“A serial killer has the people of Pittsburgh on edge, and Detective Daniel Hayes and his hand-picked Special Assignment Squad are working feverishly to solve the case before more innocent lives are lost. But the killer proves to be a formidable foe, whose viciousness appears to be matched only by his ability to elude capture. Throughout “Small Talk,” the reader is given glimpses into the mind of this cunning and sadistic murderer, an individual who seeks a face-to-face confrontation with his pursuers, a confrontation Daniel is only too willing to provide.”
If you love entering giveaways and/or you love crime fiction, then this giveaway may just be for you. To enter, click a Rafflecopter giveaway and enjoy.
Donna thought there was something wrong with her. That she was suffering from a mental illness that has caused her husband to despise her, distance himself from her, and cheat on her. She blames herself for the desolate, miserable thing that is her marriage and her life. Then she comes across a book that will change everything for her, and reading it, she discovers that there’s nothing wrong with her mind at all, but that there is something very wrong with her husband instead. Marco, she realises, is a malignant narcissist. A text book case. He has a real and documented mental disorder, and that he’s been controlling, manipulating, and abusing her for decades. The sudden full knowledge of all that he’s purposely done to her enrages her. Not sure how to leave after thirty years of what she finally knows has been intentional mental and emotional abuse from him, and believing that she has nowhere to turn, being so physically isolated, she bides her time.
Then she meets and befriends a group of unusual people who share her passion for gardening, and so begins her journey to escape. She joins her new friends in their project to assist elderly people in old age homes care for their small gardens, as well as secretly supplying those suffering from painful and terminal illnesses with medicinal herb and plant remedies, including illegal plants such as cannabis. As weeks go by, she delves into her memories, relearns what it is to be respected, liked, and loved again, and slowly she formulates a plan to safely leave her dangerous husband. But unbeknownst to Donna, Marco is in serious trouble, and has desperate plans of his own, and absolutely no regard for her safety.
** This is a work of fiction, but malignant narcissists really do exist, and it is a recognised mental illness. Unfortunately, many people never realise that they are involved with a narcissist, because their actions are so demonically bad as to be unimaginable and unbelievable, and so they spend their lives in misery, depression, fear, and isolation. If only by the accidental reading of a fictional story, I hope that this book will help even one person, unknowingly suffering narcissistic abuse, to realise that they don’t have to, and that it’s never too late to start over, be happy, be fulfilled, to love and care for yourself, and be truly loved and respected by others.
Jo Robinson very recently returned to her homeland, South Africa, after having lived in rural Zimbabwe for eighteen years. Her obsessive affection for the African continent, most humans, and all creatures feathered and furred are what inspire her writing. She is the author of African Me & Satellite TV, the science-fiction/fantasy series Shadow People, and a couple of short stories, which will be free to download from Amazon from 26 to 30 December,Fly Birdie and The Visitation.
To win eBook copies of Shadow People and African Me & Satellite TV, send Jo a message from THIS page.
This has been an interesting experiment. I’ve posted poems and short fiction and “formal” essays before on my blog, but never a whole novel. Well, I still haven’t done that.
You see, my plan originally was to just post a couple of the early chapters and then throw myself into NaNoWriMo. Then I got the feeling that it wouldn’t go over well with some readers if I stopped at Chapter 3. So I challenged myself to keep posting. But I didn’t want it to go on for months. NaNoWriMo officially ended on November 30, and I wanted Clemency to finish up about the same time.
So I went ahead and posted every day, but not everything. I’ve left a lot of stuff out. So, no surprise if the pace is erratic, the character development inconsistent, the ending lame.
(Really? “Sara smiled” is how I end this novel? Cue Hall & Oates.)
As a reader, I’d be wondering why Misty didn’t get more attention, why not more of Melody who was pivotal to Misty’s case? But they do, Dear Reader, just not in the parts I decided to post. I had to leave things out in order to keep to a schedule and to not overwhelm you all with tortuously long posts. As it was, some of those posts did get kind of long. But I also got desperate. I didn’t want this to fall over into December, at least not by much.
So. I think I managed to pull this off without too much angst from my dear readers. And how dear you are. A few of you left comments now and then that were like mini-pep talks for me. They did help keep me going.
Others of you let me know you were reading but not commenting, and I appreciated that too. Some days the best I could muster was to “Like” someone’s comment and just move on. I could tell from my stats whether Clemency was being read, and I know some of you read a few posts at a time.
And others let me know you couldn’t keep up with daily posts. And that was fine, too. This wasn’t a test of reader loyalty. This was a test of my own conviction.
You see, in the past, whenever I got any encouragement, I’d run the other way. Other people (i.e., normal people) embrace encouragement, grab it and hold it up as proof that they should continue writing because So-and-So said they should. I don’t know why I would run the other way. But, now at 57, I wonder if I knew I really wasn’t ready, at least not back then.
So now I’m feeling that I’m ready BUT I won’t be in a hurry. I can’t get back the last 20-30 years of self-doubt and plodding along, but that’s no reason to rush into something and make an ass of myself.
First, I’m giving myself a month off. Clemency will stay up for December, and then all those posts will come down.
I’m not giving up my day job or yoga or watching TV with my husband and the cats after dinner. Revising and editing will be, as they say in these parts, as slow as molasses in January …
Unless you live in Boston.
Many thanks to all of you who have hung in there with me, whether you were reading or not.
And tomorrow I will return to my regular irregular schedule …
Dear Reader, here is another in my unplanned series of book reviews. I hope you enjoy this commercial break. Did you know that currently the ebook version of Occasional Soulmates by Kevin Brennan, the subject of this review, is available for just 99 cents. If you’ve been on the fence about getting yourself a copy, well, here’s your chance to get it cheap. And if the price alone isn’t enough to sway you, then I do hope the following “different kind of book review” will knock you right off the fence and onto Amazon’s page for Occasional Soulmates.
******
Sarah stuffed the manila folders into her messenger bag. She rubbed her eyes. She was tired of reading dark, gruesome material: coroner reports, Sheriff Cooley’s statement of Misty’s battered body, arrest records. She needed a break. Something that would take her away from the seedy world of small-time drugs and cheap sex. She reached back into her bag and pulled out a paperback that Michael had given her. It had seemed funny to him that the woman in the novel was named Sarah and that she was looking for love in all the wrong places. He’d tried to hide his smirk when he said this to her, and Sarah, in turn, fumed to herself. (more…)
At the risk of offending somebody: Here’s your chance to get Occasional Soulmates really reallycheap! Now, I bought the paperback and, as Kevin notes in his post, his picture on the back cover was well worth the $$. But, seriously, folks, the novel is a great read and the Kindle ebook is definitely a steal (pun intended) at 99 cents. That said, the paperback is prettier and more fun to read than an ebook.
But, I know, I know, ebooks are more convenient so go ahead and buy the ebook version. Of course, if ebooks are more convenient, then that means you’ll have no excuse not to write a (5-star … no pressure here) book review. Really, please write a book review. Check out the ones already there for inspiration :) Now, go and BUY the book. Have a nice day!
Just so you know… Mañana I’ll be starting a Kindle Countdown deal for Occasional Soulmates, wherein you and everyone you know or ever have known may purchase this lovely little ebook for a mere 99 cents. You knew it was coming. All self-publishers must resort to the 99 cent deal, or, even worse, the giveaway, and now is the first of (we don’t know how) many for OS.
Help propel this novel into the top umpty-thousand on the bestseller list. Grab your copy tomorrow!
Oh, and don’t forget to post a brief review too. I’m stuck at eight. Where reviews are concerned, eight is definitely not enough.
The last time I typed words into this blog was one day before my birthday, all the way back in April.
Two days later, I ended my four and a half year relationship, and all the words disappeared.
It has taken me close to seven months to actually open up WordPress again, but here I am. About a month ago I dug out my battered original copies of The Paperbook Collective, and started again. I hadn’t actually realised how much I missed it, and how happy it made me feel. My life is now filled with work and events and committees and obligations, but I am determined to make time for The Paperbook Collective once again.
So I have been working hard, and Issue Seven is now officially a zine!
If you had ordered a copy of Issue Seven before I…
It will be my official cup of java starting November 1. That’s TOMORROW!
Several days ago, I introduced the idea of posting part of a novel on my blog, the parts already written, while I slave away at trying to finish said novel during NaNoWriMo.
Here’s a reminder of what I plan to do. The title of the novel in progress is Clemency. The blurb:
Clemency is a story about Misty Daniels, a young girl (~18) in prison for allegedly killing her live-in boyfriend after he beat her up, causing her to miscarry. Enter Sarah Mansfield, a newly minted attorney who believes in Misty’s innocence and wants to secure her freedom. But not everyone believes that Misty is innocent. Not even Misty. And there are some people in Misty’s poor small town that want to see her stay in prison. And they will do anything to make sure that happens. Even if means someone has to die.
Only in her mid-twenties and alone in an unfamiliar southern city, Sarah finds her life on the line and with few people she can trust. Her boss and mentor, Lucas Danforth, seems to know more than he lets on and brushes off Sarah’s concern for her and Misty’s safety. Michael Daniels, Misty’s half-brother and a former Marine, is more interested in hindering Sarah’s investigations than helping her. And the people of Oyster Point, led by Sheriff Cooley, harbor more than a general mistrust of strangers. They are all hiding something, and Sarah suspects that what they are hiding is the key to Misty’s freedom.
These posts will are scheduled for 6 AM (US Eastern Time), starting November 1. I sliced up the chapters into roughly 1000 words or less to make them digestible for those on the go. But I think that makes for a choppy read, so I’ve added the Recent Posts widget to my blog (top of the sidebar) so you can wait a few days and then start reading your way through, if you prefer. I always welcome comments, but I also know that it can be harder to comment on fiction than on book reviews or posts about a person’s lousy day at work. And I know people are busy. And I know I’ll be very busy.
From one of the most prolific writers I’ve had the honor to read since coming back online. If you’re a lover of horror fiction, not the usual vampire and werewolf kitsch but the otherworldly, creepy, paranormal kind of horror that evokes H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, and Rod Serling, you will love the fiction of Jessica B. Bell. Read on for how you can help the “creepy f**ker” keep writing ;)
Marie at 1 Write Way 