The Story Behind ‘A Land Beyond Ravens’ by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

The premise behind A Land Beyond Ravens, the final book in the Macsen’s Treasure Series, began with the question: how did the quest for the Holy Grail get started? A very big question with no definitive answer.

Each of the four books in the series involves part of a fictional set of five sacred symbols belonging to Britain’s ancient high kings—collectively called Macsen’s Treasure. They are loosely based on the mythical “Thirteen Treasures of Britain,” and include a torque, spear, sword, grail and crown. Except for the crown, all the other pieces were separated and hidden for safekeeping during the turbulent years following the withdrawal of Roman leadership in the early fifth century.

The bare sketch for A Land Beyond Ravens required it include something about Macsen’s grail, a sense of the growing influence of the Christian church in Britain, and that Arthur would finally become high king. A few other notes floated around involving the main characters of master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth and his wife Claerwen, as well as Myrddin (Merlin). That, and the framework that history and legend provided as a backdrop, was all I had when I started writing.

Where to go from there?

First popularized in the late Middle Ages (but long after Arthur’s alleged historical period), the quest for the Holy Grail became known as a catalyst that split apart Arthur’s court and ended his reign. From where the grail stories originated is unknown, but they became inseparable from the Arthurian cycle. The Christian overtones may stem from the church’s alleged “adoption” of many pagan symbols, festivals and holidays in its early days. Using activities with which people were familiar drew them to the church. Gradually, formerly pagan holidays and symbols were Christianized and the older influences were either forgotten or outright forbidden.

What if—likewise—a grail existed that was older than Christianity and was at one time held to be sacred by a people seen as pagan? My personal theory is that this grail could also have been “adopted.” We have the church’s story of Joseph of Arimathea, a kinsman of Jesus, coming to Britain with a cup that was allegedly used either at the Last Supper or to catch the blood of Christ at the crucifixion. If the grail of the high kings was lost, conveniently, who could refute the church’s claim on it?

Based on these thoughts, I wondered: what if the seeds for the quest for the Holy Grail were planted long before it actually gained momentum? What if it was started on purpose? What if it was started by accident? All impossible to prove, but still plausible. And so began the story of A Land Beyond Ravens.

The Story Behind Charlie and Mama Kyna by Diana Rumjahn

Charlie and Mama Kyna is an award-winning charming book with beautiful illustrations for children. The story and illustrations are based on my internationally acclaimed film, Going Home, which was shown worldwide, including 45 film festivals and London Film Festival.

The story is about a little stuffed animal frog, named Charlie who runs away in fear after accidentally breaking his mother’s favorite vase. Charlie makes his way to the city and meets a stuffed animal Lion, named Leo and a stuffed animal giraffe named Joe outside Mrs. Cupcake’s Bakery. The three become best friends and live inside a little orange tent outside the bakery.

After awhile, Charlie becomes homesick, misses his mother, Kyna, decides to go home and invites Leo and Joe to live with them. On the next sunny day, Charlie, Leo and Joe, journey to find Mama Kyna’s home.

The book was written because I received so much positive responses for the film, Going Home. My passion is to tell you this story.

My inspiration for writing the book comes from my love of animals and stuffed animals. They are so cute! In addition, when I am listening to new age music especially music by Enya, I am so inspired to be even more creative.

Diana Rumjahn earned a bachelor’s degree in social science from San Francisco State University where she currently works at the College of Creative Arts . She wrote and directed the film Going Home which has been screened at venues worldwide. She is also the author of the new children’s picture book, Charlie and Mama Kyna. Rumjahn resides in San Francisco and is currently at work on film and book projects.  You can visit her website at www.dianarumjahn.com.

The Story Behind ‘ The Jewish Lady, The Black Man and The Road Trip’ by Carol Sue Gershman

My lover walked out on me and I wanted to get him back! I took all of my negative energy and pain and turned it into writing. He and he alone was my inspiration!

It all started when I took a memoir writing course at Dade County College. I had previously written a two and half page story about a road trip I had taken with him and brought it an as an assignment. My friends and family had enjoyed my story.

Well, the class did not feel the same, thinking it was poorly written and kind of blah! I was more than insecure about myself as a writer and remember feeling terrible but challenged/ For the next four classes, I rewrote the story countless times becoming more and more inspired.

After one month I announced to my teacher, that I was going to write a book. I was on a mission. I wanted to shock my lover with our written story. We would read it together, realize our mistakes and go back together again.

For nine months morning noon and night all that I did was write. One day during one of the months the management knocked on the door saying there was water coming from my apartment. I said, “not here.” I turned around a saw a flood almost to my feet – that is how absorbed I was into writing.

It has been a joy and the whole process huge, bringing me on to new dimensions in my life that I never thought possible. In some ways, I am a completely different person.

***
Constantly reinventing herself, Carol Sue Gershman attended the Miami Dade College memoir class and decided that she would turn her two and a half page “Adventure in Love Story” into a book. Never having written before, it was passion that drove her each day to write.

After spending 25 years in New York City, she was one of the first to arrive into the new phenomenon of Miami Beach (South Beach) She is presently writing her next book while working on laws to ban
smoking in residential buildings.

Now at 73 she will take her completed book back on the road re-living the cities and states visited on the road trip. You might just see her driving her hot yellow mustang convertible packed with books, hats and what it takes for life on the road.

You can visit her website by clicking here.

The Story Behind the Emily the Chickadee Series

I moved to the Portland area in 1999. It was during that first year when I met a wonderful woman named Mary, who quickly became my best friend. Mary had cancer, as did my own mother, and was one of the most giving and special people that I had ever met. Before she died, she made me a wonderful birdhouse from twisted driftwood branches she found on our Oregon coast. Making things was just one of her many gifts. I’ll never forget the morning I woke up to find one of her beautiful birdhouses that she had apparently placed in my garden without my knowledge. It seems that Mary was making them for all the special people in her life and I was blessed to be one of them. Mary died a few months later, but ever since the day her birdhouse appeared in my garden, the magic began to happen. 

I soon noticed that the birdhouse was attracting all varieties of colorful birds to my yard. I delighted in watching them every day from my kitchen window, but it was one special little chickadee that really got my attention. She made her nest in unusual places like the big flower pots on my deck, my window box and even the artificial wreath on my front door. I eventually came to realize that this wasn’t normal chickadee behavior. I wanted to share all the wonder and amazement that I was experiencing as I watched her on a daily basis. I named her Emily and, putting my pen to paper, began the task of telling her story in my first attempt at writing a book for children. The words came out in a simple rhyme that seemed to flow out effortlessly. In one sitting, my very first children’s book was written, which I titled Emily Waits for her Family. 

I started asking friends who had young children or grandchildren to read my story to them. I valued their opinion and the reactions of their young audience. Friends and family continued to encourage me. Eventually, my mother also passed away and I found myself writing lots of poetry after her death. I soon realized there was more of Emily’s story that could be shared. I also wanted to teach children how to take care of the chickadees in their yard, which resulted in the writing of my second book, Caring for Emily’s Family. Somehow I always knew I would write one more book for this to be a three-part series, but had to wait a few more years for the inspiration to finish the story of Emily, the chickadee. 

After my mother’s death, my husband and I built our very first home and we moved to the country, where birds and deer were daily visitors. It was in the following spring that my husband opened our front door and couldn’t believe what he saw. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but rather called me there to have a look for myself. There appeared to be a pile of straw on the floor and some sticking out from a bird nest in the artificial wreath hanging on the door. I was even more amazed to learn it was a chickadee nest, when I later saw the familiar little bird flying from it. Finally I had the inspiration for the third book, and sat down to write Emily’s New Home.  People always ask how I can be sure it was Emily, the same little chickadee. I tell them that even though I can’t be certain, the little girl telling the story had no doubt at all that it was indeed her little friend who followed her to her new home!

That summer my uncle passed away and I was gifted with some inheritance money. With my husband’s support, I now had the funds to hire a local artist to do the illustrations for all three books. Six years had passed from the time I wrote the first book until May of 2008 when it was finally published. The second book was released in August, followed by the third book in November. It has been quite a journey, but one well worth taking. I originally wrote these books with the hope of increasing children’s awareness of nature and its precious gifts that can be found as close as our own backyards. I never realized the important role they would soon play in my own personal life. My husband passed away suddenly of a heart attack in late November while we were vacationing with our family in Mexico. Had it not been for these books that I’d written and the local children charities they led me to, I never would have been able to get through the month of December. It was important to me that I fulfilled my previous commitments to donate my books to Doerenbecher’s Children Hospital as well as the Children’s Cancer Association before the holidays. I realized that I still had so many blessings left in my life to be grateful for. Even though I miss my husband every day, I am so grateful that the work I’m doing with my books continues to give me a greater purpose, gently reminding me to keep looking outside of myself and connecting with others. That is what is truly important and the gift they bring to me.

Carol Zelaya is a former nurse, recently widowed, and mother of two grown children. She grew up in the Chicago area, where she eventually met and married her husband and where they raised a family. Having relocated to Oregon in 1996, Zelaya began her love affair with nature and its beautiful creatures.  Inspired by her surroundings, she started taking pictures and writing. Writing poetry led to writing three children’s books, of course, in rhyme.  Zelaya’s Emily the Chickadee books are the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl and the true meaning of family.

 Carol is now moving to the San Diego area to be near her children.  You can visit her online at www.emilythechickadee.com. 

The Story Behind The Cutting by James Hayman

Like so many thrillers, the idea for the plot of The Cutting came from something I found in the news.

I read an article about so-called “organ tourism.” Americans traveling to foreign countries for transplants they couldn’t qualify for here at home.

As most of us  know, there’s of a chronic shortage of organ donors and organs available for transplant in the US and other first world countries.  People in desperate need of kidneys, livers, and hearts die each year because there simply aren’t enough.  Some of these people are considered too old to qualify for legitimate transplant programs in the US.  Others are deemed to be too sick to benefit from a new organ.

This has given rise to a new and thriving international black market in organs.

Desperately poor people in countries like China, India and in South America often sell organs for money.  A thousand dollars for a kidney may not seem like much to us but it’s considered a fortune to poor people in third world countries.

And the trade isn’t just limited to kidneys.  There are many documented cases where people have been kidnapped and murdered so their organs,  the ones they can’t live without like their hearts, could be harvested and sold to an unknowing American in desperate need of one.

There are a lot of problems inherent in becoming a so-called “organ tourist.” You don’t know if the organ you’re buying is healthy. You don’t know if the surgeon is competent by American standards.  You don’t know if kidnapping, coercion or even murder was involved  in obtaining it.

So I just said “What if?”

What if, instead of happening in some third world country, it was happening right here in the US?

What if there were a number of very rich, very sick old men who couldn’t qualify for legitimate transplant programs because of their age and condition who were willing to pay an immoral but highly qualified surgeon just about anything to get a new heart?

What if they could be assured that the blood type and tissue would be compatible to their needs.

What if the brilliant surgeon also happened to be a sadistic psychopathic killer?

That’s the basic premise behind The Cutting (though the story takes a number of unexpected twists and turns in the telling.)

The Cutting opens as a beautiful young woman is abducted while jogging through the idyllic streets of Portland, Maine’s upscale West End.  The very same night the body of a pretty young high school soccer star is found in an abandoned scrap yard, her heart cut from her body with medical precision.

Former NYPD homicide detective and single father, Michael McCabe, left New York and moved to Portland to find a safer and more wholesome place in which to raise his teenage daughter. But he suddenly realizes he found a lot more than he bargained for.

As it says in The Cutting “standing here in a scrap yard in Portland, Maine, McCabe suddenly…knew with an absolute certainty that…no matter how far he ran, no matter how well he hid, he’d never leave the violence or his fascination with it behind.”

The Cutting is the first in a series of thrillers featuring Michael McCabe. The second, called The Chill of Night, is due out from St. Martin’s/Minotaur in late June of 2010.  That too was inspired by something I read in the news.

Like McCabe, I’m a native New Yorker. He was born in the Bronx. I was born in Brooklyn. We both grew up in the city. He dropped out of NYU Film School and joined the NYPD, rising through the ranks to become the top homicide cop at the Midtown North Precinct. I graduated from Brown and joined a major New York ad agency, rising through the ranks to become creative director on accounts like the US Army, Procter & Gamble, and Lincoln/Mercury.

We both married beautiful brunettes. McCabe’s wife, Sandy dumped him to marry a rich investment banker who had “no interest in raising other people’s children.” My wife, Jeanne, though often given good reason to leave me in the lurch, has stuck it out through thick and thin and is still my wife. She is also my best friend, my most attentive reader and a perceptive critic.

Both McCabe and I eventually left New York for Portland, Maine. I arrived in August 2001, shortly before the 9/11 attacks, in search of the right place to begin a new career as a fiction writer. He came to town a year later, to escape a dark secret in his past and to find a safe place to raise his teenage daughter, Casey.

There are other similarities between us. We both love good Scotch whiskey, old movie trivia and the New York Giants. And we both live with and love women who are talented artists.

There are also quite a few differences. McCabe’s a lot braver than me. He’s a better shot. He likes boxing. He doesn’t throw up at autopsies. And he’s far more likely to take risks. McCabe’s favorite Portland bar, Tallulah’s, is, sadly, a figment of my imagination. My favorite Portland bars are all very real.

You can visit our website at www.jameshaymanthrillers.com.

The Story Behind “Rain Dance” by Joy DeKok

From the time I was a little girl I wanted to write for kids. I was sure the stories ahead for me were the fun and sparkly kind.  I’d studied the craft, read books on writing for children, went to conferences, and was sure it was time.

Then, while cleaning house, a story line came to mind and tugged at my heart. It felt like a good idea, but I was certain it wasn’t for me to write. I tried to scrub, vacuum, and polish the idea away. Instead with every moment, it grew into something bigger. I could see the characters and heard their distinct voices.

I rebelled in part because the story involved my story. Who wanted to read about infertility and a pro-lifer who loved post-abortive women?  We’ve all been told to write what we know as well as no author intrusion. I wasn’t sure how to balance this advice so I clung to the latter. I simply could not write this novel – it was too close to home.

Ideas can be stubborn. I thought it might be cathartic to jot down the ideas to rid myself of them. This purging became a chapter and then two. As I quit resisting and released the words onto the page, a novel was born.

After the writing, re-writing, and editing, I considered putting it in a file cabinet and getting on with the real writing – kid’s books. Instead, I started the process of submitting it and receiving numerous rejections although many of them came with positive personal notes from the editors. Now I had editors, agents, established authors, and my husband encouraging me to self-publish. I hesitated to take the publishing road less travelled. I knew it was the harder path and I knew next to nothing about marketing. I was about to put the manuscript in a file cabinet in our basement when my husband brought me a check. He explained he believed the story had to be shared. His belief sparked a flame of hope in my heart.

It wasn’t until I followed the advice of the wise, the children’s books came together and I found an amazing illustrator.

After some time on the market, I approached an online writer’s group I belong to and asked them to read and review Rain Dance. It never occurred to me the woman who had started her own publishing house would be interested, however, she was.

Sheaf House Publishers released Rain Dance on August 3, 2009.

Louisa Mae Alcott once said, “Housecleaning ain’t no joke.” She wasn’t kidding. My second novel idea came while I was doing the dishes. I have no idea where this one will take me, but I’m done resisting. 

Joy DeKok and her husband, Jon, live in Minnesota on thirty-five acres of woods and fields. Joy has been writing most of her life and as a popular speaker shares her heart and passion for God with women. In addition to writing novels, she has also published a devotional and several children’s books.

Visit Joy online at: www.joydekok.com, www.raindancebook.com, www.believe4kids.com and www.gettingitwrite.net.

The Story Behind “72 Virgins” by Avi Perry

Many Americans do not understand the reasons and purpose of Islamic terrorism. People on the left side of the political spectrum blame the US foreign policy for the insane violence and the eruption of the volcano that breads that kind of hate movement. They are wrong. They simply need to examine the facts. Most Suicide bombings take place in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other Muslim countries, where the majority of the victims are innocent accidental out-of-luck Muslim bystanders. There are many non-fiction books written about the violent nature of Islam. But, for me, Robert Spenser’s books: the Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, and The Truth About Islam, have been the ones that triggered the spark for the idea of writing a novel, an action/thriller, which would attract and educate a different segment of the population, a segment whose main focus is entertainment rather than education, whose learning and enlightenment would be achieved indirectly.

As a university professor, at Northwestern University, and as a Vice President in NMS Communications, I always looked for ways to coach and educate—my students, my direct reports, my customers and colleagues. I discovered that winning an argument, gaining attention, and convincing, may, sometimes, be difficult, since my views may be considered tainted by my background and upbringing. However, when these opinions and counter arguments are delivered by fictional characters, they wear uniform of a different color. Arguments can be more extreme, more outrageous, less politically correct, and if I can add a bit of sarcasm and humor they may stick. For example. In my book — 72 Virgins — one of my favorite FBI characters tells a fellow he interrogates in response to the statement: “As far as I know, being a Muslim is not a crime in this country.” The response: “Unfortunately, ninety nine percent of Muslims give a bad name to the rest…” Of course, this comment is a vast exaggeration, pushing an argument to the brink of incredible BS. I would never say it to an audience, and I don’t believe it’s true, but it does make a point; it makes people listen, think, remember, and maybe—crack a smile.

For my first book – Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks — I got the attention of a literary agent via a book query. After establishing a contact with Cambridge University Press, my agent asked me to send my proposal to the publisher. The publisher forwarded my proposal to several referees. They all came back with very positive feedback—the book contract followed, and twenty months later I became a published author for the first time.

For my second book I picked a completely different path. Cambridge University Press does not publish Fiction. I could not go back and offer them the manuscript for 72 Virgins. I tried attracting agents with book queries, but out of the one hundred I tried touching, only one third bothered to respond, telling me “how sorry they were, but…” I started looking into self publishing when I met my current publisher at a party of a mutual friend. I was able to grab his interest and his pocket. He liked the manuscript, and one year later—here I am, a published author for the second time.

If you are not (yet) a best selling author, an established expert, or a known celebrity, you are going to be ignored or face rejections. If you had written or about to write a non-fiction book, you will not get attention unless you have already established yourself as an authority in that particular subject or field. If you had written a novel, you should let a Simon-Cowell-type person read it before you set your eyes on getting it published. If your manuscript is of high quality, and Simon approves, then you may try Self Publishing, but only if you have the budget to carry the endeavor all the way through. That journey does not end with the printing of the book; it includes professional editing, cover design, typesetting, and above all—marketing. Without a reasonable marketing budget, your book will get lost in the decimal dust. No one will know about it, except your close family and friends. It may be the greatest masterpiece of the century, but it will remain anonymous, lonely and cold. However, if you don’t care about sales, then forget about the marketing, take it out of your budget and don’t bother. Still, you wouldn’t want your friends and family to say things, and smirk behind your back, so you must ensure quality even if you merely get it published as a medal for your undersized ego.

Avi Perry  grew up in Israel. As a teenager and throughout his college years, he was a professional musician. He financed his student life with numerous gigs, playing with his Israeli band, writing songs, playing the various keyboard instruments, and enjoying listening to his performances on the Israeli radio (there was no MTV in late 60s Israel). He still plays and writes music, but as a hobby (at home), rather than as a line of work. During the Six-Day-War in 1967, he served in the Israeli military, in the field intelligence unit, and gained valuable and relevant experience in covert communications technology and a variety of spy craft and methods.

He has spent the past four decades in the US, first as a Ph.D. student, then as a professor at Northwestern University, a Bell Laboratories – distinguished staff member, and finally as Vice President at NMS Communications. He signed for early retirement in 2004 with the intention of writing a technical book. The title Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering was published by Cambridge University Press in 2007 and became very popular. Readers praised the book for its thoroughness and for my refreshing, unique and entertaining writing style, atypical among technical writers. Throughout Avi’s tenure at NMS, he wrote many short (humor-packed, peppered with company culture) satires, technical reports, white papers (published on company website), press releases, and more.

One may find more information on his websites (www.aviperry.org and www.aviperry.com ).

The Story Behind My Son, John by Kathi Macias

The story behind My Son, John is an amazing one, and I tell it quite often. 

It began nearly twenty years ago, when AIDS was just becoming known in America as a killer disease. We knew little about it, but most of us weren’t too concerned since we figured it would never touch us because we weren’t involved in the high-risk lifestyles associated with contracting the disease. 

I was busy working on a writing project and quite happy doing it—until I noticed that God was tapping me on the shoulder, trying to get my attention. Because I was perfectly content with my life as it was, I ignored Him, at least for a while. But the tapping became more insistent, until I finally had to respond or admit that I was disobeying God. 

“All right, Lord,” I said at last, “what are You trying to tell me?” 

In that moment I knew God wanted me to write a book about AIDS, which made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Surely I had misunderstood Him! But the more I listened to that still, small voice, the more I was certain of His marching orders. 

I sighed in resignation. “I don’t even know where to start, Father,” I said. “You’ll have to give me some direction here.” 

By the next morning it had become clear to me that I was supposed to write a novel about a middle-aged Christian woman (much like myself at the time) who discovers her 23-year-old son, John, has AIDS. It is her first revelation of his homosexual lifestyle. 

Wow. I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy assignment, so the next thing I did was ask God to bring someone to me who could help me understand how someone like John might feel in his situation. That night I noticed a letter to the editor in the newspaper, written by a young homosexual activist named Mark, who had AIDS and who was mad at the whole world. 

Oh, no, I thought. Please, God, don’t make me work with him! 

But of course Mark was just the one God had chosen. In fact, when I called him and told him about the book, his immediate response was, “Yes, I want to work with you on this because I want to make sure you get it right.” 

We scheduled an initial lunch meeting, and from the moment we sat down at the table, Mark began to tell me exactly how he felt. 

“I hate people like you,” he declared. “It’s because of you Christians that I have AIDS.” 

I did my best not to show my surprise, allowing him to continue to rant while I prayed silently, hoping God might show me that I had misunderstood and Mark was not the person I was to work with on this project. But even as I prayed, Mark stopped speaking for a moment and glanced out the window. When he looked back, there was a hint of tears in his eyes, and he said, “Sometimes I wonder if people like you are right.” 

Before I could respond, he returned to his previous mode of blaming everyone but himself for his condition, but in that brief instant, God had allowed me to see the chink in Mark’s armor. 

And so we began to work together on the book, though Mark made me promise never to “preach at him.” I kept my promise, but Mark read everything I wrote, chapter by chapter. And though we didn’t have a meeting of the minds, we did have a meeting of the hearts. Mark and I became friends; we learned to care for one another, even as we acknowledged the differences between us. 

Finally, just after Mark had read the last chapter and returned it to me with his comments and suggestions, he called me. His voice was weak, as he spoke from a hospital bed at his mother’s home. 

“Do you really believe all that Jesus stuff you wrote about in the book?” he wheezed. 

“Yes, Mark, I do,” I assured him. 

“Then you have five minutes to convince me not to kill myself right now.” 

It took longer than five minutes, but before we hung up I had the privilege of leading Mark to Christ. He died a few days later. 

And the book? I couldn’t sell it anywhere. Though every publisher who saw it agreed that it was a wonderfully written story, no one was willing to offer a contract—until nearly twenty years later, when I learned that my friend Joan had launched Sheaf House and was looking for “Christian fiction with an edge.” Sounded like My Son, John to me! 

Joan agreed, though after we talked about it for a while, we decided to change the storyline from a young man who has AIDS to a young man who murders a family member. The theme of unconditional love and forgiveness would remain the same. 

The rest, as they say, is history. But oh, what I learned between the time I started writing this book and the time it finally saw the light of publication! Before I began writing My Son, John I always thought the mark of a successful book was that it got published and sold lots of copies. (And hey, that’s not a bad thing!) But I now know that My Son, John was a success long before I ever found a publisher willing to take a chance with it. And if I hadn’t found a publisher at all, it would still have been a success because I now have a dear friend named Mark waiting for me in heaven. For that reason, I consider My Son, John the most successful of all my books, regardless of the ultimate sales figures. For after all, isn’t knowing that our work has made an eternal difference in someone’s life what this “Christian writing ministry” is all about?

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 30 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and recently won the prestigious 2008 member of the year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) at the annual Golden Scrolls award banquet. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time riding their Harley. 

Visit Kathi’s website at www.kathimacias.com and her blog at http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com/.  Beginning October 15, 2009, listen to Kathi as she hosts “Write the Vision” every Thursday from 6—7 p.m. (Pacific Time) via THE International Christian Network (www.theicn.com).

The Story Behind Silk Flowers Never Die by Stella Mazzucchelli

The story behind my book was my need to share my experiences dealing with emotions and weaknesses that are wide spread such as mental illness, cancer and alcohol abuse.

My book has given me the thumbs up to reveal to the world that my son has schizophrenia without beating around the bush when asked: ‘What does your son do for a living?’ Like a race horse bursting through the starting gate I now feel free to pronounce the word schizophrenia without hesitation. I almost have to refrain a smile while waiting a reaction which usually is hidden shock, followed by admiration for my honesty and then curiosity.

Being their only source of information, they live with the impression that all schizophrenics might rip there throat at the drop of a hat. I hope that my story can assure my reader that most sufferers are very talented and sensitive human beings. The only problem of course is that due to the ’stigma’ we rarely hear about them as they are forced into a dark corner, silenced and alone.

I also wanted to describe the impact of mental illness on the family, which I would say usually affects the mother. Being an ongoing condition, the mother has to come to terms to live on a daily basis with the heart wrenching, mind debilitating illness that never lets go. It does not take long to realize that nothing really changes in our child except the torment, the voices, the hallucinations and his escape to a fantasy world which can sometimes be very cruel. I had the need to admit to my own alcohol issues which were crippling especially as I had to aid my son through his difficult journey. Once we began to see the light, he marries his on and off love of ten years Naomi. A year into their marriage Naomi gives birth to their daughter Katerina, but a week after giving birth, Naomi is diagnosed with terminal cancer. My son put his own needs and well being to the side and showed remarkable courage and tenderness during the year he was nursing his wife. Needless to say, I have long since given up my dependency on alcohol in order to raise my granddaughter who today is a feisty, beautiful and intelligent thirteen-year-old. As I can do nothing to contribute towards a cure, I can at least campaign against its reputation, that is why I have written my book and donated my proceeds to the U.K. based charity SANE.

Stella Metaxa Mazzucchelli was born in Athens, Greece and married, aged eighteen, Riccardo Mazzucchelli, the famous Italian businessman. During their twenty-two year marriage, they lived in Zambia and London, where she became a well-known figure on the social scene, and had a brief and successful modeling career at the unusual age of 28. Fedele is their only child. After their divorce, Riccardo married Ivana Trump in 1995, though the marriage was short lived. Stella now lives in Athens where she brings up her granddaughter Katerina. As well as being involved in the property and renovation business, which ensures she maintains connections with London, she is also a tireless campaigner for the better understanding of schizophrenia and mental illness. Silk Flowers Never Die  is her first book.

You can find Stella online at www.dynastypress.co.uk and at her blog www.dynastypress.co.uk/news.html

The Story Behind Dispel the Mist by Marilyn Meredith

While I was doing research for the last Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Kindred Spirits, I met and became friends with a Tolowa Native woman who lived in Crescent City CA. One of the many things she told me about was the Tolowa belief in Big Foot, including many recent sightings.

I did some research on the Internet about Big Foot and while I was reading, a site came up telling about another large creature called the Hairy Man. Imagine my surprise when I learned that a pictograph of the Hairy Man, a woman, and child are in a rock shelter in a place called Painted Rock. Painted Rock is on the Tule River Indian Reservation which is very near my home. I borrow a lot from the Tule River Indians and the reservation for my Deputy Tempe mysteries, though I am writing fiction and have changed the names of the Indians and the reservation.

When it was time to write the next book in the series, I began thinking about the Hairy Man and the Painted Rock site. I e-mailed the local college’s anthropology professor and asked where and what it looked like out there. He invited me to go along on a field trip his class was taking the very next Friday. Of course I went.

The Painted Rock site is tucked away at the far end of the reservation. A cave like shelter was created by huge boulders, one sitting atop two others. To get down to the cave, one must climb down the side of one of these very steep boulders. I’d never have made it if two of the young male students hadn’t helped me down.

The inside of the shelter is decorated with all sorts of very large and colorful pictographs of a coyote, moon, frog, centipede, the river, geometric figures—but on the inside wall is an eight-foot-tall depiction of the Hairy Man. Alongside him is a five-foot female and a three-foot child.

While listening to the Indian guide’s explanation of everything, I busily took notes. He looked at me sternly and said, “Don’t ever come down here at night.”

I asked, “Why not?”

His answer was, “There are too many spirits here at night.”

Of course I never would, I could barely get down there in the daylight, but I knew Tempe would definitely have to go there at nighttime.

My visit to the Painted Rock and the legend of the Hairy Man is what inspired Dispel the Mist.

I had more fun writing that book and talking about it than any other book I’ve written.

You can read the legend of the Hairy Man and the first chapter of the book on my website: http://fictionforyou and the book is available as an e-book or trade paperback directly from the publisher: http://www.mundaniapress.com or any online or regular bookstore.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over twenty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest, Dispel the Mist from Mundania Press. Under the name of F. M. Meredith she writes the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series. No Sanctuary is the newest from Oak Tree Press.

She is a member of EPIC, four chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, WOK, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. She makes her home in Springville CA, much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com/.