VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Inspiration for writing Gabriela and The Widow by Jack Remick In one way or another, fiction is autobiographical but the story doesn’t have to be, as they blare out on TV, “based on a true story.” It’s the other way around—the novel, the fiction becomes part of the author’s autobiography. The novel is an expression of being. The author puts a writer into every story and that writer is the narrator. For Gabriela and the Widow, the autobiographical stimulus, call it the impulse to write, came when I visited my mother to celebrate her 92 nd birthday. For the last few years, my mother’s caregiver has been Gabriela. I watched as Gabriela fed her, dressed her, bathed her, combed her hair and put her to bed. But for Gabriela, this wasn’t just a job. She had a connection to my mother that was true, real, and honest. She didn’t change her behavior for my visits. She didn’t coo and perform, so I knew that what I saw was the real Gabriela and the real Mother. And there was somet

Come join the hosts of The Writing Mama show this Monday January 21, 2013 at 2pm EST - 1pm CST - Noon MST - 11am PST as they chat with author Jack Remick. Hosts VS Grenier and Irene Roth will be talking with Author Jack Remick about his lastest book Gabriela and the Widow published by Coffeetown Press. They will also talk about writing and publishing as well. Gabriela and The Widow is the story of Gabriela, a 19 year old Mexican woman who migrates north (to El Norte) where she meets a dying 92 year old woman, The Widow. The novel is their story. “As you grow thick, I grow thin,” says the widow, portending the secret of immortality that will overtake both women. ISBN: 978-1-60381-147-7 Places available for sale: Gabriela and The Widow is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com. After January 15, 2013, it will also be available in multiple eBook and 6x9 trade paperback editions on BN.com, the European Amazons and Amazon Japan. Jack Remick is a poet, short

Jack Remick is a poet, short story writer and novelist. In 2012, Coffeetown Press published the first two volumes of Jack’s California Quartet series, The Deification and Valley Boy . The final two volumes will be released in 2013: The Book of Changes and Trio of Lost Souls . Blood, A Nove l was published by Camel Press, an imprint of Coffeetown Press, in 2011. VS: I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Jack: I am married to a world class quilter, Helen Remick ( http://helenremick.com ) who understands the world of art and writing. We share a creative life that connects writing to family to quilting. I am fortunate to have this situation because I know a lot of writers struggle to find the balance. Without Helen to hold up half the sky, I wouldn’t be free to enter the novel world at all. VS: How long have you been writing? Jack: My entry into the writing u