Where Have I Been?

July 8, 2015 / legreene515 / Leave a comment

Excuse the cellphone quality photo. I haven’t quite downloaded the camera photos yet. When you come back from Paradise, where you lived for six days without children, it’s hard to get back into the swing of things. We stayed at Paradisus Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and my hubby and I had some much needed alone time. Rekindling, if you will? We also met some great people who seemed more like characters in a book, but as we all know “Characters are only works of fiction, any resemblance to someone in real life is purely coincidental.”

Originally, when we planned this trip I thought The Devil Within would already be out. I anticipated having it published in April or May, but we all know how seldom things go as planned. That’s the fun of life. I was pleasantly surprised to know the paperback came out the day before we left, and guess what? Now the kindle edition is out. For some reason they’re two different links and the Kindle link is hard to find. I’m hoping Amazon gets that sorted out. I’m sure they will.

Click the book below for the link to the Kindle edition:

So let me tell you, the absolute best way to make a book a raging success is to fly to the Dominican Republic for a week the day it comes out. No, I’m kidding. I really wanted to bomb the market with this book. I wanted it to have a fantastic first day out, because I feel like this book is special. And I don’t know if thousands of authors say that. Oh, look at me, I wrote a book. But I didn’t think I would ever publish this book. I wrote it more for myself, the inspiration plucked from the sky somewhere. Writing it took me on an emotional journey through the doorways of youth, religion, hate and love. In this book, William experiences suffering that no small child should feel, but the truth is every day in the “real world” children are coping with the harsh realities of what William’s fictional life: being hurt by the person who is supposed to care for them the most.

When you are young, the world seems so big. Sometimes it seems magical. And other times it’s terrifying. As I wrote The Devil Within I felt horrified for William. My heart tugged for him, and I longed to help him escape. I longed to give him a chance. And so, this book is personal to me because it tells a tale of survival and that’s what we’re all trying to do in this amazing unrelenting world of ours.

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Things Don’t Always Go As Planned

June 19, 2015June 19, 2015 / legreene515 / 4 Comments

Today is cover reveal day for The Devil Within! YIPPEE!!! I promise at the end of this blog post you’ll see the cover. But first you have to listen to my mad ramblings a little bit.

When I wrote The Devil Within, I had only written one full book before, No Turning Back. As I wrote about William and the suffering he went through at the hands’ of his father, I couldn’t help but wonder why this idea had come to me and why I had to write it. I have a charmed life. When I was little, my parents used to say, “You’re so lucky you’re born in the U.S. It’s the greatest place on earth.” I genuinely believed it–still do, on most days. I wasn’t abused. I went to church, but never felt scared of the devil. (The devil is not someone often mentioned in Episcopal church–just the word temptation.)

When William’s story came to the brink of my mind and then the tips of my fingers I could barely stop typing to rest. I had to get his story out. I needed to write him down to end his suffering. And I thought, what I’ve always thought, that things rarely go as planned. I had intended to write another women’s fiction novel after No Turning Back, but as a writer you cave to the cravings of the mind. Even when that mind gives you an idea that you know will be painful to write down.

And speaking of things not going as planned. I planned to type this last night, and instead I relaxed and played the Sims 3. I mean of all the useless things you can do in the world, playing house when you have a house to run on your own. Alas, everyone needs down time.

And the release date for The Devil Within was pushed back. At least a week, but the week following I’m out of town. I will spread the word when the book is out, and so will my lovely marketing manager, Sheri Williams, but I wanted to let you know since I know you’re all waiting on baited breath to buy my book!

Now here it is! The lovely Greg Simanson designed my book cover:

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Faith and Religion in the South

June 12, 2015 / legreene515 / 4 Comments

When I started writing The Devil Within, I knew religion would be a huge part of the book. Religion, for anyone who is from the South or has lived in the South, is such a huge part of Southern culture. I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging about religion, but my views on religion are not standard—especially for a southerner. I’ve worried about alienating readers with this post, but I have to be true to myself and my beliefs.

The truth is, religion is a private matter between a person and their God (or their lack of God as may be the case), but in the South religion permeates all aspects of public life too.

I grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. I went to an Episcopal Church where I was baptized and confirmed. For fun, I’d go with my friends to their youth groups. My youth group called EYC was a second home to me and we did tons of fun things, which in the end should have kept me out of trouble but didn’t. But through it all I never felt a close kinship to God or Jesus. I have always been a questioner. I love to question things I can’t explain (how did we get here? Is God real? If God’s real then why are so many wars fought in her name?)

When I moved away for college, I stopped going to church. I had a boyfriend in college who was church-going and I went to the Methodist church with him a couple of times but eventually turned my back on organized religion. I had grown up thinking liberally in a conservative place and the hypocrisy of religion bothered me. Everyone is hypocritical—I get that, but I hate the idea of people being judged on their lifestyle because “God” said to do so. Isn’t God supposed to be loving?

And now I’m going to tell you the most hypocritical thing of all. I go to church. I work in the nursery there. When we moved back to the South, I wanted my children raised in the Episcopal Church. Why, you might ask, would I want that if I’m a questioner, an infidel, a heathen? Because in the South religion is a way of life. In the South, the first question out of someone’s mouth when they meet you is, “What church do you go to?” In the South, friendships are not made from cradle to the grave but from the baptismal font to heaven. Simply put, I wanted my children to fit into the society in which they were being raised.

I instill questions into my children’s head. I ask them if they believe in God. I ask them to prove it to me. I don’t want them blindly following. If they’re going to believe, then I want them to have a true belief, a belief I wish I had but never did. All my children believe in God, and I find comfort in that, because there is something comforting in believing in a higher power who can take all the pain away. There is something comforting in knowing you’re not alone in this world. There is something comforting in knowing that despite your sins, in the end you will be forgiven. I often think how much easier life would be if I had that kind of faith and believed in it wholeheartedly.

The Devil Within explores the intricacies of religion. William is wracked by guilt for sinning against his God. He blames himself for the deaths of his mother and siblings, because he believes he was being punished for his sins. He believes the devil has led him into temptation. But in the end, religion is such a huge part of his life, his world, and his culture that he still finds solace in it despite the fact that it almost destroyed him. How wonderful would it be to have that kind of faith?

Introducing William Hill

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 / legreene515 / 2 Comments

Today was one of those days where I didn’t know what to blog. Lately, I’ve been busy procrastinating. I haven’t felt well since Sunday, and on Monday I was sick and watched seven episodes of Scandal. I mean really folks, why didn’t someone tell me what I was missing? Amazing. I love this show, and now it’s all I want to do, but I have a book coming out. No rest for the weary. (I really wouldn’t have it any other way).

So, I decided to write about William. Who is William? He’s the main character in my book, The Devil Within, which is due to be released on June 22, 2015! William is a nine year old boy who is growing up in Pine Level, Alabama. He’s very much like any typical nine year old: swinging on tire swings, playing in dirt, loves comic books and super heroes, and discovering himself. William has a younger sister, Maybelle, and an older brother Roy. William shares a room with his brother Roy (and boy, do I know what that’s like–Allison!), and is always getting into his big brother’s stuff. One fateful day, before the book begins, William’s mother, sister and brother are ripped away from him in a horrible car accident while William is at home sick. He’s left to be raised by his father, Leroy, who is an alcoholic and a religious zealot who has no idea how to deal with his own grief. Over the course of a year, William grows and changes in the face of daunting circumstance and finds an ally in his grown cousin Tommy.

Interested now? On June 19th, right here, I’ll have a cover reveal on this site. And stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as I introduce the characters from the book, so you can get to know them a little better!