Sneak Peek: Overlay

Today we have a sneak peek from the memoir by Marlayna Glynn Brown: Overlay – A Tale of One Girl’s Life in 1970s Las Vegas.

Fans of The Glass Castle will appreciate this extraordinary tale of the author’s turbulent yet triumphant childhood in 1970s Las Vegas.

Born into an ongoing cycle of familial alcoholism, the author develops a powerful sense of self-preservation contrasted by the people entrusted with her care. She explores the personalities of the bizarre characters who populate her life as she moves from home to parent to friends’ families and ultimately to homelessness as a young teen.

From her remarkable resources emerges an inner strength that will captivate readers, remaining in their consciousness long after the last page has been turned.

Overlay – A Tale of One Girl’s Life in 1970s Las Vegas is available from Amazon.

And now, an excerpt from Overlay…

Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Overlay”

Memoir of a Memoirist

by Marlayna Glynn Brown
Being a memoirist isn’t easy. Creating art from real life requires story-telling talent, thick-skin, and the ability to hide a character’s identity without straying from truth. Writers like me, who couldn’t produce an entertaining piece of fiction to save their own lives, have no choice but to write what we know.

I’ve been an avid diarist for thirty years. It’s easy and natural for me to record events, thoughts, feelings and interpretations. When I was given writing assignments in high school, college and then grad school, I learned I could only base my work on what had really happened to me, and events I had actually experienced. Jumping from reality to imagination was never easy for me. Any time I tried to veer from reality and create a person or event that didn’t exist or happen, I found myself face to face with my own folly. The recording of actual events and people isn’t always necessarily interesting. A memoirist must be able to weave the threads of reality into a tale that others find entertaining. A memoirist can interlace facts with creative description, and events with ring-side interpretation. Characters and events can be presented, and sometimes shaded as the memoirist sees fit. A writer needn’t necessarily tell the reader anything in particular, and can merely present, or just partially describe without definition. Continue reading “Memoir of a Memoirist”

Book Brief: Overlay

Overlay – A Tale of One Girl’s Life in 1970s Las Vegas
by Marlayna Glynn Brown
Genre: Memoir
110,000 words

Fans of The Glass Castle will appreciate this extraordinary tale of the author’s turbulent yet triumphant childhood in 1970s Las Vegas.

Born into an ongoing cycle of familial alcoholism, the author develops a powerful sense of self-preservation contrasted by the people entrusted with her care. She explores the personalities of the bizarre characters who populate her life as she moves from home to parent to friends’ families and ultimately to homelessness as a young teen.

From her remarkable resources emerges an inner strength that will captivate readers, remaining in their consciousness long after the last page has been turned.

This title is available from Amazon. Continue reading “Book Brief: Overlay”