My new memoir ‘Waiting in the Wings’ will be FREE to download from February 1st – February 5th. 

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http://bookShow.me/B01M3MOEPV

At the grand old age of 92, my mother Dot suddenly starts telling me that she loves me. I am quite dumbstruck at these outbursts of emotion, as she has never mentioned the fact before in all of my 58 years. Over the entire course of my lifetime we have often argued bitterly, and have never really seen eye-to-eye over anything. I squirm with the inner knowledge that she wants me to reply in a similar vein, but try as I might, I cannot.

The guilt I feel at being unable to grant Dot her wish is overwhelming. As Dot’s health deteriorates more towards the final chapters of her life, I take on the role of carer. I find the only way to bring her out of her perpetual misery is to reminisce on past events by showing her old family photographs, and by helping her to remember holidays and happier times. We look back without anger and sometimes with a lot of laughter, getting to know each other better, raking over the past, and talking more than we have ever done. The process helps me, a middle-aged woman, understand the perils of ageing that I might one day face, and also the struggles that elderly people suffer on a day-to-day basis while stoically attempting to maintain their independence.

This is a true story, told in flashbacks and in modern-day often humorous conversations with my mother.

Here is J. Jonas’s 5 star review:

I have come to expect a well-constructed, intelligently-written book from this accomplished author, and Waiting in the Wings ticks all the right boxes. The story of the author’s rollercoaster relationship with her mother is told with honesty. She regrets that she cannot say the words, ‘I love you,’ to a mother who has been exasperating and difficult to deal with, even in her vulnerability and defiance as she clings to her independence and refuses professional care help. Although the author can’t say the words, we see through her daily actions and patience, the love and compassion that lie beneath.

I applaud the author’s courage in writing so openly about her family, laying bare her thoughts about them – it takes guts to do that and it takes excellent writing to put across a tale that is absorbing, funny and poignant. Waiting in the Wings achieves all that. I felt as if I knew the characters as much as my own family, which is due to the power of the dialogue, the narration and descriptive passages. I became the fly on the wall, observing events as the author explored the past and the present, combining her life story with that of her mother. The flashbacks are never confusing. The book drew me in, held my attention and had me laughing aloud at some the characters’ antics. Highly recommended on so many levels, not least for the portrayals of heartache, comedy and a willingness to allow love and wit to prevail.

Don Massenzio has a FREE novel ‘Frankly Speaking’ on Smashwords, which is the first book in his series of Frank Rozzano detective novels:

frankly-speaking

 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/631238

A 16 year old girl has disappeared. The police believe she is a runaway. Her parents believe she has been taken and is being held against her will. When the parents enlist the services of Frank Rozzani, a former police officer turned private detective, a series of events begins to unfold that implicates a popular local pastor and the religious stronghold of the ultra-conservative community.

Frank Rozzani, a transplant to Jacksonville, Florida from Syracuse, New York, must find the young girl despite the obstacles launched at him from the local police and others whose interests may be compromised by his investigation. Frank enlists the help of his associate Clifford “Jonesy” Jones to find the girl, uncover the conspiracy, and stay alive. While solving the case, Frank must deal with the demons that drove him from Upstate New York causing him to leave traumatic memories and his children behind.

5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful Read

ByRandy JohnsonVINE VOICEon May 3, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Ex-cop Frank Rozzani is a P.I. in Florida these days. He’s hired to find the missing sixteen year old daughter of a wealthy lawyer. The police feel she’s just a runaway, but the parents think different.

With his partner Jonesy, Frank piles in and starts asking questions. A charismatic religious figure is involved and Frank is soon visited by a red neck cop warning him off.

Amateurish tricks plague them. A copperhead in Frank’s trailer, a brick through a local bar’s window, harassment wherever he goes. It tells Frank he’s ruffling somebody’s feathers.

I got pulled into this tale quickly and couldn’t stop reading.

Recommended.

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IF YOU HAVE A FREE BOOK OR A BOOK FOR SALE, PLEASE DO SEND AN EMAIL TO:  stevie@stevie-turner-author.co.uk