I’m a (Writing) Aunt!

If you’ve read my blogs in the past, you might know that I belong to a writers’ group. A writers’ group can be either a very positive thing or a very negative thing. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that for most people, the experience is positive (although, I’m sure that some people have horror stories).

How can it be negative? you ask. Well, if you get the wrong mix of people, it could get dysfunctional. Like any workplace or party, all it takes is one person to ruin it for everyone else.

But when you get the right mix, it’s a safe, supportive place to nurture your writing. And when you’ve been together long enough, you start to feel like a family. That’s how I feel about my group. And when someone in your group publishes something, it’s like seeing the birth of a niece or nephew. At least, that’s how I see it.

This month saw the publication of one of my group member’s first novel. I am so excited and happy for her. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years and I know how much work she’s put into it. I and the other members of my group helped her work through it and shape it, so to see it finally out there is a proud moment. It’s like I just got a niece (which makes sense, since I’ve always thought of this person like a big sister). And like any proud aunt, I’m going to pimp her and her book here.

Her name is Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin and her novel is called Snare. Here’s the synopsis:

What if the one you call isn’t the one who comes?

When Fortune accepts a housesitting job in brownstone Brooklyn, she becomes embroiled in the building’s grisly history that ensnares the residents and lures back a serial killer with supernatural connections.

Patsy, the apartment’s owner, is keeping secrets. The apartment also has its own secrets that not even Patsy suspects, revolving around the ex-priest who lived there after a failed exorcism. Both Patsy and the former Father Guenther Ives have invited forces that are not what they think. Soon, Fortune is forced to confront both Father Ives and a larger, nonhuman evil.

Doesn’t that sound creepy and compelling? It is. But what I love about Carrie’s writing is that she has such a beautiful way with words. Her characterizations make you feel like you know the people in the story, and her descriptions are exquisite. She creates such a sense of place that you feel like you’ve been there yourself, even if you haven’t.

If haven’t figured it out, I have a major crush on Carrie’s writing. I wish I could write like her. But then, everyone in my writers’ group is talented and skilled—we just all have different styles. I’ve wished at different times that I could write like each and every one of them. But how boring it would be if we all wrote the same way. Every writer has something to offer.

Anyway, if you want to check out Carrie’s book, it’s available HERE.

Congratulations, Carrie!