Book Review For Sand Dollar by Kate Patrick
Posted on May 27, 2012
“Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love is Sebastian Cole’s debut novel, but I think he will have a long list of best sellers if he keeps going at this rate. Cole twists and turns this plot (which is why I couldn’t put it down) to where you can’t assume anything about the ending. You HAVE to read it. It will renew your faith in finding and keeping that one true love.” – Kate Patrick
Another Great Review for Sand Dollar!
Posted on May 21, 2012
“So to the hopeless romantics out there I say,
Highly Recommended – have at it, this is a must-read.
To the snarling cynics like me who mentally have their arms akimbo
and their eyebrow raised,
I say pick up Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love
and surprise yourself by discovering the romantic in you.”
— Bookideas.com
Click here for the whole review from Bookideas.com
Sixteenth Chapter: A Shack In The Woods
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Posted on May 21, 2012
Forty-nine-year-old Brittany walks into my hospital room and joins Scott, Sharon, and Josh around my bed.
“Thanks for coming, Britt,” I say appreciatively.
“This is little Brittany?” Josh exclaims, surprised. “Wow, she sure turned into a beautiful woman, didn’t she?”
Brittany places her hand gently on my face and looks deep into my eyes with her warm, loving eyes. I return the sentiment.
“How’s your mom doing?” Scott asks her.
“I just left her room,” she says, looking over at Scott. “Olivia’s still there with her now. When she and Noah arrived in the ambulance, she was hysterical. The doctor had to sedate her twice just to calm her down.”
“Is Robin okay? What happened?” I ask, concerned.
“She’s okay now,” Brittany says, moving my hair away from my eyes and mouthing the words I love you to me. “She’s resting comfortably. Besides, she’s much better off not knowing what’s about to happen to Noah,” she says, looking back at Scott.
“Britt, what are you talking about? What’s about to happen to me? Can’t I just go home?”
Fifteenth Chapter: A Kiss To Remember
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Posted on May 21, 2001
As Noah loaded a cardboard box into the back of a small U-haul truck, Robin, wearing her new diamond engagement ring, hugged Julie in front of her apartment.
“I’m going to miss you,” Julie said to Robin. “One piece of advice… keep him this time, okay?”
“Oh, believe me, I will. I love him, and nothing could ever change my mind about that.”
“Well, maybe you should write yourself a letter… just in case.”
Robin laughed as she kissed Julie good-bye and headed for the truck.
Forty-five minutes later, the U-haul truck pulled into Noah’s cobblestone driveway in Jamestown. While Noah grabbed a carton from the back of the truck, Robin stood on the threshold fumbling with an orange foam keychain with her daughter standing beside her, clutching onto Pinocchio and anxious to go in. As soon as the door opened, Brittany ran up the stairs to find her new room, her smile fading as she entered. The walls were brown, the curtains brown, the comforter brown, and the dresser was black.
“Mommy,” she called out. “MOMMY !” she screamed nervously, not getting an immediate response.
Sand Dollar’s First Book Review
Posted on May 16, 2012
“Sand Dollar, a fantasy romance by Sebastian Cole,
lives up to its subtitle, A Story of Undying Love.
… bookreview.com considers Sand Dollar an excellent romance novel
and looks forward to reading more from Sebastian Cole.”
— BookReview.com
Click here to read the whole review from BookReview.com
(Warning: contains spoiler)
Fourteenth Chapter: Destiny
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Posted on May 14, 2012
Light gusts of wind blew brown leaves in swirling patterns as Noah, rid of his beard, sat at his desk staring out the window, surprised to see a red robin sitting on the sill, waiting patiently for her mate to arrive with another twig. Like clockwork, the other red robin flew in, placed the twig in the nest, and flew away to go find another twig.
Diane sat at her desk watching him. “Noah, you okay? You gotta snap out of it and finish the profit projections that were due yesterday. Noah… Noah?”
“I can’t stop thinking about her. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Who? Cindy?”
“No… Robin. She was the one. I don’t understand what happened,” he said morosely. “Robin, I don’t understand,” he said softly to himself.
“Destiny’s funny that way. If it was meant to be, Robin will come back to you. If she doesn’t, then it was never meant to be. It’s like that saying, If you love something, set it free…”
Noah leaped up, grabbed his briefcase, and strode toward the door.
“Hey, where you going? What about the projections?”
Noah stopped and looked at her. “To pay a visit to destiny,” he said, dropping the completed budgets on her desk and disappearing down the hallway.
IndieBound Carries Sand Dollar
Posted on May 12, 2012
Interested in picking up Sand Dollar at your local bookstore?
Just visit IndieBound for an independent bookstore near you!
Book Giveaway
Posted on May 10, 2012
I’ll be giving away paperback books of Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love at Goodreads.com.
Enter here to win, and good luck!
If there’s no contest currently going on, please check back again at a later date.
Thirteenth Chapter: The Company He Keeps
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Posted on May 7, 2012
The phone was ringing off the hook as Noah lay motionless on the bed. Rosa walked into the bedroom and answered the phone on the nightstand. “Hello. Oh, hi, Mr. Hartman. Yes, Noah’s here, but he no want to talk right now. He knows it’s been two weeks since he’s been to work. He knows the budgets are past due. Okay, I tell him. Bye, Mr. Hartman.” No sooner had she hung up the phone than it rang again. “Hello. Oh, hi, Mrs. Hartman. No, Noah no want to come for dinner tonight. He still no feel good. Okay, I tell him. Bye, Mrs. Hartman,” she said, hanging up and leaving the room. The phone rang again, and Rosa could be heard speaking down the hall. “Hello. Oh, hi, Scott. No, Noah no want to talk right now. Okay, I tell him…”
“My life was not the same without Robin in it. I was depressed, and nothing could make me happy — nothing except for Robin, that is.”
UPDATE: Sand Dollar eBook Now Available for Nook
Posted on May 4, 2012
Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love is now available for the Nook. The price is 99 cents.
Click here to visit Sand Dollar’s page at Barnes & Noble.
To see the full list of online retailers, click here.
Twelfth Chapter: The Marriage Proposal
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Posted on April 30, 2012
My seventy-seven-year-old sister-in-law enters my hospital room and walks over to my brother standing beside my bed. “Hi, honey,” she says, kissing him. “Hi, Noah,” she says softly, looking down at me.
“Hi, Sharon. Thanks for coming,” I say, happy to see her. “I’d like you to meet my new friend Josh over here. I was just telling him the story about Robin and me.”
She looks into my eyes, smiles, and kisses my head, making me blush.
“You know, Noah, you’re a man after my own heart,” Josh admits. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. ‘And on that day you and I will simply sail away into heaven together’ — now that’s good stuff. Did you think of that all by yourself? Anyway, go on, go on; I love a good love story.”
They were all looking at me with pleasant eyes that encouraged me to continue. “So, like I was saying… it was a wonderful summer that I’ll never forget. But all good things must eventually come to an end. The air was getting colder and the leaves were starting to fall. And like the song says, ‘Seasons were made for change’, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Nothing could have prepared me for what would happen next…”
Eleventh Chapter: The North Star
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Posted on April 30, 2012
“It was great sailing weather that summer, and I got to spend time with my two loves — Robin and Freedom. Now what could better than that?”
As long as you had a boat, there was always plenty to do on Narragansett Bay during the summer months in the Ocean State. Noah’s sailboat was one of a thousand boats anchored off the Quonset Point Air Force Base for the annual air show. Brittany was wearing a purple life preserver, trying to follow the dazzling display of aeronautics through a pair of oversized binoculars. Noah took a picture of Robin blowing a kiss to him just as The Blue Angels flew by with a thunderous roar.
Tenth Chapter: The Real World
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Posted on April 30, 2012
High on a cliff overlooking a sandy beach, Zeke was giving Noah a huge bear hug in front of an old trailer at the trailer park. Zeke was big and burly, nearly double Noah’s size, with a thick beard.
“Sorry, we’re big huggers in our family,” Zeke admitted, releasing him. “Me and Mary are so glad to finally meet you. Robin has told us so much about you. And anyone who treats our little girl with love and respect is always welcome here.”
“Thanks, that’s really nice of you to say,” Noah said, recovering from the hug.
Mary was short, with long, salt and pepper hair. “Hi, Noah, I’m Mary,” she said, kissing his cheek and making him blush. “You sure are easy on the eyes.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Jaworski.”
“Mrs. Jaworski? Who’s that? Call me Mary. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll even call me Mom.”
“Sure thing… MOM.”
UPDATE: Sand Dollar paperback available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Posted on April 26, 2012
The paperback version of Sand Dollar is now available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Amazon hasn’t uploaded the cover image yet, however, and Barnes & Noble hasn’t entered the description. Hopefully, they’ll display this information shortly.
Click on a logo to go to Sand Dollar’s selling page:
UPDATE: Sand Dollar eBook Now Available for Kindle
Posted on April 25, 2012
Sand Dollar is now available for sale on Amazon for Kindle devices.
The price is just 99 cents.
Click here to visit Sand Dollar’s page on Amazon.
To see the full list of online retailers, click here.
Ninth Chapter: Meet The Parents
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Posted on April, 23, 2012
A valet driver opened the door to Noah’s Ferrari convertible as it pulled up in front of Capriccio restaurant in downtown Providence. Inside the elegant Italian restaurant, the ambiance was warm and charming, with a cobblestoned floor, columns with decorative moldings, and tables glowing under candlelight. The pianist at the baby grand was playing The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra as Noah, holding a small gift bag, walked over to the alcove where Scott, Sharon, Miriam, and Jerry were sitting.
“Happy birthday, Mom,” Noah said, kissing his mother’s cheek.
“Come here for a second,” she said, motioning for him to duck down.
Noah grimaced, lowering his head as Miriam proceeded to lick her hand and pat his hair down. As a tuxedoed waiter approached, Noah pulled away and sat down at the empty seat beside his brother. As the waiter made his way around the table with a bottle of Dom Pérignon, he poured Champagne into everyone’s glasses.
Eighth Chapter: Total Surrender
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Posted on April 23, 2012
Noah’s hair was riffled by the wind as he tacked his sixty-foot sailboat, her boom swinging across mid-ship as her sails filled with air. Majestic orange and red cliffs reflecting the setting sun welcomed her as she entered the mouth of Narragansett Bay into Newport Harbor. Gliding through the glistening water, seagulls squawked as they flew across her bow. The name on her transom read Freedom; Jamestown, RI.
As she lay on the teak bow, Robin looked back at Noah and smiled as they sailed by the abandoned lighthouse on the small private island, her red hair trailing in the breeze. Noah took a deep breath of the fresh air surrounding Freedom and smiled with contentment. He was living in the moment.
I Received The Proof
Posted on April 18, 2012
I received the first paperback book of Sand Dollar in the mail today from the printer/distributor for me to proofread.
I’m hoping to push the “Publish” button in a few days.
Click on image to view larger
Seventh Chapter: Great Expectations
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Posted on April 14, 2012
With a fresh coat of polish, Noah’s immaculate 1966 Ferrari pulled into Hartman Enterprises behind a beat-up, blue Mustang convertible, also a 1966 model. Noah followed the Mustang to the back corner of the lot and parked next to it. The driver, wearing a navy maintenance uniform, got out of the car and opened the trunk.
“Hey, Mike, I didn’t know you drove a classic,” Noah said, shutting his door.
“Hey, Noah,” the man replied, closing his trunk and putting a tool belt around his waist. “Yeah, that’s because I almost never drive it. I only take it out a couple times a year, just to air it out.”
“Sweet ride,” Noah said, peeking inside the Mustang. “I like the Pony seats.”
“The chassis is kind of beat up — not refurbished like yours.”
“What are you talking about? She’s a beaut,” Noah exclaimed, walking around the car, checking it out. “Besides, I don’t look at the outside so much as I do the inside. That’s where the real beauty is,” he said, stopping at the front of the car. “Do you mind?” he said, pointing at the hood.
Sixth Chapter: Butterflies
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Posted on April 13, 2012
With a Kmart shopping bag in each of her hands, a woman wearing a black leather coat and gray wool hat crossed the busy Weybosset Street intersection in downtown Providence. The sign on top of the concrete building she entered read Emergency Family Services of Rhode Island. Standing behind the front desk wearing a white uniform and talking on the phone, Robin smiled at her and motioned with her hand to wait just one second. A young woman with greasy blonde hair and a torn coat waited anxiously beside the desk. Her two young children stared with blank faces at the TV across the lobby. The four-year-old, a cute little girl with curly, brown hair, spotted a penny on the floor, and without calling attention to it, she picked it up, examined it, and placed it in a large glass collection box containing only a handful of spare change.
“So you don’t have any beds open either, huh?” Robin said disappointedly into the phone. “Well, call me as soon as one opens up, okay? We’re filled to capacity over here too, and I’m running out of options for these people. Okay, thanks, Cheryl. Bye,” she said, hanging up with a frustrated sigh.
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