Novels/Memoirs

Did you ever dream of writing your own novel or memoir?
Do you know how to write an Executive Summary?
Rosie can help you to get your creative energy flowing by guiding you through the steps that will move your project out of your head and onto the page.
 

Ghost Writing

Perhaps you have a story, or a memoir that you would like to tell, but you don’t feel your writing skills are up to the task. A ‘ghost writer’ writes the story for you. Rosie is available to be your ‘ghost writer’. She will work with you to transcribe your idea, to tell your personal story to be shared with the world, or with your family and friends.
 

Rosie is available for writing projects. In addition to authoring her first novel, Pursuit of the Golden Lily, she has extensive experience writing across a variety of platforms. To see samples of her writing see links below:

NOVEL

Pursuit of the Golden Lily
There are some people that live their lives on this earth like ghosts. They leave no trace, vanishing wraithlike into the quicksand of history. Not so my father. He wasn’t famous or anything. No, he was quite ordinary. He loved his family, his work as a doctor and the odd game of golf. He enjoyed playing the piano (classical music and jazz), and liked bird watching. Endowed with an inquiring mind, he was pragmatic and methodical, not given to triviality or fanciful musings. I never thought of him as mysterious. Until, he died.
 
Read the first chapter of the novel...

BLOGGING

The Trail of Gold
As with many stories of gold and greed, the tale of the Golden Lily treasure is fraught with rumor and speculation. And, like other accounts concerning fabulous amounts of money and treasure, the word conspiracy is ubiquitously tossed about. I'm not typically drawn to conspiracy theories, but that's not to say I discount information that might seem at first glance to be dubious or preposterous. Humans are constantly spinning webs of intrigue.
 
What intrigued me about the Golden Lily, however, is the way in which it was so brilliantly covered up. Of course! Billions of dollars were (and are) at stake. When that kind of money is involved, heads roll, no matter what century you're in. The love/hate relationship between the public, banks and other financial institutions continues, mistrust lingers. The fact that so many of these bastions of power are somehow able to finagle their way out of lawsuits (except in Iceland where bad bankers go to prison) does not foster confidence.
 
Back to the trail of gold: post WWII ushered in a new era of global economy and gave birth to the current system of international finance. "Battered and bankrupt by their long war in Europe and Asia, America's allies had no choice but to stand aside as the U.S. Government set about the 'dollarization' of the global economy." - Gold Warriors: Sterling & Peggy Seagrave.
 
The Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 (see links below) gave birth to the International Monetary Fund. Gold was assigned a dollar value per ounce and all other currencies were measured against the dollar. It's complex, but relevant to the Golden Lily because the unfolding of these new institutions, laws and alliances laid the groundwork for the formation of the Black Eagle Trust Fund.
 
Ostensibly set up to launder 'black gold' - looted WWII gold bullion, diamonds, precious stones and other booty - the BETF provided a healthy slush fund that would enable Washington and its Allies the wherewithal to bring pressure on unruly leaders at the end of the Cold War.
 
There is plenty of information on this subject to sift through, much of it tedious, technical and time consuming - a deterrent for many. Those who do take the time to do their homework are often painted as 'conspiracy theorists'. My interest in highlighting all of this stems from my research for my novel, Pursuit of the Golden Lily. Personally, I think it's important to create dialogue about such 'shadow' organizations that hover beneath the surface of society, as we know it.
 
If we are to move forward, to embrace more fair and just systems of banking and governance, it might behoove us to air out the closets of the past, learn from the successes and failures, and implement more transparency.
 
Blog: https://pursuitofthegoldenlily.blogspot.mx

Vacation Recycling
I’ve been travelling a lot lately and I noticed how easily ‘junk’ accumulates when one is on the go! Most airports provide recycling bins, as do many of the transportation hubs, therefore it’s definitely possible to recycle: plastic bottles, cans, glass and paper products.
 
However, if recycling isn’t available, I clean out plastic vessels or cans and take them with me to the next place that does provide recycling (this may be home!) This takes a commitment and when a family is travelling there are certainly many things to think about. Sing the Recycling Boogie to get you going!
 
https://youtu.be/0-9PlnePjrs

Plastic is ubiquitous and sadly it now litters the ocean and the land causing immeasurable damage to wildlife and ecosystems. Each of us can help to reduce, reuse and recycle. If you are curious as to where much of the plastic ends up (that isn't recycled), check out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Recently a large Atlantic garbage patch has also been discovered. We can clean up our act. It is about awareness and intention. As the old adage says: where there’s a will there’s a way. I’m just one person, but in my own way, I’ve managed to reduce my use of plastic by taking the following with me when I travel:

• A reusable water bottle.
• A reusable shopping bag.
• Reusable containers.
• Reusable straw.
• Reusable utensils.

Check out some Eco-friendly tips for traveling with kids. When you're out and about, see what kinds of art projects you can make with some of the natural objects you find. Recycle Artist Brad Hermann in Fort Myers, Florida showed the Curious Kids some of his amazing pieces of art – all made from recycled materials.
 
https://earthandrosie.blogspot.mx/2014/06/vacation-recycling.html

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Sustainable Seafood
ON THE EVE OF MULLET SEASON
 
Since WGCU-TV premiered its hour-long documentary, Mullet: A Tale of Two Fish earlier this year, the Gulf of Mexico in Southwest Florida has continued to be inundated with water releases from Lake Okeechobee. Warmer than usual summer temperatures, combined with this increased influx of fresh water has prompted some concern that conditions on Florida’s West coast might be ripe for a harmful algal bloom, similar in proportion to the one that impacted the East coast in July 2016.
 
So, how have mullet populations fared this summer? Who better to ask than some of the locals featured in WGCU’s film.
"This year was a slow start, but now the fish have shown up and they’re getting thicker and thicker – it’s all connected to the weather," observed Eddie Barnhill, owner of Barnhill Fisheries in Matlacha, Pine Island.
 
Was Eddie concerned about toxic algae blooms affecting the mullet?
 
"The water is really hot, and that, coupled with the fresh water being dumped out of the rivers - that could cause a red tide," he responded. "I’ve seen it happen before, at the beginning of mullet season – I’ve watched millions of mullet swim into it and die – so hopefully, that won’t happen this year."
 
Second generation Pine Island fisherman, Mike Dooley had a slightly different take:
"The mullet numbers are way down," said Dooley, "one day you’ll see a lot and then you go back the next day and you won’t see any."
 
Is that normal behavior for mullet? Dooley didn’t seem to think so, and he’s been fishing for mullet since he was 12 years old, when his father (a mullet fisherman before him), gave his son a boat so he could follow in the family tradition.
"You used to find that they’d stay in one area – things are really different this year. Its’ been hot before but it doesn’t affect the fish. Usually when they come into the islands – we used to fish on them four or five days in one area, but now they’re gone to another area." Could red tide be to blame? Dooley didn’t think so.
"There’s been a lot of bad water this year," he acknowledged. "A number of things that could cause it, such as pollution and run off from Lake Okeechobee."
 
Jesse Tincher, Chef at the Blue Dog Bar & Grill in Matlacha, hasn’t noticed much of a difference in mullet supplies. He’s quick to point out that they pay extra to purchase the highest quality of mullet available. On the bright side, he’s seen a renewed interest in the fish, and his Mullet Madness Mondays are drawing clients from as far away as Orlando, and he credits WGCU’s Mullet: A Tale of Two Fish for the exposure. On a recent Monday night Jesse cooked up 200 pounds of mullet for enthusiastic diners.
"When people try the mullet," Jesse reports, "I tell them I’ll buy it back if they don’t like it."
 
So has anyone ever taken him up on the challenge?
"We’re coming up on our 2nd anniversary, and to date, no one’s ever taken me up on my offer."
 
Let’s hope no one ever will. And let’s also hope that the water release situation will be resolved, so that the mullet and all estuarine life is protected.