SPRING HAPPENINGS

"Here comes the sun, And I say, It's all right." —The Beatles

So it begins. The laundry room floor is cluttered with dusty baseball pants, smelly soccer socks, and flannel shirts covered in dirt. My kids are constantly tracking mud all over my front porch with their cleats, my husband is digging in the garden and ordering seeds, and my favorite chocolate dog will soon be shedding like a Christmas tree. Spring is in the air, and chaos has returned to my once peaceful home. It's messy, hectic, and exhausting, but oh-so magical!

It's been several months since I posted any news or updates about my book, so I'll dive right in. I have exciting news about a giveaway no book lover could possibly resist as well as details about upcoming events and awards my book has received.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY GIVEAWAy

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I’ve teamed up with ten amazing female indie authors to give away ten award-winning novels featuring strong female characters. They range in genre from historical fiction to thriller to women’s fiction and will definitely keep you reading late into the night. Each book will be hand-signed and personalized by the author and will include surprise goodies. One lucky winner will win them all!

Please visit one of the following pages to enter by March 15th:

My Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/authortammypasterick

My Instagram page: @authortammypasterick.

GREATER PITTSBURGH FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books (GPFB) will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at various locations around Pittsburgh. If you've never heard of this festival, check out the description from the event's website below.

"The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books (GPFB) showcases Pittsburgh’s historic, vital role on the national and international literary stage. Readers, writers, booksellers, publishers, critics, educators, and neighbors will connect with, learn from, and support each other. With free, diverse programming featuring nationally recognized authors (many living in Western Pennsylvania), and across age, genre, and background, the Festival will celebrate the joys of literacy."

I will be discussing my novel, Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash, with Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt, author of The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Disaster. If you love local history and have an interest in genealogy, you'll definitely want to attend our event. We'll be discussing how our family research projects took us on a wild adventure and turned us both into authors! The time and location of this talk have yet to be announced, but I will post an update in the coming weeks. Feel free to visit the GPFB website at https://www.pittsburghbookfestival.org to learn about the festival's other events.

AWARDS

My book is currently in the running for several awards, and the final results of these contests won't be announced until later this spring. But I am absolutely overjoyed about being a finalist for The Montaigne Medal, which is a special distinction given by the judges of the Eric Hoffer Book Award. If you've never heard of Eric Hoffer or the awards honoring this great American philosopher, keep reading. The following is from the organizaiton's website:

"Each year, the Eric Hoffer Award presents the Montaigne Medal to the most thought-provoking books. These are books that either illuminate, progress, or redirect thought. The Montaigne Medal is given in honor of the great French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who influenced people such as William Shakespeare, René Descartes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Eric Hoffer. This is an additional distinction beneath the Eric Hoffer Award umbrella."

I highly doubt that I will win this award, as I am competing against seasoned journalists and academics. But as a historian and longtime advocate for the labor movement and mental health awareness, there is no greater honor than knowing my book is considered "thought-provoking" by literary experts. I always wanted to shed light on the sacrifices of Pennsylvania's immigrants and teach people about a period in American history that is often overlooked. Being a finalist for this prestigious award is an incredible honor and validates all my hard work.

Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash is also short-listed for the Goethe Award given by the Chanticleer International Book Awards and is a semi-finalist in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition. Awards season kicks into full gear later this spring, so I should have plenty of updates in April and May.

REVIEWS

I now have 98 reviews on my Amazon page. If you've read my book and haven't yet left a review, I would be so very grateful if you would do it now. I'd love to get to 100 reviews by the end of the week! Leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads is the highest compliment you can pay an author, especially since reviews have become the most important factor in getting authors exposure in the highly competitive world of book publishing. And don’t worry … your review can be as short as one sentence. No book reports necessary!

HAPPY SPRING!

Whether you have active kids like I do, an obsession with gardening, or just want to get outside with your dog for a dose of fresh air, I wish you happiness and health this spring. As much as I love winter, I take great pleasure in sitting on my patio with the sun on my face and a cool spring breeze at my back—especially if my husband has made me one of his signature margaritas. Everything feels so fresh and new at this time of year, so get outside and have some fun!

Here's a throwback to Spring 2015 when my son, a fourth grader at the time, needed a lot of base coaching from dad.

My little soccer star in action that same spring. She had just turned seven.

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A native of Western Pennsylvania, Tammy Pasterick began her career as an investigator with the National Labor Relations Board and later worked as a paralegal and German teacher. Her debut novel, Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash, is available now.