Childhood Friends Are The Best

Follow me on twitter @RKAvery1 

I would like to send a SHOUT OUT to two of my childhood friends.

Debbie used to live down the street from me about three houses and then across the road.  She was the same age as me and we went through elementary school together.  In five years we were only in the same class twice.  We both liked the same boy at one point (Mike Hendricks) but that didn't come between us.  We had a "cat call" that we used to see if each other was home.  All we did was go outside and make this funny scream.  If I heard it or if she heard it we would reciprocate and send it back and then we knew it was time to play.  They had an Alaskan Eskimo dog named Blaze.  I still remember those ice blue eyes.  She moved to Florida at one point but was back a year later but lived in a different neighborhood.  I still saw quite a lot of her and we both were wild about Shaun Cassidy.  We even saw him in concert.  How funny is that!

Yvonne lived on the same side of the street that we lived on.  There was one house between us where the Valentine's lived.  Even though Yvonne was two years younger than me, we had a lot in common.  Her mom and dad were from West Virginia and they liked Beagles, just like my mom and dad.  They had a swimming pool for a while but once the side busted open and the water flooded their backyard.  She had a chihuahua named Becky and we used to dress her up in doll clothes.  Poor Becky.  She was such a trooper.  We moved away to another neighborhood and left Yvonne behind but we still talk from time-to-time and I look forward to getting her Christmas card every year.   

I usually don't mention names in my posts and if I do, I don't mention last names to protect the privacy of those I speak about.  But both of you know who you are.  I have known you since I was 4 years old and I still consider you some of my closest friends.

Love you!

R. K. Avery
www.rkaverybooks.com
@RKAvery1

A Blast From Summertime's Past

I am always amazed how hearing or smelling something can immediately take you back to another time and another place.  It happens when an old song comes on the radio.  I can remember where I was, how old I was and what I was doing the first time I heard it.  One song that immediately comes to mind when I think of this is Rosanna by Toto.  I can remember driving to school in my gold Camaro my senior year of high school, windows rolled down, radio blaring and hearing it on the radio. 

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes

Rosanna, Rosanna

I never thought a girl like you could ever care for me, Rosanna

and on it goes.  For those of you who remember that song, I bet you just sang it in your head.  It's okay.  I did the same thing.

The minute I smell Coppertone I am transported back to when my family and I would go to the beach.  Living in Northeast Ohio, the ocean is not near but we do have the Great Lakes and several wonderful beaches.  Playing in the sand with my older sister while mom and dad watched with a dutiful eye.

Then you have the smell of charcoal.  I love it!  When I smell it I am reminded of when I was young and the first cookout of the summer season - hamburgers, hot dogs, and more side dishes and condiments than you can imagine.  Cookouts were one of the few times we were allowed to have actual soda pop.  Mom would bring a bottle of RC cola out, crack the lid open and that wonderful brown liquid would splash over ice cubes while my mouth watered waiting for the first taste.  We weren't raised like the kids of today.  Soda pop was only for special occasions and they all came in glass bottles.  When you bought them you had to pay a deposit for the bottles and when they were empty, you took them back to store and got your deposit back so they could be recycled and refilled.   

I remember so many mornings waking up in my bed with the windows cranked wide open as the curtains billowed with the breeze.  We didn't have air conditioning so this was the only way to keep cool.  The sound of robins chirping meant it was summer vacation and the whole day lay ahead and we could do whatever we wanted.  We went outside until lunchtime and then came in only long enough to eat.  The outdoors was our playground - riding bikes, playing hopscotch, swinging on the swing set and playing kickball. 

When you are young you can't wait to grow up.  When you are older you wish you could go back.  Enjoy each minute and make as many memories as you can. 

R. K. Avery
www.rkaverybooks.com
@RKAvery1

R. K. Avery meets Reckless Roger

Since I am a starving artist (which leads me to a joke my son recently told me.  What's the difference between an author and a bench?  Give up?  A bench can support a family.) my main source of income is at a job for an insurance company.  We provide health care to a large population of the residents that live in northeast Ohio.  I have been fortunate enough to work here for almost 11 years.

Although I work for an insurance company, I do not sell insurance nor do I interact with members or patients.  I work in the finance area and process payroll for our employees.  I’ve been told by many “they couldn’t pay me a million dollars to do what you do.”  I told my boss I would take $500K and he laughed. 

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to share a photo with you.  Because we are an insurance company, we take protecting the rights and medical information provided by our members very seriously.  Protected Health Information (PHI) is no joke.  Because of this we celebrate a Corporate Compliance and Ethics week each year.  Fun activities are planned (scavenger hunt, contests, quizzes, etc.) and treats are given out (suckers, popcorn and even ice cream!).

We have our own mascot, called Reckless Roger.  He is our "Mr. Mayhem" and creates havoc wherever he goes .  He comes to visit, poses for pictures and gives out autographs. 

So now you know what I do when I’m not spending my time in front of the computer writing a blog or working on my latest book.  Oh yeah, that and watching Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show.  He cracks me up.

Have a wonderful day. 

R. K. Avery

www.rkaverybooks.com

@RKAvery1

Blatant Self-Promotion

I am the worst person in the world for promoting my own books.  I know I should talk about them and blog about them more often but I don't like shoving things down someones throat.  If you want to buy them, you will seek them out and buy them. 

Now that that's said, this is blatant self-promotion.  I currently have two books in print and in e-book format.  Some bookstores carry them but even if they don't you can go into any bookstore in the world and request them and they will order them for you.

If you would rather shop from the privacy of your own home while wearing your PJ's, there are several sites that carry my books.  Just click on one of the tabs at the top of this page and you will be redirected to the site. 

Amazon is having a sale right now and you can get both books for less than $25.  That's a pretty good deal considering if you bought them directly from me, it would cost you $26. 

If you would like an autographed copy, contact me at rkavery@rkaverybooks.com and we can work out some type of arrangement. 

In case you are not familiar with my books, the first one, Be Careful What You Wish For, starts out as a true story.  I was kidnapped from a beach when I was 25 months old.  My story, thank goodness, had a happy ending but I wanted to write a book about what may of happened if it didn't. 

Here are the back cover blurbs for both of my books.  It is a series and the third book is at the publisher as I write this.  It is due out mid-2014 so stay tuned.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Bunting Valley, North Dakota—a scenic and picturesque town where nothing dreadful ever happens—is a place where people feel safe leaving their front doors unlocked.   So when beautiful, blue-eyed, three-year-old Maggie Taylor mysteriously vanishes, the Bunting Valley Police Department begins a kidnapping investigation that uncovers unthinkable crimes spanning many years—not only in Bunting Valley, but also in surrounding states and jurisdictions.

Bea Miller is a penniless widow, living a meager existence among the town’s residents with her four young, rambunctious boys. Her entire life, she wished and dreamed of having a little girl of her own. When everything she did to have one of her own failed, Bea takes matters into her own hands and is haunted and reminded of the chilling words of her father, whom she can’t seem to escape no matter how hard she tries.

Through the handwritten journal of Bea Miller, she takes you on a journey into the mind of an individual who believes you can make your own wishes come true—at any expense; and sadly, at the expense of others.

Here is the book trailer if you are more of visual person: 

Book Trailer - Be Careful What You Wish For

My second book, Not My Mother's Son, is a continuation of book one.  It picks up where the first one left off.  The reason I wrote the second book was because I had so many fans asking me what happened to the characters and I thought the best way to tell it was to write another book.  This one was released in 2012.

                                               NOT MY MOTHER'S SON

             Devious.  Conniving.  Deceitful.  Insidious.  David Miller thought he knew his mother.  He thought kidnapping three children was the most appalling and horrendous thing any human being could do and she couldn’t possibly do anything more monstrous.  He thought there was nothing else she could do or say that would astound him.  How wrong he was.

After Beatrice Miller, David’s serial kidnapping mother, is sentenced to thirty years, David Miller moves to Phoenix, Arizona and with the help of a trust fund and an old friend, starts the Never Give Up foundation, an organization dedicated to finding and returning exploited and missing children safely to their families.  With all the bad things his mother had done, David feels it is his unspoken duty to do something worthwhile.

           

Hesitant at first but after reading his mothers journal, David is determined to mend their dysfunctional relationship.  Every time David visits Bea in prison, she comes across as deranged insisting people are trying to kill her.  She ends each brief encounter with a chilling statement, “Remember David, things aren’t always what they seem.”  What does that mean?

            As word about the foundation spreads, the services the Never Give Up are requested time-and-time-again to help where other agencies have failed.  That is, until the police come knocking on David’s door and arrest him, taking him back to Bunting Valley, North Dakota, for the murder of a newborn baby boy. 

Forced to shut down Never Give Up, David is amazed at how quickly the entire world turns their back on him.  The trial begins and his mother’s testimony is the only thing that can save him.  Telling the truth is as foreign to Beatrice Miller as giving up drugs is to an addict.  As everyone in the courtroom holds their breath, you will too…remember, things are not always what they seem.

Again, here is the link for the book trailer: 

Book Trailer - Not My Mother's Son

My third book, Reflection in a Mirror, is not a story about the Miller family, but several of the characters from the first two books make an appearance.  And I can say without them, book number three would not have happened.  I don't have the cover yet but should be getting it any day now.  I will make sure to share it when I do.

REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR

Identical twins, Clarissa and Marissa Wagner have more in common than their looks; they share a connection that allows them to know what each other is thinking and to feel each other’s pain; a connection that has astounded doctors, teachers and other professionals their whole life. 

A much anticipated three day weekend turns tragic when Marissa Wagner never makes it home from school.  Each time Clarissa looks in a mirror, she is reminded that Marissa is gone and feels like the other half of her soul is missing.

June Wagner, their single mother has put her life on hold to raise the twins.  She is distraught over her missing daughter and butts heads with the Sergeant assigned to the case.  Why aren’t they doing more?  What is taking so long?  Why is he so good looking?

Hours turn to days, days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months as they attempt to find a witness or a clue that might guide them to where she is.  Although a long shot, the only hope is the visions and feelings a clairvoyant Clarissa Wagner has.  With the help of David Miller, Rich Butler and “Never Give Up” they piece together clues that shock even the most skeptical.  Along the journey, David glances in the mirror and realizes he is no longer alone.

When you look in the mirror, what is staring back at you?

There have been numerous reviews posted and blog musings and press releases about me and my books.  Google R. K. Avery sometime when you have a moment and check them out.  In the meantime, follow me on twitter at @RKAvery1. 

Have a wonderful day!

R. K. Avery

www.rkaverybooks.com

@RKAvery1