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.
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?).
I saw this painting many times throughout my childhood; the black person’s eye is open and the white person’s eyes remain closed.
I thought, if she painted it today, the white person’s eyes would be open too; bearing witness to the reality our black friends face.
So I asked her: If she painted this design today, would she change it?
She surprised me by saying that she would’ve painted both sets of eyes closed — hopeful that the day that black people can shut their eyes and enjoy a moment of peace and relaxation is on the horizon.
Art may be subjective but — whether you imagine Dixie Foxton’s design with eyes open or closed — I hope that humanity stands together until both interpretations are realized and become commonplace.
Thanks for letting me share your work, Mom.
Amber Green is a self-published Canadian author and freelance writer. Her short stories can be found here: www.amazon.com/author/ambergreen
