Guest Post with Emerald Barnes

Photo Content from Emerald Barnes

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.
Emerald's constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with. She is, also, a crazy grammar nazi who proofreads novels!
She's an auntie, Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and an avid TV watcher. God is number one in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.
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GREATEST THING YOU LEARNED IN SCHOOL BY EMERALD BARNES

The greatest thing I learned in school was exactly what I wanted to be – a writer. Now, that may sound strange. Why writing? It all started in tenth grade, which was around 2003 for me.

My high school English teacher, Mrs. Hathcock, made us write daily in a journal. Mostly, my daily writing was about how I crushed on a dude a few years older than me, who I thought had a crush on me as well. It was crazy day dreams about a love sick teenager. Sometimes, it involved me writing about my day – aside from my crush on dude – which was RARE! But, I always looked forward to that time. She gave us ten minutes to write each day, and that was my favorite time!

But, it wasn’t only the journal writing that got me into loving writing. It was Mrs. Hathcock’s love for the English language, how she was so enthusiastic about the written word that made me love English as well.

Okay, let me say that I have ALWAYS loved reading and escaping life through someone else’s eyes in books. I remember reading about a bunch of kid archeologists when I was younger. I LOVED it and wanted to be an archeologist after reading it, but what I didn’t realize then was that it wasn’t archeology I wanted to get involved with – it was writing.

So, I took this love of reading and applied it in my English class with Mrs. Hathcock. I had a story brewing in my mind during this time as well. (I was an avid daydreamer.) So, I began writing this, might I say horrible, story down. Okay, it wasn’t so horrible. The writing was very amateur and the plotline wasn’t really good… But, nonetheless, I wrote. It felt good; it felt right.

I continued writing. Not that story. I started another one that was almost as bad, and it was then that I decided I wanted to be a writer and English teacher. I wanted to be like Mrs. Hathcock. I wanted to make people feel what I felt when it came to reading and the English language – complete and utter love.

Writing was something that I knew I would always do. It was deep down inside of me, waiting to come out, and if it wouldn’t have been for Mrs. Hathcock, I wouldn’t have known as early as I did that I wanted to be a writer. I wouldn’t have learned everything I could about how much fun the English language could be either. (I’m fully aware it isn’t that way for some just like math isn’t for me, but for me, I love English.)

I also think that my love for writing at a young age made me love writing for young adults, which is usually my genre of choice. I know how it is to love to read, to relate to characters in a certain way. And, I hope that my stories will inspire others like Mrs. Hathcock inspired me. That is why I write, and that is the greatest thing I have ever learned in school. Aside from learning how to hone my craft that is.

It's on the edge of her memory like a word on the tip of her tongue, but Kandi can't remember what it is to save her life.

Despite being a cop, Jimmy can’t protect Kandi from the one thing that haunts her. She’s in danger and doesn’t even know it. After it happened, her brain repressed her memories of the accident, and now, she’s taking a Biology class under a man who wants to see her dead. The memories have started coming back, and it feels like she’s miles away from him. How can he protect her when she doesn’t even know she needs protecting?

Can these characters pierce their way through the darkness?

Emerald Barnes’ Piecing Through the Darkness is a compelling psychological thriller about a college professor, Jonathan Chandler, a man who has lost his wife and daughter in a tragic car accident the previous fall, and his student Kandi Moore. Feeling empty inside, Jonathan used his profession as a way to keep him busy and his thoughts away from that horrific day. Suddenly, his painful memories come crashing back when Kandi Moore shows up in his class. He remembers that name vividly as she was the driver of the car that had killed his family. However, Kandi doesn’t remember anything at all as the accident caused her mind to repress those memories. Her family withheld the truth as they feared she could not cope with the facts. She can’t figure out why her professor hates her as she has no idea that her life has caused Jonathan’s life so much pain. There is real danger and she’ll never expect it.

Readers will appreciate author Emerald’s approach of giving the points of view of Kandi and Jonathan. This brilliant method forms a connection to both characters creating sympathy and compassion. Their lives are entwined in the most dreadful way that readers will be emotionally engaged. There is so much danger for Kandi and readers will realize the painful process that Jonathan had become. The plot comes to a high point when Kandi’s best friend Jimmy learns she’s in Jonathan’s class. Extremely worried about her, he decides that she’ll need to remember before something bad happens.

The plot is highly engaging as readers will be clinging on to each page waiting if Kandi will ever remember that tragic day. The writing style of Emerald fits perfectly for this story. She provides readers with richly detailed descriptions that following the story come to readers like flowing water. This remarkable book takes a deep look into how our minds work when it can’t handle a certain event. Piercing Through the Darkness is a riveting story about real human emotions.

You can purchase Piercing Through the Darkness  at the following Retailers:

    

And now, The Giveaways.

Thank you EMERALD BARNES for making this giveaway possible.

1 Winner will receive a copy of Read Me Dead & Piercing Through the Darkness by Emerald Barnes.
3 Winners will receive an e-copy of Piercing Through the Darkness by Emerald Barnes.

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