Whether it’s Happy Valentine’s Day or Happy Galentine’s Day, love is in the air!
While people are preoccupied with love stories and Cupid’s arrow, we’d like to give a special shout-out to those who love us unconditionally year-round — our furry, four-legged family members.
Issue 7 of Second Draft Journals: Love Notes & Paw Prints is the puuurfect journal for pet lovers everywhere. Whether you journal about your day-to-day life and goals, or you keep a record about your fur baby (because there’s just too much to tell if you have to rely on someone else to care for them), we hope that you love the original works of art, the short story, Puppy Love, and the poems about self-care and our four-legged friends. With white and rose-tinted lined pages, this Second Draft Journal is meant to be soothing and sweet long after the Valentine’s Day candy is gone.
We were all heartbroken when news about PS752 broke on January 8th, 2020. I wrote the below work of fiction from the perspective of the black box aboard Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 within days of the tragedy. At the time, searching for the black box was a prominent news story, as the world sought facts amid the shock and confusion.
My condolences go out to the loved ones of those 176 people who perished two years ago today.
Moments in Flight
Whenever they have to search for me, it’s after a tragedy. With no survivors, I am the first thing that they seek to find; they are in pursuit of answers, in pursuit of truth.
I was ejected from my designated spot near the plane’s tail, but I continue to store the information as I had been programmed. I know the truth; I only hope that the information I’ve gathered proves to answer the questions asked in times of despair, shock, and heartache.
As I wait to be discovered, I am surrounded by charred debris stretching further than the human eye can see. The wreckage that is scattered around me in millions of pieces — once unified in the form of a commercial airplane full of people with hopes and dreams — will never be fully recovered.
It always bothered me that my sole purpose as a “black box” (which is a misnomer, as I’m actually bright orange) on an aircraft is to shed light on those last moments before tragedy struck. The information I record and store serves to document the last moments of life for those aboard a doomed flight. It’s a condition of my existence that’s proven to be a tough pill to swallow.
When successfully recovered, my crash survivable memory unit (CSMU) will provide audio recorded from the cockpit and hard data — statistics that are updated second to second — for professionals to analyze.
You need not wait for their analysis because I was there.
I was there when the little girl and her brother begged their parents for more snacks, happy to be on board as they told the people in the neighbouring seats that they had never flown before; I was there to see the newlyweds look at one another with love in their eyes, excited as they took flight; I was there when the university student spoke to the woman travelling home to her husband, whom she couldn’t wait to see.
These wondrous moments were followed by a devastating event that is burned in the memory of those who lived through it; an unfathomable disaster in the lives of those who lost the people aboard my flight; loved ones who would never return home.
I know that their final moments caused devastation and heartache that spread like a virus without quarantine, as friends and family members of those aboard learned the terrible truth. For those grief-stricken people, the ones who have our deepest condolences, their lives will forever depend upon that one tragic moment to define all others: moments that occurred before, in the presence of their loved ones, and moments that occurred after.
I can imagine how these people feel; they’re afraid that their loved ones suffered. But those people need to know that the end was but a moment. They didn’t see it coming; it happened so quickly, I can promise you that.
Allow me to remember the final moments so that you can remember and pay tribute to the many moments I did not witness. Regardless of age, the people who lost their lives lived moments filled with happiness, love, and laughter; so many moments in which they loved their family members and friends, served others, and celebrated successes.
Take it from me, a device whose sole purpose is to record the moments: life is not about the final moment lived, it’s about the many moments that made life worthwhile. Since those are moments I could never record, I hope that your memory will serve as your own emotive “black box” to be reviewed when times are tough and the departed are missed.
Live the moments. They live in you.
If you enjoyed this piece, kindly check outSecond Draft Journalsby yours truly (A.F.S. Green, author and founder of The Write Results and It’s A Go Publishing). If you’d like to join my email list to be the first to know about additional issues and other publications, please do sohere.
Issues Of Second Draft Journals (scroll for links)
Second Draft Journals are created by A.F.S. Green (writer) and Dixie Roach-Foxton (artist), a mother-daughter duo in Ontario, Canada. This series of paperbacks is titled Second Draft Journals because those who will remember the COVID-19 pandemic will likely think of their life in two parts: what happened before the pandemic (our first draft) and what happened after (our second draft).
At the time of writing, the COVID-19 pandemic continues but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Whatever you desire from a journal, I’m confident that we have an issue for you!
Issue 5 of Second Draft Journals: A Dignified Collection
This is a celebratory issue that includes all of the original art and short stories featured in the previous four issues. Printed in vibrant colour, complete with goal-setting and lined pages (white and tinted pages), this journal is perfect for you and your loved ones.
Issue 4 of Second Draft Journals: For The Child In You
Second Draft Journals: For The Child In You (our first black-and-white issue!)
This is our first black-and-white issue. Enjoy the original works of art as printed or colour them in. (Which is great for stress relief!) It has lined pages, goal-setting pages, and blank pages (in case you like to doodle).
Enchanted Outlines (the short story in this issue), explores the secret world of colouring books as the characters in little Easton’s colouring book come to life! It’s for the child in all of us and is great for kids.
Issue 3 of Second Draft Journals: Fly In The Face Of Fear
Second Draft Journals: Fly In The Face Of Fear (our first issue with tinted pages!)
This issue is available in two sizes (8.27″x11.69″ and 6″x 9″). Printed in colour, it is the first one that has both white and tinted lined pages! With lots of lined pages, goal-setting pages, and original works of art throughout this issue, it’s one of our favourites.
Take Flight, the short story offered in this issue follows human and avian characters as they face their fears and an unlikely friendship forms. Fun for kids and adults alike!
The Storytellers’ Compact Size (6″x9″) is available on all marketplaces, including Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, and Japan as well.
Issue 2 of Second Draft Journals: A New Beginning
Second Draft Journals: A New Beginning (Issue 2)
This issue is available in two sizes (8.27″x11.69″ and 6″x 9″). It is printed in colour with original works of art, goal-setting pages, and lined pages for you to journal, brainstorm, and take notes as you please. It’s perfect for the serious writers in your life!
The short story included in this issue reminds readers that Looks Can Be Deceiving (which is its title), as a group of friends examine the snap judgments that they make when they see an elderly lady sitting at a bus stop in their community. Heartfelt and hopeful, you’re sure to enjoy Looks Can Be Deceiving.
Issue 1 of Second Draft Journals: A Time Capsule For Hospitality
Second Draft Journals: A Time Capsule For Hospitality (Issue 1)
This issue is available in two sizes (8.27″x11.69″ and 6″x 9″). Published in the spring of 2021, our first Second Draft Journal was inspired by the plight of small-business owners (restaurateurs, in particular) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If These Walls Could Talk (the short story in this issue) follows a restaurateur and his group of friends that is narrated by the very walls of a restaurant itself.
Second Draft Journals: A Time Capsule For Hospitality is printed in colour, with original works of art, goal-setting pages, and plenty of lined pages to use as you please.
Life is a work in progress. Enjoy your second draft!
A.F.S. Green
Staycation For The Soul: A Collection Of Short Stories
Staycation For The Soul: A Collection Of Short Stories by A.F.S. Green
Female reindeer fight for equality and respect in the North Pole after a multi-generational cover-up is discovered. A masterpiece narrates its journey through time. An atheist talks to God. A premature baby decided when to be born. A mature dog finds a new life after the death of her beloved owner.
In Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories, each story is imaginative and heartfelt. A.F.S. Green’s first collection is for anyone looking for a short break from their day-to-day life with messages of hope that are sure to reverberate long after the last page is read.
*Intended for readers who are 8-years-old and up (at the discretion of their parent or guardian).
Available on all Amazon marketplaces, including Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
The Ties That Bind
The Ties That Bind by A.F.S. Green (18+)
It was unfathomable that Angel would lose her twin sister, Eve, to an underground community in early 2009, but after Eve was attacked, things started to change — quickly.
The Ties that Bind is the premiere novel in a series about sisterhood and friendship, lust and affluence, and control and loss. When a seductive woman and a man with smouldering good looks present the twins with the keys to a world where lines are blurred between tradition and an alternative culture, professionalism and desire, and loyalty and a sexy, taboo lifestyle, which path will each sister choose?
*Intended for a mature audience, 18+.
Available on all Amazon marketplaces, including Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
I’ve started publishing under the pen name, A.F.S. Green (formerly, ‘Amber Green’) and I’m excited to do everything in my power to ‘make it’ as an author (because if not now, when?).
Pre-pandemic, I thought that signing a deal with a major publishing company was my only ticket to literary success, so I started publishing short stories in hopes that I would attract their attention and build an audience while I focused on my freelance writing business. Then COVID-19 hit.
All of a sudden, publishing my own full-length novels was a better idea than to wait for professionals to take notice of my work, so I started writing a novel I thought would be enjoyed by a mature audience (likely adult women).
I turned the short story that started my foray into publishing, Musings of a Masterpiece (which is available in Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories) into a screenplay and my work has been sold and enjoyed by people in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, and Japan. (Which is incredible! Thank you to everyone who has read and purchased my work.)
What’s on the Horizon?
Throughout 2020, my focus has shifted from merely wanting to attract attention from people in the industry to a desire to become a respected professional in publishing as time goes on. (I would like to help other writers as I progress and grow, so I am starting a writers’ group in 2021.)
Though The Ties That Bindis the first novel I published, it’s not the first novel I wrote. I completed my first novel (an untitled work of fantasy intended for readers 16+) in the summer of 2019.
Since we’re in a 28-day lockdown in Ontario, I am focusing on editing and publishing it as soon as possible.
If you’d like to receive updates and special offers as I continue on my journey, please join my mailing list.
I’m sure that you’re familiar with the saying, “Hindsight is 20/20″. (It’s poetic that we are looking forward to leaving 2020 in the dust.) When we reflect on this year down the road, I wonder what the most important lessons will be when 2020 is firmly in the rearview mirror? (That includes lessons from the hard-won and heartbreaking to the industrious and adaptive lessons learned globally, within our communities, and individually.)
This year has initiated a tailspin as many of us have been forced to focus on the urgent matters and what’s before us (rather than reflecting on the past or the distant future) as we struggle to maintain our balance… but (once you’ve adjusted and attended to you and your loved ones’ immediate needs) there’s something special about taking stock in what you want from this life (if you’re able to do so) while remembering that each day is precious.
Pre-pandemic, it was my goal to be a successful author, but I thought it best to build a portfolio (including self-published short stories) slowly that would be attractive to literary agents and publishers down the line.
When COVID-19 hit and we didn’t know what was to come as industries changed quickly and businesses struggled to adapt, I focused on writing fiction that will allow readers to escape the day-to-day grind.
I am pleased to announce that I have two works (Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories and The Ties That Bind, the premiere novel in a series for mature readers, 18+) available on Amazon (and through KDP Select).
Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories
Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories; cover links to listing on amazon.ca
Female reindeer fight for equality and respect in the North Pole after a multi-generational cover-up is discovered. A masterpiece narrates its journey through time. An atheist talks to God. A premature baby decided when to be born. A mature dog finds a new life after the death of her beloved owner.
In Staycation for the Soul: A Collection of Short Stories, each story is imaginative and heartfelt. A.F.S. Green’s first collection is for anyone looking for a short break from their day-to-day life with messages of hope that are sure to reverberate long after the last page is read.
*Intended for readers who are 8-years-old and up (at the discretion of their parent or guardian).
Available on all Amazon marketplaces, including Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
The Ties That Bind
The Ties That Bind; cover links to listing on amazon.ca.
It was unfathomable that Angel would lose her twin sister, Eve, to an underground community in early 2009, but after Eve was attacked, things started to change — quickly.
The Ties that Bind is the premiere novel in a series about sisterhood and friendship, lust and affluence, and control and loss. When a seductive woman and a man with smouldering good looks present the twins with the keys to a world where lines are blurred between tradition and an alternative culture, professionalism and desire, and loyalty and a sexy, taboo lifestyle, which path will each sister choose?
*Intended for a mature audience, 18+.
Available on all Amazon marketplaces, including Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
I’ve started publishing under the pen name, A.F.S. Green (formerly, ‘Amber Green’) and I’m excited to do everything in my power to ‘make it’ as an author (because if not now, when?).
My heartbeat would race and my whole body would shake. I would be out of breath and I’d speed through whatever I had to say so I could sit back down and escape the front of the room. This would happen every time I presented. (And once in a while, it still does.)
I’ve always been a better writer than a speaker. I was aware of this from an early age and actively avoided public speaking opportunities.
In order to combat this, I joined Toastmasters (a non-profit organization intended to develop public speaking and leadership skills) in my early twenties. I loved my original Toastmasters group in downtown Toronto, but life got in the way.
After a hiatus, I rejoined Toastmasters and I have been a member of my club for the past two years.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has existed as an end to ‘the way things used to be’, it also serves as the beginning of a new chapter. In addition to publishing my first novel this month, I will be starting my podcast.
I look forward to providing you with updates on my blogs (The Write Results and It’s A Go!) by the end of the month.
