Books: "The Speed of Falling Objects"

The Speed of Falling Objects
By Nancy Richardson Fischer
Inkyard Press/HarperCollins; hardcover, 336 pages; $19.99

Nancy Richardson Fischer earned a legion of devoted readers and wide critical praise for her debut novel When Elephants Fly because of its sensitive and authentic treatment of mental illness, set against a backdrop of issues surrounding wildlife protection and conservation.


In her follow-up, Fischer delivers a riveting story of survival in the Amazon with her new novel, The Speed of Falling Objects, which features a young woman who discovers strength and resilience within and embraces what makes her unique in order to find her way home.

Danny Warren knows what it means to fall down. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to adapt to monocular vision and concede to the cruel nickname “Pigeon” by bullies who mocked her jerky head movements. She finds herself ruled by a sense of inferiority, the control of her brilliant, hard-working, but bitter single mother, and her idealism of her absent father, a reality TV star. 

When Danny’s dad calls asking her to join him to film an episode of his popular survivalist show in the far reaches of the Amazon rainforest, she jumps at the chance to show him she’s not afraid of anything that creeps on eight legs, bites or slithers (even though she’s terrified), certain that proving how tough she is will earn his love and admiration. An added bonus to the trip is that Gus Price - the hottest teen movie idol of the moment - will be featured in the episode. 

What starts off as an exciting escapade turns deadly when their small plane crashes in the jungle, and the team is forced to determine what extreme measures it’s going to take to stay alive. As the survivors bond and their situation becomes more desperate, Danny has to face the harsh truth about the parent she worships and at the same time, realize that she’s always had what it takes to be a hero.

The Speed of Falling Objects is a thrilling tale that has a powerful emotional core. Fischer hopes that her book’s publication will inspire readers to see parts of themselves in Danny and examine the insecurities that they’ve allowed to define them. She hopes that they will feel encouraged to overcome their fears and be the heroes of their own life stories.

About Nancy Richardson Fischer:

Nancy Richardson Fischer writes books for children, teens and adults.

After graduation from Cornell University, she joined the circus—writing for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Following a year under the Big Top, Fischer, who has had a life-long devotion to the outdoors and sports—from long distance cycling to kite surfing—moved to Colorado where she skied as much as possible and then continued west, working as the senior campaign writer for University of California, San Francisco. She also wrote freelance for LucasFilm. Her work with the film and television production company sparked her passion for storytelling.

Nancy Richardson Fischer.

For a decade, Fischer co-authored sport autobiographies, immersing herself in the lives of athletes such as Monica Seles, Bela Karolyi, Nadia Comaneci and Apolo Ohno. She then turned to fiction, drawing on her experiences in the circus for her critically acclaimed YA novel, When Elephants Fly, about which The New York Journal of Books review said, “Fischer deserves high praise for her well-researched and endearing novel. Her imagination, craft and effort have resulted in her writing a piece of fiction that is worthy of winning a prize. This really cannot be recommended enough.”

Nancy Richardson Fischer lives in Hood River, Oregon with her husband Henry and their Vizsla, Boone. When she’s not conjuring a story, she loves to kite-board, bike, backcountry ski, and make pizza.

Visit her website at www.nancyrichardsonfischer.com
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