#AuthorInterview with Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. about his #Book #GoddessOfEverything and his other profession in #Psychotherapy @pdblaassieiii @HenryRoiPR

Interview with Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D.

Thanks to Roi PR, I have an interview I conducted with author Paul De He is both author and a depth psychologist. I am pleased to present to you an interview that encompasses both and how one influences the other. We also talk about his latest book – Goddess of Everything. Discover what the book is about after finding out a bit about him and the fascinating answers within the interview.

Please join me in welcoming Paul to my blog as he introduces himself before he is interviewed and introduces his book. Thank you!

Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. is a depth psychologist and award-winning writer living in his native New Mexico, crafting metaphysical thrillers energized with trickster mischief and natural magic. His novels, visionary thrillers, delve deep into archetypal realities as they play out dramatically in the lives of everyday people. Metaphysical dramas set in the mythopoeic realm of Aztlan open vistas of danger, conflict and potential transformation. Good and evil are pivotal arenas for unfolding tales of the supernatural.

Together with visionary/metaphysical novels, he also writes blogs and archetypal essays on trauma, dreams, spirituality, and intuition. As a native New Mexican, he has been deeply influenced by the mestizo myth of Aztlan, its surreal beauty and natural magic. Memberships include the Author’s Guild, the Depth Psychology Alliance, the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and the International Association for Jungian Studies.

Paul’s writing is informed by his personal and clinical understanding of the unconscious mind. Treating patients in depth psychotherapy for over thirty-five years has inspired stories about human conflict and transformation in the areas of love, relationships, and spirituality. Stories imbued with archetypal symbolism and narrative drama affect the unconscious mind in potentially transformative ways. Inspirational essays in consciousness and depth psychology move into realms of both darkness and hope that can open mystic paths of human experience.

Website: https://www.pauldeblassieiii.com/home/

1. Goddess of Everything is billed to be a”tale of a Mother’s affection for her son, and her son’s struggle for truth, freedom, and love. What prompted such strong themes and to make it blood curdling in nature?

Dark religion and the archetype of the devouring mother fit hand-in-glove. I work with patients suffering from the dark side of religion, the story dramatizing human struggle, often terrifying and nightmarish, to find a way through the horrors of mother love gone bad. It’s especially scary when the mother is revered —religious and “holy.”

2. You’ve mixed the supernatural with religion within the main body of your book. How did this conception come about?

As a psychotherapist, I’ve specialized in treating religious trauma. When the mind is scarred

by religion, the dark side of archetypal/spiritual realities and energies run rampant. My books dramatize decades of helping people deal with emotional and supernatural dynamics that speak to trauma as healer or slayer.

3. You have a character – Gabriél De LaTierra who is a psychiatric healer. What interests you most about this part of psychiatry?

Psychological issues always harbor an underlying spiritual charge. Body, mind,

and soul act in union. Freud wrote that the psyche is a body/psyche. Jung added that the psyche is also a spiritual psyche, my books popping out dreams, spirits, and synchronous events as both shocking and potentially life changing.

4. This leads me onto your fascinating sounding profession of Depth Psychiatry. What led you into this profession and this particular specialism, which Carl Jung also followed many years before?

The unconscious mind intrigued me since I was 16 and read C.G. Jung, Freud, and William James in the Varieties of Religious Experience. Following in their footsteps, I became a depth psychologist and writer.

5. What is it that fascinates you about the inner workings of the human mind and the healing of it?

Ahhh…. The mind is ever unfolding, surprising, and potentially healing. Dreams and the natural magic of life have their own language. You get a sense of the unconscious mind and its magical ways in my stories. I’ve been told that reading them revs up your dreams and opens the mind to startling imaginal worlds.

6. How does the fact you are a psychologist influence your writing?

The psyche saturates every page of my stories, images flowing from my unconscious to the reader’s. The lure and thrill, reviewers have said, is palpable.

7. Are you working on anything just now and where can people find your book?

Seer: the case of the man who lost his soul is the latest book I’m working on. It should be out in about a year. My books are all on Amazon. Thanks for these thoughtful questions and the opportunity to be with you and your readers, Louise.

About the Book

A blood-curdling tale of a Mother’s affection for her son, and her son’s struggle for truth, freedom, and love.
From the multi-award-winning author of Goddess of the Wild Thing, comes an unforgettable, chilling story that will haunt your nightmares.

In the mystic land of Aztlan del Norte, a realm of supernatural happenings and unexpected turns of fate, psychiatric healer Gabriél de LaTierra encounters evil within the Orphanage of the Holy Innocents. Children disappear for reasons kept secret by Mother Juana de la Cruz, Superior of the Nunnery and the Orphanage.

Love for Mother Juana, his widowed mother turned religious superior, clouds Gabriél’s mind. His wife, Consuela, tries to confront his wall of denial.

Torn between his love for mother and wife, Gabriél turns inward.

Through Consuela, Gabriél discovers the nighttime blood sacrifice of children in the desert — a centuries-old ritual that imparts immortality to Mother and her nuns. This knowledge places Gabriél’s family in danger. Consuela is attacked and their four-year-old son kidnapped.

Can he find a way to save his wife and son in time?
Will he have the strength to do what’s right, even if it means going against his beloved Mother?

“A vibrant, dramatic and disturbing novel packed with religious fervour, magic realism, and horror.”

“Intriguing and unique, Goddess of Everything is a story about a boy growing up with a mother who is both spiritual and evil . . . satisfying ending . . . well done!

#HappyNewYear #2023. Here are a number of #Fiction and #NonFiction Books in many genres I highly #Recommend from #2022 #BookRecommendations #BookReviews #BookWrap

I have reviewed many books in 2022 and what a privilege it has been too. Here are some that I highly recommend out of the many books I have reviewed in 2022. I also have included links to my full no spoiler reviews where you’ll also find the blurbs. The mix of crime fiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, memoirs are in no particular order. Please also feel free to explore my blog for other great book reviews, author interviews and talks and theatre reviews.

The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures By Holly Hepburn – An antique shop, antiques, a mysterious puzzle box, a trip to Egypt, a mention of the Canarvon Family (think the real Downton Abbey), all wrapped up in a wonderful book full of splendid characters.
Holly Hepburn has a new book coming this year that I will also be reviewing.

Check out the blurb and my review in the link: The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures

Suicide Thursday By Will Carver explores this and the darker corners of society. It’s a compulsive read with intriguing characters – Mike, Jackie and Eli. Will Eli leave a hated job and get past writing chapter 1 of a novel? What is written in texts? Find out the answers to these and more in Suicide Thursday.

Link to blurb and review –Suicide Thursday

All About Evie By Matson Taylor is a humorous second book to the much talked about The Miseducation of Evie Epworth that was a Radio 2 book club pick. There’s much humour mixed with poignancy and sadness. Find out what happens at a sound check at Broadcasting House, her friend, Caroline and life’s mishaps and incidents. It’s highly engaging. Find the blurb and review in the link: All About Evie

Yes, I Killed Her By Harry Fisher s full of chilling suspense. The question isn’t who, but it is how. How did a murderer commit such a calculated crime. Is it as perfect as he thinks? Here is a link to the blurb and full review. Remember, I’m not going to disclose the answers to those questions. That’s for you to discover yourselves: Yes, I Killed Her

Verity Vanishes By A.B. Morgan is book 3 of The Quirk Files. The books can be read as part of the series or as standalone as the cases each complete by the end of the book. The Quirks are quirky private investigators.

There are secrets to uncover, including who was Verity, why has she vanished and why is a tv station so interested in this particular case? It’s intriguing with wit. See blurb and review in the link –Verity Vanishes

Touching, haunting and a darn good unputdownable read. It takes place between Glasgow and H.M. Polmont Prison in Central Scotland. It’s gripping getting to know about what revelations unfold in Ginger and Wendy’s personalities and what happens to them. It’s a book of obsession and friendship and more in this contemporary fictional book… Find out more in the link to the blurb and my full review: Ginger And Me

The Homes By J.B. Mylet is set in an orphanage village in Scotland. Follow the lives of Lesley, Jonesy and Eadie, all from their points of views. How safe is The Homes? Murder strikes and everything changes in this fast-paced, immersive page-turner. It’s fiction based on a true story. Find out more in the link: The Homes

Remember Me by Charity Norman is gripping and addictive as the layers build up to discover what has happened to Leah, who has disappeared.

The book also follows Felix, who has Alzheimer’s. It’s authentically and sensitively written. Discover the blurb and the rest of my thoughts in the link: Remember Me

Should I Tell You By Jill Mansell is enthralling in both setting and the relationships between all the characters. Meet Lachlan, a chef in high demand and Peggy, a formidable, yet fun woman who puts up a credible argument as to why he should follow her to Cornwall to cook his amazing food. Also meet Amber, Lachlan, Rafaelle and Vee as you step into idyllic scenery. Is all well though? What would you make of the mysterious letter? Find out more in my link about this beautiful, compelling book that perfectly captures the lives of its characters, who are concealing truths. Should I Tell You

White Christmas on Winter Street has all the festive feel-good vibes you can want. Unearth the treasures in Corner House in Middledip. It’s a rather moving book as Heather returns to discover new friends and old. Find out more in the link: White Christmas on Winter Street

The Little Wartime Library By Kate Thompson is about a courageous librarian who took Bethnal Green Library underground during World War 2. It is fascinating and is fiction based on fact. Lots of research was done, including asking librarians, including me, many questions that then formed the basis of the central character. The Little Wartime Library

The Locked Away Life by Drew Davies is about 2 people who are seemingly poles apart. 1 is becoming practically a recluse and increasingly elderly, the other, much younger in need of a job, which is how they meet. Little do they know they need each other more than they thought they would. It’s a heartwarming story. Find out more in the link: The Locked AwayLife

Love Untold by Ruth Jones is uplifting, emotional and endearing, It crosses the generations from a teenager right up to a 90 year old. It’s well observed in all the complexities of life and interactions.
Discover more such as the blurb and my review in the link. Love Untold

The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre puts readers on an island. There’s a hen party set on a Scottish island. In some ways it’s a bit like And Then There We’re None by Agatha Christie, but there are also many differences.

There are frictions amongst the guests and things take a sinister turn. It’s a well-observed book in the way relationships are between the characters and what happens when people are on a remote island. Everyone has a secret and no one is safe. Find out more in the blurb and the rest of my thoughts in the review: The Cliff House

Cat Lady By Dawn O’Porter is very humorous but also very poignant and thought provoking. Within the book, wrapped in the cuteness of a cat, there is a great human story too and both together makes this quite different and compelling. There are 5 parts to Cat Lady – Mother, Career Woman, Animal, Wife, Cat Lady. Follow Mia and Tristan through the ups and downs of life. Mia is especially more than you would perhaps assume she is… Here is the link to the blurb and full review: Cat Lady

Thrown is a debut novel by Sara Cox. It’s heartwarming and uplifting at a pottery class. It’s about community pulling together and friendships forming. There are elements that may well tug at your heartstrings. Here is the link to the blurb and review: Thrown

The Cruise by Catherine Cooper takes place on the most luxurious cruise-liner. The type that would be a holiday of a lifetime. Something mysterious happens and it is compelling to travel around to try to fit together all the pieces to discover how they all fit together and some truths. Here is the link to the blurb and full review. The Cruise

Keeping A Christmas Promise By Jo Thomas is about 4 friends who have known each other for 25 years. Tragedy happens to one of them, meaning it is up to 3 of them to keep their bucketlist promise- to see the northern lights at Christmas. With themes of friendship, mortality and strength to carry on in the face of adversity and community, it’s an entertaining, heartwarming book. Here is the link to the blurb and full review. Keeping A Christmas Promise

The Echoes of Love By Jenny Ashcroft transports readers to the 1930’s to the 1940’s and then to 1970’s. It takes readers into the depths of love and war and how it reverberates years later. The book is set between Portsmouth in the UK and Crete. It is a story of war and love. A story unfolding at the BBC Broadcasting House. It is fascinating, poignant and beautifully written. Here is the link to my original review and the blurb. The Echoes of Love

Cooking the Book by various authors published by Hobeck Books also raised money for the Trussell Trust. It’s various short stories, each taking on a different sub-genres of crime fiction. Each also has a recipe you can create by each author. Here is the link to all the details Cooking The Books

The Language of Food is fiction based on fact. It takes reader into the life of a little known woman, by many, called Eliza Acton. She changed the course of cookery forever and when today’s cooks come across her, they are inspired by her story and style and have been influenced greatly by her. Annabel Abbs now opens up her life in this very interesting book. Here is the link to discover more: The Language of Food

Create Your Own Indoor Green by Joe Swift who is also an expert gardener on Gardeners World and various other programmes. The book is an easy step by step guide to indoor plants. It quite literally has everything you need to know, whether you’re getting started or already have indoor plants as there’s always more knowledge to be gained. There are handy hints and tips as well as growing and caring for them. I actually bought this for a friend after reviewing it and she is delighted. Find out the blurb and review in the link: Joe’s Create Your Own Indoor Green

Women Like Us By Amanda Prowse, is a memoir where she sheds light and insight into her life, which many women will be able to relate to or understand, perhaps more than they may first expect. It’s a highly interesting read.
Women Like Us

One Night on The Island introduces readers to Cleo. She works for the magazine – Women Today and has an unusual assignment to do. Directed by her boss, Ali, the assignment is to marry herself (or self-coupling or sologamy) on a remote island. She has a few reservations to say the least. It’s an entertaining story with lots of heart and warmth. One Night On the Island

Mothers and Daughters By Erica James is a compelling story of family life and revelations. Families can be more complex than what they may first appear to be in this sweeping family drama. Mothers and Daughters

Marion Crawford, a bright, ambitious young teacher, is ready to make her mark on the world. Until a twist of fate changes the course of her life forever…
This mixes fact and fiction with Marion and the UK Royal Family in a fascinating way, about a woman not everyone knows much about. The Good Servant

Wolf Pack By Will Dean is a Scandi-Noir.

Tuva Moodyson has a case on her hands to solve with Thord and Chief Björn.
Elsa Nyberg is reported as being missing and chillingly, Rose Farm has quite the history of deadly things happening there, involving a family. It’s a gripping page-turner. Here is the link to the full review and blurb. Wolf Pack

The Empire By Michael Ball is exquisitely theatrical, after all, that is his background. It takes readers back in time to the glitz and glamour of 1922, where you’ll meet Jack Tredwell and a whole host of other cast. There are secrets and the future of the theatre itself is in jeopardy. It’s a page turner! Here’s my link to the blurb and rest of the review The Empire

#Review By Lou of Every Family Has A Story By Julia Samuel #JuliaSamuel @penguinlife @penguinrandom #NonFiction #Families #MentalHealth

Every Family Has A Story
By Julia Samuel

Every Family Has A Story is emotional, fascinating and insightful all in one gulp. At a time when some families find dealing with family challenging, they may find this useful. It’s a book for all year round and covers a lot. Discover more in the blurb and the rest of my thoughts in the review below.

Blurb

Why do some families thrive in adversity while others fragment? How can families weather difficult transitions together? Why do our families drive us mad? And how can even small changes greatly improve our relationships?

In Every Family Has a Story, bestselling psychotherapist Julia Samuel turns from her acclaimed work with individuals to draw on her sessions with a wide variety of families, across multiple generations. Through eight beautifully told and insightful case studies, she analyses a range of common issues, from loss to leaving home, and from separation to step-relationships, and shows how much is, in fact, inherited — and how much can be healed when it is faced together.

Exploring the relationships that both touch us most and hurt us most, including the often under-appreciated impact of grandparents and siblings, and incorporating the latest academic research, she offers wisdom that is applicable to us all. Her twelve touchstones for family well-being — from fighting productively to making time for rituals — provide us with the tools to improve our relationships, and to create the families we wish for.

This is a moving and reassuring meditation that, amid trauma and hardship, tells unforgettable stories of forgiveness, hope and love.

Review

Every Family Has a Story is an apt title. This is so true. There’s love, loss, joy, sadness, past and present in every family. Julia Samuel is a therapist and by the kindness and careful thought of a few families, she has compiled their stories together to create this fascinating book, that shows how interconnected families are. They are the life-blood of so much, whether its a traditional nuclear family or not.

There are families experiencing grief, trying to find someone, trying to adopt and so many more situations and so much more… The families come from all sorts of backgrounds, religions, relationships, mental health illnesses, physical illnesses. Each seeking help in a way that they haven’t all done before, by having a psychotherapist.

It is insightful in that you get to see a bit of Julia Samuel’s work and how a psychotherapist works and treats clients and work out what may work with each individual and each family.
It is also insightful as to how much, in such fragile situations, her clients are willing to open up and tell and show so much. She, in-turn, seems to have won her clients trust.

It’s a book that is impactful and will hold much interest for many families, and certain elements may strike a chord or inform.

#Review By Lou of. Where Is My Smile? By Natalie Reeves Billing @BillingReeves @LoveBookTours #ChildrensBook #Wellbeing #PictureBook

Where Is My Smile
By Natalie Reeves Billing
Illustrated By Hannah Jesse

Where Is My Smile? is charmingly illustrative with an engrossing story children can engage with and adults can use as a conversation starter about emotions.

Natalie Reeves Billing has many successful books, including the Monsterous Me series for young children.

Thanks to Love Books Group for the book and review opportunity. Discover more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

A beautifully illustrated picture book about mental health for young readers. Where Is My Smile? is the story of a little boy who can’t find his smile anywhere. He searches and searches, but it’s nowhere to be found. Where could his smile be? This delightful picture book is perfect as a bedtime story, and to help little children understand that it’s okay to be sad sometimes, but we can always find our way through it. Where Is My Smile? is the first in a new series of picture books from Natalie Reeves Billing focused on children’s mental health.

Review

This is a well illustrated book of a boy who is very sad. He knows he has a smile, but it appears to be lost. He searched for it around the house. He sees the rest of his family with smiles, but he can’t seem to fin his. Even the rainy weather means the sun has lost its smile… until one day, it all changes and smiles are back.
It’s a simple story where children can have fun looking for the boy’s lost smile and guessing where it may be and how he finds it. It is clear, not only in the blurb, but also in the construct of the story, that with a pinch of ingenuity, it can also be used as a simple conversation starter to engage with children who are sad or becoming depressed. The book holds a lot of family love and a solution to what makes the boy in the story happy.

The illustrations are bold and fun as well as meaningful in a way that will also help children engage with emotions, as well as easily follow the story.

It, in conjunction with other books and support, will be a valuable tool for any parent and an enjoyable story for many young children as they learn about their own emotions and those of others, so it also then brings some empathy and understanding, which Natalie Reeves Billing does very well in her books; as proven not only in this one but also books such as her Monsterous Me series. This book – Where Is My Smile? however, also focuses on wellbeing and specifically mental health p, in a way children will quickly understand through also being entertained.

#BookReview By Lou Two Scoops Too Much By Terri Boas @TerriBoas @rararesources #Fiction #ContemporaryFiction

Two Scoops Too Much
By Terri Boas

Today I am delighted to present my review of Two Scoops Too Much. Unfortunately a bit later than scheduled due to work commitments and recent illness. Find out about this meatier than the title suggests, book below in the blurb and my thoughts in my review below…
I thank the author for the lovely message and ice cream chocolates and Rachel Random Resources for organising and inviting me to the blog tour.

Blurb

Three’s a crowd, but not when it comes to best mates, Briony, Natalie and Lauren. As they tipsily toast the future down their favourite local, the Red Lion, the girls have never felt closer. For Briony and Lauren at least, being intimate friends has taken on a whole new meaning. But as things between them heat up, does that mean they’ll need to put a label on their relationship?And will their provocative plot to wreak revenge on Briony’s devious ex-lover, Mani, work out, or succeed only in putting her professional reputation on the line? Meanwhile, Natalie’s affair with her sexy spin instructor, Jason, is now firmly behind her, and she isdetermined to keep the sparks flying with her loyal hubby, Martin. That is until a girls’ trip to a swanky London hotel reveals her head and her heart are still at dangerous odds; an epiphany that will have dire consequences. As the friends unite in the face of an unbearable tragedy, they’ll need each other–and ice cream–more than ever before . .

Review

There is much drama in Two Scoops Too Much, that is enthralling. It is easy to get caught up in the lives of friends – Briony, Lauren and Natalie.

The book is about relationships, in-terms of close friendships and love. There are ups and downs and some serious moments and the question whether the relationships formed can survive or not. There are big, weighty topics amongst some of the more lighter times. With humour amongst some meaty subject matters, makes this pretty entertaining.

Not all of the characters have healthy, good mental health, so poor mental health is a feature.
You can get under the skin of each character in their work, relationships and possible futures.

From the office to a swanky hotel, which is absolutely lush, gives some great settings. You also get to know the local pub and homes too as passions and breakdowns become apparent.

As life events become increasingly challenging, especially one that will really rock them to the core, it is interesting to see how they then try to navigate their lives.

Overall, it is an engaging book, with compelling characters. It’s a good book that will go well with icecream.

About the Author

Terri Boas lives in Hampshire with her husband, Rich, daughter, Portia and Pud, the cat. She workspart-time at The Raven Hotel in Hook. Famous children’s author, Enid Blyton wrote the first of herhundreds of books right there! Two scoops, not three is Terri’s debut novel.

The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook @welbeckpublish #welbeckbalance #TheSuicidePreventionPocketGuidebook #NonFiction #NonFictionNovember #MentalHealth

The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook
By Joy Hibbins

Would you know how to support someone who is in crisis and having suicidal thoughts? This book will assist you in enhancing your knowledge. Thanks to Welbeck Books/Welbeck Balance for gifting me this important book to review. Discover the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Understandably, we may feel extremely cautious about how to approach or talk to someone who is having suicidal thoughts; we may be worried about saying or doing the ‘wrong thing’ – and this often creates a barrier to helping.

In this pocket guidebook, Joy Hibbins, founder of the charitySuicide Crisis, shares her invaluable experience of helping people through suicidal crisis. Using the charity’s groundbreaking approach, Joy helps you gain the practical skills, knowledge and confidence you need to support friends, work colleagues or family members during a time of crisis.

This book will show you how to:
• Understand the complexity of suicidal feelings and what may lead to a crisis
• Be aware of factors that can increase someone’s risk of suicide
• Directly ask someone about suicidal thoughts
• Build empathy and a strong connection with the individual in crisis
• Learn strategies to support someone and help them survive

The fact that you care, and you want to help, can make such a difference to someone who is in need of support.

Review

This is an easy to follow and digest guidebook that is accessible to all. The book is broken up into short, easy to read paragraphs, with some examples too, which enhances understanding and firms up what the chapter is saying, as does the short summaries at the end of each chapter. There are also a comprehensive list to who to call when you need support for yourself, a loved one or a complete stranger who you find yourself supporting. Being a pocketguide makes it easily transportable to have easy to hand.

The book is covers all manner of sub-topics and takes your hand on what is a huge subject and leads you through. It goes through what you may be feeling when faced with someone who has suicidal thoughts and vaildates them, such as fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, guilt and more, as well as reassuring that the book will equip you with the tools to manage this situation, that you may not already have. This can be highly useful because you just don’t know if or when you will come across someone who is suicidal. The book splits suicide into parts, including Passive Thoughts of Wanting to Die, Active Thoughts About Suicide, Suicidal Intent. It also explains certain terms as well as increases your understanding about what may lead to a sucidal crisis. The book then goes onto debunking as many as 10 myths/misinformation about suicide. The book then tells you of warning signs, including what they may say or do and potential mood changes. So, this gives you information that puts everything into context and what to look out for. The book develops from here into how you can help practically and lists questions you can ask and how to handle them as they helpfully include many permeatations in answers; your body language and actively listening; tone of voice; topics to focus on; how to help them survive (again, if it is more than 1 crisis point they have experienced in their lives) and creating a safety plan.

The book responsibly also talks about how to care for yourself after supporting someone who is at suicidal crisis point. It also says about what support the person in crisis can also recieve and who you can call.

The book is all in all one that seems very valuable for everyone.