Modest Dreams & Awakenings

by Kacey Hammell

When I was growing up, people constantly asked what I wanted to be when I was older. Of course, it seemed to change every time – teacher, dancer, singer, and Equestrian rider – but as I got into my mid-teens one thing became clear. I just wanted to be a Mom. I didn’t care about anything else or that my friends wanted to be doctors, lawyers, movie stars, executives, I had my sights set on being a Mom.

And I’ve been blessed with three wonderful kids. Nothing matters more to me than my three rascally heartbreakers who tend to have me wrapped around their finger sometimes…don’t tell!

When I first wrote Awakenings (years ago), the sequel to Illusions (now available with Decadent Publishings), my oldest son was just 7 years old. TODAY…he turned 13 !!!!  To say the years have flown by is an understatement. And how mature he’s also become! When I was re-working Awakenings earlier this year in order to submit to DP, he was a great help when thinking from Roger Osborne’s POV.

Roger is a young boy, nine years old, whose mother is killed by his father. In Awakenings, Roger is hiding from his father, as well as the police, and Alicia is desperate to find him. I don’t want to give too much away, but Jacob was sitting beside me while redoing those scenes and really got into Roger’s mindset. Jacob let me know that the pain, fear, worry and doubt that Roger feels in the story was spot on, and off, in some places and I really found myself digging deeper into Roger than ever before.

So, today, as one of my baby boys turns 13, I wish him a very happy birthday and much love. Without his help, I don’t think I would have enjoyed revising Awakenings as much as I did. He’s my little man. I’m so proud of him! J

And I’m thrilled to say that my biggest dream, to just be a Mom, has definitely come true. It’s my favourite job!

Though unedited, I wanted to share a brief snippet of Roger Osborne, as we meet him in Awakenings.

Awakenings, Coming Soon with Decadent Publishing

Excerpt © Kacey Hammell, 2012

Cold, so cold.

Huddled behind the wall of his apartment in a secret room equipped with a pillow and blanket, some rations of food—crackers, nutrition bars and juice boxes of orange juice—Roger Osborne wrapped his arms around his body to keep himself warm. Though he had a blanket, he wasn’t sure he’d ever truly be warm again.

Tears ran down his cheeks. He closed his eyes and felt the sobs overtake his body. All he saw behind his eyelids was his mom’s body on the ground.

When his father started to pound on the door of their apartment, his mother had rushed him to her room where she had built the hidden room behind the wall. She’d given him strict orders to keep quiet and not come out for any reason.

The door could open from the outside by pushing firmly on the top right corner. Hinges were only seen from the inside and a chain kept the door locked from the inside. Anyone in the bedroom would never know the hidden room was there. His mother had been precise in her cuts in the wall to make the door and made sure it would never be noticeable.

When he heard the patio door bang open and his father’s voice bellow, his body shook and knew no matter what, he couldn’t let his father find him.