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Karen S. Bell

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Sunspots Paperback – February 5, 2013

by Karen S. Bell (Author)

3.5 52 ratings

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A love story of loss and redemption and the ghosts that haunt our lives and our houses.Aurora Goldberg Stein is lost in grief. Her beloved husband, Jake Stein, has just died in a tragic car accident and her sorrow is overwhelming. But is this really the end? Perhaps, perhaps not. She hears his voice. She sees his ghostly presence. She travels back in time to another life with Jake. What is going on? What is the message? Jake Stein, a dashing Texan, sweeps Aurora off her feet and changes her life. A Brooklyn born actress, she moved to NYC and does temporary work to pay her bills. On this particular assignment, she accidentally meets Jake Stein, who is her dance with destiny. Leaving everything she knows, she marries him and moves to Austin, Texas. No longer struggling to make ends meet, Aurora wiles away her time bored and lonely, and trying to recapture the excitement she once had with this man. And then suddenly, it's all over, her life, her future is gone. Vanished are all her hopes and dreams. But destiny comes in many forms, and when Aurora moves to a new house, she discovers that the previous owner has never left. The ghostly presence of Viola Parker looms large and becomes Aurora's guide through time revealing to her the mistakes she's made with Jake Stein through the centuries. This time, maybe this time, Aurora can get it right.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sunspots is a moving, beautifully-written mystery about the devastating consequences of obsessive love.--Five Stars Awesome Indies

It's a love story that is obsessive, secretive, gripping, grieving and trying to move on.---review by Harlie's Books

I was honestly sad when I read the last sentence. I didn't want it to come to an end. I just cannot praise this book enough. There really isn't much more I can say about it, except READ IT! READ IT NOW! I guarantee you will not be disappointed.--reviewer Jessica H.

"...a well-written, fully formed romantic adventure suffused with mystery and a whiff of the paranormal.--Florida Times Union
Sunspots is a heart-wrenching, beautiful story that any romance reader will fall in love with. The characters are well-developed and I especially liked the book even more for being able to question the reader's beliefs about love and the paranormal. The author's descriptions are spot on and most times as a new scene starts, you're sucked into it with ease.--Five Stars--George Edwards Quality Reads UK Book Club Member

Bell wrote beautifully about a woman's journey through grief and acceptance.--Lisa Lambson Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
If you like the work of Nicolas Sparks, you will likely enjoy "Sunspots."--Rabid Readers Reviews
Character interaction was a big deal in this book. Every basic instinct to primary emotion was brought to the forefront as Aurora rediscovers her past and prepares for the future. Highly recommended. ---Five Stars--Erin PlanteQuality Reads UK Book Club Member

Nov. 15 Indie Book of the Day!
Awarded the IndiePENdants' Seal of Approval

About the Author

Sunspots is my second novel and gave me much satisfaction in the writing process. I take care to choose just the right word, to make sure each sentence has the right cadence. I appreciate other writers who respect the craft in this way, and I hope my readers do so with me. Writing is a need, a desire for expression, and springs from well within my subconscious mind. Thoughts rise up, scenes rise up and blend in with the over arching story. These thoughts emerge whenever they want to and wherever I am and probably not when I am at the computer. The computer is for the craft, the technique. The thoughts come during walks, while driving the car, at the grocery store. I am the willing recipient of these thoughts and so they seek me out. It's a mystery this business and art of writing and it keeps me enthralled.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (February 5, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 236 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 148230757X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1482307573
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.59 x 9 inches

Customer Reviews:
3.5 52 ratings

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Karen S. Bell

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I get so much satisfaction in the writing process. I take care to choose just the right word, to make sure each sentence has the right cadence. I appreciate other writers who respect the craft in this way, and I hope my readers do so with me. Writing is a need, a desire for expression, and springs from well within my subconscious mind. Thoughts rise up, scenes rise up and blend in with the over-arching story. These thoughts emerge whenever they want to and wherever I am and probably not when I am at the computer. The computer is for the craft, the technique. The thoughts come during walks, or while driving the car, or at the grocery store. I am the willing recipient of these thoughts and so they seek me out. It's a mystery this business and art of writing and it keeps me enthralled.

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3.5 out of 5

52 global ratings

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Tracy

sunspots

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2013

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I can't recall ever reading a book that had such descriptive prose about how the main character was feeling and thinking. The story line jumps back and forth through time, but never in a confusing way. This story doesn't have a lot of twists to keep you guessing. Instead the pieces of the the plot are brought out in a steady, back & forward, up & down manner that makes it hard to put down. It is a good mix of mystery, romance, thriller, paranormal, and memoirs. No strings are left untied and the ending is highly satisfying.

7 people found this helpful

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Rabid Readers Reviews

Good book that simply was not for me...

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013

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Technically, there is nothing wrong with this novel. Bell's story is intricately written. She flashes back to Aurora and Jake and the moments that made them the strong couple they were despite their very limited time together. There is a slight paranormal aspect but the story is very much Aurora and Jake. Bell gives the reader detailed descriptions of the setting and characters that integrate well with the story.

There are twists within the story that are interesting. The haunting and they way the spirit characters influence Aurora's life plan and her thought in regard to life plan. The discovery she has of her husband after his passing. The attempts she makes to find love again." Sunspots" is a very well constructed book in professional presentation and character development. Aurora and Jake are very real characters. The point of view is first person and through Aurora's eyes so we get the confusion and horror and wonder as she experiences them. We are with her when she discovers that perhaps she didn't know all she should have about her husband. The story flows in a way that makes it easy to visualize for the reader.

The bottom line for this reader that it is a good book that just didn't hit my interest. If you like the work of Nicolas Sparks, you will likely enjoy "Sunspots."

12 people found this helpful

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Kriss Morton

Seeing spots alright ....

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2014

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Let me start by saying Karen S. Bell is obviously a very intelligent person.. and she knows it and embraces it and expects everyone else to recognize it too because, well it is obvious she is not just confident, she is convinced.. It’s also quite obvious from the voice she uses from her protagonist. Personally after finally finishing this book, which I had to stop myself from skimming past the purple prose so I could honestly write this review (that and I would have been done in 30 minutes if I did), I wanted to drink 5-liters of wine, black out and forget I had read it. Damn it.. I promised I would not be one of those reviewers, but this is really hard. Seriously, I am trying not to be mean, but the thing is? It really is the perfect example of purple prose (and this is not a good thing). Let’s try this again.

Sunspots, if you like a story which is full of itself, whose characters are stereotyped from the tippy top of the heels of her Milanos and descriptions are tell.. tell… throw a bunch of $25 dollar words in to prove just how smart you are but never show what you are trying to show. Where the magic that is the Aurora Borealis (and believe me, honey I know, I am an Alaskan) is.. umm wrapped up in TIEDDIE (we will cover that little SP issue in a bit). If you like an author who uses those big words to make it balloon out into a full length novel. If you are looking for a story with .. umm wait what was this about? Oh gods I give up, if she gave up trying to be so bloody flowery and put more effort into showing (this doesn’t mean showing off) and not telling it may just have been a novella around 10-15K but at least it would have been a story and not, whatever this was! It would have been so much more tolerable, probably really enjoyable and it would have been a much better experience if it were. The repetitive style also seemed like an attempt to be allegorical without really understanding allegory, basing the use of her poem at the beginning, I maybe assuming too much here, but the use of the poem throughout the novel leads me to believe this is the case.

As it was, I wasted an afternoon reading it and yet I still keep giggling a little bit inside when I think of some of the things I read. I was struck with the evocation of smugness which screamed from between these ballooned lines. So when I got to the third chapter and it starts with “One can never be, and should never be, smug about life.” I spit my drink out and thought holy s***… yep, that’s about all I could do. After this, the protagonist when not whining) was all of a sudden barreling through this myriad of name dropping, pop-culture, mish-mash something or other with .. again I am just still at a loss for words.

I was insulted on the extreme pompous tone, the cliche and generalized characterizations and extreme stereotyping of her characters. I also loath when the characters are constantly harping on with name brands they are wearing. I am reminded of the class I took from Bram Stoker award winning editor Michael Knost who says “Remember when writing a description, the rule of WGAS (who gives a s***.” If you are going to write it, does it really matter. Does it matter that Frodo has green eyess? No, who gives a s***, SHOW It don’t tell it. What brand of shoes she wore, or purse she had, etc, did not really matter in this story, it just did not fit!! And.. MAGICAL REALISM, don’t claim to be a story within the genre of magical realism just because there is a bit of magic in it. The tone is passionate and as I said above, has magical aspects, but that does not make it magical realism. This is as much a book that falls in the realm of magical realism as the last zombie book I read. Sorry, that is base fact. It has qualities of paranormal and magical feelings, a touch of the unknown and again passion but, not magical realism.

I know folks like books like this! And sometimes there is something to be said about ones writing of purple prose. It is a style which can be done well and successfully. Dickens did it and did it well. Vladimir Nabokov is another author who not only studied romantic styles of language but again did it well, like Tolstoy who successfully pulled it off and many contemporary writers have made and make it work. But, if you cannot even spell tieddie right and yet the protag is constantly talking about her parents hippie lifestyle .. ummmm, hello? Then in next breath how she bought some name brand shoes which takes a few paragraphs to pontificate about and doing the whole obnoxious swoon…

Yet with all this passion there was still no depth, nothing and I still never really figured out what the hell this was about. Sure I know the story was about loss, her prologue was pretty nice. I did finally manage to figure it out.. I think, but I kept thinking.. THE POINT, what the hell is the point? The synopsis promises us a journey through her grief, not the showing off vocabulary!!! ARGH.. again sorry, sorry sorry I am really trying here!!!

This was suppose to be this magical journey, this window into grief and coping… I think? One may want to make sure you know how to spell important words, use a comma or semi-colon correctly and understand what run-on sentences are. (I certainly do and am OK with writing a blog post with run-ons however…) Or you insist on using tee shirt instead of t-shirt and your grammar is worse than mine in some places (yes some because it was not consistent at all). At least I know, can admit and be humble enough to admit my grammar blows? The book is in hardcore need of a very tight line-edit. Maybe I am off-base here but if it takes me out of the book it is probably worse that it is.

You would think someone who is obviously as intelligent as this author is and who is as passionate as she is she would want it to be perfect, self-published or not. Finding the magic in everything she observes is great, but she may want to find something other than contemporary romance to express it with because this book fell flat on it’s face.
What are Purple Prose???

Purple Prose: Writing so extravagant or orate that it breaks the flow of the narrative and draws attention to itself.
The Elements of Style calls this writing that is “hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.” There’s no solid example of purple prose since the definition is subjective, but it is something you definitely don’t want. Below is one example of the evolution from concise language to purple prose:
Plain: He set the cup down.

Middle Ground: He eased the Big Gulp onto the table.
ACK: Without haste, the tall, blond man lowered the huge, plastic, gas station cup with a bright red straw onto the slick surface of the coffee table.

I do want to say some positive things here though. I thought the prologue shows promise and I liked the structure of the book, yep I did. I loved how she took a poem, one of hers … of course *wink* and she used the lines for the titles of her chapters. I liked that and thought it was clever and I am sure Ms. Bell does too *wink*.

This and the half way decent prologue is the only reason I bumped up from my 1 1/2 stars from my blog to a 2 star. I did not hate it, I rarely hate something but I really thought this was not only poorly compiled, in need of a heavy line edit and a reality check with ego, I just did not like it.

6 people found this helpful

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marnie

Moving on

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2014

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Sunspots hits the spot in addressing issues of both grief and deceit.Karen Bell writes from the heart using colorful adjectives,witty language,and humour.It is a fast paced book with a powerful message of hope for all who have experienced loss.I highly recommend it for book clubs as a catalyst for discussion of grief,loss,and optimism for the future.

One person found this helpful

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John

Very interesting and well done!

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2013

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I loved seeing this protagonist's life in New York and then having to move to Texas with unfriendly relatives. The author's sense of humor and depictions of scenes is excellent and kept my attention. I liked seeing the life of an actor and musician in New York. It is heart wrenching with the loss of her husband and having to cope and finding out she didn't know some things about her husband. Makes us all wonder about our spouses.

Pam Cramer

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Katy Marriott

A fascinating read...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2013

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I bought this on recommendation but was a little wary, suspecting it might be one of those irritatingly ill-written American "romance" novels. I was very pleasantly surprised. Well-written (just the occasional typo but not enough to actually put me off, and as I am the original OCD pedant, this is high praise indeed!), deeply thought-out, and the plot hangs together and pulls you along irresistibly. What more can you ask? The supernatural element was cast in lightly, indeed it actually added to the plot: I can thoroughly recommend this novel.

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