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.In Book 2, “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador,” Shelly goes to El Salvador to photograph Salvadorans in the midst of the civil war there. She becomes the keeper of many people’s secrets & lies.
Tag: Women
Hoping for a 2024 that is memorable
Some of this past year was great. My husband and I flew to Chicago & walked the city for 4 days, then traveled by train to New Orleans. Despite a horrible train ride in the same train I rode in the 1980s, we had an amazing time.
New Orleans was so much cooler, safer, friendlier then when I lived there, it actually made me cry. Blacks are finally treated equally in many ways. We got hugs from complete strangers. They have a new park named after Louie Armstrong. They have a new streetcar line that travels the length of Canal Street.
We can’t wait to go back.
I also made the decision to travel more in the future and convinced my husband to travel with me.
But the workshops I planned to start has fallen through. And the woman who worked on my website has disappeared & kept the ownership of the site. I’m likely going to have to sue her for the rights to my intellectual property.
I was not only ripped off because I foolishly thought you could pay to get readers & reviews. But the person I paid hacked into my email, asked a bunch of people for money & even was able to get my email coming directly to him.
I was denied the opportunity to give my sister a kidney and 4 months later her husband died.
This war has been heavy on my mind. And I have been having an accelerated heart rate, once so much so that I didn’t sleep the entire night.
I look forward to learn to control my heart rate and anxiety and to choose more wisely who I work with.
Although our trip to Austin, Texas, earlier in the year for a wedding was mostly amazing, I witnessed a scene with a homeless woman that broke my heart. I think that’s when the racing heart started. Or, it’s quite possible it’s been happening my entire life & I never knew that was the cause of the insomnia I’ve experienced since the age of 13.
All in all, it was a helluva year that I’m glad is over.
How ’bout you? Was 2023 good to you?
I almost forgot to mention that I plan to finish writing Book 3 this year! Here’s to an amazing 2024 for all of us!
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.
I Didn’t Follow Sinead, but I see now she spoke for us all …
Meet Sherrie Miranda: An Author on a Mission
Meet Sherrie Miranda: An Author on a Mission
By John Riddle
Children have many dreams of what they want to do, and Sherrie Miranda was no different when she was growing up. “I thought I could write as a child, until I got a big red “F” on a story I turned into a teacher,” she recalled. But despite the bad grade, she never gave up on her dream of becoming a writer. “I went on to study Art, then Photography, and when I moved to New Orleans, I even tried my hand at Nursing Studies. I finally got my degree in Drama and Communications.”
But Sherrie never gave up on her dream of telling a story about El Salvador, and even though it took about thirty years, she was finally able to publish Secrets & Lies in El Salvador. That book is the story of an American woman in war-torn El Salvador. It exposes death and destruction at every turn, but also validates the power of love, and embodies the gift of hope. It has been well received by readers and reviewers all around the world. The San Diego Book Review said, “The book is a combination of cliffhanging chapter closures and unexpected scenes. Miranda’s novel is certain to be a wonderful addition to Central American history collections.”
Like most writers, Sherrie had her fair share of obstacles along the journey to publishing her book. “When you have a full-time job and other obligations, it can sometimes be a challenge to find the time to write,” she recalled. “I was teaching my students how to write, so I knew something about how to tell a story, but I kept struggling with knowing where to begin.”
But she kept at it and found the time she needed to create the book. Her biggest inspiration during her debut literary journey was her husband. “He inspired me because he has always found time for his music. Even when he worked 60 hours a week, his free time was making music or practicing.” Other inspiration came from her love of travel, her friends from all around the world, and other writers.
Getting feedback from readers is always something an author enjoys, and Sherrie is no different. “Having someone say how much the book affected them is an amazing feeling,” she shared.
Like many authors, she did not want to become a “one-hit wonder,” so Sherrie got busy and wrote Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.
That book features Shelly Dalton Smith, a naïve, twenty-three-year-old from Upstate New York who moves to New Orleans to prepare for a photo project in war-torn El Salvador. Shelly arrives in New Orleans, broken and traumatized and therefore unable to trust her own instincts. New Orleans represents the fresh start Shelly needs, but she soon finds that almost everyone in New Orleans harbors a secret. She’s unprepared for life in “The Big Easy,” and her world is turned upside down as she navigates “the city that care forgot.”
Her books are a very personal part of her life, and she feels very passionate about what she writes. That has helped her to connect with her readers and reviewers. “I have reconnected with relatives and people from my hometown. I have become friends with Salvadorans and have gotten to know people who also lived in or visited New Orleans.”
Sherrie always has words of wisdom for her friends, family, and readers. “Life is short, so get out there and enjoy it! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That is where we learn the most. And if you get a chance to travel, make sure you do. You may never get a chance like that again.”
Her advice for anyone who wants to write a book can be summed up in one word: write!
“But also outline, and don’t go back to edit until you complete the story. The ending will tell you what the book is about.”
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.
From Oprah: 5 Strategies for Breaking a Negative Thought Loop
It’s almost as if Oprah can read my mind!
The author of The Anxiety Toolkit explains how we get caught in negative, fear-based ideas—and how to break free.By Dr. Alice Boyes
Photo: Maiwolf Photography/Cultura/Getty Images Believe it or not, psychologists have a term to describe people who like to think a lot. The trait is called need for cognition. It refers to people who enjoy effortful thinking and feel motivated to attempt to understand and make sense of things. For the most part, this is associated with positive traits, like openness, higher self-esteem and lower social anxiety. On the flip side, some types of intensive thinking—notably rumination and worry—tend to be associated with being closed to new ideas and poor mental health. Anxiety and rumination form a feedback loop where one causes the other. Here, you’ll learn to recognize when you’re ruminating so you can disrupt the loop.
1. Identify When You’re Ruminating
To reduce your rumination, you’re first going to need to identify it. Rumination can be about minor issues (“Why did I pay $4.20 for gas at the first gas station off the highway when I could’ve driven a half-mile down the road and paid $3.60? I shouldn’t have been so stupid…etc.”). Rumination can also be more heavy-duty self-criticism (“What’s wrong with me? I have these dreams but I don’t make them happen. Am I just full of hot air? Maybe I don’t want them badly enough? Am I a just a big fraud?”) Ruminating can sometimes be a bit like daydreaming, in that people often get lost in rumination without realizing they’re doing it.
Experiment: Fill in the following blanks to create a list of topics you ruminate on: Replaying conversations with people in power positions in your life. For example, replaying conversations, including email conversations, with ______ [insert names of people] ______.
Replaying memories of experiences of failure from the past, for example ______.
Thinking about ways in which you’re not as perfect as you’d like to be. For example, thinking you’re not as good at ______ as you’d like.
Thinking about things you should be doing to be more successful, such as ______.
Photo: CommerceandCultureAgency/Getty Images Become Aware of Memory BiasWhen people are anxious they often have biased recall for events. For example, Brian talks himself into believing he screwed up an interview for a promotion because he thinks over and over about things he could’ve said. However, he doesn’t as easily recall the good answers he gave. He endlessly mentally rehashes ambiguous cues the interviewers gave off, such as appearing to rush through questions, but doesn’t as easily recall when the interviewers responded positively.
Experiment: Do you have any current rumination topics where memory bias might be playing a role? Answer the following questions:
1. What’s your ruminating mind telling you?
2. What are the objective data telling you about whether your ruminative thoughts are likely to be correct?
3. Are you recalling feedback as harsher than it was or recalling blips in your performance as worse than they were?
Photo: Peopleimages.com/Digital Vision/Getty Images Distinguish Between Worry/Rumination and Helpful Problem-SolvingPeople who are heavy worriers tend to believe that worrying helps them make good decisions. However, rather than helping you problem-solve, rumination and worry usually just make it difficult to see the forest for the trees. Do you think people who worry a lot about getting cancer are more likely to do self-exams, have their moles mapped or eat a healthy diet? According to research, the opposite is probably true. For example, one study showed that women who were prone to rumination took an average of 39 days longer to seek help after noticing a breast lump.
Experiment: To check for yourself whether ruminating and worrying lead to useful actions, try tracking the time you spend ruminating or worrying for a week. If a week is too much of a commitment, you could try two days—one weekday and one weekend day. When you notice yourself ruminating or worrying, write down the approximate number of minutes you spend doing it. The following day, note any times when ruminating/worrying led to useful solutions. Calculate your ratio: How many minutes did you spend overthinking for each useful solution it generated?
Photo: Jamie Grill/Blend Images/Getty Images Reduce Self-CriticismReducing self-criticism is a critical part of reducing rumination. People who are in a pattern of trying to use self-criticism as motivation often fear that reducing it will make them lazy. It won’t. In fact, giving yourself a compassionate rather than critical message will often lead to working harder. For example, one study showed that people who did a hard test and got a compassionate message afterward were willing to study longer for future similar tests, compared to a group of people who took the same test but didn’t get a compassionate message.
Experiment: To practice using self-compassion as an alternative to self-criticism, try the following three-minute writing exercise. Identify a mistake or weakness that you want to focus on and then write for three minutes using the following instructions: “Imagine that you are talking to yourself about this weakness (or mistake) from a compassionate and understanding perspective. What would you say?”
Photo: Jamie Grill/Iconica/Getty Images Recognize When You’re Criticizing Yourself Just for Feeling AnxiousShould/shouldn’t thinking traps are a common problem for anxiety-prone people. These can come in several varieties, virtually all of which can prolong and intensify rumination—for example, “I shouldn’t ever let anyone down,” which is an example of excessive responsibility taking.
Try to notice when you get caught in should/shouldn’t thinking traps in which you criticize yourself just for feeling anxious. For example, “I should be able to handle life much better” or “I shouldn’t get anxious about such little issues.” If this happens, give yourself compassion for the fact that you feel anxious, regardless of whether the anxiety is logical or not. Think of it this way: If a kid was scared of monsters, you wouldn’t withhold compassion and empathy just because the monsters aren’t real. Treat yourself with the same caring. A common mistake people make is to think they need to give themselves excessive encouragement, praise or pep talks while they’re feeling anxious—you don’t. Taking a patient and compassionate attitude about the fact you’re experiencing anxiety is an overlooked strategy that helps anxious feelings pass quickly.
Experiment: Try this: Switch out any shoulds hidden in your self-talk and replace them with prefer. For example, instead of saying “I should have achieved more by now” try “I would prefer to have achieved more by now.”
This is a simple, specific, repeatable example of how you can talk to yourself in a kinder, more patient way. These tiny self-interventions may seem ridiculously simple, but they work. They may not seem like they shift your anxiety to a huge degree; however, they can help you disrupt your rumination just enough to give you a small window of clear mental space. This allows you to start doing something useful rather than keep ruminating.
This adapted excerpt was taken from The Anxiety Toolkit: Strategies for Fine-Tuning Your Mind and Moving Past Your Stuck Points by Dr. Alice Boyes. Dr. Boyes is an emotions expert forWomen’s Health magazine (AU), and a popular blogger for PsychologyToday.com. You can get the first chapter of her book for free by subscribing to her blog updates here. She’s on Twitter @DrAliceBoyes.Published 05/14/2015
Read more: https://www.oprah.com/inspiration/strategies-for-getting-unstuck/all#ixzz74nVcgGG3
Check out Book 1, then 2. Book 3 will be out in a year or so.
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.
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A Letter Explaining the Reason Behind the Choice of Writing “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” as Historically-Based, Rather than Historical Fiction
via A Letter Explaining the Reason Behind the Choice of Writing “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” as Historically-Based, Rather than Historical Fiction
A Different Kind of Bio for My Intro to the Women at A Group Home – WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
Looking for Readers Willing to Review “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador”
The review only needs to be 2-3 sentences. If you are interested, email me at sherriemiranda1@aol.com. Let me know if you prefer a Mobi or a PDF.
It’s been a bit frustrating as I had three reviews recently that were NOT put on Amazon which is where many look for reviews even if they don’t buy from them. The reviews ended up in obscure places where they’ll never be seen.
The prequel to this novel “Crimes & Impunity in New Orleans” will be out in December.
Peace & justice for all,
Sherrie
An FB Connection tells me how much he loved “Secrets & Lies In El Salvador: Shelly’s Journey.”
I can only hope he will post this on Amazon, as well as other places! Sherrie
Dear Sherrie,
I just finished reading your novel. I really enjoyed it. What a page-turner. I completed it in only 4–really 3+1/2 days. I continually had to discover what happened to the characters next.
Far from being mere mouthpieces, they were each real human beings with all a real human being’s combination of gifts and flaws. These, possessed more gifts, of course!
Rather than the two dimensional story we all too often learn of on TV or in the newspapers, you made the struggle in El Salvador truly come alive–both the land herself and the people living there.
You wrote a very lovely, poignant and memorable tale. Through seeing my gushy, purple words, you can tell I am absolutely sincere in my words of congratulations.
Warmest regards, Michael