15 August, 2012

SPECIAL FEATURE :: Open Heart (Farsighted # 2) by Emlyn Chand



Emlyn Chand's 3rd 'Bird Brain Book' Releases today. Go get your copy from Amazon.

In this compelling tale of self-esteem, pride, and learning what makes each of us special, Poppy the peacock discovers that true beauty lies beneath the feathers.





Can Laine look past her pain to learn from an unlikely mentor? Has Daly finally found someone whom she can trust? Will the women recognize their common bonds before the relationship is broken beyond repair?

It is the first full length novel that Author Emlyn Chand had written but the third to be published. Grab your copy of this amazing women's literary novel as this too is releasing today!!

*** SPECIAL FEATURE - August'12 ***
Emlyn Chand doesn't shy away from the tough topics, from a main character who's blind to a girl with an eating disorder.  ~~ Kimberly Kinrade on Goodreads

Simmi Shergill's life is a mess. Her powers of psychic feeling are on the fritz, and Grandon Township's sudden population boom has brought quite a few unsavory characters to town. She also looks like an over-blown balloon in her size 14 pants, but not even starving herself seems to be working as a diet plan. Well, at least her boyfriend, Alex, loves her so much he'd do anything for her. Last summer he even risked his life to protect her from the mysterious boy everyone was convinced wanted to kill her.
The problem is, she's not so sure she feels the same way. Is Alex really the man of her dreams? And why can't she stop fixating on her would-be killer, Dax? Whenever he's around, part of her wants to run screaming in the other direction while the other part longs to run into his embrace, no matter who she’d hurt or what she’d risk.
Simmi's loyalty is on the line. Who will she choose—the blind seer who loves her, or the charming telekinetic with "bad idea" written all over him? Emotions run high as the tension mounts in book two of the Farsighted series.

Read my 5 Star Review of Open Heart (Farsighted #2) :: Here

Find out more about Book 1 in Farsighted Series :: Here
Read my 5 Star Review of Farsighted #1:: Here

Excerpt
I’ve done it twice now, twice in the same day. Starving myself was painful and risky. Eventually, Mummy, Shapri, or somebody else would have noticed. Besides, throwing up is far simpler, safer, and only hurts for a second. I can eat whatever I want and gorging makes me feel good, which is why I’m such a deplorable blimp in the first place.

I wake up the next morning and all the comfort I obtained yesterday has disappeared. My skin covers me like a hollow container; my gut contracts in pain, wanting something, anything, to make it full. My feet carry me away from bed, while my mind screams, “No, no!” My body doesn’t listen; it just moves forward like a zombie. This is more than just needing food. Something else is missing, something my body craves desperately. If only I could figure out what I need to be full, maybe I could stop myself. 

No one else is awake yet, leaving me alone with the well-stocked kitchen. I grab a bag of Lay’s potato chips, a container of sour cream, and a king-sized Twix and steal away to my bedroom. Click, the door locks behind me. No one will ever know. I tear into the wrappers. My mind has resigned to the inevitability of what I’m about to do, what I’ll keep doing, probably forever. I slide fistfuls of food down my throat, hardly bothering to chew. Maybe I’ll get lucky and choke. 

I finish my meal and my stomach churns, going from hollow to overflowing in a matter of seconds. The food claws at my throat, desperate to escape. 

What ugly thing lives inside me? I am still debating this question when my body springs to action. I kneel at the toilet and grasp the cool porcelain between the outstretched fingers of my left hand. My right hand reaches down my throat, finds the tender part on my neck, and pushes. 

Acid stings my skin, but I don’t care. Everything comes back out—smooth, jagged, white, brown, yellow. The colors and textures swirl together in the clear water, a hideous portrait of how I look inside. 

There, that’s the part of me that’s ugly. If I get it all out, the ugliness will leave, too. 

My knees tremble as I rise and go about my morning routine. By the time I’m sitting at my bureau and working my hair into a side braid, strength has returned to my limbs, and for the first time in weeks, I can’t sense my stomach. There’s no pain, no emptiness, no discomfort. This could work for me. I can lose these excess kilos and become beautiful, someone worthy of Alex, someone I can love.



Raves & Reviews
It's almost like being a 6th wheel and you're the invisible friend, tagging along. It was fun and I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended. ~~ J. A. Afzelius
Open Heart is a wonderfully emotional roller-coaster of a book with characters who feel as real to be as best friends. Now, hurry up with Shapri's story!!!  ~~ Vixenne Victorienne "Kymberlyn Reed" 
The ending was shocking and chilling, and I appreciated the courage Emlyn had in allowing Simmi's powers and romantic troubles to come to their startling conclusion, rather than swooping in to save her somehow. ~~ Kate Policani  
Whether intentionally or not, Chand has created teenage characters who are so real and so sympathetic, that removing the paranormal features would take little away from the impact of the books. ~~ M. Stefanides
Chand's books are visually appealing inside and out. She's a prime example of an indie author who really knows what she's doing and takes great pride in her work. ~~ Melissa

Facts about Open Heart
1. Open Heart explores my darkest demons. When I write about Simmi's self hatred and body image 
        issues, I'm writing about my own.
2. This book hit so close to home that I often cried while writing it. I actually had to orally dictate about 50 
        of the pages toward the middle as a way to distance myself from the content and keep moving forward.
3. I wrote Open Heart to celebrate my (then) husband's Indian culture. My husband let me know he was 
        ready for a divorce while I was finishing up the first draft - -making it an even more heart-wrenching 
        and difficult write for me.
4. I have a weird obsession with the character Dax. Even though I created him and very well know his 
        flaws, I'm a little bit (or a lot a bit) in love with him.
5. I didn't know how Open Heart would end until it was time to write it. The twist with Simmi and... 
        TOTALLY UNPLANNED!

Read the Full First Chapter for Free :: Click Here

Contact the Author


Giveaway
Now for the most amazing news! The Giveaway! Ms.Emlyn has very kindly agreed to Giveaway - One Winner will win Signed copies of Farsighted & Open Heart! Yay!! This is so exciting, I wish I could enter this myself... What are you waiting for??? Go Enter NOW!!

Rules:
1. There's only two compulsory entry to qualify for this Giveaway. 
2. If the compulsory entries are not completed properly, additional entries of that person will not count.
3. The Giveaway is open Internationally.
4. I will be selecting the winner through Random.org every Saturday and will be sending an e-mail. They have to reply with their mailing address/e-mail id within 48 hours, or I will select another winner.
5. Please do not leave your e-mail id in the comment section.



6 comments:

  1. I would love to win a copy of this book. The reviews and excerpts sound great!
    Jen

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  2. Though I was not in love with the first book in the series - Farsighted - I still would want to read Open Heart, for the amazing excerpts and storyline it promises. The twist has intrigued me a lot. Thanks for the lovely review.

    I wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for A Lovely Blog Award. Congrats!

    You can visit the link here: http://twitamic.blogspot.in/2012/08/one-lovely-blog-award.html

    Please let me know if you've received the notification. Happy independence day! :)

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  3. The excerpt is well written, brutal though! I have been hearing a lot about Emyln Chand these days! Thanks for sharing : ) ~ Jess http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/

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  4. As others have said time and time and time again. Please don't disable right click. It's completely ineffective at anything other than annoying visitors. I want to google search a actress in an article and i can't just right click - google. Instead I have to inspect and drill down.

    Sometimes I want to right click and open in a new tab because the internet is a scary place where people code terribly and sometimes clicking straight opens in the same page and there's really no way to tell. Disabling right click completely blocks me from doing that.

    That said this farsighted series does sound pretty cool. adding it to my want list now.

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  5. PEACE STOP....I love Emlyn's work and her Peacock is Peaceful!

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  6. Thank you for putting together this awesome post, Debdatta. I didn't even realize it was here until Catalina tagged me. I'm going to share now!

    ReplyDelete