Novelist (A Tight Grip), flash fiction, and essay writer. Estudiante de español. Retired MBA. Flash fiction was Kay's first writing focus. Think Ya-Yas.
Kay Rae Chomic developed her writing skills by earning certificates in fiction and non-fiction writing from the University of Washington, being part of a writing group, participating in readings, taking classes and attending events at the Hugo House. After winning an international short story contest, she felt empowered to begin a novel with plans on stringing together the flash to finish it. Her
first novel, A TIGHT GRIP, is being published by She Writes Press. Much of the golf action in this novel was taken from Kay's competitive golf experiences. Some highlights: youngest person, at fifteen, to be medalist and make it into the finals of the Jackson county match play tournament; played at the local, state, college, and national level; best round: 73; one hole-in-one; life-long friendships made. Raised in Michigan, Kay began her migration west after graduating from college. She has lived in Denver, Phoenix, and since 1990, Seattle. An avid career changer, Kay spent a decade in the business world in four different industries, fifteen years teaching in a business school, and three years as a transit instructor. She earned a BA in marketing from Michigan State University, and a MBA in management from Golden Gate University. Kay's happy to report her left and right brain have stopped wrestling, and now play nicely together. When she's not writing, or working on the business of writing, she loves to swim, travel, and promote literacy by working as a tutor. A Tight Grip:
A novel about golf, love affairs, and women of a certain age. Jane “Par” Parker is 46-years old, a four-handicap golfer, prideful, privileged, and lives in a small Michigan town with more golf courses than churches. She has a tight grip on her obsessions: winning golf tournaments, grief over her father’s murder, and stalking a red vintage Corvette. At the beginning of this week-long novel, Par Parker’s all-consuming goal is to win the upcoming match-play tournament she hasn’t been able to win in ten years. Distractions conspire against her: a night in jail for a crime she blames on her husband, a slanderous newspaper article, and shocking love affairs exposed by those closest to her. Par’s three best friends come to her rescue, but their rescue efforts rock Par’s world. Now, turn the Ya-Yas into northerners, and have two of them have an affair with each other! Par Parker’s rigid identities—golf star, father worshiper, loyal friend, mother, and wife—collect in a blender, and outside forces press the grind button. Her quirky affinities for skinny dipping and dancing like Isadora Duncan provide some emotional solace. Amid the competitive golf action, Par realizes her obsessions have kept her stuck in the past, and the future has come to get her. Filled with humor, poignancy and wild moments, this book offers touching insights into the transition to midlife. As you read A Tight Grip you’ll laugh, cringe, cry, and celebrate bonds of female friendships as Par Parker confronts her weaknesses, her husband, and her enemies. She discovers the transformative power of adversity, and what it means to be a woman of a certain age.
