Happy Mother's Day, if you celebrate it.
In The Year of the Rabbit, a novel about fate, family and forgiveness readers will encounter a few motherly characters:
- Marie Fletcher was a caring mother figure despite her struggles with mental health issues and a dark secret;
- Margaret MacDonald experienced deep guilt and regret that she did not prevent the abuse of her daughter;
- Jenny Young struggled with supporting her pregnant teen and understanding her husband's disappointment;
- Amy Young became a teenage mother who learned how to be responsible with the help of her own family and friends;
- Gio's Mom was the typical doting mother and eventually an exuberant grandmother.
I hope you've already thought of a gift for your Mom. She may enjoy reading The Year of the Rabbit if she doesn't mind a few references to teen sex, infidelity and murder.
You can feel confident that you have purchased her an environmentally responsible gift by getting the Ebook for only 99 cents.
If your mother has already left this
earthly domain, please accept my condolences. Perhaps you may relate to
young Sera Fletcher as she realizes the impending death of her own mother.
That scene brought tears to my eyes while writing the novel,
recalling emotions felt when I lost my own mother many years ago.
Have a lovely Mother's Day - or make it one for your own Mom.
T
When you work in the service industry, you have to put your personal issues and attitudes aside while dealing with the public and other customers.
Most times, you must force that smile and keep your voice in a friendly, welcoming tone - even while dealing with personal issues or difficult people.
I wrote about a recent restaurant experience while dining with friends. Hop over to the Deep Blonde Thoughts blog post Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Readers of the novel will remember the different types of patrons who frequented the Red Hare restaurant.
Co-owner Jenny Young was patient and polite while serving customers. She kept her attitude in check - especially while serving unpleasant customers like Daryl MacDonald.
You can meet Jenny and appreciate her kindness, her professionalism while you read the following excerpts:
Read more excerpts from The Year of The Rabbit, a Novel About Fate, Family and Forgiveness.
Join others who enjoyed this unpolished gem of Canadian fiction. Download the first few chapters of the eBook for free from Smashwords. If you like what you have read, you can then purchase the entire book for 99 cents or more (you set the price).
Visit the novel's web site.
Thanks for dropping by and remember: the next time you dine out, be kind to your server.
T
You wouldn't know it in the Ottawa Valley but Spring is here.
The snowbanks are melting into dirt piles, there's dog pooh everywhere and the rivers are rising. Yuk!
I haven't witnessed crocus sprouts pushing up yet but am hopeful to soon enjoy the annual Tulip Festival.
Some folks are adorning their homes and work areas with colourful symbols of renewal and rebirth.
Yes, some of us writers still have day jobs in order to support luxuries like rent, food and utilities.
Friends and relatives are decluttering their attics, basements and garages, planning up-coming events like yard sales. Who knows what gems or skeletons they will discover in the process?
One of the resident youth recently helped me dig out a piece of concept art that was nicely tucked away in our deep, dark storage area. It was a Yin Yang egg I painted during the 1999 Year of the Rabbit.
I wanted to inspect this piece of art I attempted while trying to restore harmony during an unbalanced time in our lives, while treading the murky waters of my own well-being.
If you dig deep enough, you will reconcile with your shame and forgive yourself for not acting soon enough to rescue your family. You can spend years writing down to the bones to regain your mental health, work up the courage to symbolically destroy the demons from your past.
The above news story was published in The Seguin Sounder, a fictitious newspaper that evolved out of the novel.
Spoiler alert: The antagonist meets with a violent ending at the hands of the innocent - and with a little help from nature.
Read excerpts from The Year of The Rabbit, a Novel About Fate, Family and Forgiveness.
Join others who enjoyed this unpolished gem of Canadian fiction. Download the first few chapters of the eBook for free from Smashwords. If you like what you have read, you can then purchase the entire book for 99 cents or more (you set the price).
Visit the novel's web site. Just watch where you are digging though.
Thanks for dropping by.
Happy Easter!
T
As an avid reader who likes to relax with a good book, would you want an app that helps you speed read through a novel on a smart device?
Something like the Spritz app would be helpful in circumstances when you need to study a short article or story summary of a book. I don't think it can compete with the pleasure of sitting down with a good book or taking a novel to bed. Would you agree?
I'm the kind of person who likes to read printed books in paperback and hard cover format. I have progressed with the times by reading books on my iPad Mini as well. I find that paperbacks work best when reading in bed. They make less noise or risk less damage if they were to drop from my sleepy grip.
In The Year of the Rabbit, Sera Fletcher loved to read and would often go to the local library to soften the pains of loneliness and escape into other worlds she discovered through books.
She would also find herself sorting and re-shelving the books from the return carts. She loved this sense of order and control since her world was falling apart around her.
- If you would like to download the first few chapters of the eBook version for free, visit this page at Smashwords.
- If you want to read more, you can set your own purchase price (above 99 cents) at Smashwords.
- If you’re not sure but would like to first see what others thought of the book, start here.
- If you don’t own one of those newfangled eBook readers yet, you can purchase a Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the novel and read it on your computer, laptop or tablet.
Although it took me four years of drafts, edits, love and tears, I will allow you the right to read it as fast as you want.
If you’re waiting for the next print edition, it may be ready before 2023.
Thanks for dropping by.
T
