literary agent, and I (Lindsay Whiting, Marie Elena Gaspari Mary E. Knippel, Adair Lara, Linda Joy Myers, Lynn Henriksen, Kate Farrell, Luisa Adams, Lynn Scott, Elisa “Sasa” Southard, Linda Lee, Vicki Weiland, Margie Yee Webb, Yolande Barial, Amy Rennert, Teresa LeYung-Ryan) are passionate about these themes: helping self and helping others through art/writing; identifying publishing routes; manifesting dreams; mothers/daughters; promoting reading
Lindsay Whiting – Living into Art: Journeys Through Collage
Sat., November 12, 2011, 1:00-5:00 pm • $60 (plus $5 materials fee due to instructor)
Living Into Art: Journeys Through Collage
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415) 927-0960
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Marie Elena Gaspari http://riverofdreamswriting.weebly.com/
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Mary E. Knippel http://yourwritingmentor.com/tag/collage/
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Class: Adair Lara – Writing the Memoir
Sat., November 19, 2011, 10:00 am–4:00 pm $105
Adair Lara shows how to get your memoir started—or finished. You will learn all the vital elements: the arc, reflective voice, scene vs. narrative, fact vs. truth, and writing about family members. She also explains what it takes to get published. There will be in-class exercises and assignments. Writers of fiction and essays are welcome too. A former San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Lara is the author of 12 books, including Naked, Drunk and Writing, her popular new guide to essay and memoir.
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415) 927-0960
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Linda Joy Myers http://www.namw.org/
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Lynn Henriksen http://telltalesouls.com/blog/
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Kate Farrell http://wisdomhasavoice.com/
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Luisa Adams http://www.rp-author.com/Adams/
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Lynn Scott http://lynnscottbooks.com/
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Elisa “Sasa” Southard http://elisaonassignment.com/
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Teresa LeYung-Ryan http://writingcoachteresa.com
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Linda Lee http://askmepc.com/
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Vicki Weiland http://vickiweiland.wordpress.com/
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Margie Yee Webb http://www.catmulan.com/
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Yolande Barial http://just-a-mom.us/
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Amy Rennert – Secrets of Getting Published
Two Thursdays: Dec. 1 & 8, 2011 • 6:30-9:00 pm
Price: $130.00
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415) 927-0960
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Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Writing Career Coach/Manuscript Consultant
author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition & eBook edition)
Author of Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)
Writing Mentor Mary E. Knippel asks “What gives you sparks in your writing life?”
Hi, Writing Mentor Mary,
As an author and manuscript consultant I get sparks ( for scenes, plot points, metaphors, foreshadows) by rereading a favorite book, re-watching a favorite movie, observing and taking notes while riding public transit. My dream world also provides sparks. Martha Alderson’s new book The Plot Whisperer gives me sparks.
I love helping my clients identify the archetypes and themes in their stories. Speaking of themes, your helping job-seekers create their “success story & collage/vision boards” gives folks “sparks” to go after what they really want. I tagged you in these 2 posts: Coach Teresa, what’s happening for business owners on November 5, 2011 in Gilroy, CA? and Coach Teresa, what happened when you hosted Plot Whisperer Martha Alderson on your blog?

Mentor Mary Knippel helps job-seekers create their success stories--cheers from Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan--photo by Anne Campagnet-Reed
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Writing Career Coach/Manuscript Consultant
author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition & eBook edition)
Author of Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)
Coach Teresa here . . . I received an email from Local Hero/San Bruno Patch columnist / Bardi Rosman Koodrin (“The Healing Chronicles”), informing me that Matt Cranford, Fair & Festival Event Manager at the San Mateo County Fair, would like to know how I implemented the writing contest (THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE: NOVEL, MEMOIR, OR SHORT STORY Sponsored by Teresa LeYung-Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart and Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW ) earlier this year and what were its achievements.
Well, the magnificent forum was already in place–the San Mateo County Fair. In October 2010 when Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director for the Fine Arts Department of San Mateo County Fair, invited me to create and sponsor a writing contest that would carry a theme close to my heart, I said “Yes.”
I had been a judge for other writing contests before; this was a chance to create a category!
Thanks to Bardi and the other sponsors who had participated in the previous year, my being “the new kid on the block” was an easy job in terms of writing the “ad” for my contest.
In my professional life, I wear 3 hats–an author, a manuscript consultant, and a writing career coach. Under all those hats and behind my fifty-plus years is also a protagonist who lived/is living the immigrant experience.
What do the Immigrant Experience Writing Contest and a Main Character’s / Hero’s Journey Have In Common? They are all stories about a protagonist leaving or having left a familiar place for a strange new world and how she/he is transformed.
So, immediately after receiving the hardcopy and the electronic version of the San Mateo County Fair 2011 catalog, I began publicizing not only my contest but also all the writing contests under the auspices of the San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Department. Then I linked my role in the contest to my role in other causes as well as the roles of my colleagues who were promoting causes close to their hearts. Immigrants. Literacy. Libraries. Heroes. Wisdom. Mental Health. Mothers and daughters.
Fast forward . . . after I read all the entries, I asked writing mentor Mary E. Knippel to read and rate them too. We agreed that while all the entries had distinct voices and compelling themes, one entry was exceptional.
Here’s the excerpt (from the first-place winner “My Chinese-American Experience” by Patricia Tsang) that hooked me:
As with most Chinese families, the patriarch, my paternal grandfather, was responsible for giving Chinese names to his grandchildren. My eldest brother was named Forever Bright; my second brother was named Forever Clear. Because my grandfather died before I was born, I was destined to be Forever Nameless . . . .

Patricia Tsang first place winner in 2011 Immigrant Experience Writing Contest sponsored by Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan
Brava to Patricia Tsang!
What was my reward to sponsor the contest? The creation of THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE writing contest gave me a fresh way to celebrate immigrants and descendants of immigrants.
At this time, I wish to say again “Thank you, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers Victor Turks, Miriam Queen, Patricia Costello and your wonderful students at City College of San Francisco, for having read Love Made of Heart.” http://www.lovemadeofheart.com/The-Immigrant-Experience.html
Thank you, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director for the Fine Arts Department!
Thank you, Matt Cranford, Fair & Festival Event Manager!
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Writing Career Coach/Manuscript Consultant
author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition & eBook edition)
Author of Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps fiction and nonfiction writers build their platforms and fanbases before and after publication--photo by MKWL
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Below are the links to my blog posts demonstrating how I broadcast the writing contests and the fair:
June 18, 2011 blog post:
Coach Teresa, how do I build fame as a writer?
Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here to say: “Use what you know to build fame. Use your three intertwining circles. Be yourself. Have fun.”
http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/coach-teresa-how-do-i-build-fame-as-a-writer/
June 15, 2011 blog post:
What Do Dr. Andy, Poetry, Technology, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, San Mateo County Fair, Oakland Libraries, and Coach Teresa Have In Common?
Promoting literacy, literary arts and underdogs (a.k.a. libraries) . . .
June 10, 2011 blog post:
Congratulations to the Writers Who Entered The Immigrant Experience Writing Contest
Dear Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Sue Barizon, Elliotte Mao,
Bardi had invited me to attend the award ceremony on June 11, 2011 (San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts writing contests). I had wanted so much to be there, to thank everyone in the SMCF offices and the writers who entered the contest I sponsored – “The Immigrant Experience”
A previous commitment prevents me from being there with you on June 11th.
Could you 3 wonderful hearts Bardi, Elliotte, Sue (Sue, I read what you said about Bardi in The Patch) please print the attachment and bring it to the June 11 ceremony and one of you read it for me?
May 12, 2011
Where Do We Find Heroes? They Show Up–Young, Middle-Aged–What They Do–All Inspirational
April 8, 2011
Writing Contest, Immigrant Experience, Asian Heritage Street Celebration 2011, Wisdom Has a Voice Anthology, Mothers and Daughters, Mental Health
Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan here, looking forward to four related events/projects.
April 5, 2011
Our 5th Annual Local Heroes have been selected and it’s time to celebrate them!
March 15, 2011
General Rules for 2011 Writing Contests from San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Dept.
March 13, 2011
Is There a Writing Contest for Novels, Memoirs, Short Stories that Invites the Theme of the Immigrant Experience?
Coach Teresa, what’s happening on October 27, 2011
Debbie Gisonni www.reallifelessons.com will be in China! Oct. 27 – Nov. 3, 2011with her signature talk “Money, Success and Happiness – Can You Have It All?” Below is her schedule–talks are open to the public.
Please pass this along to anyone you might know in China. Goddess of Happiness in China?
Debbie says: ” I’ll be leaving for China next week, and I’ll be speaking to university students, corporate entrepreneurs, the public and UNICEF about Stillheart Institute and the Chinese version of my happiness book The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss. Starting with Oct. 27th, 2011 6:30 pm
QingHua University (Beijing). If you have any question about this schedule,
please message or call: 18958109785 (Nancy Yu) or 13588180597 (Ben Hua)
Thank you,
Debbie”
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In California (Roseville, near Sacramento)
Margie Yee Webb, author/photographer, Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life http://www.catmulan.com/
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Love Made of Heart inspiring adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Early morning October 22, 2011 Rita Moreno cheers walkers at Lake Merritt, Lakeside Park,
Oakland, California Out of the Darkness Community Walks (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)
Morning October 22, 2o11 Los Angeles Community Walk at Santa Monica City Hall, Santa Monica, California Out of the Darkness Community Walks (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
National Kidney Foundation San Francisco Authors Luncheon, Marriott Marquis San Francisco
10:00am autographing begins; 12:00 noon luncheon
$125 For tickets or info, call 415-543-3303 ext. 114
Children’s author/illustrator Kathryn Otoshi is one of the featured authors.
Book Passage proud to be part of this event.
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Love Made of Heart inspiring adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.
Coach Teresa, what’s happening for business owners on November 5, 2011 in Gilroy, CA?
Remember that being a writer is being a business owner.
After seeing Mary E. Knippel http://yourwritingmentor.com/ help job-seekers create their “success stories” and “vision boards/collages” at San Francisco Professional Career Network, I am convinced that everyone needs an expert like Mary E. Knippel to COAX the writer in us and that everyone needs to build their platforms/fanbases.
Mary & I are members of a mastermind group–cheering each other on, having fun helping our clients. Thank you, Mary!
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung-Ryan
http://writingcoachteresa.com author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW
Here’s another member of our mastermind group… Rebecca Martin!
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 9am-4pm
Reserve your seat today – http://www.FacebookandYourBusiness.info
Learn the secrets most business owners will never know about creating their business identity online and marketing on Facebook.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lizarran Tapas Restaurant
7400 Monterey Street, Gilroy, CA 95020
http://www.FacebookandYourBusiness.info
(This is a “hands on” and interactive workshop so bring your laptops – WIFI included)
This day long workshop is only $147.00.
Lunch is Included – Parking is Free
Presented by – Rebecca Martin http://dearjane.info/ & Jenn Beninger http://jennben.com/
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung-Ryan “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
http://writingcoachteresa.com author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW
Love Made of Heart Turns 9 Years Old October 2011
To celebrate my novel’s anniversary . . .
Last Thursday I was at San Francisco Public Library for a Women’s National Book Association meeting to shoot one-minute videos of WNBA members and guests so that they can use them to promote themselves. So, there I was, Writing Career Coach Teresa, demonstrating how to create a short video, express yourself, and not have to be in front of the camera.
I am still overjoyed that my novel Love Made of Heart is in public libraries and also archived at the San Francisco History Center.
In this video, I re-declared that I use Love Made of Heart to inspire adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families. Also, I encourage everyone to get a library card.
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Look what I received in the mail !
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Bette Davis stamps used on envelope sent to Teresa LeYung-Ryan from Ms. Sheryl Fairchild of San Francisco State University. Protagonist Ruby Lin in Love Made of Heart had found her role models in characters portrayed by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. So sweet of Ms. Fairchild and her students to think about the details! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and that's no pun.
Ms. Sheryl Fairchild’s wonderful students in First Year Composition at San Francisco State University had asked me these questions when I visited them last month.
Our Conversation with Teresa LeYung Ryan
Nicole: I would like to ask her why she wanted to share her story to the world?
Erin: I’d like to ask why she used Hollywood movie starts as Ruby’s “voice” . . . why she wrote certain characters like Mrs. Nussbaum or Emily into the story and if they represent someone she knows in her life.
Allison: I would like to ask her if the events that she described in the novel are synonymous with her real life or if they just represent different things that have happened to her.
Stephen: Was the story of her mother having mental illness true or was it completely made up?
Rozlynn: I would like to know more about Ruby’s brother John, he’s a very mysterious character in the novel.
Heather: I would like to ask her if she wrote her story to help people dealing with similar domestic violence issues or people that have someone with mental illness in their life, feel like they aren’t alone, or if she wrote the story for therapeutic reasons of her own.
Kerri: How long did it take for her to be comfortable with writing this story?
James: I would like to know if she overcame her past through therapy or was it a different source that was able to help her like a friend or lover?
Jonathan: If Teresa’s view on men has changed when going from a traditional Chinese man . . . to her new marriage of 7 years that she talks about on the back cover.
Ashley: What challenges did you face writing the book? What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Kyndal: Did she ever find out more information about her grandmother?
Reyanna: I would like to ask about Ruby’s grandmother. We never really know what happened to her and why she left America. Was it because of the harsh trials immigrants suffered? Also, I would like to know about Ruby’s brother as well. She never mentioned much about him or the grandmother.
Questions for Teresa from our worksheets:
o Why did you want to share your story?
o Have you gotten in contact with your brother?
o Why did you choose not to use any Chinese language in the novel?
o Why did you use a paper that Emily wrote to tell Ruby’s story at the end of the novel, rather than having Ruby tell the story herself?
o Why did you choose that specific ending?
o What did you find out about your culture as you were writing this novel?
o Is your husband Chinese?
o Did you ever talk to Vincent again?
o How did your family react to your writing the book?
The Essence or Meaning of the Novel:
In Our Own Words
* Do not dwell on the past, if you do, you cannot move forward with the future.
* Forgive, but do not forget what you’ve learned from that experience.
* Cannot judge people right away (such with Vincent)
* Tradition vs. modern
* Substituting fictional characters’ lives for Ruby’s – the life she wished she had
* “Different kinds of love”
* Culture – Culture’s clashing
* Childhood – How the things you see as a child sculpt your life and views: violence at home,
family values/traditions, family relationships
* Communication – If it exists or doesn’t
* Family ties – Loyalty vs. independence
* The book Love Made of Heart shows how someone’s troubled past affects their present life.
What a lovely way to celebrate the birthday of Love Made of Heart ! I’m overjoyed. I’d like to believe that my mom is giggling on Cloud Nine. Thank you, Ms. Fairchild, Allison, Ashley, Chris, Colin, Erin, Heather, Henriikka, James, Joelle, Jonathan, Kerri, Kyndal, Luis, Niki, Reyanna, Roxanne, Rozlynn, Stephen, Teja, Zenia for reading Love Made of Heart and asking thoughtful questions. YOU all are love made of heart!
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Because of Martha Alderson’s plot coaching, my novel Love Made of Heart was transformed into a page-turner. The story grabbed Stacey Glick‘s attention, then Kensington Publishing’s John Scognamiglio‘s [ Thank you to Stacey and all the folks at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management! Thank you to John and all the folks at and associated with Kensington Publishing NY ]. Fast forward… Love Made of Heart is:
- used as required reading in colleges and universities
- available in libraries
- archived at the San Francisco History Center
- attracting a steady flow of readers/fans
- being my passport to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.
- linking my mission statement to Glenn Close’s BringChange2Mind and NAMI‘s. I use Love Made of Heart to inspire other adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.
None of this would have happened if Martha had not taught me how to plot the front-story.
Thank you, Everyone (starting with first Critique Group members Cat, Theresa Stephenson, Evelyn Miche, Olga Malyj . . .) who have played a role in sending Love Made of Heart into the world. You all have my deepest gratitude.
Martha’s new book The Plot Whisperer is inspiring me to write another novel.
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
I grew up with a beautiful mother who suffered mental illness; I’ve witnessed her overwhelming sadness, the stigmas, the not-so-visible scars.
Recently at the Sonoma County Book Festival, I met Ron Shaw, a board member of NAMI-Sonoma County. Thank you, Ron, for wearing the brilliant NAMI T-shirt. Thank you, Rosemary Milbrath, for contacting me. I look forward to presenting my signature writing workshop “Heroes, Tricksters & Villains” at NAMI Sonoma County in 2012. This fun workshop is for all ages–there’s a writer in all of us.

Love Made of Heart inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families
Last week was Mental Health Week. I believe that Every Week is Mental Health Week.
National Alliance on Mental Illness —- At the heart of NAMI’s mission is our grassroots and the sharing of information with people with mental illness, their families, friends, mental health professionals, and the general public. NAMI strives to offer hope, reform and health to our American community through support, education , and advocacy efforts. Research is constantly providing us with new information about the brain and the nature of mental illnesses and, consequently, more effective treatments.
To find a group near you, go to http://nami.org/ Information Hotline: (800) 950-NAMI
http://nami.org/ Click on “Find Your Local NAMI”
You’ll see the state organization’s contact info. Scroll down to find a group near you. If you do not see a group in your local community please contact the state organization.
Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”
Love Made of Heart inspiring adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.
As a manuscript consultant, Teresa LeYung-Ryan loves helping writers identify their themes and archetypes.
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/teresaleyung
Teresa on facebook! She’s also involved in Women’s National Book Association and California Writers Club



