by Ann Crawford
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GENRE: Women's fiction / humor
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BLURB:
Love to laugh? You'll enjoy this feel-good tale.
A starbeing skyrockets to Earth from the other side of forever with a specific assignment: to help steer humanity away from the collision course it's on. But we all know how travel can get drastically diverted--instead of landing in Washington, D.C., where she could assist on a grand geopolitical scale, she ends up in...Kansas!
Wrong place, right time? Join our shero on this whimsical journey as she pursues her purpose as well as discovers the beauty of life and love on Earth.
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EXCERPT:
Ohhhhhhhh—what a strange place this is! Loud noises, awful smells, strange beings looking at me.
The woman struggles to lift her hand just a few inches off the bed, clearly shocked to see it. Oh. Right. I’m one of those strange beings now.
She stares up at the group staring down at her.
This is odd. Do humans just stare at each other?
“Well, you’ve had a very, very long journey back here,” the doctor says.
You’re not kidding.
“We should give you some time,” the doctor continues.
When can I go back in the other direction?
“Don’t push her,” the doctor emphasizes to the other three humanoids. “Give her lots of time and space.”
Time and space. Oh, you have no idea.
“Where am I?”
The group, obviously ecstatic that she can talk but dismayed by her question, turns to the doctor.
“Missy, yer in a hospital room. You had a terrible accident a few months ago, and we thought we lost you at one point. But yer a tough survivor and fought yer way back here.”
That’s truer than you know.
“Perhaps we should just let her sleep some more,” the doctor tells them. “That’s when most of the body’s healing takes place.” She ushers them out of the room. “Amnesia can be a strange, strange thing,” the doctor starts to say. “The brain—” But she shuts the door and the voices are muffled.
Ohhhhhhh, I have a feeling I’m not in the Andromeda galaxy anymore.
Author Interview:
1.Did you always want to be an author?
Yes! I’ve wanted to be an author ever since I could hold a pencil. My mom read to me a lot as I was growing up, despite being very sick and eventually dying when I was a teenager. Thinking of those times with her and the stories she read fills me with the most beautiful, warm, loving feelings.
So, books were quite special to me from an early age. I’ve always loved the new worlds and ideas they’ve opened up for me, and I wanted to pass that magic on to as many people as possible.
Also, I can’t be anything else but an author. It’s what I do. Not writing for me would be like not breathing.
2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.
My first book is a non-fiction called Visioning. It was traditionally published in 2001; the launch date was 11/11, 2 months after 9/11, so the book launch and its subject had even greater meaning—given the times. I’ve since published an updated version of it myself, along with five of my other books.
3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?
I love Dan Brown, but he and I are in very different genres, of course. I also love Kathleen McGowan’s novels. She’s a (I know we’re supposed to say an, but that bugs me, LOL) historian and does tons of research for her works. She has another book, this one on Anne Boleyn, coming out soon.
4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?
The best part of being an author is these wild and crazy and wonderful characters that come knocking on the doorway of my mind and say, “Write my story!” How could I refuse a request like that?
I’m sure for a lot of authors the solitary nature of writing gets to them, but not to me. I love being alone with my laptop (OK, full disclosure, my parrot is in the room with me, but he’s very quiet when I’m in a writing session) and listening to the playlist I develop for each book.
The worst part? Oh, I guess that it sometimes can take years and years to get going in a writing career. I wrote a book quite a while ago and got a renowned agent to represent it. Nada. Then I got into filmmaking for a while, and a documentary I made won a very prestigious award. I went to Viet Nam with a group of vets and filmed them going back to do a humanitarian project, return to their areas of operation, and heal their wounds of war. Some of their stories are in Fresh off the Starship, as two of the dads were in Viet Nam. Starshipis mostly humorous, but it does deal with some social issues, including PTSD.
Then I started self-publishing in 2008 (thank you, Amazon!). My books consistently get high reviews and are winning awards now, so it’s becoming easier to talk to publishers. It’s a good thing I’m made of persistence and perseverance, because this line of work certainly requires it.
5.What are you working on now?
I’m just now finishing Bazoomerangs, which is about 3 generations of women: an ex-hippie/flower child still living like it’s 1969, an arch conservative in her 50s, and a 20-something trans woman—all under one roof. What could go right? It’s being pitched to publishers this month.
I’m also finishing up a book called The Life of My Love, which is a fun non-fiction about finding the love of your life—something I’ve been very good at, as it turns out. These days authors are told not to switch genres, but when books come to me the way they do, I have to write them down.
And after that’s done in the next month or so, I think I’ll write the sequel to Fresh off the Starship. Missy (the main character) has been knocking on that door quite loudly!
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I'm a fun-loving, world-traveling, high-flying, deep-diving, and living-to-the-max author of eight books. When I'm not flying planes, scuba diving, climbing every mountain (on the back of my husband’s motorcycle) or riding the world’s fastest roller coasters, you can find me in my writing nest with a view of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains out the window. I've lived all over--from both oceans white with foam, to the prairie, and now to the mountain. Yes, a little backwards, but what the hey.
My bestselling and award-winning novels go as high and deep as I do—they’re profound yet funny; playful although poignant; heart-opening and heart-lifting; thought-provoking and inspiring; and edgy while universal. I'm also a screenwriter and award-winning filmmaker and humanitarian.
Social Media & Book Links
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Book link:
The book will be on sale for only $0.99.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Ann Crawford will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
a Rafflecopter giveaway
