I’ll be signing my book, The Cast Net at the Reinert LePrince Art Gallery this Sunday, March 11 from 2 to 5. Check out this link! http://susanlucas.typepad.com/secondsundayonkingstreet/
Author Archives: milliewest
Why Did I Write The Cast Net?
My novel, The Cast Net, has recently been released. Several people who have read my work have asked me what inspired my writing.
I have wanted to be a writer since I was in college. One of my favorite professors, David Danow, encouraged me to write, but told me you have to live awhile and experience life to write effectively. I think he was correct. Thirty years later, I sat down to write The Cast Net.
At first, I wanted to create a mystery/suspense novel, but as I developed the characters they started to explore present day social issues that I consider very important. My characters deal with situations of domestic violence, and overcoming the bonds of poverty through education.
I worry that in present day America there is a lack of unity among us. The Cast Net is a story of individuals reaching out with kindness and support, without passing judgement on one another for their differences. Something we should all strive for!
The Cast Net Available on Amazon.com
I spent the weekend publicizing my novel, The Cast Net, in Charleston, South Carolina. Hopefully, all the new contacts will lead to future sales! The Cast Net is now available at Amazon.com Please use this link: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0079JYTMK
The Cast Net has been released!
I’m thrilled! The Cast Net is now available through the Boutique of Quality Books website at www.boutiqueofqualitybooks.com More details on where to purchase the novel to follow!
The Cast Net to be Released February 2012
I am excited to announce that my novel, The Cast Net, will be released this month. More details will follow soon!
Theodosia
The Cast Net is set in Charleston County, South Carolina in the late 1980s. I have woven the history of a tragic figure from American history into my novel. Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of Aaron Burr, and wife of South Carolina governor, Joseph Alston. Burr was Thomas Jefferson’s vice-president, and notoriously notable for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
During the War of 1812, Theodosia mysteriously disappeared at sea while on a voyage to New York from Georgetown, SC.
Most of the action in my novel takes place in a fictitious town named Alston Station, which I named after Governor Joseph Alston. There is also a sophisticated sailboat, named the Theodosia, which is partially owned by one of the significant characters in my book. Like her namesake, the Theodosia, also disappears. I hope you’ll read my novel to find out her fate!
Getting Published, Not An Easy Task!
The Cast Net took me approximately three years to write. I had been a real estate broker, running my own company. When the real estate market slowed, I began work on my novel. Last fall, I queried a number of literary agents, but the response was ‘not for me.'” I can’t count how many times I was turned down. Some agents don’t bother to respond. One literary agent took the time to tell me that my manuscript was too long. I took the next several months reducing the novel, line by line. When I was happy with the reduced manuscript, I began the query process again. Fortunately for me, the South Carolina Book Festival was being held in Columbia, SC, and I attended some of the events. I met a publisher from Atlanta, Terri Leidich, with the Boutique of Quality Books that was interested in reading my manuscript. I was thrilled to be offered a contract with her publishing company. I would tell any new writer to try many avenues to get published, attend book related events, and don’t give up! 6DJWP3V3FTQY
Protection of Nature in The Cast Net
In my novel, The Cast Net, there is a theme devoted to the deep appreciation of nature and the need to protect our natural resources. These principles are personified through the character, Cooper Heath. I would like to share a quote by poet, E.E. Cummings: “I thank you God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes.”
The Cast Net Synopsis
When Mills Taylor, a talented New York advertising agent and artist, accepts a job as the director of an educational scholarship foundation in Alston Station, a town near Charleston, South Carolina, she never imagines that her new position will launch a year of living dangerously. Her boss, Cooper Heath, is as socially conscious as he is handsome, but not only does he have a missing wife, some people think he made her disappear. The Cast Net chronicles the year when Mills plunges into a socially unfamiliar world of Southern money and power in the late 1980’s. As she helps him to cope and seek the truth behind his wife’s disappearance, she learns the deeper meaning of “the cast net” and why it has been embraced by generations of Low Country residents. The Cast Net is a compelling and engaging novel about roots, a sense of community, trust, betrayal, redemption, and especially–about love.
Civil War History in “The Cast Net”
The Cast Net is set in the late 1980’s, but is historically connected to the Civil War period of American history. While researching the history for my novel, I read numerous books that explored Civil War battles, the politics of the period, and addressed individuals who played significant roles during that time period. Continue reading
