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Thirty-five-year-old novelist, Shyla Wishon, fears that her life is spinning out of control since her recent marriage to Carl Cores. First, her overbearing new mother-in-law moves from New Jersey to Florida to be close to her son, followed by a steady stream of visiting relatives who become a constant intrusion on what was once her time to write. To make matters worse, Carl’s two grown daughters refuse to have anything to do with her, his former wife is still making demands, and even though Carl has a good job, bills are starting to pile up. Shyla tries to cheerfully accept the responsibilities that come with a new marriage and the inevitable adjustments, but the stress from it is leaving her with constant migraines, a lack of energy, and, worst of all, an inability to write. While she is in Naples, Florida, teaching a creative writing course, Shyla becomes intrigued with a student’s manuscript, THE IMMIGRANT, about Cuban refugees who bring the ancient beliefs of Regla de Ocha to America. Then the ideas in the manuscript start influencing her life. Will Shyla need to lose her life to regain her self?

Shyla's Initiative, an occult romance by novelist Barbara Casey, is a well crafted tale that entwines a forgotten, but primitive faith with a more modern tale of relationships and traditions, of pain and sorrow, and how life still goes on...with a new plan. A new initiative. The novel is Casey's first attempt at writing adult fiction. She, has had several shorter pieces and poems published in Byline, American Poetry Review and other publications, but delivers this dynamic tale much in the same style of James Patterson in his Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and Sam's Letters to Jennifer by breaking the novel down into different points of views; each from the various characters within the book, but with the main focus still being on and around Shyla Wishon, a novelist who, at best, is at the center of this much enchanted tale. "The woman didn't seem to understand or care that she and Carl might want time for themselves. Shyla tried hard to suppress her feelings, because Pilar was Carl's mother..." Shyla believes. Yet there was something more than Pilar's unrelenting requests for her son to do things for her that troubles Shyla; there was the new computer he claimed was a gift from a co-worker, but when she confronted him with the sales receipt, he fessed up. Then, there were the documents left in her suitcase. They indicated that Carl named his estranged daughters as beneficiaries; but why; why hadn't he told her? What else was he keeping from her? Certainly,"...doubt had been raised, and no matter how hard she tried to block it out, the question kept resurfacing: Does he really love me?" But that isn't the only thing brewing. Maria Fanjul, the last of the guardians, knows the end is near. "Maria was old; soon she would pass. According to the traditions of Regla of Ocha, it was time for her to give her knowledge and wisdom -- the inheritance -- to another female related by blood... "There were difficulties, however. Maria's daughter had been born with the grayness." So had her own granddaughter, and time was running out. She and her followers would again petition the gods in hopes of getting the reply they are praying for... in time. Robin M. Buehler Reviewer for the Gothic-Review Journal I found this to be a very absorbing book. Read it from end to end in two sittings (being mad at the interruption,) since I wanted to know what followed next in the story. Barbara Casey, as a writer, is able to carry multiple "threads" that the reader can follow without getting entangled in a web. The meat of the novel deals with Santeria and the occult, which the author seems to have researched thoroughly; set around "Ritzy" Palm beach County and other South Florida locales. All of this in a very concise and well written novel, which could very well be transcribed to what might be an equally absorbing film, dealing with the little known and understood occult rituals of many Latin cultures. “A Customer”, Reviewer in Amazon.com. Rated it a 5.0 out of 5 stars From the fascinating introduction of "Shyla's Initiative", the reader is drawn into the intimate life and mysterious events enveloping Shyla Wishon, author and creative writing instructor. Striving to overcome the stress of being a young widow,and a failed second marriage, she does her utmost to build a worthwhile life by writing and teaching in South Florida. Shyla becomes emotionally caught up in the manuscript(a family saga)by a student from a wealthy Cuban family that brought ancient beliefs of Regla de Ocha to Florida along with the occult ritual of Santeria. Inexplicably,the manuscript influences Shyla's life. The characters are vivid. Shyla is so finely drawn that you won't soon forget her. A must read! Mark Jacoby, Author, Path to Arequipa and as a Reviewer in Amazon.com. Rated it a 5.0 out of 5 stars I'm FASCINATED with this novel! Technically, it's perfect. Timing, suspense, character development, theme interest...it's all there. And the writing is fast, precise, accurate, trimmed to perfection, like a French garden....I particularly enjoyed the scenes whose development you left unfinished, letting the reader to decide what exactly was happening. And the ones that relate to Santería ceremonies. Barbara Casey is a GREAT writer! "aljfer", Reviewer in Amazon.com. Rated it a 5.0 out of 5 stars

SHYLA’S INITIATIVE

ISBN #: 978-1890109783 PUBLISHER: Crossquarter Publishing 2003 IPPY Book Award - BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE. Special Recognition for Literary Merit Palm Beach County Cultural Council.

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Novel, Contemporary Suspense, Paranormal, Gothic Romance