RHA Presents Radiance Love After Death by Debra Jayne East

 

My Review

Radiance Love After Death

by

Debra Jayne East

After twenty years of marriage, Marena never imagined she would find herself alone. She thought her marriage was forever, not taken out of her grasp by a cheating husband. She pushed herself into her work, getting so exhausted that she didn't have to think about the pain of it all. She had picked up a pizza and knew her son Brian would be home. It was raining, lightening lit up the sky and the power was flickering off and on down the street as she drove home. She saw what looked like a boy walking in the rain and she had every intention of stopping and calling someone to see if he needed a ride. That was before her car stalled out, and her life changed forever. All she could do was feel herself floating, looking down on what had happened. Until a tremendous bright lit figured came into her vision........

And there dear reader, I will leave you to find out what the author has in store for not just the characters, but for you as well. You will be taken on a journey that is not of this world as we know it.  A love story so astounding and beautiful, it takes your breath away. I found myself mystified by the story that was unfolding in front of me. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page, and am hoping for another book to follow up with this one.  I fell in love with the characters, I fell in love with David. Who is David? Read the book and find out! If things were as possible as they seem in Love After Death, we would all have hope to hold onto no matter what life brought our way.
Thank you Debra East for your talent, imagination, and passion that is clearly seen in the pages of this wonderful book. 

I recommend this book pretty much for all ages. Sexual undertones are there, but I did not see any bad words, or sexual scenes. It was well written for teenagers and adults.

I give this wonderful book five stars *****

 
Reviewed by
Nora Chipley Barteau
Reviewers Helping Authors
http://norachipleybarteau.blogspot.com/

**********

A Little Peek Into the Essence of the Book by the Author: 

Angels have always been around in the Bible; from guarding the entrance in Eden, to heralding the birth of Jesus, from wrestling with Jacob, to co-horting with the daughters of men. Say, what? You heard me.

Angels decided that women were beautiful and decided to be with them. You know…that way. Okay, so what happened next? Women bore the off spring of that union called the nephilim. I'm not making this up, by the way, read Genesis 6 verse 4. So, everyone knows that angels have special powers, right? They can fly, they are amazingly strong, they can appear anywhere at will, they can take on other forms; they can strike terror in the hearts of men on mere sight. Pretty impressive, right? But what if they could fall in love? We're not talking about lust here. That ended with less than happy results.

In "Radiance Love after Death," I gave angels a new beginning. What if this time...they could get it right? I got to explore all those questions in writing my first paranormal romance, to be released soon by XOXO Publishing. It all started with finding a crooked heart-shaped stone. That part of the story is true. It was such a catalyst in turning my life around; I thought I would share it with others.
Someone else found a heart-shaped stone, when she was at the end of her rope and wanted to die. I would like to take you on a journey with Marena Jacobs, who while on her way home from work one night, has a near death experience that alters her life. Wait when you hear what happens next!
**********

About the Author and Her Thoughts:

What inspired to write the book:

Being a dreamer, I always wanted to be more than the ordinary. I wanted to imagine worlds where anything could happen, especially romantic fairy tales.

Growing up, Barbara Cartland and Grace Livingston Hill were authors I devoured as soon as I could get hold of their books! I remember one day at a yard sale, I bought a box of over 35 Barbara Cartland books. I think I read nonstop for a month! They created magic for me. When you are a young impressionable girl, I think it’s important to form positive ideals of love.

When you read my novel Radiance:Love after Death, published by XOXO Publishing, you will see how these authors influenced my writing. In all their books, there was never any graphic sexual content, yet you were thrilled beyond imagination at the expressions of love. There needs to be some mystery in the romance department! When everything is spelled out in minute detail it gets old after awhile. I don’t know about you, but imagination is sexy to me!
Even as I read all those books way back then, I wanted to be a writer. I was forming stories in my mind and writing them down from time to time. I saved every notebook I had, and over the course of several years, I had over sixteen of them.

After three babies and a career, I forgot about them of course. Then something happened that changed the path of my life. My husband of 18 years asked for a divorce. I became depressed after the breakup of my marriage and I was at the end of my rope. One day I was walking and for some odd reason I reached down into the grass and pulled out a crooked heart-shaped stone. It seemed to remind me that even though my heart was broken, it was still a heart and someday I could love again. That stone saved my life. It also inspired me to weave it into a paranormal romance story.

Now, I just want someone to pinch me! Never, ever, give up on your dreams! I mailed my manuscript off and three months later after a few rejections and even turning down a couple of publishers, the wonderful people at XOXO Publishing believed along with me and said yes!

Radiance:Love after Death, is about second chances and never giving up on love. It’s edgy and different in a way that readers of romance will appreciate. I do not like predictable stories! Marena Jacobs is not your typical kind of heroine. She’s overweight, divorced and a workaholic. After a near fatal accident, she realizes something happened to her during those seconds of time that she passed from life to death. She was never alone like she thought she was. Someone was watching over her all along. I hope my story of finding the heart-stone will inspire women everywhere. You will believe that true love never dies.  Maybe, we all need to find a heart-stone sometime during our lives! I hope you all find yours.
****************************
About Author

Debra Jayne East was born the oldest of six girls in Martinsville, Virginia. For as long as she could remember, she loved to keep journals, write poetry and short stories. She researched her family tree and suddenly she knew why. Her distant relative, Violet Florence Martin was an Irish author, born in 1862, who co-wrote a series of novels with Cousin Edith Somerville under the pen name of Martin Ross in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Learning about her heritage encouraged her to follow her dreams. After she encountered a near-death experience during a routine surgery she realized her time had come to follow her heart and realize her calling to write. Her first novel, Radiance:Love after Death was released by XOXO Publishing in June of this year.

Debra lives in North Carolina close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoys photography, volunteering and spending time with her family. Currently, she is nearly finished with a second book in her Radiance series and also working on a science fiction novel.

Ms. East loves to set her stories in the rural areas surrounding her home. The idea came to her for her first book when after a long depression from her broken marriage, she found a crooked heart-shaped stone in the grass near by. It reminded her that even though hearts get broken and scarred from pain that they are still capable of love. Finding the stone renewed her will to go on, and she realized it had a message for anyone recovering from heart break. She passes that message on in Marena Jacobs, her gutsy endearing heroine in Radiance:Love after Death. She hopes her readers will take to heart the wonderful message of a crooked heart-shaped stone that saved a life and wrote a book.

**********