Amazon smashwords Category:  Inspirational ISBN-10:  1540821935 Type: Fiction ISBN-13: 9781540821935 The road to forgiveness is dressed up by roadblocks of repentance, and time is all that matters, so use it well. There’s been a terrible mistake! Jack Mann should be in Los Angeles, getting ready to receive the Lawyer of the Year Award; instead he is standing in front of a movie theater, staring in disbelief, at a smiling man who is not only as tall as a tree but is also wearing skirt. The giant informs Jack about his terrible fate, but Jack vehemently claims the gift of free will, which can never be denied, in order to return home. However, natural laws forbid replications, so the lot falls on a life that is not Jack’s; a life of an albino in rural Tanzania, a place where albinos are hunted and killed for their body parts in order to create magic concoctions that make people rich. Failure to return home means Jack has to face the reason why he’s been brought to the movie theater. What follows are revelations of lies, secrets, and betrayals between husbands, wives, and friends, some unsuccessfully covered by murder. Only complete repentance can be called forgiveness, so who will qualify? Excerpt Chapter 1 Jack Mann couldn’t remember where he had come from. He had no idea where he was going as well. So he stopped at the gigantic white castle. First, he noticed the strange clothes the doorman was wearing; a plaid skirt into which a white shirt, buttoned to the neck, was tucked and a pair of black shoes with white socks. And then Jack realized that the man was two times taller than the door. For a brief moment, Jack was embarrassed to be so short next to this giant; at five foot one, doctors had told him that three hundred pounds was too heavy for his heart. “What do you want this time?” cried the giant. The question was not aimed at Jack. A man in army uniform had just come out of the building; he was scratching his upper lip with his right hand. “My mustache is itchy,” the man said to the giant. “And I’m lonely.” “Didn’t I tell you to read that sign?” asked the giant, pointing. “Yes,” said the man. “The sign says S.F.H. How does that help a lonely man?”“It helps when you remain at your post,” the giant cried. “Why are you not watching the sad dam?” The man in uniform said, “Easy for you to say. Have you seen the blood in the water? Have you seen how scary Mr. Reltih can be?” “Mr. Reltih cannot do you any harm in this building.” “But what about the keeper of the bin? I hate his beard.” “Quit making excuses and just go!” cried the giant. The man turned and headed for a huge door, still scratching his mustache. Chapter 2 While the two men were arguing, Jack Mann had been staring at colorful signs on the building, especially one that said FREE. Now he stepped forward, but a voice stopped him. “WHEN WILL THE BUSH GROW?” the uniformed man yelled suddenly, standing at the door, ready to enter, but still scratching his mustache. “Stay alert,” replied the giant. “No one knows the exact time.” And then he turned to look down at Jack. “Welcome, how was your trip?” “Anything to eat inside?” Jack blurted. “Why do you want to eat?” replied the doorman. “I’m starving!” cried Jack. “How much is the entrance ticket?” “Entrance is free.” “Quit joking, sir,” said Jack. “I don’t believe in free things. I like to pay. I don’t want people asking me for free stuff in return.” “That’s you,” replied the doorman. “Here, entrance is free but you need the recipes now.”“Why must I have recipes to enter and eat free food?” “I didn’t say the recipes are compulsory, I said you need them.” The man reached inside his pocket and took out a scroll of parchment. “This…this is ancient Egyptian papyrus,” he explained. Feeling too hungry to laugh, Jack stared at the parchment. “I need food, not recipes!” Unrolling the document, the doorman said, “Most people don’t know what they need and…” “I don’t need recipes!” “Everyone needs them.” “That’s because they like free stuff…do I look like everyone?” “You’re wearing a suit like most people that come here.” “I don’t need this…I don’t need your recipes!” cried Jack As he marched into the building, he snapped, “Let me know how much I owe and I’ll have my secretary write a check.” The doorman chuckled because it was funny to him that people don’t understand simple signs. Everyone’s in a hurry, he mused. Hurrying to enter the building was Jack Mann’s first mistake. He had failed to notice that the sign saying FREE was an abbreviation. The full meaning was printed at the bottom in italics. It said, Forgiveness Requires Endless Emancipation. Of course, every failure comes with consequences. Chapter 3 Jack Mann stood inside a quiet lobby, the size of two stadiums. A tender breeze caressed his face and he heard leaves rustling and twigs snapping.“Why must I have recipes to enter and eat free food?” “I didn’t say the recipes are compulsory, I said you need them.” The man reached inside his pocket and took out a scroll of parchment. “This…this is ancient Egyptian papyrus,” he explained. Feeling too hungry to laugh, Jack stared at the parchment. “I need food, not recipes!” Unrolling the document, the doorman said, “Most people don’t know what they need and…” “I don’t need recipes!” “Everyone needs them.” “That’s because they like free stuff…do I look like everyone?” “You’re wearing a suit like most people that come here.” “I don’t need this…I don’t need your recipes!” cried Jack As he marched into the building, he snapped, “Let me know how much I owe and I’ll have my secretary write a check.” The doorman chuckled because it was funny to him that people don’t understand simple signs. Everyone’s in a hurry, he mused. Hurrying to enter the building was Jack Mann’s first mistake. He had failed to notice that the sign saying FREE was an abbreviation. The full meaning was printed at the bottom in italics. It said, Forgiveness Requires Endless Emancipation. Of course, every failure comes with consequences. Chapter 3 Jack Mann stood inside a quiet lobby, the size of two stadiums. A tender breeze caressed his face and he heard leaves rustling and twigs snapping.Seeing no trees or branches, Jack wondered if his mind was working in slow motion. Was nature tricking him? As a kid when Jack told his mother about the strange noises he heard while playing by himself, his Mom would smile and say, “You are hearing the footsteps of your guardian angel, which is like your personal body guard.” Now, he saw a white dove flying across the room. But when he looked again he saw nothing except huge desks standing next to chairs behind smaller desks carrying computers. He touched a screen and ran his hand over the surface of a desk. Cinemas should have workers and customers, he thought. What’s going on? Then he had an idea. If he stopped walking, stopped breathing and listened; perhaps he would hear human voices? The desolation of isolation sharpens the senses, so that the slightest sign of life is sniffed up, identified and craved like an addiction. But the more he listened the deeper his ears plunged into the void of silence. It was so quiet that Jack heard the noiselessness. He began to suspect his sanity. If people go mad because they see and hear non-existent things then this was his season to lose his reason. Whoever heard of a breeze, rustling leaves and snapping twigs in a theater? And the stillness in the air…like scenery in a photograph. Had he really seen a white dove? As far as he could see, movement came from a sign flashing the words; PLAYING NOW. Struggling with the distortion, Jack let go his breath… and then…he heard. Scrub! Scrub! Scrub! The shelves near the wall were producing sounds. Silence, hanging between intervals had a rhythm, as if a stopwatch was allowing two seconds of peace between each scrub.An inner voice suddenly yelled: Run! But Jack froze. With great effort, he stopped his shaky legs from running. He was starving. Nothing mattered now. Not even his life. He had to eat; otherwise he would die of hunger. He took a step towards the noise and the ball of fear in his stomach grew bigger. His heart pounded, but he kept tip-toeing, holding his breath, overwhelmed by curiosity and dread. Curiosity was saying, “go on,” but dread warned him to flee. His stomach rumbled again and courage rushed at him. Jack stepped behind the shelf and came face-to-face with the cause of the noise. Chapter 4 A gray-haired man on his knees looked up. The light in his big green eyes gave Jack an uncanny feeling. Without warning, the man sprang to his feet. Swinging a wet rag in the air, he growled like a disturbed animal. Jack saw nothing after the cloth hit his face. “Hey!” he cried, wiping his face. “I shudda killed ye in the bathroom!” the old man yelled. He flung the bucket. Whoosh! It was sound of air as the bucket flew by Jack’s head. His blurred vision cleared up and Jack picked up the bucket but a light burst forth before his eyes. The bucket bounced against the floor, and Jack’s body shuddered as if shocked by electricity. He screamed, wondering what was wrong with his voice. And then he realized the old man was screaming too...

Really Enjoyed!!! By Charlotte on Amazon
July 26, 2017
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This in no way influences my opinions.

Heavenwood isn't really the type of book I'm used to, or one that I might normally read. Most aspects of this novel were completely different to what I'm used to reading, however, this was in no way a bad thing and I really enjoyed this book, particularly for its themes and the twists and turns in the plot line. This was something that pleased me for the entirety of the novel, and also one of my favourite things about the novel as a whole.
I'll admit, initially I was slightly confused with everything that occurred in the outset of the novel - we see a few different points of view, some of which appear to be told as flashbacks, and straightaway they seem to be completely separate storylines to each other. It was only when I continued reading for a little longer that I realised this was not at all the case. The plot lines interwove really well, and a lot faster than I had anticipated, which I believe the story benefited from. This meant that it didn't take too long for the story to 'introduce' itself and set out the main plot line.

The characters in Heavenwood were initially slightly confusing people for me, before the plot lines had straightened themselves out. Jack is our main character, who has just died and gone to 'Heavenwood', and Nikka is his wife, now widow. We see Jack's friend Dickson in a few of the scenes, too, who appears to be attempting to get with Nikka following Jack's death, which I think is the part I found to be the most confusing. However, I was happy by the end of the novel when everything was revealed regarding these characters - it was a satisfying reveal and ending and I was content with the character progression, particularly that of Jack, throughout the course of the novel - I definitely found that I liked him as a person more towards the end.

In terms of the writing in Heavenwood, I have no faults to pick up on. Perhaps the style of writing isn't what I'm used to reading and what I'd necessarily pick when I look for a novel, but in terms of how it told the story, it was pretty fast-paced yet also descriptive. The length of this novel was something that I thought benefited the story as a whole, and since it is a fairly short book it was able to get to the point quite quickly - I liked this. Overall, though, I had no problems with the writing in this book - it definitely did what it needed to and conveyed the story well.

In the least negative way possible, the story of Heavenwood was slightly confusing from time to time. I did feel that parts of it were difficult to follow, and while the concept behind the story was definitely interesting, it was also strange until I managed to get my head around it. I liked the themes behind the story, particularly the ideas of forgiveness and learning more about yourself, and I also really liked the idea this story proposed about what happens to you when you die, and it was definitely an interesting touch for all of the characters in the story to be dead.
Some parts of the story did seem slightly far-fetched to me, even for a novel set in an after-world of sorts. I'm not quite sure how I felt about all the murders that everybody had committed. Obviously, murders do happen, and there are murderers who go undiscovered, but for a great deal of the principal characters to have killed someone at some point seemed slightly too far for me, but it definitely was an interesting touch.

Overall, I liked this book. I liked how deep it was, and how it left me as the reader with so many moral questions and thoughts. This story did touch me a lot, and made me consider things about my life and my choices that I definitely wouldn't have thought of before reading Heavenwood. For that reason, I think it's quite an important book for a wide audience to read, and therefore I would recommend it to (young) adults who are a fan of urban fantasy books, particularly those which deal with death or life after death. I gave Heavenwood 3.5 stars overall, because I did really enjoy it, but like most other books, it had a few minor faults that just prevented it from being amazing, in my opinion. It was still a really good read though, and I'd be interested in keeping an eye on this author for any future work.

several good messages came out of it..by Lorreta Lynn on Amazon
So, you've heard of the snowball effect, right? Where something insignificant creates a chain of events that just gradually gets bigger and bigger? Heavenwood was the embodiment of that in novel form.

Jack Mann's trip to Heavenwood was just a wee bit unexpected. Now that he's there, his life got a whole lot more complicated. When I say complicated, I mean day time soap opera complicated.

That will bring me to my first point: the drama. There's always two sides to every story. Well, both sides are equally as important should be awkward moment arise that it needs to be talked about. Which they did. Often. Their stories got deeper the longer things went on. The level of progression it takes to unweave the truth as to why they're in Heavenwood happens in small increments. A breadcrumb trail leading to something much larger.

Don't be fooled, however. Drama is not necessarily the staple of this story. It's a means to an end. Amidst all the conflict, several good messages came out of it. Love, forgiveness...things of that nature. It was done to the tune of modern religion. Everything was alright up until the discussion inevitably turned to sexual orientation. While I like how the conversation got there, I didn't like the end of it.

Writing style suits the narrative well. Things start short and choppy to set the mood, and then gradually get longer. Not by a whole lot, though. The plot was constantly on the go and the style kept up with that. It created an atmosphere of urgency, which is then reflected by the reader.

The level of depth to the story reflects the level of depth of the characters, as well. The reader gets to know them little by little, and each new chapter opens up a whole new perspective on them. Perspective and not judging a book by its cover are also two heavy themes throughout. All the stories end up intertwined somehow, each character being equally as important as the next. They're on the journey together, and the plot makes sure of that.

Reading other perspectives on the "life after death" subject is always interesting. No two visions are the same. It brought to life some very basic points that humanity seems to have forgotten. They're weaved seamlessly, yet obviously, throughout the narrative. Overall it was a good read. Excellent setup from start to finish. Good execution. Very creative.