The Beginning Is the End: Jezebel’s Island. Jezebel’s Island: A Psychological and Mystery Thriller

The Beginning Is the End: Jezebel’s Island. Jezebel’s Island: A Psychological and Mystery Thriller

Wishing everyone a glorious week ahead.
I have been asked to explain what Jezebel’s Island: A Psychological and Mystery Thriller is about. Below, please find my description and several cover concepts. Please vote for the cover you like.

The Beginning Is the End: Jezebel’s Island

In an era of fleeting digital ephemera, my latest work, Jezebel’s Island, arrives as a deliberate act of literary preservation. It is a descent into a dark landscape where the atmosphere is thick with the scent of saltwater and ancient, unatoned transgressions.

The island is a study in brutal duality, a fractured terrain defined by two distinct poles from which information is incessantly transmitted: the elusive, enigmatic presence of Jezebel and the formidable Lady Swartley, whose reach is as absolute as it is chilling. These two figures operate like a duo in a dark noir fairytale, their influence seconded by a pair of men, David and Esteban, whose own shadowed secrets add new, impenetrable veils of mystery to the narrative. Caught in this harrowing transmission is Anastasia, the receptor—a young woman whose internal architecture begins to crack under the weight of the signals she receives, eventually transforming her into a living mirror of the island’s catastrophic history.

Across the island’s divide, in the landscape’s hidden places, with flowers and purposely placed images of elegant rooms, sins were committed in the name of power. These are not merely historical echoes, but active, haunting remnants that define the island’s very soul. Here, I have woven a vein of dark, serrated humor into the psychological dread, a necessary irony that illuminates the absurdity of the characters’ entrapment. It is within these suffocating, labyrinthine halls of manipulation that Anastasia finds herself slowly undone, forced to navigate the blurred, treacherous lines between her own identity and the pervasive toxicity of a place that thrives on the corruption of the spirit.

This is not a novel constructed as a linear progression in which a perpetrator moves from point A to point B and is discovered at point C. It is a non-linear haunting; a circle of obsidian cinematic clues. In this narrative, the beginning is the end. I have navigated these psychological depths with lush language at times and with sparse language at others, refusing to offer easy answers in a space where the boundaries between memory, reality, and illusions are as shifting as the tides. For the reader who seeks to confront the sophisticated, the haunting, and the enduring, Jezebel’s Island is a profound, atmospheric meditation on the devastating cost of the choices we make when we are forced to bear witness to the abyss.

A short excerpt from Jezebel’s Island

“The clinical silhouette of the Interior Minister surfaced in my memory: tall, skeletal, with a tuft of chin hair of an ambiguous, shifting color. He had traveled extensively through every sovereign territory of the Continent, yet he returned from each tour proudly declaring to the ministries how uniquely fortunate he was to reside on the Island. The man was not a complete fool, but he lacked the smallest, microscopic spark of comprehension for any world outside his own programming. He would perpetually remark to the Captain: ‘How incredibly lucky we are to possess the legal right to happiness here.“

Cover Concepts for Jezebel’s Island

Thank you to the exceptional photographer Andrei Marin for allowing me to use his original work in developing the cover concepts. The girls in the picture are real models.

Gabriela Marie Milton,
Author and Founder of Literary Revelations
Woman of the Month (May, 2026), at P.O.W.E.R Magazine
One of the 60th Women’s Entrepreneurs to Watch for in 2026, New York Weekly

My books (Only English)

#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)|
#1 Amazon bestseller, Haiku and Tanka: Lull, Harmony and Power in Japanese Art – co-authored with Hikari (Literary Revelations)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan B

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton coming soon at Literary Revelations – Excerpt 5

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton coming soon at Literary Revelations – Excerpt 5

My dear subscribers and followers,

Here is another excerpt from my upcoming novel: Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller coming late June/early July at Literary Revelations.

Anastasia picked up her courses with indescribable slowness. Her head ached, and the light movements of the palm tress she had followed all afternoon through the windows of the amphitheater had made her nervous. Now the night birds, attracted by the light, crashed dazedly against the glass panes of the halls. They resembled airplanes over which pilots had lost all control, gliding over the mountains.

She found David in a bar near his apartment.

-Have you seen the newspapers?

Anastasia looked at him, smiling without quite knowing why.

-No.

-They eliminated the death penalty.

Anastasia wondered what she cared about all this. David took a seat in the chair across from her, tossing a stack of newspapers on the table.

-Listen to the Government Communiqué.

David leafed through one of the newspapers and began to read. It was a terse announcement, as if the government had reported the launching of a new ship into the water, something quite common on the Island. The death penalty was replaced by imprisonment, the duration of which depended on the seriousness of the act committed. David looked at her.

-What do you think?

-They will need new prisons. Let’s see where they will get the money to build them.

-Anastasia, please!

-I don’t know, David, believe me. I never thought of this.

Anastasia remembered Jezebel again dressed in that beautiful purple silk dress. She felt Armando’s glance. Did Armando say something? No, certainly not. Yet it seemed as though he had. Yes, he must have said something to her, to which Jezebel consented. Or perhaps not.

She began to read.

The Captain’s widow finally granted reporters a minute.

Ten minutes after the government announced the abolition of the death penalty, one of our reporters, who happened to be in the vicinity of the former governor’s house, managed to get some information from his widow. The conversation was recorded without the approval of the interlocutor. We assume full responsibility for the illegal recording of this conversation and its publication.

The reporter was there purely by chance? A doubt and frustration came over her, but she read on.

R. Madam, what was your reaction to the Captain’s announcement of the introduction of the death penalty?

J. I never meddled in their governance affairs.

R. Okay, but you must have had some reaction.

J. My husband acted as he saw fit.

R. Madam, please, the former Governor’s decision constituted an attack on our freedoms.

J. Do you consider that a proven criminal can be guaranteed his freedoms?

R. No, not that. But why should passing the mountains be considered a crime?

J. It was already considered as such upon my husband’s assumption of power.

R. Of course. But it was not punished so severely. The death penalty constituted the total severance of ties with the other side of the Island.

J. And the 20 years of incarceration now constitute the reestablishment of links with the other part of the Island?

R. No, but it is bearable.

J. Is there anything here that is truly bearable?

Thank you for reading!

Gabriela Marie Milton,
Author and Founder of Literary Revelations
Woman of the Month (May, 2026), at P.O.W.E.R Magazine
One of the 60th Women’s Entrepreneurs to Watch for in 2026, New York Weekly

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

From My Desk to Times Square: A Note of Gratitude and Glamour

Sometimes, the journey of an author feels like a deep, introspective echo—it resonates in the countless hours spent honing a line of poetry or in the profound solitude of searching for that elusive word. Yet, it is with immense excitement that I share a truly surreal moment: thanks to the generous recognition by the Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized (P.O.W.E.R.), which has honored me as Women of the Month (with an interview to be featured soon in their magazine), my work is set to shine bright on a billboard in the vibrant heart of Times Square this September!

It is a glamorous, bright stage, a stark contrast to the quiet, introspective spaces where my books are born. I find myself feeling deeply humble.

I see this achievement as a remarkable milestone, yet I refuse to regard it as my final destination. Rather, I perceive it as a powerful moment of visibility for the profound themes I have passionately delved into in my books:

“Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings” (contains poems translated in Italian by Flavio Almerighi)

“Woman: Splendor and Sorrow”

“Haiku and Tanka: Lull, Harmony and Power in Japanese Art” coauthored with Hikari

“Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller” upcoming in late June, early July.

These works were never intended to be fleeting. They were written with the hope that they might contribute something lasting to the cultural record, finding homes in your bookshelves. That these themes will now be reflected in the vibrant, kinetic light of Times Square feels like a beautiful, unexpected bridge between the quiet of the page and the noise of the world. Hikari’s paintings and tanka in “Haiku and Tanka: Lull, Harmony and Power in Japanese Art” help so much my career and I am deeply grateful to her.

The Real Achievement

The true honor, however, transcends the New York Times billboards and the cherished “Woman of the Month” title—though my gratitude for these accolades runs deep; it resides in the unwavering love and support of the remarkable community that has passionately rallied around my work.

To my readers, to those who have bought my books, to my collaborators, and to the followers who engage with my writing every week: this is your celebration as much as it is mine. Without your curiosity, your time, and your belief in my voice, these milestones would have no soul. You have allowed me the privilege of moving from the isolation of the writing desk to a stage as public as Times Square, and for that, I am endlessly thankful.

As I prepare for the launch of Jezebel’s Island late June, I carry this gratitude with me.

Gabriela Marie Milton.
Author and Founder of Literary Revelations Publishing House.

Please follow me: IG @gabriela_marie_milton; X @shortprose1

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller – Excerpt 4

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton

My beloved subscribers and followers, Happy Weekend and an exhilarating New Week to each and every one of you! To my cherished subscribers, my heartfelt gratitude for your loving emails and your wonderful wishes that warm my soul.

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller is coming late June/early July at Literary Revelations. Stay tuned for cover reveals, character teasers, and official release dates by subscribing to the my blog!

What do you think lies waiting on the island? Let me know your theories in the comments below or in your wonderful emails!

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller – Excerpt 4

I had a maid to care for the house, to cook and wash. I still remember the scent of pine that drifted through the open windows. Ingrid sent postcards with short messages: All is well, Jezebel. She played my role better than I did myself. It only proves how often we are more others than ourselves. She loved a pair of my shoes—antelope leather, turquoise, with high heels—and once confessed that, unable to wear them in public, she put them on at home while smoking cigarettes she rolled herself from the Captain’s cherry-scented tobacco.

We soon reached an impossible moment, when one of us had to disappear. Together we decided it would be the Captain. You remember, Anastasia, what Armando told you: that what he could never forgive me for was my failure to carry out the plan to kill him. He was right. I know he told you. He confessed it to me himself.

I know you have doubts. I know that life beyond the mountains has become an obsession for you. Let us speak of it. Please come and see me.

With love,
Jezebel

Anastasia jumped like she was electocuted.

This video was optimized for IG. Please excuse the loud sound.

Literary Revelations’ Latest Publication Haiku for Soulmates is still topping the chart in various Amazon Market. You can check out the book here.

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Excerpt 3

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Excerpt 3

My dearest followers and subscribers, I am thrilled to bring you again a short excerpt from my upcoming novel Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller. Tentative publication date: end of June.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Jezebel to Anastasia

….You will have to find a new axis mundis, a new explanation of our life. You will have to take from God the thick garment of misery with which the present civilization has dressed him. You will have to tear off from his face that repugnant mask that those who pray that business will go well, that they will recover the lost money or the long lost power have stuck on him. He must remain the God of the oppressed, the God of the sick, the God of the mother who loses her child.

Make him shine again, Anastasia, turn on the light of the lamp to the God the Creator, take him out of the swamp where he has been thrown, from all kinds of obsessives, who claim him in the name of doubtful pains and by virtue of a single phrase, “I will”. Whoever affirms that will is the privilege of the superior man, is a madman. Will has its role, of course, but it should not be taken to the extreme, nor should it be divinized.

Anastasia felt a horrible pain in her stomach. She was suddenly afraid, and she wanted David to be beside her, to explain, to tell her the whole truth. The truth? Hadn’t she gone mad like the others? Who could know the truth? And where had Esteban and David disappeared to? They had probably vanished earlier in the day through some secret door in the bush. Alone. They had all left her. It seemed to her that she was sitting in a pile of skeletons. She tried to shake off that horrible image.

About Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton

At the far edge of the Island’s circulation stands Anastasia, witness, recipient, and actor—her presence poised between necessity and chance. As the curtain lifts and the first figures Anastasia, Jezebel, David step into view, readers remain in the dark, their biographies concealed, their stories unwritten. The narrative unfurls like a film reel abruptly set in motion, and at its heart is a woman of haunting beauty, gradually awakening from a nightmare that lingers, stretched across the threshold of reality. In this twilight of memory, other figures rise each bearing identities veiled in uncertainty, summoned from the depths of recollection into the shifting light of the present.

M.B. R.L.

Haiku for Soulmates is coming soon at Literary Revelations. Please stay tuned for more news.

Gabriela Marie Milton,
Author and Founder of Literary Revelations.

IG @gabriela_marie_milton and on X @shortprose1

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Excerpt 2

My dear followers and subscribers,

Happy weekend! Today I would like to share with you another excerpt from my upcoming novel Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller. Literary Revelations plans to release this novel at the end of June. Thank you for reading.

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Excerpt 2

…

– In this part of the Island, Anastasia, they have not limited our freedom of movement at all. Only our freedom of thought. And what time is there for free thought anyway? One has so much to do. So many brands of bags and socks to choose from. Here everyone thinks they live their own lives as they please, without realizing that in reality they live only what they are allowed to live.

…

In the living room, Anastasia’s gaze fell on a photo. She paused for a moment, staring blankly. A heavy, golden frame held a photo of a young man, wearing a white T-shirt with vertical green stripes, Polo brand. Anastasia had been to Jezebel’s house several times, but she had never seen that picture before. Behind him, she could see a field where three golf cars had been abandoned. The photo had been placed on a lemon-yellow wooden console, near which one had to pass to get to the other rooms of the house. It was impossible not to have noticed that picture.

She shivered, feeling like a piece of ice was running down her back, and experienced again that cloudy feeling, still incomprehensible, about Jezebel.

From the foreword

….The question remains: Why Anastasia, this young woman saddled with so great a name? Why has she become the obsession of two figures of the ruling class? Perhaps because her passivity and incuriosity have not brought her into solidarity with her fellow citizens, who share her discontent, but rather have made her an ideal vessel for the plans of the elite.

But what plans? Yet another mystery. There must be, the reader thinks, more to Lady Swartley, more even to Jezebel, who is already so much. And what about the servant Armando, who seems to be much more than a servant, or the archaeologist Esteban, whose presence almost seems to bait and tease Anastasia along some path occluded to all others?

Brian Geiger, Former Editor Vita Brevis Press

Follow me for more updates on Jezebel’s Island.

IG @gabriela_marie_milton and on X @shortprose1

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

You have already seen the ending; you simply chose to forget it – Coming in June Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton.

You have already seen the ending; you simply chose to forget it.

My dear readers and subscribers,

I wrote a few notes on my upcoming book: Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller, which I am extremely excited to share with you. This novel will take readers on a thrilling journey through the enigmatic landscapes and mysterious events that unfold on the island. I hope you enjoy these insights into the story, alongside a short excerpt that highlights the tension and intrigue woven throughout the book. Thank you for taking the time to read and support my writing journey; your interest means the world to me as I put the finishing touches on this captivating tale.

Jezebel’s Island, centers on the psychological manipulation of Anastasia, a young woman used as a moral mirror for a fractured society. Following the mysterious death of the city’s governor, his widow, Jezebel, weaves a web of conspiracy that forces Anastasia into a messianic role. Though the novel concludes on a hauntingly open note, the resolution is subtly encoded within the story’s pages—challenging the reader to look closely at what ‘disconcerting’ is before the main narrative even takes hold.

Everyone on the island has a secret except Anastasia, yet she is the one moving toward the most profound revelation. Anastasia’s journey is a loop through a world of mirrors. The novel’s conclusion remains open, yet for the careful reader, the final heartbeat of the story is echoed in its first breath. It is a thriller where the path is hidden in the pages you thought you’d left behind.

I wrote the novel. I invite you my dear reader the solve the puzzle.

Gabriela Marie Milton

From Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller

Anastasia walked down the street, taking the onslaught of the rain, and scurried along the line of shops. She was like a ghost, appearing out of the mists of time for just an instant, drawn by the smell of rock and water-washed trees. That night, she had dreamed of Jezebel in the basement of a house, groping through narrow, dark corridors. It was an imposing villa, in whose wretched old cellar rats abounded. She was terrified. Jezebel had entered a small room through a narrow door. Anastasia had glued her ear to the door with ruined paint and had heard first her laughter, then her breath, as if Jezebel had pressed herself against the door to hear Anastasia’s.

Suddenly silence had taken over. Before long, the scream of a drowning man. Had David screamed? She reached for the pillow beside her, and the coolness of the sheets shook her. No, David had not yet returned from the Radio. A strange sensation invaded her, seizing her senses with the force of a whirlwind that could unite heaven and earth, that could lift into the air all beings of the ground, erasing with fury all emotion, all dreams, all hope, and replacing them with nothingness.

Anastasia managed to control her pace. The clouds were rushing from the mountains toward the city at a frightening speed. Perhaps the city deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth. Lightning flashed over the peaks, splitting the sky. She steadied herself, wondering if everything was connected: Jezebel, Esteban, David, all that had happened on the other side of the Island, and all that was still to come. She walked instinctively northward, drawn to the mountains …

Follow me for more updates on Jezebel’s Island.

IG @gabriela_marie_milton and on X @shortprose1

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – A Presentation

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – A Presentation

My dear readers and subscribers,

I want to take a moment to present my upcoming novel: Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller. The book will be released by Literary Revelations in late June or early July.

Step onto Jezebel’s Island, a shadowy realm where reality twists and nothing is as it appears. In this world cloaked in secrets and deception, truth flickers just out of reach, while unseen danger stalks your every move. Who was Jezebel—a ruthless murderer, or a misunderstood victim? The stories whispered across the island contradict themselves, leaving chilling gaps and unanswered questions.

Unravel the tangled web of intrigue: Was Steven truly the son of the former governor, or merely a pawn in someone else’s sinister game? Does Anastasia carry the fate of the island, or is she doomed to repeat its darkest legends? Each answer uncovers deeper enigmas, as betrayals and hidden motives emerge from the shadows.

Prepare for a haunting journey, where every clue uncovers another secret and every revelation brings fresh uncertainty. Coming late June at Literary Revelations—stay tuned for the truth behind the crimes, the endless deceptions, and the mysterious inhabitants of Jezebel’s Island. Who are these enigmatic figures populating a dystopian world, and what destinies entwine their fates? The answers may be more disturbing than you ever imagined.

From the Foreword

….But what is it? We see only glimpses of it, here and there. Our characters never grasp it permanently or totally. It is always a dawning, impartial, and intermittent recognition, symptoms that point imprecisely behind themselves to some hidden origin. It concerns the City’s ultimate sickness, rooted first in the great crime through which it was founded, second in its effort to neutralize, if not forget, this history, and third, in the fresh crimes it commits in Anastasia’s day.

The latter are the softer crimes of established and abundant societies, those crimes of the spirit, freedom, and truth which occur when citizens no longer push for the society that could be, and instead accept the one in which they find themselves or fantasize about a return to an older status quo.

The question lingers: How will Anastasia live up to her name?

Brian Geiger, former Editor, vita Brevis Press

Announcement

Literary Revelations is still reviewing submissions to Haiku for Soulmates. Once the selection is ready, we will send an email to everyone who submitted. We appreciate your patience.

Gabriela Marie Miton,
Author, Editor, Founder of Literary Revelations

Please follow me on IG @gabriela_marie_milton and ob X @shortprose1

My books (Only English)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Coming in June at Literary Revelation

I am therefore I write

Gabriela Marie Milton

Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller by Gabriela Marie Milton – Coming in June at Literary Revelation

Meet one of the main characters of the novel: Jezebel

My dear followers and subscribers,

I am absolutely elated to share the exhilarating news that my novel, Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller, will be published by Literary Revelations this June!

A short Excerpt from Jezebel’s Island: A Mystery Thriller

…….thirty years ago.

We were in the main square of the town when he appeared among us. It was hot; I was sweaty, dusty, and very thirsty. I carried a wicker basket full of tomatoes, potatoes, and cauliflowers. The braided strap had cut into my skin; it was heavy, very heavy. The bright silks hanging from the merchants’ stalls trembled in the dry, burning wind. The afternoon sun seemed to melt over people and things like a boiling river.

I felt its rough touch; my back and hands ached. A moment earlier, he had given a coin to a begging child, who had thanked him, closed his fist around the coin, pressed it to his heart, and then bent down to kiss my dusty feet. I parted from him with a strange sadness. I don’t know why, but that day I wished the sky were purple. Yet the sky was never purple there. I was looking for an ice cream vendor when I noticed his blue eyes, expressionless, the eyes of a winner…

-Yes, he had the eyes of a winner. Winner’s eyes exist, just as there are bricklayer’s hands, three-eyed frogs or prostitutes. He turned to me and said: I feel lost in this City, Miss. Could you help me? He wore a wrinkled, dirty suit of a cut I had never seen before. Later, I was to learn that it was a military uniform. I asked him: Where did it come from? He didn’t answer me. He laughed, and the skin around his eyes gathered into deep wrinkles. I told him: To this place no one comes and from here no one leaves. Then he burst into even louder laughter. I felt myself being watched and looked around, but everything was the same…

From the Foreword

In Milton’s novel Jezebel’s Island, somewhere between the motif of quest and goal, thereare several gnoseological, political, even moral obstacles. That is why this novel is structured as an investigation over which, as we come to know half-truths, other layers of ambiguity are superimposed. This fact results first of all from the gnoseological interdependence, maintained by the author, between the characters in the book. In the constellation of the plot-investigation, Jezebel and Lady Swarthy represent the points of emission of some fundamental information that the reader needs to pay attention to.

At the other end of the circulation on the Island is Anastasia. She is the witness, the recipient, and the actor of events destined to place her between necessity and chance. As the first characters appear on the stage (Anastasia, Jezebel, David), readers are not yet aware of any biographical details of their existence. The narration begins like a cinematic tape that is suddenly set in motion….

Wishing everyone a great rest of the week

Gabriela Marie Milton