Today I review a story called Snow Angel, by Stryder Dancewolffe, at her behest, to compare and contrast the stories with two very similar titles, themes, and yet very different in content and style.
Stryder's novella is set in a world decimated by plague, where the mentally ill are discarded like broken dolls. One such woman, after years of carefully hiding from the authorities, is caught, and offered a terrible choice. Either give up her daughter for adoption, or the child will die. And once she gives up, the woman is shipped off world to a prison planet, sentenced to death by hard labor. Only her doctor flame keeps her going, until the bitter end… Where a twist and revelation bring renewed hope to the woman and her long-lost child. Stryder and I discussed why my own story, where the mother is able to provide a loving, warm home for her special-needs son, is so different from her own, with it's theme of abandonment. In each our stories, our own experiences with motherhood were reflected. Her own bitter pill was having to be separated from her daughter at a young age, while I was a stay-at-home mother, like my mother before me, until my children were older. My faith has been shaken, but remains unbroken, hence my story's angels, who are not perfect, but still want to help and fulfill the traditional role of guardian. Stryder's Snow, the mother, becomes an angel to a whole world of abandoned convicts. Each of us ends with hope, love, and a sacrifice, that of a mother who will do anything to care for their child.
Over at PJ Media Sarah Hoyt and Charlie Martin are hosting a fun promotional column for Indie Authors. If you're a reader, looking for fresh, original works, this is the place to shop. If you are an independent author looking for a place to let people see your work, shoot them an email with a 50 word blurb, an Amazon link, and they will do their best to set it up for you. There are some guidelines, but they are simple and basically boil down to common sense.
"To submit to Book Plug Friday, send an email to book.plug.friday@gmail.com for guidelines. (Hint: Authors name, book title, a short blurb, and a LINK TO AMAZON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.)"