But that just says so much about the author and her way of getting into what really makes a great story. There are two scenes that had me sobbing like a baby. I'm not giving spoilers, but I do (honestly) recommend keeping a box of tissues handy. So I could empathize with Leila on her journey, and hope and pray she would get the happy ending she finally deserved. You get through one crisis, and then bam, another takes its place.

I couldn't help think that Leila had gone through a LOT of stuff already and now the author seemed to want to put her through the ringer once more - I mean how much could this poor girl take - but then I realized, real life has a tendency to do that as well.

Again, Leila is in a constant state of change, with more tragedy to deal with, but also, a ray of hope that somehow she'll get through it and get to the other side. She brings us into Leila's world with such depth and emotion that I swear I am right there in it. This is the sequel to Portrait of a Girl Running, and if I had known what was going to happen to Leila in this book, well, I think I would have bought more Kleenex.Ĭhicoine has a mastery over words that I just can't fathom. Please feel free to contact her-she loves interacting with her readers. She blogs about her painting and writing, and also has a Website- When she's not writing or painting, she enjoys volunteer work, baking crusty breads and working of various projects with her husband. She also enjoys designing covers and binding her novels. She says that developing a character is so much like painting a portrait-adding layers as she goes-creating depth.

As a watercolor artist, people are one of her favorite subjects. Chicoine's novels are character driven, (though she does love a plot twist). Since then, she has completed four more novels UNCHARTED: Story for a Shipwright, SPILLED COFFEE, PORTRAIT OF A GIRL RUNNING and its sequel PORTRAIT OF A PROTEGE. She has been writing stories since she was a girl, but didn't complete a novel until she was nearly thirty. She enjoys setting her stories in New England. She has lived in New Hampshire, Kansas City and Michigan. Chicoine was born on Long Island, New York, and grew up in Amityville during the 1960s and 70s.

Portrait of a Protégé by J.B. Chicoine