ANIMA MEA
Stuck in an afterlife ripe with bureaucracy, Maxine won't let little inconveniences like death and red tape keep her from her loved ones.
Snatched out of life by a tragic accident, Maxine wakes to find herself in the afterlife, only to discover it's not all harps and clouds and celestial choir practice. It is rife with petty bureaucracy, and she soon finds even the simplest thing can be bloody hard work.
However, once she gets over her initial shock, she soon settles into her new home in the township she comes to know as Evermore, making friends and training for a new job, and loses no time in using and abusing the privilege of her position to visit, watch over and take care of her family, especially her beloved husband, Robert, now forced to muddle through his life as best he can without her.
*Caution - some strong language, scenes of mild peril, adult scenes*
ANIMA MEA © 2012 Lucy Pepperdine
Published by Wild Wolf Publishing
ISBN: 9781310569227
Snatched out of life by a tragic accident, Maxine wakes to find herself in the afterlife, only to discover it's not all harps and clouds and celestial choir practice. It is rife with petty bureaucracy, and she soon finds even the simplest thing can be bloody hard work.
However, once she gets over her initial shock, she soon settles into her new home in the township she comes to know as Evermore, making friends and training for a new job, and loses no time in using and abusing the privilege of her position to visit, watch over and take care of her family, especially her beloved husband, Robert, now forced to muddle through his life as best he can without her.
*Caution - some strong language, scenes of mild peril, adult scenes*
ANIMA MEA © 2012 Lucy Pepperdine
Published by Wild Wolf Publishing
ISBN: 9781310569227
★★★★★
5.0 out of 5 stars
A paranormal love story defying physics, and absolutely amazing! 14 Nov. 2015
By Poppet
Format:Kindle Edition
I found this tale to be poignant and emotive. I was crying by the third chapter and cried quite a lot throughout. Pepperdine does an amazing job of putting you right inside the heads of the characters, feeling their grief, their anxiety, and their heartwrenched woes.
Anima Mea is sort of an angel romance. Expect not an angel, but a retriever. If you’ve read the Bringer by Sam Towle you’ll relate to this novel in a heartbeat. I loved The Bringer and love this one even more, because this one is about a married couple, a couple so in love nothing can separate them. Not death, not existing on different planes in different forms of being, and definitely not protocol.
After Maxine dies she’s thrown into an alternate reality which is contrived to make us mortals feel comfortable, a veritable cocoon of existence awaits us with endless sunshine, flowers and fragrances, yet throughout it all channels must be followed, protocols are in place for the benefit of all, except to a newly dead person it’s all rather daunting.
Maxine is one kick butt chick. She doesn’t care about offending the sensibilities of the powers that be, her sheer determination opens hearts and portals, and once riled nothing can stop her. I loved every word, every word! I can’t recommend this novel enough, especially if you’ve lost a loved one. Novels like this, inspired by love and loss and whatever else is in the creative cauldron, is like a salve on a heart sore with grieving, and having lost someone I love very very much just recently, maybe this novel made such an impact because I am still in the grieving phase. Really, if you recently lost someone to death this novel is the BEST therapy! The author’s imagination, her creation of a nirvana we can all relate to, and her making the afterlife tangible in a most original way, means I give this novel 9 stars out of 5. I’m sure many books have been written about the afterlife, but I found this one to be incredibly touching and VERY original (in an almost science fiction way. It’s visionary!). I’m a believer that love never dies, it’s as immortal as our quintessence is, which means death is simply an interlude in communication, but that’s why we dream. Oh I love this book! Well done Lucy, well done!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A paranormal love story defying physics, and absolutely amazing! 14 Nov. 2015
By Poppet
Format:Kindle Edition
I found this tale to be poignant and emotive. I was crying by the third chapter and cried quite a lot throughout. Pepperdine does an amazing job of putting you right inside the heads of the characters, feeling their grief, their anxiety, and their heartwrenched woes.
Anima Mea is sort of an angel romance. Expect not an angel, but a retriever. If you’ve read the Bringer by Sam Towle you’ll relate to this novel in a heartbeat. I loved The Bringer and love this one even more, because this one is about a married couple, a couple so in love nothing can separate them. Not death, not existing on different planes in different forms of being, and definitely not protocol.
After Maxine dies she’s thrown into an alternate reality which is contrived to make us mortals feel comfortable, a veritable cocoon of existence awaits us with endless sunshine, flowers and fragrances, yet throughout it all channels must be followed, protocols are in place for the benefit of all, except to a newly dead person it’s all rather daunting.
Maxine is one kick butt chick. She doesn’t care about offending the sensibilities of the powers that be, her sheer determination opens hearts and portals, and once riled nothing can stop her. I loved every word, every word! I can’t recommend this novel enough, especially if you’ve lost a loved one. Novels like this, inspired by love and loss and whatever else is in the creative cauldron, is like a salve on a heart sore with grieving, and having lost someone I love very very much just recently, maybe this novel made such an impact because I am still in the grieving phase. Really, if you recently lost someone to death this novel is the BEST therapy! The author’s imagination, her creation of a nirvana we can all relate to, and her making the afterlife tangible in a most original way, means I give this novel 9 stars out of 5. I’m sure many books have been written about the afterlife, but I found this one to be incredibly touching and VERY original (in an almost science fiction way. It’s visionary!). I’m a believer that love never dies, it’s as immortal as our quintessence is, which means death is simply an interlude in communication, but that’s why we dream. Oh I love this book! Well done Lucy, well done!
5.0 out of 5 stars
September 6, 2012
By J.D. loving it!!!
Amazon Verified Purchase
A new take on the afterlife.
I have read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies about the after life, but in Anima Mea, the author puts a whole new spin on things. And it's a believable premise, that if life did go on for us, we would have to do something, a job or purpose of some sort. This is what Maxine faces. And she knows the exact job she wants. An escort job that will allow her to visit the living so she can keep an eye on her husband Robert. Because, although she accepts her death, she can never deny her
devotion or her undying love for her soul mate.
I love that this story is told from two perspectives. The Robert chapters were my favourite. I really felt his pain and anguish over losing the woman he loved. The scenes after her death tugged on the heart strings, as the reader you experienced his loss, right from those final moments when the machine is switched off, to the funeral, to facing the inevitability of living without the one you expected to spend your life with. I loved that he talked to her photograph, and wanted to keep her scent in the apartment they shared, and that she was never far from his thoughts.
Oh and I loved the concept of Evermore. I love the analogy of it being a never ending plane of bubbled worlds set to accommodate every culture and time in history. To recreate a believable place for each generation that passes. And to have an everlasting roll of toilet paper, and drinking to excess and not suffering the next day. That does seem like heaven!! LOL
I highly recommend this read, for its creativity and its sensitivity, deftly dealt with. Excellent stuff.
See original review at Amazon.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
September 6, 2012
By J.D. loving it!!!
Amazon Verified Purchase
A new take on the afterlife.
I have read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies about the after life, but in Anima Mea, the author puts a whole new spin on things. And it's a believable premise, that if life did go on for us, we would have to do something, a job or purpose of some sort. This is what Maxine faces. And she knows the exact job she wants. An escort job that will allow her to visit the living so she can keep an eye on her husband Robert. Because, although she accepts her death, she can never deny her
devotion or her undying love for her soul mate.
I love that this story is told from two perspectives. The Robert chapters were my favourite. I really felt his pain and anguish over losing the woman he loved. The scenes after her death tugged on the heart strings, as the reader you experienced his loss, right from those final moments when the machine is switched off, to the funeral, to facing the inevitability of living without the one you expected to spend your life with. I loved that he talked to her photograph, and wanted to keep her scent in the apartment they shared, and that she was never far from his thoughts.
Oh and I loved the concept of Evermore. I love the analogy of it being a never ending plane of bubbled worlds set to accommodate every culture and time in history. To recreate a believable place for each generation that passes. And to have an everlasting roll of toilet paper, and drinking to excess and not suffering the next day. That does seem like heaven!! LOL
I highly recommend this read, for its creativity and its sensitivity, deftly dealt with. Excellent stuff.
See original review at Amazon.com
Review by Neville Kent, author of Secrets of the Forest and One Off, Sir
(Authonomy)
16 Feb 2013
I thought to myself...Oh no!... Not another dream when I started to read the story.
After all it was interesting as Maxine fights against drowning, but that’s not the case here.
She’s been suffering from a mental problem on awaking from sleep for some time, so it all ties in nicely.
The only thing is, this time she won’t come out of it in the usual way, she’s in the after-life being cared for by her Granny Mo who died a while back.
You capture well the anxiety of Maxine as she tries to unravel what has happened. She still thinks that it’s just one of those bad moments upon waking...she’s wrong this time of course.
I found the story to be very romantic as well in parts and should suit the ladies.
The tender loving relationship between Robert and Maxine is highlighted in the second chapter.
Beautifully written with deep emotion as Robert gives permission to turn off the life support machine.
To me this is writing at its best, excellent description, very good dialogue and a scene that the reader can’t help but feel part of.
As I read on, the evidence of the author’s ability is only too apparent.
A truly inspirational book, penned with a high degree of skill and thought.
Top stars.
(Authonomy)
16 Feb 2013
I thought to myself...Oh no!... Not another dream when I started to read the story.
After all it was interesting as Maxine fights against drowning, but that’s not the case here.
She’s been suffering from a mental problem on awaking from sleep for some time, so it all ties in nicely.
The only thing is, this time she won’t come out of it in the usual way, she’s in the after-life being cared for by her Granny Mo who died a while back.
You capture well the anxiety of Maxine as she tries to unravel what has happened. She still thinks that it’s just one of those bad moments upon waking...she’s wrong this time of course.
I found the story to be very romantic as well in parts and should suit the ladies.
The tender loving relationship between Robert and Maxine is highlighted in the second chapter.
Beautifully written with deep emotion as Robert gives permission to turn off the life support machine.
To me this is writing at its best, excellent description, very good dialogue and a scene that the reader can’t help but feel part of.
As I read on, the evidence of the author’s ability is only too apparent.
A truly inspirational book, penned with a high degree of skill and thought.
Top stars.
