Saturday, March 17, 2012

Out of the Ordinary

This is a piece of writing I've been working on. This is just a small excerpt from the intro. I was wondering if you would all give me your feedback? Just give me your honest opinion of what you think of it. And if pressed, I may post more.

***

It was impossible to sleep with so much rain pouring down on the roof, and the thunder wasn't really helping either. But with each flash of lightning, Silas found it impossible to keep her eyes shut.
Letting out a disgruntled sigh, she forced herself to sit upright and pulled the sheets around her body. Her husband, Tyrell, was asleep in the bed next to her, sounding like an obnoxious bugler from summer camp with those monstrous snores. Usually Silas slept right through Tyrell's nightly charade but combined with the thunder storm it was just too much tonight. She envied the way he could sleep through anything, and wished she had the same gift.
Leaning her head back against the headboard, her eyes slid shut for a mere second -- but it was just long enough. A flash of lightning. Roaring thunder. And suddenly she was out in the rain, running through a field in her bare feet.
"Sienna, stop!" her mother called. "Come inside! I don't want you getting struck by lightning!"
Sienna giggled, running further as the rain poured down on her springy curls -- she was only four years old.
"But momma! I love the rain!" Another giggled escaping, she twirled around in the downpour, puddles unable to avoid her splashing step.
The woman she called her mother laughed lightly, a small smile slipping past her lips. She was enjoying the fun her daughter was having, momentarily forgetting any dangers.
She watched as Sienna threw her arms toward the sky, begging. More thunder. More rain. Lightning searching for a way to meet the ground, and finding a little girl in a wide open field just far away enough from her house that it was too lazy to travel that much further. Sienna gasped in shock as she was struck. The lightning barely shocked her, feeling a little weary from its search for a conducter. Oblivious to her mother's screams and the fact that she had come this close to harm, she clapped her hands and laughed up at the sky, wanting more. but she wouldn't get it, for her mother had swept her into her arms and was running toward the house screaming for her husband to call the doctor.
With another flash of lightning, the memory faded. Silas was shaking, her breathing off, her mind racing. What had just happened? That memory was hers, it was so real . . . but her name wasn't Sienna. That woman wasn't her mother. She had never been anywhere that it would rain or storm so crazily. And yet it all seemed so familiar. . .
"Tyrell." She shook her husband gently, her mind in a panic. What was happening? She didn't feel well at all, and felt like something was horribly wrong.
"Hm?" Tyrell grumbled, slowly coming to. "What is it?" he grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I feel sick --" She slumped over onto the bed, unconscious.


--Sadie

Friday, March 2, 2012

Maggie by Charles Martin

***SPOILERS***
DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ 'THE DEAD DON'T DANCE'






This book is the sequel to The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin. 


"When Maggie opened her eyes that New Year's Day some seventeen months ago, I felt like I could see again. The fog lifted off my soul, and for the first time since our son had died and she had gone to sleep-some four months, sixteen days, eighteen hours, and nineteen minutes earlier-I took a breath deep enough to fill both my lungs."


Life began again for Dylan Styles when his beloved wife Maggie awoke from a coma. A coma brought on by the intense two-day labor that resulted in heartbreaking loss. In this poignant love story that is redolent with Southern atmosphere, Dylan and Maggie must come to terms with their past before they can embrace their future.

http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Awakening-Series-Charles-Martin/dp/1595540555/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330722195&sr=1-1


This book was definitely as good as the first one. It had a very satisfactory ending, and stayed just as realistic (for the most part) as the first one. It didn't ruin the series or the first book in my opinion, and felt like the perfect second half of their story. I don't think it could have finished in a better way.

So read it and let me know what you think!

--Sadie 

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin



A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he's lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever--or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

The Dead Don't Dance is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's spiritual journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope.

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dont-Dance-Awakening-Series/dp/B002MAQSN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330721799&sr=8-1

I really enjoyed reading this book.  The cover and the title sounded a little strange at first glance, but the book is nothing like it might appear (or sound). This is one of those times where judging a book by its cover is no bueno.

I loved how real the characters were, how there wasn't anything inappropriate (except maybe some mild swearing), the plot-line, and over-all reality of the book. I finished it in one day, and went and checked out the second one the moment I got back to school. It kept me flipping its pages, wanting to know what would happen, how the problem would be solved and IF it would be.

I definitely recommend this book to both guys and girls -- the main character is a man (and so is the author), and it's not too cheesy -- I wouldn't characterize it as a "chick-flick."

So go out there and read it! And let me know what you think.

"For you, a thousand times over." - The Kite Runner

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars