Allison K. Garcia

Allison is the winner of Round 34 and Vol 2-4. (Follow her at her blog!). Read her first #SixtySeconds interview here and second one here.

Allison says:

I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since I could hold a pencil. I still have my first book entitled, “My Future Car,” which was pretty amazing for a 2nd grader. I love writing and went to school for Creative Writing at Lycoming College. Unfortunately, I had an evil professor who, I realize now that I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, had some serious self-esteem issues. After having a long talk with God about what to do with my life, I gave up writing and switched over to Psychology. I then came here to the Shenandoah Valley to get my Master’s in Counseling at EMU. Around this time, I met my husband, Julio, and we were married in 2006. I work at a community agency full-time as a counselor, and I love my job and all my coworkers. I live in Harrisonburg with my hubby and our dog, Oso (best dog ever!).

 

In the back of my mind, I never gave up my childhood dreams of becoming a writer and about four years ago, I started writing a book called “From the Ground Up: The First Days.” I had so much fun writing and doing research. I read tons of books on the subject and even lived without electricity for 10 days to make sure I was writing authentically! Once I finished the book, I decided to actually work towards publishing it, so I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). There I met wonderful, helpful people who helped me edit my book and get it ready to show at the ACFW Conference last September. At the conference, I met lots of new writing friends and joined my local chapter of ACFW. It was at one of our meetings that someone mentioned NaNoWriMo, which I had never heard of. It was the end of October, and I decided that I would try it out. I met Susan, Rebekah, Beth and tons of other great people and also wrote an entire new book in one month: Vivir el Dream, which I am now getting ready for the next ACFW conference this year!

 

Update January 2014!

I have now completed two NaNoWriMos and finished three novels, which I am hoping to publish. Last year I began writing flash fiction, winning best story twice and several other prizes here at Flash! Friday. My short story, “At Heart,” was published in the Winter 2013 edition of From the Depths literary magazine, along with some of my flash fiction. My work, “You Shall Receive,” will be published in GrayHaven Comics’s 2014 All Women’s anthology.

Latina at heart, I have been featured in my local newspaper for my connections in the Latino community in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where I live. I am the head of the Cultural Competency Committee at my agency, a member of the Statewide Cultural and Linguistic Competency Committee, and have participated in several Dream Act rallies and other events in my region. I also sing on the worship team and often coordinate get-togethers with the hermanos in my church. With the help of my husband, Julio, I have been able to nurture my love for the Latino people.

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 Round 34: Above the Cloud

Giovanni breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with crisp, mountain air. A certain calm silence surrounded him. The only sound was the wind. It whipped around him, mingling the thin air with Ana’s perfume. He smiled and reached out for her arm, his boots crunching the snow as he turned.

“Oh, Giovanni,” Ana sighed. “It’s amazing up here. I have never seen anything so wonderful in my life.”

He didn’t need to see to know how beautiful this place was.

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Vol 2 – 4: Discovering Your Inner Mummy

I didn’t volunteer. He never asked me. As one of the physician’s slaves, I suppose he didn’t have to. He had used his slaves for other “discoveries,” leaving them blind, crippled, diseased, and occasionally cured.

This time, he’d gone too far.

I stared over at the large audience of white men, quivering in anticipation. I glanced behind me at the tray of scalpels and other sharp instruments. I was a goner.

I lay still on the table as the lesson began. He started by pointing out and naming everything on the outside of the body, and I mean everything. I thought I’d die of boredom. How many parts did the human body have anyway?

“I will now give our subject an injection to paralyze him. This way we can see what happens inside a live body.”

A guard held me down, as the crowd oohed, and after a few excruciating minutes, I hovered above, doomed to watch until the end.

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