Sequel to Shaken Loose

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She went to Hell and returned to life. Hell was the easy part.

Annie Maple died, went to Hell, then escaped back to Earth through a mysterious portal. But amidst her gratitude, she is painfully alone. No one believes her story of visiting the afterlife. When unexpected tragedy strikes, Annie returns to Hell with old and new allies—the Hun horseman Trua whom she loves, the fumbling revolutionary Haisheng, and Kezia, a devout Christian widow with losses of her own. As Annie learns that the systemic ruptures in Hell go far beyond her own “shaking loose,” she embarks on a quest to protect earthly life and answer the question: how can a supposedly just God permit a universe with so much injustice?

 Advance Praise for Shaken Free

“Magical, satirical, and full of insight about what makes us human.” 
—Michael David Lukas, author of The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

“Whatever you believe about God—or even if you don’t believe—Ilana DeBare’s beautifully written novel will move and inspire you with its story of love and redemption.” 
—Lindsey Crittenden, author of The Water Will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray

Soundtrack to Heaven

I made a Hell playlist for Shaken Loose, so now it’s time for a Heaven playlist! Songs about Heaven are as bifurcated as our beliefs. Many of them assume the traditional Christian vision of Heaven as a divine afterlife, often including a reunion with deceased loved ones. But others portray Heaven as mundane, mortal life on Earth—being in love (“dancing cheek to cheek,” as Louis Armstrong sings), or a beloved physical place like Harlem for Sunnyland Slim or Dixie for Hank Williams Jr. 

Then there are the Talking Heads, who sing that Heaven is “a place where nothing, nothing ever happens.” And John Lennon who asks us to “imagine there’s no Heaven. It’s easy if you try.”

This is an idiosyncratic playlist. I define Heaven pretty broadly to include The Highwaymen singing about dead souls who may return as a single drop of rain, and the late, great Leonard Cohen musing about his place in the Tower of Song. Enjoy!