It gets busy now. The work for a book launch feels never ending.
Right now, I’m working on gathering reviews from readers (always), from trade sources (usually), and through book awards (sometimes).
Anyway, the publication date, November 17, 2024, falls on my mother-in-law’s birthday. She passed away in 2010 and would be ninety-nine-years young. Since this memoir deals as much with her son, Bob (the hubby), as it deals with me, it feels like an honor to have the book come out on her special day.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I love what Susan Wingate writes. She can be so dark yet touching and funny. She is such a special writer. Her latest story The Heartbreak of Time Travel is brilliant, rich—so powerful and interesting, smart and caring.” ~Marilyn R. Atlas, film manager/producer and co-author of "Dating Your Character"
"Written as autobiographical fiction, Susan Wingate's thinly veiled memoir looks at love and loss through the lens of life's ever-ticking clock. Heartbreaking and funny, tender and raw episodes of the past, present and the future, then back again, this story will slay you." -Sumi Majens, Spirit Counselor
"The story left me with the clear understanding that the afflicted one is only part of the equation in prolonged, debilitating illness. It gave me a glimpse of an ultimate pressure test on the vows - when one is faced with making good on the nuptial fine print "in sickness and in health" so perfunctorily pledged when all is well. It makes me think of that line between duty and devotion and how one could be forgiven for, at times, questioning their own conviction." ~DC, Beta Reader
"A masterful job of capturing the feelings of caregiving a loved one with a foregone hopeless outcome." ~IO, Beta Reader
"One thing about Susan Wingate's writing that consistently strikes me is its love. Between the characters, certainly, but more so it's her love that comes across to me. For the characters, the stories, and the deep love she carries just as a person. And her joy in the telling. The way she keeps up with it while dealing with some really difficult personal circumstances flummoxes me." ~MW, Beta Reader
To protect my beta reader identities, I have used their initials. They are some of the best and most generous people I know and I am so grateful to have had them read my work when it was unedited, raw and definitely not publishable. Thank you all so very much.
To Sumi Majens, Wow. Just, wow. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If I were to write it myself, I couldn’t have asked for anything different.
To Marilyn R. Atlas, you send me. Darling. You absolutely take my breath away with your kindness, forthrightness, your energy, your travels, your talent, your life’s work in film and movies. That you have said such kind words about my writing—not just for this book but over the years—sends me straight to the moon. I may never come down to earth.
BUT WHAT THE HECK IS THIS STINKIN' BOOK ABOUT?
To those of you who have no idea what my book is about, I’ve included the blurb below as well as my short bio. Maybe after reading the blurb, you will be intrigued enough to give it a read and if you do and you’ve enjoyed it, maybe you might give it a review! Anyway, I sure hope so.
BLURB & BIO
Snuffy Cod is the alter ego and soul caregiver for her dying husband... okay... stop. He does die but sometime in the future-a future she visits on and off, along with popovers to the past and present. Snuffy's visits occur in fits and starts via some perceived time travel portal. She embarks on these excursions several times throughout the day, hour, minute, second-sometimes simply during a thought. Nothing more. Nothing less. Is it escapism? Of course not. Don't be silly. Pshaw! Meanwhile, her husband remains bedridden, unmoving upstairs on an excruciatingly slow slide to death-death by molasses slick. Or is he? If Snuffy Cod can remain in the past, even the present, might she prevent a future and thereby prevent his impending death? THE HEARTBREAK OF TIME TRAVEL is a brutally honest deep dive into dementia, caregiving, hope, grief, but mostly love.
THE HEARTBREAK OF TIME TRAVEL is categorized as a literary memoir. The story twists actual family events into quips about dementia, depression, and suicide all due to the trials of caregiving of a family member with a brain malfunction. THE HEARTBREAK OF TIME TRAVEL looks at the raw yet sometimes amusing side of death and dying. Written in short, punchy segments THE HEARTBREAK OF TIME TRAVEL is an unforgettable and meaningful true story written as under Susan Wingate's pen name, Aja Mie.
Susan Wingate holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lindenwood University. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have been published in journals such as the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Superstition Review, and Suspense Magazine, as well as others. Susan's novel, How the Deer Moon Hungers received eight book awards. Susan is a proud member of PENAmerica, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Susan Wingate writes about big trouble in small towns and is the primary caregiver of her husband who suffers from frontotemporal dementia. They live off the coast of Washington State on San Juan Island.
Thank you and God bless you all. ~Susan Wingate
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