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    1106 Grand Boulevard
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    1106 Grand Boulevard
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    1106 Grand Boulevard
    Ebook373 pages5 hours

    1106 Grand Boulevard

    By Betty Dravis

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    All her life, Billie Jean Sloane, a charismatic, exquisite, small-town beauty, has been desired and spoiled by men. At sixteen, following a tragedy involving her first husband--"the love of her life"--she is heartbroken. Unable to forgive or forget, her parents take drastic measures to keep them apart.

    The vain, yet innocent, Billie Jean--one of seven siblings--is swept from her humble beginnings at 1106 Grand Boulevard in the Midwestern town of Hamilton, Ohio to a luxurious life-style in Phoenix, Arizona and other fascinating locales... through a World War II marriage and a Mafia scare in Sacramento, California... to vicious seduction at Lake Tahoe... to the fabulous wealth of the "San Francisco Sinclairs," real estate and jewelry tycoons. Then back to her hometown to search for her first husband.

    This story takes you through Billie Jean's seven marriages and sixty-four years--1933 to 1997--of happiness and tragedy. Always searching for her first love and her childhood, the enchanting child/woman captivates many men along the way, each wealthier than the one before ... each sending her scurrying back to 1106 Grand Boulevard, a trail of broken hearts in her wake.

    1106 Grand Boulevard is the story of passions that last a lifetime; of family love and betrayal; of spousal abuse and sadistic child abuse; a story of Billie Jean's desperate search for happiness, self-worth, and maturity ... a story of people needing people and people using people.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCanterbury House Publishing
    Release dateJun 23, 2011
    ISBN9781452472744
    Unavailable
    1106 Grand Boulevard
    Author

    Betty Dravis

    PRESENTING THE AWARD-WINNING BEST-SELLER BETTY DRAVIS!WHAT LEGENDARY AUTHOR JOHN LOCKE SAYS ABOUT BETTY AND "SIX-PACK OF BLOOD":"I know Betty Dravis as a multi-genre writer, but no matter what genre she writes in, make no mistake, Betty's a treasure, far as I'm concerned. This collection is special because it offers you a glimpse into the 'other' mind and character of this author." - John Locke, famous creator of the fictional character Donovan Creed and the first self-published author to sell a million e-books.*****************************************WHAT FAMOUS MOVIE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR ARMAND MASTROIANNI SAYS ABOUT "SIX-PACK OF BLOOD" (co-author Barbara Watkins):"This is a feast expertly cooked up by master chefs venturing into the dark side designed to leave us captivated, enthralled and horrified. The perfect dish to accompany your six-pack...or if you prefer, a fine wine." - Armand Mastroianni, Producer/Director, Silver Screen Pictures, Hollywood*****************************************BIO:In addition to being author of nine books, Betty Dravis is co-producer and casting director of an upcoming feature film (musical/docudrama) titled "The The Top." And Production Assistant on two other films in this anti-bully trilogy of movies: "Flowers in the Snow" and "Don't Ever Tell." In addition she has one short-film, a classic horror titled "The Snack" (produced by KPF Productions of Florida and one short-story titled "The Legend of Herman's Harem" in pre-production by In Transit Productions of Hollywood.She is also a retired newspaper publisher and career journalist who hosted a Cable TV talk show. She is a celebrity interviewer and author of nine books, including her latest humorous short story, "The Search for Boby McGee, two e-books, "Six-Pack of Blood" (with Barbara Watkins) and "Star Struck: Interviews with Dirty Harry and Other Hollywood Icons." Three are novels in print and e-book format: "1106 Grand Boulevard," "The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley" and "Millennium Babe: The Prophecy." Two others are nonfiction in print: "Dream Reachers" and "Dream Reachers II," collections of celebrity interviews (with Chase Von).Dravis also wrote three short stories that were consistent best-sellers in the Amazon Shorts program and had short stories published in the anthologies "Every Child is Entitled to Innocence," "Sweet Sunshine," "Just Our Best Short Stories 2005." She recently finished her first full-length horror/paranormal book "The Hiss of Evil " (currently under deadline with publisher).She is the devoted mother of six (two are now angels), grandmother of nine, and has five great-grands and one great-great grand. Dravis, a decades-long resident of Silicon Valley, currently resides in the Central Valley of California. She's a Kentucky Colonel, an honorary title bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky, featured in two Who's Who books and former San Jose (CA) Woman of Achievement. She's also a member of American Author Association (AAA) and Dames of Dialogue, a former member of Sigma Delta Chi and San Jose Newspaper Guild and is an Amazon and Midwest Books Reviewer.Her most recent awards are: "BEST PARANORMAL/HORROR BOOK," presented for "Six-Pack of Blood" by Dimi Nakov, producer/director of ZODIAC ENTERTAINMENT of New Zealand: TOP 20 IN BEST OF WOMEN'S FICTION, presented by Heart Press; and placed 18th in the 4th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SHORTY AWARDS (author division).Betty is also working to promote Stem Cell Research, along with her daughter Mindy James whose son Seth suffered a spinal cord injury in a motocross practice race. Read Seth's story on the Internet at Bridges to Hope.Another of Dravis's favorite things is interviewing; among those she has interviewed are the "living legend" actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood, country singer/actress Tanya Tucker, the late actress Jane Russell, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Tanya Tucker, the late San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, actresses/singers Katherin Kovin Pacino and Marissa Autumn, actor/producer/director Tony Tarantino and many more...the list keeps growing. Please see the Celebrity Section of her website.Of writing, Betty always says, "It's exhilarating--like sliding down a rainbow with a huge smile on my face, filled with love for the whole of God's magnificent creation." She laughs as she adds: "Yeah...and marketing is like trudging through a field of 'chewed' bubblegum on a hot, sticky day." :-)*******************************************WHAT AUTHOR MARK LAFLAMME SAYS ABOUT BETTY DRAVIS:"Betty Dravis is a fantastic mix of Shirley Jackson, Edna Buchanan and Janis Joplin. Don't ask me how I came up with that unlikely comparison––I just feel it, and I haven't been drinking much tonight...." - Mark LaFlamme, author of "Dirt: An American Campaign", Box of Lies and more.WHAT AUTHOR J.H. SWEET SAYS ABOUT "THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY":"Betty Dravis's ability to present real people, places, and things in the midst of a fantasy story is very close to what I strive for in my own writings. Characters with last names and problems who live in real places, but still have fantastical things happen to them, make for a wonderful story. "The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley" is truly a modern "James and the Giant Peach" or "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" kind of tale." - J. H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles.

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    Reviews for 1106 Grand Boulevard

    4.5/5

    7 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      1106 Grand Boulevard is a marginally fictionalized chronicle of the life and loves of Billie Jean Sloan, the author's big sister. The story begins when Billie Jean, as a tender young teen, runs away to Kentucky to marry the love of her life, Cal, who is seven years her senior. Even though they love each other wholeheartedly, their vast age gap makes communication difficult, and Cal becomes abusive. After he draws a gun to threaten her and it goes off, wounding her, she ends up in the hospital. Her parents refuse to let him near her, and begin legal proceedings to annul the marriage. This all happens right at the beginning of the book! What Ms. Dravis has done, with 1106 Grand Boulevard, is to take the extraordinary life of her sister, embellish and spin her magic on it, and make it a wonderful story of hardship, suffering, family, passion, deceit, and wonder. Whether you believe any or all of it is irrelevant, this book is truly an amazing journey of growth, which ultimately made me alternately want to BE the main character, then thank God that I'm not.
    • 3/5
      Billie Jean Sloane is a young woman bent on her own destruction. How many will she bring down with her? What is driving her along this path? Will she find peace before it's too late?Married at sixteen to her "true love," her parents have that marriage annulled plunging her into depression and physical danger. As she seeks to patch her life together again she will progress through six more husbands. Some good men, some bad, she learns a lesson from each taking her closer to knowing herself. A story full of passion, sadness, despair, anger, frustration and excitement, finally ending in healing and hope.Some of the dialog is stilted, the author doesn't always live in one tense, still, it is a good story. One which is more common than we like to think in that era (1920-1970), where women went from total dependence on men to complete independence. It was not always easy to know who they were supposed to be.
    • 5/5
      Billie Jean Sloane, devastating beauty and confused young woman is seeking refuge from her first marriage. Her lifetime love and first husband, Cal, has always been abusive to her but his brutality finally becomes unbearable when he shoots Billie Jean for no apparent reason. Bewildered and in shock Billie Jean is taken into the bosom of her family where her parents and siblings attempt to protect her from the wrath of Cal, or, even worse, his repentance. They fear that if he chances to speak with Billie Jean, they will be reconciled and once again the cycle of abuse will begin, and who knows what Cal will do to Billie Jean next. Thus Billie Jean's tragic and exciting story begins as she seeks to undo the damage enacted against her and replace her true love with another. Through six marriages she attempts to rediscover love only to fall prey to melancholy and dissatisfaction over and over again. Will she ever get over Cal; will she ever find love again? What happened to the pretty little Sloane girl? As the reader becomes drawn into the tale from the first powerful sentence to the conclusion, one thing soon becomes apparent; Billie Jean will never fall victim to a boring life. After being forcibly separated from Cal, her first husband and lifetime love, she seeks redemption through her encounters with other men, hoping to find that special someone to fill the void in her aching heart. Sadly, Billie Jean is headed for many bleak days but days of sunshine and laughter will also be there to comfort her sorrowing spirit. The road to happiness may be twisted and filled with many obstacles, but in the end, the reward is always worth the journey. The character of Billie Jean, so vividly brought to life by the highly acclaimed author Betty Dravis, is in fact based on Miss Dravis' sister's life. Thus the surprising events depicted throughout 1106 Grand Boulevard, while dramatized, are most certainly based in reality. This fact combined with the poignancy of Billie Jean's circumstances, her indomitable spirit, and her lovable, although sometimes irritating, personality weave together to create an epic tale complete with all the essential elements of a modern classic. Love, despair, death, drama, intrigue, and shocking revelations all mix together like a potent potion to create a thoroughly spell-binding read. In addition to the vivid personality of Billie Jean, Billie Jean's friends, family, various spouses and occasional flirtations are all imbued with vivid personalities and strong descriptions. Anyone will find the large cast of characters that populate this novel to be thoroughly enchanting and strikingly realistic. One cannot help but feel as though all these people are close friends by the conclusion of the tale. The writing style is expertly implemented and conducive to the tale. The author effortlessly employs her myriad talents to tug at the reader's heart strings and the entranced readers will often find themselves riveted to the pages crying with Billie Jean or rejoicing with her. One cannot remain neutral during this tale. The chapters effortlessly flow together as the years progress, the simple yet elegant phrasing depicting the passage of time and the changes in Billie Jean's life in an emotional and compassionate voice. Although everything about this tale is perfection itself, the most captivating element would be the story itself. The dramatic, tragic, and epic storyline never failed to shock and entrance the reader as we are lead through Billie Jean's life from the time she was a young woman wed to her true love Cal, until the epilogue in which we are told of her eightieth birthday. Her numerous marriages and undying quest for true love and for herself took her through many seemingly insurmountable tragedies creating a heroine that the reader can truly sympathize with. The entire tale, from the first sentence to the powerful conclusion was non-stop drama and romance. To conclude, for those seeking a profoundly effecting tale complete with romance and betrayal, guilt and redemption, and the unending search for love that truly makes us human, 1106 Grand Boulevard will not disappoint. Epic in scope, grand in writing and characterization, poignant in content, and surprising in the utmost degree, this tale has truly earned the title of an epic novel. Highly recommended. - Crysania