Guest post by Sophia Bar-Lev, author of The Silver Locket

When people ask me why I’m a writer, my response is ‘Why not’? After giving me a strange look, they will usually resort to the logical reasons why writing is a less than lucrative career unless one happens to make it big. They quickly add, “And very few do.”

I smile. I know something that perhaps my acquaintances do not. A writer writes because that’s what a writer does. Maya Angelou said it beautifully: “You write because you have to. A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate.”

The written word, from Plato to Patterson, from Moses to Mailer, has shaped society’s thinking, its values and its dreams. But more than that: the written word shapes the one who writes it. For in our writing, we often discover something of ourselves hitherto unrealized. In seeking to create something worthwhile for others to enjoy, we access untapped reservoirs of thought and attitude that challenge our own inner growth perhaps more than it will ever challenge a reader. A writer is as much on a journey of self-discovery as he or she is on a voyage of self-expression.

Writing is at once exhilarating and tedious, amusing and strenuous. It can be an enemy as well as a friend. It may bring you intense pleasure as well as crushing frustration. Yet the writer never gives up. The thought of doing anything else is abhorrent.

And so we write on.

Becoming an author with something valuable to say to one’s contemporaries is the fruit of consistent discipline, a healthy dose of humility to receive constructive criticism and a persistence that defies reason.

There are days when more pages are consigned to the dustbin than the ones for which you click the ‘save’ button. It’s all part of the process and it’s all for the good. A seasoned author knows that one must be willing to discard as much as one keeps, to edit as much as one creates. It’s not enough to write; it’s even more important to scrutinize so that the ultimate goal of any writing project is achieved with excellence. There is no shortcut to best-seller status.

While various types of writers own their unique motivations and goals, each one’s book, poem, or short story is a vessel for an idea, which in one way or another has something to offer to the public. The challenge is to present one’s idea or message in a manner that will resonate with one’s prospective audience.

For me, writing is an opportunity to contribute something positive and uplifting to my readers. I love to entertain but I also love to inspire. Greatness is not for the lucky few but for all who reach higher than themselves.

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Title: THE SILVER LOCKET

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Author: Sophia Bar-Lev

Website: www.sophiabarlev.com

Purchase on Amazon

About the Book: When The Silver Locket opens, it’s July 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts. War is raging in Europe and the Pacific. But for two young women in a small town in New England waging their own personal battles, the struggle is way too close to home.

When extraordinary circumstances bring these two women together, one decision will alter the course of their lives. And with that one decision, their lives will be forever changed…and forever intertwined.

Were these two women thrust together by happenstance—or fate? A tragedy. A decision. A pact. Lives irretrievably changed. A baby girl will grow up in the shadow of a secret that must be kept at all costs. But will this secret ever see the light of day? And what happens when—or if—a promise made must be broken?

Adopting a child is not for the feint of heart—but neither is being adopted…

A sweeping and suspenseful story that unfolds in a different time and a different place, The Silver Locket explores universal themes that ring true even today. Secrets. Unbreakable bonds. The healing power of love. Deception. Anguish. Redemption.

In this touching and tender tale, novelist Sophia Bar-Lev weaves a confident, quietly moving story about adoption, finding hope in the face of hopelessness, and how true love can overcome any obstacle. With its brilliant juxtaposition of the wars fought both on the battlefield and internally, The Silver Locket is a poignant novel, resplendent with drama. Featuring an exceedingly real and relatable plot, and characters that will stay with readers long after the final page is turned, The Silver Locket is a sterling new read.

About the Author: A native of Massachusetts, Sophia Bar-Lev divides her time between the Fort Worth, Texas area and Israel. A former school teacher and adult education lecturer, Bar-Lev now devotes the majority of her time to writing. Sophia Bar-Lev is also the author of Pasta, Poppy Fields, and Pearls and Pizza and Promises. The Silver Locket is her latest novel.