Ivy is the quintessential, American sweetheart; strikingly attractive with a heart of gold. Tragedy defines her, but she refuses to let it destroy her. When her brother, Commanding Officer Oliver Rose, is killed in combat in Libya, Ivy learns to put her faith in what remains constant in her life – the natural beauty of her native, coastal California.
Her life is beautiful but incredibly lonely. That is until three of Oliver’s soldiers show up on her doorstep in the wake of his death, in a moment that will change all of their lives irrevocably.
When Ivy’s peaceful life collides with the soldiers’ lives of conflict, she is inevitably exposed to a terrifying world of war, enmity, and a betrayal that she learns has forged an intricate path of destruction in the minds of the soldiers. The four friends find themselves navigating an unchartered, modern world that will test their inner strength, unveil their deepest fears, and lay bare the raw passion of living in the present.
There is not much that doesn't inspire me. Music. People. The ocean. Flowers. Traveling. Islands. The animal kingdom. History. Our future. Being in the sunshine. Summer. Children. Family. World news. The list is endless. Even the ugly sides of humanity can evoke a helplessness inside of me that creates some strange sense of inspiration. My empathy brings me pain, but it also brings me an appreciation. A depth to life. A respectful understanding of other inhabitants of this earth. It has taught me how to balance the good with the bad. I will never stop looking for the beauty in everything and everyone that surrounds us.
During the most insightful period of my life so far...Orange Sky happened. Inspired by all.
I tried to keep a constant theme throughout the novel, where Ivy's light confronted Hart's darkness. Times when he could feel her pulling him from the isolation of his grief from what had happened in the war. Slowly, but surely, bringing him back to life when he was once so sure he wanted death.
Book Excerpt
Orange Sky
He looked up at Ivy again. Her mouth was slightly parted, and she considered him with a seriousness that panicked his guilty heart. Her wistful eyes saw everything for what it was. He thought his secrets were buried far beyond her reach, but the way she looked at him tonight gave him the impression that she had already unearthed them. He imagined her ethereal presence floating in the darkness within him, confronting the black heart of the devil and luring Hart's secrets from his craven claws. No one could withstand her blinding white light, not even the devil himself.
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