It’s Good Friday on the Easter weekend and depending where you are, you’ll either have lots of time off, or just a bit. If you have none, sorry to hear that. Either way it’s Friday in the land of Prose and that means only one thing: Feature Friday!

This week we showcase a Proser who you will very likely have had contact with by the name of Claire, whose pen name for her e-books is Sari Lantana and her Proser username is @sandflea68.

Claire lives in Flagler Beach, Florida, which she describes as a picturesque old Florida seaside town of 4,000 people. If asked to describe herself in three words, Claire tells us that they would be “creative, inquisitive and loving.”

We asked what Claire does or did for a living, to which she replies: “I formerly owned and operated a skin diving charter boat business from Miami to the Bahamas. I have also worked as a claims adjuster handling litigated bodily injury claims.”

We prompt Claire for what her relationship is with writing, and how has it evolved. She explains in full: “Three years ago, I joined a class called Writing for Fun and started writing my first novel there, an e-book called Jade Murder Without Remorse under my pen name, Sari Lantana.”

“This book is about beautiful psychopathic Jade who commands both love and hate as she charges forward in many twists and turns, engineering novel ways to kill her four husbands.”

“The story of Jade is told through the eyes of her psychiatrist who discovers his own hidden, devious aspect as he becomes involved in a symbiotic relationship with Jade. Against his better judgment, he finds himself wishing that he had the courage to explore the dark side as his patient does. The suspense mounts to a conclusion that is both shocking and unexpected.“

“The reader will ride this thrilling adventure into the uncharted future because the ending proves both challenging and out of the realm of imagination of even the most astute. This book can be googled under both the title and the pen name and purchased through all e-book sites.”

“I have also written a second e-book, Bahama Red, Intrigue on the High Seas under the pen name, Sari Lantana. This is about the turbulent times in the 1970’s in Miami and the Bahamas when former innocent, Bahama Red, operated her skin diving charter boat business from Miami to the Bahamas. This book promises a thrilling ride through reckless and frenzied times when drug runners were rampant and Miami was a wide-open lawless town. The unique and captivating characters will enthral all who expect a good time. Swallow this story with greedy gulps when facing the challenge of believing some of the incidents that occurred. But it is guaranteed that this story will prove to be intoxicating to all.”

“I have started a third book, Half of Me is Missing, under the same penname but have temporarily put it on hold while I am honing my skills on Prose. It will be a psychological thriller. I hope to get back to it soon.”

“Writing opens up the world to me but I can honestly say that I really have very little background in it. I just started writing a book without really knowing what I was doing. (learning by doing) I am now receiving royalties which is very exciting. I find writing is cathartic to me and a wonderful release for pent up emotions. I love the writing community of Prose and learn from everyone there and consider many of them friends. I love the humor and the camaraderie of all of them. “

And as for what value reading adds to Claire’s life, she expounds: “Reading has opened new vistas to me, about people making their lives on the water (for one of my books), eroticism, psychology and human behavior, allowed me to be an armchair traveler to extend my knowledge of other places, and introduced works of art to which I normally wouldn’t be exposed. Reading bares the personal lives of both famous and regular people, how they meet life’s challenges and how they overcome their hardships and share their joys with me. Reading stimulates me mentally and helps me reflect and problem solve.”

“I have put my third book temporarily on hold while I hone my skills on Prose and take a breather. I find myself writing daily on Prose, exploring everything they have to offer.”

What does Claire like about Prose? She waxes lyrically thus: “TheProse.com is a lively community of likeminded and unique souls who open their hearts to everyone. I love connecting with the friends I have made and learning from their contributions. I think there are wonderful writers on Prose, both published and unpublished, and they expose a different way of seeing life. I had never tried erotica until I started writing here and it gave me confidence to try this avenue as well as others!”

What book would Claire have us all read at least once before we pop our clogs? “I think that I would recommend the Bible to everyone, whether religious or not, because it talks about the entire human condition, including forgiveness, grace, poverty, love, kindness, faith, spirituality, joy, redemption, morals, ethics, war, petulance and travail. It is a history through the ages and shows the beauty of language translated into all languages.”

Does she want to sing the praises of any previously unsung heroes? She does: “I never saw my parents without a book and I remember sneaking the books that they said were too risqué for me to read. These unsung heroes encouraged me to read and stretch in all endeavours of life. As for writing, I just started one day and never stopped. It seemed to appear out of nowhere, perhaps a creative urge. If I weren’t writing, I would be painting (which I do) or pursuing other creativity. I don’t want either my writing or painting to be manicured, preferring it to be in broad strokes.”

We ask her for a quote that sums her up. We like her answer: “I’ve always appreciate the wisdom of Maya Angelou in many of her quotes but especially, ”I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” It gives me strength.”

In any of her guises, does she listen to music when writing: “I love to listen to classical music if I’m in a serene mood or don’t want distraction. But what I like most is country music because it offers rhythm, slices of life, and poetry set to music.”

As for the weekly Time Machine issue: “If I climbed out of a time machine into a dystopian future with no books, I would try to introduce them to the beauty of the past and encourage them to create their own stories by word of mouth. I would show them how to dance, how to draw in the dirt, how to make art from natural materials and to search out some joy in their oppressive lives. The things that I taught them could expand their world so that they would want to share their stories with others, perhaps as the caveman did. I would attempt to show them kindness, sharing and cooperation with one another for the betterment of them all and to introduce some light into their squalor.”

We ask if there is anything else that she would like us to know about her or her social media accounts. Only this: “I have a facebook account under my pen name, Sari Lantana, which profiles my books. My books are on all e-book sites and can be googled.”

Thanks to Claire, who can be found follow and interact with on Prose.com as @sandflea68