Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Spirit Within book review!!!
*By Andrea Staunton*
"When I volunteered to do this month’s book review, the editor told me, “ok, you can review your favorite book.” After some consideration, I chose the one that I had just proofread for Spero Publishing. It replaces a number of older novels as one that I will read over and over at bedtime.
The Spirit Within is Ms. Parker’s first book. This fact is not evident in her writing, which is more sophisticated than one would expect from a first time author. This enhances the experience, and makes the book file hard to close at bedtime. It is written in the first person, a convention that I sometimes dislike, but I was able to easily overlook this due to the quality of the writing. The structure and wording is engaging; it is neither preachy nor overly talkative, and is ideal for teen and adult readers who read for the sheer joy of reading.
The familiar enough story is that of Cassandra Blakemore, a young adult who experiences college, an abusive alcoholic boyfriend, and self-destructiveness in the form of dropping out of college and getting a menial job, followed by returning to the abuser. When the worthless boyfriend, (Raleigh Nichols) finds her, she returns to him with such readiness that one wonders if the book isn’t at least a little autobiographical. If it is not, then the author has cared deeply for a young woman who did endure the well-known cycle of abuse and apology.
For a familiar story, The Spirit Within has a few entertaining plot twists. Pay careful attention to Cassandra’s uncle and to the new friends that she makes after fleeing college and Raleigh. There is more than meets the eye there; the developments are well executed and they make the ever-necessary suspension of disbelief enjoyable and easy.
The novel (novella? I didn’t check the word count) is, of course, replete with romance, girl talk, and hashing out of emotions. This in no way detracts from its quality or value; in fact, I wondered several times if the conversations were ones that the author had had in real life and then committed to electronic memory. Of course, there is a romance and some talk of feelings; the author is a woman and was not trying to create the latest action yarn for teen age boys and middle aged male accountants. Men who read it might understand their wives a little better.
A necessary component of any novel is that the characters learn and grow; character development is paramount. Most of the main characters in The Spirit Within show some degree of growth. The author could use a little polish in this area, and I am waiting to see if she herself grows a bit and is able to better reflect the growth of the characters in her next work. On a personal note, I am disappointed that Raleigh Nichols gets an easy out and does not experience significant growth; it would have been a joy to see him recognize the full gravity of his actions and their consequences. However, the reader may be assured that he loses something more valuable to him than a mere girlfriend.
The Spirit Within will be a positive addition to the collection of any avid reader. I value my copy highly, and I give the work 4.4 of 5 stars."
"When I volunteered to do this month’s book review, the editor told me, “ok, you can review your favorite book.” After some consideration, I chose the one that I had just proofread for Spero Publishing. It replaces a number of older novels as one that I will read over and over at bedtime.
The Spirit Within is Ms. Parker’s first book. This fact is not evident in her writing, which is more sophisticated than one would expect from a first time author. This enhances the experience, and makes the book file hard to close at bedtime. It is written in the first person, a convention that I sometimes dislike, but I was able to easily overlook this due to the quality of the writing. The structure and wording is engaging; it is neither preachy nor overly talkative, and is ideal for teen and adult readers who read for the sheer joy of reading.
The familiar enough story is that of Cassandra Blakemore, a young adult who experiences college, an abusive alcoholic boyfriend, and self-destructiveness in the form of dropping out of college and getting a menial job, followed by returning to the abuser. When the worthless boyfriend, (Raleigh Nichols) finds her, she returns to him with such readiness that one wonders if the book isn’t at least a little autobiographical. If it is not, then the author has cared deeply for a young woman who did endure the well-known cycle of abuse and apology.
For a familiar story, The Spirit Within has a few entertaining plot twists. Pay careful attention to Cassandra’s uncle and to the new friends that she makes after fleeing college and Raleigh. There is more than meets the eye there; the developments are well executed and they make the ever-necessary suspension of disbelief enjoyable and easy.
The novel (novella? I didn’t check the word count) is, of course, replete with romance, girl talk, and hashing out of emotions. This in no way detracts from its quality or value; in fact, I wondered several times if the conversations were ones that the author had had in real life and then committed to electronic memory. Of course, there is a romance and some talk of feelings; the author is a woman and was not trying to create the latest action yarn for teen age boys and middle aged male accountants. Men who read it might understand their wives a little better.
A necessary component of any novel is that the characters learn and grow; character development is paramount. Most of the main characters in The Spirit Within show some degree of growth. The author could use a little polish in this area, and I am waiting to see if she herself grows a bit and is able to better reflect the growth of the characters in her next work. On a personal note, I am disappointed that Raleigh Nichols gets an easy out and does not experience significant growth; it would have been a joy to see him recognize the full gravity of his actions and their consequences. However, the reader may be assured that he loses something more valuable to him than a mere girlfriend.
The Spirit Within will be a positive addition to the collection of any avid reader. I value my copy highly, and I give the work 4.4 of 5 stars."
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wanna get my book, The Spirit Within, as an ebook??
Well, here ya go... lol. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/242295 Enjoy!! ;)
Wanna connect on Facebook? Here's how...
Hey everyone... hope you're all having the most amazing weekend ever! Just wanted to share with ya how you can find me on Facebook. Hope to see ya there! :)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheila-Parker/524039374276560
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The Spirit Within
Here's a brief description of my very intriguing book, The Spirit Within....
Cassandra Blakemore seems to have the life every girl her age wants - college, cute boyfriend, cool friends, loving relatives. Except that cute mechanic and live-in lover, Raleigh Nichols, is sinking into the bottle. And hitting her. Cassy isn't going to take it, of course. This all too familiar story comes with a supernatural twist that will delight every reader. http://www.lulu.com/shop/sheila-parker/the-spirit-within/paperback/product-20437957.html
Here is where you can get your very own copy of my book, The Spirit Within!!! :)
http://www.lulu.com/shop/sheila-parker/the-spirit-within/paperback/product-20437957.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/sheila-parker/the-spirit-within/paperback/product-20437957.html
Hello and welcome to my blog! My name's Sheila (as the blog implies... LOL) and I am an author. I've been writing for eons it seems and have enjoyed every minute of it. I love to write about anything and everything, but the supernatural creates a spine-chilling desire that spawns a certain type of creativity that resides deep within me.
Hope you will enjoy everything on here and I look forward to blogging with you! :)
Hope you will enjoy everything on here and I look forward to blogging with you! :)
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