MAINSTREAM FICTION
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ISBN 1-931062-26-9 |
BLACKWATER Swamps, alligators, deadly snakes. Illegal fishing, bad booze, and a river they called Blackwater. It's a place where a boy can dream.... The summer of 1965. That's the year Mikey would never forget. It was the year he had become a man. He'd been ten-years-old when Uncle Cotton had finally managed to convince Mikey's overprotective mother that what her little sissy-boy son needed was to spend the summer with a real man. Mikey was all too eager to comply. In their small Florida community, Cotton's penchant for wildness had made him a celebrity, and there was nothing in the world Mikey wanted more than to get close to all that craziness and experience it for himself. Under the tutelage of this local legend, Mikey steps into a world filled with the sort of adventure he'd only imagined. But, by summer's end, the innocence of youth is tarnished when a single chilling act shatters the boy's idealistic view of his uncle.
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A Note From The Author Blackwater began as a tribute
to the Florida I grew up with, an older, mellower, familiar place I loved
as a kid, and still love today. A place rapidly being replaced by condominiums,
computers, and a “hurry-up” society that doesn’t have
time for the good old days. I wanted to create a vision in the reader’s
mind that would put them in the moment. I strove to bring out every nuance
of life on the St. Johns River in 1965 and the characters who dwelt there.
Hence, the shift in narrative from proper English to a looser, Southern
perversion of the language as Mike the man becomes Mikey the boy, telling
his story his way. Despite the inevitable criticism in doing so, I remained
true to that voice throughout and allowed the story to unfold naturally.
Anything less and the fragile weave of the fabric would tear, dispersing
the characters into the ordinary, the humdrum. However, as I wrote the
novel, the story took its own path, and the process soon became an exploration
of character that took me on a wild ride which still, to this day, leaves
me somewhat shaken. |
| REVIEW:
BLACKWATER.... It won't be long before C. D. Blizzard makes the bestseller list. This story of a boy and his all-too-abrupt initiation into life both joyous and terrifying is a well-written, well-plotted, and totally engrossing book filled with unforgettable characters doing unimaginable things. C. D.'s vivid descriptions of Lake George and the St. Johns River watershed bring the sights and sounds and smells right into the room, and the characters reach out from the pages and drag you into their world with irresistible force. They are overflowing with life.... Blizzard has a particularly adept hand with language, shown dramatically by the way it switches between the Mike of today and his ten-year-old self. As the book opens, he speaks to us in the eloquent, educated tones one would expect of a successful businessman; but as the memories begin to seep back, his voice gradually takes on the rhythms and dialect of those long-ago days. By the time we are fully into his remembrance, we are hearing not Mike but Mikey. Blackwater is a compelling story...it should be on your reading list, even if it doesn't make Oprah's. ~~Elizabeth Burton, The Blue Iris Journal~~ Reader Reviews: "Blackwater is a 'stay with you' book,
one you won't quickly forget! C. D. Blizzard is a very powerful
writer and throws a hard punch! If you want something new and exciting,
this is your book! |
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ISBN 1-931062-22-6
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BROKEN For twelve-year-old Eris, the future is a dark, scary place that promises nothing but heartache and pain. She comes from a broken home, prodigy of an unhappy, abusive mother. Shy and lacking in self-esteem, she is vulnerable to anyone who offers her attention, and soon falls prey to a man of low character. Darrell is the son of her mother's best friend. He takes more than just a curious interest in Eris. Momma readily allows Darrell into her daughter's life. Eris passively accepts this change, whether she likes it or not. She has not yet learned she has a voice. She sees herself as mostly invisible. She is driven to please to avoid rejection, which she finds as painful as her mother's beatings. Desiring only to be free of the physical torment and emotional anguish inflicted by her mother, and subsequently Darrell, Eris wallows in self-hatred and longs for the day when life will hand her something beautiful. But deep down she doesn't believe anything good will ever happen to her. The two good things in her life slowly become farther out of reach as she sinks into the mire of Darrell and his cruelty. Eddie: the brother she loves more than anything. Grandpa: the only stable factor in her life. She will inevitably lose both men to the hands of fate. One through death, the other into the black-hole of that future-void she fears so much. Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon Download an E-Book to your PDA. Go To: MobiPocket Version |
This book is dedicated
to all the women who have ever been prey, and to all the children who
have survived abusive homes. |
