Today is anthology day! So I will introduce each writer by bio, then share each writer’s interview, describe the anthology, and then move right on to the next writer.
Comment for your chance to win one of three great anthologies. We’ll select three winners!
About Lela Davidson
Lela Davidson has built a writing career on everyday humor and candid observations. Lela is an award-winning author and essayist (Blacklisted from the PTA, 2011), a journalist (the TODAY Show Moms blog), and a columnist for Brooke Burke’s Modern Mom. She is an entertaining professional speaker, who charms audiences on topics ranging from marketing and social media to family life, marriage, and the challenges of being over-40 in a Botox world. Lela appears regularly on television and serves as Associate Editor of Peekaboo magazine. Her humorous, inspirational essays have appeared in family and parenting magazines throughout North America, as well as in Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms. Her book marketing advice has been featured in Writer’s Digest.
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
I started writing in 2003, and I started suddenly, filling spiral notebooks with eager responses to the teachings and prompts of Natalie Goldberg and Julie Cameron. That is when the writer part of me knew, but the rational me wasn’t sure until she got external validation. That really came in 2006 when I started getting my work out there and people told me they enjoyed it. That’s when I decided to figure out a way to “make a writing life.”
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
My family is incredible supportive, especially considering they are the topic of much of my writing! I will always be grateful to a wonderful writer friend I knew at the time started writing. She made it okay to write. I still thought that for me, it was probably a silly waste of time that would amount to nothing, but her encouragement allowed me to try. The writers group I joined soon after I started writing was invaluable. There I learned many elements of craft and discipline. I’m a book learner, so I have a full home library of amazing instruction. Which brings me to Writer Mama. When I met Christina Katz at a conference I knew I wanted to learn more from her than what was on the pages in her books. I kick and scream through every class, but they have made all the difference in my success.
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
People respond to my writing because it’s what they’re thinking, only funnier. Whenever people talk to me or each other about the stories I tell, they inevitably start telling stories of their own. That’s all I ever wanted to do–sit around on my driveway drinking wine and laughing.
Lela will give away a copy of Women Writing on Family, Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing. This book provides guidance and insight for women who write about family. Award-winning women writers from all walks of life share their experiences in planning, composing, editing, publishing, teaching, and promoting work in a variety of writing genres. Readers will learn to tackle sensitive family issues and avoid pitfalls in memoir writing, poetry, fiction, and others. Filled with tips, exercises, and anecdotes, this anthology is appropriate for both well-seasoned writers and those just beginning.
About Lorraine Wilde
Lorraine Wilde is a freelance journalist, environmental scientist, and mother of twin eight-year old boys. She’s published over 50 articles in respected publications including Parents Magazine, Ithaca Child, Ohio Valley Parent, and Nashville Parent, and she blogs regularly at My Wilde World (www.lorrainewilde.com) and easytolovebut.com.
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
I knew for sure that I was a writer in 1998 when I was working as a scientific consultant from my home office. I had less than a week to complete a solid 25,000 word report for the U.S. EPA based on others research and data and my boss had no time to help or edit. I worked in pajamas most days. When I sent it off on Friday afternoon, two hours before the deadline, I felt inspired and proud, without stress or exhaustion. In that moment I knew I could be a writer and actually enjoy the process.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
My husband Mike has always been supportive of my writing career, whether I’m earning money or not, jumping a hurdle, trying something new, or frustrated to death, he’s always there.
With the training and advice of Writer Mama, Get Known, and Christina’s WPSS class, I have been pulling myself up the success ladder. The support of Christina, the other writers from her classes, and fellow authors I’ve met at writers conferences have given me the tools and courage to make it happen.
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
The most frequent comment I hear about Easy to Love… is, “I was so comforted by the stories of what other parents had gone through with their child with ‘invisible’ special needs. What they experienced is exactly what I’m going through and knowing I’m not alone has lessened the panic and confusion. I am so thankful.”
If there’s anything the 32 parent-writers and 15 experts of Easy to Love but Hard to Raise want you to know, it’s this:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE We’ve been there. We’ve done that. We’ve navigated the system. Some of us succeeded. Some failed. We’ve been judged by friends, teachers, family, & strangers. We’ve gotten the phone calls & the looks. We’ve done things we never thought we’d do, good & bad. We’ve been up nights, cried in our pillows, and screamed in frustration. We’ve doubted ourselves, our children, & our partners. We’ve had to educate everyone, including our children’s doctors. We are parents of children with alphabet soup diagnoses, invisible special needs, behavioral problems.
Our children are easy to love, but oh, so hard to raise.
Easy to Love but Hard to Raise is an anthology of personal essays written by parents of children with ADD, ADHD, OCD, PDD, ASDs, SPD, PBD and/or other alphabet soup diagnoses that takes the already difficult job of parenting and adds to the challenge.
These essays focus on honest feelings, lessons learned, epiphanies, commonplace and extraordinary experiences. They are written by parents of toddlers, young children, teens, and adult children; those who are in the parenting trenches now, and those looking back on their parenting experiences. Topics include : how children came to be diagnosed, the experience of dealing with problem behaviors in various contexts and settings, experiences with/feelings about treatment (therapies, medications, alternative treatments), school (and other advocacy) experiences, children’s social interactions/friends, and the effect of parenting a difficult child on a parent’s emotional and physical health, marriage, and other relationships.
About Cara Holman
Cara Holman lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Her personal essays have been featured in the Oregonian, Oregon Humanities, Literary Mama, The Fertile Source, and several anthology series including Chicken Soup for the Soul. She also writes poetry, which has appeared in a number of online and print journals. She blogs at Prose Posies.
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
Although I’ve been writing stories and poetry for as long as I can remember, I had never shared my work with anyone until I joined a writing group for women cancer survivors early in 2007. It wasn’t until after I published my first piece in an online journal, that I was finally able to call myself a writer. Before then, I simply thought of myself as someone who dabbles in writing. Getting that affirmation that someone besides me enjoyed my writing, and saw something of value in it, gave me the confidence to keep going.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
My mother gave me the initial boost I needed to continue on the writing path I had embarked on. My husband and three children give me space to write, even when they don’t always understand what this strange compulsion to write constantly is all about. And my online writer friends continue to support me with words of encouragement every step of the way. It may take a village to raise a child, but it is equally true that it takes a village to support a writer, particularly an emerging one!
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
Some tidbits of praise that I have taken very much to heart: “it is lovely to encounter your words at this unexpected moment”, “well done, and way fun!”, “thanks for sharing such a personal story”, “your piece is beautifully written”, “very powerful!”, “fitting and beautiful”, “your simple story is elegant”, “ahhh yes, this resonates”, “this made me smile”, “when I read your essay, I cried”. My goal is to make my readers laugh, cry, identify with the story, or show them a different way of looking at things. When I succeed, I feel completely rewarded.
Becoming a mom is the most amazing event. Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms will delight new and expectant moms with its heartwarming and humorous stories about raising babies and toddlers. This book is full of stories by other moms sharing the wonders of early motherhood, from waiting for the baby, to those early weeks and first few years, and everything in between!
And Now, Your Turn
Now it’s your turn. You remember how this works right?
I ask you a question. You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.
Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 
Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books). Please read the complete rules at least once!
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! I hope to see you here every day this month. Bring your friends!
Easy to Love but Hard to Raise sounds like it could have been written about raising a writing career…do you ever feel this way? Is your writing career easy to love or hard to raise or both or neither? Does writing or not writing about your family make it more or less challenging?
And the winner of Mama Insider: Laughing (And Sometimes Crying) All The Way Through Pregnancy, Birth and the First Three Months by Abigail Green is…
