Make Believe Wednesday--#2 with @AngelPerch

Please help me welcome, Sarah Gilman to the blog today! She's taken on the challenge of sharing her personal make believe stories. Oh, and there are some good ones. I think my fave was the shopping bag parachutes. :)

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I was a kid long before cell phones and social media. Computers existed…games involved multiple black floppy disks that you had to switch around. While I admit to spending a lot of time on that old Apple, I spent more time outside and in worlds created by gray matter.

I grew up in Vermont, which meant my friend Vanessa and I played outside more often than not. It also meant lots of near death experiences involving bikes and red wagons and mountains—yes, we got airborne. A lot. But when we weren’t courting certain demise at the hands of physics, we occupied our time doing what we had to do to make our Vermont childhoods a little more entertaining.

Like hunting leprechauns. We did catch a few of those buggers.

We also found a ton of golden horseshoes. The quest to find all the shoes involved trekking all over a sprawling horse farm, finding clues in the mud or snow.

When there weren’t any leprechauns or golden horseshoes to find, we’d go swimming in the pond or the river, where we became mermaids or seahorses. In the event of a vacation to Florida, we’d introduce ourselves to the girls we met by the pool with our mermaid names.

When swimming got boring, we’d head to the sandpit. (Not a sandbox…imagine a two-story tall, forty-five degree or steeper cliff of sand dug out of a slope by large construction equipment.) We’d run and jump off the top of that sucker, pretending to fly (see courting certain demise, above), sometimes with shopping bags as parachutes, sometimes with just our arms spread.

We scared ourselves silly watching Garfield in the Rough, repeatedly. We saw the panther’s glowing eyes outside the living room window, and hid under my father’s desk (*looks at desk*… We were that small? OMG).

A different friend and I had a game that was a little…creepier. The elementary school playground had a large, empty field adjacent to some private homes. The teachers discouraged us from going to that end of the field, but we did, anyway. We had to check out the snake grave (a tall, thin stone common in rural areas as old property markers)! However, we had to run back and touch the pavement, or the snake ghost would catch us.

And there was my cousin. On Christmas, we’d become blind cats and crawl back and forth through the wrapping paper that covered the living room floor, making as much noise as possible. In warmer !

Today, I write paranormal fiction. I still live in Vermont—and there still isn’t anything better to do! J Thanks for having me today, Rachel!

Sarah Gilman started her first novel in third grade. She never finished that story, but never gave up the dream. Her fascination with wings also began at that age, when images of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis captured her imagination and never let go. Now a paranormal romance writer, she employs her love of writing to bring the allure of winged creatures to the pages of her novels. Sarah lives in Vermont with her supportive husband and two spoiled cats. Find Sarah around the web:
Twitter: AngelPerch

Blogs: Sarah Gilman Books. Sarah also contributes to the The Naked Hero blog

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“Lovely, powerful, and soaring…a thoroughly delightful debut.”
- Laura Bickle, author of EMBERS and SPARKS

In a violent world where fallen archangels are hunted for their valuable plumage, Wren knows one thing for certain: the human woman who saved him from a poacher attack will die if she stays with him. The demon responsible for his parents’ gruesome deaths two decades ago pines for the chance to rip apart any woman who stands under Wren’s wing.

Wren doesn’t expect Ginger to stay by his side once she discovers his ability to drain life with a mere touch, yet she lingers. When an unusual talent of her own reveals the location of Wren’s father, Wren’s isolated world implodes. With the help of the demon protectors he’s sworn never to trust again, Wren risks everything to rescue his father, confront the demon who stalks his and Ginger’s every step, and claim his eternity with the most courageous woman he’s ever known.