Below is copy of my biography on my author page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin
If you have already read one or more of my books please know that your positive review on Amazon.com will be most welcome.
Creative writing is my joy -- the day it is no longer a pleasure is the day I
will stop writing. I am enjoying some writing success and I also enjoy
competition writing. My mother enjoyed writing poetry and stories. She shared
her gift with me.
My current work in progress is titled "Moose Road - a Canadian Tragedy. This
work came into existence due to my participation in NaNoWriMo. And, yes, I
validated my submission and I am a NaNo "Winner". I plan to edit and re-write
until the Elliot Lake book launch planned for the fall of 2013. Again for this,
my fourth novel, Susan Ruby K. of http://Yuneekpix.com will be doing
illustrations throughout the book. She has already designed a beautiful cover
for "Moose Road - a Canadian Tragedy".
My third novel titled Ellen and The
Hummingtree, celebrated its successful launch Saturday, November 10th, 2012 at
the Gallery at the Centre in Elliot Lake.
This novel is in collaboration with artist, Susan Ruby K., who did not only
the cover design but also the illustrations throughout the book. Already the
first print run is sold out. Thanks to everyone who purchased their copy. "Ellen
and The Hummingtree will soon be available as a Kindle book published by
Wynterblue Publishing Canada.
I have recently started a new blog called
"Small Town Authors"
Small Town Authors is the gathering place of authors,
published and unpublished, to feature and promote their short stories, poems and
novel excerpts. Each week a new short story by a small town writer will be
featured. Copy and paste your material to me at mailto:audrey@persona.ca Be sure to
type "Small Town Authors" in the subject line of your email. Check it out at http://smalltownauthors.blogspot.com
An even newer blog is "Rhymes and Times Remembered". This blog is a gathering place for poets, published and
unpublished, to feature and promote their work. No need to live in a small town
to participate in this site. Send your material to me at audrey@persona.ca with
"Rhymes and Times" typed in the subject line.
http://rhymesandtimesremembered.blogspot.com
I have loved writing stories ever since I was a little girl. My Current work
in progress is novel titled Moose Road - a Canadian Tragedy" which I plan to
have ready for its Elliot Lake launch in the fall of 2013.
I am the author of 3 novels; Ellen and The Hummingtree; Sara, a Canadian
Saga; and Reawakening. I have also written one anthology titled The Silent Star
plus a Dozen and one self-help manual titled Keeping it Simple.
I have some paperback books available for sale. Just contact me at
audrey@persona.ca
My third novel titled Ellen and The Hummingtree which was launched Saturday,
November 10, 2012 has already sold out its first print run but look for it soon
as an Ebook on Amazon.com --
I have many short stories published in Confab 2,3, 4 and 5 by Wynterblue
Publishing Canada. I also have several short stories published on
CommuterLit.com and Chapterandverse.ca If you check them out I hope you will
enjoy the reading.
I have three blogs and one author page on Facebook. I also have an author
page on Linked-In. Below are the addresses.
Visit my blog at http://writecreatively.blogspot.com
Also at http://rhymesandtimesremembered.blogspot.com
Also at http://smalltownauthors.blogspot.com
Also at http://www.facebook.com/audreyaustinca
Below is a little bit about each of my publications:
Moose Road - a Canadian Tragedy (current WIP)
Elliot Lake launch will take place fall, 2013
Author: Audrey Austin, Cover design: Susan Ruby k.
A tragic accident between a snow plow and a school bus takes place on Moose
Road. Who is to blame? Seven farms line Moose Road. Everyone has a story but
maybe the road itself is the only one who can come close to the truth in the
matter
Books published to date are three novels:
Ellen and The Hummingtree;
Sara, a Canadian Saga;
Reawakening.
Also published is one short story anthology titled The Silent Star Plus a
Dozen
I have also published a self-help manual. Drawing on my professional
background as a psychospiritual practitioner I enjoyed writing and have enjoyed
sales of my self-help manual titled Keeping it Simple which celebrates the
trinity of Meditation, the 7 major chakras and psychospiritual therapy.
Several of my short stories are published on-line and can be read at
CommuterLit.com ; Chapterandverse.ca and at
http://smalltownauthors.blogspot.com
My novels are available as Kindle books published by Wynterblue Publishing
Canada on http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin
Print copies available if you contact me at audrey@persona.ca
Many short stories published by Wynterblue Publishing Canada in anthologies
titled Confab two, three, four and soon to be 9 stories published in Confab
5.
My third novel titled Ellen and The Hummingtree celebrated its Elliot Lake
launch, Saturday, November 10th. "Ellen is a composite of many beautiful,
spiritual women I have known and loved throughout my journey. I hope you will
welcome her into your heart and enjoy the stories she shares in Ellen and The
Hummingtree"
ELLEN and THE HUMMINGTREE:
Author - Audrey Austin -- Cover design - Susan Ruby K., artist, also did all
the illustrations throughout the book.
Ellen and The Hummingtree is a fictional, magical and mystical account of the
memoirs of Ellen Dawson exploring many social issues: child abandonment;
deadbeat dads; separation & divorce;financial struggle; family
relationships; infidelity; love on line; aging; women's issues; Alzheimer's;
death and dying. She is a composite of many beautiful, spiritual women I have
known.
Ellen always finds the hope, support and encouragement she needs when
she prays to her God in the yellow quartz rock beneath the Hummingtree.
At
the outset of this writing journey I met Ellen. I became acquainted with her and
now, after knowing her for more than a year, I can say that I truly like her.
She has the courage of her convictions and no matter what life threw at her,
Ellen never lost faith. Feedback from readers of Ellen and The Hummingtree has
been very positive.
I am excited that my other books Sara, a Canadian Saga;
Reawakening; The Silent Star plus a Dozen and Keeping it Simple are all
available as Kindle E-books published by Wynterblue Publishing Canada Inc. and
I'm happy that Ellen and The Hummingtree will be joining them very soon.
If you click on the book covers you will then see an option to "like" my
books.
Thank you to those of you who have read my books for your positive
review.
I much appreciate your encouragement and support.
Sara, a Canadian Saga
Author: Audrey Austin.
ABOUT SARA, a Canadian Saga
The time is 1916. Sara is a 10 year old girl
in rural Prince Edward Island. Roy is a 10 year old boy in mining town, Nova
Scotia.
Through their eyes we see, feel and experience their childhood
challenges. We follow them through adolescence and their turbulent teen
years.
We celebrate their courtship and suffer their lost innocence in the
marriage ritual. They take us through the Great Depression and share with us the
frustrations, dreams and challenges they face in adulthood.
As parents they
introduce us to their children.
This story appeals to all ages because Sara and Roy hold up a mirror and ask
the reader to recognize truth about the human condition for many Canadian
families through difficult economic times.
We witness love that does not come
neatly wrapped and experience the quiet, sometimes desperate, drama of lives
unfolding.
You will find SARA, the Kindle book on http://amazon.com or in
paperback format from the author.
Reawakening
Author: Audrey Austin, Cover design: Susan Ruby K.
An excerpt from REAWAKENING...by Audrey Austin
"Linda and Jim were happy
together in their marriage. Each day brought forth new and interesting
challenges for the industrious couple. Life was good. Unfortunately, it was too
good to last. Years flew by and Jim was now becoming an old man, even by Earth's
standards. When he suffered the massive coronary he left his young heart-broken
wife a childless widow.
She mourned. She grieved.
Linda was a beautiful
woman, bright, vivacious and caring. After her husband's death she had many
opportunities to date. Several men admired her and wanted to spend time with her
but she chose not to go out with anyone. She had no desire to date and she never
remarried. Jim was her one and only true love.
Linda grew old as her husband before her had grown old. She died a peaceful
death.
And then it happened..............."
Reawakening is available as a Kindle book at http://amazon.com and in
paperback format from the author.
The Silent Star Plus a Dozen --
Author: Audrey Austin, Cover design: Susan Ruby K.
THE SILENT STAR.....previously published in Confab 3, Wynterblue Anthology,
North Bay, 2010
an excerpt: "My dreams made no sense to me. They held no
relevance to my reality. As foolish as it sounded, even to me, I wished Joseph
would come into my dreams and interpret them for me. But, of course, he didn't.
I did love the rose garden I often dreamed of though and I got into the habit of
keeping a red rose in a bud vase on top of the dresser in my room. I didn't know
why the rose was so important to me. I just knew that it was."
IN CONTROL..previously published in Confab 2, Wynterblue Anthology, North
Bay, 2009
an excerpt: "Mary, come with me this afternoon to look at the cottage lots.
Come with me, please?" he asked.
"Come with you? Come with someone I know
nothing about? You must be crazy!"
"Be crazy with me, Mary. Just once take a
chance. Let go of control and have some fun."
"Fun," Mary mused. "I don't
remember the last time I had any fun."
THE BIG BOOK..Previously published in Confab 2, Wynterblue Anthology, North
Bay, 2009
an excerpt: "Come on into the alley with me, baby. I'll share my bottle with
you.
Gwendolyn hesitated, then thought, what am I worried about? He can't
kill me if I'm already dead. "I'll come into the alley with you on one
condition," she stated.
"One condition? What condition you talking about? I'm
not into making deals, you know. I just want to share a little drinkie-poo with
you."
"It will cost you."
"Cost me? Are you a pro? Lordy, I never would
have taken you for a pro, little lady. Aren't you too old for that kind of
monkey business?"
Feeling insulted, Gwendolyn replied, "Why, the nerve! I
don't know which is the bigger insult; calling me a pro or telling me I'm too
old to be one."
This anthology containing 13 short stories is available as a
Kindle book at Amazon.com and also in paperback format from the author.
Keeping It Simple
Emotional Healing through Meditation, the Chakra System
& Psychospiritual
Therapy
KEEPING IT SIMPLE is available as an E-book on Amazon.com
It is a work of
non-fiction by Audrey Austin
Cover Design by Susan Krupp: Yuneekpix.com
Simplicity in meditation, as in life, is an admirable goal but it is not
always easy to be simple.
Life, with its myriad of challenges, has a habit of
doing its best to get in the way. Nevertheless we keep our focus on this goal
and feel grateful when it is achieved.
It is my highest hope that you, the
reader, will find KEEPING IT SIMPLE a useful guide as you continue your journey
along the path of self-discovery and personal growth.
I wish you love and light.
"Small Town Authors" is one of my blogs.
Small Town Authors is the gathering place of authors, published and
unpublished, to feature and promote their short stories, poems and novel
excerpts. Each week a new short story by a small town writer will be featured.
Copy and paste your material to me at audrey@persona.ca Be sure to type "Small
Town Writers" in the subject line of your email. Check it out at
http://smalltownauthors.blogspot.com
Another blog is found at http://rhymesandtimesremembered.blogspot.com For
those who love to read and/or write poetry.
My third blog is found at http://writecreatively.blogspot.com This blog is
called Calling All Writers.
How wonderful that today authors can benefit by having an Author's Page here
on Amazon.com For me, this was not always the case.
Way back in early 2011, because my E-books were published by Wynterblue
Publishing Canada and because I did not have an Amazon account, I was unable to
say what I wished to say here on Amazon.com. Therefore in response to a review
at that time of my first novel, Sara, a Canadian Saga, I made mention of the
review in a blog post and stated my thoughts about the review.
At the time it seemed to me that the reviewer was more interested in
critiquing yours truly than she was in critiquing the book. Some comments by
other readers of Sara seemed to annoy this reviewer as well.
Having said that, now that I have this author page, I don't have to feel
silent and restrained. I have an author's voice. For those of you who may
remember and may be interested, here is a copy of the blog post that seemed to
be considered controversial for some reason. The post can still be found on my
blog, Calling All Writers, http://writecreatively.blogspot.com
Here is the blog post:
I want to say thank you to Lifelong Reader for being the first to write a
review on the Ebook Kindle version of my first novel, Sara, a Canadian Saga
published by Wynterblue Publishing Canada, North Bay.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YDQXZK
The book is not 190 pages or less as he states in his review. Rather it
comprises 207 pages.
Lifelong Reader termed the book semi-autobiographical which, of course, it is
not.......I'm neither old enough nor wise enough to have been alive in the days
of the Great Depression. However the story is definitely based on some seeds of
truth as they were told to me by family members and friends.
I'm happy that Lifelong Reader found the story moving. And this reader gave
my story 3 stars. SARA was my first novel and for the 3 stars I say thank you to
Lifelong Reader whoever you may be.
Lifelong Reader correctly describes the writing as unpolished. This
description is interesting and telling .... the writing style is deliberately
unpolished. The style is simplistic and is there to tell the story of simple
folk who are unpolished, ordinary and unknown. Yet if a reader would take the
time to look into this mirror he would see himself and his "ordinaryness"
reflected
I will say I have had wonderful feedback from readers of Sara, a Canadian
Saga in its paperback form and, of course, I value all feedback be it positive
or otherwise because it is all helpful and serves good purpose when it is
offered in a constructive manner.
I hope this first review will not deter you from wanting to read this warm,
touching story which comes from the heart.
The Ebook Kindle edition of Sara, a Canadian Saga is published by Wynterblue
Publishing Canada which is a non-profit company. Wynterblue is invaluable
because of its support to northern writers. A special thank you goes out to them
for all that they do to help emerging authors.
Here are more positive reviews of Sara, a Canadian Saga.
"Your well-written book brought memories of actual places and people to me. I
was a child growing up on Prince Edward Island in the dirty thirties." K.
Austin
"I've read your book already and loved the story. It reminded me of the
stories my parents and grandparents used to relate about the 20's and 30's, Your
story will sell very well with the older audience and educate the younger ones.
They were not easy days for anyone." Judy Donovan-McDonald.
"I received SARA on Tuesday and cóuldn't wait to read it. I couldn't put it
down. I really enjoyed the story especially the streets in Toronto. It brought
back a lot of memories. It is good for the soul to remember the past. Could that
be why we call them the good old days? Looking forward to a sequel. Maureen
Jones-Motchan.
"I truly enjoyed reading SARA. At times I laughed and at other times I felt
tears welling up. It was such a good story, well written and I loved it."
Eleanor Lambert.
I just finished reading "Sara."
I took the book to work with me where I
was teaching a grade 7 class. The children were directed to write about a time
when they or someone they knew, demonstrated perseverance. I held up the book
and used "Sara" as an example of a woman who demonstrated perseverance. I also
spoke to the fact that the author demonstrated this quality in her determination
to have her story published. You would not believe the response from these kids
- many wanted to know if they could get it at Chapters. This story is uniquely
Canadian and should be marketed to adolescents as part of their Canadian
heritage. "Sara" is a narrative that figures in the histories of Canadian
families everywhere. I will be passing this on to my son!
The line that
cracked me up and drew me in for good:
"Their mother set the steaming bowls
of vegetables in the centre of the large, old, wooden table that no amount of
wax and polish could dignify." (p. 11)
I won't over-analyze why this struck
me as hilarious, it just did. What sad, sad state Rebecca was in over her table.
This table is a silent witness to generations of love, hope, fear, strife,
courage, ignorance and finally, understanding. What a beautiful metaphor for an
old scratched up, banged around history that none of us can escape and our fear
of endlessly repeating it.
Thank-you for inviting us to the table.
Karen
Preston.
And now this blog post is where it belongs. Had I been able to put this post
onto Amazon.com at the time of SARA's first review I would have done so. Better
late than not at all.
And just to let you know I also have an Author's Page at
http://www.facebook.com/audreyaustinca
You will also find me on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
Thank you for buying and reading my books. Your encouragement and support is
much appreciated and your positive reviews are very welcome. :-)
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