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| Scarlet rose. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Scarlet Sins
By Julia Madeleine
Sometimes a character makes such an impact on readers that they want to know more--How did this individual get to the place in life they are when we meet her. Julia Madeleine, in writing The Truth About Scarlet Rose, found herself in that situation. Even before her novel came out, early readers started talking about the main character Scarlet Rose, and asking questions. I have to admit I read the novel first, simply because the book came in and I tend to pick up hard copies first--yes, I enjoy "real" books better than ebooks...anyway...
By the time I read Scarlet Sins, which is only 22 pages, I had Scarlet Rose already figured out...Let's face it, sometimes a beautiful rose is just that, it is there to be admired, to be beautiful. When that happens to some women, or men, they decide to take advantage of that beauty. Or, perhaps, like everybody else...a rose is not a rose is not a rose--sometimes they are sociopaths...
I highly recommend you read the Prequel first. Some of you may have read Julia's short stories on my blog this month as she is being spotlighted, and have found that she can pack her plot into a few effectively chosen words. Whether or not you choose to read Scarlet Sins, you will find Scarlet Rose a fascinating creation.
Note: In Scarlet Sins, we meet the "remarkably beautiful queen of the burlesque scene in 1960s Toronto." In the novel, she is no longer dancing on the burlesque, she is married with adult children..
Sylvia was her real name and she knew there was something wrong with her, even to the point that she realized that she could not totally blame it on her family. Was it their bad blood or just hers? But even she recognized that she could not blame any part of the murder on them...
Her first bad decision was to get pregnant. She thought the boy would marry her and take her away from her life. But he had refused! Even insulting her by saying that when he did get married, he would want a virgin! She was 16, pregnant, and already with 2 years of having to deal with scoliosis...She was learning the hard lessons early in her life...
She had gone to an unwed mothers home, but when they moved to take her baby from her, she had taken Fiona and ran. Sylvia decided never to tell Fiona about the bad family life she had left. She got a waitress job at a local club, but even with tips, she was not making it. She looked toward the girls on the stage, seduced and fascinated by the power they had just by using their bodies. It didn't take long for an enterprising man to see that desire and suggested she enter an amateur striptease contest...and that was the beginning...
For awhile she was a much-in-demand star...
But then she met a petty thief, Charlie and it was only a matter of time before her life started going downhill...
Perhaps this short story could stand on its own, but I wouldn't recommend you get it, unless you enjoy short stories. The prequel takes you exactly where it is meant to...to the beginning of the novel. If you are the type of person who, upon hearing about somebody who has killed others, and have said, "I always thought he was nice--a quiet individual, then you will definitely want to read Scarlet Sins and get to know the background life of the main character, Scarlet Rose, before you begin to...hate her...
GABixlerReviews
“I wasn’t looking to become a tattoo artist, it actually found me. Since I was a teenager my focus has been on writing fiction, art was something that always came naturally to me, I never had to work for it. And it never occurred to me that I could make a career out of it until one day I found myself without a job and the opportunity to learn to tattoo came to me via my husband, a professional tattooist.”
Home for Julia is Mississauga, where she lives with her husband and teenaged (future tattoo artist) daughter. For a year she lived in the country on a 30-acre property in the middle of nowhere, which became the inspiration for earlier novel, No One To Hear You Scream. When not writing or sticking needles into people, Julia enjoys cooking, sewing, yoga, meditation, health and fitness, gardening, and anything that doesn't involve snow or sports or rollercoasters. Julia loves shoes and harbours a secret fantasy-career as a shoe designer. She’s also obsessed with true crime shows and researching ways to kill people which makes her husband nervous.
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Reminder: Julia Madeleine will visit Book Reader's Heaven tomorrow, May 16th, during her Blog Tour! Hurry Back!
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