Ava was born overseas as
an Army brat. She has been married to a retired Navy sailor for 25 years. Life
in and around the military has afforded her many opportunities to see many
parts of our beautiful country. Currently she resides in the Midwest. She has
two wonderful sons serving in the Army.
Writing came to Ava later in life. She
is living proof that it’s never too late to not only reach for a dream, but to
achieve it. With the blessing of friends and family, she was encouraged to do
something she enjoys, which goes hand-in-hand with her passion for reading.
Before writing her own stories, Ava usually read a book a day from a wide array
of genres. She loves Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Mysteries, Thrillers,
and even Young Adult.
Shirley’s Story
Intergalactic Matchmaking Series 2
Excerpt
This is Chapter 1 of “Shirley’s Story.”
“Women Wanted: Must have a sense of adventure and be
open to new experiences. Must also be willing to relocate. Please contact
Claire O’Donnell at Intergalactic Matchmaking Services, (360) 555-4416, for
more information.”
Monday, December 9
Home Sweet Home,
thought Shirley. It was good to be home after a day of teaching first-graders.
She pulled into the driveway of the only home she had ever known. Taking a deep
breath of the cool air blowing in off the Skagit River, heavy with the scent of
salt from the Puget Sound, she felt her insides start to unwind. The old
clapboard house was inherited from her parents on their death several years
ago. A member of the Hampton family had lived in this house on Dunbar Road
since the early 1900’s. Shirley was the last of the Hamptons in this area.
Before heading inside, she
walked down the long driveway to the mailbox at the curb. With the mail in hand
Shirley headed to the house. She could hear Oreo barking excitedly from inside
the house. It was nice to have someone to come home to, but she would have
liked it even more if there was a partner to come home to. Someone to share
news with about the kids she taught. Someone to snuggle on the couch with.
Oreo, the black and white Whippet she received as a gift three years ago, did
her best to fill the void in Shirley’s life. It was easy to trust a dog; not so
easy to trust men. Not after what she had endured.
“Hey, girl, how’re you
doing, hmm?” she asked the bouncing dog. She bent down to pet her behind her
ears; Oreo loved having her ears scratched. Her whole head was black except for
the thin strip of white down the center from her forehead to her nose. Little
Hannah Ford had named the dog Oreo.
Shirley put away her coat
and purse. Gathering the mail to take with her to the back of the house, she
turned to the adorable black and white dog.
“Let’s get you in the back
yard, Oreo,” she said to the dog as she walked to the sliding glass door
leading into the large yard from the dining room.
[…]
Shirley picked up the mail
she had dropped onto the kitchen table. Junk, junk, junk, a postcard, and a
business envelope. […]
[…] She picked up the last
envelope. A sense of dread crawled up her spine; sweat broke out on her brow
and her palms became clammy. The return address on the envelope was the
Washington Department of Corrections. She could think of only one reason they
would contact her. They must be planning to release him.
Dear Miss Hampton,
This letter is to notify you that Mr. Bruce Mayfield
has served his sentence in full and is being released on parole December 9,
2013. He has been advised to stay away from you, but there is no longer a
Restraining Order or Order of Protection in place. If you have any concerns,
please contact your local law enforcement office.
Shirley was breathing hard
by the time she got to the end of the letter. What do they mean if she has
concerns? Of course she would be concerned! The maniac had tried to kill her
and had almost succeeded. Her legs folded then, no longer able to hold her up.
Oh, god, please don’t let him come back to Mount Vernon, she prayed silently.
Shirley’s hand went to her
abdomen. She could feel the hard line of the scars on her stomach; scars left
on her by Bruce five years ago. He didn’t take it well when she ended their
short, yet tumultuous relationship. He had been her first serious relationship,
her first in so many things. After the death of her parents she had been so
alone, so vulnerable. And Bruce had come into her life just when she needed
someone to lean on. She thought he was her Mr. Right. Little did she know at
the time he would turn out to be more Mr. Hyde. After she broke things off with
him, Bruce had stalked her at all hours, coming to the school where she worked,
parking outside her house, intimidating her by seeming to be everywhere she
went.
One night he broke into
her house, drunk and screaming that she had no right to dump him, that she was
his. He had been served that day with a Restraining Order and Order of
Protection. It set off his hair-trigger temper. […] The police arrived in time
to catch Bruce, but not in time to keep him from hurting her. He had attacked
Shirley with a large serrated hunting knife that he carried in his boot. He had
stabbed her three times in the abdomen and once in the back.
She had spent over a week
in the hospital. The effect of that attack would be with her the rest of her
life, though. Just the thought of the damage he had done to her angered her.
The anger helped to burn away the fear. She was scarred, but the worst part of
all was that her whole future would be affected by him. She would never be able
to put the incident behind her completely.
When he had stabbed her in the lower
abdomen, he had hit one of her ovaries and the doctors had to remove it. She
wanted kids someday, but her chances were now cut in half thanks to Bruce. Of
course, it wasn’t like she was in the running for motherhood as it was.
Trusting men did not come easy these days; it had been a long time since she
had gone out on a date.
[…] Counting on Bruce to
do the smart thing, and stay away from her, wasn’t something she would do. The
smartest thing about Bruce were his wisdom teeth. The guy had drank too deeply
from the well of ignorance.
Behind the Scenes
Thinking back on your first book, is there anything you
would have done differently?
I wouldn’t have ended it
as soon. It being my debut book, I think I got caught up in the excitement of
nearing the end of the book and lost my pacing on it. It still makes sense, and
I didn’t leave anything hanging that I didn’t intend to, but I think I would
have drawn it out more.
Has your perspective on the writing process changed
since you became published?
Yes, definitely. I do my
best to read up on the writing craft and have been trying to apply it the best
I can on each subsequent writing.
Do you work best on a deadline, or do you need freedom
from time constraints?
No deadline please! Then
it feels too much like work. Deadlines seem to block my thinking when it comes
to writing.
How do you know you’ve written a good book?
Hard question! Most writer
blogs say to write what you would enjoy reading yourself. So I use that
approach, and when I am done with the story, I hope the readers will find the
story as engaging as I did while writing the story.
How do you keep your characters and stories organized?
I use a character sheet I found
and modified; one for each character. It’s a collection of questions about
their looks, mannerisms, strengths, weaknesses, etc.
Are you a Swooper (write first, edit later,) a Basher
(edit each sentence as you go,) or both?
Both. If I want to be
working on the story, but am stuck on what should come next, I will sit down
and read what I have so far, then tweak it if needed.
What is the one thing you must have to be able to
write?
Irish Breakfast Tea. My
caffeine addiction of choice.
What are you currently working on? How is it different
from other books you’ve written?
I’m working on Story 3 in
the series. It’s different because I am trying to handle the romance
connections of two couples in this book instead of just one. It’s definitely
challenging me!
Is there anything you haven’t written that you would
like to try some day? Why have you avoided it in the past?
I would like to write
mystery, but I am not sure I have the skills for it. When I either finish the
Intergalactic Matchmaking Series I may try my hand at it. I haven’t decided.
Do you have any rituals, habits, or superstitions about
your writing?
No.
What types of scenes are your favorite to write?
Scenes including animals.
I like trying to imagine how our human interactions would appear to someone
from another world. What would they find shocking or hilarious about the way we
live with pets.
Do you prefer to write 1st or 3rd
Person POV? Why?
3rd Person.
When I try to write in 1st Person, I forget to keep observations in
that view, which leads to a lot of “fixing” later.
What do you feel are the most important aspects to a
good romance?
A basis of friendship. I
think the best romances, in real life, have a solid basis in friendships
Are you always in the driver’s seat? Or do your
characters drag you along for the ride?
The characters have
dragged me along once or twice. In Book 2 of the series, I had in mind an
existing character from Book 1 to be the Romantic Lead for Shirley. When it
came time to start writing, I realized he wouldn’t work in that role. I had to
create a new character, which I think turned out much better.
Inside the Book
Describe your setting and why you chose to write about
this place.
I chose Mount Vernon, Washington,
because I used to live on an island close to that town. It’s a beautiful town
as is all of Western Washington. I felt connected to WA again while I was
writing the first two books. One day we hope to be able to move back to WA; we
miss the ocean.
Give at least three interesting details about your
heroine.
I want my Leading Ladies
to be strong, independent, and likeable even while being flawed. I think each
of us is happier when we are honest with ourselves about our flaws. Perfection
is a myth. Women need to know it is okay to be flawed. We can still be loveable
when we have flaws.
What is one thing about your heroine you hope readers
connect with?
I hope they see my Leading
Ladies as strong women. Yes, they may have encountered situations that run them
through the ringer, but they come out the other side determined to still stand
on their own two feet. No damsels-in-distress waiting for a macho-male to come
swooping to their rescue in every situation.
What makes your hero a hero?
I wanted to portray males
that didn’t act like possessive cavemen. That is how many aliens are portrayed
in books, and it would annoy the hell out of me to encounter someone like that.
A Hero can have a soft spot without being a wimp, too.
Does the title have a special meaning?
The subtitle does. I
wanted it to reflect the fact that the women in the stories choose to leave
Earth. The whole kidnap/abduction thing doesn’t appeal to me.
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
I think it came from me
reading several Sci-Fi books and the humans were always kidnapped and treated
like property. That irritates me in many ways. I am a firm believer in
controlling your own destiny. Therefore, I wondered what situations would cause
a human to even consider leaving Earth. And since I am owned by cats, I
wondered how that decision would be handled by a pet owner.
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