PRO CONNECT
Elizabeth Zinn grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan and the University of Paris as a Fulbright Scholar. After a career in music she spent eight years as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Arizona before retiring to write fiction full time. After a lifetime of authoring various nonfiction and academic works, she now has completed four novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of poems. Two of her works were finalists in Glimmertrain and Leapfrog Press competitions, 2010 and 2011. Her novel 'Heart’s Blood' was a Finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards, won an Honorable Mention in the 2012 San Francisco Book Festival, and received a Kirkus star. Kirkus Reviews named 'Heart’s Blood' as one of the Best Indie Books of 2012.
Ms. Zinn lives and writes in a small town in the mountains of southern Arizona.
“An eloquent, refreshing perspective of the struggles faced by those living along the Mexican border.”
– Kirkus Reviews
Zinn (The Happiness Lottery, 2011, etc.) returns with a novel that chronicles the trials of a wandering cowboy who learns to take life by the horns.
Tyler “Ty” McNeil makes his living running rodeo shows, just like his father, now deceased, did. Ty spends several years traveling far from home to do so, which strains his marriage. He eventually chooses the rodeo over his wife, finding himself alone and unfulfilled. As a result, Ty makes a radical decision to take control of his life and live it on his own terms. Rather than blindly following the direction of others, Ty now desires to direct his own path, regardless of his obligations. The peace he makes and his thoughts on life as he grows older are magnificently captured through intermittent reflections. Ty abandons the rodeo and sets his sights on a ranch back home in southwestern Arizona. Zinn’s characterization is purposeful, deep and rich; each character is well-developed and instrumental to the story. An intriguing mix of cultures populates the novel: Anglos, Mexicans, Native Americans and mixed-blood families. Although the story chronicles the changes in Ty’s life over the course of two generations, the setting takes almost equal precedence, brought to life by vivid descriptions of the landscape. Among several entwined themes, family and its different permutations are at the heart of the novel: The rejection of Ty’s biological son contrasts Ty’s relationship with his adopted daughter. The author’s love for Arizona is immersed in her lyrical writing, as the impact of environment on family is threaded wonderfully into various plotlines.
An eloquent, refreshing perspective on the struggles faced by those living along the Mexican border.
Pub Date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468140385
Page count: 272pp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Day job
writing
Favorite author
James Salter
Favorite book
Two Years Before the Mast, RH Dana
Hometown
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
HEART'S BLOOD: Honorable Mention, Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest, 2011
HEART'S BLOOD: Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books, 2012
HEART'S BLOOD: Honorable Mention, Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest, 2011
HEART'S BLOOD: Finalist, International Book Award, 2012
HEART'S BLOOD: Kirkus Star
HEART'S BLOOD: Finalist, International Book Award, 2012
HEART'S BLOOD: Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books
HEART'S BLOOD: Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books
Dancer: A Memory: Honorable Mention, Glimmertrain Fiction, New Writers, 2010
HEART'S BLOOD: Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books
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