by Keri Rozansky | Apr 16, 2025 | Blog
Everything has a beginning and an end. My author career will begin once Midnight Splash is published. It will begin a new phase in my life and work. As with any author, the goal is to have enough to sales to start making a living. It will probably start with only being able to pay a bill or two, or start saving for that inevitable “rainy day.”
What will end, is years of uncertainty and doubt that I can do this. I know I can write, I love to write. But putting it out for the world to see is different. It takes a courage I still don’t think I completely have.
The next beginning and ending is the handing off of Midnight Splash to a professional editor. Yes, I’ve self-edited it to the bone, but this manuscript has barely left my sight. It’s time for someone else to have a look. This move begins the editing process, and the end of the writing of Midnight Splash before publication. It has also resulted in another beginning, that of a new work-in-progress (more about that to come).
With this next WIP, there is already a third as well, but that is even further down the line. Beginnings and endings dear readers.
Another beginning and ending is formal schooling. For my son, it began 13 years ago when he was accepted at the private Catholic elementary/middle school he was accepted to. There was an ending in eighth grade when he graduated and said goodbye to the school and the state to head to a new state and a new school. There was another beginning when he started high school, and the four-year ride has been one he’ll always remember. He’s close to the ending of that now, too. His school email newsletter has dates for senior activities like prom, baccalaureate mass, graduation rehearsal, and graduation. The final time he’ll set foot on school grounds as a student will be the day he graduates, another ending.
The next beginning is college. You could call the beginning and end as well, since he’ll be heading back to his home state to attend, so it will end his permanent time in this state.
Each beginning will bring about things undiscovered. Each ending will be bittersweet; an accomplishment to be celebrated and a bucket full of memories to be cherished.
Do you have any special beginnings or endings that have stuck with you? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Apr 9, 2025 | Blog
Hello everyone. My name is Harrison Cleveland and I’m a lawyer in the Glass area. My son and daughters know the young man who was murdered last summer. They went to school with him. My son Josh is on the GHS swim team with Turner Moore, Jay Valentine’s best friend before Jay died. According to Josh, the boys were inseparable. I think my daughter Grace has a crush on Turner.
I suppose you want to know what I know about the murders. Not much. I am not representing anyone involved in the case, and don’t think I would want to. It’s too sad and tragic – so much loss. Like you, I’m following the story in the news, and noticed the sluggish pace at which the investigation is moving along. Detective Ellison is the town’s finest, so I can only imagine the slowed pace is due to running into dead ends and hangups with obtaining data and evidence. He’s not the type to sit on his ass and let the answers come to him.
Since I’m not close to the case, I can’t tell you if there’s anything I would do differently. My son and daughters are doing their best to be a friend to Turner though this tough time. His father is there for him, but Josh spotted the need for support from people of Turner’s own age. I’m proud.
Since I can’t speak much more on the case, I’d like to let you know a little more about me. I have three children, Josh and twin daughters Elizabeth and Grace. I’m divorced from their mother, who has primary custody. I am very active in their lives and love when they get to spend time with me. Josh is Turner and Jay’s age, a senior at the high school, and an avid swimmer like Turner. Although I think Turner’s swimming aspirations are a lot higher than my son’s.
Last year, my law firm was voted one of the top firms in Glass. I have associates who represent clients in family court, criminal court, in civil cases, and even in the facilitation of home sales. My firm is, I guess, full service. There’s not much we can’t handle. However, we work remotely for the most part, and have weekly and monthly meetings in person.
My kids and my work fill my time, and I’m not really interested in anyone, so I stay single. The only place I find women are the courtroom, and they’re either opposing counsel, plaintiffs, or defendants. In my younger years, before marriage and children, I’d made the mistake of dating all three of those kinds of women. With other lawyers I was often at odds professionally, and it followed us into our personal relationship. The other two were just a mess, and as I was working for another firm at the time, got reprimanded. That was enough for me to drop the idea.
When I do have the time, I like to golf, and since we live in Michigan, I enjoy a good day at the lake. My ex and I used to go kayaking while the kids were at summer camps. I don’t know if she does anymore, but I make time for a weekend trip now and again in the summer and early fall. I’ll pair it with camping and head north for the weekend. Sometimes I’ll drag Josh along with me so he gets away from the devices and games for a couple days.
But that’s me in a nutshell. I’m off to do lawyer things. Thanks for listening.
by Keri Rozansky | Apr 2, 2025 | Blog
As I’ve said here before, this is my son’s senior year of high school. With that comes a lot of “lasts.” One of those lasts happened over the weekend: his last end-of-the-year banquet for his drama club. He’s worked on seven of eight shows, even appearing on stage in three of those shows. He’s much happier back stage, moving set pieces or controlling sound. He’s even decided he’ll look into what the drama program at his chosen college is like.
It was fairly informal, but there was formal programming like inducting members into the school’s International Thespian Society troupe and senior awards/gifts, and the more light-hearted mock awards for various contributions each member had made throughout the year.
Everyone seemed to have a good time. The theater director facilitated the induction of new members, including my son, into the International Thespian Society. Other awards included earning his senior honor cord to wear at graduation, along with a copy of “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” which was also read aloud by an emotional theater director sad to see her seniors go, but excited for what they’ll become.
It made me sad and proud as well. Even with his not-so-great experiences in middle school theater, high school theater was a different animal. He jumped in with both feet and got to do and experience so much more. He got to build and create, both physical sets and rich characters on stage. I’d pushed a little, knowing my own experiences and in the hopes he’d enjoy it in the same way I had. Part of that pushing was constantly reminding him freshman year when tryouts were and when the crew formation meeting was. He was resistant, and it was understandable, but I knew he’d have the time of his life. Spoiler alert: he did.
After his last show in early March, he reminisced a little about his favorite shows, his favorite characters, played by him or by his friends, the best sets – both physically to work with on stage and to build before the show. I know he’ll look back on these days with the same fondness I do my own, and am excited for his future in theater.
There are many more lasts coming up for him, including the last mass as an alter server and the last final exam of his high school career. But with the lasts come the firsts, and much like his first step as a child, this next first step will take him places he never thought possible.
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 26, 2025 | Blog
There’s a song by the band Blondie called “One Way or Another.” As a writer, I have some interesting takes on various song lyrics. If you read through these, you could assume the singer is stalking the subject of the song. When you listen to the song and its catchy beat and tune, it becomes a playful statement about finally starting a romantic relationship with the subject. The saying “one way or another” outside the song usually means a daunting task will get done somehow. Like writing a book – right? I’ll get it done – one way or another.
There’s also a saying, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another!” This one comes with nothing but frustration. I relate this to my writing and self-publishing as I find every new little thing that needs to be done when publishing all on my own. It’s more than just writing and finishing the story:
– Writing. For Midnight Splash, I’ve been writing it on and off since 2011. My professional writing career came first, and my fiction was just a hobby at the time.
– Editing. With the on again-off again writing of Midnight Splash, I ended up doing some editing each time I came back to it, if only because I had to re-read it to get myself back into the story again. When I picked it up seriously last year, it took all my strength to not edit while I wrote. When I wrote “THE END” I had to make a conscious effort to set it aside for a while so I could come back with fresh eyes for editing.
– Beta reading was something I thought I could skip. I’d been working on the story for so long, and refined it each time I came back to it that I thought I could skip this step. Until I decided to try it. These people have helped make Midnight Splash what it is. This was a very “one thing or another” moment for me.
– Making changes is difficult. I thought everything was good to go and I was ready to send it to my editor. But the good advice my beta readers gave showed me there were still changes to be made. I focused on the changes, implementing and adding, and trying to figure out how those changes caused other changes. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another!”
– Editing again is the epitome of “if it’s one thing, it’s another!” Why am I editing yet again?! I thought I was done with this! But this next edit is tightening everything up to the point I can’t see anything that needs to be changed.
– Finally send it to an editor and find out that there’s even more that can be changed! I’m simultaneously looking forward to and dreading a professional edit. While I’ve professionally edited a couple of non-fiction books, fiction editing is so much more difficult. I’ll be glad to have not just fresh, but someone else’s eyes on my manuscript helping me out.
– Get those edits back to apply them. Once I get these, I plan to be as much of a robot as possible. Find, apply, move on. Don’t try to revamp everything around it.
– and on and on – I’m sure there’s so much more that I’ll continue to find out as I move forward in this self-publishing adventure.
Then there’s also: the ‘front’ and ‘back’ matter like a dedication, the information like copyright and ISBN information, and more. These aren’t as daunting as I thought they’d be, but when someone mentioned them during a seminar, I realized that was just information to gloss over and take for granted. I didn’t realize that I was the one who had to include all that information!
When it comes to my son’s last year of high school, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another” applies to things like end-of-the-year fees, filling out information like the name to appear on his diploma, working with his activities schedules, and the big decision: where to go to college (and everything that goes into that!)
When it comes to life, for many, it’s frustrations like car problems, a broken major appliance like an oven or washing machine, or a ‘surprise’ school project your child neglected to tell you about.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another!
What is your best ‘if it’s not one thing, it’s another!’ story? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 19, 2025 | Blog
Hello everyone! I hear my whole family has done this, so I wanted to try my hand at it, too. My name is Rose Moore, and I’m Turner’s aunt. His father is my brother. That insufferable Pam is not who I would have chosen for him. Our mutual interests start and stop at my brother and nephew, although I’m not too sure she’s interested in either of them anymore.
By now I’m sure you know how Turner’s summer started and how it’s going. I’m scared for him. He’s such a good boy, and so was James, that neither of them deserve what has happened. But, you’re here to learn more about me, right?
Well, Bradley is my older brother. We were close growing up, but Bradley always said our father favored me. He wasn’t mad about it, and as a teenager was actually concerned. He noticed I didn’t have very many friends, and heard it was because people thought I was overly-nice. As an adult, I feel the aftermath of that, and I know I’m a people-pleaser because of it. I can’t help it. But now I’m getting better at reining things in, and being tough when the situation calls for it.
I will always stand up for my brother and nephew. They mean the world to me. When Turner got wrapped up in things earlier in the summer, I wanted to do whatever I could to help. When the opportunity to help keep him safe from people who may hurt him arose, I jumped at the chance. Not only could I help by providing a place to stay, but I could keep my eye on him and also watch for strange goings-on.
When he finally made friends I was so happy! He and his dad were so focused on hiding from the outside world that they neglected to explore the inside world – the neighbors and neighborhood of the area. Many have kids Turner’s age, or are students at JHU, like Turner’s friend Scott. Scott’s a good boy and a great friend for Turner. Turner relaxes a bit around him that he didn’t when he was hiding away in the apartment.
I suppose you’re wondering if I do now, or if I have ever, worked for Bradley and Pamela’s company. That answer is no. While I’m sure if it was Brad’s company I would have had a spot, I wasn’t going to be seen working with or for that insufferable wife of his. I don’t talk about work or my life much, so you’re not going to read much about it either. For those of you who do want to know, I’m a nanny but in between families at the moment. My last family has moved to Europe and I wasn’t willing to make the move with them. They were going to pay for my moving costs and everything, but I couldn’t leave Bradley and Turner.
Yes, I’m looking for another family, but with what’s happened with my own, I hesitate. I want to see them safe and sound before I start caring for another family. Also, the detective and Turner’s lawyer told me that anyone who may get dragged into the fold could be in danger. I don’t want a family’s association with me to get them in trouble.
So for now, I’m working from home as an online personal assistant. I won’t say who, as I don’t want to drag others into this mess. You can read more about me on The Glass Creek Chronicles, and in the book that’s coming out about the case.
Bye for now!
