From the bestselling author of Just Remember to Breathe and The Last Hour, a shocking and poignant story of a family on the brink of destruction and the transformational events that could bring them back together—or tear them apart.
Every day, Cole Roberts reminds himself that life wasn’t always this bleak. He was once passionately in love with Erin. Sam used to be an artistic and lively kid. They hadn’t always lived in a shabby two-room house in rural Alabama, where he runs a mediocre restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
That was before Brenna disappeared. It was before Cole lost his job and they lost their home.
Every day it gets worse. Erin drinks wine out of the bottle and spends her days with a tormented expression, searching the web for signs of their daughter. Sam hides in his room and rarely speaks. And Cole works himself to a stupor for a paycheck a fraction of the size of his old salary.
Until one day a phone call changes everything.
Winter Flower is at once a tragic tale of the disappearance of a child; struggling with gender identity; of the dark world of sex-trafficking and the transformation and healing of a family. Sheehan-Miles’s longest novel delves into the depths of family life—and how, sometimes, we can heal and find restoration.
Praise for Winter Flower
Sheehan-Miles's writing, as always, is brilliant. I love this author's voice and writing style. There's an honesty to his storytelling which I think is why he is so good at conveying emotions and is why, with every book he's written, including this one, I find myself crying while reading his words.
- Feeding My Addiction Book Reviews
I feel emotionally wrecked in the best way.
- Bethany, Talkbooks Blog
Charles Sheehan-Miles is one of the best authors I have read. He has an incredible gift of creating characters who the readers immediately embrace as their own.
- Saucy Southern Readers Blog
This book is just really damn good!
- Christopher Gerrib, Author of The Night Watch
This story sucked me in, captivated me, broke my heart, then put it back together. It is hard, realistic, gritty, and suspenseful, but it is tempered by hope and determination...a powerful and emotional read that is also both hopeful and inspiring.
- Kim B of Reviews by Tammy & Kim, Goodreads Review
This book has an upcoming release date so has no sales record yet. Howerver, it has been selected as a Bookbub Featured New Release, which will put the ebook in front of 1.1 million people a week after release. Previous books of mine, notably Just Remember to Breathe, have been in the top 50 on Amazon in multiple languages.
Sam: September 13
The day before my sister Brenna disappeared I felt a hint of chill in the air as I stepped out of James Madison High School. Brenna stayed late for the drama club, because of courseshe was in drama, and I stayed late for extra help in chemistry. I glanced to the end of the sheltered walkway, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked toward the parking lot where Brenna and I were meeting up with Mom.
I didn’t even see Jake Fennel and his sidekick Matt until Jake slapped me in the face. With broad shoulders and powerful forearms, Jake had a military-style crew cut and red, fleshy cheeks that looked out of place on someone so spiteful. Jerking me around had been his favorite activity since elementary school, when he’d punched me at Cynthia’s ninth birthday party.
“Hey, little bitch!” Jake said.
I tried to pull away, but Jake shoved me against the wall again, grabbing the front of my shirt. With half-lowered eyelids squeezed into narrow, hateful slits, he whispered, “You told Mrs. Reed I was bothering you? Do you have a fucking death wish?”
Matt, his sidekick, spit at my feet. “Bitch.”
“I ought to kick your ass.” Jake’s face flushed as he worked himself up.
Tears bubbled way too close to the surface. I wanted to run or sink into the ground and disappear. I’d tried to be invisible in the three weeks since high school had started. No such luck. I’d hoped it would be better than middle school. Maybe the jerks and bullies who had made middle school miserable for me would find someone else to bother, or they’d mature, or the lessons of a hundred seminars on bullying would stick and they’d embrace brotherhood with people different from themselves.
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German
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Translation in progress.
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Andres Figuera
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