A SEQUENCE OF SEEMINGLY UNRELATED STRANGE AND TRAGIC EVENTS TRANSFORMS THE ORDINARY
LIFE OF JEREMY SPIRES INTO ONE FILLED WITH ADVENTURE, INTRIGUE, AND PERIL.
Who wouldn’t want to become cognizant of secret
realms?
When seven hippies burned to death 39 years ago in a tragic fire, a ghost story was
spawned. The legend, passed down by students at the local University, centers on Claire Wales, a.k.a. the
Hippie Queen. Graduate student Jeremy Spires thinks nothing of the
tale until he stops on a deserted road to help a stranded motorist, Grady, who retells the ghost story as if
it and the Hippie Queen are real.
Despite Grady’s warnings to stay away, Jeremy and his devoted girlfriend, Jinni
Malone, plan a camping trip to the very place - Reefers Woods - where the hippies allegedly died. After a
near-death experience, an ultra-vivid dream and bizarre visions of children roaming about, Jeremy wonders if
there could be some extraordinary power manifested in Reefers Woods. Can Jeremy, in his role as a cynical
scientist, dare to believe in the supernatural? Can he discern what is real and what is not?
Do you know what it is to burn?
No? Neither did Jeremy, at least not before a girl, a beautiful stranger, kissed him
unexpectedly in a bar. In the days that followed, and despite his love for Jinni, Jeremy cannot turn his
thoughts away from the provocative encounter. When Jeremy gives in to his forbidden desires and seeks out the
mysterious Monika, he is thrust into a shadowy subculture of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, of which he had
been completely unaware. It is Monika who asks the question, and subsequently reveals what it is to burn.
I can’t believe she’s
dead.
The intrigue and suspense intensifies after a ritualistic murder at the University
draws the attention of the nation. After learning that the victim is someone very close to Jeremy and after
finding evidence linking him to the crime scene, the police focus on Jeremy as a suspect, forcing him to
search for the real killer and to try and make sense of the many unforeseen twists and turns his life
takes.
What is THE REAL?
THE REAL may be described as a murder-mystery, an action-adventure and a supernatural
thriller, deftly folded into one. The observant among you might see the novel through an allegorical lens or
even as an extended fable. Regardless, this book can be experienced on several levels. It is up to you, the
reader, to decide how deeply you wish to delve.
News Release: May 15, 2011
The National Indie Excellence Book Awards Salutes the BEST of the BEST in 2011
Today, Ellen Reid, founder of The National Indie Excellence Book Awards, released the 2011
Winners and Finalists of this year’s contest. Competition for the top spots is fierce with prizes exceeding $12,000
in value and the priceless opportunity to have one-on-one coaching with inside industry experts including top media
and PR consultants, marketing experts and others.
“The judges for this competition are industry leaders that take their responsibility very
seriously. We had the best pool of submissions ever and it was not easy because of the excellent books we received
in every category this year. I am constantly thrilled at the outstanding work we’re seeing,” Reid said.
THE REAL, a novel by southern author James Cole was chosen as one
of three national finalists in the highly competitive "Mystery"
category.
Click Here to Buy the Hardback version of THE REAL
directly from
the publisher (personalized author autographs available on request during checkout) with FREE
SHIPPING to the lower 48 states. Also available in e-Book
format: Kindle eBook
Read this book with an open mind, then read it again if you must. Concentrate on the message it's trying to convey.
See if you can truly answer the questions posed, somehow obvious and obscure at the same time: What is the real?
What does it mean "to burn"? At the secret beach, Monika says that "something big is coming down". Can you figure
it out? During the ceremony, Monika stipulates, "Listen to the music, it helps you to become." Become what? What
does Sticks River Road represent, straight and open for the first half, curved, convoluted, and dark in the 2nd
half, with prophetic Grady's dwelling situated at the interface. What is Monika's grand plan? What is she trying to
accomplish with the disavow at the ceremony? Why is it that only 3 people (that we know of) experience the "vision
of the real" dream? Why is it that Monika has such a fondness for the phrase, "Burn, baby, burn"? Notice what she
says with respect to this when they are all together on the cliff at the end of the book. How is it that Jeremy,
despite poor decisions at times, survives against all odds?
If there ever was a book that can, as it says, "burn virgin
pathways in the mind", The Real is it. I read some of the negative reviews in which it is described as an "easy
read". Whatever The Real is, it is the opposite of "easy". So don't be swayed by the naysayers, take the dangerous
plunge, engage your mind and at least some of you will see that there's something undeniably special about this
novel: eye-opening for the intuitive, baffling for the simple-minded, terrifying for the wayward, but in it,
something deeply beneficial for all who, as it says, "dare to believe in the
supernatural".
Note from the author
(1/13/2012)
I never thought I would be saying this, but I now have a
Blog! (read the 1/13/2012 post to
discover what Tim Tebow and THE REAL have in common!)
Note from the author
(1/11/2012)
I am happy to mention that, beginning a
few weeks ago, THE REAL was "discovered" on Amazon.com. It hit and held the #1 position in the "Ghost
Stories" category and peaked in the top 100 overall best-sellers list. Thank you all! (screenshot provided
below)
Note from the author
(3/22/2011)
More details on availability: THE REAL is available in hardback (1st edition, with personalized autographs, if
requested) from my website, and also in all the various e-book formats:
Kindle version from Amazon, and you can use an app for
the iPad that allows you to use an iPad or iPod to read THE REAL (Kindle not required!).
Also, I am pleased to announce that THE REAL is now available at most bookstores nationwide (USA), though
you might want to call ahead to make sure your particular bookstore has it in stock. If they don't, most
should have no problem in quickly getting copies on their bookshelves if a request for it is received
(which, in turn, will help expose THE REAL to more customers!)
I'm actively asking for Amazon reviews as this is the primary way customers there choose (or don't choose)
to buy books from authors with whom they might be unfamiliar.
Click here to go directly to the review page for THE REAL on Amazon. (Note: you must have an
Amazon account before they will let you write a review.) These reviews can be as short (or long) as you
wish - even the reviews with few words and a good rating help a lot.
There is another site, Goodreads.com, that is a good source of reader-initiated book reviews. You can leave
a comment or review for THE REAL there by clicking this link: Goodreads Review: THE REAL
