Damaged Soul in a sentence

Surviving abduction, Gale Spartan begins to plot her murderous revenge…but will her sanity survive?

Damaged Soul Blurb

Two women are captured, tortured, and beaten. One dies. Gale Spartan lives
to struggle with a personal burden. She believes the wrong woman survived.
Determined to do things right with her second chance, the Seattle Police
Detective quits her job for a lifelong journey of vengeance in the name of
victims everywhere. Her first target is her abductor but her ex-supervisor
stands in her way.

She refuses police protection and he doesn’t want to lose another woman he
loves, supervising Detective Roy Valentino races against Gale to bring her
abductor to justice. He enlists his step-son to protect Gale while he
investigates. When he finds out the abductions circle around his past
secrets, Roy battles overwhelming guilt.

Which one of them will find the abductor first?

Writer’s Commentary for Damaged Soul

Title: Damaged Soul

Is it the most original title I could conceive? No, but I chose Damaged Soul because it reflects the entire story. This story isn’t about a number of damaged souls, though, I could’ve made the title plural. All the characters are damaged in some way. However, this story is about the heroine and her dark quest for justice. She’s a damaged soul grasping for redemption.

I wanted to write a story about a woman, who started out good, survived a traumatic event that darkened her soul, and ended with a life worth the trouble. My motivation stems from reality. Life is hard, we all make decisions we have to live with, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, a cliché, but why reinvent the wheel?

Chapter One

In a south Seattle slum, Gale cradled Carol Valentino in her arms while Carol rasped, “Don’t tell my husband I love him.” Blood trickled from Carol’s eye and ears, over her pale skin. Her body trembled. She coughed.

In the initial version, I didn’t have the words “in a south Seattle slum.” Without these words, the hook was exactly what I wanted: gripping, violent, intriguing. However, after my critique partners read the chapter, many had commented they were lost because the setting wasn’t established anywhere in the chapter.

In an attempt to correct the distraction, I went from detailing the neighborhood and house to listing everything in the room. I wasn’t happy with the results. These details diluted the intensity of my scene and slowed my action.

Then it came to me, just state the location. It’s a little skewed on point of view because she doesn’t know where she is, but it’s there for the readers who need a location to identify with the scene.

I still believe the opening is stronger without the five words, but nobody questions the setting now that I’ve included them and they don’t seem to distract from the mood.

“Don’t tell my husband I love him.” Love not loved, I was careful to make the distinction. Since he’s alive and she’s on her last breath, I wanted the reader to get a sense that she’ll never stop loving him. I did this because my heroine has never known a love this deep. She finds it ironic that the treasure of unconditional love was wasted on a man who took women for granted.

It’s because the heroine doesn’t believe Carol’s husband really cares that she swears vengeance in Carol’s name.

Chapter Two

Dr. Cho signed the Virginia Mason Medical Center release forms on her clipboard. Gale Spartan had wasted a month recovering from her injuries. While she recovered, the west Seattle precinct officers had visited and treated her with respect. Respect she hadn’t deserved. Respect she couldn’t give herself.

This chapter introduces one of my sub-plots, the stages of recovery for survivors of assault. At this point, my heroine has conquered the first stage of confusion and shock. Now she’s in the second stage, denial. She refuses to accept the negative changes to her life by refusing police protection and psychological help.

She straddles the line between the second stage and the third, suffering. This third stage manifests by self blame and sense of loss. She’s angry at herself for not taking the shot when she had it. I used an anaphora the hook’s end to carry a punch.

Throughout the novel, the crisis stage of overwhelming emotions and images of the abuse triggers with various cues. I do this because I wanted to accurately portray the recovery process she goes through on a day to day basis.

In addition, she’s washing her hands of who she was before the attack. Her partner and she had worked well together serving justice. But now that she’s personally experienced the brutalities, justice isn’t enough punishment for men like her antagonist.

Chapter Three

Gale stood on dock fifty-five as the spring storm roared with thunder. A gust of sea-salted wind yanked her hair around. When she glanced up at the rain clouds, her hat fell back. Unleashed tears streamed down her cheeks. She spread her arms to welcome nature’s onslaught.

“I promise,” her yell carried on the wind. “He will get what he deserves.”

Extreme, yes, but so is her mission to kill a killer. Throughout the book, my heroine’s mental state goes to extremes. She’s not crazy, just dramatic. She’s trying to deal with her situation without professional help. This is part of the reason for her state of mind.

In the hallway of her apartment, she meets up with a character that plays a larger role as the book progresses. I can’t tell you what role without spoiling the ending.

The Barrel of her .45 caliber leading the way, she cleared the entry, stepped in and kicked the door closed behind her. She inched to the right into her living room. The evening light filtered through sepia shades on her windows. When she saw a stranger on her couch, she adjusted her hold around the handgrip.

When she returns home, I illustrate her phobias and as she enters her apartment, one of her fears turns reality. She finds a stranger on her couch. This is the hero, but she’s not happy to meet him. A helper character gives the hero a key without telling the heroine.

I use her Beretta as a symbol for false hope. In her defense, she continues to count on the object to protect her. The weapon never does.

She trashed her dead hair and climbed into the tub with a sigh. Warm bath water did wonders for her tight muscles. Her shivering stopped instantly. She sighed again and tried to focus on uncoiling her knotted muscles. Her fingers rubbed the bare skin on her wrist, grandmother’s bracelet was gone but a scar remained. Silently cursing, she scrubbed her face with her palms. She had to find it.

Cutting and trashing her hair is reinforcing her need to leave her old life behind. She’s caught in the present while she’s dealing with her mental state, but she soon figures out there is a future.

The Grandmother’s bracelet is a sign for innocence. She received the gift as a child and coveted the treasure. When she thinks about the heirloom, she’s reminded that her Grandmother was the only person she felt comfortable around in her life. This changes as the romantic elements unfold.

Write to DamagedSoul@judydawn.com to acquire sample chapters.