They are my first readers and my first review. (Well, technically, my editor also read it, but she doesn't count. She was working and not what I would call "a reader".)
I am on wings after this review. I didn't know what to expect because some of the reviews at Pages & Paws are a little on the scary side. (Actually, they're a lot on the scary side.) So, for my book to be labeled "a gem" and to get a five-star review from this formidable review site was more than I'd hoped for or expected!
Please visit the blog and check out the review. Here's the link again:
Here are some of my favorite bits: Bebo is now Kimber's new best bud. That made me cry all by itself. And Kristine said Thirteen Miracles is "a little Narnia, a little This Present Darkness, a little The Shack, and a bit Hatchet all rolled into one." She also said it "packs a wallop" and that, "There's so much joy and hope in the final pages" that she's thinking of "buying stock in Kleenex!" She called it a "beautifully written story that's warm, invigorating, and maybe even a little bit extraordinary." Called it "nimble, creative, and fresh," and said it was, "brimming with engaging, lively characters who learn and grow. Ditto credible dialogue and enough mystery and intrigue to keep you guessing until the last page." She also gave it a rare 5 stars!! Which, according to her rating system, means: "Superb. Our highest rating. Better than bacon! A remarkable achievement. Must have a transcendent theme. Rings heart bells. May qualify as life-changing. Would read over and over and over."
What writer wouldn't want to get such a review?
It was one exhilarating review, and I am smiling from ear to ear as I read it -- in between sobs of joy! I'll always be grateful to Kimber the Magnificent and the equally Magnificent Kristine.
Wow.
And, on a much lesser note, I have a new cover. I had run some small test ads at BookBub, and my first cover did not do well. My second cover did even worse. This is actually the third cover, and it performed like a champ in a test ad at BookBub.
Once again, here are the blurbs and an excerpt, as well as the trailer.
Short blurb: A woman's search for God ends in a miraculous rescue mission in
the marijuana fields of the Devil's Backbone.
Here is the longer back-cover blurb:
Legend says it was the landing spot for Lucifer when he was cast out of
heaven. That's not the only thing it's known for. It is also a land of
marijuana fields, opium poppies, kidnappings, and drug-related killings. It's
the last place you would expect to find God, but Abby Welles is looking for
Him there. Her search will lead her on a miraculous rescue mission inside
the heart of The Devil's Backbone.
But she is running out of time, and she may have already run out of luck.
+++
Here is an excerpt:
The black bird was back, or whatever it was, and it was in Scarface’s
gunsight.
It was perched on a dead tree overhanging the
mountainside, watching the activity below. Something in the bird’s gaze and
mechanical head movements troubled her. Was it watching the activity or
controlling it? She silently ridiculed the thought. She was being paranoid.
This place did that to her.
The rifle fired, and she jumped. An unexpected
explosion ripped through the early morning quiet.
Scarface gave a sudden shriek of pain and fell to the
ground, clutching his face with blackened and bloodied hands. Unearthly sounds
accompanied his cries and repeated off the wall of rocks. Bebo joined in the
chorus, barking furiously, teeth barred. Abby wanted to silence him but knew
it was pointless. His barks were lost in the sea of strange sounds.
She tugged on him, pulling him back. He had strayed
too close to the edge. Once he was on safer ground, she strained to see where
the other noises were coming from. Had the weapon backfired? Was shrapnel
pinging off rocks? Not that it would explain what she was hearing. These were
more like animal yips and howls, but not quite.
Whatever was producing these noises wasn’t apparent
from her vantage point. Fear gripped her every muscle and nerve as the sounds
continued and grew more bizarre. Surely these weren’t the natural sounds of
nature. They didn’t even seem to originate from anything she could see—or ever
would see—in this world.
+++
Here is the trailer:
Interview Questions: This interview is a combination of questions from the Smashwords Interview feature and a Q&A with my niece.
Describe your desk
I'll paraphrase Zola Levitt. For evidence of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, one need only look at my desk. Everything on it is moving from a state of order to disorder.
When did you first start writing?
In eighth grade. I had an amazing teacher, Mr. McIntyre. He gave us contracts at the start of the year. We decided what grade we wanted to earn. I wanted an "A", but that meant I had to write three short stories. He read those stories out loud to the class. Fortunately, he was an actor, and he did a really good job reading them. The class laughed like crazy and everyone enjoyed my stories. I've been writing ever since.
What do you want readers to know about your Christian book, "Thirteen Miracles"?
There are a lot of layers to "Thirteen Miracles" and a lot of archetypes. For example, I think of Abby's husband, Charles, as a "type" of Christ. He goes into Satan's territory hoping to save his wife. I also want readers to know in advance that this is mostly a story about a woman and a dog in a wilderness survival story. So there is not a lot of dialogue. I think that no matter how many people are with us in this life, we are ultimately alone with God in the wilderness. I want readers to feel they have been inside Abby's head, heart, and soul by the end of this story. But my goal is to tell a good story. I hope I've done that in "Thirteen Miracles."
What is "Thirteen Miracles" about?
It's about a woman's search for God. Abby has gone to Mexico to write a book about miracles and to meet a Christian mystic who has the gift of prophecy. After some family struggles, Abby is reeling. She has lost her faith and feels that she must connect with God again if she is ever going to recover from her depression. She feels that she must get away from the "screaming commitments" in her life in order to do that.
On her journey, she is separated from her guide and must survive on her own with the help of an albino boxer named Bebo. As she attempts to find her way home, she discovers that two sixteen-year-old boys have been kidnapped by drug runners. She decides she must try to free them from their captors, and the book follows her journey inside The Devil's Backbone as she attempts to survive the wilderness and free the hostages, but she has some supernatural resistance to her goal as well as some natural ones.
You have called this a supernatural adventure, is that the best description of your story?
Yes. It is a Christian, supernatural adventure. I also think of "Thirteen Miracles" as a missionary story. As human beings, we have been separated from God and must find our way home. If we do, our goal is then to attempt to rescue others who are being held captive. But, it is an allegorical story in many different ways. It is the reader who will decipher the symbols and decide if they succeed or not. I don't want things to be taken too far, however. It is just a story, after all, with symbolic undertones. Above everything, I want the reader to experience a good story and be impacted by it.
Will this appeal to non-Christians?
Maybe. I'm not sure. I can't see this appealing to people who don't believe God exists. I think it would be offensive to them. In fact, I think there are many Christians who would be offended by "Thirteen Miracles" as well. Christians who don't believe in miracles will have a problem with this book. Christians who don't believe in an unseen, demonic world will have a problem with this book. I have a disclaimer at the end of the book. It states that my goal was not to teach doctrine or theology. It was to tell an entertaining story. I hope I succeeded, but that is up to the reader.
