Vicki Perry's Blog

As a fall “sale”, a copy of The Chat Room is yours free today through Sunday only.

You can grab The Chat Room on Smashwords formatted to your reading device.  The copy is free until Sunday, when it will go back to the regular price.

After reading the book, remember to rate it on Smashwords!  Leave a comment or ask the author a question.  Enjoy reading this fall!

Get your free copy by clicking this link:  Free copy of The Chat Room by Vicki Perry

[image error]The Chat Room will be available through Smashwords at a 25% discount for a limited time only.

To receive your discount, use the coupon code ZQ66N.

Offer ends on October 23, 2017.

[image error]Fall is almost here already!  It has been a long hot summer in Oregon this year.  Oregon and neighboring states have been hit hard with forest fires.  It is definitely time we had some rain, although I hate to see summer fade.

The surrounding fires have added a campfire scent to the house, yard and car.  There is no avoiding it.  My hair smells like I have been camping for a week each time I shower and my clothes are picking up the aroma too.  I feel like I should grab a bag of marshmallows and make s’mores.

With fall around the corner, there is no better time to read.  Fill your head with another time, another place and take a vacation from life.  Whether you enjoy suspense or the classics, fall is the perfect time to grab a book, a cup of coffee, curl up on the couch and read.

When we read our brain takes in the words written in the book.  That data is processed and the limbic system produces emotional responses to the words we have read.  The emotions we feel connect us to the characters in the book.  This connection or bond is formed when we read words on a computer screen too.    Ever had a favorite character in a book?  Of course you have.  We have all had that one character we hope stays alive when we read a murder mystery.  That bond you have with that character is based on emotions your limbic system produced.

As I read words inside the chat room, a close bond with several friends took hold quickly.  We became friends and remain that way today.  Our experience inside that chat room brought us closer together than I ever thought possible, all through reading words and sharing emotional events.

Stories unfolded one after another inside the virtual room, leading me to the end result of writing the book.

Annie: I know. But I also know this; he is quite possibly facing federal charges. I wish I could show you what he sent after I logged off. Like I said, it was much worse. By the way, this is a new laptop. The police have confiscated my laptop and have kept it for “evidence.” They have also contacted federal authorities.

Cindy: I love you and he does have to pay the price for this. Just wish I knew what else he said to you. Although maybe it’s best if I don’t know.

Matt: I hope they arrest him.

Annie: My sweet Cindy, I love you so, so much. I love all of you so very much, but there was nothing you could have done. He did all of this in a private message. God knows he would never have the balls to do that in open chat.

Cindy: No, he wouldn’t.

Matt: He’s been lying all day and said he never said that.

Annie: Without saying too much, he said he hoped one of my friend’s family would set up my next chemo session with some special stuff in it. There are worse PM’s from him to me after that.

Cindy: So you had to buy a new laptop?

Annie: Yes, Cindy, but honestly, I do understand the police needing to keep my PC. After they explained it all to me it made sense. The police also said something about him using a proxy IP or something that hides his true whereabouts. Does that make sense, Matt?

And so the story continues…

The Chat Room tells the stories of my nine month journey, by using real chat excerpts from the room as in the example above.  If you would like to grab a copy to read this fall, click on the link here:

Purchase a copy of  The Chat Room

(Photo by Vicki Perry)

Through an eight month long journey into the depths of a chat room, I crossed many aspects of the human condition. Meeting a small group of friends led me into an experience I never thought possible in a virtual room. The Chat Room is a story of deceit, drama and heartache told through the words of those in the room. Words can create a bond between humans and they can cause scars that will never heal. This is my journey and my perspective of the chat room environment.

I was taken through a love affair of two people who met online. Within a matter of days they were married. What should have been a happy union turned into a dysfunctional setting and the truth of an unlawful marriage bubbled to the surface. The woman had a sordid past and soon it caused turmoil in the room. She had bouts of rage caused by jealousy and eventually we saw the words we never wished to see from a couple in this position; she was pregnant.

As a group of friends, we lost one to cancer along the way. Our dear Annie departed after a surgical procedure to rid her body of one of the worst killers known to man. Seconds after she passed away, her husband had a heart attack and crumpled to the floor by his wife’s bed. But, there is more to the story.

From deaths of loved ones to being dubbed the mafia, The Chat Room runs the gamut of emotional turmoil, all through words on a screen.

(Background and book photo by SsJ Toma of freeimages.com)

[image error]Chapter One of “The Chat Room”.

As I look back on my life, I realize those moments I once thought monumental mean nothing now.  Maybe it is due to cancer eating at my brain or maybe I am becoming aware of the truth.  What have I accomplished in this life?  Did I give enough?  Did I love enough?

My cheeks are raw from wiping away the tears.  I am not feeling sorry for myself, but realizing how quickly I must say goodbye to my three precious daughters.  How can I say goodbye?  There are six grandchildren I will leave behind.  I cannot hug them enough or hold them sufficiently now.

Tears well as I look each grandchild in the eye to break the news grandma is leaving.  They are all in their teens now.  I will miss their weddings, graduations and their children’s entry into this world.  At the age of 59, it is just too soon.  There are numerous smiles left to see, many lessons to teach and much more to give.  I hold each perfect face in my hands, brush away their tears and say goodbye.  It is all I can do.  How will they remember their grandmother?

I am so scared.  What will be on the other side?  Will I meet up with my father?  My grandparents?

I am not ready to die. 

Spending my final days in bed with family around is not the way I envisioned my life at this age.  The finale is drawing near.  I am choosing to die at home with my loved ones at my side.  My brain has been devoured by cancer.  The disease has moved into my spine, heart and lungs.  Too late to change my future.

I write this book in the moments I am lucid.  Each word is painstakingly typed.  The pain jolting through my body is getting worse now.  At times, it is unbearable and I wish for my imminent death.  I am trying to remain stoic for my family but it is becoming more difficult with every passing moment.

Lying in bed I listen to my heartbeat and the sound of air flowing into my lungs.  What a harmonious duo it is.  I am grateful for the time my body remained healthy so that I may witness the growth of my children and the birth of my grandchildren.  But now it is time my body is put to rest.  It is diseased and failing.  My wish is that my children and grandchildren never suffer illness.  May they all live long, healthy lives.

My eyes close again and I drift into a beautiful place.  A place where familiar hands are reaching toward mine.  There is a radiant light shining brighter than any other I have seen in my life.  I feel joy yet an underlying sense of fear…

I sleep for moments, but wake each time with a jolt as I feel myself slipping into permanent slumber.  I am not ready to let go of this life.

Please, God.  Help me.

Did you cry with me? 

(Photo by SsJ Toma of Freeimages.com)