Press Release

Deepwater Horizon disaster and sea turtles serve as backdrop in new novel

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – January 30, 2013 – In Trails in the Sand by P. C. Zick, environmental writer Carolyn Carlisle reports on the danger sea turtles face as oil heads to the Florida coast from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

As Caroline follows the story, she uncovers secrets about the past that threaten to destroy what’s left of her family unless she finds a way to heal the hurts after a lifetime of lies.

Trails in the Sand explores the struggles to replenish and restore after destruction, in nature and in a family, as both head to disaster. Through it all, the ancient sea turtle serves as a reminder that life moves forward despite the best efforts to destroy it.

P. C. Zick worked as a public relations director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) during the oil spill crises. In her new novel, she draws on her experience as the Deepwater Horizon disaster plays out in the background. As the oil gushed out of the ground and headed for Florida’s Panhandle coast, Ms. Zick headed up media relations for the sea turtle nest relocation project. In 2011, the FWC gave her and the project’s team an award for outstanding work in saving the endangered sea turtles.

Ms. Zick has written several nonfiction books and has four published novels, including Live from the Road. She was a reporter and public relations specialist in Gainesville, St. Augustine, and Tallahassee, where she published under the name of Patricia Behnke. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Robert and writes blogs and novels with environmental themes.

For more information about Trails in the Sand, visit www.pczick.com or https://pittsburghwriter.wordpress.com. Please contact her directly at pczick@verizon.net for information about review copies, speaking engagements, interviews, and book signings.

Trails in the Sand – Behind the Scenes with the Author
I was embroiled in the real-life drama of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as a public relations director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I handled the media for the sea turtle nest relocation project that took place during the summer of 2010. At the same time, I was beginning a new relationship with a lost love from thirty-five years ago. We married in August 2010. During the environmental disaster, I was in the process of moving to Pittsburgh to be with my new husband. Two weeks prior to the oil spill, twenty-nine miners were killed in a coal mine explosion in West Virginia, just a few hours from where I was moving. It all fell into place to write about the oil spill and the coal mine disaster and our quest for profit and fossil fuels at any cost. I made the environmental disasters the backdrop for the love story of two people who must overcome many obstacles to restore lost love.

Contact information:
Purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/Trails-in-the-Sand-ebook/dp/B00ANVD6DE
Website: http://www.pczick.com
Blogs: www.pczick.wordpress.com and www.pittsburghwriter.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCZick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PCZick