Elisa Freilich's Blog

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Hello readers and fellow lovers of all things creative! Often I’ve been accused of being a micro-manager, which is a crime to which I will admit my guilt.  However my fascination for the “micro” extends to all things micro:  Micro-art!  Behold Willard Wigan’s sculpture of cinderella done in the eye of a needle! Or how about the “miniatural” (their word, not mine)  paintings of Hasan Kale on the wings of a butterfly?
Microcosmic touches permeate so many of my endeavors:  Micro-infusion of flavors into my culinary pursuits (i.e. a dose of unexpected truffle salt or a hint of preserved lemon), Micro-embellishment (a tiny swarovski crystal placed unexpectedly on a craft project to pop a certain element).

 

And so it wasn’t a far leap to admire Casey Danton’s micro nail art.  I’d been following her on Instagram for a while and then I just had to have her interpret Silent Echo onto the canvas of a blank hand.  (I realize that nail beds do offer more space than the eye of a needle, but still, Casey can “micro-manicure” like nobody’s business!)



So here it is, folks – Aren’t they cool?!  You could actually win a set of these press on micro-artistic nails by following the link below.  Oh, and it also comes with a signed copy of Silent Echo so you can read first hand what Casey’s inspiration was.
The winner will receive a signed copy of Silent Echo, a press on nail set inspired by Silent Echo and OPI DS Coronation, OPI DS Mystery and OPI Midnight in Moscow.
Follow THIS LINK to a nifty rafflecopter!
 

Join in for a chance at this awesome swag!

Happy reading and creating!

Without “Eyres”…where would we be?  A great article in the Huffington Post today was so on the ball that I couldn’t help but, well, craft about  it! Jane is a heroine for so many reasons! Mostly, though, she is one of my favorite all time characters because she has a tremendous sense of self, something I am always trying to refine.  Jane Eyre knows who she is and she never wavers from her standards and values. Have a gander:  http://http://huff.to/16pk7IX   and leave a comment about why you love Jane.  After all, this bag has to go to someone…

 

“You’re not actually gonna wear that out of the house, are you?”  So said my sixteen-year-old daughter when I created my first Silent Echo bag to wear to my BEA events.  ”Um, damn straight, I am,” I responded with defensive pride.  




It seemed my whole family was a bit naysaying of this new creative pursuit, but boy have I been doling out ample slices of humble pie since the original book-bag debut.

I love bags – I admit it! Why do you think Ms. Leucosia of Silent Echo has a collection of Judith Leiber bags in her closet? If I can’t collect them, then I might as well have one of my immortal characters do so!  




I also love books (hence the novelist thing) and so why not fuse these passions?  Well, you might say that Olympia Le Tan has already thought of this, but I was kind of not digging the idea of spending $1,800 on a book bag of a cherished classic.  And the Kate Spade ones, while more affordable, were not much deeper than a DVD case which wouldn’t work for me either.

And so, TA-DA! I became hell bent on making a one-of-a-kind book purse, a uniquity that will have book and bag lovers alike chomping at the bit!  And so I decided to start with one basic supply – an actual book.

And so here they are, my beloved classics, now transformed into one-of-a-kind purses with removable straps (some prefer the simple clutch, non?)




With Halloween fast approaching, I’m thinking of some eerie Edgar Allen Poe, some dreadful Dracula, some frightening Frankenstein.

Which classic titles would you guys like to see turned into a “paranormal purse” that will be raffled off to readers at the end of this month of goblins and ghosts?



(Oh, and if you’re a fan of the bags and happen to run into my daughter, feel free to drop an accolade – I’ve just put a fresh humble pie in the oven… )

Happy reading and crafting, friends!

OK, so today I had a celebrity sighting.  Well not so much a celebrity as a character.  Yes, a fictitious character.  I happen to currently be reading Meg Wolitzer’s recent release, The Interestings (am loving, btw), and while I was standing in line at the post office this afternoon (to, ahem, mail out some awesome Silent Echo swag), in walked Ethan Figman!  You know, one of the main characters in The Interestings?  The creator of Figland?  It was exactly him, or at least exactly as I’d imagined him to be.  It was everything I could do not to ask this complete stranger for his autograph!

When a book really speaks to you, how can you not develop a vivid image in your mind of its characters?  Which brings us to the book-to-movie adaptation thing.  There are some that have really nailed it for me and some that have totally missed the mark.

The Winners:
Brad Pitt as Paul Maclean in A River Runs Through it (one of the best book to screen adaptations ever!)
Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in A&E’s Pride and Prejudice.  (He is and officially will alway be my Darcy)
Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis in Atonement.
Carey Mulligan as Kathy and Andrew Garfield as Tommy in Never Let Me Go.

 vs 


The “what exactly were they thinking”s:
Barbara Streisand as Susan Lowenstein in The Prince of Tides (the worst book to film adaptation ever!)
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark in Hunger Games (sorry fans – he just isn’t my Peeta) but HELLLOO Liam Hemsworth (those Hemsworth brothers!)
Matthew Macfadyen as Mark Darcy in the 2005 release of Pride & Prejudice (See above about Firth:)
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher (Tom is way too short for Jack!)

Which is your favorite Darcy?
What are some of your favorite book to movie castings and what book to movie adaptations are you looking forward to?

Oh, and if you want to share your thoughts on who you’d cast for Portia, Felix and Max, I’d love to hear them.  Maybe I’ll even share my dream cast…

 

So since the release of Silent Echo, I’ve heard the term “insta-love” bandied about a lot.  And, yes, I will admit that SE does have a bit of precipitous passion, rapacious rapture, accelerated ardor (Pardon – am feeling very “alliterative” today), but allow me a quick poll:  Raise your hand if you have ever been in love.  If you were here with me now, you’d see my own hand raised high (ok, I must type, so its really my metaphorical hand in the air), and I can only imagine how many of you were inclined to do the same.  As for myself, I can honestly say that I am still maddeningly in love with my husband of eighteen years and I can remember the exact “insta” when I fell hard.  I won’t get into too much detail here, but suffice to say that it had something to do with me noticing the purity and shape of his kind green eyes which have not changed by so much as a single fleck over the years.

And so when I see insta-love in a book, I relate.  I swoon.  I believe.  What can I say?  Call me a romantic …(believe me, I could think of worse insults.)

Here are some of my all time favorite insta-love books.  What are yours?

 

 

 

 

Retellings of fictitious stories are all around us! In books, movies and even TV (I am addicted to Once Upon a Time!) In fact years ago, when I started reading Gregory Maguire and then actually saw Wicked, I couldn’t help but marvel at the genius! It is the myths, the fairy tales, the Sci-Fi journeys and fantasy worlds that enrich our lives and leave everlasting marks on our minds.

And so, the beauty of mythology is that it is just that – mythological. (When I re-read The Odyssey just before writing Silent Echo, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Boy, that Homer sure had one heck of an imagination!”) And so who is to say that the myths surrounding the Ancient Greek Gods of yore are set in stone? And, furthermore, why should these Gods be stuck in “yore”? In Silent Echo: A Siren’s Tale, you will find new spins on the very same Gods and Goddesses you thought you knew. You’ll even find that these same Gods are struggling to make their way in a modern world with all of its technological challenges. These anachronisms and unique retellings of the affairs of the Gods are only one of the many threads woven into the magical cloth of this story.

Others of my favorite retellings:

   



What are some of your favorite retellings of myths and fairytales? 

 

 

Silent Echo is available on:

Amazon

iBookstore

B&N

Kobo

Ganxy

The Good Choice Reading Blog recently asked me to guest blog and talk about five poignant moments that shaped Silent Echo. You’ll find that article, as well as a prize giveaway, here:

Every day we get more reviews in for SILENT ECHO, and the wonderful things book bloggers are saying about my book makes me blush!

“An inspiring story about a silent girl with a voice to be heard.”

–Book Comet Blog

“This book literally gave me the chills because it was so intense….This is one hell of a story that will be hard to forget….Mesmerizing and beautiful, this book manages to exploit music in a dangerous and seductive way.”

– Girl in the Woods Blog

“From the very first page to the last one the book hooked me, not only because the story is refreshing and captivating but because the writing style is fluid and inspiring…. I loved the songs and there were even some that I kept singing in my head…Silent Echo has become one of the best books I’ve read this 2013 and I even dare saying that is one of the best YA books.”

– Living in Our Own Story Blog

“Spellbinding, romantic, and thrilling, Elisa Freilich’s Silent Echo: A Siren’s Tale was a thoroughly enjoyable debut. I simply can’t wait to see what’s next for Portia, Max, and the rest of the gang!”

– Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf Blog

“SILENT ECHO weaves a tale as hypnotizing as the siren’s voice. Be prepared to be wowed by Max’s serenades to Portia, to be crushed by Felix’s dilemma as he struggles to move out of the friend zone, and to feel heartsick as Portia loses her identity when she regains her voice.” – Lizzy’s Dark Fiction Blog

Lizzy Lessard, the editor of the Lizzy’s Dark Fiction blog gave my book 4 stars and this glowing review, “SILENT ECHO weaves a tale as hypnotizing as the siren’s voice. Be prepared to be wowed by Max’s serenades to Portia, to be crushed by Felix’s dilemma as he struggles to move out of the friend zone, and to feel heartsick as Portia loses her identity when she regains her voice.” You can read the full review here: