Detached
The Fleischer Series Book 1
The Fleischer Series Book 1
By Wendi
Starusnak
I have the hardest time looking at this womans last name, without
thinking I need a snack, I swear. I type it, and it’s, “You start, you snack.”
Her name should not be legal. I’m sorry, I just had to put that in there. She
probably gonna blow a gasket when she reads this…LOL
Now then, onto my review. Let me just start by saying did you look at
the cover? No really. Did you happen to look at the cover? You look at it and
know, I better not read this in the dark, and I better not sleep alone either,
and I sure hope there isn’t a storm and a power outage tonight. And then the
thunder cracks and you jump out of your seat.
Within the covers of this scary looking book, we will meet Emily Ruth
Fleischer, and learn her secrets that she honestly doesn’t want to tell.
It was 1976 and Emily had to write it down, and put it somewhere so
that it was out of her head, or so she thought. The things that her father did,
her family, and the things that even Emily herself later did. Emily just had to
put pen to paper and let it out, in hopes it would make her feel better.
Disgusting and painful things like being fed and having to eat their
beautiful mare Whisper for dinner. She didn’t want to. Neither did Johnny her
older brother. But their father slapped them so hard, and said it eat it. And
there was nothing else to eat, or they would starve. Your nose is wrinkling and
you’re grossed out aren’t you? Oh please. That isn’t even the worse part.
Julie is the doll that is part of Emily, she talks for her, and is the
voice in her head. Julie is a lot stronger then Emily.
Caroline is another sister, and she is younger than Emily, and Emily
takes care of her, protects her when she can, and there is also Eric. Emily
often wonders why each child looks totally different, nothing like one another.
And of course, there is also Mom, and Lucky the dog, who often laps up Caroline’s
tears.
Emily often went to bed at night saying the common child’s prayer: ‘Now
I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I day before I
wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.” And she would often fall to sleep
tightly clasped to Julie her dolly.
Then as I Emily rolls over in the night, the nightmare comes to life.
The door handle clicks. She prays that it will not happen tonight. She grasps
her dolly tightly. The Monster that usually bothers her, comes in, and goes
over to her sister Caroline, and climbs onto her, and she hears Caroline moan
in her sleep. Emily starts crying quietly, squeezing her doll, “No not
Caroline!” She has had to deal with this happening to her all of these years,
but now to her sister? No, it can’t happen. The tears are streaming from Emily’s
eyes, and she is getting angrier and angrier, hate is building inside of her
for the Monster she has to call Daddy….
This book is a five star read, that will literally blow your socks
off, and make you want to punch a few of the characters as you read the book. Trust
me. I went through so many emotions as I read this. I cried, I screamed, and I
even could physically see these things happening and I just wanted to --- this
book is intense. You really need to read it. It is amazing. It is a definite
page turner that you will not put down, until you know the problem is no more.
Wendi is an excellent writer, and thankfully, she sent me the other
books, because I need them. I feel in love with her writing instantly, and I
think you will too!
Here are my
questions for Wendi:
1. What made you write this book and
how long did it take you?
I’ve wanted to be a published author ever since I can first
remember. This book was a story that I
needed to tell. I wanted to give a voice
to all the physical feelings and emotions that a child feels when they are
abused. A lot of myself went into Emily,
the main character. A lot of adults have
no concept of what a kid goes through on the inside or the outside when they
suffer abuse and that’s a very lonely feeling.
Even after telling the right people, I was urged to not speak about my
experiences with anyone except those I was told to. I was forced to be silent yet again and that
seemed so wrong to me. I refused to
speak to my counselor or anybody else about what I had been through. Every time I talked about it, it seemed like
somebody new got angry at me. I felt
like I was wrong for what I had been through, and that’s not the case. I want to be able to be a voice against
abuse, to shed a light on some of the realities of it, and to hopefully give
somebody else the courage to speak out themselves.
2. Did you have nightmares after
writing this book? If not, why not?
Haha! I had nightmares while writing Detached. I had so long separated myself from that hurt
little girl that trying to place myself in different scenes to better be able
to describe them really brought stuff that I never allowed to bother me back to
the surface. Not all of the experiences
were my own and Detached is definitely a work of fiction, of course. But even to place myself in fictional Emily’s
shoes to tell her story (which included experiences of others that I know) gave
me all the right ingredients for those nightmares that really stick with a
person.
3. Do you have photos or descriptions
of these characters?
I purposely tried not to give any of the characters too much description
in the hopes that the reader would more easily find themselves in Emily’s shoes
and her monsters could more easily become their own, if that makes sense. There is a little description of Emily and
each of her family members in Detached despite this.
4. What gives you the desire to
write?
I’ve always had it. I think
maybe the desire comes from knowing I can weave whatever worlds I want and in
these worlds, I’m in charge. Whatever I
choose is reality, is. For my Fleischer
Series in particular, it was important for me to make sure people know this
stuff exists and it doesn’t affect every child the same way, but it does affect
every waking moment for that child for the time that it goes on, at least. And then, even in the most well-balanced and
strongest people, different little things can pop up at any moment that make
the abuse affect them all over again.
5. What is your favorite book of all
time?
I honestly can’t think of one single favorite. I have loved almost every book that I’ve ever
read. When I was younger it started with
the Nancy Drew books and anything else I could get my hands on. Then I discovered Stephen King and all the
other horror writers and really fell in love with the darker books… maybe even as
a child it was the darker books I enjoyed more.
6. Have you ever met any Authors IRL?
I’ve met several other authors (a lot of Indie and I think at least a
couple were traditionally published) and probably won’t think of all their
names right now… Ron Chapman, Bonnie Burnatowski, Alyshia Hull, Eileen Parsons,
Lisa Buske, those are the ones that stick out in my head right now. I’ll have to start keeping a list, or making
sure I buy signed copies of each of their books!
7. What all education have you had?
Well, there is the school of life but I also was supposed to graduate
half a year early from high school because I would have had enough credits and
I was due to have my first child after the first half but before graduation…
because of high risk issues and then so many excuses after, I ended up getting
my GED with only credit for 2 courses lacking.
I did some other different schooling stuff, but the only thing that
really applies to my life as a writer is the Advanced Fiction Writing course I
took online just to focus my brain better and really get back into writing the
way I wanted to. That course I took
right before beginning Detached.
8. What are you working on now?
Right this minute I’m finishing up the final touches and self-edits of
Deceived- Book 4 (and the final book) of the Fleischer Series.
9. Who designed that scary cover for
"Detached"? I love it!
Thank you! Another writer,
Tasha Gwartney, actually has done all of my covers, teasers, and my trailer for
me. We exchange services and so far, it
is a partnership I couldn’t do without.
10. Please share with us your media
links and book links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorWendiStarusnak
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@WendiStarusnak
Website: www.willowtree.b-town.us
Detached (universal link): books2read.com/u/m2pLrb
Deranged (universal link): books2read.com/u/3Rq9vb
Demented (universal link): books2read.com/u/brQgZ4
Deceived (Coming Soon! Connect
with me at any of my social sites above to stay up-to-date on any
new releases!)
11. Anything to add: Thank you
so much for taking the time out of your life to read my books and do this
interview with me! It is very much
appreciated! And thank you to everyone
who has read any or all of my work, it means the world to me!
Detached by Wendi StarusnakMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have the hardest time looking at this womans last name, without thinking I need a snack, I swear. I type it, and it’s, “You start, you snack.” Her name should not be legal. I’m sorry, I just had to put that in there. She probably gonna blow a gasket when she reads this…LOL
Now then, onto my review. Let me just start by saying did you look at the cover? No really. Did you happen to look at the cover? You look at it and know, I better not read this in the dark, and I better not sleep alone either, and I sure hope there isn’t a storm and a power outage tonight. And then the thunder cracks and you jump out of your seat.
Within the covers of this scary looking book, we will meet Emily Ruth Fleischer, and learn her secrets that she honestly doesn’t want to tell.
It was 1976 and Emily had to write it down, and put it somewhere so that it was out of her head, or so she thought. The things that her father did, her family, and the things that even Emily herself later did. Emily just had to put pen to paper and let it out, in hopes it would make her feel better.
Disgusting and painful things like being fed and having to eat their beautiful mare Whisper for dinner. She didn’t want to. Neither did Johnny her older brother. But their father slapped them so hard, and said it eat it. And there was nothing else to eat, or they would starve. Your nose is wrinkling and you’re grossed out aren’t you? Oh please. That isn’t even the worse part.
Julie is the doll that is part of Emily, she talks for her, and is the voice in her head. Julie is a lot stronger then Emily.
Caroline is another sister, and she is younger than Emily, and Emily takes care of her, protects her when she can, and there is also Eric. Emily often wonders why each child looks totally different, nothing like one another. And of course, there is also Mom, and Lucky the dog, who often laps up Caroline’s tears.
Emily often went to bed at night saying the common child’s prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I day before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.” And she would often fall to sleep tightly clasped to Julie her dolly.
Then as I Emily rolls over in the night, the nightmare comes to life. The door handle clicks. She prays that it will not happen tonight. She grasps her dolly tightly. The Monster that usually bothers her, comes in, and goes over to her sister Caroline, and climbs onto her, and she hears Caroline moan in her sleep. Emily starts crying quietly, squeezing her doll, “No not Caroline!” She has had to deal with this happening to her all of these years, but now to her sister? No, it can’t happen. The tears are streaming from Emily’s eyes, and she is getting angrier and angrier, hate is building inside of her for the Monster she has to call Daddy….
This book is a five star read, that will literally blow your socks off, and make you want to punch a few of the characters as you read the book. Trust me. I went through so many emotions as I read this. I cried, I screamed, and I even could physically see these things happening and I just wanted to --- this book is intense. You really need to read it. It is amazing. It is a definite page turner that you will not put down, until you know the problem is no more.
Wendi is an excellent writer, and thankfully, she sent me the other books, because I need them. I feel in love with her writing instantly, and I think you will too!
View all my reviews
