Hello, readers! I’m thrilled to begin telling you about the second edition of Becoming Hazel, which has recently been published by Archway Publishing. It is the first book in the Inherited Treasures series, and although the first edition was originally published last year, we thought the series deserved a new look and some fresh edits. Apart from the incredible new cover (many thanks to the design department at Archway!), there is also new content and what I hope is a better explanation of why I chose the title.
This new edition is still faithful to the key elements of the original book. Hazel refuses to be defined by her tiny stature caused by the congenital curvature of her spine, nor be discouraged by the taunts of ignorant people who called her names because of her shortened left leg and clunky boot needed to compensate for it. Instead, she uses her God-given talents and years of study to pursue her dream of becoming an accompanist for silent films. She pushes back on cultural norms by defying the wishes of her father, marrying the man she chooses after knowing him only briefly, ignoring the fact that he was twice her age, two feet taller and was an uneducated fireman from the hills of Appalachia. She still fights for the rights of women as a suffragist and in other more subtle ways. Ever faithful Hazel has setbacks, but mostly she triumphs.
But the new second edition clarifies Hazel’s personal journey as she finds herself, discovering a larger world as she broadens her independence. When she was cloistered in her father’s home, he held all the power and defined the parameters of her world. She managed to expand those parameters by visiting a few vaudeville houses and silent movie theaters when she was out doing errands for her mother, exploiting the possibilities of her limited independence. Those adventures only made her hunger for more independence. When that independence came by chance as she was sent to a healing spa in Mineral Wells, Texas, Hazel knew she would not squander her opportunity. She did not overstep the bounds of propriety, but when given the opportunity to take her dream job, she seized it.
It was important to me to choose a cover for the new second edition of Becoming Hazel that represented something entirely new and novel in Hazel’s life. The image is sometimes referred to as “Moon Face”, and it is a single frame from a 1902 silent film by Georges Méliès entitled A Trip to the Moon. The early science fiction film was indeed in color, and that was accomplished by hand-tinting each individual frame, which was a painstaking and precise process. I added a new scene to the book to explain the source of the cover artwork as well as to give another example of Hazel auditioning to play for silent films, revealing her remarkable skills as a pianist. I wanted her to see something on the screen she had never seen before, something she would find awe-inspiring. It was interesting to write a scene in 1908 where two artists, a musician and a builder of movie palaces, imagine what the future of cinema might become.
I hope you’ll enjoy the new edition of Becoming Hazel. We’re just starting to promote it, and you should start seeing some ads pop up on Facebook and Google. We also have a few surprises planned, so keep watching this space as well as my website, DorrieParsonsAuthor.com. I’ll be switching to a new website, dorrie-lenoreparsons.com sometime later this month, and I’ll keep you up to date if you’re watching this space! You can also follow me and keep track of all five of the books in the Inherited Treasures series on my Author Page at amazon.com/author/dorrie-lenoreparsons.
All the Inherited Treasures books are available on Amazon, but Becoming Hazel is, of course, available as well through Archway Publishing, or wherever books are sold. I truly appreciate my readers, and I especially appreciate it when you take the time to leave starred reviews of my books. Please reach out to me on my website with your questions or comments. I promise I will not sell your email address, but I will use it to give you early access to some exciting opportunities, including book group access with the author!
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#defyingnorms#silentfilmpianist#GeorgesMéliès#ATriptotheMoon
Inherited Treasures Series 