Feta and Freeways by Susan Baganz

Prism Book Group

2016

ISBN 978-1537366043

eBook $3.99

Print $13.99

Buy on Amazon, BN, Smashwords

From the Back Cover

He’d never noticed her…till now.

Nikolos Acton is the lead singer of a Christian Band, Specific Gravity, struggling to make it in the industry after an unplanned break, touring the country with their manager, Tia.

Tia Bartel loved Niko for the longest time, but it wasn’t until she stepped in to save his life that he finally realizes what has been there all along. Is it too late for him? Could a relationship between them work after years of ignoring her? How would he ever convince her he’s worthy of her trust?

As they journey on the freeway of life and love, they encounter struggles as they are forced to rely on their faith, and friends, to make it through.

My Review

I’m a big fan of outside-the-box contemporary fiction, and the Orchard Hill series steps right in to fill a rut of genre-specific romance, suspense, or mystery. Yes, these are love stories, but tales with a purpose that don’t need to be formulaic.

This fourth story from Baganz follows her general true-to-life premise that everyone has issues, everyone is broken and everyone needs the Lord as Master of his or her life. Then we need each other, and it’s the dealing with each other part that always gets tricky, even for Christians. These very faith-oriented stories are all stand-alone, but draw on characters from the other books. In this book, the person who makes everything work for a rising contemporary Christian band, Tia, prefers the shadows of anonymity to worship her hero, the lead singer Niko, from afar. When Niko receives his wake-up call after Tia’s attack by a crazed not-fan, the spotlight shines on her—both the ugly and the good sides of what she’s made of. Coming into the light is a huge risk, yet one she’s willing to take with Niko’s enlightened promises and support.

Feta and Freeways is this story of what it takes to be committed to a higher purpose, a network of people who rely on each other through faith, family, and talent offered to the glory of God. It’s not perfect, it can be messy and twisted, but through it all there’s some giggles, a number of surprises and twists, revelations and a set up for the next adventure. A truly enjoyable read with a peek into life on the road, roots and wings, and the joy of camaraderie. For those who like faith-based stories of contemporary life in sometimes not so nice places and realistic decision-making.

2016 Fall Book Festivals in Wisconsin

September 24 - The Peninsula Bookman will host its third annual Festival of Books and Authors 

This year five Wisconsin writers with more than a dozen of their works will attend the festival.

This year’s event will include:

Kathleen Ernst, author of the recently released seventh volume from her Chloe Ellefson mystery series, A Memory of Muskets and A Settler’s Year from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

J.F. Riordan will autograph The Audacity of Goats, the follow-up novel to her award-winning debut North of the Tension Line.

Patricia Skalka will sign copies of the brand-new third volume in her best-selling Dave Cubiak Door County mystery series, Death in Cold Water.

Virginia Maher and Paul Burton will present their brand new release Selected Artists of Door County, a series of profiles showcasing the area’s working artists.

The authors will be available throughout the day to sign books and discuss their work. Drop by at any time from 10 am 5 pm to meet these accomplished writers.

The Peninsula Bookman is located at 4083 Hwy 42, in the heart of Fish Creek, next door to The Oilerie. For more information, call 920.868.1467 or visit peninsulabookman.com.

October 7-9 Sheboygan Children's Book Festival

http://sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org/

October 10 - 20 Chippewa Valley Book Festival

Eau Claire, WI

http://www.cvbookfest.org/

October 20 - 23 Wisconsin's Book Festival

Central Library, Madison, WI

http://wisconsinbookfestival.org/

November 4-5 Southeast Wisconsin Book Festival

UW-Waukesha

http://www.sewibookfest.com/

November 5 Edgerton Sterling North Book & Film Festival

Edgerton High School

http://www.bookandfilmfestival.org/

All Writers Celebrity Sat Oct 1 with poet Liam Callanan

From the desk of Kathie Giorgio, Director, AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop LLC: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CELEBRITY SATURDAY: LIAM CALLANAN      

 

WAUKESHA – Where to begin? It’s a key question for any writer, and perhaps the most important to answer well. Without a good beginning, even the best story will be overlooked. Join author Liam Callanan to learn what makes a great, or a terrible, beginning. Be it short, novel length, or something in between, every great work must begin somewhere. On Saturday, October 1^st, AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop welcomes special guest lecturer LIAM CALLANAN with his workshop, OPEN UP: HOW TO START IN THE STRONGEST WAY POSSIBLE.

 

When we write, we need to earn the reader’s attention word by word. Nowhere is that more important than in a story’s first paragraphs. In this class, we’ll subject several examples to close readings in order to figure out what makes them work. How are characters introduced, action started, and a rhythm established, all in a story’s opening lines? The answer isn’t always noisy, but certain successful characteristics recur. We’ll read examples of those, and selected student work as well, with an eye toward crafting the strongest openings possible.

 

LIAM CALLANAN is the author of The Cloud Atlas (Delacorte, 2004; Dial, 2005), All Saints (Delacorte, 2007; Dial, 2008), and Listen(Four Way, 2015). He serves in the English department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and was previously its chair, as well as coordinator of its Ph.D. program in creative writing. He has regularly contributed to local and national public radio. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of literary journals, including Gulf Coast, the New Haven Review, Tinge (where his story was named one of the Million Writers Award Notable Stories of 2011 by storySouth), the Writers Chronicle, Blackbird,Crab Orchard Review, Southern Indiana Review, Caketrain,failbetter and Phoebe. Liam is also the creator and co-executive producer of the Poetry Everywhere animated film series.

 

Celebrity Saturdays are a great chance to broaden your knowledge of what it takes to be successful and to learn from writers who are already knee deep in an author’s life. Liam Callanan’s workshop will be held on Saturday, October 1^st, 2016. This event runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and costs $95, which includes a lunch catered by Waukesha’s own Café de Art.

 

AllWriters’ Workplace and Workshop offers on-site and online writing courses in all genres and abilities of creative writing, as well as coaching, editing, and marketing services. A schedule of classes, with online registration, is available atwww.allwritersworkshop.com or by calling (262) 446-0284. AllWriters’ is located at 234 Brook Street, Unit 2, in historic downtown Waukesha, as featured in Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel. 

Summer Hanford

AllWriters’ Assistant

summer@summerhanford.com

www.summerhanford.com

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234 Brook St., Unit 2
Waukesha WI 53188
Phone: (262) 446-0284www.allwritersworkshop.com
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