TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT: REVISED NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For those who have read Trampled Underfoot and are curious as to the characters' future beyond what was written within the pages of this book, I have revised the notes and acknowledgments page for you to read here.

This book never would’ve seen publication if it weren’t for the gentle urging from a talented fellow author, L.F. Falconer. Her kind encouragement, for me to keep telling my stories, helped me continue with chapter one, which had been collecting dust as an unfinished, rough draft in Microsoft Word.

After much internal debate I decided to give it another shot and advance my skillset. She was generous to sample five chapters in Beta form, and offered her opinions as a mentor and editor of sorts. And although we’ve never met, I’m proud to call Ms. Falconer my friend. I cannot fully express my gratitude for the subtle yet wonderful suggestions she’d provided.

Be sure to check out her many books which are available online on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In particular, there are two fantastic novels which she fondly calls her ‘Hope Books.’ They are: Hope Flies on Broken Wings, and Hope Rises From The Ashes. I guarantee you’ll be as enthralled with her descriptive writing as I was . . . Don’t miss out, they are truly delightful stories from a wonderful author.

As always, I want to thank my lifelong girlfriends for their ever-present encouragement to retell this story, although they’d lived it along with me all those years ago.

Thank you to Dr. Ann Marie Pagano, my Gynecologist, for allowing me to pick her brain concerning a very real tragedy I’d experienced 37 years ago. She was kind enough to respond to my phone call and answer the questions which had been buried for years as unresolved torment.

Thankfully, today’s medical community no longer dismisses mothers’ rights to grieve and say goodbye to their stillborn babies in the proper manner. It’s about time.

On another note, those of us living on earth know the powerful, destructive and violent nature of religious fanaticism, all done in the name of God. And although I’ve written about one particular religion on a much different and lesser scale, I’ve attempted a balanced view from both sides of the argument. I hope I’ve succeeded in that regard.

I merely re-told a story in the form of fiction blended with my own truths based on personal experience. But I hold no grudge nor bear any ill will. If ever there was a religion of peace it is within Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’m no longer one of them but they certainly retain my utmost admiration. Their fine Christian qualities are second to none.

Names in Italics are fictitious for purposes of privacy.

My sister, Lana, is currently living in Ecuador with her husband of many years. To this day, we still do not speak.

My beloved sister, Tina, passed away in Atlanta, Georgia in 1989 from a rare form of melanoma cancer of the optic nerve. She was 40-years-old. I miss her dearly.

I am currently writing Book #3 in the life of Lia Benedict Somers but I am not sure whether I will address this painful loss in the story.

Tina’s husband, John Gaffney, although now remarried in Atlanta, remains close to me and my family to this day. My nephews, Ryan and Johnny, are both married and still keep in touch and visit whenever possible.

My mother, Marie, at this writing, is age 92 (soon to be 93) and resides in a nursing home. She can no longer walk, unfortunately. My brother, Frankie, and I, visit her often.

Frankie resides in New Jersey and is very successful in his chosen career, is married for many years and has adult twin girls who, in turn, are prosperous in their own right. We remain very close.

My wonderful baby sister, Joanna, and I are still as close as two sisters can be, although she resides in Georgia along with her husband and their 3 darling Papilion dogs. We talk or text daily and visit one another as often as possible.

If you’re curious as to the ‘no damn good’ Vic Somers, and wondering if ‘only the good died young’ or not, I’ll let you be the judge as to what age is considered old enough for Vic’s favorite phrase to ring true in his case. Did he or didn’t he get his wish for a long life.

The real Vic Somers’ defective heart finally gave out in 2003 at the age of 52 while living out his life in California. If I could, today I’d thank him for providing me with so much material to write about. May he rest in peace, and I mean that.

Although these two mentions, below, are merely composite characters based on many women Vic was attracted to during the course of our short marriage, they are written products of my imagination. I actually liked Roxanne’s character, but the real Roxanne LeBreuxs and Denise Redwines, and others I knew of, had been confronted by me at one time or another after my divorce. I kept on digging and ultimately got satisfaction. But know this, I did it nicely!

And yes, I had eventually been told about Vic’s attempted “hit” on Joanna.

The real Lorraine Ryan is recently deceased but I am ‘friends’ on Facebook with her child, Charley Ryan, who had found me a number of years ago during an internet search.

My brother-in law Gregory Somers passed away, in a Veteran’s Hospital, in Hawaii on New Year’s Eve 1999, from complications of drug abuse and the traumatic effects of the Vietnam War, including Agent Orange.

My father-in-law Victor “T-Bone” Somers, had passed away sometime in the 90s from cirrhosis of liver due to years of drinking vodka.

The fate of Timothy Decker is unknown to me. We lost touch, obviously, after my divorce.

And finally, my two mother-in-laws, Yvonne McDonnell and Gloria Somers are both deceased.

Such is the way of life, unfortunately.

I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. May God bless you all.

Elizabeth Good