May 15, 2025 The Beacon • 23
Ridgewood graduate Burger Haas publishes first novel
By Jen Jones The Beacon
Brenda Burger Haas grew up in Fresno and has fond memories of her Grandma Opie and Grandpa Charlie( Opal and Charlie Gress) and their floorto-ceiling bookcases. Haas said she spent hours reading beneath an old tree on their farm. She also had a wild imagination.
The 1987 graduate of Ridgewood High School said one of her toughest and best English teachers was Jill Collins, who still teaches with the district.
“ She taught me all I know about sentence structure. I wouldn’ t be published without her, although I have no idea if she’ d remember me,” Haas said.“ Pam McCarthy, my favorite Ridgewood journalism guru, was also an amazing English teacher and did me the great honor of being a beta reader for this manuscript long before it was ready for submission. I am blessed to have had such a great
Brenda Burger Haas
education and support in that area.”
Haas has made a career out of writing nonfiction for many newspapers, but fiction has always been a favorite of hers, and she has always wanted a spot on the fiction shelf.
“ My characters can do and say anything, be anyone I want them to be,” she said.“ I call the shots. In some ways fiction allows the writer to do over if they have personal demons to
“ Though the story is not autobiographical, there are certainly elements of my past woven into the plot,”
Brenda Burger Haas kill. I was very awkward and self-conscious as a teenager,” she said.
Her novel,“ Finding Sutton’ s Choice,” is about a young writer who returns to her hometown to help care for her estranged father who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’ s disease.
“ Though the story is not autobiographical, there are certainly elements of my past woven into the plot,” Haas said.“ It’ s as natural as breathing. Everything I come in contact with and every person I meet leaves an impression. I always say,‘ Be careful or you’ ll end up in my novel.’”
The idea for her book came from watching close friends become caretakers for a spouse or parent with the disease.
“ I felt an opportunity to bring an awareness to a horrific illness,” Haas said.“ In my book I allow two characters to reconnect through fuzzy, unreliable memories, which, in the end, prove to be very forgiving.”
Haas said she began the novel through a writer’ s challenge known as NaNoWriMo( National Novel Writing Month), which challenges writers to write 50,000 words in the month of November.
“ I’ m a perfectionist when I’ m writing nonfiction for work, but that didn’ t transfer well into fiction drafting,” she said.“ I could obsess about the same first chapter for weeks. With the NaNoWriMo, I had to get the bones of the story down on the page as quickly as possible.
It was deeply satisfying to meet those goals.”
She also used the writing challenge to begin the process for the sequel to“ Finding Sutton’ s Choice.” The second novel is titled“ Sutton’ s Second Chance,” and Haas is working on the edits for it now.
“ Finding Sutton’ s Choice” will be available Friday, May 30. Haas said it was a happy surprise that her book would become available during Mental Health Awareness Month.
“ It is my intent to follow this up with a July 10 The Longest Day fundraiser event to benefit the Alzheimer’ s Association,” she said.“ A portion of every book sale on that date will benefit the organization.”
Details about the fundraiser will be available on her website at www. brendahaas. com.
Haas’ novel can be preordered through Amazon, ten- 16press. com and Ingram. She hopes to have a local book signing in the Coshocton area.
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