Well, I've been trying for years to find a way to effectively market Within These Walls, even to the niche audience who might appreciate it. Other sites on-line will have the generic description of the plot or reviews of this novel, so I'll not try to oversell it that way.
Within These Walls is the debut novel of W.L. Swarts and it tells the story of the Donnovan family, a close, typical family comprised of a world-famous novelist, a supermodel, and a cable aerobics instructor living in the backwoods of New York State raising a son, Michael. Beginning with Sam Donnovan, novelist, living in the basement of his ex-wife's house after she comes out of the closet, Within These Walls tells the family history of the Donnovan family from four perspectives.
Sam Donnovan tells the story of his loss and love for Valerie Hutchinson (Donnovan) while he lives in the basement of the house they once shared and he witnessed Valerie falling in love with Jennifer Patterson over several years. He recalls the years he and Valerie had together while watching her move on with her life,
Jennifer Patterson tells the story of coming of age in the backwoods of New York, being raised by lesbian parents and discovering her own sexuality. She endures the usual struggles of growth, love, and acceptance while rising from obscurity into a career as a cable aerobics instructor and an actress. She finds her greatest purpose when she falls in love with Valerie Donnovan and is brought into her home and adopts Michael as her son,
Michael Donnovan. We can't save them all.
If you're looking for a novel that is heartwarming, smartly written (for the most part) and dramatic in the best sense of the word, Within These Walls will satisfy!
Technology has changed drastically since we made the first, crappy, iteration of this website. Purchasing Within These Walls will be easy; we'll be making a PayPal widget and placing it here. As soon as we figure out how to do that, we'll get it done. Thanks for your patience.
Within These Walls is 450 pages, available in trade paperback only, and is copyright 1997, 1999, and 2001.
