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Author of New Novel to Speak About Mental Health Advocacy at Joyner-Green Valley Library
Local author Karen Winters Schwartz’s fifth novel was released in January by Red Adept Publishing, and she will be speaking at the Joyner-Green Valley Library as part of the new Pima County Public Library Synapse program on March 2 from 3-4PM. As with her first four books, Winters Schwartz educates while entertaining, and strives to elicit empathy for those struggling with mental health and social issues while telling a great story. Her new book, The Vast Clear Blue, is a heartwarming story of expats living in Belize which is ultimately about friendship, survival, and redemption as its characters navigate the rough seas of life in a small seaside village.
LINK TO EVENT: https://pima.bibliocommons.com/events/63d98e726ef7092800a6bc0f
Her first book, Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?: A Family’s Journey Through Bipolar Disorder looks at the effects mental illness has on a family. Her second book, Reis’s Pieces: Love, Loss, and Schizophrenia stresses the effects on the individual, and her third, The Chocolate Debacle takes a tough, real look at the societal effects—both to the individual and to the society in which they live. Legend of the Lost Ass, also set in Belize, is a richly emotional journey of friendship that spans 70 years.
Karen Winters Schwartz wrote her first truly good story at age seven. Forty-five years later her professional writing career finally began in 2010, when the first of three widely praised novels was published by Goodman Beck Publishing.
Educated at The Ohio State University, Karen and her husband lived in the Central New York Finger Lakes region where they raised two daughters and shared a career in optometry. Karen is the past president of NAMI Syracuse (National Alliance on Mental Illness), a strong advocate for mental illness awareness. She now splits her time between Arizona, a small village in Belize, and traveling the earth in search of the many creatures with whom she has the honor of sharing this world.
Praise for The Vast Clear Blue
"The Vast Clear Blue is about navigating changing friendships and love. Its powerful surveys of all three characters create many discussion points which book clubs will find thought-provoking, creating lively food for thought and debate." — D. Donovan, Editor, Donovan's Literary Services
"What a great book to end my reading year with! This beautifully written story filled with humor, friendship and love will pull at your heartstrings and leave you feeling all the feels. In the new year if you're looking for a poignant story about surviving life's challenges, friendship, love and redemption, I highly recommend you seek this one out and put it at the top of your TBR stack." — David L Morgan Reviews
"The Vast Clear Blue takes its readers on a touching journey of discovery amidst the intimate connections of its characters. With lyrical, descriptive sections worthy of the best nature writing, the prose is universally clear and crisp, capturing tensions and anger as eloquently as sadness and love." — Claire Matturro author of The Smuggler's Daughter
"A captivating story of a love so strong that when death intervenes, survival is questioned. Schwartz captures the beauty of Belize: its people, customs, and culture, just as she creates her multi-layered, relatable, and flawed characters with superb skill and compassion." — Barbara Conrey USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye
"Karen Winters Schwartz steeps her novel in the atmosphere of Belize and the warmth of its environment. Readers unfamiliar with this country or its milieu receive a fine exploration of both the region and the hearts and minds of visitors who undertake to explore its byways in the course of solidifying their own mixed intentions and confusing relationships." — D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
More information can be found on the author’s website: karenwintersschwartz.com
Event Links
Sponsor: https://go.evvnt.com/1567204-0
