SPOKANE, Wash., July 29, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The date of Sept. 11, 2001 will forever remain in America's history as the day the nation was sent reeling. For Arianna Neumiller, the day marks the loss of everything dear to her in one giant swoop. As she claws her way out of her own ground zero, she shows her strength in American Woman American Strong (now available through 1stBooks), a new fictional work by Melissa S. James.
Sept. 11, 2001 was filled with horrifying events for the nation, but it was a whirlwind for Arianna. After a violent beating from her husband and a resulting miscarriage, Arianna emerges from the hospital to witness the second plane hit the World Trade Center. When she arrives home, there is a distressing message from her parents on the answering machine. Her parents are trapped in the World Trade Center. From her machine, Arianna learns of her parents' demise, as well as a tragic secret: she is adopted. Everything she has known and believed in has been leveled by one day's worth of tragedy.
Determined to find her biological parents, Arianna begins her journey with the help of her Aunt Maggie. Soon, however, a dream of a ghostly woman resembling Arianna compels her to discover the source of the woman's longing. The ghost woman is looking for her lost daughter. The thirst to know her own parents and to solve the mystery of her dreams drives her from New York to the fields of Iowa and the mountain isolation of Washington State. Arianna will have to find new resolve and strength to carry on.
"Just like America reeled from the aftermath of 9/11, my heroine reeled from the aftermath of losing everything in one fell swoop. Just like America rose from the ashes of Ground Zero stronger than before, my heroine rose stronger, more sure of herself, willing and able to fight for what she believed in," James says.
James is the director of nurses for a long-term care facility. She says it is "a great place to garner story ideas."
"The old people I am responsible for have more stories than could ever be written. Their stories cover all genres from comedy to mystery," James says.
She lives on a small farm with her husband, Willard, and their daughter, Sarah. American Woman American Strong is her first novel.
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