Bake Your Way to Happiness Review and Giveaway

If you liked Julia & Julia – either the book by Julie Powell, or the wonderful movie starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep – you will love this book! In Bake Your Way to Happiness: Recipes and Strategies to Nourish and Heal, you will find fifteen recipes along with fifteen strategies to nourish your body and spirit, and which will help you heal from all kinds of modern-day stresses and ails: sadness, body image issues, low self-worth, negative thinking, fear, insomnia, mood swings, anger, inner child issues, self sabotage, anxiety and more.

How do you bake your way to happiness? The answer is easy. You bake the wonderful recipes that have been tested especially for you by food editor, Gilean Watts, and you follow the creative workbook reconstructions that have been formulated by registered expert therapist, Marilyn Riesz.

Both the recipes and the reconstructions have been proven to work! The recipes come from Gilean’s granny and, during Gilean’s time at university, when she was suffering from a bout of depression, Gilean used these very recipes to overcome depression. And Marilyn’s unique therapy of reconstruction has been called miraculous by her clients, who are amazed by the level of healing that they bring.

A friend of WOW also has a hand in Bake Your Way to Happiness! Lisa de Nikolits, who had several books of hers tour with WOW, traded in her author hat for something different this time. This publication sees her wearing her art director and designer hat, more than that of author. But she hasn't relinquished her writer hat! In fact, Bake Your Way to Happiness was inspired by one of her books – the protagonist in one of her forthcoming novels pens a collection of Bake Your Way therapy cookbooks and de Nikolits realized that her character's cookbooks could be a real thing! So, with the help of the extremely talented Gilean Watts and Marilyn Riesz,  Bake Your Way to Happiness became a reality.

Bake Your Way to Happiness is available as a paperback here.


About the Authors

Marilyn Riesz

Marilyn Riesz, MA, RP is a registered psychotherapist with over 16 years private practice experience treating eating disorders, depression, anxiety, OCD and relationship issues. Marilyn has published numerous academic articles, led workshops, seminars and conferences. In addition to supervising and training graduate psychology students, she has enjoyed making guest television appearances, and presenting inspiring lectures in the mental health community. For more information about Marilyn and her therapeutic techniques, please visit eatingdisorderstherapy.ca

Gilean Watts

Gilean Watts is a recipe developer, food editor and writer with over six years of experience in food media. She is currently a food editor for Canadian Living, and has previously worked for brands such as Clean Eating magazine and Yahoo Canada. Gilean is a graduate of George Brown College’s prestigious Chef School, and the founder of the food blog Stuck in Thyme. For more of her work, visit stuckinthyme.com.

Lisa de Nikolits

Lisa de Nikolits has art directed and worked on international magazine titles including Marie Claire (South Africa), Vogue (Australia), Vogue Living (Australia), Cosmopolitan (Australia), SHE (Australia), Canadian Health & Lifestyle, Cosmetics, and Canadian Living. She is the acclaimed author of five novels: The Hungry Mirror, West of Wawa, A Glittering Chaos, The Witchdoctor’s Bones and Between The Cracks She Fell (all Inanna Publications). Visit Lisa at lisadenikolitsdesign.com and lisadenikolitswriter.com.

*****Book Review of Bake Your Way to Happiness*****

I'm on board for any book that's going to encourage me to bake, but Bake Your Way to Happiness is so much more than that! Each chapter is a mini-self improvement course addressing a different issue: everything from mood swings to negativity to overextending yourself. Things we all deal with everyday but too often ignore because we "don't have time" to think about them or change bad habits.

Each short chapter is laid out the same way: a short writing on the chapter's issue, an activity or writing assignment to get you thinking about the issue in your life,  the recipe, a long term activity to change negative habits, a drawing (they even leave space in the book so no searching for paper needed) and space to write down some conclusions on the issue's affect on your life and the activities you've done while addressing it. The recipes are Watts' grandmother's recipes and are uniquely chosen to "fit" the issue. I love the body issue chapter with orange-cranberry bread where the discussion is about how orange-cranberry bread is wonderful no matter if it's oval or round and how different ingredients are equally important and delicious no matter what their size and shape.

This is a great book where (like a recipe book) you can pick and choose what chapters appeal to you and your needs. There's no wading through endless discussions. Instead they identify a common problem and dive right into what you can do to make simple changes if you have that problem that can add up to big changes in your life. Things like the recipes and the drawings add a light-hearted aspect to the book. Bake your Way to Happiness makes self-improvement fun!

Paperback: 142 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (May 1, 2016)
ISBN: 1530539862

BOOK GIVEAWAY

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3 comments cookbook, giveaway, Lisa de Nikolits, review, self-help

Author Lisa de Nikolits Launches her novel A Glittering Chaos

& giveaway contest!

A terrific, smart, funny and incredibly wise story about marriage, secrets and lies and unusual sexual proclivities.

A German woman in her early-forties insists on accompanying her husband to Las Vegas, where he has a business conference. Unknown to her the conference is a pretext; he's there to find a psychic who will help him contact his sister who vanished at fourteen.

A key theme is how one person's psychiatric problems can move like a destructive whirlwind through other people's lives and within the confines of a curious and shifting family dynamic.

Melusine (protagonist) is a passionate and creative woman with a high tolerance for the eccentric expressions of human frailty. From suppressed wife and librarian to nude model; to writer of an erotic Sapphic novella; and finally to pastry chef and adoptive mother of a baby boy, she has a good sense of self-discovery-she embraces her erotic desires with self-love after she realises, with surprise, that she even has an erotic self.

A Glittering Chaos is a novel about empowerment and new beginnings at every stage of life, with a diverse cast of unconventional characters of all ages and sexual orientations who find themselves in intriguingly unusual situations.



Paperback: 300 pages

Publisher: Inanna Publishing (May 30, 2013)

ISBN-10: 192670892X

ISBN-13: 978-1926708928

Twitter hashtag: #GlitteringChaos

A Glittering Chaos is available as a print and e- book at Amazon, Amazon Canada, and Indigo.

Book Giveaway Contest:
To win a copy of A Glittering Chaos, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest closes this Friday, May 31 at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!

About the Author:

Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has been a Canadian citizen since 2003. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain.

Her first novel, The Hungry Mirror, won the 2011 IPPY Awards Gold Medal for Women's Issues Fiction and was long-listed for a ReLit Award. Her second novel, West of Wawa won the 2012 IPPY Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction and was one of Chatelaine's four Editor's Picks. Lisa has also written poetry, short stories, magazine articles and children’s books. She also spent many years as the art director for fashion magazines around the world.

Find out more about the author by visiting her online:

Author website: www.lisadenikolitswriter.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisa.denikolits

Twitter: @lisadenikolits

-----Interview by Jodi Webb

WOW: Lisa, you're a WOW veteran. This is your third WOW blog tour so we'd love to pick your brain about novel writing. You're touring with A Glittering Chaos this time. How do you feel your three books are alike? How are they different? Do you feel all your books will appeal to the same audience?

Lisa: In the most obvious sense, the three books couldn’t differ more; The Hungry Mirror has an unnamed protagonist battling with body image and eating disorders within the world of fashion and beauty magazine; West of Wawa sees Benny, neurotic self-medicator and new immigrant to Canada take an extensive back-packing trip across the great North, shedding emotional baggage and pain along the way and learning that life’s not so bad, even with all the hard knocks; and in A Glittering Chaos we have Melusine whose marriage of twenty years is under threat by the increasing impact of her husband’s dark secret.

Thematically, the books could not be more different but if you were to take the three novels and black out the covers and give them to a focus group of readers along with six other blacked out books, and ask them to identify any three written by the same author, I’m confident they’d recognize mine. This is because in spite of story or theme changes, my writing style is somewhat unique (something I both deplore and like) and it’s easily recognizable and while the plots and set-ups change dramatically, each book features a female protagonist who is faced with a life-changing challenge; she gets knocked down but she gets back up again and she triumphs and by that I mean that she learns to find joy and inner peace by living life her way, without lies, without deception.

So yes, even although the themes are very different, I believe that people would be able to say (quite quickly) that yes, this is a Lisa de Nikolits' book.

In terms of appealing to the same audience, the answer to that is a surprising yes! And I say surprising because I myself have been surprised; a number of readers started with West of Wawa, then read The Hungry Mirror and have already responded with enthusiasm to A Glittering Chaos—and that’s men and women alike! I wouldn’t have thought the books would have that sort of general appeal and that they do, speaks to the above mention of the commonality within my books; a message of hope with a journey of growth and triumph and redemption in the end.

WOW: If you could go back and tell yourself something you now know about novel writing before you even began your first novel The Hungry Mirror, what would the lesson be?

Lisa: Find someone you trust to give you feedback very early on in the process. I worked solo for many years and I kept making the same mistakes without even knowing that I was making them. My writing only grew and changed when I received feedback the hard way, by rejection. The biggest gift was rejection letters that came with some explanation; this way I gleaned pointers that I could identify as weak spots in my writing.

WOW: Yes, we all need to realize that rejection is a necessary evil. Of course, in the moment rejection doesn't feel very helpful, does it? Do you have any tips for seeing yourself through rejection?

Lisa: I really do try to be zen about this in the sense that there is good and there is bad in life and I tell myself fine, it doesn't feel nice, in fact it feels horrible BUT (and I do talk to myself in CAPS at times like these), good has happened before and therefore, logically speaking, good MUST happen again! I combine a stern self-talk with logic and Buddhism and then I have a bubble bath and eat chocolate! And if none of that helps, I remember the bad dates I went on before I met my husband and I thank the heavens that I never ended up with any of those fellows and I apply the same principle to the rejection; that it must have happened for some reason I may never understand but I have to trust the unseen and know that it’s for the best. And when we think that we will never be able to acknowledge well, that was for the best, then the only thing left to do is make the best of it, which usually means carrying on, one foot in front of the other. Never give up, never surrender—and that’s never more important than when it comes to your dreams.

WOW: Does novel writing get easier? Do you feel more confident about your talent?

Lisa: I think it does get easier. It’s like anything—you improve with practice. That is, as long as it’s focused practice, with intent to improve. There’s that trending saying right now, about 10,000 hours; that all you need is 10,000 hours and you’ll be a superstar in your field of choice—but let’s say you want to win the high jump and you practice by jogging kilometers each day, telling yourself that it will all go towards your high jump, that you’re building stamina . . . well, you can easily see that that wouldn’t do any good at all.

In much the same way, when I was younger, I wrote reams and reams but I never got any feedback; I simply finished one thing and then barreled on to the next and in a sense, I kept writing the same thing in different way; the same unpolished, unpublishable things. I have learned the hard way that quality definitely wins over quantity!

With regard to talent, I think that anybody with a grain of talent and a truckload of unstoppable determination will succeed, as opposed to an individual with mountains of talent and little discipline or resolve. I truly believe that talent is less important than resolve and hard work. If you have resolve, and focus on doing the right work, then your talent will multiply of its own accord.

One of the worst things that happened to me, writing-wise, was that teachers told me I had talent! Due to that, I didn’t think I had to do anything more than put words on a page—I had talent, I was good to go!

Lots of people are talented in lots of things and they think that should be enough to guarantee success but my money’s on the person with limited talent and mega resolve—that person will win the race!

WOW: The main characters in your three novels are different. So different! But many people say that writers put a bit of themselves in their characters. Do you subscribe to that theory? Despite their differences are each of your characters you in disguise?

Lisa: This question makes me smile! No, my characters aren’t me in disguise! It’s funny that readers are always so keen to try to draw parallels between author and character and they get excited when they can point to their conclusions and say "you see, you are so-and-so . . . !"

I’m not quite sure why there’s such a keen interest in the connection between author and character—perhaps it’s because people want to know where characters come from?

I most do certainly use my experiences—and the experiences of others—to create my characters and I use the ‘walk many a mile in other people’s shoes’ by way of imagination, and I think that’s how I get to my characters. I might use myself as a starting point but then say, well, what would so-and-so do and then, on the basis of their utterly different reaction to what mine would be, draw a character from that. I would say that a lot of my characters do the exact opposite to what I would do, so I might start off with my reaction and then double back.

I can see where people can draw parallels between me and some of my characters; in The Hungry Mirror, the protagonist works in the world of fashion magazines and Benny (West of Wawa) is a graphic designer but this was more a case of ‘write what you know’—it was easy to makes those worlds believable. Also, the world of fashion and beauty was integral to the plot of The Hungry Mirror. So I definitely use circumstance—another example is that I did Benny’s cross-Canada trip and when I wrote the first draft of West of Wawa, the story was largely based on me and I received the feedback that the character was ‘vacuous and banal and her that her story was not engaging’. So I ditched myself, made up Benny and ended up with a much better book!

And now, in A Glittering Chaos, I am amazed by Melusine (protagonist). There is nothing about me that can even relate to her. Except her perhaps her love of poetry, so there you go, I guess there is something! I admire Melusine—perhaps I wrote about someone I wished I could be . . .

I think it's more a matter of me living vicariously through these characters—they all work through some issue that I am intrigued by—I might not have the courage to do the things they do and also, I can experience any kind of situation through them that I wouldn’t, in real life.

WOW: At what point did you say to yourself, "I'm not just going to be a person who wrote a novel. I'm going to be a novelist and write book after book." When did you realize THAT was who you were?

Lisa: When I was about twelve! What I didn’t realize was how hard it would be and how long it would take. If I had known, I might have given up. Actually that’s not true, I wouldn’t have given up, I would have tried harder to make it happen sooner by working on it more sensibly, with help and direction from a trusted source.

WOW: You've stayed with the same publisher, Inanna, for three books now. What about this small publisher appeals to you?

Lisa: We make a great team and we work so well together. I love what Inanna stands for and who they are, I have such great respect for all the authors they represent and the work they publish. My editor-in-chief, Luciana Ricciutelli is amazing; she’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and she’s a woman who really makes a difference in this world. She brings out the best in me as writer and she has faith in my writing even if I don’t get it right the first time. For example, I sent her a novel then titled The Corner of the Desert and she came back to me with two pages of feedback; that the novel had great potential but that it still needed work and she highlighted all the areas. I went back to the book and worked on it for a year, also changing the name to The Witchdoctor’s Bones (as the other title was considered too weak) and now the novel is due to be released next year. Luciana’s feedback and insights are invaluable to me as a writer, I would feel lost without her, I know I can trust her to guide me to become a better writer.

And it’s thanks to Luciana and Inanna that I’ve won the awards I have, and received the reviews I have, so I have nothing but gratitude for this small powerhouse publisher and I envisage we will be together for a very long time!

WOW: Any sneak peeks for us about what you and Inanna are cooking up next?

Lisa: Between The Cracks She Fell is my next work and it's about a girl in her early 30s who loses her job (in a corporate environment) and then she loses her house, because her boyfriend has a nervous breakdown and can't help her make the payments and she can't sell the property. Her boyfriend moves back home to live with his folks and she (Melody Fair - although as I write that, I realize I might have to change it because A Glittering Chaos has Melusine!) ends up without a job or a place to stay and she decides to move into an abandoned old school that she found while on a walk. The school is out in the countryside and summer has just begun and so she figures she will have some time to regroup and get things together by Fall. But then she falls in with an odd bunch of characters and gets caught up in their antics, which involve robbery and possibly murder.

WOW: Ooh, I always love a good murder!

Lisa: Thank you for having me as a guest on The Muffin, and you’re right, I am a WOW veteran because you do such a great job! I look forward to this blog tour for A Glittering Chaos and I hope we’ll be together for The Witchdoctor’s Bones next year!

----------Blog Tour Dates

Monday, May 27 (today!) @ The Muffin
Stop by for an interview of Lisa de Nikolits and giveaway of her latest novel A Glittering Chaos!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

Tuesday, May 28 @ Lit Endeavors
Stop by for a review of A Glittering Chaos, the story of a woman's journey to reinvent herself.
http://www.litendeavors.com

Wednesday, May 29 @ Words by Webb
Curious about A Glittering Chaos? Don't miss today's review.
http://jodiwebb.com/

Friday, May 31 @ Lit Endeavors
Don't miss a fascinating guest post by Lisa de Nikolits, author of A Glittering Chaos.
http://www.litendeavors.com/

Monday, June 3 @ Steph the Bookworm
Want the 411 on A Glittering Chaos? Check out a review from Steph the Bookworm.
http://www.stephthebookworm.com/

Thursday, June 6 @ Tiffany Talks Books
Learn more about the mind behind A Glittering Chaos with an interview of author Lisa de Nikolits!
http://tiffanytalksbooks.com

Monday, June 10 @ Books I Think You Should Read
Today we peek at the joy (and angst) of writing with novelist Lisa de Nikolits as our tour guide.
http://booksithinkyoushouldread.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 11 @ CMash Loves to Read
Learn what makes author Lisa de Nikolits tick with today's interview.
http://cmashlovestoread.com/

Thursday, June 13 @ Books I Think You Should Read
For some authors one day just isn’t enough! Lisa de Nikolits is back with a review of her latest novel A Glittering Chaos.
http://booksithinkyoushouldread.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 20 @ Broken Penguins
Stop by today for a review of Lisa de Nikolits' latest novel A Glittering Chaos then return on June 24 for an interview.
http://brokenpenguins.wordpress.com/

Monday, June 24 @ Broken Penguins
Return to Broken Penguin for an interview with author Lisa de Nikolits.
http://brokenpenguins.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, July 10 @ Literary R & R
Last chance to read a review of A Glittering Chaos by Lisa de Nikolits on the WOW Blog Tour.
http://literaryrr.blogspot.com

To view all our touring authors, check out our Events Calendar. Keep up with blog stops and giveaways in real time by following us on Twitter @WOWBlogTour.

Get Involved! If you have a website or blog and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email us at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com.

Book Giveaway Contest: Enter to win a copy of A Glittering Chaos! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. We will announce the winner in the Rafflecopter widget this Friday, May 31.

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6 comments A Glittering Chaos, blog tour, Inanna, Lisa de Nikolits, literary fiction

Lisa de Nikolits, author of The Hungry Mirror, launches her blog tour!

& Book Giveaway Comments Contest!

Lisa made a family road trip a little more interesting when she was ten by announcing that she had decided on her pee-u-da-name. After a moment of silence her father asked if she meant pseudonym? Exactly! And the name she had spent endless miles mulling over was Elizabeth Deane. Although Elizabeth Deane has no bylines, Lisa de Nikolits--the name Lisa's parents mulled over endlessly--has many.

At age twenty-one Lisa started out as a feature writer at a South African magazine. After a few months she was asked to pinch hit for the layout artist. She had found her true love--she enjoyed designing pages, it was fun! So much fun that she spent the next twenty years as art director for magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire.

But one of the best things about her job was that she got to meet remarkable women every day. Women who were crying out to be written about. So Lisa wrote. Late at night on borrowed typewriters and eventually a dinosaur of a PC. With orange type that flickered on a black screen, she captured stories of women who populated her days.

Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies, her poetry received a bronze medal in Canada, and her book Single Girls Go Mad Sooner was published in 1995. Along the way she's also dealt with the heartache of the book that went into final proofs before the publisher shut down because of financial troubles, leaving Lisa's literary baby stranded. Despite setbacks, this writer/art director/photographer who calls Toronto home is still "fired up" with the help of her supportive parents, feisty sister, and companion and fellow photographer Bradford Dunlop.

Find out more about Lisa by visiting her website: www.LisadeNikolitsWriter.com

The Hungry Mirror
By Lisa de Nikolits

Zero wins! Working at a fashion magazine, a young woman finds herself as the perpetuator of the myth of beauty. She spends hours retouching photos into perfection and fooling ordinary women into believing that perfection is achievable. She even fools herself. In starving herself she fast becomes trapped in a cage of addictions walled by self-hatred and filled with doubt.

This novel, written in first person, is the story of everywoman and her relentless struggle with body image. Finally the young woman realizes the choice is hers--to live or die. She learns to look beyond the media's definition of beauty, the complex friendships between women, the unspoken truths about marriage and sexuality as well as various religious and spiritual messages, ancient philosophies, fairytales and legends.

In the end, the young woman learns the true value of size zero is indeed nothing.

Genre: Poetry & Fiction
Hardcover: 244 pages
Publisher: Inanna Publications (April 2010)
ISBN: 1926708008
Read an excerpt on Lisa's site, and purchase on Amazon.

Book Giveaway Comments Contest!
If you received our Events Newsletter, remember, we are holding a contest to win a copy of Lisa de Nikolits's novel The Hungry Mirror to those that comment. So, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and enjoy the chat, and share your thoughts, and comments, at the end. We will randomly choose a winner from those who comment.

Interview by Jodi Webb

WOW: Welcome, Lisa! Like so many writers, you've worked in many formats: feature articles, poetry, short stories, books. Do you have a format that is your favorite or comes easiest to you?

Lisa: I love novel writing. I never seem to struggle with finding enough information for novels. In fact, my work is always too lengthy. I do love writing a short story though--but again, even my short stories are too long. One of my goals is to learn to edit, edit, edit. I have a current work-in-progress that a publishing house is interested in--but I have to edit it down by half; it currently sits at 220,000 words.

WOW: Oh my! That's going to be tough to cut! I can totally relate. Besides writing, you spent many years on the visual side as an art director and photographer. Do you think all writers should dabble in other arts?

Lisa: I would dare to say that most writers do dabble in many other art forms. I think the creative spirit lives in many different areas of one's life. Painters are poets, and poets, painters. It all comes down to how much time you have. I am studying the classical guitar, for example, and I try to practice for at least half an hour every day. However, because of my commitment to writing, I will never be able to take the guitar as far as I would like to. One has to make decisions about what's important at the time. For a long time, the most important thing to me was being an art director and I worked eighteen hours a day on that, focusing on little else. In my teens I was a passionate showjumper and I also did a lot of karate--so you have to choose your priorities.

WOW: You're a real Renaissance woman! Speaking of, is there a reason that most of your writing has focused on women and their lives?

Lisa: I find women infinitely fascinating. Women are so complex and interesting. I have no idea why, but we seem to struggle more in life and generally struggle more with life. This is a generalization but we seem to analyze our struggles more than men do. We want to know the why of the struggle. I am however, delving into the male psyche and developing more male characters and it's a lot of fun. I think I have been fortunate in that I have met so many fascinating women and my relationships with them have definitely been a springboard for my creativity.

WOW: Can you tell us a little about the idea behind The Hungry Mirror? Is it based on real life?

Lisa: That's an excellent question. The Hungry Mirror is without a doubt a very controversial book and it does say a lot about me. It's a solid work of fiction in that the main character is entirely her own person and all the characters in the book are also works of fiction, but I have had my own issues with body image and food since I was fourteen. It would be true to say that I have personally researched every aspect mentioned in the book in more depth than I would have liked to.

I have been deeply encouraged by my friends' reactions to the book... I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure what they would think of it. The same thing for my family. But you know, the response has been overwhelming support and love--and interest in, and compassion for, the book. I have people emailing me every day describing how much they love the book, how they relate to a certain character, and letting me know in detail what resonates with them. More than just a few women have, in confidence, told me of their own issues, or of family members who have suffered or who are suffering from an aspect mentioned in the book. I even have male readers who have told me they thoroughly enjoyed the book as well as having learned a lot from it.

I wrote The Hungry Mirror because I felt that eating disorders and body image are misunderstood, particularly for adult women, professional adult women with families and marriages. It's so easy to think that a person with an eating disorder just needs to eat a thing--or not eat it, as the case might be. What is less understood is the emotional relationship one can have with food, the addictive nature of that relationship or the potentially devastating power of negative body image. Particularly in a society where it seems we have it all. I have had people say to me, "Why can't you just be happy? Why can't you just eat that thing (or leave it be)?" There are a myriad of reasons for eating disorders and body image concerns, and I hope that the book sheds some light on those reasons.

The other very important aspect of this novel, for me, was the age of the main character. I have realized that very few people, if any, 'grow out' of an addiction or problem. You don't just wake up one morning and there you go, problem solved. I personally hoped that would happen for years. Or, I hoped that marriage would 'cure' me. Or, a new and better job. I kept waiting for circumstance to heal me and it was a long time before I realized that wasn't going to happen. It does seem so unfair and unbalanced how easy addictions are to learn, and yet, so incredibly hard to unlearn. You have to work very hard at unlearning harmful self-behaviors.

WOW: You're so right. I can see this is a topic you're very passionate about, and it's one that isn't frequently talked about. It's wonderful you've touched so many lives by writing this book. How long did it take to write?

Lisa: I began The Hungry Mirror as a short story some fifteen years ago. I worked on it for about six or seven years and then put it aside, to work on other projects and ideas, focusing for many years on art directing, particularly when I left South Africa to go to Australia. But I always had the manuscript ready, it was never abandoned or forgotten.

WOW: That's dedication! I'm glad you were able to see it through. So often we, as writers, let projects go after some time. Can you tell us a little about your road to publication?

Lisa: As a first time novelist, this has been an incredible experience. I have learned so much. Apropos of the most valuable lesson I've learned; I finished reading Child 44 in which Rob Tom Smith thanks "James Gill for taking on the book once it was finished, only for him to tell me it wasn't finished at all, making me rewrite it again."

I laughed when I read this because when Inanna Publishing and Luciana Riciutelli signed me for the book I had no idea it was really a first draft they were signing. I had no idea about rewrites. My publisher, Luciana has been fantastic. She has taught me about timelines, taking out unnecessary padding, about being focused on the storyline. She was wonderfully insightful at pointing out gaps in the story. I would read her comments and think My word, I assumed so much. I assumed readers would make the connections I had, in terms of character and plot, but why would they? The connections only existed in my head. Luciana also helped me develop the emotional depth of the characters. I think that I may have been unsure of my ability to really express what the characters felt but Luciana's trust in my writing has built my confidence in a very substantial way.

And how did I get to Luciana? I had sent the manuscript to a publisher in Toronto who turned it down. They liked it, they said, but they wanted a more teen-based work. But, I wanted to object, anybody can do a teen-based work on eating disorders, what about the adult sufferers? I didn't say that but I did send a note back saying I was rather disappointed. You have to know, I have had my fair share of rejections for various works of mine, and unlike Stephen King, who kept his letters thrust onto a spike on the wall, I crumpled up my standard 'careful considerations' and threw them away. This was the first rejection for The Hungry Mirror though and you'd have thought I would just have remained quiet, after all, one doesn't like to complain. But I did reply, expressing my disappointment. To my surprise, I received a lovely email from the managing editor who suggested I try Inanna Publishing. Which I did. At the launch of The Hungry Mirror, Luciana thanked them for passing me along! So, rejection can be a good thing!

WOW: Let's all have that printed on shirts, ladies! "Rejection can be a good thing!" So what are you working on next, Lisa?

Lisa: I have three novels in progress, one halfway to first draft, the others are first draft completed, but need a lot of work.

The Corner of the Desert is a murder mystery set in Namibia. A busload of tourists traverse the harsh landscape and the intrigue builds as they respond to their isolated surroundings by indulging in their darkest fantasies. A publisher in Toronto liked this but said it was too long--it's currently 220,000 words and needs to be cut in half.

West of Wawa is about a girl who emigrates to Canada from Australia in reaction to public humiliation and marital disaster. She finds the new life she is looking for but before she can find happiness or security, she has to face a number of spiritual, romantic and psychological challenges. She travels across Canada and whether she is running away or running to, she cannot know until the very end of her journey. A tale of modern heroism, with poisoned toads and potholes abounding.

So, to sum it up, writing is such a joy for me, and hopefully there is lots of good stuff ahead. Thank you!

WOW: Thank you, Lisa! We look forward to your books; they sound fascinating! It was such a pleasure chatting with you today.

Want to join Lisa on her blog tour? Check out these dates and mark your calendar! You can also snag a copy of WOW's Events Calendar HERE.

Blog Tour Dates: Come and join the fun!

May 3, 2010 Monday
Lisa will be chatting with WOW! Women On Writing at The Muffin. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Lisa's book!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

May 5, 2010 Wednesday
Do you love your author photo? Do you even have an author photo? Lisa de Nikolits, author of the novel The Hungry Mirror and an art director for Vogue and Marie Claire, gives us some tips on taking the perfect author photo.
http://hellorhighwaterwriting.wordpress.com/

May 6, 2010 Thursday
Lisa will be stopping by Mom-e-Centric for a surprise guest post!
http://www.momecentric.com/

May 7, 2010 Friday
How can you manage to place real people in works of fiction without causing a brouhaha? Get advice from novelist Lisa de Nikolits and a chance to win her debut novel The Hungry Mirror!
http://writerinspired.wordpress.com/

May 10, 2010 Monday
Does your family think you're crazy because you want to write fiction? Lisa de Nikolits stops by Meryl's Notes today to share her post: Let's Talk About Writing: I Want to Write Fiction, My Family Wants to Have Me Committed.
http://www.meryl.net/section/blog/

May 12, 2010 Wednesday
Stop by for a fun interview with Lisa de Nikolits about writing and what's up next for her.
http://www.sellingbooks.com/author-interview-

May 14, 2010 Friday
Don't miss a great interview with Lisa de Nikolits, a debut novelist that explored body image and eating disorders in her new release The Hungry Mirror.
http://wordhustlerink.wordhustler.com/

May 19, 2010 Wednesday
Don't miss a special treat today at Readaholic--a video visit with Lisa de Nikolits!
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/

May 21, 2010 Friday
Stop by 5 Minutes for Books for a review of Lisa de Nikolits's novel The Hungry Mirror.
http://www.5minutesforbooks.com/

May 23, 2010 Sunday
Lisa is back at 5 Minutes for Books to contribute to their On Reading column.
http://www.5minutesforbooks.com/category/on-reading/

To view all of our touring authors, check out our Events Calendar HERE.

Get involved!

If you have a blog or website and would like to host Lisa de Nikolits or schedule a tour of your own, please email Angela and Jodi at: blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com

And be sure to comment on this post to enter in a drawing for a copy of Lisa de Nikolits's novel The Hungry Mirror! And check back in a couple of days in the comments section to see if you won!

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13 comments author blog tour, body image, book giveway contest, eating disorder, fiction and poetry, interview with Lisa de Nikolits, Lisa de Nikolits, road to publishing, The Hungry Mirror