Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
Posted on July 19, 2019 by Colleen M. Chesebro
Title: Living in a Shadow
Amazon Author Page: Deborah A. Bowman
Formats: Kindle
Genres: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
LIVING IN A SHADOW is a must-read fictional drama with a powerful message for women of all ages, any man who has ever loved a woman, and any partner, regardless of gender, who has ever loved a victim, especially the unheard, unknown, uncomforted victims.
Sometimes the dreams we want most out of life are mere illusions, shadows in the mist. Fantasy and Desire: Is it Love or Lust? Truth, Reality, and Perception: Is it Fact or Fiction? Not that it matters. But, of course, you must have the ability to make these choices.
It’s not the book, any book, but what you personally take away from the book, embracing the experiences as if they were your own to enable you to select the best choices for your life course.
But what do you do, how do you cope, when choices are taken away from you? These are the shadows in all of our lives.
Author, Deborah Bowman
Living in a Shadow is the story of Marcy and Rich, told from the perspectives of the two characters as they chronicle the collapse of their marriage. The writing is riveting. It draws the reader into their personal world by sharing their thoughts and feelings.
The author chose to switch between Marcy and Rich’s mindset, which gave a certain intimacy to the novel, which kept me keyed into the story. At times, I felt as if I was eavesdropping, the dialogue was so realistic.
Love, relationships, trust, and misunderstandings are many of the themes. I especially enjoyed the aspects of the illusionary shadow mentioned in the title and how that theme flowed through the novel.
Everyone has a dark side. I believe Bowman successfully tapped into the shadow archetype revealing the part of the personality called the “Self,” showing all, and more in her characters. You know what I mean… that part that we don’t like about ourselves and the things we subconsciously deny as we project those things on to others? Bowman bares it all! These characters are so real; I felt like I knew them.
This was a hard book to put down, and I found myself propelled through a whirlwind of emotions.
Be prepared because the ending was unexpected. I never saw it coming!
Character Believability: 5
Flow and Pace: 5
Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5
Reader Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rate: 5 out of 5 Faeries
*I follow the Amazon Rating System*
My first poem was published when I was 12 years old in a 4-H Magazine, and I was hooked!
I read everything I could get my hands on and wrote continuously … everything for everyone.
My career allowed me to write in different voices, media, and genre. It was gratifying to create the right product for the right audience; hopefully, on-time and in-budget:
Now, I’m very happy and pleased to wear two hats:
blog: http://www.bowmanauthor.com
website: http://www.clasidconsultantspublishing.com
Twitter: @bowmanauthor
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bowmanbooks
LinkedIn: Deborah Bowman Stevens
Tumblr: Really Very Miracle
Amazon Author’s Page: Deborah A. Bowman
Amazon Reviewer’s Page: Deborah Bowman, author
email: livinginashadow@outlook.com
If you have your book listed on BookBub, I will add my review there also! ❤ Click HERE to follow me! (Colleen M. Chesebro) Let me know in the comments if you follow me so that I can follow you!
Are you looking for more great reads? Join author, D.G. Kaye, Sally Cronin, and Colleen Chesebro in our writers group on MeWe.com, The Literary Diva’s Hangout to find book reviews, book promotions, & special deals on books from authors you love. This is a safe site for authors, bloggers, poets, and writers to share their work.
Category: Book ReviewsTags: betrayal, Book Reviews, bowmanauthor, contemporary fiction, Deborah A. Bowman, fiction, love, shadows, trust, women's fiction
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“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
—Dylan Thomas
Click: What is a Rhyme Scheme?
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Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.
Absolutely awesome site. Looking forward to following!
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Thanks. Much appreciated. ☺️
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A fabulous review of Deborah’s book, Colleen. It sounds most intriguing and emotional.
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Deb is a fabulous author and this book is one of her best! I couldn’t put this book down. I read it when we were moving and had to sneak in time to read. You would really love it, Robbie. ❤
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Fab review of Deb’s book Sis. I read this a few years back and enjoyed it just as much as you. Congrats to Deb ❤ xx
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What a fab story! She really nailed it with this book! ❤️
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❤
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Reblogged this on M J Mallon YA/Paranormal Author and commented:
Colleen Chesebro’s review of Living in A Shadow by Deborah Bowman
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Thanks for spreading the word, Marje. This was an excellent read!! ❤
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My pleasure Colleen. 🙂
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Pingback: Colleen’s 2019 #Book #Reviews – “Living in a Shadow” by Author, Deborah A. Bowman, @Bowmanauthor – BowmanAuthor and Writer/Editor
Well, Hi, Sis! How are you? ❤️
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A fantastic review, sis. ❤
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Thanks, Sis. This was a really good book. I love Debby’s writing. ❤
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❤
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A compelling observational read!☕️😎☕️
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It was an excellent read.
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A definite must read for men and women, husbands and wives! 👍👍
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