An Excerpt from JAMIE'S CHILDREN

My most recently released novel, Jamie’s Children, has received excellent reviews but it would certainly be great to have more! Here are a couple of thoughts from reviewers:

“Jamie's Children is beautifully written and moving, flowing like a well-orchestrated symphony with complex interludes and counter melodies. But it's the character development that really makes the story engaging and causes you to keep turning the pages. Jordan has a knack for getting inside her characters and making them come alive. Her vivid descriptions of Niall's manic-depressive episodes drew me in to his character and showed me another side of this disorder. The love scenes between Laura and Lee were beautiful and tender.”

“In Jamie's Children, I found stirring, in-depth characters that became like part of the family. Susan Moore Jordan has detailed the agonies and triumphs of Jamie's Children, Niall and Laura, so that you are feeling their pain, and rooting for their happiness. With a lovely flow and elegant imagery, this book was compelling to read and thought-provoking ... well worth the read.”

All my novels are available on Amazon, Kindle and paperback, and local folks can pick up a paperback copy at the Pocono Cinema and Cultural Center whenever the theater is open. Here’s an excerpt from the book: it’s Niall’s twenty-first birthday, and he and his sister Laura are in Aspen, Colorado, where Niall has met the girl of his dreams.

*****

When Nate started playing “Turn, Turn, Turn,” everyone in the room was singing along, and several other guitarists started jamming. Niall was annoyed with himself for not having brought his guitar, but how was he to know he’d find Nirvana in Aspen, Colorado? Bonnie excused herself, and Laura had an amused look on her face.

“Should have brought your guitar, honey,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re right. I sure should have. But it’s fun to listen, anyway.”

Bonnie was standing beside him and said, “Why listen when you can play?” and pulled a Martin guitar from behind her back. “Happy birthday, my love.”

Niall couldn’t believe his eyes. Bonnie and Laura laughed and high-fived each other.

“How on earth … ? Where did you … there’s no guitar store in this town. Is there?”

Bonnie said, “No, but there’s a local gentleman who was willing to sell one of his Martins to us. Happy birthday, Niall!”

He took the beautiful instrument and ran his fingertips over the polished wood, feeling how expertly it had been crafted. He’d held a Martin before; Jack used one and he let Niall play it a couple of times. He handled the instrument almost reverently. Jake, the tavern owner, brought the guitar case over.

“Everything you need, I believe. Extra strings, picks, a capo, a tuner, the strap,” Bonnie said.

Niall set the bottom of the instrument on his knee, held it upright by the neck and turned it slowly, admiring the workmanship. I have a Martin. I can’t believe it. He continued to examine the guitar, and it dawned on him he was holding a D-28. Holy shit. Not just a Martin. The best Martin.

“Bonnie … do you know what a great guitar you and Laura gave me?”

Bonnie laughed. “Oh, you mean because it’s a D-28? Yes, we were told that’s kind of special. A special Martin for a special man.”

People nearby overheard, and when the song was finished one of them spoke to Nate who said, “We’ve got a birthday boy in our midst, folks. How old are you, son?”

All three of them … Niall and his two women … answered in unison, “Twenty-one.”

Cheers, claps and whistles from the group. “Give this man another beer!” “Hell, give him however many he wants!”

Niall was busy tuning the guitar. It was a magnificent instrument and he thought about protesting the gift; he had a good idea what it had cost. But he had fallen in love with it. No way am I going to give it up. And besides, they must have gone to a lot of trouble to arrange the surprise. How could he deny them the fun they’d obviously had?

The next song was John Denver’s “Country Roads,” and Niall didn’t require much urging to join in. Bonnie was sitting close enough to hear him sing, and she said to Laura, “Niall really does have a nice, smooth sound. Perfect for folk music.”

Others sitting nearby heard him as well, and when they’d finished the Denver song, someone spoke to Nate who turned to Niall and asked him, “What’s your fav’rite, bro?”

“‛The Sound of Silence,’” Niall said immediately.

“Come and sit here with me … what’s your name, son?” Niall told him. “Good Irish name, Niall. You Irish?”

“Yeah, I am. Well, my dad’s folks were.”

“Come sit with me and let’s you and me sing your song, whaddya say?”

Niall moved over willingly to join Nate, and on the night of his twenty-first birthday, Niall Logan gave his first public performance, singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” with a guy named Nate at a folk jam in Aspen, Colorado, while his sister and his new-found love listened with pride and delight.

Links to all my novels can be found on my website:

http://www.susanmoorejordan.com

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