Book-Crazy Jenn
🔗 http://www.book-crazy.com/2010/05/light-of-asteria-kailmeyras-last-hope.html
I have two kids, two jobs, am a new novelist, and teacher of over six hundred elementary students. In the wise words of Emily Dickinson "To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else".
My goal in life is to get as much out of living as possible, to touch as many hearts as I can, to tell every child within ears distance that they have gifts and talents, that they matter, and to leave this world a better place.
<p>It’s hard to be committed to anyone when you don’t know whom to trust.</p><p>Alexis Toles, a former FBI agent turned undercover CIA agent, is quickly finding that out in Nancy Ann Healy’s newest political thriller, <i>Commitment</i>.</p><p>Alex embeds in a secret organization of intelligence operatives known as The Collaborative. Its partners include operatives from the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI, US Department of Defense, and an entanglement of foreign intelligence agencies.</p><p>It’s about half a year after the death of President John Merrow, a friend and someone she respected. But she remains committed to overthrowing The Collaborative as she works with a onetime adversary who believes the organization’s involved in the president’s death.</p><p>Meanwhile Alex; her wife, Cassidy O’Brien; and Cassidy’s son try hard to live as a family but must first overcome personal struggles, including a nasty custody battle with Cassidy’s ex-husband, Congressman Christopher O’Brien. The family has their own share of secrets that, if unleashed, could affect their hopes for the future.</p><p>There’s no place to turn without discovering people who are not who they claim to be. That can’t stop Alex. She must remain committed to the cause, both at home and as she works against The Collaborative.</p>
Every morning, for more than a year now, I have gotten up at 4:30, hot tea in hand, and sat down at an old kitchen table that was given a second life as a desk. The whirr of an impossibly slow computer the only sound in the dark; the dog forever nestled at my feet. This was my time … my time to dream, my time to create, my time to hope. It is in the wee, small hours of the morning that Nora and Gavin came to life. Her ability to always see the best in people, his insatiable desire to protect; these were the ties that bound them to me. The idea that they gave the other strength, that together they were invincible, that they always believed, always persevered ... always loved. This was the catalyst that compelled my heart to write. An epic battle of good versus evil played through my imagination, and I tried as best I could to capture it with the written word. The adventure so strong in my mind I often scared myself silly before work. My days run at an impossibly fast pace, but at night I found myself restless, ready to get back to the table. I would forego the temptations of TV, not allow the sirens call of another beloved book to lure me away, and I wrote. I wrote to serve as example to my daughter and my son. I wrote to heal past wounds. I wrote as a hope for the future. It is my heart's deepest desire that as you read, you too will be inspired to not look on love with the restless eyes of the ungrateful, but gaze upon it as the greatest gift of God.
Outstanding! Sensual and utterly original, The Light of Asteria has something for every reader. The characters are distinct in voice and personality, and the heroine, Nora, is a believable character that seems to rise above every situation she is in. I found myself thinking about the characters throughout my day. Truly, this is the next great teen novel.<br />C. Vaccarello<br /><br />The Light of Asteria is such a pleasant discovery for me! The story presented itself in a way that few others do. There are so many rich layers to this book that encapsulating it is nearly impossible. <br /><br />Ms. Isaacs has created a book that has fleshed out characters who develop a relationship with the reader. You become interested in their fate, and need to turn the pages to discover what happens next. <br /><br />Do yourself a favor, and get this book for your favorite teen girl...and then read it yourself! <br /> R. Edgar<br /><br />I became so engrossed with the characters in this highly imaginative adventure that I found myself thinking about them often, anxious to get back to the story. The author brings to life, with vivid description, a people and a place different and wonderful, not only in landscape, but also in abilities and values. The story astonished me several times with completely unexpected turns of events - the fulfillment of intentions set in motion ages ago, through which Nora discovers her true identity. I dreaded reading of the inevitable confrontations with the evil forces they are striving to vanquish, for fear of what would happen to "my friends," but the excitement kept me turning the pages late into the night. <br />C. Conway