A review and an author visit with Jonell Kirby Cash

A Ring, a Dance, a Second Chance by Jonell Kirby Cash
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jonell Kirby Cash's love story picks up Katie and Taylor's romance right where it left off, their senior year of high school. However, Katie isn't the same girl Taylor remembers. As a widow, she values her independence, living alone, and making new friends, and when Taylor calls Katie she is on the threshold of exploring herself in the larger world. Taylor, ever the old-fashioned man, is surprised by the new, vibrant Katie. The two must learn how to rid themselves of their old memories and expectations and learn to accept the fifty years of change that has taken place.www.dyeingtolive.blogspot.com

View all my reviews WOW! Where do I begin? This book goes so in depth, I felt as if I was Katie -- Katie's husband passed away a couple of years previous. Katie gets a phone call one day from a high school boyfriend, Taylor. Taylor would like to visit with her. Both of them have had marriages, spouses both deceased. They both have had good lives, kids, grandchildren. Would it be wise to reconnect? What will happen after that? All these questions running through their minds. Will it be like it used to be between them? Another person has the hots for Katie as well. Her daughter's Pastor. Ugh! He is creepy. You will love reading all the sides and seeing what happens with Katie and Taylor. And why Reverend Fullerton is so creepy in my opinion! What will their kids reactions be if they decide to see each other? Can you ever really find love after being married and your spouse dying? Jonell left it open for more to come, so I foresee another visit with Katie in my future! I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me great insight to Jonell too I believe Katie is probably quite a bit molded after her! Bravo Jonell, fantastic debut! _______________________________ * Is “A Ring, A Dance, A Second Chance” based on your own life? Certainly the story line was based on an a real incident (see brief bio) and my target audience was based on self observations, the changing expectations we have for our lives and our extended life span; however, the story is a melding of ideas, beliefs, experiences--observed and lived. Thus it is fiction. * Who is your favorite Character? Katie was my favorite character because I identify with her: I saw her change from a woman who never quite stepped out of the shadow of her husband, nor did she totally let go of the cultural expectations that helped define her. Taylor’s call brought excitement and energy into Katie’s life, and also a fear that letting him into her life again could be disruptive. Katie made the decision to see Taylor, because she wanted to; however, she also continued to express her independence by letting Taylor know what she wanted and she redefine what it meant to be a wife. This was a learning experience for Katie: she realized that whatever she did meant change. In the story, when Katie embraced change she gained a sense of comfort and competency and was able to assert her preferences, raise issues, and take equal responsibility for the decision she and Taylor made as a couple. * Have you always wanted to write a book? I have authored academic books and published academic materials but I had never written a novel—but had always “dreamed” I would. When I started this novel my main interest was to learn how to write a novel, to understand the creation of characters, and find a story that, when written, could depict truth more clearly than reality. Writing this novel was a labor of love, a learning experience and total enjoyment. * Do you have plans to write more? Now that I have this first novel written and am in the midst of book event and interacting with the reading public, I’ve enjoyed another phase of the writing process and I keep learning about myself. I’ll keep following my passion, so at this point I am beginning to think about writing a sequel, and I’ve been asked to do so by quite a few individuals who have read my book. Brief bio of Jonell Kirby Cash: Dr Jonell Kirby Cash, a highly recognized author in the academic fields of Psychology and Counseling, is now retired, and at age 82 her first novel, A RING, A DANCE, A SECOND CHANCE (Tate, 2011), resonates with older readers whose lives were once cluttered with people--and now live alone. In 1999, widowed, and in her 70’s, Jonell sold her residence and bought a new home with an eye for being comfortably situated as a single parent of adult children; she enjoyed her work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer; she lived alone, but still felt married--though she acknowledged that independence had its own rewards--then, out of the blue, her high school sweetheart , Tom Cash, called (Tom was widowed—he was looking for a wife. Because Jonell had moved, Tom had trouble finding her and he was fearful that he was too late, this time around. Tom made his plan and fears obvious when, first thing, he asked Katie if she was involved with someone --or married). Jonell is now busy with book related activities. Please visit www.jonellkirbycash.net for more information and to leave messages. Three things I learned from writing this book: 1) Viewing the experience as a whole, I learned that writing a novel in my senescence (I’m 82) was as easy—and as difficult—as writing a publishable book length document at any age. . One of the interesting experiences I had as I wrote this novel was that I dug deep and used my own feelings/reactions to identify with and feel, and then describe what was going on. In that sense, I was my own lab. 2) “Show, don’t tell” was the most difficult concept I gleaned from the advice of successful writers and teachers; also, “show, don’t tell,” was the most valuable concept that I struggled to master. 3) Finding a story idea from my own developmental issues and creating characters to tell the story was an amazing and enriching experience. My developmental issues were those common to women approaching midlife: this story captures the emotions of Katie’s and Taylor’s reunion, more than forty years after high school. As they revisit their sweet memories of first love, and flirt with the fantasy of what might-have-been, the two widows fan the embers of love and talk about the possibility their future stretching out into a couple more decades and they worry about the reality of what it means to their adult children for their parent to pursue a significant relationship and create a new family. Sincere Thanks, Jonell Kirby Cash