Fodder For Fiction » infertility http://llleibow.com/blog Come share observations about the quirky, silly, deep, and meaningful things in life that not only entertain on the spot, but also contribute to a great store of facts and tidbits I draw from in developing character, setting, and plot in my fiction writing. From time to time, participate in innovative improvisational writing exercises. It's all fodder for fiction! Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:20:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 WHAT MAKES A FAMILY? http://llleibow.com/blog/2010/02/08/what-makes-a-family/ http://llleibow.com/blog/2010/02/08/what-makes-a-family/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:33 +0000 admin http://llleibow.com/blog/?p=281 A family need not be a mother, father, sister, brother. Thankfully, we live in a diverse world. Today, in any random-neighborhood, suburban street, or city block, a single mother with three children, might live next to a couple who, married for the second time, blended their families like The Brady Bunch. Across the street might live two, happily-married, gay men with their four-year-old, adopted daughter. Three houses down, a dual-income husband and wife have been married for years but struggle with infertility.

As the infertile couple works with a doctor, they are likely to investigate the myriad of options available for them to start a family. They might look into domestic and international adoption, they could try artificial insemination, or more invasive procedures, like in vitro fertilization. If the husband learns he has problems with sperm morphology or mobility, they might look into obtaining donor sperm. If the wife’s eggs are not viable, they might consider donor eggs. They might even begin to investigate opportunities to obtain donor embryos.

If successful, either in adopting or giving birth using assisted reproductive technologies, the infertile couple may raise a child not biologically-related to one or both of them. Back to my initial question: What makes a family? Certainly, biological relation does bind some to their families. However, it need not be a factor. To me, it doesn’t matter how the family came to be, unconditional love, support, a sense of belonging are the hallmarks of family.

What’s striking about my novel, Double Out and Back is that it explores from a literary perspective, some of the social issues faced by a generation that has more options than ever when it comes to starting a family. What fascinates me is that when it comes right down to it, even with the technological advancements in reproduction and healthcare, families still must rely on one another to thrive.

Special note: I love the new show Modern Family! I think the photo of the fantastic cast perfectly illustrated this article!

Best to you!

Lisa Lipkind Leibow

Author of Smart Women’s Fiction

www.LLLeibow.com

]]> http://llleibow.com/blog/2010/02/08/what-makes-a-family/feed/ 0 Be A Double Out and Back Groupie! http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/20/be-a-double-out-and-back-groupie/ http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/20/be-a-double-out-and-back-groupie/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:18:00 +0000 admin http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/20/be-a-double-out-and-back-groupie/
Starting September 1 through September 30 Double Out and Back and I will be on a Virtual Book Tour! Here are the some of my planned blog stops. Check back for updates as the month goes on!

09/01/09 Zensanity http://zensanity.blogspot.com/
09/02/09 The Fantasy Pages http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com/
09/03/09 Book Madness http://bookmadness.wordpress.com/
09/04/09 Book Tours and More http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/

09/07/09 The Plot http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
09/08/09 The Plot http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
09/09 The Writer’s Life http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com/
09/10/09 Divine Caroline
09/11/09 Café of Dreams http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/

]]> http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/20/be-a-double-out-and-back-groupie/feed/ 0 EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PREVIEW BEFORE IT HITS THE BOOK STORES http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/11/exclusive-sneak-preview-before-it-hits-the-book-stores/ http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/11/exclusive-sneak-preview-before-it-hits-the-book-stores/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:16:00 +0000 admin http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/11/exclusive-sneak-preview-before-it-hits-the-book-stores/
I can’t believe that this week is finally here! I am so excite about the big debut of my novel. I hope you are, too.

Double Out and Back by Lisa Lipkind Leibow will be available as an e-book (in advance of its print book release) from http://www.redrosepublishing.com/ on August 13, 2009.
Be among the first to read it!
Not every woman who rides the fertility treatment roller coaster winds up like Octomom.
Who will find friends, family, and fertility?
Three women’s lives are intricately intertwined, as Amelia Schwartz and Summer Curtis struggle with the complex dynamics of intrafamily embryo adoption, and Chandy Markum strives to make her patients’ dreams a reality.
After more than a decade, of mourning her parents’ deaths, anal-retentive Amelia Schwartz decides to take control of her life, pursuing single motherhood via embryo adoption. While her fertility doctor, Chandy, is preoccupied with the destruction of the cosmopolitan Cape Town of her youth and her first love in apartheid-torn South Africa, believing all is lost, her niece, a young, married, overachieving attorney Summer Curtis, juggles zealous career ambitions, demanding bosses, and friction with her husband over family and fertility issues. They must confront the painful reality that, no matter what technology humans devise to manipulate reproduction, prolong life, and construct family units, they have not yet mastered control over their beginnings and endings.
Thrown all into this is one story that can make or break. Are you up to it?
]]> http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/08/11/exclusive-sneak-preview-before-it-hits-the-book-stores/feed/ 1 Judging My Book By Its Cover http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/06/17/judging-my-book-by-its-cover/ http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/06/17/judging-my-book-by-its-cover/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:34:00 +0000 admin http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/06/17/judging-my-book-by-its-cover/

The past two weeks have been filled with working with my line editor and my cover artist. The manuscript is almost ready to be formatted and taken out of my hands. This will be a relief, because I think there’s something wrong with me — I could keep tinkering with the text forever.

As for the cover for Double Out and Back, I’m thrilled with it. I hope you think it looks great, too! It was exciting to have some input on its look. Most authors I’ve heard speak of their book covers have said they had no say on the matter. I guess it’s one of the “perks” of working with a small press.

Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

]]> http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/06/17/judging-my-book-by-its-cover/feed/ 3 UPDATE ON DOUBLE OUT AND BACK http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/05/26/update-on-double-out-and-back/ http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/05/26/update-on-double-out-and-back/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000 admin http://llleibow.com/blog/2009/05/26/update-on-double-out-and-back/ Exciting news! My debut novel is making its way along the road to publication. I was interviewed over the Memorial Day Weekend by KT Bishop. www.kenibird.blogspot.com.

I have made some updates to my website, too. I added a sneak peek of Double Out and Back. You can find it at www.LisaLipkindLeibow.com

The latest development is the release of a video book trailer. Check it out!

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