Here is an interview posted on Youtube from early March, 2023:
https://video.fcatv.org/videos/around-foxborough-177-a-conversation-with-author-jed-griswold/
I am a member of the National Writer's Union, and the
Association of Rhode Island Authors -- https://www.riauthors.org/authors/
Scroll Down
to See a Calendar of Book-Selling and Signing Events in RI and MA
New Book Just Released
Fables for Fiction
Fables are stories that never actually happened as told… but are always happening as lived.
All meaningful philosophies and religions are filled with such valuable stories with lessons for all ages.
This collection of original fables is an effort to share lessons for life from universal questions and experiences. They grew from my experience as a psychologist and as a minister. They were written for both adult and child ears, and some developed because of sensitive experiences – like aging, facing illness or disabilities, experiencing the death of a family member, dealing with fears.
Storytelling can be a gentle yet powerful way of introducing difficult discussions.
The title of this collection is rooted in the author’s awareness of the traditions of the Abrahamic Faiths. In those traditions, creation happens with perhaps the most valuable part at the end -- a final day of reflection.
Friday is a holy day of reflection in Islam; for Judaism, Friday evening and Saturday is the Sabbath, also a day of reflection; and Christianity observes Sunday as their day of reflection.
And this pattern is visible in all living religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. All value time for reflection.
For all of us, weekdays are filled with work, errands and important tasks. The weekend is a good time to take a break, reflecting on the past week and on the next week … and finding a meaningful “day of rest”, shifting from tasks to thoughts, hopes and prayers.
Each fable encourages meaningful reflection, and perhaps discussion for the family around a dinner table, a family room, or at a bedtime story.
So, for this Friday, you are invited to read, reflect and respond ... about what you are thinking, feeling and wondering.
Selected books are now on sale at ---
(with rotating selections)
Cumberland RI -- Phantom Farms, Chapel Pharmacy,
Ollie's Diner, Diamond Hill Vineyards
Attleboro MA -- Level Acres Farm Community Center of North Attleboro
West Warwick RI -- Stillwater Books
Fall River, MA -- --- SOCO Art Lab, 145 Globe Street
www.threeregocreative.com
Westborough, MA -- Tatnuck Bookseller
18 Lyman Street
This writing project has been 40 years in the making, with an interesting history. Reinhold Niebuhr was the dissertation advisor to my dissertation advisor, which began 4 decades of storytelling. In my retirement, I am now able to convert my stories into printed books.
A Brief Description of My Children’s Books
Recommended for ages 6-12
The Little Drop of Water (included in "Growing Up Through Changes and Challenges")
Theme: Changes and challenges are a normal part of life, and they can bring new experiences and insights
Recommendation: Invite questions about changes the child is currently experiencing
Leafy the Leaf (included in "Growing Up Through Changes and Challenges")
Theme: A life-long question: When to hold on, and when to let go
Recommendation: Invite questions about holding on or letting go
Smally the Seed (included in "Always Dream Big")
Theme: Smally has an important dream of becoming a tall and wide tree, but buildings get in the way
Recommendation: Invite questions about changes which get in the way of achieving a dream
Climby the Caterpillar (included in "Always Dream Big")
Theme: Climby has an important dream, but a fear becomes an obstacle
Recommendation: Invite questions about fears which get in the way of achieving a dream
The Caring Cloud (included in "Believing is the Beginning") (currently being revised)
Theme: A Caring Cloud worries that earth’s creatures might think the caring is gone if the cloud cannot be seen
Recommendation: Invite questions about believing in something even if it is not always visible
The Flutterby (included in "Believing is the Beginning") (currently being revised)
Theme: A caterpillar dreams of flying, but faces the problem of how to learn to fly
Recommendation: Invite questions about learning and planning in order to make a dream come true
Finding Beauty (included in "Finding Myself by Finding Others")
Theme: A colorful leaf worries if it is beautiful, and gets help from a wise cloud -- and Autumn is created
Recommendation: Invite self-discovery questions about learning through being with others who are both similar and different
Finding My Groups (included in "Finding Myself by Finding Others")
Theme: Creatures of the earth find that categorizing others – or ourselves – may not always be helpful
Recommendation: Invite self-discovery questions about any pressure to fit into only one group, or about putting others into only one group
How The Thankful Table Became a Holiday Host
Theme: An inclusive story about family celebrations – including Thanksgiving and Christmas
Recommendation: Invite a discussion about a child’s own traditions around the family table
My Approach to Writing Children's Story-Books
I avoid telling a story which has a "and the lesson of this story is..." ending. Instead, I describe universal life experiences which every child (and even every adult) can relate to. And the story is open-ended, because
I want to leave it to the parent-child (teacher-child) conversation
to discover just how the child is relating to the story. To accomplish that, there are questions at the end of every story to guide that discussion.
Learning happens when an understanding is invited rather than declared.
A New Children's Storybook
with an inclusive celebration of the Winter Holidays
with an inclusive celebration of the Winter Holidays
Note:
The content of Preparing for Retirement
has been reviewed by
a Certified Financial Planer
as having accurate information.
Sample Pages from Behind the Podium
Behind the Podium has three indexes --
one for the titles of each dated entry
one for each of the related themes in every entry (the phrases under the titles)
one for the names of any historical figure referred to to in the entry
My 2024 Schedule for Book-Selling Events
May 18 -- Phantom Farms, 2920, Diamond Hill Rd, Cumberland, RI
June 15 -- Job Armstrong Store, 1181 Putnam Pike, Chepachet RI
22 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
29 -- Job Armstrong Store, 1181 Putnam Pike, Chepachet RI
July 13 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
14 -- Hearthside House Museum, 677 Great Road, Lincoln RI
27 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
August 17 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
31 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
September 21 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
October 5 -- Chase Farms, 667 Great Road, Lincoln RI
November 16 -- Community Center of North Attleboro MA, 104 Washington St.
AND ...
... depending on the weather, occasionally at PVD Artisans, Lippit Park,
1015 Hope Street, Providence RI
This will be updated as events are added --
and if you can recommend events or invite me to an event,
please contact me. I can be joined by my illustrator:
Jerry Aissis is a retired teacher who is known for bright and bold colors in his landscapes and
seascapes. He teaches art classes and displays his artwork in many New England venues.
“There is inspiration all around you. Never stop looking. Never stop painting.”
Look for my books – and come to support other local writers and artisans
and arrangements can be made to meet local buyers.
I have a sales permit and my sales are tax exempt.
Contact me at info@griswoldconsulting.net if you are interested
in meeting locally to purchase (or discuss) any books.
I am also available for a seminar on storytelling.
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All Books Are Available on Amazon
and by Direct Purchase from the Author
Books Now Available by Jed Griswold
on Amazon and from the author directly
The series of new Children's Books are based on a collection of stories told by me, a storyteller who, as a minister and a psychologist, has shared stories for “children of all ages” with the goal of creating a foundation for revisiting a good story over time. It is my hope that each story will be heard by ears young and old, and will resonate at every age.
In addition there are a historical-fiction novella, a fiction novella, a history reference, educational resources, and even a retirement planner!
Keep checking this site -- there is more to come in this "retirement bucket list" project!
Jed Griswold
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