Please introduce yourself and your book(s)!
My name is Tasha Halpert, and I call myself a practical mystic. That is to say, I have a different perspective on life from most people and try to be of help to readers of my writing by sharing it.
I have loved to write since I was a small child and used to make booklets for my mother. At first I thought I would write stories, for what else do children know about writing? However I had more success early on with my poetry, winning a couple of awards and getting published here and there. I got good practice writing when I used to participate in providing advice for readers in a local newspaper many years ago as well as write publicity for organizations I participated in.
Fast forward many decades to the present. I write a weekly column for the local newspaper, the Grafton News, and an internet blog, Heartwings Love Notes that goes out to 300 or more people. Over the years I have published a number of self-help books written together with my husband Stephen, who is also a writer. My most recent book is called Up to my Neck in Lemons and is comprised of pieces from my blog, poetry, and lemon recipes.
What is/are the story(ies) behind your book(s)?
My basic aim is to help readers see things differently. I hope to be of help to them in solving or resolving some of their everyday life dilemmas, learning how to make lemonade out of their lemons, so to speak. It has been my experience that when I share my perspective readers find it helpful.
What inspires/inspired your creativity?
My life presents me with plenty of material. I write about things we all experience and how I deal with them.
How do bad reviews and negative feedback affect you and how do you deal with them?
I did receive one recently and it made me chuckle—after I scratched my head trying to figure out why someone would write a two word review with no explanation of what it meant –The review was simply: “Not much.” I have found it important in my life to cultivate detachment, both from good as well as from bad “reviews.” Stephen and I have been in the business of teaching and guiding people for many years and we both know that what a person says is really only a reflection of his or her take and while valid for them means only what he or she thinks and is not a reflection of our worth or of our writing.
Do you tend towards personal satisfaction or aim to serve your readers? Do you balance the two and how?
My satisfaction comes from presenting my ideas with sufficient clarity so that readers are helped in some way to see more clearly.
What are your plans for future books?
I have several chapbooks planned for my poetry based on themes I tend to write about. I will probably do more collections of combinations of essays and poetry as well. “Lemons” is my second. My first is Heartwings: Love notes for a Joyous Life, the full title of my internet blog.
As I said at the outset, I have loved to write since I was a small child. I’ve honed my craft over the years and while I never achieved my ambition to write stories for adults, I have written and continue to write an adventure story for children of all ages that is published in a newsletter called The Unicorn. I do consider my poetry to be a very important part of my writing. One of the best things about being a writer is that I can go on doing it as long as I live, and that to me is a great blessing.