SURELY IT’S NO SECRET, I AM IN LOVE WITH GHOSTS. Sleeping with Ghosts: Poems & Musings by Jen Payne Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR
of
Sleeping with Ghosts
By Jen Payne
Book Summary
“Beautifully crafted and luminous, these poems take the
reader on an intimate and unforgettable journey of love found and lost, the
joys of creativity, and the power of memory.”
— Judith Liebmann, Ph.D.,Poet Laureate of Branford, CT
“Sleeping with Ghosts is not an ordinary ghost tale. Jen’s
latest collection of writings is a poignant meditation on a life of love
confronted.” — Mary O'Connor, author of
Say Yes! to Your Creative Self
Known for her meditations and musings about our outside
world, Jen Payne takes readers inside this time…into the heart and mind of a
poet, where memories wander, hearts break, and ghosts appear in dreams. Those
ghosts — her lovers, soulmates, and muses — reveal themselves slowly, one at a
time, chapter by chapter, in this wistfully reflective, time-traveling memoir.
Publisher: Three Chairs Publishing (September 15, 2024)
Print length: 182
pages
Purchase a copy of Sleeping with Ghosts on
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3chairs24
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleeping-with-ghosts-jennifer-a-payne/1146208477
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/3ChairsPublishing
You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8561082.Jennifer_A_Payne
The Artwork
of Sleeping
with Ghosts
by Jen Payne,
author, Sleeping
with Ghosts
People often
comment about the visual nature of my creative work, and how my writing is usually
accompanied by photography or artwork.
As a graphic
designer, artist, and writer, I firmly believe that partnering
visuals and words layers the intentions of my work and makes the communication more
palpable.
Two of my previous
books, Look Up!
Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness and Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind, were as much about the color photographs
as they were about the essays and poems. As a matter of fact, the whole concept
of the poems in Evidence
of Flossing was inspired
by a series of photographs I took showing discarded dental flossers in random
places.
Odd, I know,
but they spoke to the message — our disrespect of nature — in a necessary and immediate
way. Sometimes writing takes a while to be absorbed, while images have a speedy
hook!
LOOK: THIS
IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU! (Read More)
I love that
the cover of my new book, Sleeping
with Ghosts, does exactly
that: it grabs your attention!
The cover photograph
is by Polish artist Malgorzata
Maj, who I connected
with online back in 2015. (Yes, I’ve known the book’s title and have had that photo
saved for nine years!)
Małgorzata is a
contemporary painter and photographer known for her symbolic nighttime landscapes
and ethereal portraits exploring the world of the Unknown. She graduated in 2004
(Olsztyn/Poland) with the title of Master in Arts. Influenced by 19th-century symbolism,
her photographic works feature a bold painterly approach to the compositions she
depicts. She has exhibited in galleries across the U.S. and Europe, and published
her works on numerous book covers and magazines. Today she mostly focuses on traditional
media such as oil painting and continues to explore themes and ideas less accessible
for photographic medium.
In a bit of
happenstance, on her website, Malgorzata says she “explores haunted places, past
memories, and hidden feelings and symbols,” which really is the essence of Sleeping with Ghosts.
“Photography
has this unique quality of something real and intangible,” she says, “…something
that I find difficult to speak about. It is the language of ghosts.”
For the cover,
I accented Malgorzata’s photograph with a cluster of stardust that appears in several
places within the book. It’s from a series of images in a Lunar Calendar collection
by Lana Elanor
that includes stars,
moons, and constellations.
Elanor is an
independent artist from Ukraine who now lives in Tulum, Mexico. She is “a meditative
person passionate about art, travel, and the study of the conscious and unconscious
mind.”
About her work
she says, “I’ve loved creating art for as long as I can remember myself. Only beauty
itself is a catalyst for the awakening of this world, so I’m totally in love with
the concept to make this place more beautiful than it was when we got here.”
The illustrations
that introduce each chapter, and entice the reader from the Table of Contents, are
by Ukrainian artist Michael Rayback.
I connected with Michael about his art in 2022, and we were both excited to include
his work in my book. But Michael lives in Kyiv, and our last correspondence was
several months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
I check his
social media from time to time, to see if he is back online, but unfortunately,
we have not reconnected. When I think of him, I remember this quote I saw on one
of his sites:
“Art is self-expression,
therefore all that you see here is a part of me. I know many languages of self-expression.
I like drawing, I love photo art, cinema is one of the main parts of my life, I
like cooking tasty and healthy food. I wake up at five in the morning to be alone
and tune in for a new day, and the sun tells me that I’m doing everything right
and inspires me to new creativity. I do yoga and meditate. All this helps me to
explore myself, I learn something new every day, and every day I try to be a little
better.”
Something we
can all aspire to, right?
I do hope you
appreciate the collaborative nature of Sleeping with Ghosts. Please visit these artists online and discover more of their work!
Malgorzata
Maj (Mrągowo, Poland)
www.sarachmet.com
Lana Elanor
(Tulum, Mexico)
www.etsy.com/shop/LanaElanor
Michael Rayback
(Kyiv, Ukraine)
www.creativemarket.com/michaelrayback
About the Author
Jen Payne is inspired by those life moments that move us
most — love and loss, joy and disappointment, milestones and turning points.
When she is not exploring our connections with one another, she enjoys
contemplating our relationships with nature, creativity, and spirituality.
Ultimately, she believes it is the alchemy of those things that helps us find
balance in this frenetic, spinning world.
In addition to Sleeping with Ghosts, Jen has published four
books: LOOK UP! Musings on the Nature of Mindfulness, Evidence of Flossing:
What We Leave Behind, Waiting Out the Storm, and Water Under The Bridge: A
Sort-of Love Story.
Her work has been featured in numerous publications
including the international anthology Coffee Poems: Reflections on Life with
Coffee, the Guilford Poets Guild 20th Anniversary Anthology, Waking Up to the
Earth: Connecticut Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis, the 2024
Connecticut Literary Anthology, and The Perch, a publication by the Yale
Program for Recovery and Community Health.
Jen is the owner of Words by Jen, a graphic design and
creative services company she started in 1993, based in Connecticut — where she
keeps house with a cat named Molly.
You can follow the author at:
Website: https://3chairspublishing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threechairspub
Blog: https://randomactsofwriting.wordpress.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3chairsbooks/
Chances to Win
In addition to the book giveaway on the Muffin on October 14,
there will also be book giveaways on:
Chit Chat with Charity on 10/20 and 10/27: https://chitchatwithcharity.wordpress.com/
#sleepingwithghosts #poemsmusings #poetry #booktour #giveaway #jenpayne #womenonwriting #wow
Blog Tour Calendar
October 14th @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Jen Payne's memoir
through verse Sleeping with Ghosts. Read an interview with the author and enter
to win a copy of her book.
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com
October 16th @ Create Write Now!
Today Jen Payne writes about the Importance of Retreat.
https://www.createwritenow.com/
October 17th @ Words by Webb
Jodi shares her thoughts on Jen Payne's latest book of
poetry: Sleeping with Ghosts.
www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog
October 20th @ Chit Chat with Charity
Charity will be reviewing Jen Payne's newest book of poetry:
Sleeping with Ghosts and sharing a poem from the book.
https://chitchatwithcharity.wordpress.com/
October 21st @ Tracey Lampley
Poet Jen Payne shares How One Phone Call in 1996 Led to a
Life of Self-Publishing.
https://traceylampley.com
October 24th @ The Faerie Review
Ready to dive into something new? Try a book of poetry that
captures the ghosts of Jen Payne's past.
https://www.thefaeriereview.com
October 24th @ Some Thoughts - Everything Creativity
Kaecey will be interviewing Jen Payne about writing and her
latest book of poetry Sleeping with Ghosts.
https://www.kaeceymccormick.com/blog
October 26th @ Anthony Avina
Curious about the ghosts in Sleeping with Ghosts? Author Jen
Payne writes about them today while Anthony gives his review of her new book.
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com
October 27th @ Chit Chat with Charity
Hear from poet Jen Payne about the Importance of
Storytelling. Second chance to win Jen's latest book, Sleeping with Ghosts.
https://chitchatwithcharity.wordpress.com/
October 27th @ Shoe's Seeds and Stories
Read a review of Jen
Payne's latest book, Sleeping with Ghosts
https://lschuelerca.wordpress.com/
October 30th @ Beverly Baird
Jen Payne writes about Listening to Your Ghosts and shares
one of her poems. Beverly also tells us her thoughts on Jen's new book,
Sleeping with Ghosts.
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com
October 31st @ Some Thoughts - Everything Creativity
Kaecey reviews the latest poetry collection by Jen Payne:
Sleeping with Ghosts.
https://www.kaeceymccormick.com/blog
November 1st @ Hook of a Book
Stop by for a list of books writers should be reading from
Jen Payne, author of Sleeping with Ghosts and enjoy one of her poems.
www.hookofabook.wordpress.com
November 2nd @ A Wonderful World of Books
Last giveaway of Jen Payne's Sleeping with Ghosts! Also,
learn the story behind the book's amazing artwork.
https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/
November 5th @ Choices
Never seem to have enough time to write? Learn a few secrets
from poet Jen Payne.
http://madelinesharples.com
November 8th @ Jill Sheets
Learn more about poet Jen Payne in today's interview.
https://jillsheets.blogspot.com/
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