I have so much to share with ya’ll today!
Mav Skye is here to tell us about the sisters in her suspense novella, Supergirls.
I’ve got the blurb and an excerpt for ya,
along with my review.
And, there’s a giveaway, so don’t forget to enter.
Enjoy!
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Before we get to my review, Mav has written a special guest post for us. I asked her to share with us something about her characters, sisters May and Jenn.
Take it away Mav!
The Sisters behind Supergirls
by Mav Skye
I once jumped off our second story balcony. No one was chasing me and I wasn’t pushed. I did it because I thought if I stretched out my arms and took that leap of faith, I’d start flying like Supergirl. I wasn’t sure where the cape would come from; maybe it would spring out of my shoulders like wings. I was only five years old, low on hope, and desperate to try anything.
When I hit the grass, I didn’t break any bones, but my dreams shattered. I wasn’t Supergirl, and I never would be. I couldn’t rescue the world. Hell, I couldn’t even rescue myself. I had been through more than a rough spell of abuse at the hands of people who should loved me. I think this knowledge, all of it, hurt my heart more than the ground had hurt my head. I’m pretty sure I had a concussion that day. I remember laying there looking up at the clouds, feeling sad, insignificant. I wanted to believe that hurt I had endured was for some purpose…just like in my favorite comic books and movies.
Where do Supergirls Jenn and May come from? My childhood dream of becoming Supergirl and making sure justice prevailed for those souls that hurt as much as mine did.
There are watershed moments in life; choices we make that send us down a particular path. The difference between the sisters’ life and my own is I had therapists to work with me and show me that there are always choices. I learned there are consequences to every choice I make, good or bad. I live my life. Life doesn’t live me. Jenn and May never had a break, they never had someone to care for them or show them a way out. My life improved, but the sisters spiral down, down, down.
The girls differ quite a bit from each other from their looks and personalities to their own definitions of justice.
May’s looks are based on my sister. She’s tall, gorgeous, and elegant. And yes, her long blond hair really does look like a cape when the wind sweeps it from her shoulders. There’s something ethereal about my sister. I adore her. However, May’s personality is nowhere close to my sister’s. It is pure fiction.
Jenn is short, brunette, and hot. May’s looks will catch your eye, but Jenn’s will hold it. She has sharp cheekbones, and serious eyes. She’s a determined woman with a plan. God help the fool who crosses her. She’s more likely grimacing than smiling, frowning than grinning, but her heart is pure gold.
Jenn is def the more dominant sister. She has control issues stemming from childhood sexual abuse. Her mother whored her out for drugs. She remembers every lick of it. Jenn is compelled to right the wrongs inflicted upon her and May, to fix their damaged lives, no matter what the cost. Her love and devotion for May drives her to risk everything to save her sister from their shitty lives.
Unfortunately, this stress eventually gets to her, snapping her sanity. She chooses to be blind to it. Bit by bit, she lets go. The “letting go” phrase in Supergirls has multiple connotations. The obvious meaning is going cuckoo for coco puffs, but I hope readers catch the deeper significance: there is nothing in the world like releasing your past, all your worries, all your stress. You may as well be tap-dancing on top of the world… the problem comes when you let go of yourself. It’s a delicate balance. Here is where Jenn and May differ again: Jenn holds onto the past, May lets it go. Jenn tries to maintain a grip on reality, and as a result loses it. May doesn’t care. She accepts things for what they are. And when she falls, she accepts that, too.
May is much more laid back. Jenn thinks she is fragile, but May is indomitable. Her spirit is wild and carefree. Her mind has chosen to forget the abuse. Mental illness gives her a unique perspective. It is her illness that empowers her. It makes her strong, brave. Her weakness is her strength. It’s one of the reasons we love her so much.
When younger, one of their mother’s long time boyfriends, Freddie Dean, had an exceptional fascination with May. Freddie did more than steal May’s innocence, he stole her mind away, but her spirit remains untouched. She may not remember the abusive atrocities she endured, but May’s sense of justice is strong.
May wants to serve justice on those who deserve it, Kill Bill style. However, later in the story when she accidentally murders one of Fat Bastard’s victims, it breaks her. She can’t face that she has become the murderous monster.
Supergirls is about love and heartache and desperation. I hope to touch my readers with this tale, maybe even rekindle a few childhood fantasies. Most of all, I want my readers to think about who they love, what is most precious to them, and perhaps hold that person a bit tighter after reading Supergirls.
The second book, Night Without Stars, is due out early 2015.
Thanks so much for sharing Mav!
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MY REVIEW
Every now and then I’m surprised by the beginning of a book. I wasn’t just surprised by this one, I was shocked. I was unsure if I should continue reading it.
But this isn’t the first time I almost didn’t read a book because of its beginning, so I continued on. I’m glad I did, because the beginning says a lot about the characters and their world. A world I’m not familiar with and hope to never have to live in.
I come from a family with three older sisters, me being the youngest, so I felt a strong connection to May and Jenn. I felt sorry for and disgusted by these sisters. They were a product of circumstances and I could empathize with them. Why they did what they did. But that doesn’t excuse everything. Not the extremes they went to.
Then the author had to throw in a loop-hole and I felt sorry for them again.
Jenn is oldest. Strong. She looked after her baby sister, May. Tried to keep her safe and on her meds, so she didn’t go off the deep end. The place May called Letting Go.
They cook up a plan to rob Frederick Bells, a rich pervert and sadist. It’s rumored he has millions stashed in his mansion.
What May does to get inside and that Jenn even lets her, says a lot about how desperate these girls are. They just want to live a normal life, but I’m thinking it might not be in the cards.
Too much can go wrong, and does, with disturbing consequences. I had to hand it to these two. They didn’t give up, no matter how bad it got, and it got really, really bad. They kept pushing on, striving for that pot of gold.
The things they encounter are reminiscent of the movie Saw, and were cringe worthy. Kudos to the author for putting me there, in the bloody thick of it. I didn’t relax until the final word. And the ending is something else all together. Whoa!
The title says a suspense novel, but I call it horror and a macabre trip into a madhouse.
I’d not recommend this to younger readers because of the situations. For those of you who like something different, something disturbing yet real, I’d suggest you read this. It’s not your ordinary horror.
4 Stars
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Blurb
Sisters Jenn and May have finally found their golden ticket out of the slums. Pervy sugar daddy, Frederick Bells, promises to be an easy score with a big payoff—millions are hidden within his mansion.
The plan is simple: tie up the pig, steal his cash, and skip town. But fate has a different plan, including a villain with a wicked imagination. The sisters resort to playing their childhood game SUPERGIRLS to battle their fears in Bell’s den of horrors.
Will the SUPERGIRLS find their prize or will their heads join the pile behind the black cellar door?
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Excerpt
A narrow door with a brass knob catches my eye. It blends into the wall. “The closet,” I whisper.
We both walk to it, look at each other. I open the door. It is dark. A lone pull string hangs from a bulb. It tick-tocks back and forth like a grandfather clock tongue. I watch it a second, willing it to stop ticking, but it moves anyway in its own ghostly rhythm. I hesitate. Do I really want to see? Not just inside the closet, but see our lives clearly: May and mine, always looking for the next 7-11 job to get screwed at, flip a trick to pay rent, grab a buck burger for dinner, never having a real boyfriend, the weight of paying for May’s meds. What is the price for a dream, for peace? Our mother’s price (her face appears in my mind, navy blue eyes and a pale pretty mouth, a scar the shape of a kiss on her cheek) was running away. The price, I know, is always hefty and… complete.
What would my price be?
The string tick-tocks on.
“Maybe we should just leave,” whispers May.
Her statement reflects my thoughts, but in her voicing it out loud, I feel angry. Running away. It’s what we’ve always done, what our mother did. We aren’t going back to that life. No way.
Tonight everything is going to change.
“Not without the money,” I say, and grab the string.
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Author Mav Skye
When Mav Skye isn’t turning innocent characters into axe murderers, refinishing old furniture, chasing around her spring ducklings, or reading the latest horror novel, she’s editing at the almighty Pulp Metal Magazine.
She adores puppies, pirates, skulls, red hots, Tarantino movies and yes, Godzilla.
Especially Godzilla.
She is the author of Supergirls and The Undistilled Sky. Look for her wicked horror romance, Wanted:Single Rose, this fall and the second book in the Supergirls series, Night without Stars, early 2015.
Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads
Supergirls is available in print or ebook at: Payhip : https://payhip.com/b/ijUy (50% discount at Payhip if you “share” the book) & Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWHA438, Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LWHA438?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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$35 Amazon Gift Card
Autographed copy of the book
Two winners will be chosen
An International Giveaway
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