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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Showing posts with label Drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drama. Show all posts

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Will her choice turn out to be the right one? - Tangle of Choices (Neglected Merge #2) by Eve Koguce

" This is one of the most beautifully written fantasy novels I’ve recently read. The world-building is so cleverly thought that sometimes you can lose a sense of reality and believe that you are an honored member of the diplomatic mission of the Winged ones."- Ellen K., Goodreads


Tuesday, February 18, 2020

An outstanding page-turner - The Legacy #1 by Brandyn Cross


Denied the ability to interact with other kids in his everyday life, Brandy finds refuge within the confines of the Internet in his early stages, where it appealed primarily to the outcasts, and a close group of virtual teen friends.

Sunday, September 30, 2018

ulterior motives collide with harrowing miracles - Heartache & Sin by Charles Soto

When a Midwestern farming town is hit hard by a crop-destroying drought, people are willing to put their faith into anything that might bring them some relief.


Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The story isn't about one girl... There Once Was a Girl by Josie Townsend

"The author did a great job with this, as the plot moved along at a great pace and the characters were well developed." Cristie, Goodreads
“This is a story to be shared, and those in similar situations looking for support might take comfort.” – Foreword Reviews

Friday, August 4, 2017

My mother used to say that... One Dyke Cozy by Rhani D'Chae

13+ "This is Ms D’Chae’s best work to date. Funny, sad, sincere, honest, utterly believable, beautifully written, you will find it hard to put down. [...] I could enjoy quoting choice bits for a long time, but suffice it to say I can honestly recommend “One Dyke Cozy” without reservation (something I rarely do). It's a terrific book." - Robin, Goodreads

Thursday, June 15, 2017

What, then, is love? - Hello, Agnieszka! (Between Two Worlds #2) by E. Journey

"The story is poignant and churns a lot of emotions in the reader. Agnieska comes across as a very strong character, making her and inspiration for turning around things in life. She is an epitome of strength and determination. The narration is evocative and I loved this book much more than the first one. This book is a tale about heartbreaks, rough childhood, loving and losing, hitting the rock bottom and learning to rise again. "- Wander, Goodreads

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Unicorn: Addiction, Guilt and a Decision That Will Change Her Life by L.E. Get

"I’m invisible to most people, unless I have something to give them. Saying no feels like I’m pushing away the people I want to be close to. So when my mother called to tell me she needed me to come home because my sister, Amelia, was sick and in the hospital again, I grudgingly boarded a plane back to Denver to deal with my family."

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Even Angels Fall by F.L. Darbyshire

..will her new friends bring her the light hearted relief she has longed for? Or will she find herself getting drawn deep into their dangerous and intoxicating world?

Friday, July 31, 2015

Someone he will kill for - Behind the Tears (Behind the Lives #2) by Marita A. Hansen

18+ To trust is to get hurt, to be loved could end in death.
Everyone sees Ash as the toughest of the Rata brothers, the tall, tattooed man who is untouchable. But not many know of his past, of a tormented youth, which almost saw him take his own life. 

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

only the weapons have changed - Fires of Man (Psionic Earth, #1) by Dan Levinson

Supposedly, the war between Calchis and Orion ended decades ago. But upon reporting to an isolated Orion army base for basic training, Private Stockton Finn learns the war still rages, only the weapons have changed—most disturbingly of all, Finn has been selected to become one of those weapons.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Does anyone have the courage to try? - Lady of the Manor by Adrian Q. Heflin

Lady of the Manor is an epic tale of misery for Richard Creek. It is the story of how his mother, Rosemary, makes life miserable for him, his family, and many citizens of Savannah. The novel takes places during the summer of 1958 in a beautiful mansion. Secrets begin to unravel for the Creek family as they continue a summer filled with rape, murder, and indiscretions. Someone must prohibit the Lady of the Manor from her continuous oppression. But, does anyone have the courage to try?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

A lucky man... - Passing Through Perfect (Wyattsville #3) by Bette Lee Crosby

“A heartwarming tale that shows both the good and bad found in mankind… Highly Recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction.” Inspired Kathy, I am a Reader
“Author Bette Lee Crosby’s characters take on heartbreak and oppression with dignity, courage, and a shaken but strong faith in a better tomorrow” Indie Reader

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Two Lovers. Two Dreamers. One Love Song. - The Ballad by Ashley Pullo

About the author:

Fifteen years ago I became a permanent New Yorker, but I've yet to abandon my Texas charm. NYC is an amazing place to find inspiration - the random and the ordinary that make up reality. My writing showcases inspired ideas, as well as my love for dichotomy, authenticity and humor.

I'm just a girl. A girl with a dream. A dream to write for television. I also had a dream to marry Christian Bale, but I digress. I'm a girl with a dream to write and write and write until someone tells me to stop. And even then I would find a way to write about the jerk who wanted me to stop.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Happy Release Day! Excerpt and Giveaway: Two Breaths Too Late by Rochelle Maya Callen

Description:

After years of secrets and bruises, Ellie Walker takes her own life only weeks before her high school graduation. She expected to be free, but instead is forced to face the brokenness she has left behind. 

This story isn't about happily-ever-afters.

It is about the millions of terrible and beautiful moments that make up a life and the hope that lives in even the darkest of places.

EXCERPT:
Death,
I let you take me. I handed you a rope, a chair, and a hollow shell of a girl forgetting that I didn't have to be hollow at all.

I press my forehead against the glass. The feeling rakes through me. There is no relief or freedom here, in this in-between, in this limbo. This is not the sanctuary I wanted.

Hope can't be a hollow wish or dream. It needs to be filled, levied, brimming over with intention and action and belief and reaching, reaching, reaching, stretching until your muscles ache because you want it that damn much, and you won't stop reaching until you hold it.

Until it is yours.
I let go too soon.
A Message from the author:


About the author:
ROCHELLE MAYA CALLEN is a bestselling YA author. Her first novel became a #1 Hot New Release on Amazon in 2013 within 24 hours of its debut. 

She has pet llamas in Ecuador, built homes in Mexico, played with orphans in Argentina and has spoken the words of Mother Teresa in front of 27,000 people at Reliant Stadium.
She has been a speaker to young people since she was a teenager and has been a behavioral coach for 10 years. 
She lives with her husband and young daughter near Washington, D.C. 

Her personal experiences of loss and strength inspired her novel, TWO BREATHS TOO LATE and the #HoldOn2Hope suicide prevention project.

Author's Giveaway
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Friday, September 12, 2014

Cover Reveal: Before Time (The Time Trilogy Book # 1) by Xunaira J.

Release Date: November 20th, 2014

Description:

His eyes told her what his tongue could not.
Nineteen-year-old Onaiza Shahid is a loner and a dreamer, bookish and socially isolated. A chance ramble into chatting software changes everything. The words of a stranger compel her. Addicted and falling fast, their secret love changes her life. But will the idealistic teenager get her happily ever after?


About the author:
clip_image006Born on October 17, 1990 in Islamabad, Pakistan, to a government officer and a homemaker, Xunaira J, as a child dreamed of being a writer.She always loved writing short stories and has been active on Helium (www.helium.com) as a creative writer. She has been a blogger and been writing articles on relationship and family for a long time.When she was young, she used to write for US Magazine. Currently, Xunaira is doing her Bachelors in Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing and writing at the same time. The name of her first book on Amazon Kindle is "The Cursed City" while her second book is a book of collective short stories which will be published in October, 2013. Meanwhile, She is working on another Mystery/Romance novel which is almost reaching completion. She is anticipating to publish it sometime next year.


Cover Reveal organized by Sparkle Book Tours

Monday, August 4, 2014

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Two Breaths Too Late by Rochelle Maya Callen


9.10.14 (World Suicide Prevention Day)
EXCERPT


Ellie Walker is a high school senior who commits suicide and then is forced to face the brokenness she leaves behind. 


EXCERPT:
1.

Death,

You aren't a tunnel of light, a choir of angels, or even an ascension of the soul. You are a twitching leg, a spasm of breath, a moment of fear when I realize that the noose I tied didn't snap my neck and I am left dangling with the chair tipped over too far from my toes. You are blackness blotting out my vision, my lungs heaving in breaths that aren't there, because the rope cuts into my throat choking the life out of me, slowly. 

Too slowly.

My fingers claw at the rope that I found in the closet behind liquor bottles and expired cans of vegetables. Life seeps out of me; the oxygen choked out, the carbon dioxide choked in. Where was the peace and quiet? Where was the release? The absence of fear? That is why I hid the rope under my mattress, why I waited till mom and dad left for work, why I climbed on a chair and tied the noose, why I wrapped it around my neck and pulled it tight, said a prayer, squeezed my eyes shut, and stepped off the chair. 

Leaving the screams, the bruises, the scars, the secrets and loneliness behind.

But you aren't taking me away.

I am suffocating in silent screams and the smell of ash. The floor is too far and I am too high. My chest caves in and just as blackness eats my last sliver of being conscious, I realize I regret. I realize I am too late. Death, you aren't beautiful or free or romantic like in all of the novels I have read. You are a girl who had no hope left, dangling from a ceiling beam who, two breaths too late, realized she wanted to live.

I thought you would save me, Death. 

But you are a liar.

Just like everyone else.




The Day He Died...
A Message from the Author of Two Breaths Too Late.





He was about 6 when I met him. He was my new friend's younger brother and all long limbs, brown hair, and big brown eyes. He had one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen.

The kid was brilliant. He read constantly. Loved learning. By 11, he was taking college classes. Languages. Science. His mind was a powerful beast that conquered many subjects. We all knew he would do amazing things with the brilliance he had within him.

He would shine. He would soar.

We were all ready and waiting to see it happen. We all grew up. I went to college. Gradated. Got married. He became a handsome teenager and was still wining over hearts (everyone loved him and that big smile). He joined a church band. Got his associates degree before 15. He had friends and a family who loved him.

Then one night, he ran out of his house—his parents running after him—to the bridge that went over highway 95...and jumped.

As a mother, I can't imagine that moment—that split second when you are looking at your child and his feet are solidly on the ground and he is so close to being within reach and that defining, heart breaking moment when he isn't any longer.

He was 19.

I heard the news by phone while standing in my kitchen. The shock rendered me breathless. What had happened to this brilliant young man? We found out later that he had been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and after watching his brother have a fierce battle with the illness, he couldn't find the hope to live on.

His family had everyone wear brightly colored shirts and his band played at the funeral. The music was joyous and beautiful and people hugged and danced as pictures of his beautiful smile were projected onto a huge screen.

It had been the week of Easter. It was a beautiful celebration of his life—a life that ended far too soon. 

We have all suffered loss in some way. We know the ache. The feeling of too much space because something or someone is supposed to be there to fill it.

The loss of someone to suicide happens everyday. Every minute. It is estimated that worldwide nearly a million people take their own lives. One million fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters who are lost because they had no hope left.

The day I found out about this brilliant young man's suicide, I was brought back to a moment years earlier, when I was 11 years old and standing on a chair with a noose dangling in front of me. I had stepped down from that chair that day—despite bruises, pain, loneliness, and secrets—and lived. Lived to see heart breaks, awards won, graduations, friendships, jobs, and a million other happy and terrible moments. Ugly or perfect, those moments were mine and there I stood in my kitchen with my round and pregnant belly and listened as my mother told me the news about a boy who had all those moments taken away.

Almost a year ago, I posted a flash fiction piece I had written about suicide and a reader contacted me and said that I should write a novel based on it. I was intimidated. Scared. How could I take on something like that? It hit such a personal chord with me that I thought I might unravel in its creation.

I am not going to lie. This novel always brings tears to my eyes. Not because I am a literary genius or a masterful story-teller, but because with every word I write and second that passes, I know there is someone out there who is deciding to give up on on their beautiful and terrible moments and my heart breaks and I wish I could type faster, or yell louder, or reach out and squeeze every single one of those one million souls and whisper, “Hold on...just a little longer.”

This novel isn't about happy endings. It isn't about happily-ever-afters. It is about the beautiful and terrible moments that make up a life and the possibilities that live in even the darkest of places that sometimes we are just too blind to see. I will use a portion of the proceeds from this novel to donate to To Write Love On Her Arms as well as launch a suicide prevention project entitled, HoldOn2Hope.

The project will launch in September. If all goes well, there will be a LIVE event for teens in the DC metro area as well as the project's online media awareness component will last a full year. My heart is in this project and I know that a project like this needs a ton of love and support to thrive.

That's where you come in. I hope together we can change this staggering statistic. I send you love and light today. Please know that you are precious in this big 'ol world and it would not be as bright or beautiful without you in it.

XOXO,

Rochelle




Website will be LIVE on Sept 1st.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Cover Reveal: Russian Roulette (Brooklyn Case Files, #1) by Jennifer Martinez

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Description:

It's been two years and the DEA is no closer to breaking into the Russians smuggling operation today, than they were when the file first crossed his desk. Fuses are short and nerves are shot as the task force is forced to sit back and wait for a break in the case. 

Amy Roberts is invisible. The quiet girl does exactly what she's told and wouldn't know trouble if it punched her in the face. One split decision changes all of that. Now, she may be the break the DEA is looking for, if she survives.

About the author:
One day while slaving away at her monotonous day job, Jennifer Martinez found her true calling. Like a firefly in the night, the pages called to her. Once she caught the bug there was no stopping it. Her fingers flew furiously across the keyboard winding tales of love, mystery and anger. She snapped out of her reverie to find herself still behind the desk but at least she knew who she was… Author Jennifer Martinez.

I like to think of myself as a beautiful conundrum. When I am not writing, I can be found surrounded by my amazing family and 4 dogs or volunteering at a local animal rescue. I love who I am and don’t mind at all when I get strange looks from people. I am a tattoo covered, child and animal lover who looks forward to destroying peoples preconceived notions of what “someone like me” would be interested in. You only live life once… you may as well make it interesting.

I love to get lost in a good book and hope that everyone will get lost in mine.


Cover Reveal organized by B3 Tours

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Excerpt and Giveaway: One Chance, One Moment (The Mandy Story, #1) by Judith Kohnen

Release Date: June 17th, 2014 

Description:

Sometimes a chance comes along that can change the course of an entire life – make it right again, make a dream come true – and when that moment arrives, we grab it and fight with all of our might to make it happen … or not. 

Renowned singer/musician Garry Danzlo has decided to live a life of seclusion after a debilitating accident destroys his musical career. Guilt-ridden and stubborn, he wants no part of the holistic nurse his sister has hired to rehabilitate him. He’s determined to get rid of her; she’s determined to stay. 

Spunky, fun-loving Amanda Fields, widowed after a loveless marriage, is on a mission for love. More than anything in the world, she wants to adopt a wheelchair-bound boy named Robbie. When her chance arrives that will provide her with sufficient funds for the adoption, there’s nothing to stop her from accomplishing the temporary job in Colorado. But what she has to contend with is far more than just a difficult patient. Unexpected obstacles are suddenly out of her control. The least of her worries is falling for yet another man who doesn’t love her back. 

One Chance, One Moment is a humorous, surprising and deeply emotional story of love found by two special people – love built on chances one must sometimes take, but sometimes give as well. Each moment becomes nourished by the faith of one woman, and eventually, by the dream of one man. 

About the author:

Judith has always been a romantic at heart. She adores writing, poetry, music, singing, dancing, teaching, education, and caring for others. It is her hope that through her imaginative talents that she might become a source of inspiration for her readers. Part of her life's path is empowering others toward healing and teaching them how to use their own imagination and intuitive abilities. 

She's written over 200 pages of poetry, numerous songs and short stories, a couple of children's plays that were performed on stage, and has begun a screenplay. She served as newsletter editor for Virginia Romance Writers for four years and has coordinated and judged VRW's HOLT Medallion Contest and their FOOL FOR LOVE Contest many times. She has also freelanced for various non-profit organizational newsletters, most of which were entertainment reviews, inspirational articles, and articles on writing. 

A teacher of mediumship & intuitive development with a professional background in registered nursing, hypnotherapy and natural healing arts, Judith is doing what she’s most passionate about – writing! She encourages you to do what you’re passionate about too. “Live for the moment,” she says, “for this moment is the most important of all moments.” 

Judith lives in Chesterfield, Virginia with her husband, extended family, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a 1 bearded dragon named Victor.

Author's Giveaway
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