(1888PressRelease)
April 23, 2007 - In the wake of modern day life, soul survival is a topic in the minds of many. With so many of us tired and battered, it is hard to find renewal. With so many problems and tales of the day to day life flying through us in text messaging and our Televisions, we forget about the kind parts of the human condition. We forget about the need to appreciate people, to be forward thinking and straight forward and compassionate with as many people around us as possible. Concern for people not in our circle of friends and family abounds. How do we cope with neighbourhoods in crisis? What would each of us do if faced with such an opportunity to change things? Would we find the strength that is needed to rekindle and renew our efforts as compassionate human beings? These are the questions that we think on as we read through Kate Rizor’s new novel ‘The Governor’s Wife’.
In August of 2004, Kate Rizor faced the possibility that after eight years, this novel was not going to get to publication. The submission process was endless. Eight years before, Rizor had once put writing on the back burner in her attempt to keep the bills paid. But then things changed when she met a man from her high school who was battling a rare form of cancer. She was a newspaper reporter at the time and was covering his fundraising event for local newspaper. He died before the fundraising event could raise enough for the experimental surgery. This chance encounter brought Rizor back to her dream of writing and having a novel published. She wanted the novel to inspire people. After eight years, she found a publisher for her novel in Stargazer Press, an independent book publisher.
Her new book, (Stargazer Press, July 2006, $15 U.S., 16 Canadian for a soft cover) is the story about a couple who are on the verge of a split. The novel opens with Tanner Thornburg rehearsing to ask his wife for a divorce. It is obvious as readers join the character through the painful restaurant scene that andra, his wife, is a piece of work. S he’s rude to the wait staff, scortching in her words and appears to have been brought up with a silver spoon lodged in her throat. He manages to get it out at last and for a brief minute, there is a hint of the woman behind the horrible manners. But it fades and she stomps out of the restaurant, only to be kidnapped soon after. Ten years go by and Andra, now Andie is living on the streets of Detroit. The scenes of just simple struggles to get medical care or cough syrup bring readers to the streets and make them ask what they would do in the same situation. How can people survive? Who do they lean on? What do they do to get through the endless days and nights of coldness and disjointed stays in shelters? Worse yet, she doesn’t have a clue of who she is.
A chance meeting with a police officer then sends her back into the life she used to lead, the life she doesn’t even remember and to the man who is now the Governor. The journey toward one another is remarkable as both characters strive for soul salvation. Andie clings tenaciously to life on the street, battling fear, mistrust and judgement, pulling herself along with her determination even when she doesn’t know where it is going to lead her.
The Governor’s Wife is a fascinating tale with amazing leaps of faith, life lessons and ultimately soul salvation for the main characters, a peace that meets within them. This novel is an inspiration to many readers, and motivates others to keep trying no matter the circumstances, to also remember that life may have inescapable circumstances but there are many different ways out. It also reminds us of the need for kindness as we make our way through the world. This novel renews what we have lost in day-to-day life.
Kate Rizor’s novel is available at www.amazon.com, www.stargazerpress.com and www.katerizor.com to name a few, as well as fine book retailers in Canada and the U.S..
Stargazer Press, July 2006, Soft Cover, $15 U.S., ISBN-10: 0973494085
