Heartache & Sin [Paperback]

Charles Soto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2009

Hard-driving and provocative, this unconventional love story will have audiences talking for weeks after reading. Charles Soto touches at the heart of humanity with this epic tale, tackling the hardships of abortion. Dissecting the tenderest parts of a mother’s being, while destroying a father’s conscience, Heartache and Sin starts where love, hate, murder and church collide. Like all couples, when Steven and Karen Wheaton learn of their pregnancy, they are elated. Active churchgoers with a pointed sense of right and wrong, they hope to instill their values in this new life. When a corrupt clergyman starts to use Karen to promote his own corrupt anti-abortion agenda, Steven finds himself surrounded by questions of morality. As Karen’s pregnancy takes a turn for the worse and she becomes deathly ill, it starts to appear that the only thing that may save her is an abortion. Will Steven be able to save his wife or baby? Which would he choose? www.authorcharlessoto.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Soto lives in northern Minnesota with his wife of twenty-one years and his two daughters. His sole purpose in his writing is to incite reaction and make readers think and feel the entire story for themselves by expelling hard-driving emotion in his plots. Continuing to deliver storylines that boil to an explosive conclusion and draw strong reactions, he proves himself a master at the game of love and heartache with his inspiring style of writing. Along with his passion and talents for writing, Charles Soto is also a very talented ceramicist/sculptor. He creates bisque works in the renaissance, fantasy, and Native American styles. His artwork as well as his writing conveys his inner-most desires that fuel his appetite for the arts. His debut novel, Heartache and Sin will soon be followed by, Pride and a Prayer and promises to be just as profound and provocative. www.authorcharlessoto.com or www.charzarts.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (April 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439202400
• ISBN-13: 978-1439202401
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,983,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of HEARTACHE & SIN, Charles Soto lives in northern Minnesota with is wife of more than twenty two years and his two daughters. His sole purpose in his stories is to intice a reader to think and feel the entire story for themselves, by expelling hard driving emotions in his plots, drawing strong reaction. 'I never know where my inspiration for a book is going to come from. Ideas hit me all the time about stories and characters, situations and circumstance that I can relate to and feel. I may sit on it for awhile, write a paragragh or two, but usually it all comes down to: is the book passionate enough, provocative and inspiring me to wwrite it. My writing interests like my art, compel me to explore controversy and opinion. search ourselves for the compassionate side of human nature and what one would do under the same circumstance. Above all else, my stories always carry a solid theme of family, love and passion.' Besides his accomplishments in writing, Charles is also a very gifted ceramisist/sculpture. His fine arts have appeared in public and private showings and may be viewed at charzarts,com, for his appearance schedule go to AuthorCharlesSoto.com. It was in November of 2004 when Charles suffered a horrific accident, falling nearly 30 feet to a concrete slab below. He sustained a broken left tibia and head trauma. Says Charles, "What amazes me the most is how well I recovered, returning to nearly the physical state I was in before I fell. My faith has truly left me to believe that God had spared me on that day, being able to watch my children grow up and hopefully, someday, my grandchildren; not to mention being able to pursue my dreams of writing and creating my art." It was during his recovery and rehabilitation, which took several years, when Charles decided to write his fiction novel, HEARTACHE & SIN. An accomplishment that took him 6 months to complete. A love story which carries an important and powerful theme, 'should a woman consider terminating her pregnacy if it places her life in danger?' "I wanted to write about a topic where passion overrides opinion and opinions evoke passion. Providing a format for the reader to wonder what they would do under the same circumstances." A few months later Charels completed his second fiction novel, PRIDE AND A PRAYER, scheduled to be released at a later date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Fiction for the Thinking Reader-Highly Recommended!, June 27, 2010

By 

RCBR - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartache & Sin (Paperback)

Heartache & Sin by Charles Soto is a powerful, emotional tale of love, faith, family, and survival. This is fiction for the thinking reader that may have you revisiting your beliefs on abortion and perhaps questioning your opinions of organized religion.

Steven and Karen Wheaton live in small town North Dakota. They have a wholesome, happy, American lifestyle with a loving, passionate marriage and large Sunday dinners with family and friends on the farm. All that is missing is a family of their own. This is where the trouble begins--when Karen is diagnosed with diabetes and is strongly advised to not get pregnant. Karen dreams of becoming a mother and cannot come to terms with the thought of living her life without children.

Pastor Ryan McDonald runs the Church of Resurrection. Ryan has the knack for gaining peoples' trust through intimidation and trickery. He convinces his congregation that he is a Prophet and that he can end the drought that is crippling the community. Ryan exploits the naive and insecure, and when the rains come, his following strengthens. Karen is drawn to Ryan as she is desperate for any help with her health issues and is certain that through prayer and the pastor she will be cured.

Steven sees the pastor for what he truly is: a lying, deceitful, brainwashing psycho, who must control everything and everyone around him. When Karen learns she is expecting, Steven struggles with the thought of losing his wife if she attempts carrying the baby to term. Pastor Ryan convinces Karen to continue the pregnancy despite the serious health risk, and begins to use Karen to further his campaign against a local abortion clinic.

The ongoing battle for Karen between Stephen and Ryan kept the pages turning as I became invested and deeply concerned for both baby and mother and how it would play out.

Author Charles Soto has infused enough conflict, tension, fear, and suspense to keep readers riveted throughout the 510 pages. This is his first novel, however, he writes like a seasoned pro. His characters are well developed and believable. He descriptions are vivid; his dialogue authentic. This book is difficult to put down and will be long remembered after you turn the final page. Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by William Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bridget's Review, April 3, 2010

By 

bridget3420 "Bridget Hopper" (KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartache & Sin (Paperback)

Steven and Karen are ecstatic when they find out that are going to be parents. They believe in God and attend church on a regular basis and they have are firmly against abortion. They soon learn there is more to life than right and wrong. There is an in between. Karen is dying and the only thing that will help her survive is to do the one thing she actively protested.

Heartache and Sin is the type of book that touches you so deeply that you that it leaves a little piece of it with you. I doubt I will ever forget this book.
Charles is a very talented writer and I hope he has many more books in store.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book You Can't Put Down, February 13, 2010

By 

Heather M "I'm not a fancy shmancy reviewer. ... (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartache & Sin (Paperback)

I'll be honest, I wanted to read this book, but I was nervous. Now this is not to start an abortion debate, I am not going to preach to you why I feel the way I do, I will just say that I am ProLife. Knowing the book has an abortion theme and not knowing how it would end made me nervous about reading it.

Holy cow! Charles has this way of writing that just draws you in and through his words he is able to make you angry, sad, heart broken, I ran the gamut here. I was so mad at Pastor Ryan. He literally made me ill. I couldn't understand how this whole congregation couldn't see through him, but such is the cult mentality. My heart broke for Karen and Steve and her health problems, and without giving away the ending, I so wanted her baby to be ok. For her to be ok. For something to happen that would allow both to survive.

I hurt for Mary, the pastor's wife. This woman who is beaten down emotionally, physically. Yet she has no escape. None. She is held captive by her love for her children.

I just can't understand how people who read their bible, who believe in what it says, how they can be drawn in by a monster like this. In the beginning of the book, my stomach turned as I read during their prayer for rain service, praise is to you Pastor. We believe in you Pastor. Pardon me as shudder from anyone putting that kind of faith/belief into a man. The power that one person gets from that cult's fanaticism, the things they get away with, it's dangerous, as Charles proves very well in Heartache & Sin.

Steven. Poor Steven. As the pastor is trying to manipulate his wife away from him, he is trying so hard to show the man for what he truly is while trying not to upset his wife with his disbelief in the pastor and his plans. One wrong word and his frail wife, who is living with juvenile diabetes, will go rushing to live at the compound with the pastor and his fanatics, who care nothing for her health. They just want to use her to further there cause.

I want to tell you more, so much more, but if I did it would ruin everything, completely blow the ending for you, which left me in tears.

Charles is so good with his descriptions. You know how I love a good descriptive book. I love being able to see a room in my head as I'm reading and he took it there and beyond. He is amazingly talented with the written word!

I couldn't imagine being in Karen's shoes. Wanting this child so badly but knowing that carrying the baby to term could kill me. How heartbreaking would that be for any person?

Charles Soto told such a good story. One that makes you stop and think. One that I am very happy that I read.

In the back of Heartache & Sin was the beginning of his next book, Pride & A Prayer, which I cannot wait to get my hands on. Just the little tease that I read left me wanting more.

I am so glad I read this book! My heart went out to these characters, my stomach was in turmoil waiting to see what Pastor Ryan would do next. I've wanted to yell at TV shows before, but never have I wanted to yell out to people in a book before and I wanted to shake them, scream at them, tell them to open up their eyes and see what they were getting themselves into.