Today's guest has shared treasures before and been in our spotlight as well, so please welcome back one of my long-time author friends, Jacqueline Seewald!
Time for Thanksgiving by Jacqueline Seewald
Pam has asked me to write about something I treasure. As we once again approach our national Thanksgiving holiday, this seems particularly appropriate.
First and foremost, I treasure my husband, my children and my grandchildren. I treasure good health. I also treasure the fact that I am now able to be a full-time writer.
My husband, Monte, encouraged me to write something that would be meaningful and significant. I thought long and hard about how to fulfill that suggestion.
On November 8th, my novella THE BURNING was published by Annurlunda Enterprises. The Burning is based on a play I wrote which won the Playhouse 22 Playwrights Award (in the late 1980’s) and was performed on stage. I decided to approach the story in another genre.
THE BURNING is faction, part fact, but also fiction, about what happens to a family in Pennsylvania as the result of a coal fire burning under the town. Members of the Ferris family face his or her personal hell, barely coming through it alive, forced to acknowledge painful truths and deal with issues of faith. It’s based on real events that occurred in Centralia. Unfortunately, such problems continue to plague coal-mining communities in different places. And there are no easy answers.
Here is a brief excerpt from the novella:
Chapter Four
George drove home on autopilot, detached, barely aware of his surroundings. The talk with Baines kept turning over in his head. He’d worked so hard for so many years to provide a good life for his family. Was that going to end now? The whole thing seemed crazy. Could some underground fire wreck his life and that of his family? He shook his head, refusing to accept this as inevitable.
The living room of George Ferris’s house usually offered a refuge, but he didn’t want to walk inside yet. Instead he stood in the front hallway praying for composure while silently lurking. He could see Amy was sitting on the sofa attentively reading a book, feet tucked under her.
Every so often, she coughed. Liz came into the room. She was dressed in brown slacks and a casual cream-colored blouse. He admired how beautiful his wife was. With her natural good looks, she wore very little make-up and didn’t need it. George was reminded of how much he loved her. Liz was the real deal. What would this news do to her? She deserved so much better in life. For a few minutes, he watched Liz straightening up the room, but then she stopped to listen to Amy’s recurring cough.
THE BURNING is now available both in print and as an e-book. You can check out the details from the publisher at:
http://annorlundaenterprises.com/books/the-burning/
or:
https://www.amazon.com/Burning-J-P-Seewald/dp/1944354263
or:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-burning/id1295182706?ls=1&mt=11
or:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-burning-j-p-seewald/1127102724?ean=9781944354268
or:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-burning-38
or:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/753033
Your thoughts and comments most welcome!
Multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Seventeen of her books of fiction have been published to critical praise including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies such as: THE WRITER, L.A. TIMES, READER’S DIGEST, PEDESTAL, SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, GUMSHOE REVIEW, THE MYSTERY MEGAPACK, LIBRARY JOURNAL, and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. One of her inspirational poems took first place in the Reader’s Digest 2015 Poetry Contest. She’s also an amateur landscape artist and loves blue grass music.
Her author’s blog can be found at: http://jacquelineseewald.blogspot.com
Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT
PS: Don't forget, the Kindle Fire Rafflecopter Giveaway ends on 11/29 so enter today! Also, Mistletoe, Snow and Suspense is available for a limited time and only 99cents so get your copy today!
13 comments:
Thank you, Pam, for hosting me. I want to wish you and all your readers a wonderful Thanksgiving in advance--and let's all keep reading!
As writers we have much to be grateful for. I'm just starting your new book, which covers a story my husband told me years ago about fires burning in abandoned coal mines. Frightening but good story material.
Hi Susan,
There are a number of fires still burning in abandoned coal mines. A sad fact of our environment.
That's very cool that the first iteration of this story was a play!
Thank you, Alina!
Very interesting post. Best of luck with your book.
Thank you, Marissa.
I enjoyed the post. I agree, there is a lot to be thankful for. Wow, your book sounds great. I love that word 'faction' - :D Best wishes!!
Fictional accounts of REAL events are often the best reads available, in my opinion. Doing the research behind the event provides the pop to the fiction. I look forward to reading this one, confident the Seewald style will again capture my total interest! Nice post.
Interesting post. I already have Mistletoe, Snow and Suspense and look forward to starting it. I also want to order your new book. Happy Thanksgiving.
I love that I continually learn from fiction. This newest of yours sounds fascinating. As usual, I'm impressed with your productivity in so many genres. Plays, as well! My goodness.
Sounds very interesting. Happy Thanksgiving!🦃🍽🍁
Thank you all for your great comments! They give me something else to be thankful for. For writers like myself, our readers mean so much. It's difficult for those of us whose work is published by small presses to develop a readership since we are relatively unknown. If you decide to read The Burning, I hope you spread the word.
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