Emma Lee Parkinson’s life appears to be perfect. She’s young and beautiful and lives in an elegant high-rise condominium with her rich, handsome husband. Her closet is full of designer clothes, shoes, and purses. Dining at elegant restaurants, attending cocktail parties or upscale gala events are typical nights out on the town for her. Luxurious vacations are taken at least twice a year. This life of leisure allows Emma to pursue personal interests as well. She loves shopping for antiques, strolling through art galleries, museums, and furthering her own artistic skills with painting classes. Who could ask for more? But appearances can be deceiving. Emma hates her life. With a passion. Intimidated by a deep, dark secret, she lives in a constant state of dread. Battered, abused, and even threatened with death, she’s often on the edge of panic. Paralyzed by fear, she’s certain there’s no way out. Until the day she attempts to hang her latest find – a painting so enchanting that she buys it on a whim. Little does she know… this painting will change her life forever.
Targeted Age Group:: adult
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
The inspiration for Garden of Time began with a beautiful painting. I found it at a resale shop a few years ago, and similar to Emma in the story, I was in the midst of a very dark time in my life. The picture emanated such a peaceful scene – immediately sparking my imagination, and the premise of the story came to me before I left the store. (Yes, I bought it.)
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
As I began to write the story, the main character, Emma, began to take shape in my mind’s eye. And then as her story unfolded, I pictured the type of man she would choose, and eventually Mack began to take shape as well.
Book Sample
The strange, swirling, blackness wrapped itself around me in slow motion the way fog sluggishly envelops the landscape until it’s completely obscured from sight. Within this shadowy cocoon, silence echoed into my ears like a deep void; the absence of color or light – like glaring blindness. Dense and thick, the darkness crushed into me on all sides making me feel flattened, microscopic, intangible. Inside of this vacuum came a vague sense of floating in slow motion like a four-dimensional cube, rotating and drifting in space. I felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. Growing painfully aware of the abundance of nothingness – I came to the realization that I couldn’t breathe – but with my self-awareness quickly diminishing, it didn’t seem to matter.
Resigned to the inevitable, I closed my eyes, relinquishing everything. I was adrift in a weightless, invisible, otherworldly realm, disembodied and devoid of any wants or cares, with no rational sense of time or space – free at last. I’d completely embraced this state of nonexistence, when suddenly a loud and thunderous boom exploded into my eardrums. At the exact same time, as if from a catapult, I was hurled forward like a rocket ship and, moments later, violently slammed to the ground – head first. Immediately and with excruciating vengeance, the rest of my senses reverberated back like shock waves after an earthquake. My head felt like it was about to explode; the blood running through my veins – like fiery electrical currents shooting back and forth with razor-sharp, pointy needles.
The next thing I heard was the rustle of footsteps rushing up behind me.
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