August 28, 2011

Find Your Heart in the Heart of Ohio with Author and Reviewer, Wendi Zwaduk

My name is Wendi Zwaduk and I am a lifelong resident of Ohio. Kinda like the John Mellencamp song, “Small Town” (even though it’s written about another state) fits me well. I was born in a small town and I live in a small town. I’ve often told people there’s not a whole lot in Ohio save for corn and soy bean fields. I’m stretching the truth a little. There is actually a lot in Ohio.
I grew up in a small house on a plain avenue in Ohio. I had friends, lots of room to run, and my imagination to keep me company. I’d like to think it was all the time spent sitting in Mom’s Lilac bushes, creating scenarios for my Barbie dolls that helped to cultivate my love of storytelling. I wanted them all to have happily-ever-afters. Who wouldn’t? I didn’t start writing until after college, but I’m glad I started putting my stories onto the computer screen. It’s been a fun release and a great way to meet people who also love to tell stories. Check out my novel, “Right Where I Need to Be”. It’s set in Ohio farmland. Also a one of my favorite stories. I work for the Long and Short Reviews and love being there. Check them out, too. http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/index.htm
But enough about me. Let’s talk about Ohio!!One of my all time favorite places to go in Ohio has got to be in Cleveland. You got it, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. I love going there and seeing the clothes that belonged to John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix’s guitar, original lyrics written by the Beach Boys...It’s a blast.  http://rockhall.com/
Want something a little more spooky? I got some great resources from this location. The Mansfield Reformatory. Never heard of it? You’ve probably seen it. Have you seen “The Shawshank Redemption” with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins? Then you’ve seen Mancy. It’s a prison that’s over a hundred years old. There are ghost tours, ghosts, and lots of history there. If you dare to go after dark. You can see where they shot parts of the movie and even the tunnel where Tim Robbins escaped. Think it looks more like Dracula’s castle? You wouldn’t be far off. Come check it out. http://www.mrps.org/
Spooky not your thing? That’s fine. We have the Wright Patterson Air Force base down in Dayton. While you’re there, you can check out the National Air Force Museum. I love looking at the gigantic planes and wondering how they get those things into the air. http://www.wpafb.af.mil/index.asp
And then if you’d like to slow down a little, there’s the Ohio Wine Country. It’s not really one particular place, but Ohio is known for its ice wine. Great on ice cream. Hang out in the Northeastern corner of Ohio, in the Lake and Ashtabula county regions and you can take guided tours. It’s a lot of fun. http://www.touring-ohio.com/ohio-wines.html

I’m sure there are plenty more places in Ohio for you to check out. We’ve got Cedar Point and the sky-high roller coasters, The Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati zoos. We have the Mid-Ohio Indy course. There’s lots to do in Ohio. And for more about me and my work, plus I’ve got a full page on my site devoted to FREE reads, visit my website http://www.wendizwaduk.com/ 
I also run a blog http://wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/ There you’ll find Flirty Fridays and great book trailers for my novels plus links to sites I love and events where you’ll find me. 

11 comments:

  1. Hi Wendi, I'd love to tour the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, but will skip the prison. The Long and Short Review must be a great place to work and find more books. You're lucky. The best of luck to you and your writing.

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  2. We learn so much about our neighbor states in these blogs. I didn't know Ohio had wine country. Thanks for the info, and good luck with your writing.

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  3. Thanks for the nice blog about Ohio, Wendi. There are a lot of Ohio retirees down here on the southwest coast of Florida and they speak well of the state. I would love to see Mancy...spooky.
    Happy writing.

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  4. I would love to see that house. I love its looks. I have been through Ohio and never really stopped to look. I am going to stop next time.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  5. Thanks ladies. Annette, I had a blast writing this post. Nora - come on over to Ohio. I love going to the Rock Hall. Jrlindermuth - yup, I used to live in that region and wow are there some yummy wines!

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  6. Fran - It's spooky, but it's fun. :-) We have lots of neighbors who head to FLA in the winter.

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  7. Debby - you should stop and look around in Ohio. We have ever changing weather, too. Wait five minutes and it's something else. We've had snow in May.

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  8. Great post, Wendy! I had no idea Ohio was so diverse, though I'm not surprised! The heartland often gets overlooked. The museum looks so spooky! Way cool!

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  9. The prison is really kinda scary looking--inside and out, but it's fun, too. Tim Robbins was in Ohio!

    Thanks for Stopping by Pauline! Glad you liked the post!

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  10. Debbie KumpAugust 30, 2011

    Hi Wendi,
    Thanks for sharing! I love Shawshank Redemption, but never knew it was filmed in Ohio. And I know what you mean about the ever-changing weather...I live in Minnesota and we had snow this May, too! Best of luck with your book!

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  11. Debbie - yes, wait five minutes and the weather will change. kinda irritating, but then its ok. I'm used to it. I had teachers in middle school who were a part of the movie. They came back to school regaling us with stories. I guess Morgan Freeman is really cool. I never got to meet him, but that's the story I got. :-)

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