c_garticlejan102001

    Gina juggles many roles, including mother of four and professional worker. Now she has taken on a new role - that of published author. Gina recently published her first novel, "Secrets That You Keep", under the pen name Gina Becker. The book is a contemporary romance/suspense story. The main character, Rachel Martin, is a physician who finds out her boyfriend actually has a wife, a villa in Mexico, and he's been laundering drug money from his manufacturing plant in Detroit. One emotional blow after another leads her to a missionary Indian village in Mexico, and it is there that she finds true love and belonging.
     Gina said that the main character is loosely based on a friend of hers who one day discovered that her husband had a whole other life. She eventually overcame that devastating fact and is now a successful businesswoman. The book sends a message of perseverance and overcoming obstacles. "I wanted women of our age to be able to relate to Rachel in a realistinc way," says Gina, who is in her late 30's.
     Publishing her first novel has been a pleasant surpirise for Gina who grew up in Warren, Michigan and graduated from Cousino High School. "I never thought I would write seriously," she said. An avid reader since childhood, Gina began writing for her own pleasure about six years ago. She penned a story about a young girl who comes to terms with growing up. Gina's oldest daughter suggested that she try to get it published. Upon reviewing the story, publishers said that it was good, but that the story crossed too many genres. In the meantime, Gina had started writing "Secrets That You Keep."
     Upon finishing the book, Gina was again faced with the challange of finding a publisher. While she eventually received an offer from a California-based firm, she turned it down because she would have received so little in return for her efforts. Just when Gina was beginning to get frustrated, things began looking up again. One day, she was at a bookstore with her boyfriend, and he picked up a pamphlet on iUniverse.com, a publish-on-demand company. Gina submitted her novel online by inputting it into a specified template. An editor from Writer's Digest reviewed the story and gave it high marks in all categories. After a few minor revisions and choosing a cover for the book, Gina was thrilled to receive the first five free copies of her novel.
     The entire process took 6 months, which is less than half the time it would take in a traditional publishing situation, she said. Now the novel is available through many online booksellers. "I feel excited that I finally have a book in print and that I can share some of those experiences with other people," Gina said. While getting published proved to be a relatively quick task, writing takes a while because Gina conducts extensive research on her topics. For instance, she spent hours researching Mexico to accurately depict it in her book. She also learned about the natives in the Sierra Madre Mountains from her father, a physician who has spent years helping the people of that region. "Over the years, my father made 18 trips to the mission. He's donated much of his time and money to its succeess," Gina said.
     With one novel under her belt, Gina is looking forward to having her second book published sometime this year. Titled, "Echoes In The Hallway," it follows two young lovers in Greece who are separated by World War II. Years later, after they've each married someone else, their children meet in the United States and fall in love. Gina said she spent hours researching World War II, as well as Greek people and their customs. Getting into the world of writing has been a rewarding experience, and Gina wants to keep polishing her skills. "I want to get better and better. I feel this was just the beginning."