Rolling off the couch to change TV channels (no remote, not many channels and the shows were mostly in black and white)
Running and playing in our neighborhood without fear of strangers
Rotary phones, loved my pink Princess
Sandra Dee and Tab Hunter, Saturday matinees cost a quarter and drivein theatres
No air conditioning in school and we survived the brutal Texas heat
The Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis
The assassination of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King
The Vietnam War, protests against the War, and soldiers being spit on for serving their country
I remember a lot of things because I’m a baby boomer, born in 1949. My father started his real estate business in Houston, Texas that same year and my mother—like many women of her generation—stayed home to raise the kids, which in our family included my brother and me.
In 1971, I graduated with a degree in psychology from UCLA, then lived a year in Guadalajara, Mexico and three years in Albany, NY before returning to Houston. Somewhere within that period of time, I figured out psychology wasn’t the right career path for me but discovered the comfort of balancing a general ledger. So, I walked through Albany’s sleet and snow to attend Russell Sage College, worked in public accounting and passed the CPA exam. When my entrepreneurial spirit took flight, I founded my own business, Feldt Personal Consultants where I assisted candidates with new career opportunities. After selling my business, I dabbled in real estate, built a lake house and started to write. And write and write. Usually for my own personal enjoyment but do have two suspense thrillers tucked away in boxes--perhaps one day I’ll pull them out to see the light of day. Then three events shattered our lives and eventually, after several years, I started writing again, as much for therapy as for enjoyment. The Oys & Joys started to sing to me and the ladies insisted I write their story. And the name sounds melodic, suits them and feels sort of like…fate.
Sometimes, when you reach the back side of middle age, the past and the secrets it harbors, collides with the present. And secrets never die quietly. Meet The Oys & Joys—Lizzie, Grace, Sassie and Ruby—baby boomers tied together with the strength of their steel-laced friendships. Until they’re forced to confront a decades old betrayal, and the tragic consequences threatening to sever the trust between them.
Four women, who step into the crossroads between choosing action or forever facing regret—and define their moment by revisiting their past to embrace their future. Their journey, seasoned with their hearts and souls and hey, an abundance of humor, includes attempted murder (oops), DNA surprises (who knew?), boatless boat slips (damn, he got the boat), and sexual awakenings (yes, at their age). Oh, and then there’s the pole dancing for seniors.
Sassie’s Wine List, Ruby’s Italian Feast recipes, Lizzie’s Heart to Heart picture (Love. Only for a moment. Only for an eternity.), and Grace’s Nancy Drew quote can be found at www.marciafeldt.com.
*Oy or Oy vey:
Terms to express exasperation, dismay, calamity or any other sense of woe. Yiddish origin but so widely used, now integrated into American colloquialisms, and in dictionaries around the world.
“Brilliantly voiced and inspiring, The Oys & Joys defines challenges facing baby boomers through the eyes of four unforgettable women. The current electrifying every page is that everyone, at any age, has the power to change her life.” — Gloria Feldt, Take the Lead, author, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power.
“Life’s tapestry woven with pain and joy, passion and heartbreak. Readers will adore this excellent debut novel. Not to be missed.” — Chris Rogers, author, The Dixie Flannigan suspense series.
“These characters are both intimately familiar and impossible to forget. A truly complex and celebratory novel.” — Carol Dawson, author of Miles and Miles of Texas, Body of Knowledge, and The Mother-In-Law Diaries
Genre: Baby Boomer, Chick-Lit, Women’s Fiction, LGBT Fiction
Subject: Baby Boomer, Coming of Age, Bucket List, Friendship, Humor
Awards: Houston Writers Guild award winner in Romance/Women’s Fiction
Available wherever books are sold
ISBN: 978-0-9779048-2-2 print
ISBN: 978-0-9779048-1-5 e-book
Publisher: LadyLake Publishing
(832)423-8068
http://www.marciafeldt.com
http://www.facebook.com/marcia.bates.79
http://twitter.com/marciafeldt
mfeldt@feldtenerprises.com
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