#BookBirthday “In the Best Interest of the Child” by Felicia Denise

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Best Interest 9

In the Best Interest of the Child is

number 3

 

years old!

Celebrate by grabbing your copy today!

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Severely injured in an accident that forever changed her life, 10-year-old Olivia becomes Best Interest 9another faceless, under-served child in foster care. With no time to mourn or grieve, the young girl is easy prey for uncaring social workers and ambivalent foster families.

Olivia quickly learns to hold her tongue and mask her emotions. Even when exposed to neglect, bullying, and assault, no one seems to care. Holding fast to the teachings of her late father, Olivia ages out of the system broken, but no longer a victim.

Now a successful child advocate attorney, Olivia is a passionate voice for children. However, a routine case assignment by the court plunges Olivia back into the trauma of her childhood. If she doesn’t face her demons, a child will be sent into foster care.

Foster care for her young client is not an option. But Olivia’s emotional scars run even deeper than she realized. Reconciling with her past means Olivia must confront the one woman she blames for her battered soul.

A woman who has no idea who Olivia is.

NOTE: This book is intended for mature readers – 18+.

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What Readers are saying…

“Each page left you wanting to read more to find out what would happen next.” -Kotrish W., Amazon review

“I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction or contemporary fiction.” -Kathy G., Amazon review

“I can’t wait to read the next installment, and I highly recommend this book to everyone.” -A.C.M., Amazon review

Best Int 5 Stars

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EXCERPT

Olivia was far from an innocent.

She’d had her share of relationships… if you wanted to call them that. To her, they’d always been ‘friends with benefits’ situations, purely sexual. Starting out as casual meetings once or twice a week, she’d undoubtedly begin to hear words like ‘exclusive’ and ‘permanent’ creep into after-sex pillow talk, and she knew it was time to move on. Most of the men took it in stride—a couple became angry and accused her of using them. To which she would state the obvious. They had used each other. She had asked nothing more of them. The only exception was Kenny—Kenneth Lane Connors.

Olivia tried to break things off with him after he told her he was tired of meeting in hotels and wanted her to come to his home, but he would not be deterred. Olivia never felt threatened by Kenny, but he came pretty close to crossing the line from persistent suitor to stalker. She’d find him: standing next to her car when she left her office; sitting on the front stoop when she got home at night; standing in her favorite coffee shop, holding a cup of her special dark roast blend. Olivia finally acquiesced, more from the ennui of the situation, and agreed to trial dating.

She didn’t last two weeks.

At the end of their first week as a couple, Kenny surprised Olivia with tickets to sunny Miami, for a getaway weekend. She was genuinely touched, until Kenny mentioned that while they were there, the two of them would stop in and see Vonnetta and Kenneth, Sr.—his parents. Olivia not only flatly refused to even go to Florida she grabbed her bag, told him to never call her again, and stormed out.

While a few times Olivia felt as though she was being watched, she never saw Kenny again. And she was okay with it. There was no remorse, or heartache due to missing him. What she did have was even more resolve to not allow any man get close, her new unspoken rule was no man got more than three dates, period. No exceptions.

And then along comes Bruce Bellamy.

She had seen Bruce a total of three times, and each time, he’d left her speechless, flustered… and smiling.

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Best Interest_Lunch Date

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In the Best Interest of the Child is available

on ALL platforms!

Amazonhttp://bit.ly/BestInt

All other retailersbooks2read.com/BestInterest

Add to Goodreadshttp://bit.ly/BestIntGR

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“Free, a Novella” by Felicia Denise #NewRelease

Free a Novella cover

“Free, a Novella”

Author: Felicia Denise

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Release Date: May 30, 2017

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Synopsis

Lenore Porter’s life had not gone as she planned.

The marriage she put her heart and soul into failed.

The man she sacrificed so much for abandoned her.

But Lennie refused to be broken. She pushed on, running a successful business and raising her three sons alone.

Through health scares, severe family dysfunction, and trauma which forever changed their lives, the Porter family clung to each other to keep from sinking into the darkness.

With her marriage over long ago and her adult sons living their own lives, Lenore Porter decides to sell the cold fortress she worked so hard to make a warm, loving home.

A short, final inspection of her former home turns into a confrontation with ghosts from the past, and decisions and events Lennie felt she’d dealt with and moved on from.

Free, a Novella is a short, clean (no sexual situations) read recounting one woman’s determination to not be broken by life or lose her identity.

Snippet

Lennie leaned down, kissed his forehead and placed the napkin across her father’s lap. Just as she got it in place, Burt looked up at her. Lenore was gutted. More pieces of her already broken heart fell away. His ashen skin, mottling and in different shades of brown and gray unsettled her. His slack jaw and visible body tremors made Lennie shudder. His eyes were her undoing. The mischievous gleam responsible for so much laughter, which had helped to comfort, console, and encourage her… was gone.

Father and daughter were still eye-to-eye, the reality of the situation holding Lennie in place when she felt his frail hand cover hers.

“Thank… you, baby girl.”

Lennie smiled and kissed his cheek, comforted with the knowledge she made her father happy. “You’re welcome, Daddy… always.”

Before Lennie could retrieve his dinner plate, Linda Kelimore was already cutting the meat into tiny portions. “I’ll help him with this, Lenore. Take the other plate for yourself.”

“But that’s yours, mom.”

“It will be cold before I get to it. Go on, eat. I know you’ve been on your feet since the lunch rush.”

Just like that, Lennie was twelve years old again, doing as she was told.

Picking at her food, she tried not to stare at her parents. But Lennie couldn’t help but be mesmerized. Watching as her mother fussed and cooed in loving tones at Burt to take his time and chew each tiny bite of food. Linda caressed his cheek between bites. Burt rested his hand on her knee, never taking his eyes off Linda’s face.

Feeling like an intruder on a private moment, Lennie did force herself to look away.

Anyone who knew Burt and Linda Kelimore knew they were totally devoted to each other.  More than half a century had passed since the day they each ran into a mechanic’s shop in need of quick repairs. Though they were both on their way to meet other people, a thirty-minute conversation changed their plans for the evening and the rest of their lives.

With their time together dwindling away, the couple did what they had always done… shared each other’s company.

Linda set Burt’s plate aside, and Lennie gathered up the dishes and excused herself.

While putting the food away and loading the dishwasher, Lennie was surprised to see her mother enter the kitchen.

“Everything okay, mo-”

“Yes, yes, sweetie. Leave all this. I’ll get to it later. You can head on home now.”

“Mom, no way do I leave a mess for you to clean up.”

Lennie reached for another dish but Linda caught her hand and held on.

“It’s okay, Lenore. You can go now.”

“But…dad…-”

Linda pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, speaking into her ear barely above a whisper.

“I know. His hospice nurse was here earlier and is returning soon. I talked to your sisters before you got here… and they each spoke to your father.” She pulled back, a pleading look in her eyes.

“I’ve never asked you for anything, honey and I know this is no small thing I’m asking you now. But… I need this time with him alone. Right now, I’m no one’s mother or grandmother. Lennie, right now, I’m just a wife who has to say goodbye to her husband. Please don’t be angry with me or hate me, but I need to do it alone.”

Hugging her mother close, Lenore allowed the weight of her words to sink in. She did not want to leave. Her father was dying, how could she walk away?

Seeing the pain in Linda’s eyes, Lenore knew she would deny her nothing.

 

$.99 or FREE through Kindle Unlimited!

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What Are You Reading? #FreeReads

Open Book

Read any good books lately?

What books held your attention and reinforced your belief that reading is the best thing ever?

How about online reads?

I have three worthy recommendations from WordPress authors and bloggers for you!

Thief of Dragons cover

Thief of Dragons: The Echelonites of Cauldex

In what she calls an Alternate-Earth, Erotic SciFi Fantasy, hybrid author A.C. Melody delivers a tightly woven story of intrigue and mystery.

Outcast Roehn Cayen prepares to return to Cauldex and take her rightful place among the smug family who found her lacking and so callously tossed her aside. However, before her journey even begins, Roehn learns her trip to Cauldex would be futile. She’ll never see her family again. Choosing a different path, Roehn does return years later in disguise with a different plan of action and draws the immediate attention of Arcylaen, the Dragon’s Head and leader of the Thirteen Dragon Houses.

That’s when this interesting read becomes a page-turner! Fortunately for new readers, the story has sixteen generous installments already posted.

Stop by and visit Cauldex soon. The world building and attention to detail are captivating!

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A to Z Challenge Badge

 

For her 2017 AtoZ Blogging Challenge Marquessa Matthews pens Living to Die.

After her overbearing husband leaves her for a younger woman, middle-aged Kate Reynolds settles into a routine life where she merely exists. A devastating health diagnosis floors Kate. In shock, she doesn’t know what to do or who to tell – so she does nothing. New friend, Meghan, drags Kate from her pity-party and convinces her to live for today – and sends her on a trip to Hawaii to clear her head and actually make some plans for her future, starting with getting a second opinion. During her trip, several thought-provoking and interesting encounters help Kate rediscover the women she buried deep inside so long ago.

Please don’t for a second believe this to be a dark, morose, chick lit story full of foreshadowing and messages.

Are there messages? Yes. But, there’s also a pervy married guy, mismatched couples, a wise old granny, a hunky, helpful surfer-type guy, and flying cockroaches! And we’re only up to letter K!

You’ll also find dozens of other great reads on this still unpublished author’s blog. Something her many fans hope changes soon!

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Eternity Acts cover

The Eternity Acts

Newcomer, Jordan C. Robinson‘s debut is a major undertaking worthy of your time!

The Whisperer Rayon cursed his villagers, summoned a Wall of Fire and created a Burning Sea to mold his kingdom into a place he deemed worth living in.150 years later and the Whisperer Rayon is gone, but his acts remain. Will the villagers, whose curse changes them by night, be able to overcome the acts of this twisted madman to create a society free from his acts? It may take centuries, but a new King, an ex-slave, and the last Whisperer will certainly try…

The author updates this science fiction fantasy every Wednesday and Saturday.

In addition to the online main story, there are currently fourteen side stories happening simultaneously. The shorts focus on other members of the kingdom of Elodine, how The Acts affect them, and which side they will choose in the coming rebellion. The author has published the shorts as Eternity Acts Short Stories: Era 1 and they’re permanently FREE through Amazon.

 

Do yourself a favor and stop by these amazing online reads today. You’ll be glad you did!

 

You’re welcome – enjoy!

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