Does Music Move Your Characters?

copyright 2012, aaron paul lazar

Yesterday I was listening to some audio book tracks from my newest Sam Moore Mystery, entitled TERROR COMES KNOCKING, freshly recorded by my actor/narrator, Mr. Robert King Ross. Mr. Ross is doing a wonderful job of representing Sam Moore in this book, and also has a great way with dialog. The audio book won't be available for a few months, but I'll post a link at the bottom so you can listen to this chapter if you wish.

As I drove home along 390 South, headed in the direction of home, it struck me that writing about a character listening to a singer, or playing a piano, or being engulfed in an opera can be quite challenging. I  love music (who doesn't?) and try extra hard to describe my own reactions to listening during some of these scenes. I also find that it can be an especially nice spot to insert a little poetry, for those of us who try not to be too flowery within the bulk of our prose, but who love describing flowers dripping down a stone wall or the heady scent of essential oils wafting through the air.

In chapter 20 in TERROR COMES KNOCKING, Sam's wife Rachel just received surgery for two dislocated and fractured shoulders. (that really happened to my wife, Dale, a few years back... long story!) The segment was short, describing their ride home from the hospital.

Let me know what you think of the musical aspect of this mini-scene - and see if you can tell what I was trying to emphasize by using it, as well. Sam reveals a lot about his marriage and life with inner thoughts, and I find passages like this help to clarify the character of ones characters!

***

excerpt from Chapter 20, TERROR COMES KNOCKING


Rachel closed her eyes. “How about some music? I just want to rest and listen to something nice.”

Sam nodded and leaned forward to switch on the CD player. Ella Fitzgerald was in the number one slot of his six-CD device, singing from "The Best of the Songbooks". He selected track three and prepared to be transported.

Her velvet cream voice prowled over him, enveloping him with its sensual tones. He went limp inside and let the notes glissade, massaging his soul in sugary splendor.

He and Rachel had danced to these tunes in their youth. They’d seen Ella several times as teenagers. In ‘62, they’d seen her twice. His collection was extensive. He owned every song ever recorded by the jazz queen, including early works from her first recordings. The music trickled over him like soft rain falling on petals…molasses poured over pancakes. It reminded him of days gone by, particularly nights gone by. With Rachel. In their most intimate moments.

She remembered, too. She opened her eyes for a minute and slid a sideways glance at her husband. “You’re remembering, aren’t you, Sammy?”

Sam grinned, slow and lazy. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. “Yeah… What times we had, hey, darlin’?”

He dropped his hand from the wheel and touched her knee. The hospital gown had ridden up mid-thigh.

She laughed out loud. “Now don’t get any ideas, you devil.”

Sam shot a glance at her. The bittersweet knowledge of their life together now hit him hard. They hadn’t made love in years, probably wouldn’t, either. He had to make do with memories. Wonderful, passionate, amazing memories. He saw her in that light now, with her long dark hair rippling over her creamy white shoulders, her dark eyes smoldering, her fluttery fingers touching him in that way…

“Sorry, Rach. Can’t help it. You still drive me wild.”

Her eyes puddled, full of the stark knowledge that Sam accepted with equanimity. He exchanged smiles with her, patting her again. “We were blessed, weren’t we?”

She nodded. He plucked a Kleenex out of the dispenser and leaned over to dab her cheeks.

***

Here's another scene from the next book in the series, book #3 in Moore Mysteries, entitled FOR KEEPS (June 2012). In this case Rachel is trying to get Sam to open up to a new style of music, quite unlike his favorite, Ms. Fitzgerald. I also use my books to cross pollinate between my own series (see reference to Gus LeGarde's radio show in Sam Moore's book) and to give free plugs to writer friends whose books I want to promote!

In this segment, Sam has just come in from an unsettled meeting with the local coroner, who seems to have a crush on him.

***

from chapter 11, FOR KEEPS:

“How’d it go, sweetie?”

Sam slumped against the doorframe. “Pretty much like you said it would. But it’s still damned uncomfortable.”

“Oh, poor baby,” she said, patting the sofa beside her. “Come listen with me. Japanese Melodies, by Camille Saint-Saëns. They’re so pretty.”

Reluctantly, Sam shuffled to the couch and dropped beside Rachel. “Okay. Maybe for a little while.” Sam’s usual tastes ran to Ella Fitzgerald’s crooning and Duke Ellington’s band. But he tried to maintain an open mind as he slid close to her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into him and closed her eyes.

The cello and piano duet invaded the room, soothing and saddening Sam at the same time. The music glided into his heart, plucked at his emotions, and tantalized him. The piece Professor LeGarde analyzed was particularly evocative, with searing melodies that sounded mildly Japanese and Spanish at the same time. Sam imagined a Japanese tea garden with a flamenco dancer poised on an ornate bridge. The next time he saw Gus in Wegmans, he’d have to thank him.

When it was over, Rachel clicked off the radio with the remote and sighed, almost as if she were about to burst into tears. They sat for a few minutes in silence.

He finally broke the spell. “Wow. You were right.”

***

Okay, it goes on from there, of course, to pick up on the original thread of the chapter. 

Thanks for stopping by today, and if you have time, let me know what you think of this topic in the comment section, below. 

Here's a link to some sample audio book chapters from this book, and if you'd like to read an excerpt, you can do so at my lazarbooks website, here.

Remember, if you love to write... write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

lazarbooks.com

Writing from a Woman's POV (when you're a guy!)

copyright 2012, Aaron Paul Lazar

I’ve written ten LeGarde Mysteries and three Moore Mysteries from a guy’s point of view.

It was easy, really. Because both Gus LeGarde and Sam Moore share many qualities with me. Sure, they have their own personalities and possess unique strengths and weaknesses, but I didn’t have to stretch to imagine Gus’s passion for Camille, or Sam Moore’s sensual memories about his wife in the early years before she got MS. It was easy to picture these charming women characters. Longing for them came naturally, and I pretty much used the feelings I’ve had all my life for my wife, Dale, who happens to have resembled these ladies at various points in her life.

But when I decided to challenge myself and start my new Tall Pines series from a woman’s point of view, I hadn’t thought about the sexual aspect of the job. No, I hadn’t thought how it would sound when I read the book aloud to audiences (like I do today), telling them to picture me female, five-nine, with dark hair to my shoulders and talking through my protagonist’s voice about how luscious her man looked in his open-fronted shirt.

At first it was a bit uncomfortable. But once I let myself become caught up in the story, it worked out just fine and my audience didn’t seem to doubt my masculine tendencies. LOL.
Marcella Hollister is a fun character to write. She’s healthy, for the most part, but haunted by her infertility. I needed to get inside the head of a woman who yearned for children, but would never have one of her own. This wasn’t familiar territory to me, so I had to imagine the feelings, probably basing most of my perceptions on my wife’s Lifetime movies and Joan Hall Hovey suspense novels.

Marcella doesn’t hide her unabashed affection and attraction to her half-Seneca Indian husband. She pictures him in full Indian attire, atop a big pinto horse, gazing over the horizon with his arms outstretched to the Great Spirit.

She’s someone who physical needs are quite foreign to me. But I’m proud to say that after living with my wife, mother-in-law, three daughters, and watching a million chick flicks with them over the years, I’ve had some of my fans tell me I’ve nailed the woman’s point of view.

Whether you’re a model citizen writing from a killer’s point of view, a woman writing from a man’s point of view, or a man writing from a giraffe’s point of view, all it takes is years of keen observational skills and plenty of conversations with the person who’s head you’re getting inside. Unless he happens to be a giraffe, of course.


***


Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, FOR KEEPS (JUNE 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (MAY 2012), and the author’s preferred edition of UPSTAGED (JULY 2012).

Writing Love Scenes

copyright 2012, Aaron Lazar

When I first started writing the LeGarde Mystery series in 2001, my daughters were teenagers. I was very careful to imply desire, to hint at bedroom scenes, and to be sure all references to intimate sexual relations were confined to a healthy marriage.

After all, I couldn’t let them think that Dad “thought” like that, or that I blithely wrote about all the things about which I constantly warned them.

Raising girls in late nineties and early in the millennium was not easy. Social pressures abounded. From what I heard, most of my daughters’ classmates lost their virginity in middle school, and if you were one of the few who didn’t have a boyfriend, you were an outcast, a reject who wasn’t worthy of friendship.

It drove me nuts.

So I was very careful not to write about things I preached against, and thus my first and even second mystery series were quite wholesome. Not that Gus and Camille had more than a Victorian relationship until they were married. Sure, Gus longed for Camille in a very real and normal fashion. But he respected her past – a sad life with her abusive ex-husband – and he also had trouble ridding himself of his long time allegiance to his wife Elsbeth, who’d passed before the first book was written.

By the time I was working on my third LeGarde book, my star-crossed couple was finally united in marriage, and I wanted to write their honeymoon consummation scene. It was important for me to show Gus’s tenderness and his gentle treatment of his bride. And after all, my fans had been waiting a while for this moment. I had more than a few letters from readers (mostly men), asking when the heck Gus was gonna get the girl, so to speak.

Something funny happened around the time I wrote Mazurka. I realized that my girls were not reading my work, (not much, anyway) nor were they in the least excited about Dad’s writing career, awards, or publishing credits.

No, their lives consisted only of real relationships, school plays, and boys, boys, boys.

How do you think I got this sprinkling of silver on my temples?

As difficult as it was in this phase of their development, it did free me up to write a bit more spontaneously. So I penned the scenes with tasteful romance, including only a few references (again implied) about the actual acts involved.

With a feeling of relief, I just relaxed and where it seemed appropriate, included some new scenes for my readers, including a shower scene after Gus and Camille were almost killed in the underground Parisian Catacombs. It was an affirmation-of-life type of scene, and gave me the freedom to experiment with some scenes.

“The soap and water streamed down her skin, intimate in its contact, curving along her hips and down her thighs to her feet. As we lathered each other, a mad desire to celebrate life consumed me. My lips touched hers. She hesitated for a moment, looked up at me through long, wet lashes, and then kissed me back.

It was different from the first time, almost frantic now. There was no shame in her eyes, no glimmering ghosts of our past. Although some of my injuries ached when we pressed together against the shower wall, the warm, moist coupling washed away the blood and pain.

When it was over, we embraced beneath the spray. Without warning, I choked up. She began to shake and looked at me. I recognized the hot burst of emotion that seared and welled in her eyes.

I fluttered sweet kisses over her mouth so she wouldn’t cry. She circled my waist with her arms, and kissed me back urgently. Dark hair streamed down her back as the water flowed through her sodden curls. She lay her wet face against my shoulder and held me tight.”

By the time I’d written seven more LeGarde Mysteries and three Moore Mysteries (featuring the green marble, a talisman between Sam Moore and his long-dead little brother Billy), I realized no matter how many free copies I’d give my daughters, they just weren’t interested in reading that much. Now they’re all adults with husbands and kids and it was time for me to let loose with whatever I wanted to write. And if they somehow, some day discovered that Dad had thoughts like a real man, well, so be it. LOL.

Next week I’ll write about how to pen love scenes from a woman’s POV, which I’ve done in my new Tall Pines Mystery series (For the Birds, Essentially Yours, Sanctuary) as Marcella Hollister, wife of Quinn and former lover to Sky Lissonneau. When Sky reappears after being MIA for 18 years, Marcella goes through some deep and difficult emotional challenges when he drops back into her life.

In my humble opinion, there’s room for a little romance in almost every genre. Mystery, thrillers, and suspense can all be spiced up a bit without dropping suspense or departing from the main story.

Enjoy your weekend, and remember, if you love to write, write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

lazarbooks.com

Three new releases!

Hi, folks.

One of the things we authors occasionally allow ourselves is to post announcements when our new books are released. I realized this week that I've been pretty remiss this spring letting you all know about my newest books. We've got three of the seven new releases out in the stores now, with several more coming soon. I thought the best way to introduce these would be by giving you a short synopsis of each, and a link to an excerpt in case you'd like to read a bit.

Remember, if you love to write, write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.lazarbooks.com

TERROR COMES KNOCKING (book 2 in Moore Mysteries, sequel to Healey's Cave)

FEB 2012 

Sam’s daughter Beth has been unreachable for days. No ransom note arrives, no kidnappers call. When Beth’s roommate Zafina Azziz arrives on their doorstep worried about Beth, Sam realizes it’s time to call the FBI.


In the midst of the investigation, Zafina’s larger-than-life personality wows Sam’s wife, Rachel, and when brother Hashim Azziz arrives on the scene, she welcomes them with open arms. But Sam thinks there’s something fishy about the woman who slinks around like an Egyptian temptress and her brother with the deadpan eyes.


While the Moores unravel with worry, the green marble—a talisman connected to Sam’s missing little brother—whisks Sam between past and present to reveal the truth about his daughter. Meanwhile, the town goes wild preparing a welcome for the U.S. President who will attend the Arts Center opening gala.


But all is not well in the small village. A bomb explodes in the back of Yasir Khoury's Dry Cleaners, escalating fears of terrorism and anti-Iraqi bigotry. Events grow out of control as the gala grows closer. That’s when Sam learns the awful truth: someone in his hometown plans to blow up the President, along with most of the residents of Conaroga, NY.


Sam fights the tide that threatens to sweep his daughter away, digging deeper into local secrets. When he discovers an unsettling link between his daughter and Zafina Azziz, too many questions arise. Is Zafina friend, or foe? Can Sam unravel the lies in time to save his daughter and the President?

TERROR COMES KNOCKING, Chapter One:

Sam stood over his brother’s grave. A curious combination of sorrow and liberation flitted through him. Like a tapestry of death, its weave created patterns of loss and love that gutted his soul, twisting him inside.

The agony of grieving again for his little brother had hit him hard. Although he’d mourned in stages since Billy disappeared fifty years ago, he’d never had closure. Until now. A week ago, his three best childhood friends admitted to burying Billy’s body in the pool near Healey’s cave. When the boy had slipped from the crossing log and slammed his head in a lethal fall, they’d panicked, afraid of being charged with murder. Their childish fears escalated, and they’d pinned Billy beneath heavy stones, his eyes wide open and dulled, hair waving in the water, skin wrinkled like prunes.

Sam shook himself.

Stop it. Stop torturing yourself.

He glanced at his SUV sitting under the shade a hundred yards away, its four doors gaped open to provide relief from the heat. With her motorized scooter parked alongside, his wife of forty years, Rachel, perched sideways on the passenger seat, a cell phone clamped to her ear. Their grandson Evan rhythmically tossed and caught a softball nearby. They’d accompanied him to the gravesite and had left after his request for a few minutes alone.

To think. To stare at the earth. To remember that the physical markers of Billy’s young life were just that. Placeholders. Reminders. Cold ground and stone.  (read more here)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS (book 2 in Tall Pines Mysteries, sequel to FOR THE BIRDS)

MARCH 2012 

 

Marcella Hollister’s first love has been MIA for eighteen years, with no confirmation of his death or military desertion. Callie, her quirky best friend and Sky’s sister, flips out when a mysterious package from Sky arrives on her doorstep containing his old backpack. Are these his final effects? Or is he alive?


Marcella and Callie look for clues in the little brown bottles with the colorful labels holding precious essential oils. And what’s with the password-encoded memory stick? Stranger yet, where did Sky get a musty velvet bag filled with emeralds?


When Marcella’s half-Seneca Indian husband Quinn hears about this package from Sky, his jealousy spikes. He and Marcella have been married for seven years, and he’s not about to let some punk from the past mess that up.


When Callie is kidnapped and her older sister is found murdered, a high stakes chase through the Adirondack Mountains begins, where Marcella, Quinn, and Callie’s Bernese Mountain Dog find Sky in the woods, guarding the secrets of an essential oil cancer cure from the goons at MedicuRx a drug company that will lose all if the oil makes it to market. They use every weapon in their arsenal to locate the secret medical records Sky hid on the memory stick.


The foursome search for Callie in the wilderness of the Adirondacks while trying to avoid struggle to keep the data safe and bring Callie home alive.

ESSENTIALLY YOURS, Chapter One:

Callie waved a yellow scarf from her pontoon boat and headed erratically toward my dock. The girl who’d been like a sister to me since I was thirteen had never mastered the art of steering. Matter of fact, she’d avoided getting her driver’s license for the past twenty years, and would probably never drive that old Buick her dotty mother left moldering in the garage.

Shocked to see her outside, I waved back, then swam to the dock and scrambled up the ladder to avoid getting crushed by her two-ton vessel. I grabbed my towel, blotted water from my face and hair, and wrapped it around my new bright pink one-piece suit. I’d been nervous to wear it—I thought it made my thighs look big. But now I’d been caught, and I couldn’t get that towel around me fast enough.

I watched the boat drift closer, shocked at my friend’s appearance. Her face twisted in despair. Her coal black hair hung limp on her shoulders, and her eyes puffed red. Instantly, my brain ran through the possibilities.

What got her out of the house? (read more here)

 DOUBLE FORTE', author's preferred edition. (Book 1 in LeGarde Mysteries)

FEB 2012

Gus LeGarde is mourning the loss of his wife Elsbeth, who leapt from the Letchworth Gorge cliffs four years ago. He plays endless Chopin etudes on his antique piano and lavishes love on his family and dog, but nothing buries the pain or answers the burning questions.

Why didn’t she say goodbye? What prompted her to jump? And how will he be able to live life without her?

Harold, Gus’s arrogant son-in-law, is caught in several love affairs, and begins to verbally abuse Freddie, Gus’s daughter. With a two-year-old grandson in the mix, Gus worries it’s escalating and warns Harold that he’ll be out of the house the next time he messes up.

When Harold’s law partner goes missing, a police search in the Gus’s woods reveals a shocking find. The mystery deepens, the plot twists and turns, and Gus’s innocent friend is set up to take the fall. In the deep cold of winter, threats erupt from the dark woods, spinning events out of hand, and Gus braces for the fight of his life.

DOUBLE FORTE', Chapter One:

We’d been skiing across the snow-covered field for twenty minutes when I heard the howl. The sound echoed over the frozen landscape, sending chills down my spine. Was it a coyote? A wolf?

I turned to Siegfried, my best friend and brother to my deceased wife. “Did you hear that, Sig?”

He slid to my side in a white spray of snow, courtesy of the fresh powder that coated the two-foot base. It had been swirling white since we started out in the murky dawn, hoping to get some exercise before we started our busy Saturday.

He slowly shook his massive head. “No, Professor. Was hörten Sie?”

At six-eight, Sig was taller than me. With broad shoulders, huge hands, and tree trunk legs, this man who’d stood by my side since childhood appeared a gladiator among normal men. But I knew his secret. He was an angel on earth, put here for the animals and children, sent to teach us how to be better people. I loved him fiercely, and he’d been my friend since I was five.

We listened at the crest of the hill. I pulled back my hood, but the biting cold of the January gusts sliced into my face and neck, numbing my skin. This windy ridge, which overlooked the east side of the gently rolling Genesee Valley, boasted the most beautiful view for miles. Today I was almost too cold to notice.

“I’m not sure, buddy. It was a—”

The cry came again. This time it was louder, more plaintive. (read more here)

***

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred edition of UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012).

Papa Jay's - a huge surprise, right in my own backyard!

copyright 2012, Aaron Paul Lazar

When I headed out for my book signing yesterday, I didn't have high hopes for sales. After all, Papa Jay's is a small local restaurant that had just opened a year ago, and -- embarrassed as I am to admit it -- I hadn't really noticed it in my travels. I vaguely remembered an old collision shop used to sit on that lot. But I had met the owner, Papa Jay, himself, when I stopped by a few weeks earlier to drop off my book. It was Monday, and the restaurant was closed. But Jay, his wife Kathy, and his children were taking down the outdoor Christmas decorations on that cold and sunny day, and it seemed like they were having fun. We chatted for a few minutes, and I immediately liked Jay, whose warm persona sparkled from his eyes.

What I did have high hopes for was a good time. I'd be joining my long time family friend Rob Sells, who I really hadn't spent quality time with in years, but whose first book, a historical adventure entitled RETURN OF THE WHITE DEER, had just been released. Together, we'd sit and chat about the world or writing, meet a few nice folks, and hopefully sell a few books.

I'd envisioned the interior to be like a small diner. You know what I mean, right? I pictured booths and formica tables and a few waitresses bopping between the tables. What I hadn't expected was to be completely astonished by the transformation of this old garage into what I now will consider my local oasis for comfort food with a gourmet twist, at fast food prices!

When I entered with my books in hand yesterday morning, I was thrilled to see a beautiful table set up for Rob and me. Right up front - not set in the back corner. A red tablecloth and two potted mini rose plants adorned the table. Rob and his wife Dale (who has the same first name as my wife!) were already setting up when I got there. But I just stood and stared--totally unprepared for the scene. Behind our table nestled a comfy couch and chairs in front of a gas fireplace, all arranged around a coffee table, with plenty of end tables to set your coffee or brown sugar drenched corn cake on. (I can't wait to try that!)

To the left of the high-ceilinged room was the ice cream counter and ordering area. All ice cream is homemade, and I know where we'll be this summer! Behind a counter -- which happened to be laden with goodies like cookies the kids had just pulled out of the oven and that afore-mentioned corn cake -- stood a smiling young woman, taking orders.

The menu was scrawled on large blackboards that plastered the walls behind the counter - with an array of soups that made me salivate (try the spicy potato! Mmm...) and enough choices of what all the customers are calling "real food" that you couldn't possibly go away disappointed. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are offered, with homemade pies and mile high sandwiches.

Strategically placed about the space, which included the front room I've just described and a cavernous and beautifully done back room filled with nooks and tables for plenty of patrons, were large glass coolers of ice water, complete with tall stacks of glasses for customers to help themselves and quench their thirst. I'm a huge ice water fan, and loved the idea that I could fill my glass to my heart's content at any time without having to bother the servers.

The place was packed, Rob and I both sold a very respectable number of books, had wonderful converstations with friends old and new, and we were fortunate to sample some of the delicacies, like Jay's clam chowder, fresh baked cookies, and the truly delicious homemade poppy seed dressing. I felt so at home there that I could picture myself sitting by the fire with a nice cup of mint tea, writing my next chapter. I can't wait to go back and sample more. ;o)


So, once again I was humbled. I used to think I should focus on selling books at book stores, my winery niches, and vendor sales. I hadn't considered restaurants. Even after eight years of selling books, I'm still learning.

Many thanks to Dale Sells for setting this all up, to Rob for inviting me, and to Jay, Kathy, and their family for having us there yesterday.

If you're anywhere in the Geneseo, NY area, be sure to stop by and pay a visit to Papa Jay's!

Check out the video here.

Aaron Lazar
www.lazarbooks.com

Review for Black Cow by Magdalena Ball

review by Aaron Lazar

Title: BLACK COW

Author: Magdalena Ball

Publisher: BeWrite

Genre: Literary Fiction, 290 pages

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-927086-46-9

EPUB eBook ISBN: 978-1-927086-47-6

MOBI eBook ISBN: 978-1-927086-48-3

PDF eBook ISBN: 978-1-927086-49-0

Price: $14.01

Publisher website address: http://www.bewrite.net/

Author’s personal website: http://www.magdalenaball.com


Reading a book by Magdalena Ball is a wonderfully peculiar experience. One moment, you’re sitting innocently in your chair with your Kindle, and the next minute you are whisked inside the brains and bodies of her characters, intimately connected with their soaring spirits or their angst.

I’ve read Ms. Ball’s books before, and have been enthralled by them. SLEEP BEFORE EVENING was the first novel I read, and I was absorbed by the well-told story. I’ve read her poetry, and been impressed with the way she weaves love and science and the wonder of the universe into her work without sounding pretentious or sappy.

BLACK COW, her new release, is a literary novel that breaks through to new levels, immersing her readers into the lives of an Australian family in very serious trouble. The problems don’t show on the outside, but they’re deeply ingrained in the fabric of the family, in their souls, and in their hearts. The metamorphosis of this very authentic family hurts, is hard-earned, and will make you beg for resolution.

It’s not an unpleasant experience—on the contrary—but it feels so real that the reader will absorb Ms. Ball’s characters’ pain like litmus paper soaks up water. I literally had to put the book down and stop for a while, because the stress James and Freya experienced in their intensely acquisitive world felt so uncomfortable that I thought my own blood pressure was spiking.

I ached for them to stop the madness, to look at each other and help each other, and to start thinking about what matters most in life.

Not only do husband and wife James and Freya, or their children Cameron and Dylan jump off the pages, but their inner thoughts and dialogue ring true. Written in third person POV, the reader moves effortlessly from mother to father, to anorexic daughter to the love-starved son. It feels natural and not forced, which is often a hard situation for 3rd person writers to avoid. See this segment from the daughter’s point of view just after her grandmother passed:

Cameron began to cry, so silently that it was almost not a cry at all, just falling rain on three generations of women through the memories of past, the unreliability of the present and the non-existent future. In the cooling entropy of now, she felt a deep connection with the woman who appeared on the page before her, and then jerked her head up, shocked by the snapping of the string. It was as if a helix had unwound inside her. Suddenly the room seemed intensely empty and looking at the picture, Cameron knew that her grandmother was dead.

What resonated most with me were the epic truths behind the story. I often lament today’s society where kids rarely play outdoors just for fun, where their lives are over-organized with everyone hurrying from one activity to another, where every room in the house has a television/DVD player and/or cable box, where each parent has a nice new car, where even children have iPods or iPhones or iPads, where families go on lavish vacations, where shopping is forever for new items (God forbid people are seen near a Salvation Army or Goodwill store, where so many good deals are to be had!), where meals are mostly takeout or quick-fix versions because both parents have to work to help pay for all the prior junk, and where there are few if any slow-cooked meals in anyone’s lives…

What happened to one parent being home, making real mashed potatoes, cooking banana bread, or simmering a stew all day long? What happened to the freedom of coming home from school, getting hugs from mom or dad, finishing up homework, and running outside to simply play? What happened to picking up a stick to sword fight, to digging in big piles of dirt, to jumping in mile-high mountains of leaves?

What happened was people wanting too much stuff, like Freya’s family in BLACK COW. What happened was the stuff growing and building to such an insane level that both parents “have” to work to sustain it.

This vicious cycle is intimately depicted in BLACK COW, and as much as I already fervently believed in living life naturally, simply, making family count first, and being one with nature, this book made me savor it more, made me examine my life even closer, and made me grateful for the decisions we’ve made as a family.

Being a father myself, and having spent 28 years in corporate America, I related to James’ pain. The stress involved in nonsensical, impossible corporate goal setting, the day-to-day grind through traffic and with people who aren’t even close to being friends, really drove home and made me grateful I had personally escaped that life and now work for a small company where the work that gets done actually makes sense! See this insightful passage from James’ viewpoint:

You keep moving like a shark through the ocean so you didn’t die by standing still. But that was a mistake. People didn’t die by standing still. Reflection wasn’t deadly. They wouldn’t die from taking time away from the grind, even

if none of them turned on their phones, though there was Cameron texting, even as she was walking towards the plane. It was the motion that would kill them. What was deadly was the running and gathering and shoving to get in front. He leaned towards Cameron: “Turn off the phone.”

When the story pivots after several devastating problems rise to a head, and James can take it no more, the family moves to a breathtakingly gorgeous farm in Tasmania, a long-time dream that Freya has harbored and tried to promote. James quits his job, Freya leaves her real estate sales position, and the kids are uprooted from their private school with the hope that they can run this cow farm, raise their own vegetables, create their own electricity, capture their own rain water, and manage it all with little or no experience.

The process is not easy, there is no magical solution or healing of all ills, but little by little, they pull together. The move to Tasmania was my favorite segment of BLACK COW, and I savored each page. I lusted after the land with Freya, ached to run my fingers over the black cows’ furry necks with James, felt the family’s pains when they weeded carrots, and reveled in the fresh air and gorgeous scenery. Although we live on three acres in the country and grow big gardens, our days of tending livestock are over. But now I want that farm. Badly.

Magdalena Ball writes with insightful realism, but there is beauty and passion and hope woven into the words, as well. See this segment where Freya’s vision is starting to come clear:

The sweater was a vibrant heathery pink, white and green, with bands of snowflakes, crosses and circles. It was more than beautiful. Freya couldn’t stop touching the wool, which was both soft and tough. It was fibrous, textured, and yet still smooth. Jane and her partner were trying to make a living from their unique wool, and there was interest from the mainland. They only lived five kilometres in the opposite direction to Hobart. Though Freya’s own knitting was still a far cry from perfect, somehow the beautiful yarn, Jane’s tips, and those clicking needles were unknitting the muscles in her body and she felt herself relaxing into a kind of half-trance. She couldn’t quite hear Jane’s words as she smiled and kept on with her stitches. Something was becoming clear to her instead. Her life was like this sweater, and she could knit in whatever colours, textures, and emotions she wanted. No matter what, she was the creator of her life, and she could make it glorious or dull, beautiful or flat. It was hers to create.

Her children and husband might be inspired or hindered by her, but they had their own lives to knit.

BLACK COW is an intelligent, deeply reflective story of a family who reaches its deepest lows, then transcends the expected norm to reconnect with the earth and each other in a joyful, satisfying adventure.

Highly recommended by Aaron Paul Lazar. www.lazarbooks.com

For Writers: Blogging - What's the big deal?

aaron paul lazar, copyright, 2012

The Beginning

I'd just finished my sixth book in May of 2005, when I was approached by Bob Burdick to create a piece for his book-lovers' website. "Just tell us about your writer's life, how you manage to work and write at the same time. Tell us about the person you are, and how it all fits together."

I'd never really written much more than fiction, emails, and tech reports at work. And I wasn't sure how to begin. So, as I normally do, I just started writing.

I think back to that day as the unleashing of a whole different type of writing. This was personal, easy-to-read, and fun writing. Sort of like emailing one of my fans, or speaking one-on-one to a newbie writer who approached me for advice at a book signing.

At the time, I didn't think of it as blogging, per se. I didn't really know what a blog was back then. So I called the torrent of mini-essays that ensued "Seedlings" columns. I thought of them as "little seeds of ideas that sprouted in my brain while driving to work or before falling asleep. Not enough to flesh out into novels, by any means, but insistent enough to require capturing, all the same."

A Blog by Any Other Name...

Since 2005, I've written over a hundred and fifty articles. These pieces range from 500 to 1500 words, and cover topics like writing tips and advice, a writer's life, book reviews, promotional tips, slices of life, etc. I keep a spreadsheet that lets me track where and when I've posted or guest-posted, and the list, in itself, has grown dramatically. 

Writers need to establish personal blogs to help promote their work, network with readers and writers, and to provide a home for their articles. But that's not really enough, these days. It's also good to get on a regularly published list of literary journals, group blogs, social media sites, etc. if you can. For example, my short pieces go up monthly at sites like the Future Mystery Anthology Magazine, and The Voice in the Dark Literary Journal.

I also post weekly on my collaborative blog,  Murderby4. Every Sunday, I write my piece then post it here on my personal blog, too, and copy it over to one of my favorite social media sites, Gather.com. Often I'll have the energy to do the same at some of the .ning groups, like The Book Marketing Network, or Book Blogs. There are other sites I used to frequent such as EzineArticles.com, Helium.com, etc. Lately I've had a hard time keeping up with all their requirements about so many allowed links per article, etc., so I've sort of slowed down there. But they're all good, and I'm sure you can find your own assortment of places to post your blog pieces in addition to your personal writer's blog. The message here is to take advantage of the time you spend on these articles, and post them all over the place to get more coverage.

From each of the postings, I then tweet the article by simply clicking on the small Twitter icon at the end of each piece. I add key words to the canned pretweet, and often add "Plz RT", which signals my pals on Twitter to retweet the link to their followers. In order not to overwhelm my friends on facebook, I generally post a link to that site just once, linking to Gather, where many folks add their comments and their own observations about the topic of the day. 

I also keep a list of subjects I want to write about so I don't run out of ideas. Don't get me wrong - sometimes I come up empty-handed. It's hard to have a column ready every week, never mind while keeping up with the current WIP. I don't know how those newspaper columnists do it!

Why Blog? (I Just Wanna Write!)


Why do we do this? What's the benefit? And how can we justify taking time away from our "real" writing to do these short little blogs?

First of all, it's about connecting with people; connecting on a deep down, personal level. If you can relate to your readers, they might wander over to see what else you've written. Perhaps they'll check out your books. And maybe even buy some! More often than not, however, you'll find the benefit of blogging is a gateway to meeting wonderful people who often are in your boat. These writers may have their own blogs, may be looking for guest posts, just like you. Little by little, by sharing, networking, and helping each other, you can all gain more exposure to readers and blog followers by holding hands and posting each other's pieces. There's a lot of synergy in that model. And eventually, assuming your books are good, you'll start to grow a nice audience for your work.


Giving Back

Of course, you also want to offer something of value to your followers. In addition to hopefully entertaining them, giving them a bit of a laugh from time to time, and offering the benefit of your own observations and experience, you want to help them on their own journey. Be open to newbie writers who have never written a blog in their life. Offer to showcase their new book. Ask folks whose books you've read to guest blog for you. You'll be surprised at how many of the best selling authors actually respond and appreciate the option of reposting their blogs on your site. Always be willing to pay it forward, and offer freebies off and on like contests where folks can win a copy of your eBook(s) or print books. You can host other author's giveaways--that's always a treat for readers--but be sure you don't make the conditions for winning too hard. That never works. Usually I just ask someone to comment on the article to be eligible to win. Simple and effective!

The Rules of the Game

My version of blogging doesn't necessarily meet all the "rule of thumb" advice that I'd stumbled on over the past seven years. I've sometimes read that blogs should be "short and sweet", that you should blog every day, and that if you write something longer than 500 words, people lose interest. I'm not so sure about all that.


So, I don't follow those rules, and in the course of letting myself navigate through this mire with my own instincts, I've managed to create a pretty decent platform. The last time I googled my name, I got over 4,000 hits, mostly from the articles I've written. I've tried to help writers by sharing advice and tips, and have connected on a deep level with so many wonderful folks, not limited to writers or readers. It's been a good run, and I'm grateful for all the folks I've met through this process.

How to Get Started  

Don't let all this scare you if you haven't ever blogged or are just about to release your first novel. It's a growing and learning process that comes with time. 

Start with your own blog. Gather up your book cover images, a headshot if you like, and links you might like to add to the side bar. If you already have books to sell, sign up for Amazon Associates and get your product links. You can also create mini-slideshows where you feature your own book covers, and it's really easy to copy the code onto your own blog sidebar. 

Blogs are fairly easy and intuitive to create, using a platform like Blogger or WordPress. Usually it's all free, too. 

Once you have your template in place with photos and links, etc., then it's time to write something! There's no wrong topic with which to begin. Talk about yourself a little, if you wish. Pick a subject you're wondering about in the literary world. Or offer a chapter from your book(s). (tip - make sure you have your publisher's approval before you publish more than a blurb from your own work - check your book contract.) 


How to Get Followers

Some blogs go a long time without any official followers. And that's okay. You can check your stats to see how many hits you've had. Just keep writing, check out other blogs, and comment/follow them if they suit your interests. Then you can invite folks back to read your blog, and the whole process begins!


Final Caution

It's really easy to get so caught up in the promotion of your work that your free writing time for your WIP almost disappears. Try to get on a schedule. You need to balance this aspect of your marketing plan with the time to actually create more products to market! It's a real challenge. 

Hmm. Maybe my next blog will be about how to achieve that balance...

Best wishes and good luck to all, and remember to write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

lazarbooks.com

Book Review for PRIVATE LIES by Warren Adler (review by Aaron)

Hi, folks!

Here's hoping your week has gone well. This year I'm giving myself the gift of working through a favorite author's books. While traveling last week, I was able to completely submerge myself in this wonderful novel by our esteemed colleague and bestselling writer, Mr. Warren Adler. Following is my review - enjoy!

Aaron Lazar

lazarbooks.com

Title:  Private Lies

Author: Warren Adler

Publisher: Stonehouse Press (2004)

Genre: Suspense/Drama

Paperback: 344 pages

ISBN-10: 1931304653

ISBN-13: 978-1931304658

Price: Kindle eBook: $2.99; Paperback: $19.95

Publisher website address: http://www.warrenadler.com/aboutstonehouse.shtml

PRIVATE LIES is a mesmerizing read, starting with the powerful voice of Ken Kramer in the opening pages. I’m not going to provide a detailed plot summary, other than to say that this novel is a commanding glimpse into the minds of four very distinct characters. Mr. Adler rotates between these points of view, from a dispirited writer who has lost his dream and now settles for a job writing ads (Ken), to his long ago ballerina lover with whom he parted ways twenty years earlier and who he now runs into by a pure twist of fate (Carol), to his loving and enthusiastic wife, a virtual “earth mother,” who has organized his life and bore him two children (Maggie), to the final corner of this very odd rhombus, a self-engrossed, gourmand who’s always touting his latest “cause” and who can talk the best dinner partners under the table (Eliot).

One is immediately plunged into mystery and suspense when the story opens with a chance meeting between Ken, his wife Maggie, her new client Eliot, and his spouse, Carol. Ken knows she’s Carol—his past lover—yet she doesn’t acknowledge him. Not a glance, no eye contact, no conversation. Ken spends the whole evening wonder if this ethereal, swan-necked, divine creature is really the woman with whom he spent months of hot passion two decades ago. He’s positive it’s her; but why does she pretend not to know him?

Little by little, delicious secrets are unveiled. We discover Carol’s past, which I won’t divulge here, and finally get a peak into her mind.

I expected the story would stay in New York, set in apartments and coffee shops and restaurants, when suddenly the plot twists and we are airlifted to Africa!

The contrast between the scenes in the dark, dirty city to Africa are vibrantly divergent. Africa—land of the parching sun, torrential downpours, rare danger, and raw resplendent beauty—invades the minds of the quartet by unleashing inner urges, some not so pretty. The land influences and entices, invades sensible thoughts and tempts all four to go where they hadn’t dared before.

If it seems like I’m being cryptic here, I am. I don’t want to spoil the plot.

There are several twists in this story that made me stand up and applaud. Well done, Mr. Adler! It was these twists that grabbed my attention and made me love the book even more. As they should, secrets are unveiled and the plot runs wild with surprises coming in more frequent waves toward the end. Most satisfying.

I would recommend this book for adults only, particularly those who aren’t shy about reading delicately described sexual encounters. These tastefully drawn passages of great passion were evocative and sensual, adding to the texture of this finely woven literary tapestry. As in THE DAVID EMBRACE, Mr. Adler writes voluptuous and fiery passages when it comes to passion in the bedroom, or in the mind.

I’ve heard that PRIVATE LIES was up for a movie, and that was one of my first thoughts when I finished it. “What a great movie PRIVATE LIES would make!” I do hope that Hollywood grabs hold of this one and runs with it.

I highly recommend PRIVATE LIES for the thinking man or woman, and for those who enjoy diabolical, twisty plots and lush scenery.

Meet Ruby!

Happy Sunday!

Have you ever done a character interview? 

It can be quite the lark. I've had interviews with my characters Gus LeGarde, Oscar Stone, and Siegfried Marggrander. Today, however, I thought it would be fun to lighten up, and I'm sharing the recent interview done a few weeks ago on Pat Bertram's blog. Ruby's rather full of herself, but I hope you'll get a chuckle out of her answers, anyway. ;o)

Aaron Lazar

lazarbooks.com

copyright 2012, Aaron Paul Lazar

Interview with Ruby, from Tall Pines Mysteries

1. What is your story? The name of the book with my beautiful picture on it is FOR THE BIRDS, by author Aaron Paul Lazar. It’s about these really nasty guys who were chasing my owners all over the Adirondacks. There were secrets, soooo many secrets. Money. Family. Lies. And more.
2. Who are you? My name is Ruby. I’m a ring-necked parrot. I own two humans named Quinn and Marcella. They listen pretty well, for people.
3. Where do you live? My cage is in the living room of my humans’ house on Honeoye Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Sometimes I get to go outside and imagine soaring over the big lake. Love that!
4. Are you the hero of your own story? Er, of course! That’s why my picture is on the book cover!  Come see it here: http://www.lazarbooks.com.
5. What is your problem in the story? Well, except for my owner’s mother falling into a swimming pool, dragging me after her, and getting electrocuted so that we were both in each others’ minds… not much! Honestly, though, you should have heard the things coming out of my mouth after that. I felt like I was inside Thelma’s head, which was a little creepy.
6. Do you have a problem that wasn’t mentioned in the story? My mother, Sarafina, died last year. I’ve been pretty depressed about it. Hardly playing with my toys at all.
7. What are your achievements? Last summer I helped find Marcella’s mother. She was tied to a tree on Blackbird Island and I found her.
8. Do you have any special strengths? Yes, I can eat more seeds in a minute than any bird I know. Of course, I don’t know any birds, except that cute Blue Boy who was at the bird show. But I beat him out, he only got second place! ;o)
9. What makes you happy? Cookies! Okay I think that is enough talk about food. I’m making myself hungry. Where is Quinn? Come on, Quinn. Pretty boy! You da man! Feed Ruby!
10. What are you afraid of? Big dogs. And hawks. I don't like hawks.
11. What makes you sad? My mom dying.
12. What, if anything, haunts you? I’m not too fond of that guy, Tiramisu, who tormented us last year. All he wanted was money from the big bank heist that nobody solved in 50 years. He was a real creep.
13. Have you ever had an adventure? Last year’s adventure at Tall Pines was enough for a lifetime. Whoa. Almost drowning and trying to help Thelma after she was kidnapped – that’s enough for me.
14. Was there ever a defining moment of your life? When Marcella finally really listened and heard me saying “Blackbird Island!”
15. What is your most closely guarded secret? I hide seeds under my bed.
16. What is your favorite scent? I like the smell of the Essential Oils. Why? Because it means Quinn will be happy and play with me. He loves those oils and it helps his obsession with germs.
17. What is your favorite color? Blue. Why? ‘Cause my heartthrob is blue.
18. What is your favorite food? Cookies! Need you ask?
19. If you had the power to change one thing in the world that didn’t affect you personally, what would it be? All the other birds in the world could have unclipped wings and fly. Me? I’m happy with Quinn and Marcella. I don’t want to get eaten by a big hawk.
20. If you were stranded on a desert island, who would you rather be stranded with, a man or a woman? Quinn’s like my dad. I would want him there to climb trees and get me seeds and nuts.

What happens when a parakeet named Ruby gets an unexpected mind-meld with Marcella Hollister’s quarrelsome mother, Thelma? When Thelma’s kidnapped, Marcella must find her - somewhere in the six-million-acre Adirondack Park. Marcella’s perseverance coupled with Ruby’s new talent offer the only hope for rescue, until the shocking truth is revealed.

***

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, ESSENTIALLY YOURS (MAR 2012), TERROR COMES KNOCKING (FEB 2011), FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred editions of DOUBLE FORTÉ (FEB 2012) and UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012).

Talking to Dogs

copyright, aaron paul lazar 2012

I've been talking to my dogs an awful lot lately.

Yep, there they are. Balto and Amber. See those big brown eyes? They are the best listeners in the world. Both dogs are bred to be "therapy" dogs, anyway, with Balto being half-King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and half-standard poodle and Amber, a female half-King Charles and half-Bichon. They are officially called Cavipoo and Cavichon, but I call them my best friends.

A few weeks ago when my wife was in the hospital and almost died on New Year's Eve (you can read about her near-death experience here), the dogs were left alone most of the day because Dale was in the hospital and I was at her side all day. The dogs seemed traumatized (like the rest of us) and every morning before I headed up to the hospital I took their soft little faces in my hands and looked them right in the eyes.

"You'll be okay today, Balto. Your mom'll come home soon. And I'll be back tonight, I promise. Everything will be okay and we'll get back to normal before you know it."

The anxiety in their faces was just so hard to take. So I tried each morning to calm them down, taking special care with both. Their usual routine is to lay on Dale's bed all day long - comforting her with their constant presence.

Was I really just calming myself down? It's possible. Self-comforting is a learned skill and I think I've mastered it over all the years and trials we've endured. Then again, I do believe dogs have souls and that they are the best example of how to behave on this planet. You've all seen the doggie emails that go 'round the web - the examples of how they love unconditionally, how they're always happy to see us, no matter what, how they are always at our side, etc. etc. Dogs are the best, aren't they?

Anyway, I find myself talking out loud to them more and more. Especially since my wife is now in a safe, downstairs bedroom (too tiny for two) and I'm upstairs all alone now, at least for a while. Well, I'm not really alone, because the dogs sleep with me and the three cats sleep with Dale. ;o)

So, each evening, I talk to them about which Midsomer Murder we'll watch, or when we're going to bed, or tell them about my dreams in the morning. Yeah. Really.

Am I nuts?

Maybe. I mentioned this to Dale this morning and she laughed. "You always talk to yourself, anyway, honey. And you know what they say about that!"

Uh-huh. You either have money in the bank, or you're nuts. Well, there's not much money in the bank, so...

I guess changing from talking to myself to talking to my dogs makes me seem a little saner? Who knows. ;o)

I'm just glad to have my buddies.

Aaron Lazar
www.lazarbooks.com

***

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, ESSENTIALLY YOURS (MAR 2012), TERROR COMES KNOCKING (FEB 2011), FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred editions of DOUBLE FORTÉ (FEB 2012) and UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012).

A Taste of Spring

It's mid January in upstate New York. Today I have to switch gears into eagle-eye mode, and go through the print ARC of Terror Comes Knocking, book two in Moore Mysteries. My publisher, Lida Quillen of Twilight Times Books (newly announced as a Writers Digest top 100 market for writers!), is pushing hard this year to get a good chunk of my work out in the next six months. Two books this month, and one per month through June. So, needless to say, I haven't had a lot of time to sit and work on my WIP, nor luxuriate in the pure pleasure of writing. It's been synopses and back cover blurbs, cover art tweaks, and so much editing I can hardly see straight.

I'm not complaining. Honest. I'm thrilled that we'll be able to catch up with publishing the books I've been writing within the next few years. Only four more to tweak after these are out. Once we're done, it'll give me more freedom to think about and focus on one book at a time. Maybe then I'll be able to remember what all of my characters are up to without having to scratch my head and wonder which series I'm in.

But I'm not writing this little piece today to chronicle my "to do" list. No. I wanted to tell you that in this third week of January up here in the cold northeast, I had a glimpse of spring yesterday!

The weather has been strange all over this year, hasn't it?  Our first "real" snow storm in Rochester came about a week ago. We've only been plowed out once so far! And we've had plenty of 40 and 50 degree days where rain fell instead of snow. Matter of fact tomorrow it's supposed to soar to the forties again.

So, it was rather appropriate when we finally got a real cold snap over the past few days. The thermometer hovered under eleven degrees this morning, and didn't go above twenty-three yesterday. But while we were running errands all morning -- mostly delivering and picking up Balto and Amber from their wonderful groomer, Bonnie Mason -- the sun shone so strong and so hard that it became unbearably hot in the van.

I unzipped layer after layer, enjoying the sites of the snow-covered hills. The beauty of our area --  glacier-carved rolling hills and lakes -- never fails to astound me. I feel the old jaw constantly dropping while driving around the curvy roads I've traveled thousands of times. It affects me the same way every time.

But there was something about that sun warming my skin, the intense white purity that poured into the van, that shot a signal through my body and brain.

Spring. It's coming.

Tomatoes. Peas. Soft soil slipping through my fingers. The thrum of the tiller churning through the dirt. Ripe round fruits hanging from the vines.


Oh, yeah. It's coming.

Pretty soon I'll be pulling back the black plastic and checking the moisture level in the soil. Too wet to plant? Or dry enough to get those early March peas in the ground.

I feel my garden engine humming. It's going to be so good this year, not like last year's swampy disaster. Well, sure, we had a garden, but it was so soupy all spring and summer that it probably will go down in history as one of the worst producers regarding quantity and quality.

But not this year. Oh, yeah. It's gonna be good.

Now, where's my Stokes Seeds catalog?


***

 The author and three of his grandchildren

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, ESSENTIALLY YOURS (MAR 2012), TERROR COMES KNOCKING (FEB 2011), FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred editions of DOUBLE FORTÉ (FEB 2012) and UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012).

A Message From God

copyright 2012, Aaron Paul Lazar

My wife almost died on New Years Eve.

I've been married to Dale for 30 years, and we've been together forever even before we were married. We've been soul mates from the beginning, and I can hardly remember a day when we weren't side by side.

Life has been good to us in multiple ways. We always loved horses, and before we had our children, we enjoyed many years of wonderful rides in the rolling hills of the Genesee Valley. We'd canter through the fields, the old canal path, and thrilled to the beauty of nature, frequently satisfying our primal urge to explore.

Our biggest blessing, however, was the gift of our three beautiful daughters. And now we've been equally blessed with four wonderful grandchildren.

But life has also been fraught with a fair share of challenges. One of these is Dale's MS. She was diagnosed in 1990, and has suffered a great deal in the past few decades.

On Christmas, 2011, I contracted the worst virus of my life. It was like a cold, but it also gave me fevers, chills, total exhaustion, and I ended up with bronchitis and a sinus infection. I missed the whole Christmas vacation, and ended up infecting Dale, whose lungs succumbed. It turned into pneumonia, and on New Year's Eve, right in the middle of the family dinner/game night, her breathing suddenly got terrible and we had to call the ambulance to bring her to the hospital.

In the ED she was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis. She almost died that night. We had to make decisions about "do not resuscitate," and other horrible options.

But my dear survived, after many hours of worry. The next day, she was in the ICU. That evening she had a "dream" that felt so much more real than any dream she's ever had, we're calling it a vision. She can't stop talking about it.

Life for Dale in general was filled with suffering, and no matter what new meds we tried or what alternative solutions we went after, there seemed to be no solution to her symptoms. She's always believed in God and Heaven, but I knew she was feeling rather forsaken over the past decade.

She doesn't feel this way anymore...

During this startlingly real vision, Dale traveled through a dark tunnel. "It wasn't scary. It was peaceful and warm," she said. At the end of the tunnel, she was met by a brilliant, warm light. (I know, you've heard about this from others. Guess this is another confirmation that it really happens!)

"It was so overwhelming, I felt like I was being embraced by God, but it wasn't just an outward hug, His whole being went into mine, and I felt Him become one with me. I couldn't see Him, it was just pure, warm light. I felt so peaceful, more so than I ever have in life. I could see things clearly, not like in this life where all the colors are dull to me. The colors were brilliant, vivid, and beautiful. I felt like He enveloped me with His love, that His whole being came into mine, comforting me. I have never felt so wonderful in my entire life, and I didn't want to leave Him, it felt so good."

She said at one point she got a glimpse of Hell, a dark and scary place. At first she was afraid she'd go there, but then she got her hug from God. She also glimpsed something incredibly beautiful on the sides of the light - she vaguely remembers colorful, riotous gardens.

This one amazing moment in her life -- something she's needed for a long time -- told her so much. "God is giving me strength to carry on. I felt Him urging me to take care of myself, to do the right things for my body. And now I know that when this life is over, I will be with Him. There's nothing to be afraid of now. We're preparing to join Him in what will be our ultimate reward. It's so comforting, because you know what's there for you afterwards."

Dale is not a super religious person. She doesn't go to church. She doesn't read the Bible. She's pretty much isolated from society, due to her illness. But she's always lived her life with true Christian values. She shows great strength and compassion. She has amazing empathy for others, and she never asks for anything except lots of good books to read.

In the past few years, she's been horribly depressed, always asking, "why is this happening to me?" and never receiving any answers. She's also usually more of a skeptic than believer when it comes to miracles. But this experience changed her completely.

Now we both know - no matter what happens in this life, it's just the beginning, just the trial we endure before we reach our true life, the one where God holds us in his embrace, where beautiful gardens abound, and where we will feel the most wonderful, blossoming joy and happiness that it all will have been worth it.

I'll never forget the expression on Dale's face when she told me about this - she couldn't stop talking about it, she was enthused, inspired, her eyes alight. I've never seen her like this, and the strength and power of His message has stayed with her.

No, it wasn't a dream. It was so much more than that; it was a message from God.

"Hang in there," He told her. "You can do this. I am here for you."

She wants everyone to hear about her experience, and I'm happy to be her voice.

Heaven is real. God is waiting. And I, for one, am looking forward to it. Especially if those gardens don't grow weeds. ;o)

***

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. The award-winning and bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at www.legardemysteries.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, ESSENTIALLY YOURS (MAR 2012), TERROR COMES KNOCKING (FEB 2011), FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred editions of DOUBLE FORTÉ (FEB 2012) and UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012).