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All the Colors of My Soul by Leta McCurry

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All the Colors of My Soul by Leta McCurry

What could drive a loving wife and mother to commit cold-blooded murder?

Growing up in the 1930s Santa Clara Valley, California, Neva Holiday wanted nothing more than to reach eighteen, have a beau, get married and mother a houseful of kids. Simple, quiet, peaceful.

As she blossoms into a young woman during high school, she finds herself torn between a life-long bond with the boy next door and her growing love for a handsome newcomer escaping the destitution of Dust Bowl Oklahoma. Before she can discover the desire of her heart, WWII tears her world apart, plunging her into years of fear and dread of receiving the telegram beginning, “We regret to inform you.”

A son brings joy, purpose and focus to her life until an insidious influence creeps into the family unawares, creating an unspeakable tragedy, forever shattering Neva’s dreams of quiet happiness, and forcing her to confront whether she will turn the other cheek or deliver cold-hearted retribution.

In a dizzying exposé of the human spirit, Leta McCurry weaves a riveting tale of a young woman’s descent into darkness. Emotionally gripping and magnificently crafted, this rich and heart-wrenching novel will keep you on the edge of your seat as you race to its extraordinary conclusion. — Heidi Thomas, Award-winning author of the “Cowboy Dreams” series.

All the Colors of My Soul is a sweeping twentieth-century historical fiction. If you like captivating character studies, poignant moral quandaries, and vivid snapshots of the past, then you’ll love Leta McCurry’s mesmerizing story. — Sally Bates, Award-winning author of Western fiction and poetry.

Targeted Age Group:: 18+
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 4 – R Rated

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Two tragic family incidents. The situations were similar but the responses of the individuals involved were vastly different. All the Colors of My Soul is not the story of either of those incidents, but was inspired by the different reactions of the human spirit to an unspeakable tragedy.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Characters are always influenced to some degree by people we have known, particularly in childhood for me. Additionally there are those people who appear for an instant and then are gone, the slouched old man sitting on a park bench, his face a road map of life, the thin woman with a smelly infant slung on her hip, the child with the haunted eyes. They speak to me on a primal level and I remember them. I don't pattern characters after any one person, but exposure to all these are the bits and pieces of the mosaic that becomes a new identity in my stories. Beyond that, the stories themselves are a big factor in character development – kind of like the character rises to the occasion.

Book Sample
Inside my chest, my heart slowly expanded until it pushed against the constraints of my ribs and into my throat as if it would flow out and fill the room with something sparkling and golden, but warm and soft. I held my breath, wanting to extend the moment, to fill my hands with the manifestation of my love for him, to smear it on my face and arms, and his, where it would forever color our skin with a lasting testimony of my unspeakable love for him.

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Araya by E.Detorres

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Ellis leads his Gundogs into Hell’s Heart to hunt Gluttons and shred their armour. But Gluttons are the apex predators of Hell’s Heart, the forest that heed their own gods and spits on the laws of men. And while hunting their dangerous prey, Ellis’ Gundogs must battle The Song of the forest because when The Song casts its rhythm into their bones, self-slaughter and murder are the only thoughts the Gundogs have left.
In Hell’s Heart, the trees are lord and master.
Dram, an imperious soldier commanding the respect of men, appears in the Gundogs’ mountain stronghold whilst Ellis is fighting The Song to reclaim his mind. Dram promises Ellis riches if he will venture into Hell’s Heart and use his specialist skills to retrieve a weapon that could end the war. Ellis grudgingly accepts, knowing he must use all his training to endure The Song and lead his Gundogs through hell. But as Ellis watches his friends die around him, his mind disintegrates, and he slowly succumbs to the madness spilling from the trees.
Araya is a work about the fragility of the mind and how emotional resilience can lead an individual to achieve great feats. It is a story of friendship and love, loss and madness, and that delicate balance between light and darkness which reminds us that we are made of flesh, and all flesh is doomed to die. A thriller about the human condition that explores the tyrannical hand emotions have over our decisions and quality of life, with prose that emphasise—we must be great with the time that we have.
Gundogs race against time in Hell’s Heart because with every passing second the forest tightens its noose and sharpens its blade.

Targeted Age Group:: 18+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
After working in education for eleven years, E.Detorres has taught in a range of UK educational settings, including children with autism in a special educational needs secondary school and in a mainstream primary school. His experiences teaching unique people and the challenges children and teachers face in schools has inspired him to write ARAYA. E.Detorres' relationships with teachers and children that love nothing better to dream and play are what influenced his characters. He hopes you fall in love with them and their stories and look upon the noble profession with awe and respect.

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Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster

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Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster

A judge is brutally murdered; a sixteen year-old girl is accused. Josie Bates, an attorney who left her high powered law practice when her skill inadvertently led to the deaths of two small children, cannot turn her back on this one. Reluctantly she takes on a case that will put both their lives on the line and change one of them forever.