Sharon Gerlach

Sharon Gerlach was in training to be a ninja, but a dismaying lack of physical grace and balance—not to mention the inability to keep her big mouth shut—ended her ninja career before it really began. Now she writes. She doesn’t write about ninjas because that’s obviously a sore subject. But she writes about other really cool things and figures someone else will cover the ninjas. Life’s really not all about ninjas, anyway. Sharon lives on the dry side of the Pacific Northwest with her husband (who must really be fond of her as he hasn’t left her yet despite her ninja failings); her kids and grandkids (none of whom possess ninja qualities either); and two cats. Yes, you guessed it—ninja cats!

Website: http://sharongerlach.com
Twitter: @SharonGerlach
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sharon-gerlach/1b/1a8/536
Blog: http://sharongerlach.com

http://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Gerlach/e/B0050706S4/

abduction    abusive husband    affair with married boss    angels    best friend romance    black magic    blackberries    blackberry house    burning books    chef    clumsy heroine    contemporary romance    cube farm    cursed    demonic torment    demons    devils mansion    estrangement    evil castle    fallen    fallen angels    fictional software development company    forgotten memories    frannie freeman    friendship    grace    harper lyttle    haunted house    hooks up with the bad guy    in love with married boss    kidnapped    life inside a cubicle    love    magic    malakh    margaritas    memory loss    murder    mutation    neglectful mother    no filters    office politics    paranormal    plague    possession    postapocalptic    postapocalyptic    precognition    redemption    relationships    revenant    romance    sarahjane quinn    science fiction and fanstasy    seattle    secret dreams    selfworth    serial murder    sexual assault    sharon gerlach    shot by spouse    software training specialist    spokane author    stalker    tequila    the other woman    the revenant chronicles    torn between two men    unhappy childhood    witchcraft    zombies   

• In Leah's Wake on June 26, 2011
  (no rating)
  This story was superb. This could just as easily be titled "Deconstructing the Perfect American Family." Giuliano Long creates the perfect storm in this family: take an already strained marriage suffering the long-term after-effects of infidelity, the colossal parental mistake of living vicariously through your children and pushing them toward your own unrealized goals, and a rebellious teen unable to handle the pressure, hellbent on racing toward every unhealthy thing she can, and you have this book. Having been a rebellious teen, and having raised a rebellious teen, this story is dead on. When you hear about someone's child spinning out of control, you don't think about the ripple effect. You simply see the destruction the child is wreaking in his or her own life. But the effects throughout an entire family--sometimes even through an entire community--are far-reaching, and Giuliano Long captured that aspect perfectly. There are no perfect people in this story who did exactly the right thing at exactly the right time, every time. Instead, there is a flawed husband and wife, both trying to stay faithful despite the tremendous stress of their daughter's behavior, trying to stay patient, worried out of their minds. There is a younger sister, as different from super-athlete Leah as she can be, desperate for her sister's approval, desperate to make her parents see their mistakes, desperate to hold everyone together. And then there is Leah herself, the anti-heroine, her logic tragically unsound, colored by immaturity and angst, whose splash in the rebellion pond causes a tsunami through her entire family. I think every parent should read this novel--whether you're through your teen's rebellion and undergoing triage, or whether you're in the midst of your own perfect storm. And if you plan to be a parent, read this first. It's a succinct guide of what NOT to do.