Tuesday 26 April 2022

Style and the Solitary by Miriam Drori (guest post + #giveaway)

 

murder mystery

I'm delighted today to invite you to celebrate the first book birthday for Style and the Solitary, a murder mystery by Miriam Drori. You have a chance to win one of the author's books, and read a guest post on bursting myths about social anxiety. 

Style and the Solitary

An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.

Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?

His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?

She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?

In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?

 

Purchase Link - mybook.to/styleandthesolitary


murder mystery set in Jerusalem


 

Author Bio –

When Miriam Drori says she loves to perform, people don’t believe her. When she says she’s not shy, they think she’s delusional. The fact is, things ain’t what they seem. A witch called social anxiety took away her ability to be spontaneous, but it didn’t change her exhibitionist nature. You need to watch her dancing or speaking before an audience to understand that.

 

Fortunately, she has found an outlet for her thoughts in writing, a solitary activity with multiple recipients. She never doubted her ability to write, but only in recent years has she managed to gather her views and observations together into papier-mâché balls worth throwing far and wide.

 

If you ignore the witch, life has been good to Miriam, especially since she made the decision to move from the UK to Israel. She has a wonderful husband, three lovely children and a delightful house. She loves to read, travel, hike and dance. She has worked in computer programming and technical writing, and now enjoys the freedom and versatility of creative writing. And she believes passionately in raising awareness of social anxiety.

Social Media Links –

Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, Wattpad and website/blog.

Amazon page: Author.to/MiriamDroriAtAmazon

murder mystery set in Israel

Please welcome Miriam Drori, today she is talking about social anxiety.

Bursting Myths About Social Anxiety

I’ll begin with the same introduction I wrote for Reading Tonic. I don’t write solely about social anxiety, but, as it happens, the three books currently available all involve social anxiety. My (unavailable) romance and historical fiction don’t mention it and neither do any of my short stories.

But in researching and talking about social anxiety, I’ve come across several misconceptions, and I’d like to share some of them.

‘Social Anxiety’ is Just a Label

Older people, in particular, hate labels. Not all older people – I should probably say not all of us – but many. They say that in the old days, we didn’t have all those labels (which is true) and therefore people were happier (which is not). They say that nowadays, people hide behind labels; that they use labels as excuses for not tackling their problems. I think it’s more that people with problems hid themselves away so well that those label haters were unaware of them.

I think labels are good, when used properly. Labels help us to find others who struggle with similar problems, to share and support each other. They help us to find professional help. Most of all, they tell us we are not alone.

Social Anxiety is a Choice

Another misconception is that people choose to have social anxiety, and therefore they can choose not to have it, just like that (she says, snapping her fingers).

They apparently don’t realise that, along with social anxiety, comes embarrassment, stress, fear and many other negative feelings. It attracts ridicule, or simply causes others to ignore the sufferer.

No, no one chooses to have social anxiety.

Social Anxiety = Extreme Shyness

This one tends to be true; most people with social anxiety are also shy. They generally believe they were always shy, and their shyness developed throughout their childhood, leading to social anxiety.

However, that’s not true universally, and I’m a case in point. I was never shy, and that’s probably what enabled me to ‘come out’ and even deliver talks about social anxiety.

Social Anxiety = Autism

People who’ve heard a little about social anxiety could be forgiven for comparing it to autism. After all, in both cases, sufferers struggle to fit into society. And, either as a consequence of that or as a cause of it, they generally don’t talk a lot.

However, there’s at least one big difference. People with autism find it hard to understand what others are feeling or thinking, while those with social anxiety understand too well.

Conclusion

I hope I’ve opened up a window on social anxiety. Those three books of mine open doors.

·         Social Anxiety Revealed (non-fiction): a guide to social anxiety, written by me and many fellow sufferers, who agreed for their words to be quoted on condition that they remained anonymous.

·         Cultivating a Fuji (uplit), in which the main character is completely unsuited to the task he is given, of representing his company in Japan.

·         Style and the Solitary (cosy crime), in which the character is arrested for murder and unable to defend himself.

 


Giveaway to Win 5 x PB copies of Cultivating a Fuji by Miriam Drori (Open INT)


book giveaway


 

 

*Terms and Conditions –

Worldwide entries welcome.  

Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  

The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Please note that this giveaway will appear through several blogs taking part in the Book Birthday Blitz.

Chez Maximka has no access to the data collected, and is not involved in the selection of the winner or dispatch of the prize.

Good luck!



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