Saturday, April 30, 2011

What's Next?

On Thursday I entered two pieces into the Writer's Digest annual competition. Here is a brief summary:

Genre Short Story
Title: Healed
Summary: After twelve years of suffering from a life-debilitating disease, a thirty-two year old woman determines that she will never be healed from her affliction. What she believes to be punishment for her malicious behavior toward her dying mother results in a miracle she never expected.

Rhyming Poem
Title: Ascent of the Willow
Summary: This poem is an allegory which brings life to a majestic cottonwood tree and a young willow tree. The analogy can be left to the reader's own imagination. My inspiration was the death announcement at church over four years ago of one of our young war heroes, who after being fatally wounded, continued to fight until his dying breath.

After winners are announced in October, I will post both of these pieces on my blog!

I'd like to mention that I am by no means a poet, and this is the only poem decent enough to merit public exposure. The short story is also a first in my writing career.

Now that I've accomplished this milestone, I'll begin working on the next: my second novel!

More to come...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

May the K9 Spy

A fellow author friend of mine has a children's book coming out this summer. The title is May the K9 Spy and will be enjoyable to kids of any age!

Visit her website to read the first chapter http://www.maythek9spy.com/
"Like" her Facebook page to get updates. http://www.facebook.com/MaytheK9Spy

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Not Bad So Far

While I've only had a handful of new followers to my blog and Facebook page (thank you!), I have received several personal responses - some who are viewing the blog and FB page but have not joined - as well as others who simply replied to the mass email I distributed.

One biggie is that I have had some networking leads - one, for example is my uncle who personally knows an established author. He is going to put us in contact, which obviously will be of great benefit!

Thanks again to everyone for your interest. If you haven't joined my blog as a follower, please do so! You can easily create a gmail account (http://www.google.com/ select gmail link) to do so. Please also "like" my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruth-A-Taylor/112941348748036.

Last but not least, PLEASE forward the email I sent you to your friends and family!

Thanks for your support.

Friday, April 1, 2011

I'm ready to roll!

Some of you may be visiting my blog for the first time due to my email marketing campaign (if I can call it that). By sending a brief synopsis of Charge of the Beast, I am attempting to promote myself through friends, family members and other acquaintances. My hope is that the original email will be forwarded by my contacts, to their own contacts, and on and on.
I’m ready to get going on this. I need to do my part as a new author and establish an audience who will be ready to read my novel once it is published.

With that, I leave you this:

§   Are you interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
§   Have you ever wondered what is inside the mind of a Palestinian woman training to be a suicide bomber?
§   Has your curiosity about these subjects ever caused you to read an article or book to learn more about the effects that the war has on both Israeli and Palestinian citizens?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, please read the following synopsis for my novel, Charge of the Beast.

NOTE: I have shortened this synopsis from the original blog entry, as I feel that I gave away too much!

 
Ten year old Eliana frantically awakens in the hospital. The last thing she remembers is shopping with her mother, Rina, at the Machane Yehuda outdoor market in Jerusalem.
¨     
Four weeks prior, Ismat, a nineteen year old Palestinian who lives in Gaza, mourns for her father. He was killed by an Israeli soldier almost a year beforehand. Her sorrow turns to anger, and she decides she wants vengeance.
¨     
Eliana is forced to go to America to live with her paternal grandparents in Mississippi. While packing to leave her homeland, she discovers a treasure: her mother’s written account detailing the story of her life with Eliana’s deceased father, Aidan.

During her lengthy flight to her new home, Eliana engrosses herself in her parent’s love story, which takes place in Israel.
¨     
Eliana’s soul journey, experienced through the life of her parents during their time together, transforms her into a child mature beyond her years.

Eight years later, she finds herself at an elite university. Through what appears to be a band of coincidental encounters, Eliana is able to share the legacy her mother left behind with others who are in the midst of tumultuous circumstances.