August 2018 - A Life Through Books

Friday, August 31, 2018

The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin
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Middle Grade
Date Published: October 2017
Publisher: Plaisted Publishing House Ltd

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After Bess Silver had settled into her new home in Pineview she thought her biggest problem would be settling into a new school. She was surprised to learn that it was a one room school house which was different from what she was used to.

That all changed when Megan Skye, her best friend and cousin, dashed into their kitchen late one afternoon with exciting news. Megan's father discovered an old cabin, hidden behind a wall, when he started doing kitchen renovations. Megan asked him to take the suitcases, ledgers and trunk they found over to Bess instead of throwing them out. Clues turn up in the suitcases and in a secret compartment in the cabin which leave Bess puzzled. When she first looked around the cabin she sees a ghostly figure that disappears in an instant but is as real as Megan. Dreams about the cabin and occupants haunt Bess. These feel so real that she can't shake the feeling that she was actually near them.

Who is the figure that Bess saw in the cabin? What is she trying to tell her? Why is she having dreams about the old cabin? Will Bess be able to figure  out who the mysterious figure is? Or would these secrets remain secrets forever?

The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin is the sequel to Bess's Magical Garden and can be read on it's own.



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Bess's Magical Garden
Published: October 2015
Publisher: FriesenPress


Bess's mother moves them to Pineview, away from her best friend Megan, and she terribly misses her. Six months earlier, Bess’s father died in a car crash, and she’s also in the midst of recovering from the final stages of polio. She's in a sad and lonely place.

From the moment she and her mother settle into their new home, Bess hears whispering voices and encounters a ghostly figure in the well-kept garden and in her dreams. She can’t make sense of everything and so shares her observations with Megan by writing her regular letters.

During the summer, she makes new friends, including an orange and white tomcat that she names Pumpkin, and her new neighbour Josie. With the help of Mrs. O’Toole, the woman who watches her, Bess continues to recover, both physically and emotionally. She becomes more and more curious about the garden and the unexplained clues that she finds there.

In Bess’s Magical Garden, Bess discovers her own true strengths through enduring life’s struggles. She - with Josie and Megan’s help - also finds some hidden items in the garden, including a map, that leave the girls with more questions than answers. Who was the figure that visited Bess? Will Bess and her friends be able to uncover the garden’s secrets? Or will those secrets be mysteries forever?



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About the Author


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Marjorie (M.E.) Hembroff is the author of Bess's Magical Garden, a middle grade novel and picture book Gramma Mouse Tells a Story. Marjorie is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators,  and Writer's Guild of Alberta.

Marjorie has been an avid reader since early childhood and has always been imaginative. Growing up on a farm before television aided in her using her imagination to create a variety of pastimes. Stories formed in her mind but most of them were never written down until later in life. It wasn't until her children were growing up that she started to take art and writing courses. At that time, her writing improved and short stories formed. It was when she retired that the idea for Bess's Magical Garden surfaced.

After Marjorie's divorce she worked in the plant industry. First at a greenhouse and then looking after tropical plants in downtown offices. For awhile it looked like her adult children would never leave home but they have now all flown the nest and are having their own life's adventures. After retirement she moved to Strathmore where she lives with her pets.



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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Rockstar Series
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Contemporary Romance
Part One – Books One thru Four

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As with all the Rockstar books, this book contains mature content and may be deemed inappropriate for persons under 17 years of age.








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Falling Down - (Rockstar #1)


I was twelve when I started crushing on him.

I was seventeen when I met him by chance and our connection was made.

Now here I am, twenty-three, and I'm one of the two actresses in the video for his band's latest single.

Jesse Kingston is a tall, dark, and gorgeous temptation I'm finding hard to resist. It ends up not being as simple as doing a job and going home. It can't be when he continually makes his presence known with his not-so-innocent touches and sexy words. There is no avoiding him and after spending so much time with him, I'm not sure I want to.

So, when he proposes a weekend together, knowing I should say no, I throw caution to the wind and instead I say yes. I'm going to ignore the warning signs and do what I normally wouldn't—I'm going to give in to my desire. I'm going to indulge my fantasies and give this sexy rocker what he wants and something he won't forget—me.

The only question is: Is one weekend going to be enough? Will our time end up changing this bad boy? Or will it end up changing me?

I recommend listening to the playlist whenever possible to get the full effect of the story (Listed at the back of the book).



DISCLAIMER!

If you're unable to suspend disbelief and escape to the Rockstar Land of Fiction, then this book probably isn't for you.  This is NOT a dark romance. There will be MINIMAL angst or drama. There will be lots of laughs, frequent dropping of the F-bomb, and crazy monkey sex.







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Blush (Rockstar #2)
You know how people say they woke up in Vegas married and you're like, how the hell could that possibly happen? Who does that? Well, us apparently… and the press is having a field day.

Let's not even get started on the topic of my mother. Then there's my grandpa wanting to meet my new husband--that's not scary at all. On top of that, we're heading out on tour and I'm a nervous wreck--factor in the fact that Jesse's newly changed marital status doesn't seem to be an issue for the groupies. Nothing deters them. Not even the fact that I'm standing right there when they proposition him.

I can handle the press, my mom, and even my grandpa. But the women who are ruining my current mood of "happy", well, they've got another thing coming. It's time to put these women in their place because nobody messes with my happily ever after.







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A Very Xander Christmas (Rockstar #3)
The first Rockstar Christmas. A short story—told Xander Style.







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Amplify: (Rockstar #4)
DISCLAIMER: This story contains grief, loss, sadness, darkness, light, happiness, angst, swearing, explicit sex, graphic violence, new beginnings, and soulmates. You may need tissues.

Sera

He’s my protector, my confidante. Then one night he became more. I want him, I need him, and, if I’m honest with myself, I love him. I just don’t know if he’ll ever see me as more than what we’ve always been: friends. I don’t want to lose him but it’s getting harder and harder to keep my feelings to myself. Should I risk it all or play it safe?

Cage

She’s my light, my saving grace. The night we came together I knew I could never live without her. I want her to be mine: my lover, my friend. Maybe, if I can get her to see past all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together, she’ll be my forever. It just might be time to turn it up and go for broke.







About the Author


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Anne Mercier is the author of the bestselling Rockstar, Forbidden Fantasies and The Way series. She was born and raised in Wisconsin and still lives there today.

She's an avid reader who gets inspired by reading the stories from her favorite authors as well as listening to various types of music. She is a huge fan of music, chocolate, fruit, desserts, autumn, M. Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold, and Milo Ventimiglia. Through her books, she is proudly creating new Avenged Sevenfold and Milo Ventimiglia fans one reader at a time.



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Wednesday, August 29, 2018

There Once Was a Girl
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Drama
Publisher: XLibris
Published: May 2016

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Based on a true story, there once was a girl is about the journey of a young woman's life and the choices she makes during that journey and the consequence's they bring. Australian drama, which takes the reader from the Sydney western suburbs and pubs to the outback of Western Australia. The story isn't about one girl....there is another female character and the story tells of her experiences in a world that isn't as safe as we want to believe. Names and places have been changed.



About the Author


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Josie Townsend is a sixth generation Australian. She lives in regional New South Wales.







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Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Dead Lawyers Don't Lie by @marknolan #giveaway #thriller
9:32 AM 3 Comments

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Thriller
Date Published: Jan. 1, 2016

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A mysterious killer who calls himself The Artist is assassinating wealthy lawyers in San Francisco. When war veteran Jake Wolfe accidentally takes his picture during a murder, The Artist adds Jake to his kill list and he becomes a target in a deadly game of cat and mouse that only one of them can survive. How far would you go to protect your loved ones from a killer? Jake wants to leave his top secret, violent past life behind him. But the reluctant, flawed hero can't ignore his duty and his personal moral compass.


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About the author:

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Mark Nolan is the author of Dead Lawyers Don't Lie, and the sequel,Vigilante Assassin. Right now he's busy writing Jake Wolfe Book 3. He has raised two great kids and one very smart retriever dog. Mark also tries to make time every day to answer emails from readers. You can reach him and subscribe to his newsletter at marknolan.com.





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Bad Blood
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Urban Fantasy
Date Published: Sept 28th, 2018
Publisher: Inspired Ink ( Self published)

A reluctant knight.
A magical descendent.
A race against time.
A freak accident thrusts Nakeeta Alva into a dangerous world of secrets, ancient spells, and a legacy she never wanted. The last in a magical line, she’s tasked with restoring the balance to a supernatural world poised for ruin.
Tasked with the care of their savior, Crewe’s main focus is survival. Used to giving orders, the knight isn’t prepared for the sassy witch’s mouth or her lure. The powerful woman reminded him of his humanity and challenged his beliefs. Keeping her safe is his mission, but the real danger may be losing his heart.
Together, they will save the world … or die trying.




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Excerpt

Let me get you some water.” Her mother hurried off as she acclimated herself with the waking world. How long have I been here? Her mother returned with a large, pink plastic cup with a straw. “Let’s get you sitting up.” Her mother hit the button and slowly pushed her up into an upright position.

“Better?”

“Yes,” she rasped.

“Here you are.” She held the cup out, and she wrapped her lips around a straw and sucked the cool water down her sore throat. The relief drew a hum from her throat. Pulling away, Keeta cleared her throat.

“I’m so sorry. Times run out,” her mother whispered.

“What are you talking about, Mom?” She furrowed her brow.

“We did our best to protect you, Keeta. Growing up we tried to keep you away from all things magical, but the power ran too deep. The spirits tried to tell me, but I was too stubborn to listen. You were my child, and I wanted the best for you. Your magic was a part of you that refused to be ignored or denied. So, we switched gears, tried to prepare you for what we knew would come, and hid you for as long as we could. I knew the moment I saw you and looked into your eyes you were the one our family had prophesied about.”

“Hid me from what?” Is this some sort of fever dream? Am I still in a comma?

“Everyone who would use you as a weapon.” Her mother’s whisper was full of sorrow and desperation.

“Use me? Mom, you’re not making any sense.” Exasperated, she huffed. Her body ached, and her head felt barely attached to her shoulders. A combination of the powerful medication and exhaustion that came from healing warped her perception. A hazy recollection of a dream tugged at her. What was I supposed to remember? Her brain protested the strain with a dull throbbing at her temples that stopped her from thinking too hard.

Her mother held her hand. “You’re different.”

“Yes, like our entire family is,” Keeta replied, unsure of what her mother wished to convey. She’d never been the type to beat around the bush before. Why hesitate now?

“Yes, but you have power. A scary amount of it. Things have always been drawn to you. Even with us cloaking you to dampen your light, it shone so brightly.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “We tried to do right by you, Keeta. Now I’m not sure we were right.”

“Mom, you’re scaring me.” Her voice warbled.

“Destiny will only be denied so long, baby. Yours is at hand.”

Her stomach knotted. The storm that had been threatening overhead was finally breaking.

“Our family is made up of more than powerful magic workers. We descend from a long lineage of gifted magical beings. It goes back further than you can imagine, and some of the spells created and cast changed the shape of the world as we know it.” She glanced around nervously. “I’m not sure how much time we have. You’re a part of a bigger plan, Keeta. The laws keeping humans safe are crumbling into themselves. You can help change that. I won’t tell you it’ll be easy, or comfortable, but it’s necessary. If I could take this burden from you, I would.” She shook her head. “But it wasn’t meant for me.”

“I don’t understand. What am I supposed to do? Why?” Keeta shook her head. She’d never seen her mother this distraught. Dark circles ringed her puffy red eyes. Regret and apprehension stiffened her muscles and turned her dark brown eyes nearly black.

“I want to tell you more.” Her mother bowed her head. Her mouth clamped shut as if it’d been glued together. “Mmm. Mmmm.” She struggled to speak. Her face turned purple.

“Mom?” She gripped the blankets hard and leaned forward. “Breathe!”

Her mother gasped, greedily sucking in air as her slender form trembled. Tears rolled down her face in a steady stream of salty water. “I can’t. God help me, I can’t.” Her anguished cries sliced at Keeta’s heart.

“You can’t what?” she whimpered, feeling her mother’s pain as her own.

Exasperated, her mother threw her hands into the air and shook her head so hard she thought she might strain a muscle. “T-the d-deal,” she stuttered, stumbling over her words

“What deal?” Her stomach plummeted, and her heartbeat spiked. The monitors beeped nosily in response.

“The one she made to save your life,” a masculine voice answered from the doorway.

Her spine stiffened. The room felt too small. She shrank back against her pillow. His aura was dark and powerful. Nearly six-foot with pale blond hair, crystalline blue eyes, and cheekbones that could draw blood, he oozed strength and dominance.

Predator. He slammed against the wall, pinned into place. She gasped. Did I do that?

“Nakeeta!” her mother hissed.

She’d never been able to manifest her powers this way. She trembled. Images of the powerful medicine man and his words filled her brain. A headache burst through her head.

“Stop this,” her mother demanded.

I don’t know how. She wouldn’t share that weakness in front of this—

His eyes flashed red.

Vampire.




About the Author

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Shyla Colt is the sassy USA Today Bestselling author of the popular series Kings of Chaos and Dueling Devils M.C. This genre-hoppers stories feature three of her favorite things: strong females, pop culture, and alternate routes to happy ever after. Listening to her Romani soul, she pens from the heart, allowing the dynamic characters, eccentric interests, and travels as a former flight attendant to take her down untraveled roads.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, this mid-west girl is proud of her roots. She used her hometown and the surrounding areas as a backdrop for a number of books. So, if you're a Buckeye, keep an eye out for familiar places.

As a full-time writer, stay at home mother, and wife, there's never a dull moment in her household.
She weaves her tales in spare moments and the evenings with a cup of coffee or tea at her side and the characters in her head for company.


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Thursday, August 23, 2018

Book Cover Reveal: Silent All These Years by T.A. Massa @TiffaniMassa  #thisfall #comingsoon #mystery
7:15 AM1 Comments

We are so excited to reveal the cover of T. A. Massa's debut novel

Silent All These Years: A Novel. Check it out!

Silent All These Years: A Novel

About Silent All These Years: A Novel

Available September 13, 2018

A broken daughter’s search for the truth unwinds a spiraling journey of panic, lust, and murder in this manipulative thriller from debut author T. A. Massa.

Melanie Stewart has just been left ten million dollars by a man she never knew. Should she accept the money? What if it means her mother, Marilyn, who died when she was only three years old, was murdered by the man who left it to her?
Melanie is trapped with crippling anxiety after the loss of her mother at a young age and the fatal stabbing of her fiancé on the night of their engagement.
When she discovers she has been written into the will of Roger Andrews, a name linked to the mysterious death of her mother, Melanie must trudge down a path of buried memories, reliving painful heartache, all while attempting to restart her life and trust a new admirer, Jake Andrews, Roger’s grandson.
Told from the alternating perspectives of Melanie’s investigation and Marilyn’s last weeks leading up to her death, the clues unravel one by one, leaving you guessing until the final climax. Who should Melanie trust? What happened to Marilyn all those years ago?
SILENT ALL THESE YEARS: A Novel is a Standalone Fiction Mystery Suspense Novel.

Add Silent All These Years: A Novel to your Goodreads list here!

Silent All These Years: A Novel by T. A. Massa releases September 13th!



Silent All These Years: A Novel


  Silent All These Years: A Novel  

  Author T. A. Massa

About Author T. A. Massa

Tiffani lives near Austin, TX with her husband, three kids, three dogs, and all her cats. She spends her days helping her husband with his company, running her kids around town, caring for the house, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner.
She is a lover of all stories.
She enjoys reading, writing, blogging, and going to the movies (especially on opening day!). Her background is in marketing and entrepreneurship and she is addicted to learning new things.
She manages a Lifestyle Blog at Pages & Lace covering books, movies, design, style trends, and her favorite products. Check it out today!
Her debut novel, Silent All These Years: A Novel, releases September 13, 2018. She has started her second novel with hopes of publishing in the Fall of 2019.

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Lifestyle Blog Website: https://www.pagesandlace.com/
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Friday, August 17, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Obake Neko (Ghost Cat) by David Michael Gillespie #interview #giveaway #mystery #historical
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Mystery/Historical Fiction
Date Published: May 31, 2018

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It begins with a disappearance… In the waning days of World War II, the Obake Neko is the last surviving Sen-Toku—a huge secret aircraft-carrier submarine created by the Imperial Japanese Navy. As the war comes to an end, the Obake Neko sets sail back to Japan with a cargo of unimaginable value. In the chaos of Japanese surrender, the clandestine vessel and its crew vanish in the seas of the South Pacific.

Fifty-five years after the war’s end, former U.S. Navy pilot, Bud Brennan breaks into Pearl Harbor’s submarine museum in Hawaii. Bud’s son, Mike, is still raw from the death of his wife and grappling with a new career but still jumps in to help his dad. But when Bud’s antics garner the attention of the Navy’s JAG, Mike realizes his father may possess knowledge about the near-mythical Obake Neko and its fabled cargo—knowledge that is also of great value to the Japanese Yakuza. Now, Mike must scramble to learn the whole truth of his father’s decades-old connection with the legendary Japanese submarine and fight to defend his father from relentless military authorities and deadly Yakuza operatives. Even decades later, the Obake Neko and its legendary cargo are still worth killing over.

Can Mike discover the truth and protect his dad before deadly assailants succeed in silencing Bud forever?


Interview

1.     What is the hardest part of writing you books?
Finding the right balance. Balance in describing a person or a place or a situation. Not too much or the reader might consider it flowery and lose interest and get bored. Not too little or the reader can’t grasp what your character is like or what your location looks and feels like. I’m constantly striving for words to clearly and succinctly describe.

2.     What songs are most played on your Ipod?
No Ipod and don’t turn on any audio. However, I often have a song playing in my head as I write, usually one from the 60’s. The soundtrack from Jersey Boys, Beach Boys, Phantom of the Opera soundtrack and Roy Orbison are some of my favorites.

3.     Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I have become dependent on beta readers. They provide a fresh objective view of my work. Most firms that provide beta readers give them an outline of what they must cover and that is great. I used a different set of beta readers four times in writing my book. After each beta reader input, I would adjust, edit, modify my text based on the comments that I got that made sense to me. Then I put it out for another beta reader set and repeat the process.

4.     What book are you reading now?
I just finished reading Stephen Sears, Chancellorsville. Great detail about this important civil war battle. Currently reading, The Irish Inheritance, by MJ Lee. It’s a two-time frame story, like my book. Good read so far.

5.     How did you start your writing career?
I’ve always been a heavy reader – always reading both fiction and non-fiction. Always had in the back of my head to write my own story one day. A plot developed in me years ago on a visit to a submarine museum and over time I put bits and pieces of a story together. Got serious about two years ago and wrote my first novel.

6.     Tell us about your next release.

I like the two-time frame story format, so will stick with it. I will use my key characters from my first book in the current Hawaii time frame and keep the same protagonist. My historical aspect will travel with Roy Andrews Chapman, the dinosaur bone hunter in the late 1920’s, in the Gobi Dessert. The protagonist in that timeframe will be a young boy travelling with his expedition who stumbles across a small object on one of the digs that people will kill to obtain.

About the Author

David Gillespie moved to Hawaii as a teenager, where he attended public schools and graduated with a BBA and MBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.


Gillespie has had a varied career in Hawaii’s business community. As a consultant with a University of Hawaii program, he traveled to many Pacific Island nations. His experiences in these exotic locales, along with his keen interest and research about the Sen-Toku Japanese submarines, inform and enhance his writing.


Gillespie is retired and has taken up home improvement projects, earned a private pilot license, and works on writing historical adventure novels. He continues to enjoy life in Hawaii, his home, with his family and a tuxedo cat named Tick Tock.



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Cover Reveal: Still Breathing by E.A. Fournier #womensfiction #coverreveal
12:00 AM0 Comments
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Women’s Fiction
Date Published:  November 17, 2018
Designer: Damonza
Publisher: Acorn Publishing

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Newly widowed and on the threshold of seventy, Lizzie Warton questions the value of her remaining years. Uncharacteristically, she decides for the first time in her life to do what she wants, instead of what everyone expects.

Against the wishes of family and friends, she sets out for Africa to work at a Ugandan middle school. When she lands at night in the Entebbe airport, her hosts are not there to meet her. Near panic, she hires a local taxi. The driver drugs her, steals everything, and dumps her limp body in a slum. Waking in the dark, she feels someone tugging off her shoes.

Without money, a passport, clothes, or medications, Lizzie is forced to start over and find a way to survive. Soon she learns that nothing in Africa is as it appears. The grind of daily life in the third-world is beyond anything Lizzie imagined. Nevertheless, encouraged by budding friendships in surprising places, and against every sensible instinct she’s ever developed, Lizzie’s own personal search for meaning becomes the grand adventure of a lifetime.



Excerpt



      “Hey, muzungu! Over here!”

“Lady, best prices in Owino!”

 “I have jeans. You want jeans? New styles from America!”

“Hey! Pretty white lady! Over here!”

 “Best quality! Best prices! Today, only for you, muzungu!”

“I have a new shipment! Come and see!”

“Muzungu! Lady, what you need?”

Lizzie was sick of the accented voices shouting at her. She had yet to see another white woman in the claustrophobic market. Warned in advance, she had ignored the hands on her arms, the fingers trailing across her fingers, even the nudges to move her toward their shops, but she was fed up with the vendors’ constant calls aimed at her. Still, she doggedly maintained her wooden smile, even though she was gritting her teeth behind it.

At one point, a vendor called out a question in Luganda and someone else answered it. Lizzie was sure it had something to do with her. Laughter broke out and other voices chimed in with more quips. Grinning faces nodded at her as she walked away.

Lizzie shot a questioning look at Mrs. Birungi, who rolled her eyes, even though a smile tugged at her mouth. “It is nothing - just vendor talk. Ignore it. We need to go over that way.” Birungi pointed to a split in the congested path ahead, and steered them to the right.

Afiya pulled abreast of Lizzie a little later as they bobbed through a brief open place in the moving crowd. “They said they not sure if you are white or Ugandan.”

“What?”

“It was joke. Our people always make jokes.”

“How was it a joke?”

“Somebody said you half Ugandan.” The girl suppressed a grin.

“I don’t get it.”

“They said you have white top but Ugandan bottom.” Afiya smiled broadly as she said the line.

Lizzie looked back at her, puzzled.

“This kind bottom.” Afiya patted her own rump. “Word means both things. They admired your…bottom.” Afiya couldn’t help but giggle as she repeated the word.

Lizzie understood and sighed. “Well, I guess that’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard.” In her mind, a little appreciative thought blossomed at still being noticed in that way, at all. She hastily chided herself and kept walking, but her hips now swayed a tiny bit more, nevertheless.


About the Author

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Originally from South Minneapolis, Gene Fournier earned a BA in Philosophy & Literature from St. Louis University followed by a Masters in Film from USC. Gene is a member of the Writers Guild of America west (WGA) and worked as a screenwriter and editor in Hollywood, but sadly, he never got that big break.

Seeking a return to his roots after twelve years in California, he accepted a Director of Media position with a multinational company headquartered in the Midwest. For thirty years he wrote, directed, edited and distributed corporate video programs around the world, managed live presentations, and orchestrated the creative elements for national and international meetings.

Retired now, with his seven children grown, and a dozen grandchildren to distract him, Gene is finally able to write down the stories he’s been carrying in his head all these years.


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