Reaching for the Light

By Marie Krepps and TL Katt

Mental Illness affects people in all walks of life, all countries and all nationalities. It does not discriminate. Those affected are friends, family members and you. Authors Marie Krepps and TL Katt have opened their minds and imaginations to assist in mental health awareness, something they both feel passionately about. Follow their characters as they reach for their light.

High Heels & Ice Cream - Marie Krepps

Brianna suffers from depression and anxiety, but she won’t let it stop her from moving in with the chatty and attractive Carla. When her attraction to her roommate becomes something more, Brianna has to decide if she will let her inner demons win and run away as usual, or face her fears and admit her true feelings.

Bloom - TL Katt

At the hands of Jen’s husband, the man who should love her unconditionally, she suffers one nightmare after another. His bombardment of mental abuse leaves her a shell of a human and her mind unable to let go of the terror, she relives it again and again. Jen’s actions become more impulsive and dangerous.

Can she reach the light and find solace to begin her coping journey from PTSD?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books by Elle, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998270944

Book preview

Message from the authors

Mental Illness affects people in all walks of life, all countries and all nationalities. It does not discriminate. Those affected are friends, family members and you. Authors Marie Krepps and TL Katt have opened their minds and imaginations to assist in mental health awareness, something they both feel passionately about. Follow their characters as they reach for their light.

High Heels

&

Ice Cream

by

Marie Krepps

I should have known better. No, I had known better. I’d realized it from the beginning, but stupidly, I thought it would be okay. Everything would work out fine. I convinced myself that my attraction could be ignored. I had no problem ignoring such feelings in the past. But this time, that spark of lust became something more. It turned into longing. It turned into need. It became an ache in my gut that only worsened over time.

And now it’s too late. I’m in too deep and I don’t even care anymore.

Interview

Standing outside the apartment complex on Lee Street, I was not impressed. The outside of the building looked old and shabby: a huge rectangular monster of faded red bricks that were breaking off at corners. Windows that had seen better days, but not for twenty years or more. Even the sidewalk leading to the steps had patches of grass growing through the cracks. Yeah, this place needed help. No wonder the rent was cheaper than it should be this close to the college.

I sighed and ran a hand through my aquamarine locks, twisting the hair between my fingers before I let go. I was enjoying my new, shorter haircut. Especially in this God-awful Southern heat. I had been walking all of five minutes from the parking lot, and already I longed for a tall glass of ice water. Heavy on the ice, please.

Smoothing the front of my shirt for the millionth time, I opened the front door and headed into the only slightly cooler front hall. I had made absolutely sure that I was medicated before this outing. Meeting someone new and having to talk about myself was going to be a disaster if I couldn’t keep my cool. Then again, the chick could take one look at me and slam the door in my face. Some people can’t appreciate a goth. I think I’m related to 80 percent of them.

Taking the stairs to the second floor, I went over in my head what I would say to any possible questions she might ask about my job or family. You can do this. It’s just talking. Just pretend like she’s a character from a book and the conversation is in your head. Yeah, right. If only it were that simple.

Outside room 210, I let out a sigh and knocked, afraid that if I hesitated I might run away with my tail between my legs. I am such a chicken.

A gorgeous blonde opened the door.

Hi, I’m Brianna...

Oh my goodness, I love your hair! The blonde gushed before I could even finish my sentence. She had a Southern accent that had my eyes widening. I had been raised in the South, but this chick sounded deep South. Like mam-and-pappy-on-the-farm South. She didn’t look it, though. She looked classy. Straight out of a fashion magazine classy. Her easy smile and the genuine kindness in her eyes had me relaxing despite myself.

Oh, um, thank you...

Come right on in, shooga. I don’t mean to have you standing outside the door all day. She motioned me in, then threw out a hand at me. I’m Carla.

I took it quickly, finding that I liked this chick. It’s rare that I immediately take a liking to someone so I put on my best smile and shook her slightly larger hand firmly. It’s nice to meet you. I called earlier.

You didn’t mention you liked black so much! She stepped back and gave me the once-over. My stomach sank at her words but her expression held no contempt. She seemed to be amused. Those boots are really great, though. I can’t pull those off.

Not that you need to with those legs. My eyes were drawn to her hour glass body. Wide hips, long shapely legs, C-cup boobs, flowing blonde hair, Carla had a body to die for. I looked like a stick compared to her. Not that I was comparing out of jealousy, oh no, I very much appreciated what I was seeing.

Maybe too much. No. Noooooope, no way! Do not even think about it. You just met her and you may not even get the room!

She sat me down on an L-shaped couch in the living room and talked about the place for a while, sitting right beside me. I wasn’t used to that. Strangers didn’t sit that close to me if they could help it, unless they were creepy guys trying to hit on me. She went on about little things like what my half of the rent would be, how weird the landlord was about the carpets, how the shower leaked and they still hadn’t fixed it after two weeks, and other stuff I tried hard to pay attention to.

I was too busy analyzing my mixed feelings about being around Carla to follow what she was saying or even scope the place out. Usually, beautiful girls make me nervous. I avoid them like the plague because they intimidate me. I just feel so small and, well, lacking around them. Especially with my utter lack of social skills.

But somehow with Carla, I was at ease. I didn’t know if it was the accent or the way she didn’t seem bothered by my one-word answers. It was almost as if she already knew my deal and was cool with it. Weird.

Anywho, do you have any questions? she finished with a quizzical look.

Oh, uh, no, not really. Didn’t you have any for me?

No, I think I have you figured out. Would you like some sweet tea?

Yes, I squeaked, and she hopped up and walked around to the open kitchen area behind the couch. I sat there stunned for a few moments while the clink of glasses and the snick of the refrigerator door opening and closing went on behind me. Then I whirled around and fixed her with

Reviews for Reaching for the Light

[cfraser_38 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed both of the short stories in this ebook - both of them were uplifting and entertaining. An easy read - finished in an hour - so great for a train or bus journey. Due to their brief nature, the issues involved were not explored in that much death, but I still found them worthwhile.

[jo_williams-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Having received the ebook edition, I had high hopes for the two short stories within given the focus on mental health. There were times I empathised with the main character in the first story in terms of her social anxiety and the growing feelings for her roommate she was trying to quash were sensitively handled. The second story pulled my rating down unfortunately as I don't think enough emphasis was given to developing the character or exploring her mental health. A quick diagnosis at the end seemed rather hastily mentioned to tie the novella a bit more firmly into the mental health theme. I applaud the authors for collaborating and working towards increasing openness about mental illness and wonder if they could revisit the characters to see where their paths took them.