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
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
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)
*Terms and Conditions –
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Good luck!
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Thank you so much for posting this.
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