KAYLIN'S BACKGROUND:

For the past twenty years, Kaylin has worked in PR and marketing for her family-owned conglomerate, the Yoshida Group, which consists of eighteen diverse corporations. She was appointed as one of nine commissioners to the Oregon Arts Commission by Governor Kitzhaber while working as the director of a nationally-acclaimed art gallery in Portland, Oregon. Under her guidance, numerous visual artists gained recognition through exhibitions and exposure in national publications. Eager to spread her own creative wings, she has since steered her energy toward writing novels. As a result, she has earned more than a dozen literary awards and was a 2008 finalist in the prestigious RWA® Golden Heart contest.

Kaylin is a member of RWA, Rose City Romance Writers, and Willamette Writers. She received her AA in Literature at Highline Community College, which originally sparked her passion for writing. In her free time, she also enjoys giving back to the community through participation and support of various charitable and educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

KAYLIN'S CAUSE:

After experiencing a tramatic death in her family sixteen years ago, Kaylin decided to write her first novel, Flaherty's Crossing, which will be published in February 2010 by Champagne Books. She is proud to announce that 100% of her proceeds from the sale of this novel will be designated to cancer research and you can make a difference!

Kaylin has joined forces with Fred Meyers and Providence Medical Foundation of Portland, Oregon to bring an end to the devastating effects of colon cancer. You have an opportunity to be part of this tremendous life-changing effort by purchasing copies of Flaherty's Crossing. Please open your hearts and let's find a way to end this threat in our lifetime. Sign up on Kaylin's growing email list today! 

http://www.kaylinmcfarren.com

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW by AuthorsDen:

Flaherty's Crossing
by Kaylin McFarren
Champagne Books
ISBN: 978-1-926681-19-1
February 2010
 
Taut Romantic Thriller!

For as long as she can remember Kate Flaherty's felt abandoned and unloved. First by her mother, then her often-absent trucker father and finally by her mother's cold sister who came to raise her. Emotionally shut down, yet living on hair trigger reactions, Kate now stands at her father's deathbed in his cabin on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.
 
While the hospice nurse bustles about offering practiced comfort, Kate's dad, in a morphine haze, murmurs fragments of memories and then clearly utters his regret at causing her mother's death so long ago.
 
Hounded by feelings she's been stifling ever since, Kate flees for her home and her over-worked lawyer husband. Driving too fast through the forest, she's leaving a message on Drew's cellphone when she crashes off the road. Awakening in the dark, she stumbles on in search of a phone at a half-remembered diner across the bridge and over the rail tracks where the lone, strangely familiar cook's intrusive conversation forces her to realize that her marriage has been falling apart almost from the beginning.
 
Now this safe haven and the creepy cook begin to feel threatening and, as she's always done, Kate flees again, back to her life which while materially successful is empty of faith, love & trust.
 
When Drew follows Kate's directions left on his phone he finds her stunned beside her wrecked car. The tension between husband and wife is palpable. Neither able to articulate what's troubling them, their needs nor how they can help each other.
 
Most of us haven't a clue what our parents' lives were like before we came along, and so it is when Kate and Drew go through her father's papers while taking care of his funeral arrangements. They uncover far-flung friends he never mentioned and stories that bring Kate's parents to life, and in doing these necessary tasks together they find a measure of forgiveness & reconciliation.
 
Kaylin McFarren has written a well thought out taut internal romantic thriller with something to say about how unresolved childhood trauma will come out sideways, thwarting any chance of a healthy present.  All the way through Flaherty's Crossing I kept muttering "Get thee to a therapist!" Except had Kate done so there wouldn't be this page-turner, right?

-Rebecca J. Brown

ADDITONAL REVIEWS:

"If you are looking for a novel with that little bit of difference, then I would heartily recommend this book."• Orchid, Long and Short Reviews

"Brimming with witty repartee, well-drawn characters, creativity, imagination, plot twists, a few surprises and a bit of the paranormal, this story is unforgettable." • Dottie, Romance Junkies

"Flaherty's Crossing is an inspirational story that cannot be missed. Kaylin teaches us that through the darkness and confusion there will always be light at the end of the tunnel." • The Pen and Muse

"A skillfully wrought tale." • Kirkus Discoveries

"Beautifully written, heart wrenching yet inspirational, this is a 'must read' for anyone who has loved and lost." • Elizabeth Joy Arnold, USA Today bestselling author of Pieces of My Sister's Life

"Suspenseful, poignant and ultimately soul-satisfying, this life-affirming tale of shattering secrets will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't miss it!" • Joy Nash, USA Today bestselling author of Deep Magic

"A superb novel bearing a message not easily forgotten." • Angela Fox, Publisher of OregonCity News/Clackamas Review

"Flaherty's Crossing is an inspirational story about learning to let go and love fully for the sake of love.”• Tami Brady, TCM Reviews

"For anyone who has loved immensely and faced a painful loss, this book is a bridge to healing, forgiveness and an open heart." • Regina Ellis, Founder, CEO The Children's Cancer Association

"A brilliant exploration of women's fiction." • Aubrie Dionne, SynergEbooks