Experimentation with my brand new Konica 35mm camera shortly before traveling on the trip of a lifetime to Great Britain and Europe which lasted almost 3 months. Two American girls jaunting across the Atlantic from Washington state to some parts unknown until we got there. Amazing memories from so long ago . . .
Father, you protected me before I knew your Son. Thank you is never enough for rescuing me and so much more. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
In the Blood is Book 5 in the Jack Carr James Reece Thriller Series.
James Reece (aka James Donovan) is a hunter. Of men. A sniper. An assassin. A killer. When necessary. When promised.
When another sniper, Syrian Nizar Kattan killed James' friend Freddy Swain, James vowed to his widow that he would get the person responsible for his death. When another friend from his past was brought down in a commercial flight, that same Syrian proved to be responsible for her death as well. That person would die – or James Reece would die trying to kill him. The question remained: Why were they killed? Totally unrelated incidents. The only thing they had remotely in common was James Reece.
The roundabout journey from DC to Israel to Montenegro to establish the whereabouts of the killer and the reasons for the deaths of his friends lead James to a man in a wheelchair who has a vendetta of his own.
The sniper hunters' face-off and paths to get there provide a hard-hitting (literally) search with the help of a serious dose of drug-induced information.
In the Blood is an eye-opener to the cyber world. An introduction to "Alice" will allow you a glimpse into James' best personal asset in this hunt. One thing he learns toward the end of this particular journey is maybe old hidden information that he has no way of locating is better left behind – or so he contemplates.
His girlfriend Katie has become very important to him and causes him to contemplate leaving his old life to start focusing on living the one he imagines with Katie.
But with a solid twist at the end, Carr has left us dangling for his next story as to the fate of James Reece.
(Some profanity.)
Father, only you know hearts and minds. Only you. Please continue to bless Jack as he writes these stories, give him what he needs to tell them well. Thank you for your writers. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Glory Hallelujah. His Truth Is Marching On.
God. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NIV)
May the Lord of heaven and earth provide the comfort for those who've lost all manner of loved ones in service to this One Nation Under God. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and maintains his wrath against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power;
he will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
Nahum 1:1-6 (NIV)
Breath of Life was my third self-published novel. It came out in 2011.
I would say it is my most "literary" style of all of them so far but wouldn't qualify as a literary novel.
Some of my friends hated the ending but loved the story.
It was my first attempt at using "first-person" point of view, and it was written from a male perspective. Many years ago I absolutely hated to read novels with first-person POV. I don't mind them anymore. Good thing because there are a lot of them.
The protagonist is intelligent but worldly until he meets the introverted heroine whose suffered loss and sheltered herself within her writing world until the protagonist inserts himself into her narrow reach.
Father, every good and perfect gift comes down from you. Thank you for giving me writing. May I always use it to point to you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
A Throwback Thursday review in 2020.
Ghosts by Mark Dawson is Book 4 in the John Milton Series.
John "Smith" has made it to Texas but turns out as he's preparing to leave again for wherever, he winds up arrested at a bar fight and is rescued – or intercepted – by a beautiful woman (Anna) posing as an FBI agent. Turns out she's anything but that kind of agent, and she's equipped for everything John might need for what she has in mind for him. She knows way more about him than he does about her.
Since John needs to know where this offer she presents is going, he willingly – although begrudgingly – accompanies her on a very long flight to an eventually remote "dacha" to hear what her boss has to offer. The request is in exchange for a rescue and requires some serious stealth before it's all said and done. First to Hong Kong with Anna to see the "ghost" he never expected to see again: Beatrix Rose, Number One who recruited him into Group Fifteen. When his first job with her goes terribly haywire, he never learns what happened to her after it. He assumed she might be dead – especially after his brush with Number 12 in The Cleaner. As he quickly learns, she's as good as dead when he meets with her.
And once again John stares death in the face, and it's only a matter of seconds away in the mayhem that erupts after the rescue is complete.
Mark Dawson has created a fascinating character in John Milton. Never looking for a fight but sizing up everyone in his path with the skills that come naturally after all the operative training and executions he's conducted over the years, somehow those fights come looking for him. Most of the time he's victorious, but he's had his share of close calls and temporary defeats with the multiple scars to prove it.
Mark's writing is heavy on location, scenery, description. His dialogue, or lack thereof when John chooses not to respond, is crisp, interesting, and often provocative. There is occasional profanity.
I find the John Milton Series very entertaining with only the occasional "rant". Do recommend you start at the beginning, and you'll find a pile of books in the series to keep you involved. I've found I also really enjoy the simplicity and colors used for the covers. The depiction of John Milton on the covers is perfect.
Father, please continue to bless Mark, encourage him, and meet his needs as he writes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Have you ever stopped to think about what it is you enjoy or like about a certain commercial? Or an ad in a magazine? Or a site or homepage?
The same specifics vary from one medium to another, but chances are they each have something in common that appeals to you.
So. Let's talk novels. Yes, we've exhausted the subject of marketing without coming to any conclusions, but if we examine what it is as readers that draws us to a particular novel, it might prove meaningful to those of us who want readers to notice and like our work.
Let's first eliminate those books from favorite authors because, let's face it, we could maybe not be all that impressed with a particular cover or even the blurb (i.e. back cover copy), but the author has hooked us in the past and we're going for whatever they deliver.
We've also established how important cover design is in drawing us into checking out a new book, although some readers claim cover is a lesser factor in their book selections. For me, covers are huge. The reality is if I don't know the author, that novel better have an intriguing cover.
The blurb or back cover copy better not tell me too much – although if I'm intrigued by the first couple of sentences, I'll just quit reading whatever comes next. For me, make it short and point to the story not any conclusions.
That certain "something" isn't all that definable at times. There's a radio commercial that I must have heard at least 30 times on the station I listen to. Every time I hear it, I laugh. Every. Time. No visuals and yet the voices project a mental image that gets a laugh even when I know it's coming. And I can actually remember the company that's advertising. This is what we want to do with our novels. Make an impression. Make it memorable.
Father, you're the only One that can make certain things happen. You are an amazing God and apart from you, we can do nothing. We rely on you and trust in you for the big and small things. Help us to trust you more. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The theme of love continues . . .
Father, you are Love and we only get glimpses of its meaning here on earth. In sin we've corrupted it, used it, tried to achieve it, but we only get a taste of it when we know you. And it's all worth it then. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
If you're an author in today's independent publishing world, and if you're an established author but not a bestselling or "noteworthy" author, and if you're a rebel at heart as far as certain parameters are concerned in the genre(s) of your choice, you realize that taking a risk really won't much matter if you're inclined to take one – or more.
"Why?" you ask. Taking a risk in the writing or production or marketing of your work probably will not draw attention to it either positively or negatively because your reach – or fan base – isn't large enough to cause you any kind of damage to sales or reputation. Of course you're working hard to expand your readership. . . . That "you" is me.
"Whatever it takes" is the mantra for many indie authors. Not necessarily for me.
Others waltzed into publishing with just the right steps, talent, approaches, and have cashed in on the market for their genre.
The individual cases each have their own accounts of what they did and how it helped them or how it did not.
For me, I want to briefly discuss the actual writing risk – that is, when you are that rebel that dares to do something a bit different with your novel. Let me give you two examples from my own books. The Famous One is written like a fictional biography and begins in the omniscient point of view but eventually morphs into third-person. It focuses on the one character's life, that of Joey Parr. My other risk was my first primarily first-person story from a male POV with all of his (Michael Jamison) narrative in italics, but it also included the third person POV in standard text. A normal complaint about using italics to that length would be the possibility of it being hard to read. I can say honestly that is not the case with Breath of Life. The italics are done well and just as easy to read as the regular font used.
In my writing world I have nothing to lose. Most novelists can't say that. Many of them are younger and full of the energy and stamina it takes to figure out a marketing scheme, willing to write what is trending/hot. Some of them have had other careers prior to writing and have the "chops" and contacts to know who to call upon for assistance. Some have a built-in audience for their work when they're ready to publish. Others know how to cultivate readers within the genre(s) they write. The writing world is made up of all different kinds of people with all different levels of success – and many diverse needs.
Personally speaking, my writing risk arrives with each new novel I publish. Will it be well received by those who do in fact love my work? Will this next one produce the desired effect I want them to experience? Will they tout it to their friends because they "loved" it?
The writing life is full of risks, but then life in general presents risks. Do we take them? Do we avoid them? Do we welcome them? What do you do about risk . . .?
Father, you lead me. I hope to always follow. You lead us into risks at times and walk through them with us. You have a plan. May I stick to it as it unfolds before me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
