Carly's Calling
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Where’s the dime! Where’s the dime! I know I have a dime! I frantically dig through the corners of all
my pockets to find that lifesaving dime.
Hurry! Hurry! Get the dime in
the phone! Help me, someone! I can’t
reach the phone! Tippy-toe, try tippy-toeing! All these thoughts uncontrollably rush
through my mind. I finally reach, and
the dime drops with the confirmation of the chime; now I can dial home.
I remember everything: the color of the phone booth,
the etching of phone numbers in the metal countertop, the hanging tethered
phone book, and the streetlight that lit up the booth. I remember reaching with all my might to
dial the numbers. I still remember the
phone number that I called that night, even after 30-some years.
The phone is ringing; my dialing has been successful. Daddy, please answer the phone! My fear heightens as the phone continues to
ring, and then finally he answers, “Hello?” His voice is slow and tired,
somewhat unrecognizable, yet I know it’s him.
“Daddy, help me!” I say, crying.
His voice becomes instantly clear and alert, and he
frantically asks, “Sissy, is that you?”
“It’s me daddy! Please help me!” I repeat over and
over, “Please help me, I need you, daddy.”
His frightened voice becomes louder. “Where are you,
Sissy? How did you get out of the
house?”
“Daddy, please come! Hurry! Please come!”
“Sissy, where are you?” he asks again forcefully.
“The gas station with the green dinosaur!” I
scream. “Time is running out!”
There being only one gas station in town with a
dinosaur painted on the building, he knows just where to go.
I could feel the warmth of daddy’s hand as he gently
began to nudge my shoulder in an effort to wake me.
“Sissy,” he said, shaking me. Softly whispering, he
asked, “Are you awake?”
I was six years old and on the top bunk of a bed I
shared with my two brothers, Joseph and Christopher. Hearing my dad’s voice, I awoke and confirmed that I was now
awake. I could see that something in
his face just wasn’t right -- and why was he waking me in the middle of the
night?
“Have you been here all night?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
He looked even more bewildered. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Running to the coat closet, and with my mother
chasing after him, he headed out the door in a fury. I was still wondering what was going on, but my father leaving
the house in the middle of the night was not at all unusual. It almost seemed to be a weekly pattern that
accompanied my parents’ explosive fighting.
But this time was different, because he woke me.
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Book Details
About the Book
Little Carly and her father share a deep love. She awakes
one night to sense a visitor in the dark at the foot of her bed, and at her cry
he rushes in to protect her. But there’s no one in her room. At least, no one
he can see.
Carly’s invisible visitor returns nightly, never
hurting her, but terrifying her. Carly’s dad can’t protect her from the
visitations.
He can’t protect her from her mom, either.
Pathologically jealous of the love between her
daughter and her husband, Carly’s alcoholic mother persecutes the young girl
mercilessly, even beating her.
Carly experiences daily fear, and constant physical
and emotional pain. But somehow she remains optimistic, and when the invisible
spirit finally appears before her, it is to give her a lesson in how to use
pain for spiritual growth.
As the wounded young woman grows, people are put in
her life to teach her about both pain and the deep satisfaction of love, and
finally how to heal, and develop her spirituality.
Carly’s Calling is the compelling story of an
extremely sensitive woman with a gift for hearing spirits, and the ability to
share unconditional love.
About the Author
Sue Ann Smith has been writing poetry since she was
a child. While living with her
grandparents in her senior year of high school she won a poetry competition,
which inspired her to continue.
During her early years, Sue Ann was given unusual
spiritual insights that strengthened her ability to follow her creative path.
Through the years, marriage and children left little
time for writing, but as her family grew, the author began writing children’s
stories for them. Approaching her mid-life, she decided to put down on paper
the words, thoughts, and stories that had been forefront in her mind for so
long. The result is her first novel, Carly's
Calling.
Sue Ann is currently working on an another novel, Secrets of the Porch. A nature lover, she camps frequently in the
summer and carries her laptop. "Along the Missouri River," she says,
"there is nothing to cloud your thoughts.
Sometimes they come faster than I can type."
Living in Sidney, Iowa, with her husband and two
younger children, she also shares her life with her three older sons and her grandchildren.