FORGING TRUTH by Raymond Masters

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Today, I have the privilege to welcome a fellow author to my blog.

Raymond Masters has written a fascinating novel and I am excited to find out more about the book, its background as well as the person behind the book. Please welcome Raymond Masters.

Before I start in about Forging Truth, I’d like to say not only thank you to Christa for allowing me to take up space on her site, but to all of you, as well. Thanks for reading along. Now, let’s discuss the book.

Forging Truth is primarily a story about a guy with powers and how he chooses to use them. That’s really the story simplified down to its smallest part, but still, that’s it. To complicate it: Kade’s tale is superhero-meets-magic-meets-angels. But, really it’s all about Kade Christopher Truth and his journey. It’s a character-driven, first-persons experience of how one man reacts to this fantastical world, revealing itself all around him.

So, what got me interested in writing something like this? Well, a few factors, really.

Number one: I’m a huge comic book geek. I love the idea of super-humans battling it out. Superman has always been my go-to character, but lately, I’ve been gravitating toward the little guy who gains powers too large for him to comprehend. It’s like seeing a kid try on his father’s suit. He’s very awkward and gangly. It looks out of place on him. Then, you look again, and you can see the man he’ll eventually grow into.

Number two: Magic is pretty much an extension of the super-hero examples I mentioned. You still have a guy with the potential to do lots of good or lots of bad in the universe. A mage in full control is very fun to watch, unleashed. That’s very true. However, from a story standpoint, it’s sometimes more enjoyable to see the world through an amateur’s eyes. That’s our friend Kade.

Number three: I drew from my upbringing and my parents’ influence for the religious side of my story. While I’ve definitely lapsed from my church-going youth, I still hold God in the highest place in my life. While I took liberties with some events from the biblical history, I did it respectfully. There are also a lot of great themes to be found in the Bible. It’s hard not to draw from them.

Number four: Transference. I put so much of myself into the protagonist that I almost felt as though I was the one flying around and shooting blasts from my palms. I honestly didn’t realize how much I had poured my personality into Kade until I did a reread for the edits. Wow, that guy is a lot like me, but you know, he died and came back to life with powers. So there’s that.

I really hope you enjoyed reading some insight into why I write what I write. And I hope you’ll click through some of the links Christa’s been awesome enough to include here. If it sounds like something you, or your friends, would get a kick out of, pick it up and then shoot me an email to let me know what you think.

Thanks for helping me Spread the Truth.

– Raymond


Blog: http://raymondmasters.wordpress.com/

Kindle Version

Paperback

“Fund The Truth Saga Book 2 and Get Books 1 and 2” (KickstarterFundraiser)

Book Blurb from back jacket:

LIBERTY IS GONE, BUT TRUTH REMAINS

Kade Truth awakens in a strange house sideways of reality, where he
learns he has “died” in a mysterious attack on the Statue of Liberty.
Rather than facing the afterlife, he now wields energy powers,
including flight. Kade joins and befriends Caduceus – eccentric
caretaker, magician, and feeder of soup – and Mao F’Yang – an
intoxicating girl with the uncanny ability to disappear – in a quest
to regain his memories, uncover who is behind the attack, and discover
why he has been so drastically altered.

In a counter to Kade’s mission, the malign Dark Monk joins forces with
Richard Van Parson – arrogant CEO of VPI – to forward his own hellish
agenda under the ruse of a retaliatory war.

The question remains, though, if the French government orchestrated
the Liberty Island attack, why are our heroes certain of Van Parson’s
involvement? What ties does the Dark Monk have with Caduceus? What
designs does he have for Kade? And will Kade unravel the truth in time
to embrace his true destiny?

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5 Stars for “All for One” by Ryne Douglas Pearson

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

The cruel school bully gets killed. Six children discover his body, one of them may have murdered him. Detective Dooley Ashe, the Kiddie Catcher, tries to uncover the truth. Mary, the children’s teacher, would do anything to protect them. With different goals in mind, Dooley and Mary form an uneasy alliance. As the story progresses to its tragic end, both Dooley and Mary are confronted with demons from their past.

As one of the reviewers pointed out, All for One is in part a story about choices, choices we have to make, sometimes under pressure, and how these choices have results that determine the rest of our lives. It deals with psychologically complex and terribly flawed human beings. It is also a story about childhood abuse, injustice, and about good people who try their best and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

All for One is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in quite a while. The characters are convincing and portrayed with great sensibility. A fast-paced and well-crafted mystery, it leads the reader through a maze of events and flashbacks and unexpected twists to an amazing surprise ending. However, is not one of those contrived surprise endings of less successful thrillers. This ending, as unexpected as it is, is foreshadowed and makes total sense in retrospect.

Highly recommended. I look forward to more of the same author.

Posted in childhood abuse, mystery and suspense, psychological thriller | Comments Off on 5 Stars for “All for One” by Ryne Douglas Pearson

The Red Church by Scott Nicholson, 5 Stars

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

“For 13-year-old Ronnie Day, life is full of problems: Mom and Dad have separated, his brother Tim is a constant pest, Melanie Ward either loves him or hates him, and Jesus Christ won’t stay in his heart. Plus he has to walk past the red church every day, where the Bell Monster hides with its wings and claws and livers for eyes. But the biggest problem is that Archer McFall is the new preacher at the church, and Mom wants Ronnie to attend midnight services with her.”

I am not exactly a “thriller” or “horror” fan, so when I came across The Red Church by Scott Nicholson I hesitated at first, thinking I probably wouldn’t like it. The above product description on Amazon sounded interesting though, so I thought I’d give it a try.

After the first few pages into the book, I realized how limiting and inaccurate labels such as “horror” or even “thriller” really are. To be sure, there is plenty of blood-curling and scary stuff in the novel. However, there is much more to the book than “blood and gore.”

The book is a real page turner. A tight, fast-moving plot propels you forward. Vivid and colorful characters jump off the page, so that you remember them long after you finish reading the book. You also get a very accurate depiction of the emotional and mental powers that religious fanatics or new-age gurus can yield over their trusting victims. And last but not least, you can’t help but love Ronnie Day and his brother Tim. You follow their path and feel with them, as they struggle with their fears, and you hope that those dark forces won’t be able to completely tear apart their family.

This is a great book with a lot of heart. I can only recommend it.

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