Saint Sullivan's Daughter: The Magic of Childhood

Saint Sullivan's Daughter: The Magic of Childhood: World over, children envision life through the kaleideoscope of innocence and imagination.  Trying to create meaning of the adult world...

Suffer the Little Children

Whenever parents make decisions, their children feel the consequences. In my novel, Saint Sullivan's Daughter, the six-year-old daughter of Dora and Barry Sullivan must bear the weight of their failing marriage, as well as the baggage from their unhealed traumas and tragedies.  The wise elders of Dora's Latino family and community, and Barry's delightfully fey Ma from Connemara team together to intercede for the child after a tragic accident.  Without them, Ceci, who is Saint Sullivan's daughter, might be lost.

If Ceci is lost, the whole family will be lost.  She is small and helpless, but she is also the axis of everything that matters.  If Barry "Saint" Sullivan doesn't learn to love as a father should, he cannot lead the family, but not only that. If he cannot love as he must love, he'll never be the jazz artist he longs to be.  

When we put our priorities in order, a kind of slow magic that leads to eventual actualization takes place.  The curandera, or healer, knows this -- and so does the grandmother.

Available at my Heartspace Etsy store, Abbott Press Bookstore and other online retailers, Saint Sullivan's Daughter is a self-published novel.  One of the central themes of Saint Sullivan's Daughter is very timely; put the well-being of children first, and then attend to the dreams of adults. In the long run both adults and children will benefit from this priority system.

http://bookstore.abbottpress.com/Products/SKU-000529426/saint-sullivans-daughter.aspx

Heartspace Etsy (only place for autographed copies)

Hi Friends,

The holidays are upon us! I wish you joy this season.

If you are looking for a gift idea, you can still shop for something for a friend or for yourself from my Etsy Store, even though I have not posted any jewelry lately. I have been on hiatus as I edited and finally self-published the novel I spent the past half a decade writing. Saint Sullivan's Daughter is the title and it's now available at my Etsy Store.  Scroll down to read a brief synopsis of the story under the picture of the book cover.

You can order a paperback from Etsy Heartspace and I will sign it for you, including whatever dedication you like. Just convo me or write what you'd like me to sign on the order form.

If you don't do Etsy and you'd like a signed copy just email me. Or you can get a plain, unsigned copy of the paperback, hardbound, or ebook from Abbott Press Bookstore). Just clink on the link and it will take you straight to the book.

Of course, I love you and don't mind at all if you're not a St. Sullivan's Daughter reader! I just am getting the word out to like-minded people who might be interested.

Have a joyous holiday, full of Advent, Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year's and jolly! I thank you for being a faithful Heartspace reader!

Peace on Earth!
Claire Germain Nail

The jazz cats call him Saint Sullivan, but he’s far from pious. Barry Sullivan drinks too much, can’t keep a job, and fights with his fiery Mexican wife. Ceci, their young daughter, witnesses their fury from the shadows. The child finds comfort with plaster saints and the spirits of her ancestors—until a tragic accident threatens her body and soul.

Great-aunt Pilar fears the Evil Eye and decides to intervene, taking Ceci and her family to a traditional Mexican healer, a curandera. Even in the ultra modern Los Angeles of 1960, ancient ways survive in the barrio. The curandera prescribes an unconventional pharmacopeia of folk remedies, compassion humor, and stories, charming the ailing child. 

Musician Barry Sullivan is caught between two worlds—the jazz scene, where he speaks the lingo, and the barrio, where he is a clueless foreigner, stumbling into a dangerous feud. He teeters on the brink of peril, while the curandera asks of him a sacrifice few men of the era know how to make, even for the sake of love