Chopin’s Nocturne No. 19 in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 is my absolute favorite piece of classical music. I discovered it about 25 years ago, in a made-for-TV movie, of all things. The edited version so haunted me that I had to hear the entire piece. Then I had to purchase the music and learn to play it. This was back in the days when I actually PLAYED piano. And now I’m seriously considering taking up piano again. Though nocturnes have a reputation for being slightly depressing – they are played in minor keys, after all – this particular piece fits all sorts of moods for me: soothing when I’m depressed, a comforting companion on stormy days, or brings a smile to my face on quiet, slow days at work. It’s a hopeful sort of piece. Though played in minor keys, this beautifully rendered nocturne by Chopin inspires hope within me – hope that the sun will shine brilliantly after the storms (though I love storms), that tomorrow will be a new, brighter day; that anything is possible, if only I believe.
Category Archives: Writing
Cover Reveal + Giveaway: REVELATIONS by J. A. Souders
Blurb to come!
About Renegade
Elysium Chronicles (Book 1)
Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law. But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster. Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb…and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.
About A Dark Grave:
Elysium Chronicles (Book 0.5)
There is only one place forbidden to the people of Gavin’s village; the island just off the shore, rumored to be haunted. Cursed. All who venture to the island disappear. But Gavin doesn’t believe in such things. He is a hunter; since his father’s death, he is the only one who can provide for the family. Silly rumors of ghosts aren’t going to stop him from crossing the dark waters to the island in search of fresh game…
Filed under Blogging, Writing, YA Authors, YA Novel
Review of Altered by Jennifer Rush
TH
EY WERE MADE TO FORGET, BUT THEY’LL NEVER FORGIVE.
Wow! Where do I start!? We always hear people talk about having the memory of an elephant – they never forget a wrong done to them, even if they do forgive that wrong. Well, what if you knew that you were wronged in some manner – living each day caged in a lab is your first clue – but you forgot exactly HOW you were wronged? Would you be able to forgive?
Sam, Nick, Cas and Trev are four young men imprisoned in a basement lab, with little to do but improve their minds and physiques. Their only links to the outside world are Anna and her father, who’s in charge of their care and testing. Anna is the only brightness in their lives, the only measure of sanity. And even she doesn’t know their true purpose.
When the powers that be at the Branch, the organization for which her father works, suddenly decide to remove the boys from her father’s care, Anna protests and is caught up in their escape, thrusting her into a violent world. Her father demands a promise from Sam to keep Anna safe, at all costs, especially from the Branch and Connor, its enigmatic, charismatic head. He also gives Sam the address of a safe house where they’ll be able to find help.
Upon reaching the safe house, they discover its occupant left in a hurry, and without warning. But when Anna discovers a framed picture of Sam’s birch-tree tattoo on the wall, and within the frame a cryptic message addressed to Sam, a desperate search for answers begins. Who are the boys? Why can’t they remember their pasts? How are they connected to each other, and more disturbing, how are they connected to Anna and why do they seem to not be able to resist the overwhelming need to protect her?
What follows is a race against time to discover their true identities and purpose, before the Branch discovers their whereabouts and erases their memories….again.
Jennifer Rush delivers an absolutely thrilling, heart-stopping, page-turning roller-coaster ride in her debut novel! And did I mention the manly torso-bearing scenes? This book is full of muscled hotties! As much as I enjoy YA fantasies, I can often accurately guess the outcome. This one pleasantly surprised me. As is common with a first-person narrated novel, there are many things the reader doesn’t know and may or may not learn during the course of the novel. But I have to say that Anna’s discoveries about her own identity and the betrayal of one of the boys were quite unexpected. While several questions – such as the boys’ connection to Anna and the truth about her own identity – are answered in the story, several more are raised, leaving the reader antsy for the sequel.
Filed under Book Review, Debut Novel, Writing, YA, YA Authors, YA Novel
Pen and Keys 