Category: Featured Author

Originally from Rhode Island and born in 1970, Jen Smith spent six years in California then Six years in Ohio where she began the journey of recovery. Jen went back to school in her thirties obtaining a Bachelors Degree in Business and a Masters Degree in Financial Economics. Jen is the author of the memoir, SICK:

Small time drug deals, following the Grateful Dead, and a passion for growing pot filled my world before I met Greg. But the first time I got off a flight, strolled over to the baggage claim in my carefully chosen new outfit and picked up two brand new flowered suitcases filled with eighty pounds of Mexican swag pot, I felt like I had found my true calling in life. The adrenaline rush of getting away with something big along with the money I would make was a new kind of high I’d never before experienced. I was instantly addicted. Making money organizing drug runs around the country was intense. Greg and I were a money making duo like none other. Life with Greg was exciting for a while but it wasn’t long before it became a cat and mouse game – then a complete nightmare.

Words like belittling and narcissistic were not in my vocabulary. Later, learning these words helped me disconnect from the mental torture. The tension would build as I protected him while he isolated me from friends and family. Then there would be an incident of abuse which confused me. At first it was lying, hurtful words and actions but quickly escalated to guns at my head, knives, and using my son to manipulate and control me. The honeymoon phase would be another fabulous trip to Hawaii or resort hopping around the world. I didn’t see the cycle or even understand abuse. The drugs and alcohol allowed me to tolerate and numb the pain until my spirit dwindled down to a shadow of nothingness. How could I escape the far reaching sabotage of any attempt at my freedom? Could there be a way out? Could I find a way to spare my son from this drug infested violent existence that would surely crush his soul?

SICK is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and  Smashwords. Learn more about Jen and her writing at her blog. You can also find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

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Victoria A. Jeffrey grew up in Portland, Oregon, attended Portland Community College and studied graphic design. She is an author and an avid reader of science fiction, fantasy. She also enjoys reading historical fiction and non-fiction.

She has written three collections of poetry and some short stories. She is currently working on the Secret Doorway Tales children’s fantasy series.

Her latest release is the novella The Lady Moons:

Spring has arrived and with it, the fragrance of new flowers, warmer days, the promise of new life in the garden and. . . bad dreams?

Good dreams are swiftly disappearing from the world and the bad dreams are increasing everywhere and the answer lies within the murky waters of the Mirrored Lake.

The Mirrored Lake is the realm of the Lady Moons, the fairy queens of Sleep and Dreams. One has fallen into a deep sleep, yet her sister continues to weave all sorts of unpleasant dreams and casts them into the world. Anne and her friend Zi, the tree sprite, journey to the Sister Moons to try and set things right again. Yet, on this journey, Anne finds that some things are not always Black or White, nor are they always what they seem. . .

This title is available from Amazon and is also featured in the Indies Unlimited Store.

 

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