Book’s Blurb

Following a wager of the gods, a statue of Aphrodite springs to life. She has thirty days to find true love or return to stone.

After two hundred years trapped in granite, Daphne will do anything to stay alive. However, she’s past her prime as a woman and her face is pockmarked after prolonged exposure to acid rain and pollution. Without the advantages of youth or obvious beauty, how can she attract a suitable partner in so little time?

Heart of Stone

In a world of instant gratification and hookups, is it even possible to find anything real? And do so before the month runs out?
Desperate for answers, she turns to others for advice and looks for love in all the wrong places. With days, then minutes remaining to her, she must listen to the wisdom of her now-fragmented heart.

…the story symbolizes the dilemma faced by many women – to open our hearts to love and risk vulnerability (in Daphne’s case, death) or to resist and turn to stone.

Heart of Stone is a romantic fantasy. Thelma Mariano began writing fiction in the confessions field, where she sold over 40 stories to women’s magazines (such as True Story, True Confessions and True Experience) put out by NYC publishers in the days of mass readership. She is also the author of three published novels: Night Cries (women’s fiction), ConneXions (psychological suspense) and SeaStruck (a paranormal romance).

Heart of Stone is a short and easy read. It ponders the notion of true love and the pain of a broken heart. The novel is set in some of Montreal’s landmarks: Old Montreal, Le Plateau and St. Denis Street. But the most remarkable one for me is of the chapel in the Old Port where the statue of Our Lady of the Harbor is immortalized in Leonard Cohen’s haunting song Suzanne.

The book is offered for free right now on Smashwords and Amazon. I had difficulty downloading it on my Kindle through Amazon but had no problems sending it to my iPad. Go figure!

19 thoughts on “Thelma Mariano: Heart of Stone”

I always appreciate it when an author innovates like this. And it’s a very clever touch to use Greek mythology. Thanks for sharing, Carol.

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Carol Balawyder says:

on 2018-08-14 at 21:55

Happy to see you here! 🙂

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Thelma Mariano says:

on 2018-08-15 at 15:56

Margot, thanks for your comment even if it was directed to Carol. I also used Greek mythology in my ebook SeaStruck (mermaid story). I seem to have a fascination with it.

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Sounds like an interesting premise. Great review, Carol!

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Thanks, Carol, for posting this. For me, the story symbolizes the dilemma faced by many women – to open our hearts to love and risk vulnerability (in Daphne’s case, death) or to resist and turn to stone. Glad you liked mention of Our Lady of the Harbor and the chapel – they inspired me!

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Carol Balawyder says:

on 2018-08-16 at 11:25

I updated my post and added this to it: the story symbolizes the dilemma faced by many women – to open our hearts to love and risk vulnerability (in Daphne’s case, death) or to resist and turn to stone. Hope you don’t mind. I tried to put it as a quote…

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- Thelma Mariano says:
  
  on 2018-08-16 at 21:24
  
  Carol, I love that you included the quote. It adds more meaning to the rest of it.
  
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Wonderful review and an intriguing premise Carol. I enjoy your recommends and this story sounds so out of the ordinary I grabbed a copy. Thanks. ❤

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Carol Balawyder says:

on 2018-08-16 at 11:16

Thanks, Debby. I’m always happy to see you here. I hope you enjoy the book. ❤

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- dgkaye says:
  
  on 2018-08-16 at 13:35
  
  ❤
  
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thanks Carol. It sounds very interesting. I miss our Eat and Critique group. Do you? xo

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Thanks Carol and thank you Thelma. Another great review! Carol This sounds like such an original concept that I had to get it! It did take some doing and I had to find it through Thelma’s name rather than the book title but I was able to do so. I’ll try to write a short review after I’ve read it because as an author myself, they mean so much!

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Thelma Mariano says:

on 2018-08-15 at 15:55

Thanks, Ellie. Positive reviews are like gold for most authors, and I’m no exception. Hope you enjoy the book.

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Carol Balawyder says:

on 2018-08-16 at 11:15

Thanks, Ellie. I hope you’ll like the book. Writing a short review is always helpful to the author. A thank you for the book. 🙂

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I don’t know what the problem is with Amazon, but as Ellie mentioned, you can access the book by searching for my author name, and then clicking on it. It’s also available for free on Smashwords and all its platforms. Happy reading!

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