Serving Without Boundaries

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Dr. Hina Fatima sharing her story of a fulfilling life of service.

Here’s Fatima!

As a young girl growing up in a metropolitan city of Pakistan, my parents always inculcated into me that I have to become a doctor when I grow up. Ah! A doctor! A very honorable profession that is not only internally satisfying but provides selfless service to the people. A rigorous course of education of seven years followed by an equally tenacious house job of one year, the sleepless nights at the civil hospital general wards and the consistent emergency calls at the OR…life as a medical student was a test of perseverance and determination.

When I graduated as an MD, the triumph my parents felt, could be seen on their faces. As I ventured into the clinical field, I realized this was it! My life serving people, be it day or night, sunshine or rain, in sickness and in health!

And then, I got married! 🙂

Not necessarily a bad thing but marriage brought with it change, responsibility and inclusion of other people's say in my life. As tradition is, my marriage was an arranged one, to a complete stranger, a US citizen. And I landed in this foreign country of United States with dreams bigger than I had ever dreamt. Marriage is a life long commitment and requires time. Time, that I had to sacrifice in order for my marriage to survive. My loving husband, a full time architect in US Navy, and I, decided we wanted to live our lives to the fullest, without the daily qualms and quarrels.

My husband, my children, my house needed my time. Yes, as a doctor I can make thousands of dollars, but I can't spend the quality time I want to spend with my family, raising kids the way I want and teaching them values that I was taught. But that didn’t mean I had to quit doing what I love to do most.

I met this wonderful lady, Dr. Marie Banuelos who introduced me to Kiwanis. Kiwanis is an international organization of volunteers dedicated to serving humanity, changing lives, one person at a time. She had created Cyber Kiwanis, an e-club, with the vision that anyone and everyone who wanted to be a part of a service organization, but didn't have time to attend the meetings, could at least be part of an online club and communicate electronically. All they have to do is commit a certain number of hours of community service, in their own communities, wherever they are located and be a part of a group who share similar interests.

Yes, the interests are similar, but the cause may be different. For example, a person wants to help the homeless in his community, the other wants to mentor school children in his neighborhood, and the third finds satisfaction in helping people with special needs. So, we all chip in to support each other in our separate causes and yet be a part of a community who has a passion to serve.

I found this club to be very interesting and convenient. With members ranging from age 18 to age 60, and distributed amongst many States, I can volunteer as many number of hours as I can and get credit for it as a Kiwanian! What else would I want more. I started blogging for the club to to speak out, to educate and to motivate people to come out and serve humanity, in whatever small way they can, without expecting anything in return. We live in a monetary world wanting more and more at every step in life. We don't realize there are people in the world who don't even get to eat one full meal. We want to save more and more not realizing there are people who are just trying to survive.

I am not a rich philanthropist. Just a regular house-wife with two kids living on a single income of my husband, who doesn't make a lot. But we are content, still trying to give rather than save, because we are better off than many. My children have the opportunity to get the best education, compared to so many who never even see the face of a school. I believe, we should all be thankful to God for whatever we have and spread love and happiness around us and give as much as we can to those who are less privileged.

The club's community service projects include fighting childhood obesity, Diabetes awareness, supporting Special Olympics, Children's Hospital, Relay for Life, Kiwanis Family House in Sacramento and providing scholarships to three high school key club graduates. Other than that, on individual levels, volunteer members do what ever community service they can do in their own communities. We have members reading to children, mentoring senior citizens, heading concession stands at different rallies and parades, fund raising for the club itself and other organizations. My personal interest is in the United Cerebral Palsy of Central California and Zindagi Trust, which is an international organization based in my home country Pakistan. It is educating poor children free of cost. I advocate for Zindagi Trust and blog for Cyber Kiwanis at the same time. With a three and one year old, who keep my hands full, this is the maximum I can do at the moment, hoping to be able to do more with time.

To find out how you can help people around you by your words, small acts of kindness, spending some time with them, donating some of your household items, clothes, jewelry etc…

Links

Visit our website http://www.cyberkiwanis.bravehost.com

Subscribe to our blog http://www.cvckiwanis.bravejournal.com

Email me at hina.fatima.82@facebook.com

LIKE our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/cyberkiwanis

Donate at http://www.cvkfoundation.com/news

Sponsor Zindagi Trust students at http://www.zindagitrust.org/donate.php

Joanne here!

Fatima, thank you for inspiring and motivating us with your extraordinary journey. You have given us many ideas on how to serve in our communities.

A Dream Achieved

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Soul Mate author Samanthya Wyatt sharing her writing journey and recent releases.

Here’s Samanthya!

Life is an interesting journey. We never know what is in store for us. As a child I had many desires, be a singer, be a movie star, but the one thing that seemed to come natural was write. I wrote poems, short stories, and then tucked them away. I always signed them unknown author. I guess the fear of rejection was in me even then. One day I showed them to my sister. When I told her I’d written them, she would not believe me. I see now my writing was good enough for her to assume someone else wrote it. But at the time, I was intimidated and never exposed myself to that kind of heart ache again.

When I graduated, my life changed. I married a military man, we traveled the United Stated and abroad. Once I found historical romance novels, I couldn’t put a book down. I fell in love with the characters and needed to know their happy ending.

My husband loves the mountains so we settled in the Shenandoah Valley and I continued my accounting career. Having a full time job and taking care of a family, my outlet was reading a good romance novel. About fifteen years ago, I wrote to Catherine Coulter and was amazed that she wrote back. She was very encouraging and told me to join RWA. She said to write everyday even if it was only one sentence.

I started writing again. I wrote a story and once again life took over, so I put it on a shelf. A few years ago I decided I wanted to pursue writing seriously. I entered a lot of contests, workshops, and made some good friends via e-mails. I pulled my story back out and finished my historical, The Right One, the first of a trilogy, “One and Only Series”.

I am a member of various chapter groups including Hearts Through History, RWA contemporary, Savvy Authors, all of which contributed to the author I am today. Although my main love is historical, I completed a contemporary for fun. A pitch opportunity with Savvy Authors resulted in both books being published by Soul Mate Publishing.

It’s difficult to find time to write when you have a full-time job. But just a little, a few sentences, a paragraph, will turn into a page, a chapter. Every moment I can slip away into fantasy, I go for it. My dream paid off. I will retire soon and look forward to hours of writing.

I get a lot of joy from creating new characters and bringing them together in a romantic tale. It took years of putting words on paper, joining RWA, joining other chapters, entering contests, submissions, rejections. Keeping my spirit and turning criticism into drive.

If you have the desire to write, I urge you to follow your dream. No# 1. Join RWA. From there you learn to do a number of things. You can join chapter groups, critique groups, you’ll find friends and receive a lot of help. Take every workshop offered—GMC, POV, character interviews, etc. Believe me, you’ll be glad you did. Enter contests and keep your mind open. Take criticism as constructive. Make your writing better. Don’t expect success overnight. It is a long, hard process. If you are determined, keep trying. Don’t give up.

I enjoy penning a story with strong characters, a bit of humor, and active scenes. I invite you to lay the worries of the world off your shoulders and get lost in the pages of a romance, where you embark on a journey with the hero and heroine, become involved in a dream, plunge into a world of fantasy, live an adventure your heart can share.

Samanthya’s Books

He abducts the wrong woman . . . she proves she is the right one.

The setting is 1825 England, Regency Period

Morgan Bartholomew Langston, Earl of Whetherford, has finally decided to accept his fate. Tired of dangerous assignments and putting his neck on the line, he has returned to his ancestral home to accept the title of his birthright and produce the required heir. But, when he arrives, he finds his home has been invaded and a female has taken off with his mother’s jewels. Morgan decides the traitorous jade will not get away, so he sets into motion a plan to bring her back. When he abducts the wrong woman, his reaction to her brings him dangerously close to breaking his vow of forbidden emotions.

Katherine Elizabeth Radbourn is a strong, independent woman, and at the age of twenty three is still unwed. In a desperate attempt to find her brother, she is abducted which leads her on a journey to love and mistaken identity. Once she meets her captor, fear and indignation dissipates to an overwhelming awareness. Even though he tells her she is the wrong one, Kat realizes she has finally met a man that—not only she is attracted to—but has awakened her woman’s body. Does he really care for her or does he secretly yearn for the woman she is supposed to be? Uncertainty makes her risk the very man she has given her soul.

A determined man, a headstrong woman, and a battle of wills.

The setting is New York, see the Brooklyn Bridge.

Matthew longs for a woman to share his life, not his bank account. He owns a prestigious company that he rules with an iron fist. On his way to an important meeting, a light flirtation turns into more than he expects. He meets a woman with more confidence and strength than most men. Long legs get his attention, but Carrie attracts his interest. The alluring beauty does not need his money, and makes it clear she does not need him. He accepts the unspoken challenge.

Carrie trusts no man. An executive partner, she possesses a confidence that makes her assertive and her aggressiveness toward the male gender is somewhat intimidating. Until a pair of mischievous eyes melts her defenses, and has her second guessing her convictions. The day he shoved her into that cab he must have chiseled a chink in her armor. Matthew charges into her well organized life, cracks the stone wall she’s built and instills an emotion she swore never to allow.

Infatuation and excitement spark a journey of passion and forbidden emotion where two people must overcome their earlier convictions to find an everlasting love.

Where to find Samanthya…

Website | Amazon | Soul Mate Publishing

Joanne here!

Samanthya, Thank you for an inspiring and motivating post. Best of luck with The Right One and Something More.

Spotlight on Kate Sparkes

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

For over a year, I have followed Kate’s blog and enjoyed her delightful take on the long and winding road to publication. Today, Kate is sharing more of that journey and celebrating the release of her debut novel, Bound.

Here’s Kate!

It’s quiet here tonight. The kids are yelling outside, but in here… silence. The book is published. No more scurrying around, making last-minute changes. No more worrying about whether it’s going to be ready in time. Just me, a cat, a cup of tea, and room to breathe.

It feels very different from my life when I started writing this book. That was three and a half years ago– November 2010. Back then the kids were smaller, and always under-foot (or on lap, if I wanted to write). We lived in another province. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but had never actually finished a book. My writing life was a series of amusing short stories that I never showed to anyone, plus a trail of started-and-abandoned novels. But I had a story in my heart, and I decided to make it happen.

If you’d told me then how this would all turn out, I might have given up.

You see, it’s been an interesting journey, and a challenging one. And challenges? They’re not really my thing.

I’d have despaired if I’d known it would be almost four years before the book would see the light of day. If you’d whispered in my ear the number of re-writes, edits, corrections, and lost files I’d encounter, I’d have politely showed you to the door and collapsed, sobbing, onto the (unswept) floor. And if you had told me what a hard time Aren would give me over his motivations, and Rowan over her personality… honestly, I’d have killed them both off in chapter one and written about unicorns and bunny rabbits.

So much has happened since then, though. I’ve changed, grown stronger and more resilient, and learned that the work is its own reward. I’m not afraid of the hard work any more. My path has changed. Me of 3.5 years ago didn’t even have independent publishing on her radar. Me of today is glad I chose this path instead of one that might be a good fit for many people, but wouldn’t have worked for me. I’ve learned so much about writing, publishing, and myself.

This book has been a part of me for years, now, and it’s come a long way. I hope I’ve improved as much as the book has. I think I have, as an author. As a person… well, maybe that could still use some work. But there’s still a whole lot of journey left ahead of me as I finish this trilogy and move on to other projects.

All I can do is follow my dear characters’ example, and take the adventure as it comes.

Blurb

Welcome to Darmid, where magic is a sin, fairy tales are contraband, and the people live in fear of the Sorcerers on the other side of the mountains.

Rowan Greenwood has everything she’s supposed to want from life—a good family, a bright future, and a proposal from a handsome and wealthy magic hunter. She knows she should be content with what she has. If only she could banish the idea that there’s more to life than marriage and children, or let go of the fascination with magic she’s been forced to suppress since childhood.

When Rowan unknowingly saves the life of one of her people’s most feared enemies, that simple act of compassion rips her from her sheltered life and throws her into a world of magic that’s more beautiful, more seductive, and more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Rowan might get everything she ever dreamed of—that is, if the one thing she’s always wanted doesn’t kill her first.

(Mature YA Fantasy)

Purchase Links

Amazon (U.S) | Amazon (Canada) | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

My Journey Through Babies, Blackboards, and Books

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Soul Mate author Monica Knightley sharing a three-act play, complete with prologue.

Here’s Monica!

Had you asked twelve-year-old Monica what she wanted to be when she grew up you would likely have heard, “a teacher, a writer, and a mom.” Depending on the day, you may have also heard, “an anthropologist, a paleontologist, and a person who teaches chimpanzees to speak with sign language.” Actually, I was pretty high on the chimpanzee sign language option. But even then, I knew in my heart of hearts, that what I wanted more than anything else was to be a mother, a teacher, and a writer.

While I know this is a SECOND act series, my story must be told in three acts. And a prologue.

The prologue is that twelve-year-old Monica. That was the year I spent hours writing long gothic romances on that cheap newsprint style paper the schools used in those days. I even would check out the Writer’s Market from the library and look up all the journals and magazines that published short stories. Some would pay as much as five cents a word! Of course, I never sent anything out. But a passion had been born.

Fast-forward seven years, and I was a young bride, beginning my first act. Married at nineteen, and the mother of two by twenty-four, I was blissfully happy as a stay-at-home mom who played with my sons, baked bread, taught my sons to read, and dreamt of the day I would return to school and finish my Elementary Education degree. Oh, and write the Great American Novel. When the youngest entered school, I did too, returning to college to earn that degree. While juggling the responsibilities of a mom, I managed to graduate at the top of my class—Maxima Cum Laude. I was now ready for my second act.

That second act lasted nearly two decades, as I taught kindergarten and second grade. Teaching is one of the most fulfilling professions, and also one of the most exhausting. But I loved it. When I started teaching my plan had been to write during the summers. Ha. Ha. First, a teacher’s summer isn’t three months long, it is actually about six weeks. Just enough time to rest up a little for the next year, and spend some time with family. I never seemed to find the time for that writing—until about two years before I ended my second act.

One morning, three years ago, I woke up and realized I wasn’t getting any younger, and yet there was one lifelong goal I had not attained. For years an idea for a novel had been percolating in my mind, but I’d done nothing to make it a reality. With the dawning realization that publication is a slow road, (and, I really wasn’t getting any younger!) I decided it was time to get moving, despite the long hours I was still spending as a teacher. However, this novel required a lot of research, as it was to be set during the American Civil War. But I wanted to practice the craft of writing! So while doing research, I started working on a fun practice novel, one about a vampire with a Jane Austen twist, set in England. All of my favorite things! That practice novel, The Vampire’s Passion, was published by Soul Mate Publishing on April 9th of this year.

I am now fully in my third act, and enjoying every minute of it. A year ago this month, I ended my full time teaching career—I occasionally substitute teach. I just became a grandmother, and I have too many Works In Progress in my writing folder. Among them, a prequel to The Vampire’s Passion is being polished, and a Young Adult novel is almost ready for submission.

As we go through the various acts of our lives, I firmly believe we can never give into fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. We must simply go out there and give it our best try. These words from J. K. Rowling to the 2008 Harvard graduating class always inspire me: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

I’m living the life I dreamed of. Today, I can look into twelve-year-old Monica’s eyes, and tell her, “Yes, you will be a mom, a teacher, and a writer.”

Blurb

The enigmatic, ethereally handsome, aristocratic Gabriel Augustine, professor of Nineteenth Century English Literature at St. Giles College in Oxford, England, is a man with many secrets. And it is not his vampiric nature that is his most deeply held secret. Though few know he is vampire, not human, none know the horror that has haunted him throughout his long existence. He has spent centuries attempting to atone for his greatest sin.

Claire Seymour needs to forget her past. She is ready to embark on any journey that will move her away from the pain that has been her constant companion since discovering her fiancé with her best friend. Four weeks at the University of Oxford in a class on her favorite author, Jane Austen, seems like a good place to start.

Neither is prepared for the other.

Where to find Monica

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Joanne here!

Thank you for sharing your inspiring journey. I’m certain many readers will be uplifted by this post and consider moving their “someday” dreams to the front burner. BTW…The Vampire’s Passion sounds delicious!

Giving Up Vaudeville

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author Mahrie Reid sharing the multiple acts of her extraordinary life.

Here’s Mahrie!

Thank you, Joanne, for giving me this opportunity to share my journey. The evolution others have shared, inspire me.

My books deal with the question: Who am I? It might be finding the external truth of who the character is legally or having the character find inner truth and sense of identity. Not surprising given my life history.

That’s nice dear, but…

The first part of my life was a vaudeville act. As a child, books sustained me, entertained me and taught me. I wanted to write books for others. At age eight I wrote my first ‘novel.’ But, as a minister’s daughter in the fifties, I was expected to be a nurse, teacher or office worker so I’d have something to ‘fall back on’ if anything happened to my [expected to have] husband. Writing was not a career choice for practical people.

I tried, oh how I tried, to meet those expectations. I worked my way through all three professions starting with nursing. My longest running full time career was as a Real Estate Appraiser. (It spanned ten years). Teaching, first in elementary schools and later in adult night classes, was the second most constant occupation in my rapidly changing life. Concurrent with or subsequent to my real estate career, I worked as a newsletter editor, an adult educator, an office organizational consultant, a library manager and a marriage commissioner and more.

Additionally I married twice and raised three children and two step-children. I lived in ten places, attended four universities and racked up twenty-eight full or part-time jobs in eighteen areas of work. Looking back, I decided that my constant change was a passive-aggressive response to the expectations of my generation and my family.

Was I searching? You bet. But nothing replaced the desire to write. I found ways to write. I wrote for the job. I wrote to make sense of my life. I wrote for entertainment. I wrote about writing. But under it all, what I really wanted to write was novels.

When I retire, I am writing books.

The phrase sustained me until, in my fifties, I suffered a long depression. The time had come for me to own my talents and my purpose and to let go of the expectations of others. It helped that I was financially able to leave full time employment. The practicality in my history persists.

As a writer, my act is focused. I write novels, short stories and blogs. I associate with writers and I teach writers. I work with words. I am doing what I love. Accepting and following my passion freed me to give more to others. My life, and the lives of those around me, is richer because I’ve finally embraced my passion. Finally, I am content where I am.

What is your passion? Are you giving it the respect and time it deserves?

Mahrie’s books

What do you do if you find out your life is a lie?

Kelsey Maxwell searches for the truth and walks into the middle of a heap of trouble. Running from killers wasn’t what she had in mind when she set out on her quest. Dead bodies, a knife held to her middle and chases through the dock area add spark her previously dull life. A sexy ex-cop provides protection but in the end, Kelsey may have to shoot to kill in order to save her birth father. No matter what happens, her life is changed forever. Will she even survive to reunite with her father and connect with the sexy Sam Logan?

Be careful what you do, for your past may come back to haunt you.

Devon Ritcey’s past threatens her future. Her attempts at damage control escalate into a murder investigation. A hurricane isolates her on the island with a both cynical ex-cop and a killer. Propelled deeper into danger by the unfolding investigation, she races against time. Her survival depends on finding and stopping the killer before he strikes again.

Where to find Mahrie…

Website | Facebook

Joanne here!

So many elements of your story resonated with me. I also gravitated toward one of the “safe” career choices, all the while thinking…Someday, I will write! Mahrie, thank you for inspiring us and best of luck with all your literary endeavors.

Spotlight on Peter Darley

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Whenever I attend readings, I enjoy listening to the author’s journey, the many twists and turns encountered on the winding road to publication. Sometimes, I find the journey even more fascinating than the actual reading. But in Soul Mate author Peter Darley’s case, the storyline and the journey are equally compelling.

Here’s Peter!

Hold On! has a history steeped in as many cliffhangers as there are in the story. It first attracted the interest of a literary agent in Florida, who told me that it would take her five months to get to it, and that if I found a publisher in the meantime, just to let her know.

A few weeks later, a publisher in Michigan literally pleaded with me for it (I still have the email.) Having a ‘bird in the hand’, I let them have it.

Almost a year later, the publisher folded – a week before Hold On! was due to go to press. I immediately contacted the literary agent in Florida again, only to discover that she had now retired.

A week later it was tentatively picked up by Writer’s Coffee Shop in Australia (the publishers who first published Fifty Shades of Grey.) We worked together on the project for four months, and then suddenly – silence. There had been no contention. No disagreements. No arguments. Nothing! They simply ignored all of my emails, and with no explanation.

Last October, it was snapped up by Soul Mate Publishing. Hold On! had finally ended its two year journey from Central England, to Florida, to Michigan, to Australia, to ultimately land in New York.

As to the novel, it is primarily a love story about two people who are on a quest to live their lives free, away from the trappings of convention and the oppression of authority figures. The police, a corrupt faction of the CIA, and the fact that our heroine, Belinda, was sexually abused as a child by a priest, combine to ask the questions: Is authority valid? And if so – who can possibly impose it?

It’s food for thought only, and the ‘threat’ premise is loosely based on the conspiracy theory – Was the US Government responsible for 9/11?

My own view is that such theories are utterly baseless, and have been refuted countless times. I am, emphatically, NOT a conspiracy theorist. This is why I feel that fiction is the most appropriate media for such ideas. However, they do provide opportunities for some terrific cliffhangers.

Bio

Peter Darley (P.D. to his friends) is a British novelist, whose professional history is in show business.

He is a graduate of the Birmingham School of Speech and Dramatic Art, and he studied television drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA.) His television credits include guest-starring roles is UK productions such as BBC’s Crime Ltd, Stanley’s Dragon for ITV, The Bill, and Sky One’s Dream Team, and numerous TV commercials. He has also worked as a model, presenter, and voice-over artiste for ten years, and has acted as an agent for several variety acts.

His lifelong admiration of heroes and love of roller-coaster-style thrills have been a huge influence on his writings.

He is a keen athlete and body builder, and lives with his partner in rural England.

Where to find Peter…

Facebook | YouTube

RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2014

New Release–Cold Ambition

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to present Rachel Sharpe’s debut novel…

Blurb

“It was my life-long dream to become a private eye. Little did I know that with my very first case, that dream would become a life-threatening nightmare…”

When Jordan James decided to embark on a career as a private investigator, she never could have imagined that a chance encounter would lead to her staring down the barrel of a gun on the roof’s edge of a high-rise building. As she begins to investigate her first case, the puzzling murder of a prominent businessman that has left Boston’s finest mystified for more than two decades, she finds herself suddenly immersed in a treacherous underworld brimming with betrayal, raw greed, and political subterfuge of international proportions. In the midst of this, she discovers she is falling for her mysterious client despite the hints of his dark past. Can this feisty Southern girl with a penchant for trouble solve this baffling case or is she doomed to become another tragic chapter in an international conspiracy?

Bio

Rachel Sharpe is the author of Cold Ambition, the first novel in the Jordan James, PI series. Although born and raised in the South, “Yankee” relatives first led Rachel to historic New England, which she has come to consider her second home and is the setting for the series.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English, Rachel began dedicating her free time to her childhood passion, writing, and in the fall of 2013, she signed her first book deal with Soul Mate Publishing. An active member of Sisters in Crime, Rachel currently resides with her husband in the Greater New Orleans area.

Links

Website: http://www.rachelsharpe.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorrachelsharpe

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RachelCSharpe

Amazon: http://is.gd/fg1ksg

The Second Act of the Second Act

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Soul Mate author Eris Field sharing the challenges and triumphs of her first and second acts.

Here’s Eris!

Act 1 of the First Act. At nineteen, a registered nurse and married to a Turkish doctor, I saw myself, not as an individual, but as part of a team. A team that worked together to build careers and to create a home and family that included five fantastic children. That stage of life is reflected in a biographical novel that I co-authored with my husband: Legacy of Change: The Saga of a Turkish Family from Empire to Republic.

Act 2 of the First Act. Taking care of the family, working, and teaching psychiatric nursing filled the next period of life in which I was both an individual and a part of a team. That stage is represented by the textbook that I wrote for psychiatric nurse practitioners: Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nursing: a Biopsychosocial Foundation for Practice.

Act 1 of the Second Act. As a widow, I struggled to find the me that was left over when I was no longer a part of a team. I went back to a very early love–romance novels. My first publication in that field was The Gift of Love and reveals, to some extent, my sense of being stripped of part of my identity.

Act 2 of the Second Act. Although we may start out as one individual, life adds layers of knowledge, exposes us to experiences, and teaches us values, molding the individual that we were into a new, burnished individual. Now, my writing centers on contemporary multi-cultural novels. The first one, Lattices of Love, is about a Turkish-American woman who wants a marriage based on love, not an arranged marriage. It is scheduled to be released by Soul Mate Publishing on June 11, 2014. The second, For Love of the Circassian, is about a beautiful refugee and the three men in her life: one who has her, one who wants her, and one who loves her. It is in review, and a third is in process.

The poet, Robert Browning said it well: “The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made.

Blurb

Emine Wheeler, a 26 year old Turkish-American professor of psychiatric nursing, wants to be free. She does not want to live any longer behind the lattices of old harem rules. Despite pressure from the Turkish grandmother she adores and her brother to accept marriage to a Turkish man they have approved, Emine is determined to marry for love, like her American father. She vows there will be love in her marriage.

At a psychiatric conference in Amsterdam, she meets Marc, a reticent Dutch psychiatrist who, believing that his colleagues blame him for his wife’s suicide, restricts his life to the safety of work and family that includes a troubled four-year-old he calls his daughter. However, when Emine encounters a problem with registration, he finds himself offering to help her.

Recognizing that Marc is the man of her dreams, Emine turns her back on the harem rule to avoid contact with men outside the family and accepts his help. Later, when Emine is faced with the choice of marrying a man she does not love or damaging her family’s honor, Marc offers a solution, a marriage of convenience. She will have the protection of marriage and he will have a mother for his daughter. Believing that her fierce love for Marc will be enough, Emine accepts only to discover that it is not, and when Marc falsely accuses her of betrayal, she flees. Marc realizes belatedly that he loves Emine beyond everything in his life but will his love be enough to entice her back?

Target line: To seek love requires courage but to let love own you requires risking everything.

Bio

Born in her grandfather’s home on Field’s Road, Eris spent her early childhood in Jericho, Vermont. At 17, she left Vermont to attend Union University School of Nursing in Albany, New York where she met her future husband, a surgical intern from Istanbul, Turkey. After they married and moved to Buffalo, New York, Eris worked as a nurse at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. When their five children finished high school, Eris completed her Master’s in Psychiatric Nursing and taught psychiatric nursing at the University at Buffalo.

Eris’ first publications were a biographical novel, Legacy of Change: The Saga of a Turkish Family from Empire to Republic, that she co-authored with her late husband and a textbook, Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nursing. Now, she lives in a ‘snow-belt’ town in Western New York and writes what she loves to read–contemporary, cross cultural romances.

She is a member of the Romance Writers of American and the Western New York Romance Writers group. Her interests include supporting the Crossroads Springs Institute in Kenya for children orphaned by AIDS and visiting as many fascinating places as she can.

Where to find Eris…

Website | Soul Mate Publishing | Amazon

Joanne here!

What a beautifully layered life! Thank you for sharing your journey, Eris, and congratulations on the release of Lattices of Love.

Spotlight on Taming Miss Tisdale

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Fall in love with romance again…

Blurb

Miss Tamsin Tisdale believes herself to be completely unsuitable for London life. After a myriad of social mishaps, and the potential ruination of her family name, she’s shipped away to her cousin’s northern estate. Only after she accepts the type of existence Society dictates she must follow will she be welcomed home.

Marcus Winston, the Duke of Grayson, has a lackluster reputation. The last in a dying line, he’s endured a protected life—rank with privilege, but encumbered by isolation. After a brief encounter with rebellion, he learns the devastating consequences of his carelessness and willingly accepts living life from inside his gilded cage.

However, a chance meeting with the brazen Miss Tisdale gives Marc the opportunity to reinvent himself into the man he’s always dreamed of being. But when his deception comes to light, and ghosts from both their pasts threaten to unravel the intimacy they’ve come to cherish, will either of them set their fears aside long enough to embrace love? Or will Miss Tisdale’s stubbornness divide them?

Excerpt

Marc watched the faint outline come across the dense morning fog, becoming more discernible as it approached. The tall, thin figure was riding along at a perilous speed, given the morning’s lack of visibility. He thought perhaps it was some gangly young man misguided in the fog. It wouldn’t be the first time someone accidentally stumbled upon the vast property that made up his family’s immodest estate.

Then the fog parted in an almost biblical manner, revealing his gross inaccuracy.

Were those . . . breasts?

Marc closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Typically, women didn’t ride alone at such an hour and they certainly didn’t wander unexpectedly across his property. It’d been quite a while, his last birthday to be exact, since his last intimate encounter with a woman—a gift, compliments of St. Regis—so there was always the possibility that perhaps his half-drunk, sex-starved mind had conjured up the sensual image.

He shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked back again toward the horizon.

Yes, those were most certainly breasts.

And she was most definitely not a young man. The woman’s riding habit pulled taut against her body as she raced toward him. Her hair was blowing behind her—various hues of auburn and gold, like wild flames curling about in the wind. Then a decidedly feminine voice burst through the morning’s silence, interrupting his self-doubt.

“Oh, thank goodness I found you!”

This was no mirage. She was indeed very real.

And loud.

Marc watched, dumbfounded, as the girl—no, woman—slowed her approach. “Pardon?” he called back, certain he couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly.

“I’m so happy I’ve found you,” she repeated, nearly breathless. “Well, not you specifically, anyone really. I’ve been riding in circles for close to an hour now, and I’d just about given up all hope of finding someone when I spotted you. My cousin warned me about the altitude of these hills and how I mustn’t underestimate the density of this blasted fog. Of course, I didn’t listen and got myself thoroughly turned about. You see, I’m forever regretting not listening.”

She rode closer still and he could see her quite plainly now. She was tall and lanky, her riding habit revealing a rather trim frame. His focus quickly shifted from her slender build to her smile. It resembled nothing of the demure, timid smiles he’d become accustomed to seeing within his social circles. This smile was wide, revealing a number of straight ivory teeth, and seemed to extend to every facet of her face. Even her eyes, large and dark, appeared to be smiling.

Were they brown?

No, blue.

They were an impossibly dark shade of blue.

Then she gave her head a little shake, throwing a mass of unruly ginger curls over her shoulders, captivating him entirely.

Bio

Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it—almost Chicago. She is heavily inspired by classic sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy.

Visit her at http://www.jessicajefferson.com for more of her random romance musings.

Creative Energy Overload

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author Kim Handysides sharing several colorful acts and introducing the Stolen series.

Here’s Kim!

I am an author-in-waiting. My books (one completed, one in progress and one in planning) and the right publisher are poised to meet. It’s going to be some time this year. The stars and my aptitude are aligned. But it’s taken almost half a century to get here. Let me explain:

When I was a kid I was either going to be a biologist —sucked at math, so forget that, a writer or a Shakespearean actress —cue the trumpet flourish. I studied English and Dramatic Art at the University of Windsor, but graduated in Communications Studies—you know TV, radio, film production.

My first career related job was as a copywriter for radio. You get to wear many hats in a small market. Within a 2-year period, I morphed into newsreader, reporter, disc jockey, producer, music director and freelanced as a Master of Ceremonies and a club DJ.

I fell in love with Montreal on a vacation, decided it would be my new home and either work in radio there or write a novel. Two days before my holiday ended, I got a job as an overnight DJ at a major radio station. Within the next five years I was a DJ, Music Director, TV field producer and weather woman, and created my own production company with two other women. Throughout this time, I began voicing commercials, documentaries, and acting in films and summer theatre. I once was on a film set with Robert De Niro, and though he was only 13 years old at the time, did voice work with Ryan Gosling. I became primarily a voice actress and over the next 20 years moved to the top of my field in my city.

I also wrote during this time, because I’ve got ‘creative energy overload’. Mostly for the media outlets I worked for, but also for magazines and newspapers. And I started writing novels. Romance novels because frankly, it was the time of my life when I was falling in love with Mr. Keeper. (Married 21 years now) I got to the point when I started to get requests for re-submissions from a New York Harlequin editor, but when children entered the equation my free time evaporated. I figured I’d get back to writing when they went to school. But lo and behold, in Grade 1 my oldest was a very bright and very unhappy dyslexic, with no accommodation available for her, so I began to home school. Both of them. And that lasted nine years. (Kids are currently straight A students in college and university.)

Fast forward to now. It’s been almost four years in the making, but I’m extremely proud of the Stolen series, based on the reluctant love stories of the Beaumont family, Matt, Arabella and Seb. Stolen Kiss features the first of the Beaumonts, Matt and his lady-love-to-be Ruby. And it’s actually more of her story than his.

Stolen Kiss opens with Matt Beaumont doing just that. Stealing a kiss from blueblood, Ruby Jamison, that ruins her life and launches them into a chase to retrieve a stolen ’73 orange convertible. Weaving through betrayal and blackmail, they run into border issues, are helped by an aging hippie godmother and crash on the scene of a mob-related drug bust. But will their blossoming love survive the journey?

Stolen Heart pits marina biologist, Arabella, with her awkward high school nemesis, ex-Marine, Gus MacIsaac. The mob threatens the Beaumonts to keep incarcerated Seb quiet. Gus, the last person Ara ever wanted to see again, becomes her bodyguard. Following whale sharks in spite of voodoo threats, a tropical storm, and engine troubles, Gus attempts to break the barriers erected around Ara’s solitary heart.

Stolen Love will be Sebastian’s story. All I know about it so far is that Seb is on a path of redemption, wanting nothing to do with his former mob ties. His social worker, Mari, a single mom of three young kids has her hands full and has no time for love. Especially with a billboard handsome ex-con with a shady past and no solid plan for the future.

Where to find Kim…

Website | Facebook Page | Facebook Profile | Twitter

Joanne here!

Wow! I’m simply blown away by your creative overload. If you’re ever looking for another creative project, consider writing a memoir. BTW…The Stolen series sounds delicious.