Interview with Author Michele Harvey

My guest today is Michele Harvey.  Hello, Michele!  Welcome to Writing in the Modern Age!  It’s such a pleasure to have you.

Can you tell us a little bit about your book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
  

My book, From Confusion To Clarity: Vital Personal Growth in 30 Days or Less, came out in September 2012. This is a book about personal growth and applied spirituality. My book offers 30 simple, user-friendly activities designed to shift the reader from confusion to a place of clarity in one month or less. I truly believe this book can help anyone who is stuck in any area of their lives, to some extent. The book is available everywhere as an E book (iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, etc). From Confusion To Clarity: Vital Personal Growth in 30 Days or Less is also available in print through Createspace.com but better yet, order it through my website @ http://micheleharveyauthor.com (where you can find out more about the book and also receive a signed copy). 


Is there anything that prompted From Confusion to Clarity? Something that inspired you? 


In 2011, I experienced some catastrophic life changing events which motivated me to take an online course with the author of Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch. During the online course, I realized some things that were so profoundly helpful to me. My entire life has changed as a result of the new thinking that emerged, and my ability to apply it. Since I am a writer, I found myself wanting to share with as many folks as possible, (particularly those who are suffering and looking for a way to make sense of their lives, and the world), these applicable tools which resulted from my shift in perspective. To find out more please check out some of my You Tube videos where I discuss extensively, who, what, when, where, why, and how, From Confusion To Clarity was written.  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYrJznk7...  

So, when did you know you wanted to write?  Or has it always been a pastime of yours?

Writing is my life and my passion. I have worked as a journalist, and a freelance writer and I am also a published poet. Poetry is the music of my soul. Poetry for Living an Inspired Life: Poems as Spiritual Meditation is now available @ http://micheleharveyauthor.com/books/ and on Amazon Kindle.

What kind of books do you like to read?


The list is endless. In particular, I enjoy books on contemporary spirituality by authors like Eckhart Tolle, Neale Donald Walsch, Pema Chodren, and many others. I also adore poetry, and have many, many favorite poets. I am fond of classical literature, philosophy, mysteries, biographies, and well-written science fiction.  

Do you write in a specific place?  Time of day? 




I can write any place, as long as it is quiet. When I wrote From Confusion To Clarity, I needed to have the book finished in three months.  In order to meet the deadline,  I woke up early every morning, did my morning meditation, and immediately sat down to write. As a poet, time really does not exist to me. When a poem comes through, it is written, and that can occur at any “time.”

Are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers?  Any advice?   



A writer is someone who writes, not someone who talks about writing, and doesn’t write. Just do it. If you plan to share your writing with the world, you will need to learn to separate yourself from your writing, and to take suggestions. It is important not to become too attached to your work.

Find a good mentor or writing workshop. Craft is crucial because anyone who has learned to write in the first grade can write. The difference between a writer and an artist, is more than just talent. Unless you are a prodigy, without training, no matter how plentiful your gifts, you will not be able to offer them fully.

Well-trained, well connected, creative writers read, dissect, and imitate the best writers (in their genre) and in the English language (at very least). I recommend writing workshops because in an optimal workshop setting, writers work together in a group with a trained facilitator where they constructively critique one another’s writing in a safe, and highly creative environment void of judgment. If you can’t study with someone, read as much as possible. Read a lot. Learn to read like a writer. The more you read, the more your writing can improve.

Thanks, Michele.  

So, readers, here is the blurb for From Confusion To Clarity: Vital Personal Growth in 30 Days or Less. 



“This is a wonderful book to have by your side knowing there is hope, that you are not alone and that there is another way to approach life that can bring you peace in all adversity.”  -  Chantal Herman- contributing author of  Pearls of Wisdom with Jack Canfield and Marci Shimoff  

Here is an excerpt.

I learned that it is possible not to suffer, even when you are in pain. On another level, I became able to understand that life has a plan and that life always works through circumstances and everyone in those circumstances, exactly the way it should.

You may not believe in God or a higher power. If you do, you may not understand that nothing is required of you to seek and have your questions answered, to learn to make your life work and to find or re-claim, love and happiness, which everyone naturally seeks, because it is our birthright.

Perhaps you feel that a higher power exists but is too far away or that you are undeserving, which is certainly the way I had always felt. Maybe you believe that you have to practice a particular religion or have particular beliefs, or live a certain lifestyle in order to be worthy of the Divine. I have learned, the Divine is always within easy reach, though it often seems otherwise.

If we use the example of an overseas flight, the trip from Los Angeles to Tokyo takes 12 hours and spans a distance of 5,000 miles. The distance seems great until you log onto your computer while sitting in Los Angeles, to instantaneously chat with your friend, who happens to be in Tokyo. Suddenly distance disappears. There are no obstacles to your communication. The only things you need are the tools, in this case, a computer, a connection and the ability to express your thoughts and feelings.

You don’t have to understand the inner-workings of the internet, you only have to connect, to reach out, and then you realize the distance is a matter of perception. Your friend is suddenly there with you in the room. In having a conversation with The Divine, your reach can extend beyond the horizons of heaven.

There are times when it is necessary

to have a heart that's broken
for the opening it leaves
where something larger dwells


Author Bio
  

Michele Harvey is an inspirational author, published poet, and journalist, on a mission to promote positive change in people’s lives and in today’s world. Her own life experience which includes the loss of a child shows us through the use applied spiritual principles, that by simply changing the way we think, we can drastically improve every aspect of our lives.

Michele’s writing competence consists of writing books, poetry and online publications. In her book, From Confusion to Clarity, Michele combines her eloquent story telling style with her beautiful poetry to take the reader on a journey of spiritual rebirth.

Michele is a talented public speaker, TV personality, and radio show guest. She is available to share her insights from her story as a public speaker by request. To contact her for your event, email her at clarity@confusionends.com

As part of her life adventure, Michele lived in Chile for two and a half years where she worked as an English teacher and a journalist for a local newspaper. She is proficient in Spanish.

She has lived and worked in various parts of the world and currently resides in New Mexico.

Michele’s mission is to help people return to or remember their own essence, to help them realize their unlimited potential, regardless of external circumstances, people and events. 

Website:  http://micheleharveyauthor.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MicheleHarveyAuthorPoet
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=24115835&locale=en_US&trk=tyah