Death by Roses

by Vivian Probst

Overview

Warning: This book has a 'potty' theme. It suggest that when a toilet flushes, someone is coming from or going into their afterlife. *Mae Rose McElroy dies on the toilet after a final fit of rage at her husband who has brought her beloved yellow VW Bettle home after he had an accident in it. She ascends to her afterlife where she is met by a 'Reflection Agent'. While Mae Rose is convinced that she deserves a crown for putting up with her weak and unfaithful husband for thirty years, Mae Rose is shocked to learn that Heaven comes in stages and she must complete 'The Dial' before she can ascend further.

-The Dial shows Mae Rose that she could have had a wonderful life and marriage. She decides to violate the 'No Meddling Rule'--the only rule in heaven, because she wants to get back to earth to tell her husband Art what she's learned. That little trick earns her a trip back to earth but not as she had hoped.

-Mae Rose's spirit ends up sharing the body of a dying horror film producer, Mary Lee Broadmoor, who is glad to be dying but insists that she deserves an Oscar for one of her several movies before she dies.

-What ensues is a hilarious rollercoaster of events. How will these two cantankerous, mean-spirited women fix this mess. Can they, or will they die trying?

-A review called it "A love story for the ages".

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798891942417
Publisher:	Primix Publishing
Publication date:	08/14/2024
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

Probst wrote this award-winning story after her older sister died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2008. She expected it to be a tragedy; instead, it became a hilarious, yet meaningful look at life after death and how relationships with those who are still living can be transformed.Probst is retired after thirty-three years of owning a popular national consulting firm which she sold in 2020. During her years of ownership, she traveled and taught complex tax regulations for an IRS-based affordable housing program, to hundreds of groups. Her motto has always been: "YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE', which she shares with every group she meets.in 2000 while still very involved in her consulting practice, she began writing novels. The majority of these are fantasies; all contain insights she was given that have helped her and others deal with life issues in a 'novel' way. (Pun intended). Find her at vivianprobst.com.Probst was trained as a linguist and spent several months in Africa before she realized that being a missionary was her parents' life work, not hers. She has used her linguistic training to create a new form of English, called 'WEnglish for WEquality' because she believes women are unable to find equality because of the overwhelming masculinity of English. Find more at wenglishforwequality.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/26/2015
A catchy premise and entertaining characters mostly outweigh the unpolished writing of Probst’s debut. When smalltown housewife and busybody Mae Rose dies ignominiously on the toilet, killed by a lifetime of rage against her husband and just about everyone else, she’s set up to learn a heavenly lesson in forgiveness and being careful what you wish for. Mary Lee is a famous horror-movie writer, terrible mother, and outrageously difficult cancer patient with a burning desire to finally win an Oscar before she kicks the bucket. Nearly dead, she is revived when Mae Rose’s spirit joins hers in Mary Lee’s body, leading to hilarious situations and an unlikely—yet oddly believable—connection between their family members. As their families, friends, frenemies, and others circle like curious vultures, the two women cobble together one life between them, irrevocably changing both their destinies. Humorous and flowing despite awkward prose, this should elicit giggles all the way through. Agent: Neil Gudovitz, Waterside Productions. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A catchy premise and entertaining characters... When smalltown housewife and busybody Mae Rose dies ignominiously on the toilet, killed by a lifetime of rage against her husband and just about everyone else, she’s set up to learn a heavenly lesson in forgiveness and being careful what you wish for. Mary Lee is a famous horror-movie writer, terrible mother, and outrageously difficult cancer patient with a burning desire to finally win an Oscar before she kicks the bucket. Nearly dead, she is revived when Mae Rose’s spirit joins hers in Mary Lee’s body, leading to hilarious situations and an unlikely—yet oddly believable—connection between their family members. As their families, friends, frenemies, and others circle like curious vultures, the two women cobble together one life between them, irrevocably changing both their destinies. Humorous and flowing... this should elicit giggles all the way through. Agent: Neil Gudovitz, Waterside Productions. (Feb.)

— Publisher's Weekly

"Funny and sweet, this book is a charming and captivating love story for the ages.

Death by Roses is an endearing, delightful, and possibly life-changing romance.

Argument after argument, Mae Rose and Art have been married for what feels like forever. Even when Art tries to do good by his wife, things go wrong. After one final fight, Mae Rose stomps off to the bathroom—where she dies sitting on the toilet.

Fast forward to the afterlife: after meddling one too many times, Mae Rose is banished (yes, banished) back to earth to coexist with another soul in the same body—Mary Lee, a famous screenwriter and director trying for an Oscar before her death. Using Mae Rose’s life story, she wins her Oscar, leading to Art and his family discovering that this new wonderful movie is about their very private life.

Vivian R. Probst writes with a sense of humor, such as when Mae Rose is waiting in a skimpy drape at a doctor’s appointment: “It amused her that even the most famous people in the world did this, including the president of the United States, the Dalai Lama, George Clooney—they all wore this attire at one time or another. She burst out laughing.” Or, during Mae Rose’s funeral, when Art “imagined Mae Rose’s VW with tin cans tied to the back bumper. Instead of ‘Just Married,’ the sign read ‘What Happened?’”

The novel includes numerous, entertaining subplots, which add rich layers to the book. Art Jr. falling in love, for example, and Mary Lee’s hospice nurse and doctor’s odd love story, and even Art and Mae Rose’s son John as he marries and learns he is to be a father, all add honesty and compassion to the writing.

Timeless and enthralling, even educational, Death by Roses is top shelf." — Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

Funny and sweet, this book is a charming and captivating love story for the ages.

Death by Rosesis an endearing, delightful, and possibly life-changing romance.

Argument after argument, Mae Rose and Art have been married for what feels like forever. Even when Art tries to do good by his wife, things go wrong. After one final fight, Mae Rose stomps off to the bathroom—where she dies sitting on the toilet.

Fast forward to the afterlife: after meddling one too many times, Mae Rose is banished (yes, banished) back to earth to coexist with another soul in the same body—Mary Lee, a famous screenwriter and director trying for an Oscar before her death. Using Mae Rose’s life story, she wins her Oscar, leading to Art and his family discovering that this new wonderful movie is about their very private life.

Vivian R. Probst writes with a sense of humor, such as when Mae Rose is waiting in a skimpy drape at a doctor’s appointment: “It amused her that even the most famous people in the world did this, including the president of the United States, the Dalai Lama, George Clooney—they all wore this attire at one time or another. She burst out laughing.” Or, during Mae Rose’s funeral, when Art “imagined Mae Rose’s VW with tin cans tied to the back bumper. Instead of ‘Just Married,’ the sign read ‘What Happened?’”

The novel includes numerous, entertaining subplots, which add rich layers to the book. Art Jr. falling in love, for example, and Mary Lee’s hospice nurse and doctor’s odd love story, and even Art and Mae Rose’s son John as he marries and learns he is to be a father, all add honesty and compassion to the writing.

Timeless and enthralling, even educational,Death by Rosesis top shelf.

Foreword Reviews

A superbly crafted and original story, Death by Roses is a riveting read and a truly remarkable debut novel for author Vivian R. Probst.Death by Rosesis solid entertainment from first page to last -- and very highly recommended for personalreading lists and community library General Fiction/Romantic Comedy collections.

Midwest Book Review - John Taylor