Tag: fiction

There Are Reasons To Fear What Hides In The Night

by debrazauthor

Dark Night Of The Soul

Pat wasn’t afraid of the dark, she wasn’t even aware of it. Fear held her in its thrall, fear of the unknown, of the uncertain future. Her husband of thirty-four years had left her. She wasn’t sexy, romantic, or pretty enough. She was a large women, always had been. She wasn’t more than five pounds from the weight she had carried the day he’d sworn to love and cherish her always. The twins had come late in their marriage. When Richard left, she sold the house to pay their college tuition. If not for the shelter, she would be homeless. She desperately wanted to avoid returning to her parent’s home. They lived two states away. She didn’t want to move so far from her children. She feared telling her friends. She feared life without Richard. She was afraid of how important the local pub had become. She found she could no longer sleep without it. She was afraid the shelter would find out she’d been drinking. The smell of her fear, carried on the night wind, went before her.

    Knowing the shelter would frown upon her new and all-too-frequent habit of visiting the local bar, she went to the backyard, purloined key in hand. Grabbed from behind, she threw her considerable weight on the body pressed against her, but his grip only tightened. She clawed at the hands biting into her chest. Slowly, he forced her to face him.

    Her hands clasped in supplication. “Please, I beg of you, I have children. I’ll do

    “Yes,” he whispered softly in her ear. “You will.”

    “Please…”

    Whatever she had planned to say was left unspoken. Snarling, he tore through her tender flesh. He was careful; he didn’t want this one to die too soon. Pat began to cry. Gregor brought his hand to her face, seemingly to wipe away her tears.  Instead, he used his hideously long fingernails to slice through her soft cheeks. He tore into the flesh of her thick arms. The pain was so great, she could no longer cry. Her eyes rolled back, head falling.

    “Not yet.” He tenderly slapped her cheeks, keeping her awake. “You fear me?”

    The answer was a whimper. He smiled. “You should fear me more. Your children, I’ll find them.”

Dark Night of the Soul – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074T2Y22K

Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Debra-Zannelli/author/B07SW1BF1T?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1725737741&sr=8-2&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

#read #fiction #selfpublishing #literature #authorscommunity #blackauthors #art #amazon #poetrycommunity #kindle #quotes #poets #indieauthors #authorcommunity #writingtips #poems #booknerd #bookaddict #writersnetwork #authorsofinsta #bookstagrammer #inspiration #instagood #storytelling #poet #bookish #bookshelf #bookreview #writings #publisher

You can hear Gregor’s voice when you listen to the audio book or the upcoming podcast. Read the book and see if you can answer the questions I’ll ask you.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

by debrazauthor

It’s a new idea of mine. I thought I would title the upcoming posts as thought for the day but the truth is I doubt I’ll post everyday and I don’t want to disappoint you. I’d also like to get to know you, so please feel free to give me your thoughts.

Do you ever feel that whenever you get close to making a touchdown, the end zone gets moved further away? Sometimes I do. It was better for me. I was raised in an era that had lots of jobs for those just starting out and you could save for college even working in the mills. Most of the mills are gone, those jobs with them and college is out of reach without debt. A mortgage without the benefit of a home, rent so high you may never save enough for a downpayment.

We hear people talk about the American dream, how we all have the chance to reach the finish line, have our dreams come true, get that house. But do we all have the same chances? Did we ever?

THE HUMAN RACE

Greyhounds lined up at the starting gate,

chasing wooden American dreams.

Only one can win, the rest must fail,

is not as it seems.

We know the losers didn’t really try,

blinded by the rabbit, we do not see.

The winner loses the next race,

how shallow his victory.

The rabbit is always a step ahead,

the weight of the world on the hound’s backs.

They suffer, they live, continuing on,

it’s caring the rabbit master lacks.

So intent upon the rabbit run,

we allow the race to continue on.

We do not try to see the truth,

look beyond the glitter, to see the harm.

And so the masses struggle, running the race,

not knowing that they are lead.

Will understanding come at last,

when all the hounds are dead?

Debra Zannelli 

New Covers, Audio Books and Old Age

by debrazauthor

I hate that head line but it’s true. I’ve gotten new, beautiful, covers for the books in the Darkness and Light series. My first, and unless I become a John Grisham, my only audio book will be released soon. When I first published Dark Night Of The Soul, the first book in the series, I was too concerned with the cost of publishing, than what the cover should look like. Titles are what draw me to books, but that isn’t true for most of us. Though I don’t regret making my own covers for the Sister World Series, BookFest loved them almost as much as I do, I do regret not following my instincts. Once Dark Night became the first in the Darkness and Light series, I knew the other covers should have Marcus on each of them. I just didn’t know how to do it. I created covers showing what he went through, not uniting them by who he was and what he became..

Although I can’t think of a time in my life when I didn’t love books and hoped to one day be more than just someone who read them, I was swimming in a pool without a life jacket. You would have laughed to see my 14 year old self taking beginner swimming lessons with the little kids (6-10 years old). I was more self-conscious than I am today, but I wanted to swim, so I put my head down and swam across the pool. I hope you see how I, once again, put my head down and swam across the pool, only this time it was pen, ink and a keyboard filling the pool. It really wasn’t that different than what I’d done before, Though the water is still over my head, today is different. Today I have a husband who, though he may not understand my desire, wants me to follow my dream, I have time to sit at this computer and however frustrating it is, I can try to figure out what I have to do,. I have friends and colleagues who help and support me. I don’t know you and you don’t know me, which means I really cannot offer you advice, What I can say is you should seek out those who support you, move forward even when your tired and force yourself to learn, even when you’re told the technology involved has left you behind. I’m frustrated, but I’m alive. Tomorrow may not come, but I have today. Yesterday is a fading memory that can and always does bring back memories showing a life well lived, but today is all we have. Live it well.

Releases

by debrazauthor

The audio book for Dark Night Of The Soul is still in process but the covers and their back descriptions are complete. The artist who created those covers has my highest regards and respect. Not only was he reasonable, he was reliable and easy to work with. I’m very happy with my Sister World covers and that they also received 2nd place from BookFest for a JPEG designed cover, makes me proud. I did them, (I’m bragging now) but if I ever needed another cover I would not hesitate to go to him. Remember
info@rockingbookcovers.com if you need a cover.

Now to a more personal note. Dark Night was a labor of love. I wrote it a long time ago and I rewrote it twice as many years have passed since its inception. Always, its many versions stayed true to the message of hope, love and the importance of seeing beyond appearances that brought the story to life . Receiving notice of it’s being a finalist by the American Legacy Awards helped me to feel like the time, which I cannot get back and the cost, which I can never replace, was more than worth it. I know I drove my husband crazy. I’m pretty sure the man who formats the books has also suffered with my lack of knowledge and neediest, but for me this will be a legacy second only to my son. The woman who told me to continue Marcus’ story, is very dear to me. Claire Mary, wherever you are, I hope you know this. She was right, not because she said series are popular, but because Marcus had, I had, so much more to tell. In Vampires(spoiler alert) Marcus finds himself living as so many of us have, only as to be expected, in extraordinary ways. Rising above a monster, of the problems that beset us all, is what makes his journey worth the effort. Now for the big, you must read the book moment. I ask you when is it too late to find redemption. Is it ever too late. We make many decisions every day, some without thought_Possibly my next book-so think about those little decisions. They may end up being not so little.

AWARD

by debrazauthor

I am so excited to say that my book, Sister World, Return to Terah received second place for best science fiction for 2024 from BookFest. BookFest is a book festival that honors excellence in fiction published in the United States. The festival includes book awards such as the American Fiction Awards and the “Best Book” Awards. Their links are https://www.Facebook.com/the bookfest adventure. Https:www.instagram.com/the bookfest/. 

It’s been a good book year as things went well at the Big E and Comic-Con. I love both events.

12:48 PM (2 minutes ago)

Yesterday I was on the 2024 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway event. I’m giving away a copy of Sister World , The Arrival. You can click on the link to read my interview and enter the giveaway! https://tinyurl.com/24zannelli.

I made a mistake answering one of the questions. Let me know if you find it. If you’re the first one to find it, you’ll win a copy of the ARIA anthology, Green. My favorite short story, “Green Eyed Monster”‘ is in it. 

Still to come. Mike Squatrito, President of the Association of Rhode Island Authors(ARIA) and I will be interviewed by Christina Erne on channel 10 at 8:00AM on December 5th. Thank goodness Mike’s with me, I think I’ll be pretty nervous. Then there’s the RI Author Expo at the Crowne Plaza from 10:00 to 4:00 on December 7th. I’ll be there along with many other Rhode Island authors, selling and signing our books. I’ll have copies of the complete Sister World Series. I hope to see you there and good luck to you all.