Hi Everyone,
Most of you don't know me, so please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Timarie. Yes, that is my actual, legal name. It is pronounced Tim-a- rie. My father's name is Tim, and my mother's name is Marie. Hopefully knowing the origin will help you rationalize the pronunciation. It is a pleasure to meet you. :)
Like many of you, I have been an avid reader since I was a young child. There is something indescribable about majesty of getting lost in stories and falling in love with, or sometimes even hating, complex and compelling characters. Exploring worlds completely unlike my own, while at the same time being able to relate to each and every situation.
I took that love and began writing short stories and poems at the age of eight. Around that same time, I began singing publicly at local venues around Boston. I merged my love of reading and singing into the gloriously creative process of song writing when I was thirteen. I spent my teens and twenties fully engrossed in writing and creating music. All of my songs were three or four minute stories. I wanted to make people feel my joy, my hurt, my excitement, whatever the theme of the song was. This filled my soul in a way nothing else could. After spending my teens and twenties writing over 150 songs, I needed a break when I hit my thirties. During my hiatus, there was an aching within me caused by my unexpressed creativity.
While toying around with various creative outlets, something happened. Something horrific and tragic happened. On April 15, 2013 there was a coordinated terrorist attach at the historical Boston Marathon finish line. I was in Boston that day, but I was not at the finish line. I was a quarter mile away and I heard the explosions. I remember chaos, screams, sirens and tears. So many tears. On my home, while driving over the Tobin bridge, there were national guard tanks positioned on there. I was relieved to see them, and petrified at the same time. I knew what their presence meant. It meant there was something, or someone, they were trying protecting us from.
One of the most miraculous things about Bostonians is that we cannot, and will not, ever let anyone threaten us. We are tough, we are gritty and we are proud. Four days after the attack, various police forces from around the Commonwealth brought the people responsible for these cowardly acts to justice, killing one and arresting the other. Anderson Cooper from CNN, who was in Boston reporting on the attacks, said on air, "I can't imagine another city in the country that would completely shut down the entire state just to seek out the justice it so rightly deserved the way Boston did today." On April 19, 2020 we were all Patriots. We were all Americans. We were Boston.
On the one year anniversary of the attacks, a local news station ran stories following up with many of the nearly 280 victims of the bombings that were gravely injured. There was a story of a young woman who lost both of her legs as a result of the tragedy. She was doing much better a year later, and was even engaged to the first responder who saved her life. The story stuck with me for days, weeks and months.
I always had this idea for a book that involved exploring the infamous Irish mob verses the Italian Mafia crime wars of Boston. Many, many books and movies have been made about this subject already. Think of "The Departed" or "Black Mass". An idea struck me that got me so excited that I felt my creative juices aggressively flowing through my veins. It was so powerful that I simply could not ignore it. I had to combine the idea of finding love under the most unthinkable circumstance, only to have it challenged by everything that defined who these characters are and what they stood for.
I had three goals when writing this book; Create an engaging storyline, develop characters that people could relate to and/or root for or again, and have utterly unpredictable twists and surprises that shook the readers expectations at every turn. There is nothing I hate more than reading a book or watching a movie and ten minutes in I can already predict the outcome. I want to be kept on my toes and have my thoughts and ideas challenged. The books in The Finish Line series more than deliver on that.
After several months, and a lot of intense work, Pledge of Allegiance, book 1 of The Finish Line series was completed. I was so proud and inspired that I went ahead and continued creating the other books of the series. After years of exploring the many avenues of the publishing process, I am so thrilled to be releasing "Pledge of Allegiance" on October 15, 2020!
It is important to me that I create a relationship with my readers and build a positive and encouraging community. It is my sincere hope that the readers will love the book. These are crazy times we are living in, and let's face it, we all need a little escape sometimes. I want to surround myself with people who inspire, share ideas and just want a place to feel good amid the chaos of life. Follow me on my social media pages, visit the forum section and let's find reasons to smile together.
Stay tuned to this blog for info on my books, future projects, events and who knows what. I tend to go rogue! :) So like the title says, buckle up... it will be a fun ride!
With Love,
Timarie