A Killer Within

My sons and grandchildren had been asking us to move west, BC but Peter had his business reasons, so he said no. He had no idea how ill he was.

Unfortunately, Peter passed February 23rd, 2017 – He was diagnosed with Pancreatic and multiple organ Cancer, January 27th 2017, he died 3 weeks later.

My lifelong career for 35+ years was in Human Resources Management – This may be why I struggle with discovery and removal of the many passive sentences in my draft writing.

Worked for mostly US companies. These positions had their own challenges as I had to abide by Canadian Laws and Regulations. I was frequently pressured to close my eyes, ignore what I knew to be correct and manage with guidance from US laws. I learned that US businessmen do not like to be told no, especially by a woman. This was great for making me tougher. I was often referred to as, “That Feminist” I took it as a compliment.

What motivated me to write Recue Ben? – several things.

Always been an animal lover I now have 4 cats; 3 black and one orange. I had to put an amazing cat named Baxter at 14-year-old to sleep September 2017, I cried like a baby. I get very upset when I see or hear about animals being abused or neglected. I volunteered several years at an Animal Rescue Unit – I cleaned and fed cats and socialized them, preparing them for adoption. I was an Adoptions Consultant, my love of black cats resulted in our shelter seldom having black cats for adoption. 2016 we took in 195 cats and kittens we found homes for 193 that year.

We did not allow everyone that wanted to adopt one of our animals to take them until we conducted interviews and checked references of the prospective owner.

The awakening moment for me was:

I felt that some children were becoming insensitive to live beings. They are bombarded with the fantasy of TV and Computer Games – No one really dies regardless of what you do, like blow them up, shoot them, throw them off a cliff because the next time they play that game the characters just rise again to fight another day.
I was really impacted by an incident, about 15 or 20 years ago a couple of preteen girls in England abducted a 2-year-old boy from a mall. A day or two later he died. I don’t remember what they did to him. The girls were arrested, charged and sent to prison.

A few years later a reporter interviewed the girls. They said, “The boy wouldn’t wake up.”

The interviewer made it apparent that the girls couldn’t deal with the fact that if they abused a child – it could die. They’re gone forever and don’t wake up like in a game.
My goal in writing about animals is to, give them personalities, make them living creatures that feel real pain when injured, show they can in their own way express love and appreciation to their owners. Cats, dogs and other pets are a responsibility and not to be abandoned or abused. They are not disposable like garbage.

NEW novel – Ben and Friends, Solving a mystery with assistance from dogs. This story is a mystery and a love story. Check back for my new novel the second book of the planned trilogy which is being professionally edited as we speak.

So far, both of my novels are self-Published.

Why self publish?

1. You keep ownership of your manuscript.
2. Author keeps 35% of sales.
3. ISBN number registered with US Library Author named as owner of novel.
4. You manage the marketing.
5. Author choses book cover, title, back cover info etc
6. Design a web site for the manuscript and the author.
7. Purchase domain names to assist with the search and info on novel and author. Email helps keep novel emails out of personal email box.
8. Amazon offers e-book, Physical books, lending library plus audio books.
9. Kobo, Canadian e-books only
10. Barnes & Noble offer online versions as well as physical books.
11. Potential that a Publishing House will offer to publish with their distribution and Marketing sources.
12. Exposure is the key.
13. Traditional Publishing. Until you are established it takes many, many letters to Agents for acceptance.

Agents and publishers take a percentage of receipts from sales. They now own your novel. The will also apply their editing because it is their book now.

Eating was just not a priority these days. She slowly walked back to the closet and selected a dress with a fuller skirt and ruffles that concealed her frame. Tears gathered when she saw her gaunt face and sunken eyes reflected in her vanity mirror. She leaned in for a closer look. It would take more makeup than ever to transform her face and cover the discoloration of older bruises.

Her gray-hued skin and the bags under her sad, deep-set blue eyes told her story. Everyone used to admire her inner glow; where had it gone? She tugged at her shoulder-length blonde hair and pulled it forward to cover the bruises on her neck and hide her emaciated face. Tears pooled in eyes that had once twinkled with happiness.

Earlier that week, Ruby had been busy cooking dinner when her husband, Jason, interrupted to announce in an unusually upbeat tone, “Hey, Ruby. Lloyd, the new guy at work—I don’t think you’ve met him—is having a house party this Saturday. We’re invited along with several of the guys from our department. I think you’ve met some of them at other functions. I would
really like to go. It’s actually sort of important to me.”

She was so lost in thought, trying to figure out how she felt about going to an office party, that she didn’t realize that he had paused, waiting for her reaction to the invitation.

How will he survive in the big world, filled with loud noises, angry cars, and mean people? However, not everyone is mean. On his desperate search, Ben comes upon good humans–humans who need his help. Although the dog needs rescuing, so do many people out there, who are just as scared as Ben.

Will Ben ever find his way to his family’s new home, or will the perils of the wild world keep him away? Everywhere he goes, Ben makes an impression; he makes things better and makes new friends. Still, he searches for Roy and Molly. With the endless devotion of man’s best friend, Ben won’t stop his journey until he is safely in the arms of his loving family.