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Laura Jamison

Fiction
https://laurajamisonauthor.com/

I never set out to be a writer. But I was always a terrific reader.
I grew up in a town of two thousand, nestled on the Ohio River. My fondest childhood memories were combing the stacks of the Ripley Library, the last Carnegie Library to be built in the state of Ohio, or going with my parents to the mall and being allowed to buy a new book. I read everything, but, even then, I had a particular fondness for books that considered women’s choices. Those of you of a certain age might remember the Sunfire books, a series of young adult historical romance novels published by Scholastic Books in the 1980s. I collected them all. It wasn’t the romance that drew me in. It was the choices – should Emily simply fall back on her wealthy family or follow her dream to work hard and become a nurse? No chance, of course, for Emily to become a doctor in turn-of-the century New York.
When it was time for my own choices, I gravitated to law. There was a lot I loved about it, and still do. At its best, practicing law is about thinking creatively and helping people craft solutions that create new value for both sides. I’ve been lucky to practice law both in a large national firm and at two publicly traded companies while raising my four children. No two days are the same and I have had the good fortune to work alongside a number of talented people including my most important partner, my husband, Nate (feeding twins at midnight and three a.m. so I can sleep–he’s got that handled).
And yet. Life had more in store for me because in the summer of 2016, at the ripe old age of 41, I began work on my first novel. I hadn’t written a word of fiction since middle school (at least not that I can remember). I was visiting my parents when the idea for the book came to me. I read a news item that another high-flying woman was writing a book about how women could architect their lives to be successful. Here we go again, I thought. Another book geared toward telling women, not institutions or society, to change themselves (and from an author who I doubted had a perspective that would be relevant to most moms). Exhausting and irritating. But this author, after all, is a person who is trying to be helpful, in her way. What if she was your friend, even your best friend? And so the idea All the Right Mistakes was born.
From my perspective, I believe that we are living in an extraordinary time for women. While it’s true that there have never been more choices for women than there are now, it’s also true that there is significant, unfinished business when it comes to achieving equality at work and home. I don’t have the solution, but I do have a story to tell. I’m grateful to my publisher, She Writes Press, for giving me a opportunity to tell it. Please drop me a note and tell me your story. Or better yet, write it, because, whatever happens to me as a writer, I know one thing for sure–I’ll always be reading!



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New year, new announcements! We have two wonderful New year, new announcements! We have two wonderful programs to help you beat the winter blues and celebrate your AUTHENTIC SELF.
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1.) 2021 Fox Cities Reads “Your Authentic Self” Poetry Contest

Opens: January 4, 2021 Ends: January 18, 2021

To celebrate Your Authentic Self, FCBF will host a community-wide poetry contest in the weeks ahead of the Reads announcement!

There are three categories: Adult, Teen, and Youth. The first place winner of each category will receive a $50 cash prize and will be invited to read their poetry at the virtual launch on January 26. Poems should speak to the theme, Your Authentic Self. Local poets will judge the poems in each category. We will share more about our judges in a coming blog post. Poetry entries should be submitted via Google Forms by January 18, 2021. Link in bio to get to the submission form!
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2.) 2021 Fox Cities Reads Poetry Workshop

January 12, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 PM CST

The workshop will be held Tuesday, January 12, 6:30-7:30 PM and is designed to welcome first-time writers, self-declared non-writers, and poets who have been writing for years. Participants will have the opportunity to explore four different types of poetry and have the opportunity to submit one poem for feedback post-workshop. To sign up for the poetry workshop, click on the link in our bio. Participation is limited to 30. This event will be held via Zoom.
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Your authentic self matters to us! Look for this theme in our 2021 community read selection! 🤩
To those who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving! What a To those who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
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We are thankful for all of you who support the Fox Cities Book Festival and our mission of connecting readers and writers. ❤️
We are so ready for this. 🦃 We are so ready for this. 🦃
Your Fox Cities Book Festival board is already mee Your Fox Cities Book Festival board is already meeting and planning for next year. If you are interested in joining us or would like to share your ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out! #foxcitiesbookfestival
We have gifts for all the book lovers in your life We have gifts for all the book lovers in your life. 📚 Purchase today; items ship on December 3rd! Link in bio for this festival supporting shop! #foxcitiesbookfestival #supportnonprofits #fundraiser
Make gift giving easy by purchasing festival creat Make gift giving easy by purchasing festival created swag! There’s something for every book lover. 🤩 The best part is that all purchases help support the Fox Cities Book Festival! Link in bio to purchase. #foxcitiesbookfestival #supportnonprofits #fundraiser
Thank you to EVERYONE who joined us this week. Not Thank you to EVERYONE who joined us this week. Not only did we connect phenomenal writers and readers together, but we were able to honor the memory of our invaluable board member, Christopher Kunz, this year. Thank YOU for making the 2020 Fox Cities Book Festival happen.❤️ #foxcitiesbookfestival
Meet Christopher “Tuffer” Kunz! Our 2020 Fox C Meet Christopher “Tuffer” Kunz! Our 2020 Fox Cities Book Festival is dedicated in his honor. Christopher was a gifted writer and his personal essays analyze our short existence and the search for the meaning of life. He believed every story should have a happy ending and wrote stories of hope and wonder, if a bit twisted. When both of his parents died too young, Christopher decided to spend his time doing the things he loves. Not only did Christopher write four novels but he served the community! Christopher was an invaluable member of our board. ❤️ We are honored to feature Christopher Kunz as a part of our 2020 festival! 🥳(See images for full event title.) You can click the link in our bio to sign up for any of our festival events or you can visit foxcitiesbookfestival.org to read more about our 2020 authors, their events, and more! #foxcitiesbookfestival #christopherkunz #authorevent #lettinggo #missingpieces #doingtime #strugglingreaders
Meet @janiechang33! Janie Chang writes historical Meet @janiechang33! Janie Chang writes historical fiction with a personal connection, drawing from a family history with 36 generations of recorded genealogy. She grew up listening to stories about life in a small Chinese town in the years before the Second World War and tales of ancestors who encountered dragons, ghosts, and immortals. LIBRARY OF LEGENDS is her third book and is a Globe and Mail national bestseller! 🙌 Janie is a proud member of the @tallpoppywriters. She is also the founder and main organizer of Canadian Authors for Indies, which is a national day of support by authors for independent bookstores, which ran from 2015-2017; this event is now run as Canadian Independent Bookstore by the Regail Cluncil of Canada! Janie was born in Taiwan, has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, and New Zealand. She now lives in beautiful Cancouver, Canada. 🇨🇦 We are excited to have Janie Chang as a part of our 2020 festival! 🥳(See images for full event title.) You can click the link in our bio to sign up for any of our festival events or you can visit foxcitiesbookfestival.org to read more about our 2020 authors, their events, and more! #foxcitiesbookfestival #janiechang #authorevent #libraryoflegends
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