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| eBooks for Soldiers |
Author: Emerald Barnes
Book Title: Piercing Through the Darkness
Where do you live? Mississippi, United States
Do you have a family member or close friend who has served in the military?
Yes. My dad and grandpa were in the National Guard, and I have two cousins in the Navy. I, also, have many friends who serve in the military
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| Emerald Barnes |
What leads up to this excerpt from your book?
In the first excerpt, Jonathan Chandler is a teacher who has lost his wife and child in a terrible accident. At the center of the accident is Kandi Moore who shows up in his classroom quite unexpectedly.
Please share with us a paragraph/excerpt or two from your book
Jonathan quickly gathered his things and turned off the projector. He turned
Jonathan quickly gathered his things and turned off the projector. He turned
out the lights and exited his classroom where he hurried to his office and shut the
door behind him, passing students and almost knocking a few down in his hurry.
He leaned against the wall and refrained from screaming out in angry frustration.
Someone would surely come looking.
He slid to the floor, punched the wall, and cried. His hand hurt, but he was
all right with the pain. It wasn’t as bad as the pain he’d felt in the past year. At
least this pain was physical. Eventually it’d stop hurting.
In this next excerpt, Jimmy, Kandi’s (the main character) best friend is talking to Kandi’s psychiatrist about what happens when her repressed memories are returning.
“I don’t know what to do about Kandi,” [Jimmy said.]
“Oh?” [Dr. Bacall] asked, raising his eyebrows.
“She’s started dreaming about it now,” Jimmy said.
“I told her family that would probably happen.”
“I know, but what do I do about it?”
“What do you think you should do?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I came to you.”
“I can’t give you all the answers. We tried bringin’ her memories back with
hypnosis, but it never took. It has to come back to her naturally.”
“Yeah. I know, but do I tell her it’s not just a dream? That it really
happened?”
“She has to know. It’s a very important part of her life. No matter how bad
the accident was.”
“This’ll kill her,” Jimmy said.
Jimmy really didn’t want to tell her, but everything that Dr. Bacall said was
what he had been thinking. He just wanted to make her life better, even happier,
and he wished that he could turn back time and make sure that this accident never
happened.
“She’ll come through it,” Dr. Bacall said.
“What if she doesn’t?”
“Everyone does. It’ll just take time.”
This wasn’t how he pictured their lives together. He never saw himself
having to nurse her back to health mentally. The accident shouldn’t have even
happened. He blamed himself, and she had blamed herself.
Dr. Bacall said, “Jimmy, you know she needs to know the truth.”
“Her parents said we shouldn’t tell her, but she’s takin’ a Biology class
under Jonathan Chandler. The man whose wife and child died in the car accident.”
Can you tell us something unique that you experienced while writing this book?
I had this unimaginable need to tell this story of a girl who had repressed memories. I’m fascinated by the human mind, and how it can take the simplest of things and play cruel tricks on you. So, as I wrote this novella, I tried to put myself in Kandi’s position as she forgot the memory that forever changed her life, but on the other hand, how would I feel if my family was taken away and the woman who did it never even showed remorse at her actions? I had to tell two sides of this story. A sympathetic antagonist and a sympathetic protagonist. It was difficult to pull off, but writing this story taught me just what I can do as a writer.
Greatest words of encouragement anyone has ever personally spoken to you
“Don’t ever give up on something you love.” My mom and dad always tell me this when I’m feeling blue about my writing.
Where can I purchase this book?
Other links
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