Read an excerpt from Sword of Soter (Sacred Armor Triology #2) by Ralene Burke #SOSPrism

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the book tour for Sword of Soter by Ralene Burke! This is the second book in her Sacred Armor trilogy. Please enjoy an exclusive excerpt that I have for you. Follow the tour for even more, including my interview with her at Candrel's Crafts, Cooks, and Characters. Plus there's a great giveaway at the end!

Sword of Soter

(Sacred Armor Trilogy #2)
By Ralene Burke
YA Fantasy, Christian
Paperback & ebook, 275 Pages
September 25th 2019 by Elk Lake Publishing Inc

NEW KINGDOM. NEW FRIENDS.

NEW DANGERS.

NOT EVERYONE CAN BE TRUSTED …

Karina, Tristian, Rashka, and Sam venture forth into the wilderness of Soter on the next leg of their quest to retrieve the Armor of the Creator. With the ancient evil already affecting the kingdom, nothing in Soter is what it seems—from what skulks beneath the canopies of the woods to what lies within the sleek white and gold of the capitol city to the people Karina and Tristan have known since they were children.

Danger lurks around every corner. Discerning who to trust is paramount to staying alive and discovering the location of the Temple of Soter. Yet, to Karina’s horror, Faramos’s reach finds them time and again. The longer they are forced to dawdle, the more people are affected by the growing panic in Soter, and the closer Faramos is to taking over the Three Kingdoms. Can Karina retrieve the information they need while Tristan keeps his brother at bay? Or will the entire quest disintegrate before they even arrive at the temple?

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Goodreads│Amazon

Also available on KindleUnlimited.

Read an excerpt:

From Chapter 14:

Holding his monocle, the man offered a deep bow, to which Karina nodded. There was something familiar about him. “Greetings, Queen Karina. How nice to see you again. You are welcome indeed. I am sure you have forgotten by now, but I am Bormain, steward of the roy—by the Creator, Tristan Lemur, is that you?”

Karina fought to maintain her composure as she turned to Tristan, who stiffened before holding out his hand in greeting. “Bormain, my good man, it is good to see you again.”
Bormain looked a bit flustered. “I did not realize we had two royal guests.” He quirked a brow. “Much less that you were traveling together.”

Several memories resurfaced concerning this strict steward—especially getting into trouble for childhood antics with the princess. Karina stepped forward, brandishing a warm smile. “I have an urgent quest that requires the king’s assistance. Tristan and Rashka, Guardian of Shadowed Forest, are providing escort.” 

Bormain frowned. “I apologize, Your Majesty. The king is not seeing anyone today. Perhaps if you shared your need with me, I can be of assistance.”

“I thank you for your offer, sir. However, the quest is of a sensitive nature. I must insist on seeing the king himself.”

His frown deepened, making the wrinkles around his mouth even more apparent. “Really, Your Majesty, I must insist.”

“If I cannot see the king today, I will have to wait to see him tomorrow.”

“But he may not be seeing anyone—”

“He will have to see me at some point. The fate of the three Kingdoms depends on it!” Karina narrowed her eyes at the steward, and the man practically shrank under her glare.

“Very well, Your Majesty. Of course, the king would insist you stay here in the palace. Let me show you to your rooms.” He turned to Tristan. “Would you like your usual rooms as well?”

Tristan shook his head. “No, I need to stay with Queen Karina.”

“Of course. We will put you in one of the larger suites granted the royalty of Aletheia then. It is wise to keep everyone together.”

Was that an observation or a warning?

Other Books in the Series

Armor of Aletheia

(Sacred Armor Trilogy #1)

By Ralene Burke

YA Fantasy, Christian

Paperback & ebook, 268 Pages

August 29th 2018 by Elk Lake Publishing Inc.

The death of her king changes Karina’s life forever. Fleeing the royal house, she must leave her life behind to seek out the Armor of the Creator—to save the very people who now hunt her.

Faramos, the evil warlock waiting to unleash hell, knows the Creator has already chosen his warrior, so he sends his bounty hunter to retrieve her. After Tristan abducts her, he witnesses Karina’s gentle nature and strong independence, and he finds he can’t complete his assignment.

Together, they set out to retrieve the armor and defeat the hordes of creatures sent to destroy them. But is Tristan’s heart secure as he faces certain death for defending the queen? And will Karina have the courage to become all the Creator intends her to be? Failure will condemn the world to eternal darkness.

(Affiliate link included.)

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble

Also available on KindleUnlimited.

About the Author

Whether she’s wielding a fantasy author’s pen, a social media wand, or a freelance editor’s sword, Ralene Burke always has her head in some dreamer’s world. And her goal is to help everyone #SHINEBeyond their circumstances! Her fantasy novels are available on Amazon.

When her head’s not in the publishing world, she is wife to a veteran and homeschooling mama to their three kids. Her Pinterest board would have you believe she is a master chef, excellent seamstress, and all-around crafty diva. If she only had the time . . . You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or at her website.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│BookBub│Twitter│Instagram│Newsletter

Tour Schedule

Tour Giveaway

One winner will win a prize pack that will include print copies of Armor of Aletheia and Sword of Soter, a plush blanket, a tumbler with candy, a journal, and a pen all inside a half-bushel basket inlaid with a gorgeous book print material.

US only

Ends November 6, 2019

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A Chosen Novel Series Sale plus Freebie from authors Jeff Altabef & Erynn Altabef

From Book 1: Wind Catcher

WINNER: 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal - Young Adult Coming-of-Age

Lies. Betrayal. Destiny. A choice that changes everything.

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I am special. I see visions and hear voices, and I have no idea what they mean.

When someone murders medicine men in my sleepy Arizona town, I can’t help but worry my crazy grandfather is involved. He’s a medicine man and more than a just a little eccentric. He likes to tell me stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but none of it makes any sense. I thought I knew the truth, but in order to clear his name I dive into his alien world and uncover an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep me safe—me! And I can’t help but to start to wonder whether there’s some truth to those old stories my grandfather has been telling me.

I just want to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but apparently I’ve never been average. Could never be average. I didn’t know it before, but I’m a Chosen, and those voices I’ve been hearing... well, they’re not just “voices.” I’ve started to develop abilities, but they might not be enough. A powerful entity called a Seeker is hunting me and he’s close—really close.

I thought I knew the answers but truth is, I don’t. Betrayed by those I love, I must choose to run or risk everything in order to fulfill my destiny. I hope I make the right choice. Don’t you?

Includes a special sneak preview of the second book in the series, Brink of Dawn.

MORE AWARDS FOR WIND CATCHER:
WINNER: Mom's Choice Awards -- Silver Medal: Young Adult Books
WINNER: Beverly Hills Books Awards - 2015: Best Young Adult Fiction
WINNER: Awesome Indies -- Seal of Approval: “A treat to read.”

Evolved Publishing presents the first book in the highly acclaimed and often bestselling "Chosen" series of young adult mystery thrillers, featuring with an American Indian fantasy and supernatural theme, from the same author who brought you award winners like the YA dystopian fantasy Red Death and the futuristic thriller Shatter Point, co-writing with his daughter. [DRM-Free]

“Wind Catcher is one of the best thrillers for YA that I have read in some time.... If I hadn't had to eat and sleep, I would have read it right through without stopping. It is just that good!” ~ Bookends

Grab theseries on Amazon for less than $4!

Also available in KU!
(affiliate link)

Grab Second Chances for FREE when you sign up for Jeff's newsletter.

I need answers only my father can provide. Separated from birth, we’ve only recently connected. Still, I have no one else to turn to. The Deltites are hunting me and they’re close now. We’ll fight our final battle soon. Needing more information, I force him to tell me a story about the beginning, my beginning. He sheds new light on my mom, on my grandfather Sicheii, and on how I started down this path. He spins a tale about love, a recent murder, and mysterious strangers who come to town looking for a medicine man, my grandfather. My father reveals his own shadowy past in the story, too, but I’m not worried about who he used to be. I care only about who he is now, and who I am, and the foe I face. He made a choice back then, and it led to all of this. Now I give him a second chance—an opportunity to make things right.

Get it HERE

Top 10 Things About Cecily Taylor Damone from In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety by Krysten Lindsay Hager

This series is one that I have enjoyed reading. Today, author Krysten Lindsay Hager is helping us to get to know the heroine, Cecily, better in this Top 10 list. Be sure to follow the tour for even more and then enter the giveaway!

Top 10 Things About Cecily Taylor Damone from In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety

10. Andrew Holiday is the rock star Cecily is a huge fan of and begin dating. She has watched his biography online so many times that even her dad can repeat some of the lines in it!

9. There are funny parts in the books where Cecily has to watch and make sure she doesn’t accidentally say, “I know,” when Andrew reveals something about himself and risk looking like a stalker.

8. Cecily is super obsessive about how her bookshelves are arranged. She arranges them by genre and the non-fiction books are organized by subject. She keeps the used books on a shelf of their own because she says she doesn’t know who touched them and doesn’t want them touching her clean books just in case they had been somewhere dirty. She might get that from me…ahem…

7. She likes to listen to music that sounds like someone wrote the song based on her own journal entries. Music impacts her moods, so she loves Andrew as a fan because his music speaks to her very soul.

6. She worried about meeting Andrew in case he didn’t live up to her dreams because in her mind she felt he understood her already because she could relate to his lyrics.

5. In the book we see that she’s close to her dad and can talk to him about her dating relationship a little more because he works to relate to her and not judge her. He offers guidance and shares when he’s worried out of his mind about her getting into modeling and acting and dating a celebrity.

4. Cecily is close to her maternal grandma who takes her to New York for her modeling job and her grandma winds up getting asked to model as well. I loved the idea of her grandma getting a chance to achieve a dream, too.

3. She’s a loyal friend, but she finds when she tells a friend the truth about the girl’s boyfriend that it doesn’t go over well. It almost costs her a friendship, but she stands firm because she believes a real friend doesn’t just tell you what you want to hear when it isn’t true and could hurt you long-term.

2. She deals with anxiety and it reveals itself the day of her big photo shoot at the magazine. She manages to get through it with some help and perspective from the other models.

1. Cecily is very intimidated by the bigger name models and the people at the magazine photo shoot, but she does her best and learns that what makes a person different can be the very thing that launches them to the next level. She worries she doesn’t have what the other models do, but sees that what she brings to the table sets her apart and makes her special.

In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety

Cecily feels like she has it all: great best friends, the beginnings of a career as a model/actress, and she’s dating her favorite singer, Andrew Holiday. Then Cecily’s best friend Lila begins to ditch her every time Lila’s boyfriend calls. Cecily feels lost, but she and Andrew begin connecting more and she’s never been in a relationship where she felt so understood. Andrew even begins to confide in her about his anxiety. Soon Cecily experiences her own anxiety on a magazine photo shoot, but she manages to impress the magazine staff. Just when it seems like all her dreams are coming true, everything comes crashing down when a photo of Andrew with another girl appears online. He swears nothing happened, but Cecily is crushed. She feels like she’s lost two of the people closest to her.

Was her perfect relationship real or was she in over her head?

Read an excerpt:

One day I had the career and the guy of my dreams. Then Danielle King came along. If people could be trusted, maybe it would have been okay, but they can’t. They suck. And now my dream relationship was gone and no one would ever know what had actually been in my grasp.

How can a person go from having a whole life with someone, and then it ends like you were never even together? No wonder people talk about how awful divorces are. That must hurt a million times more. Sure, I don’t have to see Andrew every day at school like I did Zach, but it seems like Andrew was everywhere. I went to the grocery store with my mom and they were playing one of his songs because he’s technically a local.

Andrew’s music was always what I listened to when I was sad. His heartache music got me through the worst times and now, not only could I not stand to listen to it, there was now the chance I could end up hearing music about our breakup. Actually, I didn’t know which was worse: the possibility he’d use our relationship as inspiration for a song, or finding out I was barely a blip on his radar and not even warranting a mention.

What was I supposed to do with my life now?

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VRYS65N/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VRYS65N

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VRYS65N

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07VRYS65N

Amazon IN: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07VRYS65N

Read my review of In Over Her Head

Book One: 

https://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Come-True-Cecily-Taylor-ebook/dp/B079S3KJSH

Read my review of Can Dreams Come True?

About Krysten Lindsay Hager

Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends...Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, and Can Dreams Come True. True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for childen/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient.

Krysten's work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on Living Dayton.

Author links:

Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystenlindsay/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay

Krysten Lindsay Hager will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Ten Things You Never Knew About Time Travel, by Gracie Ingraham, the heroine of Gracie's Time by Christine Potter

I love hearing directly from authors, but I also love it when their characters speak through them to let us get to know even more about them outside of their book. Today, Gracie Ingraham, the heroine of Gracie's Time by Christine Potter is telling us all about Ten Things You Never Knew About Time Travel. There's also an excerpt to enjoy, with more as you follow the tour. And don't forget to enter the giveaway!

***********

Ten Things You Never Knew About Time Travel, by Gracie Ingraham, the heroine of Gracie's Time

10. You don't need a machine to do it—that's nonsense from the movies. You're either a Traveler or you aren't. Unless you come from a Traveling family, you'll find out that you can time travel the first time time travel happens to you. That sounds scary, but it isn't really. You just have to stay calm and figure things out.

9. Traveling can get you out of a bad situation, but it's not a good idea to use it that way. My parents made that mistake when they thought there was going to be a nuclear war and they wanted to send me back to the 1890's. I ended up in 2018. There were—um, issues.

8. You can totally make friends with other Travelers, and it's funny who is one and who isn't. They're everywhere! Obviously, you can't talk about Traveling with non-time-travelers—most of them, anyway.

7. Travelers are almost always cool and will help you out. There are exceptions, of course. And there are demons and people who break the rules of Traveling, but you'll get that stuff figured out, promise.

6. Travelers get to see what the big old house down the street looked like when it was brand-new, before it turned into a place with broken windows and a collapsed roof. But they can still get in trouble there.

5. Some Travelers can live in a time other than the one they were born in. Other Travelers only get to visit.

4. All that stuff about going back in time to kill Hitler or save The Titanic? You're not supposed to change the time you are visiting or living in when you Travel, so you can't do any of that stuff. Sorry.

3. Your guidance counselor might be a Traveler.

2. Also, your best friend, even though she never knew it before she met you.

1. Here's the most important thing: your boyfriend can still be your boyfriend if he's NOT a Traveler. But let me tell you right now—he's got to be the right guy. Seriously. I promise you, things will get complicated fast!

Gracie's Time

October, 1962

It's almost Halloween, but something a lot scarier than ghosts is on everyone's mind: nuclear war. After President Kennedy's speech to the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Grace Ingraham overhears her parents' plans to keep her safe. She'll be sent off to live with a wealthy uncle—in the nineteenth century.

Gracie's from a family of Travelers, people who can escape into time. Too bad her mom and dad haven't Traveled since their honeymoon trip to the Lincoln Inauguration. So Grace will have to go alone—even though taking a wrong turn can have serious consequences: like heading for 1890, and ending up …in 2018.

Read an excerpt:

I sat with Zoey on her crazy bed-turned-into-a-swing. Or was it a swing turned into a bed? She’d designed it herself. It was made out of weathered grey wood and hung from the ceiling on four heavy black chains. She had a homemade quilt and about a million pillows. The bed swung gently as we talked, which was strange, but I have to admit it was also very soothing.

I leaned back against a giant pillow made out of pieces of torn-up blue jeans and my charm bracelet jingled at my wrist. “It’s so weird having Dylan in art with me! I can’t believe they don’t separate out the grades.”

“Why would they? Art’s a workshop, silly. Only logical.” She crossed her legs under her swirly brown and green flowered dress, pulling it down over her knees.

Unfortunately, Dylan hadn’t talked to me very much. I caught him smiling in my direction a few times, but that was it, despite the Valentine and the walk in the cemetery. Everyone—Zoey, Claire, even Amp—seemed to be crazy about Dylan. Who was indeed very good looking. Even—okay, I’ll use the word again—dreamy. But guys who come that well-recommended … well, it’s confusing, especially if you end up in art class with them and then they go silent on you.

“He hasn’t texted me or anything. I wouldn’t want to seem too…”

“Aggressive? Horse hockey. You text him! Smash the patriarchy!”

I sighed. The patriarchy. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, there was the patriarchy. Zoey talked about it—lots. There were women announcing the news on TV now. And women doing all sorts of things they didn’t used to…

Buy links:

Amazon * Evernight Teen *  Smashwords

(Affiliate links included)

About Christine Potter

Christine Potter lives in a very old, haunted house, not far from Sleepy Hollow. She’s the author of the time-traveling Bean Books series, on Evernight Teen: Time Runs Away With Her, In Her Own Time, What Time Is It There? and Gracie’s Time. She’s also a poet, with several books in print (the most recent is called Unforgetting). Christine loves all kinds of music, DJ’s, and plays dulcimer and guitar.





My blog: chrispygal.weebly.com

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Potter/e/B001K7URHS/

Facebook personal page: https://www.facebook.com/christine.potter.543

Bean Books Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beanstravels/

Christine Potter will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Review of The Kilwade Tragedy

If I Could Run by Don Miller

Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Bullying (Books)

Date Published: May 2, 2019

Publisher: Mindstir Media

The Girl: Bullied & Harassed

The Dog: Injured & Abandoned

Based on true events, this story takes place in the late 1950s. A young girl’s love for running propelled her to join the school cross country team. With only boys on the team, she faced bullying and ridicule. Finding an injured, abandoned dog proved to be her salvation. Together, the girl and the dog set out to face this daunting challenge.

A STORY OF COURAGE, STRENGTH, AND SPIRIT.

Dedicated to every Child that has ever been Bullied.

Purchase Links

Amazon  

Barnes and Noble
Should you make a purchase through my affiliate link, I may earn a few pennies at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my websites!

About the Author

 I wrote this story “If I Could Run” to tell my experience of being bullied when I was a Sophomore/Junior in high school in 1958/59. It was such a humiliating, depressing and agonizing time in my life. I can remember it so clearly 60 years later. Bullying is still so active in today`s society. However, I believe it is even worse with social media being so available. When I was going through my bullying experience, I could at least find peace and security at my home after school and on weekends. Now, social media allows a person to be bullied twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. My story tells how I was able to get through this horrible experience.

A movie producer picked up my story and together we produced the movie. Because we had the opportunity to have an up and coming young female star play the lead role, I changed the main character to be female instead of male. The movie is filmed on my farm, at my high school and in my town where the actual bullying occurred so many years ago. We entered it in film festivals around the country and it was received very positively, winning many prestigious awards.

Contact Links

Website 

Facebook 

Halloween $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Ends 10/27

So many great YA books have been coming out this fall. I could totally use some extra Amazon cash to get caught up on them. And then, of course, there are all kinds of other things I would love to get my hands on. What would you buy with $25 to Amazon?

Head below to enter to win! Giveaway is open to US &CAN and ends on on 10/27 at 11:59pmEST. Must be 18yo to enter.

Good luck!

Entry-Form

Disclosure: All opinions are 100% mine. This giveaway is in no way associated with, sponsored, administered, or endorsed by Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest or any other social media network. All opinions and experiences are Conservamom‘s. Open to US & CAN , must be 18+. Confirmed Winner(s) will be contacted through email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be drawn. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor will be responsible for product fulfillment to winner(s) of the giveaway. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. For questions or to see your product featured in an Event you can contact  Elia At Conservamom

Review of Crimival: Carousel Crimes (The Disappearing Act #2) by R.L. Walker

Betsy Blossom Brown by Kathleen M. Jacobs

Young Adult

Date Published: June 5, 2019

Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.

Betsy Blossom Brown is a coming-of-age story about a young girl who journeys from being an observer of life to a participant. Her seemingly idyllic life with her privileged South Carolina family is turned upside down, revealing truths and disarming pretensions. She's independent, opinionated, and brave. Uncertainty enters her life when she and her mother move to the Appalachian region until, through a series of unsettling events; she sheds her uncertainty and learns to embrace life. The graphite illustrations help to understand the depth of Betsy Blossom Brown, as she sketches her way through life recognizing her mild Asperger syndrome, without letting it curb her appetite for life.

Purchase Links

Amazon * Barnes and Noble  * Other  
(affiliate link included)

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Charleston, SC:  2007

Fourteen-year-old Betsy Blossom Brown sat on the saffron-colored, vinyl kitchen chair across from her mother, Lily. Lily’s opened palms buried her face, and Betsy’s elbows rested on the vintage, enameled, red and white kitchen table, the palms of her hands holding up each side of her chin. Betsy and her mother loved this vintage kitchen set. They loved anything vintage. But they loved this set in particular, because it was found on top of a heap of discarded furniture outside a dilapidated beach house on Sullivan’s Island. Betsy’s chestnut curls concealed her olive green eyes so that her mother would not be able to see every tear that fell from them. Betsy watched in a near hypnotic state as each teardrop seemed to disperse on the shiny, enameled tabletop. She secretly longed to go wherever they were headed—to a place where what she had just been told hadn’t yet arrived.

“But I don’t understand,” Betsy winced.

“I know, Sugar, it’s difficult. I don’t even understand it, but it is the truth. And ever since the day you entered my life, I made a promise to always tell you the truth, no matter what. Your father thought different. He believed a lie was okay if it meant that you avoided hurting someone. And while that may have a bit of merit, especially with the truth I just shared with you, it’s just not the way I see it. And in this moment, I would certainly love to be able to keep this truth under lock and key forever, but sooner or later, you would find out. And then you’d wonder why I hadn’t been the one to tell you what happened to your father.”

“But why? Why did he do it? I need to know why. I need to know the reason. It’s a quirk I’ve had ever since I was born, Mom. You know that. I always need to know why.” Betsy continued to snap at the placket of her front, periwinkle-colored, linen shirt. She loved this shirt most because it had been her mother’s when she was in college. It was a bit oversized, so Betsy sometimes belted it with her wide, brown, leather belt. Finding plackets and seams on pockets and collars was something Betsy had done since she was a small child. She seemed to look for them without even thinking, and yet, she was thinking of nothing else.

“I don’t know why, Betsy. He didn’t have a reason. All he said when I saw him was, ‘Lily, dear Lily, I’m sorry. Please tell Betsy that I’m sorry.’”

I turned each side of my hair behind my ears, wiped at my eyes, and looked to Mr. Peabody and Steve as they raced furiously around their cage, stopping briefly to hop on the plastic, multi-colored toy ferris wheel, and tumbled to the tiny pieces of torn comic strips from the newspaper and fleece bedding that lined the floor of their cage. I had begged my mother for pet rats for months before she surprised me with a trip to MacGruder’s Pets on Sullivan’s Island. My father was out of town at a business meeting (or so, at the time, we thought), and that always presented a prime opportunity for us to charge ahead with plans that he might not have approved. He pretty well knew that whenever he went out of town, my mother and I would retaliate by doing or buying something that hadn’t been mutually agreed upon. We thought it was funny; he didn’t.

Betsy Blossom Brown walked over to her mother, wrapped both arms around her neck, and picked up the morning paper that her mother had brought for her to read. The front page made her dizzy, like the time she rode the “Round Up” at the carnival. She took the newspaper with her to her room and chose the rigidity of her desk chair to read what she already knew.

LOCAL BUSINESSMAN WILLIAM BROWN

CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT OF

CLIENT FUNDS

William D. Brown of Charleston was charged on Friday with embezzlement of client funds from his management firm, Brown & Associates. According to a report released from the FBI and in conjunction with an SEC investigation, which had been conducting their own investigation into mismanagement of funds at the firm and client allegations of fraud from a number of Brown’s clients, evidence shows that Brown had been embezzling vast amounts of money from his individual client accounts since he joined the firm in 1994. Brown allegedly skimmed in excess of three million dollars over the past five years. The majority of Brown’s clients are retired, live out of state, and have trusted him since he joined his father, the late Joseph Brown, at the firm in 1994, the same year the elder Brown died from a fall while vacationing in the Caribbean after tripping on a sidewalk as he returned to the vacation home he and his wife owned, hitting his head on the concrete pavement and suffering massive bleeding before going into a coma. The senior Brown opened the respected firm in 1969. At the time of his death, the managed assets of Brown & Associates were listed by the SEC at over one billion dollars.

The South Carolina State Police worked with FBI agents and SEC officials in locating Brown on Friday morning after his wife, Lily Park Brown, the only daughter of the late Senator Tommy Park, reported her husband missing. After numerous reports of Brown’s physical location, the authorities were led to the lighthouse on Sullivan’s Island, where Brown was sitting in a gray flannel suit, starched white shirt, and a perfectly-knotted silk tie, surrounded by an incoming tide that saturated the pillowcases filled with bundled money that encircled him. One FBI official noticed a revolver in Brown’s hand, and as he raised it and pointed it to his temple, the trained police German shepherd leapt through the air and seized the weapon, and Brown fell forward.

Attempts to contact Brown’s wife or any of the officials involved with the incident and apprehension have been futile.

Betsy reached inside her desk drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. She cut out the newspaper article about her father, opened the finches’ birdcage, and slid the newspaper at the bottom, and then she waited until “Scout” and “Jem” and “Boo” and “Atticus” crapped all over the newsprint. The birds broke into their sweet singsong, and Betsy was overcome with anger. She wasn’t sure, though, whether she was angry with her father, with herself for carpeting the finches’ birdcage with the morning news, or with the finches for sounding so happy, when she felt anything but, as they flew with seeming madness from perch to perch.

About the Author

Kathleen M. Jacobs is the author of books for young readers. Her first YA-novel, Honeysuckle Holiday, has received critical acclaim. And her children’s book, Please Close It! has won numerous awards. She divides her time between New York City and the Appalachian region. She lives with her husband, John, and far too many books. Visit her website at www.kathleenmjacobs.com and on Instagram @kathleenm.jacobs.

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