abuse

New Release: Child Sex Abuse by Beverley Chalmers

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Available from Amazon and most retailers.

ISBN#‎ 978-1-83975-956-7

Published by: Grosvenor House Publishing, 2022. (Pre-order now!)

E-Book Published by: D-Editions, 2022 (Coming Soon!)

Our world enables the sexual abuse of children. Children of all ages are abused in every country in the world, by members of every society, culture, religion, and socio-economic class. About 120 million children under twenty, or one child in ten, report sexual abuse.

We often blame children for their own abuse, instead of holding the perpetrators responsible for their crimes. When perpetrators are prosecuted, punishments are rarely severe. Remarkably, we sometimes justify child sex abuse, or even facilitate it, allowing it to continue, not only in hidden places, but even in the open. This book exposes the stunning extent of child sex abuse in today’s world.

Child Sex Abuse presents a wide-ranging view of the pervasive pandemic of sexual assault against children. This book highlights the experiences of survivors alongside the multitude of ways in which their communities and societies enable their abuses. In contexts such as: institutions renowned for their egregious abuses like religious schools and the Canadian Residential Schools; cultural practices like child marriage; or global economic enterprises like sex trafficking and online abuse, Child Sex Abuse reveals the complicity of our society in facilitating child abuse around the world.

Intended Audiences:

  • General interest for adults and parents.
  • Academics and professionals in areas including Law, Politics, Education, Child Maltreatment, Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, and Medicine.

About the Author

Beverley Chalmers has dedicated her life to studying experiences of birth and sexuality in difficult social, political, economic and religious environments. Her book, Birth, Sex and Abuse: Women’s Voices under Nazi Rule won twelve book awards. Betrayed: Child Sex Abuse in the Holocaust, won six book awards and led her to write about the ongoing, and heartbreaking, pandemic of child sex abuse. Dr. Chalmers has two doctoral degrees, a DSc in Medicine and a PhD in Psychology. Further details about Dr. Chalmers and her other publications can be found at www.bevchalmers.com.

Multiple Award-Winning Books by Bev Chalmers

MEDIA CONTACT

D-Editions: deditions.info@gmail.com

Book Review: Who She Was by Stormy Smith

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Available May 4th

Trevor Adler loathes the music he used to love, but it’s the key to his full-ride scholarship and the ticket away from his dysfunctional parents. To kick off their freshman year, Trevor’s roommate drags him to a frat party, where he ends up face-to-face with his childhood best friend and finds himself entrenched in memories he’d rather forget.

Unable to let Charlie go again without understanding the truth of why she disappeared from his life and chose to become the type of person they always hated, Trevor is relentless in his pursuit of the girl he once knew.

Charlotte (Charlie) Logan is broken. Under her perfectly-crafted exterior are the shards of a shattered heart. A handful of angry words changed her life completely and Charlie’s never been able to forgive herself for the truth she’s hidden from everyone.

While Trevor pushes Charlie to remember the music that lit her soul and the laughter they shared, they find themselves reverting to a banter-filled rhythm that feels all too familiar, yet different now. When Trevor’s own secrets come to light, it becomes clear he and Charlie both must face their tragic pasts if they have any hope at a future together.

Available on Amazon.

 

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

I had read the Bound series by Stormy Smith and I like her writing so I was happy to read Who She Was. The problem is that I was not prepared for all of the emotions it caused. I ended up with a headache from crying: happy crying and sad crying.

Trevor and Charlie are survivors. They were best friends until they were 13 years old and Trevor’s family moved away. Even though they both tried to keep in touch, they lost touch, each one thinking the other one had abandoned them. Now, four years later, they’re both at the same college and both are broken. They’re happy to be together again but they each have secrets. Can they learn to share and face their secrets or is it impossible for them to have a relationship with so much shared past and so much lost time?

Even though Who She Was is a young adult novel, it will pull on the heartstrings of adults as well.

 

 

About the Author

Stormy Smith is the author of the number one bestselling Bound series. She calls Iowa’s capital home now, but was raised in a tiny town in the Southeast corner of the state. She grew to love books honestly, having a mom that read voraciously and instilled that same love in her. She knew quickly stories of fantasy were her favorite, and even as an adult gravitates toward paranormal stories in any form.

Writing a book had never been an aspiration, but suddenly the story was there and couldn’t be stopped. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere she can relax with her husband or girlfriends.

Stormysmith.com

 

The Amazon purchase link in this post is an affiliate link. Purchasing through it helps sustain Bound 4 Escape.

 

 

 

Book Review: Don’t Hit Me! by Vanessa de Largie

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Don't Hit Me!Title: Don’t Hit Me!
Author: Vanessa de Largie
Publisher: Booktrope
Pages: 88
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir/Poetry/Journey
Format: Paperback/Kindle

#1 Amazon Bestseller 
# Winner of the 2014 Global eBook Award Bronze (women’s studies) 
# Winner of the 2014 Honourable Mention Award London Book Festival (memoir) 
# Five-Star Review Midwest Book Review 
# Five-Star Review San Francisco Book Review 
# Five-Star Review #1 Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer – UK 
# 3 out of 4 stars Official Online Bookclub 

Australian actress and author Vanessa de Largie is a survivor of domestic violence. 
Don’t Hit Me is the true diarised account of her time living with an abusive man. The story is conveyed through poems, journal entries and fragments of lyrical prose. The book is a snapshot of domestic violence in real time. Raw, poignant and brave – it’s a tale that will stay with you.

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My Review

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

Don’t Hit Me! isn’t the type of book I normally read but I’m glad I read this one. It is not your typical book. It’s the author’s journal entries during the time she lived with an abusive man, and it really tugged at my heartstrings. I understand how an abuser can make a woman feel powerless and worthless as well as stuck in hell but to read these entries was still difficult.

My hope is that women read this book and watch closer for signs of an abuser, such as when Vanessa’s new boyfriend kicked a friend’s old dog. Or maybe it will give someone who is abused the incentive to get out of that relationship, seeing that even a writer and actress ended up in an abusive relationship but was able to get out of it eventually. It’s also a good wake up call for those who don’t know much about abuse.

 

 

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About the Author

Vanessa de LargieVanessa de Largie is a multi-award-winning actress and author based in Australia.  She was introduced into the world of make-believe when she was 3.  Her mother was a film buff, who made her watch films from the 50’s era. Her father, an avid reader and vinyl collector gave her a love of books and music. Combined, her parents influence allowed her to know early on, what she wanted to do with her life.  At 22, Vanessa left her hometown of Perth for Melbourne and within a month, she had a lead role in a play at Melbourne’s La Mama Theatre. Over the next decade, she would begin to hone her craft.

In 2006, Vanessa was cast in the lead role of Nocturne, Night of The Vampire, directed by prolific Melbourne film maker Bill Mousoulis. The film earned her the Best Female Actor Award at the 2007 Melbourne Underground Film Festival.  The film was accepted into the main program of the Athens Film Festival, Cork Film Festival and the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival. Vanessa was flown over as a guest. (Nocturne, Night of The Vampire is now distributed by Troma.)

In 2009, Vanessa was cast as the lead in horror film Context, the film premiered at the Razor Reel Film Festival in Bruges, in which Vanessa flew over as a guest.  Context is part of the extras on the American release of El Monstro Del Mar by Breaking Glass Pictures Distribution.  (Unfortunately it isn’t listed on the dvd’s cover.)  

Later in 2009, Vanessa was accepted into the New Actors Workshop in New York, run by famous film director – Mike Nichols (The Graduate.)  On her return she worked on the film Crazy In The Night starring film director Frank Howson and Prisoner actors Tommy Dysart and Joan Brockenshire.  Vanessa won a second Best Female Actor Award at the 2010 Melbourne Underground Film Festival for her leading role in the film.

In 2011, Vanessa was selected as a Victorian finalist in The Miss Pinup Australia Pageant, where she competed under the title Miss V-Bomb. She was given a spread in Beat Magazine as well as being interviewed by various Victorian newspapers.

In 2012, Vanessa became a freelance writer and mentor for Topic Media, writing over 90 lifestyle articles and winning many writing awards.  That year, she was also commissioned by Australian publisher Hampress to write her erotic memoir Tantric Afternoons.  

Tantric Afternoons launched in April 2013 to rave reviews.  Vanessa followed the book’s release with 4 more titles – Tough Choice, Powers At Play, Lascivious and her latest book, Don’t Hit Me!

For More Information

 

Book Excerpt

I speak for female victims of domestic violence. We build forts around ourselves by protecting the individuals who abuse us. I can run away, I can escape. I can report an incident to the police. My own damn fear keeps me nailed in this box.

I want to connect with other women. Can you hear me girls? I am calling your name. Let’s bring out our hammers and set ourselves free.

I can see broken boxes littering the world. 

Women dancing free, uninhibited…without fear.

My name is Vanessa de Largie and this is my story.

 

Short Story Review: Distorted Lullaby by Noizchild Johnson

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22910016Title: Distorted Lullaby

Author: Noizchild Johnson

Genre: drama

Publication date: July 31, 2014

Length: 36 pages

About the Book

(from Goodreads)

No one in the small town of Patterson would have foreseen the death of the violent town drunk, Trevor Grey, on Halloween night. When police arrive to investigate his murder, they find his wife, Maureen, sitting far away from Trevor’s body. Obviously, she is the prime suspect in her abusive husband’s murder. The only problem is, she doesn’t remember the events before the police found her. Rookie detective, Gina Torres, takes it upon herself to unlock Maureen’s memories and solve the case. Driven by family pride and tragedy, Gina turned to psychology as a way to help people. She feels that only she can help Maureen silence the “distorted lullaby” in her head and help her stand as a person again.

 

My Review

I received a free ecopy for an honest review.

Distorted Lullaby is a short story that has a good premise: the death of a man at the hand of his wife whom he had abused for many years. At the end, the wife asks a police officer to share her story and to encourage women not to stay in abusive relationships.

Because the story is so short, there’s not a lot of character development, so I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters very well.

There were grammar errors and a lot of missing words as well as incorrect words. This was an interesting short story so I’m glad the author is in the process of getting her stories edited (see below).

 

About the Author

(from Goodreads)

8441095My name is Noizchild Johnson and I am a self-published fiction writer. What can I say about myself? I love to write, watch anime, read manga, swim, and indulge in all things Japanese and British. My genres cover erotica, romance, comedy, drama, poetry, supernatural/paranormal, and maybe a little mystery. My stories are usually set in Japan, England, or the US. Music also plays a huge role in my writing.

I am currently in process of editing my previous works for more publishing.