My mother, a former English teacher, reminded me recently that the best writers are avid readers. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Writers are inspired to write from the joy they receive from reading the works of others. Each book I read is like a new exotic piece of candy to me and a vacation to another place and time. For just a few dollars, you can have an escape, a head trip to somewhere else, whether you are sitting in your living room, on a bus, or waiting for your kid's soccer practice to finish. I'm surprised today that most of my childhood photos aren't just the top of my head, peeking out from the cover of a book.
Speaking of head trips--my latest was Margaret Atwood's, The Year of the Flood. It's a rich futuristic tale with a lot of caveats about a corporate run world and genetic splicing gone wild (think lion-lamb creatures, green rabbits, and glow-in-the dark roses). It's not a funny light-hearted tale, though. It makes you think a lot about where we might be headed, and maybe, like the God's Gardeners, consider how the simple and natural things in life are the most fulfilling and life supporting. (Heads up: I give it an 'R' rating for some adult content.) Read more at http://www.yearoftheflood.com/us/.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Gardener
My first novel, The Gardener, is uploading on Smashwords tonight. This novel was a finalist in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Contest in 2007. Since then, it has been nipped, tucked, and completely overhauled into a shiny new version. You can download a sample or purchase at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27679.
In the small town of Calathia, Kansas, Opal Peabody performs a seance to contact Virginia Blake's dead husband, but another spirit answers the call. Over a hundred years back, he was the gardener for one of Virginia's ancestors. But, he was also a murderer. When Virginia mysteriously dies, her granddaughter, Georgia, an art gallery owner from New York City, inherits the house. The spirit grows stronger as her kills, and the bodies begin to pile up in Calathia. Opal is desperate to find a way to banish him. Can she do it before it's too late for Georgia?
In the small town of Calathia, Kansas, Opal Peabody performs a seance to contact Virginia Blake's dead husband, but another spirit answers the call. Over a hundred years back, he was the gardener for one of Virginia's ancestors. But, he was also a murderer. When Virginia mysteriously dies, her granddaughter, Georgia, an art gallery owner from New York City, inherits the house. The spirit grows stronger as her kills, and the bodies begin to pile up in Calathia. Opal is desperate to find a way to banish him. Can she do it before it's too late for Georgia?
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