She Walks in Beauty

By Nicole Conn

Book Overview

Sometimes the only way to find your life is to walk away from it.

What would you give for a chance to start over?

A chance to find redemption? A chance to love again?

Writer Spencer K. Atwood wants it all. Handsome, talented, and driven to succeed, she approaches the Los Angeles film scene. But her cruise down Hollywood's dazzling fast lane soon becomes a dizzying blur of ambition, obsession, and sexual abandon that inevitably careens out of control...and costs her everything.

In the wake of this wreckage, Spencer travels to Oregon and rents an isolated oceanside cottage. As she looks back over her life trying to figure out how her passions have driven her she begins to understand the threats to her soul. Spencer returns to the one thing that will heal her: her writing. She begins Cynara, a sweeping epic set against the haunting backdrop of Paris in the twenties. Spencer's gripping novel recounts the passionate life--and loves--of notorious lesbian writer Byron Harrington and the reclusive sculptress, Cynara. As she writes from her depths, Spencer begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, she can regain what's really important to her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594934118
• ISBN13: 9781594934117
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: Bella Books
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

This One's a "Must Read!"

She Walks in Beauty has something for everyone: exotic locales, romance, adventure, history, the search for one's self, and the bonus of a book-within-a-book. Ms. Conn delivers on all levels, and never lets the reader down in this one.Yes, the main characters are lesbians -- and if that's a problem for you this shouldn't be in your Shopping Cart. For those open-minded souls, She Walks in Beauty will become a new favorite book. I know it's mine.

You Should Read This Book!

She Walks In Beauty is a deliciously captivating book! I couldn't put it down! This story will take you across centuries, continents and a great expanse of emotion. It's a wonderful journey of self discovery. Great Characters! I highly recommend it!

WOW!

This is Conn's best work. A novel within a novel, and the reader gets to choose which she likes best. Mine is Spencer's story, although I love Cynara. Make a fire, brew some tea, curl up with your comforter in a comfy chair and indulge yourself. A wonderful, wonderful read.

Outstanding.

Ms. Conn interweaves various narrative voices to tell the story of a woman's remarkable journey to self-discovery. The novel explores the often arduous relationship between art and artist, dreams and reality, idealism and the practical. Overall, the protagonist leads us into a well-crafted, witty, and deeply moving tale. I highly recommend this read.

Looking for a great escape?

It awaits you in "She Walks in Beauty." A powerful, well-crafted, and moving story of one women's struggle to find her true self. I found the journey in to Spencer Atwood's life from childhood to womanhood to be heartfelt and a reflection of what some us face in life's ups and downs. Spencer finds love, passion and yet is still at a loss to find herself. Through friends, memories, writing, a lover, her lover's daughter and at times great solitude, Spencer works to come to her own conclusions. This complex and meaningful novel found me pulling for Spencer as a little girl to Spencer the hard driving adult.I found that the in-depth characterization of Spencer, Lillian/ Byron and Cynara took me to places and evoked feelings that I seldom reach in today's lesbian novels. Conn has an incredible gift of emotionally tying you into the lives of each character. I was grateful to fully understand the reasons why the characters were motivated to make the decision that they did and to see their human side (baggage and all). Conn artfully builds each chapter to a pinnacle, and then leaves you in suspense- wanting more. The "more" gets delivered time and time again, as Spencer's journey evolves. I felt that "She Walks in Beauty" is uniquely written to evoke a myriad of emotional feelings that many other lesbian novels never attain. So escape and enjoy as I did!!!