A “Within Reach” Interview with Jill Bisker + Giveaway

The talented Jody Vitek took some time out of her busy writing schedule to interview fellow talented author Jill Bisker about her shot story “Within Reach.”


 

Within Reach is a very moving and touching story about Emma and the relationship she has with her mother who is suffering with dementia. When Emma finds a special box her father carved with a seashell from her childhood inside, something happens and questions arise that she wants to ask her mother. Questions go unasked and when a small agate replaces the shell, she questions her own sanity.

Within Reach is a short, fast, fulfilling story I recommend everyone reads. The ending will have you looking within yourself.

JODY: I’d like to say hello to everyone and thank you for joining us. Jill, can you share a little about yourself? Where you live? Are you married? Do you have children?

JILL: I live in Stillwater, Minnesota.  I am just celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary with my wonderful husband, George.  I have a 21 year old son named Nathan and a 13 year old cat named Senora.

JODY: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

JILL: Yes, but it is only in the last few years that I was able to believe in myself enough to allow anyone else to read my stories.

JODY: When did you start writing?

JILL: I remember writing stories as soon as I was old enough to write.  I would staple pieces of paper together and make story books.  My mother used to tease me that I couldn’t finish a story because I was so intent on writing the dedication page.  It made me laugh a little to write the dedication page to her.

JODY: You write many different genres and I wondered if you write multiple stories at one time, within these multiple genres, at different times of the hour, day, week, month or when the mood strikes? How do you decide what to work on?

JILL: I have a lot of stories in production at a time.  I am outlining, writing and editing all at the same time.  I have many projects in various stages of completion.  My husband edits my work and helps with story continuity.  Outlining can take some time but when I am ready to write then I write 6 – 8 hours a day until a story is done.  I decide on a word count that I have to get to, usually 1500 – 2000, and I work until I get there.  As far as what to write, I find a story will often ‘demand’ to be told, whether that’s what I had planned or not.  It also helps me to rotate amongst different projects because after a first draft, it’s good to step away from it for a while so that I can return to it with fresh eyes at a later date.  So I typically have a few stories percolating in my mind, am actively writing one, and have one or two in a holding pattern waiting for the next revision.

JODY: You acknowledge your mother, Marlys, in the acknowledgments. Will you share how close to home this story is to you and your mother? If at all.

JILL: I wrote this story when I was helping my mother through the last stages of chronic illness, dementia and leukemia.  I simplified elements in the story just to keep the flow moving.   Some of the elements in the story are things that really happened.  All of the feelings and emotions are genuine.  In our family’s real story – I come from a Yours, Mine and Ours family – my father is living and I have many siblings, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.  We were all deeply affected by my mother’s struggle with dementia.  A portion of the proceeds from this story will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association www.alz.org.

JODY: Was it difficult to write at times?

JILL: It was actually cathartic to write.  I could focus my feelings into the piece, and it gave me a way to express those feelings and share my experience with others.

JODY: What are you working on now?

JILL: I will be starting edits on my paranormal novel that is coming out in June. (NOTE: “Finding The Way Back” was released from Melange on June 19, 2014.)  I just finished a first draft of the next story in the series and I am on the second draft of a fantasy novel.  I am outlining 3 other stories as well.

JODY: Where do you see your writing career in five years?

JILL:  I hope to continue to be able to bring new stories to life.  Who wouldn’t love a movie deal?  😉 Honestly, as long as I’m able touch others with my writing in some way, I will feel successful.

JODY: My own writer’s curiosity has to ask a few questions: Are you plotter or pantser or both? Organized working area or a mess? Do you have a designated work area? Critique group and/or beta readers?

JILL: I am a firm believer in plotting.  I have many different ways that I outline.  Each story seems to come to me in a different way.  I ask my characters a lot of questions before I even start writing so I know them very well.  I know how they act and what motivates them as well as where I want them to go in the story – how I want them to evolve.  I am very organized, I can’t work in upheaval very well.  I have a vintage vanity I use as a desk and a vintage table in the room to work on outlines.  I don’t let anyone read anything until it’s finished and then I have beta readers.  I tried critique groups but it hasn’t worked for me.  I have found that I have to write in a way that’s true to who I am and what I believe in, and if it’s good enough then hopefully it will find an audience.


 

 About Jill Bisker

Jill Bisker lives in Stillwater, MN with her husband and a calico cat named Senora. She believes in empowering women to be strong enough to protect themselves, while still soft enough to be loving and compassionate. Her work includes paranormal mystery and traditional high fantasy, as well as contemporary and humorous fantasy and an everyday living blog. Her novella Within Reach is her first publication with Melange. Once a dedicated stay at home Mom, Jill now writes full-time.

Website: www.jillbisker.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjillbisker
Blog: http://www.unaccompaniedjaunt.blogspot.com
Melange:  https://melange-books.com/authors/jillbisker/index.html


About Jody Vitek

Born and raised in Minnesota, Jody has remained close to home living with her husband of twenty plus years, three children and a cat named Holly. Growing up, she enjoyed reading V.C. Andrews’ the Dollanganger series, starting with Flowers in the Attic, S.E. Hinton, and Stephen King to name a few.

She has traveled throughout the United States, to the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico. Between watching soccer games, scrapbooking and being the COO of the Vitek household, she writes contemporary romances.

Visit and contact Jody at: www.jodyvitek.com
And on Melange: https://melange-books.com/authors/jodyvitek/index.html


GIVEAWAY

Want to get your hands on a FREE e-book copy of “Within Reach”? Simply leave a comment below and you’re entered to win!

A winner will be chosen on or soon after June 30, 2014.

Book Releases || February 24, 2014

Today I’m happy to announce four new books!

Before we get into that though, for anyone who tried to enter the contest last week for John Steiner’s new Sci-Fi book, FLIPSPACE: Flight of the Mockingbird, I apologize that the comments for the blog were not working and all comments will need to be re-entered in order to be counted. I welcome you to enter again here. We have extended the giveaway through March 4th so hurry over to John’s interview and enter now!

In other news, Fire and Ice, our Young Adult/New Adult book line finally has it’s own blog! We’ve got really great releases this week that I’m so excited to share with you so I beg of you to please visit the new blog and subscribe to get updates! We’ve got mermaids, we’ve got horses, we’ve got time travel and we’ve got a teen girl dealing with bullies! Visit the blog here: www.fireandiceya.com/blog

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2014-02-23~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Second Best" by Charmaine Pauls

Second Best by Charmaine Pauls

The first time that Molly sees Malcolm is in Oudtshoorn, South Africa in 1978, when he jumps from the back of an army truck to challenge her through the school yard fence. Little did she know then, when she boldly gave him the middle finger, how their lives would become intertwined.

Surviving the secret horrors of an industrial school, juvenile delinquent Molly van Aswegen grows into a tough and troubled woman who has sworn never to love anyone enough to be vulnerable. When Malcolm McLeod, rebel journalist and soldier, comes home from the Angolan border war to save Molly from her institution, he starts fighting a different war altogether—the battle for both of their souls.

Molly’s fight for survival and Malcolm’s moral struggle will expose them as anti-conformists, at risk of being branded and outcast from society during a politically turbulent time when South Africa is in the midst of a twenty-three year long war.

Second Best is a tender story about the scars of the human soul, and the road that leads to healing.

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FLIPSPACE: Branching Out by John SteinerFLIPSPACE: Branching Out by John Steiner

The ISS Mockingbird is ordered to Kepler 22 to check up on a research outpost set up by the Astraeus. Colonel Ramachandra and her crew discover on the planet, Kepler 22B a form of life that doesn’t need ships to travel through space. Also present is a base established by Remote Space Conglomerated Industries. Their operations put profit before the concerns of the indigenous life. An unauthorized distress call originates from the RSCI base. Colonel Rama must risk breaching their air defenses to comply with international conventions and save lives.

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"Within Reach" by Jill BiskerWithin Reach by Jill Bisker

Within Reach is the contemporary fiction story of Emma, a woman coming to terms with her mother’s increasing dementia and the everyday challenges associated with it. While serving as caregiver for her mother, she inexplicably finds herself ‘re-living’ specific events from her past, including times spent with her parents when she was a child. She soon wonders if her own sanity is slipping as she struggles to understand what is happening to her. If she can unlock the meaning of the visions from her past, she might be able to face the uncertainty of her future. Her mother must have the key—if only she can reach her.

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"Outlaw's Secrets" by Sherry Derr-WilleOutlaw’s Secrets by Sherry Derr-Wille

For Clay Martin his parents’ past is something he knows nothing about. He’s hoping a summer spent with his Uncle Gary in Missouri will shed some light on it. Amy Baines has a secret too, but doesn’t know it until Clay comes to town and helps her delve into her forgotten past. By the time they realize their friendship could lead to more, Clay has gone back to San Francisco and Amy is coming to grips with her St. Louis family. Can they bridge the miles and find love?