REVIEW: The Beholder / Ivan Amberlake

TITLE: The Beholder
AUTHOR: Ivan Amberlake
PUBLISHER: Breakwater Harbor Books
AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon US (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback)
APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 188 pages

GENRE
Fantasy—Urban Fantasy

PACE
The Beholder opens with a mystery and maintains a fairly quick pace throughout the opening section. It slows down around the middle to allow the reader time to absorb the story’s fantastical premise, then picks up speed toward the end.

PERSPECTIVE
Third person limited. The majority of the book is written from the point of view of Jason, the protagonist, although there are sections that shift to other perspectives.

CONTENT REVIEW
In present day New York, Jason, an ordinary man with an office job at an interior design firm, learns that his nightmares are more than just bad dreams. In them, he sees a man of great evil, Pariah, pursuing a young woman with amber eyes. Both disturbed and intrigued, he soon finds out that the dreams are in fact supernatural visions, a glimpse into a supernatural world of light and dark energies.

Meanwhile, Jason hears reports of people around the world dying under mysterious circumstances. Each body is left branded with an arcane symbol. After realizing the bodies are a riddle addressed to him, Jason encounters the amber-eyed woman, Emily, who tells him that he possesses dormant abilities of great power. In addition, he may be the only person who can keep darkness from enslaving the world.

The Beholder is an imaginative urban fantasy that takes a reader into a captivating world of magic and mystery. Amberlake weaves his world in vibrant images, wrapping each scene in colorful descriptions that make the story easy to visualize. The reader follows Jason as this world is slowly revealed to him. The supernatural elements, such as Sight and Soulfusion, are well explained, as the reader learns what Jason learns.

There’s an ebb and flow to the pace of The Beholder, which works well for its story line. It draws you in by setting up the mystery at the very beginning, then slows down to let you look around. The action scenes, each a vividly portrayed fight between good and evil, are exciting and thrilling, and it’s easy to get lost in the language. Jason is a likable protagonist who’s easy to sympathize with, especially since Amberlake lays out his internal thoughts, allowing the reader to see what he sees, feel what he feels. Some chapters are written from the perspectives of other characters, giving the reader a 360 degree view of the story.

While the plot of The Beholder focuses on the supernatural battle between good and evil, Amberlake highlights the human element of the struggle through his characterizations and relationships. As Jason follows Emily into the realm of the Sighted, he also finds himself falling for her, which adds an element of romance to the story. It also ups the personal stakes for Jason as he heads toward the book’s climatic battle. In addition, Jason’s close friends, Matt and Debbie, end up getting involved, and so by the end, Jason is fighting not only for humanity, but for those he cares about most.

Amberlake writes with a poetic lilt, bringing his story to life through intricate language. For instance, here’s a description from early in the book:

“[Jason] burst through the revolving doors and into the outdoors, and ran into a nearly solid wall of heat. Even in the shade of the skyscrapers, he found it difficult to breathe. He paced, restless. Needing to walk off some of his anger, he thrust his hands in his pockets, then started roaming the streets, weaving through the rush hour crowd.”

Well written and wonderfully inventive, The Beholder is a highly entertaining book and a relatively fast read. The supernatural concept at the center of the story is unique, intriguing, and leaves you wanting more.

THE NITPICKY STUFF
There are a few small errors, but nothing distracting.

AUTHOR INFO
[From the author’s Amazon page]
Ivan Amberlake is an urban fantasy writer, member of Breakwater Harbor Books. In December 2009 he began writing his first novel "The Beholder" and in November 2011 it was selected for review by HarperCollins on Authonomy.com.

Ivan Amberlake is in the process of writing Book Two of The Beholder Series called "Path of the Heretic" and a Young Adult Horror/Fantasy called "Diary of the Gone".

For more information visit www.breakwaterharborbooks.weebly.com and www.ivanamberlake.weebly.com

Writing Dreams

by  J.J. DiBenedetto

I’m grateful to Mary for giving me a spot on her blog.  It’s also an excuse to procrastinate from working on my next book for a few minutes!  I’m not quite a quarter of the way into the fifth book in the Dream series, and it’s been slow going so far.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to keep things both fresh and familiar as this series has gone on.  I imagine that’s a challenge for all authors who write series.  You want to give your readers what they expect and want (and you've also become very attached to the characters yourself!), but you don’t want to just write the same thing with the names and locations shuffled around.

One big challenge I’ve found is: how do I keep up the tension, and make the reader feel like Sara is facing a real threat?  Previously in the series, she’s dealt with a murderous secretary, a serial killer, a mobster and a corrupt Congressman, and that’s just the first three books!  In the fourth book, Dream Family, I decided to make the threat something both extremely personal to Sara, and yet completely impersonal.  She’s arrested (for a crime she didn’t commit), threatened with ten years in prison, and she’s violated during a hellish night and day in jail.  You can’t get much more personal than that, but at the same time, it’s being done to her by “the system” – there’s no one enemy to face down.  In the end, the real conflict is within Sara herself; can she recover from what happened to her and take her life back?

But I couldn’t do something like that twice, so in this new book, I needed something both new and somehow worse than anything else she’s dealt with before.  And I think I did it.  Sara’s got the ability to enter other people’s dreams, although she has very little control over it.  Her mother and daughter can do it, too, with the same lack of control.

In this new book, she’s going to discover that they’re not the only ones who have this ability – there’s another woman out there who’s entering people’s dreams.  And this mystery dreamer has the very control that Sara lacks.  Worse, she’s using it for her own selfish ends, unlike Sara, who’s only ever used her talent for good.  In every previous conflict, Sara’s had the advantage of being inside her adversary’s head, literally.  But now she’s facing someone who can do the same thing, only better.

I hope that challenge will keep Sara on her toes, and keep readers turning the page.

Bio:

J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then.

He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests.

 The "Dreams" series is James' first published work.

Click here to check out his blog, Writing Dreams.

J.J.'s books are available on Amazon.

What would you do if you could see other people's dreams? If you could watch their hidden fantasies and uncover their deepest, darkest secrets...without them ever knowing?

Sara Barnes is about to find out. She thought that all she had to worry about was final exams, Christmas shopping and deciding whether she likes the cute freshman in the next dorm who's got a crush on her.

But when she starts seeing dreams that aren't hers, she learns more than she ever wanted to know about her friends, her classmates...and a strange, terrifying man whose dreams could get Sara killed.

 

SPOTLIGHT: Errol Come Home / Harvey Rooster

Today, I'm spotlighting a cute little children's book called Errol Come Home, an illustrated adventure featuring an adorable feline. This book is written in the charming style of a bedtime story and features many colorful drawings by Jacoba Dorothy. As a cat lover, I found the titular kitty quite endearing. The story is told from his point of view in a manner that seems tailored to being read out loud.

Back Cover Blurb: 

Errol is a sleek, black cat with soft, velvety fur and small, pointy ears. His eyes are as green as emeralds and his nose is like a little, pink button. Errol loves nothing more in the world than eating tuna.

Errol Come Home is the story of Errol's rooftop ride from being number one in the household to 'paw' relation when the 'little ones' arrive. Errol soon discovers his quiet life of sleepy cuddles and full bowls of tuna has changed forever. So he journeys next door to find the lady with the red finger nails who has turkey chunks in her gravy. Will he continue to ignore the sad calls from his loving little ones? Will he reunite with his family? Or will he stay next door, tuna-less forever?

Errol Come Home is available on Amazon.

Why Do We Write?

by Steven VS

So I have a problem. Well, it’ not so much a problem as an annoyance.

I don’t know any writers. Like...zilch. In fact the only writer I’ve ever met was only in England for a semester, and then she flew far away to the exotic lands of New England (her words not mine).   

So maybe you’re thinking, “Wow Steven you sure hang out with some unimaginative folk.” Well I guess in a way that’s true… but hold on a gosh-darn-tooting sec! You see, interwebbers, I have a dark secret… I’m a… a… medic. I work in a hospital, which is kind of like a dungeon, except the funding is worse, where out of the box thinking and creativity lead you on a one track ticket to Dermatology (read- Purgatory). 

Disclaimer – I am semi-kidding.

Look, I’m not saying I don’t love them or that they‘re all thick as two short planks. But when I mention the word publication, they’re thinking of the British Medical Journal not the New York Times Bestseller list. HA!! And you thought Divergent was dystopian. 

So why is this an annoyance? Well, if I ever mention I’m a writer, they always say something like “oh you should do medical journalism” or something to that effect and I invariably want to smash my head with one of our ridiculously large textbooks (which you may think is an overreaction, but you have this said to you a hundred times, and get back to me. I’ll give you a free textbook).

Okay, so they don’t all say that. Maybe… one in ten will say, “oh, what is it about?” and so I get all excited and tell them firstly it’s Middle Grade – first raised eyebrows – and by the time I’ve gotten to part that it’s all set on a floating city, I’ve pretty much lost them completely. Because although they’re really, really smart, they can’t quite get their heads around why a grown adult with a grown up life and grown up responsibilities would write about an eleven year old boy who flies around in airships. Isn’t that what little kids do? Spend their hours in make-believe, daydreaming?

It makes… no sense to them. Which is funny, because to me nothing could make more sense. 

I guess this is my extremely meandering and long-winded way of asking – why do we write? What drives a person to spend weeks, months, sometimes years crafting something out of the ether with the odds of being published so heavily stacked against you, you’ve got as much chance as an X-wing against the entire Death Star. 

Well I can tell you why I write and don’t worry the answer won’t be abstract or messianic (there’s enough of that around, I’m sure). I write because the world is all too often grey – or at least shades of it. There are moments of love and brilliance, but all too often, they’re few and far between.

But when I write the world I craft is filled with passion and emotion - blues, violets and sheerest reds. A world where the brilliance is in the mundane - the complexity in the conflict of the human heart… and… I’ll get down from my soapbox now. 

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that when I write the world seems a little brighter, that bit more inspired. And sometimes that’s all you need. I write because I want others to enjoy a fun adventure, but to be honest, a lot of it is for me. I have a good life and I’m sure a lot of you reading do too, but, you know, we’ve all had that day…that long day. And suddenly a little inspiration goes a long way…

“The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real ... for a moment at least ... that long magic moment before we wake.”

George R R Martin

Click here to visit Steven's blog, Middle Grade Privateers

Comparison of Fahrenheit 451 and Matched

by Tracy Lawson

Reposted from Counteract: the Book at http://counteractbook.com.

Today I’m comparing two books that, at first glance, might appear to have nothing in common. And I’m going to try to do it without spoilers…we’ll see how it goes.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I believe YA dystopian literature can serve as a bridge to the classics in the genre. Introducing young teen readers to books with social commentary in a YA setting better prepares them to accept and appreciate adult novels with similar themes.
Both Fahrenheit 451 and Matched illustrate how societal organization can easily become oppressive and regimented, and both focus on the evils of censorship.

The main characters in both novels live in restrictive environments, but nonetheless are expected to go through a “period of curiosity.”

Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, has been a fireman for ten years. Firemen in his society burn books, yet Montag has a secret cache of books he’s taken from various fires. When he’s discovered with the contraband, his supervisor gives him one day to read them, to satisfy his curiosity and help him see just how worthless and confusing books are.
In Matched, 17 year-old Cassia Reyes has just been assigned her ideal mate. Cassia notes that indiscretions among newly Matched teens are common, as the Officials expect the teens to experiment a bit with other partners before they settle into their assigned marriages at the age of 21.

The characters’ curiosity may be expected, but it is not tolerated. Montag’s own wife turns him in for having books in his possession, and Cassia’s Infraction is a kiss, shared with a boy who is not her Match.

The people in both societies exist under a Mask of Happiness.  The oppressive societies, developed for the comfort of the people, have rules and regulations that eliminate ideas. Without ideas, everyone conforms. With conformity, everyone is equal, and therefore everyone should be happy. The governments in both novels assert that when books and new ideas are available to people, conflict and unhappiness occur.

Montag’s fire captain, Beatty, tells Montag that because each person is angered by some kind of literature, it is best to get rid of it all. He described how books were burned first by minorities, each ripping a page or paragraph from this book, then that, until the day came when the books were empty and the minds shut and the libraries closed forever.
In Cassia’s world, Selection Committees scaled down the number of books, paintings, and songs in the Society to 100 each. The remainder are forbidden and destroyed. Cassia’s father is a Restoration supervisor whose job is to oversee the incineration of the contents of libraries.

In both Fahrenheit 451 and Matched, characters memorize the written word to battle censorship and literally give life to books.

Both novels describe societies that are terrifying to imagine, but not as far-fetched as we might believe.

But there is hope because these books have been written. As I put the finishing touches on Counteract, I feel humbled to join the ranks.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Irina Shapiro

10 Questions for author Irina Shapiro.

Hi, Irina! Welcome to Zigzag Timeline. Can you tell us about your background as an author? What kinds of books do you write? 

I’ve been making up stories since I was a kid, but I never actually wrote anything until I was well into my thirties.  Once I actually started writing, I wrote my first novel within a few weeks.  I write historical romance with a hint of supernatural and a dash of mystery.

What got you into writing? 

I quit my job as an Import Manager to stay at home with my autistic son.  Writing became a form of therapy. 

Can you tell us about your books? 

I love books that surprise me, so I try to implement that in my own writing.  There’s nothing more boring than a predictable plot, so I make sure to throw in a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very last page.

Where do you find your inspiration? 

I find inspiration everywhere: the books I’ve read, the movies I’ve seen, the stories I heard as a child.  The challenge is to create an original plot out of all those bits and pieces and present it in a unique way.

Among your characters, who's your favorite? Could you please describe him/her? 

I don’t have a favorite character because I love them all.  After all, they are all a little part of me, so it’s hard to choose just one.

What's your favorite part of writing? Plotting? Describing scenes? Dialogue? 

I would have to say that my favorite part is to come up with an idea and then see where it takes me.  I never really know how the story will end when I start writing it.  It takes on a life of its own.

How long does it take you to write a book? Do you have a writing process, or do you wing it? 

It takes me a few weeks to write a first draft, then I start to develop it and flesh it out.  All in all, I can have a book completed in about two months.  I don’t have any particular process other than to tune everything out and transport myself into the world of my characters.

What makes your books different from others in their genres? 

They are different because they are mine.  No one can tell the same story.  Every author’s voice is unique.

In your opinion, how has the Internet age affected the book world? 

The internet has presented us with amazing opportunities that weren’t there before, but it also cluttered the market, making it more difficult to get noticed.

Are there any books or writers that have had particular influence on you? 

I’ve read everything from trashy romances to classics, but I have to say that Diana Gabaldon and Arthur Conan Doyle left a great impression on me.  Diana Gabaldon because hers was the first time-travel series I’d ever read and I was blown away by the breadth of her imagination, and Conan Doyle because I thought Sherlock Holmes was one of the most complex, interesting, and unpredictable characters in history.  I never knew how the story would end, and to me, that’s priceless.

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Inheritance-ebook/dp/B005ITYGLW/ref=lp_B0068O1DFS_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334015717&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Bones-ebook/dp/B0067R48QW/ref=lp_B0068O1DFS_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334015717&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Full-Circle-ebook/dp/B005WH3UL2/ref=lp_B0068O1DFS_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334015717&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hands-of-Time-ebook/dp/B006JRO9WS/ref=lp_B0068O1DFS_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334015717&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/The-Folly-ebook/dp/B007WNTXGK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1335178325&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Faith-Hands-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0095LNU3O/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1346860167&sr=8-12

http://www.amazon.com/World-Apart-Hands-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00AW1K4I0/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357213924&sr=1-7

http://irinashapiro.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Irina-Shapiro/307374895948375

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Joleene Naylor

10 Questions for author Joleene Naylor. Check out her website, Visit her blog, Find her on Facebook, Follow her on Facebook, or Find her on Goodreads.

Hi Jo! Welcome to Zigzag Timeline. Can you tell us about your background as a writer? How did you get into writing? 

Thanks so much for having me, I’m honored to be here. How did I get into writing? My mother was an artist and writer, so I just fell into it from birth. Though it wasn’t until I gave it up and then came back to it in 2004 that I realized I actually enjoyed it. 

You've published five books in the "Amaranthine" series, the latest of which is Heart of the Raven. Can you tell us about your series? 

I’m going to cheat and use my series synopsis. Pulled into a world of darkness, Katelina’s fate becomes intertwined with that of Jorick, a dark, enigmatic vampire. To stay by his side, she must navigate fields of intrigue, terror and bloodshed as they are drawn from one vampire war to another. Dreams of peace seem elusive, and complications abound in the form of mysterious vampires, old relics, and an ancient master. Join Katelina and Jorick in a world where vampires don’t sparkle and night is eternal.

Basically it’s vampire romance that tries very hard to not be vampire romance. 

What was the inspiration behind your series? 

I’m not sure I was inspired, exactly.  I needed something to write for NaNoWriMo and Jorick was a character from an RP I was writing in at the time (though he had a different name) so I just went with it. I still have no idea where it is ultimately going to go. 

Of the books you've published, do you have a favorite? What about a favorite character? Favorite scene? 

I always like the newest one the best because I think it’s the most exciting, and the best written. Of course, that changes with the next book. But, Ties of Blood sticks out to me for some reason.

One thing my series has is plenty of characters, but Verchiel and Micah are a couple of my favorites because I can’t control what they do. Maeko is a new favorite because she’s so interesting. I’d like to spend more time with her.

A favorite scene… hmmm. Right now I am really digging the conversation between Inanna and Malick in Munich.

“Leave now and do no more harm.”

Malick laughed. “You have not warmed since our last meeting, Inanna. It’s no wonder. To hide in the earth while others live. It is nothing more than waking death. How can you be any warmer than the dead?” He stepped forward, his eyes alight. “Join me and be what you once were. Do you remember so many millennia ago when men sang your name? It could be that way again! There’s no need for us to hide, we could be gods!”

“You were never a god, only a greedy child. Those days are gone, as are those people. Modern man does not welcome gods, but topples them. Go now and repent in quiet, before it is too late for you.”

Do you consider yourself primarily a paranormal fiction author, or do you plan to write in other genres? 

This is a question with a lot of answers. I’ve written lots of stories in other genres. Right now you can read a selection of horror, sci-fi, comedic, fairytale and contemporary short stories on my website (at http://JoleeneNaylor.com) Though I think they will be taken down because I’m planning a site redesign that focuses more on my books. I’m also working on a funny vampire parody, a paranormal-ish YA, and a partner and I have started an angel romance. Whether any will ever be finished remains to be seen, though.

There’s often a problem crossing genres, though. JK Rowling is known for Harry Potter and, though people bought her newest book, the real, number one complaint was that “it wasn’t Harry Potter.” Fans don’t want to see you flex your literary muscles or prove your versatility, they want their favorite characters. That’s why I wrote The Vampire Morsels short stories, and why I plan to keep writing other short stories on the side; it’s still a part of the universe, but I can play around a lot. If I do jump ship, though, it would be fantasy. 

In your opinion, how important is cover art? 

As a cover artist I should say it’s the most important thing but, truthfully, it isn’t. I think the cover needs to look good enough that people don’t laugh at it or think “holy crap! Did a kindergartener do that?” and I think it should be a cover that when you see it, it makes you feel a rush of “Yes! This is MY book!” but past that you need to worry more about writing a good book and editing.  Your goal is to make people buy the book because it has your name on it (think Stephen King or the aforementioned JK Rowling), not because it has pretty pictures. Look at the Sookie Stackhouse series if you need proof (The titles are hard to read, the art looks juvenile, and they make very poor thumbnails – all things any cover guru would use to “poo-poo” a self published book. ) 

Do you prefer paper books or e-books? What's your opinion on the future of bookstores? 

I think bookstores are in trouble because paper books are SO expensive. The last time I went to Barnes & Noble (and it’s been a couple of years) all the “new releases” in the front three rows had crappy covers and were 20$ or more – for paperback. Call me cheap, but I can’t afford 20$ for a single paperback (I’m a writer, after all, I don’t make real money – ha ha! A little writer’s humor there.) Especially not when I can get an ebook for $.99 and not have to use the gas to drive the forty-five minutes or more to the store. 

What's your favorite part about writing? Brainstorming? Weaving words? Cover art? 

Writing the conversations, because I don’t really write those, the characters do, and I get to kind of put my feet up and let them go. The rest of the time they make me do the work, though. 

If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and why? What would you do with them? 

My mind instantly went to the gutter. *pulls it back*  Hmmmm. It would have to be Dr. Who because he has the TARDIS and can go anywhere in time and space – so we could see everything; time travel, alien worlds, all of it. If he was in his David Tennant incarnation it would be a bonus, but I’d hang out with any of them except Colin Baker. 

What's your life like outside of writing? 

Pretty boring, really. Or I think it is. Other people have been known to say it’s chaotic and makes very little sense, but I think it makes a lot more sense than it used. I almost never find myself somewhere and think “What am I doing here?” anymore and that’s an improvement in itself.
 

Heart of Raven is available on Amazon.