{"id":232,"date":"2008-07-03T11:46:14","date_gmt":"2008-07-03T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=232"},"modified":"2008-07-03T11:46:14","modified_gmt":"2008-07-03T16:46:14","slug":"beyond-the-night-by-marlo-schalesky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\nIt is time to play a Wild Card<\/span>!<\/strong> <\/span>Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a>. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter!<\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

Marlo Schalesky<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

and her book:<\/h2>\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the Night <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Multnomah Books (June 17, 2008)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Marlo Schalesky is the award winning author of six books, including her latest novel, Beyond the Night<\/a>, which combines a love story with a surprise ending twist to create a new type of novel that she hopes will impact readers at their deepest levels. Marlo\u2019s other books include Veil of Fire<\/a>, a novel about finding hope in the fires of life, Empty Womb, Aching Heart<\/a>– Hope and Help for Those Struggling with Infertility, and Cry Freedom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s had over 600 articles published in various Christian magazines, including Today\u2019s Christian Woman, Decision, Moody Magazine, and Discipleship Journal. She has contributed to Dr. Dobson\u2019s Night Light Devotional for Couples, Tyndale\u2019s Book of Devotions for Kids #3, and Discipleship Journal\u2019s 101 Small Group Ideas. She is a speaker and a regular columnist for Power for Living.<\/p>\n

Marlo is also a California native, a small business owner, and a graduate of Stanford University (with a B.S. in Chemistry!). In addition, she has recently earned her Masters in Theology, with an emphasis in Biblical Studies, from Fuller Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n

Marlo lives with her husband and four young daughters in a log home in Central California.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not changing diapers, doing laundry, or writing books, Marlo loves Starbucks white mochas, reading the New Testament in Greek, and speaking to groups<\/a> about finding the deep places of God in the disappointments of life.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $12.99<\/p>\n

Paperback: 304 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher: Multnomah Books (June 17, 2008)<\/p>\n

Language: English<\/p>\n

ISBN-10: 1601420161<\/p>\n

ISBN-13: 978-1601420169<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chapter One<\/p>\n

Darkness rose from somewhere within her. Blackness, like a great, choking wave. Immersing her, drowning her, until she couldn\u2019t breathe under the weight of it. It flooded her mind, spilled down her back, and submerged her limbs in icy heaviness. She fought against it\u2026and failed. Deeper. Darker. Until her world was nothing but a black river, crashing in currents of pain.<\/p>\n

Help me\u2026 The words squeezed from her, unspoken yet real. They became a silent cry, like mist above the water, shimmering, then gone. Did anyone hear? Did anyone know? Was there someone listening out there beyond the darkness? Help me. Don\u2019t leave me alone. Please\u2026<\/p>\n

Time wavered. Stillness breathed. In. Out.<\/p>\n

Then a voice dipped into the blackness. A single word, spoken from a world beyond her own. It came like a slender ribbon of light, rippling over the waves. \u201cMaddie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m here.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaddie.\u201d<\/p>\n

One word. And in it, hope.<\/p>\n

I am not alone.<\/p>\n

The water receded. A little.<\/p>\n

\u201cWake up. I\u2019ve come to take you home.\u201d The blackness shivered, broke, then settled into a familiar gray. Her breath came again, steady and comforting.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you hear me, Maddie?\u201d The voice caressed her, embraced her in its gentle warmth.<\/p>\n

I hear you. The answer formed in her mind but refused to be spoken. Stay with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome to me. Remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t. Silence. Dreaded, awful silence.<\/p>\n

Please\u2026 Don\u2019t leave me\u2026 You promised\u2026<\/p>\n

The dreariness of the hospital room pressed into Paul\u2019s consciousness more heavily than the Monterey fog pressed outside the window. Damp. Gray. Cold and unwelcoming. A moment, a lifetime, before he had laughed and loved, hoped and dreamed. But all that had tunneled into this one image\u2014a flickering fluorescent light, the reek of antiseptic, and the woman he loved in the bed before him. His vision blurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaddie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The word fell and was lost in the buzz of the light, in the steady beep of the EKG machine. For so long he had sat here, with doctors and nurses going in and out, taking her blood pressure, scribbling on charts. He\u2019d almost lost track of them all, as the day faded to twilight. As shifts changed. As visiting hours dwindled. But no one would ask him to leave. Not tonight. Because Maddie was doing much worse than anyone let on.<\/p>\n

It was going to be a long night. And there was no way he was going to leave her.<\/p>\n

So he sat here, watching the liquid drip incessantly through clear tubes, watching Maddie\u2019s chest rising, falling. And the fog blotting out all hint of the California sky. So long, yet nothing changed.<\/p>\n

Outside the room a gurney squeaked, an intercom rumbled, footsteps hurried past and faded. Outside, the world went on. But here, in this tiny room, life teetered on the edge of darkness.<\/p>\n

How had it come to this? To a hospital bed, a frayed chair, and an ocean of silence between them? All the years. All his love. All the memories of a lifetime past. All captured in this one woman, pale, shriveled, so different from the vital, lively girl who shared his heart. She lay there with her eyes closed, her breath ragged, her lashes dark against sunken cheeks. A single lock of hair, damp and dull, curled over her forehead. Tubes lined her cheeks, her arms, trailed over her chest. Rising. Falling. Breath rasping from lips once red, now the color of ash.<\/p>\n

Why did it have to be like this?<\/p>\n

\u201cMaddie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he speak aloud? No one heard. Did she? Could she?<\/p>\n

Paul leaned forward. He reached toward her. If he could just take her hand, pull her back from the dark place where she\u2019d gone. But he couldn\u2019t touch her. Not yet. She was too fragile, her life hanging by too thin a cord. \u201cWake up. I\u2019ve come to take you home.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Maddie didn\u2019t stir.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you hear me, Maddie?\u201d<\/p>\n

Was that a sigh? Did her finger twitch? A shiver ran through him.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome to me.\u201d It\u2019s time. Come out of the darkness. Remember. He waited. A second. An eternity. Almost. Almost he had reached her. A pen clicked. Shoes squeaked.<\/p>\n

Paul straightened.<\/p>\n

A nurse in hospital blue hurried to the far side of the bed. \u201cBlood pressure check.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul stood and moved away from the chair. \u201cNot again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse pursed her lips and didn\u2019t answer. She just checked the levels of clear liquid dripping in the tubes, tapped the band around Maddie\u2019s arm, then glared in his direction.<\/p>\n

Paul sighed.<\/p>\n

The nurse stabbed her pen at him. Her forehead bunched. Paul jumped to the side. \u201cOh. Oops.\u201d He had been standing in front of the EKG machine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood pressure\u2019s good.\u201d With brisk efficiency, the nurse reversed her pen and wrote something on her clipboard. Then she turned and paused. For a brief instant, her hand brushed Maddie\u2019s. Her voice softened, as if she knew, understood, how hard this night would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cHang in there. Won\u2019t be long now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words twisted through Paul\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

She clicked her pen again, shook her head, and rushed from the room.<\/p>\n

Paul stared at the place where the nurse\u2019s fingers had touched Maddie\u2019s hand, so white against sheets that were whiter still. And her skin so thin that it seemed translucent. Delicate, frail. Yet, the freckle just below her left thumb was still there, reminding him that some things don\u2019t change. Some things are forever.<\/p>\n

Warmth flowed through Paul. Perhaps, just once, he could kiss that freckle again. He\u2019d done that, for the first time, years ago. Her hands were strong then, young and tan. But the freckle was still the same. He smiled. The kiss had been a joke, really. A prank done in passing. Yet he remembered it still. A simple gesture that changed everything. At least<\/p>\n

it had for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you remember?\u201d He spoke, knowing she couldn\u2019t hear him, knowing she was still too far away to understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt rained that morning, before the sun came out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only the steady beep of the EKG answered him.<\/p>\n

His voice lowered. \u201cCome, Maddie, remember with me. Remember the day I fell in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palo Alto, 1973<\/p>\n

Paul smashed his racquet against the small blue ball. The ball thwacked into the front wall and zoomed toward the back corner. Maddie raced left, her racquet extended. She slowed, pulled back, and swung.<\/p>\n

Paul squatted, ready.<\/p>\n

Air swooshed through the strings as Maddie\u2019s racquet missed the ball by a good three inches.<\/p>\n

Paul relaxed.<\/p>\n

Maddie\u2019s shoulder slammed against the wall. The ball dribbled into the corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all right?\u201d He wiped his brow with his wristband. \u201cThat last chem exam gotten to you or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you know about exams?\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned. \u201cNot much anymore, thankfully. It\u2019s been a couple<\/p>\n

years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie grimaced. \u201cWell, maybe if I had some fancy research job in a big pharmaceutical company I could joke about exams too.\u201d Paul bounced the ball with his left hand. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, money\u2019s in research these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

She rolled her eyes. \u201cBlah blah. I think I\u2019ll stick to being a doctor\u2026someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul chuckled. \u201cI\u2019ll mix \u2019em, you fix \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an old joke. And not a very good one. \u201cJust serve, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure you\u2019re ready?\u201d He bounced the ball again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere goes.\u201d He slammed his racquet into the ball. It hit the front wall and whizzed toward her. She swung. And missed. Again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour game.\u201d Maddie twirled her racquet, then let it dangle from her wrist. \u201cWhat\u2019s that? Four games now?\u201d She scowled.<\/p>\n

Five. Paul shrugged. \u201cWho\u2019s counting?\u201d<\/p>\n

She put her hands on her hips. \u201cYou are. And don\u2019t pretend you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul grinned, then sauntered over and picked up the racquetball. He popped it onto his racquet, making it dance there with small, precise bounces. \u201cYou wanna go again?\u201d He tossed her the ball.<\/p>\n

She let it drop. \u201cI already owe you a pizza, a movie, popcorn, and a Coke. At this rate, I\u2019m going to go broke.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, I\u2019d say it\u2019s just bad luck. But\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie glared at him. \u201cGo ahead, say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you gotta admit your game\u2019s off today.\u201d His voice turned to a whisper. \u201cReally off. Can\u2019t blame that on a summer class.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. It\u2019s like the ball just vanishes before I hit it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul reached over and tousled her hair. He loved doing that. Her loose, short curls stood straight up when he did it just right. \u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you? That\u2019s a new trick of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie chuckled and punched him in the shoulder. \u201cCome on, let\u2019s quit while I\u2019m behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWay behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop rubbing it in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul slung his arm around her shoulder and turned her toward the glass wall behind them. A blonde in red hot pants crossed on the other side of the glass. The blonde was so different from Maddie. Where the girl was tall and slender, Maddie was, well, medium. Five and a half feet tall, not slim, not stocky. Somewhere in between. Athletic and built for racquetball. Usually, anyway. Just not today.<\/p>\n

He paused. \u201cShe\u2019s new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean you haven\u2019t asked her out yet? Looks like I\u2019m not the only one whose game is off today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul scooped the racquetball off the floor with his racquet. \u201cThe day is still young, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie shook her head. \u201cWhat happened with the girl behind the soda counter?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul opened the court\u2019s door for Maddie and stood back as she slipped out in front of him. \u201cI think she found me too suave and debonair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, you\u2019re very swave.\u201d She purposefully mispronounced the word.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll she did was giggle and talk about the Bee Gees. It was like she was fourteen.\u201d He pulled out a towel from his gym bag and wiped the back of his neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s nineteen. And everyone knows she\u2019s a huge Bee Gees fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you could have saved me a bundle on dinner if you\u2019d told me before. I count on you for these things, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie slipped her racquet into its case and dug around in her bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor baby. I thought you said all girls eat is salad anyway. How expensive could that be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of food, I\u2019ll take my pizza first, then the movie. The new 007 is out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie groaned. \u201cNot another Bond flick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you win, you can choose. Tonight it\u2019s\u2026Bond, James Bond.\u201d Paul faked an English accent.<\/p>\n

\u201cBond is supposed to be Scottish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot any\u2026Moore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie cringed at his joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t still crying about their replacing Sean Connery, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a replacement, it\u2019s a downgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour date is leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blonde.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul glanced over to the blonde. She was sipping pink liquid through a straw and moving toward the back door. He stretched out his arms and cracked his knuckles. \u201cOkay, watch the master work.\u201d Maddie sighed and rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n

Paul strolled over to the blonde. She was pretty, he supposed. But a little thin. And her eyes didn\u2019t sparkle. She looked, well, bored. And boring. He could turn around now and forget it. He wanted to, but Maddie was watching. So he straightened his shoulders and sauntered up to the girl. Three minutes later, he walked back to Maddie. \u201cFriday at seven. Easy as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHope she\u2019s a salad eater.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is. I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddie laughed. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you do it. Next time, get a date for me, will you? I haven\u2019t been out in six months.\u201d Paul ran his fingers through his hair. \u201cYou find the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, how about him?\u201d Maddie shot a glance at a man heading toward the weight room.<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, too short.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one?\u201d She pointed to a guy at the check-in counter.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo old.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOver there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo muscular.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly he\u2019s obsessed with his body. You don\u2019t want that, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, how about\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. No. No.\u201d Paul jabbed his finger toward the remaining men in the room. \u201cNo one here\u2019s good enough for you.\u201d He cleared his throat, fighting to hide the strange dryness in his voice. \u201cBesides, with that wicked backhand of yours, you\u2019d scare off all these namby-pambies anyway.\u201d Maddie raised her eyebrows. \u201cYeah, my backhand sure was scary today, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmit it, you just wanted to see old Moore-baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou be good, or next time I\u2019m going to find the most syrupy-sweet romance playing, and I\u2019m going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hate those movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep. But not as much as you do.\u201d Maddie grinned and batted her eyes at him.<\/p>\n

Paul threw his hand towel at her. She reached for it midair but missed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give up. My place, one hour. You\u2019re driving.\u201d She grabbed her bag and started toward the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll order ahead. Pepperoni.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u201d She paused at the door and glanced back at him. \u201cI\u2019m starved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul slung his bag over his shoulder. \u201cI thought girls only ate salad.\u201d Maddie pulled open the door and flung a final comment over her shoulder. \u201cHow dare you call me a girl.\u201d She marched outside. Paul laughed as she disappeared from sight. He stooped over and picked up the hand towel. He frowned at it, then stuffed it into his bag. Something glinted at him from the floor. Maddie\u2019s keys. He grabbed them and trotted toward the door.<\/p>\n

Maddie stood outside her car with one hand digging through her bag. The summer sunlight glinted off her russet hair, making it look on fire. Or maybe it was just her mood. Even from a distance of a hundred feet, Paul could see her muttering to herself. He snuck up behind her and dangled the keys in front of her nose. \u201cMissing something?\u201d She snatched them from his hand. \u201cI seem to be missing everything today. First the ball, then the towel, and now this. Everything just disappears right before my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul spread out his arms. \u201cEverything but me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat luck, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled at the dry humor in her voice.<\/p>\n

She shook her head and attempted to insert the key into the keyhole.<\/p>\n

It slipped to the side instead.<\/p>\n

He plucked the keys from her hand and slid the right one into the hole. \u201cGood thing I\u2019m driving tonight.\u201d He opened the door, took her hand, and helped her in. \u201cYour ride, m\u2019lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould hate for you to miss the seat.\u201d He grinned, lifted her hand to his lips, then kissed it. Right on that little freckle. For a moment, neither moved. The shock of something strange and new flowed through him. Their eyes met. And he noticed in hers deep golden flecks against the brown, flecks that he had never seen before. He dropped her hand.<\/p>\n

And there it was. An ordinary moment in what would be a lifetime of ordinary moments. A moment that nonetheless touched the edge of eternity.<\/p>\n

Maddie quirked her lips into a smile and looked away. \u201cSuave. Very suave. And I\u2019m not even blond.\u201d<\/p>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/h3>\n

I will have to be honest and admit that Beyond the Night<\/a> was just not my cup of tea. However, just because it was not to my taste in books does not make it a bad book. Beyond the Night<\/a> is very well written, has good character development, and an ample spiritual message. And to say that the book has a surprise ending twist – well I’ll admit I didn’t even see that coming. Schalesky set the stage at the beginning of the book, but wove her story so skillfully, my expectations of the ending were totally opposite of what actually transpired.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Night<\/a> is an emotion filled love story that will appeal to readers who love books by Richard Paul Evans such as The Gift, Timepiece, The Christmas Box<\/strong><\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter! You never know when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}