Gems of Strength

by Markie Madden, Thanna A. Setliff, Alana Madden

The weaker sex? There’s no such thing! Enter Anna, who fights against evil for what she knows is right. Enter Chessie, who must battle prejudice and overcome the torment she holds inside. Read Delia’s story, a struggle against domestic violence. Follow the tale of Apple as she struggles with her demons. And be inside the story with nameless women who must deal with the loss of a child, the inner struggle of uncertain sexuality, the escape from domestic violence, the healing of assault, and the finding of love. These characters embody the strength of women, strip away the illusion of weakness, and bring hope of things to come. The authors of The Sisterhood bring you these poignant short stories and demonstrate there is nothing weak about women!

366 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2016

About the author

Markie Madden was born August 19, 1975, in Midland, Texas. She grew up in the small town of Flushing, Michigan. While in high school, she took creative writing and was a photographer for the school newspaper. In 1993, she won the National Quill and Scroll Society award for best photo in a high school paper. She began writing her first novel, Once Upon a Western Way, while still attending school.
Markie is now married with two teenage daughters, three rescue dogs, and her horse, Athena, who is featured on the cover of her horse care guide, Keeping a Backyard Horse. She tried many times over the years to publish her novel, first on her own, and then hiring a literary agent, all without success. In early 2012, after getting her first smart phone and e-reader application, Nook, she discovered the world of self-publishing through a website called Smashwords. She finally published Once Upon a Western Way through this distributor in April, 2012.
In the late spring of 2013, Markie came down with a mysterious illness, which was ultimately diagnosed as leukemia (AML specifically). She underwent a rigorous treatment of chemotherapy, during which, at one point, her life was endangered. While she was hospitalized, an old high school friend who is also a published author reconnected with her. Since cancer and the treatment of cancer forced her out of the traditional workforce, Markie turned her attention back to the world of writing.
By December of 2014, Markie was the successful publisher of three books, her first published work, Once Upon a Western Way, now available in print as well as e-format, as well as a self-help guide to horse care, Keeping a Backyard Horse, available in print and e-format, and her cancer memoir, My Butterfly Cancer, available in print, e-format, and audiobook. Her other two will soon be available in audiobook format as well. Markie has founded Metamorph Publishing, in order to publish her own books, and she is now working with two other independent authors as well.
Currently, Markie lives in the small town of Fisk, Missouri, with her family, her dogs, and her horse. She is still writing and is working on a crime/paranormal series called The Undead Unit Series. Book one of the series, Fang and Claw, is now available. The second book of the series, Souls of the Reaper, is expected out in 2016, along with a thriller novel entitled Cured Delusions. You can find her at her website: https://metamorphpublishing.com.

Reviews

[Marie]

A wonderful collection of varying short stories by various indie authors. Romance, action, science fiction, fantasy, and even a thriller, this anthology has it all.
Though there were one or two stories that didn't resonate with me, on the whole, I thought the stories were brilliant and certainly kept with the theme of strong women characters. Well edited and engaging, I highly recommend this one.

[Jennifer Roche]

An anthology written by all female authors celebrating the strength and fortitude of the perseverance of the female spirit despite extreme circumstances. This plethora of short stories includes topics both fiction and non fiction in nature and the stories are delivered via point of view of various issues including loss of a child, rape, transgender issues, and a multitude of other circumstances in 18 short stories. This anthology was interesting due to the different author voices and writing styles that approached the same topic concept. Each story had a female for the main protagonist thus allowing women to play the role of heroines, as opposed to having to rely on playing the antiquated role of "damsel in distress" . Which there is also nothing wrong with!

[Kazz Mossman]

Loved this book, it was a great read with some fab stories in it. You can read my full review here. bit.ly/28Ltijo