A great story in the best suspense tradition.

Grace Under Siege: Not a Love Story by René Voland released in April in the Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller genre.

Grace, a newlywed in her 30’s, discovers that her new life isn’t exactly what she expected. Her husband Narcissus is a handsome, former special agent whose puzzling behavior follows a mysterious pattern. Despite Grace’s best efforts, she finds it incredibly difficult to build a happy life with him. The ultimate revelation leads to a showdown with Narcissus. Grace believes the well-being of others depend on what she must reveal.

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Meet the Author

René is an author, playwright, poet and publisher/editor. She is a seasoned business owner, private coach and ministerial leader. Grace Under Siege is her debut novel. She and her spouse live in Georgia. She is a graduate of Georgia State University.

Three Things to Know When Falling In Love With A Narcissistic Personality

The central theme of my first novel, Grace Under Siege, Not a Love Story, addresses narcissism. After involvement in whirlwind relationships that enchanted me and nearly broke me. I, too, had believed narcissistic behavior periodically occurred in people when they were self-absorbed, arrogant, self-righteous, and a little evil. I revisited this topic I’d studied in college. However, to my chagrin, I was reminded that when it is a daily modus operandi, it probably is not just a trait but a personality disorder. According to the DSM, it’s a mental disorder originating in childhood, and psychologists have said one in seventeen persons might be an undiagnosed sufferer. So, I flip the script and say, if one in seventeen suffers silently from this condition, then one in seventeen of our friends who are their spouses, children, bosses, and friends are suffering too. They are on the receiving end coping unawares with someone who may have a disorder. There are several personality disorders. However, my focus here is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). It is said to be the most difficult to treat. Hard wired into these individuals is a lack of empathy, arrogance, and self-righteousness that makes them behave the way they do. They are also unable to accept support when someone sees behind the mask they wear. Therefore they travel through life, destroying good relationships and good people.

When you get a cold, it develops in stages: someone exposes you, your nose drips, your throat hurts, you get aches and pains, and a temperature. You know you have a cold. There is also a blueprint for the behavior of someone with NPD. Psychology suggests childhood spoiling and or abuse may be causation. Regardless of what happened, we can be aware of the pattern and protect ourselves: stage 1) love bombing, stage 2) devaluation and stage 3) discard.

For example, Larry meets Linda. He quickly falls ”head over hill” in love; declares that she is his soulmate and the girl of his dreams. He wants to spend every moment with Linda. She becomes the envy of her friends. It’s just too good to be true. Well, at least until stage two. Suddenly, Linda finds herself spending most of her time alone. Larry tells Linda he is “working late” or “hanging out with the boys.” He is now criticizing her looks, the meals, and her physical appearance. The anger and silent treatment are unbearable. It turns to emotional or physical abuse. He gaslights her to make her doubt her reality. Ultimately, he pushes Linda out of his life and blames her for everything that went wrong.

Grace Under Siege, Not a Love Story gives a blow-by-blow development of courting, dating, and surviving falling in love with someone with NPD. The story is fiction, but the condition is not.

connect with the author: website ~ instagram

Giveaway:​

A signed copy of René Voland’s GRACE UNDER SIEGE: NOT A LOVE STORY! (One winner/USA only)(ends Oct 22)

https://gleam.io/MT77R/grace-under-siege-not-a-love-story-book-tour-giveaway

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