Cool Day, Great Coffee, Good Read . . .

. . . the ingredients for a perfect day. (Note that I’m putting my novel out there as a possibility for reading lists.)

I always read with interest the reviews of my book that are posted online. The most recent such review was by novelist, Batya Casper. She wrote:

“I read Child of Desire on a plane ride, devoured it actually, grateful that I was on a 14 – hour flight.

Verla Lacy Powers transported me into the fundamentalist, Christian community of an all but lost, rural American world. Only Powers allowed none of the expected clichés to creep into her text. We humans, she seemed to be telling me, are good and fallible--all of us. As such, Powers’ characters are beautifully rounded and fully, beautifully, flawed. No sanctimony. No patronizing. Powers looks humanity smack in the face, unperturbed by its proclivity for deceit and treachery, at times actually seeming to delight in her characters’ flaws. But Powers falls short of condemning her characters. Ultimately, she treats all with compassion.

The story is about an innocent who witnesses something no 16 year old should, an act that changes the course of her life. The story grips the reader as we follow our heroine through the thrills of first sexual awareness, to loss, maturity, true, ruthless grit—and, eventually, acceptance and love.

The clincher of this book lies in the twist at the end, in the trick she pulls on her readers, making us do a total double-take, causing us to wonder who, in fact is the good guy—and who the bad. Wait till you get to the end. You’ll see---Batya Casper, http://www.Israelathebook.com”

This review made my day – maybe even my year!