Handbag & Book with author Zara West: The Bag that Turned me into a Writer #TWRP #MFRWorg #Mondayblog

Handbag & Book withZara West



You can tell from this photo that this is not a “handbag” in the traditional sense. This is Greek tagari, or what shepherds use to carry their lunch, water, and other necessities when they are herding their sheep on the mountainsides. 

The amazing thing about the bag in the picture is that I wove from wool I hand-spun and dyed while studying Greek weaving in Greece. I actually wove two, but my anthropologist husband, despite the fact a tagari is designed to take heavy wear-and-tear, wore his out lugging books in it for thirty years. I only use mine for “special” occasions so it still retains its original shape and color. The main reason I wanted to share this bag today it is because of this bag I wrote my first magazine article for Shuttle, Spindle, & Dyepot and because of that article I became a writer.
Zara, I am super impressed!!!

For many years I wrote non-fiction, but recently I have turned to writing fiction: romantic suspense, in particular. On June 17th, my first novel Beneath the Skin, published by Wild Rose Press, will be released. 

 



Ex-Olympic wrestler and reclusive billionaire artist Aristides Stavros has one mission—to rescue his sister, a popular Williamsburg, Brooklyn tattoo artist from the old enemy who has kidnapped her. But at every turn he is confronted by anthropologist Melissa Dermot. Is she just an innocent girl in over her head or is she working for the international crime boss holding his sister? Only one thing is certain, when Ari holds the beautiful Asian-American in his arms questions of guilt and innocence fade against an undeniable fiery attraction. But can their wild passionate love survive the tangled web of long hidden secrets, intentional deceit, and murderous revenge that lie just beneath the surface?

Pre-Order Beneath the Skin at: Amazon

For more information, visit her at Website




So lovely to have you today, Zara!