Prologue
The Bonus and Sister Planet Tara:
The Complete American Stories-Edited
Excerpt from the book “The Bonus and Sister Planet Tara: The Complete American Stories-Edited“
by Jeneen Diane Sterling
December 2002/January 2003
Prologue
As you may have read and guessed by now, my wife has decided to devote some of her free time to writing. Her first unedited contemporary book, The Bonus, was based upon our first two years of life together. The second unedited book, Sister Planet Tara, was based upon– well, I’m really not quite sure what it was based upon or what prompted her into writing a very unusual and sensual science fiction novel, but it did captivate her readers. Since the release of those first two books, she’s also found the time to begin the works to publishing a children’s book, Beth the Bodacious Beetle, which will be under her maiden name of Jeneen Mitchell.
To bring you up to date with the present happenings in our family, the twins are now talking, walking, and getting into everything. Our watchdog has been turned into more of a seashell-hunting beach dog than a guard dog. A few members of the military and the government have decided to adopt us. And that was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist bombings of the Twin Towers in New York and the attack on the Pentagon.
Those attacks, along with the January 1, 2002 conversion of twelve European countries from old money to a single European currency did put my computer skills and me back into government service. That was quicker than my wife or I’d planned on, since my involvement with the Y2K project had recently ended. So, like everyone else in the U.S., we’re trying to pick up where we left off, put our lives back on track, and return to a semi-normal lifestyle. Which plainly said, means my wife still hates parties. Other than that, we have managed to have an ordinary but richly filled life, bolstered with an unconditional love.
It was my wife’s idea, and also after several requests from readers, to reissue her first two books as one edited book and, as an added touch, include additional excerpts. When it came time to find an editor, I suggested the use of an online source (since both books emphasize the use of computers and technology) to complete the updated, reprinted book versions. After several promises from both the editor and myself that the updated, finalized stories didn’t veer away from the original first editions, my wife agreed to the publication.
So, having brought you up to date with our family life and having explained the reasoning behind the combination of two books into one, I hope you enjoy the revised and edited versions of The Bonus and Sister Planet Tara.
About the Book
The Complete American Stories-Edited
by Jeneen Diane Sterling
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About The Bonus
The Bonus is an interracial, multicultural, truly American story where everyday events, day-to-day life, and people intertwine within the pages and spring forth in imagery and detail. Set in North Florida, the story is powerful, sensitive, and delicately written about everyday people experiencing life in a world filled with education, computers, and love. It is a story told from the viewpoints of both the heroine, a forty-two-year-old African-American, and that of the hero, a white thirty-four-year-old with a physical impairment.
While focusing on the interracial romance between the two main characters, The Bonus also creates a sweeping, positive spectrum comprised of military, government, music, sports and education figures – and most important, the story of an African-American father figure and his family who regards a white man with a physical impairment as one of their own.
About Sister Planet Tara
(From the original)
Sister Planet Tara is an interracial love story with an out-of-this-world twist. Two single American women – one African-American, one Chinese-American, friends since their college days – find themselves transported from their North Florida backyard to a planet named Tara, where they become objects of affection for human-like aliens.
On Sister Planet Tara, daily life is simple and family-oriented – and the power of life and death rest in the hands of the family that has selected the two friends to become their new family members.
Sister Planet Tara is an entertaining romp that focuses on family life and friendships that know no universal boundaries. It is written for the romantic at heart and the science-fiction reader as well.
Two page-turners from start to finish! Enjoy!
Jeneen Diane Sterling:
Still happily married, living in North Florida, and after spending the past two years putting the finishing touches on this, her first experience with having written a book, Jeneen’s alter ego is now looking forward to catching up on mounds of neglected reading. She has one child, a teenage daughter, who’s still counting down the days to begin life at college but, understandably, closer to home. The only pet in the family over the past fourteen years—a mutt adopted from the Humane Society—is now chasing daffodils, dragonflies, squirrels, and butterflies in a heavenly playground. And, is with the family in lasting memories and spirit.
Copyright © Jeneen Diane Sterling, reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. {jos_sb_discuss:9}