Book Spotlight with Missy Salick

 


Claiming Jeremiah by Missy B. Salick
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Author's Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

On the same night that twenty four-year-old Jordyn Sims has a miscarriage, her sister-in-law Tori Sims conceives a child. Nine months later, Tori, a long term heroin addict, abandons her two-hour-old drug addicted newborn Jeremiah, in a hospital stairwell. Jordyn receives the news and pursues foster adoption. However, Oscar, Tori's possessive drug-addicted boyfriend, is not about to give Jeremiah up so easily. While in confrontation with Tori and Oscar, Jordyn seeks help from the Administration of Children Services (ACS), only to discover she is faced with a maze of departments, regulations, legalities and overworked social workers. Jordyn, however, remains strong and continues to push through the uphill battle, even after she discovers she's pregnant.

With all odds against her adoption of Jeremiah, and her pregnancy at high risk from increasing stress, will Jordyn win this tough battle, or will her world crumble before her?

About the Author:

Missy B. Salick is a new author who has written her first novel, Claiming Jeremiah. Her fictional memoir on foster adoption is drawing a hefty buzz, with an online release date not until April 7, 2013 ( May 4 in paperback). The novel is small in size, but contains a powerful message. "Children in foster care need a place to call home." Salick, a foster care advocate, wrote this book based on her personal journey of foster adopting her four-year-old son.

Before self-publishing, Claiming Jeremiah, Salick spent several years as a freelance business writer for Fortune 500 companies such as: Shearman & Sterling, KPMG, Deloitte and many more. She also had a stint with song ghost writing. Salick's experience in the entertainment industry stems from working with entertainment companies and media including Violator, MBK, Village Voice and more. As the founder of J.J. Autumn Publishing, her publishing company is geared towards highlighting urban fiction dedicated to special causes and community awareness projects.

 Questions and Answers with Missy:

Author Interview & Giveaway: Christopher Grant

I want to welcome Mr. Christopher Grant, author of the wonderful YA book Teenie.

Christopher Grant, a Stony Brook University graduate, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. An insatiable reader, his influences range from Tom Clancy to Junot Diaz. Currently a professional equities trader, he lives in Harlem, New York and spends his free time traveling the world with his family.

 Can you tell me a bit about your writing journey?

I've been writing for about thirteen years. I've always been a bit of a joker and story teller. My friends encouraged me to put my stories on paper. By the grace of God, I have one novel out and another on the way.


What inspired you to write Teenie?

I read an article that stated publishers were looking for men writing as women. I grew up in a household dominated by strong female personalities. I felt I was uniquely equipped to write from the female perspective. Teenie is like the sister I never had. She is made up of people that I have come across in my life, and is based primarily on one of my nieces.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

 Getting published is filled with rejection, revision, and more rejection. I got over 100 rejection letters with TEENIE and used them as motivation. I read an author interview a few years back, and one of the quotes really resonated with me. The author being interviewed was asked what advice she would give to aspiring writers. She responded, "You may not be published if do write, but you'll never be published if you don't."

Mr. Grant has graciously offered to give a signed Hardcover of his book Teenie to one US winner.  You can find my review here.  This giveaway will end on February 29th.

Introduction: Sexting--When Life Meets Books

Coming May 2011

I absolutely love when books (especially fiction) meets life and great conversations can be had about real life issues.   This has recently happened when I received a book for review called Exposure by Therese Fowler.  A short exerpt from Goodreads describes the book in a nutshell.

In Exposure, Therese Fowler has written her most gripping novel to date—a ripped-from-the-headlines story of ardent young love and a nightmarish legal maelstrom that threatens to destroy two families.

So how does this affect real life you might ask?  Well this book centers around "sexting" which is a relatively new issue that is coming to play with today's technology.  This is a HUGE problem when people are underage.  The consequences are pretty big.  Someone breaks up and the pictures are let loose unto the world-wide-web...this is VERY VERY BAD.  In this day and age, those pictures are just simply out there forever.  Everyone has access to everything and if you make a bad decision the consequences are perhaps last a little longer than most.

Many of you have heard a bit about the real me--former teacher, law student, and newlywed (I think). I also intern at the Texas State Capitol and I'm in the know about potential and future legislation.   A common topic recently is this idea of "sexting."  Many people think the answer is to criminalize this behavior.  Well this book certainly opens up the discussion about whether this would be a good idea.


It would really suck if your significant other sent it to other people, but what if they didn't?  What if someone else found it?  Who should be punished?  The person who received the image or the person who sent it?

Therese Fowler not only weighs in on the debate in her book, but she has personal experiences with the situation as this happened to her son. Check-in to the conversation with Therese Fowler below...