Miracles
Viewing comments for Chapter 1 "Miracles - Chap 1"From the ashes of crime, miracles arise
28 total reviews
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is a very good beginning to the start of a novel. Martha is terrified and finds her fears are justified. She begs for her sister to come save her and Eleanor does arrive, but it may be too late. Good cliffhanger to end the chapter on.
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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This is a very good beginning to the start of a novel. Martha is terrified and finds her fears are justified. She begs for her sister to come save her and Eleanor does arrive, but it may be too late. Good cliffhanger to end the chapter on.
Comment Written 02-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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thank you so much, Carol. This is going to be a "On-the-edge of your seat story with lots of emotions and danger to our favorite characters. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it. The review is awesome and the stars a bonus! Thank you!
Smiles and hugs, Carol
Comment from Carol Clark2
Wow, my pulse is racing as I'm reading this! I can feel Margaret's fear. You've left off at a fine time, with Eleanor at the crash site and Margaret trapped in the car. What could be worse?!!! I'm glad this will be written in a month, so I won't have too long to wait for the next segment. LOL. Great writing. Blessings. Carol
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Wow, my pulse is racing as I'm reading this! I can feel Margaret's fear. You've left off at a fine time, with Eleanor at the crash site and Margaret trapped in the car. What could be worse?!!! I'm glad this will be written in a month, so I won't have too long to wait for the next segment. LOL. Great writing. Blessings. Carol
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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I hope I can get it in during the month. It's got a lot going on. If I had seen the rules changed from 30,000 to 10,000 I might have submitted something else. But we are here and away we go!
Smiles, Carol
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10,000 words is not many for a novel. Maybe people complained that they couldn't write 30,000 in a month. ??? I'm sure your book will be spectacular, at whatever length.
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thank you, Carol!
Comment from lyenochka
If anyone can write a book in a month, it's you, Carol! Go for it! Hope you have fun. Of course, you have all the characters well known to your audience here and it's just a matter of unfolding the crime and solving it. Go for it!
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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If anyone can write a book in a month, it's you, Carol! Go for it! Hope you have fun. Of course, you have all the characters well known to your audience here and it's just a matter of unfolding the crime and solving it. Go for it!
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Doyle's out to get revenge on all of them and no one is safe. He's a terrible, vengeful man but he's up against Eleanor and that's going to be tough. Thanks so much.
Smiles, Carol
Comment from royowen
I want to see her scare the pants off John Doyle, or even Margaret's ghost come to life, and Haunt the living daylights out of John Doyle, if anyone is Evil it is he. This is a brilliant episode, but alas I've no more sixes, well done, beautifully written, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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I want to see her scare the pants off John Doyle, or even Margaret's ghost come to life, and Haunt the living daylights out of John Doyle, if anyone is Evil it is he. This is a brilliant episode, but alas I've no more sixes, well done, beautifully written, blessings Roy
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Thanks for enjoying the story enough to want to give it a six...I am pleased to accept a virtual six and your kind words. Hope you continue to love the story.
Smiles, Carol
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Well done
Comment from Wendy G
Another busy month for you! This is a very vivid and dramtic opening chapter, and I am sure Eleanor and Donatelli and Garth will be needed as much now as ever. Very realistic sense of terror as she is followed nd hunted down.
Wendy
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Another busy month for you! This is a very vivid and dramtic opening chapter, and I am sure Eleanor and Donatelli and Garth will be needed as much now as ever. Very realistic sense of terror as she is followed nd hunted down.
Wendy
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Yes, you can expect to see all our characters right in the middle of all the action..and maybe fighting for their lives too. Doyle is a vengeful guy but Eleanor is a fighter and she won't back down...especially when you hurt people she loves.
Smiles, Carol
Comment from DonandVicki
You certainly know how to stop a chapter, keeping the reader on the edge wanting more, looking forward to the next chapter. The dialogue was very believable.
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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You certainly know how to stop a chapter, keeping the reader on the edge wanting more, looking forward to the next chapter. The dialogue was very believable.
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Thanks so much for joining in to read this story. I believe (and hope) it will be the best out of the 3 in the series. I'm excited to watch it unfold and keep the readers on the edge of their chairs. Thank you so much.
Smiles, Carol
Comment from Marilyn Hamilton
Oh boy. Great start to a new story. A good introduction to the characters and a plot that took off like a race horse. Anxious to see what you have in store for us this time.
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Oh boy. Great start to a new story. A good introduction to the characters and a plot that took off like a race horse. Anxious to see what you have in store for us this time.
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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I think this one is going to be a wild ride with lots of tension for the good guys... Lots of action in this one. Thanks for the review and your thoughts.
Smiles, Carol
Comment from Teri7
This is a very interesting chapter that is full of great descriptive words. This was full of excitement from the start to the finish. Great job my friend. love and blessings, Teri
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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This is a very interesting chapter that is full of great descriptive words. This was full of excitement from the start to the finish. Great job my friend. love and blessings, Teri
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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thanks so much, Teri...There is going to be a lot of tension, emotions, and action in this story...Eleanors's ready to lock horns with the Judge! Guess we will see who wins!
Smiles, Carol
Comment from Liz O'Neill
This is a good setting for the scenario: "Oh God, Lydia, where are you? Answer the phone." With trembling hands, Margaret redialed her best friend's number, but the call went to voicemail again.
At the beep, she sobbed into the phone, "Lydia, he's going to kill me. I've got to hide. Tell Detective Donatelli --" She gasped as a light appeared in the fog behind her. "To find Eleanor." The line went dead. The signal was lost in the heavy fog.
She'd taken the back roads, praying they would conceal her, but the isolation amplified her fear. The morning fog was thick and hung close to the ground.
Margaret gripped the wheel, crushing the note with her white knuckles. Fear owned her -- from her tear-stained eyes, the sickly taste in her mouth, her dry lips, to the wild pounding against her chest.
Running -- it had been her first thought, but she knew she wouldn't escape. Even in prison, he would find her.
Her heart raced as she replayed the words on the note in her mind -- "Death Awaits You." She didn't need a signature to know who had sent it. Only one person was capable of such cruelty -- the man she'd loved, only to learn how deep his betrayal ran.
Tears blurred her vision. "Why, John?" she cried, her voice cracking. "Was everything a lie?"
In her mind, she felt him -- his touch, his lips on hers. His overwhelming presence, which once made her feel so secure, now twisted her insides with dread. Then came the memory of Megan's disappearance, her little girl gone without a trace. The panic, the desperation, the hours spent searching, pleading for John's help. But he had vanished when she needed him most.
Nothing, not even the years that passed or the bars that separated them, had lessened the agony. John's betrayal had shattered her world once. And now, it seemed, he was determined to destroy what was left.
Margaret pressed harder on the gas pedal, her body shaking with fear and fury. There would be no turning back. She had to find Eleanor -- before John found her.
As if he'd heard her, his face floated in the roadway as she stared through the windshield. She blinked, but he was still there. A scream -- her scream -- echoed throughout the car.
She blinked again, but there he was -- laughing -- taunting her. John Doyle -- ex-judge, ex-lover, criminal extraordinaire. He'd vowed revenge against anyone who had helped destroy his career and put him behind bars. Today, that promise began with her.
To John Doyle, being convicted of kidnapping, human trafficking, and art theft meant nothing. He'd maintained what counted -- power, wealth, and friends in high places, even from behind the concrete walls of Joliet State Prison.
She knew he was coming from the moment she'd opened the envelope. She'd wasted no time. She'd tossed clothes in an overnight bag, grabbed cash from the safe, and jumped in her car. She didn't know where she was going but knew she had to get as far away as possible. However, a thought nagged at her -- she was positive nowhere would be far enough.
Her eyes shifted from the windshield to the rearview mirror. She sighed, relieved no one was behind her. She hoped her decision to stay off the main highway and take the back roads would keep her under his radar.Yet, seconds later, a light glowed in the darkness. Her eyes moved from the mirror to the road and then returned. The ghostly light plowed through the fog, emerging as two headlights speeding toward her, closing the gap between it and Margaret's car. This is great...A+
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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This is a good setting for the scenario: "Oh God, Lydia, where are you? Answer the phone." With trembling hands, Margaret redialed her best friend's number, but the call went to voicemail again.
At the beep, she sobbed into the phone, "Lydia, he's going to kill me. I've got to hide. Tell Detective Donatelli --" She gasped as a light appeared in the fog behind her. "To find Eleanor." The line went dead. The signal was lost in the heavy fog.
She'd taken the back roads, praying they would conceal her, but the isolation amplified her fear. The morning fog was thick and hung close to the ground.
Margaret gripped the wheel, crushing the note with her white knuckles. Fear owned her -- from her tear-stained eyes, the sickly taste in her mouth, her dry lips, to the wild pounding against her chest.
Running -- it had been her first thought, but she knew she wouldn't escape. Even in prison, he would find her.
Her heart raced as she replayed the words on the note in her mind -- "Death Awaits You." She didn't need a signature to know who had sent it. Only one person was capable of such cruelty -- the man she'd loved, only to learn how deep his betrayal ran.
Tears blurred her vision. "Why, John?" she cried, her voice cracking. "Was everything a lie?"
In her mind, she felt him -- his touch, his lips on hers. His overwhelming presence, which once made her feel so secure, now twisted her insides with dread. Then came the memory of Megan's disappearance, her little girl gone without a trace. The panic, the desperation, the hours spent searching, pleading for John's help. But he had vanished when she needed him most.
Nothing, not even the years that passed or the bars that separated them, had lessened the agony. John's betrayal had shattered her world once. And now, it seemed, he was determined to destroy what was left.
Margaret pressed harder on the gas pedal, her body shaking with fear and fury. There would be no turning back. She had to find Eleanor -- before John found her.
As if he'd heard her, his face floated in the roadway as she stared through the windshield. She blinked, but he was still there. A scream -- her scream -- echoed throughout the car.
She blinked again, but there he was -- laughing -- taunting her. John Doyle -- ex-judge, ex-lover, criminal extraordinaire. He'd vowed revenge against anyone who had helped destroy his career and put him behind bars. Today, that promise began with her.
To John Doyle, being convicted of kidnapping, human trafficking, and art theft meant nothing. He'd maintained what counted -- power, wealth, and friends in high places, even from behind the concrete walls of Joliet State Prison.
She knew he was coming from the moment she'd opened the envelope. She'd wasted no time. She'd tossed clothes in an overnight bag, grabbed cash from the safe, and jumped in her car. She didn't know where she was going but knew she had to get as far away as possible. However, a thought nagged at her -- she was positive nowhere would be far enough.
Her eyes shifted from the windshield to the rearview mirror. She sighed, relieved no one was behind her. She hoped her decision to stay off the main highway and take the back roads would keep her under his radar.Yet, seconds later, a light glowed in the darkness. Her eyes moved from the mirror to the road and then returned. The ghostly light plowed through the fog, emerging as two headlights speeding toward her, closing the gap between it and Margaret's car. This is great...A+
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Wow! An A+ is nothing to sneeze about, my friend. Thank you so much for the high marks and the stars. I so appreciate it. Hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Smiles, Carol
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Very well deserved
Comment from Julie Helms
Hi Carol, I know I've missed your last couple of books, but I plan to keep up with this one!
You are off to a fantastic start, opening with a an action scene and lots of tension to hook the reader immediately.
Her car fish-tailed wildly.
(fishtailed)
An excellent start, and I look forward to reading more.
Julie
:-)
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Hi Carol, I know I've missed your last couple of books, but I plan to keep up with this one!
You are off to a fantastic start, opening with a an action scene and lots of tension to hook the reader immediately.
Her car fish-tailed wildly.
(fishtailed)
An excellent start, and I look forward to reading more.
Julie
:-)
Comment Written 01-Nov-2024
reply by the author on 02-Nov-2024
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Thanks, Julie. I do hope you are able to read this one from start to finish. I always appreciate your thoughts on the story line. Thank you so much for enjoying this one as the horses left the gate. It's going to be a wild ride.
Smiles, Carol
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Hey Carol, I had a thought after leaving the review for chapter 2. You may, in the future, want to plan a little bit of a calm scene between two such intense scenes. The reader, being on the edge of their seat is a great thing, but they also need breaks, so it can build again. Just a thought as you form your story!
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Thanks! I will try to keep that in mind.