All of us who are writers have traveled along this path in our own way, each with our own unique story. Today, author M. Ferguson Powers shares hers with us. You can also take a peek inside of her book Counting on Trust and then follow the tour for even more. Be sure to leave comments and questions along the way. Best of luck in the giveaway!
**************************
My journey to becoming a writer
My background and experience have played a big role in all my novels, but especially Counting on Trust.
My academic background included a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in experimental psychology from George Mason University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After graduation, I taught microbiology, headed a university office of research, and served as executive director of two university-business partnership centers.
I became interested in writing during my academic career and saw it as a way to highlight important issues of our time in a fictional story format. I have been writing for over 15 years, since before my retirement from faculty life. I published my first novel Each Unique and Fascinating in 2012. My second work was OrcaSpeak which is actually the sequel to my latest novel Counting on Trust. Both of the earlier stories take place in the Pacific Northwest and involve themes of love intermixed with eco-activism.
Counting on Trust evolved out of my interest in globalization and its impacts, especially with regard to China and its relations with the U.S. This started when I accompanied my husband on a trip to China in 1978 with a delegation of faculty members from the University of Pittsburgh. At that time, China was just opening up to the West.
The idea for a story about corporate intrigue came while my husband and I were living in Nebraska. There was a lot of research on GMO foods being done at some of the universities there. We lived on a small lake, and I decided to invent a company, Omniprotein, that was doing research on GMO fish. The theft of this company’s intellectual property by a Chinese general kicks off all the subsequent action.
As its title implies, the book is all about trust. One of my biggest inspirations has been the work of Jane Austen. I appreciate the way she deconstructed relationships and the social norms around romance and marriage in her day. A major intention in writing Counting on Trust was to use the personal stories of the characters to explore how privacy, intimacy and trust are changing in our technology driven society. The book follows three couples of different ages and backgrounds, each struggling with issues of trust. I wanted to draw a good picture of how easily trust can be broken and how difficult it can be to restore that trust.
In this suspense-charged, touching novel, Counting on Trust, information is stolen from a U.S. genetic engineering company (Omniprotein) by an employee promised payment by a Chinese general who wants to profit from selling the company’s technologies in the military region of China he commands.
• To force quick payment the thief attacks fellow employees and threatens to continue until his money arrives. Will his next targets be: young lovers, computer geek Gabriel and gorgeous biologist Selena, who are discovering loving sex while trying to overcome post-traumatic effects of Selena’s girlhood rape.
• Company president, Eleanor, who’s determined to keep some privacy and intimacy although her job’s high profile and her husband, Charley, has just had prostate cancer surgery.
• Venture capitalist, John, who plans to duplicate Omniprotein’s facility in China and reunite with his ex-wife, fashion designer Ziyi, who returned to Shanghai after their only child died.
The personal stories of these couples explore how privacy, intimacy and trust are changing in our social-media age. They paint a compelling portrait of our time.
Listen to an excerpt:
Excerpt – Disturbance - https://www.facebook.com/countingontrust/videos/391102768302904/
Audio Book Buy Links
About M. Ferguson Powers
Themes of novels by M. Ferguson Powers reflect the author’s varied interests, including preservation of the natural world and its creatures;Challenges of building and maintaining loving relationships in a culture with decreasing respect for personal boundaries and privacy
Influences of globalization on world events and how the U. S. and other nations relate to one another
Public policy issues such as controlling the military-industrial-political complex and requiring the health care industry to be more respectful of its clients
The need for cooperation across governments, cultures, and societies to address global challenges such as climate change
Developments in business and university administration and management
Powers has taught microbiology, headed a university office of research, served as executive director of two university-business partnership programs, and co-authored two books on university administration. She has a bachelor of science degree in bacteriology from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in experimental psychology from George Mason University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
She lives on an island near Seattle with husband David R. Powers and their two shelties. Her first novel, Each Unique and Fascinating, about a bullied young girl whose father has gone to war, was published in 2012. OrcaSpeak, a novel of relationships and suspense, was published in 2013, and its prequel, Counting on Trust, was published in 2017.
Website: http://www.mfergusonpowers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Counting-on-Trust-452725141841646/
A randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter will receive a digital and an audio copy of the book. Follow the tour for more chances to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDelete