Wednesday, January 8, 2014

"Living Seperate Lives" Paulette Harper

"Living Seperate Lives" By Author Paulette Harper

Guest Post & Review

Join us as Paulette Harper stops by Books & Chocolate on her blog tour, hosted by Fire and Ice Book Blog.

There will be a guest post by the author and a book review given. A book was given to me at no charge in return for a honest book review.

Four Friends, One Secret and The Weekend That Changed Their Destiny

Candace Walker, Kaylan Smith, Jordan Tate, and Tiffany Thomas have their share of sorrows, but neither of them realizes how deep the sorrow goes.

What happens when they agree to meet for a weekend of relaxation in beautiful Napa County?

Which one wil leave the same or worse? For Candace Walker, life has left her battered and bruised.  

Kaylan Smith has struggled with prejudice from her in laws. After fifteen years of marriage, bitterness is trying to raise its ugly head for Jordan Tate whose husband wants to call it quits. And for Tiffany Thomas, dealing with rejection has never been one of her greatest defeats.

Although they have been friends for years, they thought they knew each other well.

But will a secret destroy their relationship and bring the sisterhood to a complete halt?

Will they be able to forgive and allow God to mend that which might be torn?

Link To Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/ 18524878-living-separate-lives? from_search=true

Book Excerpt:

"Who cares anyway if I die? I hate my life I curse the day I was born," said Candace as she rolled out of her twin bed to face yet another day of sheer disappointments.

Her feet landed on the beige, shaggy, dirty carpet that had seen better days.  As she sat on the edge of her bed, she looked around the small apartment as though she was expecting to see something different, but nothing had changed"Lord, can I get a break? Can something good happen in my life?" she cried as her head collapsed in her hands. She knew within herself that today would be like all the rest: gloomy, sad and most of all, lonely. After all she had experienced in life, how could she think today would be any different?

Candace lived in a small studio apartment off of School Street in the city of Pittsburg, California, a city surrounded by the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.  Her apartment had enough room for only one dresser and a nightstand, which she got at the neighborhood Goodwill store.

The walls of her apartment were dirty from years of cigarette smoke that didn't escape out of the window. Her kitchen table was made of plywood which she covered with a red tablecloth The table was encompassed by two chairs, one for her and the other one she had hoped would be occupied by with her. The blue and cream décor in her kitchen came from visiting the neighborhood garage sales.

 Her neighbors knew her so well because of the frequent visits she made to their sales. Although Candace always had a roof over her head, she did not like the environment in which she lived. After looking intently at her dwelling place, she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts shifted from her disappointing apartment to her anger about the issues she had to deal with, problems that had been
with her for years, issues with her family.

Since high school, life was hard for Candace. Almost every decision she made never retuned a good dividend. The men in her life came and went except for Derrick.  He stayed the longest but his bout with kidney failure ended whatever dreams she had of getting out of what she called the"ghetto." Derrick was her sure ticket to a better life, she'd hoped. The only consolation to his memory was the pictures on the stained walls and a locket she wore around her neck.

Candace grew up with both parents and two siblings. Her sister,

Monique was three years younger than her; her brother, Zach, was two years younger Candace always felt that she got the worse end of the stick when it came to Monique. Monique was light-skinned with long, black, wavy hair, which belonged to her, by the way.

Candace's skin tone was a few shades darker than Monique's. She was short in stature five feet, three inches tall, to be exact. She wore her hair down and straight, although it mostly contained black hair extensions, which she bought from the neighborhood beauty supply store.

Monique was the image of her mother minus a few inches of hair. She stood five feet, eleven inches with a smal frame; she could have been chosen as America's Next Top Model. But Monique decided to study law, passing the bar on her first attempt; she then started her own practice and moved it to Los Angeles.  
Monique and her parents could not figure out why Candace didn't make more of herself. To them, Candace was merely existing and taking up space.  They wrote Candace off years ago.

Buy Links:

Amazon e-book:

http:// www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLF5BW0

Amazon paperback

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Separate Lives-Paulette-Harper/dp/098996910X/ ref=sr_1_4_title_0_main? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384373404&sr=1 4&keywords=paulette+harper

Author Bio:

Paulette Harper is an award-winning and best-selling author. She is the owner of Write Now Literary Virtual Book Tours and is passionate about helping authors succeed in publishing and marketing their books.

Paulette has been writing and publishing books since 2008.  Paulette is the author of That Was Then, This is Now Completely Whole and The Sanctuary Her articles have appeared on-line and in print.

Social Links

Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/Pau

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/pauletteharper

LinkedIn:   http://www.linkedin.com/pub/pa

Trailer: http://youtu.be/Y2YWSYkfxAM

Pinterest :

http://pinterest.com/pauletteha

Website:

www.pauletteharper.com

My Review:

Drama, betrayal and forgiveness all played a part in Living Seperate Lives. Candace the under achiever in which whom her own family looked down upon. I could truly relate to the Candice, being that I have made a few mistakes in my life, and also been the other woman. Candice had a less than perfect life in which some of the decisions she made caused some major heartaches.
She end up hurting and betraying her dear friend Jordan. The author here shows the belief in God and how forgiveness is the key to moving on. I must say I didn't like the way this book ended at all. After reading of Candice attempted suicide it left me wanting more. I was disappointed, but loved the story line and the meaning behind it.

I gave this book 3.7. Chocolate stars*****

Author Guest Post:

Five Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

Every Writer needs Inspiration. No matter how many books one has written there are times when we need a little inspiration to get us going Many times I sit at my computer, starting at the blank screen, waiting for words to start flowing. Sometimes they do, sometimes I need a push.

1. Pictures

Whether you take them yourself, look through an old photo album, or spend some time searching through Google photographs are a great way to find inspiration for your writing. There is a Facebook group that uses pictures for this purpose.

2. Books

I use this method a lot. Reading what other people have written may be enough to spark a few ideas you wouldn't have otherwise had. Grab a book and mediate and let the inspiration flow.

3. Eavesdropping

I know it's not polite to do but it does. work. Next time you're at work the store or the coffee shop, pay attention to what's going on around you Listen to the conversations people are having. Body language says a lot Watch the movement of the people around you. Remember always have a pen and tablet with you.

4. Experience

This is the best teacher. Sitting at home may not be the greatest idea to stir your mind. Go for a walk, sit at the park, run or ride somewhere, go sit at the beach. Keep your eyes and ears open while you do it

5. Music

Some people can write while listening to music. If this is you, grab some of those tunes and go for it. Playing old tunes can sometime jar memories that can be used to get the juices flowing Try finding music that you've never listened to and see what happens.

Are You Inspired Yet?

We are surrounded by information, people, by stories. Things we see, people we hear, any person you meet can bring the inspiration for your next best seller.

I would like to thank Author Paulette Harper for stopping by Books & Chocolates.

I would also like to thank Fire and Ice Book Blog for allowing me to be part of this tour!

Be Inspired

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