Stacy and Ambrosia

Today I would like to introduce everyone to author Stacy Overby. She has been kind enough to put her poetry into a new anthology, Ambrosia, for a very good cause, suicide prevention. The proceeds from this book goes to  https://afsp.org/ . I will let her introduce herself and explain what is going on.

Stacy Overby is a regular columnist at ourwriteside.com. Her work has been featured in several anthologies and in issues of OWS Inked, an up and coming literary journal. She is a substance

abuse counselor for teenage boys by day and an author by night. Her day job provides

inspiration for many of her stories. When not at work or writing, she is playing with her son,

hiking, camping, or involved in other outdoor activities – if it is not too cold. She, along with her

social media contacts, can be found at www.thisisnothitchhikersguide.wordpress.com.

Now we get to the questions.

Tell us about the book you're promoting, Stacy.

Ambrosia is a poetry anthology that provides readers with the nectar of the gods. This is

an amazing and diverse collection of poetry that will take readers on an emotional journey not

soon forgotten. I am honored to have been part of this talented group of poets, particularly

because everyone chose to donate everything we make on the book to the American

Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

What inspired this book?

For Ambrosia, it’s not a what, it’s a who. Eric Keizer had the daring and belief in the

featured group of poets, myself included, to pull us all together and create this project. He

believed that we all could rise above the average poetry projects to write something beautiful,

sad, inspiring, heart-breaking, and just plain emotional. Best yet, what we make on this book will

be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Where do you come up with your ideas?

I’m going to combine two questions here as, for me, they overlap. My ideas and

inspiration come from three main sources. First, I grew up on science fiction and fantasy thanks

to my parents. My mom always indulged our love of books and my dad introduced us to the

world of science fiction and fantasy. He’d read a book first and then my brother and I would fight

over who got to read it next.

Second, my son gives me ideas and inspiration. There’s a poem in Ambrosia, I’m sure

you’ll be able to pick out which one, he inspired. I’ve also written several short stories with

thoughts and ideas he’s given me, including a character I’ve based on him—Theron in the short

story Theron’s Dream.

The third source of inspiration and ideas is my work as an adolescent substance abuse

counselor. I see some amazing things and some horrific things as a counselor, which gets

reflected in my writing. Most of the inspiration and ideas from here are more about the emotions

and events rather than the boys themselves. You know, confidentiality and all.

What is one great lesson you have learned as a writer?

Perseverance. Being a writer is not easy, nor is it simple. This is hard, soul rending work

that has a tendency of provoking feelings of inadequacy. But, when the final product finally hits

the page and the readers’ hands, the whole labor of love is worth it. There is nothing like the

feeling of people enjoying what you write.

Just to end this on a less intense note, on a cold day: coffee, tea, cocoa or something a bit stronger, and why?

Tea or cocoa. Tea is my first choice because caffeine, but cocoa is a close second because

chocolate. I can’t do coffee as it upsets my stomach too much.

Ok folks there she is. If you want to meet more of the wonderful authors who donated time and work to this charity anthology you can the see tour master list found here: 

The book is on pre-order for $2.99 and will go up to $4.99 on September 16th and that all royalties go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 

You can preorder on Smashwords or Amazon . And of course since it is on Smashwords you can also find it at Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and nearly everywhere else. I've read parts of it already and loved it. I will be buying it as well. So if you wanna be like all the cool kids, you should get your own copy and help change some lives.

And if you want to connect with Stacy you can find her on Facebook or Twitter  and of course on Amazon Google+ and her website

 https://afsp.org/