Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Poetry Friday: Tete-a-tete
Tete-a-tete
Cups clatter and clink
as steam rises along with
our hissing gossip.
by Lorie Ann Grover, 2014
This sculpture was installed in the Philadelphia Convention center and stopped me in my tracks. It was at least 8 feet by 10 feet. Unfortunately, I didn't spot the artist's name. I hope the poem and image are a reminder not to gossip. :~)
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Poetry Friday: Seared Sight
Seared Sight
In the black, beyond
the looming trees, heaven burns
through, winks in my eye.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2014
photo by a participant at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, summer 2013
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Audio Release of Firstborn!
The audio version of Firstborn is released now! It was created by Oasis Audio, who were super fun to work with. And they asked Jorjeana Marie to narrate. You can hear the sample at Soundcloud.
Here's Jorjeana's imdb.
I have only heard the preview, which is the first chapter, but I LOVE it! Jorjeana totally rocks Firstborn! Behind the scenes I was able to share a pronunciation document, which my youngest daughter created for me, and Jorjeana makes everything sound just as I imagined. She reads with such emotion and beautifully; I am wowed.
Listening to another read my work allowed me to sit in the story. Hearing shut down my internal editor. Lovely!
My gratitude to the Oasis team and Jorjeana. I'm so happy to hear Firstborn! Take a listen!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Poetry Friday: Matched
Matched
Foil hearts, paper lace
cut to be my Valentine
years before we met.
by Lorie Ann Grover, 2014
My husband made this fifteen years before we met. He's been my Valentine for 30 years.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
The Heart of the Matter: Gendercide and Firstborn
I've been waiting to write this post, the heart of the matter, and now it is time. I shared these words at All Girls Allowed yesterday. But let's start with a trailer.
And now my story...
And now my story...
In 2004 I happened upon a snippet of an article which spoke of ekthesis, the word for infant exposure in Greek antiquity. I was dumbfounded to learn that girls were still being left in the elements to die, just because they were female. Today we use the term gendercide.
Having learned of the modern practice, my rage looked for a place to turn. The release came through my writing craft. What if I could create a fictional story illustrating a society practicing gendercide? What if that story could raise awareness and sympathy, and ultimately action against the atrocity? About that time, my youngest daughter came home from her college cultural anthropology class and shared that there have been societies, with a shortage of males, who have resorted to declaring young girls male for the benefit of the group. With that information, I had the predicament for my main character. She wouldn’t be hiding her sex. Society would be devaluing her sex and suppressing it. Everyone would know she previously was female.
I created Tiadone, whose father has the choice to either leave his firstborn daughter in the wilderness to die or declare her a male. He chooses the latter to save her life. An amulet is tied to her hips, and she is destined to hold a male role in an oppressive society the rest of her life.
Tiadone matures with everyone knowing of her former sex. They believe her amulet suppresses those characteristics. Everyone knows but Tiadone. Reaching puberty, called to her initiation and service for her people, she struggles against rising feminine traits and desires within herself. Her heroine’s journey will take her to see the value and worth of a female, newborn or grown.
As Firstborn takes flight, I hope readers are outraged by gendercide. I hope they watch It’s a Girl movie, visit All Girls Allowed, and grow familiar with the Global Gendercide Advocacy and Awareness Project. As I share imagery across social media for 30 days, beginning on Valentine’s Day, I hope more hear of gendercide and experience the same rage I felt and continue to feel. As we say at readergirlz, I hope they read, reflect, and reach out—to their sisters: those carrying a female child, the unborn child herself, and the newborn daughter. May they all be allowed to live.
That is the heart of FIRSTBORN. More soon. ~Lorie Ann
Monday, February 10, 2014
Happy Book Birthday, FIRSTBORN!
My first young adult fantasy is launching today! Thanks for celebrating with me!
"A fantasy that reads like a lost history tome and deftly examines issues of gender...An engrossing story with welcome depths." Kirkus Starred Review
"A fantasy that reads like a lost history tome and deftly examines issues of gender...An engrossing story with welcome depths." Kirkus Starred Review
Girls Life magazine calls it, "a dystopian read packed with a fierce punch."
Where does a firstborn girl fit in a world dominated by men? When Tiadone was born, her parents had two choices: leave their daughter outside the community to die, or raise her as a male. Now grown, Tiadone must prove her father didn't make a mistake by letting her live. As her male initiation approaches, feminine gifts and traits emerge, and the bird she's been twined with is seen as a sign of evil. Drawn to her male best friend, Tiadone tries to become what she must be while dealing with what she indeed has become.
For more information, visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Books, or Indiebound.
Around the web, folks are partying. Readers are playing for a box of 11 books. Read about it here. Author friends are posting photos of their last release, sharing its birth order, and wishing FIRSTBORN well. All Girls Allowed is focusing on the impetus for the novel, gendercide.
It's a great day! Thanks again. May all female infants be allowed to live! xox Lorie Ann
Friday, February 7, 2014
Poetry Friday: Worthy, and a Reader's Review
Worthy
Between the pages
you heard me whisper life truth:
beautiful life...live.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2014
A Review by Creazian
"This reminded me of hunger games and a little bit about the Chinese culture. So this book was exciting to me. In the Chinese culture, many parents want a boy, so oftentimes, a girl is abandoned under the one child law. For me personally, I have a grandma who thinks girls are worthless. Whenever she calls my house from China, she always wants to speak to my brother and she will go so far as to hang up on me if I talk to her instead.
So I can kind of relate to Tiadone in the book and together, we went on a journey."