Building Down - An Inward Journey
by
Jennifer Lohr
Date
of Publication: September 28th 2017
Cover
Artist: Jennifer Lohr
Genre:
Personal Development / Self Improvement / Self Growth
Tagline:
We all have the power to heal ourselves.
BLURB
“Recently I changed
my life and I'd like to share my story with you.
This project is as
personal as it is unconventional. I share my inner-most self with readers
through my challenges and triumphs, leading up to and following an emotional
breakdown. For anyone who has ever fallen into a dark abyss of anxiety or
depression, I hope this book can be used as a support to help you climb up out
of that hole and away from self-defeating patterns.”
Buy
Link: Amazon
Book
Trailer: https://youtu.be/wr_M7BM6xjs
Excerpt:
My goal in writing this and sharing such private experiences is
that it just might help someone who sits on the edge, swaying as I once did.
It’s a comfort to know that I may be of help to anyone in need of the same
understandings I am growing to accept and realize each new day. I’d love for
the very basic yet essential message to reach as many people as possible -
please know that you are not alone in the struggle to move beyond your fear,
anger, resentment, sadness, or anxiety. I’m no therapist, nor do I hold
any special psych degrees, or claim to have all of the answers. This is just
life as it happened for me, and as real as it happened for me.
I am re-hashing a lot of my own pain but not with the intention to perseverate
upon it. It’s an awful lot like a mirror or movie play-back. ‘What did I miss?
How can I grow from this?’ Where’s the lesson?’ My experiences are not in vain
because I have chosen to release myself from the binds of regret. I’m
taking the lessons and moving forward.
I should emphasize: none of this piece in any way serves to minimize or
over-simplify the struggle many have with attaining contentment or happiness
(or even getting out of bed some days). I know it’s a challenge. So please: if
you need help, seek it. It can be very difficult to accept ourselves and our
struggles or suffering, but we are the only ones responsible for getting help
when we feel like giving up is an option.
Buy
Link: Amazon
Author Info
Jennifer has been writing short
stories since she was a child and was first published at age 15 for a Poe
inspired piece. Later that same year Jennifer was featured in Who's Who
Among American High School Students for creative writing. After adding the roles
of wife and mother of four young children to her list of achievements, Jennifer
decided it was time to bring her dream of writing a novel to fruition and
debuted her first piece in 2014, titled Baltic Mist - A Timeless Saga.
This time, inspired by the
Icelandic skald Egil Skallagrimsson, Jennifer latched on to one of his
characters from the epic Egil's Saga. Book One of the three-part trilogy was
self-published by her own publishing entity: An Ancient Approach. Since then
she has released two children's books and is finishing Books Two and Three of
the Baltic Mist saga series.
While the her top priority is
family first, Jennifer spends her days indulging in creating a quality of life
enriched with homemaking, child-rearing, writing, painting, gardening, cooking,
or simply making memories with her children. Making a point to remain mindful,
Jennifer holds steadfast that everything holds opportunity for growth if she
pays close enough attention.
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with
Jennifer Lohr
How would you describe your style of writing
to someone that has never read your work?
I would
say I write with the same fashion as if I was having a one-on-one conversation
with someone. My stories first come to me in pictures or like a movie in my
mind, then I go on to describe what I envision. At the end of the day, I want
all of my work to translate as relatable, human experiences. That’s my hope.
What are some of your writing/publishing
goals for this year?
My goal
is grow my own unique ‘brand’ where I can continue to develop a relationship of
some sort with my readers through my own publishing entity: Ancient Approach Balanced Being (formerly
‘An Ancient Approach’). I also hope
to complete my second installment in my Baltic Mist – A Timeless Saga
series.
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained
process or just something that flows naturally for you?
I like
this question. It’s a little bit of both, in my opinion. I believe we are all
story-tellers, to a certain extent. We all withhold our own stories, fantasies,
or horrors. With that said, I’m just the
type of storyteller who entertains and delights in (if not obsesses over) my
own tales to where I decide to chronicle them in books.
Do you have a character that you have been
working on for a long time that still isn't quite ready, but fills you with
excitement to work on the story?
Helga
Thorfinsdottir, the protagonist in my Baltic Mist series fascinates and
enraptures me. She was an actual person who remained sort of this
one-dimensional character until I allowed the blank canvas I saw in her to take
shape. She’s matured and grown an awful lot since Baltic Mist – A Timeless Saga’s Book One and it’s a lot of
fun growing with her character. The seasons of her life are similarly
reflective of my own, I find.
If you could spend one-week with 5 fictional
character, who would they be?
Heathcliff
from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Hawkeye / LaLong Carrabine and
Chingachgook from James Fennimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans, The Mad
Hatter from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and finally Peter from
Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon.
Where would you spend one full year, if you
could go ANYWhere? What would you do with this time?
As
challenging as this was to answer… I would have to say Tibet (and immediately –
no time to lose!); and spending that particular year in Tibet under the studies
of the Dalai Lama would be my choice.
Can you share you next creative project(s)?
If yes, can you give a few details?
I have
a few, actually… as far as projects within my favorite genre: historical
fiction, I plan on writing a book about William H. Bonney (aka “Billy the Kid”)
and his real-life love interest, whom (in my opinion) was the real reason why
he was unable to pull himself away from Lincoln County, NM. Also, I have two
projects that involve my paternal grandfather, aside from one telling the
stories of each of my immigrant grandparents. Additionally, having been
encouraged by a number of family and friends to memoir my experiences as a mom
of more than one child with autism (which has been a very challenging subject
to write about, to be perfectly honest) I would like very much to put something
together involving that alone.
There’s
quite a lot of plays taking place and evolving in my little imagination, for
sure, and I have no intention of going anywhere but where I am right now:
present.
**Thank you so much for such engaging
questions – I had a lot of fun with this interview. –Jen**
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