Interviews & Media for Ellyn Wolfe
Be sure to scroll down to see all the cool stuff I’ve done!
I entered my memoir “Grateful” in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards contest. I didn’t win (darn), but feel I’m a huge winner with the book review they wrote. Here are the highlights.
Writer's Digest Magazine review: “Grateful for the Color Blue/Surviving the Loss of an Adult Child”
A 5 rating = Outstanding
· “Author has thought a lot about settings and their impacts on scenes. She mentions often about sitting and being still, which connects us to one of her core values and coping mechanisms. When her son is diagnosed, author creates a standout moment where Susan’s shoulder’s ‘quiver’ as he delivers the news. This one movement tells us so much about the care she has for Rob, and while he is being brave, she foreshadows his battle.”
· “The words ‘I love you’ rise from a dusty place and pulse with emotion. Grief can pull humanity out of people, and I’m teary remembering this beautiful scene. ‘I’m fighting, I’m fighting’ unleashed whatever restraint this reader had with sadness and tears.”
· “The author has the energy of someone who has a lot to say and holds tight to her edges in discerning where she goes with her memories. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Well done.”
· “We feel for the author’s collection of losses. Excellent work here.”
Click this link for Moving Beyond Family Struggles Summit details and to get your FREE ticket! (note: This event was in 2021)
https://www.movingbeyondfamilystruggles.com/moving-beyond-family-traumarte6pfut?affiliate_id=2875313
Heartfelt thanks to friend and talented author, Lynne Spreen (anyshinything.com), for this interview, which can also be found on You Tube.
Click the arrow to play.
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Great news! One of the chapters from “Grateful for the Color Blue” entitled “Ten Years,” was published in the acclaimed literary magazine, Inlandia Journal, an annual publication by the Inlandia Institute. They also included a recording of me reading the chapter!
You can read & listen by clicking this link: https://inlandiajournal.net/ellyn-wolfe/
keep scrolling down for more …
As the publisher and one of the editors of Straitjackets Magazine (straitjackets.org), I was interviewed by The Press Enterprise newspaper on August 22, 2020. Here’s the article:
Opportunity Knocks for New Writers at Online Journals
by Marj Charlier
Many beginner writers without industry connections or relatives in the business are frequently caught in the Catch-22 of the publishing business: If they haven’t been published before, they can’t get published. How can they get published in the first place?
One publishing outlet that many writers don’t think about is the online literary journal. While these digital publications typically don’t pay for contributed material, they can give new writers their first chance to get published. Other benefits are free editing and, in many cases, free feedback on the writing — something that can cost hundreds of dollars from commercial editors and groups such as Writers Digest.
“We tell people this is a great opportunity to get published and start building your resume,” said Ellyn Wolfe, publisher of Straitjackets, an online journal published three times a year by the Diamond Valley Writers Guild in Hemet.
The New York Public Library lists more than 30 online journals in the U.S. John Matthew Fox of Bookfox Club lists 13 online journals that he considers the most “prestigious” on his website. But there are four journals based in Riverside County which local writers might consider first: Straitjackets (straitjackets.org); Inlandia: A Literary Journey, published by Riverside-based Inlandia Institute (inlandiajournal.com); Roadrunner Review, published by students of La Sierra University in Riverside (roadrunner.lasierra.edu); and the Santa Ana River Review (sarreview.ucr.edu) published by the MFA program at UC Riverside. In all cases, submissions are free. Straitjackets and Inlandia are published and edited by volunteers, and the university reviews are managed by students.
Straitjackets was started years ago by Ray “Rusty” Strait, a Hemet writer who led writers’ critique groups. The project was later picked up by the DVWG, the magazine was redesigned, and it is now managed by a publisher, managing editor and two editors, all volunteers. Submissions are free, limited to 1,500 words, but are restricted to the DVWG’s 90 members.
“Because we’re choosing pieces from our membership, they’re competing with 90 other writers, not thousands,” said Cheryl McGuire, managing editor.
The latest edition of the journal received more than 1,000 previews, and 322 people clicked on stories and poems to read, she said. “It gives even our shy members a chance to get great exposure.”
Unlike many online journals, Straitjackets doesn’t limit entries to local settings or any particular subject matter. “We are using the magazine as a way to encourage writers to write,” said McGuire.
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PRESS RELEASE 20-1: September 24, 2020
Local Author Writes Memoir about Surviving the Death of her Adult Son
HEMET, CALIF.: A phone call from her son in Los Angeles jolted Ellyn Wolfe who lived in Massachusetts. “Mom, I have cancer.” Wolfe’s son, Rob, had a baseball-size tumor in his stomach.
“My feet slide out from under me. My body does a slow descent against the kitchen wall until I hit the floor. Numb and speechless, my mind crashes into blackness,” wrote Wolfe in her memoir, “Grateful for the Color Blue / Surviving the Loss of an Adult Child,” published in June.
When her son was dying, Wolfe looked everywhere for a book written by a parent who had lost an adult child. “I hoped to find solace in the company of another who knew what I was going through, the horror I believed outsiders could not understand,” she explained. “I found nothing.”
Years later, Wolfe wrote “Grateful,” her first book. “This memoir is my outreach to those who need to know they are not alone, that someone out there understands on a deep level and offers compassion and support through my words.”
The book also includes coping strategies that translate to any kind of loss. Wolfe relates how diversionary escapes into nature, mindful meditation and intuition helped her survive.
Reader Nancy Holland wrote, “As a mother who has lost a son, I treasure Ellyn’s ability to articulate the emotional depths of grief and her persistence in finding a way to live on.” Therapist Seamus O’Connor added, “I was riveted from the first page by Ellyn’s courage, compassion and humor. Couldn’t put it down.”
Ellyn Wolfe holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in psychology from Harvard. She also is a life coach, a stress management specialist and a magazine editor. Formerly, she was a corporate human resources director. She now resides in Southern California.
"Grateful for the Color Blue" is available as a paperback and an e-book at Amazon.com.
For more information, visit http://www.ellynwolfe.com/.
An interview with Wolfe is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kSlFmDhYvE.
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Press Info: One Page
Grateful for the Color Blue / Surviving the Loss of an Adult Child By Ellyn Wolfe
Memoir
ISBN 978-1-734-9971-0-1
336 Pages
$14.95 Paperback
$7.99 ebook
Published June 2020
Available on Amazon: https:// www.amazon.com/Grateful-Color- Blue-Surviving-Adult/dp/1734997109/
website: ellynwolfe.com
Reviews
“I was riveted from the first page by the courage, compassion and humor that permeates every line of this fascinating account. Wolfe transports the reader with the skill of a talented writer.” - Seamus O’Connor, Bitter Oranges; The Woods
“As a mother who has lost a son, I treasure Ellyn’s ability to articulate the emotional depths of grief and her persistence in finding a way to live on.” - Nancy Holland
“Ellyn’s voice is so naturally engaging you might believe she is sharing her story with only you.” - Kathryn Kay, The Gilder
“This memoir is an amazing true story of heart and emotion, but it also has all the elements of a great novel.” - Yazzie Kerkez
Author Bio
Ellyn Wolfe holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Psychology from Harvard. As a Life Coach, stress management specialist, magazine editor and publisher, author, and former corporate Human Resources director, Ellyn is dedicated to supporting others as they face life’s challenges.