Fernley, NV -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/08/2013 -- Fernley, Nevada – While everyone lives a unique and sometimes chaotic life, the experiences of PJ Van Sant are unlikely yet true enough to fill a book. Adopting the same mind-set, Van Sant is delighted to announce the launch of a new novel based on these actual events.

‘Marriages, Divorces and A Crossbow: Cupid's Arrow Missed the Target’ is unlike anything its audience has ever read before. Better still; the novel’s melding non-fiction will leave readers scratching their heads with disbelief.

Synopsis:

While Penny, a mother of four sits in jail on charges of pre-meditated attempted murder against her fourth husband, she is asked by her attorney to start writing a journal before her jury trial begins in December. Penny begins to reflect on a childhood that was anything but normal.

At the age of 5, she is nearly killed by a knife-wielding deranged babysitter, who just escaped from a half-way house, and later discovers that her family had been living under a false identity. By the age of 20, Penny finds herself married to the first of many disastrous marriages, with each one more calamitous than the last. It isn't until husband number four drives her to the breaking point that she decides he must die! Soon, an unscrupulous alcoholic offers to kill her husband for her. But, when he lays down his blueprint for murder, she finds it too gruesome, so she decides she must kill him herself. As she methodically plans out his murder, it soon becomes a comedy of errors.

Penny believes that she will be committing the perfect crime by killing her abusive husband with a crossbow. Although he survives, she is then arrested and housed in solitary confinement for the severity of her crime. Unbeknownst to Penny, just days before her jury trial is to begin, two mysterious witnesses come forward on her behalf claiming she shot her husband in self-defence. Will these two witnesses’ testimonies be enough to save her from a sentence of 25 years to life if convicted?

Years later, Penny is re-acquainted with her first love. The man she vowed to marry as a child. But, did her previous marriages put a hex on her happily ever after? Penny's quirky sense of humor and optimism carries her through some of her darkest times in this true life nonfiction book with the belief that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Or that it can't get any worse!

As the author explains, her narrative will both entertain and inspire readers.

“It serves as a lesson that crime does not pay! Readers will also learn to reflect on their actions. This is an inspirational story of a woman who has persevered through many difficult circumstances, while keeping an optimistic view on life,” says Van Sant.

Continuing, “Anyone who has been in a bad marriage or relationship will relate to this book as well as child custody issues. It will also add value to those who have made poor life choices and are now living with the consequences.”

Since its release, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews. For example, one reader commented, “The reader might feel sorry for Penny and the difficulties she faced. Yet, it is clear she doesn't want the reader to feel sorry for her but to understand that with perseverance and determination you can overcome the difficult, dark times and find happiness.”

‘Marriages, Divorces and A Crossbow: Cupid's Arrow Missed the Target’ is available now: http://amzn.to/17O7ZVr.

About Penny Van Sant
Penny Van Sant is an adventurous, free-spirited, first time author who with her off-beat sense of humor and storytelling enrolled into creative writing courses, in order to express how she made an art of matrimony and divorce in her first non-fiction book, "Marriages, Divorces and a Crossbow," As her story unfolded, Penny discovers that her true passion didn't come in the form of several husbands, but the power of words! Penny is a mother of four who currently resides in Northern Nevada with her current husband. Penny is working on two more books. Her next book, "Livermore Falls," is set to be released in the spring of 2014.