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Book Review:

The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

By Paulette Mahurin

Click picture or here to buy on Amazon.com

 

Description:

The year 1895 was filled with memorable historical events: the Dreyfus Affair divided France; Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta address; Richard Olney, United States Secretary of State, expanded the effects of the Monroe Doctrine in settling a boundary dispute between the United Kingdom and Venezuela; and Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted for gross indecency under Britain’s recently passed law that made sex between males a criminal offense. When news of Wilde’s conviction went out over telegraphs worldwide, it threw a small Nevada town into chaos. This is the story of what happened when the lives of its citizens were impacted by the news of Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment. It is a chronicle of hatred and prejudice with all its unintended and devastating consequences, and how love and friendship bring strength and healing.

 

 

My Review:

I actually miss reading amazing ‘life-story with conflicts’ kind of books. I love literary, historical fiction that invites the reader into the privacy of people’s every day, seemingly ordinary lives. But these lives are rarely ordinary, definitely not boring at all! It splices open emotions that run deep in anyone when you read about lives torn apart by gossip, discrimination and bullying of the deadliest kind. I found that in this book and it was enthralling. Especially loved the Oscar Wilde quotes and the events of his own experience with prejudice and persecution, which were the central theme of the novel.

 

The main character Mildred Dunlap, one of the richest women in the small town of Red River Pass, Nevada, has her secrets, and she likes it that way. Never endowed with good-looks or charm, she finds herself the target of ridicule quite often in the form of the gossip ‘hens’ of town. In an attempt to protect herself and her not so conventional relationship with her cousin Edra, she willingly subjects herself to more. Discovering an unlikely friendship in the man she uses to accomplish this, Charley, she becomes the main recipient of the rumor-mill headed up by the ever so hateful Josie and her bored housewives type of circle. Tragedy blossoms in excess from the careless actions, words of prejudice and jealousy of others to a harrowing end.

I found this story pretty addicting. I wanted to see what happened when things did get out of hand in this rural, 1800’s setting town. I was afraid for Mildred and Edra, I also cheered Charley on for whatever it was he wanted. He is a kind soul and it showed. I was surprised how well he took to the events that unfolded around him. He made this story. He brought out emotional spots and brings a reader to invest in his life and the ones he loves with simple actions. I have to say, I hated, hated, hated Josie! What she does is just horrid. It’s just so tragic; it wasn’t pretty and cut so deep into the lines of segregation of many types, you want to shake her to death. Literally!

The storytelling was fascinating and I enjoyed it. Awesome read!

 

I received this book free for an honest review from the author via WaAr (a facebook review group).

 

 

About the Author:

Paulette Mahurin

 

 

From the time I was ten year old, I've loved to write. While in college I wrote two award winning short stories. This encouraged me to continue to write, and write I did but never completed any of my novels due to other responsibilities: education, jobs, family, etc. After attending and receiving a Master's Degree in the Nurse Practitioner Program at UCLA, I went to work in the second busiest emergency room in Los Angeles county. I saw and learned about things that haunted me, until bit by a tick and diagnosed with Lyme Disease (which went to my heart valves, brain, and muscular skeletal system) knocked me down and afforded me time to write and release the memories onto pages before me. I wrote, and wrote, and released what was stored inside, which finally gave way to a story that was to change my life, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap. When I began to feel better, I joined a writing class, in Ojai, CA, where I live. The teacher, Deb Norton (screenwrite/playwrite of The Whole Banana) had us do an exercise involving a photo. We were to write a 10 minute mystery. The photo I picked was of two women huddled close together in clothing that looked circa turn of the twentieth century. I made them a Lesbian couple trying to avoid being found out. In my research, I came across Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. Britain had recently changed it's laws to make homosexual activity, a man having sex with another man, a criminal offense resulting in a two year hard labor prison sentence. The combination of the photo from that writing class and Oscar Wilde's imprisonment were the seeds that started the story, six years in the making. For those six years, I studied Wilde, the history of Lesbians, western settlement in the United States, and I opened to what it must have been like to live in fear of being persecuted because of the nature of one's existence, that can no more be changed than the color of grass. As I wrote, I saw myself in the characters who I dialogued with, related with as if we were friends today, and in doing this I learned that external factors may change (the environment, technology, family relating, etc.) but the nature of the human condition and how we manifest remains the same. There will always be stories to tell, to write, to read, to appreciate, because we invest in literature from our humanness, our emotional composition, and we relate to the imagery created with narrative and dialogue that suit our preferences. We are drawn in, over and over and over again, to similar story lines, themes, sequels, because of this human experience--that in sitting down before a book or ebook, we are transcended out of our ordinary lives to magical places that written words create, no matter how similar or repetitive the story, because,after all, we are all living, breathing, stories.

Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1) will be republished soon. I should have a date soon. It is no longer published with CHBB but will be self-published again momentarily. I hope you like the new cover! I can't wait to bring it back online for everyone to enjoy.

What do you think?

Sneak Peak Cover Reveal:

The Cursed

(Dark Faerie Tales)

Coming soon....

The Ancients of Faerie have awoken, and they don't like what they see. Imprisoned and cursed to eternal slumber in chains for centuries, Arthas, the Unseelie King of Faerie, returns to claim his realm back. The world has changed and the thirst for vengence is all consuming...

Release date TBA. Dark Faerie Tales is a short story/novella series spun off A Dark Faerie Tale Series (Ever Shade & Ever Fire) by Alexia Purdy

 Katie Salidas FEATURE!

3 book reviews and

SWAG bomb giveaway!!!

I've had the lovely Katie Salidas on my blog before and she's amazing! I have yet to post the reviews I did for a blog tour Top Shelf Book Tours and Intoxicated by Books Blog and I thought I'd do a nice feature for her! I have included from my stash a nice swag pile to giveaway to one lucky winner, check out the picture! Just follow the rafflecopter entries below at the end of this post to win!!! Good luck and thank you for joining me!

Review of Immortalis Carpe Noctem #1

If there was a book that portrayed the raw emotions and reactions that a freshly turned vampire goes through, I’d say this is it. Alyssa is a college student who, after a vicious attack while she walks home from her favorite hang out leaves her near death, an unlikely rescue gives her a second chance at life, as a vampire.

I really enjoyed this book, it was different from other vampire novels in which the heroine takes a long time to adjust to her new life. Her rescuer Lysander is quite patient with her, but she rarely takes heed to his advice and is definitely a rule breaker in a sense, which causes a lot of trouble for him and his clan, who have recently rejoined him in Las Vegas.

I love to see books set in Las Vegas, it’s definitely a versatile place. It makes it easier to hide the bodies! Alyssa definitely is not as mature as you would want her to be, getting into loads of trouble. She has to get used to this new life, for otherwise, death is just around the corner.

A great start for an intriguing series. I highly recommend it. It does contain some adult content and is not a YA book. Just keep in mind.

4 out of 5 stars!

Review of Hunters & Prey (Immortalis#2)

What a fabulous follow up to Immortalis Carpe Noctem! This book follows off near from the end of book one and takes you on a wild ride. Alyssa and Lysander, vampire mates along with their fellow clan members are up against the Acta Santorum and a vampire hunter of nightmares named Santino. They race against the clock to outsmart the Acta Santorum, and what they find is shocking. 

An amazing sequel! Loved how Alyssa has matured in this one, not so whiny like in book 1 but more of a head on her shoulders. Alyssa and Lysander make a hot couple for sure. Their clan is amazing and add to the humor immensely. Bloody and the fight scenes are awesome. Definitely a series to follow!

5 out of 5 stars!

 Review of Pandora’s Box

(Immortalis #3)

This is my favorite book of the series, it was amazing!!! It continues from book 2 and follows Alyssa and her clan mates, including her BFF human friend Fallon. They discover a box on their doorstep one day and unleash a supernatural horror that can kill vampires and wants it’s blood back from all its descendants. Scary right?

Unable to defend against this creature, Alyssa and her clan flee Vegas to Boston in hopes of uncovering something to help them in Lysander’s old journals. What they find is a city run by another supernatural creature…werewolves.

This one was hot! It had me at the edge of my seat! Full of action and suspense and we get a nice insight of another aspect of the supernatural world. I can’t wait til the next one! (by the time I post this, I have read book 4 Soulstone)

5 out of 5 stars!

My Review of Soulstone (Immortalis #4)
(Previously posted)

I absolutely love this series and Katie Salidas does not disappoint in this fourth installment to an awesome series! We find our favorite characters are back and a few new ones. Alyssa is desperate to find a way to get Lysander’s soul out of a crystal called a Soulstone and back into his withered vampire body. But how? She and her clan are running out of time and someone else has become interested in this stone too. Unfortunately, they will do anything and kill anyone to get it.

Full of action right off the bat, I found Alyssa a lot more likeable in this book than the first in the series. She has definitely matured in her position as a vampire of a clan and now part of a werewolf pack. The Acta Sanctorum is back and ready to unravel Alyssa’s fragile world around her. They are a constant threat that keeps you on your toes as you read along. I love Nicholas!!! He has definitely come around out of his angered mourning from losing his mate Rozaline and kicks some serious butt along with our favorite vampire we love to hate, Santino.

Definitely a great addition to an addicting series. I promise you won’t regret reading this tasty morsel.

5/5 Stars!!!!

BIO:

Katie Salidas

Katie Salidas is a Super Woman! Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, She can get the munchkin off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons. She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, She still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.

And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…

Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.

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