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I was born in Southern California a long, long time ago. I've read books of nearly every genre all my life, and kept diaries and journals. I love to write as well as read.
My family moved to Reno, Nevada where I eventually married and raised four children while I worked in the casinos. I took creative writing classes, and began submitting short stories and articles to publishers. Only two of my submissions were published (without payment), but the rejection slips piled up, and I stopped writing until I was bitten by the genealogy bug. I've written a "book" about our families' histories, but not for publication.
After our children left home, my husband and I enjoyed camping and traveling in our RV; riding motorcycles and participating in vintage car events.
We retired in 2003, and moved from Reno to Lake Havasu City, Arizona to get away from the snow, cold weather, and the little high desert town that had become a big city.
A few years after moving here I joined a local writer's group and began to write again. By critiquing the work of other writers, and having my own work critiqued, I learned many valuable lessons. I gained confidence through the group's encouragement and honesty.
"Micah and the Angel" began as a 1,000 word writer's choice assignment for the group. The problem was, once I completed that assignment I couldn't stop writing the story!
My husband and I now travel so we can see our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Reviewed by Bil Howard for Readers' Favorite
Alone, confused and scared, when Micah’s mother died, his future was uncertain. Having grown up in a rather strange place, the orphan of Athena Weston (alias of Amy Buckman Westlund), is searching for answers to his confusion in Micah and the Angel by Anita Batz. He finds some answers and some comfort from an angel who appears before him with the promise of always being there to guide him. He names the angel Poppy and finds that Poppy gives him good advice and always makes him smile. Athena had been working in a 19th-century brothel on the outskirts of a small town in California when she died. Living in a little shack out back was her six-year-old son. Through the kindness of her friend, Rosette, she was able to send word to her estranged family in Sacramento. Though Franklin Buckman was struck hard by her death and by the guilt he held for the angry words that had passed between them when she left Sacramento, he knew that the only way he could make things right was to go to Branchdale and bring his grandson back to live with them and be a part of their family. The owner of the brothel, Star, has other plans when she realizes the stature of Athena’s father and the value that Micah holds for her.
Micah and the Angel is a tragic story which ends in triumph. The twists and turns in the plot on the way to getting there are what makes it such a delightful read. Anita Batz expertly illustrates the simple, innocent thoughts of a boy who knows nothing of the unsavory life taking place about him. This is a story of family love and how, in spite of difficulties, love always rises above all else and comes to the rescue. Tragic, genuine and inspiring, Micah and the Angel will take you through a mix of emotions from tragedy to triumph and leave you with warm feelings of simple, innocent faith, love and family.
