Tag Archives: memoir

Book Blast: A Light in Dark Places (and giveaway!)

A year and a half ago, one of my brand new critique partners had some exciting news: her friend had come to her for help writing a memoir as catharsis for a family tragedy. That family tragedy was something that had made national news. I’m very excited to participate in the book blast to share with you a book that goes beyond the tell-all tabloid coverage to share an important message of hope with everyone! Plus, a giveaway for $50 (and a free entry if you like my Facebook page!)

light in darkA Light in Dark Places

In December, 2009, Susan Cox Powell was reported missing from her home in West Valley City, Utah. As law enforcement tried to piece together what had happened to Susan, her husband, Josh Powell, became the only person of interest in the case.

For Jennifer Graves, Josh’s sister, the nightmare started long before Susan’s disappearance. From her experiences growing up in the Powell family to the terrifying moment when she first started to believe her brother was a killer, she relied on her faith to stay strong. She devoted herself to the safety of Susan’s boys, Charlie and Braden, whom she hoped to be able to raise as her own. When the boys were murdered by their father in February, 2012, Jennifer was more than devastated, but she had to believe there was a reason for it all—including the deaths of her beloved nephews.

In A Light In Dark Places, Jennifer shares her struggles and her triumphs. In coming to terms with such tragedy she finally was able to embrace the truth that we all have the power to choose our own path—and there is always hope, no matter how dark things may seem.

Website * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Praise for A Light in Dark Places

I love true accounts of people overcoming challenges and helping others with the lessons learned from them. This story of Jennifer’s experiences throughout her abusive childhood, and later the disappearance of Susan and the murder of her two sweet nephews is just that. She shares how she felt God’s hand in her life, guiding her to make better choices than the rest of her family did. Though the book had so many sad details, it ended with hope, courage and love. ~D. Raymond

To finally read about details that were never shared brought closure for me about this insidious crime. While the book was an easy read, the message shared about breaking the cycle of abusive relationships is invaluable. It truly does take someone removing themselves from their abusive family’s presence to stop the cycle. Praises to the author for sharing her perspectives. ~Arlene

 

add to goodreads

 

JenandEmAuthorphoto1Jennifer Graves (left) is the mother of 5 beautiful children, 2 girls and 3 boys. She and her husband have been happily married for 19 years and together have been active in their community and church.

Jennifer is the sister of Josh Powell who killed his 2 sons, Charlie and Braden, as well as himself in February of 2012, and is also believed to have killed his wife, Susan Cox Powell, in December of 2009.

She is the recipient of the 2013 ChainBreaker of the year Award, given for breaking the chain of abuse and violence in her family.

She enjoys homeschooling their children and mentoring in classes for the commonwealth school they attend. She also loves reading, playing card and board games, and learning new things. Most of all she loves to spend time with her husband and children. They currently reside in West Jordan, UT.

Blog * Facebook

? ? ?

Emily Clawson is an author, a mother and a mentor. She traditionally writes inspirational fiction. This book has been a life changing experience for her and she is grateful to have been a part of telling this story. She resides in Taylorsville with her husband and four children where they run their leadership mentoring programs for youth.

Facebook * Twitter * Website

 

light in dark tourTour Schedule

BookBlast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 11/15/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book review: Class 11 by TJ Waters

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been doing a bit of research on the US Central Intelligence Agency for a book. Okay, maybe more than a bit:

Thank you, libraries!

Class 11 was actually not on my list to check out from the library, but like a good little researcher, I looked at all the books with similar call numbers to the ones I’d researched. Voila. By chance, I picked up Class 11 because I figured there might be some relevant info, and it was probably one of the most recent looks at CIA training.

On that same logic, I cracked this book first when I got home—and I only stopped reading for a quick dinner break before I finished the whole book.

Class 11: My Story Inside the CIA’s First Post-9/11 Spy Class (aff) details the training of the first class of CIA officers hired after September 11, 2001. The worst attacks on US soil prompted a lot of people to apply to the agency—military, civilians, professionals, single moms, even a former pro athlete. Author TJ Waters was among that class.

As with the last CIA memoir I reviewed, several reviewers found Waters’s self-description and overall attitude grating. I honestly didn’t notice, but I was kind of mining the book for information as I read, so my focus could have been very different than those readers’. (Plus I’m kinda of the opinion that pretty much all autobiographies tread a fine line between self-congratulatory and totally depressing.)

Having studied a few other CIA memoirs now, I think this is probably one of the most recent, in-depth reviews of several of the tradecraft techniques taught at the Agency. That alone made it worth reading for me. I was disappointed to not get to see the tradecraft in action in the field (and like the author I was sad they didn’t get to do the paramilitary course, which seems to be far shorter than it was in decades past), but it seemed that Waters didn’t serve as a case officer in the field, and frankly, the subject of the book was the CIA class’s training, not their time on the ground.

What do you think? How do you research?

Book review: Blowing My Cover by Lindsey Moran

Okay, before I jump into this book review, I have to tell you why I read it: shockingly (um, not) my latest book is about a spy. I’ve actually written about spies a few times, but this is the first time I’ve used a contemporary CIA officer (not agent!) in one of my novels. Naturally, I had to run out and research.

As I was looking through books on the subject on Amazon, I came across Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by Lindsay Moran, which was touted as “a cross between James Bond and Bridget Jones!” That pretty much sounded like what I was working on, and the back cover copy promised to answer several specific questions I had in the research process. (It didn’t answer the underlying question, however: why did you leave all your research until after you wrote it??)

Best of all? My truly, truly awesome library had a copy. I snuck out and checked it out that night, and read it the next day.
Continue reading Book review: Blowing My Cover by Lindsey Moran