Cracks Of Light

by John Charles Reedburg

Overview

Growing up in a broken home will always be a rough ride for any child caught in the crossfire. Naturally, when The Light speaks to nine-year-old Demetrius, he is too afraid to tell his bipolar mother what he has seen...

However, after young Demetrius develops a secret friendship with The Light, he is taken to "The Other Side," a metaphysical realm where he meets his ancestors and learns about coping with childhood trauma, domestic abuse, and mental illness.

Acclaimed screenwriter John Charles Reedburg presents his latest novel, Cracks of Light, an urban fantasy horror that fuses drama, poetry, and testimony with the spirit world . This book is the first in a series of novels that center around human relationships with the supernatural and appeals to older fans of young adult fiction and genre readers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781736553503
Publisher:	Valorous Books
Publication date:	02/07/2021
Series:	The Cracks Of Light Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	161
File size:	711 KB

About the Author

John Charles Reedburg received his MFA in Fiction from Antioch University of Los Angeles, and his MFA in Screenwriting and Directing from Chapman University in Orange, CA. He enjoys visiting boutique coffee shops and playing video games on his PC laptop when he's not writing.

Table of Contents

Table Of Contents

Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii

Chapter 1 The First Time I Saw The Light. . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2 He Told Her to Beat Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 3 The Universe's Pussy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 4 Aunt Charlie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 5 Fry Jacks, Black Eyes, and Papaya Jam. . . . 19

Chapter 6 Friends and Sisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 7 What the Pig Told the Wolf. . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter 8 Child of Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 9 I Didn't Want Her to Leave. . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 10 Dog Fight Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 11 Kung Fu Crack Baby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Chapter 12 Freedom Fighters and Caterpillars . . . . . . . 60

Chapter 13 I Was Curious About Her Laughter. . . . . . 65

Chapter 14 I Didn't Respect Him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 15 Not the Son He Never Had. . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Chapter 16 Cotton Balls in the Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Chapter 17 Tornados, Ghetto Birds, And Magical

Hood Witches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 18 Death of a Lightning Ball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Chapter 19 That Story About the Glowing Potato. . . . 92

Chapter 20 Don't Call Me Chinese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Chapter 21 Call the Paramedics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Chapter 22 Gone But Not Forgotten . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Chapter 23 Thou Shall Not Kill Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 24 Kickball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Chapter 25 The Magical Otherside. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Chapter 26 Shapeshifters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 27 Puppet Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Chapter 28 A House Of Gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Chapter 29 Was I Afraid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Chapter 30 Willie Earl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Chapter 31 The Bitch Inside the Mirror. . . . . . . . . . . 137

Chapter 32 The Girl From the Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Chapter 33 Your Sister's Keeper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Chapter 34 To Dance With Momma. . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Chapter 35 Onion Pouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Chapter 36 Glowing Away Party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Chapter 37 Last Dance With Momma. . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Epilogue A New Beginning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Editorial Reviews

"Raw, heartbreaking, and uncompromisingly brutal, Cracks of Light is a thought-provoking and powerful exploration of child abuse and its role in deteriorating one's mental health. John Charles Reedburg's harrowing tale primely showcases the life-long consequences and deep psychological scars inflicted upon people when subjected to long-term abuse at a young age. John Charles Reedburg utilizes unreliable narrators to a flawless degree to create a fascinating narrative that is as absorbing to read as it is disturbing. The surreal nature of the plot amplifies the dark tone of the narrative, leaving you with a story that somehow feels whimsical and realistic in equal measure. Overall, I felt mesmerized by Cracks of Light. I highly recommend it." - Pikasho Deka, Reader's Favorite (5-star review)

"Raw and lyrical, harrowing, funny, and deeply human, Cracks of Light is a spellbinding novel, a riveting meditation on identity and ancestry. Reedburg is a natural born storyteller, vividly moving back and forth from early 90's South Los Angeles to other dimensions. He confidently takes on a complex plot of mental illness, abuse and addiction, deftly weaving in themes of religion and the supernatural. His voice is a mashup of Stephen King, Walter Mosley, and Charles Dickens, yet distinctly his own, fearlessly telling us Afrofuturist stories that haven't yet been told." - Alistair McCartney, author of The Disintegrations.

From the Publisher