Four years ago today, I published my first novel. Since then, it has gained much acclaim, even with its dark subject matter. It is not fluff and was never meant to be. This is a dark journey, one which some people have taken in real life.
A few of those travelers survived, most did not.
Blurb:
When love is locked away, it turns to vengeance.
Charles is 14, and after being discovered with his first love he is forced into a mental hospital to ‘cure’ his sexuality.
For the next ten years, Charles endures mental and physical torture as part of his treatment. When he is finally free, he begins a relentless quest for vengeance against the woman who abetted his commitment – his mother, Charlotte.
The Value of Rain chronicles a journey from hate to the unexpected beginning of redemption and reveals the destructive nature of families, secrets and revenge.
Reviews:
The prose is fluidly elegant, a symphony of phrasing that will stop you dead in your tracks with its sheer audacity and style. Mr. Shire brings to the literary landscape a unique and compelling voice and a storytelling style that grabs you by those inelegant short hairs and refuses to let go. It is sensual and distancing, allowing emotional respite without permitting release. It is literary, intelligent, and quite simply the best book I have read in years.
– Sand in My Shoes Reviews
Powerful and haunting. Best in LGBTQ Fiction 2011.
– Indie Reviews
Possibly one of my all time favorite books.
– Bittersweet Reviews
Beautiful, stunning, brutally real. A Top Read 2011
– The Reading Life
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Simon Graves is an emerging author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy from Norfolk, Virginia. He has released his first horror short story collection with a novella to follow in 2015.
