Fiction

Write My Name Across the Sky: A Novel

Write My Name Across the Sky: A Novel

  • Downloads：4916
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-06 11:20:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Barbara O'Neal
  • ISBN：1713601729
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Patricia Moller ，

The Music of the Human HeartBarbara O'Neal has outdone herself。 This marvelous， magical book left me enchanted。 I couldn't put it down。 Her portrayal of the sisters Willow and Sam is so authentic that it cuts to the bone， only to be uplifted again by the author's lyrical， perceptive prose。 Gloria， their aunt， is a powerhouse in her own right and she holds the book together fiercely。 Each woman tells her part of the story in first person--quite a tour de force by the author。 I cannot recommend th The Music of the Human HeartBarbara O'Neal has outdone herself。 This marvelous， magical book left me enchanted。 I couldn't put it down。 Her portrayal of the sisters Willow and Sam is so authentic that it cuts to the bone， only to be uplifted again by the author's lyrical， perceptive prose。 Gloria， their aunt， is a powerhouse in her own right and she holds the book together fiercely。 Each woman tells her part of the story in first person--quite a tour de force by the author。 I cannot recommend this beautiful book highly enough。 It is the music of the human heart。 。。。more

Ann R。 McKeever ，

One Fantastic BookVery well written story。 Kept all things together but spread out enough to keep excitement going。 Players were well described and lived up to this 。 One of those books you just couldn’t lay down。

Stacey Wright Aumock ，

3。5 stars rounded up。 Idk。 It was fine but probably not something I’ll remember in a month。 The characters were ok but the ending was way too tidy

Jean Smith ，

Above all else， a well written novel that kept me reading right to the end。 Since I am not a romance novel reader I was disappointed in what was great character development， had to end in romantic closure versus focusing on the art and music pieces more。 Just personal preference but would recommend。

Diane Bockhoff ，

Finding Each OtherSam and Willow have have been raised by their mother's sister。 Their mother was a beautiful and talent musician who dies after years of drug abuse。 This is a story of the talented sisters finding redemption。 Finding Each OtherSam and Willow have have been raised by their mother's sister。 Their mother was a beautiful and talent musician who dies after years of drug abuse。 This is a story of the talented sisters finding redemption。 。。。more

Jill Derrick ，

Had a hard time following the story。Did not finish this book。 Had a hard time getting into it and finally after several days ， it was not getting more interesting。 More like reading peoples diary’s with too much personal issues。

Kathy Atkinson ，

Loved this book！ Great story and kept me engaged the whole time！ It was hard to put down。

April ，

TouchingPerhaps it's just the mood I'm in these past two days but， I cried through most of this story。 It caused some much emotion。 TouchingPerhaps it's just the mood I'm in these past two days but， I cried through most of this story。 It caused some much emotion。 。。。more

Beth Gilhooley ，

Great first readTruly Amazon story！ I love her characters strong successful women with realistic ups and downs in their daily lives。 The sisters have the typical love/hate relationship that most of us have with our siblings。

Lynn Trollope ，

A different story line than the others books I've read by this author， and so wonderful！ I couldn't put it down！ A different story line than the others books I've read by this author， and so wonderful！ I couldn't put it down！ 。。。more

Margaret Shumaker ，

LovelyI'm A fan of Barbara O'Neal and have read most， if not all， of her book。 This novel was so good， full of interesting characters you can really care about and root for。 And as always v there is good food and gardening。 LovelyI'm A fan of Barbara O'Neal and have read most， if not all， of her book。 This novel was so good， full of interesting characters you can really care about and root for。 And as always v there is good food and gardening。 。。。more

Terry Cox ，

BeautifulAnother beautiful story full of interesting characters， lush music and scenery， and sensuality left to the imagination。 I would highly recommend it！

Sandra Feck ，

I always enjoy a Barbara O'Neal book and this one didn't disappoint。 It moved along very quickly and was easy to follow。 I always enjoy a Barbara O'Neal book and this one didn't disappoint。 It moved along very quickly and was easy to follow。 。。。more

Karyn ，

Two sisters Willow， a folk musician and Sam， a video game executive and producer are as different in temperament as they are in looks。 They are actually step sisters but have always been a family despite their differences and despite their sisterly fights。 Their mother， Billie was a famous rock star who died of a drug overdose。 Gloria their Aunt stepped in to raise the girls and has been a constant in life; looking after them when Billie dies。 Gloria was an air hostess and has a secret from her Two sisters Willow， a folk musician and Sam， a video game executive and producer are as different in temperament as they are in looks。 They are actually step sisters but have always been a family despite their differences and despite their sisterly fights。 Their mother， Billie was a famous rock star who died of a drug overdose。 Gloria their Aunt stepped in to raise the girls and has been a constant in life; looking after them when Billie dies。 Gloria was an air hostess and has a secret from her past that has now become a major problem。 I loved the family relationship between all three characters and how each chapter was written in their voice and their perspective。 There is drama， romance， intrigue and above all how families live and deal with their relationships and the choice they make。 A great weekend read。 。。。more

Anne Clair ，

Emotional powerhouseSuch a good book。 So many complex relationships。 Great storytelling capturing all the important relationships between women， and between women and men。 I simply loved this book。

Donna M。 Downes ，

Great read！This book is so very different from my usual but it drew me in so that I couldn't put it down！ The characters are amazing so well developed and the storyline riveting！ Great read！This book is so very different from my usual but it drew me in so that I couldn't put it down！ The characters are amazing so well developed and the storyline riveting！ 。。。more

Sue Yingst ，

Great ReadPart love story， （or I should say love stories）， part family drama， and part thriller。 This book explores， family disfunction， love， rejection， self discovery and healing in a family of three women in New York City。 I enjoyed how the author tells the story from each of their perspectives。

Rebecca Hashimoto ，

Just what I needed I have been struggling to find a story that grabbed me。 This one did and I am happy for it。

Kathryn ，

Write My Name Across the Sky  is the story of two sisters， who have had a rather challenging upbringing。 Both of them are at tough points in their lives now。Sam is a creator of video games， but her company is failing and she has fallen out with her best friend Asher。 She seems to be a little bit of a loner and really when it comes to some people in her life， has a very sharp tongue that wounds the chosen recipient。Willow is a talented musician but her life is down in the doldrums as well。 She is Write My Name Across the Sky  is the story of two sisters， who have had a rather challenging upbringing。 Both of them are at tough points in their lives now。Sam is a creator of video games， but her company is failing and she has fallen out with her best friend Asher。 She seems to be a little bit of a loner and really when it comes to some people in her life， has a very sharp tongue that wounds the chosen recipient。Willow is a talented musician but her life is down in the doldrums as well。 She is a gentle， caring person and I liked her。 Gloria their aunt has looked out for the two and lives in the apartment their mother bought from her days of music fame。 She loved being a world traveller but some involvement in an art scam years back seems to be catching up with her。It took me a little while to get engaged with their lives but very soon I was very involved and wanting to know what would happen to them。 And I loved that New York apartment。 At the end I think prickly Sam turned into someone I was cheering on。A warm hearted movie of sisters， the past catching up and a new and better future。 I really liked the choice of facing up to past mistakes and moving on。 Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via NetGalley。 。。。more

Cheryl Hand ，

Not a favorite of mine。 I LOVED， When we Believed in Mermaids which is why I chose this book by the same author。 It didn’t compare。 Fell short。 Confusing at times…just didn’t like the story and didn’t get connected to the characters。 I almost put it down at 73% I decided to finish it。 I won’t be recommending this one。 CH

Judy Best ，

Great readLoved the deeply developed characters and their willingness to grow。 Loved this story and its people， need more like this。

kathleen dallos ，

enthrallingI loved this book。The characters are so real they jump off the pages。 I highly recommend reading it。I loved how everything turned out at the end。

Jean powell ，

Inspiring！I loved this book！ It is my 2nd one by Barbara O'Neal and I look forward to many more！ The way the characters unfold and reveal themselves keeps you coming back for more！！ Inspiring！I loved this book！ It is my 2nd one by Barbara O'Neal and I look forward to many more！ The way the characters unfold and reveal themselves keeps you coming back for more！！ 。。。more

Jan Vernor-howard ，

Another page turner fromBarbara O’Neal。 I love her characters and have to keep reading to see what they do next。

Rhonda Carlton ，

Great readLoved the characters！ The story made me self reflect。 Something we all need to do。 Marvelous， details。 I envisioned the entire setting of this book。

Carrie Beal ，

Her best yet！I loved this story。 I cared so much for the characters。 Can't wait for her next book to come out！ Her best yet！I loved this story。 I cared so much for the characters。 Can't wait for her next book to come out！ 。。。more

Emily Allen ，

A Must ReadExcellent writing！ I feel like I know these characters personally。 The combination of personalities and love of creating music is wonderful。

Deb ，

Three women carrying a lot of baggage from the past。 I was a bit confused as to how the legal issues were resolved， especially with Isaak。 Nevertheless， I enjoyed the book

Susan Hildreth ，

I LOVED this book！ The kind that you seriously don’t want to end…。

Marlene ，

Originally published at Reading RealityThis is the story of two pairs of sisters all of whom were， in their own ways， trailblazers。 Sam and Willow are in their late 30s when this story opens。 Sam was one of the first women to head her own gaming company， and one of the first to design action/adventure games specifically intended to appeal to girls。 While her company was an “overnight” success 20 years ago， in internet time， 20 years is a century， and her company is floundering。Her sister Willow Originally published at Reading RealityThis is the story of two pairs of sisters all of whom were， in their own ways， trailblazers。 Sam and Willow are in their late 30s when this story opens。 Sam was one of the first women to head her own gaming company， and one of the first to design action/adventure games specifically intended to appeal to girls。 While her company was an “overnight” success 20 years ago， in internet time， 20 years is a century， and her company is floundering。Her sister Willow is a musician， a violinist who’s most recent solo album tanked。 Sank without a trace， taking her boyfriend， her current home and pretty much everything she owned down with it。 Willow is a folk/electronica violinist with a unique sound who just hasn’t found the right audience。 But at 35， her time couch-surfing and hoping for a big break is running out。Gloria and her sister Billie came of age in the so-called “Swinging 60s”。 Gloria was a stewardess for TWA， back in the days of Coffee， Tea or Me， when stewardesses were expected to tolerate getting groped on every flight in return for the opportunity to visit exotic places for multi-day layovers back when international travel was an expensive novelty and not an every-hour-on-the-hour occurrence。Bille was a rock musician in the 1960s and 70s， said to be a combination of Joan Jett and Janis Joplin。 Unfortunately Billie followed Janis’ trajectory all the way down to an early death， leaving her sister Gloria to raise the daughters she left behind – not that she was all that present when she was alive。And Billie’s ghost still haunts them all when this story begins。 And not just because Gloria is still living in the luxury New York apartment that Billie bought with the royalties from her first album， the place where Gloria raised her girls to adulthood and left them with a yearning to blaze their own trails。But they’re both failing when this story begins， while Gloria is faced with the sudden failure of the facade she has been maintaining for over 50 years。 The man she has loved for all of those years has finally been caught。 By Interpol。 Suddenly， the biggest of her youthful sins looks like it’s either going to send her on the run or land her in jail for the rest of her life。Escape Rating A-: Let me get this out of the way first， because it drove me crazy。 If the title of the book is giving you an earworm you can’t quite place， it’s because it IS a line in a song， just not the title and not exactly word for word。 In the 1971 song by the Stylistics， it went “Write YOUR name across the sky…” but Billie Thorne turned it around because she’d learned from both her mother and her sister not to let anyone else define or restrict her life。 Which didn’t stop the world from doing it anyway。Like the two previous books by this author that I have read， The Art of Inheriting Secrets and When We Believed in Mermaids， this is a story about the past crashing headlong into the present， pushing all of the characters to remember people and events that they have forced into the background of their minds and hearts， until their memories crash into the same heartbreaking epiphany and they’re all finally able to move forward。I liked this one just a tiny bit better than the previous books， although I certainly liked both of them quite a lot。 But the difference in this one was the character of Gloria， who represents a different generation and an entirely different perspective on the people and events that shaped all of their lives。 Because through Gloria’s memories we’re allowed to see the late Billie Thorne as she was， through the eyes of someone who was an adult at the time， and not just through the memories of the childhoods that she scarred。This is also explicitly not a romance， although there are romances in it， and that includes 74-year-old Gloria。 For both Gloria and Sam， it’s a second chance at romance， while Willow puts herself and her music first， and finds love as the reward。As much as the story’s focus is on Sam and Willow， it was Gloria’s story that held my attention。 As much as all three women are at crisis points in their lives， it was Gloria’s that brought me the most “feels”， probably because I’m closer to her age than to either of her nieces。 I loved that Gloria is happy with the career she had， and has found a second act through her plants and her friends and her instagram feed and followers， because I know how that goes。 At the same time， while she doesn’t handle the crisis she is faced with terribly well for most of the story， it was all too easy to slip inside her feelings of desperation， her desire to protect the ones she loves， and her acknowledgement that the long ago events that brought her to this pass were of her own making。I certainly liked the way that all three of these women’s stories resolved themselves。 Gloria faced the demons of her past。 Sam found a way to silence the demons inside her head， or at least learned to stop letting them spill out of her mouth。 And Willow， in learning from the stories of her mother AND her sister， played her way to the top of the world。 A feel good ending all around that I hope will bring as big a smile to other readers’ faces as it did mine。 。。。more