Read one of the most unapologetically politically incorrect books ever, Growing Your Monster.
Tragically, at the young age of seven, Kevin has already discovered that he is invisible to his family. Since he is invisible, it is hardly surprising that family members ignore his warnings about leaving their home in Mt. Zion and moving to Taresville, which is inhabited by Alternative Lives, commonly called ALTs.
Kevin’s fear about the move increases when they find an ALT named Sinny already living in their new home. Kevin asks if “Sinny” stands for sin, but since he is invisible, no one answers his question.
Kevin’s mom is amused that Sinny starts growing when the family moves into their new home. Kevin is not amused. He believes that Sinny’s growth is directly proportional to his family’s spiritual condition.
The move to Taresville quickly proves disastrous. Despite his best efforts, Kevin remains invisible to his family. His parents begin drinking heavily and fighting continually; Kevin’s older sister rides off on a motorcycle with a skell; and Kevin’s older brother invites friends over to hang out in the basement and do drugs. Sinny has increased in size and boldness, but strangely, seems to fear Kevin.
Kevin’s downfall is finally making a friend. Chad is trouble. From stealing sodas out of a machine to stealing a bicycle, the older boy drags Kevin along on his illegal adventures. Then Chad’s situation changes. His good luck is hard on Kevin, as his only friend moves away.
Tragedy strikes the Halford family with twin blows. It will take a miracle for them to survive the move to Taresville. If they are successful in shaking off the tragedy, will they ever notice their youngest child—the invisible one?
Tragically, at the young age of seven, Kevin has already discovered that he is invisible to his family. Since he is invisible, it is hardly surprising that family members ignore his warnings about leaving their home in Mt. Zion and moving to Taresville, which is inhabited by Alternative Lives, commonly called ALTs.
Kevin’s fear about the move increases when they find an ALT named Sinny already living in their new home. Kevin asks if “Sinny” stands for sin, but since he is invisible, no one answers his question.
Kevin’s mom is amused that Sinny starts growing when the family moves into their new home. Kevin is not amused. He believes that Sinny’s growth is directly proportional to his family’s spiritual condition.
The move to Taresville quickly proves disastrous. Despite his best efforts, Kevin remains invisible to his family. His parents begin drinking heavily and fighting continually; Kevin’s older sister rides off on a motorcycle with a skell; and Kevin’s older brother invites friends over to hang out in the basement and do drugs. Sinny has increased in size and boldness, but strangely, seems to fear Kevin.
Kevin’s downfall is finally making a friend. Chad is trouble. From stealing sodas out of a machine to stealing a bicycle, the older boy drags Kevin along on his illegal adventures. Then Chad’s situation changes. His good luck is hard on Kevin, as his only friend moves away.
Tragedy strikes the Halford family with twin blows. It will take a miracle for them to survive the move to Taresville. If they are successful in shaking off the tragedy, will they ever notice their youngest child—the invisible one?
Stephanie Parker McKean Biography
I’ve survived mauling by an African lion.
I’ve survived being bitten by a water moccasin snake.
I’ve emerged victorious from having been sexually abused as a child. Fleeing that abuse, I lived under a bridge and washed myself and my clothes in the river—even during the coldest months of the year. I painted signs in exchange for money for meals. If I didn’t make enough money, I didn’t eat. Now instead of living under a bridge, I write about them as in Bridge to Nowhere, released by Sunpenny Publishing.
I’ve learned that what doesn’t make you bitter makes you better. As trite as the saying is, you can’t make lemonade without the lemons.
And thank God, I’ve made the transition from atheist to Christian. My two favorite Bible verses are: in everything give thanks, and all things work together to good to them that love the LORD.
The worst day in my life was the day that I lost my job; my mother died and I couldn’t make plans to attend her funeral because my husband had just been sent home from the hospital to die; our sheepdog died, and my truck caught on fire in downtown San Antonio. With flames shooting up from under the hood, I raised my hands to the sky and thanked God. I was safe! Everything bad that could happen to one person in one day had already happened to me. It could only get better. It did.
Thanks to Sunpenny Publishing, Bridge to Nowhere joins my other Christian mystery-romance-suspense books: Heart Shadows, Until the Shadows Flee, and Shadow Chase. I’m now married to wonderful Alan McKean, author of The Scent of Time and The Scent of Home. We live in the lovely Black Isle of Scotland with our rough collie, Angel Joy. But I bet you want to hear more about the lion.
First, I was born in Texas, which was at that time the biggest state in the U.S. I learned at an early age that everything in Texas is bigger and better. When Alaska became a state, I cried. But what about the lion?
Along with an innate pride for Texas, I was born with a love for animals. At age four, my first pet was a large grasshopper that I carried around on a silver spoon. When I accidentally dropped spoon and grasshopper down the radiator in the upstairs apartment building, I sobbed at the tragic loss of my pet. My mother sobbed right along with me. The spoon had been a wedding gift.
History repeated itself years later when my four-year-old son’s pet grasshopper was consumed by a much smaller spider. He sobbed inconsolably. Son Luke Parker is now a U.S. Marine, which would make any parent proud. But I’m most proud of him for walking with God. But back to the lion.
My love for animals led to the snake bite. Because I was an unpopular child, I made pets out of snakes. Other girls were afraid of them. Riding a bicycle with a snake around my neck made boys notice me—they thought I was crazy! The day after I appeared on a local television show explaining how to tell a poisonous snake from a harmless snake, I caught a snake to see which it was. It was poisonous—a water moccasin—and it bit me. Now, finally—the lion!
Ebenezer arrived in the back of a station wagon to join our family’s roadside zoo, a collection of animals that included opossums, raccoons, assorted harmless snakes, a fox, a large boa constrictor, monkeys, a skunk, and a jaguarundi. The 200-pound pet fit right in with our family, until he reached 400 pounds and became a lion.
Sadly, when I became mature enough to quit riding bicycles with snakes in my quixotic attempt to impress boys, I remained immature enough to use a gimmick like an African lion. I invited a fellow college student home to see Eb. Not realizing that Eb had transformed from pet to lion overnight, I boldly walked up to him. Eb grabbed me by the stomach, threw me to the ground, and began mauling me. My terrified college friend jerked me out of the cage—which made Eb bite even harder because he was about to lose his toy. “I hope I did that right,” he panted. “I’ve never had to rescue anyone from a lion before!” I never saw him again.
And now you know about the lion. And when you read Bridge to Nowhere, an adult Christian mystery-romance-suspense set in Three Prongs, Texas, where the misfits fit, you’ll understand a bit more about Texas.
And hopefully, you’ll learn how to make lemonade out of lemons. Because what doesn’t make you bitter makes you better. And with God's help, all you need to add is a little prayer, a little praise...a little sugar.
I’ve survived mauling by an African lion.
I’ve survived being bitten by a water moccasin snake.
I’ve emerged victorious from having been sexually abused as a child. Fleeing that abuse, I lived under a bridge and washed myself and my clothes in the river—even during the coldest months of the year. I painted signs in exchange for money for meals. If I didn’t make enough money, I didn’t eat. Now instead of living under a bridge, I write about them as in Bridge to Nowhere, released by Sunpenny Publishing.
I’ve learned that what doesn’t make you bitter makes you better. As trite as the saying is, you can’t make lemonade without the lemons.
And thank God, I’ve made the transition from atheist to Christian. My two favorite Bible verses are: in everything give thanks, and all things work together to good to them that love the LORD.
The worst day in my life was the day that I lost my job; my mother died and I couldn’t make plans to attend her funeral because my husband had just been sent home from the hospital to die; our sheepdog died, and my truck caught on fire in downtown San Antonio. With flames shooting up from under the hood, I raised my hands to the sky and thanked God. I was safe! Everything bad that could happen to one person in one day had already happened to me. It could only get better. It did.
Thanks to Sunpenny Publishing, Bridge to Nowhere joins my other Christian mystery-romance-suspense books: Heart Shadows, Until the Shadows Flee, and Shadow Chase. I’m now married to wonderful Alan McKean, author of The Scent of Time and The Scent of Home. We live in the lovely Black Isle of Scotland with our rough collie, Angel Joy. But I bet you want to hear more about the lion.
First, I was born in Texas, which was at that time the biggest state in the U.S. I learned at an early age that everything in Texas is bigger and better. When Alaska became a state, I cried. But what about the lion?
Along with an innate pride for Texas, I was born with a love for animals. At age four, my first pet was a large grasshopper that I carried around on a silver spoon. When I accidentally dropped spoon and grasshopper down the radiator in the upstairs apartment building, I sobbed at the tragic loss of my pet. My mother sobbed right along with me. The spoon had been a wedding gift.
History repeated itself years later when my four-year-old son’s pet grasshopper was consumed by a much smaller spider. He sobbed inconsolably. Son Luke Parker is now a U.S. Marine, which would make any parent proud. But I’m most proud of him for walking with God. But back to the lion.
My love for animals led to the snake bite. Because I was an unpopular child, I made pets out of snakes. Other girls were afraid of them. Riding a bicycle with a snake around my neck made boys notice me—they thought I was crazy! The day after I appeared on a local television show explaining how to tell a poisonous snake from a harmless snake, I caught a snake to see which it was. It was poisonous—a water moccasin—and it bit me. Now, finally—the lion!
Ebenezer arrived in the back of a station wagon to join our family’s roadside zoo, a collection of animals that included opossums, raccoons, assorted harmless snakes, a fox, a large boa constrictor, monkeys, a skunk, and a jaguarundi. The 200-pound pet fit right in with our family, until he reached 400 pounds and became a lion.
Sadly, when I became mature enough to quit riding bicycles with snakes in my quixotic attempt to impress boys, I remained immature enough to use a gimmick like an African lion. I invited a fellow college student home to see Eb. Not realizing that Eb had transformed from pet to lion overnight, I boldly walked up to him. Eb grabbed me by the stomach, threw me to the ground, and began mauling me. My terrified college friend jerked me out of the cage—which made Eb bite even harder because he was about to lose his toy. “I hope I did that right,” he panted. “I’ve never had to rescue anyone from a lion before!” I never saw him again.
And now you know about the lion. And when you read Bridge to Nowhere, an adult Christian mystery-romance-suspense set in Three Prongs, Texas, where the misfits fit, you’ll understand a bit more about Texas.
And hopefully, you’ll learn how to make lemonade out of lemons. Because what doesn’t make you bitter makes you better. And with God's help, all you need to add is a little prayer, a little praise...a little sugar.
Links
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y9j4mj7n
Twitter: @StephaniePMcKea
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