Book Spotlight: Story Bends by S.D. Henke : Nicole Pyles

I’m excited to join in this blog tour for S.D. Henke! Read the book summary and then the excerpt below!

Story Bends

By S.D. Henke

Publisher Pen Name Publishing

Published October 9th

What if your only escape from death was to meet it half way?

If the voices called on YOU…

Needed YOU…

Brought YOU in between the Bends of time where all faith is lost to those who wait. Your etchings hold the secrets to guide them on their way. Yet, there will be no safe passage if evil finds you first and you have no toll to pay.

Purchase through Amazon

I have for you an excerpt of the book:

“These pictures are different, Edvood. The likeness of the tall one reminds me of my late husband.” She inhales.

“He’s a bright burly one, that Siegfried,” I say.

“And the girl, Tilly, she is lovely, no?”

“I suppose if you’re the sort who can appreciate a bramble of thistle stuck in your shin, then yes,” we both laugh.

“I would have liked to have met them, Edvood. The giant, the mouse and your tiny dancer.”

“Quite the baffling bunch,” I say.

“It is good that you’ve drawn these.”

“I don’t ever want to forget them.” My hand lands softly on the image of Fritz. I trace my pointer finger around the cock-eyed frizzle of dark hair on his head. I aimed to capture his true age in his closely cinched wizened eyes. I’d think he was scowling if I didn’t know any better. “This is the way I always wish to remember him.”

“I think that you have helped them as much as they have helped you, Edvood. This love for your friends and these Bends is eternal. It is never forgotten.”

“What if I can’t save them in time?”

“What may come to be is not written yet. Just like the pictures in your journal that you have come to understand, we will not know until it is time that we must.”

“I owe them more than a meek pillar of hope for what they’ve given me.”

“All pillars have the foundation to stand and hold their ground when it matters most.”

“Another speech at the pulpit,” I mutter.

“It isn’t a question of faith, Edvood. It is what speaks to whatever is in us that is part of the greater question. Nothing, not God, not a miracle, just what is inside you. You yourself are the miracle, Edvood.”

“You never question things, do you?”

“Never is a blinding word, Edvood. It cuts off our access to the many paths that lay before us. I say, better that we choose. Each and every day, we have a choice to make.”

“I sincerely hope you’re right.”

——

I began making my first connections to story in the early days of my childhood. Raised by my mother who ran an in-home daycare was where my imagination could run free and unencumbered. It was a safe zone and I learned from that experience the power of unconditional love.But my story wasn’t always filled with happy ever afters, and I came to understand that there are some sorrows and trauma that are part of all of us. As love and joy are universal, so is pain and suffering. Through the magic and alchemy of story, we can reach farther and heal our wounds.

I started my teaching career nearly 20 years ago and knew from the moment I began that this was my true calling. Teaching was in my bones and so, naturally was the little nip of my conscience for storytelling. I work to build strong, long-lasting relationships with my students. In fact, I began on this path toward a writing career because of the imprint they’ve had on my spirit. What I didn’t know was what the Muse had in store for me as the children I still come into contact with today continue to inspire the stories I write.

My greatest loves are exploring nature and spending time with family and friends. Whether I’m splashing it up on the local reservoirs, rafting down the Poudre River with my husband, two boys, and our dog Sophie, or shaping young minds in my classroom, I consider myself lucky to call Fort Collins, Colorado my home.