LETTERS FROM HEAVEN: In a nutshell!

The first thing a person asks you when you tell them you've written a book (or is writing a book) is...What is it about. Then when you begin to tell them--after the second sentence--you've lost their attention. You're still trying to explain your "masterpiece" to them that has taken you, sometimes, years to write. You want to give them every juicy detail, but they want the whole book in one sentence! Frustrating for sure, but this is the give-it-to-me-quick, fast and on-the-run generation. Even sex has been reduced to a "quickie!" So, I'm going to give it to you in a nutshell, what Letters From Heaven is all about (although, if you've been reading these blogs, you've been given a bit of information regarding this, already). But, for the quickie generation who's never been to this blog before and isn't about to read it from the beginning, this information is for you. So, again, in a nutshell, this should summarize it:

It's a compelling love story of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter, who refuses to allow even death to keep them apart. 

Now, for those of you who really want the low-down on this book and a little more to "chew" on, this is for you. And, by the way, you are more like me...I want to know as much about a book as I can in order to make a decision as to whether or not I want to invest any real time in it. So, for you...here goes:

In a time when rape was a secret one kept to one's self; when bearing a child outside of marriage was taboo, Angelica "Geli-bean" Snowden was born to a mother whose life defied the times and whose love defied death. Ava Lorraine "Rainey" Snowden (the mother of Angelica) set out to prove that love doesn't have to end with the grave...and the power of love doesn't end at all.

Letters From Heaven is the story of a precocious little girl--born of rape and of another race into a family of wealth and prestige--whose journey through childhood into womanhood is guided by the love of her mother (via letters) who refuses to allow, even, death to keep them apart.

Upon discovering her fatal illness, Rainey (Angelica's mother) begins a series of letters that will follow her daughter throughout her life (long after Rainey's death), hoping to give Angelica the feeling of security and stability that only a parent--in her case, a mother--can give. If only she could have foreseen the future, she would have known that it would take far more than "letters" to bring stability to her daughter's life. 

Angelica's life will be everything but stable: Her conception, a crime, her birth unwanted and her race a travesty to her family's name. Angelica's life is doomed to be filled with bumps, bruises, twists, turns, pain, and unimaginable darkness. The letters may appear to come from "heaven," but her life is the stuff of...well, let's just say, the other place!

Letters From Heaven is an intriguing story of four women whose lives are interrelated and interconnected (unbeknown to them) in a complex web of secrecy, all weaved around the life of Angelica (Geli-bean). Her mother, Rainey, is a woman of strength, even in the midst of terminal illness. Myra "Grand Myra" Snowden (Angelica's grandmother) is cool, aloof, and haunted by devastating secrets that have been sheltered by old money and her family's name, much to her unspoken shame...and pain. 

Louise "Mama Louise" Cash is a self-appointed, African-American surrogate grandmother to Angelica, who harbors secrets of her own that could destroy both her and Angelica's family. And, Angelica--who possesses a supernatural bond with her mother that extends beyond the letters from the grave--discovers (at the brink of adulthood) that her entire life has been a lie!

It is the 1st in a series of *3 books (written in the form of letters and lyrical prose) that proposes to change the way on views death, challenge the way one champions loss, and encourage one to embrace all of life's possibilities. 

(*NOTE: Next 2 books in the series will include parts of diaries as well).

Now, that should be enough information for you decide whether this book is worth you checking it out or not; hopefully, it is. It's fun, it's sassy, it's painful, and it's life! 

I truly hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you like V.C. Andrews, Anne Rice style of writing (not content, but style--though their content is GREAT as well), and such books as Nathan's Run, Angela's Ashes, and the Nanny Diaries, I believe you will absolutely LOVE LETTERS FROM HEAVEN!

So, there you have it! And, if you're ready to read this book in it's totality, consider helping us to Kickstart it off by going to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/784316705/letters-from-heaven-a-mothers-love-never-dies.  

However you choose to support this book, whether through the Kickstarter Project or by purchasing a copy once publish, know that you are so appreciated.

Remember to LIVE, LAUGHT, LOVE...and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh, and remember to SPREAD THE LOVE!!  And, Be Blessed!