Book review from the Tampa Tribune:
'Death Wizard' Captures Magic Of Potter Series
By KAREN HAYMON LONG
Published: October 21, 2007
The Death Wizard Chronicles: Book One (The Pit) by Jim Melvin (Rain Publishing Inc., $18)
Adult Harry Potter and Eragon fans can get their next fix with Jim Melvin's six-book epic The Death Wizard Chronicles. Book one (The Pit) and book two (Moon Goddess) are out now. The other four will follow once a month beginning in November.
In The Pit, Melvin's imagination and writing equal that of J.K. Rowling, author of the fantastically popular Harry Potter series, and Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and Eldest. Some of his descriptions -- and creatures -- even surpass theirs.
His fantasy takes place on Triken, a world of ancient rulers, of good vs. evil, love vs. hate.
His hero, Torg, wizard king of the Tugars, is a "Death Knower," who has died and come back to life stronger than ever many times over the centuries. Torg oversees a peaceful people threatened by an evil ruler, Invictus.
In exchange for the freedom of nuns and monks imprisoned by Invictus, Torg agrees to imprisonment in a pit in a monstrously grotesque frozen mountain called Asubha. No one expects him to survive.
But through his magical powers, great strength and by dying and resurrecting, he survives all that's thrown at him: a monstrous snow giant, demons, evil sorcerers, a cruel spider and giant worm monsters.
Melvin's descriptions of these monsters make them seem frightfully real. That's especially true of the demon Vedana, Invictus' grandmother, who forces Torg to impregnate her.
Melvin's hero may not have the youthful appeal of Harry Potter, but he's compelling enough to hook those who read The Pit.
-- Karen Haymon Long is the Tribune's book editor.
More Than Just A Novel
http://wd-desert.blogspot.com
Section: Books!
DESERT RAIN
More than just a novel
By Barbara Kowal
It was a wet Los Angeles afternoon when I went to visit Wallace Dorian about his new novella, Desert Rain, which seemed apropos, given the title of his book. I wanted to get a sense of the story through the author himself. Looking much younger than his sixty years--his black hair streaked with gray, and smoking cigarettes one after another--I interviewed Mr. Dorian about Desert Rain and how he came to write it.. He talked about more than his book. He also spoke about his struggling years and his humble beginnings growing up in rural Massachusetts.
BK (Barbara Kowal): Is Desert Rain your first novel?
WD (Wallace Dorian): Yes. Actually, it’s a novella. The story of how I came to write it is a journey in itself. Most of my writing has been screenplays and stage plays. I was living in Colorado at the time and feeling frustrated so I wrote this story “Desert Rain” which has a Native American theme running through it as you know. For the Hopi and Native American peoples, and for all of us for that matter, rain is an essential part of our lives, which boils down to water. Water symbolizes many things. It can sustain life, grow crops for food and can also be the very thing that kills us.
BK: The story has a very haunting quality to it. It seems to have all the mythic elements that a good story should have--that is, the hero’s journey into a kind of heart-of-darkness yet, new-age sensibility. You also incorporate the Native American theme into the story, which makes it even more compelling. Why did you choose to write about the Hopi?
WD: When I was a child, my father showed me a painting of the Hopi snake dance and how certain elders or dancers during the ceremony would put a rattlesnake in their mouths, and that image always stayed with me. In writing the story, the main character, Cynthia, a documentary filmmaker and a very independent woman in her 40s, is making a comeback after the tragic suicide of her teenage son, Steven. This, in fact, is the ghost that haunts her throughout the story even though we never see the events that precipitated it. I thought of the metaphor of the desert and this woman entering the arena of the Southwest, mainly Arizona and New Mexico. I then thought of the Southwest Native Americans and did a lot of research about the Anasazi, Pueblo and Navajo. But what really struck me as more intriguing were the Hopi Indians and the idea of the Kachina cult. Thus, I used the ancient Hopi stories that weave themselves very subtly into the fabric of the novella. This is done through the character of John Lone Eagle, a fictional elder.
BK: You also tell the coming-of-age story of an interesting character in Desert Rain--an eighteen-year-old girl who is half-Hopi.
WD: I’m glad you mentioned her because it is this character, Mary, or Kuwanyauma, who symbolizes the emerging generation of Hopi...especially in a high-tech, frenzied world that tries to cut them off from their native roots. In that sense, Mary is a symbol of hope for her people and one that will endure. The story also tells of Mary’s self-identity struggle in a world that wants her to conform to the status quo, and of her tense relationship with her single mother, Amber, who is trying to forget her Hopi roots. Mary also yearns to get close to her cowboy, drifter father who, after nine years away, suddenly returns. The story is a also a call for social acceptance in a world that is primarily racist. I try to convey this idea through storytelling that is indigenous to all cultures of the world.
BK: The book begins 500 years ago, when Coronado was trying to conquer the City of Cibola, or seven cities of gold. You have a scene where a mother is telling her young son a story about their past, just before they are murdered by Conquistadors later on.
WD: Yes. Ironically, I wrote the prologue after I’d already written the first draft of the book and developed Mary’s story more fully. The prologue conveys this idea of storytelling to carry on one’s respect and love of their culture. This storytelling concept comes full circle in the end when Mary–now married with a child and a successful lawyer in the year 2023–is relating an old Hopi folk story to her young son. It is here that the story really comes together in expressing the need for future generations to never forget who they are and where they came from.
BK: What do you hope to accomplish with this book?
WD: Someone once said to me that I was in the “emotion” business. And I was also asked how I came to write a story with the Hopi in it since I’m not even Hopi. I don’t know. Maybe someone was writing it through me in some strange way. I’m just an instrument. I do believe that the story has universal appeal and is not just about Hopi or Native American culture. I think it speaks to all of us about the nature of love, redemption, loss, sacrifice, family and tradition that everyone can relate to. I just tried to convey it in a literary and emotional way. I also hope the book will also strike a nerve with young adults and teens.
BK: All the best with Desert Rain, Mr. Dorian, and thank you very much.
WD: Thank you.
Desert Rain is available at select bookstores near you or at www.rainbooks.com
Section: Books!
DESERT RAIN
More than just a novel
By Barbara Kowal
It was a wet Los Angeles afternoon when I went to visit Wallace Dorian about his new novella, Desert Rain, which seemed apropos, given the title of his book. I wanted to get a sense of the story through the author himself. Looking much younger than his sixty years--his black hair streaked with gray, and smoking cigarettes one after another--I interviewed Mr. Dorian about Desert Rain and how he came to write it.. He talked about more than his book. He also spoke about his struggling years and his humble beginnings growing up in rural Massachusetts.
BK (Barbara Kowal): Is Desert Rain your first novel?
WD (Wallace Dorian): Yes. Actually, it’s a novella. The story of how I came to write it is a journey in itself. Most of my writing has been screenplays and stage plays. I was living in Colorado at the time and feeling frustrated so I wrote this story “Desert Rain” which has a Native American theme running through it as you know. For the Hopi and Native American peoples, and for all of us for that matter, rain is an essential part of our lives, which boils down to water. Water symbolizes many things. It can sustain life, grow crops for food and can also be the very thing that kills us.
BK: The story has a very haunting quality to it. It seems to have all the mythic elements that a good story should have--that is, the hero’s journey into a kind of heart-of-darkness yet, new-age sensibility. You also incorporate the Native American theme into the story, which makes it even more compelling. Why did you choose to write about the Hopi?
WD: When I was a child, my father showed me a painting of the Hopi snake dance and how certain elders or dancers during the ceremony would put a rattlesnake in their mouths, and that image always stayed with me. In writing the story, the main character, Cynthia, a documentary filmmaker and a very independent woman in her 40s, is making a comeback after the tragic suicide of her teenage son, Steven. This, in fact, is the ghost that haunts her throughout the story even though we never see the events that precipitated it. I thought of the metaphor of the desert and this woman entering the arena of the Southwest, mainly Arizona and New Mexico. I then thought of the Southwest Native Americans and did a lot of research about the Anasazi, Pueblo and Navajo. But what really struck me as more intriguing were the Hopi Indians and the idea of the Kachina cult. Thus, I used the ancient Hopi stories that weave themselves very subtly into the fabric of the novella. This is done through the character of John Lone Eagle, a fictional elder.
BK: You also tell the coming-of-age story of an interesting character in Desert Rain--an eighteen-year-old girl who is half-Hopi.
WD: I’m glad you mentioned her because it is this character, Mary, or Kuwanyauma, who symbolizes the emerging generation of Hopi...especially in a high-tech, frenzied world that tries to cut them off from their native roots. In that sense, Mary is a symbol of hope for her people and one that will endure. The story also tells of Mary’s self-identity struggle in a world that wants her to conform to the status quo, and of her tense relationship with her single mother, Amber, who is trying to forget her Hopi roots. Mary also yearns to get close to her cowboy, drifter father who, after nine years away, suddenly returns. The story is a also a call for social acceptance in a world that is primarily racist. I try to convey this idea through storytelling that is indigenous to all cultures of the world.
BK: The book begins 500 years ago, when Coronado was trying to conquer the City of Cibola, or seven cities of gold. You have a scene where a mother is telling her young son a story about their past, just before they are murdered by Conquistadors later on.
WD: Yes. Ironically, I wrote the prologue after I’d already written the first draft of the book and developed Mary’s story more fully. The prologue conveys this idea of storytelling to carry on one’s respect and love of their culture. This storytelling concept comes full circle in the end when Mary–now married with a child and a successful lawyer in the year 2023–is relating an old Hopi folk story to her young son. It is here that the story really comes together in expressing the need for future generations to never forget who they are and where they came from.
BK: What do you hope to accomplish with this book?
WD: Someone once said to me that I was in the “emotion” business. And I was also asked how I came to write a story with the Hopi in it since I’m not even Hopi. I don’t know. Maybe someone was writing it through me in some strange way. I’m just an instrument. I do believe that the story has universal appeal and is not just about Hopi or Native American culture. I think it speaks to all of us about the nature of love, redemption, loss, sacrifice, family and tradition that everyone can relate to. I just tried to convey it in a literary and emotional way. I also hope the book will also strike a nerve with young adults and teens.
BK: All the best with Desert Rain, Mr. Dorian, and thank you very much.
WD: Thank you.
Desert Rain is available at select bookstores near you or at www.rainbooks.com
Unusual Abductors Sighted in Toronto
UNUSUAL ABDUCTORS SIGHTED IN TORONTO
Just when we all thought we were safe, it has been reported that Graeme Hulis, an English boy in Toronto Canada has began to experience unusual sightings.
According to him, these sightings indicate that Abductors are afoot in the city. The thirteen year old boy was reluctant to describe at length the nature of his encounters, but it was reported that he did not have prior exposure with paranormal activity. Rumors surfaced which indicate that the sudden disappearance of the boy’s father might indeed be an unusual abduction.
Explosive information has surfaced concerning the boy’s long dead mother indicating that she too might have been exposed to mysterious encounters and activity in and around the home they left behind in the UK. It would appear at this time, that there is every possibility that things Graeme Hulis might have confided to his Jamaican school friend Norman Abdilani are unexplainable. No one, not even Norman Abdilani seems to know for sure why Graeme Hulis has been targeted by Abductors. Norman speculates that his friend’s interest in folk and alien lore might well have stimulated the interest of beings outside of our realm.
Graeme Hulis of course is the main character is Bernadette Gaby Dyer’s new Young Adult Fantasy book “Abductors” released by Rain Publishing in the summer of 2007-Dyer author of Waltzes I Have Not Forgotten, Women’s Press, 2004 and Villa Fair, Beach Home, 2000 is also a professional reader for The Writers Union of Canada.
Born in Kingston Jamaica, where she graduated from The Immaculate Conception High School, as well as The Jamaica School Of Art, having specialized in Painting and Design. She was trained as a teacher at Toronto’s Lakeshore Teacher’s College, before becoming a novelist, a poet, a storyteller, a short story writer and a playwright.
Bernadette has told stories on CBC Radio, as well as a variety of Toronto venues, that include the popular "1001 Nights Storytelling Series," and festivals at Nathan Phillips Square. She has read from her own work at Harbor Front, Lees Palace, the University Of Toronto, and numerous other locations. Her work has been anthologized in several collections and appeared in Canadian literary magazines as well as literary magazines from the University of London England, a journal from France, and a literary magazine from the University of Miami Florida.
Bernadette lives and works in Toronto.
###
Please contact Rain Publishing admin at rainbooks dot com 905-592-2122 for more information, or to arrange an interview with Bernadette Gabay Dyer contact her directly at BERNADETTEEDYER@aol.com
Just when we all thought we were safe, it has been reported that Graeme Hulis, an English boy in Toronto Canada has began to experience unusual sightings.
According to him, these sightings indicate that Abductors are afoot in the city. The thirteen year old boy was reluctant to describe at length the nature of his encounters, but it was reported that he did not have prior exposure with paranormal activity. Rumors surfaced which indicate that the sudden disappearance of the boy’s father might indeed be an unusual abduction.
Explosive information has surfaced concerning the boy’s long dead mother indicating that she too might have been exposed to mysterious encounters and activity in and around the home they left behind in the UK. It would appear at this time, that there is every possibility that things Graeme Hulis might have confided to his Jamaican school friend Norman Abdilani are unexplainable. No one, not even Norman Abdilani seems to know for sure why Graeme Hulis has been targeted by Abductors. Norman speculates that his friend’s interest in folk and alien lore might well have stimulated the interest of beings outside of our realm.
Graeme Hulis of course is the main character is Bernadette Gaby Dyer’s new Young Adult Fantasy book “Abductors” released by Rain Publishing in the summer of 2007-Dyer author of Waltzes I Have Not Forgotten, Women’s Press, 2004 and Villa Fair, Beach Home, 2000 is also a professional reader for The Writers Union of Canada.
Born in Kingston Jamaica, where she graduated from The Immaculate Conception High School, as well as The Jamaica School Of Art, having specialized in Painting and Design. She was trained as a teacher at Toronto’s Lakeshore Teacher’s College, before becoming a novelist, a poet, a storyteller, a short story writer and a playwright.
Bernadette has told stories on CBC Radio, as well as a variety of Toronto venues, that include the popular "1001 Nights Storytelling Series," and festivals at Nathan Phillips Square. She has read from her own work at Harbor Front, Lees Palace, the University Of Toronto, and numerous other locations. Her work has been anthologized in several collections and appeared in Canadian literary magazines as well as literary magazines from the University of London England, a journal from France, and a literary magazine from the University of Miami Florida.
Bernadette lives and works in Toronto.
###
Please contact Rain Publishing admin at rainbooks dot com 905-592-2122 for more information, or to arrange an interview with Bernadette Gabay Dyer contact her directly at BERNADETTEEDYER@aol.com
When Breast Cancer Said Hello
When Breast Cancer Said Hello
It was a typical November day in 2004 when the phone rang in my office. Most of my thoughts were on the upcoming feast of Thanksgiving and time spent with family sharing laughs and great food. The thoughts of the wonderful days ahead were soon dashed by the tone of my Mother’s voice at the end of the line.
My Mother had recently had a mammogram that had shown a suspicious area in her breast that the doctors decided to biopsy. “Jeff, the results weren’t good,” was all she needed to say. As a lump formed in my throat I scrambled for whatever words I could respond with, I quickly entered a state of denial. The only thought that raced through my brain was “This isn’t real; these things just don’t happen to us.” The conversation changed into a discussion on what would happen next and the plans of treatment that the physician recommended. What I had hoped was only a bad dream that I’d soon awake from suddenly became something very real, my Mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The news for our family couldn’t have come at a more difficult time. My Brother, who serves in the Army, was nearing the end of his 10th month in Iraq. It had been a very difficult load for all of us, especially my parents. The latest news would make for a very difficult holiday season for our entire family.
When the holidays arrived they were difficult but we made it through them. There was still the glow in the eyes of the grandchildren, and we enjoyed the time together sharing memories of Christmas past. But with my Brother in Iraq and the mountain that my Mother was facing, there was a distinct somberness that couldn’t be avoided.
My Mother’s surgery was during the first week of January and was a success without any complications. The next several months were spent going from one appointment to another as she slowly recovered while battling the disease. The process was a real rollercoaster ride for Mom, full of ups and downs in the way she felt physically and mentally.
I will never be able to fully express the gratitude I have for my parents for the unspoken life lessons that were taught to me through this difficult time. In my Father I saw the words “in sickness and in health” being lived out before my very eyes. Although I know that this was tough on him, my Father was a rock through this never leaving my Mother’s side. He showed me what being dedicated to a commitment meant and that we each have only one true love in our life, but only a lucky few ever find them.
I saw an inner strength from my Mother that could only be described as someone that is truly living on faith, along with a belief that this faith would see her through. When some of us grew weak along the road, she remained positive and strong. Mom became a hero for all of us, and I will always treasure her for the living example that she is.
It was through my Mother’s battle that I became inspired to write “Running the Race,” a children’s story about breast cancer. It is my sincere hope that the story will serve as an educational tool for children of loved ones stricken to better cope with something that is difficult to understand.
“Running the Race” is for adults too. The story offers an inspirational message that will show that everyone can make a difference in this battle against breast cancer. It is my sincere hope that all who turn the pages of “Running the Race” will be touched in a special way. I believe that everyone will find something that truly speaks to their hearts.
The story of how breast cancer has affected my family is one that is lived out by families around the world each and every day. There have been great advances in efforts toward awareness, prevention, and research, and this wonderful progress that we are witnessing is only the beginning.
No one ever expects breast cancer to say hello, but I firmly believe that someday the same hello that has haunted millions of lives will become a goodbye…forever.
Author Jeff Yosick’s book “Running the Race”was released by Rain Publishing Inc. Ask for your copy at a local bookstore near you, or visit http://www.rainbooks.com/ for more information.
-end-
It was a typical November day in 2004 when the phone rang in my office. Most of my thoughts were on the upcoming feast of Thanksgiving and time spent with family sharing laughs and great food. The thoughts of the wonderful days ahead were soon dashed by the tone of my Mother’s voice at the end of the line.
My Mother had recently had a mammogram that had shown a suspicious area in her breast that the doctors decided to biopsy. “Jeff, the results weren’t good,” was all she needed to say. As a lump formed in my throat I scrambled for whatever words I could respond with, I quickly entered a state of denial. The only thought that raced through my brain was “This isn’t real; these things just don’t happen to us.” The conversation changed into a discussion on what would happen next and the plans of treatment that the physician recommended. What I had hoped was only a bad dream that I’d soon awake from suddenly became something very real, my Mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The news for our family couldn’t have come at a more difficult time. My Brother, who serves in the Army, was nearing the end of his 10th month in Iraq. It had been a very difficult load for all of us, especially my parents. The latest news would make for a very difficult holiday season for our entire family.
When the holidays arrived they were difficult but we made it through them. There was still the glow in the eyes of the grandchildren, and we enjoyed the time together sharing memories of Christmas past. But with my Brother in Iraq and the mountain that my Mother was facing, there was a distinct somberness that couldn’t be avoided.
My Mother’s surgery was during the first week of January and was a success without any complications. The next several months were spent going from one appointment to another as she slowly recovered while battling the disease. The process was a real rollercoaster ride for Mom, full of ups and downs in the way she felt physically and mentally.
I will never be able to fully express the gratitude I have for my parents for the unspoken life lessons that were taught to me through this difficult time. In my Father I saw the words “in sickness and in health” being lived out before my very eyes. Although I know that this was tough on him, my Father was a rock through this never leaving my Mother’s side. He showed me what being dedicated to a commitment meant and that we each have only one true love in our life, but only a lucky few ever find them.
I saw an inner strength from my Mother that could only be described as someone that is truly living on faith, along with a belief that this faith would see her through. When some of us grew weak along the road, she remained positive and strong. Mom became a hero for all of us, and I will always treasure her for the living example that she is.
It was through my Mother’s battle that I became inspired to write “Running the Race,” a children’s story about breast cancer. It is my sincere hope that the story will serve as an educational tool for children of loved ones stricken to better cope with something that is difficult to understand.
“Running the Race” is for adults too. The story offers an inspirational message that will show that everyone can make a difference in this battle against breast cancer. It is my sincere hope that all who turn the pages of “Running the Race” will be touched in a special way. I believe that everyone will find something that truly speaks to their hearts.
The story of how breast cancer has affected my family is one that is lived out by families around the world each and every day. There have been great advances in efforts toward awareness, prevention, and research, and this wonderful progress that we are witnessing is only the beginning.
No one ever expects breast cancer to say hello, but I firmly believe that someday the same hello that has haunted millions of lives will become a goodbye…forever.
Author Jeff Yosick’s book “Running the Race”was released by Rain Publishing Inc. Ask for your copy at a local bookstore near you, or visit http://www.rainbooks.com/ for more information.
-end-
P.L. Reed-Wallinger
P.L. Reed-Wallinger,
Masters Curriculum & Instruction
Novelist Ÿ Author Ÿ Educator
Dark Secrets, Forbidden Fantasies, Emma's Choice and coming winter 2007- Obscene Obsessions
Born into a military family, in San Diego, California, P.L. Reed-Wallinger traveled a great deal with her parents and brother, W. Craig, living in such places as California, Guam, Turkey, Washington State, Arizona, and Maryland. After twenty years of service, most in cloak and dagger Intelligence work, her father, William J. Reed, retired from the Navy and took up writing. That life change introduced his children to a new world—one that not only fascinated, but lit the creative fires within.
With her family raised, P.L.Reed-Wallinger followed that life-long dream to put pen to paper and stepped into the literary arena alongside her father, William Joseph Reed, and brother, W. Craig Reed, with the publication of her first book the romantic suspense, Dark Secrets. One year later, and excited to be with a new publisher, Reed-Wallinger has penned two more novels due for publication. The first release, Forbidden Fantasies, is another romantic suspense, but with an erotica leaning. Emma’s Choice, the second release, is a young adult novel set in Wymore, Nebraska.
Reed-Wallinger claims her years of residing in the state of Nebraska have given her a profound appreciation for the work ethic, resiliency, backbone, and heart of its people, something she tries to capture in her work. Holding a Masters of Curriculum and Instruction, and employed as a middle school general science teacher, P.L.Reed-Wallinger currently lives in southeast Nebraska.
The author also encourages feedback from her readers, via email at the following address: pam@reedwriting.com
For more information on Reed-Wallinger’s work, please visit www.rainbooks.com or www.reedwriting.com.
Masters Curriculum & Instruction
Novelist Ÿ Author Ÿ Educator
Dark Secrets, Forbidden Fantasies, Emma's Choice and coming winter 2007- Obscene Obsessions
Born into a military family, in San Diego, California, P.L. Reed-Wallinger traveled a great deal with her parents and brother, W. Craig, living in such places as California, Guam, Turkey, Washington State, Arizona, and Maryland. After twenty years of service, most in cloak and dagger Intelligence work, her father, William J. Reed, retired from the Navy and took up writing. That life change introduced his children to a new world—one that not only fascinated, but lit the creative fires within.
With her family raised, P.L.Reed-Wallinger followed that life-long dream to put pen to paper and stepped into the literary arena alongside her father, William Joseph Reed, and brother, W. Craig Reed, with the publication of her first book the romantic suspense, Dark Secrets. One year later, and excited to be with a new publisher, Reed-Wallinger has penned two more novels due for publication. The first release, Forbidden Fantasies, is another romantic suspense, but with an erotica leaning. Emma’s Choice, the second release, is a young adult novel set in Wymore, Nebraska.
Reed-Wallinger claims her years of residing in the state of Nebraska have given her a profound appreciation for the work ethic, resiliency, backbone, and heart of its people, something she tries to capture in her work. Holding a Masters of Curriculum and Instruction, and employed as a middle school general science teacher, P.L.Reed-Wallinger currently lives in southeast Nebraska.
The author also encourages feedback from her readers, via email at the following address: pam@reedwriting.com
For more information on Reed-Wallinger’s work, please visit www.rainbooks.com or www.reedwriting.com.
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