Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Shh.. Don't Tell By Michelle Moorer

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Shh…don't tell-these words, spoken by her father, mark the beginning of a cycle of abuse that darkens the author's childhood and teen years.
The men in Michelle's life were supposed to love, guide and protect her. Instead, her father, Jacob, a heroin user and alcoholic, begins molesting her when she is just a small child. Once he has gone, her mother's alcoholic and verbally abusive boyfriend, Brent, finds out about Jacob's mistreatment of Michelle and begins abusing her as well.
To add to the hurt, family members ridicule and demoralize Michelle and her siblings as they grow up-punishing them because of their mother's past. Most devastating of all is betrayal by the one person whose love should have been unconditional: Michelle's mother knows that both her husband and boyfriend have abused her daughter, yet she ignores the situation.
The abuses go on for years, making Michelle feel embarrassed and ashamed of herself, as if it were her fault. She loses her self-esteem, becomes depressed, and even has thoughts of suicide. Like many girls who have suffered from abuse, she also has sex at a young age.
While Michelle struggles to overcome adversity and to rebuild her self-esteem, one of her biggest fears comes true. Just as her family had taunted her, she now finds herself in the same situation her mother once faced: She is pregnant at sixteen, and still in high school. The child's father, who is Michelle's first love, walks away.
Will she be able to raise her baby without the support of the father? Will she manage to graduate high school? Or will she become the failure her family has predicted? These are the questions that remain at the end of this, the first of four memoirs. But Michelle has already started to find the inner strength she will need to turn her life around, and her message to readers is clear: Always believe in yourself! Never give up!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ace of Hearts By. Jean Holloway

Biography:
Her oldest memories are of reading. She was always in a book, letting it take her places only she imagined. Sometimes she felt more at home in the author’s world than in her own. Stephen King and Dean Koontz are her ultimate tour guides and honorable mentions go to Jean Auel and Agatha Christie.
The daughter of an entrepreneur, Jean saw the only limitations you have are the ones you put on yourself. In the early 60’s, her father owned his own cab in NY, which was unusual for a Black man born in 1918 armed with only a high school education. When he saved up enough money, while raising a family of 7, he bought a beer and soda distributorship right outside JFK airport. He and her mother ran the store. Her younger sister, Lori and she ran the little sandwich truck they used to push in front of the store each morning. In fact, that’s where she met her soul mate and husband of 36 years.
Her father’s entrepreneurial spirit inspired her to try for goals normally out of her reach, like standup comedy and becoming an author, an idea some discouraged since she never graduated college.
“Ace of Hearts” started 27 years ago in answer to a bet. Her sister said, “You read so much, I bet you could write a book” and she answered, “I bet I could.” After many transitions, from sitting in a park writing it in longhand in 1980 to typewriter to word processor to computer in 2003, Jean learned the new technology and now thinks of her computer as her toy.
Five years ago, Jean had foot surgery and her sister suggested she get “Ace of Hearts” down, dust it off, do some editing and see if it would fly. She pushed Jean to print several copies of her manuscript and paid for her attendance at NBCC (National Book Club Convention) held in Atlanta annually, the first weekend in August. She handed her manuscripts out in a room full of Zane fans and soon book clubs were talking! She met her good friend and soon-to–be publisher, Diane DorcĂ©, owner and CEO of Firefly Publishing and Entertainment that weekend. Three months later, Jean signed a contract, went through the editing process one more time and “Ace of Hearts” was born!

The moral of Jean’s story: Never give up your dream.
Jean Holloway lives in Kennesaw, GA with her husband, Fred and her dog, Kayla. Her six grown children and eight grandkids all live nearby.

Visit her at www.deckofcardz.com

Synopsis:
Shevaughn Robinson is investigating an especially gruesome case which emerges into serial murders. The story evolves as she follows murder after murder trying to solve the case, not realizing the murderer is a man who not only becomes obsessed with death, but obsessed with her.Photobucket