bloggers

New Blog Tour- Get to know a character in progress….or….?

/ Lori / 3 Comments

 

NEW BLOG TOUR  2014

GET TO KNOW MY MAIN CHARACTER

 

I’d like to thank  Micki Peluso, author of  “And the Whippoorwill Sang” https://www.facebook.com/AndTheWhippoorwillSang?ref=hl  , asked me to participate in this blog tour. To read her post, click on http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/ 

I’ve been asked to respond to the following questions about My Main Character in a work in progress. Although my character and book have reached their goal and completed the book. My overall goal is to continue to motivate, inspire and educate people on many things as exhibited below. My story has won two awards and the Discovery Channel did a mini documentary on it.

 

  1. What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person.

My character is me and this is a non-fiction book, this is my true story.

  1. When and where are the stories set?

They are set in America and Iran from my adoption at 6 months to my current status in 2009.

  1. What should we know about him/her?

I went thru physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, substance abuse and was finally put into a POW type camp in IRAN the day after 911. I was raped, beaten and starved x6wks, while handcuffed to another girl, Faresh from Bahrain. We eventually escape and this is a VERY GRAPHIC BOOK!

  1. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

I marry an Iranian who turns out to be a terrorist, and once in his country I can’t leave without his written permission. I eventually find out he’s a state sponsored terrorist who kills Iranian war vets so the govt. doesn’t have to deal with their injuries or payments.

  1. What is the personal goal of the character?

To enlighten the public to the ways of Middle Eastern culture (that was the goal of the book). The goal of myself in the book is to first escape the camp and make it back to America, and then come home to deal with PTSD as well as my other ailments. I screw up bad at first trying to drowned and drug my way out of my memories, then I meet a man who turned my life around 180 degrees. I finally enter rehab in 2008 and went on to write this book, and speak about my experience once a month at a rehab hospital, where it inspires other patients to escape the hell that substances create for you.

  1. When can we expect the book collection to be published?

It was published in July 2009.

The links for my book are below.

 

http://www.loris-song.com/ (WEBSITE) https://lorissong.com/ (BLOG) https://twitter.com/Loris_Song (TWITTER) https://www.facebook.com/lforoozandeh#!/lforoozandeh (FB) http://www.amazon.com/Lori-Foroozandeh/e/B002NSC2DU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 (My book on AMAZON)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se-NTRWCJIU  (DISCOVERY CHANNEL/ go to 28 minute mark)

 

Below is the author and his bio that I’ve asked to participate in this blog tour.

 

Bio for Jim Secor

 

Jim Secor thought he would advance his theatre career by giving up 11 years of live theatre production and writing by going off to get a PhD. Little did he know! Like nowhere else, it’s out of sight out of mind. He worked with the Lifers at KS State Penn and did summer vaudeville and somehow he got the doctorate, with no little fight and stress, and wrote a ground-breaking, though not academically enchanting, and dissertation on women and morals in theatre. Then he studied, post PhD, at the National Puppet Theatre of Japan while writing Tanka and managing an honorable mention in a national competition. Illness forced a return to the States where he worked in disability until he was forced out, blacklisted–some people just don’t know when to stop, I swear. Seven years in China followed–not teaching ESL–with multiple productions, including an all-female Lysistrata that, by Jimsecor’s standards, was the worst thing he’s ever done, TV commercials, a documentary and the publication of poems in a major journal. He was commissioned for a film and a play; the play was not liked, the film was deemed unable to pass the censors, so they never saw the light of day. Via Liverpool, he returned to the US and publication in The Speed of Dark and his own book, Det. Lupée: The Impossible Cases. He can be found on Linkedin and at http://labelleotero.wordpress.com along with Minna Vander Pfaltz, while his essays are sprinkled all over the internet. Jimsecor’s email is hellecchino@eclipso.com. Lord, lord, lord–what does Helleccino mean?

 

 

 

Fellow bloggers….a category for you!

/ Lori / 3 Comments

Fellow bloggers and friends, I’d like to start a category for all my friends and bloggers who might have something important to say.  Not saying that EVERYTHING you say is important.  But when it is something you urge to be shared or if it touches me in that way that only some things can, I will re-post your blog entry or award here.  If you go to the categories I will add “BLOGGERS & FRIENDS”.

The first addition to the new category is Micki Peluso’s  recent interview.

I hope we all utilize this category to the best of it’s ability and share those things that are really IMPORTANT to get out and/or something that just needs to be said somewhere else besides on your blog.  I thank you and I hope this is a good idea.

Lori

Hellllloooo 2013!

/ Lori / 1 Comment

 

Hi all,

I hope everyone feels refreshed and ready to start the New Year.  Nows the time to forget all those past mistakes and habits and time to get new ones.

You can never take back what you’ve said or done but what you can do is change your life so you never repeat those mistakes again.  I’m bipolar and it took me most of my life before I was diagnosed.  (That was in 2006), thanks to my hubby John.

He never gave up on me once he met me.  He met me while I was a stripper and going thru a hard time in life with drugs and not caring. (After I returned from IRAN).  I’m not excusing my behavior but at the time I didn’t care what I did, I never tried to hurt anyone but I was destroying myself.  My friend Jenni knew this guy named “John”, and he would come into the bar and talk to her.  I know this sounds excusing but John had been married 26 years in a basically feelingless marriage.  It was at the point they didn’t talk to each other they didn’t sleep together, but they had a wonderful son and didn’t want to ruin his life….or view of.   I met John on September 24th, 2005, by June 2006, he had filed for divorce and I was living with him.  But that did not come easy by any means.

The first time I met him was “brief” to say the least but there was something about that first kiss that just made me sit there and say “WOW” to myself….of course I couldn’t let him know I was interested, by doing that would be breaking all the rules.  I had been hurt deeply, not once or twice but four times.  Now after Mohammad I thought I would never love again, ever.  So everytime John came over I would turn off the lights and make him “THINK” I wasn’t home.  But he knew better, he had become more familiar with my actions than I ever thought one could in such a short time.   He would stand outside and knock and knock and yell, “Lori I know your in there”……and after about 15 minutes I’d finally answer the door.  I had to get ready and make sure I looked perfect (well as perfect as I could get myself) before I’d answer the door.  That would involve hair, makeup and clothing.

You also have to know at the time, I wore a hair extension (clip in) and lots of make-up and was stripping, so I didn’t look half bad.

If you go to the bottom of my website you can see what I mean about looking much better back then.   www.loris-song.com

John finally talked me into getting rid of the hairpiece and going au natural.  He said he would love me no matter what I looked like because I had a good heart, and was a good person, but I apparently just didn’t know this about me at the time.

Anyway he stuck it out with me, got me through rehab, got me treated for bipolar and went through all the flashbacks and seizures I had due to my brain trauma suffered in the camp.    He also went through a couple suicide attempts I made, of which one included drinking bleach.  He sold his business to stay home and take care of me, because he knew I was going through that time which a nervous breakdown was occuring, because I was just realizing and internalizing what happened to me in the camp.   For the longest time I tried to shrug it off, buck up and be strong.  I didn’t want anyone pitying me.  But I guess finally meeting someone who showed such caring and affection to me after all I put him through made me realize it was ok and safe to be sad over what happened to me.    I thank GOD for him everyday of my life.  And since I’ve met him I don’t want to end my life anymore either:)

He really is my KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR!  And if I had to go through all this again just to meet him, I WOULD!  I love you John.

With that I will say I only wish the best for all of you in 2013.  I am going to try to be happier, and less bitchy.  What some people don’t understand about BIPOLAR is that it’s a MOOD DISORDER not a mental illness.  We can not control our ups and downs and the medication just decreases the severity of it and the occurences.  I have learned that there will never be a day that I wake up HAPPY, I have to work at it.  Alot of you don’t understand this, but I think BIPOLAR people are born mad, sad and skeptical.  Any other emotion we must work for, especially if it is a GOOD ONE:)

I will try to make 2013 better than last year, and if I don’t interact on the blogs with you as much as I should, it’s because BIPOLAR people are by nature NOT SOCIABLE.  When someone comes to our door, we do a low roll over to the edge of the window and hope were hidden and when that person leaves we wipe our head (whew) and congratulate ourselves for getting thru that close call.

Most people go for walks and look at people to interact with, we look at the ground.  It’s not that we don’t want to interact, I think more that it’s we DON”T KNOW HOW, we are socially born AWKWARD at socializing.   But anyway…if you want to know more about BIPOLAR and it’s jokes on how we live (that may give you a better idea on us) this link might help with it’s cute cartoons.

https://www.facebook.com/TryingToMakeSenseOfThisBipolarMind

And here is a post I recently did that might help you understand:)

https://www.facebook.com/TryingToMakeSenseOfThisBipolarMind#!/TryingToMakeSenseOfThisBipolarMind/posts/464970476900217?notif_t=like

In a synopsis, I wish you well, I wish you love, I wish you greatness, but in the absence of any of this, just know I will always be your friend….Lori F. 1-2013

“Lori’s Song” on E-Book

/ Lori / 1 Comment

I just would like everyone to know that my book “Lori’s Song” is available on E-Book as well as Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover.  This is my authors page with the available links

http://www.outskirtspress.com/lorissong/

I also have a YOUTUBE video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j85rYnZ4YYU

This is my link to my Bronze Readers Favorite Award:

http://readersfavorite.com/review/2542

If there are ANY questions you have regarding the book, obtaining it or other please contact me and put LORIS SONG in the subject line.  lori@loris-song.com

Thanks all, I appreciate your support more than I can express in words.

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Liebster Blog Award

/ Lori / 1 Comment
The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. This award is the “favorite blog award.”
The rules for this one state that you answer the 11 questions asked of you by the Blogger who gave you this award. These would be questions for me from Rosemary aka Mamie.
I really appreciate your nomination – Thank you very much!!!
This is a repost due to my last blog disappearing on me.   But rest assured I am the MASTER OF MY OWN DOMAIN NOE!:)
These were my 11 questions with my answers that Rosemary asked those that she gave the award to, me being one of the LUCKY ones.
1. What or who influenced you to write? My experience in Iran. Then I realized I
had more to give than just that, my life was an experience to be shared and
hopefully inspire others to overcome their “demons”.

2. Are you
currently working on another book? No

3. What is your favorite past
time? Playing with my two “kitties”. well they are actually cats but will always
be my “kitties”. They were there for me all the time I was writing this book.
That is why some of the profits of my book goes towards HSUS. Pets are wonderful
and love you no matter WHAT!

4. If you could travel anywhere in the
world, where would it be and why? I don’t think I would go anywhere outside of
the USA due to what happened to me in Iran. It really made me appreciate what a
great country we have and shouldn’t take our freedoms or rights for granted. Nor
should we abuse or manipulate them.

5. What advise would you give
someone that is thinking about writing a book? Do an online search and review
the comments on the publisher that your going to sign with. Whether it’s a print
on demand publisher or a well-known one, always check out their references and
track records.

6. If you had to select a public office to hold, what
would you choose for yourself and why? None, it’s too complicated. Politics are
just too upsetting for me after what I had to deal with when I was in Dubai
asking our USA embassy to help me get back home. They made me sign a
non-disclosure agreement just to get home. Thank God once getting here we have
freedom of speech so that non-disclosure agreement meant nothing.

7.
Do you have any hobbies? Not really, I am on the computer alot, ALOT more since
I’ve joined this site and started meeting other people with the same interest.
And I also just started a gym…but we will hold out on that decision to make it
a hobby until after my circuit training today:)

8. Where is your
favorite restaurant and favorite food to eat?
I don’t really have one. If I
went on the choice of desserts alone I’d have to say BIG BOY, their fudge
brownie sundae is to die for! Thats my fallback…desserts!

9. What is
your fondest memory?
When John kept being so persistent even though I was
ignoring him for a relationship. I never thought I’d be in love again and didn’t
trust ANYONE, then he sold his John Deere Dealership so he could stay home and
take care of me after I returned from Iran…

10. What is your favorite
movie or TV series? Big Bang Theory

There you go, now what is next in
order to claim the award, and what award button are you talking about…remember
I’m naieve to these sites on blogs:)

11. What is your reason for
writing?

Let’s BLOG together!

/ Lori

This site is to share thoughts and views with other authors on subjects such as: PTSD, Depression, Bipolar, Substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse and other meaningful topics that we all can learn, contribute to or just utilize as a tool to get to know one another:)

I’ve written my true story on my captivity in Iran during 911.  My book details my childhood of abuse, my four years in Iran living with a terrorist, and my journey home. But the journey had just begun upon arriving on American soil.  But it was one worth taking and fighting for.  I hope we all become good blogging “buddies” and learn, talk but are respectful of one another.  I appreciate you coming to visit.