Hi guys!
Welcome back to the place that aims to bring you sunny skies reading wise every day of the week....Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!
Today, we are playing host to a blog tour featuring a story that could have been cut from my own local headlines not so long ago, with a message of conservation and a call to protection for the planet at large. It's timing is certainly appropriate considering we just celebrated Earth Day and with the recent addition of yet another species to the extinct list (poor black rhinos), a call we should all heed in whatever way we can. Without further adieu, courtesy of Worldwind Virtual Tours I give you today's blog tour guest and book of choice....
Trails in the Sand
by
P.C. Zick
A Family Saga Filled with Love Triangles, Sea Turtles, and an Oil Spill
When environmental writer Caroline Carlisle sets off to report on endangered sea turtles during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the last thing she expects is to uncover secrets - secrets that threaten to destroy her family, unless she can heal the hurts from a lifetime of lies. To make matters worse, Caroline's love for her late sister's husband, Simon, creates an uproar in a southern family already set on a collision course with its past.
Using real-life events as the backdrop, Trails in the Sand explores the fight to restore balance and peace, in nature and in a family, as both spiral toward disaster. Through it all, the ancient sea turtle serves a reminder that life moves forward despite the best efforts to destroy it.
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Sound good?
I thought so...but also scary in its own way because really, the world we live in seems hardy and stable but it has its week points and if we add to them, they become something far greater in size and much harder to stop. But enough about my thoughts on the matter, let's find out a bit more about this curious book! When I first read about it aside from the connection to events not forgotten in my area, I was curious...how did the author come to choose this particular subject matter for her work? Well, ask and you shall receive because the author was kind enough to share her thoughts on that very topic with results you may not have anticipated.
Curious?
Thought you might be.
*hugs readers*
Please welcome to the virtual stage, author P.C. Zick!
Curious?
Thought you might be.
*hugs readers*
Please welcome to the virtual stage, author P.C. Zick!
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The Subject Chooses the Author
By P.C. Zick
When I began writing Trails in the Sand, I had one story in mind, but as I continued to put the book together, I discovered I was writing about something very different from what I had intended. The subject chose me, and I had no choice but to follow.
When I moved to Pittsburgh in 2010, I discovered that Rachel Carson grew up a short distance from my new home. Carson, a scientist and an environmental writer, wrote Silent Spring, a book that led to a ban on the use of DDT in this country. As a result, bald eagles came back from the brink of extinction and the Environmental Protection Agency was born.
Her writing made an impact on the world. She became fascinated with nature when she first played in the waters of the Allegheny River. However, her fascination led to horror when she realized what the steel mills of her hometown did to the creatures of the earth. No wonder she never returned to Pittsburgh after college and moving east. However, she never forgot her commitment to all living things.
Shortly after I moved here, I went to a screening of the documentary, A Sense of Wonder, where an actress plays Carson giving the final interviews of her life. The words come directly from the author.
“Finally, I was the writer I'd always dreamed of becoming. I thought I had abandoned my writing for science,” her character states in A Sense of Wonder. “But it was the study of science that was making my literary career possible.”
When a friend wrote her about dying wildlife, Carson was interested. She did some research and found her friend’s experience wasn’t unique. Robins were dying in Michigan, and fish were sick in Florida. Further research led her to the conclusion that pesticides were the common denominator in each case. She didn’t want to write Silent Spring, but as her character points out in the documentary, “the subject chooses the writer, not the other way around.”
I agree. Rachel Carson’s spirit swooped down upon me here in western Pennsylvania an hour from where she was born and raised and sat the subject on my keyboard. The result is Trails in the Sand.
The subject chose me as I worked long distance as a public relations director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I planned to leave the agency in early 2010 since I’d already relocated to Pennsylvania. However, when the crisis occurred, my bosses asked if I could stay on until we’d gotten the wildlife safely through the danger. In June 2010, I was appointed media liaison for the sea turtle nest relocation project. I handled all media interviews, scheduled media opportunities, and wrote news releases.
At night, I was starting my next novel. I started it as I always do, letting the scenes and the characters speak to me. My first scribblings are simply that and don’t make much sense to anyone, including myself. However, slowly out of all the dribble came a theme and then a plot. Before I knew it, I was writing a scene with a sea turtle nesting on a Florida beach back in 1957. That scene eventually became the Prologue for Trails in the Sand. Before long, I’d made the main character an environmental writer following the wildlife during the oil spill crises. The end of the book comes back to the same beach with the sea turtle once again receiving a starring role.
I didn’t set out to write a book about the sea turtles or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but the subject chose me, and two years later, I published Trails in the Sand.
During this process, I also realized my genre found me. Trails in the Sand and my next two novels, currently “works in progress,” are contemporary environmental fiction. This genre only exists in my mind and not in the annals of novel categorization . . . for now.
As I work on my next novel, I’m open to the direction it takes. I have a plan and ideas, but I also know the muse may take me far away from the original idea. It worked for Trails in the Sand, and I’m confident it will work once again.
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About the author...
P.C. Zick began her writing career in 1998 as a journalist. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction. She describes herself as a "storyteller" no matter the genre.
She's published four works of fiction and one nonfiction book. Prior to 2010, she wrote under the name Patricia C. Behnke.
She was born in Michigan and moved to Florida in 1980. She now resides in Pennsylvania with her husband Robert.
Her fiction contains the elements most dear to her heart, ranging from love to the environment. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion.
"This is one of the most exciting times to be an author," Ms. Zick says. "I'm honored to be a part of the revolution in writing and publishing."
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Special thanks to Emerald at Worldwind Virtual Tours for the chance to share this tour with you. (THANKS!) For more information on this promotion as well as those coming soon, be sure to stop by their official website, like them on Facebook or follow along on Twitter. To discover more about this title, pay a visit to the other sites on the tour...including an additional stop over today at i Read Indie.
Now, did you have fun?
Did you learn a lot?
Do you want it to never end because our responsibility to the Earth is JUST that important?
Agreed on all counts...and with that in mind, I'd like to share another special feature with all of you. That's right. You guessed it. It's time for a ....
...CONTEST!
Thanks to the generosity of both the author and the touring company, I have the honor of extending to you a chance to win a TRAILS PRIZE PACK! What's in it? Well let's see .. *digs through virtual bag* .. looks like...
(1) SIGNED paperback of both LIVE FROM THE ROAD and TRAILS IN THE SAND by P.C. Zick
(1) Route baseball cap
...and it's all packaged in a reusable cloth bag to commermorate the theme of the book!
Pretty cool, right?
Right!
How to enter?
Fill out the Rafflecopter form below and you're in it to win it...but do it quickly because you only have until April 29th to get those entries in! Good luck...and spread the word!
Until next time...happy reading!
8 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me today. I loved telling your readers about my experiences with the oil spill crises. I've had so many people thank me for reading it because they'd forgotten about, obviously folks who hadn't live through it.
P.C. Zick: My pleasure and thank you for swinging by as well as sharing your story!
No doubt a great read with a wonderful message but alas not one for me.
We lived near a turtle hatchery in Florida and its amazing how violate these little creatures births are. The book sounds like a nice blend of family and environmental drama. Thanks for sharing this!
Huh. Sounds like a great story. And she lives not but 45 minutes from me! LOL! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your comments. I'm very happy you stopped by and read my post.
I'm glad this story found you because you were absolutely the right person to write it. Great post.
Thank you, Rachelle. I believe it's important to follow those stories shouting out to be told.
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