Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG

Posts Tagged ‘a Journey Through Mental Illness’

Blog post #616

2022 October 1, California;  October 3, 22:22

I, Teresa Jade LeYung (formerly Teresa LeYung Ryan), celebrate the 20th anniversary of my mother-daughter novel LOVE MADE OF HEART.

This is just the first of a series of Thank You as I continue celebrating LOVE MADE OF HEART and the kindhearted souls (teachers, librarians, booksellers, media folks, community leaders, friends and colleagues, mentors, readers and more readers) who have helped me speak up about:

– honoring courageous immigrants 

– inspiring adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas

– helping survivors of family violence find their own voices

– speaking from the heart

What does “love made of heart” mean?

In the Chinese written language … the word “heart” is inside the words “grace,” “forgiveness,” “perseverance,” “compassion.”

The word “heart” is inside the word “love”…   one of the themes in my mother-daughter novel.

I shall dedicate the entire month of October to thank everyone who has helped me delivered my first novel into the world and all the readers. Many people have helped me but have never broadcast their kindness; I don’t know who they are; I thank everyone from my heart.

then Teresa LeYung Ryan, co-presenter with Elisa Sasa Southard and Kathi Kamen Goldmark at San Francisco Writers Conference - photo by Cheri Eplin 2004

Love Made of Heart: a Daughter, a Mother, a Journey Through Mental Illness
http://www.lovemadeofheart.com/Love-Made-of-Heart-a-Daughter,-a-Mother,-a-Journey-Through-Mental-Illness.html

I begin my thanks to:

My mother and all family members, and, the characters (Ruby Lin, Vivien Lin, Mrs. Nussbaum, Dr. Thatcher) who inspired my story.

The teachers who taught the 10-week course “Writing Children’s Literature” where I met critique group members Evelyn Miche, Cat (before she moved to Maine), Theresa Stephenson, Olga Malyj (who joined us for a few months).

To Kim McMillon who believed in me … way back when, long before I started writing. Dr. Kim McMillon, poet, activist, with over twenty years of experience producing theatre, is now an author and Black Arts Movement historian.

Everyone who orchestrated the 1997 Jack London Writers’ Conference, members at the California Writers Club and the Women’s National Book Association.

Everyone at East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) where I had a full-time job at headquarters; to my boss at the time – Robert Doyle – who said “yes” to my request for a 6-week leave-of-absence to complete one last rewrite of my manuscript.

Susan Canale (at EBRPD), Luisa Adams (author), Martha Alderson (author) for reading my last rewrite and giving criticism and praise.

Everyone at Regional Parks Botanic Garden when I got a transfer to a part-time position, especially my boss Steve Edward, Ph.D.

To my then spouse Lyle Ryan for supporting my decision to take a part-time position.

To literary super agent Stacey Glick (now VP at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC) who said that my manuscript LOVE MADE OF HEART was the gem she had rescued from the slush pile.

To acquisition editor/director John Scognamiglio, president Steven Zacharius, publisher Laurie Perkin, art director Louis Malcangi, and everyone at Kensington Publishing Corp. in New York

To artist Linda Christensen for giving me a lovely author-photo.

To my sister (author Maria Kawah Leung) and all my friends who gave me courage to NOT hide behind the book.

To everyone who has “pitched” me to folks at their favorite libraries, book stores, groups, clubs, organizations, radio, TV, online programs … so that I could deliver the messages the themes in my book Love Made of Heart.

Thank you, Maria, for making Love Made of Heart birdhouse wind-chime.

Thank you, Claire Lomax, for handcrafting bookmarks that had my book cover and book spine on them.

Thank you, artist Chandra Garsson, for painting your rendition of the book cover onto my bookcase – one of my most cherished treasures. (attention-grabbing book cover that Louis Malcangi at Kensington Publishing Corp in New York had created)

Thank you, dear California Writers Club fellow-member, for gifting me your gorgeous Chinese robe which I have worn to many book events.

Thank you to all California Writers’ Club members!

Thank you to all Women’s National Book Association members!

Thank you, Elisa Sasa Southard, for teaching me how to create talking-points and talking-taglines, attention-grabbing press releases, memorable bios, and, how to have fun in the crazy world of book promoting!

More thanks to Elisa Sasa Southard, Margie Yee Webb, Luisa Adams, Martha Alderson, Angie Choi, Linda Joy Myers, Mary E. Knippel, Lynn Scott, and all the other talented and kindhearted authors who have co-presented with me since 2000.

Thank you, everyone, for reading and also buying Love Made of Heart for your friends, and, inviting your friends to my events, and for going to my events more than once.

Thank you, everyone, for writing reviews.

Thank you to the teachers / educators, including Professors Victor Turks, Miriam Queen, Patricia Costello, Dan Haytin, Sheryl Fairchild and their delightful students.

Thank you to each reader!

Publisher’s description of LOVE MADE OF HEART

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…” Twenty-seven-year-old Ruby Lin has what many women envy: a beautiful apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods, a busy social life, and a coveted position as manager of special events for the tony St. Mark Hotel. But it’s Ruby’s personal life that’s become unmanageable ever since the day her mother’s emotional breakdown forced Ruby to hospitalize her, shaming the family. Now, Ruby is caught in the crossroads between two vastly different cultures–one in which she is the American girl, raised on kitschy television shows and black-and-white movies, and one in which she is known only as Daughter, the eldest, fulfiller of responsibilities. In putting together the pieces of her mother’s life, Ruby finds herself exploring the wounds of her own past. Starting with a forbidden locked tin box and the yellowing photograph inside, Ruby embarks on a startling journey of self-discovery that takes her through a family history rife with violence, betrayal and loss that reaches back through generations, from China to America, and finally to the secret pain of a mother’s sacrifice. Like the Chinese calligraphy that adorns her walls, Ruby comes to see that “life is not a straight road, ” but a language drawn with many brush strokes, where every misunderstanding must yield to the simple message of the heart. Filled with warmth and wisdom, this luminous debut novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction as it explores the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, the choices that divide us, and the love that brings us home.

The above is book jacket text written by author Libba Bray for Kensington Publishing Corp. New York for my novel LOVE MADE OF HEART

In my blog posts of October 1, 2013 and November 29, 2013, I said:

“Thank you to authors Frank Baldwin, Carol Schaefer, Lydia Kwa, and Gus Lee for writing lovely advance praise for my book cover. I am so grateful!”

“Special thanks to Martha Alderson, Luisa Adams, Susan Canale, Elisa Sasa Southard, Margie Yee Webb, Kim McMillon, Vicki Weiland !”

“I thank powerhouse Stacey Glick (VP at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) who found insightful acquisition editor John Scognamiglio (at Kensington Publishing Corp. New York) who guided my mother-daughter novel Love Made of Heart to the Sales Team, good-energy publisher Laurie Perkin, president Steven Zacharius, Debbie Tobias was Sales Director, Lou Malcangi was art director, by the way . . . booksellers do judge a book by its cover, Libba Bray, who is now a New York Times bestselling author of young adult books, for book jacket copy, Jacquie Edwards for copy editing, marketing team, production team, Jessica in Sales, Michelle who was Webmaster,and EVERYONE at Kensington and their associates, especially Nancy Suib & Anne Shulenberger, and Kensington Publishing Corp.’s superstars Lydia Kwa, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Mary B. Morrison, Mary Monroe, Carl Weber . . .

If not for these people, I would not have had the opportunity to experience the publishing industry from the author’s perspective . . .  which then gave me the credentials to talk about “who” really is the most qualified person to build the author’s platform and fanbase.

Author’s Note to Reader on the last page of LOVE MADE OF HEART

Thank you for letting me share Ruby Lin’s story with you.  Many readers have asked me what the characters in the novel have done for me.  My answer is this: I’ve learned that behind every face is a compelling story.

Please remember me as a writer who says YES! to compassion for mental illness and NO! to domestic violence and child abuse.

Who is Mrs. Nussbaum?  She lives in all our hearts.  Just as we have the “child within,” we also have the “wise elder within.”  May you always embrace your compelling story and allow your Mrs. Nussbaum to embrace you.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan (now Teresa Jade LeYung)

Happy 48th anniversary to Kensington Publishing Corp in New York!

https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/pages/about/ says:

“2022 marks Kensington Publishing Corp’s 48th year in business, and it is one of the last remaining independent U.S. publisher of hardcover, trade and mass market paperback books. From the time our very first book (Appointment in Dallas by Hugh McDonald), became a bestseller, Kensington has been known as an astute and determined David-vs.-Goliath publisher of titles in the full spectrum of categories, from fiction and romance to health and nonfiction. In addition to the close to 500 new books, the company releases through its diverse imprints per year, it has a backlist of more than 5,000 titles. Kensington is considered a leader and innovator in such areas of publishing as African-American, cozy mysteries, westerns, and of course, romance.”

Author and Writing Coach Teresa Jade LeYung--photo by author Lynn Scott

Love Made of Heart:

– a 2002 nominee of the Asian American Literary Awards

– recommended by the California School Library Association and the California Reading Association

– used in Women in Psychology, First-Year Composition college course, Advanced Composition English-as-a-Second-Language classes

– read by students at Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, City College of Sacramento, Lowell High School, and many other wonderful institutions

– archived at the San Francisco History Center

– available at public libraries

This is just the first of a series of Thank You as I continue celebrating LOVE MADE OF HEART and the kindhearted souls (teachers, librarians, booksellers, media folks, readers and more readers) who have helped me speak up about:

NO to domestic violence and child abuse!

YES to kindness and compassion with mental illness!

YES to speaking from the heart!

I wish everyone wellness, kindness, happiness!

Sincerely,

Teresa_Jade_LeYung__photo_by_Nan_and_MEK_2019

Teresa Jade LeYung

Story Theme Consultant / Photo Historian / Author / Public Library and Public School Advocate

http://www.OurBeautifulBrains.com goes to Teresa’s Blog

Writing Coach Teresa Jade LeYung says: “I love helping writers identify the themes in their manuscripts to hook readers, and, build and fortify their platforms before and after publication. Reach out, not stress out.”

Love Made Of Heart ®

For Writers and Readers!

Literary Stage events June 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 2015

California Writers Club Members – at Literary Stage, Fine Arts Galleria, Expo Hall, San Mateo County Fair 2015

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California Writers Club Members – “Writers Helping Writers” panel – at Literary Stage, Fine Arts Galleria, Expo Hall, San Mateo County Fair 2015, San Mateo Event Center, CA

"Writers Helping Writers" panel - Audrey Kalman, Lisa Meltzer Penn, Tory Hartmann, Laurel Anne Hill, Margie Yee Webb - Literary Stage, Fine Arts Galleria, San Mateo County Fair June 6, 2015, 3pm-4pm - photo by Shelley Buck

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“Due to illness, I had to miss the ‘Writers Helping Writers’ panel on the Literary Stage with colleagues on June 6, 2015. Dear pal Margie Yee Webb (a panelist) had her friendly camera; she asked Shelley Buck to take photos of the panel. Writers helping writers; friends helping friends. My gratitude to friends and colleagues. Margie even got me a copy of Carry the Light the anthology inspired by Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director at San Mateo County Fair-Fine Arts Galleria.” Sincerely, Teresa LeYung-Ryan

SPONSORS PANEL: “WRITERS HELPING WRITERS”
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015, 3:00-4:00 P.M. Fine Arts Galleria, San Mateo County Fair

Audrey Kalman has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pen. She published the novel Dance of Souls in 2011. Her next novel will be published by Sand Hill Review Press. She edited two volumes of Fault Zone, an annual anthology of California writers, and is at work on another novel. www.audreykalman.com

Lisa Meltzer Penn is the founding editor of the edgy Fault Zone anthology series, worked in New York publishing, and is finishing a novel. Lisa loves to work deep into the bones of a story to help writers make their work the best it can be. http://www.lisameltzerpenn.com

Tory Hartmann, Panel Moderator: Managing Editor, Parenting on the Peninsula; Editor at Sand Hill Review Press; Award-winning author of short fiction and nonfiction. “I’ve always been a writer,” Tory says. https://www.sandhillreviewpress.com

Laurel Anne Hill‘s award-winning novel, Heroes Arise, was published in 2007. Her publication credits also include over 25 short stories, most recently in Fault Zone, Tales of Fortannis, How Beer Saved the World, and Shanghai Steam, as well as various short nonfiction pieces. More at www.laurelannehill.com.

Margie Yee Webb is author/photographer of Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings: Insight and Inspiration for a Wonderful Life, co-creator of Not Your Mother’s Book . . . On Cats and producer of FEMME: Women Healing the World. She is VP of California Writers Club and President of CWC Sacramento Branch. https://www.facebook.com/MargieYeeWebb

Teresa LeYung-Ryan creator of “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” and For Theme’s Sake: Edit Your Own Manuscript Before Pitching or Self-Publishing (workshops), is author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days (workbook) and Love Made of Heart: a Daughter, a Mother, a Journey Through Mental Illness (novel) http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

For full schedule of events on the Literary Stage orchestrated by Bardi Rosman Koodrin, California Writers Club Members, and the team at San Mateo County Fair – http://sanmateocountyfair.com/entertainment/entertainment/performance-schedules  then click on [ Literary Arts on Fine Arts Stage ]

Literary Stage events June 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 2015
Boris Koodrin/ Director
Bardi Rosman Koodrin/ Literary Director
Coordinators:
Kayte Van De Mark- Art Sales & Volunteers
Rusty Sterling – Photography
Eva Portillo – Day of the Dead
Sue Barizon – Literary Assistant
Laurel Anne Hill – Literary Stage
David Hirzel – Literary Stage
Tory Hartmann – Literary Anthology

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Author_Missy_Kirtley_attends_Writers_Helping_Writers_at_SMCF_photo_by_Margie_Yee_Webb

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authors Margie_Yee_Webb,_Shelley_Buck,_Margaret_Murray_at Literary_Stage - photo_by_Rose_Wallace

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Bardi Rosman Koodrin welcomes audience to Literary Arts stage San Mateo County Fair

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Carry_the_Light_anthology_inspired_by_Bardi_Rosman_Koodrin,_San_Mateo_County_Fair_photo_by_Coach_Teresa_LeYung-Ryan

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Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan aka Writing Coach Teresa who teaches writers how to transform their email signature-blocks, photos, videos, social media, website/blog descriptions into platform statements . . . to attract target audience/readers/fans . . . before and after publication.  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com and  https://www.youtube.com/user/teresaleyung

Author & Platform/Fanbase-Building Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan encourages everyone to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day/California Bookstore Day on Saturday May 2nd, 2015

Find booksellers in your area http://www.indiebound.org and visit them!

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Author & Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan celebrates Independent Bookstore Day/California Bookstore Day

May 2, 2015, 4:30pm at Laurel Book Store

http://www.laurelbookstore.com/event/independent-bookstore-day

http://cabookstoreday.com says:  Just what does IBD celebrate?

Independent bookstores are not just stores, they’re community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.

Cheers to booksellers and all book lovers!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (workbook)

author of the novel Love Made of Heart: a Daughter, a Mother, a Journey Through Mental Illness (used in college courses and archived at the San Francisco History Center)

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com   

https://www.youtube.com/user/teresaleyung

April 25, 2015

Writing Coach Teresa asks: “How do you hook your reader at the middle of your book?”

Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan here . . . recording notes . . .  energized from co-teaching with Mary E. Knippel today – Day 2 of “For Theme’s Sake: Edit Your Own Manuscript Before Pitching or Self-Publishing”.

Our students / hardworking authors supplied plenty of inspiration for their own protagonists as well as for fellow-classmates.

Today we focused on the middle of everyone’s manuscripts. Why the middle?

Before I take on the role of the writer, I put on my reader’s hat.  For me, reading a book is like going for a hike on a trail that I’ve never been on before.  By looking at the signs at the trailhead, I know how long I would have to walk in order to get to the end . . .  just as I know how many hours it would take to read a book by seeing the page count.

That hike I’ve started – the sign posts on the first half of the trail are clear and helpful. I know that if I follow the arrows, I will reach the end, and feel great as I always do after a “good” long walk.

I’ve started reading a book. The author hooks me from page one – sometimes that hook is the narrator’s voice/language, other times it’s the subject matter (a topic that I do relate to or one that I would like to know more about).  By page 5 (oftentimes, even sooner) I know what the main character/protagonist wants or needs, and, I want to see what’s going to happen next. So I turn the page.  I am in the story world.

The author had planted “sign posts” to guide me. Those sign posts are called “themes”.

By the middle of the book, that core theme/sign post better be there.  If the story has stopped hooking me, I will put the book down and probably not open it again.  (On my hike, if at midpoint the trail seems to have disappeared, the marker has fallen off its post, and I’m all alone  . . .  do I continue on? By the way, I am not interested in getting lost today. My dinner awaits me at home.)

Such is the task for an author – how to guide the reader with that core theme, scene after scene.

To the dear authors in our class,

That big sheet of paper that Mary gave you today?  Tape the class handouts from Day 1 and Day 2 onto that sheet. Look at those aids every time you meet with your protagonist.  And, ask your protagonist these questions:   “Where are you today on your Hero’s Journey?”  “What do you want ? … in this scene.”

Speaking of “scene” –

Writing Coach Teresa says: “A scene is a compilation of paragraphs that creates a “movie” in the Reader’s mind.  Which means:  action, dialogue, sensory details, and authentic details.

A sequence of scenes guides the Reader in your Story World, and, is a vehicle to show the Hero’s/Protagonist’s transformation.  Go into scene whenever you want to show us what your protagonist is made of.

In real life, if someone says “I’ve changed. Take my word for it.”  . . .  wouldn’t you be thinking . . .  Hmm….    I’ll believe it when I see it.  Instead of telling us how your protagonist has grown, show us through scene, not through summaries.

Summary cannot spark the same emotional responses as a scene would . . . because summary either recaps what has happened or jumps over time in order to get to the next scene.

I recommend:

* Martha Engber’s book on how to write scenes

* Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey (about Hero’s Journey and Archetypes)

* all books by Martha Alderson on plotting

* your rereading your favorite book and studying that author’s techniques

The fabulous authors in our class have mighty themes:

* make my own decisions and change my circumstances (author of YA science fiction)

* move on with my life in spite of unanswered questions and a broken heart (author of women’s fiction)

* speaking my truth transforms shame into courage and forgiveness (author of memoir)

* embracing my past and loving myself feed my spirit as well as my marriage’s spirit (Diana Lynn, author of women’s fiction)

Their readers will surely stick by their protagonists and be there at the end of the book.

Cheering for YOU!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

on behalf of

“For Theme’s Sake” teachers Teresa LeYung-Ryan & Mary E. Knippel

May 2, 2015 Teresa LeYung-Ryan ( Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days – workbook; Love Made of Heart: a Daughter, a Mother, a Journey Through Mental Illness – novel) celebrates Independent Bookstore Day / California Bookstore Day  with other local authors at Laurel Book Store, Oakland, CA  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com  and http://www.laurelbookstore.com

Saturday June 6
Teresa LeYung-Ryan (Fanbase-Building Coach and “Immigrant Experience Writing Contest” sponsor) joins California Writers Club colleagues for Writing Contest Awards Ceremony and Writers Helping Writers Through Mentoring;

June 13, 2015  for Authors Day

June 6 and June 13, 2015  at Literary Stage, Fine Arts Galleria, San Mateo County Fair (Cheers to Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Boris Koodrin, Laurel Anne Hill, David Hirzel, Margie Yee Webb, Wini McCaffrey, et al)  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com http://cwc-peninsula.org/fair.html