Blog Tour: Softly and Tenderly by Lisa Binion

Softly and Tenderly

by Lisa Binion

About The Author:

Lisa Binion is a writer, editor, and wife. She makes her home in the beautiful state of Kentucky. Her two children are now grown, but she has been blessed with two beautiful grandchildren, Tyler and Zoey. Her family also includes four dogs, four cats, and two goats.

As the Fiction Writing Editor for BellaOnline, she writes articles, reviews fiction books, and interviews fiction authors. She is also an editor for Silver Tongue Press and Edit 1st. In her spare time, she attempts to clean house and relax. You can find her at https://www.facebook.com/pages/BellaOnline-Fiction-Writing/125143070846792., http://www.silvertonguepress.com/, and http://edit1st.com/.

Genre: Horror Short Story

Publisher: Silver Tongue Press

Description:

"Mom died in her sleep last night." Those are terrifying words for a child to wake up to. The beetle that falls off the stretcher and stares at her is only the beginning one of the strangest and most frightening times in Lori's life. Death is not a pretty thing, especially not when the funeral is to be at the Lights Out Chapel and Crematorium. Once she walks into the funeral parlor, she experiences things that no little girl should ever have to experience. No one is acting normal. No one can see what is going on. Is Lori the only one who sees the blood oozing from the pictures of Jesus on the cross? Doesn't anyone else see the beetles? Is Lori hallucinating when she sees her mom sit up and hears her speak? There is absolutely nothing soft and tender about what happens to Lori. From her overly morbid piano teacher to the creepy preacher and a father that just isn't acting like himself, Lori is surrounded by people and things that hint of something bizarre. Once she leaves the Lights Out Chapel and Crematorium, things will go back to normal. Or will they?

 Excerpt 1:

"Lori, it's your turn to say bye now. You need to tell her that you love her and how much you will miss her." Daddy put me down next to her coffin and placed his hands on my shoulders. He pushed me so close to her death box that I felt the white satin that overlapped to the outside. It rubbed against my hands. At least it was soft for Mommy. She would be comfortable in there.

I decided to speak out loud this time. Maybe no one else would bring me back up here again if I spoke my goodbyes out loud. "Mommy," I began, but then I started crying so hard I couldn't speak. Daddy rubbed my shoulders until I quieted down and could begin again. "Mommy, I love you. I don't want you to leave me. Please come back. No one, not even this Jesus, is worth leaving me over." I opened my eyes and looked at her. She hadn't moved since Mrs. Minuet had dragged me up here. But then her eyes opened, and she stared at me. She was staring at me! I sucked my breath in and felt my legs grow weak as my head began to spin. With one hand I grabbed on to the edge of the coffin, while with the other hand I grabbed hold of Daddy's arm.

"Daddy! Daddy! Mommy's not dead! She looked at me!" I screamed as I jumped up and down. "She was still alive when they took her out of the house. I saw her trying to get out from under the sheet." I pulled on his arm and shook it. "Please, Daddy. You've got to save her."

Daddy was beginning to sound a bit mad. He picked me up and held me over top of Mommy. "Maybe if you give her a goodbye kiss you'll understand she's dead, and believe me when I tell you she isn't coming back." I was so close to Mommy's cheek that I could see the makeup was beginning to cake in her pores. There was no warmth rising up from her body, only icy coldness.

 My Review

I was given a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Softly and Tenderly is about a little girl who has lost her mother. Her mother has been sick for awhile. When her mother died she didn't understand what was going on. Everyone told her that her mother had gone to live with Jesus. But Lori didn't believe them because her mother loved her very much and would never leave her.

Lori is forced to go to the funeral home to say goodbye to her mother. When she arrives at the funeral home she starts to see things that are not really happening or are they? Lori is just a little girl who is having a hard time letting her mother. She doesn't understand what death is probably because she at her young age had never experienced it before. It is a shame that it was her mother's death that she had to experience first.

Lori herself had no idea what was going on. She knew no one else was seeing what she was seeing. Everyone kept telling her that her mother had gone to live with Jesus. Jesus had healed her and made her all better. Of course Lori is mad because Jesus took her mother from her and promises to hunt him down and probably make him pay for taking her mother from her.

Softly and Tenderly is about a little girl who has experienced death for the first time in her life. And with it being someone she is very close too does not know how to handle it. From what I could understand it was probably the first time she had been inside any kind of facility with a picture of Jesus. She didn't know who he was. I assume that her parents probably never taught her about Jesus and who he was.

Although Softly and Tenderly is a short read it gives enough information to know and understand what Lori is going through. But it does leave you at the end wondering if Lori was only imagining things or were they real? I would really love to see more of Lori story. I did enjoy Lori's story very much indeed but I would like to know if Lori was just imagining things or if maybe she has some kind of paranormal ability.

 Giveaway:

5 eCopies of Softly and Tenderly

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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