Title: Separation of Faith: A Novel
Author: Cheri Laser
Publisher: iUniverse Editor's Choice
ISBN: 9781450232197
Pages: 299, Paperback & Hardcover
Genre: Fiction
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Synopsis
In the summer of 1945, as World War II is ending, Abby Ryan is studying to become a nun. On the serene grounds of the convent in Kettle Falls, Washington, she is assaulted by trespassers and rescued by Sinclair Mellington, a handsome army captain attending a retreat at the institution.
Decades later, in the fall of 2008, Isaiah Mellington, a middle-aged unemployed attorney, receives a letter written years earlier by his now deceased father, asking him to wrap up loose ends in the wake of Sister Abby's passing. He travels to Kettle Falls, expecting to only be there for a weekend. Instead, Isaiah discovers that Sister Abby's loose ends are connected to a life she lived outside the convent. Eight days after his arrival, he is still in Kettle Falls with four women--an aging former nun who is the keeper of Abby's secrets, a romantic interest of his own, and two others whose lives are being hijacked by Sister Abby's past.
As betrayal encroaches upon Isaiah as well, a half century of lies slowly unravels, shredding the fabric of everything he has ever known and everyone he has ever loved.
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About the Author
Cheri Laser earned a BA in Communications from San Francisco State University with what she calls "an unofficial Minor in English." During a 25-year career in corporate marketing, she never stopped writing, after winning prizes for her work in high school and college.
In the year 2000, she began weaning herself away from the corporate world and reinventing herself and her resume so she could seriously pursue her literary dreams. She is now a freelance editor and has published two novels--"Separation of Faith," released in September 2010, and "The Truth About Cinnamon," published in December 2003. She is also preparing to release a re-edited Second Edition of "The Truth About Cinnamon," which is scheduled to be available by the end of October 2010.
A long-term cancer survivor--diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1987, which has been in remission for nine years, and early-stage breast cancer diagnosed in March 2010--Ms. Laser is working on a project about the fine art of survival. Her third novel is in development as well, along with a memoir about the tragic self-destruction of her brilliant, beautiful mother.
"Writing has always been a part of who I am," Ms. Laser says, "the art form emerging as a passion when I was about ten years old. And that remained true throughout my decades in corporate America when I was stuffing things I'd written into drawers and briefcases. But now my writing is second only to my family in terms of what I do and how I dedicate my life. A part of me wishes sometimes that I'd started the pursuit and focus earlier. But another part of me tells me that I wouldn't have been ready any sooner. Apparently, I needed to live a big chunk of life first before my writing could rise even close to the level of my dreams. Clearly, I'm not there yet--but absolutely nothing is ever going to stop me from trying to get there now."
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