All That Lies Within by Lynn Ames

The Rainbow Reader Welcomes Special Guest Reviewer

MICHELLE BROOKS 


Fellow Lesfic Aficionado and Sparkly Humor Laureate

This week, Michelle wrangles trust issues in

All That Lies Within by Lynn Ames

Book:  All That Lies Within

Author:  Lynn Ames

Publisher:  Phoenix Rising Press

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Paul and I walked to the corner diner for coffee…

It was a warm day in the spring of 1988, and I sat transfixed as Glenn Parker delivered a memorable charge to my graduating class. The walls of the Princeton University Chapel resonated with his warm, rich voice and I smiled as I recalled our first meeting years earlier.

Glenn Parker wasn’t the only diction coach on staff at Westminster Choir College, but he was highly sought after by every voice major on campus for a very good reason. Glenn Parker could have corrected Eliza Doolittle’s diction issues in less than two hours, and he could have made the ladies from the cast of Jersey Shore sound like debutantes from Greenwich, Connecticut.

When Glenn first heard me speak, he quickly scribbled a sentence onto a piece of paper, handed it to me and stated, “Read this out loud.” I obliged and said, “Pawl and I wawked to da cawnah die-nah faw cawfee.” 

Glenn managed to utter, “You’re in,” before doubling over in a fit of laughter.

I was reasonably sure that he wasn’t getting enough air into his lungs, and was beginning to get worried that he might pass out before I find out why my diction caused such a response.

When Glenn was finally able to regain his composure, he said, “Two things. First, you were clearly born and raised on Long Island. Second, if you ever want to be an opera singer, you will never speak like that in my class again.”

While it is true that Glenn taught all of his students a great deal about diction, his greatest gift was what he taught us about life. He challenged us to embrace the intangible, to look beyond what we could see or touch, and he taught us how to listen to angels.

The concluding sentence of Glenn’s charge to my graduating class turned out to be the last words I would ever hear him speak. Glenn died a few short years later, but to this day, I feel his spirit, and hear his final words time and again…

“May your path be guided by angels, unaware of their perfect timing and gracious gifts.”

Lynn Ames' book, All That Lies Within, tells the tale of two women, who at first glance, seem to have very little in common. Dara Thomas is a famous Hollywood actress, adored by her fans and sought after as much for her beauty as for her talent. A Yale graduate, Dara desperately wants to be appreciated for her intellect, and struggles to be viewed as more than just a beautiful woman. She has painstakingly created a life where she can maintain control of her acting career, but keep secret her identity as Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Constance Darrow.

Rebecca Minton is a well-respected professor of American Literature at Middlebury College. She is regarded as an expert on the works of Constance Darrow, and centers much of her coursework on the reclusive author’s books. When Rebecca writes a letter to Constance, she is surprised when the author responds. The two continue to correspond, and what began as a series of professional exchanges becomes friendlier in nature. Curious to learn more about Constance, Rebecca turns to the Internet, where her curiosity is piqued when she is unable to discover any photos of Constance, or any personal information about the author.

A twist of fate leads Rebecca to discover that Dara is really the reclusive Constance Darrow. The actress chastises herself for letting her guard down, and is convinced that Rebecca will sell her story to the tabloids. Rebecca begins to doubt that she will ever hear from the author again. Both women mourn what could very well be the end of their special relationship. At a crossroads, Dara and Rebecca must each decide which force is greater: their considerable trust issues, or the connection and attraction that had been building between them.

While the plot of All That Lies Within primarily focuses on the plight of the protagonists, Dara (a.k.a. Constance) and Rebecca, Ms. Ames’ careful inclusion of Dara’s best friend and business manager, Carolyn, as a supporting character is a wise and well-considered choice. By allowing the reader to gain insight into Dara’s personality from the perspective of her best friend, Ms. Ames softens and strengthens what could otherwise be described as a cold and detached character. A number of other carefully developed characters, some appearing for only a scene or two, round out the cast of the book, and add depth, breadth, and interest to both the story and main characters.

Author Lynn Ames

The pacing of the book is even throughout, and the storyline is both interesting and well developed. As a reader, I feel compelled to acknowledge the careful and precise editing. This is the first book I can recall reading that was free from grammatical, formatting, or typesetting errors.  Additionally, it is quite evident that the author went to great lengths to ensure that the locations in the book were accurately and appropriately portrayed.

It also reminded me that it has been far too long since I have been to the Carnegie Deli in NYC for a Reuben... 

And, lastly, All That Lies Within is a fitting title for this book—it alludes to both Dara Thomas seeking to be valued for more than her external beauty, and to both Dara’s and Rebecca’s soul-searching journey toward self-awareness. While I am more accustomed to reading books which include a number of descriptive passages about the physical attributes of the characters, I believe the author was wise in limiting references to their appearances so that the reader focuses more acutely on the internal struggles that Dara and Rebecca experience throughout the story.

All That Lies Within is a story that brings to mind a quote by Epictetus, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” As for my reference to angels in the introduction of this review? Well, I guess you’ll just have to read the book to see how they factor into this story.

Lynn Ames’ All That Lies Within is a solid read that will thrill romance buffs looking for a story that tugs at all the right strings.

Beyond Instinct by Lynn Ames

Book: Beyond Instinct
Author: Lynn Ames
Publisher: Phoenix Rising Press

Several years ago I found myself needing to be somewhere without roads, and flying first class on a “private” airline called something snappy like Daryl’s Airplane.  As I recall, the ride looked like a converted school bus without doors, and the pilot wasn’t wearing shoes.  He was, however, wearing pants, and had a shoulder holster with a vintage .38 S&W. The co-pilot was drinking a Tusker and talking to himself in hushed tones.

I was the one seated on a chicken crate near the back holding a spirited conversation with a goat.

The point is that sometimes things don’t go the way you expect them to, and you have to make it up as you go.

Beyond Instinct is the seventh novel by perennial favorite, Lynn Ames.  In this fast-paced story, we’re introduced to Vaughn Elliott, a former hotshot handyman for the Company.  For the last year, she’s been riding a desk after an unauthorized job went south and took the life of her friend and lover, Sara.  The physical wounds have healed, but not so much the ones to her heart.  She’s been moved to the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Force, and was handpicked by someone high up in the US Government to oversee security for a visit by congressional VIPs to Mali, a small West African nation. Upon arriving, she is greeted by her handler, the striking Sage McNally, who works at the U.S. Embassy in Mali.

The two women tussle with an instant attraction, but quickly give in to the thrumming, humming lust and share a wild night of steamy passion. The next morning, though, Sage disappears while running, and Vaughn’s spidey senses send her in hot pursuit.  Vaughn quickly figures out that something is rotten in the state of Mali, and calls a few select friends to help find and recover Sage. Thus begins an full tilt, around-the-world sprint that exposes a tangled web of treachery, pits shiny good versus slimy evil, and tests the boundaries of attraction, friendship, and duty.

Part of the beauty of any Lynne Ames book is that we’re introduced to beautiful, strong, talented women with a powerful sense of right and wrong.  They usually have equally strong and talented friends – men and women – and their relationships tend to run deep and wide.  Beyond Instinct is no exception to this rule.  Here we’re introduced to Justine, Sebastian, Jackson, and Nate.  All are powerful allies, and all willing to put their lives and their livelihoods on the line for Vaughn. We’re also introduced to serial bad guys - the malevolent men who are willing to destroy the lives of anyone that steps in their path, usually to protect some secret borne of hubris and astoundingly poor decision-making.

And, no doubt, exacerbated by an unfortunate case of erectile dysfunction.

Beyond Instinct is an all-out, start-to-finish rush to save the girl and save the Senate Majority Leader.  I loved the techno-geekery, learning how to kidnap a girl on a camel, and how to turn chicken cordon bleu into a screaming one-nighter.  Our merry band of rogues always manages to out think, out perform, and out pace the seemingly endless conga line of bad guys nipping at their heels.  And, Vaughn and Sage manage to cuddle in various states of dress (and undress) when they’re not squabbling over “I love you/You can’t, I’m not good enough for you.”  All of this was fun, created some tasty tension, and kept the story moving at a fevered pace.

However, there are a few pesky little odds and ends that hogtied me . . .

 

The greatest of these is the bothersome convenience of everything:  Sage looks like Sara; An unending stream of friends willing to die and/or sabotage their careers to help out; Friends of friends taking on the CIA as a “sure, m'kay, no problem”; Nobody in any West African country willing to sell out to CIA muscle or money; Senator Stowe just happening to know all about the bad guys, and be on top of the assassination plot; Edgar keeping a log of all his dastardly deeds as they were planned and then thwarted; the FBI brother in just the right task force; the good guys walking up and arresting the bad guys at their front doors; and Guilty on all counts.  Don’t get me wrong, I get that Vaughn and Sage were pawns in someone else’s game, but everything just falls into place too easily.   

Perhaps it’s unfair of me as a reader, but when I got to the end, the first words out of my mouth were, “Really?  That’s it?!?” 

The other thing that makes my left eye twitchy is how quickly Vaughn jumped out of bed, and what she is able to accomplish after having her chest cracked open and an aorta repaired.  While I have no doubt she is one of the rare and few Super Lesbians with the secret power of instant regeneration, even for her that had to leave a mark. 

Not to mention, hurt like an ever lovin’ mother . . .

So, with the good comes a little bit of bad.  I’m a fan of Lynn Ames, always have been and probably always will be.  I love her books, love her characters, and love what she can do to just about any plot she gets her hands on. 

But, there were things I really liked about Beyond Instinct, and a few I really didn’t.  On the Rainbow Scale, I’m giving it a 4.1 out of 6, because something was missing for me.  

It’s not enough to stop me from reading her next book or the one after that, it’s just that this one didn’t stick it’s landing.