We will have one lucky winner for all five books today.
I’m very happy to welcome Yona McDonough as our Mother’s Day author. The author of over two dozen books, including children’s books, novels and collections of essays. Yona has written several children’s books in collaboration with her mother, wherein she wrote the stories and her mother illustrated the covers. One of those collaborations is included in our giveaway today. Please help me welcome, Yona!
Introducing Yona McDonough
Yona Zeldis McDonough was born in Chadera, Israel and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She holds degrees from Vassar College and Columbia University, and is the author of four novels and twenty-two books for children, several of which are collaborations with her mother, painter Malcah Zeldis. She is also the editor of two essay collections and her articles, fiction and essays have appeared in many literary and national magazines. She now lives in Brooklyn–again!–with her husband, their two children and two small, yappy dogs.
Learn about A Wedding In Great Neck, New American Library, 2012
The Silverstein family is coming together in Great Neck, Long Island, for the nuptials of the youngest daughter. Always considered the favorite—and the object of much envy and resentment—Angelica has planned a fairy tale wedding to her fiancé, a former fighter pilot. But there are storm clouds on the horizon.
Gretchen, Angelica’s sister, is dealing with a failed marriage and her moody teenage daughter Justine. One brother is a callous businessman while the other is struggling with his search for love and a career. Her mother is in a battle of wills with the wedding planner, while her father, a recovering alcoholic, struggles to confront his ex-wife’s lavish new life in the Long Island manor of her dreams. And her grandmother Lenore has decided it’s high time to take charge and set her grandchildren on their proper paths.
Then an impulsive act by Justine puts the entire wedding at risk and brings the simmering family tensions to the boiling point. Before vows are exchanged, this day will change more than one life forever…
Learn about The Doll Shop Downstairs Viking, 2009
Nine year old Anna and her sisters like helping out in their parents’ doll repair shop, because once their chores are done, the fun can begin. The girls are allowed to play carefully with the dolls until they’re fixed and ready to be returned to their owners. But when World War I begins, and an embargo on German-made goods threatens to put the shop out of business, it’s up to Anna to come up with an idea to save the day.
Learn about The Cats In The Doll Shop Viking, 2011
When Anna sees a family of stray cats behind her parents’ doll shop, she knows she must rescue them. But her papa’s rules are strict: No pets allowed. Meanwhile, Anna’s cousin Tania is coming from Russia to stay with Anna’s family. Anna can’t wait for her to arrive and become her new best friend. But when Tania moves in, she’s shy and nervous, and Anna’s sisters don’t seem to like Tania at all. Luckily, Anna finds a creative way to use her love of dolls and cats to bring everyone together.
Learn about All The Available Light: A Marilyn Monroe Reader by Touchstone 2002
No star in any genre has affected the world as deeply or has lasted as long without fading as Marilyn Monroe. This thought-provoking and wide-ranging collection of essays examines the undiminished incandescence of Marilyn Monroe — the impact she has had on our culture, the evolution of her legend since her death, and what she tells us now about our lives and times — and includes previously unpublished work from some of America’s best writers, such as: Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Elliot Dark, Albert Mobilo, Marge Piercy, Lore Segal, Lisa Shea, and many more.
From her troubled family beginnings to the infamous $13 million auction held at Christie’s in New York City, All the Available Light paints an unforgettable portrait of Marilyn as you’ve never seen her before.
This extremely rare cover photo was taken c. 1954, on the set of The Seven Year Itch.
Learn about Eve And Her Sister: Women Of The Old Testament illustrated by the author’s mother, Malcah Zeldis, by Greenwillow 1994
Here are 14 women of the Bible–wives, mothers, and daughters, but also prophets and judges, warriors and queens–whose names and deeds echo through history. Sarah, Rachel, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, and others are brought vividly to life in this collection of simply-told Bible vignettes. Full color.
I asked Yona three questions about our giveaway’s theme topic, self-expression:
1. Is self-expression an important part of your life today, why or why not?
Self expression is vitally important to me and has been so to me all my life but I don’t think of that as so unusual or different. I believe everyone has the yearning for self-expression; it seems to be hard-wired into the species. What’s different is the forms that self expression can take. And here’s something I find interesting: when my writing is going well and I am “in the zone,” so to speak, I don’t feel like I am expressing my “self” at all. Instead, I hear a character urgently whispering her (or his) story into my ear. In these moments, I feel like am a conduit rather than a creator, and a vessel for some larger force outside the confines of self.
2. What does self-expression mean to you and how do you do it in the world?
I express myself in many ways–through my words, my actions and evens seemingly small things, like what I wear or how I decorate my home. But I chiefly express myself through my writing. Writing enables me to organize my thoughts, make sense of my experience and gives coherence to my life. When I write, I experience a supreme sense of order in the world both within and without–the act of putting the words on paper (or screen) makes everything fall into place.
3. How does your self-expression impact the world—your family, your friends, your readers, and everyone else?
I hope that the impact is a positive one. I know that on a personal level, writing is essential to my equilibrium. Even if everything else is going well, if I am not actively engaged in one project or another (and since I write across genres, I tend to have a few things going at a time), I experience a kind of quiet, internal despair. Writing banishes all that. As for the impact on others, it is harder to say. I would like to think my words have made a difference and certainly I have received enough enthusiastic feedback to suggest this is the case. In the largest sense, I feel that by writing, I am contributing my small drops to the vast and inexhaustible river that is literature.
And Now, Your Turn…
You remember how this works right?
Please read the complete rules at least once!
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).
We think that “mothering” is a simple word. I think we all assume that we understand the shared meaning of the word. But mothering is a diverse concept, and all people define it uniquely, often colored by the way they were themselves mothered or not mothered. What does mothering mean to you? How do you mother others? How do you mother yourself?
Ready, set, comment! I will hold the drawing tomorrow and post the results here in my blog.
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!
And thanks for spreading the word. We will be giving away great books by wonderful women authors all month.
View the complete list of authors and books.
View the giveaway Pinterest board.
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To me — at its best — mothering means providing the right context for another person to grow, bloom and flourish. That means it takes an infinite number of forms as mothering is always an adaptation to our children’s needs and to the situation they’re in. In times of trouble, mothering might involve providing comfort and refuge that allows our children to reclaim calm and find inner strength. Or it might involve active encouragement through positive words or even prodding that pushes a child to grow past her comfort zone. In all situations mothering means we have open arms and hearts. And that we long for our children to return to them and full us with joy no matter how far they may have journeyed away from us,
Mothering has many different flavors. In the big picture for me it means caring and loving the people around me, even if they are not family, at times strangers. Providing support -moral, physical and emotional. Being someone they can count on no matter what happens.
For my sons it was and is, doing what I can to help them be good men, husbands, fathers, and friends – by being a living example as best I can. By encouraging them to live up to their potential,
it doesn’t matter what they do but doing it well is important. To raise their families to believe the measure of a man or woman can be judged by how they treats others.
I mother myself last which is likely a mistake. Doing this month long book give away is one way I spoil myself. I give myself the gift of time. The freedom to do things that please me – free of guilt. Squeezing time out for calls to my siblings, looking at old photos, guilt free time to do nothing but read. I’m not bad at mothering myself.
Wow Mothering! Mothering encompasses so many wonderful characteristics. To me mothering is expressing love for another. As mothers we care and love our family but also everyone we encounter. We build each other up and encourage one another. We don’t need to be a mother to express our mothering instinct. We can be a mother to those around us that need a mother. It’s really a way of expressing love! And we get so much back in the loved our family has for us!
Ah mothering, a nice easy topic. For me, mothering is opening myself up to allowing the experience to not be about me, to attempt to provide what my children require, not always what I want to give them. The challenge of course is this is a moving target as they grow and change and teach has unique needs. I try to mother them as they need, not be the mother I need. I believe that is easier if I mother myself as I need to be mothered and allow myself to be as selfish as I need. In the end we all benefit.
Since I’ve adopted,
my idea of mothering has expanded into “sharing.” The women who gave birth to
three of my kids are honored, loved and cherished. Mothering is a spectrum, but
for me it’s all about nurturing while guiding and providing, teaching mine to
develop strong moral compasses and trust in them. In every child I see mine and
treat/look out for them as such, I guess that’s why so many of my kids’ friends
call me “Mama Miller.” I don’t do a good job of mothering myself, and I’m
trying to rectify that. 😉
To me, mothering is taking care of an entity that cannot fully take care of itself. I mother kids, dogs, fish and my bonsai. Mother’s Day recognizes the “giving without expecting something in return” gene.. Today was one of the best Mother’s Days ever. All three of my children haven’t been with me on Mom’s Day since they went away to college. But as we were all in Boulder for middle daughter’s college graduation, we got to celebrate together at Red Rocks, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I have the habit of mothering as in checking to see if everyone is comfortable, has something to eat or drink, etc. I’m always there if someone needs to talk and I listen without judging and give advice only if asked. I’m a mother very much like my mother. I mother myself by being a writer — it’s how I take care of my emotional needs.
I recently saw a quote saying “Being a mother means always thinking twice, once for yourself and once for your children.” I myself am not a mother, but have had and continue to have a fantastic example of one. However, the term ‘mothering’ to me has a negative connotation. It’s not that I have anything against the term mothering, but the immediate association is overbearing, or an action occurring by someone who is not the mother of someone else (a.k.a. Ally mothers her boyfriend Sean all the time). I think I mother people when I go out of my way to help them, or advise them on things in their life that aren’t necessarily their business. I don’t someone can mother themselves.
As the mother of an almost 4-year-old, I had expected going in that I needed to be in all ways knowledgeable, supportive, loving and occasionally tough on my child as he grows up and learns to become a functioning, hopefully well-adjusted adult (tall order, much?). What I’ve found through the process is that it’s perfectly alright that I don’t have a ready answer for everything, and that I’m learning a lot from my son as I go along. I am becoming a better person through being a mom, one who does make some mistakes along the way. To me, that’s the real goal of mothering–an exchange, rather than always a passing of superior knowledge from me to my son. My child is more disciplined than I am; I can learn a lot from him in that and other ways. It’s liberating in a way I never expected.
I think mothering means a lot of things. It means being tender when your kids need it and tough at other times to help them learn the tough lessons of life and grow to be productive, caring citizens. I am guilty of mothering others’ children. If I see a child that needs help or some love, I like to give it. I’m not sure that I mother myself really well, though I did have a nice mothers’ day yesterday. The kids and hubby took good care of me.