Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner! (Snatched in Gullybrook by Kim Van Sickler)

 And the winner...

Chosen by random.org...

Is...

Brian! (Please email me your address.)

Thanks for everyone who showed Kim some extra love by voting for her story or tweeting about her book.

I'm going to be absent from Blogland until November. Our lives have been topsy turvy since June. Our daughter started college in August. It has and continues to give us some serious challenges, as she is eight hours away. The same week we took her to college my brilliant husband was transferred, so I'm in the middle of buying and selling a house too. Last month I began working on a project that is going to fill my heart with joy, but all the challenges in our lives right now made me realize I can't manage it right now. Once our house is listed and a new one is purchased I'll have more freedom and be able to share my cool news.

Hugs...

From...

Me...

To...

You!

Snatched In Gullybrook (and a giveaway)

SNATCHED IN GULLYBROOK

Three of Gullybrook's own are targeted by a group of men and women who know exactly how to get what they want. What they want are teenage girls. Where they find them is the local mall. Megan's been taking care of herself since her parents split. She feels abandoned and confused, especially at the crush she's developed on one of her new girlfriends. Normally, Megan steers clear of the mall, but her girlfriend has been eyeing a particular piece of jewelry, and it is her birthday. When Megan's plan to steal the present backfires, she's escorted by bogus mall security to a van that transports her to a new life. Candace knows nothing will ever come of the crush she has on her older first cousin. But it's looking distinctly possible that he could become her stepbrother at the rate things are going between her daddy and her aunt. When she's approached for a job at the mall, she's thrilled at the attention, and the chance to show everyone she's growing up. But her secret interview turns into her abduction. Sissy is Daddy's little princess, a romantic who's saving herself for marriage. Shopping is her safe place, especially when Mom and Daddy are fighting. Until the day a solicitous female shopper befriends her and turns her refuge into her downfall. Told through interconnecting viewpoints, Snatched in Gullybrook follows these girls as they are kidnapped, assigned new identities, and navigate the brutal world of sex trafficking. Despite the horrors of what they see and endure, they form a bond with one another. A bond that gives them strength to persevere, even when all looks lost.

My review:

Snatched in Gullybrook is written exceptionally well. It's about a topic most of us don't want to think about. The human trafficking or the sex trade really exists and needs to be brought out into the open. This book brings it to the forefront.

You feel the horror the girls feel when they are snatched. Your writhe with disgust as they are introduced into their new world. Your heart breaks for them over and over again and then you see a glimmer of hope for them. But then you crash as they fail, but you start hoping again...(I'm not going to say anymore. I don't want to be a spoiler. You'll have to read the book. I will warn you that it is very explicit.)

Kim Van Sickler is a former prosecuting attorney who prefers to use her research skills to inform her fiction rather than arguing law in a courtroom. She lives in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, with her family and rescue dog, Peter. Snatched in Gullybrook is her debut novel and is endorsed by human trafficking experts for its vivid and realistic portrayal of domestic minor sex trafficking.

Kim and I met through my blog in April. She is a delightful lady. She asked me to do a book review and sent me a PDF of her book. I thought it was such an amazing (but hard topic) book that I agreed to do the post and then decided I would buy a copy to give away.  If you would like to win a copy (from me), a signed business card and some special candy (from Kim) please tell me in the comments. To be eligible you need to follow my blog and follow Kim's blog.

If you'd like to read a sample of Kim's writing and help her win a contest you can read her awesome article about grief on the Midlife Collage Blog. If you like it and/or leave a comment it will help her win. (Be a pal...)

Here are some important links:

Kim's Blog
Kim's Website
Kim on Twitter
Snatched in Gullybrook on Goodreads (there's a giveaway here too)
Snatched in Gullybrook on Amazon (and if you can't wait to see if you win it...)

The winner will be announced on September 29th and I'm going to share some cool news on October 3rd.