Secrets in the Stone [Paperback]

Radclyffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2009

Rooke Tyler lives a solitary life in a small western Pennsylvania town, making a living by carving intricate headstones in an exclusive cemetery for the county's wealthy families. At night she sculpts stone, pouring her dreams and desires into the figures she chisels. Then two women enter life, one offering her passion, the other fame. Rooke's choice may expose her secrets and change her life...if she follows her heart.

Product Details

• Paperback: 265 pages
• Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (July 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160282083X
• ISBN-13: 978-1602820838
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Radclyffe, a retired surgeon and full time author-publisher, has published over thirty-five novels as well as dozens of short stories, has edited numerous anthologies, and, writing as L. L. Raand, has authored a paranormal romance series, The Midnight Hunters. She is a eight time Lambda Literary Award finalist in romance, mystery and erotica--winning in both romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and erotica (Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip written with Karin Kallmaker). A member of the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame, she is also a 2010 RWA/FF&P Prism Award Winner for Secrets in the Stone, an Independent Publisher's award winner (IPPY), an Alice B. Readers' award Winner, and a finalist for the Benjamin Franklin award, the ForeWord Review Book of the Year award, and the 2010 Heart of Excellence Readers' Choice award. She is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world's largest independent LGBT publishing companies.

She states, "I began reading lesbian fiction at the age of twelve when I found a copy of Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker. That book and others like it convinced me that I was not alone, that there were other women who felt like I did. Our literature provides support and validation and very often, a lifeline, for members of our community throughout the world. I am proud and honored to be able to publish the many fine authors at Bold Strokes Books and to contribute in some small way to the words that the celebrate LGBTQ experience."

You can visit Radclyffe at http://www.facebook.com/Radclyffe.BSB?ref=ts

Or buy her books direct from the publisher at www.boldstrokesbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but... incomplete?, August 11, 2009

By 

Wolfe, I.M. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets in the Stone (Paperback)

I loved Rooke and Adrian, although I wasn't really convinced that Adrian had issues strong enough to play hard to get for so long. I also enjoyed the strange and devious Melinda but I feel like I've missed something.
I kept reading waiting for the issue Melinda to finally get resolved, thinking that something paranormal was going on (which would have been totally great). When it got too late in the book for it to be paranormal, I hoped that at least some explanation would come as to who/what Melinda is and what all the dreams and visions from the past and present meant. Nothing came.
I finished the book feeling like I've totally missed something or that the author was going to go paranormal but decided not to.
The book was ok but i find it too bad that Melinda was never explained. She had the potential to be a much more interesting character, especially concerning her relationship with Rooke and Adrian. But it's hard to get into that without giving away too much.

27 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Paranormal - it's a secret, August 10, 2009

By 

Cornelia (east coast, usa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secrets in the Stone (Paperback)

Radclyffe sets up this novel in her usual great style, passionate lonely sculptor Rooke, rejected Adrian who's afraid to love, small upstate New York community and then adds Melinda, who's sexually greedy, an art dealer and possibly more than human?...I'm not sure. Is it a triangle..maybe. Is it paranormal? there are hints. But this arc never develops which is frustrating.

I adore Radclyffe, she writes great books. But "Secrets in the Stone" is a lesser book. There are hints of paranormal, but it never gets fully explored. This in turn takes a lot of time from Radclyffe's usual wonderful character development, so Adrian feels less fully realized than Rooke. As for Melinda, I just didn't like her, at all. I enjoy paranormal and I'm totally open to Radclyffe exploring the genre but "Secrets in the Stone" is still a bit of a mystery to me..

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Secrets in the Stone, August 16, 2009

By 

FTLOH (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets in the Stone (Paperback)

I am a big Radclyffe fan, and will probably buy anything she writes, but I just didn't get this one. I found myself too often trying to figure out what a sentence or passage meant, and before long I was skipping over sections. This one didn't hold my interest, and unfortunaely will not be in the re-read pile.