Today I am happy to announce that my novel,
Family Secrets, is published. It is now available from the following vendors:
1. Amazon for
Kindle.
2. Amazon as a
print book.
3. Barnes & Noble for
Nook.
4.
Smashwords, in which the book can be downloaded to your computer or tablet in several formats.
The following is the novel description:
Jennie Graves Howell has a secret, including being thought of as a loyal
wife to her husband serving in Afghanistan, a husband who has demanded a
divorce.
Jennie’s family do not want her to delve into the past. Grandpa Mike
refuses to talk about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the
aftermath. He wants the biggest mistake he ever made to remain hidden in
the past, including family members Jennie never heard about until hints
of their existence begin to seep through the cracks of secrecy.
Her new friends at the Golden Oaks Family Ties club are willing to
teach Jennie the skills she needs to unlock her family’s secrets, but is
she willing and emotionally strong enough to learn what her family has
kept hidden?
The following excerpt tells how Jennie starts her journey of discovery into revealing her family's secrets:
Jennie chatted with Garrett
and her parents through the meal. She waited towards the end to execute her
plan, but she knew she better catch her parents before they left the table if
she wanted some answers about the family. When she judged it to be just the right
moment, she fished the paper with her questions from her jeans pocket. Keeping
her tone light and casual, she asked her first question regarding the full,
legal names of her grandparents?
Christy glared at Jennie,
a frown creasing her face. “What brought this on?”
“Oh, I was sharing a
table in the library with our neighbor, Mrs. Moore, and we started talking
about what she does for a living. I told her I knew your full names, but I also
realized that I’m not sure of the first and middle names of my grandparents. So,
she helped me put together a list so I could learn more about my family.”
“What kind of
information about the family?” Christy demanded sharply.
Jennie hesitated as
she picked up on the concern in her mother’s voice. She looked up to see her
mother’s expression hard and forbidding as a high stone wall. Jennie realized
she needed to reassure her of her intentions.
"You know, like the
full, legal names of my grandparents, for starters,” I said. “Grandpa, Grandma,
Granddad and Nana are okay when I’m around them, but I know that’s not what is
on their birth certificates.”
Jennie waited, but
neither of her parents spoke. In the silence, broken only by Garrett making
airplane noises as he swooped his fork over his plate, Jennie noticed that her
father was not looking at her. He was intently watching her mother. Something
was going on, but Jennie could not guess what it might be.
“I guess that would be
okay,” Jennie’s mom finally said.
Jennie’s dad was the
next to speak. “My father’s full name is John Kevin and the last name is
Graves, of course. My mother’s name is Amy Renate Walding.”
Then Christy told Jennie
her parents’ full names, pausing as Jennie carefully recorded them.
"Okay, I know all
their birthdays, but I’m not sure of the years,” Jennie continued. She recorded
the birth years of her four grandparents.
“Okay, where were they
all born?” she asked next.
“Why do you need all
this information? What else is on that list of yours, anyway?” Christy
demanded.
Jennie’s senses went
on full alert. Her mother was definitely frowning, her voice hostile, her jaw
clenched and her body rigid. Jennie looked at her father. His eyes were darting
back and forth between her and her mother. At that point, she realized she was
somehow touching on a sensitive subject for her mother. What could it possibly
be?
“Just the usual
genealogy questions, I guess,” Jennie said. “Names of everyone in the family.
Date and place of birth for everyone. Date and place of marriage….”
“I don’t see any
reason for you to be digging into all this,” Her mom cut her off. “This is all
in the past. Our family is who we are now, and that is what counts.”
Jennie felt completely
confused as she stared at her mother. Had someone in the family done something
wrong that everyone was trying to keep quiet? Jennie did not know what was
behind her mother’s reluctance, but she knew she better proceed carefully if
she was going to get any more information.
“Mom, my grandparents
are important to me. I just want to find out a little more about them. But,
maybe I should just wait and ask them.”
“No, Jennie, forget
it,” Christy ordered her. “I do not want you to ask your grandparents a lot of
personal questions like that. I don’t want you saying anything that may hurt
someone’s feelings.”
Jennie blinked,
feeling befuddled.
"I have no intentions
of saying anything that would hurt anyone’s feelings,” Jennie said carefully.
“I love my grandparents. I would never want to make them unhappy.”
“I think that is
enough for tonight,” Rob cut in kindly. “I know you would never knowingly say
or do anything to hurt your family, but some things may be best left alone.”
“Okay. Sure,” Jennie
stammered. Even her father was in on whatever they were trying to keep from
her. “But this is the first time I ever suspected we may have some deep, dark
secrets in our family.”
Jennie was sorry as
soon as she said it.
“That’s enough!” her
father spoke sharply.
“There aren’t any
deep, dark secrets in our family,” Christy spoke quietly, as she rubbed the
sides of her face with both hands. “It’s just….”
The three all looked
at each other in the silence that followed. Even Garrett stopped his playing
and looked around the table in confusion.
Jennie silently folded
her paper and put it back into her pocket.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
The online release party which will be held on Facebook and this blog is scheduled for Saturday, November 1st. The details are on the blog post before this one, which you can access by clicking HERE. Please join me for more information and a chance to win some prizes.
Also, check out my FAMILY SECRETS Pinterest board. You can access it in the upper right-hand corner of this blog. The pictures will give you more details about the book.
Happy reading and enjoy!
