Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Journal Past Blast: Left Alone & Indie-Fever Book Review: Ripple





Again, last week I’d missed posting an old journal entry for my Tuesdays Journal Past Blast. Sorry. I was on vacation on Monday, and had forgotten to get the post ready. I need to do these early, so I’ll have no excuses.

This post deals with one of those ideas that thrills my imagination: Being isolated in the world. I wrote this sketch of an idea of a story before I’d seen movies like 28 Days Later, I Am Legend and Castaway. It’s quite rough. Here it goes:

If there were no animal or human existence left, but my own, the continual pursuit to create someone and hopefully of myself, would definitely drive me insane.

Would I set off alarms for human made sounds?
Video
Music
Books
Travel
Cars
Games
Computers
Recording various personalities for conversations.

The environment would be sound. From one frenzied craze to another, forgetting about days and time. How would I get oversees? Would I get fat or get in shape? I would most definitely survive, unless insanity vanquished my will.



Indie book review: Ripple A Tale of Hope and Redemption 
by E.L. Farris

When high-powered attorney Helen Thompson discovers that her fifteen-year old daughter has been sexually assaulted, she takes drastic measures.

Finding herself in trouble, Helen must relinquish control and put her faith in a process she knows to be flawed. As a team of lawyers, therapists and women from a safe house help Helen and Phoebe find hope and healing, a sociopath lurks, waiting for his moment to strike.
A lyrical, dark fairytale that will resonate with fans of women's literature and psychological thrillers, RIPPLE delves into the nature of evil, without seeking to provide final answers to the issue of what makes a human commit evil acts. And while the author takes readers to scary places, she ultimately shines a light on the human condition and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit in the face of great tribulation.


My Review:

Ripple deals with the serious topics of incest, rape and child pornography, handled from the perspective of a teenage girl and her absentee mother who is a high powered attorney. It's a good thing when writers aren't afraid to take on the more serious and heart-wrenching topics such as these, and the author did a decent job.

It's a long book, with too much superfluous information and lots of characters. The main characters and dialog are strong, however. The final scene of a main antagonist is incredulous to me, given who he is, which contrasts with the other more realistic aspects of the book. Overall, the story flows well and the author's knowledge of the legal system and psychological dynamics come through. The characters' inner dialog do lend to developing and understanding the issues this book tackles.


Author Bio:

x-lawyer E.L. Farris is a born-again, marathon-running married mother of three who resides in Northern Virginia. <---That's what it says on the back of Ripple.
What else do you need to know about me? I talk a lot. I write a lot. I adore my husband. I adore my children. What else? Well, I run. I've been running since I turned 14. I started to run then and I've been running ever since. Whenever I stop running, I land in a lot of trouble.
I ran through a childhood that could well be described as hell. I ran through major depressive episodes and often teetered one step from the edge of a breakdown. Through running, I held onto my sanity, my sobriety, my life and my belief in God. Each step I take, no matter how physically painful, draws me a shade closer into my better angels.
And the steps have become painful over the years, which is how I earned the nickname Phoenix. Some mornings I feel like I've been run over by a bus and the truth is, I was. I survived a collision with a metro bus, and it's fair to say that the accident messed me up. And yet I keep rising from the pyre of a burning fire and as I run I realize that as long as I hold the Holy Spirit inside me, my spirit will never die.
Please see me on http://elfarris.com

Ripple is on sell for $0.99 on Kindle. Click here.


5 comments:

  1. Ripple sounds like a good read, even with the flaws. I love your rough story idea. I have past story ideas as well that lead to all sorts of places.

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  2. Love your story idea. I love to imagine those kinds of ideas as well, always have.
    Ripple sounds like a good read. :)

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  3. Hey Nancy,

    First of all, I'm glad you can say sorry for not posting as per usual. As for me, I apologise for actually doing a posting. Your concept story seems rather like what I'm living. Still working harder on my crazy aspects.

    "Ripple" takes on tough subjects with some extreme angles. Wishing E.L. all the very best with what must have made for difficult, emotive writing.

    Take care, I'm going now.

    Gary

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  4. Great story idea, Nancy... insanity or not, I'm sure you would survive :P

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  5. I love when our thoughts take tangents and we allow them to be there, entertain them, give them a little life. I think this is what keeps writers going and feeds the stories.

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Your comments add wonderful flavors. Thank you!

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