5 ratings | 4 reviews | avg rating:4.80

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Allene Symons

Goodreads Author

Born

Long Beach CA

Website

http://www.allenesymons.com

Twitter

allenesymons

Genre

Memoir, Biography, Literary and Dystopian Fiction

Member Since

March 2012

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I’m a California native and graduate of San Francisco State who in midlife ventured east to New York, enjoyed a whirl of a decade, then came back to start a new chapter in my life. When living in NYC I was a senior editor for Publishers Weekly. As an author, my latest book is Love in a TIme of Caterpillars: A Memoir of Monarchs and Caregiving (Forked Road Press, Feb. 3, 2024). Over the years, I have written articles and book reviews for consumer and specialty magazines (including Orange Coast magazine and the Los Angeles Times). My favorite gig was writing a travel lit book review column called “Great Reads for the Restless” for msnbc.com! I am a non recovering book nerd who has worked in bookstores and as a publishers rep, too. I was a par ...more

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Allene Symons As a journalist I am accustomed to working on deadline, and that brings on the adrenaline, but if I am writing on spec and don't have an actual deadli…moreAs a journalist I am accustomed to working on deadline, and that brings on the adrenaline, but if I am writing on spec and don't have an actual deadline I have to trick myself into getting started or rebooting. I have created two visual ways of humoring myself into action: If I am stressed and twitchy and balking over plunging into a writing project, I look at a file card I have propped by my computer screen. It has a pasted-on image of John Stewart (lately of Daily Show) as if he is speaking his famous phrase "Settle!" To me, this means focus and get to work. The other file card has a pasted-on image of Eleanor Roosevelt and her famous phrase "Do one thing every day that scares you." Consulting this "mentor" quote helps when I need to push past a particularly stuck place (or when I need to figure out how to use yet another social media/online app or platform). (less)

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Allene Symons I'd say the best thing is having a project simmering along, one I look forward to working on, returning to, and watching it take shape (or one I look …moreI'd say the best thing is having a project simmering along, one I look forward to working on, returning to, and watching it take shape (or one I look ahead to starting next). I'd call it the satisfaction of writing-project continuity, despite the way we tend to live such fragmented daily lives.(less)

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Allene Symons’s books

Average rating: 3.76 · 37 ratings · 6 reviews · 7 distinct works

	Aldous Huxley's Hands 3.93 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nostradamus: Vagabond Prophet 2.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1983 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love in a Time of Caterpillars: A Memoir of Monarchs and Caregiving really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Adventures Abroad: Exploring the Travel/Retirement Option by Allene Symons (Goodreads Author), Jane Parker liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1991	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vagabond Prophet: A Novel of Nostradamus & His Time by Allene Symons (1987-07-05) by Allene Symons (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Aldous Huxley's Hands: His Quest for Perception and the Origin and Return of Psychedelic Science 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Monks to Mountain Gorillas by Ed Kaufman, archival (Illustrator), Allene Symons (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Psychedelics in Egyptian Antiquity Expands Map

Residue of hallucinatory plants was recently discovered on the inner surface of an Egyptian drinking mug from the second century B.C., a mug bearing the face of the Egyptian god, Bes, associated with fertility and revelry. Other recent studies have shown that the Greeks and Romans ingested plants with psychedelic properties for reaching spiritual states or as part of medical treatment.

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Allene Symons wrote a new blog post Psychedelics in Egyptian Antiquity Expands Map Residue of hallucinatory plants was recently discovered on the inner surface of an Egyptian drinking mug from the second century B.C., a mug bearing t Read more of this blog post »
Jan 30, 2025 04:14AM · like

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