A to Z II - Y is for You/Yours

Holy crow, kids! It's May 30th! Do you know what that means? It means we're up to the letter y in my personal A to Z challenge! Y is for you or yours.

Huh?

Trajectory is for you. It's yours. I wrote it for you. Trajectory is yours.

This is your story.

This is my gift to you.

A story of love.

A story of fear.

A story of adrenaline and action.

A story of identity.

A story of friendship.

A story of solitude.

A story of camaraderie.

A story of betrayal.

A story of selfishness.

A story of selflessness and giving.

A story of personal growth.

A story of death.

A story of life - Joe's life.

Trajectory is for you.

Trajectory is yours.

A to Z II - P is for Pete

Welcome to another installment of my personal A to Z challenge. Today's letter is the letter p. The letter p is for Pete, of course.

Peter is a vital character to the story of Trajectory.

Without Pete, Joe would be an absolute wreck. Pete is Joe's rock. He is his confidant, his touchstone, his sanity. Pete gives Joe clarity, serenity, logic, insight...he's everything Joe needs to help him gain perspective. He doesn't judge Joe. When Joe feels completely alone in this world, he always knows he can count on Pete.

The two met in the Marines, and they quickly forged a good friendship.

After the Marines, they returned home to Detroit. They joined the Detroit Police Department together, and they both made the SWAT team. Through it all, their friendship remained strong as ever.

In the end, one fateful call changes everything between Joe and Pete. Nothing could ever take away that friendship, nor the importance of it to Joe.

Pete is a wonderful guy. Without him, Joe would never be - and could never be - the man that he is.

Pete is truly Joe's rock.

Final August WeWriWa from The Cop

It's WeWriWa time!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

Things are heating up in August! So for this month, we're looking at the scorching hot Donna from the Loving Her series.

Donna White is one tough cop. Behind the badge, though, is a very sweet, sad, sensitive soul. Truly a woman alone, Donna is simply trying to navigate her way through life. Who is Donna? She is dedicated, determined, distinctive and deep. Donna’s rich and touching story is second in the Loving Her series. 

Background on the snippet: Liz and Jen just showed up at Donna's apartment unexpectedly. Donna was initially miffed at their arrival - that was until she saw the reason for their visit. Jen gave her a little kitten. Donna is both excited and nervous. This snippet has been edited to fit 8 sentences.

     Donna bent down to look at the little face; her white, orange and black marbled head seemed so tiny compared to her large hands. Carefully, she began to gently pet the kitten. Almost instantly, the cat closed her eyes and began purring; Donna smiled brightly as she looked up at Liz and Jen.

     “But I can’t take all of this…” Donna started.

     “Please don’t fight us, Donna,” Jen said gently. “We know how hard things have been for you and we thought that maybe having a little companionship would be a good thing. We just wanted to do something nice for you - it’s about time someone did.” 

Hope you liked it!

Happy reading!

More Vet Student WeWriWa fun!

It's WeWriWa time!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.
This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

For the month of May, we will be reading snippets from The Vet Student, Katie's story in the Loving Her series.

One night changed everything for Katie. From that moment on, her life was propelled forward like a rocket. Determined to escape the small town and her religious, stifling parents, Katie works hard to get into veterinary school... in Philadelphia. 

Katie refused to let anything – or anyone – destroy her dream. Not even her own parents. Even in the face of danger, Katie held true to herself and her beliefs. She suffered many losses along the way, but she gained so much more. Tumultuous and tender, Katie's story closes the Loving Her series... for now.

Background on the snippet: Katie is seeing her best friend, Sam, for the first time in a long while since she started vet school. They have been friends forever. Sam came out to Katie during their senior year in high school. When Katie left for Philadelphia, they were "dating." Through correspondences, the girls stayed in touch, but each began to live her own life independent of the other. Sam's father forced her to date a young man named Dave. This is what happens when time and space separate people, no matter how close their bond.

“Katie, this is Dave, my fiancé.”
Katie felt as though she had just been punched in the gut. Fiancé? Hadn’t they only just started dating? Was this why Sam seemed so aloof? She didn’t know what to make of all this. She felt like she was losing her sanity and her best friend all at once.

Looking back at him, she said, “Dave, this is my friend, Katie.”


I hope you liked it! Happy reading!

2015 A to Z Challenge: Pianissimo - Day 17 (Q)

For the third consecutive year, I am participating in the A to Z blog challenge.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

This year, we're going to go through my latest full-length novel, Pianissimo.

Q is our letter today, folks. Q. Q is for Queer.

Now, I want to talk about the different definitions of queer, and how they apply to Pianissimo.

The definitions of queer are: strange; odd. synonyms: odd, strange, unusual, funny, peculiar, curious, bizarre, weird, uncanny, freakish, eerie, unnatural; antonyms: normal.

informal offensive: homosexual. noun informal offensive noun: queer; plural noun: queers: a homosexual man.

In Pianissimo, Agnes describes her and Margaret as queer, among other things. Considering the era, it was fitting as two unmarried women possessing such a close and deep bond was considered unusual. They were certainly the town oddities, and they were well aware of it.

By today's standards, they are still considered queer as they are a lesbian couple. Not necessarily unusual by today's standards, but the word is still applicable to them, and the nature of their relationship.

Queer is an unusual word. It is rarely used nowadays, and yet it carries so much potency. It's a word that was much needed for this story. In the context of Pianissimo, it separates Agnes and Margaret from the rest of the town; it also crumbles as a barrier between Corinne and the couple.

It's amazing how much importance one word can have in a story. In this case, queer was a very fitting word for multiple reasons.

http://www.amazon.com/Pianissimo-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00OEOTZMC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420832795&sr=8-2&keywords=lauren+shiro

2015 A to Z Challenge: Pianissimo - Day 9 (I)

For the third consecutive year, I am participating in the A to Z blog challenge.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

This year, we're going to go through my latest full-length novel, Pianissimo.

Here we have the letter I. I is for ingenuity.

The definition of ingenuity is "The quality of being clever, original, and inventive." Corinne is just that. Having never touched a power tool before, she becomes bold and brave and takes on the daunting task of restoring a piano. She knows nothing of wood types, restoration, tools, hardware...none of it.

She's smart, though. She researches it endlessly. She befriends Rich, who helps her out and teaches her. She pushes fear aside and she does what she never thought she could do.

Corinne is clever. Corinne is original. Corinne is inventive. Corinne is ingenious.

http://www.amazon.com/Pianissimo-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00OEOTZMC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420832795&sr=8-2&keywords=lauren+shiro

Writers Helping Writers

Holy cow!

Another Thursday is upon us!


Today, I want to talk about a writer friend of mine.


In the writing community, you can either forge great friendships, or ruthless competitors. I'll admit that when I was younger, I was a bit of a writing snob. But, as I got older and wiser, I realized that there are so many talents and voices out there. There's plenty of room in the literary world for all of us.

One friendship that came up for me was with a children's book writer. I give such writers tremendous credit because children's books are far more difficult than writing for an adult audience.

So, I met this gal. I really liked her work. As time went on, I began to see she was having tremendous success. I was so happy to see that someone who was pursuing their passion was being greatly rewarded for that. She has been working diligently, and she deserves every bit of that success.

Our friendship has only gotten better over time. It is so nice to see (and be a part of) writers helping writers. So, in turn, I would like to ask all of you for your help to help her.

Her name is Ibby Lang. Her books are a series of children's books aimed to help young girls with their self-esteem, as well as giving out messages of respect, understanding, acceptance of other people, and the like.


PLEASE click here and support her tremendous work! Her stories and characters can and will have a beautiful effect on children globally. Let's all help her, so she can help our children.

Thank you!!!!