{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpage-one.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fep-28-holly-payne-8PY0zVK5","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Ep. 28: Holly Payne: Rose Girl","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/8583da00-42e9-4897-ab16-2a2d61be8a44/41863378-e0b0-4ed9-8b50-554b9e871c53/ep-28-holly-payne.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"In today's episode, I've switched things around. My friend and author Kristen Harnisch (Ep. 22) suggested she interview me about my 'new' book Rose Girl, which has just been released as an ebook and dedicated to one of my closest friends, Hilary Blake Hamilton (Ep. 6) who passed earlier this year after an 8 year battle with breast cancer. She is survived by her three children and husband, and the last words I shared with her in hospice is that the book would be dedicated to her, in honor of her courage, resilience and profound love she shared with so many people who knew her. The story of Rose Girl is also one of resilience, and I guess, so is my own story. Kristen persuaded me to have her do the interview and pluck out the story behind the story of Rose Girl—the tale of an orphaned girl in 13th century Turkey who is mistaken as a saint for performing miracles and undergoes a riveting transformation when she meets the beloved poet Rumi, who unlocks the secret of her birth. The book was formerly titled, Damascena, but for lots of reasons that we discuss, I was stubbornly in my own way around marketing, the cover and the title. Hilary was one of my earliest readers and loved this book, so it felt right to put her name in it forever so that she is also remembered for her resilience. As a way to honor her life and her generosity of spirit, I am making the ebook free for anyone now, which can be downloaded from my website at hollylynnpayne.com Even though I love interviewing authors much more than being interviewed, I will admit I loved this conversation with Kristen Harnisch and and am so grateful she pushed me to do it. Just once. I hope you enjoy it too.\n"}