I hope you get a chance to get this book. There are so many excellent stories and poems. I’m so proud to be included.
SOMETHING EXTRAODINARY
Podcast
Coming soon. The podcast of Dark Night Of The Soul
Do you know who Marcus is, what he’s become? Have you ever been afraid in the dark? There are things in the dark that you can’t see. Marcus can. Walking in the darkness is the one that can steal your light. It will not only take your life. Slowly it will steal your memories, taking from you all you once knew and loved. It will take your soul. What would you do? Would you accept this changed nature, or fight for the person you want to be? If you want to know what Marcus is, what he’s done and what he is prepared to do, you’ll have to read Dark Night Of The Soul. It’s available on Amazon as an audio book, where the voices of Marcus and those who enter his life come alive.
Let me know when you’ve read or listened to the book. There are questions to answer. If you can answer them, A Darkness Descending, the prequel, will be yours. You know how to find me.
Dark Night of the Soul – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074T2Y22K
A Bark Of Love
If you’ve read any of the Sister World Novels you’ll notice the dogs. It’s obvious how much I love animals, especially dogs. There is a reason.
I don’t remember how old I was, neither do I remember why I was so sad. I hate crying in front of people. I hate it even more if it’s someone in my family. I’ve been known to climb out bathroom windows to find a good place to hide. Part of this may be that I can’t make a coherent sentence when I cry, no matter what I’m crying about. Maybe you feel like this too. I’d like to know I’m not the only one. Anyway back to dogs. Back then I lived in a small older home with a large farmers sink that sat pretty far out from the wall. The cupboards on either side had drawers that also didn’t go to the wall. For whatever reason, I was crying and there was no escaping the house. Small and skinny, I opened the door and managed to fit behind the pipes and the drawers. My cheerio box fit too. Munching on my treat, I suddenly heard a soft whining. I was worried Chipper, our dog, would give me away and I was enjoying the silent moments. I opened the door to shew him away. Chipper, so called because his beautiful white fur had round chocolate spots, had a better idea. I’ll never know how he did it, but somehow he managed to crawl inside. I could even close the door. He put his head on my shoulder, whined softly and enjoyed the cereal too. He understood me, he cried with me and made me feel less alone. I’ve thought of him in some of my saddest moments. You can’t buy love like that. He’ll always own a special place in my heart, just like I hope Spirit (Sister World) will find a place in yours.
APPLE PICKING TIME
The apples are ready to pick and ready to eat. I have a great recipe for a surprising apple pancake. It’s not what you think and more often than not I eat it with ice cream. Of course you CAN have ice cream for breakfast but I usually wait until after dinner. Send me a message here or on my Facebook page and I’ll divulge the secret that makes this recipe so special.
North Kingston Library
I will be talking about my books at the North Kingston Library at 100 Boone Street, North Kingston, RI, on October 27th from6:30 – 7:30. I’ll have my books with me. I have a lot to say about my writing process and my recent successes. Hope to see you there.
READER VIEWS
My first book in the Sister World Trilogy, Sister World The Arrival, received a 5 Star review from Reader Views.
Below is their review of The Arrival
Sister World: The Arrival
Debra Zannelli
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2019)
ISBN: 978-1727643992
Reviewed by Julie Grayson for Reader Views (08/2025)
5*- Great start to a new series!!
Imagine a world in an alternate universe that’s a mirror image of Earth. What if an evil leader on
that Alt Earth decides to quietly take it over? That’s the premise of Debra Zannelli’s Sister
World: The Arrival. This is Book 1 of the new Sister World trilogy, a story that takes place
across parallel planets.
Welcome to Terah, a world that basically mirrors Earth, but is ruled by an authoritarian regime
under the tyrant Frauliege. She decides to come to Earth because ruling one planet must not be enough. When siblings Kahill
and Cara hear about the evil plot to invade Earth, they escape Terah through a wormhole that
connects the two planets. Their goal is to find their counterparts on Earth, siblings Peter and
Becky, and their scientist father, Dr. Samuel Benjamin.
One of the coolest aspects of this story is TEV, an ingenious device that translates animal speech,
allowing humans to understand them. Suddenly, the creatures of Earth have the potential to be its
biggest allies. From bats stealing weapons to rats swarming enemy soldiers, they bring an
entirely new concept to warfare.
The characters here show great emotional complexity. Kahill is a young man broken by the
cruelty of Terah. His counterpart, Peter, has suffered great trauma. Readers will also meet
Jenny, a character who will be forced to make a brutal decision.
The animal kingdom, thanks to TEV, also plays its part with some amazing characters, including
Bentwing, leader of the bats, and a dog named Spirit. But perhaps the most profound moments
with the animals involve the eagles, who mourn their dead, allowing us to reflect upon our
connection to Earth’s animals.
Sister World: The Arrival is a story of survival, resilience, and unity. Environmental themes
occasionally play out, as evidenced by the delicate beauty of Earth contrasting with the scorched
desolation of Terah.
Some readers may want more on Terah’s backstory, or Frauliege’s motives, and the adult
characters (as compelling as they are) can sometimes get overshadowed by the perils facing the
youth. However, these gaps don’t seem to be the result of careless editing. Instead, they seem to
echo the narrative’s message that the future belongs to the young, the brave, and the
underestimated.
Providing book by book publicity for Indie Authors since 2005.Open this novel and prepare to be taken in by a revolution we never saw coming. In which the
slightest of voices is set to make the most noise. Debra Zannelli’s Sister World: The Arrival is a
tale of speculative fiction offering all the thrills of a swashbuckling adventure as well as themes
of stewardship and sacrifice.
METCALF SCHOOL HOLIDAY BAZAAR
Every year Metcalf School hosts a diverse and exciting Holiday Bazaar. This year, for the first time, I will be selling my books there. The date is December 6th the place is Metcalf School, 30 Nooseneck Hill Road, Exeter, RI. Now we all know that Rhode Islanders from the northern part of the state think any place further south than Providence is too long a drive, but believe me, it’ll be worth the ride.
Comic Con
Don’t forget to come to Comic Con. I’ll be along with some other very talented authors. I’ll have all my books including Dark Night Of the Soul a finalist in the American Legacy Awards and Sister World Return to Terah, awarded second best science fiction for 2024 by BookFest. With the remake of my Darkness and Light Book covers you’ll get a deal purchasing the books with their original covers. Come to meet the cast of Fletch, The Flash, Supernatural and so many more. Leave with memories, celebrity autographs and a good book or two.
TO BECOME
This is what I hoped I’d become. First there was the singer. I was sure Barbra Streisand would love me. Believe it or not, I really could sing, but now my voice has aged. I’ve written songs that will never be played. I have a rather limited knowledge of notes and timing needed for writing music down- self taught-so I developed my own method of writing my songs down, this means they’ll die with me. Jeffrey, if you read this, I have often wondered what would have happened had I joined your band and headed to California. You wanted me to be the lead singer, I was afraid of failing. Then there was the dream of being an author. I had so many things I wanted to talk about and no one to talk to so I made up stories that sat in the back of my closet, most still do. For a while I wanted to be a free spirit with no ties tethering me to the dirt I would one day be buried under. My best friend and I planned on taking the money we earned working after school, to buy motorcycles and head out. She decided to stay home, go to college and take care of her family. I choose to go to college, become a nurse and marry my new boyfriend over the open road, but since there’s no way a person my size could ride anything bigger than a scooter, and we’ve been married now for many,- I’m not telling- years that was the right choice. Nursing wasn’t for me, so I got my degree in business management, once again putting my writing aside. At least I got to sing in the chorus, then the choir and finally at weddings. I loved it, but I stilI wanted to be a famous author. I finally left the free spirit thing completely go, deciding that now that I was a wife I might as well be a mother. It took a long time, but in that I finally succeeded, so maybe that was what I was meant to become. I’ve never stopped wanting to see everything, know where every road goes, see the miracle of life in all its guises. I still do. Later I became obsessed with staying alive. The Headaches making me wish I’d die didn’t change this. Survival only increased my desire to write. I still wanted to be a famous author. I still poured out my soul in my poems and characters, so I settled for being an author. But the dream never dies.
AUDIO BOOKS
Submitted.
OMG, I’ve done it. All the files, covers and details for my audio book are complete. I watched my pocketbook shrink, but this feeling is priceless. Having Dark Night Of The Soul recognized by the American Legacy awards is a really big deal to me. My heart and soul went into every page. I told my 7th grade English teacher that I wanted to be a writer. It took 42 years, a close encounter with death and many life changing moments to make that dream come true. Mrs. Lanoue, if you read this, I’ve never forgotten you. Sometimes I wonder what the 17 year old me would say to me, what would I say to her. Would she tell me to follow my friends and go to California. Jeffrey, a very talented musician, sexy too, invited to be the lead singer in his band. Obviously I didn’t go. Was this a missed opportunity, a chance to follow my other dreams, or a lucky escape from unknown dangers? What would I tell me when I was making that decision? Would I tell her to avoid the people and things that hurt me? Even now, approaching 70, I can say that avoiding the things that came as I aged, may have lead me to things far worse. Unanswerable questions will always be unanswered. I don’t think there’s one clear path, there is only the one we choose.
I have to get back to my books. All my characters faced difficult choices. I had them make the choices that I hope I would have made. Life has a way of sneaking into our art. Now for the somewhat funny moment. The other choices my characters could have made would have made for very boring books.
There are so many things I could say. The things that hurt me blessed me in ways I didn’t expect. Being poor made me realize how little value money has. Thinking I wouldn’t wake up, made me realize how much I wanted to look into my husband, my babies face meant to me. Taking many years to have my son, made me learn that all children are ours. Facing possible death taught me how strong I am. When I held my child in my arms I learned the value of life. Some say it takes almost losing your life to learn how to live. For me, it did. We are temporary. Live your best life, even when it hurts. And today smile for me. You can never have enough smiles.
Debra Zannelli Author 