The Abortionists Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde

I have just finished reading The Abortionists Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde and found it to be a fantastic read. This is the only one of Elisabeth Hyde's books that I have actually read and it appears to me that Elisabeth Hyde is no stranger to tackling heavy subjects.

Hyde addresses all sides of the abortion issue head-on while still managing to create a palpable, non-preachy book for her readers. It took me a while to get into this book as it not a genre of book I had ever read before but after reading this I am sure that I will read more of Hydes book and perhaps encorporate this genre into some of my own writing.

Dr. Diana Duprey is one tough cookie. She is the director of the Center for Reproductive Choice in a small town near Denver, Colorado, and refuses to dole out excuses to anyone about the job she does, despite the fact that she has a 19-year-old, sexually active daughter; a son (deceased) with Down syndrome; and a husband who spent the last 20 years working as a prosecuting attorney in the District Attorney's office. She plans to keep performing abortions for women in need, regardless of the incessant protests outside her clinic and the barrage of threats from members of the right-to-life activist group, the Lifeblood Coalition --- until her body is found floating in the pool outside her home, two weeks before Christmas.

The book focusses on the investigation into how the abortion doctor Diana Duprey died and two detectives Huck and Ernie have been assigned to the case. Diana's husband. Frank is apparently the last person who saw Diana alive (or so Huck and Ernie assume) and is suspiciously at the house when the cops arrive to assess the damage. Broken shards of glass are found scattered near the ficus tree, the kitchen is in disarray, and there is a horrific bruise the size of a grapefruit on Diana's neck. The prognosis doesn't look good for Frank, who was also overheard fighting with his wife earlier that evening, right around the time she was killed. To make matters worse Diana's daughter Megan also had a fight around lunchtime with her mother over a spring-break trip to Mexico, and Megan's ex-boyfriend, Bill, had become a serious threat to both her and Megan's well-being. Apparently, he just couldn't get over the break-up a year ago, and his nagging phone calls and unannounced house visits were becoming a maybe-it's-time-to-get-that-restraining-order problem. Megans last remark to her mother had been

"I hope you have fun killing babies"

Megan must deal with the news that her mother had been found dead and also with a disturbed ex boyfriend who refuses to leave her alone.

Reverend Stephen O'Connell, the founder of the Lifeblood Coalition, had more than one reason to want Dr. Duprey dead, including the fact that she refused to prevent his son's 15-year-old girlfriend, Rose, from having an abortion, on the grounds that she believed it was the girl's decision in the long run. She also wouldn't advise Rose to terminate the pregnancy as Rose's parents had hoped, because of the very same principles. This, of course, made Rose's parents extremely angry --- especially after their daughter almost killed herself while trying to scrape the fetus out with a bike pump and chopsticks. But angry enough to kill?

Huck grows a little too close to Megan thoughout the book, eventually ending up with Huck and Megan sleeping together. Huck was kicked off the Duprey case. The murderer is eventually revealed at the end of the book where we find out that it was in fact Megan's ex boyfriend Bill who had caused Diana Duprey's premature death. Bill had been meeting up with Diana and having coffee with her and she had been trying to get Bill to 'move on' from Megan. It wasnt until Diana told Bill to 'stop grovelling' that things took a turn for the worse and he accidently kills Diana. Bill eventually admits this in front of Huck, Ernie and Megan near the end of the book. On the whole i thought that The Abortionists Daughter was a very interesting book and one that I would most definately read again.

Such a Busy Month!!

Dear Blog, August 2011 has been one of the busiest months ever, what with going on holiday to the south of france and starting my new job I haven't had much time to actually sit down and write. Fortunately for me when we went to france there was a computer where we were staying which my dad set up in English which allowed me to keep vaguely to my word count however, the hot sunshine in the south of france was far more tempting than a dingy little office which was devoid of natural lighting - plus i needed to get a tan. Although my final word count is nowhere near 50K I am still quite proud of getting just over 8K on my first attempt and I shall continue to write Clashing Realities under my own steam with my goal still being to reach 50K! So is that the end of NaNo for you then Jo? I hear you ask and the answer is NO, although i didnt quite manage to reach my goal on my first try i am determined to reach it next time which will either be in Novemeber OR next Camp .... I already have an idea in my head which i need to plan out. I believe that one of the reasons i didnt reach my goal this time is because I decided to do it on August 1st - with only a vague idea of where i wanted to take it. This meant that my story consisted mainly of ramblings and there was no obvious plotline. I have learnt from this mistake!

I will leave you with a picture of me standing under Rocamadour in the South of France

Camp NaNoWriMo: August

My previous blog entry told you that I will be taking part in NaNoWriMo in Novemeber after ALOT of planning however before I even get to planning for Novembers NaNo, on a sper of the moment I decided that I would participate in Camp NaNoWriMo: August 2011 ... Madness? ... probably

I have done no planning for this as i decided today which happens to be the first day of Augusts Camp NaNo session. I have decided that since it is my first ever NaNo ever that I will tread familiar ground and use characters which have been written about before. My NaNo this August in the much awaited sequel to the very sucessful collab created by Stargazer known as 'A Modern Day Fairytale'

My characters Pippa and Courtney are coming out of the closet once more for the biggest adventure of their lives! There will be some tough choices to make and some unusual goings on ...!

Wish me Luck, I will keep you updated!!

NaNoWriMo 2011

This will be my first year doing NaNoWriMo and I am very excited about it!
I have a few ideas floating around in my head and I will be starting to plan for Novembers NaNo when I return from holiday but just in case I get a burst of inspiration whilst away in France I will bring a pen and paper just in case.

If anyone has any tips for NaNo 11 please let me know, It will be much appreciated.
I shall be downloading a NaNo calender from deviantArt which will hopefully keep my on track when it comes to word count.

When I have a clearer idea about what I am going to write for my novel I shall enlighten you all!

Good Luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo 2011!

Secrets - First Chapter

Everyone has secrets, hidden lies that could potentially rip lives apart, or could destroy a marriage, but no secrets can compare to the secrets which Emma Carson kept. She had lead a relatively normal life up until the age of seventeen where she did something which had a huge effect on the rest of her life. A secret buried deep inside her is uncovered!

At the age of 34 Emma had achieved many things in her life. A good job, a loving husband and a beautiful son, nothing could jeopardise this, could it? Emma had told very few people about her secret and now it was very unlikely that it could ever come out. No-one would forgive her, not even the people who loved her the most. Nevertheless Emma did the best she could to carry on with her life, positive that she had done the right thing at the time … or did she?

Her alarm clock buzzed stirring Emma from her light slumber, she flailed her arm out from the warm embrace of her bed and bashed at the snooze button. She knew that she couldn’t say in bed much longer, she had to make sure her son Zach was up, dressed and breakfasted in time so that he could be dropped off at school on time.

When downstairs she set about getting things ready for Zach’s breakfast, she had decided it best to get them ready then get him out of bed. It just worked out better that way. She hurried up the stairs and into her little boys room, he was still fast asleep and he looked so peaceful she didn’t want to wake him, gently she shook him awake.

“Zach, darling you need to get up for school”

He rubbed his eyes and sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes adjusting to the light which was streaming through his closed curtains. He looked up at his mother who was smiling lovingly down at him.

“Get yourself dressed and when you come downstairs I have made your breakfast and put some milk out for you” Emma said kissing his forehead before leaving the room and heading back downstairs.

She made her way around the kitchen, getting her own breakfast at the same time. She could hear heavier footsteps upstairs which meant that George was also awake. Next thing she knew Zach was bounding around the kitchen in his school uniform, full of energy and ready for the day, she smiled at her son and his enthusiasm for his education.

Zach sat himself at the table and began munching on his cereal and slurping noisily as he drunk his milk.
Seconds later, George entered the kitchen in his boxers and dressing gown on his way to the shower. He ruffled Zach’s hair lovingly as he passed and stole a quick kiss from Emma before disappearing off to have a shower.

After a short while Zach had finished his breakfast, Emma then hurried him upstairs and instructed him to clean his teeth and wash his face. Whilst Zach was completing this task set by his Mother, she went into her office and collected all the work she needed for her day and put them into her bag, and made sure she had the correct keys for the filing cabinets and drawers. When she turned around out of the office Zach was sat on the bottom step waiting for his shoes, they were not kept in view, they were safely stored away in a cupboard but Zach daren’t enter for fear of death by shoes.

“Come on then young man, lets get your shoes on. Have you got your book bag?”

“No” responded a small voice and with that Zach bounded back up the stairs.

When he reappeared he was carrying his red book bag which he handed to Emma, who checked it for letters which should have been handed to her at the weekend but still resided crumpled in the bottom of his bag. She found the weekly school newsletter which didn’t really tell her anything she didn’t already know!
She placed the book bag on the floor and walked over to the shoe cupboard and withdrew Zach’s school shoes which she slipped on his small feet.

“Come on Mr. its time to go to school!” Emma ushered Zach towards the door and towards the car.

Zach clambered into the back of Emma’s yellow Beetle and sat himself in his booster seat, Emma strapped him in and then climbed into the drivers seat ready to start another day.

The traffic was not bad as they drove to school, it never was at this time of the morning, no-one is really ready for the school rush. Emma found a parking space near to the school and dispatched Zach from the car, she walked with him to the door, gave him a quick kiss and said that his Dad would be picking him up from school today. He scampered off to his classroom and to talk to whoever would listen to him.

Emma walked slowly back into her car and pulled away from the primary school and headed in the direction of Tipton College, where she would spend another day teaching teenagers Religious Studies, even though she knew very well that after the first 15 minutes their faces will have glazed over and each will have a bored expression. Honestly, why do they bother taking RS to A level if they are not willing to even look interested. Emma tried to make the subject as interesting as possible but to no avail, they just sit there, copy notes and clock watch with bored expressions.

The lesson seemed to drag for the students, but Emma was enjoying herself, as she enjoyed teaching this subject. It is one of the few things she found interesting whilst she too was at school and subsequently college. She informed her students that they have some homework to complete, but she makes it easy for them so asks them copy notes from the text book and to consider and think about what they have copied out. That will make them interested in the subject!

“Miss, we already have homework!” one girl complained, instantly giving the other pupils reason to speak out and voice their opinions about having lots home homework too.

“I know you already have that project due for the end of the term but this isn’t hard, its only copying notes from the textbook” Emma said, resulting in huge exaggerated moans from the rest of the class as they packed away and started to leave.

Emma sat back down at the desk and made a note in her diary of the homework she had set. She picked up her phone and checked it, no new messages. No new messages from Sam, she thought to herself that she needed to change that fact, and with that she picked up the phone and started to type a new message.

“Hey, you free now? Thought we should meet up for a coffee ;-) x”

Emma tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk and after a few seconds Sam replied.

“Hey doll, I am indeed free now, but i don’t fancy coffee, i fancy you ;-)”

Emma blushed and grabbing her phone off the desk she sent a quick reply.

“Come up, I have a free and an empty room which I am sure I could accidentally lock us in ;-) x”

Emma leaned back in her chair grinning like a cheshire cat.
Today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Modern Day Fairytale - Clashing Universes

This is a sneak peek at the first chapter of my solo sequel to the collab A Modern Day Fairytale


Courtney Diegan

Wednesday 6th August

Dear Diary,
The world was a little bit colder now, the warm personality of my best friend Alexandria Riordana had been snatched away and she was sent to a premature end.
The whole Kingdom of Razenvald was in mourning, their beloved princess and future queen was dead.

The events of earlier that day still hadn’t sunk in; I laid in the meadow where Aislinn, Alexandria and I used to play as kids and watched the world drift by. The sky was a clear unblemished blue and a summer breeze blew through the flowers which had bloomed in the meadow. I hated the fact that the weather was so perfect when someone so amazing had left this world forever.

I let tears glide slowly down my cheeks blurring my vision of the world; my heart yearned to hear the voice of my best friend just one more time. I closed my eyes and thought back, back to all the days I had spent with my two best friends and smiled.

Wherever Alexandria was I could be certain that she was happy, and I had a feeling, deep within me that this wouldn’t be the last time I saw her or even the last time I would hear her voice. I just knew.


Pippa Bramley

Friday 13th May

Dear Diary,
Mother and Father are still insisting that I stay in bed despite the fact I am off the crutches. Yeah, I admit that my ribs still ache a tad but that’s all, I am able to walk now and I have already missed like a week of school.

Sunday 15th May

Dear Diary,
My parents allowed me to go back to school tomorrow at long last; I have been cooped up in this house for far too long it will be good to have a change of scenery.
They only agreed to it because of Nessie dropping off the dreaded exam timetable for the upcoming exams and of course that was it. As soon as my parents clapped eyes on the exam timetable they couldn’t wait to get be back to school.

Monday 16th May

Dear Diary,
School felt very different, there was a completely different vibe about it; part of the reason may have been because Ellie had left us forever and break and lunchtimes were a hell of a lot quieter without her.

Nessie and Luke, Alex and Logan, Eric and me all hung around with each other nowadays; which is a huge difference from how things used to be.
Before I would never have dreamed that I would ever merge in with the popular crowd and neither did Luke or Eric. Now however, we are all great friends and do everything together, I couldn’t imagine myself without them now, couldn’t imagine going back to being the ‘swat in the corner with her head in a book’ as I was once nicknamed.

The only downside to this perfect picture is the fact that sometimes both Eric and I feel slightly out of place, especially since Nessie and Luke are officially an item – it only took them how many years?- and also Alex has also given Logan a second chance [well that caused loads of gossip.] Eric and I are not together, no matter how many times I have wished we were, it had never happened :( I love him, I actually really do but I don’t know the right words to tell him.

What if he doesn’t feel the same way?

Collaboratives

A Modern Day Fairytale and Roadtrip are just a couple of collabs which I have written in since I joined Protagonize in Novemeber 2010 - I recommend you read them, you will not regret it!

There is a thrill about collabs which makes people eager to write in them, perhaps its knowing that you are part of a team and that each writer is relying on the others to post their bit of originality into the story.

Maybe it is knowing that you're writing and the writing of the other members of the group could potentionally be read (and rated) by hundreds of people all over the world.

What entices me about collabs is the variety of different writing styles, ranging from people who are in their teens to people who are in their 20s or even 30s. It is incedible to see in collabs how unique a person's style of writing is and how a mixture of everyone's writing can make any story a brilliant read!

What draws you in about collabs? Let me know?

Jo x

A Fresh Start

I have finally had a chance to redesign my entire blog and I intend to update this more regually than the last.

As you can tell I have had a huge clearout and re-vamp and after a long ponder I decided to take a whole new angle to my blog, sharing with you all my love of reading and writing.

Enjoy x

Fallen Angel Prologue

Brown eyes flitted from girl to girl, analysing each one in turn and then dismissing them. He had tracked her down to this very school; she was here somewhere and it was his mission to find her. Crowds of people flooded the school hallway, animatedly chatting to each other the main topic of conversation being on what they did during the summer break. She was here somewhere she just had to be, but it was going to be difficult to find her in an ocean of students such as this, but he was determined.

He caught sight of a gaggle of girls heading down the hallway towards him, each beautifully tanned from obviously being out in the sunlight. The obvious ring leader of this group of girls was tall and beautiful with long brown hair which hung loosely down to the middle of her back. He analyzed her tall slender figure, eventually deciding that although this girl was beautiful this was not her, he would know her from the moment he saw her.

He walked swiftly away from the group of girls keeping to the edge of the corridor as much as possible, so he could avoid having to battle his way through the crowd of students, who had stopped in the middle of the corridor to have a conversation with their friends.

As he rounded a corner he spotted a tall boy with sandy coloured hair leaning casually against the wall talking to a girl. A girl … The girl, he could tell that it was her; she was by far the most beautiful girl in the entire school. Her long ash blonde hair cascaded down to the middle of her back, it would have been longer but she had it tied back into an elegant bobble. Her skin was pale and unblemished and when she laughed her teeth were a pearly white. A faint glow which only he could see emanated from around her.

He knew that he wasn’t able to walk right up to her, when she was deep in conversation with who could only have been her boyfriend. He had to get her on her own, he had to get to know her, get inside her head and gain her trust before he struck. He watched her from a distance staring at her unearthly beauty; he wanted her, he could feel his desire for her rising but he had to resist, he had to restrain himself, she was no use dead.

His eyes glowed red.

Starlight Prologue

My footprints left a distinct mark, unsettling the layer of thick untouched snow that had fallen.
It crunched noisily under my feet as I made my way up the steps towards the small gate that led into the graveyard.

I followed the path around the church, keeping in the shadows as much as possible until I came to a large snow covered willow tree, which seemed to sag under the weight of the snow.
In the shadow of this willow tree was his grave, the headstone had been covered with ice and snow so that the letters were hidden from view, and the flowers that I had left the night before had been pinned to the ground by the heavy snow.

I forced back a tear as I started to clear the snow and ice off the headstone with my sleeve, so that I could read the name that had been engraved underneath. Joshua Bailey.
How had it come to this? Visiting his grave in the dead of night because I couldn’t be seen near his grave during the day? How could they blame me for this?

I wished I could stay here forever just so that I could be near him, and feel his presence.
I laid down on my back looking up at the night sky, the snow clouds seemed to have cleared and I could see the faint little dots in the sky and the moon trying to break out.
Joshua always loved looking up at the night sky. I started to remember times when him and me would lay on the trampoline in his back garden for hours on end and just look up at the night sky, his arms wrapped tightly around me and mine around him.

I said quietly to myself,

“Now he can lookup at the stars forever”