Welcome to the website and blog of author and artist Carren Strock.
Thank you for visiting my website and blog. Please be patient as I continue to update and improve it. You can reach me here.
Join me at the Jersey Shore Arts Center!
Filed under: Appearances, Books, In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel, Uncategorized |
Leave a Comment I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I wanted to let you know about my next appearance – I hope some of you can join me!
I’ll be speaking at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove, NJ on December 4 at 7:00PM. This will be a general conversation about how my writing life evolved and I’ll read from my newest book “In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel.”
Early Reviews for In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel
Reviews are already coming in for my new mystery In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel! LibraryThing.com has some very nice ones: click here to check them out. In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel officially comes out on November 1st.
National Writers Union conference
Have you ever felt so totally overwhelmed that you’ve taken to playing games on your computer and iphone? That has been me. Maybe because I have a small work area and everything just piles up. I’m not sure. Anyway, an old friend once made an observation. She said “you say you can’t do it (whatever the it is, usually writing related) three times and then you set to work at the last minute and accomplish what you have to. I realized she was so right. I guess that’s how I operate.
I recently joined the National Writers Union and went to their conference. One of the speakers, Don Lafferty was a Social Networking genius. Halfway through his presentation I had to put my pen down. My head was swimming with so many ideas for my mystery which is nearing publication date, (November 1)
Join Me At The Brooklyn Book Festival
The Brooklyn Book Festival is this Sunday, September 23. There will be lots of interesting programs throughout the day.
I will be at the National Writers Union table and will be speaking about writing at 12:30 PM. My talk is based on my book, “A Writer’s Journey; What to Know Before, During and After Writing a Book.” I hope to see some of you there!
A Writer’s Journey in the Midwest Book Review
The Midwest Book Review recently wrote a nice review of my book A Writer’s Journey: What to Know Before, During, and After Writing a Book. Here’s an excerpt:
“A Writer’s Journey: What to Know Before, During, and After Writing a Book” is the colorful and engaging story of her unlikely journey to become a published author. But more than a simple personal memoir, “A Writer’s Journey” also offers other aspiring authors a wealth of information on what to consider before starting to write, what to understand while engaged in writing, and what to know after writing a book is completed. Of special note are the tips about the different types of publishers, how to make marketing a book an enjoyable experience, avoiding common mistakes, and the value of persistence! “A Writer’s Journey” should be considered a ‘must read’ for anyone aspiring to become a published author or establish a professional career as a writer.
In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel
IN THE SHADOW OF THE WONDER WHEEL
by Carren Strock
Coming out November 1, 2012
Gray Rabbit Publications
Several years ago I was at a workshop and doing an exercise on visualization. The exercise was to imagine ourselves on a beach and then let our minds wander from there. I saw a young woman coming over the rise. In my visualization, she turned to the side, and I saw that she was pregnant. The name Mallory McGill popped into my head. That night I had a dream and in my dream, I was walking on a boardwalk. It was misty, drizzling, and the sky was a dreary grey. No one else was around. I had an eerie sensation. Then I thought, Mallory is involved in some sort of a mystery.
That was the beginning of my latest book, In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel. I’m thrilled to announce that it will be published by Gray Rabbit publications on November 1, 2012.
Mallory McGill has no idea how she got to Coney Island Creek. The last thing she remembers is traveling to the hospital to deliver her baby. Now her baby is missing, and she is being accused of committing an unspeakable crime.
For Teri Cardello, a tough detective who has no tolerance for anyone involved in crimes against children, McGill is guilty, and there’s no doubt in her mind. But her partner Sam Rothman, who once let an innocent man go to his death, refuses to be so easily convinced. “Either that girl is the worst liar in the world, or everyone else is lying and she’s telling the truth,” he says.
Why can’t Mallory remember that fateful night? Could she have killed her baby, or is someone trying to frame her? Someone knows the answers to these questions, and will stop at nothing—including murder—to prevent her from learning the truth.
International Women Artists’ Salon
Back from Florida…
Small world
The ASJA Conference ended with a cocktail party for the hundreds of attendees. I sat down near a young woman and we exchanged cards for our books. Turns out the young woman is the daughter of the writer who mentored me when I began to write in Buffalo almost 30 years ago. It sure is a small world.
Connie and Ruthie’s wedding
On Tuesday, July 26, 2011, I had the great pleasure of attending the wedding of Connie Kurtz and Ruthie Berman, two dear friends who have done so much for so many and were instrumental in keeping me sane as I went through my own coming out process 21 years ago. They had been living in a domestic partnership for 36 years waiting for gay marriage to become legal in New York and were married in a synagogue and under a rainbow colored Chupah (awning) as is customary at traditional Jewish weddings just two days after New York became the sixth and largest U.S. state to recognize same-sex weddings. It was one of the most joyous weddings with many friends and family members in attendance.
