It’s my pleasure to introduce a good friend and fellow Golden Heart® finalist, Cathy Perkins. Cathy’s debut romantic suspense, THE PROFESSOR, was released as an ebook last month. She and I have been comparing notes on what it means to keep pace with other authors and the fast-paced competitive world of online sales. Have you heard that phrase “Jonesing?” As in, “keep up with the Joneses?” Well, Cathy put a new spin on it for me. Read on to learn about her and see what she’s giving away.
Quiet Persistence
I should tell y’all a little secret: Amy invited me to be a guest because of the beavers. I think her actual words were, “How many people can write a sentence including the phrase, did battle with the beavers over the height of the pond?”
I’m in Amy’s WritingGIAM group and, yes, that was part of my weekly recap.
Perhaps I should back up a bit. We recently bought land in the mountains that included a stream-fed pond – the pond courtesy of the beavers. The pair of beavers was pretty happy with the status quo. They gnawed on trees, killing the ones they didn’t topple, and hauled the branches into the pond for food or to add to their lodge.
From our perspective, the pond was an eyesore. Branches, leaves and other unidentifiable stuff clogged the shore and channel, clouded the water and encouraged huge algae blooms. We were less than thrilled.
Once we hauled away the collapsed barn (another story for another day), I started in on the pond. I raked out muck, pulled mountains of sticks and carried rocks to line the entrance. The water quality improved and I was thrilled when baby trout started hanging out.
The beavers retaliated by raising the height of the dam a foot, effectively flooding the back meadow. So Hubby notched the dam. This pattern continued for most of the summer. We’d leave Sunday evening with water sluicing through the cut and return on Friday to find a plastered over outlet. We’ve reached an uneasy détente, reflecting the persistence on either side of the equation.
Persistence applies in the rest of our lives, too. It’s mid-February. How are you doing with those New Year’s Resolutions? I’ve managed to lose a few pounds but the WIP that will not cooperate still isn’t done. I’m plugging away. One thing I’ve learned from the beavers is quiet persistence does work.
Thanks, Cathy! Curious to hear if any of our readers have ever found themselves “competing” with their neighbors, co-workers, other parents or siblings. Feel free to leave a comment and chat with Cathy about her woodland experience and her new book. Cathy will give a digital copy of THE PROFESSOR to one randomly selected commenter. We’ll post the winner as a comment on this post, Sat., Feb. 18th so be sure to leave your comment here by end of day Friday.
Info about the Giveaway Book: THE PROFESSOR is available from Carina Press and other online retailers. A killer targeting women on South Carolina’s college campuses sets his sights on a woman who hasn’t asked for anyone’s help in a long time. Now her life depends on it. Learn more about Cathy Perkins and her writing on her website or Facebook. You can follow her on Twitter at @cperkinswrites.
