BooksChatter: ☀ The Sparkle King

Thank you for joining us on the opening date of the Virtual Book Tour for The Sparkle King, a Memoir by Patrick A. Roland (26 March 2019, Wallace Publishing, 188 pages).

Don't miss our interview with author Patrick A. Roland.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and the Kindle Cloud Reader Preview below, as well as full details of other biographical works by Patrick A. Roland.

The Sparkle King is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

Author Patrick A. Roland will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || Other Works by The Author || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

Synopsis

In 2014, Patrick lost his partner, Pack, suddenly and without warning. As he struggled to come to terms with this, he was faced with homophobic prejudice from his partner's family. In horrendous emotional pain and feeling desperately lonely and depressed, he started to use recreational drugs heavily and hit rock-bottom whilst on a trip to Las Vegas.

After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and getting clean from drugs and alcohol, Patrick thought his fight was over. However, this was not the case. Life had many other obstacles in store for him but this time, he knew how to be strong and he knew he had God on his side for support.

Teaser: KCR Preview

This inspiring and emotive true story shows how anyone can overcome the hurdles life presents them with, if they just have faith and focus on their inner strenghts.

The Sparkle King
Available NOW!

Other Works by The Author

|| Unpacked Sparkle || Sparkle On! ||

Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Unpacked Sparkle: A Story of Grief and Recovery

Over a year ago, I left a Mariah Carey concert in Las Vegas after six songs. I had gone on the trip as a present to myself for turning forty. But I couldn't enjoy it. I was high on multiple drugs, but mostly crystal meth, and extremely drunk. I had been this way the majority of the year and a half since my partner Pack had suddenly passed away.

I found him dead on the bathroom floor one January morning while I was getting ready for work. The police told me I had no rights in my own home and asked me to leave. This was before gay marriage became legal. Life as I knew it changed instantly.

His family pretended I didn't exist. They mauled our home the day he died, leaving it a ravaged mess. I was kicked out of that home. I was also disinvited to his funeral. In eight days I lost everything that mattered. Not even the law protected me from this.

So I got high in an effort to shoulder the pain. It didn't work. I carried the heavy weight of unresolved complicated grief and addiction on my back. It was like an elephant. A large, unwieldy elephant that wanted me to die.

No longer able to participate in anything that mattered and unwilling to bear this burden anymore, I went back to my hotel room on the twenty-sixth floor of a casino and looked out on the sparkly lights below. I wanted to be in the light. So I opened the window and decided to jump.

But God intervened. My mother had somehow found me. Help came and I surrendered to the powerlessness of my situation. I asked God to help me. I stayed and I fought and I learned how to love myself. I put on a pair of sparkly shoes I had bought for that barely attended concert and I walked in to the rooms of Crystal Meth Anonymous. I had bought the sparkly shoes hoping Mariah would see me in the audience. Though she didn't get the chance, you did. You all embraced me and my sparkly shoes. They have become my calling card of experience, strength, and hope.

[Published 7 November 2016, 218 pages]

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Sparkle On!: An Unpacked Sparkle Children’s Story

Have you ever dealt with bullying or hate at school for being different?

So has Sparkle. The bullies at this special gecko’s school constantly tease him and even throw rocks at him for being unique.

But Sparkle has a secret weapon—his mother has taught him to love himself exactly as he is and he is able to take the pain of being bullied and find power and new popularity in fighting that hate with love.

[Published 18 April 2018, 24 pages]

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About the Author

three great books. His first, Unpacked Sparkle: a Story of Grief and Recovery, kicks off his journey of sobriety and self-love following the death of his partner, Pack, in January 2014. This book was published by Az Publishing and is available on Amazon.

His second book is a children’s book called Sparkle On! This book is about a gecko who is constantly constant bullied but chooses to fight this with love.

His new book, The Sparkle King, keeps the sparkle flowing as Patrick finds his way through several fear-inducing experiences by constantly choosing faith to overcome them in long-term sobriety.

Patrick lives in Phoenix, Az. He is a peer support at a mental health clinic, where he helps others just like himself. He’s also earning a Master’s in Addiction Counselling at Grand Canyon University and is taking care of his elderly, terminally ill parents. He wants you to know you can do anything you decide to do if you love yourself.

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