Thursday, March 16, 2023

Reached




Reaching


The climb had been long,

arduous,

paths that led to dead ends,

stumbles, setbacks,

those times when she

huddled

shivering in makeshift shelter.


If she knew then how long,

tedious,

it would be just to perch atop

the summit, clutching weeds

when others found a clear path

years ago,

she never would've soldiered.


The tippy top was illusory,

perilous,

only one peak rather than

the mountain top, and, really,

it was bumping into others also

clambering

that made it worth the effort.

Still, she reached once more.


  • Theresa Milstein 2023



Thank you, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, for the poetry prompt on Post!


Weekly Poetry Prompt Challenge For #PostPoets

To fellow #PostPoets out there who are looking for a low-pressure creative challenge: write a poem inspired by my art and either share it in the comments or on your own feed with the hashtag #DebbieOhiPoetryPrompt somewhere in the post to make it easier for me and others to find.

Friday, February 24, 2023

Blank Canvas





Blank Canvas

Paper
beneath her fingertips
pale, pebbly, pristine

Paintbrush
slick in her vice-grip,
beige, bristly, brand new

This perfect paper
and sturdy paintbrush
were waiting for a professional

Who was SHE
with her imprecision
and indecision?

Who
wasn't 
SHE? 

Like a welcoming pool
in a sweltering summer
she took a breath...

dipped the brush 
and dove
d
o
w
n

- Theresa Milstein 2023 


Thank you, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, for the poetry prompt on Post! 

Weekly Poetry Prompt Challenge For #PostPoets

To fellow #PostPoets out there who are looking for a low-pressure creative challenge: write a poem inspired by my art and either share it in the comments or on your own feed with the hashtag #DebbieOhiPoetryPrompt somewhere in the post to make it easier for me and others to find.







Sunday, September 1, 2019

Pitch Wars Boost My Bio 2019

Hi, I'm Theresa. I write MG and YA, both contemporary and contemporary. This year, for Pitch Wars, I'm submitting a YA contemporary that deals with a parent with a mental disorder and ...


YA Contemporary: UNSTITCHING SLOANE

Pitch:
When her dad takes off, seventeen-year-old Sloane must abandon her dream of going to design school or risk her younger sister’s safety in order to keep her unstable mom from unraveling altogether.

Summary:
Seventeen-year-old goth girl, Sloane Walsh, dreams of becoming a fashion designer and plans to score a scholarship to a design school and escape her hell home. But Dad ditches his responsibilities when he takes a job transfer, leaving Sloane to care for her erratically-behaved, mentally-ill mother and protect her sister from her mother’s abuse. No way she can bail now. With her dreams in jeopardy, she searches for a new plan. To cope with the mounting responsibilities, she pours her feelings into her Creative Writing Club journal.

In the Club, is, of all people, her school’s star quarterback. Turns out he isn’t a typical dumb jock. But freaks don’t like football players and football players don’t like freaks. One night, she catches a ride from him. They wind up connecting in ways she couldn’t have imagined. He’s scored a football scholarship to a school on the other side of the country, and she clutches to the fantasy of escaping there too. But they have no relationship outside of his R8 Spyder. As Sloane’s feelings for him grow, she realizes she can’t be anyone’s secret. She’s got too many of her own.

Her biggest secret is her mother. As Mom’s attacks escalate and conditions at home deteriorate, Sloane has to decide if she can continue taking the physical and mental abuse and allow her mother’s needs eclipse her own.



About Me: 
I live in the Boston area. I've got a husband, 2 children, a cat and a dog. By day, I'm a middle school special education teacher.

Here's me in Boston yesterday with my husband. 
I'm wearing my necklace that reads:
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."


This is Luna Lovecat.
She's refusing to be a reliable muse.



Hobbies:
Writing, of course
Reading and writing poetry (I've got a little book published by Vine Leaves Press.)
Riding my bike
Cooking and eating out
Reading (of course)
Spending too much time on social media

TV:
The Good Place
AP Bio
Shark Tank
Impractical Jokers
Good Omens series
The Office
30 Rock
Arrested Development

Books:
Good Omens
The Sun Is Also a Star
A Monster Calls
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Harry Potter
Charlotte's Web
Ordinary People
Spinning Silver
Skellig
and more ...

Can't wait to meet you all. More bios HERE. 

You can find me on Twitter too @TheresaMilstein


Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Choose Words and Make Mayhem


A few years ago, Rajani LaRocca  and I met at a writing retreat. After realizing we had way too many things in common to be coincidence, we became friends. 

Since then, I’ve watched her work hard at her writing and keep finding opportunities. In 2017 she trusted me to read one of her last drafts of Midsummer’s Mayhem. I loved it! 

Rajani’s hard work and talent finally came together.



And now I’m proud to show off Rajani’s cover!!! 
(Look at all that purple!)

Inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream, the story follows an 11-year-old Indian-American girl whose dream of winning a celebrity chef-judged baking contest stirs up trouble when she bakes with a mysterious boy from the woods and people around her start acting loopy. Publication is scheduled for summer 2019.

Check out her book on Goodreads



Recently, I read a blog called “Space Between,” featuring Rajani, and the host of the post, Julie Ditchburn Patton, suggested choosing a word to frame the upcoming year.

Her advice was simple:


1.       Decide what your goals are for the year. The more specific you are, the better.
2.       Think about what character traits or verbs you’re going to need to reach those goals.
3.       Choose your word(s).
4.       Write the word(s) down and post somewhere you’ll see them every day.

This summer, I attended Highlights Whole Novel Workshop  run by Sarah Aronson and Nancy Werlin. I love Highlights, and this has been my favorite workshop by far. It was life-changing. I worked on a novel I’d written years ago but had been stuck on how to revise it. Based on Nancy’s feedback, along with my Braintrust group, I had huge epiphanies. I’m currently on revision 3.

While I was there, I also spoke with Jim McCoy, who is a life coach. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought I needed one. After all, I’m a teacher, I write. What more did I need?

When I told my husband about the life coach opportunity, he said, “You could use that.”

???

He was right. I’d been giving up on my manuscripts too easily, stopped querying too early. 

I could use a life coach. 

Jim asked me about my fears. He helped me find perspective and language to use. We came up with goals moving forward.


So in that spirit, I’ve tried Julie's method.


My Goals:

Find learning opportunities
Continue to perfect craft
Pursue connections
Keep querying and tweaking

My Character Traits:

Inquisitive (always)
Persistent (working on it)
Fearless (sometimes)
Brave (mostly)

per·sist·ent
/pərˈsist(ə)nt/
adjective

1.
continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

tenacious, persevering, determined, resolute, purposeful, dogged, single-minded, tireless, indefatigable, patient, unflagging, untiring, insistent, importunate, relentless, unrelenting

2.
continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period.


I chose:
per·sist
/pərˈsist/
verb
1. continue firmly or obstinately in an opinion or a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or failure.


And when I think about it, that’s what Rajani’s done too. Like me, she balances a full time job, parenting, and squeezing in everything writing-related in the margins. And she does it with good humor and sincerity. And now here she is with a middle grade novel coming out on June 4, 2019, along with a picture book, etc. Her word is “Savor.” 

What’s your word(s)? 


Maybe I need to order the mug  with this logo 
for my writing mornings.


Friday, November 24, 2017

The Clock is Ticking


See my book on the bottom left!


I'm not a big fan of promoting myself. But Vine Leaves Press made an offer I couldn't refuse:

Promoting lots of Vine Leaves Press authors!

I've read quite a few of these books, and I'm always impressed with the beauty of the thought-provoking writing. It's what makes me so proud to be a Vine Leaves author.

Selected ebook #VLP titles $0.99 AUD w/ coupon code, Friday, November 24-Monday November 27, Coupon Code: vlpcyber, enter at checkout. Go to vineleavespress.com.

Here are direct links to these fabulous authors' ebooks
(short story collections, historical fiction, memoir, poetry, and prose)


Dylan Doyle Debelis https://gum.co/garagedebelisvlp


Take advantage of this Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale.

The clock is ticking! (Get it? TIME & CIRCUMSTANCE)



Wednesday, June 7, 2017

In Which I Lie, Twice


Please, visit Crystal Collier's blog.


On it, I play "Two Truths and a Lie." 

See how well you know me.

By making a guess, you enter for a chance to win a signed copy of my book.

Good luck! 







Saturday, May 6, 2017

Moments to Relive and Winners




Thank you again to everyone who agreed to host me on their blogs for my tour for Time & Circumstance. Im overwhelmed with how much support youve given me. I already knew it was going to be a tough time for the tour because of Applied Behavioral Analysis class. It wound up being an even more difficult time for a tour because of the death of a dear family friend, and so I didnt get the word out about the tour as much as Id planned. Im sorry, hosts.

The good news is I just finished the class, and so Im finally getting around to choosing winners. I put every commenters name in Random Name Picker (Winners are listed at the bottom of the post.)


I also want to thank the commenters, especially those who answered my question: “If you could relive any moment in time, what would it be?”

Here are some fantastic answers:

Seeing Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address.

Oh...question...Relive a moment in time...too many to mention, but flying into Paris for the first time I'd like to repeat that. Unfortunately, like all such moments, we only get to do them once.

That's a tough one, if I could relive one moment I think I would choose my first visit to Paris. It went by too fast T_T

As for a moment I would want to relive- maybe my release day for my book. It went by in a magical blur and reliving it would help me try to prolong the excitement. :) 

What moment would I relive? So hard. Probably the last outing we had before my dad passed away. My kids were little and he found such joy in going on rides with them at the local fairground. Lots of fun.

As for a moment I would like to relive- I am not sure. So many wonderful moments. Maybe reading Harry Potter for the first time. I love rereading it, but it would be amazing to read it with the same surprise and awe I had that very first time.

My moment in time would be Woodstock. I’d love to know what it felt like to be enmeshed in so much energy.

If I could relive a day, I'd pick my wedding or the day we adopted my daughter. The first moment I held her was priceless.

I’d save events from my life as a young wife, my daughter as she grew up, and my grandson who is growing up way too fast. I’d take about every four to six months, keep those times in an appropriate container so I could shake them out and relive those moments. 

Best moment -- wishing on a shooting star with my kiddos when they were wee folk. I think they'll always believe in magic because of that night. 

Last year, in the weeks before my mother died, I had the privilege of spending many moments with her, sometimes in complete silence. I used to sleep so well in the same room as my mother. Don't we all? Sometimes, in the quiet moments of my hectic life I relive that time. You never get it back again.


What's your favorite response here? 
Please share your own favorite moment to relive.


And now

The WINNERS!

Grand Prize Winner: ($25 Amazon Gift Card) Patsy
Signed Book: Nick Wilford

Congratulations! xo



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