Gabrielle
Bivane never expected parenting a teenager would be this hard, but she
never expected stillborn Oriana to live to see fourteen, either. The
night of Oriana's birth, Gabrielle and her husband Roy fused their
genetic and engineering geniuses to bring back all that was lost to them—at a
cost.
The secret must be kept.
Oriana
Bivane senses she’s not like the other girls her age, but the time has come for
her to change all that. She’s tired of secrets, but does she confide in the
wrong person?
The
life-giving key, suddenly missing, must be found.
Tell us
how much of yourself you write into your characters.
This is the organic
aspect of writing that has a tendency to surprise me most. I’ve gone back and read some of my
novels entirely amused when I recognize myself in the characters. I’ve found empathy
to be one of my best resources as a writer. Culling experiences from my own
life, I adapt them to my characters and their circumstances.
However, this is also one of the most
mysterious aspects of writing. Because it occurs on such a subconscious level.
And because as much as I’m constantly pouring myself into my characters, they
act on their own volition and have minds of their own.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
Love this question. I am so not Mrs. Jones.
It’s tempting to think I should be doing what so many moms in my community are
doing, enrolling my kids in dozens of activities and well, running myself ragged
in the process. But I just don’t play that. I’ve learned to protect the things
I care about most in life and one of those things is my time.
So how do I keep my sanity? I’m intentional
about carving out time to take care of myself. I paint and refurbish furniture.
I run. I read far more often than I clean. I get together with friends. And I
love being a member of several local book clubs.
What advice would you give to an author just starting out?
I remember receiving excellent advice
regarding marriage. My friend said, “Whenever things get tough and you are at
odds with your spouse, maybe you’re even struggling to love him, work hard to
remember why you married him.”
This same advice translates to writing. The
publishing industry sometimes feels like the wild west. When things get
discouraging or disheartening, it’s essential to revisit why you fell in love
with writing in the first place. Because if you love the writing and focus on
the writing, all else won’t matter all the much.
What would you like to tell us about the featured book?
I hope it leads to a lot of great
conversations. If you’re wondering what to choose for your book club pick this
year, please consider THE DISAPPEARING KEY.
How can readers find your book on the Internet?
My novella will be available on Kindle and
Nook to start. Plans are in the works for other reading options.
Wendy lives with her husband, their
three girls, and a skunk-dodging Samoyed. She feels most alive when she’s
laughing, speeding on a boat, reading, writing, refurbishing furniture or
taking risks. She’s authored ten novels and is currently writing what she hopes
will be your future book club pick.
Her work has been published in
numerous anthologies and online sites. Wendy graduated with a BA in English
from Wittenberg University, where she earned an Honor of Distinction for her
accrued knowledge of literature.
She’s represented by Rachelle
Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency.
Visit http://thoughtsthatmove.blogspot.com/ or connect with Wendy on Facebook or Twitter
@wendypmiller
