Ignoring Alva
Cozy Mystery/Sibling Fiction 
Setting – Minnesota and Wisconsin
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Current Words Publishing (February 4, 2025)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 282 pages

Synopsis

Meet Alva and Millie…. not your typical eighty-something sisters.

While recovering from a mild stroke, Alva’s vivid dreams of daring exploits spark a restless desire to break free from the predictability of her quiet life. Her sister Millie-a practical yet spirited counterpart-is skeptical of Alva’s newfound boldness. But when Alva suggests an impulsive road trip, not even Millie can resist the call of adventure.

What starts as a lighthearted escapade quickly spirals into a whirlwind of mischief, suspense, and unexpected heroics. As the journey unfolds, the siblings face long-buried secrets, stand up for the underdog, and confront dangerous foes with a fierceness they never knew they possessed.

Through it all, Alva and Millie prove that courage, resilience, and the drive to rewrite your story aren’t confined by age-they’re only sharpened by experience.

Witty, heartfelt, and brimming with surprises, Ignoring Alva is an unforgettable tale of sisterhood and reinvention. It proves that life’s greatest adventures can happen when you least expect them.

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Excerpt

They said it was just a small stroke. A month or so went by, and after that, I was pretty much back to normal on the outside. But inside my head, there are changes. I have these visions, not dreams; I’m not even asleep, although my body gets still. Truthfully, the images come like a slideshow. You know those clicker things that the kids used to have, where you peek inside and the small square frames in the circles become panoramas of the Grand Canyon or Florida? It’s like that. Flash! I see myself manning a boat beneath the spray of a waterfall. My face up, I feel the torrents of water pounding over my yellow plastic coat. Flash! I am atop a steeple, brandishing a sword and slicing at the sky. Flash! Not just pictures; my senses are all involved. It’s like I am right there, the captain of my destiny. I told my sister Millie about my visions—or whatever they are—and she seems intent on researching symptoms of dementia. Yet, these are not delusions, more like glimpses of a more exciting me. Maybe they are better versions of my past, or maybe I’m conjuring up my future. There’s a bigger story there.

Millie is 81, older than I am by a year and a half, but she’s agreed to take a little trip with me, go out and see more of the world. Before we leave, I look fondly out my back window and see a pear clinging to a sagging branch. It is August, and that’s a little early for a pear to turn from green to yellow, but this one has turned gold. It is Minnesota, after all, and most people don’t think of fruit trees when they think of snow. Even though my husband Irvin’s been dead now for nine years, that tree of his is high on living.

Flash! I am in a lovely orchard with branches heavy with pears ready for harvest. I have my apron on and am going to collect those pears and make a pie. Crows are circling the skies above. I flail my arms, a distraction, and try to shield the fruit from an onslaught. The birds are menacing, after more than just the fruit. I need to protect the crop and myself, stand tall. I beg Prometheus for fire or a little smoke. Then one of the birds cocks her head and says very clearly, “Alva, there’s more to you than that apron.”

I’m standing in Millie’s kitchen. A weird feeling envelops me, like a promise.

“Alva,” she says and pats my shoulder, “get that bruised pear off my counter.”

We should go, I say to myself. Then to Millie, quietly, “We should go.” There are pictures swirling around my head. I am a walking View-Master.

About the Author

Emilie Khair is the author of the biographies Passion’s Piano: The Eddie Heywood Story and A Beautiful Puzzle: Nadia’s Journey from East to West as well as the children’s book, Kudzu for Christmas. She holds undergraduate degrees in theatre arts and English education from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in special education from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in sociology from Georgia State University. She has two sons and resides in McDonough, Georgia, with her husband of thirty-five years. While Emilie’s roots are in Minnesota, her southern experiences are an inspiration to her writing.

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