So I entered my book in a Writer's Digest Contest and expected negative comments about how I'm not a real writer, etc. OMG! I had to share this! From “Judge, 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.” Judge’s Commentary*:
FIFTH CHILD is a real ringer -pick it up. Start reading, you are immediately transported into author Lynne R. Gassel's situation -waiting at the airport for a flight with her husband Stu and five-year-old grandson Brady, she gets a phone call from a stranger from rehab where her daughter Jaime (mother of Brady) is supposedly staying, and she's thinking, why bother me now? What follows unleashes an all-too-believable thread of events that takes the reader by surprise and might very well leave one in tears.
This and the rest of the FIFTH CHILD are a testament to author Gassel's simple yet deceptively powerful writing style. The finely structured story weaves back and forth between the challenges faced by grandparents in their 60s; Jaime's constant struggle with addiction and relapse; and the lively antics of Brady, whose quotes are cleverly placed at the beginning of each chapter. The author's insight and lack of pretense cuts right to the heart of things, aided by her fine eye for characterization and dialogue. Especially poignant is the ending when one finds out the real truth about Jaime. While this is a book best read with a box of Kleenex, it offers understanding to those with a limited knowledge of addiction and reasons why grandparents become "second time around" parents. It also offers hope.
This and the rest of the FIFTH CHILD are a testament to author Gassel's simple yet deceptively powerful writing style. The finely structured story weaves back and forth between the challenges faced by grandparents in their 60s; Jaime's constant struggle with addiction and relapse; and the lively antics of Brady, whose quotes are cleverly placed at the beginning of each chapter. The author's insight and lack of pretense cuts right to the heart of things, aided by her fine eye for characterization and dialogue. Especially poignant is the ending when one finds out the real truth about Jaime. While this is a book best read with a box of Kleenex, it offers understanding to those with a limited knowledge of addiction and reasons why grandparents become "second time around" parents. It also offers hope.
