A Killer’s Grace follows Kevin Pitcairn, a New Mexican journalist and recovering alcoholic, on a journey to understand the concepts of innocence and grace after receiving a letter from Daniel Davidson, a convicted serial rapist and killer.  What starts seemingly as a thriller quickly becomes a treatise on the nature of these topics, challenging the reader’s understandings thereof alongside Pitcairn’s own struggle, while tying in a very nuanced discussion of religion.
 
I, personally, had some issues with the book—for starters, it is revealed early on in the story that, years ago, in an alcohol and drug-fueled frenzy, Pitcairn killed a man and was never brought to full justice.  While the character struggles with it and tries to reconcile that act through his work toward bringing understanding to Davidson, it’s just accepted by his girlfriend and Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor as something that happened.  In fact, it’s so accepted that his girlfriend takes Pitcairn yelling at a dog as more of a threat of violence than his dark past.  Perhaps I’m bringing a personal bias against murderers into my reading of this book, but I can’t shake this overwhelming acceptance of manslaughter as being horribly unrealistic. 
 
The larger issue is more with the overall message of the book. Pitcairn’s eventual thesis is “violence begets violence,” a hard pill to swallow for me because, while I understand and even readily accept it, it still seems a bit dismissive to the actual crimes.  Chapman, in his defense, repeatedly tries to reconcile this by saying that, while the cause of the transgression may be other violence, the offender is not without fault; essentially, it’s not a question of innocence, but one of causality.  However, this focus on causality disconnects Pitcairn from what actually sent him on this journey of understanding.  Although Pitcairn’s eventual article on Davidson references some abuse, the killer himself doesn’t bring any up in his initial letter, instead blaming his mental illness and associated biology that caused him to act in such a way, proven by the fact that he no longer has such gruesome urges after anti-androgen treatments.  He wrote to Pitcairn in an effort to spread the word of his disorder, and instead of the article sparking a discussion on the role of mental illness in horrendous crimes, it becomes focused on the thesis of violence begetting violence, with only passing mentions of biology as a source of causality.  In that sense, Davidson is done a disservice in favor of Pitcairn’s search for his own absolution.
 
This is a story that stays with you, and the fact that I was able to write 200 words strictly on my thoughts of how causality is presented in the novel is proof of that.  I’d recommend this book, even if it were only to have someone with whom I could discuss it fully.

Elizabeth Seratt is a child of the Deep South, but upon graduating from Ole Miss in 2014, she made an ill-advised move to Santa Fe, where she had no job and no friends.  It worked out: she now works as a social media coordinator and occasional freelance writer, and she has enough friends to throw cool theme parties.  

She enjoys books, travel, horror movies, green chile, beer, playing outside, taking too many photos, and spending time with her cat.  You can follow her adventures on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elizabethseratt/), or enjoy her snark and love of memes on Twitter (https://twitter.com/elizabethseratt).

A Killer’s Grace is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.

Paperback: 240 Pages
Genre: Fiction/Spirituality
Author: Ronald Chapman
Publisher: Terra Nova Books; 2 edition (September 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1938288750
ISBN-13: 978-1938288753

Thursday, September 15th @ Bring on Lemons with Cathy Kwilinski
Cathy Kwilinski reviews Ronald Chapman's A Killer's Grace.
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Friday, September 23 @ Renee's Pages
Tange Dudt reviews A Killer's Grace by Ronald Chapman; find out what she had to say after reading this highly acclaimed novel!
http://reneespages.blogspot.com/

Rebecca's new book "Waver Rider" will be published early 2017.

"Creating and writing Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s from concept to publication has been a three year long journey that has been full of technical, creative, personal and spiritual growth."'
​- Francie Healey  

​This book has been an avenue for all kinds of learning: how to deal with obstacles, how to have a strong voice, how to advocate for what really matters to me, how to compromise, how to relate concepts to readers that educate and empower, how to be brave, which is also, how to be vulnerable.

I couldn’t have persevered and succeeded without my team, my family, and the support of friends and mentors.  And even with help, there are some moments that must be walked alone, that really are about the growth we yearn for on a very deep level.  I believe any creative project or risk we take, anything that feels like a leap of faith into the life we hope for, will bring about situations where we need to confront our own shadow.  In other words, taking action towards a meaningful dream will lead us along a path that must address the inner places that had been previously holding us back.  For example, it had been my habit, formed very early on in life, to surrender my voice and defer to another’s authority, even if that other’s viewpoint differed from my perspective or need.  When I was faced with the opportunity to go back into this old habit and sacrifice my own vision for the book, for what another proposed it should be, I had the chance to become more conscious of this temptation and to choose differently.  I am happy to say that I used that opportunity to speak up and advocate for what I wanted for Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s, and was very well received.  Of course that scenario had nothing to do with anyone else, and everything to do with me, and what I personally was learning from this creative process.

From my perspective, addressing this level of psychological and spiritual growth was essential for the writing and publishing of Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s to continue moving forward.  Even as I was refining my writing, researching and organizational skills, I still needed to address the deeper growth opportunity for this experience to be successful in a way that was aligned with my own vision and needs.

​"There were, and are, many levels operating when we pursue a project like a book, and especially I think, a first book.  My experience all the way through was a bit like a juggling act, constantly moving parts that needed tracking and attention, while always holding the whole picture in mind."

Researching for Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s opened up so many paths that it was important to stay focused on what needed to be in this book, versus what would overwhelm it.  I really wanted to have rich research-based content that would ground the premise of the book for readers; so they would know why I used the ingredients and recipes I did and what was happening in their bodies from the foods they were eating.  Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s is based in science and good data.  I want my readers to have access to that information so they feel empowered in their decisions around food.  As we looked into all the research, it became clear that this is an abundant and emerging field, so it was necessary to contain the information we gathered, and bookmark areas for later research and writing projects.  Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s has been an incredible project that has meant a lot to me personally and professionally, and it appears to be just a starting point for more to come.  As I continue to learn and grow, I am inspired to continue sharing what I am discovering about healing and wellness.
And now that Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s is published and in the hands of readers, I am really delighted to have made such an accomplishment that will also serve as a stepping stone to even deeper dives into this area of brain health and overall wellness.  I couldn’t have sustained such a project if it wasn’t a passion of mine: bringing good information to people and helping clients and readers to awaken to the potential they have, right now, to make significant positive changes in their lives.  On the other side of publication, looking back, I am grateful for the process, even the rigorous challenges, which only served to strengthen me as an author.  I trust that Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s will offer readers valuable insight and healing because it certainly did that for me in the writing of it.

There is something very powerful about bringing an idea into form.  To make a concept, that begins somewhat as a fantasy, into a reality is a birthing process.  And like birth, it is hard and messy, and takes a lot longer than we think it is going to take.  Moreover, it is transformational and humbling and very tender to put something that is precious to me (like healing with foods and empowerment with education) into form and out into the world.  At times the pull to protect my idea and keep it safe appeared to be in conflict with completing the book and getting it out there.  So much of the journey has been about surrendering and trusting.  I think that is why Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s feels like a beginning to me, rather than the end of a project.  Writing it has stirred up so much passion, curiosity, and inspiration to continue learning and writing and being a voice for wellness.  I had to constantly surrender any fears that would push me towards perfectionism, control, and worry.  Fear does not serve the creative process.  Instead, invoking trust in the writing, and my life, helped the book take form and become clear.  As much as my vision for Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s was important to me, it was not about controlling the process.  Allowing the book to unfold, and using my vision as an anchor point was the way I was able to move along the trajectory and eventually finish the book for publication.  Writing, for me, is a dynamic process that synthesizes all the points vying for attention and wanting to be heard.  It is important to honor each voice, or each point, allowing room for all, while holding the gestalt so that everything eventually flows within one stream, accentuating the underlying message of the project.  For Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s that is a message of hope and empowerment.  It is a message that I had to live and breathe as I wrote the book.  Infused within the content of Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s, is the grit required to put one’s health as a priority and the courage it takes to awaken to our inner authority, which knows how to take the rein and steer each of us on a path of true vitality and wellness.  Ultimately, disease is not inevitable, though death will come.  We can all continue to awaken to our innate worthiness for health.  Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s offers a lot of tools for turning in this direction, for choosing into life more deeply and honestly, by putting our needs, physiologically and otherwise, first and foremost.

Overall, I think any creative process can be a metaphor for living life.  Bringing forward authentic expression about what we care about, what we love, and who we are is indeed, a recipe for health.  Eat to Beat Alzheimer’s is infused with the many layers of healing and wellness, from the nutritional basics and biochemistry, to creating a mindset of openness and kindness, to instructions for cooking and creating health with foods.  As I move forward as an author and a health and wellness professional I am excited to continue exploring each layer more intimately, and sharing my explorations with the world.   

In Once Upon a Lie, a story of the Eighties, my two principal characters seem as different as the Americas they live in—one in a white and privileged enclave in Los Angeles, the other a Texas town with walls to climb if you’re poor and black and have the ambition and talent to escape.  Their paths cross and a relationship as complex as their differences begins to bloom.   Jaleel and Alexandra (“Alex”) deal with societal problem as well as the personal ones they make for themselves. I hope readers of the novel can relate to their struggles and impulsive judgments, even when we react by thinking,  “no, please don’t do that!”  Their lives twist and turn like ours, and realistically not everything ends up tied in ribbons.  But life lessons are real.  Jaleel and Alex even have their own Facebook pages, their interweaving stories continuing in the present, picking up where the book leaves off. ​

Jaleel and Alex even have their own Facebook pages, their interweaving stories continuing in the present, picking up where the book leaves off. I chose Facebook  as a storytelling platform because while a book does end, a story can and should continue if you like the characters.

I’m looking forward to  watching the CNN series on The Eighties, a dissection of an important decade of politics, culture and technology.  I’m sure I will spot parallels to the society and  the challenges we  face today.   Understanding  history, as many of us learned in school, is the first step in not endlessly repeating our blunders.  ​

Post by A. Tucker

Santa Fe, New Mexico is a city known for its art and artists but the creativity doesn't stop there. Santa Fe is is also a city with authors around every corner. We are fortunate to live in a locale with such creative talent swirling around us and we know it. Their literary efforts are recognized around the world. From writers of fiction and non-fiction to screen plays our town helps create what people are talking about all over the world. 
Here are three recently published local authors.