Seven years ago, I've taken a childhood daydream and turned
it into one of my most-loved stories – Zion’s
Road.
The vision of tabooed-romances while living in a place of
the unknown and unseen captivated me as a young girl. The story was so strong
in my head that I used to stare-up at the clouds – visualizing who or what was
up there. God? Angels? Or maybe one my relatives were resting on a cloud as
they were smiling down to me. Still, the relief of looking to the sky – painted in
its glory only the Supreme Being could do – brought forth a vivid imagination.
As a kid I didn't quite know how to transfer my thoughts to
paper – I pretty much acted out anything I've imagined. Creatively, I used to
play with my grandmother’s what-knots in her living room – pretending her treasured
trinkets were actors and my daydreams were the movie. I would play for hours
until I would hear her say, “Child, if you don’t get out of my what-knots or I’ll…”
Once she connected her sentences with - or, I’ll - that was
enough for me to scattered from her living room – but I found another escape to
act on my imagination: the bathroom. Again, I played with any inanimate object that became my cast of characters. So while I paused from her trinkets, I
made Listerine and Johnson and Johnson’s Baby Powder my new leads.
*Sigh* Yeah, I know, I was a strange and bizarre kid. At
least I was showcasing my storytelling abilities – even if they were with
non-movable objects.
My awkwardness thrived into a passion. After I understood
the power of words and what it could do for healing and entertaining, I went to
my computer and began to write my first story by simply typing the first
sentence, at eighty-two I lived a long
life.
If you've guest Zion’s
Road was the first short story I've ever written – you’re right! This story - which
had taken three days to write - will have its prequel releasing this summer as
a full-length novel with new characters, as well as returning favorites, except
Jeremiah Johnson. Remember, if you've read the novelette, Jeremiah will not
exist in Zion’s
Road until 2006. This novel will take place in 1993 – about twelve or thirteen
years before Harold Smith’s unexpected turn of events.
The story-line between Zion’s
Road and TJRB are similar but also not-so similar. Both have journeys of
healing and redemption, but for the leading character in the novel, her journey
will fall into two worlds. She will be trapped with confusion and feared of the
unknown. Yet the lingering question throughout the plot – will her truths
shattered any chance of redemption? Or whatever past she had hidden, will it stop her cold in her tracks?
This week I will reveal the book cover, title, and a short
synopsis of the novel. If you've read my previous work, you will see I have
went out of my bounds. Forget stepping out of the box, I’d kicked it over a long time ago. Also, you won’t see pink anywhere on the cover – except
the Pink Noire logo. The tagline from my website: Wickedly Sweet, Definitely
Unpredictable will resonate all through the pages. With that said, my character
has a sweet side but lived an unpredictable life.
So look for the post this Friday, March 8, 2013 on your favorite
social media. I’m all over the internet, so you can’t miss me.
Catch you later, gorgeous ones!
