Artist and Writer
Savanna Redman
Tumbling Down
A Novel
Available through:
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ISBN (Ebook) 978-1-945517-14-3
ISBN (Paperback) coming soon
ISBN (Hardcover) coming soon
ISBN (Large Print) coming soon
Contemporary Women's Fiction
Fiction Psychological
Series: Amanda J. Wilde
“It’s all in the past where the past should stay.”
Amanda has stepped around the darkest shadows where the demons of a traumatic childhood lurk to build a normal life for herself; satisfying career, married, owns a comfortable home with a backyard just big enough to throw a Frisbee. Even with the recent events of her husband losing his dream job and his father, and her mother flying off to Vegas to remarry, she's optimistic things will improve. 'This is normal. Focus on work — everything will be fine.'
But in the back of her mind, a haunting premonition dream from her childhood plays like a TV left on too loud, day and night, in an apartment down the hall. She tries to brush it off as nothing more than a nightmare of a damaged child. But her premonition dreams have always come true; sometimes like a newsreel flash before the event, a literal play-by-play, and at others, well, they need a bit of deciphering.
In the dream, she was a child hiding in the hydrangeas, watching her own funeral. "So tragic," a mourner said, "only thirty-two." At eight, thirty-two was a lifetime away.
Amanda J. Wilde turned thirty-two on Christmas.
On a humid August morning in Chicago, she’s awakened predawn from a deep sleep under the oak in her backyard by her old dog, and a ghost from her childhood.
The vivid nightmares, premonition-dreams, and sleepwalking have all returned, along with Ghost and his cat — who woke her as a child when her life was in danger.
She can no longer ignore the dream.
Within a matter of days, tragic events cause the thin walls between the present and the past to blur with sadistic twists. Amanda heads down a dangerous path, clinging to the slippery edge of a mental breakdown, where she's forced to untangle the damaging psychological events of her childhood from the life she's built as an adult.
The clock is ticking on the year of her death.
"Rich with emotion and driven by suspense, Tumbling Down reminds us that life is often forged by events that threaten to destroy us."
*Contains violence, alcohol, and profanity.
*Published briefly as Butterfly Bones (2015), Tumbling Down (2021) includes deleted scenes to follow the author's original manuscript and intent.
Amanda's journey continues in Refuge.
Amanda J. Wilde series reading order:
Disruption (a short story - prequel)
Tumbling Down (novel)
Refuge (novel)
Asylum (novel)
gifts from the gods (a short story)
What reviewers have said:
"...one of the most creative, evolved stories I've read in a long time.
The writer weaves an eloquent story that both enchants and challenges us to look at our own lives. What would our younger self think of us now if we could meet? This is more than a five star read. The characters are vivid and three dimensional. The writing style is brilliant. The story is a mix of emotionally complex women's fiction with quirky paranormal twists that pushes this to another level of story-telling that is truly extraordinary. I highly recommend it!"
"I've been numb for a long time, grief, depression but this book made me feel something. I cried, I got emotionally invested in Amanda and her view of life. A wonderful insight in how we compartmentalize our life to survive. The book has a rhythm to it, it sweeps you up and you are right there, in the zoo, in the kitchen with the Barbie dolls, its a magical book. Reminded me of Alice Hoffman and I adore her books.
Thank you Savannah Redman, its always a joy to find a new writer worth reading."
"...I had every intention of reading the first couple of chapters and then go back to it later. 2.5 hrs later and I had read it cover to cover. This book grasped and held my attention right from the first page and exceeded all expectations. The characters are well developed and the story line is is fascinating. What is real, what is imagined ? ...If you enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife..."
"This book is an inspiration to create and to break out of boundaries, those of our own making and those that others have built for us."
"Drawing us in with vivid prose, Savanna Redman delivers a moving and thought-provoking account of a woman forced to take a deeper look at her life's choices: questioning deeply held beliefs as she moves from denial and tragedy to fighting for survival. The narrative plunges backward in time to reconnect with her haunted younger self and dreams she left behind in the battle to survive."
"A captivating novel prompting flashes of self-discovery and enlightenment around the myths we create by combining a bit of magic from dreams and omens, mysticism around an amulet, and the wisdom of listening to the inner voice, it invites us to look beyond the surface and dive into our own subconscious."
"Here is a book that is an absolute must for your summer reading - or winter too as it is just that good. Where have you been all of my life, Savanna? You are a born writer and obviously a student of Jung in character analysis and dream development. I loved the shifts in polarities - from young to old, from light to dark, from love to fear and then back again. Amanda is a great character and definitely someone I would love to get to know. Her life reveals so many of the problems facing women today, and possible solutions also. I also loved the mystical that was entertwined - it adds a lot to rounding out the entire plat. Savanna has a real knack and I hope this is just the first in many to come."
"...from the opening page as Amanda experiences a lucid dream, we're thrown into a multi-sensory world, seeing the shadow of black branches against a violet sky, hearing the buzz of insects, smelling the scent of honeysuckle, feeling the chill of cold dew om our bare feet. And from the first pages we also know that Amanda may long for a normal life but she is ANYTHING but normal. This is a surprising book. As the story unfolds, it expands, brought alive by Redman's beautifully vivid writing"
"This book held me suspended between the main character's reality and her dreams. I was on edge throughout the book, not wanting to put it down until I had resolution. The main character, Amanda, became so much a part of my own psyche that at different times, I wanted to hold her, shake her, scream at her, cry with her....she is multi faceted, as is this book. The descriptions are so vivid that I was able to see the colors, smell the smells, and feel the textures as if I was the character, and not the reader.
And just when I thought I had things figured out, BOOM! I was catapulted again into a whole new place."
"A friend of a friend mentioned this book on a Facebook post and I thought I'd give it a go - not really expecting anything special as Im a bit picky about what I read - if I'm not "into it" after the first chapter, I generally cant be bothered to plough on. But WOW! I enjoyed this book SO MUCH I cannot wait to read book 2! It was so well written and the author has a really unique style of writing. I was gripped from the start and basically read the whole thing in one sitting, in between shooing my husband and toddler away from disturbing me. Its a great book, a great story and its only just beginning. Bring on Book 2! Im SOLD!"
"...a terrific novel about dreams, both literal and metaphorical. It is about a complicated woman living a complicated life. The genre straddles the line between chick lit and lit fic with a dash of paranormal thrown in and Savanna Redman makes it all work because her writing is just that good."