Blurb Blitz: The Gilded City Trilogy

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Jane Loeb Rubin. Today, Jane shares the novels in The Gilded City Trilogy: In the Hands of Women, Threadbare, and Over There.

Blurb

In the Hands of Women, (June 2023) takes the reader on an electrifying ride through the dawn of the 20th century, delving into the restrictive state of women’s rights, backroom abortions, the plight of immigrants to the Lower East Side of NYC and the prison system at Blackwell’s Island, all through the voice of a young OB/Gyn, Tillie’s younger sister, Hannah.

Threadbare, (June 2024) is a historical novel written as a tribute to Jane Rubin’s great-grandmother, Mathilda (Tillie), who died from a ‘woman’s disease’ in the early years of the twentieth century. It explores the ultra-conservative late Victorian era through a Jewish female character living among the poor, struggling to build a garment company and pushing back against antisemitic and misogynistic values dominating the time. She acquired wealth, only to have life upended by a cruel, unexpected challenge.

Over There (June 2025) brings four family members of Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, all doctors and nurses, into The Great War, each facing down authentic challenges of the period. Meticulously researched and crafted on four stages, the reader experiences the jarring reality of trench warfare, magnificent rise of the American Hospital in Paris, unimagined medical innovations owed to the dedication of healthcare workers, and the universal, frightening impact war has on children.

Excerpt – Threadbare

His eyes burst with astonishment. “What do your husbands think about you ladies starting a business venture? It’s unheard of. Don’t you have children at home to tend?”

Abe’s advice came to mind as my blood heated to a boil. Keep discussing the sale. Don’t let the customer bait you. I filled my chest with air, hoping my irritation didn’t show. “Mr. Kraft, our husbands are in the button and fabric businesses. Our products are interconnected, and in the end, it helps grow their businesses, too. Just as our kits will grow Butterfield’s pattern sales.”

Mr. Kraft nodded cautiously. “Hmm. I’ll run the idea by Mr. Peters, my boss, and let you know what he decides. But he’ll want to meet your husbands.” He fell silent, then added, “I expect the idea may pan out in some way.”

Excitement rose within me, but I kept my expression still. I was learning the art of poker, too. “Please let him know our factory is ready to fill orders immediately.”

He stood. “Could you kindly leave one of your kits, as you call them, with me? Let’s arrange a meeting next week. Please project costs and pricing for one thousand units, and then we can talk business.” Before leaving the room, he faced us and added, “But next time, bring your husbands.”

Author Bio and Links

Author, Jane Loeb Rubin has won numerous awards including the Historical Novel Society’s First Chapters short list for Over There, released May, 2025 by Level Best Books. She will be speaking at numerous Florida events as listed on her website.

With an extensive healthcare background Ms. Rubin began writing in 2009 after a serious cancer diagnosis. She now has a four-book deal with Level Best Books (Threadbare-2024, In the Hands of Women-2023, Over There-2025, The Hat Trick-2026), following the fictional life of her great-grandmother’s family.

In the Hands of Women, (June 2023) takes the reader on an electrifying ride through the dawn of the 20th century, delving into the restrictive state of women’s rights, backroom abortions, the plight of immigrants to the Lower East Side of NYC and the prison system at Blackwell’s Island, all through the voice of a young OB/Gyn, Tillie’s younger sister, Hannah.

Threadbare, (June 2024) is a historical novel written as a tribute to Jane Rubin’s great-grandmother, Mathilda (Tillie), who died from a ‘woman’s disease’ in the early years of the twentieth century. It explores the ultra-conservative late Victorian era through a Jewish female character living among the poor, struggling to build a garment company and pushing back against antisemitic and misogynistic values dominating the time. She acquired wealth, only to have life upended by a cruel, unexpected challenge.

Over There (June 2025) brings four family members of Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, all doctors and nurses, into The Great War, each facing down authentic challenges of the period. Meticulously researched and crafted on four stages, the reader experiences the jarring reality of trench warfare, magnificent rise of the American Hospital in Paris, unimagined medical innovations owed to the dedication of healthcare workers, and the universal, frightening impact war has on children.

The Hat Trick, Ms. Rubin’s work in process (May 2026) transports her family characters into the mid-1920’s in the years before the Borscht Belt in Sullivan County, NY.

Ms. Rubin, a graduate of the University of Michigan (BS, MS) and Washington University (MBA), retired from a 30-year career as a healthcare executive to begin writing full-time. She lives with her husband, David, an attorney, in Northern New Jersey. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren. Ms. Rubin’s work is available at all on-line retailers, Indigo Books, select Barnes and Noble Book stores and upon request from Level Best Books.

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Giveaway

Jane Loeb Rubin will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Jane on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Dr. Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist and conservationist, passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

From a young age, she was fascinated by animals, dreaming of living in Africa and studying wildlife. In 1960, without formal scientific training, she traveled to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania to observe wild chimpanzees under the mentorship of anthropologist Louis Leakey. Her discoveries revealed astonishing behaviors: chimpanzees use tools, show emotions, and live in complex social groups.

She later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, becoming one of the few people at the time to do so without an undergraduate degree. Over the decades, Dr. Goodall shifted her focus from observation to global advocacy, raising awareness about habitat destruction, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute and created Roots & Shoots, a program that empowers young people to address environmental and humanitarian issues.

She has traveled the world, inspiring audiences with her message of hope, responsibility, and respect for all living beings.

My favorite quotations from Dr. Jane Goodall:

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.

Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what keeps us motivated.

The least I can do is help people see the interconnectedness of all life.

Chimps, more like us than any other creature, have helped us to understand what it means to be human.

You cannot share your life with a dog or a cat and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings.

My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature.

We still have a window of time. Nature is amazingly resilient. If we give her a chance, she will recover.

Let the Storms Pass

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Here’s a thought-provoking reflection from international speaker and bestselling author Joyce Meyer:

We all face storms in life—some are like the quick afternoon storms that are common in summer and some seem like hurricanes. But one thing is true about all storms: They don’t last forever.

Thoughts and feelings run wild in the midst of our personal storms, but those are exactly the times we need to be careful about making decisions. Decisions are best made in our quiet times with God, not in the midst of a storm.

Instead of drowning in worry and fear, get in touch with God, who sees past the storm and orchestrates the big picture. God makes sure everything that needs to happen in our lives happens at the right time, moves at the appropriate speed, and causes us to arrive safely at the destinations He has planned for us.

Source: Quiet Times with God by Joyce Meyer

Read | Listen | Reflect

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day set aside to honour the children who never returned home and the survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.

This day was established by the Canadian federal government in 2021, in response to Call to Action #80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). This Call recommended a statutory holiday for public commemoration.

People across the country will wear orange, participate in healing walks, attend ceremonies, and listen to the voices of Indigenous peoples. It is a day of truth-telling, but also one of commitment—to learn, to support, and to walk alongside Indigenous communities in the ongoing journey of reconciliation.

Today, take time to read, listen, and reflect.

Every voice matters. Every action counts. Every child matters.

This visual brings together symbols of the three Indigenous groups across Canada: the eagle for First Nations, the narwhal for Inuit, and the beaded flower for the Métis. At the centre is a circle which symbolizes unity and the spirit of reconciliation. The pathway running through it represents the journey of reconciliation. The stars symbolize the children who never returned home from residential schools. The orange colour represents truth-telling and healing.

Achieving the “Impossible”

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

A long-time fan of bestselling authors and coaches Marc and Angel Chernoff, I look forward to reading their emails and blog posts. Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

When I was a high school freshman, a 260-pound freshman girl showed up for track and field tryouts right alongside me. Her name was Sara, and she was only there because her doctor said her health depended on it. But once she scanned the crowd of students who were on the field, she turned around and began walking away. Coach O’Leary saw her, jogged over, and turned her back around.

“I’m not thin enough for this sport!” Sara declared. “And I’ll never be! It’s impossible for me to lose enough weight. I’ve tried.”

Coach O’Leary nodded and promised Sara that her body type wasn’t suited for her current weight. “It’s suited for 220 pounds,” he said.

Sara looked confused. “Most people tell me I need to lose 130 pounds,” she replied. “But you think I only need to lose 40?”

Coach O’Leary nodded again.

Sara started off as a shot-put competitor, but spent every single afternoon running and training with the rest of the track team. She was very competitive, and by the end of our freshman year she was down to 219 pounds. She also won 2nd place in the countywide shot-put tournament that year. Three years later, during our senior year, she won 3rd place in the 10K county run. Her competitive weight at the time was 132 pounds.

There was a time when Sara was convinced that it was impossible to lose weight because, in her past experience, it had never worked out the way she had hoped. She had failed a few times and eventually lost faith in herself. But with consistency — with the right daily habits and willingness to try again — she restored her faith and achieved the “impossible.” And when Sara showed up to my poolside birthday party in Miami recently, I smiled when I overheard another guest compliment her on her bathing suit and physique.

Of course, Sara still works really hard — she chooses wisely — every single day to maintain what she has achieved.

And, so do I…

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Marc & Angel’s website.

Happy National Day of Encouragement!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

The first proclamation for the Day of Encouragement was made by Mayor Belinda LaForce of Searcy, Arkansas on August 22, 2007. In September, Governor Mike Beebe of Arkansas signed a proclamation making September 12, 2007 the “State Day of Encouragement” for Arkansas. Later, President George W. Bush also signed a message making September 12 the official “National Day of Encouragement.”

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Here are ten of my favorite quotes about encouragement…

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Alexander Graham Bell

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” William James

Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment. Stephen Covey

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt

“If you dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.” Walt Disney

“Everything will be okay in the end.
If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”
Ed Sheeran


Dealing with Setbacks

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In a recent Writer Unboxed blog post, author Harper Ross shared the following advice on how to weather the emotional ups and downs of the writing life:

There’s a Japanese art called kintsugi where broken pottery is repaired using gold. The cracks aren’t hidden. They’re highlighted, honored, and made beautiful. That’s a lovely way to think of the writing life. It’s not about being unbreakable. It’s about letting your setbacks become part of the story… and then getting back to work with a little more sparkle in your seams.

Here’s what that looks like for me.

Rejection

It’s inevitable that, at some point in your career, you’ll face less-than-glowing beta or critique feedback, unanswered queries, and page requests that result in polite rejections. Each one lands differently, but every rejection stings.

My process for overcoming defeat? I grieve. For an hour, a day, or even a week, depending on the weight of the blow. Then I remind myself: this is one person’s opinion, not a universal verdict. With distance, rejection becomes what it really is—data. Sometimes useful, sometimes not. Always temporary.

I also try to reframe things by empathizing with agents and editors: of all the books I’ve read, how many would I bet my career on? Maybe forty. And yet, I’ve loved hundreds more. That’s how subjective this business is. Somewhere out there, your future reader is waiting for exactly the story only you can tell.

So, I dust off my ego and write anyway. Because my voice matters—even when some people don’t hear it yet.

Jealousy

Nothing quite matches the ache of seeing someone else get what you want. The deal. The review. The spotlight. I’ve felt it. I’m not proud—but I’m not ashamed, either.

Jealousy is just information. It reveals what you hunger for. If you can resist letting it fester into bitterness, you can use it to clarify your goals and fuel your next step. Envy, repurposed, becomes motivation.

Waiting

Nobody tells you how much of this “author’s life” is just…waiting. For responses. For edits. For launch dates. For signs from the universe.

Coming up in this industry during the age of instant everything, I find myself acting like a flustered teen when confronted by even a mild delay in getting a response. To combat my impatience, I’ve started to rebrand those lulls as bonus hours. That simple mental shift motivates me to walk the dog, call a friend, bake cookies, or binge-watch something ridiculous and delightful. Not only do those activities make the waiting bearable—they also refill the creative well. That last part is critical for the hard work of writing the next chapter or next idea.

Creative Drain

Creativity isn’t a faucet you turn on and off on a whim. It’s a fragile ecosystem—and publishing can be a storm. To protect it, you need boundaries.

If a negative review sends you into a days-long negative spiral, avoid checking your book’s Goodreads page. If each political volley reported in your Bluesky feed sends you hiding beneath the covers, limit exposure to social media with apps like Freedom. Stuck in a story rut? Write nonsense scenes just for fun. The best antidote to burnout isn’t a new productivity hack—it’s joy.

Community

I’ve written before about the power of community, but it bears repeating: I wouldn’t still be here without my writing friends. The ones who cheer the wins, sit with the losses, and read the messy drafts without judgment.

Find your people. Writing may be solitary, but survival is not.

If you’re in that murky middle—rejected, exhausted, or just plain stuck—you’re not failing. You’re feeling. You’re human. And you’re still here. Hopefully, some of these tips will keep you going!

Source: Writing Unboxed

Interview with Helen Gillespie

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Helen Gillespie. Today, Helen shares her creative journey and debut novel, The Goodbyes.

Interview

What was your inspiration for this book?

The short answer is, the town of Marshfield, Missouri inspired me. I lived there for a very time. I must have picked up a ghost while there because almost immediately I wanted to write something about the town. It took a personal traumatic event and a job where I was underutilized while having access to a computer to begin writing the story. When I was activated to go to Iraq as part of the U.S. Army Reserves, the story lay barren during my deployment and many years afterward. It took another personal trauma to get myself back to a computer and listen to the ghost that had been with me all those years. The ghost was quick to reveal everything but the ending. After some struggle, the ending was revealed.

Describe your writing space.

I have a cluttered desk. Or it could be described as a “desk with plenty of inspiration.” I’m very fortunate to have a secluded office with a sliding door leading to a beautifully treed backyard with a spinner and a birdhouse that has never been occupied. I do wish three things would change about my writing environment: trees are overgrown, and the dogs keep wanting to go in and out my door.

What is your favorite quote?

A seventh-grade science teacher constantly said, “Things aren’t as they seem to be.” I use that as a guide in my writing. I loved that class!

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I love wind band and old time (1930s/1940s) music. For many years I loved playing tuba and upright bass. Now I just let my fingers make music on my computer keyboard. I don’t listen to music while I write because I’m too analytical and it sends me off into a daydream. In this way I’m very much like my character, Dianne.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Yes. Write. Read. Do both because you enjoy doing each, not because you plan on becoming the next great writer. There’s too much pressure in that.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on a sequel, of course! I previously mentioned “Things are as they seem to be.” The sequel will reveal this very thing. Oh, something else the science teacher often said, “Pay attention.”

Blurb

Struggling with becoming an adult in a small mid-western town, Dianne has to confront family secrets, deception, and discovery during her last year of college. As she cares for her ailing mother, her world begins to unravel and she is challenged to navigate through lies, friendships, love…and murder. Meeting the wrong person makes it possible for her to recognize the right ones and to find the strength she needs to survive. Suddenly realizing that she is responsible for her own destiny, she learns that to say hello to a new life, she must first say goodbye.

This is a family drama that follows a woman’s struggles with her mother’s death, a murder and how she deals with all of this and learns how to say goodbye to all that she has known in her life.

Excerpt

All living creatures hold secrets for basic survival. Humans keep secrets to preserve their image, hide their misjudgments, or protect those they care about. Only in the safest conditions, absolute trust or vulnerability, can humans feel safe divulging their secrets, laying bare their hidden selves.

Katrina England and her husband did not keep secrets from Dianne or indulge in the usual childhood fantasies of princesses or fairy godmothers with her daughter. Even Santa Claus was introduced from a historical perspective rather than as a magical elf. The Englands were doting parents who disciplined their daughter when necessary and answered her questions honestly, only withholding information that surpassed Dianne’s maturity. Yet, despite this philosophy, Katrina did hold a few secrets, one very close.

As Dianne approached adulthood, Katrina began to share these secrets. By then, Dianne’s father had died, leaving the two women to navigate life together as a family with no other relatives living close by. Katrina often grappled with the lifelong weight of a childhood secret and her secret of late, a terminal cancer diagnosis. Both became weightier as her cancer took hold. When Dianne began dating the MegaMart store manager, Katrina’s concern of her daughter’s future turned to worry.

Dianne, nearing graduation while dealing with her mother’s illness, found herself facing unexpected challenges. When Michael D. Glossen entered her life, her challenges became problems. Oddly, she met “Michael D” when a cream rinse emergency arose.

Author Bio and Links

Throughout grammar school and college, Helen Gillespie loved developing story sketches or full stories but kept them hidden within herself. That creative spark proved valuable in unexpected places, first on assignment as a musician in the US Army, and after leaving the Army, when she earned a degree in elementary education. After reentering the Army in 1981, she put pen to paper, or rather, “fingers to an Olivetti.” She officially learned the art of journalism to serve the Army, but it quickly became a personal passion. Interviewing fellow soldiers, exploring their jobs and personalities, and publishing useful information for the military community formed the basis of her skill and enjoyment. Those years of thought, training, education, and experience laid the foundation for crafting her first novel, The Goodbyes.

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Giveaway

Helen Gillespie will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Helen on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.