THOMMA LYN
GRINDSTAFF,
author of “Heart's Chalice”, talks about “ALTERNATE
REALITIES”
Let's ponder the notion of alternate
realities. It's a heady idea. Alternate realities are speculated upon by
physicists, and they make marvellous fodder for stories, whether books,
television, or film. I'd venture to guess that a significant percentage of the
popular old Twilight Zone episodes related to alternate realities.
Who hasn't wondered, in looking back on the
twists and turns making up her life path so far, what things might have been
like if she had taken, at a crossroads long ago, the right path instead of the
left? The middle path instead of the right? The path whose sides were sprinkled
with wildflowers instead of the path whose sides were piled up with rocks?
When you combine the lure of alternate
realities with the regret of love lost, it's strong stuff indeed. So many
people experience that poignant tug from the past, of the One Who Got Away.
Maybe it comes up in your dreams, or maybe even in your waking thoughts.
It doesn't mean that the paths you've
actually chosen are wrong. Perhaps your path suits you just fine, and you feel
you're exactly where you need to be. Truly, it's my belief that wherever you
are is where you need to be. If it's a difficult place, then it is possible to
learn from it and move farther down to a point on that path where there are as
many wildflowers as rocks.
No matter how your life has turned out and
continues to turn out, though, there's a powerful urge to wonder, “What if?”
and to contemplate how different life might be if you had said yes to that man
you loved years in the distant past, and perhaps also to contemplate how much
of your life might even be the same. It's human nature, I suppose, to speculate
whether or not the grass in the field of another choice would have been
greener. And a wonderful outlet for these speculations is fiction.
In fiction, anything can happen, and it often
does. In fiction, a woman can be shaken to her heart and soul by the
possibilities of a crossroads which she has regretted for many years opening up
to her in the now and presenting her, again, with a choice. And the question
would be, as it would be for any of us if such a thing happened in our real
lives, what would we do? Would be choose to leave the “nows” that we know in
favor of new “nows” that reflect the different direction we wish we'd taken?
If I've learned anything in my life, it's
this: things change, and the ripples from our choices perpetrate themselves in unexpected
ways. What we think was the right choice often doesn't turn out so well, and
what we think was the wrong choice is actually the very best thing we could
have done in order to learn and grow and get better at loving and caring for
ourselves and other people.
So... right path, wrong path. Wildflowers or
rocks. It's a good thing to know when to stop and admire beauty, but climbing
over obstacles can be a handy skill, too. The world needs it all, so perhaps
the ultimate answer is, “Who knows?”
“HEART’S CHALICE”
by Thomma Lyn Grindstaff
OVERVIEW
As a young woman, Laurel misinterpreted a
psychic vision, causing the death of her first and only love. She has lived
with guilt ever since. Two decades later, struggling to free herself from a
toxic marriage, she's pulled to an alternate reality where her beloved still
lives. There, she's the dead one, and he and their children are grieving for
her. When she tries to contact them, they think she's a ghost or a product of
their wishful thinking.
She desperately wants to remain in her family's reality and connect with them. By enjoying a long, happy life with the man she loves, she can rectify her mistake and free herself from her guilt. But she's running out of time. Every shift between realities damages her body further. And her soon-to-be-ex will stop at nothing to shackle her to a life she despises.
She desperately wants to remain in her family's reality and connect with them. By enjoying a long, happy life with the man she loves, she can rectify her mistake and free herself from her guilt. But she's running out of time. Every shift between realities damages her body further. And her soon-to-be-ex will stop at nothing to shackle her to a life she despises.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thomma Lyn Grindstaff gets some of her best ideas
when hiking in the mountains. She's both a novelist and a freelance writer.
She's also a musician: a classically-trained pianist, singer-songwriter,
guitarist, and composer. Other passions include studying philosophy, science, and
spirituality. Last but never least, she's a cat wrangler. She shares her home
with four Ballicai (also known as cats). If you could sum Thomma Lyn up in
three words, they would be Artist, Seeker, and Adventurer.
PURCHASE LINKS
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hearts-chalice-thomma-grindstaff/1106736612?ean=2940013301184&itm=4&usri=thomma+lyn+grindstaff
AUTHOR LINKS
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