Book Genre:
Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Self
published
Release Date: Remember
Della is available
at this time at the buy links below.
Buy Link(s):
Book Description:
Kat, a
“slightly" psychic sixteen-year-old, begins having
disturbingly persistent dreams. Dreams of a yellow scarf - with a
seeming life of its own - which taunts her and haunts her every
dream. Dreams about Della, a fellow classmate, who to this point has
remained all but invisible to any and every one at school. Kat
eventually comes to the realization that until she unravels the
mystery surrounding that “dagblasted” creepy yellow scarf and
this girl she hardly knows, she'll not have another night’s rest.
What Kat soon discovers is that she is the only person in Della’s
life (including the girl’s mother and stepfather) who recognizes -
or will admit - Della has simply vanished, gone “splitsville"!
And Kat is helpless as her life becomes indelibly intertwined with
Della’s – so much so, that she will carry the emotional scars for
years to come.
Kat is
surrounded by an extremely colorful cast of characters. You will
meet: long-time friend and recent love interest, Em; Kat’s
precocious eight-year-old brother, Gordy; her feisty octogenarian
neighbor, Mrs. Harper and a chain smoking waitress named Clovis. All
who, for various reasons, join Kat’s desperate quest to help a
girl she hardly knows and to find answers to questions that, with any
luck, will bring her the peace she seeks – the biggest question on
her mind being, “Why me?”
“Remember
Della” - which is predominately set in the South during the
mid-fifties - is chock full of facts, trivia and slang from that era.
While an entertaining read, I believe this book addresses bullying -
both physical and emotional - in a fresh and unique way during a time
before such issues were “labeled” as unacceptable or problematic.
I sat at
the kitchen table while Momma contemplated what to do
with the
ground beef thawing out on the counter. She settled on
goulash
and was checking the pantry to see if she had all the ingredients
when it
occurred to her she hadn’t heard a peep out of Gordy.
The
quietude must have alerted her to his absence.
She
turned to me, “Where’s Gordy—up in his room?”
I shook
my head no. “He’s not home yet.”
She
checked her watch and asked, “Did you hear his bus come
by?”
“No’m.
It’s probably running late.”
“Gordy
should be home by now, Katherine.” She gave me a doubtful
look and
asked, “You’re sure his bus hasn’t come by?”
The look
of concern on her face was fleeting, and we both cringed
as Gordy
heralded his arrival by slamming the front door so hard the
house
shook. Momma yelled at the top of her lungs, “Gordy!” When
he came
barreling through the doorway she asked, “How many times
have I
told you not to slam the door like that? You’ve already taken a
minimum
of ten years off my life!”
He never
even heard a word she said because he was talking louder
and
faster than his customary mile-a-minute. His words practically
ran
together as he said, “You shoulda seen it! Sammy Spellman
throwed
up all over prissy ol’ Becky Taylor on the bus! We had beets
for
lunch an’ Sammy ate a whole bowl of ‘em. I bet that’s what made
him
throw up. He says he likes ‘em, but I don’t believe it for a
minute.
I think
he just eats ‘em to show off. But the really good part is
Sammy’s
throw-up was all red—like he was throwing up blood! Then
ol’
Becky started crying an’ everything, and Cindy Walker started
gagging
‘cause throw-up splattered all over her shoes an’ then she
throwed
up. It was so cool! They were sitting across the aisle from
me, an’
I got to see it all. And Becky, with her weirdo-self, told Mikey
Olson
she was gonna wipe throw up on him ‘cause he laughed
at her.
And the bus driver had to stop the bus an’ calm everybody
down. It
was Coolsville!
I could
see Momma was trying to keep a straight face as she said,
“Gordy
that’s enough—there’s nothing cool about someone throwing
beets up
all over the place.”
“Well
I couldn’t be sure, but from the smell of it I think Sammy
must’ve
been sick at both ends. I tell–”
“Gordy!!!”
Gordy was treading on very thin ice.
“It’s
the truth! It was gross I tell ya. Gross enough to gag a maggot!
Everybody
sitting around ‘em looked like they were gonna
puke—’cept
me. The bus driver made everybody get off, and
the
monitor had to go to somebody’s house to call for another
bus and
for Sammy an’ Becky an’ Cindy’s parents to come and
get
‘em.”
“Dear
Lord, I hope Sammy’s not contagious.” And in spite of the fact
we
weren’t Catholic, Momma crossed herself.
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Author Bio:
I was
born and raised in the South and to this day reside in South Carolina
with my dashing husband, crotchety cat and nimble Jack Russell. My
first novel, Remember Della,
definitely reflects that Southern upbringing; and like Katherine, my
main protagonist, I am also a child of the fifties.
I have
enjoyed reading my entire life and relish childhood memories of long,
languid summers spent in lawn chairs beneath shady old trees—my
best friend and I devouring one library book after another. I hope to
be proof of the old adage that everyone has at least one good book in
them—but suppose that remains to be seen. You, the reader, will be
the judge of that.
Drawing
and painting have always been passions of mine, but I had never tried
my hand at writing until my mother passed away several years ago.
During my grieving process I found that painting was not keeping my
mind as busy as I would have liked. Painting allowed me too much time
to think. So in an attempt to ease my sadness, I decided to try a new
creative outlet. The result was a 24,000 word children's chapter book
(as yet unpublished) and a newfound love—writing! In fact, I am in
love with the entire writing process, especially the part where I get
to tell really tall tales—and get away with it . . .
Author Links - The link for any or all
of the following...
Website
http://www.cynthiamockburroughs.com/
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Thank you for this great giveaway!!
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ReplyDeleteThank you for this awesome giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet and Sarah for participating in the giveaway and a HUGE thanks to 3 Partners in Shopping for hosting "Remember Della" on their very popular and really cool site!
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Cynthia
Thanks for this wonderful giveaway!!
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