Meryl Ain on Writing A Seamless Sequel

We all like to hear about the journey to publication, and hopefully other people's success stories help bolster the confidence of those still slogging through the query trenches. But what happens after that first book deal? When the honeymoon is over, you end up back where you were - sitting in front of a blank Word document with shaky hands. Except this time, there are expectations hanging over you. With this in mind, I’ve created the SNOB (Second Novel Omnipresent Blues) interview.

Today’s guest for the SNOB is Meryl Ain, author of Shadows We Carry, which is the sequel to Meryl Ain’s award-winning post-Holocaust novel The Takeaway Men

Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

On one hand, I learned so much from the publication of my first novel, The Takeaway Men. On the other hand, now I feel tremendous pressure trying to leave no stone unturned in spreading the word about Shadows We Carry. When my debut novel was published, I knew nothing about social media marketing, which turned out to be a godsend during the pandemic. Now, I must balance the demands of promoting, writing, and family. I did 80 virtual presentations during the pandemic, so as Covid is receding, I'm trying to figure out the balance between in-person and virtual programs. I'm so grateful that The Takeaway Men resonated with readers and I'm hoping that Shadows We Carry will reach an even larger audience.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

Actually, no. It was seamless for me since Shadows We Carry is the sequel to The Takeaway Men. The first book ends when the twins are in high school, and many readers asked for a sequel. They wanted to know what happened to the sisters going forward. Since I knew the characters well, I enjoyed the process. Publishing Shadows We Carry gives me the opportunity to let people know about The Takeaway Men.  

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

Once the ARC was out in the world and I reviewed it and submitted minor changes to my publisher, it was time to start focusing on my forthcoming release. 

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

Both. I was tremendously gratified that many readers asked me for a sequel. But I also was not finished with the characters or the story. I had much more I wanted to write on the subject. I'm grateful that there was synergy between what my readers and I wanted. 

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author? 

Absolutely! As a professional author, I am interacting and supporting other authors all the time. I am asked to write blurbs and do programs. I'm constantly on social media, especially Facebook book groups. In fact, I started one myself. I also launched a podcast, called People of the Book, which is aired on Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. And, of course, I want to continue writing. Sometimes, I feel there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to do. 

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

I have learned that I must be assertive in getting the word out about my books. I'm not a promoter by nature, but I have learned that it's a necessary requirement of being an author in today's world. I did not have a robust network of authors and readers when my first book was launched. I now have a large group of followers and I am so grateful for their encouragement, enthusiastic support and assistance.

Meryl Ain is a writer, author, podcaster, and career educator.  Her award-winning post-Holocaust debut novel, The Takeaway Men, was published in 2020. Its sequel, Shadows We Carry, will be published in April. Her articles and essays have appeared in Huffington Post, The New York Jewish Week, The New York Times, Newsday and other publications. She is the host of the podcast, People of the Book, which is aired on Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.

Alenka Vrecek on Healing and Rebuilding Life

By: Alenka Vrecek

In solitude I found a very different kind of strength, one I’d never experienced. I was purging poisons from my body and mind. I was cultivating the soil in which fresh seeds of life could be planted again. And for that, I needed to be alone, as painful or as lonely as it sometimes felt. 

I wrote these words a month into my 2500 mile bike journey. Every day I would spend endless hours pushing my bike up impossibly steep and long climbs, following Sierra and Baja Divide through remote and often hostile environment. I needed the physical pain, the raw feeling of vulnerability on the fringes of life and death, precisely so I could feel alive. During the long stretches of alone time, I created space into which fresh life energy could flow. I captured my thoughts by typing them into the iPhone on the side of a dusty trail, or at lunch break, or laying exhausted on a deflated pad in my tent at night before they vanished. Just like on my long, difficult, and often dangerous bike journey, I was healing during my writing process. Each day I learned something new; I was reinventing myself. 

The idea to ride a bike from my home in Lake Tahoe, to my second home in Baja, Mexico, was born on a short bike ride between my daughter’s games at the soccer tournament in Medford, Oregon. My husband of fifteen years and I were in the process of a complicated divorce. There was plenty of sadness, confusion, fear, and uncertainty. Desperate for a change and an adventure, I wrote the idea on the back page of my Rumi poetry book, which was my constant companion. 

Years went by and life with work and three kids was busy. Then I met the man of my life and six years later we married on the top of the mountain overlooking Lake Tahoe. It was a crisp, sunny, winter day. We found happiness in a home we created for our blended family. The kids were growing older and one by one they left for college. Then, all at once, life unraveled. A devastating ski accident ended my thirty-year-long ski coaching career and with that I lost my identity. While recovering and still on crutches, I felt the lump on my right breast and instinctively knew it was not supposed to be there. Surgeries, chemo, and radiation followed. During the last round of chemo, I had my first routine colonoscopy. It revealed a carpeting of polyps. I was fifty-two-years old and facing the end of life for the second time in the same year. Everything was slipping away in a hurry. While waiting for the removal of my entire colon for which the date was already set, my husband announced he had Parkinson’s. His self-diagnosis was confirmed by doctors only a handful of days later. 

One day, lying in bed and feeling sorry for myself, I reached for my worn out Rumi poetry book and it just so happened, it opened on the page where I wrote the words fifteen years earlier. The idea of riding my bike from Tahoe to the tip of Baja Peninsula was now an inner command. I had that many more reasons to follow my dream and go on this long and crazy bike ride. 

The kids were grown up and didn’t need me much anymore. My cancer and my husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis gave me full permission to do something greater than myself. Sick of hospitals, I deferred the removal of my colon. I was running out of time and I did not want to have regrets. 

On my two month-long journey I wrote a blog to share the experiences with family and friends. People I didn’t even know, encouraged me to write a book. Sure, I thought, what a great idea. I’ll just turn my blog into a book, send it to a major publishing company and they will love it so much, offers for the book deal will rush in. Ha!

I quickly learned how wrong I was. Receiving rejection letters one after another, made me realize how much I had to learn. I asked for help and received it. I wanted to learn more, and I took every opportunity to do so. I continued honing my writing skills by taking as many online courses as I could and attended writing conferences. 

COVID insinuated itself into our lives, and I had no excuse but to write. It was a cathartic, cleansing and a healing process. Collaborating with accomplished writers and working with editors, I was learning, creating and experiencing personal growth. Word after word, page after page, She Rides was born.

Life throws challenges at us all, and even in the darkest of hours, we somehow find the way to survive and the strength to move on. Like the parched desert after the soaking rains, we spring back to life. We all have to find our own way, but reading stories about adventures, struggles and triumphs of others, can inspire us and show us we are not alone. I hope that by sharing my story, others will relate and find the strength to get out of their comfort zone and follow their own long forgotten and deeply buried dreams. 

Alenka Vrecek was born at the foot of the Alps in Slovenia, a part of former communist Yugoslavia. Born with a spirit for adventure, she came to America at twenty years old with a backpack, a pair of skis, and a pocket full of dreams. She was a ski coach and a director of Pedagogy for Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Ski Teams for thirty years. Alenka owns Tahoe Tea Company and lives in Lake Tahoe, California, with her second husband, Jim, their four children, three grandchildren, and a Golden Retriever named Monty.

Carmen Leal on The Perfect Storm: How are Rescue Shelters Faring After COVID?

By: Carmen Leal

When I decided to adopt, I thought dogs were free and that I was doing them a favor by taking the pooches off their hands. I learned that before they go to their new homes, all dogs are spayed or neutered, appropriately vaccinated, dewormed, heartworm tested, given flea and tick preventatives, and microchipped for identification. The adoption fee also helped to cover any additional medical treatments that may be needed and they did all of this through donations, with no government funding. 

I started volunteering in a marketing capacity and helped the rescue for four years. Sadly, on September 30, 2022, ten years and 12,000 dogs after they opened, they closed for good and the ripple effects of COVID were absolutely the biggest factors in their decision. 

COVID kicked off the perfect storm and we lost staff who needed better-paying jobs with benefits, our volunteer pool dried up, and giving plummeted. It’s a miracle we stayed open as long as we did.

Mandatory closure of our daycare, boarding, and grooming meant that the income from those profit segments were no longer there to pay the rent, utilities, and salaries. We reopened but never bounced back. Clients who were unemployed or working from home didn’t need daycare. Travel came to an abrupt halt so our boarding business all but disappeared for a couple of years.  

During our final year we had the largest number of owner-surrender dogs ever. These weren’t pandemic puppies that people decided they no longer wanted once they returned to the office or they discovered how expensive it is to be a responsible dog owner. Some were surrendered because of the expense or divorce or relocation, but there were many people who got caught in the COVID crunch and could no longer keep their beloved family members. 

The number one reason was housing-related. The saddest ones involved landlords selling their properties and in too many cases the new owners would not allow dogs. If they did, there was a weight limit or a breed restriction. 

There are many costs to rescuing and only a tiny fraction are paid for through adoption fees. Veterinarians, vaccinations, gas prices to transport dogs, utilities, rent, dog food, and even small items such as microchips skyrocketed. 

A lack of funding for animal welfare organizations is not new. There will always be financial challenges for independent recues and shelters who do incredibly important work within their communities.

The good news is the number of heroes who are dedicated to ensuring no healthy animal is euthanized and that the sick and wounded receive the treatment they deserve. Thank goodness for people who want to create a world where every dog can be surrounded by love. You don’t have to adopt to save a life. You can volunteer, foster, give money, or in-kind donations. Every little bit truly does matter. 

Carmen Leal is a storyteller and the author of multiple books, dozens of articles, devotionals, and human-interest stories. Carmen relocated from Hawaii to Oshkosh, yes, there is a story behind the move, and has become an awesome dog mom. Carmen and her husband have become reluctant gardeners and know a crazy amount about Wisconsin weeds. She is the mother of two sons, two incredible grandsons, and Coconut, the best imperfectly perfect rescue dog in the world.