Book Review Request

[Guest Sarah Jane Heidelberg]

ALL THE PRETTY ROSES: A TALE OF BITTERSWEET LOVE AND BETRAYAL, adapted from a screenplay by Sarah Jane Heidelberg

THE BOOK

All the Pretty Roses is set in a Southern University with a popular poetic atmosphere where everybody who so desires is allowed to pop their literary cherry and participate in the emergence of Slam Poetry Readings in Mississippi, attend musical jam sessions, and attend special events that bring the promise of new love.  You wonder if any studying takes place with all the excitement.

 

Mercedes, the embodiment of "Love" meets campus Romeo and poet, "Bitter" and their whirlwind affair leads to heartbreak as it dawns on him that he, a Senior in college is dating a mere freshman.

 

He takes all lengths to avoid this beauty, inadvertently opening the door for "Betrayal" to move into his territory once he decides to give it a go.   Life circumstances and a long talk with his homeboy leads to a bargain.  This bargain leaves himself out of Love's life.

 

When Betrayal finally makes his move and everything seems perfect, an unexpected event leaves both Bitter and Love feeling empty.

After Love forgoes all the glitterization of poetry and prose she once loved in college, a burst of energy to tell her story re-energizes her to write the story of a lifetime.

 How is Bitter connected to her success and will she find passion again after loss?  Find out in All the Pretty Roses: A Tale of Bittersweet Love and Betrayal.

 

 

Just an excerpt:

 

 

I was a wide-open meadow

with a heart like a babbling brook

unsteady and unsure of where to go

and sure to stumble over some

rocks here and there.

Letting go would have been hard for me

but your wall made it easy

cause I kept trying to scale this mountain,

this wall you erected after I left

No I wouldn’t hear defeat

so, I climbed it and fell at your feet

But you must’ve been waiting for me

because when I climbed over

I found you drinking waters

from the fountains of another garden

And I saw clearly from one quadrant of the garden to the other...

roses.... Beautiful roses.

I looked through the glass and saw

all my bushes and thorns, and no roses

A thicket, but no roses

orchid and lilies; no roses

waters that ran deep; but no roses

(To love me you had to suffer pricks, bruises, and wear

my body, sinful, but my soul very rare)

Did you get tired of standing outside my garden waiting for roses to bloom?

To symbolize the beauty in my wisdom, trust, and faith in you?

Did you grow weary of loving me?

While I was going fond of your aversion to me?

All I could say when looking into your eyes was,

“I’m sorry...I never promised you a rose garden.”

And all you said was silence.

And all I heard was a pounding

and it kept getting louder and louder

and I began to crack

And it drove me mad

and all I saw was a tear in your eyes

“goodbye” .... you said

“And take your heart with you,”

you scolded, “It’s disturbing my peace.”

And you began to quote the words of the prophet,

and said, “I only wanted one time to see you laughing,

I only wanted to be some kind of friend”

And I too began to quote,

“Until the end of time, I’ll be there for you,

you are my heart & mind, I truly adore you.”

You frowned, your disposition turned around,

hugged me, and used your key to let me out of

this garden by the gates' door.

There I'll return. Nevermore.