Book Review: “Papala Skies” by Stephen Geez

About The Author

Stephen Geez earned his undergrad and grad degrees at the University of Michigan. A composer, producer, publisher, and writer, he watches too much television but prefers diving tropical reefs. Watch for his essays, stories, and more books at http://www.StephenGeez.com.

Bestselling Books:Invigilator, Fresh Ink Group Short Story Showcase #1, Papala Skies

About The Book

Chicago native Rochelle DuFortier likes to imagine the future, her world a series of picture postcards so vivid they sometimes seem real. When a foolish mistake at thirteen causes her mother’s death, she’s sent to a secluded Hawaiian valley, an outsider “haole-girl” among pidgin-speaking boys who hurl flaming papala spears under the full moon to summon her mother’s spirit. After boarding school and a prestigious university back east, the ambitious young woman is torn between chasing new career opportunities, discovering her mother’s heritage in a remote French village, and meeting obligations pulling her back to Hawaii.

On this island steeped in ancient mythology and modern superstition, Rochelle tests the possibility of sharing pieces of her life with those whose beliefs she barely understands and never intends to embrace. She dives the depths of a pristine coral lagoon, conceals bodies in a subterranean lava tube, and challenges the eruptions of a living volcano, even as she deciphers the truth about her mother’s death and struggles to satisfy new debts born of old betrayals.

Papala Skies is the story of a young woman who makes all the right choices, only to find herself living an unexpected life. It is about the need to belong, and seeking one’s own version of truth amid such differing cultures’ responses to wrenching loss and abiding grief. It is about yearning for a sense of place, yet having to confront new ways to honor the love of family and friends.

Will Rochelle lose what matters most, or might she learn what the smart octopus already knows?

My Review

Intriguing and Character Driven

The vivid descriptions of imagery virtually transport you to the Hawaii island, and carry you to the city of Chicago, an ivy league university, and to France.

A complex story with tragic situations and reactions. The main character, Rochelle, is faced with the challenges of getting on with her own life or helping others with their challenges. Her life does not turn out as she always thought it would.

There’s an underlying suspense surrounding how Rochelle’s mother died, and Rochelle’s guilt over her mother’s death is felt throughout most of the story. But that’s not all. There are primary forces driving chaos in her life and those she’s come to love. There’s the complexity of plots and sub-plots as Rochelle is drawn from one tragedy to another.

The characters are so well-drawn that you feel you are right there with them, wanting to help but unable to prevent the next heartbreak life throws their way. You will cry, laugh, and revel in their victories over life’s unrelenting obstacles.

I highly recommend this character-driven tale with strong relationships, as well as intrigue, action, and yes, some romance too.

Purchase PAPALA SKIES today.

Next TEN books and short stories on my Review List are:
Babe Driven by Lizzie Chantree (completed reading, review coming soon)
Cupid’s Quest by Lori Soard (starting 8/23/2016)
Return of the Gulls by Maureen McMahon
Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn
Myth and Magic by Mae Clair
Spirit of the Book by D. E. Howard
Waterlillies Over My Grave by Patricia Guthrie
Dragon Fireside Tales by Adam Boustead
Trusting Jack by Beth Hale
Haunting Megan by Rebecca Riley

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#EggcerptExchange: BLONDE DEMOLITION by Chris Redding

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Today, I am featuring Chris Redding, author of Blonde Demolition.

Blonde Demolition

YOU JUST CAN’T HIDE FROM THE PAST…

Mallory Sage lives in a small, idyllic town where nothing ever happens. Just the kind of life she has always wanted. No one, not even her fellow volunteer firefighters, knows about her past life as an agent for Homeland Security.

Former partner and lover, Trey McCrane, comes back into Mallory’s life. He believes they made a great team once, and that they can do so again. Besides, they don’t have much choice. Paul Stanley, a twisted killer and their old nemesis, is back.

Framed for a bombing and drawn together by necessity, Mallory and Trey go on the run and must learn to trust each other again―if they hope to survive. But Mallory has been hiding another secret, one that could destroy their relationship. And time is running out.

Excerpt

They had no clue she could defend herself armed or unarmed. That information didn’t go along with her trust fund reputation. No need to enlighten them.

Trey’s words brought her back. “Have you thought about it?”

“Yes.”

“And.”

“I didn’t come up with an answer.” She wouldn’t be rushed. She would decide this in her own damn time. Not on someone else’s schedule.

“Better soon.”

“You better move on, Trey.”

He glanced back at the firefighters who walked his way. A sardonic grin creased his face. “Well, well.”

“Leave, Trey. I don’t want to see anyone hurt.”

“Me or them?”

He walked past her as if she didn’t exist.

“He bothering you?” Cal asked.

She shook her head. “Nope, just asking the time.”

“You didn’t look at your watch.”

“I don’t have one, so I couldn’t tell him the time. He was harmless, guys. Thanks anyway.”

Cal stared after Trey, who now turned bolts on the massive Ferris wheel. He wasn’t harmless, though he’d never hurt her physically.

Just emotionally.

Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B0065KM0DY

About The Author

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and one show rabbit. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Journalism and is still a diehard Nittany Lions fan. Her books are filled with romance, suspense and thrills.

Author Links
Email: chrisreddingauthor@gmail.com
Website: www.chrisreddingauthor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/253606058045505
Twitter: www.twitter.com/chrisredding
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/101743269602364199911/posts

Character Questions

1. Nickname: I’ve been called CPR lady because I helped run a training center for 7 years.
2. Job: ghostwriter, but I also teach CPR.
3. Level of schooling, or self-taught: BA in Journalism with a minor in English from The Pennsylvania State University
4. Birthplace: Pennsylvania
5. Favorite type of pet: One without hair, but DH doesn’t like reptiles so we have a dog.
6. Favorite place to visit: The beach
7. Favorite food: Pizza, I could eat it almost every day.
8. What would you do if you won the lottery? Fund scholarships.

#EggcerptExchange: IN THE CONTEXT OF LOVE by Linda K. Sienkiewicz

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Throughout the months of February and March, I plan to delight you with exciting information about books and authors who are or could become your favorites. So make sure to check this out and let each amaze you with their ability to write awesome stories.

Today, I am featuring Linda K. Sienkiewicz, author of In The Context of Love.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz writes women’s fiction/contemporary romance. Her debut novel is titled In the Context of Love.

What makes us step back to examine the events and people that have shaped our lives? And what happens when what we discover leads to more questions? In the Context of Love, contemporary fiction by Linda K. Sienkiewicz, revolves around the journey of Angelica Schirrick as she reevaluates her life, and its direction.

Returning with her children from their first visit with her now imprisoned husband, she tries to figure out where it all went so wrong. Can she face the failures and secrets of her past and move forward? Can she find love and purpose again? Her future, which once held so much promise, crumbled like dust after the mysterious disappearance of her first love, and the shattering revelation that derailed her life, and divided her parents. Only when she finally learns to accept the violence of her beginning can she be open to life again, and maybe to a second chance at love.

Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Michigan Notable Book MOTHERS TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS, says “Sienkiewicz’s powerful and richly detailed debut novel is at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey. It should be required reading for all wayward daughters, and their mothers, too.”

Eggcerpt from In the Context of Love:
I lay, stomach down, on my bed with my head hanging off the edge. I was an analytical person, a conscientious honor roll student, a quick learner. I’d studied literature, ancient history, read Shakespeare and Salinger, yet none of it, nothing, had given me the skills or words to make sense of this.

The following morning, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had opened my curtains to an ash-filled sky, charred houses, trees burnt to stubs, the ground still smoking. Instead, the sun had risen like a relentless machine, and the sky wafted like a freshly-washed blue sheet above us. My house was the same house, with the same eggshell white ceilings, dark wooden floors and braided rugs. The only difference: I understood reality was a dark beast, capable of shifting under my feet.

I fingered the silk edge of my blanket, trying to reframe my past in light of what I now understood to be the truth. Everything I’d thought about myself had been a falsehood. In many ways, our family operated like any other family. Dad paid the bills, fertilized the lawn, and kept us free from foot pain. Mom knitted and purled, chased after flesh-eating germs, and smothered me until the sound of my own name made me cringe. We played Uncle Wiggly and Chutes and Ladders. I went trick-or-treating on Halloween. I had a sandbox. I pushed my plastic baby doll in her flimsy buggy back and forth along the sidewalk while squirrels scolded me from the trees. We had two cars, one and a half baths, and a color television. Hot and cold water. Electricity. We ate pot roast on Sunday, spaghetti on Wednesday, and tuna casserole every Friday and we weren’t even Catholic.

My friend Becca was terrified to stay in the house alone with her addled grandfather because he would forget who she was and try to kick her out. Lizzy was ashamed to be seen with her mother, who was so obese she couldn’t walk to their mailbox without wheezing. Jessica’s father owned a motel where a man was found shot in the head in room thirty-six. Paige suspected her parents were swingers who went to sex parties. Skip seemed to have been deserted by his folks…

Yet, I was certain no one’s family had a secret as hideous as mine.

In the Context of Love can be purchased in paperback or e-reader on Amazon http://amzn.to/1IiVWEs  or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1QFs340

Here’s an interview with Angelica Schirrick, the narrator of In the Context of Love:

1. Do you have a nickname?
   I’ve been called troublemaker, short stuff, hot stuff, cupcake, angel, and hure (by my German grandmother — don’t ask why), but most people call me Angie.
2. What do you do for a living?
   I’m the marketing and community service director for Safe Harbor, a non-profit women’s domestic violence shelter in Cleveland, Ohio. Not too bad for someone with an associate’s degree from a community college.
3. What’s your most important goal?
   To see my two children grow up to be happy and well-adjusted, despite having a crazy activist for a mother and a felon for a father.
4. What’s your worst fear or nightmare?
   That my two children do not grow up to be happy and well-adjusted.
5. What do you do when you can’t sleep at night?
   Not so long ago I had horrible nightmares that left me wide awake and sweating in the sheets. I sleep better now, but if I find myself tossing and turning, I fix myself a glass of warm milk. That usually does it.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz attributes her creative drive to her artistic mother, who taught her to sew, and her father, who let her monkey around with the gadgets in his workshop. Her poetry, short stories and art have been published in more than fifty literary journals. She has a poetry chapbook award from Bottom Dog Press and an MFA from The University of Southern Maine.

Website http://lindaksienkiewicz.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/LindaKSienkwicz
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lindaksienkwicz/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lindaksienkiewicz/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lindasienkiewicz.author

 

FALL INTO GREAT READS TOUR HAS ENDED

I hope you were able to attend one or more of the 31 days of the FALL INTO GREAT READS TOUR. We had lots of fun. I missed a few days myself due to a work conference I had to attend three days this week. But if you missed it, you can still check out the posts at A Word With Traci blog. Just click on the Authors Already Featured where Traci has graciously offered links to the posts. I actually lost count of all the prizes and books I won, but plan to list everything here now as I go back and check through the blog.

And my winnings were:
I won a $15 Amazon Gift Card from Jennifer Hinsman, a 1 year subscription on Jacquie Lawson e-cards from Harmony Kent, 3 autographed print books (I’VE LOVED THESE DAYS by Bethany Turner, RIDDLE by Elizabeth Horton-Newton, & DANCE OF THE LIGHTS by Stephen Geez), and 9 e-books (Amazing Matilda by Bette Stevens, Una Familia & Learning to Fly in the Breaking Free series by Annie Hughes, UNBIND by Sarah Michelle Lynch, EMBER SKIES by Nicky Crawford. JUST TRY by Lisa S. Robinson, I, HERO – NATHAN RETURNS by Jason Zandri, SLICES OF SOUL by Haromony Kent, DANGLED CARAT by Hilary Grossman, and HE’S CAPTURED MY HEART by Karen Frances).

Wow! Did I rack up or what? Some of these wonderful authors gave everyone who commented an e-book. So many gracious and generous authors were guests on this tour. Did I say it was fantabulous? No? Well that’s exactly what it was. I was thinking the other day that we should do something like this in December. We’ll see.

Here is a recap of all the guest authors to Traci’s tour in a wonderful video:

Congratulations to all the winners of the blog tour, and thank you to all of the participating authors for introducing wonderful books, interviews, book trailers, etc., and thank you to Traci Sanders for the GREAT job she did putting it together and making it SO simple for all the authors who participated.