Meet Charlotte, an enlightening experience!
Charlotte has been practicing Transcendental Meditation for over thirty years, and has written several books on the subject.
Charlotte is also the
author of the novel Numbering Stars
(a finalist in both the Hemingway First Novel Contest and the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize),
and the nonfiction book, Meditate and
Experience God: Saints, Scriptures, and Science Point the Way, both of
which are on Amazon. Her short fiction has appeared in over half-a-dozen
literary journals, and her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine and the Worcester
Telegram and Gazette. She lives with her husband and their son in
Northborough, MA.
Her latest title is a coming-of-age novel BIG HEAVEN.
About BIG HEAVEN
Mo Proctor is
the recipient of a prophecy (how cool is that?). She believes the prophecy
states that she needs to leave home to become a nun at the age of sixteen
(which is now). The only problems are: Her mother recently died, and her father
is showing signs of early Alzheimer’s disease (which are really significant
problems). How can she reconcile it all? And is the prophecy the only thing
driving her to want to pack up and leave home?
"I always like to include some mention of both
meditation and spirituality in my fiction, because I know how important these
are in my own life, and I love the idea of sharing these topics with
others," says Hebert. "At the same time, my father had Alzheimer's
disease and died of it, and this ended up having a greater impact on me than I
realized, which led me to want to write about it. My father, like the father in
'Big Heaven', really was a very sweet, corny man, who was almost too good for
this world, and I wanted to pay homage to him. It was by combining the idea of
both meditation and of a character like my father that 'Big Heaven' was born."
An Excerpt from Chapter One of BIG HEAVEN
Shoot. He's there. I can see through the window. Not that I
should be surprised, for he's always there (at least since my mom died,
he is). It means that I'll have to sneak in, try and rush straight to my room
in order to meditate.
Let me back
up a bit. My name is Maureen (Mo for short); I'm sixteen, but I'm going to be a
senior this fall 'cause my birthday's in September, so I'm really almost seventeen;
and I've decided, only tonight, that I'm going to be a nun of the Swami Order,
which has its origins in India. That's why I'm starting my story right here, by
the way. You have to begin with a hook is what I figure. This is
mine…
(Becoming a
nun is a pretty big deal, you have to admit!)"
More about BIG HEAVEN...
So
starts BIG HEAVEN, which follows sixteen-year-old protagonist, Mo
Proctor, as she struggles between her desire to be a nun and her familial
responsibilities. Mo's mother has recently died, leaving Mo alone with her
father, a man she doesn't feel she "really
knows," who is starting to show signs of early Alzheimer's disease.
In fits and starts, Mo tries to get
her father to be more self-sufficient, to get her aunt, whom she invites for a
visit, to help out more, and to ignore an unforeseen love interest who suddenly
shows up in her life. She needs her father to be self-sufficient, not only
because she wants to leave home to become a nun, but also because if he’s not,
Social Services could end up placing her father in a nursing home, and sending
Mo off to odious foster care, which is the last thing she wants.
Mo takes comfort from her conviction that a
near-death experience she had at age twelve, and the "prophecy" that
resulted right after regarding a decision she'd have to make at sixteen, point
to becoming a nun now. But is this a real calling she feels in her soul? Or a
desire to escape her life? Or possibly both?
BIG HEAVEN explores the issues of having to face
responsibilities in life—even when you think you're too young to face
them—and of figuring out the things that truly matter the most.
I really hope you enjoy accompanying Mo Proctor on
her journey as she deals with a very sweet, yet deteriorating father; a funny,
sarcastic best friend; a flaky aunt; and a tantalizing love interest, as much
as I have enjoyed bringing her journey to you.
Charlotte Hebert
Charlotte Hebert
Purchase BIG HEAVEN
No comments:
Post a Comment