The month of April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in the United States. The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. Each day, people witness a continuum of behaviors that range from being respectful and safe, to sexually abusive and violent.

All during the month of April, Vanilla Heart Publishing is donating our share of all proceeds for a select group of books – Bartlett’s Rule by Chelle Cordero (Fiction), Voices of Survivors (Anthology), To Dance Amongst the Stars and the companion healing workbook by Namid, Secondary Survivors by Namid, and The Strength of a Man and the companion healing workbook by Namid.

Bartlett’s Rule shares the story of Lon and Paige’s love affair; a romance filled with hardship, emotion, danger and triumph. Falling in love was never the challenge; being there for each other, knowing just what to say and making it work is the real test. Paige and Lon are “real”; they are human, they cry and they laugh. Paige has to learn to trust. Lon has to learn to be patient.

Reviewed by Malcolm R. Campbell author of The Sun Singer and Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire

At first glance, Paige Andrews’ approach to celebrity writer and celebrated womanizer Lon Bartlett is reminiscent of a child’s first day at the beach, a child who runs down to the incoming waves only to run back to the safety of the dunes beyond the water’s reach, and then again, and then again. Indeed, she desperately wants her evolving relationship to be as spontaneous and carefree as first love.

But in looking closer, as both lovers and mad men are apt to do, Lon sees that behind Paige’s engaging smile lie painful memories of man named Hal who raped her and all but took away her ability to get close to anyone again. Lon’s best intentions trigger Paige’s worst fears.

Bartlett’s Rule is an easy-to-read novel about difficult-to-resolve issues for rape survivors and the prospective significant others in their lives. For Paige and Lon, sorting out the boundaries of trust and the limits of patience is a treacherous undertaking because they are very much in the public eye and because Hal’s arrogant needs are not yet satisfied.

Unfortunately, Paige’s dysfunctional family is also not out of sight and out of mind, providing additional twists and turns in the plot to keep readers guessing about choices and outcomes until the last page.

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