Tag Archives: novel

NO, LIFE IS NOT FAIR.

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In a world rich with possibilities, it’s distressing to acknowledge that many children face harsh realities that overshadow their laughter and dreams. From poverty and violence to neglect and discrimination, countless young lives are marred by circumstances beyond their control. Yet, amidst these challenges, we witness incredible accounts of courage and determination- CENTIPEDE is one such story. 

Back when I was teaching sixth grade language arts, my students discovered I was writing my first novel and asked if I would write a #YAnovel for them.  I thought about the trials so many children face today, and as I did, my main character Willa (Willie) Cather Jennings was born. 

It is wondrous how easily Willie came into existence! And as strange as it may sound, as the story formed, I found myself in awe of this impoverished twelve year old girl who possessed such emotional resilience and moral fortitude. 

Children are often forced to grow up too quickly, shouldering responsibilities they should not bear. 

There are many lessons to be learned from a child. Join me today for Willie’s story!

CENTIPEDE is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00J7KJWIU https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00J7KJWIU

#YouthAdvocacy #HelloSunshine 

#reesesbookclub 

WHERE DO THE WORDS COME FROM…?

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SO SWEET IS THE SUMMER~The emergence of writing poetry coincided with my return to JSU to begin work on my Masters in 2004. I remember driving to Jacksonville one afternoon and looking out across the undulating grasses of farmland the words of a poem flitted along my mind. I immediately pulled over and rummaged through the jeep’s glove box to find an old envelope to write on. As pen touched paper, the words magically came.
That evening, I curled up in my writing chair and worked through the poem. As I typed it up, it began transforming. And when I sat back and reread it before determining it ‘done,’ I’d wondered at the mystery of it. Where do these words come from? Do they float out about us in our day to day? If we are consumed in thought or inattentive, are we unable to harness them?

SO SWEET IS THE SUMMER
So sweet is the summer
Feel
But fleeting
Feet tickled by long
Strands drenched
With emerald paints
Little girls
Dancing the fields
A semblance to
Grapes being stomped
Hands grasped tight
By fingers so small
Laughter bubbling, bouncing
As angels stand
Guard
Wanting to be
Like them

So sweet is the summer
Breeze
But fleeting
That nips against
Exposed skin
Young ladies bask
Gleaning rays to bronze
Sensual lengths
In hours that stretch
Without end
Abandonment
In thoughts
Of pungent males
And friends that have known
Touches
Wanting to be
Like them

So sweet is the summer
Time
But fleeting
Mothers lying
With harbored knowledge
Languidly
Chatting that talk
Too small
Hinting at ghosts
Promising
Roses in December
Tipped in variant corals
Like sips stolen of wild wine
By youthful girls
Coveting
Wanting to be
Like them
ELIZABETH MOZLEY PARTRIDGE
🖊️Books Available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00J7KJWIU 🩵LINK IN BIO

ElizabethMozleyPartridge #WeShareTheSameSky #bookstagrammer #AlabamaAuthor #memoir #nyc #travel #southern #culture #livingmybestlife

Why have we not learned to expect the unexpected?

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#THEFRINGES https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/author?ref=dbs_G_A_C&asin=B00J7KJWIU

Oh, the questions we seek; the questions we fail to answer. The propensity for violence – environmental or genetic? What are you willing to do to protect what is yours – family – or that which you soiled your soul for? Women like Marilyn refuse to pause in contemplation. For, to pause is to provide ample opportunity for the rat to get away.

Why have we not learned to expect the unexpected?

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#THEFRINGES https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/author?ref=dbs_G_A_C&asin=B00J7KJWIU

Oh, the answers we seek; the questions we fail to answer.

The propensity for violence – environmental or genetic?

What are you willing to do to protect what is yours? Be it family, or that which you soiled your soul for.

Women like Marilyn refuse to pause in contemplation. For, to pause is to provide ample opportunity for the rat to get away.

SOUTHERN GOTHIC, THROUGH & THROUGH

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Dancing Along THE FRINGES To The Sign Of Silence is Southern Gothic through and through.

A subgenre of Gothic fiction in American literature, the story takes place in the American South. The elements of deeply flawed, disturbing & eccentric characters, hoodoo, decayed & derelict settings, grotesque situations, & sinister events stemming from poverty, alienation, crime & violence are knitted like a finely spun web.

Join me in the reading of Dancing Along THE FRINGES To The Sign Of Silence!
ELIZABETH MOZLEY @ElizabethMozley

Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/author?ref=dbs_G_A_C&asin=B00J7KJWIU

REVIEW:

“Put down that Harlan Coben or James Patterson book you’re reading and instead pick up this novel by Elizabeth Mozley.
Why? We read to escape, but we also read to connect with characters who are a little bit like us. The distance that words written on a page provide allow us to experience excitement and danger vicariously.
There is plenty of treachery in this novel, and there is an abundance of love. There is something about stories set in the American South like this one is.
Like any good Southern Gothic there are graveyards and bastard children and nostalgia for the past. Through the five women around which this story unfolds, Mozley examines the values of the South such as loyalty and deeply ingrained decorum.
That is not to say that all is well in Memphis. With the mix of strong women and coarse men, violence is never far away and the bonds of loyalty fray. There are entanglements aplenty with the usual culprit at the center…money and sex.
The passages of dialogue ring true and the pacing of the story keeps you turning the pages. There is even travel to a place far away from Tennessee–both distance and culturally–that came as a surprise.
If the old adage to write what you know is true, Mozley knows a thing or two…
I think this book is worth your time reading…compelling dialogue makes an interesting movie.
So what are you waiting for Hollywood? Option this book. It will be a hit on Netflix… Seriously, order it today.”
Don Jacobson @BigSurfDon

#ElizabethMozley

#THEFRINGES

DANCING ALONG THE FRINGES TO THE SIGN OF SILENCE is now available on AMAZON in paperback & Kindle editions:

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How much disappointment and hardship does it take to get to the truth of who a person is?

This is Marilyn Abbot’s story. A once small town, Southern girl, poor and neglected, forever tied to a childhood love – Frank Livingston, now sheriff of Shelby County; a man who represents all that is good in the world, yet a man who refused to claim the woman he loves and the child they conceived.

The novel opens in Memphis, Tennessee. Marilyn’s husband, Hudson Donati – born of old money and a powerful name- has died. In an attempt to retain the family estate, Marilyn has become a keeper of many men. She and her loyal friend Odessa Barnes are set to experience a passage they never expected.

There are lessons in everything, every situation. It does not matter if one is following the path they are meant to or not; there are always difficulties, opportunities for learning the lessons well. And it’s just this- the further one strays from what is ‘right,’ the longer it takes to get back to what is ‘good.’

THE FRINGES is the collective story of five women – white, biracial, and Creole -and the loyalty between them, a bond which allows strength against an often heinous and brutal world. Together, they move against the expectations of society.

The novel is harsh. It is meant to make one uncomfortable, and begs the reader to question ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ And yet, I hope you will join me in ~Dancing along THE FRINGES to the Sign of Silence.

ELIZABETH MOZLEY

THE FRINGES

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At Last! THE FRINGES will publish this month!

FB post 2 years ago today, January 1, 2019:
——Bill Bradley said, “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”
Didn’t make my self-imposed deadline, but I am 352 pages in & one chapter shy of finishing the novel. Then on to the re-write.

AmWriting after I play with the oldest granddaughter! #TheMemphisNovel ——

TODAY, I am excited to announce that Dancing Along THE FRINGES To The Sign Of Silence will publish in a few weeks!

Honestly, of all I’ve written, THE FRINGES has been the most enjoyable. I never knew in advance what Marilyn, the main character, would do. It wasn’t until pencil touched paper that the scene became clear; for once created, characters take control of their lives on paper, leaving the writer to document what they reveal.

Many times, I shook my head, paused and asked myself, “Am I willing to write this?”

You see, Marilyn Abbot Donati is unscrupulous, cunning, vengeful -and yet she is protective, caring, loyal. She does the unthinkable, unabashedly.

Don’t we all wish we could, at times?

THE FRINGES begs the reader to question ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ The story is meant to make you uncomfortable.

A huge ‘thank you’ to Susan Evans for interior layout design & Joe Wood for painting such a fantastic cover- ah, the blood spatter!

I am so looking forward to seeing it in print & hope you all will join me in the reading.

Elizabeth Mozley
https://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Mozley-McGrady/e/B00J7KJWIU/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

#TheFringes #TheMemphisNovel #ElizabethMozley