Sometimes you don’t have to look far to find the mysteries, the wonder, the tragedy or the ironies in life that make a good plot. My readers haven’t heard from me because of a recent tragedy. They are hearing from me now because of an irony.
As my Facebook and local friends know, my family lost my father in February. He has suffered from Advanced Alzheimer’s for several years, went into the hospital with pneumonia, then came out with a diagnosis of lung cancer. After a short, heart-rending struggle to find him a stable environment, we had him in a place that could care for him—he lasted one week before passing away, shocking all of us and providing me one of the greatest sadnesses of my life.
The pain of that loss is too fresh and deep to put into words. And while I’ve lost myself in working on book four to keep my mind off the negative, I’ve been unable to be write down anything personal. A good conk on the head is just the cure.
Last Friday, I kissed my daughter goodnight, climbed the stairs (she has a room in the basement), went to the kitchen for my usual big cup of water and woke up on the kitchen floor. My daughter, her friend and my husband were hovering over me with horrified faces. I just lay there not understanding what was going on until I moved my hand to my head and came back with a very bloody hand. I don’t remember how I tripped; I only knew I was faint when I tried to get up. I spent the next few minutes trying not to pass out with the help of my daughter, my husband, then the EMS personnel. I feel sorry for the poor EMS driver who listened to me babble all the way to the hospital as we worked together to keep me awake.
Dreamstime
My husband and I were in the emergency room for about four and a half hours. I knew I was going to be fine pretty soon after we arrived. The dizziness passed quickly; a cat scan showed no damage; I just had a deep cut to the scalp, which caused the severe bleeding and probably the faintness. But as I lay there so long, chatting with my dear husband, who was trying to get comfortable in a little plastic chair, I couldn’t help being overwhelmed by the reality that after the last few years of being the one in that little plastic chair while mom, then dad lay on the gurney, it was me staring at the ceiling. I have only been to the emergency room once as a patient and that was when I was sixteen. It had been just five weeks since the trip with my dad to the hospital for pneumonia. Mom and I had sat that terrible night for 12 hours trying to keep ourselves positive and awake by doing crossword puzzles and waiting for dad to get a hospital room.
However, that’s not the irony. After everything was stable, I had my stitches and was waiting for release forms, I finally got up from the gurney to visit the ladies room. I realized then as I was shuffling out towards the restroom that not only was I taken to the same emergency facility as dad, I was in the very same room.
Guess I’ll do ANYthing to come with a subject for a blog!!!!
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: conch on head, creative writing, emergency response, fiction subjects, fiction topics, finding plot material, finding writing material, hospital rooms, ironic subject matter, irony, plot material, plots, tragedy, Twist of Fate, Violet Fate, wretched fate, writing about life, writing materials
© Librakv | Dreamstime.com
One of the most common questions I get from would-be authors or young people is: what makes you write?
In answering, I usually talk about the love of words and the joy of crafting good stories and creating images in people’s minds. All of that is my basis for writing. But for those of us who have been doing this for a while there’s often another answer: we need to go somewhere besides our daily lives, and writing is the ticket.
I’ve never had a time when that reason was a stronger motivation. Mom and I are going through a really tough time dealing with my father who is currently in a rehab center after going into the hospital and coming out with a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer. Before this hospital visit and the diagnosis, we were at the doctors constantly, waiting for tests to get done and hoping (mostly foolishly) that someone can make my father feel better. We’re having to make some very hard decisions that affect a person we both love dearly. The heartbreak of it all threatens to overwhelm us both. It’s one of the few times in my life where I’m taking it all day by day, hard-pressed to make long-term plans.
As a result, neither one of us is sleeping well. The boogeyman of worry is too often present. But those days when I can, I still get up an hour early in the morning or take a few stolen hours on the weekend or at the end of a long day to write. It’s a vacation from pressures, the stress raining down on every day and the sadness that comes when a loved one is in pain. I’m spending that vacation time helping mom’s characters come to life—giving them the faces mom intended, creating the action that will get them from point A to point B of the plot, and polishing their dialogue and what readers “see” when they read our books.
It doesn’t make what’s happening any less awful. But the fact I choose to write at this point in my life shows me how vital creating these books has become to my psyche.
Our thanks to all the people that have wished us well. Book three (Violet Fate) will be coming out in the next few weeks along with the revamped and improved books one (Twist of Fate) and two (Wretched Fate).
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: creative writing, losing a loved one, momentum for writing, operating in crisis, reason for writing, spoonful of sugar, Twist of Fate, Violet Fate, wretched fate, writing books, writing during crisis, writing momentum, writing to escape
A new year is the perfect time to announce an exciting new development initiated by Spectacle Publishing Media Group for these two authors: we’re getting a new face for the entire Fate Series at the same time our latest book is launched.
As Violet Fate, the third in the Sam Osborne series comes out later this month, our publisher is re-launching Twist of Fate and Wretched Fate. The first two books received additional copy edits and have been redesigned so that the three books can be marketed together.
Mom and I love our new look for its vibrancy. Spectacle’s design team maintained the important elements of the stories: for Twist of Fate that was Casey’s wheelchair and the rose that hints at romance; for Wretched Fate it’s Jacob’s beloved Quan Yin (goddess of mercy and compassion) statue and the nail that brings our surprise character into the picture. However, the design team added a rich red that pulses with danger and passion. The look works wonderfully to tease readers into opening the new book―Violet Fate―where a set of eyes is a focal point of the plot and where our characters are drawn into the Amish country. Since that’s the goal of any book’s cover—to create a yearning to see what’s inside—we think The Fate Series redesign is a huge success.
The new books will be available online later this month along with Violet Fate, and we will be launching the new book locally in February.
Mom and I are in awe that we now have three books in print and are working hard on getting the next two into place. It’s only been four years since we began this process inspired by the success of my sibling, children’s book author Allyn Stotz (www.allynstotz.blogspot.com), who is also about to have a banner year. It hasn’t been an easy ride, but it’s been an exciting one, and none of us could have predicted things would go so well. Like I told a young woman who called me for advice on publishing her children’s book early this week: the key to becoming an author is to want it bad enough to pursue all angles, be patient, and not give up the quest.
We hope that 2015 will be the best year ever for all our readers and supporters.
—Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: Amish books, Applebee's, becoming an author, best mysteries, best romances, book covers, book launch, challenges of getting a book published, getting published, Kwan Yin, launching a book, mystery, new look, Quan Yin, reading, relaunching a book, romance, success in getting published, The Fate Series, Twist of Fate, Violet Fate, wretched fate, writing success
Mom and I at Applebee’s working out the details of one of our mysteries.
In our first book, Twist of Fate, mom and I acknowledged the wait staff of our local Applebee’s restaurant. We did so because of the many times we met for lunch there and worked out the details of the plot. We received more than a few odd looks as we talked about the best poison for not leaving a trace, the proper police procedures following a murder attempt, what expired drugs might be sought on the black market, how to let our villain escape discovery. But after we explained what we were doing, we also got enthusiasm and encouragement and have continued to collect praise for having received our dream of being published authors. Many of the people that work there recognize us now when we walk in. They know mom likes to get the closest booth possible because of her physical limitations; they know that she needs the blinds pulled half-way shut for her vision impairment; some even know to bring an extra plate because we love to split an entrée and a house salad.
So what more appropriate place to launch book three, Violet Fate, than our local neighborhood restaurant? I got in touch with the corporate offices of the restaurant and proceeded to get the same kind of enthusiastic response as the local restaurant. The young man I talked to congratulated us immediately on our success, then talked to his boss in communications as well as the local franchise owner, and they’ve all been supportive.
The event is still very much in the planning stages, but I have found this whole exercise invigorating and rewarding. Mom and I now know after three years that publishing a book is very hard work that pays pretty terrible wages in terms of monetary value, but a pretty fantastic salary if you like being paid by gratification. As my little sister Allyn Stotz, a children’s book in Baton Rouge, LA, (who is our No. 1 cheerleader) has said many times: it’s those voices that praise you for having the courage to pursue your dream that make this a worthwhile pursuit.
As mom and I found at this past weekend’s art and craft’s fair, one person’s comment or action can make an entire day’s efforts worthwhile. We sold just enough books to deem the fair a success. But about half an hour before the fair’s end, mom turned to me and kiddingly said: we need to sell one more set of Twist of Fate/Wretched Fate to make it a true accomplishment. Fifteen minutes later, a quarter hour before the fair closed its doors, a young man wandered by, found out we were local authors, then proceeded to pump us for information on what we’d been through. He was fascinated. Then, even though he readily admitted he didn’t read many books these days, he bought a set. I patted myself on the back for having convinced him they make great Christmas gifts. But when we went to address the signed copies to a gift recipient, he grinned sheepishly and gave his own name.
Thanks to Applebee’s and to Daniel for this week’s needed “salary”.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: Applebee's, author, book launch, Genilee Swope Parente, getting published, local restaurants, mystery plot, plot details, publicity for book, Twist of Fate, upcoming Woodbridge events, Violet Fate, Woodbridge events, wretched fate
Because I’m a senior and I cannot drive, I’ve had to find other ways to get out. I watch a lot of television, and in the last few years, I’ve done most of my shopping with QVC. I don’t mean to be a commercial, but I must say I am very happy with most of what I get; once in a while I send something back, but the quality of their goods has been excellent. As with any 
kind of shopping, I have lots of days when I can force myself to be practical and not give in to the many temptations I see. Then there are those days I like everything I see and finally give in and purchase something. That’s the kind of day I’m having today. I vowed I wouldn’t spend any money unless I found a Christmas present; but I gave in and bought something for myself! It’s practical and something I will really use, but I spent some money when I vowed I wouldn’t. Such is the life of those who love to shop. Everything looks so good on the models, even the larger ones. Shopping is a way we use our imagination, put those clothes on us and dream.
We do the same thing when we shop for a good book. We look for the color (which is the cover); we notice the style (the print of the book) and we often seek out the design company or the designer (the author).
When you come across the books Genilee and I have written, you’ll see vivid covers, not bright or gaudy, but rich in color and hinting at what is in the book (the way lace might hint at what’s beneath); the style of our books is appealing (Spectacle has chosen easy to read and large type). As for the designers (us), we are still getting to the point where you might recognize us by name. We hope what you’ll learn to associate with that name is entertaining reading. In no way do we consider what we do coming up with deep, provoking or controversial literature. We see ourselves as writers of “moments of escape,” which we both have shopped for when we read. Our books are the kind you love to curl up with in a chair in front of the fireplace to lose yourself fully for a few hours in someone else’s life.
Genilee is working hard at getting the third book polished for the publisher’s last reading, while I am trying to produce book four in the Sam Osborne series. The book Genilee’s immersed in—Fate of the Violet Eyes—sees Sam, our detective, falling in love. I hope you become as absorbed in the characters of the kidnapper and his victim as I was in writing this book. Meanwhile, I am almost done writing book four, which includes some suggestions made by audiences in a series of book talks we held at various communities. I already wrote a fifth book, but I put it aside for a while because it doesn’t satisfy me. Sometimes you just have to put aside something that bothers you—like that dress or that shirt that’s almost good enough. And when you’re shopping QVC, sometimes you have to send it back for a different one or one that fits better.
We hope, of course, that you come across our engaging Fate series in your shopping and decide to try us on. But in the meantime, let me give you a little exercise we do in our book talks (the same exercise that has resulted in including details from communities where we talk into book four).
I often start a book with just a name, then I begin visualizing details for the character and go on to what actions the person might take and end up formulating plots around those details. I thought I’d give you a new name and see what you come up with. I’m looking for things such as age, appearance, personality, job, desires, motivation—give me anything that comes to mind. If we get some replies as comments, I’ll share with you what I have come up with myself.
Here goes, close your eyes and visualize this person: CHRISTELLA CORTEZ
Have some fun with it!
F. Sharon Swope
Tags: book shopping, books of escape, cozy mysteries, cozy stories, Fate of the Violet Eyes, good reading, good reads, imagination, mysteries, QVC satisfaction, QVC shopping, romance, shopping for books, shopping for escape, Twist of Fate, wretched fate, writing cozies, writing for entertainment
I have a confession to make that my dear husband may not like. I’m in love with Sam Osborne.
Don’t worry though, honey, he’s not a real person. He’s the detective in our Fate series. And unlike with you, this love did not start out with a bang. It took me many months and many revisions of the books before I began to fall for this character. And it didn’t hit me hard until this third book—Fate of the Violet Eyes.
Sam went from being a nice man in Twist of Fate who helped a girl in a wheelchair and a homeless man to a friendly detective in Wretched Fate who helped the main male character as he stumbled into dating. Then in this third book, we readers get to spend a lot more time with the man. His masculinity comes out, and instead of being the person behind the romance, Sam falls in love with his own client. Despite the fact he shouldn’t, he lets that love to the forefront as he helps her try to find her child.
I suppose it’s kind of weird, actually, to fall in love with a character who was originally created by my own mother. But he’s a product of two vivid imaginations: two generations’ ideas of what a good man is. That’s why he’s inquisitive but polite; kind but capable of anger when he’s sees something that’s wrong; quick to laugh, but often introspective.
And I also think falling for the characters happens to a lot of writers: we spend so much time with them in the writing/rewriting/editing process, they become part of our life.
So forgive me, dear husband. But I’m hoping to make others fall in love with Sam Osborne as well. And I’m sorry, but my love affair with Sam will continue. Mom is now working on book four and book five is already drafted. You’ll just have to put up with me, honey, until the Fate series is complete. And you know what? I hope that doesn’t ever happen. I’d miss my Sam too much!
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: character love, characters in books, detective love, falling in love, Fate of the Violet Eyes, good reads, in love, in love with characters, mysteries, Sam Osborne, The Fate Series, Twist of Fate, wretched fate
Dreamstime
When summer reaches its long hot end and fall is peeking around the corner, I always get a blast of fresh air: as if someone had opened a door to let in a cool breeze. I used to be able to pinpoint that feeling: I’d spent the summer trying to keep my child entertained through camps and activities that took her away from the television screen. School was about to begin, and because I had a child who always loved teachers and classrooms (i.e., return to friends), buying sneakers and stuffing a backpack with supplies felt new and invigorating. It reminded me how excited I was growing up when school was about to start.
My child is college age and stuffs her own school bag these days, and I left school in the dust 40 years ago. But I still get the feeling; and I cherish it enough to call fall my favorite season.
I usually get to autumn and realize I’m not facing a wall of appointments and scheduled events. Summer’s stretch of fitting in visits around family events and vacations is over. And whatever freelance extra assignment I took on over the summer always seems to have a deadline of just after Labor Day. At the beginning of fall, it’s pre-holiday-rush with only the barely celebrated holidays of Columbus and Veteran’s Days to screw up the schedule. And I don’t feel that sudden urge that spring brings to hurry-up-and-plan while the weather holds.
Fall’s freshness also has to do with the end of summer’s dying season. Brown and yellow, sand and dust, bugs and humidity fade into the background while rust, gold and orange emerge, drawing our eyes upward to the crisp blue of autumn skies and the stark white clouds that accent the tree tops. If I was a painter, fall would be my subject.
Fall also brings back the desire to move: longer walks in the woods with the dog, a new exercise program, the time to think about new directions.
So I’m making a promise to myself. I’m throwing off the sluggishness of summer and along with it, the feeling mom and I have had with recent book promotions and writing that we are moving in molasses. We’re waiting on progress on book three; we’re experiencing the harsh reality that a second book is harder to market than a first; we’re trying to find a publisher for our short story collection; we’re finding it hard to move forward with new writing when we need to spend so much time trying to promote.
It’s time to feel the new possibilities that fall always brings. I’m going to stuff my backpack with new places to contact for book events. I’m going to sharpen some new pencils (boot up the computer) and sit down each morning to write something new. And I’m going to head off to “school” by looking for new ways to learn how to be successful as an author.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: autumn, back to school, F. Sharon Swope, fall, fall beginnings, fall breeze, fall skies, freshness in writing, love of autumn, love of fall, new beginnings, start of autumn, start of fall, starting fresh, Twist of Fate, wretched fate
I don’t think I’ve ever received as many hugs in as short a time as I did during a 48-hour period last weekend. I went to Edgerton, my home town, for a book tour with mom and my sister Allyn. Mom and I weren’t the stars of that show; Allyn has kept in touch with many people and has some really close friends who are her cheerleaders. They became our cheerleaders too. But all of us, including those of us not there as pen-wielding celebrities, but rather as supporters, got a huge dose of Home Town Pride, and it was nice to be a small part of that pride.
Our hostest Susan Herman of Susan’s Hair Flair and president of the Edgerton Chamber of Commerce
Verna and mom
Allyn & Sondra
Mr. Smith (center)
A few highlights:
We were sitting at breakfast the first morning, already happy to be together and sharing laughs when my nieces walked into the restaurant. They flew in from Texas to surprise grandma and grandpa—arriving at 3 a.m. the previous night after a grueling flight on a cheaper airline. Once I saw them, I knew that—no matter the results of our book events—the weekend had just become something I’d never forget.
Our high school English teacher Richard Smith came to the Edgerton Public Library signing. I am quite certain I never hugged Mr. Smith in high school. Hugs were not so plentiful in those days. But neither Al nor I could help ourselves when we saw him. He is the teacher that got us interested in words. He laughingly explained he doesn’t read fiction (though he read our first book) anymore because his life was so consumed by it when he was a teacher. But he still has that delicious acerbic wit that delighted us as teenagers so much that we paid attention to him in class.
Verna Wortkoetter, the friend mom has remained closest to, not only had the clan and some old neighbors over for lunch, she invited some of mom’s old sorority sisters. The gesture was especially thoughtful because Verna was not part of that club. But she knew how important it was to mom, and she knew they’d all soon be trading memories of the parties they had and what had happened to the rest of the crew. I believe my nieces got a taste of grandma’s (and grandpa’s) wilder days by listening to the stories.
My husband saw his first parade, and (as I expected) instantly transformed into a kid. He kept himself from scrambling into the street after candy, but it couldn’t have been easy.
All of us choked up when grandpa struggled up out of his chair to sing the star spangled banner word for word. Alzheimers has nothing over patriotism!
God seemed to be smiling down on the whole weekend as the weather, which is usually hot and humid and miserable this time of year in Ohio, was gorgeous and sunny and cool.
The number of people who told us they were proud of what we’d done was incredible. It just kept coming and coming from old classmates and neighbors and friends of friends.
One of the signings we had was at Susan’s Hair flair right downtown Edgerton in the building that used to house the Edgerton Public Library. As I looked around at that building, I realized that it all really began there with mom pushing us all to learn to love books. Here it was, 50 plus years later, and we were back, signing books we had written ourselves. Thanks Mom, for getting us started on this path.
–Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: author books creative writing diisability dream editor first book Getting lost in passion getting published getting started writing mystery novels older patience radio silence raising children reading, authors, becoming an author, book event, book marketing, book signing, books, creative writing, Edgerton Ohio, Festival of Flags, homecoming, hometown, parade, parades, returning home, Twist of Fate, wretched fate, writing books
dreamstime
One of the most common questions Mom and I get at book functions is: where do you get your ideas
The answer to that question is just about as easy to find as the answer to another question we ask each other frequently: where the heck did that dream come from? Mom and I both have vivid imaginations that create wild dreams. Last week, for example, I dreamed my sister Monya lived in a mansion so huge she had one, double-gymnasium-sized room where she held a yoga class with 40 of her closest women friends. It isn’t that the concept was so far out; if she had a house that large she might indeed set aside a room just for her friends and exercise. The dream was amazing because of the detail my brain created. I still see the green fronds of plants everywhere, gold archways decorated with Roman-themed crown moulding, the wheat-colored weaved mat I exercised upon. I can hear the gently falling sound of water that filled that room, and I feel my envy that so many of the women looked toned and relaxed in the white robed gym outfits my mind created.
I went over and over details of the day before that dream and could find no hints where the gym or white robes came from.
I will say, however, that my dreams are even more vivid since I started writing frequently, which tells me something about the nature of creativity and how it feeds upon itself. For me personally, I believe my ideas spring from mental agility that comes with practice. The more I sit down and write, the easier ideas come. In a way, it’s like a yoga class for the brain—by practicing, I’m flexing my thinking and the next time I get on the mat, the ideas move more smoothly.
But ideas also come from stimulation, and you have to recognize and acknowledge what’s happening to you to be stimulated by it. When you walk, do you stare at the pavement in front of you? Or do you look around and see? Our world is made of millions of microcosms and if you raise your head you’ll spot them. My dog Laney has given me lessons in this wonder. We’ll be walking along a path and suddenly, she’ll stop dead in her tracks. If I didn’t see her nose twitching, I’d think she’d turned to stone, she’s so still. While Laney is a hound-mix, she’s a site-hound, not a scent hound. Whatever she’s smelling is only backup to what she’s seeing. I thought the first few times it happened she was nuts. Then one time, I stopped walking and just waited. And waited and waited some more, not making a sound, just telling myself I was nuts right alongside her. After what seemed like five minutes, a young adolescent deer stepped right out in front of us. We were in a field and the deer had been on a hill below us, eating its way upward. I guess it couldn’t smell us because of the direction of the wind. There it was in all its male teenage glory, small antlers beginning to show, not yet old enough that the site of us brought instant fear. The deer stared at us and we stared back for several more minutes. The deer didn’t move until Laney’s dog-ness took over, and she couldn’t contain her excitement. She made a move towards the deer, and it turned and white-tailed it out of there.
For a brief few minutes, our microcosms intertwined, but only because Laney and I stopped our world long enough to let the deer walk into it. And none of us―Laney, the young deer or I―would have had the experience if we’d kept our noses to the ground.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: creativity, dreaming, exercising the brain, getting exercise, imagination, meditating, meditation, microcosm, origin of creativity, origin or dreams, pondering, stretching, taking a walk, Twist of Fate, vivid dreams, walking the dog, wretched fate, yoga
Some of the Swopes at the 125th town birthday
Despite the fact we haven’t lived in our hometown for years, Edgerton remains a deep part of who the Swope family is. For that reason, we’re going back there this summer carting boxes of books and hoping to meet up with some of the best supporters we’ve had.
Allyn’s current connection with the hometown runs deepest because she has family there from her marriage to Brad Stotz. For those of you who don’t know that name, Allyn Stotz is my sister, a children’s book author (www.allynstotz.blogspot.com) who will be carting boxes of The Pea in Peanut Butter and the recently released Kailee Finds Magic IN Words with her to Edgerton. Allyn has kept in contact with many of her friends from high school and made some new ones in the years since she and Brad moved to Louisiana. Allyn, Mom and I all feel strongly that Edgerton is part of who we are, and we often talk about what a wonderful environment Edgerton provided for our family. Mom was a substitute teacher there and wrote a local column for the newspaper that my dad ran (the Edgerton Earth). I developed a nucleus of high school friends so strong that when I celebrated my 60th this year, my husband invited a couple of them to travel great distances so that I can have a truly wonderful surprise. I have tried to reconnect with some of my friends from the awesome years of high school through facebook and to follow what’s happening with some of the other people of Edgerton.
Many of the good people of Edgerton have already bought our books and wrote to cheer us on. Allyn had a book signing and reading when The Pea was released. Still, we’re all packing up the cars and heading that way, dragging not only boxes, but our husbands and Mark, a major supporter for Allyn and for us and a researcher for Mom and I (not to mention our dearly beloved brother/son).
Verna and dad at the old Edgerton Earth
Mom is 86; dad is 88 and ailing from Alzheimers. Mark, Allyn and I are still young enough NOT to want to mention how very old we are. So why are we traveling 12 and 15 hours for book signings? Because it’s part of who we are. Mom and I acknowledged Edgerton and one of our great cheerleaders, Verna Wortkoetter in our last book. Mom and Verna developed a relationship early in the years when we first moved to Edgerton. Verna showed mom quickly what the town was like when she made sure mom felt comfortable in Edgerton and knew that if the Swopes needed help in any way, the Wortkoetters were there. I still feel thrilled when Verna’s daughter Jane Jacobs, who I became close to growing up, announces another grandchild. And I still go through the Edgerton Earth each week looking for the names of the families we knew.
And we all try to stay in touch. I’ve learned that Facebook’s greatest strength is that it allows people to maintain links with their past, and it has been a great tool for the Swopes. Several of my high school buddies pop up almost every day and when I read about their lives, it reconnects me with who I am.
It’s a long way back to Edgerton. Not only in miles, but in years. But I’m very much looking forward to the trip.
Tags: Allyn Stotz, becoming authors, book celebration, Edgerton Ohio, Festival of Flags, getting published, homecoming, hometown, hometown newspaper, Kailee Finds Magic IN Words, returning home, The Pean in Peanut Butter, Twist of Fate, wretched fate, writing books
swopeparente 