What was the best time in your Childhood?

I remember when I was growing up; I would spend my summers with my best friend in the country. It seemed that my own life, worries and other cares were miles away. The days began early with a big breakfast and then outdoors until dusk. There were so many things to do and places to go explore.
Chores that my friend considered to be mundane were new and exciting to me. I learned how to milk a cow, brush down a horse and ride bareback. After a full day of morning chores, riding horses and swimming in a creek, the days flew like wildfire. It was this exhilaration of experiencing new things and carefree days that prompted me to write about it in “The Pond.” I still remember those days, even now. And, I’m betting that you remember them as well. They were the best, weren’t they?

Where do you go when you Die?

When I was young, I was always told that when you die, there was a place in heaven for each of us if we were kind and generous to others.

It’s a nice thought and I’m one of many that believe in that concept. However, it does make you wonder once you pass on, where exactly do you go? Some people believe that once you expire, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. It’s just a matter of becoming part of the earth. I tend to think there is more to the other side. Why? It just seems that people who lapse into a clinical death will awaken again and describe such wonderful images and the relatives and friends that meet them. It sounds so wonderful. Yet, there are those who experience the same clinical death and tell horrifying experiences that makes me shudder. Why do different people see different things? Those types of questions won’t be answered until we experience it for ourselves.

Then, there is the occult side of things. That is what intrigues me as a writer. You are probably very familiar with this phenomenon. You know, the ghosts rattling chains in the attic and feeling the chill of a visitor from beyond as they hover around you. Writers are a strange lot at times…we are the ones that will drive by on a country road and see a cottage perched by a lake in the twilight and see a family inside, living their lives. What is the first thing a writer does? They ask a question, “I wonder what they are talking about? What is their life like? Are they happy? Do they have secrets?”

Funny, that’s just how “The Pond” came to be.

Requesting Atonement from the Dead

From the time we are children to the time that we are adults, the one constant is that people are born and people will eventually die. Whether they die from natural causes or from some other means, we will eventually come to know people that will die before us.

I’ve known some people that have had difficulty saying goodbye to those who have left this earth. Mostly because there may have been “unfinished business” between them. Did one of you forget to say, “I love you” or “I’m sorry?” Silent words and unfinished business can be very frustrating and painful for those who feel that premature death robbed them of a necessary moment.

In “The Pond,” the main character, Mike; has this nagging issue with a childhood friend who lost his life in the pond. No matter how long ago the accident occurred, the feeling and guilt never leaves because there was unfinished business in Mike’s mind.

Thus, the torment Mike felt as a child has grown with him to adulthood. Guilt never leaves until it is resolved. Haven’t you noticed that people will sometimes request atonement from those dearly departed? It’s a way of trying to finish the business and lighten the load of guilt upon one’s shoulders.

Be sure to pick up a copy of “The Pond.” You’ll see exactly what I mean.

Panic Attacks

According to Wikipedia, the definition of a “Panic Attack” is as follows:

Panic attacks are very sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, mounting physiological arousal, fear, stomach problems and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious triggers.[1]

If you have ever suffered from one of these attacks, you will quickly discover that there is nothing psychosomatic about this disorder. It seems that at one time or another, everyone has experienced some form of a panic attack. I know some friends who have difficulty with this horrible attack and the experience can be terrifying.
The type of attacks can vary by including one or a combination of feelings or physical agitation:
Trembling, fear, rapid breathing, feeling of having a heart attack, heart racing, sweating and mind racing and a host of other types of emotions and physical feelings.

Sometimes, describing a fearful situation can bring on a panic attack…in my book, “The Pond,” I wrote the main characters to have similar experiences with panic attacks that they never had before. Why? Perhaps just reading about a panic attack can bring one on. The only cure is to buy a copy of the book, “The Pond” and read it!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_attack

Meeting up with Childhood Friends

Everyone begins life as a child. There are key components of our personalities that have always been and there are traits we have acquired either through life experience or through the people we have known. The end result is a hodge-podge of qualities that one could never foresee and some that have been intact the moment we drew our first breath. All of these qualities are the ones that we have collected during childhood, teenage hood, and finally adulthood.

While it seems safe to wonder if some acquaintances have ever changed at all, these thoughts are only a portion of the emotions that one goes through when moving “back home.” Those childhood friends that were beloved and those who tormented us at the playground are now law-abiding, tax-paying neighbors, some with children of their own. Mike, the main character in “The Pond” finds himself going through these experiences and trying to make sense of his thoughts.
He struggles to find a glimpse or glimmer of recognition of the child he remembered going to school with and only finds a middle-aged man sitting in his dental chair feeling strangely vulnerable on many levels. The vulnerability may seem to be on a childlike level, but after moving the conversation from the school yard to the dental office, the tone and the conversation take on a darker hue.

The innocence of childhood may be buried at the bottom of that Pond.

The Art of Raising Foster Children

When a couple agrees to be foster parents, what exactly should they expect? Certainly, it’s not quite the same as rearing your own children through day to day childhood experiences. The known fact is that fostering is temporary. So, how do foster parents treat these children? As if they are their own? Or, do they step back and parent with detached emotion? I believe the first idea is the desired result.
In the story of “The Pond,” the sweet, next door neighbors, who take this responsibility on, come up with ideas to occupy these children. These foster parents who are firmly rooted in their community and moral values could not have come at a better time for these children in need. As we know, it is difficult to place foster children in homes such as these. And, to hope for parents who are patient, loving and provide the guidance that is so needed in their lives is just a dream come true.

Any case manager stopping by to observe the home, parents and children surely would give extremely high marks. It’s all what we hope for…but is it what the children actually get?

You’ll never view neighbors the same way again. That’s a promise.

The Pond" by Tamera E Lawrence is a great Read!!!

Latest Amazon Review
September 3, 2009 by MSS

***** 5 Stars

I am not a usually a reader of mystery novels, "The Pond" may have changed my reading habits. This book just had such an easy flow and I just could not stop reading...Each page consisted of a new mystery that made you go "how?", "why", and "what"? The story was not confusing and an easy read for all mystery readers and those, like me, that are not usually interested in these types of books.

To show you how this book has affected me...Last night a neighbor of mine brought me over a homemade pie that smelled so good...I looked at the pie and said nope not for me. I could not touch it. This comes from reading "The Pond". See I had helped a neighbor with something and she sent over the pie as a thank you for some help I gave her. That was very nice. I sat and thought hmmmmm, have not received a pie before from a neighbor and I do not really know her that well... I do not think I will be eating pie for a long time.

To find out what I mean, you must read the book. I bought the book and the kindle format...I knew once I lended out the book I would never see it again.

Tamera a really great job and I will be on the lookout for your next book!