Have you ever met someone only to find you were both in the same place at the same time years before you ever met? Set in the San Francisco Bay Area during the turbulent 1960s, Parallel Lives follows the destinies of two people—a mute girl and a reckless boy—who have nothing in common but their mutual fascination in their seemingly random meetings. Now, as adults, before they can set out on their own, first they each must find and confront the unforgettable and mysterious other. What if each of us is promised one wild and precious someone for a lifetime? What if to seize this true love first both parties must undergo an arduous and dangerous journey separately? Would you? Billy Wayman Wolf lives with his maternal, Potawatomi grandmother in the San Joaquin Valley. Punished for mouthing off and his petty thievery, nonetheless, Billy becomes an expert at talents that later prove disastrous. When he is twelve, he is sent to downtown Oakland where his mother lives in a flat over the Drop-In Club. Maj Hawthorne—four years younger than Billy—is the beautiful and silent daughter of country club privilege. She lives with her parents and Swedish-born grandmother in the East Bay foothills at Great Oaks, their generational family estate. Pressed by her grandmother to speak or be destined to live by her looks alone, she struggles to use her voice after an unspeakable betrayal and then later while suffering a brutal horror. Maj and Billy’s lives converge for the first time along a forgotten highway when Maj is seven and Billy is eleven years old. Though they come from opposite worlds, when their eyes meet, they know one another in a profound and certain way. They meet again three months later, and each knows in their own way that the meetings are not accidental or luck but fortunate and intended. Deftly interweaving the lives of Maj and Billy at pivotal historic events – a roadside accident, a Santana concert for farm workers, Caesar Chavez with Robert Kennedy in Delano, the Native American take-over of Alcatraz – Parallel Lives illuminates the ways, against all odds, two people are destined for each other. During these brief encounters, they touch, they kiss and they break each other’s heart as the currents of their lives bring them together and pull them apart, again and again. Until, finally, nothing is ever the same. Parallel Lives demonstrates that our chances for love and happiness are never truly over or used up. Success hangs on readiness and timing. This coming-of-age love story about parallel lives, the power of communication, and the redemptive fire of love set against a time of cataclysmic change was written for fans of mystery, San Francisco in the 1960s, fashion, magical realism, destiny, fate, romance, politics, transformation, suspense, and intrigue. The idea for Parallel Lives came to me soon after I met my husband nearly 40 years ago. As we got to know each other and fall in love — for me, at first sight — I was captivated to discover how many places we'd both been at the same time and long before our first meeting. Intrigued by the notion of how, if we’d met at one of those earlier moments, we likely never would have fallen in love and ended up together — the timing wasn’t right and neither of us were ready — I set to work researching. Having worked on this novel — historical fiction — for more than twelve years, I am thrilled to share Parallel Lives with you. Passionate about weaving imagination and the past to bring history to life, I’m especially excited about history that is rarely told. In this historical novel, I invite you to experience how Maj and Billy’s lives implode during the wild migration of people from all over the United States and beyond who poured into San Francisco, stuck flowers in their hair, and saw only their dreams of the place.

Parallel Lives ((A Novel))

Romance

Alderson, Martha

Historical

Illusion Press

Set during a time marked by social upheaval and dissent, foreshadowing our current civil protests for justice, PARALLEL LIVES A 60's Love Story is a tale of class, the power of communication, and the redemptive fire of love. Experience the 1960s San Francisco Bay Area first-hand through the eyes of a mute girl born into wealth and a loudmouthed Native American boy whose paths cross at pivotal historic moments in the 60's as the country was splitting apart -- a roadside accident, a Santana benefit concert for farmworkers with Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez breaking his hunger strike with Robert Kennedy in Delano, an autoworkers' nationwide strike, and the Native American takeover of Alcatraz. During these brief encounters, Maja and Billy touch, they kiss, and they break each other's hearts without ever knowing the other's name as the currents of their lives pull them apart, again and again. The story of Maja Hawthorne and Billy Wayman Wolfe, haunted by each other and the lessons they must learn to be united, is a 20th century bicultural coming of age romance novel about the redemptive fire of love during an unprecedented time marked by the assassinations of three political lions, an unpopular war, and growing civil unrest with strikes, protests, and marches demanding an end to the Vietnam War, and equality and justice for Native Americans, Blacks, women, farmworkers, and autoworkers. PARALLEL LIVES A 60's Love Story demonstrates what happens when we push past conventional expectations toward cataclysmic change. While PARALLEL LIVES A 60's Love Story is a work of fiction, several well-known historical figures appear: *Carlos Santana *Dolores Huerta *Jimi Hendrix *Robert Francis Kennedy *Cesar Chavez Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional from the author's imagination and not to be construed as real, nor intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work, although the author has tried to keep as historically accurate as possible. In all other aspects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. Set in the San Francisco Bay Area during the turbulent 1960s, PARALLEL LIVES A 60's Love Story follows the tangled destinies of two people who have nothing in common but their mutual fascination in their seemingly random meetings. As adults, before they can set out on their own, first they each must find and confront the mysterious other. Told from alternating points-of-view, Maja Hawthorne and Billy Wayman Wolfe come from opposite worlds but when their eyes meet they know one another in a profound and certain way. Each of them, separately and in parallel, fight against social expectations, their private longings, and ultimately who they are for who they will become. Circumstances pull them together and challenge them to demonstrate their readiness for the other, their one true wild and precious someone. Their flaws spin them apart. This historical novel illuminates the ways, against all odds, two people are destined for each other, and demonstrates that our chances for love and happiness are never truly over or used up. Success hangs on readiness and timing.

PARALLEL LIVES A 60's Love Story

Literature & Fiction

United States

When it comes to writing bestsellers, it's all about the plot. Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down--but you don't have to be one of them. With this book, you'll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers--one scene at a time. Celebrated writing teacher and bestselling author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that's as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you'll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to: 
<ul>
<li>Use the power of the Universal Story </li>
<li>Create plot lines and subplots that work together</li>
<li>Effectively use a scene tracker for maximum impact</li>
<li>Insert energetic markers at the right points in your story</li>
<li>Show character transformation at the book's climax</li>
</ul>Filled with dozens of exercises and examples from both classic and contemporary novels and best-selling authors such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and many more, The Plot Whisperer is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners filled with conflict and suspense that sell!

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master

Reference

Words, Language & Grammar

Adams Media

Turn lackluster plots into irresistible stories! When it comes to writing bestsellers, it's all about the plot. But creating a captivating storyline that mesmerizes your audience until the very end is easier said than done. With thousands of engaging books on the shelf, you'll need to set yours apart by developing unique scenarios that leave readers wondering what happens next. In this writing workbook, celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson covers everything from constructing spirited action and compelling characters to establishing an unforgettable ending. Packed with Scene Tracker and Plot Planner templates for you to fill in for your own unique story, she also walks you through the development of a successful narrative with exercises that: <ul>
<li>Help build suspense, tension and excitement</li>
<li>Create multi-dimensional characters</li>
<li>Integrate theme and meaning</li>
<li>Incorporate effective subplots</li>
<li>Tie up all the loose ends</li>
<li>Keep the reader turning pages</li>
</ul>Filled with multiple exercises and examples from both classic and contemporary novels and best-selling authors such as The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley and more and with essential advice and writing exercises, The Plot Whisperer Workbook will quickly become your go-to guide for crafting a tale worthy of the bestseller list!

Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories

Daily exercises guaranteed to spark your writing! The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts gives you the inspiration and motivation you need to finish every one of your writing projects. Written by celebrated writing teacher and autho

The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

Take a Deep Dive into Plot and Scene and Improve Your Writing Whether you're planning your first novel or have already written a first draft, you need to master the concepts of plot and scene to truly realize your story's potential. Writing Deep Scenes teaches you how to write strong, layered, and engaging scenes--the secret to memorable, page-turning plots. It's filled with practical tools for building layers and nuance into your scenes, employing the right scene types at the right junctures, and developing a profound understanding of how plot and scene intertwine. Inside you'll learn: • How scenes are comprised of three key layers: action, emotion, and theme. • How to recognize each layer and weave them seamlessly into a scene. • How to develop an intricate relationship between the action and emotion in every scene. • How thematic imagery embedded in scenes increases a story's tension and contributes to the story's meaning. Using contemporary examples from a variety of genres, Writing Deep Scenes provides an effective method for plotting at the scene level. Use these techniques and enrich your fiction and memoirs with page-turning suspense and pathos, and explore new depths in every story you write.

Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, and Theme

Rosenfeld, Jordan

Short Stories & Anthologies

Penguin Publishing Group

Plotting a story filled with memorable, engaging scenes from beginning to end can feel like an insurmountable challenge. Having the right plan - and the tools to execute it - can make all the difference. Writing Blockbuster Plots pulls back the curtain on story structure with step-by-step strategies and visuals that turn plotting and scene writing into a no-stress endeavor. In this completely revised and updated edition, the Plot Whisperer, celebrated writing instructor Martha Alderson helps you navigate the intricacies of story with the help of her exclusive Plot Planner and Scene Tracker tools. Using Alderson's effective, accessible techniques, you'll be able to: 
<ul>
<li>
PLOT your story from beginning to end with a focus on dramatic action, the emotional development of your characters, and thematic significance.</li>
<li>
ENSURE that each scene contributes meaningfully to the narrative by tracking the seven essential elements of scene.</li>
<li>
LINK scenes by cause and effect to create a tight, seamless narrative.</li>
<li>
INJECT tension and conflict to keep readers glued to the page.</li>
<li>
TARGET weak areas in your story and learn how to fix them.</li>
</ul>Packed with exercises and dozens of examples from both classic and contemporary novels and best-selling authors such as All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, and many more as well as illustrations of the Plot Planner and Scene Tracker in action, Writing Blockbuster Plots strips the confusion out of the plotting process, enabling you to write an engaging story that deserves a standing ovation.

Writing Blockbuster Plots: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering Plot, Structure, and Scene

By effectively demonstrating the relationship between plot and scene and explaining the art of story design, Blockbuster Plots offers writers proven techniques for creating more focused and balanced plotlines.

Blockbuster Plots: Pure & Simple

Arts & Photography

Performing Arts

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