A short story about love and ambition.'Hold On' won first prize in the Federation of BC Writers Literary Writes competition.They are the light against the darkness. The steel against the necromancy of the Druj. And they use demons to hunt demons…. Nazafareen lives for revenge. A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King's elite Water Dogs is that they bind wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister. Scarred by grief, she's willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he's possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other's emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close. As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius's past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…Praise for The Midnight Sea"A spellbinding fantasy with some moral weight and a meatier narrative than usual, one likely to leave readers quite satisfied... Ross conjures an epic of demons and daevas, family, loss, and the turmoil of a kingdom in peril."-Kirkus Reviews"An addictive, action-packed, glorious page-turner!" -Am Kinda Busy Reading"For a world of shifting alliances and trusts, fully realized and multi-faceted characters, and a fantasy that takes place in a little touched upon setting in young adult literature, The Midnight Sea delivers on all fronts and starts off a new series of romance, magic, and a well-written and captivating story." -Bibliobibuli YA"GUARD YOUR HEART. For in The Midnight Sea, Kat Ross delivers a riveting fantasy of unparalleled proportions that stole a piece of mine." -Flylef Reviews"I really hate the word ‘epic’ because, let’s face it, it’s so overused and it’s lost its true meaning, but this book deserves that word." -Book Reader Chronicles"The Midnight Sea has everything I enjoy in a fantasy and more. I highly recommend it for readers who love elemental magic, kick-ass heroines and a captivating story." -Cover2Cover Reviews"Kat Ross creates a rich fantasy world, full of new and scary creatures, lots of magical powers, and an intricately woven plot that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page." -Book Briefs Views: 567
A short story about friendship.This story received an Honourable Mention in 'The Fiddlehead' magazine's Short story contest."....(Linares del Arroyo) is a story prepared to take risks. When they pay off the reader is rewarded with a sensual and evocative meditation on youth and the passage of time." Gerard Beirne, author of 'Eskimo in the net'He must find the ghost train, he must discover what happened to his father, and so he returns to the site night after night trying to get a glimpse of the train. One night he finally encounters the train and he finally enters the train. Once inside he finds he will never leave his father again. Views: 272
The Stone House looked as fine, and its gardens as gay with flowers, as when the members of the household were to be at home for a season, for it always seemed at those times as if the blossoming plants did their best, because sure of loving admiration. Views: 266
From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. This powerful story of a mother trying to cope with her daughter's bipolar disorder reads at times like a heightened procedural. Keri, the owner of an upscale L.A. resale clothing shop, is hopeful as daughter Trina celebrates her 18th birthday and begins a successful-seeming new treatment. But as Trina relapses into mania, both their worlds spiral out of control. An ex-husband who refuses to believe their daughter is really sick, the stigmas of mental illness in the black community, a byzantine medico-insurance system—all make Keri increasingly desperate as Trina deteriorates (requiring, repeatedly, a "72 hour hold" in the hospital against her will). The ins and outs of working the mental health system take up a lot of space, but Moore Campbell is terrific at describing the different emotional gradations produced by each new circle of hell. There's a lesbian subplot, and a radical (and expensive) group that offers treatment off the grid may hold promise. The author of a well-reviewed children's book on how to cope with a parent's mental illness, Moore Campbell (What You Owe Me) is on familiar ground; she gives Keri's actions and decisions compelling depth and detail, and makes Trina's illness palpable. While this feels at times like a mission-driven book, it draws on all of Moore Campbell's nuance and style. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Scientific AmericanHell, being black is hard enough.... Please don't add crazy. So writes Bebe Moore Campbell in her compelling new novel that confronts two taboo subjects in the African American community: mental disorder and homosexuality. The book is named for the three-day maximum period that a mentally ill adult can be legally held in a public health facility if she demonstrates a danger to herself or others. The novel tells the story of Keri Whitmore, a successful black businesswoman struggling to care for a teenage daughter with bipolar disorder, which causes radical mood swings between mania and depression. The fictional prose is not meant to offer an inside look at brain disease. Rather it presents a brutally honest and devastating account of a mother's love and the desperate degree to which she will go to rescue her child from mental illness. In doing so, Campbell exposes the woeful inadequacies of our current public health care system in treating such patients and introduces the novel's greatest value: its insight into the challenges faced by people who must care for such loved ones. Nevertheless, this noble effort is undermined when Campbell invokes slavery to convey the horrors of mental illness. Though poignant, the comparison seems forced, relying on overwrought passages about whipping posts and slave auctions. The metaphor clouds the novel's purpose, especially since the author seems to decide, by the end, that the best way to deal with a family member's brain disease is through acceptance rather than emancipation. The same cannot be said of slavery. Campbell also draws parallels between brain disorders and homosexuality to suggest that both issues must be dealt with more openly. Her point that both are unfairly stigmatized is overshadowed by the unsavory implication that being gay is a malady somehow akin to mental illness. The novel offers important lessons to family members about caring for the self and seeking the support of others. And yet Campbell's main character is overly ambitious, much like the book itself. Keri seems more like a wonder-mom with an endless supply of time, energy and patience than a desperate mother on the brink of collapse. She not only cares for her manic daughter but runs her thriving business, strokes the ego of her workaholic exhusband, counsels her boyfriend's gay son and advises a drug-addicted ex-prostitute. Then again, Campbell has taken on ambitious aims, which she accomplishes with some success despite the novel's distractions. Jeanne Hamming Views: 45
