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Since then,
I’ve written many other short stories. I took every writing class I could in
high school. My creative writing teacher said I had a gift. All I knew was that
I loved to write! I was going to be a writer! Of course, then came…life.
When I was
20, I moved to Texas with my ex and my oldest daughter. I hated it and I
started a journal that I later converted to a book. A few friends read it, but
I was young and didn’t pursue it any further. I’d written it on an old word
processor, so it’s lost now.
The next 30
years I dedicated to raising my children and working. I still took every
About 10
years ago, I met Liz through our theater group. I was in awe of her knowing her
accomplishments as a best-selling author. One day she asked me to write a story
for her blog about directing plays. Since she’s been kind enough to let me
write several more about: my multiple sclerosis, being in flying trapeze in the
circus here, my father-in-law’s death, generation gaps with our children,
depression, the death of my daughter’s baby when she was five months pregnant,
being a best friend, even our cat’s disappearance for three months before he
was found. I think she gave me writing fever again!
As the days
of the pandemic went on…and on, I decided to start writing again to pass the
time. At first, I wasn’t really serious about it. Yet the more I wrote, the more
I liked what I was writing. I kept going. I am beyond thrilled to have had my
first REAL novel published just last week. It is fiction with a culmination of
my life experiences.
Paperback Cover
Vex and Valor is the story of two families from different sides of the tracks. Tim and Vee Crawford are the parents of
four children who are lifelong residents of Brookton, PA. Georgia and Zeke
Hayes struggle to make ends meet after moving four of their seven children
there from Tennessee. They become
intertwined through the marriage of their two youngest children, Ella Crawford
and Ben Hayes.
The story
begins with a fight between the married couple. The argument is overheard by
their two young children hiding in a closet with their 10-year-old daughter
watching through a crack in the closet door. Following the altercation, a
neighbor finds Ella unconscious with no witnesses as to what happened to her.
And her children are missing.
As Ella
fights for her life, the children are found. Both she and Ben’s families
gather, all waiting on word of Ella’s condition and looking for answers. Many
believe it was an accident, while others, who know Ben drinks too much, think he
may have caused this to happen.
The saga begins
in 1969 and takes place over three days. We are transcended into the lives of
Ella and Ben’s families. The book is written in two sections. The chapters are
short, moving from character to character and place to place. In section two, we
watch the families become even more entangled and continue to search for answers
about Ella. We meet new characters as we see the Crawford and Hayes
grandchildren grow into adults, each with their own accomplishments and
problems. The story comes to a climax when the truth about Ella is finally
revealed.
The title
Vex and Valor comes from the words tormented and fearless. As you meet the
characters, you’ll see these attributes in the lead and in many of the
characters. I also chose the title hoping to keep the stories of the Hayes and
Crawford families going. I’m considering a three book V series to include Vows
and Verdicts and Vengeance and Victors.
As a writer,
it’s not really about how the book sells, but more of a feeling of
accomplishment at its completion, the end product. I had so much fun writing it
– I want others to have just as much fun reading it! Thank you, Liz, for
letting me share it today with your readers!
Vex and Valor is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VTT9174
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