Saturday, February 4, 2017

"SPOTLIGHT" Author Blog Tour!! of The Rave Review Book Club


The RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB is a proactive group
of readers and writers, that I strongly recommend 
all might consider joining

Today I am participating in their
"SPOTLIGHT" Author Blog Tour!!

Spotlighting author 
Suzanne Burke
Australian author of
Acts of Betrayal
and many other titles






Suzanne is going to share some intimate insight into herself and her writing.


SPOTLIGHT BLOG #1

Hi, and thank you so much for joining me here today on the first stop of my Rave Reviews Book Club 'Spotlight Author Tour'. Please join me in thanking my awesome host.
Today I want to share with you a part of the reason I write.

The Hopes and Dreams scattered amongst the Cracks and Crevices that are me.


It's a strange title for a post, isn't it? But that is what I'm compiled of. A mass of hopes and barely explored dreams, all vying for attention and hoping like hell not to slip through one of those cracks, or become wedged and immovable from the depth of the crevices.

At times a seething snakelike coil of unexpressed frustration and anger surfaces to be plunged back firmly beneath the veneer of acceptability we all need to possess in order to survive.

Can we survive without compromise? Oh, yes, we can survive, but in refusing to compromise, we can restrict our ability to truly live the time that fate grants us. I have needed to compromise my hopes by reducing my expectations, until, over time; the hopes have resurfaced, but in modified form. Because I had made them more attainable, and by extension less likely to show me the bitter disappointment of my failure to live up to my own versions of, Can do, Must do, Will do, and Try but can't do.

BUT NOT IN MY WRITING.

Here I can be free of all the bondages of remembered pain and disillusionment, or the freedom-hampering legacy of disability. I let them escape into the safety of a character yet to be written.
Ah, yes ... my creations; I can admonish and astonish them, move them, and flay them raw with emotion.

I can let them retaliate, fully aware, prepared for, and willing to accept, any consequence that their retaliation may bring in its' wake.

I can permit them to feel the shattering soul changing taste of new love; I give them over freely to explore and bathe in its wonder, and to lay stunned and barely breathing, whilst awaiting its slowly evolving demise.

They can laugh too loud and too long, or in some cases not at all.

They can find their own sad movie to cry over and recall with a smile, and a shake of their head. They take on with gusto the life I have granted them, they live it and see it, taste it and smell it, and they die, or they grow.

They have faults and fantasies, often combined. Good and bad coexist hand in hand within the body I have borrowed to house them. They can be unconventional, patriotic and proud, losers and winners, or simply disappear without color into the crowd. They are resourceful and brave, or broken and bent, damaged or soulless ... or simply exhausted and spent.

I have granted them existence so I can survive.

By doing so, I have resuscitated my hope, and given form to some of my dreams.

It's all a question of balance between the reality of the one and the unfettered joy of the other.
How glad I am that I do this crazy, exhilarating, terrifyingly glorious thing. This freeing, dominating, amazing thing, we call writing.

Thank you for being here to undertake a part of this journey with me.

Suzanne Burke lives, laughs, writes and enjoys her life in the beautiful harbor-side city of Sydney Australia.

She is a mother and grandmother, now in her sixties, and considers every moment of every day as a precious treasure to be valued and explored, and not simply endured.

Her non-fiction works are written under the pen-name of Stacey Danson.

They are both challenging and thought provoking works covering the earliest years of her life, the topic of child abuse and the PTSD that accompanied her into her later years  are not, by virtue of their subject matter an easy or comfortable read, yet so many have read them. She will be forever grateful that her readers have assisted in raising the awareness into this painful and enduring evil.
An awareness that is vital in any efforts to stem this tide of inhuman acts perpetrated on the most innocent of us all … the children.

She escapes into the world of fiction in her thriller and suspense novels, continually exploring other genres such as paranormal and dystopian, and always delighting in the magical escapism offered in the written word.

She is an avid reader and reviewer who enjoys sharing the works she explores.

Follow Suzanne online:
Twitter handle - @pursoot

Website - https://sooozburkeauthor.wordpress.com/

30 comments:

  1. So much about life is balance. Work-life balance is now even a common subject in the business world. Balance allows us to grow, to change. Your post is thought-provoking. Rebecca Carter, writing as Ronesa Aveela.

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Rebecca. Balance does indeed allow us to grow, and to change. It is we that need to grant ourselves the permission to do so.

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  2. You write so beautifully, so powerfully, Suzanne - truly deserving of the title "SPOTLIGHT" AUTHOR! I hope you have a wonderful week of adventure and support!

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    1. Oh, John thank you so very much. That is huge compliment and I am honored by it. I'm excited and so looking forward to the week ahead.

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  3. I loved how you expressed why you write. You said it so beautifully, "The Hopes and Dreams scattered amongst the Cracks and Crevices that are me." I look forward to the rest of your posts this week.

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    1. Thank you for such a kind comment, I look forward to seeing you over the next week. This is such an exciting time.

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  4. Soooz - you're living proof that writers are like the very finest of wines. The more we drink in life and all it's experiences, the better we get! :-D But it's the mark of the truly courageous being to admit and accept personal adversity and imperfections and sculpt them into positives with creativity and imagination. You are that person, and I can't think of anyone who deserves this recognition from our favourite literary community.
    Have a ball m'dear - I'm looking forward to knowing you a little more every day this month! :-D

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    1. Jan, thank you so much. Every time we catch up with each other it feels like I'm sitting down sharing a coffee and laughter with a good friend.

      So, the coffee is brewing or tea if you prefer it, and I'll see you tomorrow. xo

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  5. You have a powerful writing voice, Suzanne. Congratulations on your Spotlight - so deserving! All the best.......

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    1. Thanks so much, Gwen. I'm so excited and delighted to be here.

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  6. A great post to start off your Spotlight month, Suzanne! Congrats on the exciting win!! Thanks to you, Scott, for hosting her on her first day! ~Mar

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    1. Thanks, Mar. You set the bar very high with your tour last month. Every post was so varied and entertaining. It's such a pleasure to be included in such a talented list of 'Spotlight' authors.

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    2. Thanks so much, Suzanne! Your tour has been such a delight!! Thank you for entertaining us and sharing with us! :) ~Mar

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  7. Congratulations on the Spotlight honor, Suzanne! I am truly happy for you.

    Thanks for hosting, Scott!

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    1. Thanks so much, Beem. I appreciate you stopping by.

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  8. Great post, Suzanne! Writing can be so therapeutic.

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    1. Hi and thank you for stopping by, Michelle! You are absolutely correct, it's very therapeutic. I get to kill off all the angst, and some of my characters ... and what's more its legal! lol.

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  9. Congrats on being this month's spotlight author - best wishes with your blog tour.

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    1. Thanks so much for making the time to stop by, Wendy. I appreciate the support.

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  10. Outstanding, Soooz. Congratulations on your Spotlight Honor honor. Thanks, Scott for hosting

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    1. Hi, and my thanks, John. Your support is always so much appreciated.

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  11. Soooz, you are so deserving of the Spotlight Honor. You open up your wounds and show us what strength looks like. You have mastered the challenge of overcoming the bad stuff. You are an example to us all giving us the ability to move on. Nice blog post and thanks for hosting this Scott.

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    1. Jo, how kind you are. I haven't yet earned my 'Master's Degree' in the overcoming the bad stuff department. But I sure do study hard. lol. I'm so glad you stopped by.

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  12. I know I left a message here a while ago, but I can't see it. I have checked, Suzanne and I have your book on my Kindle. Congratulations on your tour.

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    1. Hello, Joy, I appreciate you making the time to pop back in and comment again. I'm delighted that you have my work waiting to be read, and look forward to hearing your thoughts when your busy schedule allows.

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  13. Such a beautifully written post, Soooz! You truly capture the penetrating, powerful force of writing. Beautiful. XO
    Thanks for hosting, Scott!

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    1. Forgive the lengthy delay in responding, Natalie! Thank you so much for your kind and very generous comment.

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  14. Great post, Sooz. I just now found out it as your spotlight time due to illness, hospital and all that junk. I am going on your whole tour today. Hope you had a great time!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Micki. I am so thankful that even though you are ill, you have made the time to stop by and comment. I can't tell you just how moved I am by that wonderful support.

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  15. ux design is so perfect.
    I like it and lt make me feel confortable.

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