P.C. Zick's Blog, page 48
April 24, 2013
Trails on Tour – Chance to Win Giveaway
I’m on a Virtual Book Tour this week with Trails in the Sand – Visit tour stops to enter giveaway
I’m on “tour” April 22-29 to celebrate the forty-third anniversary of Earth Day and to celebrate the publication of Trails in the Sand. At each stop, you’ll be able to enter a raffle for an exciting giveaway at the end of the tour. I’m giving away a package of autographed copies of both Live from the Road and Trails in the Sand, along with a Route 66 baseball cap, a Trails in the Sand magnet, all wrapped in a “green” grocery bag donated by fellow blogger Betsy Wild at What’s Green with Betsy. The bags were designed by Where Designs.
The Tour Schedule for April 24 – Check out this blog today and enter to win the tour giveaway.
April 24
Freda’s Voice features my guest post “Love Those Writers” about why I chose writers as the main characters in my books. Freda’s Voice is “a Canadian lifestyle blog that is PR friendly.”
Author Wednesday – Mary Gottschalk
Welcome to Author Wednesday. Today I welcome Mary Gottschalk, author of the memoir Sailing Down the Moonbeam. Mary stops by today for an interview about her memoir and her current work. On Book Review Friday April 26, I’ll post a review of Sailing Down the Moonbeam.
Thanks for stopping by today, Mary. I’ve read your memoir, but I wondered if all your books have a common theme or thread?
Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, defines risk-taking as “jumping off a cliff and growing your wings on the way down.” At first glance, that sounds preposterous. But upon reflection, it is something we all do, all the time. When you change jobs. When you move to a new city. When you get married. When you have children. In each case, you are stepping out of a familiar environment into one that will challenge you in ways you can only guess at.
I find this quote compelling because I believe you learn the most about yourself and your place in the world when you step outside of your comfort zone. Too many of people stay in unhealthy relationships or unsatisfying jobs because they are afraid to step out into the unknown. In my view, growing those new wings is a critical part of the journey to emotional maturity. This is one of the key themes of my creative writing.
Why have you chosen to write about this particular theme?
I first learned the value of stepping outside my comfort zone during the nearly three years I spent sailing from New York to New Zealand via the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean. As recounted in my memoir, Sailing Down the Moonbeam, I walked away from a “successful” but unsatisfying career, and left behind all of the physical and emotional support systems I’d taken for granted for forty years. As I traveled through uncharted waters—physical as well as emotional—I found myself free to rethink my own social and spiritual values. I didn’t always end up where I thought I was going, but I certainly ended up where I needed to be.
It didn’t take me long to realize that sailing is a metaphor for life and for stepping outside of your comfort zone: the path to your destination is often poorly marked, the route you take depends on external conditions, such as the weather, and all too often you end up someplace very different from where you set out to go.
Although the protagonist in my novel remains in her New York home, she too is forced to cope with the unfamiliar when she has to balance the demands of a distraught teenage daughter and an unconventional rebound romance after her husband leaves her. As she begins to understand why this exhilarating and compelling new relationship – her lover is a woman – threatens some of the values she holds most dear, she also begins to understand her own contribution to the failure of her marriage.
You went sailing in 1985 and then waited twenty years to write about it. Why did you wait that long to tell your story?
I tried several times, between 1985 and 2002, to write a memoir, but those early attempts felt a bit lifeless, as I didn’t yet know how the story ended.
It was one thing to stand on the deck of my yacht and talk about what I had learned and how I had grown, to say that I was no longer going to play “emotional games,” to insist that I wanted to march to my own drum. But those were just words. I had no reason to think the world cared what I had learned or what I wanted. And I had no basis for assuming that I would do things differently once I went back to the world of work and family and friends. It took well over a decade for me to realize that I was approaching life in a new way, and that it was bringing a level of personal satisfaction and financial success I’d never imagined would be mine. I needed the intervening years to get that perspective.
That’s important information to share with others. What’s the best thing said about your memoir by a reviewer?
I have been thrilled by Moonbeam readers who have experienced a “shiver of recognition,” who have come away from my story with a new insight about his or her own life experiences.
Most of my Moonbeam readers are not sailors, and I suspect that many of my novel readers will not have experienced a lesbian relationship. But it pleases me when the social, emotional, and spiritual situations I write about speak to a universal human experience, not the specifics of the sailing world or GLBT [Gay Lesbian Bi-Sexual and Transgender].
What are your future writing plans?
The completion of my novel is in sight, but I have decided to delay publishing it until I can put a solid marketing plan in place, including connecting with potential readers on key issues in the book, such as the dynamics of rebound romances and the impact of divorce on gender identity.
I already have an idea for my next novel, the background of which will be the conflicts between the Catholic Church as a bureaucratic institution and the social and spiritual values held by many sincere Catholics. I do not intend to focus on the pedophile scandal, but rather on the impact of the church’s attitudes toward women priests and nuns, homosexuality, birth control and abortion on real lives. Again, a key theme will be the growth that comes from stepping outside your comfort zone.
I am a contract writer for The Iowan, a general interest magazine that covers a variety of topics in my adopted state. It gives me a great excuse to poke into all sorts of activities I’d never get to see otherwise. I also do occasional contract writing assignments for other organizations around Des Moines.
Thank you, Mary. It sounds as if you’ve always tried to learn from your life experiences and apply them to your life. It’s important to share what you have learned with others, too. Good luck with your fiction. Hopefully, you’ll stop by again when you’re ready to publish the new novel.
About Mary
– Mary has made a career out of changing careers. After finishing her MBA, she spent nearly thirty years in the financial markets, working as an economist, a banker, and a financial consultant to major corporations. She has worked in New York, New Zealand, Australia, Central America, Europe, and amazingly, Des Moines, Iowa.
Along the way, she dropped out several times. In the mid-1980s, Mary and her husband Tom embarked on the multi-year sailing voyage that is the subject of her memoir, Sailing Down the Moonbeam. Twice, she left finance to provide financial and strategic planning services to the nonprofit community, first in New York and later in Des Moines.
In her latest incarnation, she defines herself as a writer. She is working on her first novel, writes for The Iowan magazine, and lectures on the subject of personal risk-taking.
Mary is active on several non-profit boards in the Des Moines area.
Links to books and social media sites
www.Sailingdownthemoonbeam.com
http://twitter.com/marycgottschalk
http://www.facebook.com/mary.gottschalk.9
http://www.facebook.com/MaryGottschalkWriter
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marygottschalk/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/105973496280247274228/posts
April 23, 2013
Giveaway on Virtual Book Tour
I’m on a Virtual Book Tour this week with Trails in the Sand – Visit tour stops to enter giveaway
I’m on “tour” April 22-29 to celebrate the forty-third anniversary of Earth Day and to celebrate the publication of Trails in the Sand. At each stop, you’ll be able to enter a raffle for an exciting giveaway at the end of the tour. I’m giving away a package of autographed copies of both Live from the Road and Trails in the Sand, along with a Route 66 baseball cap, a Trails in the Sand magnet, all wrapped in a “green” grocery bag donated by fellow blogger Betsy Wild at What’s Green with Betsy. The bags were designed by Where Designs.
The Tour Schedule for April 23 – Check out these blogs today and enter to win the tour giveaway.
April 23
Words Unlimited features my guest post on how I came to write Trails in the Sand on Back Story page. Words Unlimited is a lovely blog dedicated to writing and writers.
The blog Bless Their Hearts Mom will publish a review and excerpt of Trails in the Sand.
This is another lovely blog where books and products are reviewed.
April 22, 2013
Earth Day – Incorporate “Green” in Stories
By Today is the forty-third anniversary of the very first Earth Day in 1970 when environmentally minded folks came together to raise awareness after several major disasters in this country. First, in 1969 there was a devastating oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara that compromised both the habitat and the wildlife within reach. Then, if that wasn’t horrific enough, a river caught fire in Ohio. I repeat: a river caught on fire because of the high amounts of combustible crap in the water.
We’re still celebrating Earth Day, and we’re still dealing with environmental disasters such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill three years ago.
This blog is devoted to writing and writers and today is no different despite my opening paragraphs. Today, I urge all writers to consider doing something “green” in your work. You don’t have to write environmentally themed novels as I do, but you could create a character that recycles or drives a Prius or drinks water from stainless steel containers or uses cloth napkins.
I attended a writer’s conference many years ago at the height of the AIDS Awareness campaign. In one of the sessions, an agent urged the participants to make sure the characters were having protected sex, whether it was to show a character pulling a condom out of a drawer or simply having two characters discuss the issue before partaking in sex the first time. I’m doing the same thing here. No matter what you believe about climate change, taking care of our planet just makes good sense. As writers we can lead by example.
You don’t need to make a big deal out of it, just make it a natural part of the story and maybe somewhere something will click with a reader.
In Trails in the Sand, Simon, one of the main characters, toys with the idea of pulling an old solar water heating system out of the barn. Here’s how I handled it:
“I’ve been thinking about something,” Simon said. “Remember that old solar water heater out in the barn? I’m going to pull it out this afternoon and see if we can install it for the bathroom.”
Do you think it’s salvageable?” Caroline asked.
“I’m not sure, but I know this guy on Vilano Beach who works with this type of thing. I thought I’d give him a call.”
“What brought this about?”
“I keep thinking about our dependence on fossil fuels and wondered how we could change our lives in some ways that might make a small difference. Then I read that piece you wrote.”
“So you do read what I write,” Caroline said. “Sure, see if we can do something with it. Maybe Gus wasn’t so far off the mark all those years ago.”
“Maybe not, but don’t worry, I won’t make you live off the grid totally. I’m thinking there’s a middle ground somewhere. And you know I’m your biggest fan.”
Speaking of Trails in the Sand, my virtual book tour starts today. Please check out my blog stops and enter to win a very cool giveaway: an autographed copy of both Live from the Road and Trails in the Sand, magnets, a Route 66 baseball cap, and a “green” grocery bag from What’s Green with Betsy blog.
Here’s the schedule for April 22 
Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries More blog features an excerpt from Trails in the Sand. Melissa loves books and animals. She says her blog is “a book blog with a very pet-centric twist.
Author Richard Stephenson interviews me on his blog. Richard is cool – he devotes much of his blog to promoting Indie Authors.
Bookingly Yours blog features my guest post about the anniversary of Earth Day and the connection to Trails in the Sand.
Jenai reviews books and features guest posts by authors.
Any comments left on today’s post will be entered into a separate drawing (by me) for a Kindle version of one of my three novels in eBook format. Enjoy and do something “green” today.
April 21, 2013
Enter Giveaway On My Virtual Book Tour
April 22-29 – Trails in the Sand goes on a Worldwind Virtual Book Tour
I’ll be out on “tour” April 22-29 to celebrate the forty-third anniversary of Earth Day and to celebrate the publication of Trails in the Sand. At each stop, you’ll be able to enter a raffle for an exciting giveaway at the end of the tour. I’m giving away a package of autographed copies of both Live from the Road and Trails in the Sand , along with a Route 66 baseball cap, a Trails in the Sand magnet, all wrapped in a “green” grocery bag donated by fellow blogger Betsy Wild at What’s Green with Betsy. The bags were designed by Where Designs.
The Tour Schedule – Check out these blogs and my posts and enter to win the tour giveaway.
April 22 – Earth Day
Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries More blog features an excerpt from Trails in the Sand.
Author Richard Stephenson interviews me on his blog.
Bookingly Yours blog features my guest post about the anniversary of Earth Day and the connection to Trails in the Sand.
April 23
Words Unlimited features my guest post on how I came to write Trails in the Sand on Back Story page.
The blog Bless Their Hearts Mom will publish a review and excerpt of Trails in the Sand.
April 24
Freda’s Voice features my guest post “Love Those Writers” about why I chose writers as the main characters in my books.
April 25
I Read Indie blog features my guest post “Why I love sea turtles” about my first interaction with the ancient creatures and how they became a central part of the plot in Trails in the Sand.
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers features Trails in the Sand and my guest post “Subject Chooses the Writer.”
April 26
A Page Away features my guest post “Saving Sea Turtles One Nest at a Time” about my job on the team to rescue sea turtle nests during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
BestsellerBound Recommends features an interview with me using “M” words to describe myself.
April 27
Create With Joy – Live With Passion features a review of Trails in the Sand and an excerpt.
April 28
Bex ‘n’ Books features Trails in the Sand.
April 29
Jody’s Book Reviews features my guest post “Tikkun Olan Found Its Way into the Novel.”
Celtic Lady’s Reviews features a review of Trails in the Sand.
Confessions of an Inner Aspen features an interview with me.
April 19, 2013
Book Review Friday – Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
For months the book sat in my “to read” pile. Then I pulled it out and placed it on the coffee table. It teased me as I savored the anticipation building to the moment I opened the cover and began reading the poetry of Barbara Kingsolver’s prose.
Flight Behavior, Kingsolver’s latest novel, did not disappoint me from the first word to the last, although there were some plot techniques that disconcerted me.
The environmental theme interwoven throughout the plot was executed with a unique choice of characters as the mouthpieces. Using the monarch butterfly as the harbinger of ecological disaster captivated me from the first when the main character, Dellarobia, encounters the unusual sight of thousands of monarchs clustered on tree limbs at the top of a mountain in Appalachia.
She believes she’s seeing the apparition as a warning against the adultery she’s about to commit, until her epiphany on the mountainside. Here’s the vision from Dellarobia’s viewpoint:
“Unearthly beauty had appeared to her, a vision of glory to stop her in the road. For her alone these orange boughs lifted, these long shadows became a brightness rising. It looked like the inside of joy, if a person could see that. A valley of lights, an ethereal wind. It had to mean something.”
Kingsolver received criticisms for her “preachy” tone on climate change. Readers who love her previous works, yet disagree with her politics in this novel, gave her harsh scores and reviews.
I’m reviewing this book on its merits. After all, Kingsolver is preaching to the choir with me. But be forewarned – this book is entertaining and educational, if you want it to be. If however you’re the type of person who doesn’t wish to read anything other than what repeats what you already believe, and if you believe the claims by scientists of climate change are bogus, don’t read this book. You’ll learn nothing and walk away muttering about the “tree hugger” author.
I loved the book for creating a fictional “what if” picture. What if the monarchs, so unsettled by climatic changes in their wintering spot in Mexico, decided to roost in the Appalachian Mountains?
Kingsolver creates a main character in Dellarobia who is a victim of her decisions in life and her circumstances. But never once did I feel sorry for this young mother burdened with the grief of the unmentioned dead baby that tied her down to the husband who is clearly not her match made anywhere. Dellarobia is going through her own “climate change” as she becomes an assistant to the scientists who have come to the mountain to study the anomaly. She becomes our interpreter of the complicated nature of shifting atmospheric patterns and the potential destruction of an entire species. The plot is woven around Dellarobia’s problems and that of the monarchs.
One of the foils for Dellarobia is her mother-in-law Hester who is very unsympathetic and seemingly mean in the first half of the book. As Hester’s story unfolds, Kingsolver is able to deftly turn Hester into a completely sympathetic human character, flaws and strengths both on display. In other words, she’s just like us.
I didn’t like the transition between chapters. Often, Kingsolver would bring the reader to the brink of a breakthrough in discovery of both the human drama and the plight of the monarch, and then the chapter would end. I would eagerly begin the next chapter only to find the plot had moved ahead a few days. I also felt the ending was very quickly tied up in a nice little bow. Some of it was symmetrical, but much of it seemed as if Kingsolver was told by her editors to shorten the book so she rushed the resolution.
Even with the few things I found disconcerting, I would still recommend this book if for nothing else than to enjoy the beauty of a skilled writer dancing her dance for our enjoyment. See for yourself:
“A movement of clouds altered the light, and all across the valley, the butterfly skin of the world transfigured in response, opening all the wings at once to the sun. A lifting brightness swept the landscape, flowing up the mountainside in a wave. Dellarobia opened her mouth and released a soft pant, anticipatory gusts of breath that could have become speech or laughter, or wailing. She couldn’t give it shape.”
Earth Day is April 22 – Celebrate by doing something kind for our planet. I’m out on a virtual book tour next week for Trails in the Sand, and I’ll be doing guest posts on the oil spill that occurred three years ago April 20. There are all sorts of anniversaries during this week in April. Some of them we hate to remember and yet others we must remember. May we somehow find peace within the chaos of these days.
Worldwind Virtual Blog Tour
Be sure to visit my tour stops next week to enter to win a great giveaway prize: An autographed copy of both Live from the Road and Trails in the Sand, a Route 66 baseball cap, magnets, and a “green” grocery bag from Betsy over at What’s Green With Betsy.
April 17, 2013
Author Wednesday – Jade Kerrion
Welcome to Author Wednesday. It’s my pleasure to welcome author Jade Kerrion to my blog today. Jade writes science fiction. With an undergraduate degree in biology and philosophy, becoming a science fiction writer was a logical next step in a multifaceted career path. I hope you enjoy reading her post today about the importance of critique groups to the writing process.
Finding the Right Critique Group
By Jade Kerrion
A few weeks ago, I went on a date with three older women. We split a 16″ pizza with 8 toppings and talked about the men we had married (and in some cases, divorced.) We also talked about the novels we were writing. Through the entire meal, my heart pounded. I knew the three women were evaluating me. It was, in effect, a first date.
At the end of the meal, I had apparently passed muster and was deemed worthy. I was invited into their critique group – which was exactly what I’d wanted ever since I’d heard of the Attic Girls – a play off Stephen King’s reference to his muses, the “boys in the basement.” (Actually, my muse is male and looks like Orlando Bloom, but that’s not the point.)
I’d joined many critique groups before, but why did I want to join the Attic Girls so badly? What makes a critique group good? Obviously, you want to be with strong writers whose feedback can help you grow, but it turns out, the volume of work you can get critiqued over a realistic timeframe is equally important.
Before I joined the Attic Girls, I was part of a critique group that met once a month. The group was large, about twenty to thirty people. Given the size, you could only read about three pages of your work. Let’s see . . . I can write a novel of 85,000 words in three months, and in three months of the critique group, I’d be able to share nine pages of my novel? Out of 200+ pages? That’s hardly enough feedback to make a difference to the novel.
I then found another group. This one met twice a month, and it was about half the size of the first group. You were encouraged to bring five pages of your work. Much better. Even so, over three months, I’d be able to share only thirty pages of my work. Better than nine pages, of course, but still a far cry from 200+ pages.
The Attic Girls, on the other hand, meet every week. Each week, two days before the meeting, we send our work to each other by email. We read the documents on our own time, and then spend the meeting itself providing feedback. The volume of the work you send out is up to you. The Attic Girls didn’t seem to flinch at the fifteen-page document I sent out last week. Think about it, fifteen+ pages a week . . . sixty+ pages a month . . . 180+ pages in three months. That’s almost my full novel. The Attic Girls provide timely feedback that allows me to keep up with my publishing schedule of three books a year.
In addition, the beauty of a small and consistent critique group is that your fellow writers grow with you. They figure out your style. They know if you’re writing hard and trying to find the best turn of phrase or if you’re just coasting along with acceptable but mediocre sentences. Best of all, because we meet in person, we hold each other accountable. If someone doesn’t offer something up for a reading two weeks in a row, we call her out.
The Attic Girls don’t replace my faithful cadre of beta readers, but where my beta readers enjoy the whole story and are tasked with calling out major plot holes or character lapses, my critique group focuses on the details that well-trained novelists notice, like POV shifts. The Attic Girls are the people running beside me in that endless marathon instead of just cheering from the sidelines.
If you don’t already utilize a critique group, I strongly encourage you to join one. It doesn’t matter if it’s large or small, online or in-person. It’s important to connect with other writers and to learn how to give and receive feedback. Perhaps one day, you’ll head out, as I did, on a nervous first date with a fabulous critique group.
About Jade:
Jade Kerrion started out in fan fiction. She developed a loyal reader base with her fan fiction series based on the MMORPG Guild Wars, and was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too? So she made the transition to writing and publishing books that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.
Jade unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series.
Perfection Unleashed and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, have been described as “a breakout piece of science fiction” and drawn rave reviews for their originality and vision.
Her novel, When the Silence Ends, is a Young Adult spinoff the Double Helix series. 
She is also the author of Earth-Sim, a compelling and whimsical view of Earth’s history through the eyes of the two students assigned to manage our planet.
She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her wonderfully supportive husband and her two young sons, Saint and Angel, (no, those aren’t their real names, but they are like saints and angels, except when they’re not.)
Social media and buy links:
Connect with Jade Kerrion: Blog / Facebook / Twitter
Perfection Unleashed: Amazon / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
Perfect Betrayal: Amazon / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
Perfect Weapon: Amazon / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
When the Silence Ends: Amazon / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
Earth-Sim: Amazon / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
April 15, 2013
777 Novel Day
Today I’m participating in the 777 Novel project.
I’m gearing up for Trail in the Sand‘s virtual blog tour, starting next week on the forty-third anniversary of Earth Day. I’m visiting fifteen different blogs in seven days, which means I’m writing guests posts until my fingers are nearly raw. I’m still attempting to keep up with my own blog.
Worldwind Virtual Book Tour
I thought this exercise sounded like fun to do with my new manuscript for my novel Safe Harbor - working title only. If you have any suggestions for a different title please. . . Also, this was an easy and fun post to put together. Hope you enjoy it, too.
Here are the rules: Share 7 lines from page 7 or 77 of your manuscript or go to page 7 or 77 and count down 7 lines and copy the next 7 lines of your manuscript.
I chose to go to page 77, which happened to be the start of a new chapter:
“Daniel drove into Venice Village, carefully avoiding the potholes in the dirt streets filled with water from the rains that drenched the area after Hurricane Charley exited the state the week before. Tall cranes stood motionless on the site where 120 condominiums would soon rise to meet the claws of the machines. As dusk approached, Daniel imagined the machinery as dinosaurs waiting to pounce on their prey, not heeding anything but the need to fill an empty and large stomach.
Some of the bridges over the canals were still under water, but Daniel knew Rob and his buddies would be staying near the bridge at the back of the compound where a rise in the landscape provided relief from the flooded canals. Daniel noted as he drove that drainage culverts and retention ponds, while not fully complete or functional, still had not performed in any way that gave him confidence this folly of creating the Floridian Venice would work.
He saw Rob and Jeremy walking toward the car so he slowed down, careful to not get stuck in some of the muddy ruts in the road, which had been carved by the trucks and machinery of the crews working diligently to bring the perfect housing complex to St. Johns County.
Rob climbed in the front seat and Jeremy climbed in back behind him.”
Safe Harbor examines the folly of man when he transforms nature for his benefit. Nature always wins in the end. A group of ordinary citizens form an odd group as they attempt to stop an international conglomerate from destroying the natural world they treasure.
Why don’t you give it a try? This was fun to see where the 777 took me. Let’s hear yours!
April 12, 2013
Book Review Friday – Announcement
Good morning – Today rather than writing a review, I’d like to offer a press release announcing the release of Aggravated Circumstances, a new women’s fiction/legal saga by author Michele Shriver. Michele is a fellow Indie Author and blogger. She’s hosted me twice on her blog: February 13 author interview and March 8 with a guest blog, Every Writer Needs an Editor.
I’m pleased to share her good news about her new release. Michele will also be featured on this blog on Author Wednesday May 22.
Drum roll, please, for Aggravated Circumstances by Michele Shriver. . .
A family can be torn apart in an instant. Putting it back together is a harder task.
A relapsed addict opens the door to find a cop with a search warrant, setting off a chain of events that will cause four lives to intersect.
Devin Lenox has already lost one child to the system, and this time she vows it will be different. If she’s going to make it, though, she’ll need something she’s never had before- someone on her side.
Her battle with depression behind her, Elisa Cahill looks forward to resuming her legal career. Devin’s case seems like the perfect opportunity to do that, and bury her own past demons in the process, at least if old grudges don’t prove to be her undoing.
Child protection worker Taylor Ross struggles to balance a social life with her demanding job and has little sympathy for people like Devin, at least at first. When Taylor starts to see Devin in a new light, she finds herself at odds with her superiors. Will she be willing to go to bat for Devin, and what price will she pay if she does?
Sarah Canfield is a compassionate judge who is not afraid to make difficult decisions, but will her past link to Devin undermine her objectivity and cause her to put her own family at risk?
A look inside the child welfare system, the people who work in it and the lives it impacts, Aggravated Circumstances is a story of despair, hope, and recovery.
Available now from:
Amazon/Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C479UY4
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/16xlk23
Kobo: http://bit.ly/11uoVwy
Paperback: Availbable on Amazon
Add the book on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/12iptVn
About the author:
Michele Shriver lives in the Midwest U.S. where she maintains her law practice in addition to pursuing a writing career. In her free time, she enjoys Zumba fitness, bicycling and the NFL and NHL.
Contact:
micheleshriver@gmail.com
Twitter: @micheleshriver
Facebook Page: Author Michele Shriver
April 10, 2013
Author Wednesday – Hazy Shades of Me
Welcome to Author Wednesday. I’m very excited to host a new, but solid friend and author, Alana Agerbo. When I started this blog last year, Alana was one of my first followers and one of the first to comment on my posts. I remember how excited I was when she posted one of my blogs to Facebook. I began following her blog, Hazy Shades of Me, and discovered a writer with extraordinary talent and a woman modest about her craft. I also made a friend, even though we’ve never met in person. To me, she will always be “Hazy” in name, but clear and poetic in her prose. I present to you with great pride and joy, my friend and author, Alana Agerbo AKA Hazy.
I Can Be Silver
By Alana “Hazy” Agerbo
I am gray.
Dappled Gray. I’m unconcerned whether we see a drama or a comedy, have pasta or potatoes, drink red or white. Not for indifference, but because I consider it food for creativity and know I will well digest whatever we end up with. When you choose, my status quo is removed. You can run the show, should you so desire. Shrouded in many shades of black and white. I am gray.
I am medium.
In recent years, I’ve realized it’s OK to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. This has stopped me in the past from following dreams and admitting goals. When a medium is supposed, a want for large is tough to declare. Resentment for succumbing to this weakness is fruitless. Instead, I trust in time and place. My number has now been called, and I’m answering in slow, stuttering spurts. I am medium.
I am guilty.
A mother of three who works freelance, not in writing, but in make-up, I am responsible for tucking my passion between freshly laundered piles of clothes or at the bottom of my brushes and creams. I have let others’ feelings sway me. I have spent years telling myself it wasn’t meant to be, my own discourager and dissuader. I am guilty.
I am stubborn.
Now forty-two, I admit I am seeking to nab a spot on your local bookshelf. I want to be published. There, I said it. It’s taken me this long to stop writing in the backs of lost journals or pages torn from old coloring books and begin writing for all to see, or in reality, whomever grants a visit to my heart blog. I am stubborn.
I am selfish.
I want. I need. I love. I write. I sit down blank, empty, and somehow, it comes. Tentatively, I’m getting to know my muse; a trigger from the day before . . . a conversation, an event . . . maybe a memory from long ago, sometimes an emotion from something, somewhere. Other times simply a word or an outcome my imagination has altered, realities morphed into metaphors. Whatever it is, it feeds me, and I set the table, an eager, welcoming host.
Delaying chores, responsibilities and obligations, I write. In my defense, I sincerely believe it will be but an hour. Most always, it is more than a few. I am selfish.
I will be silver.
I have found, that with any luck, elbow grease, and a little polish, I begin to sport spots of shine. As with most things, purpose, persistence, and practice prosper and with nourishment, they grow. I’ve grazed on knowledge with which only the tenacious and committed are blessed. Gray is a version of silver. I will be silver.
A little bit about Hazy
Alana Agerbo writes out of Vancouver, Canada. She began her blog in March 2012 in an attempt to pin the words skittering through her mind, and it has inspired her to write on an almost daily basis. She does have a dusty old manuscript lying in drawer, complete with more than a few letters of rejection, but is hopeful to see her work on a shelf one day, not a speck of dust to be found. Alana has had some works published on Ezine.com.
She blogs here and here, tweets here and is on Facebook, just like the rest of the world.
