.
One day, the Iraqi desert will be a garden…again.
Mohammed al-Tikriti, suicide bomber, former University of Baghdad student
“I want you to give this after the explosion to that pretty lady dressed as a man,” he told the boy as he handed him an envelope.
That is how international journalist Jade Snow was led on a life altering journey.
Jade is in Iraq to shoot a documentary about the insurgents. All that changes when she witnesses a suicide bombing in Baghdad.
As Jade and her cameraman, Alejandro, took cover from the blast, she felt a tug on her sleeve. The boy handed her the envelope and she read – “Why I became a terrorist.” The letter was so tragic, she could not ignore it. 
With letter in hand, she is determined to get the real story. The Army threw the word “regrettable” around like it was confetti and it pissed her off. It drove her to seek answers.
Jade was able to talk to Sergeant Lucas, a friend of Sergeant O’Shea’s. O’Shea had been driving the truck when Mohammed rammed into it.
Sergeant Lucas took her to O’Shea’s room and she saw the desk, paper, pen and envelope, waiting for the letter that would never be written.
He also wanted to show Jade the garden. As she wondered at the Daisies growing in such a hostile place, he reached into his pocket……
The Media can be scum sucking leeches, would Jade prove the exception to the rule?
5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
Amongst all the ugliness, how ironic that these men could see the beauty the desert beheld.
Lada Ray’s style of blending history and fiction makes me feel as if I am living the story. The emotions washed over me, leaving me with a sense of futility and profound loss.
The cover alone made me feel…..Well, I had preconceived ideas about the book. I devoured it. I thought I knew the story before hand, and felt such sorrow when it all came true. BUT Lada Ray added a little twist that I didn’t see coming.
Shows life comes full circle and it is a small world. Think about it . Has something ever happened to You, that caused you to feel that way? I feel this book shows that we have more in common than we think.
Supposedly, we got involved in Iraq because of Saddam, who killed and tortured his own people. Now that he was gone, why were we still there? Smart bombs and accidents. Weapons of mass destruction. But, why were we really there? Did the President have an ulterior motive? Were we deliberately deceived? All the questions have been asked. Were they ever answered? Makes me think of things I really don’t want to think about. It makes my head spin with feelings of anger and betrayal, not only for myself, but for the soldiers who put their lives on the line for us. Will we ever know the truth?
How lucky we are, here in the US! No matter how bad it gets, would you want to be anywhere else? Just think how people, like the Iraqi’s, with war all around, still have to go about their daily lives – work, school……..
What’s that saying – “Walk a mile in my shoes”.
I won this book on Lada Ray’s blog, along with Gold Train and Stepford USA, books in the Accidental Spy Adventure Series. I look forward to reading the rest in the series.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Living her life in the fast lane, Lada Ray, M.A., always wanted to write cool stories, which she’d been imagining in her head ever since she can remember. Instead, she listened to her well-meaning parents and started her life in a more traditional way (for her, that is). Born in Russia, she is a world traveler, linguist, financial consultant, Feng Shui Master, shaman, futurist, and metaphysics/spirituality researcher.
Lada holds a Master’s Degree in comparative linguistics (graduated summa cum laude,) is fluent in several languages and has traveled to twenty six countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as Africa. She had worked in Havana, Cuba as an interpreter for the Russian educational exchange delegations, including a couple of interviews with the man himself – Fidel Castro.
In the USA, she published articles in the Hartford Courant & taught Russian on cable TV. Then, something inexplicable possessed her to work as financial consultant for AIG and Smith Barney/Citigroup. But later, she came back to her senses and quit the corporate world to pursue her dreams. She studied Feng Shui in Hong Kong and Malaysia, and received her Feng Shui Master’s certification from the famed Asian author, Lilian Too (graduated first in class). For years, Lada operated an extensive feng shui website and blog – a hit with both local and worldwide fans – and authored over thirty articles on feng shui and spirituality. At the same time, she taught her proprietary feng shui courses and did public speaking.
A few years ago, Lada finally got her ultimate wish, and now she imagines her stories full-time in the bustling New York City and beautifully serene Catskill Mountains, NY, where she lives with her family and calico cat.
Lada Ray is the author of the Accidental Spy Adventure Series, including the Amazon & Kindle bestseller, GOLD TRAIN (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure), mystery/thriller STEPFORD USA (Accidental Spy Smalltown Adventure), and GOLD TRAIN (Accidental Spy Iraq Prequel). She is the creator of the new, top-rated metaphysical YA fantasy/thriller THE EARTH SHIFTER, and the EARTH KEEPERS CHRONICLES: ORIGINS (Catharsis, Lemurian Crystal, Atlantis).
Visit Lada’s innovative & cool author website: LadaRay.com
For posts about Russia & world, feng shui, spirituality, predictions read her popular blog: LadaRay.wordpress.com
Twitter: @LadaTweets
Youtube: Lada Ray Channel
To Purchase Lada Ray’s books on Amazon, simply click on the covers below.
To see my Review of Earth Shifter, go HERE.
To see Earth Shifter videos, go HERE.
To see Lada Ray’s Tour Sales and Giveaway, go HERE.
To see The Earth Shifter “Virtual Tour” Interview, go HERE.
To see Lada Ray’s extension of the above interview, go HERE.
To see the Tour update, go HERE.
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Hi Sherry! Such a beautifully written review. Makes me jump for joy when a reader understands my intent so completely. Thank you for making my day!
All the best.
Lada 🙂
Your books seem to speak to me. ^_^ I am reading Stepford USA right now. Then, on to Gold Train. Anything you write, count me in. ^_^
Oh, this is wonderful, Sherry! So happy to hear you like my writing. 🙂
I’ll send you the re-edited copy of Gold Train in a day or two. Several interesting passages have been added and formatting has been nicely updated as well. You’ll like it!
All the very best,
Lada
Awesome. I’ll be looking for it. Will be at the top of my TBR list. Thank you. ^_^
Just wow Sherry! What a intuitive review. One of your best!
I can tell this book “spoke” to you!
Thanks Laura. That means a lot to me. I love Lada Ray’s writing and her books really do seem to speak to me. I almost feel as if I am there and the characters are talking around me.
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Thanks for the reblog Lada.