Monday, October 29, 2007

Finding Sarah by Terry Odell


Good morning! It's Monday again...so that means it's time for my guest author--Terry Odell-- and book review--Finding Sarah from Cerridwen Press. First of all, we'll leap right into the questions so y'all can get to know Terry. Right?

1) If you could start over with your writing career, what if anything would you change? LOL! I'm probably the exception to the rule here, in that I never pursued writing as a career. I did some technical-type stuff, writing handbooks for volunteer organizations and wrote long travelogues for family members when we went on trips, but the idea of actually sitting down and committing one of those fantasies playing out in my head never got beyond a two page attempt. All the mechanics completely turned me off. You know, typing all that punctuation for dialogue. What a pain.

But I fell into the world of Highlander fanfiction (another long story) and writing became a challenge. Besides, I had no more wall space for my other creative outlet, needlepoint. And it's hot in Florida—holding all that wool wasn't a good hobby. I accepted the gauntlet thrown by one of the writers I was beta reading for and decided I really enjoyed writing. I had a LOT to learn.

So, I suppose if I'd started sooner, I'd have more years of the fun I get from the creative process. It's still mind-boggling to think of this as a "career", though. I was working my way DOWN the corporate ladder, trying to get out of working at all. If I think of writing as a career, it kind of spoils the fun. I think of it as something I have to do every day because I love doing it, and if people buy my books and enjoy them, so much the better.

2) What was the best piece of advice you received regarding the life of a writer?
BICFOK.*
Don't take rejection personally
And, if you're a writer, you'll write, no matter what.

*Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard

3) If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Hard one. I was fascinated with Benjamin Franklin in my grade school days, so maybe it would be interesting to sit and chat for a while. (That's my "intellectual" answer. My down-to-earth answer would be Adrian Paul, who, unbeknownst to him, got me into this writing gig.)

4) If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?
Tough to narrow this down to just one. Probably Mr. Spock. He's fascinated me for decades. But then I should change the answer to the previous question to Leonard Nimoy, I suppose. Or maybe this answer should be Duncan MacLeod instead of Mr. Spock. Can you tell making decisions is tough for me!

5) What do you want to be when you grow up?
Do I have to grow up? I've made it this far without having to. As I continue to get older, though, I'd like to keep reading and writing. Give more time to my literacy volunteering

6) In the next century, what do you hope people will remember you for?
In the next century, I'd be glad simply to be remembered! If I could choose the legacy I'd leave behind, I guess it would be to have made the world a happier place for some, giving them a few moments of escape with my characters. And for my future family to look through a photo album (digital, I'm sure) and say, "That was my great-great-great grandmother who wrote those books and helped teach lots of people to learn to read them." Or maybe just thinking of me when they make Pflaumkuchen or Nanaimo Bars from the family recipe collection.

Finding Sarah by Terry Odell


Finding Sarah opens with Sarah the heroine struggling through a bad day, which gets worse when she is robbed at gunpoint at her store. The robbery is the culminations of a series of unfortunated events that seemed to begin with the death of her husband in an auto accident. Sarah is struggling to keep body and soul together and the robbery could be the proverbial last straw.


Enter Randy, the police officer who arrives to take the police report. As she answers his questions, he sees not just a pattern of bad luck, but possibly a pattern of interference in Sarah's life. The more he investigates, the more he is positive that Sarah's problems are being deliberately generated by someone who wants her to fail in business.


Complicating matters is the attraction that Sarah and Randy feel for each other. Sarah is not sure that she's ready for a new man in her life. Randy is still dealing with the loss of his grandmother and is not ready to commit to another person in his life. When events inexorably draw them together, they choose to take that next step.


Though the book started out almost too leisurely for me, it rapidly picked up pace until the story was racing along at full tilt. Events escalated until the perpetrator was revealed--almost too late! If you want an exciting woman-in -jeopardy read, then skip on over to Cerridwen Press and pick up your own copy of Finding Sarah by Terry Odell.


Anny


Tomorrow is Kelly's turn at the Saga so make sure you check what she's up to with Grasshopper and Lawrence at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ and then pop over to Amarinda's Place at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ to read whatever obscure thoughts Amarinda's come up with by then. They're always entertaining and informative. Blessings on your day!





8 comments:

  1. Anny,

    I so enjoy your reviews. I don't know if this is going to be my b-day present to myself or if I will put it on my list of "to be bought/to be read", but it will be in their somewhere. I love a good adventure, even if its mostly suspense.

    Susie AKA Susilien

    PS Are there any other early stories that you've written that you would like to share with us? I love "The Learning Tree". Yes! I am greedy.

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  2. Good interview as always Zen Queen

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  3. Well, we finally get to hear from our silent froggie! I love the cover of this book and you two did a wonderful job on the interview.

    By the way. Am I the only one who thinks "BICFOK" sounds obscene?

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  4. Susie... I'm looking through my files. Maybe.

    Kelly--I've always thought it was BICHOK--butt in chair, hands on keyboard, but what do I know? There's probably several different versions.

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  5. Sounds like another good one to add to the list:)

    Yeah, before I caught on to the shorthand, bickok or bicfok sounded like something out of Anny's books!

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  6. Very nicely done, both of you! I love your thoughts about career equalling work. Hope your writing always stays a pleasure.

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  7. You did a nice job, Anny. I read What's in a Name and enjoyed it a lot. Finding Sarah is on my to-read list.

    Terry, I'm glad I'm not the only one who considers writing a hobby--a serious one I love--rather than a career.

    Mona
    www.monarisk.com

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  8. Thanks so much for having me.
    Susie -- the book is probably equal parts romance, mystery and suspense, but I like to think of it as a character-driven story.

    Kelly & Anny -- I agree that BICFOK does have an eyebrow-raising ring to it. I'm trying to remember where I heard it first -- not that I heard it from the source -- but I think it was either Deb Dixon or Debbie Macomber.


    Thanks, Molly - hope you'll enjoy it.

    Mona & Cindy -- writing is a labor of love. I was recently faced with two deadlines; one for edits, one for a submission. Then the writing was "work" and a lot of the magic disappeared. (Of course, it was a perfect excuse not to do the housework -- sorry, honey, I'm on double deadline.)

    I like what I'm doing too much to sit down and think of it in terms of money. Now, should I actually be MAKING money doing this, my viewpoint might change!

    Glad you stopped by -- and don't forget my most recent release, "Starting Over" which features Colleen McDonald from Finding Sarah.

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