I’ve opened the slot for FREE Publicity this month to honour our effort in writing tirelessly during the NaNoWriMo. As you know, I absolutely love reading non-fiction books, and today I am honoured to feature author Nina Norstorm who writes fearlessly about her very own life experience.

If you’d like to showcase your NaNo project, sign up using the link above, share your story and send us the following details:

• What you write.
• Why you write.
• What you intend to achieve by writing.

About the author: (For more details, visit Nina Norstrom)

I am the writer and author of the literary creations, Not a Blueprint It’s the Shoe Prints that Matter / A Journey Through Toxic Relationships and Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall . . . Where Does My Self-Love Fall? / A Success Guide to Replace Toxicity with Love.  It is through those works I’m able to empower and enlighten others on wellness lifestyles.  In a million years, I wouldn’t have imagined or dreamed of being a published author with non-fiction and self-help genres (under my name).  In actuality, journaling became a necessity for several reasons.  It’s a fact writing can be cathartic! What better source to give credence to its statement than Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry.

Whether you know it or not, I’m not one who loves to embrace a camera.  Of course, that’s why one will hardly ever find my facial image anywhere on social media.  If connecting face-to-face, I can readily be identified.  I’ll be the one wearing a hat and rarely seen without it.  When having an opened interview on the screen, I’ll wear my special hat . . . the one with its black, long, dark netted veil.  I’ve hidden behind the veil ‘cause it symbolizes and presents a statement for thousands and millions of Americans ─ who still live in that dark place.  This dark space is where I too once resided for over a decade.  It represents the voiceless; those who are captured in toxic relationships but don’t speak out.  It represents relationships that need to be unmasked to determine whether it’s healthy or unhealthy.  We won’t know what or who is behind the mask until it’s unveiled . . . people; diseases; emotions; feelings; drugs; work environments; sex-offenders; sex-traffickers; sex-abusers; and the list goes on.

As an author and avid reader (myself), I favor writing titles that are on
non-fiction and self-help genres. I not only embrace those literary
topics, I love reading these amazing genres from other writers.

I started writing for several reasons. I’ll share only two of those . . .

1) The writing helped to break through the barriers and release lots
of built-up toxicity. During the process, there was nothing more rewarding
and comforting than writing about the events and pain. Although life tends
to move fast, we should not brush (no) rush through it. The experiences of
our journey are well-worth embracing and exploring. There is much to be
learned from the lessons we gain along the way.

2) Journaling was the one thing I had to relieve the rawness of pain,
nurture my wounds, and escape that tunnel of darkness I lived in. When I
was journaling, it was so therapeutic and became a safe haven. Writing
therapy helped to understand those dysfunctional relationships and define
where I was in life.

Moreover, it about peeling off the layers of “self” ─ while uncovering who
I truly was ─ and learning what self-care is all about.

My level of achievement was to acknowledge, we all are storytellers. And
what better way to release it then through relatable candor. I wanted my
creations and its message to resonate with readers ‘cause they identify
with reality. To garner readership, I wrote in a way I could connect the
story to readers’ interest; and even the hard-core painful truth brings to
light principles. Those principles were the many lessons readers would
gain from the story. Writing vividly was extremely important for me to
ensure sensory details were a part of the pieces; whereas, readers could
personally experience the varied moments. Through it all, it was my
intention that readers have an educational and enriching experience. Most
importantly, know that no one walks alone.