Hazel Moon Rocks the Spring Craft Fair

On March 25-26 Hazel Moon authors, Lori and I set up a booth at the annual Borzynski's Farms Spring Craft Fair!

Many vendors featuring wonderful crafts and food filled their indoor display area.

Outside the weather was spring-rain gloomy, but inside a good time was had by all.

Besides our novel, Hazel Moon, Lori and I made some craft homemade bookmarks and lunar wooden charms.

Yes, books were sold, but mainly it was wonderful connecting with so many wonderful people! We hope to be back next year!

Hazel Moon Rocks the North Shore Fair

Last Friday I found myself at the Radisson Hotel on Milwaukee's northeast side of town at the invitation of the North Shore Junior League sponsored craft fair and fundraiser.

I was on my own as coauthor and little sis, Lori, was off on an adventure to Memphis, Tennessee and Graceland with her guy, Elvis Tribute Artist, David E. Kirby, where David performed and they had a visit to Graceland as the Christmas season was launched by turning on the special light display there.

While in Memphis Lori's David ran into David Letterman's legendary band leader, Paul Shaffer!

At my Hazel Moon booth, #37, featured were perfumed gift boxes, designed by Lori and I, containing a copy of our book wrapped in cloth, a hand-decorated candle, and a moon Christmas tree ornament. Individual books and ornaments were also for sale.

My skills and experience in fragrance promotion sure came in handy as pretty much everyone that passed by got a greeting, a smile, a business card, and a few words about the wonderful novel that is Hazel Moon!

Right away I felt a comradery with the other nearby vendors. To my left the vendor was promoting the magic and healing power of various bracelets made of exotic rocks such as lapis lazuli. I was more than intrigued and bought a bracelet for myself and another as a Christmas gift.

In Hazel Moon the mineral tourmaline (see below) is referenced as having magical powers. To my right the ladies were promoting fitness training, and that's something my sister Lori and i are definitely into in a big way!

All in all the long day was a success as a number of gift boxes and individual books and ornaments were sold, many enthusiastic, supportive visitors to my booth talked to, and I felt the pride of offering a quality work of literary value to the members of the North Shore community of which I am apart!



TOURMALINE EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 2

She grabbed the jar of Tourmaline, taking in the spectrum of colors from its surface; jet black, sapphire blue, and deep violet, while forgetting for the moment Luna’s warning that some of Tourmaline’s colors can have unexpected, even dangerous properties.

Touching a corner of the stone inside the wide-mouthed jar, she chanted reverently, “Let the fates decide,” as a surge of energy snapped between them like a strong static carpet shock.

Striking a long, wooden match to light the antique ivory funeral candle, November passed the cerulean stone over and over the flame, anointed it first with water, then, performed the final purification with kosher sea salt, and all while chanting.

May air blow away negativity,
Fire burn away the dross,
Water bring tides of calm,
And air hold me steadfast.


TOURMALINE EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 3

Before the Camaro pulled away Luna thought, Oh folly…Tourmaline is tricky, depending on the color she chose. I never trusted that stone—too much medieval chemistry to consider.

NOVEMBER RAN BACK to the car, drenched in the summer rain and for some reason feeling so fresh and free, like a hitchhiker on Route 66 in 1956 heading to anywhere in a black-and-white road flick.
 
Bolstered by Luna’s promise of protection, she was undaunted at the grizzly sight of several shredded carcasses, bunny parts scattered all around the purple Camaro, like a jigsaw puzzle before you assemble the pieces. Tiny curved legs, earless faces, all skewed in death poses, middle sections missing, replaced only with blood stains. Was it a raccoon’s dinner, a feral cat’s doing, or was it an ominous sign?











 

North Shore Library - Celtic Lore Seminar

Yesterday was Día de los Angelitos, in the Spanish tradition, the "Day of the Angels."  As the legend goes, the veil separating the living and the dead becomes thin allowing our dear departed loved ones to reach out to us. Is it mere folk lore, fantasy, fairy tale, or, might there be some substance to the legend? 

Yesterday morning, gazing up into the sky during my morning walk with Jake, my yellow lab, I saw what to me felt like formations resembling my two angels, brother Mark and Lori's husband, Kent Parko. What I saw was more symbolic than some photo image, but when the clouds crossed I strongly felt the presence of these two dearly loved but now departed souls.

That same morning my sister, Lori, feeling the stress and pressure of a long series of days having to gear up for performances, forced herself to the gym and while there experienced an unexpected sense of peace and tranquility after gazing into the eyes of her brother, Michael, who was also there. For her, it was as if Mark or Kent or both had reached out through Michael's eyes to hug her. 

As the legend goes, if you put up an altar, light candles, display flowers & pictures, and have some of their favorite food items on plates, our Mark loved Hershey Bars, all this serves as an invitation for their spirits to visit and connect. Lori had done all that the night before while preparing for our North Shore Library seminar on the Celtic Samhain, Halloween, The Day of the Dead, and All Saints Day, and how Celtic lore was added to our novel, Hazel Moon. For Lori, it seemed as if the spirits of her beloved Mark & Kent did reach out to her.

Of course Día de los Angelitos followed Halloween on November 31st and today is Día de los Muertos or the "Day of the Dead." Last night Lori and I put on the seminar at the North Shore Library. I'd prepared by researching all the legends and lore surrounding Halloween for the many cultures who celebrate this time with a holiday tradition. 

I began talking about Celtic legends then, Lori went over to her Day of the Dead altar and explained the various items on the table and their significance.

Lori took some time to explain the inspiration of her husband's new wave band, Take Me, which led to having a band be the center of the action for our novel, Hazel Moon.

I, then, added more material about the background for Celtic lore, in particular, the Salmon of Knowledge legend.

 
When it was time for a reading from Hazel Moon we chose the Salmon of Knowledge scene and read it together, alternating roles.

During a lengthy Q&A we were able to share many more details about how the passing of our brother Mark and Lori's husband, Kent, led to writing our novel as a celebration of their lives and how our characters embody elements of all the people and activities in our lives which we dearly cherish.

The hour allotted to our seminar passed quickly and it turned out to be an inspirational, refreshing, and informative experience for all who attended!

Sisters Blend Magic, Music, and Mythology

Fox Point - Lisa and Lori Minneti are identical twin sisters who have done everything together.
They have been friends their entire lives, hanging out in the same social circle.
Now they have written a book together.

They will promote their book, "Hazel Moon," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, with a visit to North Shore Library.

In writing "Hazel Moon", they reminisced about their 20s, when their lives were defined by new wave music acts like Echo and the Bunnymen. They got into the band because of Lori's late husband, Kent Parco, who was in Take Me, a Racine new wave band that opened for Duran Duran and Cheap Trick. Their love of new wave music surpassed appreciation, more closely resembling devotion.

"We didn't want to be anywhere else than seeing Take Me," Lori said. "The music was everything."

In "Hazel Moon," the Minneti twins blend their love for new wave music with Lisa's interest in mysticism. The sisters plan to write a trilogy of books in the same style, influenced by alternative music and the 13 cycles of the Celtic moon. They are in the process of writing a book pairing the Hawthorn Moon and grunge music from the 1990s.

The main characters in "Hazel Moon" are November and Angela, outsiders who spend their day at the mall and are planning to head to an Echo and the Bunnymen show that night. The characters were based on their experience, although they said they don't identify with one character over another.

"There's things about them that are like us, but as we were writing them they took on a life of their own," Lisa said.

"There's magic that happens in the writing process where things which just evolve and all of a sudden it works," Lori added.

Lisa, of Fox Point, is an interior designer, and Lori is an actress, singer and host of "Builders Showcase" on Fox 6. Lisa said she first got the idea to write a novel when she saw a brochure at a library. They say they never really grew up, which is how they created a book that appeals to teens and young adults, as well as older readers who appreciate mysticism and 1980s nostalgia.

Giving Back to the Library Culture

Taking Hazel Moon Full Circle...Lisa here, I was near my home in Fox Point and decided to stop in to our local North Shore Library. Our novel, Hazel Moon, got its start in a similar library almost 10 years ago now, when after spending time in the library I noticed a brochure about how to write a novel. 

Ten years later, I was feeling the need to give back and so I approached the librarian, told them about our novel, and suggested that Lori and I hold a seminar where we discuss the Celtic legends and lore connected to our story. We were given an enthusiastic green light, I gave them some of our books to make available to check out, and we're in the process of setting up the date for the full-circle experience of giving something back to the library culture that has meant so much to both our lives and to the lives of countless other children and adults!

Great Minds...

When Lori and I decided on the name for our main Hazel Moon character, November Rainer Savitchian, the inspiration came from knowing a good friend who was Armenian and recognizing that many minorities feel the sting of discrimination during their lives. We wanted to address that issue through our character of November.

Well, I guess Great Minds Think Alike because...

Our recent Facebook post: 

CBS writers "borrowed" our character idea!! In the new CBS YA film, Middle School, an Armenian boy, Rafe Katchadorian, can't stand all the regimentation and rules and decides to rebel...sounds a little like our beloved rebel, November Rainer Savitchian!!! Go CBS!! Of course, James Patterson, the author of the Middle School book series came up with the idea first, but honestly we did not know about "Rafe" when creating our character, November.

Here's a summary of the series: Imaginative quiet teenager Rafe Katchadorian is tired of his middle school's obsession with the rules at the expense of any and all creativity. Desperate to shake things up, Rafe and his best friends have come up with a plan: break every single rule in the school and let the students run wild.

PS Note, the film is based on a bestselling book series, which reminds us that if we want our dream to come true, to have a film made based on our Hazel Moon series, we've got to find a wider and growing audience of avid readers!

Turner Hall - Echo and the Bunnymen Concert

Last night, Thursday, September 15, 2016, was the Eve of a Full Celtic Moon, by Celtic tradition, a Vine Moon, shining brightly on the iconic venue, Turner Hall, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Echo and the Bunnymen were playing a concert. We'd hoped to have more of our friends and family there, but early on we only bought a handful of tickets, then, the concert sold out. Yes, this band from the '80s is still relevant. Our gifted cover photographer, Larry Zamba, was in the house along with our publisher, and our dear friend, Kelly, who will play our character, Mrs. Casimir, when we produce our book trailer.

When Lori and I learned of the concert date a couple of months ago we could hardly believe our good fortune. In a magical example of Life Imitating Art, Echo and the Bunnymen, a central character in our novel, Hazel Moon, was performing at a music festival on the Eve of a Hazel Moon. By what magic did the actual band show up on an actual Eve of a Full Celtic Moon in the real world Lori and I live in? But that morsel of mystifying magic is just the beginning.

Lori chose a black leather dress and fishnet stockings. The dress was a gift 30 years earlier from the actual man who inspired the Cash Reynolds character in our novel. This guy was a gambler and whenever he won big he'd share his good fortune with his friends and family. The fishnets turned out to be the actual ones Lori wore for the Hazel Moon cover shot (see below).

On the drive to Turner Hall Lori was reminiscing about the past times she'd seen the band live. Thirty years ago, in 1983, The Bunnymen played a concert near our hometown, Racine, Wisconsin, at the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee. Lori wanted to go, expecting to run into Kent Parco, the mysterious bass player of Take Me, but without someone to go with her Lori ended up not going. Kent was there and later on at the show last night she ran into several people who had been to that Uptown concert!

Kent and Lori soon became an item and by the time she did see The Bunnymen live in concert, she was married to Kent and the concert took place in Chicago around the year 2002. Kent, a fine musician in his own right, a bass player with the local band, Take Me, had taken to The Bunnymen and their music inspired the song lyrics and style for his band. When Lori got married, the wedding band played a Bunnymen tune, "Do It Clean" which the band played last night! Some years later, when Kent died, which followed the passing of our brother, Mark, Lori and I began conceiving of a story, a novel where we could honor their memories and Hazel Moon was born.

For Lori the night was filled with nostalgia, fond memories of the good days with Kent and cherishing his connection to Echo and the Bunnymen. Last night Lori mentioned how wrong she was about Ian, the lead singer. Before she actually saw the band Lori had the impression that Ian was a nerd of sorts, in a good way, but last night she was blown away by his superstar status, charisma on stage, and his vocal musicianship. 

Being a singer herself, she noticed he had four choices of things to drink to sooth his throat. She also noticed that he'd protected his voice early on, but as he warmed up his voice got stronger and impressively stronger. Lori even suspected he'd cut way back on his smoking, once a feature of his brand and only noticed him taking a couple of drags on a cig during the concert. Last fall we'd taken a spontaneous road trip to Detroit, to the Fillmore, for an Echo concert. Lori remembered that Ian, imitating the artists' voices quite well, covered both Frank Sinatra and Elvis songs and we got the feeling he thought of himself as being quite the crooner! The writer in us pitched some ideas about a new novel focusing on The Bunnymen exploring the idea that Ian leaves the band to pursue a new kind of singing career.

Before the concert we'd actually connected with the band via email, told them about our book, got on the guest list, and even was given a small table from which to promote Hazel Moon. We absolutely believe it would be a win-win for the band to get behind our marketing efforts. During the concert Lori and I went up close to the stage and noticed a whole passel of younger female fans. There music is that good, classic, and now timeless and our book could help build their fan base among this new generation.

After the show, we managed to interest a number of fans in our book and even though we weren't supposed to, sold a copy to a guy who had not only been at that first Bunnymen concert in Milwaukee 30 years ago, but who just happened to be longtime buds with my guy, Jeff. We got a strong feeling that our novel would be a big hit with The Bunnyman fans...and there are thousands and thousands of them!! Let's hope the marketing seeds sown that night will take root!!!

All in all, we were encouraged and intend to keep putting ourselves and our wonderful novel, Hazel Moon, out there!

PS PIC

We were thrilled to have gotten enough attention from the band that they put us on their guest list for the concert. Here's the ticket envelope with Lori's name on it!!!