# The Kindness of Strangers



## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

My book, The Kindness of Strangers by J. A. Titus, is very dear to me.

Product Description:

The Kindness of Strangers, is a mixture between young adult and adult fiction (literary fiction). It explores the life of the main character (sixteen-year-old Sydney Venery) and suggests that despite years of abuse, teenagers in this situation can grow to love and trust again. This 67,087 word story encompasses multiple themes, but ultimately the book is about learning to move on from the past and embracing the present/future.

What happens when a child's innocence and trust gets taken away by someone they love? How do they function? How do they cope? Would they ever learn to love or trust anyone again? These are the questions sixteen-year-old, Sydney Venery constantly asks herself. After years of abuse she finally escapes, only to discover soon after that she's several weeks pregnant. With no one else offering to help around her, she accepts the assistance from a kind stranger who comes into her work for breakfast. It is this stranger, by the name of Irene, that helps Sydney realize that there really are good people in the world. After a frightening attack it is another stranger that comes to her rescue, Ian, who charges in to save her like a knight in shining armor. With the help of Ian and Irene, Sydney slowly begins the healing process and moves forward with her life; raising her child, attending school and accepting that what has happened to her isn't her fault. Learning to love and trust again isn't easy, but it is with The Kindness of Strangers that she learns to get by&#8230;and also knowing that life comes full circle and her abuser will get what's coming to him in the end.

Thank you for your time and interest 

Julie (aka J. A. Titus)

PS - Thanks to Harvey and the mods, you can view a sample of the book by clicking HERE


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

You got it exactly right, Julie. Welcome to KindleBoards and congratulations on your book.

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Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

My first bump! 
(I've never bumped before ... it's kind of nifty)


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2010)

Here is another!  I saw you on Facebook, and JC's page, and well about 5 other places this weekend!  Good work!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> Here is another! I saw you on Facebook, and JC's page, and well about 5 other places this weekend! Good work!


Why thank you  I was honored to be listed on JC's page and I do try to keep my Facebook page up to date. Check back often as I frequently post some of my short stories and poems on there; I really do appreciate any feedback other writers and readers have to offer!


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2010)

OK you need to list the characters in your book so we can start casting acting for the roles in the movie.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> OK you need to list the characters in your book so we can start casting acting for the roles in the movie.


Ooh, I would love for my book to be turned into a movie, I can already see it now! 
Well there is:

*Sydney Venery* - who is initially sixteen (there'd have to be a teen version of Sydney and also a child version of Sydney)
*Irene Mahoney* - she's the grandmotherly type, but could easily pull off being mid-50's
*Darian 'Ian' Foley* - he's in his early twenties
*Dr. Mercer* - he has a mole above his lip, to which Sydney cracks up laughing
*William Venery* - Sydney's father who is the fire chief in Salem
*Tommy Lavigne* - Syney's crush in high school
*Lois Venery* - Sydney's mother
*Marjorie Venery* - Sydney's oldest sister; she marries her father's co-worker
*Siobhan Venery* - Sydney's other older sister; she goes off to college to be a doctor
*Jackson Venery* - Sydney's oldest brother
*Billy Venery* - Sydney's younger brother
*Nonnie Venery* - Sydney's paternal grandmother
*Elizabeth Venery* - Sydney's daughter
*Rachelle Foley* - Ian's mother; has bone cancer
*Jack Mahoney* - Irene's ex husband
*Mr. Vintro* - Sydney's GED instructor

... and there are other players in the book that have their own important roles. Some with names, some without. 

I'd be happy to share who I think could be the players, but ... it'd be more fun for you to tell me who you all think would fit  Who do you envision acting as these characters?


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2010)

Pacino as Mr. Vintro?  He (Pacino) has a mole doesn't he?  he could be Dr. Mercer?  

What do you think?


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> Pacino as Mr. Vintro? He (Pacino) has a mole doesn't he? he could be Dr. Mercer?
> 
> What do you think?


Ooh, I like Pacino! But do you think he could pull off the Massachusetts accent well enough?


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2010)

Pacino can do any accent....    How about Jennifer Anniston?  Who would she be best as?  Marjorie?  Hmmm? Siobhan


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> Pacino can do any accent.... How about Jennifer Anniston? Who would she be best as? Marjorie? Hmmm? Siobhan


Do we really want to kill the movie?  I mean ... Jennifer Aniston?  LOL

I hate to spoil who I was envisioning, but I was thinking more along the lines of Blake Lively or Brittany Snow for Majorie


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## Guest (Sep 3, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> Do we really want to kill the movie?  I mean ... Jennifer Aniston?  LOL
> 
> I hate to spoil who I was envisioning, but I was thinking more along the lines of Blake Lively or Brittany Snow for Majorie


OK I dont even know who they are....lol Whats wrong with Jen? Who will make a good Tommy Lavigne? Pitt? (he's too old now) How about the werewolf boy from Twilight?


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> OK I dont even know who they are....lol Whats wrong with Jen? Who will make a good Tommy Lavigne? Pitt? (he's too old now) How about the werewolf boy from Twilight?


First, Marjorie is supposed to be in her early 20's and Jen's 40ish (wouldn't work). I do think Twilight boy would be a good Tommy, which is kind of funny because I've always pictured Sydney as Kristen Stewart. Ha! And Ian could be Robert Pattinson. It'd be another Twilight without vampires. Hmm ... let's see, I'm sure we could put the rest of the Twilight cast in some other character's shoes. 

If we needed Brad Pitt, he could play Jeffrey Stahler


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Thank you to those of you who have PM'd me for a free copy of _The Kindness of Strangers_! Hopefully you all have had a chance to download your copy and will enjoy the story!

Thank you all again!

Julie Ann


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I like to share my new website with you all who may be interested in keeping up to date with my writing. Aside from my FB fan page, I will be updating/maintaining my new website!

http://authorjatitus.weebly.com/index.html

Feel free to browse and if you have any questions or comments, I'll be happy to get back to you immediately!

Thanks for everyone who has read my book! I truly appreciate it! 

**Update from 9/22/2010**

Unfortunately some people have flagged my web page as SPAM on Facebook. With this being said you will only be able to copy and paste the site to your browser or click on the link here within Kindleboards. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

**Update from 9/27/2010**

Facebook has released the SPAM block on my web page, so it is now fully accessible via Facebook!! I'm so excited and give thanks to everyone that helped bring it back!!


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> First, Marjorie is supposed to be in her early 20's and Jen's 40ish (wouldn't work). I do think Twilight boy would be a good Tommy, which is kind of funny because I've always pictured Sydney as Kristen Stewart. Ha! And Ian could be Robert Pattinson. It'd be another Twilight without vampires. Hmm ... let's see, I'm sure we could put the rest of the Twilight cast in some other character's shoes.
> 
> If we needed Brad Pitt, he could play Jeffrey Stahler


Jenn is 40ish? Jeese that makes me feel old. I was thinking "Friends" Jenn. I do not like Robert Patterson... But the ladies do! Good Call!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> Jenn is 40ish? Jeese that makes me feel old. I was thinking "Friends" Jenn. I do not like Robert Patterson... But the ladies do! Good Call!


Yup - Jen's at least 40/41 now. She was a cutie on Friends, wasn't she? lol. I actually listed who I think would be great on another thread in the writer's cafe ... maybe seeing the pictures will help put faces to the characters (or at least how I envisioned them, )

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36311.msg654157.html#msg654157


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2010)

I can't wait to read this! Julianne rocks!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> I can't wait to read this! Julianne rocks!


Aww, Jason, you're too sweet!  Thank you  If you get the chance to read it, I do hope you like it!


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2010)

The Kindness of Strangers is a good read foreverjuly.    We should cast you in the movie too!  Julieann who could he play?


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

M.R. Mathias said:


> The Kindness of Strangers is a good read foreverjuly. We should cast you in the movie too! Julieann who could he play?


I'd say he'd be a great Ian.

Sigh ... talking about who could play the parts gets my mind going. I wish it was just _that_ good, that some studio producer or movie maker would be interested in making it. Each time I read it I always have a movie image being played in my head. Some parts are heavier than others and it makes it hard (upsetting), but then I quickly get beyond those parts to reach the better parts. 

Hope you all are having a great Friday night! I'm busy writing my 3rd book and trying to create a breakdown for the horror short story I'd like to submit to Daniel Pyle's anthology  It's not my normal genre, but hopefully I can come up with something!

Thank you all for the lovely comments and for your help! <3


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> I'd say he'd be a great Ian.
> 
> Sigh ... talking about who could play the parts gets my mind going. I wish it was just _that_ good, that some studio producer or movie maker would be interested in making it. Each time I read it I always have a movie image being played in my head. Some parts are heavier than others and it makes it hard (upsetting), but then I quickly get beyond those parts to reach the better parts.
> 
> ...


Oooh I have one for Daniel too. I'll beta read yours if you do mine!~ Im glad your book is doing well.


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

Hi Julie Ann!

Your book sounds seriously interesting! :stares at growing TBR pile: It's on the mental TBR list. Much less scary.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Alice Y. Yeh said:


> Hi Julie Ann!
> 
> Your book sounds seriously interesting! :stares at growing TBR pile: It's on the mental TBR list. Much less scary.


  Thank you, Alice, mental lists are definitely a lot less scary 



M.R. Mathias said:


> Oooh I have one for Daniel too. I'll beta read yours if you do mine!~ Im glad your book is doing well.


I'd be honored to exchange, lol. Hopefully I can get it done.  I have an idea (along the lines of the question I posted on my Facebook author's page - I'm still taking opinions), and hopefully I'll be able to incorporate it correctly.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

If I may, I wanted to say to all the readers who have purchased my book, 'Thank You!!!'

You have made October the best month for me, ever, and I can't say 'thank you' enough. Despite it's flaws and imperfections, I truly hope you enjoy it for what it is -- a story.

*Crying happy tears* Thank you all again!

Please have a happy and safe Halloween/Samhain!!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

If you haven't heard already, check out Red Adept's webpage and vote for your favorite eulogy!

Irene, from The Kindness of Strangers, is featured in entry #1.

It's really tough competition! All the entries this week, and last, have been really great!

http://redadeptreviews.com/


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

If you haven't already seen, I've recently posted some of my older short stories and a new poem to my website, authorjatitus.weebly.com
I've also posted three chapters of The Kindness of Strangers, as a sample under The Kindness of Strangers tab.

And lastly, I've added a tab titled, 'Do You Like To Read', where there are links available to other top authors. 

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!!

~Julie Ann


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Hello everyone! I've been busy working my day job as it's YEAR END time in the immigration and taxation part of the world.  I'll probably be on my toes until at least the beginning of May, when tax season is over (well...that is until the 1042 extensions expire in August  ).

Also -
I've updated my website a little. I think it makes it a little easier to navigate. I've been working on editing _The Kindness of Strangers_ and have received some great input from readers, and also from other authors who have volunteered to help me out! Hopefully by May I'll have a new cover and will be able to re-release it as 'New & Improved' (I'll be sure to post it free somewhere for anyone who has already purchased it).

In case you were curious, I've also been working on two other WIPs and have posted samples of those new projects on my website. Feel free to take a peek and let me know what you think (I'm always up for suggestions!).

Other than the news above, I'd like to wish all of my Jewish readers a (as it begins at sundown):


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Julie's being humble, but not me!  Check out this new four-star review at Barnes and Noble for The Kindness of Strangers:

"Quickly grabs your attention. Characters you feel you could bump into on any given day. Makes one ponder how much our lives are really shaped by strangers. Do we take time to chat with the people who serve us at the store, the garage, the hospital or do we continue to take them for granted?"


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I would like to share with everyone my first attempt at a book trailer. The Kindness is still not edited, so I'm not really promoting it, but I'm really excited to be sharing something I poured my heart into (just as much as I poured my heart into The Kindness of Strangers).

I hope you like it!!

*sorry I'm not sure how to include a video into the thread with it not being on YouTube; please click the link below and you'll be directed right to the book trailer*

authorjatitus.weebly.com/book-trailer.html

I'd love to hear your feedback if you have a chance to view it. It's about 2.25 minutes - I loved the song so much I just couldn't bear to cut it down. I'm very sorry - I do think you'll find it goes faster than you think.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Hi there! I haven't bumped this thread in a couple of months, but I wanted to share that The Kindness of Strangers has officially been edited! I will admit this is my very first book and there were some issues ... well, a lot of issues actually ... but I have finally found an editor to read through it and she pointed out a lot of things, which I've changed. The story is pretty much the same, nothing in that regard has been taken out, but I think you may feel it is now a much easier read.

I had a large range of emotions when I published this story. At first release I was elated, so excited that I actually accomplished something. Something that I put a lot of 'me' in. In a way it was therapy for me and I was so happy to get back into writing. Writing this story was a gateway for me to get back into something I truly loved; something I had a passion for growing up, when not everything was going right for me. After a while, though, I began to read more and more, slowly realizing I hadn't put my best foot forward by not having a professional editor read through it. Yes, I had several beta readers prior to publication, but as reviewers were pointing out - there were still issues. I was thankful for each reviewer's comments, and backed off on promoting it. I still wanted the story to be told, though. I hoped if I was upfront and honest about it not being edited, that readers would be aware and would take it for what it was ... a story. Still that wasn't enough for me. I didn't feel right about it. So when the opportunity came for an editor to read through it, I jumped at the chance. 

It's been a labor of love, this book, and readers deserve nothing but the best. So with this being said, I truly hope those reading it will enjoy it! If you purchased a copy already, I believe you can ask Amazon to send you the new copy (which is still in publishing status as I type this), or I will gladly provide everyone with a coupon code from Smashwords to download it again. Please feel free to e-mail, PM, Tweet or Facebook message me!

Have a great day!!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's the 1st of June?   Where did the time go? Well, the Kindness of Strangers has officially been out for 1 full year. Kind of exciting!

Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Wednesday (and June 1st!).


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

A lovely post was on GoodReads, so I thought I'd share it for this week's bump ...



> "I'm loving this book. I've been in tears the past few chapters. Sydney story is so touching and real. Her strength is inspiring." - Jun 09, 2011 07:56pm


This is why I write! I do it to make people feel and to immerse themselves into the story. Receiving comments like this (or seeing them online), makes it all worthwhile!

Happy Sunday everyone, I truly hope you have a wonderful week!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Hi everyone! Happy end of June and an early wish for you and yours to have a wonderful July 4th holiday weekend! (Or if you're from Canada, Happy July 1st!)

I'm excited to share that I've stumbled upon a lovely review at the Sony Reader Store. It was 5 * and the reviewer said,



> Excellent story with great characters that you really care about. I had a hard time putting it down. It was a great read and I look forward to more work from J.A. Titus.


This totally makes my month of June complete!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Well, after 10 days off from work I'm back to the grindstone (but only for a week, because I'm off next week also  ).  I still can't believe I actually spent the majority of my vacation writing, but it felt good to dust the pen and paper off.

If you're interested in what I've got coming soon, I'll be completing a short horror collection titled _Sensing Evil_, eventually completing _From Heaven_ (I admit I've fallen off the wagon unfortunately; writer's block is terrible), and will have two short stories appear in two different anthologies. One titled _Resurrecting Eve_ (which will be included in Daniel Pyle's Unnatural Disasters collection), and the other has yet to be titled, but will be part of a collection titled _Dream On_. Initially I was going to include the short story The Date. But that fell through, because I felt it was too close to another author's recently published short story available now on Amazon.

I hope everyone had a wonderful (safe and happy) 4th of July holiday (or for my Canadian friends, July 1st). This month will be life-altering for me *sob* as I will be turning 30 at the end of it.  Kind of scary. 

Have a wonderful week everyone!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I can't believe it's been a month said I've stopped by this thread.  Where did the time go? Nothing really has changed, with the exception of my age. I'm still working on _Sensing Evil_, which is due for release at the end of September. I've finished 4 out of the 5 shorts, and then I'll have to go through editing. I find writing horror very liberating, but I miss my characters in _From Heaven_ and _The Last Curl_. I've completed chapter 11 and I'm on to chapter 12 within _From Heaven_. I won't be posting any more chapters though. If you're interested in becoming a beta reader, I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great week everyone!


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Fall season!


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