A novel set in the Florida Keys by Trish McDonald
THE AUTHOR ON A BEACH IN THE FLORIDA KEYS
After thirty-four years of marriage, Kat McNeil flees to a campground in the Florida Keys where she falls for a ramblin' man who's elusive, unavailable, and secretive.
Desperate to understand why he avoids her, she becomes a stalker.
This deviant behavior unearths a stunning revelation shaking her to the core. Will she run away from something she doesn't understand, or will she embark on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening?
Desperate to understand why he avoids her, she becomes a stalker.
This deviant behavior unearths a stunning revelation shaking her to the core. Will she run away from something she doesn't understand, or will she embark on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening?
www.trishmcdonald.com
|
|
THE GUTSY NEWS by Trish McDonald Courage Have you ever wondered about Courage? Worried you don't have enough? Where does Courage come from? Your genes? Your brain? The Wizard? Why do some people seem to have Courage, yet others don't? I stumbled on the answer, see below for my Recipe for Courage I was convinced Courage skipped me And went straight from my mom to my daughter. Where would I find the Courage to write my novel PAPER BAGS-- a story of gender equality? The answer didn’t seem to be my genes My brain couldn’t generate Courage The Wizard was too busy with the Cowardly Lion I was on my own. Then my health deteriorated, and I was put on medications for Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Pre-diabetes It was time to make some big changes I read up on the microbiome and started fixing my gut Not only was I taken off all medications, but this happened: One morning my Beau said, “Do you know that since you’ve been on this gut plan, Even your voice has changed?” “What do you mean,” I asked defensively. “Your tone is different. You seem more confident. There’s a lilt in your voice. It’s subtle, but it’s there.” The good bacteria in my gut talk to my brain by way of my vagus nerve.* It’s that gut feeling that convinces my brain I’m courageous. When I had my microbiome assayed, my gut bacteria was 89% more diverse than those in my cohort. Diversity is strength—say it with me, "Diversity is strength" Whether the microbes in our gut, the plants on the earth, the food we eat, our human population—In diversity is strength. Get your FREE Recipe for Courage https://bit.ly/3iJsfSz *Emeran Mayer, MD, author of The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. |
Bio
|
TRISH MCDONALD KAYAKING AT 77 YRS OLD
|
COMING HOME
Welcome to Lancaster, PA, home to Hippocampus Magazine, the Central Market, and what is to be my home for the next three days—Hippocamp—where creative nonfiction writers come as ‘Zoomites’ and tearfully leave as friends.
Situated at the corner of King and Queen Streets, the Marriott will be our host in the grandest of traditions. As I touch the elevator button, I imagine being surrounded by memoirists like Carmen Maria Machado, Jeannine Ouellette, Dorothy Rice and others whose voices buzz in my head.
Arriving on Thursday early, I wander Prince Street and stop in Psychedeli for a deck of Tarot cards, the patchouli pulling me up the front steps. I promised my granddaughters we’d learn how to read our futures, but I have no idea how to choose a set.
The clerk tells me, “You don’t choose a Tarot deck, the cards choose you. Stand in front of the sets, place your hand on the pictures, and as you pass over the artwork, be open and aware.” As I move across the boxes, my fingers tremble, I look down on The Light Seers with their artistic designs, I stop, pick them up and say, “This is the set.”
I dine on mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes, a Pennsylvania favorite, at C’est La Vie. Three creamy cheeses surround a tubular-shaped pasta, crowned with a sweet, acidic mound of garden goodness. Energy is everywhere, men in business suits with ideas, young parents strolling with infants, joggers, bikers, so different from my Florida home, a gated community for oldsters like me.
Later, I’ll climb up three floors to the rooftop bar where I’m meeting other conference attendees for dinner. On the 2nd level, I stop to order a Yuengling. I’m hedging, unsure if I can ascend the final steps to my biggest challenge—being face to face with real writers.
I chat with three young men who say they have books inside them. No longer hiding behind the Zoom lens with its staged background, I smile and hand one of the guys my author’s card.
Finally, I reach the apex, spot our group, take a deep breath, and ask if I can join. As I sit down, I realize I’m at a table of presenters. I start to get up to move, then I stop. I will act as if I belong, as if I’ve been a part of this community all my life, as if when I look out over the horizon, I’m home at last, with my people.
