A
trophy
wife
who
has
had
enough.
A
too
complacent
community,
blind
to
the
fact
that
its
health
statistic
are
really
below
average.
A
cement
plant
from
hell.
The
usual
amounts
of
greedy
industrialists
and
cynical
politicians
and
here
you
are:
the
scene
is
set
for
Damaged
Goods,
the
amazing
novel
by
Alexandra
Allred.
Meet
Joanna Lucas. She's lost herself marrying a rich man who wants her
just to be pretty and say nothing. She's tolerated his name-calling
and infidelity, but she finally wakes up.
Those words cut her like a knife. She knew he meant it. She knew he looked at her in this manner, and she had no one to blame but herself.
The
straw that breaks the camel’s back arrives while they're in the
car, on her way to a wedding ceremony. Her obnoxious husband demands
she “holds up” her monthly flow, because he's on the phone and
won’t pull over. Which, for a guy whose family’s fortune is based
on tampons, is rather funny. Joanna’s public retaliation isn’t
funny, at least for him, and an already dead marriage ends. Her
divorce settlement is a beautiful, dilapidated mansion in Marcus,
Texas and the money to restore it. Joanna has no chance of ever
bumping into anyone from her previous life in Texas, and so she
catches the opportunity to relocate there. She hopes to find herself
anew and start finally to do what she always wanted to do: sculpt.
Her
first days in her new location are exciting; people are curious about
the Yankee who has landed among them, but not unfriendly. She is
shown around, finds Mexican workers who maybe have not all the green
papers they should have (one among them, Roberto, is devastatingly
handsome), but nobody cares – they work hard, everybody makes use
of them and so will she.
But
there is something rotten in Denmark, or, better, in Marcus. The
cement plant, which provides income for most of the community, has
always been a health hazard, and now that it has been bought by a
Swiss company - very happy not to have to submit to the strict
environmental regulations existing in Switzerland - the situation is
sure to worsen. Too many people die of cancer in Marcus; too many
children are stillborn or born with birth defects, and too many
suffer from asthma. With the plant seeking permission to burn tires,
and plans to open a quarry near the school, what will happen?
It
doesn't take long before Joanna realizes that she's gotten another
bad deal from her husband. Her lawyer suggests she gets out, but it's
too late: she has become invested in the community and is ready to
fight. Joanna is determined to defend her new life, her new friends,
and the right to live in a clean environment.
By
all
accounts,
she
should
lose,
because
the
opposition
-
local
politicians
and
all
the
people
with
a
vested
interest
in
the
status
quo
-
are
powerful
and
ruthless.
But
she's
not
alone.
She
has
made
friends
with
a
bunch
of
very
peculiar
women:
a
lady
who
manages
a
big
felines’
sanctuary
and
has
lost
a
leg
because
of
a
loose
tiger;
a
stripper
turned
Mormon;
a
bar
owner,
and
a
few
outspoken
other
ones.
They
are
the
white
witches
of
Marcus;
outrageous
and
fearless,
they
offer
Joanna
the
strength
she
needs.
The
epic
battle
will
have
the
reader
cheering
and
despairing
until
the
surprising
end.
Many
reasons
make
this
novel
extraordinary.
First
of
all,
the
subject
matter
touches
on
serious
issues
which
should
concern
us
all.
Then,
you'll
be
amazed
by
the
writing
style.
Alexandra
Allred
captures
her
readers'
attention
with
the
wonderful
pace
of
her
story.
Damaged
Goods
is
a
page
turner
if
ever
there
was
one.
 | |
| The book is available! http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/77 |
Don't miss the blog tour! There will be a stop on this blog on October 27.
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