Dark Canvas

Dark Canvas #1

by Jody Summers

When artist, Kira McGovern mixes paints with the ashes of the dead, she discovers her extraordinary gift, but it also leads her to some horrifying crimes in this psychological thriller of a novel.
It seems innocent enough at first, thought Kira McGovern--mixing her dead mother's ashes with paint to produce a tribute painting. What a way to personalize and immortalize her mom's memory! The idea so ensnares her that she forms a new business, Canvas of Life, to do just that for others. As she begins with her first clients, something inexplicable Kira experiences segments of the dead person's life. In dreams and visions she begins to receive images. Some are gratifying, some are unpleasant and some are downright deadly.

Sean Easton is a Kansas farm boy with a special talent he is just beginning to understand. His father, too, has recently died, but something sinister still lingers on the farm. When he takes his father's ashes to Kira as a pretense to meet her, he not only falls in love but makes some startling discoveries about his own life as well, and as Kira begins to paint with Sean's father's ashes the real terror begins...

In DARK CANVAS, join Kira and Sean as they realize they must quickly find the meaning and source of her dreams before both their love and their lives are destroyed.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2008

About the author

Born in New Orleans, JODY SUMMERS' life has been filled with unconventionality. The adopted son of a prominent Texas restaurateur, Jody grew up in New Orleans, Memphis and then Houston, learning the restaurant business while he built a career as a competitive gymnast that propelled him to a scholarship at the University of Kansas.

After college, Jody followed in his father's footsteps owning, at one point, three 24-hour restaurant franchises along with four tanning salons in Tulsa. Finally leaving that business, he turned his entrepreneurial skills to everything from a patent in the Pet Industry to a Single's website.

A restaurateur, a gymnast, a stunt man, an entrepreneur, a pilot, skydiver, scuba diver, and an accomplished martial artist for twenty-five years, Jody Summers has tried it all. Now he brings all those experiences to paper in his first novel, the romantic thriller, DARK CANVAS.

To learn more please visit darkcanvas.net

Reviews

[Sharon Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paranormal/romance/suspense with a very unique twist to the paranormal, the main character being an artist who paints memorial paintings using the ashes of the deceased mixed with the paint and by doing so, links into the person's life.

As an artist myself, this plot definitely hooked me from the very beginning and the storyline continued to escalate the tension to a very satisfactory ending. I will be looking for more by this author.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A lady artist paints using ashes of dead people. The psychic vibrations give her the ideas for the pictures. She meets up with an empathic young man, who wants her to paint using his father's ashes. Turns out he was a serial killer. Whoops!

[Lorri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, the concept of painting with a deceased ashes is a bit weird, among other things. In this book, it brings comfort and closure to several family members. Kira is a former model that returns to New Orleans when her mother gets sick and passes away. She finds comfort in painting and decides she wants to start a business. She gets several clients quickly who are more than satisfied with the results. Sean is a bit of a recluse because of his talent- being able to sense other people's emotions. After his father's death, while browsing online on a singles site, he finds Kira's ad and wants to meet her. It's then that he decides to become a client to do just that. It is love at first sight between both of them, but what happens after she begins painting his canvas has nothing to do with love. They find events getting worse and even life threatening, but during this time they realize that Sean's father has a secret that he has to tell.

[Chrissy Busick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance, paranormal elements, and mystery. This book has all of my favorite elements resulting in a great read. can't wait to get started on the second book. I was amazed by the things that were happening in Kira's paintings. I love the idea of using cremated remains in a painting to remember the loved one. so much better than scattering ashes. I loved how quickly Sean and Kira realized and acknowledged their love for each other. They didn't care if people said it was fast. When it's right you just know.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dark Canvas. Kira McGovern has an intriguing idea to use the ashes of dead people to personalize paintings. She begins having visions of the dead peoples' past and the paintings begin to change. I can't wait to read the next book! I highly recomment this to any mystery reader.

[Ann Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, the protagonist, Kira McGovern is an artist. She comes up with a very unique medium. From what I understand, Jody Summers got the idea from an artist by the name of Denice Lewis. She was his inspiration for the book. Denice Lewis actually does use the ashes in her art. At least she did until she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I plan to check into her a little more since she will publish her memoirs soon.
I won this novel from the Goodreads website. It has everything one could want in a good supernatural tale. There is also a love story and lots of mystery. I've read a few comments online that think using remains is in poor taste. Personally, I think the idea of using a deceased loved one's ashes is genius. Of course, the plot of "Dark Canvas" is darker than reality; that is a good thing for the reader. The plot is original and enjoyable. From what I understand, this will be a series. I am happy to hear that. I recommend you read the first installment of the series.

[Kim Melso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from goodreads giveaways. The plot started off normal enough; woman working through a tough time who turns to a creative outlet. She realizes she has a special “talent” for the arts and counties to pursue it. Through this new talent she meets a man unlike anyone she has known before. They form a fast and fierce love. The book then adds a mysterious twist followed by a horror/paranormal aspect. I felt like the book slowly worked up to this and it wasn’t too much in your face or too far fetched. I did get this book awhile ago so the edition I have had quite a few editing errors. Although the book was intriguing, I also felt like it was just a bit long and a few things could have been cut for length. Overall though a great read!

[Diane E]

Eerie like Stephen King

Kira McGovern is a former model turned artist . After her mother dies in New Orleans she has an idea about memorializing her mother by using her cremains to make a painting. Sean Easton is a well educated farmer who has the gift of being an empath. Difficult gift to have. When Sean contacts Kira to have her paint a picture using his father's cremains , well a few sparks fly. Then things get really strange . Only one typo. I already have the next book .

[Taylor Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part was really good, the middle was... I'm not gonna lie, I hated it! I don't mind romance, but this was just... Bleh. It was so overly sappy, and so dramatic at times, it felt like a soap opera on paper. Or a really old Disney princess movie. If that's your type of thing, you'll love that section. It's not my type of thing. Thankfully, the last part of the book veered away from the overly sappy stuff and did a pretty good mix of ghost mystery with a touch of romance. All in all, it was pretty good, but I likely won't get the sequel.

[Sunny Pisenti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinary idea. Thought provoking.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this gem.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star book
was an okay book but i still enjoyed reading the book

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway, which was great! All in all I liked the book. The concept of painting with ashes is really unique but I felt the plot fell a little flat. To me the book came off as less of vehicle for story than a vehicle for the author. I think that it could have done better with a good editor. There were many times that it felt as if the author grabbed thesaurus and picked the longest and most complicated word he could when a simpler word would have fit better with the narrative and essence of the characters he was trying to portray. In spite of all this I enjoyed the book and finished it in a single sitting.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I’m usually drawn to darker stories, and “Dark Canvas” didn’t disappoint in that regard. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how…light I felt after reading it. Often I’m left with a heavy feeling when I read stories with a macabre nature, but I did not feel that at all with this book. The story itself was intriguing and I loved how Kira and Sean’s stories were woven together. Some of the turns the plot took were slightly predictable, but still enjoyable. Overall a great read.

[Ren Sargent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads Program.

This book was good but it wasn't good enough to keep me reading it to the end. A lot of it was just repeating certain scenarios. I read to about page 170, more than halfway through the book, before I decided that I was done with this. If the book had moved faster then I probably would have finished it.

[Donna H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jody Summers first novel, Dark Canvas, had me from the first page. I was intrigued from the beginning and struggled to put the book down. This mystery includes a touch of paranormal and the fascination of the empath. Definitely a great read. Can't wait to read the next book in, what I hope, is a series.

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books plotline was a really creative one. Who writes a story about an artist who paints pictures using the ashes of dead loved ones? I enjoyed this story but I think that the two main characters getting involved with each other was kind of predictable. But I still enjoyed it. As a matter of fact I just lent the book to my niece for her to read.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The general idea of the book sounded fantastic and very original before I started it. However, the dialogue was so/so, the sudden romance was a bit too much for me to handle, and the plot was very predictable and seemed drug out toward the end. As I said, the idea for the book was very unique, but it probably would have been better written out in more experienced hands.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual mystery series. Kira paints with cremains, Sean is an empath. They meet when Kira is commissioned to paint with the cremains of Sean's father. They fall in love and solve a very old cold case in the town where Sean lives. I anxiously await book two "The Mask Maker."

[Kathy Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want it to end...

This book was so good! It was a mystery, thriller, and love story all woven up in a scary story, which made the unbelievable believable.