Claire Winters is heartbroken when her husband of many years says he’s found a new love and wants a divorce. While having a pity party with her best friend, Jade, they come up with a daring idea. Together, they construct a Voodoo doll and with the help of several bottles of wine, create a ceremony to bring the same heartbreak to Daniel Winters as he brought to Claire. But do they go too far? You … You decide!
more
In this short story, Claire plays with voodoo, hoping to break her husband’s heart for cheating on her. Not only is the result distressing, but there’s more going on than she bargained for. This is a quick, entertaining, and spooky story. After reading this, I’m definitely staying far away from voodoo. A great short story.
Talk about a Pin to the Heart!
This quick read by Jan Sikes is worth every second you’ll spend with it. Anyone who’s ever known the sting of betrayal knows the catharsis felt by any harmless purging act.
But what if it wasn’t harmless?
Claire Winters tried to ease her suffering with what she thought was a joke—a voodoo doll of her cheating husband who asked for a divorce. Now she’s living with the ramifications of that decision. There’s no way to prove whether the magic was real, but she has to come to terms with her intentions and the results, regardless. And the ending is enough to steal your breath.
This story is short, but there’s a lot to unpack. If you want to. On the surface, it’s almost a horror story. But in the complex layers underneath, if you sit with it and mull things over, there’s a complex construct of emotional family dynamics and painful interpersonal traumas worth a second and even a third look. As a short story, this is good. Had this been a novel that explored all these concepts in depth, it would have been outstanding.
Award-winning author Jan Sikes has a talent for writing compelling stories with surprises along the way. When Claire’s husband seeks a divorce with a devastating impact on her self-confidence and family, she turns to her friend.
Jade provides sympathy and an evening of drinking along with the history of her Haitian grandmother. She is hoping that distraction will help Claire. Their evening provides for distraction and a whopper hangover. I like how Sikes pulls the reader in with believable hooks then takes you along for the read.
“Claire Winters put the final stitches in the crudely made Voodoo doll she held in her hands. Her best friend, Jade, looked on and handed her two small buttons for eyes.
“Are you sure I’m not inviting in evil spirits?” Claire asked. “I do have the children to consider.”
“Don’t be silly.” Jade tossed back her long black hair. “This is just to help you find some peace. That’s all.”
“I want his heart to break like mine did when he told me he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce.” She twisted yarn around the head of the doll, weaving in pieces of blonde hair, and snipped the ends with more force than needed. “How on earth could I have been so stupid?” She slammed the scissors down on the table. “How did I miss the signs? I just thought he’d been working late because of the new project.”
Jade poured two fresh glasses of red wine and pressed one into Claire’s hand.”
I recommend this book for those who like imaginative stories that lead readers down one path and then abruptly turn. Jan crafts a story plot that will make you laugh, gasp, and shake your head in disbelief. Another fun read.
Claire’s husband asked for a divorce after confessing he was in love with another woman. Devastated, she turned to her friend Jade who remained by her side to console her.
After polishing off two bottles of red wine, Jade, whose grandmother was one of New Orleans Voodoo Queens, convinces Claire to perform a mock Voodoo ritual ceremony. They dressed the part, lit red candles, and Claire even made a Voodoo doll from yarn, fabric from one of her husband’s shirts, spare buttons, and her husband’s blond hair, retrieved from his comb. Then, she stabbed two pushpins right through the doll’s heart.
The next morning Claire received an alarming phone call, which made her and her friend rush out of the house. What happens next will surprise you, and you’ll have to decide, was it Voodoo or destiny?
I’d recommend this story to anyone who enjoys fun, quick reads.
One afternoon, over a few glasses of wine, Claire Winters finds herself constructing a crudely made voodoo doll along with her best friend Jade, whose grandmother is descended from one of the fifteen Voodoo Queens in New Orleans.
Clair is determined to break her cheating husband’s heart, just like he broke hers when he told her he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce.
Would you dabble in the dark arts to seek revenge over a cheating husband?
In this electrifying short story, the reader gets the opportunity to decide the outcome of this story for themselves. From the first page onward, Sikes interjects the right amount of creepiness, coaxing the reader toward the final scene.
But I want more! What happens next?
With this hair-raising short story, Sikes has the opportunity to take this tale further and to create a macabre novel filled with love, Voodoo, and revenge. Will she do it? I, for one hope so!
Now, where did I put my poppet? Jan Sikes… write the novel!