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Imaginary Friends
Everyone has or had an imaginary friend in their lives one time or another, but what did yours tell you to do? Does yours tell you to cheat, kill, or destroy? Or do they simply talk to you at night? Many are afraid to answer these questions, but if one chooses to ignore them, sometimes they can become so real, they will surely over power your mind and every rational thought you ever had; so take some time to investigate the voices that are talking to you, the longer you ignore them, the stronger they will become. Take a look into the life of a small town girl who was constantly abused by her mother and complete strangers. She was hid away from the public by her mother in an old cellar; it was there that she first discovered her ability to create imaginary friends, and once the imaginary friends where formed she sent them all out on revenge killings. But was it the imaginary friends doing the killing or her?
- GenresHorror
152 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2009
67 people want to read
About the author
Yolanda Jackson
12 books8 followersMy name is Yolanda A. Jackson, born on April 3, 1980 in
Rockford, IL. I have been writing from the age of twelve, mostly
Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but my writing skills go far beyond the norm
into Horror and Animation. I first discovered my talent as a writer
when I complained about Robocop needing more action, but my
friends loved it. They dared me to come up with a movie better
than Robocop - and I did! My first book/script was Copper Kid,
it was about a computer programmed robot girl who fights crime
with jet-propelled wings and a computer brain. It was just great - well at least I thought so. Finally, I got them to read it and lo and behold they loved it. That was when I first knew maybe I had something.
As the years passed, I grew to hate school - it was not the place for me. I began to daydream about being a big movie director and owning my own studio. Of course, it never happened and I eventually finished school, but I hated everything but English class and writing assignments, which led me to my first hand-written novel, September Monkies, that I still have to this day. No one believed in my dreams and, consequently, they were swept aside as I went through this wonderful stage called "growing up".
I was a foster child my entire life - a ward of the State - and writing eased the pain of moving from one foster home to another or one group home to another. Every time I moved I tried to write a novel to help me cope with my new home, and because of this I became more involved in my writing. I began to imagine places that only exist in fantasy or animals that only inhabit one's imagination. Soon, this freed me to face reality and to know when not to face reality. While my friends were all dating and into boys, I was into creative writing, imagining fantastic creatures that don't exist or developing characters to which everyone in the world can relate.
When I was seventeen, the Department of Children and Family Services let me go and I was out into the real world on my own. That's when I realized that my dreams of writing would have to take a back seat to earning a living. The bills came first, and a roof over my head was more important than what had come to seem like just a dumb dream. It hurt to let my dreams slip away, but I had no choice. It was either work three jobs to get the bills paid or live in a fantasy land where the Fairy God Mother pays the bills. It did not take me long to realize that the Fairy God Mother did not exist. All the money I had for publishing had to be used for survival, and I threw my dreams aside to play the game of life. After years of working three jobs, I got tired and decided to give my dreams one more shot. I got a better job as a Sterile Tech in a trauma hospital and began making a little more money. So, I saved and saved and finally had had enough money to self publish, which has been a wonderful learning experience.
I have published my first novel in a series - Peter Carrot-top "In Search Of the 8th Key". My goal in writing is to not only improve my skills, but to get children of the world interested in reading and writing, to see the story unfolding in their minds, and to use their imaginations to dream and to dream big.
Rockford, IL. I have been writing from the age of twelve, mostly
Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but my writing skills go far beyond the norm
into Horror and Animation. I first discovered my talent as a writer
when I complained about Robocop needing more action, but my
friends loved it. They dared me to come up with a movie better
than Robocop - and I did! My first book/script was Copper Kid,
it was about a computer programmed robot girl who fights crime
with jet-propelled wings and a computer brain. It was just great - well at least I thought so. Finally, I got them to read it and lo and behold they loved it. That was when I first knew maybe I had something.
As the years passed, I grew to hate school - it was not the place for me. I began to daydream about being a big movie director and owning my own studio. Of course, it never happened and I eventually finished school, but I hated everything but English class and writing assignments, which led me to my first hand-written novel, September Monkies, that I still have to this day. No one believed in my dreams and, consequently, they were swept aside as I went through this wonderful stage called "growing up".
I was a foster child my entire life - a ward of the State - and writing eased the pain of moving from one foster home to another or one group home to another. Every time I moved I tried to write a novel to help me cope with my new home, and because of this I became more involved in my writing. I began to imagine places that only exist in fantasy or animals that only inhabit one's imagination. Soon, this freed me to face reality and to know when not to face reality. While my friends were all dating and into boys, I was into creative writing, imagining fantastic creatures that don't exist or developing characters to which everyone in the world can relate.
When I was seventeen, the Department of Children and Family Services let me go and I was out into the real world on my own. That's when I realized that my dreams of writing would have to take a back seat to earning a living. The bills came first, and a roof over my head was more important than what had come to seem like just a dumb dream. It hurt to let my dreams slip away, but I had no choice. It was either work three jobs to get the bills paid or live in a fantasy land where the Fairy God Mother pays the bills. It did not take me long to realize that the Fairy God Mother did not exist. All the money I had for publishing had to be used for survival, and I threw my dreams aside to play the game of life. After years of working three jobs, I got tired and decided to give my dreams one more shot. I got a better job as a Sterile Tech in a trauma hospital and began making a little more money. So, I saved and saved and finally had had enough money to self publish, which has been a wonderful learning experience.
I have published my first novel in a series - Peter Carrot-top "In Search Of the 8th Key". My goal in writing is to not only improve my skills, but to get children of the world interested in reading and writing, to see the story unfolding in their minds, and to use their imaginations to dream and to dream big.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 18, 2009
Imaginary Friends by Yolanda Jackson is one of those books that grab you from the very beginning, thrusting you into a world where make-believe merges with reality. From the start I was captivated by the fertile imagination of the author as she takes readers on an escapade into a very dark and frightening place. In fact, the opening chapter to this book is one of the most riveting I have ever had the pleasure to read. The pace of this book is fast, the action furious, and the spectacle of carnage and death is shockingly brutal. It's clear to me that this book would make for a stunning horror film.
Imaginary Friends is the tale of a young girl who has been horribly abused by her mother and the cruel strangers that her mother allows to victimize her. This abuse becomes too much for her to handle and she conjures forth from her imagination a small, but eclectic group of friends to protect her. At first, it appears that her friends are just visions that only she can see. But all begins to change when the young girl begins to send her imaginary friends to kill the people who are abusing her. But is it really her imaginary friends who are doing the killing? Or is she the real murderer?
Imaginary Friends is a revenge story that is driven by the mad rage of a tortured young girl. Thematically, it is more tragedy, than fantasy. Yet, the spectacle of death and horror looms over the entire tale. If there is a drawback to this book, is that it fizzles out as it draws to an end. I was disappointed that the intriguing storyline which gripped me during the first half of the book dissipated into a foray of mindless violence. In many ways this book reminds me of The Oliver Stone film "Natural Born Killers". Like Stone's film, the horrifying acts of violence featured within the pages of Imaginary Friends become repetitive and ultimately overwhelms the story.
With a little tweaking of the plot and editorial polish, this story would be epic and worthy of more stars. Yet, for all of its faults, I would recommend this book to readers thirsty for a gritty and visceral depiction of one young girl's violent response to the world that unleashed her.
Imaginary Friends is the tale of a young girl who has been horribly abused by her mother and the cruel strangers that her mother allows to victimize her. This abuse becomes too much for her to handle and she conjures forth from her imagination a small, but eclectic group of friends to protect her. At first, it appears that her friends are just visions that only she can see. But all begins to change when the young girl begins to send her imaginary friends to kill the people who are abusing her. But is it really her imaginary friends who are doing the killing? Or is she the real murderer?
Imaginary Friends is a revenge story that is driven by the mad rage of a tortured young girl. Thematically, it is more tragedy, than fantasy. Yet, the spectacle of death and horror looms over the entire tale. If there is a drawback to this book, is that it fizzles out as it draws to an end. I was disappointed that the intriguing storyline which gripped me during the first half of the book dissipated into a foray of mindless violence. In many ways this book reminds me of The Oliver Stone film "Natural Born Killers". Like Stone's film, the horrifying acts of violence featured within the pages of Imaginary Friends become repetitive and ultimately overwhelms the story.
With a little tweaking of the plot and editorial polish, this story would be epic and worthy of more stars. Yet, for all of its faults, I would recommend this book to readers thirsty for a gritty and visceral depiction of one young girl's violent response to the world that unleashed her.
Displaying 1 of 1 review