My Life as an Onion - Softcover

McDonnell, Carole

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1505283159 ISBN 13: 9781505283150

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

                 
After the loss of her fiance, Denise Higgins, a young Jamaican American college student, has fallen on hard times. Struggling with grief, her impoverished life, and a needy family, she accepts an opportunity as a sober companion. Her job is simple: keep Ben Moreau away from drugs and report back to his parents. But then she meets him. And Ben Moreau, despite being three years her junior, proves to be far more alluring than she ever thought possible. Not only is he a gorgeous and wealthy French Korean with an ever so charming personality, he is also generous and willing to befriend her so long as he can have her loyalty. Following her heart may only bring her grief, and ignoring it is certain to.
Denise Higgins, staunch Bible reader and a seer of visions, has found the love of her life: Ben Moreau, a jaded profligate three years her junior.Hired as his Ben's sober companion to keep Ben away from his debauched druggie friends, she has a few hurdles to overcome. Least of which are Ben's money, Ben's ability to manipulate her, and her own growing infatuation with him.Then there's that pesky ancient curse that hangs over Ben's family line...and her own neuroses.Onion is a bittersweet story that follows the spiritual development of cynical but sensitive Denise and contemplative but loving Ben.

Their backgrounds could not be more different, both in culture and background as his wealthy Korean and French proprieties conflict with her poor Jamaican Christian upbringing.The prejudices of the well-to-do, of Christian parents, atheist parents, and pagan friends also work against Denise, even as she challenges their expectations and what she believes about herself.But Ben, with his sweet wit and selfish but kind heart, challenges her expectations as well. Together, they grow to discover a fuller and richer life.It is a story about suicide and the aftermath, of the lingering grief that remains for suicide survivors. It is a story of grief which is both humorous and wise, and it is a story about love and the spiritual questions of the human heart.

 African-American fiction, African-American Christian Fiction, Christian Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Black fiction, African American science fiction, Women's Poetry, African-American poetry, Black poetry, Steampunk, steamfunk, afrofuturism, African American Christian Bible Study, diversity, multiculturalism, African American romance, science fiction romance, fantasy romance.

About this title

From the Author:

I often think that mainstream Christian stories are lacking in reality. Their good characters are unreal, their bad characters are unreal, the way they depict reality is unreal. Especially in the way it depicts romance, youth, and sexuality. I often feel the same way about much Black Christian novels. I wanted to write a story that showed reality the way I have experienced it as a Christian. This novel is from my heart. Much of it is autobiographical but the novel itself isn't autobiographical. I also happen to love Korean dramas. Because of this, I wanted to put many of the tropes of Korean drama rom-com. into the story. Tropes such as contract marriages, rich boyfriends, etc. As a Black child growing up in the United States, I learned the art of adapting movies as I watched them. I would often watch a story and think: what if the main female character was Black? Why can't we have a romance like that? They say to write what you wish to read...so I did. African-American fiction, African-American Christian Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Magical Realism, Natural Supernaturalism, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Black fiction, African American science fiction, Women's Poetry, African-American poetry, Black poetry, Steampunk, steamfunk, afrofuturism, African American Christian Bible Study, diversity, multiculturalism, African American romance, science fiction romance, fantasy romance.

About the Author:

Carole McDonnell is a Jamaican-American writer of Christian, supernatural, and ethnic stories.Her writings appear in various Christian, speculative fiction, and ethnic anthologies. Her reviews appear in print and at various online sites.Her traditionally-published novels are the alternative history Christian epic fantasy, Wind Follower, and the high fantasy speculative fiction novel, The Constant Tower.Her short story collections are: Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction and Flight: And Other Stories of the Faes. Her Bible studies include Seeds of Bible Study, Blogging the Psalms, Great Sufferers of the Bible.She lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband, two sons, and their pets.

Carole McDonnell is the author of the novels Wind Follower, My Life as an Onion, Daughters of Men, and The Constant Tower. Her stories have appeared in many distinguished story collections and anthologies.
She was born in Jamaica, West Indies and emigrated with her family to the United States when she was a child. While in Jamaica, she was raised by assorted relatives including her minister grandfather.

She attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn, NY and attended SUNY Purchase, a New York art state college. She has been married to comic book artist and cartoonist Luke McDonnell since 1984. She has two sons.

The themes of her stories are about isolation, belongingness and clans. Her stories usually contain a disabled character, characters of diverse ethnicities, and multi-ethnic characters. She often explores world-building scenarios which include religion, race, and culture.

 African-American fiction, African-American Christian Fiction, Christian Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Black fiction, African American science fiction, Women's Poetry, African-American poetry, Black poetry, Steampunk, steamfunk, afrofuturism, African American Christian Bible Study, diversity, multiculturalism, African American romance, science fiction romance, fantasy romance.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1505283159
• ISBN 13: 9781505283150
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 404