Welcome to my bookstore! Below you will find my published work listed in groups of fiction and nonfiction. Click on the book cover to purchase or see sample pages.
About In Our Midst, A Literary Fiction:
From the time we are able to walk and talk, girls are taught to watch out for “dirty old men” and frightening strangers who may jump out of alleys to rape us or steal our virginity. What we aren’t taught to watch for are the men in our own families, those men who have no qualms about performing sexual acts with their own children, grandchildren, sisters, or cousins. Such men live among us, and an undocumented number of women and children suffer with the secret that they have been victimized by men to whom they are related by blood, often from the time they were very young girls. In Our Midst is a series of narratives written from the perspectives of women and children who interact with one such abuser, a man named Lester Beauchamp.
Lester’s behavior with women and girls showcases the many facets of how dangerous abusers operate right in the midst of familiar company, often in the open, and in public, without anyone else even noticing. While woman after woman and girl after girl must contend with Lester’s abusive and destructive presence in their lives, the abuser himself continues to rely on their shame and humiliation to keep his secret. This series of first-person fictionalized stories draws on true experiences of abuse, and reveals the depth to which some men will go to satiate their own desire for power and control over vulnerable members of society.
About Violet, A Paranormal Mystery:
Violet is an ordinary mother, wife, and elementary teacher, except for one thing: she’s psychic. Her visions are only shared experiences she sees in her mind, but she begins to wonder about a dark figure which keeps appearing over her bed while she sleeps. The figure’s menacing air leaves her fearful for the first time that perhaps it has the power to hurt her. While visions of an abused boy begin to cause her concern, she somehow finds herself getting involved in an investigation of a haunted house, even though she doesn’t believe in ghosts. Violet’s world is turned on its head as she unwinds the strange truth of the dark, frightening figure, and she begins to question whether or not ghosts really exist after witnessing events she can’t explain. Her visions become other-worldly as she unfolds the mystery of the abused child, a woman murdered in the past, and a death close to home which affects Violet’s family in the most unexpected of ways.
About Indigo, the Sequel to Violet:
A stranger on a corner, watching.
A match lighting up a face.
A woman determined to get revenge.
I saw it all, through their eyes. I experience their fears, their grief, and their anger, but only for a few moments at a time. After that, I am left to discover the reasons why I have the visions. Though I am a school teacher by trade, I am also a psychic, and now my teenaged son, Daniel, is too.
My visions can often be intrusive, but one particular connection to a grief-stricken mother becomes overwhelming, and I’m not sure why. Every person I “see” needs help, but this time I have no idea what to do when I see what appears to be a murder, and then several rescues. As if that isn’t enough, a dangerous old high school acquaintance comes back to town, followed by a cascade of terrifying events that drag my entire family into the fray. Now all our lives are at risk, and I have to find a way to save us all.
About Darkness Breaks, Issue #1:
For 200 years, Cleo trained in her father’s court to learn how to spread darkness throughout the world. In that time, she couldn’t help but despair in the way the dissonance her father taught her to create was crushing the humans in his control. Though Cleo is considered young for her kind and doesn’t have any idea how she will live outside of the far-reaching power of demon culture, she chooses to leave a life of evil behind in order to help the humans she has come to love.
Darkness Breaks is an urban fantasy serial featuring a small town as the backdrop for the ultimate power struggle. Each month a new issue was released for the full year of 2020, and readers can enjoy the unfolding saga of magic, politics, mystery, power, and the age-old conflict of good vs evil. If you like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, this is for you. Epic fantasy meets modern contemporary in this exciting new series by author Elaine R Snyder.
Find the rest of the Darkness Breaks series here.
About How to Get in the Habit, A Nonfiction for Writers:
Creating habits can seem like a mysterious process, but with this Get in the Habit book, the intention is to remove all mystery and get results.
Whether you’re a serious writer who struggles to make time around your “day job,” or a first-time writer who needs reassurance, this book is for you. Utilize the provided prompts for 30 days to engage both thought processes and emotional reasoning to honor time for your craft.
Anyone can be a writer, but it takes dedication to be good at it. Practice will be encouraged, mistakes will be accepted, and joy must be your foundation for sticking to your plan. All aspects of creating a habit must come from within, and this book will help you design your writing experience to best engage your own reasons for writing.
Become one of the many writers helped by Elaine R Snyder, who has developed tools to teach writing over her career of over 35 years of dedicated writing practice. Her students often enjoy growth so empowering, they are able to build the lives of their dreams. Are you the next writer to build a dream career? The only way to find out is to open the book, grab a pen, and get started.
About How to Be Afraid and Do It Anyway, A Nonfiction on Overcoming Fear:
Fear. It’s part of everyone’s life at one point or another. We all have to face fear. Some people embrace it with an almost reckless abandon to free-climb granite cliffs, race cars, or do stunts for a living. Others find fear utterly debilitating–those who suffer from phobias which prevent them from enjoying life. Whether your fear is out-of-control panic or the pressure of daily anxiety, it comes from the same place. If you find yourself stuck and can’t get past the fear to be able to complete normal, everyday tasks, or if you have to avoid certain activities because your fear keeps you prisoner, this book can help. I have faced many fears in my life, big and small, and with the help of people who gave me loving support, I triumphed over my fears to be free of the effects of literally paralyzing terror. The intention of this short handbook is to help others learn how to have the same freedom I gained through a combination of exposure therapy, meditation, writing, and patience. Fear does not need to control you. Rather than wait for someone to save you, save yourself. You have everything you need to set yourself free.
About The Story of Anyone, An Illustrated Poem with Original Art by Elaine R Snyder:
Around the entire globe, people experience oppression for a variety of reasons. Whether due to skin color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disabilities, or any other aspect of a person’s life, such oppression is unacceptable. No one can control their body type, how they were raised, or which gender they love. No one deserves to be undervalued or mistreated, especially for things out of their control. Today’s global economy and culture is becoming ever more closely bound amongst all the countries of the world, and because of this truth, it is becoming ever more important that we learn not only acceptance for differences, but learn to appreciate them.
In this book, the story of the oppressed is told through a free verse poem meant to demonstrate the nature of the effects of oppression, and then to express the effects of awakening from it. Each page of poetry is accompanied by art which abstractly illustrates the message behind the words. This poem is meant to recognize that within the hierarchies of our current systems of the world, people of all levels of society are suffering, often needlessly. Rather than ignore the suffering, we all have the choice to help ourselves be free and to also help others.
Abuse, bullying, conflict, hate, harassment, slavery, and all other forms of belittling or devaluing are aspects of our society which are utterly under our control. We all contain within us the ability to shift our behavior, speech, and thoughts about how we treat our fellow human beings. If we choose to stop calling people “other” and instead realize we are all part of the same earth with the same basic needs, we can see our likenesses in each other. This is where we can build a space for compassion. This is where we can build a future without oppression. It all begins with loving yourself enough to be able to care for someone else.
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