Back in November I reviewed Emlyn Chand's first novel, Farsighted. Loved it.
Chand opened my eyes to a genre that I had not previously considered in my zone of interest. That being Young Adult fiction. Since she nudged me towards these books, I have encountered some really good writers.
However, my first book of the summer will be Open Heart, the anticipated follow up to Farsighted. I'll be reviewing it as soon as I finish it, which likely won't be long. But for now, here is an excerpt for you to enjoy and to whet the appetite.
An Excerpt from Open Heart We exit the school, and Alex startles me by yanking my arm in the opposite direction of the flagpole. He finds an empty patch of grass and scoops me into his arms for a dramatic, old timey kiss.
“What was that for?”
“Because you’re nervous, and I wanted to make you feel better.”
“Hey, I’m the one with clairsentience here.” I titter.
Alex ignores my comment and reaches down to grasp my hands. One of them is holding the lily he gifted me earlier in the day. He plucks the flower from my fingers and tickles my cheek with the petals as he traces tiny circles across my skin. He repositions the flower between his thumb and ring finger and uses his index finger to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear, then tucks the stem in, too. The whole time I see my image reflecting back in his glasses. My ghastliness is destroying this tender moment. It’s almost too much to bear.
“Pretty.” He smiles, then gives me another kiss. “Now whenever I kiss you, I get to smell the lily mixing with your Almond Joy scent. Flowers and chocolates--sooo romantic.” He makes a silly face and gives me another kiss to make his point. “Pretty.” He takes in a deep breath.
His lips brush against my cheek, and I use the opportunity to slide his glasses into his soft spiky hair. No longer distracted by the unattractive reflection, I relish the sight of his unshielded eyes, then draw in closer and touch his eyelashes with mine. I outline the square shape of his jaw with my finger, then nuzzle his nose with my nose. Alex allows me to study him without expressing any discomfort. He’s overcoming his insecurities as a way to be closer to me. I wish I could do the same.
I give him another kiss and his face lights up. His skin glows with a subtle orangey-gold hue and his aura vibrates soothingly, as if massaging me. For a moment I allow myself to relax in the security of his strong, steady presence. Then he obliterates the comfort altogether by making another unwanted proclamation. “I love you, Simmi.”
Rather than starting a fight or walking away, I push him back against the brick exterior of the school and press my body into his, ignoring my insecurities. I kiss him the best I can and wrap my arms around the back of his neck. I mimic his aura, producing massage-like vibrations, and I go over the options in my mind.
I can’t tell him mujhe pata hai forever. Eventually, I will either have to tell him I love him, or worse still, tell him I don’t. I almost love him. I’m almost to that place. Maybe I’ll feel it by the end of the week or by the end of the month. It has to be only a matter of time. If I tell him I don’t feel the same way, it will hurt him so badly. Alex is the best guy I know, and he doesn’t deserve that—least of all from me.
Alex turns his head to the side and tries to retreat from our impromptu dance of passion, but I push his face back into mine and kiss him deeper, more fully. Something inside him stirs. The tickling vibration becomes firmer and hotter, and the heat thickens, wrapping us both in a crashing embrace. A tidal wave hits us from all sides and then turns to vapor. I kiss him so hard I forget the reason I initiated this steamy make-out session. I forget we’re in a public place, and I almost forget my insecurities enough to surrender to the lapping waves as they spin around our entwined bodies.
Alex places his hands on my shoulders and pushes me back a couple inches. “Okay, enough. Not that I’m not enjoying this, but I kind of need to breathe, too.” He takes a few exaggerated breaths and shakes his head. “If you’re going to do that every time I tell you I love you, I’m going to say it a lot more often. C’mon, Shapri’s been waiting a while. We can pick this up later. Promise.”
He slides his glasses back onto his nose and grabs my hand. We walk to the flagpole where Shapri is standing. As soon as she spots us, her eyes grow wide as if somebody’s slapped her on the back of the head.
I blush and reach to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Only then do I notice the lily is gone. The flower signifying my dreams, my reminder to always reach for the stars, has been trampled beneath our passion.
Open Heart is available through Amazon so don't wait any longer than you have to.
Make it your first book of the summer!
Visit EmlynChand.com for loads more information and some really great extras!
The first thing you realize when you begin Charlinder's Walk by Alyson Miers is that 2012 was a bad year. In 2012 the world is/was(will be?) hit by the Plague, a catastrophe that kills, in short order, the majority of the world's population leaving only small pockets of survivors scattered across the globe.
There’s no electricity, no technology, no infrastructure, no mass transportation, no central government - basically nothing remains of the world that exists were we to turn and look out of the nearest window.
Fast-forward approximately 1 and ¼ centuries.
Here we meet Charlinder who lives in a small agrarian settlement nestled in what was the previously the eastern United States. Previously being the operative term here. The world of 2130 doesn’t look much like the world of 2012.
For those in the year 2130 the overall thought of the times is probably best summed up by a quote from the book.
"But I mean to say, even we here in Dover don't have much to say about the Plague anymore. Our grandparents went on about it, but for us, it's more like, yeah, it happened, it killed everyone and the rest of us got put back to the friggin' tenth century BC, now here we are in the ninth century BC, so what else is there to say?"
The overall premise of the book is actually quite refreshing. (Yes that’s an interesting choice of words when the end of the world is the topic, but Miers’ treatment of the subject is novel.)
Charlinder is a bit of an anomaly. He lives in a small village that was founded post-Plague by a woman who provided a written account of the times around the Plague as the end of society has come to be known. Charlinder spends a great deal of time studying her accounts. He lives in a society where skills such as building, hunting, farming and other physical abilities are prized. He, on the other hand, is a teacher. He’s also a thinker.
From the time his community was founded there have been competing theories as to why the Plague occurred. View one is that the Plague happened as a product of science. View two is that God caused the Plague as punishment.
Charlinder wants to definitively answer this question. So, using guidance from the written history he has, he decides to take a walk and find the answer. Trouble is, Charlinder lives on the east coast of what was the United States and conventional wisdom is that the Plague started in Italy.
Quite a walk. A walk that becomes Charlinder's Walk.
Questions arise and are debated at length concerning secular and religious foundations as well as government and society. While some of the discussions do get a bit drawn out, it was impressive to see the vehicle of apocalyptic fiction to engage this discussion. It’s particularly fascinating to see how Charlinder's Walk explores different possibilities as to how society would survive and carry on after such an apocalyptic event (surprisingly a future free of a single zombie). Miers does a great job of setting up a variety of different societies, showing how given a common problem - the end of the world - not everyone would come up with the same solution or even solutions. For instance, 100 years post-Plague, it is a rarity to find someone who can read and write. In a society where food and shelter are paramount, these skills simply aren’t at a premium. There are even varying views on topics such as the repopulation of the human race.
I will say I was surprised at how peaceful the society Miers creates is in total. While I am not an advocate of violence, I generally think of post- apocalyptic fiction as dealing with how the main character responds when other survivors revert to animal like behavior, essentially violence begets violence. The little violence there is almost seems an afterthought. I would have expected if someone at a point in history undertook to walk around the world they would likely encounter one or two unsavory characters. However, who is to say that a future post-apocalypse society would not be the completely peaceful haven as described by Miers.
I found the book to be a breath of fresh air in a genre that all to quickly can become cliché. Using a little walk around the globe as a method to paint a canvas showing a possible society of the future is completely different and works quite well.
Go out and pick up a copy and give it a read. Encourage a couple of friends to do the same. Aside from the well-crafted fiction you will find between the covers, you can rest assured that once you and your friends have finished, you will find yourself discussing the themes that Miers raises. That, in my humble opinion, is what sets a book apart from the ordinary – wanting to talk about it when you are done.
Fans of apocalyptic fiction or works blending in philosophy, government and religion would enjoy this book.
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About the author: Alyson Miers was born into a family of compulsive readers and thought it would be fun to get on the other side of the words. She attended Salisbury University, where she majored in English Creative Writing for some reason, and minored in Gender Studies. In 2006, she did the only thing a 25-year-old with a B.A. in English can do to pay the rent: joined the Peace Corps. At her assignment of teaching English in Albania, she learned the joys of culture shock, language barriers and being the only foreigner on the street, and got Charlinder off the ground. She brought home a completed first draft in 2008 and, between doing a lot of other stuff such as writing two other books, she managed to ready it for publication in 2011. She regularly shoots her mouth off at her blog, The Monster's Ink, when she isn't writing fiction or holding down her day job. She lives in Maryland with her computer and a lot of yarn. Connect with Alyson on her website,blog, Facebook,Twitter or GoodReads.
Mary Alice Monroe is no stranger to the South Carolina Lowcountry having regularly looked to the area as the setting for her novels. In Beach House Memories she not only returns to the area but she also turns back the clock more than a quarter of a century to offer an intimate glimpse of a landscape that will never been seen again. Then, as a bonus, Monroe also spotlights a cause that is near and dear not only to her, but also to many in the Lowcountry.
Mary Alice Monroe is devoted to the sea turtle. Through coastal development the very existence of the sea turtle has come into jeopardy. I won’t go into great detail but will say if you’re curious, a great place to start is Beach House Memories.
Beach House Memories is also a return to some familiar characters. If you’ve read Monroe’s earlier work, The Beach House, it will likely be as if you’re visiting some old friends.
Beach House Memories starts out with a present day, elderly Olivia “Lovie” Rutledge staring out into the Atlantic from her Isle of Palms beach house.
In a matter of pages we’re back in 1974.
While the Charleston, South Carolina of 2012 is similar to the Charleston of 1974, much has changed and one of the areas with the most change is the Isle of Palms.
Today the Isle of Palms is a world-renowned vacation destination visited by thousands each year. It’s home to thousands of year round residents, is the site of championship golf, water sports, live music and dining and it also holds more memories per square foot than one could begin to imagine.
For Lovie Rutledge 1974 served as the launching pad for many of the memories she holds so dear today.
In the 1970’s the Isle of Palms was a sleepy South Carolina Barrier Island with few more than perhaps a thousand residents and many of these weren’t full time.
It was common in the 1970’s (and still today) for Charleston families to have a summer house on one of the area islands and to take up residence at the beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day though the present ease of travel from Charleston to the barrier islands has made the trip frequently one of a weekend getaway.
However in 1974 Lovie Rutledge loaded up her Buick and together with her two children, headed to her family beach house for the entire summer. Little did she know as Charleston grew smaller in her rearview mirror that she was forever leaving behind the life she had known.
Lovie’s world was in a state of flux. As was common in the 70’s she was as stay at home mother. Her husband, Stratton Rutledge, was old Charleston tracing his heritage back to a signer of the Declaration of Independence (not as farfetched as one may think). Lovie had married young, had children and now, well in her 30’s is struggling to find her real identity, to learn after all these years who she really is.
However, Lovie is not without passion.
One of the forces that drives her is her love of the Loggerhead Sea turtle. Every summer she spends her time plotting, monitoring and protecting the sites where the sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on the Isle of Palms. She’s been doing this so long and with such a passion she’s earned the nickname, “The Turtle Lady.”
The summer of 1974 starts as many summers of the past have for Lovie, after all, she’s been coming to the Isle of Palms every summer for her entire life, but this summer will be different.
Change is coming to the island by way of development - development that will change the look and future of the island forever.
Before the development can start, the developers must study the habits of the sea turtles to make arrangements for them in their development. Lovie, with her lifelong experience, finds herself in the middle of this research working together with a handsome marine biologist who specializes in the sea turtle.
I was curious how Monroe would weave in a cause so obviously near and dear to her heart – the cause of the Loggerhead; however, the fashion in which she built the engaging and compelling plot that is Beach House Memories made everything that happened seem completely natural.
Monroe takes the reader from the comfort of their world and gently places them in the most wonderful of places – a sand dune in a summer storm, the warm Atlantic waters on a summer afternoon, a maritime forest as the morning sun weaves through the tree canopy, an open convertible as the aroma of the marsh and ocean rides the air.
Monroe’s ability to capture the setting of the South Carolina Lowcountry is alone reason enough to pick up this book immediately; however, as rare as it is to find an author capable of such literary transport, once Monroe takes you to the Isle of Palms, the characters to whom she introduces you will leave you longing for more.
As I said before, for fans of Monroe it will be like visiting old friends. The ability to create such familiar characters is something not to be taken for granted.
Monroe has traditionally written strong female leads. Beach House Memories is no different and, without giving away any of the plot, it will come as no surprise that at its core, the tale is a love story. However, to call Beach House Memories simply a love story and be done would be to sell the book short.
Monroe’s sense of character is perhaps the strongest quality of the book. In a seamless fashion she puts together a cast that embodies both depth and spontaneity.
Yes, the book is a love story, but it is also a tale of coming of age, of regret, of living with choices – not always the right ones, of longing, and, through it all, of hope.
Monroe makes it easy to identify with her characters. She makes it easy for the reader to understand the emotions the characters feel but not simply the emotion, but why the character is feeling or reacting as they may.
Monroe has once again written a book that will undoubtedly be along a beach or pool during the coming summer; however, to wait until you travel to the beach to read Beach House Memories would just mean you’ve waited too long. Or perhaps you can use the book as an excuse (like we need one) for a trip to the beach to create some memories of your own.
Fans of southern fiction, novels with strong female leads, love stories, and those who love to read about the South Carolina Lowcountry should Beach House Memories as soon as possible.
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I wasn't sure what to expect when I received my copy of The HOUSE of Order by John Paul Jaramillo. To be honest, as I always am when doing reviews, the image on the cover (the same one displayed to the left of this review) was a bit disturbing. Even after reading Jaramillo's work, I still find myself questioning the artwork and am struggling a bit as to any imagery or meaning that may tie it through to the book. (I was even asked by one friend why I was reading a book about smoking.) I will be the first to say that the meaning may simply have eluded me.
That being said, The HOUSE of Order is the definitive example of why you never want to judge a book by its cover. Jaramillo is schooled in creative fiction and earns his keep imparting his knowledge as a Professor of English. He shows off his chops in his latest offering.
My initial concern over the cover is also a testament as to why you don't want to judge the parts without the picture of the whole.
Jaramillo weaves a story through snapshots, snapshots posing as individual stories.
HOUSE of Order is made up of 16 unique short stories, any of which has the strength to work as a standalone providing an excellent example of short fiction. Through his pacing, the voice of his characters, even down to the feel of the setting, Jaramillo gives textbook examples of how one goes about the crafting of an effective and compelling short story.
However, it is what follows, the extra step that Jaramillo gives us, in my humble opinion, that sets HOUSE of Order apart from a mere "collection" of short stories. The true beauty of the book is understood when you finish it and take a step back (or more likely a deep breath). Often one is told that the forest is missed for attention given to the trees. Here Jaramillo has created exactly the opposite.
While the stories individually shine, when viewed in total, they simply radiate brilliance. Jaramillo has not only provided us 16 wonderfully crafted tales, his selection of which short stories to provide give us a work that is cohesive and quite solid.
Many a collection of short stories blends together a series of unrelated tales that serve as little more than fodder to add space between the front and back covers of the book. With House of Order Jaramillo takes you into a blended tale of coming of age, of the ills of growing old, the pains and rewards of living only for the moment and, though there are some incredibly bleak points, of the promise of hope.
Set in the American Southwest we are privileged with the opportunity to learn a bit about the intersecting lives of two men. While we start with one clearly the others elder, as HOUSE of Order progresses, the snapshots Jaramillo shares a poignant picture of not only the past but the future of these two intertwined life stories.
Fans of literary fiction and fans of short story collections would enjoy this book.
At the end of the day, don't be disturbed by the cover, you'll enjoy, and likely come to love, what Jaramillo offers. In the end the only emotion that will likely disappoint is that you will be left wanting more. Hopefully Jaramillo’s ever-growing base of fans won’t have to wait too long.
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About the author: John Paul Jaramillo grew up in Southern Colorado but now lives, writes and teaches in Springfield, Illinois. He earned his MFA in creative writing (fiction) from Oregon State University and, currently, holds the position of Associate Professor of English in the Arts and Humanities Department of Lincoln Land Community College. Connect with John Paul on his website, Facebook, Twitter or GoodReads.
I've met Hendrix Harrison. In the event you’ve yet to meet him, I'd suggest you remedy that situation by reading Generation by William Knight.
Harrison's a writer for Strange Phenomena, a magazine that keeps their readers in the know on ghosts, werewolves, conspiracies, bigfoot, and all things fringe. Harrison's military past didn't exactly pave the way for a career as a journalist, but Strange Phenomena isn't exactly your mainstream media outlet. To complicate matters, Harrison isn't exactly what you would call technologically savvy. In fact, he actually shuns technology while trying to do his job with credibility and integrity.
All things aside, Harrison is facing turbulent times.
Then he’s sent on a minor assignment by his editor – follow up on some reader reports of, you guessed it strange phenomena. The assignment turns out to be a bust, or so Harrison initially thinks; however, as the dust starts to settle where there was nothing, Harrison sees the potential for a story. A big story.
Strange things are afoot in the English countryside. People have been seeing ghosts, shades, creatures – exactly what no one knows. Harrison runs down lead after lead. Ultimately he finds himself at a body farm run for research purposes to better help criminologist understand how to solve future unexplained deaths based upon how cadavers decompose under a variety of different conditions.
All of the cadavers come from various medical facilities across the land primarily as a result of the deceased’s donating their bodies to science.
Then things take a turn for the worse.
The large, all powerful Mendel Pharmaceuticals rears their mighty head. In a nutshell, Mendel has created the drug to end all drugs. They have Re-Gene, a treatment that conceptually could make a person live forever. They plan on making millions, nay, billons. All that stands in their way is the announcement of the drug, well, that and the fact that those who take it continue to live as their bodies die around them. The result is something that could only be described as markedly less appealing than a zombie. Imagine wanting to die and not being able to.
Slowly the conspiracy starts to unravel with Harrison who is aided by the talented, yet skeptical research scientist Dr. Sarah Wallace, at the vortex.
Knight takes you on a ride you won’t soon forget.
Generation is a face-paced book that keeps you guessing. All too often thrillers such as this follow a set formula that can be all too predictable. Knight did a great job in keeping me guessing in such a way that as situations resolved themselves I was compelled to turn the page in a hurry to see what happened next.
I was also quite drawn to the characters, all of who were developed quite well by Knight. I am universally disappointed when a character is larger than life with no flaws or weaknesses. It would have been easy for Knight, given Harrison’s military background, to have made him a super soldier who was able to summon the one man military might of the British Empire to bear on the situation; however, Harrison is just an average Joe who is caught up in a difficult situation. The most endearing quality he possess is that he realizes this and lets this redouble his efforts to make things right.
This realistic approach pervades all of the characters and the story as a whole all the way to a very satisfying ending.
I will say that in total I would classify Generations as more thriller or suspense rather than horror. I never had any spine tingles while reading it, but on more than one occasion I found myself on the edge of my seat, eager to see what happened next.
I also found it refreshing reading a book written by a non-US writer. The book was set in the UK and the dialogue, the slang, the colloquialisms, all with a definite British slant.
Overall, I was quite taken with this book. Generations would appeal to fans of suspense or the thriller genre. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. One word of caution; however, you’ll be ready to read William Knight’s next book as soon as you finish Generation.
Novel Publicity Blog Tour Notes: Get Generation on Amazon or Barnes & Noble – you know you want to! And please vote for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll for this tour. The blogger with the most votes wins a $50 Amazon gift card. I want that to be me! You can vote in the poll by visiting the official Generation blog tour page and scrolling all the way to the bottom. Be sure to enter for your chance to win an autographed copy of Generation : ENTER HERE. William Knight is a British born journalist and technologist currently living and working in Wellington, New Zealand. He's chased a varying career starting in acting, progressing to music, enjoyed a brief flirtation with handbag manufacturing and was eventually wired into technology where he's been since 1989. In 2003 he published his first feature in Computing magazine and has since written about the many successes and failings of high-tech for the Guardian, Financial Times and the BBC among many others publications. He continues to maintain a lively IT consultancy. Connect with William on his website, blog, Facebook, Twitter or GoodReads.
That being said one of the consequences is I get stagnant with what I have on the horizon for future reads. From time to time I'm lucky enough to find a new author. I consider myself extremely lucky if I happen to discover a writer with more than one book in print.
Such is the case with Mike Lawson. Lawson writes thrillers set in DC. While he has clearly spent some time in our nation’s capital, he wasn’t a politician, rather he's a nuclear engineer who's made a very successful transition to writing. Things get more interesting when you add to the equation that Lawson lives in the Pacific Northwest, about as far away as one can get from DC and still be in the lower 48. However, this doesn’t stop Lawson from crafting some quality fiction.
Lawson grabs, and keeps, the reader’s attention from the start in The Inside Ring. In the first few pages we have the attempted assassination on the President of the United States.
While on a holiday in the Georgia mountains with a life long friend, an assassination attempt is made on the life of the President. Quickly the FBI starts an investigation and in short order finds a local resident has committed suicide. A search of his home turns up a trove of evidence, including the weapon used in the shooting, and thankfully the matter is brought to a speedy conclusion.
However our main character, Joe DeMarco, is soon summoned to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. DeMarco is a non-practicing, recently divorced attorney. It turns out his family history (one that Lawson explores) kept him from the more traditional legal practice areas. However, a few favors later (again Lawson does a great job with the background on this aspect of the story) DeMarco ends up working for the Speaker of the House. He's not your traditional house staffer rather he's a fixer. He even has an impressively vague title, "Counsel Pro Tem for Laison Affairs." DeMarco’s normal cup of tea is getting the Speaker the support where and when he needs it to move his agenda through the maze of our Nation’s democracy.
However, it turns out the Speaker has concerns the assassination attempt may not have been so cut and dry as the FBI believes. He has DeMarco look into the entire affair starting with a disturbing message received by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The note gives the concern that the President’s inner circle of Secret Service agents, his “Inside Ring,” has been compromised.
One may wonder how and why a non-practicing attorney who works primarily as a fixer for a politician would have the skills to investigate an attempt on the life of the President, particularly when conspiracy at the highest levels of government may be involved. The answer, and it's the same answer Lawson sets out, is that DeMarco doesn't have the background for this and, more importantly, he knows it. It turns out DeMarco may not be a lot of things, but he is resourceful and knows when to call in help which is a good thing. He’ll need it as he finds himself deeper and deeper in a web of intrigue that becomes infinitely more complicated with every step DeMarco takes.
One of the most refreshing things Lawson does is keep every aspect of the story genuine. The dialogue is crisp, the characters are interesting and Lawson succeeds in imparting a degree of humanity to everyone you meet in the book. This is not to say that every person in the Inside Ring is a saint – quite the contrary, but the characters behave in a believable fashion.
At the center of all of this is a very enjoyable plot. I was a bit worried that I was going to be reading a book where our everyman hero, a hero of limited ability, is called upon to save the world. Fortunately that’s not the case here. Lawson starts out and keeps you guessing at every turn. Despite the surprises and the unforeseen twists and turns, Lawson doesn't have to revert to a suspension of disbelief to reach the book's climax – and what the surprise ending it is.
I've already started the second book in the DeMarco series and will post a review about it when I've finished. Given the speed with which I read the Inside Ring, I imagine that I'll have this up soon. I try to keep in tune with quality new writers, but I’m clearly a late comer to the game when it comes to Lawson. Do yourself a favor if you haven’t read his work yet. Go grab Inside Ring and you’ll likely be hooked.
Fans of thrillers with a swift plot and engaging characters will enjoy his book. Fair warning however, you will not want to put it down once you start.
If I am being completely honest, which I generally prefer to be, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Doxology by Brian Holers.
Also being honest, while incredibly well written, the book started in an interesting fashion. It wasn’t slow, it wasn’t bad, it was just, for lack of a better term, sort of disjointed. Normally when I start a book that begins in such a fashion, I set it aside and don’t finish it. However with this book while there was this scattered element, the writing was as sharp as I have seen in sometime. The characters I was being introduced to were compelling and, despite my initial thought that I might end up not finishing the book, I decided to be patient and read on.
My patience (and I should note it didn’t require much) was soon rewarded.
I read a number of genres but generally prefer fiction that provides a glimpse into the world of people I may know, people I grew up with – people to whom I can relate.
Doxology did just this.
Holers ushers us into a world of family, where the blood that binds is the strongest and most important thing going. Even when many years have passed since family members have interacted, or even seen each other, the blood that binds them allows them to pick up where they left off. However, starting again is not always an easy task. As the family, primarily two generations of brothers, renew their relationship, the demons of the past return to haunt them. Through his tale Holers gives the reader a glimpse of the family history to show how the present has come from a difficult past.
His sense of character is as solid as I have seen. As I learned more and more about each character, I found nothing that seemed out of place. I also found myself identifying with each character, feeling their pain, their hope and in many instances their frustration.
Many times when I read new writers the characters often come across as forced or a product of a writer who worked too heard to make them larger than life. There was none of that in Doxology, rather each and ever character, particularly the main characters, were pristine. This allowed me to feel as if I was standing along side them on the page as the story unfolded.
If you are a fan of literary fiction, specifically Southern literary fiction, you need to read Doxology as soon as possible.
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As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Doxology eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:
Help my blog win: The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME. About the book: Fathers, sons and brothers reconnect over tragedy in this blue-collar Southern tale of love, loss, and the healing power of community and family. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.About the author: An arborist by day and a novelist in every moment he can steal, Brian makes up stories from the treetops. Visit Brian on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
I don't generally read the YA genre, but I've been expanding my reading list. With Farsighted by Emlyn Chand, I'm rather glad I did.
The premise is straight forward.
We have a sleepy mid-western town and in this town is a high school. Along with the high school comes all that one would expect. There are those who are members of the "in" crowd and those who simply aren't.
Then there is Alex Kosmitoras.
Alex is a 16 year old sophomore who is struggling to fit in. If all were perfect for him, fitting in might still be a problem, but alas, all is far from perfect. His lack of friends, his parents financial struggles and the requisite teenage angst would be enough to maximize the stress for any teenager, but Alex's problems are compounded.
Alex is blind.
With all of his compounded problems he copes by keeping to himself. In fact, this had been his plan as he entered his sophomore year. However, as with any well conceived teenage plan, one can generally expect the worst.
Shortly into his sophomore year Alex realizes that he has a special gift. You see, Alex is able to see into the future. However, since nothing is as it may see, the gift appears in its most raw of raw forms. Initially Alex has tremendous difficulty distinguishing his visions of the future from reality. This causes some interesting and entertaining moments for him.
Initially Alex fights his gift not wanting to become even more the social outcast; however, he meets two girls who have moved to his small town who, he finds out, like he, also have special gifts.
The trio join forces and collectively usher us through the first installment of a series that has great potential.
The strength in Chand's writing and story telling is her ability to capture the teen psyche. As an aside, I find the thought process used by most teenagers incredibly frustrating often forgetting that like most things in the teenage world, it is still developing. As Alex was proceeding through Farsighted, I found myself wanting to grab him and say, "Really? That's what your going to do here?" In short I simply didn't agree with how he was going about things. However, I would remind myself that the genre was Young Adult and that such was the reality of the teenage world and in large part is what makes YA, well, YA and in this case, really good YA fiction.
In my frustration it came to my realization that Chand had nailed the moving target that most teenagers embrace. And she did it without any cliches.
Alex makes some terrible decisions, but he learns from the decisions and his education moves the story along.
While the story is a tale, partially at least, of a teenager's coming of age, he still has some age to attain (which bodes well for the next book and the book after that.) However, you'll find more than the struggling teenager. The family relationships in the book are written in the most solid of fashions. The dialogue is crisp and compelling
and through it all, Farsighted is a good ole' mystery. The fun part of the mystery is that given Alex's ability to see into the future, the mystery is a prospective mystery leading the characters on a quest not to find out what happened, but to, hopefully, keep what they know will happen from happening.
Farsighted is Emlyn Chand's debut novel. It won't be her last. Get on the band wagon early.
Blog Tour Notes
THE BOOK: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday). THE CASH PRIZES: Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that. THE GIVEAWAYS: Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site. THE AUTHOR: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky! MORE FUN: There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!
On Veteran's Day this year thanks to the Indie Book Collective our troops are going to reap the benefits. Scores of indie authors are donating ebooks for the troops. For every comment on each of the blogs the commenter will get a copy of that author's book - and there are some incredible authors and books there! On top of this, for every comment the author will donate an ebook to a out troops. As part of this Blog Tour de Troops I'm honored to host Terri Long, the author of In Leah's Wake. So learn more about it below, visit the Blog Tour de Troops page, visit some great blogs and score some incredible books! Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Winston Churchill
This weekend, November 11 – 14, Terri Giuliano Long, author of the bestselling novel In Leah’s Wake, joins 50 indie authors in Blog Tour de Troops, a charity blog hop sponsored by the Indie Book Collective.
To celebrate, Terri is hosting Emmy-winning film editor Nina Gilberti, currently a full-time editor for the hit CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. Nina is also an indie filmmaker. On Terri’s blog, Nina talks about her upcoming documentary, When Jane and Johnny Coming Marching Homeless, a powerful film about the horrors faced by some veterans upon their return home after war.
In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. Douglas MacArthur
Did you know that one-third of the people living on the streets are veterans who served in the Vietnam War?
In addition to physical homelessness - whether couch surfing, living in a car or existing on the street – many vets also face emotional, psychological, and spiritual homelessness. While they may seem fine on the outside, within they struggle with the hidden wounds of war - issues like Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD), nightmares, hyper-vigilance, meaning they are on high alert all the time, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), drug & alcohol abuse and addiction, prescription drug addiction – resulting in high divorce rates, joblessness, spousal abuse, and suicide. Naturally, these life-altering problems also affect the spouse, children, and parents of veterans.
With her film, When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Homeless, Nina hopes to inspire our nation to care, to generate real compassion - and perhaps create a movement towards profound healing and understanding for these veterans and their families.
Blog Tour de Troops
This Veteran’s Day Weekend, November 11 – 14, 50 indie authors are participating in a daisy chain blog hop to support U.S. troops. Anyone who leaves a comment on a participating author’s blog will receive a coupon for a free eBook - plus the author will give a free eBook to one active-duty U.S. troop. This means you have a chance to collect 50, yes 50, FREE eBooks.
Leave a comment on Terri’s blog and receive a coupon for an In Leah’s Wake eBook – for every comment, Terri will also give a free eBook to an active-duty troop.
PLUS, just for leaving a comment, you’ll be entered in a random drawing for one of these amazing prizes:
FIRST PRIZE – a $ 50 Amazon gift card, a copy of the Criminal Minds script for episode 701- the season seven opener written by executive producer and writer Erica Messer, SIGNED BY MS. MESSER AND THE ENTIRE CM CAST, PLUS an autographed photo of the Criminal Minds cast!
SECOND PRIZE (total 3) – autographed photograph of the Criminal Minds cast!
WIN A CARE PACKAGE FOR YOUR FAVORITE SOLDIER
With your comment, leave the name of a U.S. troop and he or she will be eligible to win an awesome care package, consisting of: $ 100 Amazon gift card, a boxed video set of Criminal Minds, Season 6, PLUS an autographed photo of the CM cast!
* Winners to be determined by a random number generator, using random.org.
To learn more about the film When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Homeless and to enter the raffle, please visit Terri’s blog.
Sometimes I get distracted from my writing. Heck, I think we all do from time to time. After all, it’s easy for other things to pop up. Lately I’ve been deluged with friends coming into town, college football (oh my poor SC Gamecocks), work conferences, travel, and the list goes on. However, one thing that’s been a common factor for all of these things is that any of them can be better enjoyed with food.
Yes, there’s been a lot of food lately. It has been a nice variety as well, pizza on game day, some great roadside diners and some incredible fine dining experiences.
All of this has me thinking about writing. Now this could be because many a time I should have been writing I was either on the way to or from some dining event or, if not, I was likely planning one. The result of my thinking was I realized writing is a lot like dining.
If you keep this in mind you may just find that what you serve up will be a bit more readily received.
For example, I was recently in a wonderful upscale restaurant in Charleston, SC – Mcrady’s. The restaurant’s chef is a James Beard award winner, the atmosphere is pristine, the service top notch and the food? Simply amazing. To start my recent meal there I had a charred mustard leaf with malt vinegar powder and homemade apple butter. Never in my life had I heard of such but it was wonderful. The catch? Wonderful as it was, it isn’t for everyone.
The week before I’d been attending a conference at Amelia Island, Florida and I wandered into a small café in downtown Fernandina Beach off a side street – Lulu’s at the Thompson House. I half expected I’d walked into an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Nothing at all fancy but the calamari rings in the sweet thai chili sauce was some of the best I have ever out in my mouth; however, if I was looking for charred mustard leaf I would have been disappointed.
These were two completely different dining experiences yet both were homeruns. However if someone had been expecting the fine dining of Mcrady’s, I dare say Lulu’s might not have been anything short of a miserable failure. The same is true in reverse. If someone was looking for low key Mcrady’s might not have done it.
Writing is just the same.
So, is your writing going to be fine dining or is it going to be rustic comfort food? There’s nothing wrong with either but knowing what it is going to be in advance will only help in the long run.
Knowing your content and style will help in defining the audience as well as the agent or the publisher, or for the ever growing group of independent self-publishers, knowing the answer to this question will be a critical first step in the marketing of your book.
So approach it like you would prepare a meal – generally speaking.
1 – Organize your ingredients. Prepare your manuscript in advance as you would the components of a meal. This will let you know if you are going for white table cloth or the popular dive.
2 – Don’t try to pass off meatloaf as filet mignon. Meatloaf is great but not if you are expecting Kobe beef. Be true to what you have written. Your book may be an edge of your seat page-turner, but that doesn’t mean it is literary fiction.
3 – Make sure it’s a complete meal. Regardless of the style of your writing make sure that you are providing a complete meal. Don’t usher your reader through the book and not offer a dessert course. Make sure they walk away satisfied.
If you do all of these and give the reader a good experience you’ll build up what restaurants love – a word of mouth following.
So it doesn’t matter if your place is fine dining or a popular dive and it doesn’t matter if your writing is the most literary of literary or anything else. If it is good it will stand alone and keep the reader coming back for more and telling people along the way.
Sean Keefer is the author of The Trust, a tale of mystery/suspense set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
The Trust is the Debut Novel from Sean Keefer.
Review Policy
I'm happy to consider books for review. I'll review hard and paperbacks. I'll also be happy to review eBooks but can only do Nook or PDF format. Email me from the Contact page for more information. Thanks!
As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Doxology eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is 
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