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Between Will and Surrender
The seemingly impossible happens in the wilds of the Los Padres National Forest where Marjorie goes on retreat to make sense of her life when she believes she is going insane. The innocence of the Native American orphan Marjorie befriends, as well as more mystery and adventure than she bargained for, show her how love can heal in what turns out to be a transformative spiritual quest. Between Will and Surrender, book one of the “Enter the Between” Visionary Fiction series, takes you on a spiritual adventure into the wilds of the Los Padres National Forest, home of the Esselen, one of the smallest Native American populations in California nearly exterminated as a result of theSpanish Missions. First place in the Northern California Publishers and Authors Awards First place in the California Indie Author Project Laced with a symbolic dose of physics and the mystical, Between Will and Surrender is the result of the author’s twenty-year fascination with the remarkable parallels between science and spirituality. This visionary novel deals with the empowerment that results from standing up for one’s own beliefs and respecting the beliefs of others. Scroll up and click "Look Inside" for a taste of the inspirational adventure to come.
308 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2015
8 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Duarte
7 books19 followersFormer middle school teacher, Margaret Duarte, lives on an Elk Grove dairy farm with a herd of “happy cows,” a constant reminder that the greenest pastures lie closest to home. Margaret earned her creative writing certificate through UC Davis Extension and has since published four novels in her “Enter the Between” visionary fiction series. Her poem and story credits include SPC Tule Review; The California Writers Club Literary Review; finalist in the 2017 SLO Nightwriters Golden Quill Writing Contest; First Place winner for fiction in the 2016, Second Place winner for fiction in the 2018, and Honorable Mention for fiction in the 2019 Northern California Publishers and Authors Book Awards Competition. International Book Awards Finalist.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 22, 2017
Visionary Fiction is a fairly new category, although the storytelling elements are in a sense classical. It’s all about transformation of character, whether individual or collective, through relationships, experience. I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed a story that didn’t in some measure include these elements. In the case of VF they are predominant, and often include holistic experiences with spiritual or metaphysical themes.
As this story opens, Marjorie Veil is not particularly happy, and when she begins to hear a voice inside her head thinks she might be losing her grip on reality. In this case, it’s a good thing. She takes time off work for R&R, and goes on a trip where everyone she meets - including a mute orphan - and everything that happens, opens up the past and gives her the opportunity to heal unresolved life issues.
As Marjorie’s past emerges so does a local history of Native Americans. The story moves along beautifully, from her interior world to external events that draw her through mystical “coincidences” and prompt self-examination. The characters are distinct and engaging overall. I recommend this book wholeheartedly for readers interested in metaphysics, psychological, and New Age themes.
As this story opens, Marjorie Veil is not particularly happy, and when she begins to hear a voice inside her head thinks she might be losing her grip on reality. In this case, it’s a good thing. She takes time off work for R&R, and goes on a trip where everyone she meets - including a mute orphan - and everything that happens, opens up the past and gives her the opportunity to heal unresolved life issues.
As Marjorie’s past emerges so does a local history of Native Americans. The story moves along beautifully, from her interior world to external events that draw her through mystical “coincidences” and prompt self-examination. The characters are distinct and engaging overall. I recommend this book wholeheartedly for readers interested in metaphysics, psychological, and New Age themes.
March 12, 2016
Margaret Duarte’s new visionary fiction novel introduces the reader to Marjorie Veil, a young professional woman who seems to have everything--- except her sanity. After she hears a voice call her from a mysterious sacred past, she begins a retreat in the beautiful Carmel Valley on the advice of a unique psychologist who challenges her to engage the voice as a spiritual messenger. Soon Marjorie’s voices lead her to Native American roots, a connection with a seven-year-old boy, an old flame, and a dramatic confrontation that threatens not just her freedom to be herself but her life as well.
I loved the complex story, the first of a series about Marjorie Veil. I felt a connection to the nearly lost Native Americans of northern California and their homelands now preserved in parks and forest. My introduction to the new genre of visionary fiction gave me insight into its multiple origins. It showed how religious and nonreligious spiritual and psychological aspects of our very selves must be respected and integrated.
Adventure story, spiritual quest, and mystery, Between Will and Surrender is beautifully written and well plotted. It leaves the reader rooting for its characters and waiting for the next book in the series.
I loved the complex story, the first of a series about Marjorie Veil. I felt a connection to the nearly lost Native Americans of northern California and their homelands now preserved in parks and forest. My introduction to the new genre of visionary fiction gave me insight into its multiple origins. It showed how religious and nonreligious spiritual and psychological aspects of our very selves must be respected and integrated.
Adventure story, spiritual quest, and mystery, Between Will and Surrender is beautifully written and well plotted. It leaves the reader rooting for its characters and waiting for the next book in the series.
June 30, 2016
Wonderful Story!
The thing about Visionary Fiction is...if it isn't a darn good story first, the visionary part of it risks becoming preachy and didactic. This is not the case with Margaret Duarte's tale, Between Will and Surrender. Here, the characters take precedence over the visionary information Duarte manages to tuck gently between the lines. This is no easy task. It takes skill and experience for an author to allow the characters' development to expose truths, instead of the reverse. In this novel, the author has 1) succeeded in telling an entertaining story first, 2) complete with characters worth caring about, 3) whose motivations are clear and believable, 4) and in the process, revealed mystical truths in an organic way. Great job!
The thing about Visionary Fiction is...if it isn't a darn good story first, the visionary part of it risks becoming preachy and didactic. This is not the case with Margaret Duarte's tale, Between Will and Surrender. Here, the characters take precedence over the visionary information Duarte manages to tuck gently between the lines. This is no easy task. It takes skill and experience for an author to allow the characters' development to expose truths, instead of the reverse. In this novel, the author has 1) succeeded in telling an entertaining story first, 2) complete with characters worth caring about, 3) whose motivations are clear and believable, 4) and in the process, revealed mystical truths in an organic way. Great job!
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July 13, 2016As a visionary fiction author myself, I was pleased to see Margaret Duarte's Between Will and Surrender roundly acknowledged in the prior reviews as an outstanding example of a genre that is rapidly becoming more popular with both writers and readers. Margaret blends the standard elements of a good novel (character, plot, setting) with the specific ingredients of visionary fiction (growth in consciousness, paranormal events, spirituality) to render a tale that entertains, mystifies and enlightens--and not necessarily in that order or in any order. The result is exquisite. The clever finale, A Word from my Protagonist, in which Marjorie Veil, the story's heroine, takes the reader aside to explain the relationship between herself and the author, is in itself worth the price of the book.
March 30, 2022
Visionary fiction author, Margaret Duarte, blends the elements of a genre that she has mastered to perfection with the principles of metaphysics to create a tale that is accessible, relatable, and compelling.
Between Will and Surrender, the first novel in the Enter-the-Between series, tells a story of mind, body, heart, and spirit, of a young woman’s journey of self-discovery.
Marjorie Veil seemingly has it all—a lucrative career as a research associate with a large venture capital firm, a cozy home in Menlo Park, California, and a financially secure, charming, and dashingly handsome fiancé. Yet something is missing. Something essential.
The fiancé, an aptly named Cliff Smotherman, is materialistic, self-centered, and possessive. Marjorie’s overbearing mother is attempting to exert control over all aspects of her life. And Marjorie’s job brings her little, if any, joy.
In the opening chapter, we meet Marjorie as she is being driven to the brink by Cliff and her increasingly unendurable life situation. Then, while photographing an iconic Cypress tree hanging for dear life to a crag overlooking the Pacific Coast, she hears a voice—Sunwalker—and a door opens. Until this moment, she has allowed herself to be guided exclusively by reason, yet there she is, teetering at the threshold of something mysterious and ultimately unknowable by the rational mind.
In the pages that follow, the voice is joined by others that implore her to take a leap of faith. At first, she questions her sanity, but then, at the suggestion of Dr. Mendez, who practices an unorthodox form of psychotherapy, she embarks on a journey into a natural world that Duarte describes in exquisite detail. Along the way, Marjorie is challenged to balance her desire for personal freedom with her primal need to connect with others. This proposition becomes all the more complicated with the arrival of a childhood friend and potential love interest named Morgan.
Readers are in a for a thrilling ride as well as an unexpected plot twist. The world, we learn, is not as it seems. To see clearly, we must be willing to let go of our preconceived notions of “how things are.” In the end, we, along with Marjorie, discover that what we are seeking is not to be found where we thought, but rather between will and surrender.
—Mark Ristau, Award-winning author of A Hero Dreams and the forthcoming Beyond the Threshold
Between Will and Surrender, the first novel in the Enter-the-Between series, tells a story of mind, body, heart, and spirit, of a young woman’s journey of self-discovery.
Marjorie Veil seemingly has it all—a lucrative career as a research associate with a large venture capital firm, a cozy home in Menlo Park, California, and a financially secure, charming, and dashingly handsome fiancé. Yet something is missing. Something essential.
The fiancé, an aptly named Cliff Smotherman, is materialistic, self-centered, and possessive. Marjorie’s overbearing mother is attempting to exert control over all aspects of her life. And Marjorie’s job brings her little, if any, joy.
In the opening chapter, we meet Marjorie as she is being driven to the brink by Cliff and her increasingly unendurable life situation. Then, while photographing an iconic Cypress tree hanging for dear life to a crag overlooking the Pacific Coast, she hears a voice—Sunwalker—and a door opens. Until this moment, she has allowed herself to be guided exclusively by reason, yet there she is, teetering at the threshold of something mysterious and ultimately unknowable by the rational mind.
In the pages that follow, the voice is joined by others that implore her to take a leap of faith. At first, she questions her sanity, but then, at the suggestion of Dr. Mendez, who practices an unorthodox form of psychotherapy, she embarks on a journey into a natural world that Duarte describes in exquisite detail. Along the way, Marjorie is challenged to balance her desire for personal freedom with her primal need to connect with others. This proposition becomes all the more complicated with the arrival of a childhood friend and potential love interest named Morgan.
Readers are in a for a thrilling ride as well as an unexpected plot twist. The world, we learn, is not as it seems. To see clearly, we must be willing to let go of our preconceived notions of “how things are.” In the end, we, along with Marjorie, discover that what we are seeking is not to be found where we thought, but rather between will and surrender.
—Mark Ristau, Award-winning author of A Hero Dreams and the forthcoming Beyond the Threshold
February 10, 2022
Marjorie Veil is facing a personal crisis, of sorts. Her fiance's self-absorbed need for control is increasing and she doesn't even like him anymore, let alone love him. Her mother has always tried to tell her what to do and how to do it, and it doesn't appear as if she's going to stop her need for control any time soon. Both of them are taking away her ability to make choices for herself and she feels like she's losing a little bit of herself each time she deals with them. Making a snap decision, she goes to see a psychologist, Dr. Tony Mendez, to help settle her uneasiness and to discuss the voices she's been hearing. This is a wonderful journey of discovery, enlightenment, love, heartbreak and understanding. The world, through which Ms. Duarte leads us, is vividly painted with references to literature, art, religion, architecture and so much more. It's a feast to the imagination and I didn't want to see Marjorie leave this world to continue on her journey. But continue she must, if she wants to be able to come back to the man she loves and the orphan boy who means the world to her with a clear understanding of her place in the world. The narration was beautifully done by Kristin Semoes with a clear and dynamic voice that poured life into each of the characters, giving them a personality all their own. I particularly enjoyed the Word from My Protagonist where Marjorie very cleverly explains her relationship to the author in a voice that keeps that knowledge "just between us." I'm anxious to join Marjorie as she continues her journey toward self-enlightenment.
April 17, 2022
This was different from my usual story but I am so glad I read it. A story full of hope, control and trust. The characters were very interesting & I loved the cat, he was a riot. Marjorie Veil has always just done what others wanted her to just to make things easier. But one day she realized she wasn't happy with her relationship or life in general. When she began hearing things she went to therapy. That sent her on a journey to not only help herself but a mute boy as well. While on her trip she found out there were secrets from her past that would change her life forever. A great read and Again loved the cat Gabriel.
March 2, 2022
This book explores the dynamic marriage between Catholicism and Native beliefs and spiritual practices. The main character goes on vacation to find herself only to learn about Native history and how it impacts her life. The more she learns she discovers and unravels a mystery. She hears voices from the past helping to guide her. My Catholicism allowed me to benefit from the author's message of embracing spirituality. I am not sure if this book would interest someone with little to no understanding of faith.
Narrator Kristen Simoes did a great job voicing the characters.
Narrator Kristen Simoes did a great job voicing the characters.
February 5, 2022
Such a different read.
Divine telling of a ladies live after events make her rethink her path.
Catholic religious themes
And maybe divine intervention.
3 star listen, I didn’t mind the narration either, voice actor fits the story themes.
Gifted audio in exchange for an honest review
Divine telling of a ladies live after events make her rethink her path.
Catholic religious themes
And maybe divine intervention.
3 star listen, I didn’t mind the narration either, voice actor fits the story themes.
Gifted audio in exchange for an honest review
March 7, 2022
This is such a fantastic blend of Christian and native beliefs and how they can blend together and how everyone has their own spiritual journey and no two people go on the same journey and the narrator does this story perfectly
July 5, 2021
Just what I needed
At a difficult point of my life this story helped me remember my experience of the Medicine Wheel back in the 1970’s and helped with my current situation.
At a difficult point of my life this story helped me remember my experience of the Medicine Wheel back in the 1970’s and helped with my current situation.
April 10, 2022
This was a pleasant listen and story but I dont think the genre is for me. But very well done if you like this.
January 14, 2021
This book is different. I really liked the beginning. But then the middle kind of dragged but then the end picked back up and I was liking it again. It definitely is a mind opening story. It really made you think of the conscious mind and the reason we make our decision based on something. There was quite a lot of Catholic elements which I didn’t mind because I grew up Catholic. But to someone who isn’t Christian it might annoy them. Visionary Fiction is definitely different but in some ways I really really liked the different parts. Also this author is super sweet!! I was really bummed because I totally really wanted to like this book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews