A Bevy of Astonishing Illustrations and Sparkling Dialogues!
Home Stretch (For All My Friends Over Sixty) is a stunning collection of vibrant original artwork by seven diverse artists that complements 100+ short, pithy conversations.
Mature, reflective people of diverse beliefs, orientations, races, and ethnicities all over the world express poignant thought and share funny perspectives on the worst and best of the golden age of life.
Home Stretch (For All My Friends Over Sixty) might be that bedside book that is a frequent resource for humor, beauty, and hope.
The Author
Ginger Lacette (64) is a world traveler, degree gatherer, job explorer and relationship sampler who has savored countries, colleges, jobs and her own husbands as others savor complex wines. She loves a deep discussion, a fierce card game and a napping cat. Ginger lives beside the North Fork of the Roanoke River in Virginia.
(If you have an interesting, funny, bawdy or just oddly out-there story about or from someone over sixty, and you'd like to see it in the next book, please send it (along with your contact info to obtain permission to use it) to: IHaveStoryForYou@gmail.com)
Contact
IHaveAStoryForYou@gmail.com
GingerLacette@gmail.com
The Artists
Angeline Saferight Lloyd
Angeline is an artist from Wythe County, Virginia. She enjoys creating unusual and strange subjects in watercolor, sculpture, and wood burns. She is a fan of history, ghost stories, horror-comedy films, and cryptid tales. She has been published in several anthologies for her creepy tales and enjoys sharing ghost stories with others
When Lloyd isn't creating art or writing, she is working in mental health somewhere behind the scenes. She and her spouse live in a home originally built by a mortician and share their home with a giant black cat named Sam.
Donald Miller
An artery-deep rebel against all stricture, Donald Miller lives in New Orleans, Louisiana sometimes, in other places other times.
Harry Moore
Harry Moore lives in Virginia near a college and enjoys visual puns.
Jake Blanchard
Jake Blanchard is a freelance illustrator living and working in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England. His work is often inspired by the natural world as well as mythology and ancient cultures. Much of his work embraces the aesthetic of psychedelia.
His work has appeared in Creative Review, Computer Arts & Design Week, amongst other publications.
He has exhibited throughout the UK and US, as well as in France, Denmark, and New Zealand.
As well as working as an illustrator, Jake also runs record label and zine publisher Tor Press.
http://www.jakeblanchard.co.uk/
Matt Gentry
Matt Gentry is a Blacksburg, Virginia native and member of the Virginia Master Naturalists New River Valley Chapter, as well as the NRV Bird Club, Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, and Blacksburg Regional Art Association.
In 2015 he completed a three-decade section hike of the entire Appalachian Trail, during which he carried a 6"x9" sketchbook -- earning him the trail name "Sharpie".
He has been a photojournalist in Virginia for more than forty years, more than twenty years of that time with the Roanoke Times. Matt has a passion for visual arts and plein air painting, mostly with watercolor and pastel.
"The thing I like most about making art outdoors is the feeling of time slowing down and experiencing a deeper connection with the landscape and its inhabitants. Often birds and mammals will appear while quietly observing and creating. My artistic goal is not to render exactly what I see but to be inspired by what I see."
His artwork can be viewed on Instagram #Sharpiegentry. His email is hemlockshelter@gmail.com.
Sarah Bachman
"I am a visual artist from Virginia.
"Please reach out if you would like to connect. I am available for commision and for hire. I'll paint your sign or weed your garden, or we could just be friends—whatever you need."
sarahannebachman@gmail.com
Starroot
Starroot is a self-taught outsider visionary artist who grew up in Southern Germany and started to create at an early age. She was inspired by nature, her endless fantasy, and her explorations of conscious dreams.
Having just turned thirty years old, Starroot had a life-changing out of body experience during a car accident. She became more open to the visions coming to her until, in 1986, she moved with her two children from Germany to Tennessee, and then on to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
During an illness in 1992, Starroot began painting her healing visions, a series of over fifty large works in acrylic and ink on canvas and wood. Spirit beings such as aliens, angels, fairies, and totem animals appear in her visions of vibrating colors. She calls this series "Arcurian Dreams."
Starroot continuously opens up to receive positive visions and gives them form in new paintings and new songs. Every dot and every note are filled with Love, Peace, Hope, and Harmony.
STARROOT ART AND MUSIC
Web: http://www.starroot.com/
Facebook: Starroot
Etsy shop: Starrootgallery
Bandcamp: Starroot
PRESS
PRESS RELEASE
Interview with Ginger Lacette
What inspired you to write this book?
For decades I've wanted to create a vividly illustrated book that could become a souce of hope and humor. Today, at 64, I'm triggered by ageism and want to encourage discourse and understanding. Also, I see too many expressions of depression/hopelessness/fear among elders, and I feel a driving need to help people who are suffering.
Summarize your book in one to three sentences as if you were speaking to someone unfamiliar with your book and its topic.
Home Stretch (For All My Friends Over Sixty) is a set of over 100 sparkling, short dialogues that treat aging with sensitivity and provide a positive outlook. The dialogues are beautifully illustrated by seven professional artists with diverse backgrounds and styles. #HomeStretch60 prompts laughter, reflection, and some lumps in the throat.
What is the overall theme (central topic, subject, or topic) of your book?
Aging, dying, and death, mixed with hope, empathy, and humor.
Where does this book take place?
All over the world.
Who are the main characters and why are they important to the story?
Dozens of unique individuals of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, races and orientations star in "a gaggle" of funny and poignant dialogues. Individuals worldwide are coping in many ways with change and aging, and the richly imagined verbal exchanges represent some of their coping skills.
Why do you think that this book will appeal to readers?
Everyone wonders about aging, dying, and death. Home Stretch (For All My Friends Over Sixty) provides gentle hope and empathic humor about these topics for everyone.
How is your book relevant in today's society?
Elderly political leaders, Reverse Agers, and Super Agers are reported daily in the media. People in Blue Zones are discussed with avid curiosity. More than ever, longevity seems to be the new American - or International - Dream.
What makes your book different from other books like it?
This book not only consists of more than a hundred unique short dialogues; it is vividly illustrated in full color with original artwork by seven artists. Four of these artists are over sixty.
What do you want readers to take away from your writing?
Hope and joy. Aging doesn't have to be about dread, despair and doom. There is a positive, vibrant and joyous way to live our advancing years. We elders need to laugh a bit and enjoy this amazing golden time.
How did you learn about this?
Extensive reading, personal experience, and reflection (I'm 64), discussions with friends, working in a global humanitarian organization, and working with cancer patients and others in hospitals.
Is there a particular passage of your book you feel is exemplary?
The Talk
(Watching TV in Ankara, Turkey)
Hector: (Age 69) Ugh... I don't want to watch this. This guy dies from a brain tumor- slowly and painfully.
Daphne: (Age 69) Okay, we won't... but what would you do if I had a brain tumor- like a glioblastoma?
Hector: I'd take care of you! Of course... But I wouldn't sit around and morbidly focus on dying and death.
Daphne: I see. It would be hard to ignore... What would you focus on?
Hector: I'd focus on the things you love: laughing and nature... animals, friends, and art.
Daphne: Nice! I'll drop this in a minute, but if there were one thing you could tell me about dying, what would it be?
Hector: I don't know... Don't worry about what you can't change? Do what you like the most? Be with the people who get you? You tell me.
Daphne: That it's not only good to talk about it but sometimes interesting... maybe fun?
Hector: Fun?!! How?
Daphne: It makes you cuddle closer to the ones you love.
Hector: Now you're speaking my language.