Heaven: A Novel

by Kimberly Cain

What if the mythical Serpent was really a savior, inviting humanity to awaken from a mindless existence? What if Eve was a heroine, courageous enough to buck the system & take the Serpent up on his offer to bust out of the cage? The modern-day Eve is an exotic dancer, intent on questioning accepted religious norms & presenting her unique ideas about humanity's relationship to the Divine.

Eve discovers her power to discern truth from falsehood at the hands of her religiously abusive foster family. She chooses to release her light into a dark world by combining her love for music & dance, stripping naked as a symbol of fearlessly unmasking her true self. Her passion for challenging society's labels as representations of truth brings controversial & dangerous repercussions from club patrons, cops, & religious zealots. Eve rises above the confines of extreme moralism, tempting all of us to live our own divine truths, free from shame & guilt.

Heaven is a story about healing the perceived separation of the spiritual from the sexual self. The novel contains some explicit sexual content in relation to spiritual/philosophical content. It also contains nonfictional information woven into the fabric of a fictional story.

Included with the book is a free CD featuring songs from various artists & intended to provide a musical experience to bring out the exotic dancer spirit in you! Songs include the book's title track, "Heaven", written & performed by the author. Visit HeavenTheNovel.com to hear samples from the CD (only available with purchase of the novel at this time).

What readers are saying:

New & refreshing views of spirituality & sexuality - Eve rocks my world! A.C., Ft. Worth, TX

I hope everyone will read this book. I loved it & will read it over & over again. I can't say it enough. Amazing. I want more from this author! Brigette B, Dallas, TX

I m not religious because I went to Catholic schools & religion was pushed down my throat. This book is refreshing; it will make you really think about your beliefs. This is what reading should do, take you out of your everyday life. I love the use of actual music lyrics. If you like Light Before Day by Chris Rice, read Heaven. Both authors are intriguing & weave stories that bring you into the characters lives & make you want to know more. Heaven is a great read! Chuck P, New Orleans, LA

I typically read non-fiction for spiritual material & fiction for entertainment; it was a refreshing change to read a book that blends enlightenment & entertainment in one. I'm always looking for new or differing views of God concepts to glean something that resonates. I devoured the book; It was a pleasure! Elizabeth S, Los Angeles, CA

Enjoyable! Humor in the midst of spiritual elevation through the exploration of Exotica! Fans of Octavia Butler will enjoy Heaven. Tamika S, Nashville, TN

I Love this book! The story is a blueprint for living. Eve is a living, loving example of how to incorporate Spirit into daily life. She is Open, allowing God(dess) to move, speak & BE through her. So simple; beautiful! I will read this book again & again to remind mySelf to embody Spirit as Eve does. I'm expanding into the Feminine Face of God through Exotic Dance classes. That feeling of Power rising up through me when I dance, as Eve describes, has carried into daily life & transformed me. Reading Heaven caused me to clap my hands in glee & yell YESSSS!!! Kathy S, Flint, MI

I really enjoyed the stripping scenes with cool, current music, descriptions from the dancer's view & raw sexuality. Reading her thoughts, you feel the complexity of Eve.

Genres: Fiction, Spirituality, Sexuality

388 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2010

About the author

Kimberly Brown Cain is a speaker, intuitive spiritual guide, writer and performer. She has opened shows for artists such as David Bowie and Sarah McLachlan (Lilith Fair). She has received songwriting awards from Billboard and Musician Magazines. A perpetual student of spiritual practice and its application to daily life, Kimberly is intrigued by the power of art to entertain, challenge and transform. Her years as a professional singer, broadcast talent, writer and producer have shaped her ability to synthesize the energies of the visible and unseen worlds into presentations of art and faith that stretch our perceived limits.

Kimberly is passionate about teaching others to discover their own authentic voice. A life-long intuitive, she is also a certified Six-Sensory Practitioner (TM) by world renowned healer/teacher & best-selling author, Sonia Choquette. She holds a degree in Communications (Radio-TV-Film) from the University of TX at Austin. Heaven is Kimberly’s first novel.

Please visit: http://www.HeavenTheNovel.com
http://www.KimberlyCain.com
Naked Prayers Blog (KimberlyCainBlog.com)

Reviews

[Henry Le Nav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is expensive, the plot is so-so and predictable, the character development is fitting for a child's fairy tale (the good are very good and the bad are very bad), and there are numerous, long, and repetitive passages of dubious theology. The language is terrible and the book contains explicit sexual scenes. It is not available for Kindle. The book contains a music CD with 6 tracks on it which is OK, but obviously contributes to the cost.

So why five stars? Simply because this book is the best book I have ever read on the spirituality of sex within a Christian framework. I wish I had wrote it, flaws and all. The spirituality closely parallels my personal beliefs although perhaps a bit more steeped in Christianity than I am. Do not construe that to mean this is Christian literature, it is not. It is about a stripper who believes in the holiness of the body, the sacredness of sex, and the spiritual power of women. It is not a goody-goody book extolling the virtues of the Wednesday Night Women's Bible Study. It is a very spiritual book trying to hitch a ride on a novel with some limited success. I won't be suggesting this title at my book club.

To whom would I recommend this book? Only close friends that I know and trust are open minded enough to intelligently handle the theology. I can count them on one hand. This book would piss off most of the Christians I know, "why did you recommend that blasphemous filth to me?" And it would probably piss off most the atheists "Now you simpleton's are trying to take over sex with your fairy tales." So not desiring to be burnt at the stake by some of my friends or thrown in the loony bin by the others, I respectfully recommend this book to no one. Unfortunately both those groups are people who would benefit from this book the most, but a closed mind is a terrible thing to engage.

Well most people who read this review are not my friends. So as a generalization here are my recommendations.

If your religious beliefs have taught you that sex is sinful and you righteously agree with that notion...don't read this book. Pure blasphemy.

If your religious beliefs have taught you that sex is sinful and you suspect that you are being manipulated by the word of man, this book may just convince you that your suspicions are correct...sex isn't sinful, the power mongers in your religion are afraid of it. But be forewarned, this is rough sledding for the dainty and proper.

If you gave up on God because you didn't like people wearing clerical collars snooping around in your bedroom, you may find this book enlightening, again rough sledding for the dainty and proper.

If your personal belief is that sex is one of God's gifts to mankind, you will probably find this book a delightful review albeit perhaps a bit on the seedy side of things. The author is far more casual about casual sex than I am, and while I am certainly no stranger to the usage of the f-word, it is not a word that I use for the sacrament that my wife and I celebrate in our bed.

If you don't give a damn about sex in one fashion or another and are just looking for a good novel, well I think you will be disappointed. As novels go, I would rate it 3 stars. Too much damned pontificating on the spirituality of sex for a good novel.

[Jen Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heaven is a bold story about a stripper who finds spirituality through her dancing. It's an interesting, unique idea, and I applaud Kimberly Cain because she doesn't play it safe, doesn't portray strippers as pathetic, victims of society or weak-willed woman who should be ashamed of their sexuality; Cain actually tells a story of empowerment in an unorthodox but very real setting. Bravo for that. The writing style was hit and miss, but I applaud the idea and effort--this story is no easy sell, but I bought it willingly.

[Rich Stoehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word that keeps coming back to me when I think about Kimberly Cain's novel Heaven is "enthusiasm."

Whatever the subject matter - be it sex and sensuality, or religion and the role of Christ, or music and dancing - Cain and her characters tackle it with a fervor. As the novel develops, this becomes both a strength and an unfortunate weakness, as plot and subtlety are sacrificed to belabor points the author finds important.

Heaven is the story of Eve - not the Eve of the Bible, but Eve the exotic dancer, star attraction of the King's Cabaret, a strip club in Texas. Eve is notable for the snake tattoo covering her back, her fiery redhead beauty, and her deep spiritual commitment to a sensual and loving God. She expresses her faith through her dance, connecting with her audience not only on the carnal level, but also, when she's on, in the realm of spirit.

Early on in the story, an altercation with one of the club's patrons leads to direct confrontations with a powerful local religious leader. Eve hires a lawyer (a very attractive one) and starts digging to get to the bottom of the case, meeting all sorts of different characters along the way, and having a great many discussions on the subject of faith and sensuality and the masculine/feminine dichotomy of modern religion.

The power of Heaven lies in the ideas - the concepts of Christianity as a sensual and truly loving faith will challenge the sensibilities of almost any reader, no matter their own beliefs, and kudos to Cain for exploring these ideas in this way. It was this concept - a stripper who not only believes in God, but practices her faith through her dance - that intrigued me when I first read about the book, and it's a concept explored fully and exhaustively here. Eve herself is drawn as a full-bodied woman with the true spirit of love and forgiveness in the face of the worst behavior. A modern saint, really, and the sort of woman it would be easy to fall in love with.

Unfortunately, Cain's ideas are somewhat overshadowed by the writing, which has all the subtlety of a gunshot and all the focus of a fogbank. Cain hasn't yet learned the benefit of letting the story make the point for her, still feeling the need to drive each point home hard and sure, with no doubts. The story is set in Texas, but it's a Texas without a sense of place or atmosphere - it could be any town in the United States.

Most of the characters, with the exception of Eve herself, are one-note cutouts with little to no depth. They exist in the story to help make a point and then pass along out of the story just as easily, often as distractions to what seemed like the main plot.

Similarly, ideas are expressed with dialogue and Eve's musings along the way...a random meeting of friends turns into a soapbox expostulation on Christ's role in history, a sexual encounter is called "holy sex" just in case we missed the mystical aspect in the description, and Bible passages are quoted and re-quoted to make sure we get the point.

It was hard to decide how I felt about this book once I finished it. I like the ideas expressed in it. I like the character of Eve and her beliefs. I like the idea of dance and music and sex and beauty expressed as religious experiences. I like how enthusiastic Eve is about her faith and how enthusiastic Kimberly Cain is in writing about it. I even like Eve's musical taste!

But in the end, Heaven is a book with ideas that lose their punch and a story that loses its way one too many times, because the writing just isn't quite up to the material.

The ideas in Heaven are sure to challenge people of many different beliefs, and I love that. The writing may also present a challenge to finishing the book, which I didn't love so much. I'm left feeling Heaven is a mixed bag of good intentions and unpolished writing, but worth reading if you try.

Afterthought: There's a CD included with Heaven that adds an extra dimension - in a book so much about music and dance it really makes sense to include some actual music to go with it. The disc is six tracks of music that expresses the idea and the rhythms of the book, including one song that is actually used in a scene near the end. I wish more books came with a ready-made soundtrack, and it's definitely a cool addition to this one.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a First Reads book.
The author told me this book was not for everyone, and I would have to agree, but I would also say too bad, because there is a really astonishing and profound message in this.
This is the unlikely story of the incredible and almost unwavering spirituality of an exotic dancer, Eve. Having lost her parents as a teen and been fostered by repressed religious foster parents, she has somehow come out of her past all the stronger for her experiences. She is now a stripper who uses her nakedness and body movements as a way of keeping in touch with God. Strange, I know, but possible.
She is very well versed in the Christian bible, and has a very interesting and borderline Pagan interpretation of it. She thinks for herself and loves herself, and in living in such a way, she finds that she can help others and attract the people who are positive and are ready to be uplifted by their interaction with her. However, her individaully empowering views also attract enemies. She stands strong against those who would beat her down and tell her and society that she is evil or wayward. Despite--or because of--the challenges in her life, she gains spiritual strength and trust in God to give her what she needs at the right time.
Eve the character is someone I would love to have as a friend. She offers help when she sees someone who needs it, but doesn't push them if they aren't ready to be helped. She uses her strength to bring out the strength in others.
This book has come to me with uncanny timing. Its message resonates with me, perhaps because I'm already exploring possibilities in this area. After reading about how everything and everybody is interconnected, and events occur as we are ready to tackle certain issues in our lives, I think I needed to read this book now. I found myself, for the first time in my life, actually interested in finding passages in a book that has always represented the oppressive and narrow-minded attitude I've encountered in the vast majority of Christians throughout my life. The author, Kimberly Cain, offered the information in a way that was like giving me a gift. No pressure to conform to her opinion because it was more "right" than mine, no judgement, just loving-kindness. I gained an astonishing amount of knowledge from the one reading, and I think I should read it again.

With all that said, the writing style was too didactic for my taste. I found that I had a harder time getting through the book because the lesson was too obviously being given to me as the reader. I realize that the author feels very strongly about getting the point across, but it is my opinion that there are ways to share this amazing world view that feels less like being taught, and more like discovering.
If the writing were smoother, I would have given 5 stars.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere in America tonight, a teenage girl will cry herself to sleep with the thought, "If God didn't want me to have sex, why did he make me this way?"

Conservative Christianity puts all women in this untenable position, deemed evil for those very traits which bring new life into the world, forced to take all the blame for Original Sin. Adam can pass the blame to Eve and consider himself absolved, and his male descendants can blame and despise their sisters, mothers and wives forevermore. Just being female is enough, but being female and having a sex drive makes a woman no less than the Spawn of Satan.

Heaven is the story of Eve. Not that Eve, but one of her daughters, blessed with a body the rest of us can only dream of, and the talent to transport the most profane into a state of Divine grace. Filled with the Divine Spirit, she talks of God almost constantly. She speaks the language of Christianity, but stops only a few steps short of Paganism.

Eve expresses her connection with the Divine through dance, taking her clothes off nightly in a sleazy "gentlemen's club" where patrons put down large amounts of money for a few minutes of entertainment. She looks after her fellow dancers, who seek desperately for protection, but find more abuse than love. She provides spiritual guidance to her customers, who come away transformed. She finds herself suddenly and unaccountably persecuted, and responds to the challenge by introducing her experience of God to the world outside the strip club.

Eve, who must have once been a teenage girl struggling with her newfound sexuality, is introduced as an adult woman, confident in her sexuality, who wonders, "Why do they hate me so?" The answer is clear, and repeated a few times more than is strictly necessary: They hate you because they are remote from God. They hate that you remind them that they, too, are vulnerable, sexual creatures. They hate you because they hate themselves.

Heaven is for all the daughters of Eve who've felt betrayed by their Creator or attacked by those who would lead them to God.

A CD is included with the book, with six songs that I'm not at all qualified to judge, but which I am assured are really good.

I received a free review copy through GoodReads.

[Kimberly Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so excited to be releasing my first novel! I'm really looking forward to hearing from the GoodReads community as the novel makes its way into the world. I know that community is what will propel Heaven to find its audience. I spent a decade writing, researching, surveying, editing, & then publishing Heaven. A cool music CD (EP) comes with the novel. Music was my muse & my accompaniment to the writing process. It is a major part of my life & is also a major theme of the novel, so it made sense for the book's feel to extend into the musical realm. It's a compilation of songs from 4 artist's (in addition to myself), & I know you'll be inspired by at least one, if not all, of them!

Heaven is about the nature of God as seen through the eyes of the modern-day Eve, an exotic dancer. You can learn more on the website - www.HeavenTheNovel.com & on my GoodReads author page.

I spent a year doing a survey across the U.S. to learn about the potential audience for Heaven. I didn't get much in the way of lukewarm! Readers either loved it or hated it - pretty okay! And then there were those who didn't get it, of course. It's not a read for everyone.

It carries a non-fictional spiritual message within the vehicle of a sexy fictional story. Here are some early reviews:

“New & refreshing views of spirituality & sexuality - Eve rocks my world!” A.C., Ft. Worth, TX

“I hope everyone will read this book. I loved it & will read it over & over again. I can’t say it
enough. Amazing. I want more from this author!” Brigette B, Dallas, TX

“I’m not religious because I went to Catholic schools & religion was pushed down my throat. This book is refreshing; it will make you really think about your beliefs. This is what reading should do, take you out of your everyday life. I love the use of actual music lyrics. If you like Light Before Day by Chris Rice, read Heaven. Both authors are intriguing & weave stories that bring you into the characters lives & make you want to know more. Heaven is a great read!” Chuck P, New Orleans, LA

“I typically read non-fiction for spiritual material & fiction for entertainment; it was a refreshing change to read a book that blends enlightenment & entertainment in one. I’m always looking for new or differing views of God concepts to glean something that resonates. I devoured the book; It was a pleasure!” Elizabeth S, Los Angeles, CA

“Enjoyable! Humor in the midst of spiritual elevation through the exploration of Exotica! Fans of Octavia Butler will enjoy Heaven” Tamika S, Nashville, TN

“I Love this book! The story is a blueprint for living. Eve is a living, loving example of how to incorporate Spirit into daily life. She is Open, allowing God(dess) to move, speak & BE through her. So simple; beautiful! I will read this book again & again to remind mySelf to embody Spirit as Eve does. I’m expanding into the Feminine Face of God through Exotic Dance classes. That feeling of Power rising up through me when I dance, as Eve describes, has carried into daily life & transformed me. Reading “Heaven” caused me to clap my hands in glee & yell YESSSS!!!” Kathy S, Flint, MI

“I really enjoyed the stripping scenes with cool, current music, descriptions from the dancer’s view & raw sexuality. Reading her thoughts, you feel the complexity of Eve in a scene where she’s not in total control—very human, showing how we’re not always in total control.” Scott C, Boston, MA

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I don't disagree with anything Cain's character Eve says in this book. I think she makes some good points. I also think she could get a little long-winded and ranty about some of these ideas, which made some parts of the novel harder to get through than others. And I don't think society is going to accept these ideas any time soon, though perhaps some are moving in that direction and I just don't know about it. Also, Eve sometimes struck me as too perfect. I'm not sure there was anything Cain could have done to avoid that, given the role she plays in the novel, but that doesn't mean it didn't bother me (when I thought too hard about it).

In retrospect, I want to like this one a lot more than I did. That isn't to say I didn't like it; I think I just want to squee about it and rave to my friends, but I don't. Still, I think it might be worth reading, if only to see what some of these ideas are and consider them for yourself. They aren't going to completely change my life, but I may have a new facet in my perspective that I didn't have before, and that's nothing to turn one's nose up at.

[BRNTerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm very disappointed to say I didn't enjoy this book one bit. I thought it was very boring and I had to force myself to finish it. All it seemed to be about is stripping and foul language. I didn't enjoy it being told in first person narrative either. I wanted to like this book but I just didn't.

* I won this book in the Goodreads Firstreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although i applaud her for stepping out of the box, i can not get into this book. I really did want to like it but, i don't think i will be able to finish it.

[Denise]

I won this on goodreads. Looking forward to receiving it in the mail. Thanks, goodreads!