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maryinflorida

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first registered 05.05.09

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about me

I'm on a long hiatus from reading/commenting on this site. However, I return once a day to glance over messages and or backings, and I generally (but not always) reciprocate a backing in kind.

I have a book for sale on Createspace.com and Amazon.com:

"A Farm Near Frohna: The Story Behind a Missouri Century Farm." www.createspace.com/3470177

As non-fiction, it's both social history and family history/genealogy that spans about 200 years, following a group of religious zealots who left Germany in 1839 and immigrated to the United States.

Here on Authonomy, my novel "Liminality - The Fox Woman's Child" (complete at 108,000 words) was written in response to my visceral reaction to the enchanting Tunnel of Ten Thousand Torii located at Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine near Kyoto, Japan. This psychological allegory is an examination of the consequences of war, racism, and religious elitism on familial relationships presented as a Japanese-style ghost story with plot twists in the manner of traditional folklore and mythology.

Target audience includes women aged thirty to sixty and readers who appreciate:
Psychological realism (Hosseini’s "Kite Runner");
Mother-daughter relationships (Tan’s “Joy Luck Club”);
Artist-inspired period pieces (Chevalier’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring");
All things Japanese (Golden’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” and Hearn’s "Kwaidan")

My avatar is a portion of "The Fox-woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child," a woodblock print by Tsukioka/Taiso Yoshitoshi from his series "New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts." Descriptions of the artwork called "Fox Woman" by Naikan Yomigaeru contained within "Liminality" are based on this blockprint.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and spent a year researching Japanese culture and history while writing the book after twice visiting Japan.

*****

Notice: My second book on this site "Terry Trackhoe Goes Missing" was made private on March 17, 2010. I plan to selfpublish it sometime this year and will leave a message on this page when I've done so.

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Self-publish with CreateSpace

my books

Liminality - The Fox Woman's C....

M. L. Miller

Jasmine O'Dale precariously bridges two cultures with her looks, her heart, and her destiny.


Race riots and fear condemned Detroit in 1967, and those cultural influences took their toll on Jasmine's family. Against the odds, she and her Japanese mother Kitsune both developed their full potential as photographers. Following Kitsune’s untimely death, a clash of wills drove Jasmine and her American father Jasper apart as they became enemies and lived estranged for thirty years.

She rediscovers her mother’s lost photographs and diaries. Haunted by mistakes of her youth and seeking redemption, she visits her dying father hoping to reconcile and unravel the secrets of his postwar marriage to Kitsune at Fushimi Inari Shrine near Kyoto, Japan. To banish her guilt, she works to produce a retrospective show of her mother’s art and travels to Japan to bury her ashes.

Reality blurs between past and present as she hikes the enchanting Tunnel of Ten Thousand Torii. Carrying her mother’s diary, she relives formative moments from her 1960's childhood, images from the reel of film that was her life. Only in Japan will she learn the truth – only in Japan will she discover on which side of the limen she stands – and unwittingly set into motion events that will lead to her own death.


 

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markhenderson wrote 455 days ago

Hello Mary, I'm glad you found such a resonance in Ishiguro's book....

markhenderson wrote 458 days ago

Hello Mary, Thanks for your further comment. I'm gratified that yo....

markhenderson wrote 460 days ago

Sorry - being verbose again - message continues... "An Artist of t....

markhenderson wrote 460 days ago

Hello again Mary, It was lovely to hear from you. I notice you've ....

markhenderson wrote 461 days ago

Hello Mary. I find it dispiriting to see "Liminality" falling in the ....

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I wrote 199 days ago

K.Z. Freeman, Your “Starforger” is set in a future where the rich get richer and genetic engineering guarantees they will continue to do so. Your Prologue is intriguing with an authoritative woman smoking a cigarette (nice twist on the typical gender roles here) tells the administrator that she ... view book

I wrote 199 days ago

Ana G. Ram (LOL - Miss Anagram – Ha!) Your “Snowflake” promises to be 21st century topical as the crime of identity theft via the internet makes headlines almost daily. It opens with a prologue as Congressman Leo Clark and a mystery man in a gray suit discuss the dead body of Senator Harper laying... view book

I wrote 201 days ago

Scott Boddie, Title of your “Esrevinu Chronicles-Secrets of the Elephant Rock” raised my eyebrows. Whoa, I thought, is this guy from Missouri? Elephant Rocks State Park is quite a sight and a wonder to explore. Have you been there? Now, on with your pitch. Oh, my - vampires? Apocalypse in 2012? Dea... view book

I wrote 203 days ago

Frank, Your “Sicilian Shadows” intrigues me because my husband’s ancestors came from Sicily in 1905 to the USA. I’ve done genealogical research on them, watched them from across the dining room table, and marveled at their obviously genetic bravado and the whackiness in their relationships with one... view book

I wrote 204 days ago

Suzanne, Your “Line ‘em Up” opens with a bank scene wherein three tellers practice their line dancing footwork, unbeknownst to the queue of patrons who await the opening of the bank. It’s a very clever bit – a funny way to introduce the obsession, the unrelenting lure this must have on your charact... view book

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