Before 2020 very few students took courses on-line though I had. I also took a course through TV (PBS) once.
I find it sad that the vast majority are choosing on-line over in-person classes, but I kinda understand too. I got my MFA completely online (in ‘09). It was perfect for a writer because we weren’t being judged for our looks or personality but completely on our writing. We didn’t zoom & could do the work whenever we wanted. Some students were in other countries; some even in war zones. It saved hours not having to drive & find parking (or even shower!) But there’s nothing like being in a classroom with a group of like-minded people. It’s too bad colleges & universities never tried to find a way to make that experience more nurturing.
The MFA in Creative Writing mostly seemed to be for teaching writing although yes, we did turn in work & were critiqued in the majority of my on-line classes. Because much of it is peer critiques, the quality of the program depends on the level of the other students, as well as how involved the professor is. Of course, this is true with in-person classes too.
Most of what I learned about story arc & character arc, I learned on my own. Later I took local courses that reaffirmed what I taught myself about story structure, etc. I am fortunate that we have SDInk here with many courses & amazing instructors, some of whom are college professors. Others are here from Hollywood. I, personally, need the classes to keep me writing, especially at the beginning of a project. I need the feedback.
I don’t watch YouTube videos. Not to learn. But others do. Seems to be a man thing. So, if it works for you: Go for it!
The other thing I discovered when you are not getting a degree is that the instructors bring their heart into their teaching. The No. 1 instructor I have had to date is Marni Freeman, a woman who would stab herself before she’d ever allow herself to make a student feel bad. Whenever she makes suggestions, she asks how you feel about it. I have even cried about the memories I was writing about & she came over & hugged me.
Of course, Marni is a therapist, so she understands how important it is NOT to make someone feel bad about themselves. She also teaches memoir so she is in the perfect field for her skillset (and heartset).
I Forgot to mention that many of the SDInk courses are now done through Zoom with us submitting our work thru email (except for those savvy enough to show them on the Zoom screen).
Sherrie Miranda’s “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans” follows the dramatic story of naive, sheltered Shelly going to “The Big Easy” to prepare for El Salvador, but has no idea she will encounter sexism and witness racism as well as illegal activities by government agents. https://www.amzn.com/dp/B08KMHNNDK Author, Sherrie Miranda’s husband made the trailer for “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans.” He wrote the music too. https://youtu.be/7_NL-V9KEi4 Review: Shelly’s journey in “the city that care forgot.”Sherrie Miranda’s new novel “Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans” puts the reader into a whirlwind of political protests, abusive police, sexist attitudes towards women, and “good old boys” racism in 1980’s New Orleans. Miranda’s second novel follows Shelly, the young northerner, as she quickly finds out that she “isn’t in Kansas anymore” while encountering a slew of picturesque, colorful characters. Reading her book makes you wonder if justice and respect for blacks, immigrants, and women can be reality in America.
Having grown-up in a working class background, Sherrie Miranda critically understands that experience, thus making it the background from which emerges Shelly. She is the main character of Miranda’s last novel, Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans. There, we follow Shelly – freshly arrived in New Orleans from Rochester. She has come with the prospect of being awarded a photographer’s post in civil war torn El Salvador. Another reason for the move is Shelley’s desire to distance herself from family and home. This new found freedom allows Shelly to discover new inner voices as her life unfolds on many fronts. This process will be present throughout the novel. We find coherence to these multiple selves as we further our reading.
The coveted award is not certain, our main character will be competing with other photographers – if successful, Shelly will direct her camera lens to witness the life of the people in the midst of El Salvador’s civil war. At some point in the story we are made aware that in her study of photography, she learned how to achieve balance in a picture with positive and negative space. A definition of the latter concept helped this writer appreciate how its application educates the reading of the novel:
Space, both positive and negative, ties your design together. The intelligent usage of space draws the eye away from focus on negative or positive, and instead uses both to tell a harmonious, coherent, complete — seamless — story.
Transposed to the novel, this insight applies to the characters as well as events – the negative space, together with the narrative – the positive space, produce a coherent story. Miranda, herself a photographer, rendered inherent all these elements in her novel.
The story would not be as enticing if the author’s expert knowledge of the circumstances she brings forth in the novel would not inform the reader with historical elements – the FBI and other secret services’ undermining of the revolutionary movements in Central America. During the 1980’s, the time during which these wars were fought, the US was training paramilitary groups in support of campaigns of terror exacted on the civilian population. These facts brought to the page as textbook lessons might have been tedious. However, Miranda weaves the necessary background details in and out of the dialogue and stirs the latter with such virtuosity, that it lends to the issues an immediate relevance and urgency. Not only does it add a formidable dynamic to the novel, it also keeps the reader on their toes.
The story engages the reader in a deconstruction of the events and their impact on her main character. Based on historical events, the novel’s narrative weaves in its fabric, documentary facts which impart the story with veracity and a legitimate socio/political reality. Historical facts invite the reader’s imagination to an analytical inquiry, which is not defused by the fantasy of fiction.
Sherrie Miranda’s talent is best illustrated with her mastery of the dialogue. Throughout the novel many voices converse, and sometimes confront each other, or themselves. The reader is allowed to enter Shelly’s mind, revealing her most intimate thoughts. Shelly never leaves us; she stays faithful to her readers as she never speaks to others without letting us know what she thinks. We grow intimate with her; becoming her confident. As we pursue our reading we are made to listen to the subscript – her inner thoughts.
It is important to remark that Shelly does not address the reader as if making a confession. In keeping us so close, we become witnesses in her life. Early in the novel we learn of Shelly’s rape. The event as recalled by the protagonist is brought about devoid of gravity. The details coming through later on, reveal the violence of the assault; we are left to infer its consequential traumas. And if we do not, further scenes in the novel reveal the rage it has caused Shelly. A rage which fuels her uncompromising resistance to oppression.
The rape happened, and nothing since then has been the same. A baggage, which together with many other unresolved issues, weighs since then more heavily, on the already anxious life prodding the character of Shelly. Its reference throughout the novel reveals the guilt, the shame, and the self-accusatory statements; none of those are an expression of Shelly’s inability to process “the rape,” her voice only amplifies that of a whole society in denial of its own responsibility. For Shelly this social mass includes her family. She remains the only one – in not abandoning herself, she keeps vigil over her own body. Thus awakened nights – unable to sleep. We come to be educated little at a time about the indelible marks it leaves on the victim. It’s a garment on Shelly’s skin – the one she should have worn or should not have worn; “I should have worn pants.” I didn’t wear a slip.
We, the readers, are at Shelly’s sides when she refuses to wear a skirt to better fit the image of a waitress – the men wear the pants.And we know; she was wearing a dress when she got raped. Though she blames herself for it, I shouldn’t have worn a dress, her consciousness has grown in knowing what the skirt portrays in the stereotype apparel making of a “girl.” Shelly’s reflections, those she addresses to the reader, buttress her self-awareness, and ours.
However earlier in the novel, the reader is faced with a moral conundrum, Shelly doubles down in accusing herself. “I blame myself. But maybe it’s what I needed…. to get me to move my lazy ass out of this place.” Because we want to read the contrary, and the contrary might be what the author wanted us to read on our parkour through her novel. The agency Shelly has mustered to start this journey was a motivator to a new way of acting. The sequence is reversed. As in a literal revolution. Dreaming a path to a new life is what motivates Shelly to rebel and subvert authority. She will not give her authorization to the wearing of a skirt. Not a victim of forces beyond her control. Now bringing the force under her control. Miranda however is a writer – her pen is not didactic. No explanation is needed. The reader is given a free rein to draw their own perspective.
Miranda brings to bear her experience in growing up, and the working class values she was bound to honor. Those are put to the test as Shelly affronts the hardship of looking for a job with resilience, and wisdom. She will not compromise her dignity, as she will mount a tremendous amount of resistance at the threat to the latter. She loses her job, ready to sacrifice her means of subsistence to save her pride. Her life so far has been tough, she might not have as yet worn their badge, but she is no debutante on that new stage as a revolutionary actor. Yet at times her working class background reveals a rigidity which righteousness puts her at odds with what she is made to hear. Victor with whom Shelly develops an ambiguous relationship at some point exclaims, “We, Central Americans are all liars, I am a liar” “the war, the poverty, and the repression, we have to lie. All the time.” Paradoxically, later on that evening she will find solace in the same roots, those attachments between labor and land – her family history. She turns to what she learned at home remembering stories she heard from her dad, “…how his mom would tell “stories” to the bill collector” so they would not lose their farm.
What makes the novel stand apart from vulgar fiction is not only that the author’s experience which serves the rendering of a context with authenticity. But more profoundly, Shelly’s experiences feed a passion that the writer skillfully brings to the page.
Shelly, the photographer, comments on events with the clarity of the camera. The narrative takes us at some point in the dark sordid waterholes of New Orleans where the villains are, this time, the long time settled in the US, immigrants victims of another period of colonialist rule on another continent. The bitterness of their struggle against the English in India, feeds their anger, which they only know how to deflect by exacting revenge. Thus enslaving the progeny of those who enslaved them. With those chapters, the novel takes a fantastic turn. A dystopian adventure which derails the balance of the novel up till then faithful to an immediately graspable realism.
Those chapters deliver a redemption of the main character who because she benefits from the privileges accorded to her white status, must “naturally” also pay for those with an act of glory. It’s a setback in the novel. Shelly is now cloaked in the myth of the White as a liberator of the enslaved. Was that necessary, we wonder. It relegates Shelly to another time, today a distant past; a period hero. She regresses in the role of the Good White who allied with the good police saves the White child from the claws of the evil black man.
Apart from the parenthesis created around that romantic hero, Shelly has been fierce in the use of her privilege as a shield — she is white and young. Her resistance to her boss insisted on her wearing a skirt. She will find another job. Her right out alliance with her neighbours; she hardly can afford the clothes she buys them, but she has more resources. At some point, Shelly uses her foreigner status as a camouflage. Thus pretending not to understand the soldiers’ harassing questions as she steps on the Salvadorian country soil. She uses her privilege as an English speaker to subvert an illegitimate authority. She chooses not to understand their questions. They let her go.
A strong point of Miranda’s writing is her acute focus on the language in translation. She leads interesting inquiries in the centrality of context in giving meaning to language. We are reminded of Paolo Freire who made the context the meaningful center of his theory of critical pedagogy, later on put to practice as the structure of literacy campaigns in Brazil, Nicaragua, etc. Miranda helps us in seeing that language is not neutral, but more so carries the meaning of a contextual reality. Language is not bound to a dictionary edited by the White Academy. In a conversation with Victor, she first uses the word “disappear” in the conventional dictionary definition, however she is quick to remind herself that the conflict of war has shaped the meaning of the word disappear, “I forgot that in Latin America, that word means people who the military pick up, and you never see them again.”Toward the end of the novel Shelley asks Keisha, her ex-student now a friend, “What is the worst to bear: Racism, Sexism or Poverty?” And for Keisha to answer, “I don’t know, because I am all three.” Keisha, does not hide but identifies those 3 spears in her identity, as black, a woman, and poor. In her novel, Miranda tackles the intersectionality of those social markers, focusing the lens of her camera on Shelly’s personal history which in no moments is let to die in oblivion. That history serves as the testimony of what has propelled Shelly to dream and shape her dedication to the revolution. Finding in herself a voice of resistance, and the power to subvert authority – thus discovering her own.
“Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans” follows the dramatic story of naive, sheltered Shelly going to “The Big Easy” to prepare for El Salvador, but has no idea she will encounter sexism and witness racism as well as illegal activities by government agents. https://www.amzn.com/dp/B08KMHNNDK
Author, Sherrie Miranda’s husband made the trailer for “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans.” He wrote the music too. https://youtu.be/7_NL-V9KEi4
Review: Shelly’s journey in “the city that care forgot.”Sherrie Miranda’s new novel “Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans” puts the reader into a whirlwind of political protests, abusive police, sexist attitudes towards women, and “good old boys” racism in 1980’s New Orleans. Miranda’s second novel follows Shelly, the young northerner, as she quickly finds out that she “isn’t in Kansas anymore” while encountering a slew of picturesque, colorful characters. Reading her book makes you wonder if justice and respect for blacks, immigrants, and women can be reality in America.
When you finish reading CIINO, check out SLIES:
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
I obviously haven’t read these, but as an author, I like to share books.
And while we’re on that subject, what do you think about me posting short reviews of recent books I’ve read? I can easily find them on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
Let me know!
And keep your eyes open for the prequel to SLIES (see below for more info). It’s titled “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans: Shelly’s Journey Begins.” It will be out in April.
Books Coming Soon in 2020
In whis ultimate preview guide, discover the biggest new releases coming out in the next few months! From edge-of-your-seat thrillers to swoon-worthy love stories, you’ll be the first to know when your next favorite book is hitting the bookshelves.
Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.
From the award-winning author of Station Eleven (“Ingenious.” – The New York Times), an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events-a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.
The chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious gets uncomfortably real in his debut memoir. David Chang lays bare his self-doubt and ruminates on mental health. He explains the ideas that guide him and demonstrates how cuisine is a weapon against complacency and racism. Exhibiting the vulnerability of Andre Agassi’s Open and the vivid storytelling of Patti Smith’s Just Kids, this is a portrait of a modern America in which tenacity can overcome anything.
“With the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, women pilots went aloft to serve their nation. . . . A soaring tale in which, at long last, these daring World War II pilots gain the credit they deserve.”—Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls
A twisting story of love and deceit: an American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam, and his girlfriend, an emergency room doctor trained to ask questions, follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met.
In a captivating memoir, an Egyptian American visionary and scientist provides an intimate view of her personal transformation as she follows her calling—to humanize our technology and how we connect with one another.
From the beloved and best-selling Anne Tyler, a sparkling new novel about misperception, second chances, and the sometimes elusive power of human connection.
SEE MORE
Buy now from your favorite retailer:
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
Cyana,
I have now encountered four books that I promised reviews on. But I don’t believe in posting bad reviews so I never posted a review.
The last one I promised was so bad that my husband read the beginning and was laughing like a hyena. Sadly, as a fellow author I don’t find it funny. It is tragic that we put so much of ourselves out there, but don’t bother to make sure that our “baby” is ready.
But I also just read a book with a publisher and an editor and was surprised with all the issues in it. You can look for my most recent review here to see it.
Hiring a professional editor is the ONE thing you should spend your money on. I also know a woman who has six books out there. She spent money on a photographer and graphic designer, but her sister-in-law edited the book for free. She said that she’s a teacher so … I guess in her opinion that qualified her. I am a teacher. And I would never edit anyone’s book.
Editors are very special people with an eye for minutia. They have to read the book without sentimentality. Definitely not me. And not my friend’s sister-in-law either.
Also, like it or not, only with years of critiques of our work from professionals can we see all our silly mistakes. We can’t help but be sentimental about our own work.
May you have all that you want and more.
Sherrie
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
I’m finally back to working on the prequel to my debut novel. “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans” takes place during the Reagan era (including 1984!). Shelly goes to NOLA to prepare for her trip to El Salvador, but she has no idea that a place in the U.S. can be so completely different from her world in Upstate New York. She encounters sexism, police brutality, and sees the effects of racism first hand. Her Salvadoran friend is visited by the FBI & the Cubans in New Orleans threaten the lives of protesters & even call the homes of organizers. Shelly’s time in New Orleans makes her want to go back to her safe, little life in Hilton, NY.
If you can buy the book ahead of time, it will help me pay for editing, formatting & uploading. As you can see above, the cover is already made.
Learn the story behind “Publish Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.” and help us meet our goal. @indiegogo
I understand people’s frustrations with the election, but we must do whatever it is we do to make a difference in the world. The writers, both published & unpublished, at the writer’s conference seem to get it. One woman said most of us only heard the negative statements that Trump made. This is likely true, but on the other hand, why did he make those negative statements?
My roommate (at the conference) is upset because the people she knew who voted for Trump would not admit it & therefor would not say why they voted for him. They did not want to explain their rational.
Other than that, we stayed away from politics. We have important work to do! We have to get our work out where it can be read or viewed by the public (in the case of screenwriting). That’s the way writers make a difference in the world.
And the authors and writers who presented at the La Jolla Writer’s Conference definitely ARE making a difference! Jonathan Maberry has published 29 books, as well as hundreds of articles. Laura Taylor is an expert at helping other writers get published. Andrew Peterson’s “Nathan McBride” series is allowing readers to understand the complexity of our nation’s involvement in other countries. Peterson also gives books to vets & their families.
There was not a second during that conference that I wasn’t connecting, learning or feeling the importance of getting our work out to a reading audience. Thank you to the Kuritz family for organizing this amazing event AND for making it affordable! You can register for next year’s conference (Oct. 27, 28 & 29) for $295 before Dec. 15th. http://lajollawritersconference.com/registration/ As of today, the registration for 2017 isn’t up yet, but it should be there any day now. If you don’t live in San Diego & feel the hotel is too pricey, you can always do an AirB&B for Friday & Saturday nights.
IF YOU ARE A WRITER, AUTHOR OR HOPE TO GET THAT BOOK OUT OF YOU ONE DAY, YOU WILL NOT REGRET ATTENDING THIS CONFERENCE. IT IS THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE. In fact, I likely would not have finished & published my debut novel if I hadn’t gone to LJWC. I look forward to meeting you next year!
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
I should have gotten this out last week when I got home from the conference, but such is life! As my mom used to say “Better late than never!”
A big shout out to Professor Frank Montesonti for getting us into the conference & paying us for the reading! Frank is the Dept. Chair Of the National University MFA in Creative Writing program which is a NO Residency on-line program. When I finished the program, I was so sad because I learned so much, I didn’t want it to end. Of course, I was also glad to finish my thesis and turn it in! 😉 ❤
Also a shout out to Colin Dickey who is back from his sabbatical in New York. Colin supported my Kickstarter campaign and recommended me to Frank when he was looking for published students to represent NU at the conference. He was my first thesis advisor & his advice was worth a lb. of gold to me!
Because of NU’s MFA program, I am a published author today!
It was a pleasure to finally meet my professors in person, as well as several students and some other staff from the program. I can’t wait to read Ann MaCanny’s novel when it comes out in the next month or so!
I also went to an amazing session of Central American writers! It gave me hope to see that some of them are trying to find a way to let the world know that war is hell! And that my government needs to stop funding wars, making them drag out for years!
Thanks to everyone for sharing your time & writing with me!
Peace,
Sherrie
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
5 stars The story of a man who had a fascinating & love-filled life!
Reviewed By Sherrie Miranda
This review is for: Carry Me Across the Water: A Novel
My book has a different cover from the two on Amazon. I can see why. I thought I was going to be reading a book about a Japanese person, not a book about a young Jewish boy who escapes Nazi Germany!
This is the story of one man’s brave, yet often difficult life. August Kleinman’s mother saw what was coming, so she left with her son in the middle of a dark, foggy night, leaving behind a very wealthy German Jew husband, Augusts’s father.
This book became more and more enjoyable, the more I read. Kleinman appreciated every stage of his life and lived it to the fullest. Even in old age, he had his son, daughter-in-law (who appreciated him more than his son did) and his grandson. He also had a secret friend, a young Latina woman with a child, that he tried to help. He felt it was the least he could do after hoarding millions most of his life.
And then there was the Japanese connection, created because of the war. Even though he killed the owner of the letters, Kleinman felt he needed to see the Japanese man’s son and give him the letters that would explain who he was.
As always, when one loves a story, I didn’t want it to end. I will be looking to read Canin’s other novels very soon!
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
by Anita Lock in Literary Fiction
SECRETS AND LIES IN EL SALVADOR
Secrets and Lies in El Salvador: Shelly’s Journey
five-stars
by Sherrie Miranda
Released on February 23rd 2015
Pages: 233
ISBN: B00T6EI1UW
On Amazon, in Barnes & Noble & independent bookstores in SoCal & Upstate NY
“You must keep many secrets and tell many lies when your people are at war with themselves.”
American photographer Shelly Smith goes to El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War. Making her home among the townspeople, Shelly draws closer to them as she listens to their horrific stories while capturing their portraits on camera. Shelly is asked to take pictures of an imprisoned female American journalist for the purpose of exposing the truth about what is happening in the war to the American public. The assignment is extremely risky. If she chooses to go, there is a high chance that she may follow in the martyred footsteps of her uncle, Leftist poet Roque Dalton.
In her debut book, rising author Sherrie Miranda scripts a story that is not for the faint of heart. Miranda’s narrative tightly interweaves fictional characters within historical environs that zeroes in on the plight of the poor. A mix of injustices that convolutes family relations and Shelly’s personal experiences and struggles, Miranda aptly sheds light on the complicated issues about the smallest as well as the most densely populated country in Central America. A combination of cliffhanging chapter closures and unexpected scenes, Miranda’s novel is certain to be a wonderful addition to Central American history collections.
by Anita Lock
I am a woman of many hats: a wife to a wonderful husband, a mother of three awesome children, a grandmother to an amazing, little granddaughter, and a long-time educator in varied degrees (pun intended!). Starting with a Bachelors degree in Music Education and a Masters degree in Library Science, I have chosen to use my skills to educate others, particularly youth. Whether a preschool teacher, home educator, teacher’s aide, tutor, music instructor, Irish DJ, and now book reviewer, my goal remains consistent: It is imperative that I provide tools to help others succeed in life.
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
SherrieMiranda1 