THIS IS NEW

Hello. It’s been a while since my last entry and that got me thinking if any of you are still out there. 😅*crossing fingers The last few weeks had been very busy and, as you may know, moving into another country (another continent, really) is never easy. As of now, it’s acquainting with the new house, the new bed, the climate, and a timeline for me. The most challenging, right now, is getting acquainted with the new church. Will I ever be acquainted? That is. I’ve always believed in the fact that to belong to a church I need to have a purpose. So, let’s see if I can identify my purpose here.

Did I say I was busy? Well, I’ve been busy touring around Alberta, Canada. Believe me, it’s not a posh endeavor. Don’t get me wrong, the places we’ve been are absolutely interesting and wonderful, but the drive was long and, well, long. Good thing we have Cindy Lauper to accompany us most of the time. 🎵 I drove all night to get to you.🎶

My hubby, being adorable as he’d always been, drove me to browse around CrossIron Mills Outlets Mall. I unashamedly bought boots, clothes, and food. Go ahead, judge me for being a girl.😜 But, even though, there’s an Indigo outlet, I didn’t get any book. I was busy looking at what book people picked up, instead.

There was this one morning when we drove to see the beautiful frozen Lake Louise, which is absolutely pristine, but freakishly cold too. Hubby said that we should go back in the summer, and we really should. We also went to see the Banff Park Museum, which was very educational and startling. Although, it’s a place I’m sure my daughter would never enter by choice, because of the huge taxidermy collection. She’s an animal person, you see. They have some really interesting shops in that town. Plenty of people, too. The line at Starbucks was ridiculous, I tell you, but it gave me enough time to observe people. I’ve been spending a lot of time observing people lately, hmmm.

We spent one Sunday afternoon walking around downtown Calgary –taking pictures and internalizing how to be tourists. This is followed by an even more interesting Monday, driving around looking into Calgary’s independent bookstores and chatting with their accommodating store clerks. I’m going to write a piece about that on a different post.

On our way to Saskatchewan, we drove first into Drumheller. Dinosaurs walk that town. We went to see the Tyrell Museum, Homestead Museum, and the Hoodoos. The whole trip was wonderful. I literally want to take pictures of every hump and rock formations. It’s a warm place, where the sun sets a couple of hours before midnight. And it was funny and cool walking around wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night.😎

Here’s the thing, moving continent, I also need to move my files and whatnot. So I’m doing my best to move my book reviews into one place, where there’s actually a working chronological order. Be forewarned that I’ll be posting pre-Blogger book reviews I wrote in Shelfari, Goodreads, and Tumblr. Hopefully, they will not bore you.  You let me know, okay?

Before I forgot, I’ve been to concerts and had drinks, of course. Thank you to all the wonderful people who provided our tickets. So, yeah, I just want you guys to know that I still have a nightlife, despite the cold, here in the new continent.

Sorry for not writing sooner. I’ll sit again to write something actually book related, promise.

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Filipino Fridays (2): Have you ever wanted to write a book?

And, we are on our second round... Already?

Have you ever wanted to write a book?  As a reader, have you ever thought about writing a book? What kind of books/stories do you want to write? Or are you now a published author, and what compelled you to go fulfill this dream? How was your journey from reader to writer? How did you go about getting your book out there?

As a reader, have you ever thought about writing a book?

• Once, a very long time ago, I did imagine myself writing. I grew up with a neighbor who was a retired journalist from a local broadsheet. Part of his retirement agenda was to gather all the neighborhood kids and teach them the basics of writing. There were about 8-10 of us at different ages. We were asked to read any of our written produce anytime we come together, and then, our volunteer teacher would make some comments and encouragements. He even drilled us on spelling and vocabulary then. Eventually, there were 3 of us who joined a journalism class by our intermediate years and wrote for the school paper until secondary school.

What kind of books/stories do you want to write?

• I've entertained the idea of writing an adventure. I guess that's where my love for reading good adventures came from. Carol Shields once said, “Write the book you want to read, the one you cannot find.” But I am blessed with finding the books I want to read. So why bother writing them, when I can easily just read them. LOL! Although I've fully realized what I really wanted to pursue in life, I will always treasure my experience writing for a school circulation.

Hey, jump on the wagon! Visit the Filipino ReaderCon site and post your answers for the Filipino Friday meme. We love to read them!

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Join My Birthday Giveaway!

Hi! I'm too lazy to post anything substantial these past few days, and this is my first step in getting out of that rut. A very quick post really, but very important. I am very thankful to God for adding another wonderful and blessed year to my life. And I want to pay it forward, to those who bother themselves in taking a peek at my blog, through this giveaway. 

Limited for Philippine residents only

Thank you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Please read the Terms and Conditions for the raffle.

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BEST BOOKS of 2014 ...so far

January to June

I am supposed to post the list earlier this month, but (hey) it's better late than never, right? I thought it was lovely to make it an annual thing and let you guys know of the wonderful discoveries I had. 

Here are my best reads from January to June of this year, in no particular order:

• The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• A Dance With Dragons by George RR Martin
• The City and the City by  China Miéville
• Man in the Dark by Paul Auster

These three lovely books are also worth mentioning...

• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Most of what I read these past six months was a worthy company. If you want to check them, here's the link.

Happy reading, everyone!

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Say It With A Book #4 | The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories by Carson McCullers

Guest Book Reviewer | Sheryl Darlene Lao

     

The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories is a collection of Carson McCuller’s best stories. The collection includes 7 stories below, the highlight of which is her novella “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” 

1. The Ballad of the Sad Café – 

McCullers sets the tone of her collection with the haunting tale of a human love triangle between three unlikely characters: the formidable Miss Amelia Evans, the freakishly grotesque Cousin Lymon, and the troublesome handsome Marvin Macy. With the unlikely characters, comes an unlikely story as well. 

Even with such strange characters, McCullers was able to draw me in because of her beautiful prose and genuine writing style. Though bizarre, her bare all honesty sells the characters for who they really are. McCullers was able to capture the essence of unrequited love, the pain and the glory in the below quote, she writes: 

"It is for this reason that most of us would rather love than be loved. Almost everyone wants to be the lover. And the curt truth is that, in a deep secret way, the state of being beloved is intolerable to many. The beloved fears and hates the lover, and with the best of reasons. For the lover is forever trying to strip bare the beloved. The lover craves any possible relation with the beloved, even if this experience can cause him only pain.”

2. Wunderkind

First published a story written by the author when she was just 17 years old, “Wunderkind” is about the portrayal of a musical prodigy’s struggle and futile attempt to become a great pianist. Through a vivid snapshot of a typical day in the life of the girl pianist, the reader is taken inside the heart of a struggling pianist.

This story made me ponder about the classic nature versus nurture argument. Passionate people are admirable; especially people who are passionate about their own craft and work hard at it. However, there are instances you encounter people who it would seem are naturally born and made to be geniuses in their craft and there are those who are talented but it would also seem will never be talented enough to rise above? I go for hard work, passion, and dedication but I also believe that there are those who were born to do what they do greatly.

3.  The Jockey

The Jockey features a sports man’s inability to cope with a colleague’s injury. It tackles realities that knock us off with how uncertain our future can be and pushes us to reflect where we are and where we want to be in our lives.

4. Madame Zilensky and the King of Finland

This is about a music teacher in a university and the slow discovery of her strange ways. Madame Zilensky’s mundane life leads her to create a more colorful and acceptable world. This is one of the stories which touch on humor in the midst of life’s absurdities. 

5. The Sojourner

This is about a man’s chance encounter with her former wife which leads to dinner with his former wife, a new husband and their son. You can never get away with your past; it would always be part of who you are. When faced with our own past, to which the best reminders are the people from our own past, we often get pressured to retain the “old” us when we feel that the “new” us isn’t at par. We forget though that change is inevitable and it is an acceptable reality that people from our past are willing to accept.

6. A Domestic Dilemma

An unconventional family where the father is forced to take on the role of the mother as his wife struggles with alcoholism. This is about keeping a family together and how ultimately it is the loyalties and love at the core of what binds a family together. A particular scene gets to me when the father asks himself how it seems the children are unaffected with their situation and fearfully prays that this won’t be so when they grow up. 

7. A Tree – a Rock – a Cloud 

The science of love according to the author is to go about it step by step. Love should be a gradual process and it is by starting to love the little things that we can set ourselves to love greatly.

I’m definitely a fan of McCuller’s writing. I can say she is a melancholic writer and it works for me. I find there is beauty in loneliness and unhappiness because it is the rawest emotion. A must-read! If you're not into short stories, you can try her novel “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” and if you didn't get the hint from the title, I warn you, be prepared for depression. 

Book Details:

Title: The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

Author: Carson McCullers

Publisher: Mariner Books

Publication: April 5, 2005 (January 1, 1951)

Genre: Fiction, Short stories

Rating: ★★★★★

About Sheryl Darlene Lao:

   

Hi. I'd like you to meet one of TFG's shyest and sweetest member. 

TPW:  What is your favorite genre?  

Sheryl:  Currently, off the top of my head would be Young Adult, Literary and Children’s. Literary feeds on my love for words and just the sheer pleasure of seeing them stringed together so beautifully always reminds me how great it is to read books while Young Adult and Children’s would be my all-time feel good comfort reads.

TPW:  How would you define yourself as a reader?

Sheryl:  I'm a hodgepodge reader. I just go by feeling most of the time. You can easily recommend any type of book and if it piques my interest, I would surely give it a shot. Note, however, that I’m a slow reader but a certified book hoarder. Just dare to imagine my TBR pile! 

TPW:  Thank you for sharing this book with us, Sheryl! ♥

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Say It With A Book #3 | Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

With Guest Book Reviewer | Veronica Mastrile

     

Every now and then, I set my kindle and earphones aside to pay my bookshelves some much-needed attention. Running my fingers across the book spines, I ended up pulling out Alan Paton's “Cry, the Beloved Country.” I had never read any South African literature and I figured this was a good place to start.

The novel is set in the South Africa of 1946, two years before the apartheid policy was implemented. Racial prejudices ran high with blacks and whites living in fear of each other. Young men, seeking better opportunities, were leaving their villages to work in the mines of Johannesburg. The story is about two fathers, Stephen Kumalo, a pious and benevolent black priest from a rural area, and James Jarvis, an influential white landowner from the same area. Kumalo travels to Johannesburg in search of his son Absalom who left the village for the city and had not been heard from since. He learns that his son has been charged with killing Jarvis’ son, a social activist, who, ironically, was helping to improve the living conditions of the black community. Humility and forgiveness allow these two men, united by misfortune, to come to terms with their grief.

The plot is essentially a parable but there is a poetic quality to Paton’s spare prose which I often found engaging and poignant. It is through the story of these two fathers that Paton gives voice to his feelings about South Africa and the problems it faces. Kumalo is a simple man, taking pride in his religious beliefs and the tribal customs of his people. What he experiences in Johannesburg turns his world upside down. He was disheartened not only by his son’s tragedy but by the racial discrimination, the misery of his people living in the slums, and the wearing down of tribal customs. Jarvis is typical of the white African community passively accepting racial segregation as the status quo. Estranged from his father, Jarvis’ son turns away from a life of comfort to advocate for the rights of the blacks. He believed that the practice of keeping the blacks subservient to the whites by denying them equal pay, education and housing perpetuated their poverty and was un-Christian. When Jarvis reads the paper his son was writing just before he died, the father begins to understand the son he never knew.  He decides that the best way to honor his son would be to continue his work of improving a lot of the black community. He returns to the village and hires a white man to teach the villagers how to manage their land properly.

Paton was a devout Christian and there are religious overtones to his writing, often not so subtle.  But because Kumalo is such a sympathetic character, I became more forgiving of the book. The scenes I found most poignant were those that involved blacks and whites going against the racial sanctions to help each other simply out of the goodness of their hearts. The white man offering a black man a ride during a bus boycott, the black villager walking many miles to pick flowers for a funeral wreath to give to Mr. Jarvis, the white lawyer who volunteers to defend Kumalo’s son pro deo. Paton worked among the Zulu people most of his life and I would like to think that these actions, or some semblance of it, really happened. It does a lot to restore my faith in human nature.

From the first sentences of Chapter 1, Paton’s love for his country is apparent:

“There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist; you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld.”

I loved those lines and it served to heighten the stark contrast of reading about the miserable living conditions in Johannesburg later on.  It is a sad but ultimately uplifting story, one that ends in hope.

The book was published in 1948 a few months before the apartheid policy was made into law. With apartheid, races in South Africa were separated nationwide. People were compelled to relocate to places as defined by their race. It is interesting to note that South Africans of Filipino descents were classified as "black." It took forty years before the international community placed sanctions on South Africa and apartheid was abolished. I can’t help wondering whether this book, had it been published a few years earlier and given time to distill in the minds of South Africans, could have affected their history.

I’m glad to have read this book. It left me wanting to read and know more about South Africa. I will be looking for books by J.M. Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer (both Nobel Prize winners) and André Brink.

Book Details:

Title: Cry,the Beloved Country

Author: Alan Paton

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Rating:  êêêê

About Veronica Mastrile:

   

Sorry, it took me a while to publish this, but I assure you it's worth the wait. The Page Walker welcomes one of the most beloved person in TFG...

TPW: What is your favorite genre?

Ms. Ronnie: Mostly fiction, be it classical, historical or realistic. I also like reading mystery novels. This would also pretty much describe my proverbial desert island book list (plus my Gary Larson Far Side comic books).

TPW: How would you define yourself as a reader? 

Ms. Ronnie: I read whatever I'm in the mood for. I'm a compulsive list maker so I do have one called My Ultimate List which I refer to when choosing my next book to read. Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a two-year old and am easily distracted by books my friends rave about so that list is often ignored. I guess I'm a meticulous, moody and undisciplined reader. 

TPW:  Thank you for poring time on this, Ms. Ronnie. I hope you'll agree for another blog guesting. I love having you here! 

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Author's Friday | Desiree Williams

Early last month, Desiree Williams revealed to us her recently published work Heart Song. But I can't seem to let her go that fast, so I asked her for an interview, which she graciously accepted.

Just to make it clear for everyone, Desiree is not the same Desiree Williams who won Miss Virginia in 2013, but she is just as pretty. Desiree is a wife and a supermom who writes from Kentucky. And who, btw, is having an awesome giveaway on her blog.

Interview:

The Page Walker: Hello, Desiree. Welcome!

Most writers are readers too.  Which writers inspire you?

Desiree Williams: The first indie authors that I read where Quinn Loftis and Chanda Hahn. Then it just spiraled into more awesomeness from there. Heather Hildenbrand is one of the tops also. She was an asset in my launch into self-publishing. 

TPW:  Oh yes, Heather Hildenbrand is someone to keep an eye on too. Now, is there a special spot when you're writing?

DW: Not really. That’s the best part of being a writer, your ‘desk’ is wherever you set your computer. I tend to bounce between working at my home desk, the library, and even Panera. At the moment I'm sitting at my dining room table sipping on sweet tea. 

TPW: What is it with moms and dining tables? Because that's where I prefer to write also. Anyways, when did you decide to become a writer?

DW: It was in 2013 that I got the courage to start putting my daydreams on paper. Then early 2014 was when I traveled down the path of self-publishing. Needless to say, my life has taken some awesome turns lately. 

TPW: About your latest book, how did you come up with the title of your book or series?

DW: This was really fun for me! In developing the story, I wanted to refer to a soul mate, or a bond, as something different. The story grew to have the two characters’ hearts connected and their souls bonded, and they can also hear one another’s heartbeat. If you heard the heartbeat of someone that you loved it wouldn’t be a weird or crazy sound, it would be a symphony. Something that stirred your own heart to rejoice. Thus the title, Heart Song, was born. =)

TPW: Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork?

DW: Kristen Thompson, from Seeing Night Reviews, was the graphic designer for this cover. She did such an amazing job! When doing the mockups there was very little that I changed from her original design. So what you see came straight out of her imagination, and I love it! The model matches Alanna’s character description perfectly, and the castle in the background hints at a scene in the book. 

TPW: People should really visit Kristen's page, she made some really wonderful designs. Without spilling too much, who is your favorite character from your book and why?

DW: Oh, this question is so hard for me to answer because I love each of my characters. They are my first creations and each one has a special place in my heart. But if I’d have to choose, it would be Alanna. She projects a sweet spirit but a fierceness when it comes to protecting those in her care. 

TPW: Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?

DW: Essentially young adult, but honestly anyone who loves a good story about pure love. I want my stories to not only be entertaining but also give the reader a sense of hope and warm fuzzies. I want them to feel like they can conquer anything.

TPW: What draws you to this genre?

DW: The possibilities that await us in each book. I love reading fantasy myself, and I dive right into how the authors weave their tales. Fantasy offers a gateway to our imagination because anything that we can dream up is possible. 

TPW: What can we expect from you in the future?

DW: Awesome-sauce with a side of fantastalicious. Definitely more fantasy. There are two more novels for the Heart Song Trilogy and some other things in the works that I can't quite talk about at the moment. =) So much fun happening though!! 

TPW: Well, I'll hope then that when those "things in the works" are ready, I get to have first dibs! Thanks, Desiree.

DW: Thank you SO much for allowing me to stop by! I enjoyed doing this interview with you! 

Find Desiree Williams here.



Latest book: 

In Aldonnia, the evil of Varkadon overflows its borders. War ravages the lands…

For as long as eighteen-year-old Alanna can remember she’s lived in hiding, sealed off from the outside world. Despite a future built around a steadfast rule of seclusion, Alanna dreams of the impossible. Of life outside of her parents’ cabin. A life with more for a company than just birds and woodland creatures. A life she knows deep down is impossible for someone with gifts like hers.

That all changes the day Alanna finds a man floating face down in a stream. Despite her parents’ warnings, Alanna pulls the injured man out of the water and heals him with her elemental talents. Just another good deed. Until the man wakes and Alanna realizes so much more has happened than simply a life saved. The healing she performed on the stranger bound her soul to Jerric, the prince of Aldonnia.

Alanna’s heart wants to keep the prince, but duty and destiny intervene. Alanna’s world is rocked as her parents are lost. Left in the care of the family she didn’t know, Alanna learns more than she wanted to about the evil threatening the lands. There is much more behind her parents’ drive to protect. Alanna learns her gifts were bestowed to fulfill a greater purpose. A greater calling. One of her enemies seeks to destroy at all costs.

Alanna’s choice is clear. To either ignore her destiny and remain hidden, or boldly fight to keep what sings to her heart.

You may get your copy of Heart Song from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Smashwords.

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Say It With A Book #2 | AMERICA IS IN THE HEART by Carlos Bulosan

With Guest Book Reviewer | Ayban Gabriyel Dotarot

 in pursuit of his “American Dream”

    

America Is In The Heart is an autobiography of Carlos Bulosan(1913-1956) a native of Binalonan, Pangasinan who went to California for greener pastures during the great depression in the US. The book was first published in 1946 in the US and was only given attention in the country during the First Quarter Storm (1972), its great relevance during those times gave this biography the attention it needed. 

In the book, he gave his 3 brothers fictive names, and the book was divided into 4 parts. The first part was about his childhood memory, his family in Pangasinan, and the flight of his brothers. The first part was my favorite, its rural setting and his poignant writing gripped me. This was the most emotional part for me, sharing your family stories and tragedies while growing up, unable to fully understand things that are happening around you, accepting blows hoping to understand it someday, in time.

The second part was about his flight, his adventures in a foreign land and realizing his American Dream, and the illusions of it. He went to America when he was just 17 years old, sold as a slave, and worked from one plantation to another. He later found his brother, or rather his brother found him. This 2nd part was about his hardships and realizations. The hardship of being a Filipino worker in America in those dark depressing times, when there were no available jobs and being a Filipino is like being a dog; discrimination of other races filled the American air.

The last two parts were about his involvement in the labor unions and the movement. He organized labor movements for better working conditions. And it is also the part where he wrote his poems and short stories and got published. He was bedridden for 2 years and these were his productive years. The book ends during the first year of WWII when one of his brothers volunteered to fight for his motherland. Allos (Carlos), also intended to come back to the Philippine but it never happened, he died in 1956.

On halfway reading this book, I can't help but think if this is really a biography or a work of fiction, asking myself was it really possible, is he being truthful to me? Did he manage to take all the blows? Hardships and discrimination? I think not. He may not experience it all but I believed he wrote for those Filipinos who do. But nonetheless, this book was a great read. As F. Sionil Jose said once's in a newspaper article this book was Bulosan’s magnum opus.

I first read him way back in high school, his short story The Tree Of My Father has included in our Philippine Literature class again in college with his story My Father Goes To Court. Carlos Bulosan was one of our great writers whom I believe to be underrated, this book still has its relevance today; this book showed me tragedies and hardships of the past that we need not ignore. I recommend this book to every Filipino, especially to those who have left their own country in search of a greener pasture, working to support their family -let us not forget their hardships.

I’m planning to read his novel All the Conspirators after. 

Book details:

Title:  America Is In The Heart

Author:  Carlos Bulosan

Genre:  Biography

Rating:  ★★★★★

About Ayban Gabriyel Dotarot:

Needless to say, I am very excited about this blog feature. A for April and A is also for Ayban!

   

TPW:  What is your favorite genre?

Ayban: Philippine Literature. Way back in college I found a copy of Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag by Edgardo M. Reyes in our school library. I have seen the movie adaption but I haven't read it. I'm just curious. And without realizing it, it is now a great affair with the written words.

Philippine literature could also be romantic without being baduy and so much more than they used to say that they are sad and depressing because of the sad social themes.

At first I was only curious, but now it’s an affair with the written words printed in papers bounded by glue.

TPW:  How would you define yourself as a reader?

Ayban: I think a bit picky and moody reader.  Sometimes I would start a book, and when it bores me I put it back on the shelf, then start a new one. Haha!
Now I have a lot of TBR's books that needs reading. Now I buy books more than I could read them.

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Author's Friday | Kenneth G. Bennett

Our featured author for today is a wilderness enthusiast who loves backpacking, skiing, and kayaking. He enjoys mysteries, science fiction, action-adventure stories, and, most especially, novels that explore the relationship between humans and the wild. He lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son,  and two hyperactive Australian Shepherds. 

Kenneth G. Bennett is the author of the young adult novels, THE GAIA WARS and BATTLE FOR CASCADIA, and the new sci-fi thriller, EXODUS 2022. 

Interview:

The Page Walker: Foremost, Ken, I'd like to know which writer/s inspire you?

Kenneth G. Bennett : I read a lot of different genres but some of my favorite authors include Stephen King, Ursula K. LeGuin, Lee Child, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, George Luis Borges, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Barbara Kingsolver, Amy Tan and Neil Gaiman

TPW: Wow, I spotted 4 favorite authors we have in common.  Do you have a favorite spot when writing?

KGB:  There’s a sunny breakfast nook in my house, where I love to write. It’s close to the coffee.

TPW: Coffee, of course. So, when did you decided to become a writer?

KGB: By age five or six I was writing stories for my friends.

TPW: Your publicist, Vanya Drumschiiska, was kind enough to send me a copy of the cover of your new book. How did you come up with the title?

KGB: EXODUS 2022 is about an imminent, cataclysmic “departure” from Planet Earth that humans are completely unaware of, so “EXODUS” fit with the story. Furthermore, while it’s not a religious book it does contain spiritual elements and references to the church.

TPW: Who designed it?

KGB: A brilliant, gifted designer named Kathleen Grebe came up with the cover after I told her the concept of the book. You can see more of Kathleen’s work at http://www.kathleengrebe.com/

TPW: Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

KGB: Ella Tollefson, because of the massive transformation that occurs with her character.

TPW: I am always forward when asking this question. Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?

KGB: Thriller, adventure, fantasy and sci-fi readers might enjoy this book because the story is fresh and intriguing and the pace is relentless.

TPW: What draws you to this genre?

KGB: I am drawn to a lot of different genres and this book reflects that. It’s a mix of sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, wilderness adventure and mystery.

TPW:  Are there any plans for your next project?

KGB: I'm working on a new book called THE HEALER about a man who discovers later in life that he has a unique, one-in-a-billion gift for healing.

TPW: Thank you for stopping by, Ken. Godspeed on Exodus 2022.

KGB: Yes, thank you for the great questions and for this opportunity!

Find Kenneth G. Bennett here.

   

Latest book:

Release date: May 20^th, 2014

Publisher: Booktrope Publishing

About the book:

Joe Stanton is in agony. Out of his mind over the death of his young daughter. Or so it seems.

Unable to contain his grief, Joe loses control in public, screaming his daughter’s name and causing a huge scene at a hotel on San Juan Island in Washington State. Thing is, Joe Stanton doesn't have a daughter. Never did. And when the authorities arrive they blame the 28-year-old’s outburst on drugs.

What they don't yet know is that others up and down the Pacific coast—from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound—are suffering identical, always fatal mental breakdowns.

With the help of his girlfriend—the woman he loves and dreams of marrying—Joe struggles to unravel the meaning of the hallucination destroying his mind. As the couple begins to perceive its significance—and Joe’s role in a looming global calamity—they must also outwit a billionaire weapons contractor bent on exploiting Joe’s newfound understanding of the cosmos, and outlast the time bomb ticking in Joe’s brain. 

Get your copy of EXODUS 2022 from Amazon.com.

TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY

1 Kindle Fire

15 signed paperbacks

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