Welcome to the 2024 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close four days after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 5th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.    

Wanda Springer  will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo.

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under? Wanda Springer

Where do you call home? Northern Rhode Island

What genre(s) do you write? Poetry, prose poetry, fiction

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger? Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? 

I love fiction, classics, biographies, poetry, mysteries.  I love any kind of writing that ignites the reader's imagination and ability to 'see' the story and understand the characters.

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why?  

As a young adult and older adult, I loved Illusions by Richard Bach, Robert Frost, Victor Frankel, Eric Butterworth, Irvin Yalom, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Brene Brown.

What are some of your favorite books today?

Grapes of Wrath, A Fool's Errand, It's Not You, Trauma and Recovery.

What inspired you to become a writer? 

Writing has always been part of my life. I am a poet at heart. I love the written word and its power to transform, express, create change, create emotion, and create connection and understanding. The tool or skill of writing was very helpful in college and graduate school. But primarily I write to process, express, share, and validate others by being open about my own humanity.

Last winter I wrote a memoir in narrative form. Partly because I wanted my son to know my story and to leave something behind. The process was transformative. Had I been writing on paper, it would have been wet with tears. But as it was, I managed to get it done with tissues nearby. However, afterward, it felt like something was missing. I think that memoir was more for personal growth. Then it came to me that my first official publication would have to be a combination of not only some of my life story in poetry and prose, but also a glimpse into the life of a therapist. 

As a psychotherapist, I bear witness to other people's trauma and the darkest of times in their lives. To do that and avoid or manage compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization, I wrote about my day. I wrote about what I had heard and what it was like to sit in a room with a client and hold space for them while sometimes being triggered to feel my own trauma. Poetry helped me do that. Encouraging clients to use metaphors to express themselves seemed to help them as well.

I love the creative process however it manifests, but writing brings a unique reward.

 

Hawk on Fire

 Hawk On Fire is a collection of eighty reflections, memories, and observations about the life of Wanda Springer. She uses poetry and prose to give the reader a glimpse at her life in a poignant, creative, raw and sometimes humorous way. Through the use of metaphor, she is able to draw you into some of the darkest times of her life. In the words of the author, “Poetry is my song, my partner, my teacher, my quiet savior, my way of understanding a world that often makes no sense.”   As a psychotherapist, the author had to find a way to contain her own wounds as well as the psychological wounds of others in a safe and sacred space. Writing helped with vicarious traumatization and compassion fatigue. Within these pages, read either front to back or an excerpt at a time, you will find a place to laugh at our humanity, feel, shed a tear, grow, and embrace the imperfections of being human. This glimpse into the author’s life will inspire you to pick up the Poet’s Pen and metaphor your way to a deeper meaning about your own life. 

Tell us a little about how “Hawk on Fire” came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else? 

One morning while journaling, the poem Hawk on Fire came through. I did not intellectualize it, I just let it be. It just made sense to have it on page one and since it is the theme of my life, it became the title of the book! That poem wanted to be heard (you fellow writers know what I'm talking about). 

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? 

I took out some curse words that spontaneously came through at the time. While they added some nice peppery flavor, I edited some out. I did keep some in the book because they emphasized the passage so well.

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why?  

This book does not have a character per se since it is a memoir in poetry. But the most challenging thing to write about was grief. It is so very personal and deep and I wanted it to be real, raw, human, and whole. I had to relive so much and I wanted the writing to be authentic so others could perhaps relate and give themselves permission to feel whatever shows up in their own grief.

What do you like best about being a writer? 

I love the idea that a bunch of letters formed into words can make me cry or laugh out loud. I love that words can take people on journeys to other realms, other worlds, or the many realms within. I like the process of automatic writing and also purposeful writing with a goal. I like the dreaded blank page and the speed of tapping keys and misspells because you can't get it out fast enough. I love not knowing where the story is going but going there anyway. I love when I look back and re-read something I wrote with no memory of writing it. I like to laugh as I try and fail at times. I like the crunch of paper notes as they make their way to the garbage. I like it all. I really like it when after all of that, someone else likes it too.

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb.  

Einstein: The Art of Being Relatively Human. 

"These authors use case examples of humans learning from their own mistakes, gaining resilience in the face of difficult times, finding wholeness within the broken parts, and discovering they were never just human."

 

You can follow Wanda Springer here - 

Website - spiritsong3.wixsite.com/wanda-springer 

Instagram - www.instagram.com/wanda_springer_art 

Wanda Springer is giving away a signed paperback of Hawk On Fire

 

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