Marla Martenson: The Buddha Made Me Do It

What starts as a search for a decorative Buddha statuette leads one woman on a spiritual journey that will change everything.

Marla lives the good life in Los Angeles—house, pool, her own business helping Cupid find love for LA’s most discriminating singles. Her handsome and ardent hubby Adolfo performs at an exclusive steak house in Beverly Hills. He tends to scoff at Marla’s green juice, vegan diet, yoga, and daily affirmations and can be a teensy bit of a control freak.

A discarded Buddha statuette that Adolfo suddenly can’t live without sends Marla searching through New Age boutiques along with her skeptical friend Julie. They are soon schooled by a charismatic “Goddess,” delving ever deeper into self-realization, conversations with angels, pendulums, candle “Magick,” Reiki, crystal healing, and more. Attend a Hindu Bajan? Sure. Orgasmic Meditation? (Wait, what…?) Maybe not that one.

Growing in her spirituality, yet exceedingly frustrated with some of her persnickety clientele—aging men who see themselves as Dorian Grays, worthy of exquisite young women—Marla’s world is shifting. She achieves certifications as an energy healer and encourages Julie to sample the concoction Julie calls “green gunk” and other healthy practices to help her conquer an addiction to unavailable men. Marla deepens her communication with the Beyond while Adolfo, always so practical, asks, “Have you lost your mind? Are you hearing voices? Angels aren’t real, come on!” Matters grow worse when certain psychics warn of “dangerous low-vibrational entities” and rabidly disagree with each other.

Her alternating universes give Marla spiritual whiplash, yet she discovers the LITE way to balance the human carnival with a transformational spiritual journey.

Author Bio

Marla Martenson is a professional matchmaker, energy healer, radio show host and the author of three memoirs, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, Hearts On The Line & The Buddha Made Me Do It.

She has appeared on countless radio and TV shows including the Today Show, WGN Chicago Morning News, San Diego Living, Urban Rush, and Coast to Coast am with George Noory.

Marla lives in Los Angeles with her husband, composer, Adolfo Jon Alexi. You can connect with Marla at www.marlamartenson.com

What’s Really Wise in Conventional Writing Wisdom

In the Coffee Shop, we have an extended conversation about writing. A panel of five writers gathered around our favorite table addressed “What’s Really Wise in Conventional Writing Wisdom,” with advice gleaned from years of experience writing and marketing their work. Many of their lessons apply to new writers and multi-book authors alike.

Joining us are:

Emily Carpenter (http://emilycarpenterauthor.com/), Amazon best-selling author of three suspense novels: BURYING THE HONEYSUCKLE GIRLS, THE WEIGHT OF LIES and the upcoming EVERY SINGLE SECRET, which is coming out May 1, 2018.
Ellie Jordan (http://elliedecker.com/), writer and actress, who has developed screenplays and appears in numerous films and TV shows, including THE WALKING DEAD.
JD Jordan (http://www.o-jd.com/), the author of the sci-fi Western CALAMITY, which he is now developing for television in collaboration with a production company.
Chris Negron (https://chrisnegron.com/), whose short fiction has appeared in a dozen online and print literary publications; his first middle grade novel is currently on submission with publishers.
George Weinstein (http://www.georgeweinstein.com/), who is making his second appearance in the Coffee Shop. He’s the author of five novels that span a variety of genres, the latest being the mystery novel AFTERMATH, which we discussed in 2017. He also is the former president of the Atlanta Writers Club (http://atlantawritersclub.org/) and runs the twice-yearly Atlanta Writers Conference (https://atlantawritersconference.com/about/).

They bring a variety of perspectives, having written extensively and across a wide span of genres, including suspense, middle-grade fiction, sci-fi Western, mysteries, historical fiction, and more, as well as screenplays. The common thread that connects them is that they all met each other in the Atlanta Writers Club writers critique group George has managed for more than a dozen years. During that time, they saw each other grow in many ways. Ellie and JD fell in love because of the critique group and George even performed their wedding ceremony! Both Emily and Chris obtained their first agents through the Atlanta Writers Conference. After years of helping each other succeed, overcome setbacks, and achieve milestones along their individual writing journeys, they remain a tight-knit, supportive network, assisting one other with contacts, advice, and opportunities.

In addition, they assist new writers by sharing lessons they’ve learned and, as often, dispelling wrong assumptions, misunderstandings, and outright bad advice these writers have been exposed to, especially from online so-called resources.

Among the alleged pearls of conventional writing wisdom they’ll support or dispute (or sometimes do both) during our extended conversation are:

Write every day
Restrict the points of view you use
Write what you know
Write about people like yourself
Pick a genre and stick with it
Create an outline vs. write by the seat of your pants
You’ll be set once you get an agent/publisher/bestseller
Writing is a solitary, non-collaborative activity
Write what you read
Read books to learn how to write; watching TV shows and movies doesn’t count
And much more!

So, join us for a special, multi-hour addition of the Coffee Shop!

Julia Blake Lost and Found

Arianna Santorini has had a hard life. Abandoned by her husband, left alone to raise their child for six long years, she’s made the best of things.
Then, she meets Luke Blackwood. Initially, he seems perfect, strong, kind, understanding and loving, everything she could possibly want.
But, Luke has a secret, he’s rich, very rich, and Arianna has a deep-seated prejudice against wealthy men, believing it turns them into men like her husband, manipulative, arrogant, bullies.
When she finds out the truth about Luke, her first response is to send him away, harden her heart to what might have been.
Then the worst thing that can happen to a parent, happens to Arianna, and the one person who can help her, is the one she’s vowed never to see again.
Sometimes, you have to lose everything, to find what’s really important…

About Julia Blake:
I was born and raised in the lovely historical market town of Bury St Edmunds, where I live still with my daughter. I’m a typical Cancer, in that although I like to visit new places and see new things, I’m always very pleased to get home again.
Author Photograph

I have been writing in one form or another ever since I was old enough to pick up a pen, writing plays for the other children to act out at break time. One year I was picked to write the Christmas play for my class, and have never forgotten the thrill of hearing my lines being acted out. I attempted my first novel at age thirteen but, of course, due to my age and lack of experience it was complete rubbish, although I have to say the plot wasn’t half bad, maybe one day I’ll dust it off and attempt a re-write.

I didn’t seriously start to write until my late thirties, when I was going through the divorce from hell. To cheer me up, a friend suggested I attend a writing course with her at our local college. From the very first moment it was as if a light bulb went on in my head and I started to write a novel. It was a totally cathartic experience, in which I purged all the negativity and intense emotional trauma of each day in frenzied bouts of writing.

Over the next ten years, I wrote six complete novels, one 17,000 word novella, half a dozen or so short stories and many poems. The question was, what to do with them all? One day, I simply decided to take the plunge, that if I was serious about my writing, then publication was the logical next step. A few months later, after considerable proofing and re-writing, The Book of Eve was published.

Now, here we are, three years and over fifty rave reviews later, and with three novels, one eBook novella and one collection of short stories and poetry under my belt, I can finally sit back and say with some satisfaction, yes, I am a writer…