Jeannie Zokan: A Writer's Cup: April 2021

Friday, April 16, 2021

Welcome, Team Courage!

If you're reading my blog for the first time, chances are good it's because you are a member of Team Courage, and you've accepted my invitation to receive "The Writer's Cup." Welcome! I'm glad you're here! And just in case you didn't get the email, Team Courage is a group of wonderful people who have supported me in one specific, but hugely important, way: writing a review on Amazon for The Existence of Pity. I'll be forever grateful!

Over the past eleven years, I've posted 106 blogs (it averages out to less than ten per year, so it's not likely I'll flood your mailbox!) and they have covered a range of topics. Most of them are about my writing path to publication, but I've thrown in some general posts, book reviews, and some interviews along the way. There are some guest blogs, too!

Here's a link to one of the most popular blogs: Our Marriage Revisited

You can also check out the series of ten blogs about my trip to Colombia to visit my parents, who moved there because of my mother's Alzheimer's. It starts here: Colombia Part One

I started another series last year, but it was cut short in April because of Covid. Blue Jean Yoga

Thanks again for visiting my blog! I hope you enjoy it! The big news on the horizon is the release date of Courage Without Grace in paperback. I'll keep you posted!

Courage Without Grace

Josie Wales doesn't need her palm reading skills to know her lover is seeing someone else. It's time to end it, but she's been with Tom for seven years. And there's something--someone--she needs to tell him about. That secret keeps pulling her back, but this time she's determined to break it off.

To find the courage to end the relationship, Josie seeks advice from new acquaintances. But she somehow manages to make an even bigger mess of her life. When Jack, Tom's twin and her childhood friend, comes to DC to reconnect, he helps Josie get her feet back on the ground.

Just as Josie is beginning to resolve the chaos in her life, a tragic secret from her past comes back to haunt her. Before she can move forward and have a second chance at love, she must face her grief and loss.

With characters that leap off the page, Courage Without Grace is a poignant novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

The Existence of Pity

Growing up in a lush valley in the Andes mountains, sixteen-year-old Josie Wales is mostly isolated from the turbulence brewing in 1976 Colombia. As the daughter of missionaries, Josie feels torn between their beliefs and the need to choose for herself. She soon begins to hide things from her parents, like her new boyfriend, her dangerous trips into the city, and her explorations into different religions.
Josie eventually discovers her parents secrets are far more insidious. When she attempts to unravel the web of lies surrounding her family, each thread stretches to its breaking point. Josie tries to save her family, but what happens if they don't want to be saved?
The Existence of Pity is a story of flawed characters told with heart and depth against the beautiful backdrop of Colombia.