Monday 24 October 2016

✪ The Fall ✪ T. Gephart ✪ Release Blitz ✪





Salvation doesnt exist.

Its a lie people tell themselves in the dark, alone so their conscience might be eased. To give them hope that, in the end, we can all be forgiven.

Except we cant.

And no amount of praying will change that.

For me there will be no redemption, and I will leave this world with the same black heart I entered it with.

The comfort in knowing who I am and what I am capable of keeps me warmer than any lie of having my soul saved.

Because I know the truth.

Because I know there is no Heaven.

And there is no Hell.

There is only the fall.

 
Michael has no one. No family. No Friends. And not a soul in the world cares about him, only a system that tried to break him.

With a strong dislike for establishments and conformity, he has lived his life as a rogue. A hired thug with no allegiances except to his own word.
  

Sofia has grown up in the shadow of her fatherone of the most powerful drug lords in the city. She has vowed to bring him to justice, moving through the ranks of the Chicago PD in an effort to be as far removed from her fathers lifestyle as possible.
 

Two worlds collide when Michael shows up at her door, a gun in his hand and a look in his eyes that terrifies her. Suddenly, Sofia has a price on her head and Michael is the only one who can keep her out of the crossfire.



ARC received for an honest review

Wow!  Just wow!

I have read everything by T Gephart to date, but The Fall was a departure from what I have come to expect from her.

A big departure.

The Fall is dark, gritty, raw.  From the first page to the last it was a gut wrenching rollercoaster of a ride

Sofia and Michael's story was like reading a Jason Bourne story.  The adrenaline was pumping, I was kept on the edge of my seat (well, the edge of my couch!) and with each and every twist and turn I was left saying
And just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next..

BAM - she threw that ending at us!

The Fall had me laughing, crying, screaming in frustration, and mostly it left me wanting more.

Please Ms Gephart, give me more

don't even think about it, just go buy this book!









EXCERPT
  
Prologue 

Please.

An anguished scream ripped through the night as the rain pummeled against the thick stained glass. The heavy splat against the windows was not unlike the streams of unrelenting tears that rolled down her face.

Darkness had come, and with it the howling wind battered at the doors, stirring at the unrest. The fat white candles that littered the room were the only source of illumination, a lightning strike killing the power an hour or two before.

The sisters had gathered, huddled together as mumbled Our Fathers competed against the sound of the storm, fearing the Devil himself was knocking at their door.

It wasnt just the gale and torrential rain that crackled in the dark. Evil was dense in the air, rolling in like an all-encompassing fogheavier than the thickest winter coat.

Another scream pierced through the sound of the weather. The very voice tore from her throat like a soul desperate to leave its earthly vessel.

There was no hope. It was the sound of death.

Please, she begged. The accumulation of fear and pain weighted in that one word made the sisters skin goose bump like the cold that had yet to breach the room. Please, save him.

Labored breaths dragged in air behind her chattering teeth.

Please.

Save.

Him.

It was more than a plea, and there was no mistake it would be the womans last request.

Mother?

Sister Catherines gaze rose to Mother Superior from her place on the floor. Her knees had been cemented to the very spot for the last ten hours, but not for prayer like the others. She waited for direction as blood stained the cold blue stone rock around her. Both the mother and child were closer to meeting the heavenly Father than the dawn was to the new day.

Mother, were losing her.

Mothers eyes closed as she drew out a long, deep breathSister Catherine was rightthe end was coming quickly.

We will do all that we can, child. Be at peace. Her hand brushed against the damp forehead of the expectant mother.

They had been the only words of comfort Mother could offer without betraying the cloth. She couldnt lie to her. Not because of the promise she had made when she had accepted the habit, but because her very eyes watched as mortality slipped from the blessed child on the floor, the gray pallor of her skin already making her look like a corpse.

One more push. Sister Catherines attention was refocused, her actions determined to keep Mothers promise. I can see the head, but you need to help me.

Sister Catherines hands worked swiftly, her fingers doing their best to work with the limited knowledge she had. Her calling had come during her second year of medical school; the important things not yet learned. But she was young, just barely having accepted her final vows, and her determination to serve was stronger than her fear.

This was not how shed imagined her vocation, but one did not question when it came to serving the Lord. She would do whatever she needed to do, and tonight it was the experience of her pre-cloistered life that was desperately needed.

There were no further words, not from Sister Catherine nor from the woman who lay in front of her. The last gasps of energy were needed if the mother was going to be able to birth her child, and only the Lord himself knew if either of them would survive.

Agh! The mother fell back, the rock beneath her biting into her skin but she no longer felt pain. Not from her body at least, her agony had long been numbed. It was the heaviness in her heart that was her only emotion.

Just a little more.

She wasnt sure if it had been Sister Catherines urging or her own internal thought that spoke those words, but it had been enough to keep her going. Her face strained from the effort as she bore down through the constant contractions. It would have to be enough. She had nothing left.

The child she had carried for nine months slipped from her body, finally making his entrance as she whispered her offering to the Father. That offering being her own sacrifice.

Take me, she prayed. Let him live, take me.

Her eyelids closed as Sister Catherine delivered the son, but there had been no cry. Not from the mother and not from her child, the eerie silence settling into the room as she accepted her fate. In fact, there had been no sound as she took her last breath, her eyes not having the luxury of gazing on the boy shed been so desperate to save. Whether or not shed succeeded, beyond her control.

Hes breathing, barely. Sister Catherines hands swaddled the boy with her own veil, his entrance into the world only a few moments before. Hes weak, but hes fighting. She hoped it would be enough. They had already lost the mother; losing the boy would surely be too much.

A fighter. Yes, we shall call him Michael. Mother genuflected beside the altar, offering quick word of thanks before she rose to her feet. There wasnt a lot of time; they needed to get the child to the hospital and fast.

Blessed child, Michael. The tiniest drop of holy water rolled off the infants forehead. Mothers hand hovered above it, her lips moving quickly as the sacred words of baptism spilled from them. It was the best she could do without a priest, but at least shed given him hope.

Theres no time for an ambulance. Sister Mary, bring the car around. I will keep him breathing if needed. Sister Catherines resolve kicked in. He would live. He would not die on the cold stained floor of the church.

Go. Mother clutched at the crucifix that hung close to her breast and slowly removed it from her neck. I will care for the mother. The gold chain placed gently upon the lifeless body of the mother who would never know the child she had birthed.

Sisters Catherine and Mary wasted no time; the boys breaths shallow as they ran out of the church into the courtyard toward the old used sedan. The rain soaked their clothes in minutes, the doors closing quickly behind them as the engine roared to life. Thankfully the hospital was not more than a few miles away.

And while it had been Sister Catherines previous expertise that had kept Michael alive, Sister Marys reputation for her lead foot was exactly what they needed now. The church and the convent quickly faded in the rearview mirror as they sped away.

Catherine and Marys attention had been about reaching the hospital, while Mother knelt beside the woman whom she hadnt known nearly long enough, but had loved like her own child. She remembered the very day she had come to them, the day they had accepted her as one of their own.

She had been so brave; even as the end came her strength had not waned. Fearless, even in the face of her own death. She was safe now, seated with the Father, free from pain and sorrow. The Lord would protect her and do what Mother had been unable to do. God forgive her, while it had been Sister Catherines hands that had been bloodied, it had been Mothers who had worn the biggest stain.

Had her vow of silence been responsible for the death?

Should we call the police? Sister Bridget offered, her bright eyes blinking away tears they all felt welling. Mother? What would you like us to do?

It was a question Mother had been contemplating for weeks. What she would do when the time came and the child was born. Had she done the right thing? They should have taken her to a hospital. It was insanity to try and handle this within the walls of their sanctuary, and yet it was exactly what she had promised. No one would ever know about the child. Not how he came to be in this world or who his parents had been, his existence hidden by not only her resolve, but that of her devotion to the mother.

No. No one could know.

The plan was set.

The boy was to be reported as abandoned, left in the churchs vestibule with no indication of who the mother was. It was a lie and one she would take to her grave. Her father would judge her, but when that time came she knew he would understand.

No. No police. Mothers voice was hoarse as she removed the veil from her head and covered the body. Our sister is gone. We will see that she is buried with the faithful at the back, but there can be no record.

Mother? There was a collective gasp, the very fabric of their lives called into question as she told them her plan.

We must honor her. We must give her the peace in death she was unable to gain in life. I have prayed on it and it is the only way. In this you must trust. Her voice maintained its steely resolve, even if underneath her heart was breaking.

Did she do everything she could?

God help her, she couldnt be sure she had.

Save him. Mothers eyes rose to the crucifix mounted on the wall, the words more a prayer than a request. Please, Lord. Save him.

Her thoughts returned to the boy, his mother giving her own life so that he might live.

Only time would tell whether it had been enough.



T Gephart is an indie author from Melbourne, Australia.

Ts approach to life has been somewhat unconventional. Rather than going to University, she jumped on a plane to Los Angeles, USA in search of adventure. While this first trip left her somewhat underwhelmed and largely depleted of funds it fueled her appetite for travel and life experience.

With a rather eclectic resume, which reads more like the fiction she writes than an actual employment history, T struggled to find her niche in the world.

While on a subsequent trip the United States in 1999, T met and married her husband. Their whirlwind courtship and interesting impromptu convenience store wedding set the tone for their life together, which is anything but ordinary. They have lived in Louisiana, Guam and Australia and have traveled extensively throughout the US. T has two beautiful young children and one four legged child, Woodley, the wonder dog.

An avid reader, T became increasingly frustrated by the lack of strong female characters in the books she was reading. She wanted to read about a woman she could identify with, someone strong, independent and confident and who didnt lack femininity. Out of this need, she decided to pen her first book, A Twist of Fate. T set herself the challenge to write something that was interesting, compelling and yet easy enough to read that was still enjoyable. Pulling from her own past colorful experiences and the amazing personalities she has surrounded herself with, she had no shortage of inspiration. With a strong slant on erotic fiction, her core characters are empowered women who dont have to sacrifice their femininity. She enjoyed the process so much that when it was over she couldnt let it go.

T loves to travel, laugh and surround herself with colorful characters. This inevitably spills into her writing and makes for an interesting journey - she is well and truly enjoying the ride!

Based on her life experiences, T has plenty of material for her books and has a wealth of ideas to keep you all enthralled.