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REVIEW of PAPER BAGS
BY

​Constance Gingrich, Author,
​The Accidental Activist


"Paper Bags is a well-told tale ​of intertwining journeys
of self discovery, metamorphosis, and finding compatibility.  

I enjoyed the versatility of story
telling from different perspectives while the
narrative held constant."


A novel set in the Florida Keys                                               by Trish McDonald

PictureTHE AUTHOR ON A BEACH IN THE FLORIDA KEYS
After thirty-four years of marriage, Kat McNeil flees to a campground in the Florida Keys where she falls for a ramblin' man who's elusive, unavailable, and secretive.
Desperate to understand why he avoids her, she becomes a stalker.

​This deviant behavior unearths a stunning revelation shaking her to the core. Will she run away from something she doesn't understand, or will she embark on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening?
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                              


www.trishmcdonald.com


​

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TRISH DECIDES TO SHARE SOME SECRETS
​
​THE GUTSY NEWS
                                           by
                            Trish McDonald​

Courage

Have you ever wondered about Courage?
Worried you don't have enough?

Where does Courage come from?
 
  Your genes?
 
  Your brain?

  The Wizard?

Why do some people seem to have Courage, yet others don't?
 
I stumbled on the answer, see below for my Recipe for Courage
 
 
I was convinced Courage skipped me
And went straight from my mom to my daughter.
 
Where would I find the Courage to write my novel PAPER BAGS--
a story of gender equality?
 
The answer didn’t seem to be my genes
My brain couldn’t generate Courage
The Wizard was too busy with the Cowardly Lion
I was on my own.
 
Then my health deteriorated, and I was put on medications for
Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Pre-diabetes
It was time to make some big changes
I read up on the microbiome and started fixing my gut
 
Not only was I taken off all medications, but this happened:
 
One morning my Beau said, “Do you know that since you’ve been on this gut plan,
Even your voice has changed?”
 
“What do you mean,” I asked defensively.
 
“Your tone is different. You seem more confident. There’s a lilt in your voice. It’s subtle, but it’s there.”
 ​
The good bacteria in my gut talk to my brain by way of my vagus nerve.* It’s that gut feeling that convinces my brain I’m courageous. When I had my microbiome assayed, my gut bacteria was 89% more diverse than those in my cohort. Diversity is strength—say it with me,
 
"Diversity is strength" 
 
Whether the microbes in our gut, the plants on the earth, the food we eat, our human population—In diversity is strength. 

Get your FREE Recipe for Courage

​https://bit.ly/3iJsfSz

*Emeran Mayer, MD, author of The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health.

                                                                         Bio

Trish McDonald is the author of Paper Bags, a story of self-discovery, metamorphosis, and gender equality. According to her DNA profile, McDonald is 86% Irish. For a storyteller, this “blarney” heritage comes in handy when writing about issues of trauma. 

With a degree in nutrition, McDonald brings a science background to body work in the form of cranial sacral therapy, yoga, and reiki healing in her novel.

​An avid camper, McDonald, 77, lives in a tiny house in an RV park in Southwest Florida. Her writing has appeared in Oldster Magazine, Maudlin House, and Shout-Out Miami. https://linktr.ee/TrishMc
​

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TRISH MCDONALD KAYAKING AT 77 YRS OLD

​                                                       COMING HOME

           Welcome to Lancaster, PA, home to Hippocampus Magazine, the Central Market, and what is to be my home for the next three days—Hippocamp—where creative nonfiction writers come as ‘Zoomites’ and tearfully leave as friends. 
           
            Situated at the corner of King and Queen Streets, the Marriott will be our host in the grandest of traditions. As I touch the elevator button, I imagine being surrounded by memoirists like Carmen Maria Machado, Jeannine Ouellette, Dorothy Rice and others whose voices buzz in my head.
            
           Arriving on Thursday early, I wander Prince Street and stop in Psychedeli for a deck of Tarot cards, the patchouli pulling me up the front steps. I promised my granddaughters we’d learn how to read our futures, but I have no idea how to choose a set. 

           The clerk tells me, “You don’t choose a Tarot deck, the cards choose you. Stand in front of the sets, place your hand on the pictures, and as you pass over the artwork, be open and aware.” As I move across the boxes, my fingers tremble, I look down on The Light Seers with their artistic designs, I stop, pick them up and say, “This is the set.”
​
          I dine on mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes, a Pennsylvania favorite, at C’est La Vie. Three creamy cheeses surround a tubular-shaped pasta, crowned with a sweet, acidic mound of garden goodness. Energy is everywhere, men in business suits with ideas, young parents strolling with infants, joggers, bikers, so different from my Florida home, a gated community for oldsters like me. 
            
          Later, I’ll climb up three floors to the rooftop bar where I’m meeting other conference attendees for dinner. On the 2nd level, I stop to order a Yuengling. I’m hedging, unsure if I can ascend the final steps to my biggest challenge—being face to face with real writers. 
           
          I chat with three young men who say they have books inside them. No longer hiding behind the Zoom lens with its staged background, I smile and hand one of the guys my author’s card.
 
            Finally, I reach the apex, spot our group, take a deep breath, and ask if I can join. As I sit down, I realize I’m at a table of presenters. I start to get up to move, then I stop. I will act as if I belong, as if I’ve been a part of this community all my life, as if when I look out over the horizon, I’m home at last, with my people. 

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I Remember... A Hippocamp Recap—2022
By Trish McDonald

​
That Little Voice: How to Write Captivating & Convincing Child Narrators (And Why Your Work Might Benefit from One)

Presented by Jeannine Ouellette


​I remember the first time I heard Jeannine Ouellette speak about writing the unspeakable. Her voice soft, yet confident, warm and vulnerable, as she taught me how to use constraint. 

​Consider using a specific, concrete, or sensory observation to tell your story bringing distance to the narrative, allowing the reader to figure out what’s going on in the scene.

“Resist the urge to explain, interpret, or reflect internally,” Ouellette cautions.

I remember the setting as Jeannine begins to read from The Part That Burns—her mother’s room, the dresser with the porcelain figure with the outstretched arms—the loving words at the base of the statue.

I can hardly breathe, I know what’s coming, yet I’ve moved to the edge of my seat. I see the Madonna reaching out, tears falling down her cheeks as she watches the horror in this room. None of this happens in the book, it’s all in my mind. Constraint.

By using restraint, Ouellette pulls me into the scene, and I’m hooked.
The child is the narrator in The Part That Burns—a delicate, tricky, tightrope Ouellette handles with expertise. She cautions writers who are considering a child narrator to think about the following:
*The Why—you’re using a unique voice—what is your purpose?
*What are the circumstances—opportunities are limited.
*The Range—1
st person is experimental.
*The Challenge—a child narrator can be risky but can also encourage playfulness.


We conclude the session with our writing exercise for child narration with the prompt:
I remember... one impression leading to another...
I remember... giving vivid details...
I remember... no need to interpret the memories...
Over and over again—I remember.