Book Review and Author Interview: PROVEX CITY

Author: Michael Pierce
Publisher: Self-published
Date Published: March 5, 2012

Oliver Grain is a fifteen-year-old boy who has just moved to a new town and is going to a new school. As if that isn't enough for a teenager to handle, a neighbour informs him and his brother that their new house is haunted; in fact, a boy killed himself in the room Oliver now calls his own.

Oliver has to deal with the furniture in his room moving of its own accord and a scribbled message on his wall along with making new friends at school, inciting some enemies, figuring out why his history teacher, Mr. Gordon, is so interested in him, and having strange dreams about a castle and an evil man named Kafka.

There are two things that I really loved about this book. The first is Michael's talent for getting into a teen boy's head and making me feel like I was inside it as well. I was suddenly in high school again, feeling that pressure to make friends and live up to expectations. The thoughtful crafting of Oliver's point of view is partly what made this book difficult to put down.

The second thing I loved was the suspense and mystery that built up as the novel progressed. Just when I was going to put the book down for a break, another question would come up that made me want to keep reading! What were the red pills for at the beginning of the story? Who is Kafka the Bogeyman, the villain of Oliver's nightmares? Is Oliver's room really haunted or is it just his brother teasing him? Why is Mr. Gordon so interested in Oliver? Where does this "Provex City" fit in to the story? (I could go on, but my questions would progress into spoilers, so I won't.)

The one thing I wished to see more of in this book was Provex City itself--most of the story takes place in the "real" world as Oliver unravels the mysteries of his past. The city is incredibly interesting and Michael has created a unique world I am interested in learning much more about! However, I have high hopes that Oliver will spend more time in that magical place in the sequel.

I am impressed with Michael's writing talent and his initiative in self-publishing this book, and am looking forward to reading the next.

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I am also pleased to welcome the author himself to Geek Banter today! I asked him a few questions I was curious about and he so nicely provided me with some fascinating responses. You can also check out Michael's blog here for updates from him, news about Provex City and its sequel.

What made you decide to self-publish?
I submitted to agents for about a year. Young adult fantasy is a hot, but competitive market to break into--especially with no publication credits in my query letter. The more I researched alternative methods of publication, I became inspired by the self-publishing successes of J.A. Konrath, Colleen Houck, and Amanda Hocking. I talked with some other authors and realized that even if I snagged an agent, that was just the first step. The process could go on forever. Finally, I took the leap of faith, took my writing future into my own hands, and made the firm decision to self-publish. There's no turning back now!

Why write for young adults?
I was inspired to write young adult after reading the Harry Potter series in quick succession. I think guys are still underrepresented in young adult, so I thought that would be a good place for me to be. Later, I'd be interested in trying middle grade as well.

Is there anything significant in the name "Provex"?
Unfortunately, no. I came up with a few city names for use in my series early on in the writing process. The original title for the book was Shroud Lifted, and I changed it to Provex City after submitting to agents for about six months. I felt like it was giving me a fresh start, like I was submitting a brand new book.

What was the most challenging obstacle you faced in writing Provex City?
What wasn't challenging? With this being my first book, I felt like I was in way over my head for much of the process. I had a brief outline on note cards and scraps of paper. I wrote the first few chapters, skipped to the last few chapters, and then just wrote until I got there. Getting a first draft written was a huge accomplishment, but then the editing began. Stephen King says to take your manuscript and cut at least 10%. I got ambitious and cut over 20%. It was tough, but I wanted the story to flow as fast as possible, making you want to continue turning the pages all the way to the end. I hope I achieved that. Then came writing the query letter and the synopsis. Then turning to self-publishing, which I'm still figuring out. It's early on, but I think I made a good decision. And as hard as everything has been, it's also been extremely rewarding. I'd do it all over again--in fact, I am--I'm about two months away from a first draft for the second book in the series. Interested?

What inspired the plot and/or characters for Provex City?
It's hard to talk about my inspiration for Provex City without discussing the bigger picture of the series... which I can't really talk about yet. But the basic construction of the story's universe came from an idea I heard concerning gaps in awareness: Billions of bits of information come through your eyes, most of which is filtered out by your brain, acting as a surge protector. I took that idea and asked the question: If your brain is constantly filtering out all this information, what if it's filtering out entire realities? And what if these realities are somehow coexisting? I built the plot for the series around the discovery of these realities, which is only possible through building self-confidence. I thought that would be a nice message for teens; God knows I could have used more self-confidence myself in high school.

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Thank you, Michael, for stopping by! If you are interested in reading Provex City, it is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format

Top 10 VG Countdown - #9: HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V

Heroes of Might and Magic V is a fantasy strategy turn-based game, the fifth in the series. It was released in 2006. My brother and I have played this game to death (in other words, it is great fun multiplayer). This one is my favourite of the Heroes games so far.

The object of the game is to build up your army, gain experience for your hero and conquer the other heroes and armies on the map. There are six different factions to choose from: Haven (the humans), Inferno (the demons), Necropolis (the undead), Academy (the wizards), Dungeon (the dark elves), Sylvan (the light elves--also, my faction of choice. I know, I am such a girl in this case. I like fairies and unicorns and ents and dragons, okay? Well I guess the ents and dragons aren't so bad). Additional expansion packs add two more factions: Fortress (the dwarves) and Stronghold (the orcs). Each faction is unique and comes with different abilities, which is a big part of why I love this game; you have to play according to the strengths of your faction.

You also customize your heroes. As you play and win battles, you choose what skills to give your hero. There are many options, from logistics (allowing your hero to move farther), to luck (giving your troops bonus damage), to attack (increasing your troops' attack), to light magic (allowing your hero to cast light magic spells). There are more abilities available than your hero has slots for, so choosing them wisely is part of the fun.

There is a huge difference in the quality of graphics from this game and the previous ones--I love the intricate city designs and the detail of the troops and landscapes. Though I'm not sure how practical it is to be able to zoom around your castle and check out the pretty buildings, it does add to the fantasy ambiance. This game is really nice to look at.

Gameplay is turn-based, which can get annoying when you are playing with other people (especially if you are playing with more than one other person), because the turns can take a while. Battles are fought using the grid method, where some creatures can move farther than others, and some get turns more often than others. I am very impressed with the variables in this game; not only are your heroes customizable with their abilities and artifacts you collect, most creatures have different special abilities you can use in battle too. With all the variables it may sound a bit overwhelming to learn, but it is really what makes the game fun and challenging, and if you love strategy, you will probably love this game.

Played any of the Heroes games? I don't hear much about them very often, so I feel like I am a niche player where this game is concerned.

Top 10 VG Countdown - #10: JEDI OUTCAST

That's right, it's time for another top 10 countdown! For a look at my previous countdown where I discussed my favourite genre TV shows, check out the recap here or click "Top 10" under Labels. This month, our countdown is about my all-time favourite video games. I will be discussing some fabulous video games, new and old, and even have a couple guest posters planned to join in the fun. Now without further ado, let's get down to business. I can't have a video game countdown without at least one Star Wars game on the list, so #10 is Jedi Outcast.

Jedi Outcast is a first- and third-person action game, released in 2002. The story takes place two years after the game's predecessor, Mysteries of the Sith. You play as Kyle Katarn, a former Jedi who stopped using the force after he almost turned to the Dark Side.

At the start of the game, Kyle Katarn and his partner (also love interest) Jan Ors explore an Imperial base on the planet Kejim, which turns out isn't abandoned like they originally thought. They force their way through the outpost to discover the Imperials are researching lightsaber crystals. Following a lead, they travel to an Imperial mining base on another planet, where the miners are innocent people forced to work and be the subjects of cruel testing. Here, they meet the dark Jedi Desann and his apprentice, who easily thwart Kyle as he no longer has Jedi abilities, and Desann orders his apprentice to kill Jan while Kyle is helpless.

They leave Kyle still alive, and on a quest for revenge, he travels to the Valley of the Jedi to get his Force abilities back, and then to the Jedi Academy to retrieve his lightsaber from Luke Skywalker. Thus begins Kyle's quest to track down and destroy Desann and his apprentice.

I love good action, but I also love puzzles, and Jedi Outcast gives you both these things. In addition to shooter and later lightsaber combat, you have to think your way through a variety of puzzles to get through the campaign. The combat is real time, and I enjoyed jumping around and slashing my lightsaber to attack with its realistic sparks and flashes; you can choose between three lightsaber styles and use combos restricted to that style. You also get to use force powers like Pull, Heal, Jump, or Lightning. When you first get your lightsaber, you only have access to a few powers, and as the game progresses you gain more abilities and levels.

Game Over Online called Jedi Outcast "an intriguing juxtaposition of pieces of incredibly intense FPS action that had me on the edge of my seat combined with puzzle-like sections of such opacity that they made me want to kill myself." Lots of reviewers complained about the puzzle-solving in this game, but I love that feeling of achievement after spending some mind-grinding time trying to figure them out.

The game is consistent with the Star Wars universe, and you get to see some familiar faces like Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and Mon Mothma, as well as visit some well known places like the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and Bespin on Cloud City, and as Game Over also comments, "that distinctive Star Wars architecture that seems to consist primarily of narrow catwalks without railings over 10,000 foot drops" that are just so fun to push a storm trooper over.

Overall, I loved the storyline, the combat, the puzzle-solving--I really can't complain at all about this game. Well, I suppose I could complain about the graphics now, but they were pretty good for 2002. Jedi Outcast is great fun, and if you haven't yet played it, I suggest that you do.

What's your favourite Star Wars game?

Write What You Love

Wanting to please people too much is an annoying trait I often find in myself. When I am working on a novel or a story, sometimes I wonder if it would please so-and-so, or if so-and-so would approve. Here I am, writing an action-adventure story; it's not deep enough; there's a little violence; it's for a younger audience so my older friends would find it too juvenile. So-and-so would surely disprove of this. Maybe I shouldn't write it. Maybe I should write something else that would please everyone better.

These are terrible, terrible thoughts. And if you find yourself thinking them, stop! My reasoning is this: I will never be able to please everybody. Even fantastic books like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter get bad reviews. Also, if I don't write what I love--the story that is taking up space in my brain and demanding to be let out--I am not telling the best story that I can. Readers will notice that I am not in love with my story; they're pretty clever, those readers.

I recently read an article by C.J. Henderson, in which he wrote: "Many a great idea has died without ever seeing the sun because fear stopped its heart from ever beating. If you want to write vampire adventure romantic comedies that take place within a Buddhist monastery, then do it. Either your unique perspective will create the very thing the world has been waiting for... or at least you'll get the damn lunatic notion out of your system once and for all. Either way it will be good for you as a writer" (The Bulletin of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, "Are You to Embarrassed To Be a Professional Author?" p. 6).

These words are great advice, I think. I still struggle with this, but I am working on writing what I love no matter what others might think (and, anyway, the problem is actually more what I think others might think, not even what they actually think. Sheesh. Sometimes I think we writers torture ourselves for no good reason).

Do you struggle with wanting to please people? Got words of wisdom for those who do?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Book Review: ROYAL STREET

Author: Suzanne Johnson
Publisher: TOR
Date Published: April 10, 2012

Drusilla Jaco is a wizard, empath, and junior sentinel for New Orleans. Her job is to help protect the city from any beings that might cross over from the preternatural world, though to her chagrin she is delegated to mixing potions and research much more than she would like. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans with crashing force, it not only unleashes torrents of floodwater and devastation, but creates breaches between this world and the next. Now the undead are loose in the city, people are being murdered and strange symbols are appearing at the crime scenes.

To top it all off, DJ's boss, Gerald St. Simon, is missing, DJ has infuriated the undead pirate Jean Lafitte and he's out for revenge, and the wizard Elders have assigned DJ a new partner who thinks all problems can be solved with a gun and a grenade. The search for Gerry and the serial killer unravels secrets that threaten to destroy DJ and shows her where love and friendship are truly found.

This is a book I would not normally pick up, because I prefer stories that take place in fantasy worlds rather than urban fantasy. However, I know Suzanne Johnson from her website, so I thought I'd give it a try (plus, the cover looked pretty cool). I was pleasantly surprised by the creative ideas and world building in this book. The author has seamlessly fused historical details with story, and we see the likes of pirate Jean Lafitte, Louis Armstrong, and Marie Laveau make appearances along with the wizards and shapeshifters. The sadness and devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought is dealt with respectfully along with the horror of the preternatural world released into ours.

I enjoyed reading from DJ's perspective as she is spunky, irritable, a bit sarcastic, and totally human in her actions and desires. Her drive to find her mentor and father-figure, Gerry, and her stubborn belief that he is still alive despite evidence to the contrary is the heart of this novel. She struggles with her own abilities and emotions while battling the undead and uncovering secrets. I was worried that the romance between DJ and her partner Alex would take over the story, but it remained appropriately in the background.

One thing I wished for was a little more tension and excitement from secret-reveals. There are certain things that DJ learns through dialogue that I wish she had discovered on her own. She could have become very angry or upset about certain things that would have increased tension between characters, but instead she takes them pretty calmly and the story moves on. Also, several parts of the book are very slow and it takes a while for the story to get moving.

I love the small taste of elves we get in this story through DJ's elvish ancestry and the magic staff she discovers. The staff isn't just a prop, but allows her to do magic she couldn't normally do on her own and seems to have powers she is yet unaware of. I am hoping we learn more about it and DJ's connection to the elves in the next books.

Overall, an enjoyable read for urban fantasy fans filled with adventure, mystery, and secrets uncovered.

Back from Romania!

Wow, it feels like I have been gone much longer than two weeks! To give you a brief recap, I was in Romania working with an organization in a couple orphanages there. Because of a corrupt government that has only recently come out of communism and a bad economy, the country has been left with thousands of abandoned children. Romanian history is fascinating, and I had no idea that the Romanians themselves didn't know that there were thousands of orphans in their country--many of them still don't.

Many of the larger organizations have pulled out of Romania because it is expensive to be there and complicated to register as a volunteer organization there. The organization I worked with is one of the few still there, and they are there to stay. It was wonderful and encouraging to see the work they are doing. Because of the groundwork of trust and relationships the permanent staff have created in these orphanages, the kids just leap into your arms when you arrive, ready to love and be loved in return. This is so different from working with kids here at home, because these orphans are starved for love and attention. It was sad to see them in this condition, but they didn't need pity; they needed love and respect and friendship, and we tried to give them these things during our two weeks there.

The organization I worked with is small, so they rely heavily on these short-term mission teams coming in to help them, which is good as it is not like I was going on a vacation; I was there to serve (though I did have a fabulous time and grew along the way as well!).

I could go on about events and the fascinating differences between Romania and North America (might I just say that driving there is CRAZY. Driving laws and things like stop signs appear to be just suggestions. Also, another odd thing was it is not rude to stare there, so you'd get blatantly stared at a lot when you were out in public, which felt weird.). But I'm just going to close with a few pictures.

I'm not going to put up photos of the kids on in case of privacy concerns, but here is a taste of some beautiful Romanian scenery from our day off of visiting the orphanages. We went up into the mountains to see a castle in Transylvania, and it was just amazing.

Those two weeks were enough to create a special place in my heart for Romania, the orphans and staff at the organization, and I hope to someday go back.

Happy April and Blog Break

I am having a great time perusing all the A's and B's of my blogging buddies for the A-Z Challenge, and I'm sure all of you are enjoying it too! I would love to participate, but I'm not because I'm heading to Romania to do volunteer work in orphanages for a couple weeks. So I will be disappearing from my blog for most of the month of April.

Stay tuned when I return for another countdown. I realize I haven't been posting much about video games, even though it says right up there that this blog includes video games in its subject matter, and goodness knows I play them enough. So when I return I will initiate the Top 10 Video Game Countdown. Care to guess what's on my list? (Well, you can get at least one of them from my profile picture.)

Now go, be merry, and enjoy visiting all the awesome blogs posting alphabetical subjects this month!