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TITLE: Carolina Rose
RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2016
AUTHOR: Rafael Rivera
KEYWORDS: Commercial Fiction, Family Saga, Suspense, Coming of Age, Thriller,
Historical, South Carolina
CATEGORIES: Family Saga, Coming of Age, Suspense
PAGE COUNT: 362
ISBN: 978-1523605385
IMPRINT: Black Hawk
SYNOPSIS:
When Wilma, an innocent daughter of a
well-known moonshiner of Cherokee Indian descent, tired of the mundane life in
rural South Carolina ventures out with her girlfriend at the local bar, an
unexpected encounter with Joe, a young and handsome Marine corporal on leave,
spirals into a whirlwind romance, an intense family saga with tragic
consequences ensue and family secrets exposed set the tone for this commercial
fiction novel, Carolina Rose.
ONE LINER:
Rose
lived in poverty until her destiny changed. Finding her tormentor and seeking
revenge on the man responsible for her grandfather’s death were her priorities.
Guest Post - The Characters:
Guest Post - The Characters:
The
theme for Carolina Rose is centered on roses. Rose is a flower and also the name of one of the main characters in
the story. A red rose symbolizes love. Wilma was fascinated by the number of
types and colors of roses in the Edisto Memorial Gardens. So naturally, Wilma
named her daughter Rose.
A rose has a thorny stem to protect it from
insects. Rose has a thorny stem exterior disguised as amnesia. The amnesia
shelters and protects Rose from the traumatic events that almost caused her
death. Also, the amnesia is her coping mechanism to hide the truth about who
her attacker really is. Rose’s life is portrayed from her conception, birth,
and maturation into a strong and determined adult female. Rose is goal oriented
and has a deep sense of justice which drives her to seek revenge with an eye
for eye mentality.
Wilma, Rose’s mother, is a young and innocent
woman with only a 6th grade education. She is stuck in the poverty
cycle prevalent in rural South Carolina and is widowed at an early age. Now a
single mother, she becomes dependent on her parents for support. And, all are living
in a small sharecropper’s shack. She is the epitome of the extremes that a
mother will go to protect her child from danger. Wilma fell victim and trapped
in an abusive relationship which she endured many trials and tribulations until
she snapped.
Grandpa, a pivotal character in this story, is
Rose’s grandfather and her only male role model. He is a full-blooded Cherokee
Indian who teaches Rose many skills that she will find useful later on in life,
skills that will enable her to compete in a male dominated world. He is by
nature a quiet and low key individual. Dirt farmer by trade, he subsidizes his
meager income by making moonshine. His special skill is envied by other
moonshiners. When he makes his batches, he is like a scientist in a laboratory
with meticulous precision.
Donna is Wilma’s neighbor and friend from down
the road. She is slightly older than Wilma and a free spirit. Donna is witty,
adventurous, and tomboyish.
Joe, Wilma’s husband, is a young and dashing
Marine corporal. He is driven by a deep sense of honor, but rebellious against
his overbearing mother. He is smitten by Wilma’s innocence and falls in love
with her almost instantly. Deployment to Vietnam, creates many hardships in
their relationship, but their commitment to each other overcome their
difficulties. Joe comes from a privileged background and shuns a privileged
life style to escape his mother’s control.
Calhoun, Joe’s twin brother, is a well educated
Vanderbilt graduate. He is an aspiring politician and the middle man between
his mother and brother. Calhoun has a close relationship with Joe, but does not
take sides. He only tries to mediate their differences as any politician would
do. He never marries and everyone speculates if it is because he was jilted by
a previous lover or that he is covering up a deeper secret that could possibly
ruin his career.
Katherine, Joe and Calhoun’s mother, is an
overbearing matriarch who is vindictive when her wishes are not honored. Her
only interests are power, wealth and status. Katherine has a nebulous past and
whispers about her husband’s suicide still circle around the country club
elites. The rumor that Katherine might have actually killed her husband and
staged it as a suicide has been the gossip for years. Katherine is the updated and
older version of Scarlett O’Hara.
Jeb, local bar owner and one of Grandpa’s
moonshine client, is under constant ATF surveillance and a career criminal.
When push comes to shove, he will do anything to avoid going to jail.
Bubba, Wilma’s 2nd husband and
Rose’s stepfather, is a long haul truck driver who thinks he is a casa nova. He
is a typical redneck bully with an obnoxious loud mouth and braggart. Bubba is
a sore loser when gambling and has a diabolical secret that he has been able to
maintain for decades. As an angry drunk, he likes to pick fights to prove his
manhood and eventually he gets an unexpected whoop ass.
Warden
Wilson, warden for CCI, is
an entrepreneur with many side line deals. On the outside, he appears refined
in his tailored suits, but uses the prisoners at CCI to attain his financial
goals. With his influence, he takes a special interest in Grandpa’s moonshine
making skills and requests that he be incarcerated at CCI.
Eight
Ball, prison cook at
CCI, is serving a life sentence for murder. He killed three Caucasian men in
self defense, but an all white jury found him guilty. He is a victim of the
social injustices of that time. Eight Ball befriends Grandpa and an ironic relationship
develops between them.
Jimbo, a bouncer at Lucky 8’s, is Donna’s
friend and often does not charge her the cover charge to enter.
Ruth, a socialite, was Calhoun’s
ex-girlfriend. Rumor is that she broke Calhoun’s heart when she married a bank
executive. Ruth was the woman that Katherine chose for Calhoun to marry. The
fact that she married another man was Calhoun’s salvation or was he really
heart broken?
AUTHOR BIO:
Mr. Rivera is a registered nurse and registered respiratory therapist. He
is an alumni of Auburn University, Mercer University, Excelsior College and Ga.
State University with MS Management, MS Health Care Adm, BS Nursing, BS Health
Care Science and BS Building Construction degrees. He is a former US Marine
reservist and grew up as a military brat with extensive travel overseas.
His hobbies include shooting, martial arts (Tae Kwon Do, Hap Ki Do,
Aikido and Jiu Jistsu) and being an extra in movies and pilot series. He was an
extra in the new TV series Complications on USA network.
Previous publications include: Men Can Be Neanderthals, Utilization of
Just-In-Time Principles in the Construction Industry. Wrote two rap songs:
Gangsta Wannabe (i tunes) and soon to be released Full Auto.
Carolina Rose is his first commercial fiction novel with two additional
working titles and a non-fiction.
EMAIL: playatthezoo@yahoo.com
AUTHOR LINKS:
AMAZON US: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AVKQFCKAMAZON UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AVKQFCK
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/carolina-rose-rafael-rivera/1123295380?ean=2940152686272
KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/carolina-rose
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rafael_Rivera_Carolina_Rose?id=s-VqCwAAQBAJ&hl=en
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/carolina-rose/id1077064689?mt=11
CREATESPACE: https://www.createspace.com/6012511
PAPERBACK: http://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Rose-Rafael-Rivera/dp/1523605383/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454575859&sr=8-1&keywords=carolina+rose+paperback
A
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