The Famous NEXT BIG THING!

Once Upon a Time....

In a far away land, Sheri, (AKA: Anne Michaels-my pen name) was tagged by an author’s blog tour. Each author who is tagged has the privilege of answering 10 questions about their current work-in-progress. I am honored to have been tagged by Allison Silver. You can see the link to Allison's blog at the end of this post or you can click her name, but only after you have finished reading my post! I've tagged another author, Jacquelyn Jaie Fourgerel, who will hopefully post her blog on or about October 30, 2012. (Her link is also at the end of this post.) After reading about my “Next Big Thing” be sure to check out the other authors to see what their NEXT BIG THING is.

What is the working title of your book?

The Bard Seeker

Where did the idea for the book come from?

While traveling in Ireland in 2007, I attended a creative writers workshop for 10 days. My inspiration came from castles, green pastures, quiet noise, and lovely people.

What genre does your book fall under?

Realistic Fiction, Adult Drama, Romance and Mystery

What actors would you choose to portray your characters in a movie rendition?

Umm, love this question! I would choose Sean Connery as the wise grandfather, "Earl," and Sandra Bullock  as "Aimiee Cassady," the thirty-something, soon to be divorced, single mother.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Aimiee leaves a violent marriage behind ready to call it quits in life, but enters into a mysterious and frightening weave of lies and deceit as she blindly enters into yet another damaging relationship; but all hope not lost, she comes face to face with a persnickety but wise grandfather in Celtic country, meets the man of her dreams whom she keeps at bay for some reason, and ultimately, finds a way to be truly free.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm leaning toward traditional publishing as I have already gone the self-publishing route with my children's book. Maybe this book will be a blessing in disguise!

How long did it take you to write the first-draft of your manuscript?

I'm still working on it and have been on and off for the past 5 years. It has been long, (trust me) but I am now inspired to finish it finally.

What other books would you compare to your story within the genre?

I would say Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood meets Sleeping with the Enemy meets The Notebook in Ireland.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Well, many things and many people I really need to leave un-named. The funny thing about realistic fiction is sometimes the story lines might not be too far off the beaten path.

I was inspired in Ireland, but continued writing after meeting certain individuals in my life. I am now, ever inspired to finish the book and get it out there. :-)

What else about your book my pique your readers' interests?

Aimiee is a woman who lets her emotions run wild, but her heart is genuine and true. When she discovers a web of lies that if unraveled completely, would put herself and her child in danger, she learns to play life safely, until the moment she can turn misfortune into freedom. 

I was tagged by Allison Silver

http://sssahm.blogspot.com/

I have tagged Jacquelyn Jaie Fourgerel

http://jacquelynfourgerel.com/home.html

Savannah's Delights, Conclusion: Ghosts, Ghosts and more Ghosts

Last Night in Savannah: Yikes! It's a ghost!

Our last day in Savannah, and we had to end with a famous ghost tour. I mean, Savannah is labeled America's most Haunted City. How could we not?  The above picture was taken right outside Clary's, a cafe near one of the squares, not far from Jones Street. This is where our tour began.

After much research, we ultimately booked our tour through Sixth Sense Ghost Tours http://www.sixthsensesavannah.com/. We signed up for the tour that begins at 9:30pm and it lasts about 2 1/2 hours. It is a walking tour, and no children are allowed due to the nature of the stories and the places you visit.

The reason we decided to go with Sixth Sense is mainly due to the many positive reviews we came across. STAY AWAY from the Hearse Tours in Savannah if you want the "real stories." Although it looks kinda fun to be able to ride around in a hearse while they drive by the haunted places, picture opportunities are fairly slim, and the reviews both online and by people we met in Savannah, say it is not worth your money.

I can honestly say that we agreed with the reviews for Sixth Sense. Our tour guide was amazing. It was like listening to a story by a young Vincent Price, and you are allowed to take pictures. The stories are of real places in history- some of the homes are still being lived in (and some are not due to the paranormal activity).

The pics below are some of the places we visited. We visited many places--and I took way too many pics to put into this one post, so I am just going to highlight a couple of places.

Matthew caught orb activity with his camera in the middle of a beautiful park square that is still today, a slave burial ground underneath, and no-one realizes it is there. There are so many spirits caught beneath the cobblestone walkways, but people like you and me have no idea it's there because no headstones remain. It looks like a regular park.

Forsyth Park: In addition to underground tunnels that lead from the Warren Candler Hospital (pics further below) to Forsyth Park, apparently hundreds upon hundreds of slaves were buried beneath the walkways of the square and were left with no headstones. A beautiful park, trees, and benches sit above this unknown slave cemetery.



Look very carefully for the orbs among the tree branches. The orbs are said to be the friendly spirits of slaves past.



The Mercer House:  Where do I begin? And which story to tell? The home originally belonged to General Hugh Mercer, grandfather of singer Johnny Mercer. Due to the civil war, the home construction was constantly interrupted, so no actual Mercer has ever lived in the home. It eventually fell into the hands of Jim Williams.

(Excerpt below from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/mercer_house/1_index.html)

"It eventually came into the hands of the notorious Jim Williams, an antiques dealer who was responsible for saving and restoring around fifty of the town's historic buildings. Willams decided that he would live in the Mercer House. It took him two years to restore it, and thereafter he used the spacious carriage house for his international antiques restoration business.

Millions of readers and movie fans know Williams as the slightly sinister character at the heart of John Berendt's "nonfiction novel," Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which starred Kevin Spacey when it was made into a film by Clint Eastwood. By that time, Williams himself was dead. The reason he gained such notoriety was because of the shooting that occurred on May 2, 1981 in Mercer House, which resulted in the death of a young hustler named Danny Hansford (played in the film by Jude Law)."

Mercer House-The history of murders in the Mercer house is so unique because every person who has lived in the home, has died tragically in or around the home. The particular post the guide is pointing to is the broken post from where a young boy was impaled (pushed off the top of the roof of the house) by an evil spirit that still remains in the home. 






Mercer House- The person living in the home currently is an old woman who is a family member of a young boy who was impaled on the fence post; (supposedly pushed by Danny Hansford's ghost) whom still lives in the house. She was peering out the window in the top right hand corner, from behind the curtain. Because of the publicity and story that follows this house, she wards off anyone from entering. It is said she lives in peace with the spirits of the house.





 



Closer view of the fence post. Apparently, it is said you can stand by the area where the young boy died and feel a cold chill. I felt it. I don't know if it was because the guide put that into my head or because of the ghost stories we were hearing. Either way, it was chilling.



Warren Candler Hospital: If this doesn't chill you, I don't know what will. This was Georgia's very first hospital. It also became a mental hospital. There are spirits that still create so many paranormal disturbances, the police force of Savannah will get called to investigate, and some refuse to go in.

We creeped up the steps and I peered inside. It was chilling and creepy just going up the steps. There are tunnels that lead underground to Forsyth Park--you can tour these tunnels on a actual paranormal investigation if you sign up through this link: http://blueorbtours.com/about/paranormal-investigations-in-savannah-georgia. This group assigns you to a team (much like in the TV show Ghost Hunters) and you become involved in possibly communicating with the paranormal. I'd personally love it, but we just didn't have time this trip. That, and talking to ghosts who died of Yellow Fever or other mental illnesses kind of weird me out a bit. I think I will let Zak Bagons from Ghost Adventures handle them!

Well, that about concludes our brief adventure to Savannah for my 40th birthday. We plan on returning, only next time, we are wanting to check out Tybee Island and all of it's many delights.

Tomorrow, I plan on delving into some educational issues and challenges we are currently experiencing here in Atlanta. If you are ever planning on moving to Atlanta, you may want to heed my advice when it comes to getting your child into a good school. Or do you have a choice?

Tune in to find out!!

Savannah Delights, Part III: Husband's Really do Like Antique Shopping Too!

 

Ok, ya'll thanks for joining me again! I know it is only day 3 of this blog, and for the maybe four people who are reading this, I appreciate your following. You are probably my family, which still makes me feel good, because this way  if I mess up my writing skills or grammar and you tease me later because I am a English teacher and should know better, then I just might praise you for your excellent skills in catching my skillfully placed mistakes. If you are not my family, then welcome! I hope you continue to follow along with my quirky rantings about life. I actually have alot of different topics to write about, but for now, I am concentrating on recent travels.

**Teaser: I will soon be blogging about travel to NYC, the Queen Mary II Transatlantic Cruise from NYC to Southampton, England, London, Bath, Stonehenge, Thornbury, Egypt, and South Africa. Stay tuned next week!

 

 

Husband's Really do Like Antiquing Too!!

Matthew's eyes lit up, he licked his lips, and said, "Baby, oh yes, this will be mine. One day, this will be mine."
(I think he may have some grand ideas for his future Man Room)



So just to catch you up to speed, this is still day 2, in Savannah, GA. The picture above is after our Peach Sangria's and pizza at the City Market where we sang songs with the band that was playing in the middle of the square while we watched kids run in and out of the timed "water surprisers."

(FYI and completely off topic.....I don't really know what to call those water areas that are simple holes in the concrete but they periodically shoot water up and out at timed increments, and kids love playing in them! I call them "water surprisers" because you truly don't know when the water is going to shoot up and out! SURPRISE! You're all wet!)

I have never really had to convince my husband to go inside antique stores with me. He usually enjoys it as much as I do. The caveat to this is of course, the price of things. Our ideas of what is a "good deal" is something we will probably always differ on. We love being able to admire pieces from the past and sometimes, we actually come away with some reasonably priced items. The antique warehouse in Savannah is honestly, the largest I have ever been in. Ever. If you love antique shopping, hit this site: http://www.antiquemalls.com/stores/GA/Savannah.aspx prior to going and you will find your heaven on earth.

The end of the story above is sad. We did not pay the $24,000 for the above bar that would have looked lovely in the middle of our garage (as that would have been the only place to put it). We were short about $23,000 dollars that day. Alas, it is on the list for the day we win the lottery.

After leaving the wonders of antiques empty handed, we decided to go to Forsyth Park.

The Fountain in Forsyth Park

The confederate memorial statue

The park is simply breathtaking. The trees, the fountain, the farmers market, the surrounding mansions, everything. Just a word of caution: upon our arrival to the fountain, there are very nice people who will be making bundles of rose flowers from the palms of trees. For a donation (whatever you want to give them) you can get one. This is how some of the residents of Savannah make their money, so be kind and get one when you see them! In addition, there might be interesting people offering to take your picture in front of the fountain, "for a donation." The guy we let take ours did a ok job, and I gave him a few dollars because he was genuinely chatty, gave us directions and honestly told us he was "down on his luck." Use your own judgement on this--since moving to Georgia, we have been approached many times for handouts between Atlanta and Savannah--it is highly commonplace-more so than I have ever experienced anywhere else.

I am the type who will usually give a dollar here or there. It's just me, please don't judge. But, I have learned that I can't keep that up around here. It happens way too often. As far as Savannah goes, it only happened the one time, and we didn't see it as often as we do in Atlanta, so there ya go, decide for yourself.

Our next destination of the day was the Savannah History Museum (http://chsgeorgia.org/). You can get a discount off the admission price if you buy the tickets from the Savannah Tour Trolley company I recommended on yesterday's post. I highly recommend going to this museum.  You will get to watch a 20 minute movie on the history--like why Savannah was constructed in block tracks, how the girl scouts got started in Savannah, and many more amazing historical facts. Savannah truly is the cornerstone of Georgia's history, so the museum is a great place to go.

The museum itself used to be the Central Train Station, and it was truly difficult to get a picture of this wall mural inside without the tables and chairs, but I did my best.

Another truly breathtaking mural painted on the inside of the museum.

We had no idea so much of Savannah is utilized for so many Hollywood movies. The list is truly endless and as a matter of fact, "CBGB" with Alan Rickman was being filmed while we were here. It seems strange to me that Hollywood producers changed a entire street in Savannah to "look like" the streets of NYC. My question should be obvious: why not just film it on the streets of NYC? Weird. Anyways, the above pic is the actual bench from Forrest Gump--the one Tom Hanks sat on. The sign says not to touch it.

I can't tell a lie. I touched it.

From the museum, we hopped back onto the trolley, which took us back to the riverfront. I caught this picture along the waterway. Not the greatest, but I was on a moving trolley.

Later, as the sun began to go down, we caught this sight:

Aren't the clouds amazing? Just so you know, Savannah is one of the largest shipping portholes along the east coast and in the United States. I had no idea!!

Now, I already talked a bit in my first post about Lady and Son's. This is where we had dinner. I could go on and on about it. YOU MUST GO THERE. Their "hoecakes" are to die for, and no, the name of it isn't lost on me. You should have seen my husband's face when the girl asked him if he wanted bread or a "hoe cake." I'll give you 1 guess at what he picked. I will reiterate though--if you don't get a package deal through the hotel of your choosing, you will have to either wake up early to be one of the first in line to just make a reservation or you will wait in a 2 hr line just to make a reservation! There are no "walk ins" for either lunch or dinner.

To avoid this problem, I  highly recommend the Inn at Ellis Square,  http://www.innatellissquare.com/  the prices were so affordable! For 3 nights, we paid a total of $380, and that included my romantic birthday turn down service, wine and chocolate covered strawberries, and the reservations at Lady and Son's so that we didn't have to wait in the 2 hr long line. Just sayin.

My 2nd night was complete with this turn down service waiting for me--and a birthday card from hubby was the icing on the cake--so to speak!!

Tune in tomorrow for Day 3- our final day and evening in Savannah. I have decided to devote the best Savannah Delight for last--solely concentrating on the Ghost tour we took. I will tell you which tours to stay clear of and which you should definitely utilize if you are up for keeping company with the paranormal, as we are. :-)

Savannah Delights, Part II

Savannah's finest porches, trees, and cobble stone walkways take you back in time--

Everywhere Matthew and I looked on day 2 took us back into a different era. Honestly, not too much is modernized. Given this is the home of SCAD, (Savannah's Creative Art & Design School http://www.scad.edu/), Savannah's University students and the residents of Savannah take pride in preserving the history here.

The photo to the left was a brief shot taken from one of the many trolley rides my husband and I decided to take. I couldn't take pics fast enough though; so my suggestion is this:






1) Buy a full day ticket and take the trolley ride on http://www.trolleytours.com/Savannah/ from beginning to end. They give tremendous military discounts, FYI. But even if you are not military, it is very worth it! You can hop on and off all day, they have room for strollers, etc....The guides are not only knowledgeable, they are usually pretty funny. So you get comedy and a history lesson while they drive. Nice.

2) Make notes of where you might like to return on your guide map-- because later, you can either hop back on the trolley to get back to those places, or, you can walk there. This city isn't labeled "the most walking city" for nothing. The square and block design is still intact and they are small blocks. Not only that, walking keeps you healthy. But I will save my "staying fit and healthy" lecture for later.

3) When you are walking back to certain destinations of homes you just have to see again--and there are many....these are the types of things you get to see!!

So why wouldn't you want to take your time viewing these amazing homes, parks,  and squares of history?

When you are doing all this walking in this humid weather, I will say, you will gain an appetite and probably become a bit parched. Please follow these steps for a successful and filling lunch:

1. Go to City Market Square, and find the grill that has Marilyn Monroe waiting in front for you.

2. Ask for a table outside--you can hear the music of city square and get to see all the happenings of people walking back and forth.

3. You must order their pizza. It doesn't matter which one you get. The pizza is AMAZING. In addition, get the Peach Sangria's to quench your thirst with a "kick." You haven't truly experienced Georgia until you have some peaches, so why not have it in a tasty drink that comes in a mason jar?

4. Sit back, relax, drink, eat, and be merry. Really. This is the only way you can have a successful lunch in Savannah.

Well, this about covers part II of Savannah's delights. I am stopping at lunchtime. Tune in tommorow for antique shopping, waterway stories, and the darker side of Savannah--their ghosts.

Savannah Delights, Part I & New Beginnings

Savannah Delights & New Beginnings

So I hope I caught your eye with the post title, because as you can see below, Paula Dean was so pleased to meet me in Savannah, Georgia! Well, ok not really. The cardboard greeting might not have been all it was cracked up to be, but I got pleasure in at least knowing I was close to Paula Dean by visiting Savannah!! 

I can tell you, that if you are ever in Georgia, you must not bypass Savannah. My husband Matthew took me to Savannah for my 40th birthday, in July, (yep, the big 40 and still looking 20!!) and of course, going to Lady and Son's was on our list of things to do! Good ol' fashioned southern cooking, albeit not overly healthy, but oh so good---you have got to indulge in it just once at least! Lady and Son's is the type of place that forms over a 1 to 2 hr line just to make a reservation for lunch or dinner.

Luckily for us, when my husband booked our package at the historic Ellis Square Inn, the package included reservations at the famous Lady and Son's. But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I? I need to begin a bit further back- before we ended up in Savannah.

So what is Southern Sugar Berries and this blog all about, you ask? Well, this is now my 4th attempt to blog and keep up at it. Really. I am officially committing to it--right now. Southern Sugar Berries is going to encompass Southern living, marriage and family, travel, my classroom escapades, my massage practice, and anything else I am inspired to write about.

Sidenote: I was inspired recently by my sister-n-law, Allison Silver, who like me, loves to write. As soon as I saw her blog, I thought, "I need to get my blog up and running again!" Thank you Allison!!

But before I get into all of Savannah's delights and my family's new beginnings, I think I am finally at a point where I can try and summarize the loss my husband and I experienced over the past two years in Oregon. Which is why, coming to Atlanta, is going to be the best decision we ever made. (That, and well, hubby certainly couldn't turn down the huge job opportunity that presented itself!!)

The Saluto's History in Brief: (Well, as brief as I can make it!!)

My husband Matthew and I have nearly five years together in history- beginning with our meeting in Colorado in 2007, living together and marrying in Hawaii (official date was Oct. 2, 2009, but we had our big family wedding in Matthew's hometown of East Peoria on Dec. 31, 2009). Matthew proposed to me in Sydney, Australia, on top of the Harbor Bridge in July of 2009. We climbed to the top, he got down on one knee, and surprised the hell out of me.

Officially engaged, July 2009, Sydney, Australia

After living in Hawaii for two years, we trekked back to the mainland and began living in my familiar world of childhood- Oregon. Initially, Oregon was where we thought we were going to plant our roots. We had twin girls on the way, Michael was with us full time, and  I was in line for an excellent job with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, so things were looking good. But huge losses came our way. The foundation job was moved to the headquarters in Seattle, teachers in Oregon were being laid off rather than hired,  and I was left floundering a bit (although I did pick up my Master's Degree in Education from Marylhurst and substitute taught), so I am thankful for that. Matthew, had picked up an excellent job, but was laid off by the Dept. of Justice just under the 90 day mark along with other state employees, which threw him into the tireless crunch of job searching again.

But our biggest loss-  was our twin girls; Angelina and Abbigail were taken from us in October of 2010. This really threw our marriage into an uphill climb. The stress was hard. We struggled personally to keep things on track for Michael-which we feel we did an excellent job at, given the losses we were experiencing. Other struggles came our way, (medically for me) to be sure, and personally for Matthew, but I am thankful to report we are both now back on track!

We are now in the process of new beginnings, healing, and a whole new closeness neither one of us have experienced previously.  We have beaten the odds of so many obstacles. Matthew is stronger than he has ever been as a husband and father. Anything that took away from us- is now past. You hear that past? Stay there. Don't mess with this girl!!

This is our family. With renewed faith, we will persevere. Below are a few of my favorite pics--the top being the most recent. Even through our struggle and obstacles, we still made time to smile.

July 2012, Savannah, GA (Papa and Momma Bear!!)

July 2011, South Africa (Papa Bear with stepsons Michael and Alec--one of our many travels I will be blogging about later!!)

May 2011, Disneyland in CA

July 2011, Bath, England (Another travel destination I will be blogging about!!)

Thanksgiving/2 yr Anniversary Trip, Nov 2011 (Bend, OR)

Christmas, Dec 2011 Timberline Lodge @ Mt. Hood, OR (Momma and Papa Bear with Brian, Alec & Michael)
MY WHOLE WORLD!

Savannah Delights: Part One

 

So back to Savannah! How can I describe something so lovely as Savannah? I don't know if I will be able to describe Savannah and give it the justice it really deserves, but I will try! I can tell you, that when my husband and I had to leave to go back to our new home in Atlanta after our fabulous weekend, we both decided that retiring in Savannah just might be our goal! This is how much we fell in love with it- and, we fell in love with each other all over again. :-)

Inn at Ellis Square

Upon arriving at the Inn at Ellis Square, I was immediately greeted by the hotel staff as guest of the weekend!! I had my own sign and everything! I felt like a mini celebrity!

Our room was on the top floor, in the corner- very tastefully decorated and comfortable. I will say that if you ever stay here, make sure you ask for a room AWAY from the elevator though! The only downside to the corner room was that we heard each person getting on and off the elevator into the wee hrs of night. But by the end of each evening, we were so exhausted from our activities that we slept through most of anything you would hear. So, food for thought.

After dumping our stuff in the room, we made our way to the riverfront to eat. We found a cute crab shack that had awesome hushpuppies, shrimp, and of course- crab legs. We ate outside to the tunes of a saxaphone player, and a lovely dinner.

Cobble stone alley's and all smiles along the riverfront!

The Boar's Head along the Riverfront

We continued to explore the riverfront shops, bars, and we even stole some kisses after having some Irish brew!  The history is rich and thick among the streets of Savannah- it was an amazing feeling. We both felt alive.

This is is just part one. Tune in for part two--I will have some excellent recommendations for food, tours, and ghost adventures in Savannah!!