Bella Mahaya Carter is a creative writing teacher, empowerment coach, speaker, and author of an award-winning memoir, “Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy,” and “Secrets of My Sex,” a collection of narrative poems. She has worked with hundreds of writers over the past eleven years and has degrees in literature, film production, and spiritual psychology. Her poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, articles, and interviews have appeared in Mind, Body, Green; The Sun; Lilith; Fearless Soul; Writer’s Bone; Women Writers, Women’s Books; Chic Vegan; Bad Yogi Magazine; Jane Friedman’s Blog; Pick The Brain; Spiritual Medial Blog; Literary Mama; several anthologies, and elsewhere. In her new book “Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?: Finding Peace of Mind While You Write, Publish, and Promote Your Book” she shows writers how to use their present circumstances as stepping-stones to a successful and meaningful writing life.

“Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?” begins with an Introduction where the author shares her personal experience about how a hammock she received from her husband and daughter for Mother’s Day helped her conclude that peace and happiness come from within. She thought she had placed it in the perfect spot in her backyard but when the neighbor cut down a tree that gave her shade, she was furious about it for a month. It was not until she gave in, relocated it and found another ‘perfect spot,’ that she found that the bliss was not in the hammock itself, but in the permission she “gave myself to let go and be completely present and alive there.” Her goal is that this book will “encourage readers to lean in to their work and their lives with greater freedom, curiosity, and celebration.” It is divided into five parts: Dream (Universal Doubt, Stories That Create Suffering), Nourish (Small Adjustments, Body Breaks), Write (Journal Writing Is Good For Your Writing, The Time It Takes), Publish (Why We Write, The Dream), and Promote (Author Expectations, Hiring a Publicist). Each part stands alone and some chapters end with writing prompts to help readers dig deeper into the subject as it pertains to their lives. Throughout, she also shares her seven major crossroads moments on her path to publication, known as MYHM (move your hammock moment). This must-read resource is meant to give writers inspiration and help authors overwhelmed by the publishing process.

Writing and getting published can be intimidating and there are more than enough books out there dealing with the subject. “Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?” is not only a how-to book, it is also meant to help readers be mentally prepared for the entire process by dealing with fears and feelings of inadequacies and giving them coping skills. The book is brilliantly divided into different stages so that readers can choose what to focus on depending on their needs or just read all the way through. The chapters are short and to the point, without unnecessary ramblings, and the language is easy to understand, true attributes of an educator. Highlights include chapter 38. Craft: Six Ways to Improve Your Writing where the author gives writing tips such as avoiding general terms and writing using your natural speaking voice; chapter 69. Marketing Versus Publicity (marketing is an ongoing process while publicity is a targeted media campaign), and chapter 81. How to Plan a Successful Book Tour. An interesting concept she shares is that “readers want to see their own lives reflected in what they read;” this is why we read and why we write, to connect with others, so we should not be afraid to write about our experiences. It is updated for the modern age with the inclusion of using social media, Facebook and Zoom. “Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?” by Bella Mahaya Carter is an extremely useful and inspiring guide designed to bring out an individual’s creativity. It is recommended for readers looking for ways to improve their writing and tips for how to handle what comes after a book is published.  

“Perhaps one of the greatest skills I know in service to dreams is the understanding that growth takes place at the edges of one’s comfort zone.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.