#wow who thought using a ref could make it easier and better

[krieger-and-ash]

Ali goes into labor and ash is out of town for a game bit makes it in time

Orlando Pride was set to play the Red Stars this comingweekend in Chicago. Ashlyn was still uneasy about her decision to go due toAli’s pregnancy, but when your team is playing against Christen Press, you needyour starting keeper.

“Babe I’m sure it will be fine. Just go. You and I both knowthe team needs you,” Ali tells Ash for the millionth time.

“But what if it happens?” Ashlyn whines. “It would kill meto miss it.”

“Ashlyn the game is Sunday morning and you fly back rightafter. I’m not due until Wednesday. I’m sure this little guy will still be inhere when you get back,” Ali says while rubbing her stomach.

Ashlyn sighed. “Fine, I guess I’ll go. Just know I’m not toohappy about it.”

Friday afternoon Ali drops Ashlyn off at the airport to meetup with the rest of the team. Ashlyn wanted to spend as much time with her girlas she could.

“Call me when you land okay babe?” Ali breathes out, herface tucked in Ash’s neck.

“I always do. Call me if anything happens and I’ll check myphone at halftime during the game. Wow, I hate leaving you. It never getseasier. I love you so much Alex,” Ash tells her and bends down to Ali’sstomach, “and you, little dude, better stay nice and cozy in there for a fewmore days.” Ashlyn stands back up and gives Ali another hug and a chaste kisson the lips. “Bye love.”

“Bye Ash. I love you,” Ali says with a shaky breath and afew tears in her eyes.

Ashlyn grabs her luggage and wheels it through the doors tofind her team as Ali gets back into Ashlyn’s jeep and drives away.

To say Ali was lonely Saturday was an understatement. Thehouse felt too big and too quiet without Ashlyn there. All she wanted to do wascurl up and watch stupid shark shows all day with her girl. Instead, Alisettled for laying in their bed wearing one of Ashlyn’s UNC sweatshirts andcuddling with the stuffed shark Ashlyn got for her at the beginning of seasonwhen they realized Ali wouldn’t be able travel with Ashlyn to away games. Ittook Ali forever to fall asleep that night because she was just too excited towatch Ashlyn play the next day.

Sunday morning, Ali got up, called Ashlyn to tell her goodluck, took a shower, and got ready to watch Ashlyn’s game. She even did her makeupbecause she wanted to look good for the selfie she was going to send Ashlyn ofher in front of the tv watching the game.

Five minutes before kickoff, Ali made her way to the livingroom. As she was turning on the tv, Ali felt something running down her leg.

“Oh fuck,” she breathed. “No no no no no. Not now.” Shefumbled with the remote trying to turn the tv off and frantically grabbed herphone. She dialed Ashlyn’s number whispering “pick up, pick up” over and overagain. “Fuck!” Ali yelled as she got Ashlyn’s voicemail. She quickly typed outa text to Kyle and her mom saying “water broke, leaving to hospital now” andinstantly got a reply from her mother saying she was on her way. Miami wasthree hours away from Orlando so she would hopefully make it in time.

Ali grabbed the Jeep keys and made her way outside. Luckilyfor her, Ali’s thoughtful wife had suggested keeping Ali’s bag in the back ofthe Jeep. On the drive to the hospital, Ali used the car’s Bluetooth feature tocontinually call Ashlyn’s phone, but got her voicemail every time.

After she arrived at the hospital and as out in a room,Ali’s doctor came in and determined she was not yet dilated. All there was leftto do now was wait. After trying to call Ash about 10 more times she typed outa text, “in labor, get your ass here asap. Love you.”

Meanwhile, at her game, Ashlyn was killing it! ChristenPress was taking shots left and right, but Ashlyn managed to reach the balljust in time to prevent her from scoring. The ref blew his whistle to signalthe half and both teams made their way to the locker room.

As the team gathered around to listen to Tom’s speech, Ashopened her locker to check her phone.

“Oh my God,’ she breathed when she saw the numerous callsand text messages from Ali, Deb, and Kyle. “Ali’s in labor. I have to go,”Ashlyn started to panic.

“Come on Ash I’ll help you,” one of the trainers, Sarah,said while getting out her phone to call an Uber.

By this time, the rest of the team had their phones outlooking for a flight home for Ash.

“I got one!” exclaimed Aubrey, “It leaves in an hour. Youcan make it!”

Ashlyn was quickly gathering as much of her stuff as shecould and changing out of her cleats. “Book it.”

“Uber will be here in ten minutes Ash,” Sarah informed.

Ashlyn barely made it to the airport in time to board herflight. As she found her seat and sat down, she remembered she never text Aliback. She quickly typed, “I’m on my way babygirl. I’ll be there soon. I loveyou so much, Alexandra.”

The entire flight Ashlyn was anxiously bouncing her leg.Thank goodness the game was only in Chicago and not Portland. And thankgoodness Alanna offered to bring all of her luggage home so she only had todeal with a small carry-on.

After hastily collecting her carry-on and hailing a cab,Ashlyn was running through the hospital lobby to the front desk. “My wife is inlabor! Ali Krieger-Harris! Did I miss it?! Am I too late?!”

“Calm down ma’am,” the young woman behind the desk told herwhile typing on her computer. “No you haven’t missed it. Take this up to thethird floor and one of the nurses there will help you find the room,” the womansaid while handing Ashlyn a visitor’s pass.

Ashlyn quickly made her way to the elevators, but gotimpatient waiting for one. She opened the door to the stairwell and began torun up the stairs two at a time. Once on the third floor, Ashlyn found a nurseto take her to Ali’s room.

“She’s almost ready to start pushing,” the nurse told her asthey approached the door. “She keeps talking about you,” she said with a smilewhile holding the door open.

As Ashlyn entered the room she immediately locked eyes withAli who gave her a tired smile.

“Hi my love,” Ashlyn greeted while grabbing Ali’s hand.

“You made it.”

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss it,” Ashlyn smiled.

“Okay Ali push on three. One, two, three,” the doctorinstructed.

Ashlyn took a peak between her wife’s legs and was able tosee the baby beginning to crown. It was terrifying and incredible all at once.

“Ashlyn Michelle Harris, I know you did not just look at myvagina with a baby’s head coming out of it. We talked about this,” Ali saidwhile giving her wife the look.

“I’m sorry love, but you’re just so incredible,” Ashlyn saidwith a big grin.

“Yeah yeah you’re just lucky I love you,” Ali repliedplayfully.

After a good hour of Ali pushing and Ashlyn whispering herencouragements, they finally heard their baby boy cry. This caused Ashlyn toimmediately burst into tears of happiness as she gathered Ali in her arms.

“Thank you so much baby. I love you, Alexandra.”

#krashlyn #my fic #oneshot #ali krieger #Ashlyn Harris

[coconutseaways]

Aug 15-2017 - august baby. Wow.

Aug 14: I can't believe it's been over a week since the last blog. Time is flying and we have been so busy. So the last thing I wrote was that we had a couple onboard, German, who were okay with not sailing since the weather was pretty crappy - cloudy and very gusty and the water choppy. They made the best of it by spending the day at the beach anyways, since it was their last day of holidays. We lent them a couple face masks and they were able to enjoy some of the beautiful fish here. Mike and I relaxed on the boat while they spent their whole day and most of the evening on land. While they were away, we happened to have the radio on and overheard a boat calling in for a tow. He was just outside the harbour wall but his engine wouldn't start and he didn't want to try to sail in. Mike answered his call and asked where his last port was and the date he left. Also the size of the boat and weight to see if we could help him. He replied saying that he left Florida, on JUNE 10! That is the same day Mike and I left Nova Scotia, and we have been hanging out here for almost two months!! This poor man solo sailed here and was stuck on the ocean for 55 days or so, on a 26 foot boat. I am sure he was running low on water and maybe food too. He told us that he either had no wind, or crazy storms to sail through. He ripped his main sail, sewed it back up, then blew it again. He then flew a small storm trisail instead. When we saw him on the pier, finally tied up and on land, his eyes were beyond bloodshot. He was hunched over and had to shuffle his feet to walk. He looked about 60 but the fatigue made him seem 20 years older than that. Mike went up to him and told him we were the ones who offered to help tow him in (the marina went and did it with their zodiac which was faster and easier than us lifting anchor). He shook Mike's hand and thanked him for offering assistance. I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him he made it because he looked so broken down. The next day we saw him and he was doing much better after a shower, a good night sleep and some good food with no stress. Today (Aug 14) he says he is leaving for the Greek Islands. He needs to get out of here and go. The wind is pretty strong today, and Mike even asked if he was sure he wanted to leave today. He said yes and Mike wished him luck. Clearly a very strong sailor at heart. We wish him all he luck and safe sailing. Anyways, our German guests came back around 10 PM and we stayed up talking for a while about the boat and travel experiences. The next morning they were off by 8 AM. Although it means more laundry for us, the quick one night turn arounds are an easy way to make a little cash. We love to do sailing trips obviously, but it's nice to have a few easy days with minimal effort required. They were our very first booking after listing the boat on Airbnb and I hadn't thought of blocking out at least the day of check out, to prevent someone else from checking in. So of course we got a booking for the same day for two nights. Our German couple left, and a lovely Italian couple checked in a few hours later. Again, Thank goodness I bought extra sheets! I had originally thought this booking was two guys, since the initial message said we are two guys lol. Airbnb translator error I'm sure. So when I walked up to them to meet them and saw a guy and a girl I was a little thrown. But I recognized the guy and introduced myself. It was big smiles and hellos. They came aboard right away and checked out the boat. They spent a few hours on land that evening checking out the festivities of Semana do Mar (Sea Week). The next day, even though the wind was a little strong, they were keen to go sailing for a bit. We headed out to the Faial canal which can get very choppy due to the proximity of the two islands (Pico and Faial). We went out and it was choppy all right! They sat up on the foredeck and were getting splashed regularly. We were heeled over about 25 degrees, and the wind was blowing. They were all smiles though and even I got a bucketful of salt water soaking my back. We only stayed out for a couple hours, and due to the wind and chop, couldn't anchor out without going pretty far to get into the lee of the island. But they were super happy and said for a first sail it was awesome! We all went for a couple beer 🍻 and some food. Then we split up: they went walking to the store and whatnot and Mike and I had a shot from one of the bars. €1 each - tequila for me and brandy for Mike. Anyone who's had shots with me knows that tequila gets me feeling good and I have a permanent smile - until I drink too much that is haha. After a couple beers and a shot I was feeling a little tipsy. We walked around a bit and then decided to come back to the boat. Mike assured me he was only going to take a short power nap and then we would go back ashore, since we were both feeling a little bit of party mode. Well...of course he was out cold and only moaned or groaned when I tried to wake him up. Since our guests were still on land, I spent my time reading and drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate. A couple hours later, our Italians came back and they gave Mike and I a lovely gift of chocolate. They bought us some after eights and some delicious dark and milk chocolate. It was very sweet of them. We all had an after eight and then went to sleep relatively quickly. Their ferry was at 9 AM so another early morning rise of coffee and fruit and they were gone in a flash. We spent the rest of the day doing some small jobs and getting some food for our next trip which was going to Graciosa Island. August 7 we checked out, hit the bakery and set sail for Graciosa Island. We left around 11:30 AM and arrived around 7:30 PM. It was a long 8 hours since we had a very close reach the whole time. Waves kept slapping the hull and splashing up. As soon as I started drying off, another one would hit. I kept my cool, but by the time we got there I was tired and cold. We snuck into a tiny little harbour in Praia- second smallest of our boat time (Varcheres, Quebec has the record), but both had very tight 90 degree entrances. There were already 5 or 6 sailboats - tied two or three abreast and a bunch of fishing boats. Mike and I slowly made our way all the way in and found an open dock spot, long enough for Athena. We tied up, at 9 feet deep and went to find a restaurant, since neither of us were up for cooking after that long day. We found a nice restaurant just a couple minutes up the road. We got hamburgers, which again, are just not the same as home. I would love a fatboy. The beef is unseasoned and dry, and doesn't have that burger taste to it. But it was good enough for us. Beside the restaurant was a little windmill that is an Airbnb listing. The Italian couple that had just checked out were going there, while our next Dutch family were there already. Mike and I made our way back to the boat and went straight to bed around 8:30. Around 10:30, I could here Portuguese and looked out the window to see a red fishing boat right beside us. I woke Mike up and we went out. We were in their spot and they had just returned from fishing all day and evening. The captain didn't speak English but one of his fishermen did. He told us that we could tie up to the outside of him, we just needed to switch places. So Mike and I used ropes and pulled ourselves forward alongside another boat while they docked. Then we pulled ourselves back. Before we could get back on the boat to go back to sleep, the Captain pulled out 8 decent sized red fish. They were either rockfish or alfonsino - not sure. He also gave us a ripe melon. They smell like cantaloupe, and the outside is rough like a cantaloupe, but the inside is green like a honey dew. The taste is kind of in between the two, but absolutely delicious. We ate half each in the morning with a spoon holding them like bowls. The man who spoke English - Leonardo (not DaVinci as he said) told us that they would be going out again at 8 AM. We told them we would be awake and we would switch spots again. We thanked them for their generosity and had a great sleep. The next day, as promised the fishermen were at the boat just before 8. Mike and I were already up making coffee. They asked if we enjoyed the fish and Mike and I had to laugh, since there was no way we were cooking fish at 10:30 when we were so tired the night before. We told them we would be eating it that day. We gave half of it away to another sailboat because there was no way we could keep that much without it going bad, or eating it all fast enough. Before they headed out fishing, Leonardo told us about the festival in a town called Guadeloupe and that they would be running the bull in the street. He offered to take us and we agreed. He said he would pick us up at 5 PM and the bulls started at 6. We spent the day airing out the boat, and rinsing the clothing that got sprayed with salt water. I cooked up our free fish as the fishermen came back and gave us more fillets and we ate as much as we could. Then after we had gotten everything rinsed with fresh water and hung out to dry we headed to the nearby beach for a quick dip to cool off. I was so hot from cooking fish and the sun was strong. The beach was very pretty and there was a tiny shore break from the waves, which reminded me of Virginia, hanging out in the constant crashing waves. They were small but once in a while you would get a bigger one to break and I would dive under it instead of getting washed over by it. There is lots of red seaweed too, and the water had a red tinge from so much floating around. It wasn't as pretty as the clear blue water, but it was still a gorgeous little spot. Apparently the locals collect the red seaweed and use it for cosmetics and for medicinal purposes. Most of the beaches have free cold showers and Mike had his thinking cap on and brought soap. We had a good cleaning and were feeling very refreshed. We went back to the boat and got dressed for the nights festivities. As soon as I was done brushing my hair, Leonardo pulled up and we were on our way again. He drove us around the entire island, showing us different buildings and telling us how many of the people live in Canada or the States now. The island used to have 13 000 people and now, it's down to 4500. He also told us he was turning 80 in February, which if you see his picture on Facebook or Instagram you probably wouldn't believe it. He lived in Canada for many years, has sons, daughters and grandkids still there, but after his wife passed away 3 years ago, he decided to come back to Graciosa and do what he loved: fish. He goes fishing almost everyday and he is a very spry man still. He told us about how he caught his first whale at 14, when whaling was an important occupation here. He was a whaler then and a fisherman now, and he loves every day of it. He took us all the way up the island and back down the other side. He showed us the new marina they are building in Santa Cruz, and the factory building where they processed the whales. He also told us that one sperm whale (cachalot) can carry 12 000 litres of oil in their head. The bull run was similar to the one in Velas. But instead of being on the pier by the water, this one was in the street. They had blocked off any side streets with heavy equipment or containers. They also had set up barred cattle trailers for people to sit inside along the road. So they could get a front row seat but still be safe from the horns. They had four bulls, one at a time with breaks in between so you could get another beer or a snack. The pulled pork rolls were pretty delicious. They also had a fried dough with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on it that was pretty tasty. Similar to a doughnut but a little heavier. They had two white lines on either end of the street which marked the safe zone. If you crossed into the danger zone (Oh I miss Archer) then you were solely responsible. The matadors could not guarantee your safety. One guy, who I think was from the states was literally centimetres from being hit by the bull. Some of the pictures were insane. He was really lucky. Mike, Leonardo and I were much smarter and stayed behind the wall, for the most part like sensible people. At the beginning of the first bull, Mike was hiding behind a tree, right on the road, and the bull was a mere ten feet away. Then we were able to make it to the wall where we could spectate safely instead of trying to taunt the bull to run after you. It was a fun evening and after 4 bulls and a couple beer, Leonardo drove us back to the marina. He showed us the house he grew up in and then the house he lived in now. He offered us showers, but since we had used the beach ones we politely declined. Back to the boat for another good rest and then guests the next day. Aug 9, we had a family from Holland check in. They originally booked us for Velas but a few weeks ago messaged me and told me that they had counted on a ferry that day when there was none. The next ferry was a day later and plane tickets for the four of them to Velas was pricy and would have used up an entire day of their holiday. Instead of them having to cancel their reservation with us, we offered to pick them up in Graciosa and sail them to Velas. They were also sailors and owned a boat in Holland. They were happy to accept our offer. So they got on board at 11AM and we were off by noon. We had a nice beam reach until we reached the point of Sao Jorge, where we had to turn to go up the coast. The rest of the trip was against the wind and it took another 8 hour day to make the final journey. We arrived into Velas around 8 PM and we all agreed to go out to eat. We went to a nice little restaurant, enjoyed a couple beers and had some good food. As soon as we were all back in the boat, we all went to bed. It was a good day of sailing but it was tiring. The next day, they wondered if we would go sailing again. The wind was quite strong and we were all tired. We suggested staying on land and they accepted. So we took them out for a nice snorkelling trip in the harbour, lending them wetsuits, masks and fins. Another Dutch woman, from a different boat joined us and we saw sea stars, moray eels and an octopus. After, Mike and I spent our afternoon hiking up to the plateau, where the SPAR is and we got our orange milk chocolate for €0.69 each. We have only seen it at that price at this particular SPAR. So we stocked up on 6 bars. Before we got there, we got hit by a rain squall which was a nice cool off from the steep hike up to the store. Since this was probably the last time we would be in Velas until next year, we took the long way down to get the most of our last walk on Sao Jorge. We got back to the boat and had a couple hours to ourselves while the Dutch family were off checking out the city. We did some prep for dinner, since the daughter was a vegetarian but ate fish - I made my potato veggie skillet while Mike prepared a potjie dish - meat, potato and vegetables all in one pot. Our guests returned and we started cooking. We had so much food to cook. They bought tuna steaks, hamburger patties, pork kebabs, pork chops (which they asked for lamb but didn't get), Mike's meat dish and my vegetable dish. Needless to say it was a cookfest, and we were all very well fed after. The next day our Dutch family left the boat around 10 AM. We prepped the boat and after everything was said and done, we left around noon to head to Horta. Again, we got booked on the same day, even though I was sure that I had blocked out the day. So we were "racing" to Horta to pick up what turned out to be an awesome French couple. I had originally told them we would be in Horta by 3 PM, but the winds didn't cooperate that well and we left a little later so we didn't arrive until 4:30. They were super cool about it and as soon as we were checked in and ready, I met them at Peter's. They came to the boat right away and didn't leave. They didn't care about the last few days of Semana do Mar, or checking out Faial. They wanted to be on the boat the whole time. Which was really cool. They loved every minute of it. We just hung out and had some beer together on the first night. They bought some beef steaks and I made potatoes, a salad and some delicious garlic bread. The bread was a hit because we ended up having it every night with our meals. The next day we started the day with a snorkel. It was nice and calm and the visibility was great. Then we went to the bakery to get more bread for you guessed it, garlic bread. Then we got ready and went out sailing for a few hours, checking out one of the craters around Faial and then anchoring by the beach to take a swim. We went out just as the traditional sailing boats were about to start racing. It was so cool to see them all hoist their sails at the same time and start. We stayed to windward and watched them head for the windward mark. We kept well clear of their lay line, watching them race. It was really cool. They headed for the leeward mark and we thought they would do another round, but they headed in for the finish line. Either way it was super great timing and the weather was gorgeous. We had delicious cucumber, mayo, cheese and pepperoni sandwiches for lunch. Then we came back into harbour, picked up our mooring and hit relax mode. The guy went into the dinghy and was fishing around the harbour for a good couple of hours. He came back with a very decent sized triggerfish. Mike and I made another potjie, Mexican style if you ask Mike, and cooked up this fish. Of. Purse we added the garlic bread. Dinner was delicious. They taught us a cool card game and we played a couple rounds with Mike winning the first one. They were really cool people and we really enjoyed having them. They booked us for three nights, but she said if she had found us sooner they would have booked us for a week. They absolutely love sailing and wanted to spend as much time doing so. They are going to come back to stay with us in the Caribbean and we are really stoked about that. We have made some awesome connections on this trip. Yesterday (Aug 13), before going sailing, they went to the store to get ingredients to make us crepes for dinner. Real French crepes... We loaded up headed out onto the water just before noon. There was a cruising regatta race, but we didn't enter. We watched the race and then sailed along the coast of Pico. We found a nice little spot and dropped anchor. We all snorkelled and saw some really pretty parrot fish. Mike was able to spear us two fish to eat (not parrotfish because they are too pretty). The anchor was wedged in between two rocks really well, which was great for holding us but meant it would be a little harder to lift when we were ready to go. Mike tied a recovery line to it and when we were directly over it, Mike pulled it free and we were adrift. We sailed out with just the jib. It was cool to anchor and lift anchor without needing to turn the engine on. The sail back to Faial was a little tedious, since we had to beat back. We put two reefs in the main because the wind had increased quite a bit. Once we approached Faial it started raining. So Mike and I stayed out and brought her into harbour. We didn't get back until almost 8 PM so it was a decent 8 hour day on the water. Our guests started preparing the crepes right away, making a huge bowl of batter! Mike prepared the two fish and first we BBQ'd some garlic bread and sausages. Then we had the fish. Then... the crepes. Oh man they were so amazing. We had savoury ones with smoked ham or chorizo and Sao Jorge cheese. They were delectable. I definitely want to try to make some pizza ones with pepperoni and a little pizza sauce. We gorged on those and still had half a bowl of batter. Very shortly after, they made the sweet crepes. Oh man. Lemon juice and sugar was so delicious. We also pulled out cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg. They were so tasty. We still had some mixture left, so they cooked them up plain, and we saved them for breakfast in the morning. Finally...today. We got up shortly after 7 since they had to leave for the airport in a taxi by 8:15. I made coffee /tea and we ate cold crepes with some sugar in them. They were still super good. We said our goodbyes and they were off down the road. It was truly so much fun to have them onboard and we had lots of laughs, wine and food. They were just great!!! And now it's the middle of August and I can't believe we are getting near the end. I am working on the Airbnb listing for the Caribbean...we were having some technical difficulties using the app. It's all fixed now and I will make sure to share it tomorrow. We will be based out of St. Maarten. It's gonna be so great! I can't wait to get there. Anyways today we cleaned up and got things put away. Mike made his awesome spaghetti bolognese for lunch to use up the rest of our hamburger meat. Which is probably the most expensive meat to buy it seems at €5 something a kilo. We enjoyed two big bowls each and not too long later decided to take a nap to recover. I love the days off in between. At least 2, 3 is better. We get to rest for the first day, then laundry on the second day. If it doesn't dry totally on the second, we still have the third to finish it up. But we are adaptive and can run on the fly too. But we don't want to get burned out and stop enjoying what we are doing. These last 10 days have been super busy, and we are definitely enjoying the breather. Tonight...we feast on crepes! Haha. We are cutting the recipe down by 5 and will see how it goes. That should only be about 4 crepes each. We have 4 more bookings left until we are done and it's been a total blast. Sorry the pictures have been lacking a bit. I will do better. I had a nice chat with mom this morning at 11, which was 6AM for her. She was already up for work so I knew I could call without waking her. We had a good 15 minute chat before the wifi area was closing for lunch. So we said see you later. It was nice to chat with her for a bit. I had wanted to yesterday, since the weekend is always easier to chat at a reasonable time for both of us. But being a late sail and then eating crepes until almost 11 PM, I didn't make it over to the wifi. Life is good and we are doing great. We are still smiling and laughing, swimming and snorkelling around the Azores. I have enjoyed it so much and am glad we have had such great guests! I promise to work the camera and the go pro some more and am counting down the days until we head to Sao Miguel and Santa Maria Island. Keep following us on Facebook and Instagram @ coconut_seaways. Share our page and tell your friends about us. I think we will book up in the Caribbean quite quickly. Friends and fam get first (last dibs says Mike haha) dibs!!! Lots of love to all my friends and family. Miss you tons.

[touchpointpress]

I interviewed Sharon Yang, author of Bait and Switch (released December 15, 2015) and Letter From a Dead Man (released December 6, 3017.) Are you as excited as I am to hear about what’s happened to Jessica Minton and her friends? Order a copy of her new book here: https://www.amazon.com/Letter-Dead-Jessica-Minton-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07664TYT1/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507496492&sr=1-1&keywords=letter+from+a+dead+man

And while you’re waiting for it to arrive at your doorstep, you can learn more about the author and her books right here.

This is the second book you’ve published with TouchPoint Press. What was different for this book from the last one your published? Have you learned anything?

One interesting difference was that I automatically planned to develop the cover myself with my husband. There had been a holdup on the release of Bait and Switch due to the publisher’s artist not coming through with good material. So when I decided to take the bull by the horns and ask Sheri if I could come up with my own cover, she gave me an enthusiastic green light. The first cover was actually almost exactly what I’d always pictured as the cover. So, as I was editing Dead Man, I was tossing around ideas with my husband for the cover. I’d originally had a different idea, but it didn’t quite seem to fit the style that we’d started with Bait and Switch. Then, re-reading and revising Dead Man, I came across a scene that I thought perfectly captured the spirit of the book and evoked one of the most suspenseful scenes: Jessica hiding from killers behind one of the lions at the New York Public Library. We tested a few poses, in sketches and by having me stand next to one of the actual lions in NYC, before settling on our final choice. So, I learned from my first experience to just go right for my own creation for a cover.

That’s really interesting. I don’t often think about how much time and effort is put into developing a cover design. How did you find and/or choose to work with TouchPoint Press?

The answer to this question is a funny story. My discovering Touchpoint was part serendipity and part luck. I had studied the Writer’s Guides to Publishing and Agents and made up detailed lists of who my best bets would be for my kind of fiction. I came across the Red Writinghood Ink Agency. The book made them seem perfect for a new writer with my ‘40s mystery style, but their website said that they weren’t accepting new writers now. I was disappointed, but decided, “What the heck, I’ll still give them a try, just in case.” So, I sent my query to the agent listed in Writer’s Guide to Agents as my best bet as a contact, Sheri Williams. Well, lo and behold, Sheri had left to start her own publishing company, Touchpoint. She loved Bait and Switch and wanted the whole manuscript. The rest is history! So, my take away is be persistent, take chances; you never know where opportunities will flare up. Hard work and luck pay off!

Do you think of writing as a second/full-time job? Does your time at work and your writing time overlap any?

Right now, writing is clearly a second job. I pay the bills by teaching as a tenured Professor in English at Worcester State University. It’s highly unusual for writers to make enough to support themselves in a comfortable life. So, since my teaching is such a demanding job, I basically only write in the summer, when I’m not teaching. This setup gives me a nice balance. During the school year, I throw myself whole-heartedly into teaching, so I’m exhausted when summer rolls around. Writing, either fiction or my scholarly work, is a nice change of pace for my mind. I exercise my intellectual and creative muscles differently. Then, by the end of summer, I’m so exhausted with writing that I’m ready to switch gears and go back into teaching. Maybe that’s why autumn always seems like the beginning rather than the end of the year to me.

It sounds like having a yearly writing schedule like that would make sure that you stay energized and don’t feel burned out with one task. During the summer, what are your writing must haves or routines?

I definitely can’t write during the school year. I don’t have the concentration or the time. Summer break is the best because I have longer stretches of time without interruptions. On a nice day, I sit on the front porch, with a great view of the hills and the trees, and work away. I do like to have a cup of tea with me. I’m too stirred up with my writing to have coffee. My first draft has to be written with pen on paper. Typing slows me down; the words don’t flow. Later, I type the written draft up, editing as I go. Later drafts are done on the computer. Editing is easier for me with a computer.

What emotions are you trying to draw out of your readers? Do you enjoy making them work for answers?

The emotions I want to draw? Well, definitely suspense and surprise. I love to drop hints and see if they pick up on them. I like to try to bend the generic rules. I love to play with in-jokes. So, I want the readers to be in suspense but have fun. I also want them to care about the characters, to share their feelings of love, doubt, and humor.

Can you tell us about your future writing plans? Are you planning to continue the series? What hints or tidbits can you give your fans? Do you have anything planned besides the series?

I definitely have more adventures planned for Jessica, James, Liz, and Dusty. I actually have a third novel completed called “Always Play the Dark Horse.” This mystery needs more editing, but it’s in good shape. “Dark Horse” takes Jessica and James to a college campus on the beautiful Connecticut coast, where they run into her old college sweetheart, a mysterious veteran who literally rides a dark horse, and the strange disappearance of an art professor – who later turns up to wreak havoc on everyone’s lives. Dusty continues to preside over affairs while honing her mouse-catching skills, and Rose Nyquist from Dead Man reappears as another professor who helps Jessica and James unravel some fatal mysteries.

In addition, I have detailed outlines for a fourth novel in the series, which I’ll probably call “Shadows of a Dark Past.” Here, Jessica and Elizabeth travel to an eerie, isolated manse on the Maine coast where Jessica joins the rest of her radio program comrades to perform several remote broadcasts revolving around the unsolved murder of a beautiful woman at the manse nearly twenty years ago. Of course, Jessica bears a striking resemblance to the woman – something of interest to the woman’s husband, who still lives nearby with their daughter. When Jessica finds herself sleepwalking to the room where the woman was murdered, Liz calls on James to get up to Maine and help her figure out what’s going on with Jess before her unconscious peregrinations end tragically.

I have ideas for at least three other novels in the series, but they are in a less detailed state. I also have ideas for a mystery set outside the Jessica series, as well as a supernatural tale. Either of them might lead to a sequel.

Wow, it looks like you have everything all planned out! You write what you love to read and watch, and you’re good at it, which is so awesome! But if you had to pick another genre to write in, what would it be and why?

You know, I have to say I only write what I like: mysteries, supernatural tales, and scholarly writing in subjects I love. Writing is far too demanding for me to invest that much of myself in something that does not fully capture my heart.

Fair enough. Is writing a solo experience for you? When do you allow people to see your work?

I have a posse of friends who get first crack at what I write. Partly, they just enjoy reading my mysteries, but they also give me great feedback on what works and what doesn’t work. They are honest but tactful. The friend with whom I work the most is Ruth Haber. She usually gets the very first crack. She is an avid reader of mysteries and another English prof, so she knows what is good writing and fits in the genre and what doesn’t. She’s also good at encouraging me to bend the rules of genre to create something original and exciting.

In your opinion, what was the most difficult part of the writing process?

I think trying to figure out what to cut to make your novel read smoothly and keep the suspense going. You don’t want to undermine the development of characters or toss away some evocative descriptions, but you also don’t want to bog down your readers. Striking the balance between keeping up a good pace and giving your readers some prose they will savor is tough.

That’s a great answer. So, what scene or detail did you take out from either book that you wish you had left in?

With Dead Man, there was a part I wish I could have kept, but it would have slowed down the building of suspense. That was a flashback to a scene where James proposes to Jessica. I have considered including it on my website as a little treat. I also had to cut a dramatic scene from Bait and Switch where Jessica almost ends up shoved down an elevator shaft. It worked really well, but it would have dragged out the novel too long. However, I’ve been figuring how I can adapt that vignette to a later novel in the series.

You are all about characters and character-driven plots. You’ve said that you were inspired to write a story with a strong heroine. Did you find it harder to write about male characters?

I don’t really find male characters hard to write. I just think about who this person is and go from there. That usually seems to work. I tend not to enclose people in gender roles, although who that character is might do the enclosing for me.

If you weren’t a writer, what interesting thing would you want to be known for?

I don’t know if this is interesting, but I do want to be known as a teacher who is creative, inspiring, and challenging. I want to be known for not just inspiring students to love literature but to better understand themselves and others through reading. I want to be known for helping them find their voice as writers and to use that voice to help others.

That is interesting! Interesting and inspiring. Would you say that writing energizes or exhausts you?

Writing definitely does both. It’s thrilling to have ideas and to play them out in my mind, then translate them into words to provoke my intended vision in readers. However, I usually kind of collapse after a bout of putting ideas and images down on paper. Writing is hard – but exhilarating – work!

You do a lot of research for your books. You’ve mentioned books and movies and newspapers and interviews…How much time do you think you spend researching versus writing and editing? Have you gone on any “reading/writing pilgrimages”?

I don’t know if I can compare the amount of time I put into editing vs. research. Sometimes one leads into the other. For example, when I was editing various drafts, I realized that I’d written some information that might not be true. As a result, I had to go back and double-check to correct the manuscript. So, yes, it was the AF of L in 1945, not the AFL-CIO and there was no racing at Saratoga the summer of 1944.

In addition, we definitely do “pilgrimages” to check out setting. We went to the NYPL to take photos of the lions so we could see how to set up the cover – and I adjusted my description of two scenes to depict more accurately what the area outside the library looks like. Another time, I wanted to see how a scene I intended to write would play out. We went down the subway by Bryant Park, then I raced up the stairs, down the street, and over to hide behind one of the lions. Nobody even noticed. That’s one of the sneak peeks I have on my website.

I remember reading about that on your blog. That sounds like one crazy adventure! What’s the best money you’ve spent as an author?

As a mystery writer, I would say joining Sister in Crime and Sisters in Crime-New England. These two organizations have provided me with guidance on publishing and promotion. They have helped me to get the word out on my books and sell them through putting me on speakers panels for various libraries, organizations, and book fairs. Even better. They’ve introduced me to other writers who are not only wonderful mentors but good friends. Plus, I get to widen my library of great mystery writing through these connections!

I’ll definitely have to suggest those organizations to other mystery authors. And finally, the golden question: What does literary success look like to you?

When you use the word “literary” to me, there’s an implication we’re discussing the quality of writing rather than “fame and fortune.” I want to create writing that evokes imagery and feeling. I want to inspire readers to interact with my characters as if they were real people. I love to challenge them to figure out “whodunit.” I also want them to have fun getting the in-jokes that connect to high and pop culture. I want to sell enough books to be able to keep writing, but I don’t expect to be making enough to retire on. Of course, I wouldn’t mind if I suddenly was rolling in greenbacks from the profits – as long as I could keep control of my writing and not be forced to cookie-cutter it to what is perceived as popular taste.

  I hope you enjoyed getting to know Sharon Yang a little better. You can follow her on her website, https://sharonhealyyang.com/, and keep checking out our website for more information about her appearances and future works.

Interview with TouchPoint Press Author Sharon Yang I interviewed Sharon Yang, author of Bait and Switch (released December 15, 2015) and Letter From a Dead Man…