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Makes you think: Mortal

Mortal (The Book of Mortals #2) by Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee
hardcover, 418 pages
Published June 2012 by FaithWords
ISBN13: 9781599953588
Source: Library
Read Sept/Oct. 2012
Goodreads, IndieBound, Amazon

You may remember that I was super excited to read Forbidden (see my review), the first book in the series. While I looked for an advance copy of Mortal, I was okay with waiting to read it. It took several months to find a copy at a library that would let me check it out (my system didn't have a copy). And I have to say, I had a very hard time getting into the story.

I was 200 pages in and I still wasn't hooked. I just couldn't see a point to the story. There was a lot of stuff going on, but it didn't seem like anything was happening. Mortal takes place 9 years after the end of Forbidden. It is weeks away from the plan that was put into motion at the end of Forbidden. Rom, the boy Jonathan, and the other Keepers have banned together with the Nomads who have always lived outside of Order.

You might wonder why I kept reading when I wasn't hooked by the halfway point. I've read enough of Dekker's books to know that there is always a payoff in the end. Whether it is the end of the book I'm currently reading or story arc a book or two later. By the end of Mortal I was glad to have mustered through it and I'm looking forward to the third book, which is due out next year.

As always, the story made me examine my own perspective on my beliefs. I wonder how non-believers view Dekker's books. As a Christ-follower, I can't help but see the parallels to the Gospel. Mortal even gave me a new understanding as we looked at the Crucifixion on Sunday. 

There are several instances reminiscent of the Circle series - Jonathan as the savior figure, nomadic tribe, the Gathering. I imagine Dekker's walls to be littered with post-it notes to keep the intricate web he has woven through and amongst his stories straight.

If you are looking for a story that makes you think, one that doesn't give you all the pieces, then you should try Mortal, but you will need to read Forbidden first.

Related articles

• Review of "Iscariot" by Tosca Lee (ethaneharris.wordpress.com)
• Finished a Book! (girl-who-reads.com)

Meet the Author: Vickie Johnstone

Hi, my name is Vickie and I like to write books. That sounds like an introduction at a Writers Anonymous Help meeting (WAH for short) and I kind of feel a bit like that in realising that I’m not meant to be writing about a book, but about me! Me! Me? Mmm. Now I feel like I’m at a new school, standing up, imagining I’m in one of those strange dreams where I’m naked with nothing to hide behind. I guess I normally hide behind my books or there are questions to answer, but thinking on my feet about me... mmm... help!

So what is there to say about me? My favourite colour is blue; I drink too much tea (trying to cut down); I rather like white chocolate (esp Milky Bar), baileys and ale; I love travelling and waking up to something new every day, liking change; I love the smell of the rain (it smells green), baking bread, freshly cut lemons and vanilla; I really enjoyed The Waking Dead, Buffy, Red Dwarf and Downton Abbey (opposites!); my fave books include Pride & Prejudice, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, Keat’s poetry and The Magic Toyshop; I love the sea; the music I like meanders between rock, blues and hippy stuff with the odd squeal of metal; I love rainbows, nature, daffodils, birdsong... and animals.

Animals are my big love. The longest relationship I’ve ever had with an animal is with my cat, Mogsy, who is now 13. I guess she couldn’t escape my quirks and oddball-ness! I grew up with furry creatures everywhere. We always had pets in our house when I was young, to the point that I think we could have charged an entry fee as a petting zoo. You name it, we had it, and I talked about all of my pets recently in a blog piece for World Animal Day. My furry friends have inspired my writing.

My first dog was called Glen, but I was really young and I don’t remember much about him, except that he covered me with dirty water whenever he went for a swim, but I immortalised him in a book called 3 Heads & A Tail, which I wrote for NaNoWriMo. I think every writer should try this at least once – it’s very freeing. My attempt was a seat-of-the-pants job and I wasn’t sure if the story would make sense to anyone, never mind make them laugh, for it’s a comedy romance and the hero is a dog called Glen. Okay, Glen turned from a Border Collie into a Labrador because I love those yellow dogs so much. Guide dogs for the blind are just amazing. In the book, the dog is the central character, around whom everyone else revolves. He’s emotional, intelligent, a bit eccentric and in love – with the cutest dog in the park, Mimi.

I am also writing a series for young readers starring a cat. She’s magical and surprised her two young owners, Amy and James, by talking one day. The cat got bored of never communicating, you see, and just decided to go for it. Shock over, they all go on adventures to animal-inhabited worlds, where the creatures live as humans. I think this goes back to my love of any animal story when I was a child. I wolfed them down. From The Ugly Duckling to the Three Little Pigs, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Incredible Journey and Watership Down to Pigling Bland and Animal Farm, human characters just didn’t get a look in. To me, they weren’t as interesting as animals, especially ones that could speak. When I was a little girl I thought I could communicate to birds by winking! Honest! And nope, they never answered back, or at least, I could never decipher their chirps.

But, back to my animal series... It is based on a cat, but no ordinary kitty. That cat was called Kiwi and I shared my life with her for six years. She was black with yellow eyes, a bit podgy, very fluffy, quite cheeky, a great hunter (alas) and pretty intelligent. When she wasn’t trying to swipe the dinner off your plate when you weren’t looking or jumping in the air to catch a moth in mid-flight, she’d be curling up on the bed or pouncing out at you from behind furniture. She also loved to follow me... everywhere. I couldn’t let her out in the morning because she’d just pad along behind me to the station. I’m sure she’d have hopped on the train and taken a trip to work if she could. I often wondered if she was a dog in cat’s clothing as she’d have been great to take for walkies. One
day she followed me to the supermarket, waited patiently outside on a wall, and then came back home with me. Now she’s the heroine of Kiwi in Cat City, and never a finer heroine could there be.


About the Author:

Vickie Johnstone lives in London, where she works as a freelance sub-editor on business magazines and editor/proofreader on books. She has a thing about fluffy cats and also loves reading, writing, films, the sea, art, nature, white chocolate and travelling.


In 2011, Vickie self-published the following books:
Kaleidoscope (March) – a gathering of 119 poems, divided by chapter themes; Travelling Light – a small, free book of poetry; Kiwi in Cat City – the first in a series about a magical cat and her human pals (April); Kiwi and the Missing Magic (June); Kiwi and the Living Nightmare (October).


In October 2011, Vickie signed with Inknbeans Press, who are now publishing her books. The Kiwi books now have illustrations by Nikki McBroom.

Books published in 2012, so far:
Day of the Living Pizza – a comedy horror for ages 10 up; all profits to charity (May); Life’s Rhythms – a collection of 316 haiku (June); 3 Heads and a Tail – a romantic comedy with walkies, written for NaNoWriMo (June);
Kiwi and the Serpent of the Isle (August).

Connect with the Author:

Amazon US author page
Amazon UK book page

Blog: http://vickiejohnstone.blogspot.com
Twitter: @vickiejohnstone
Website: Kiwiincatcity.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVickieJohnstone
http://www.facebook.com/KiwiinCatCity
http://www.facebook.com/KaleidoscopePoetry
http://www.facebook.com/VickieJohnstoneEditing


Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. The views, beliefs, and opinions expressed by guest post authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, beliefs, or opinions of Girl Who Reads.

Related articles

• Book Review: 3 Heads & A Tail - Vickie Johnstone (tweedling.com)
• An Apt Adaptation? (theindieexchange.com)

Finished a Book!

News:

I forgot to mention that I blogged a few weeks ago at Bad Redhead Media about tips for using StumbleUpon in your marketing. 

My column at The Indie Exchange posted today. It's about writing reviews - if my niece can do anyone can!

The Bunny's Review is hosting a fundraiser for the House Rabbit Society. All you need to do is make a donation to HRS and then you get to choose an ebook as a thank you gift. For more info, check out Books for Bunnies.

My fellow blogger, Library Girl, has a great interview with author Terri Clark and a giveaway of Hollyweird.

Award winning children's author Karen Pokras Toz kicks off her Millicent Marie Tour with a Twitter Party! Chat live with Karen at 10 am, 11am and noon EST and then again at 10 pm, 11 pm, and midnight EST on Thursday, Oct. 11. Use the hashtag #MillicentMarie. *author has paid for a publicity package from GWR Publicity.

Giveaways:

Paperback copy of The Recruit by Monica McCarty
Complete Harry Potter series on Blu-ray
Have It Your Way $200
$100 Paypal Cash
Keurig Vue V700

This week I was Girl Who Does Everything But Read. I'm just glad I was able to finish my library book before it was due back today.

Finished:

Centuries have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace...and fear. A terrible secret was closely guarded for centuries: every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

Nine years have gone by since an unlikely hero named Rom Sebastian first discovered a secret and consumed an ancient potion of blood to bring himself back to life in Forbidden. Surviving against impossible odds, Rom has gathered a secret faction of followers who have also taken the blood-the first Mortals in a world that is dead.

But The Order has raised an elite army to hunt and crush the living. Division and betrayal threaten to destroy the Mortals from within. The final surviving hope for humanity teeters on the brink of annihilation and no one knows the path to survival.

On the heels of Forbidden comes MORTAL, the second novel in The Books of Mortals saga penned by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare take the journey.

The Books of Mortals are three novels, each of which stands on its own, yet all are seamlessly woven into one epic thriller. From Goodreads.com

 Read my review of Book 1. Find Mortal at Goodreads, IndieBound, and Amazon.

Reading:

As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program".

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants.

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues.

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. From Goodreads.com

 Reads my review of Book 1. Find Uncontrollable at Goodreads and Amazon.

Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, the brash cop from Tana French’s bestselling Faithful Place, plays by the book and plays hard. That’s what’s made him the Murder squad’s top detective—and that’s what puts the biggest case of the year into his hands.

On one of the half-built, half-abandoned "luxury" developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children are dead. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care.

At first, Scorcher and his rookie partner, Richie, think it’s going to be an easy solve. But too many small things can’t be explained. The half dozen baby monitors, their cameras pointing at holes smashed in the Spains’ walls. The files erased from the Spains’ computer. The story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder who was slipping past all the locks.

And Broken Harbor holds memories for Scorcher. Seeing the case on the news sends his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family one summer at Broken Harbor, back when they were children. From Goodreads.com

Find Broken Harbor at Goodreads, IndieBound, and Amazon.

Listening:

Let me tell you all I know for sure. "My name. Shauna."

I woke up in a hospital bed missing six months of my memory. In the room was my loving boyfriend-how could I have forgotten him?-my uncle and my abusive stepmother. Everyone blames me for the tragic car accident that left me near death and my dear brother brain damaged. But what they say can't be true-can it?

I believe the medicine is doing strange things to my memory. I'm unsure who I can trust and who I should run from. And I'm starting to remember things I've never known. Things not about me. I think I'm going crazy.

"And even worse, I think they want to kill me."

But who? And for what? Is dying for the truth really better than living with a lie? From Goodreads.com

 Find Kiss at Goodreads, IndieBound, and Amazon.

Mailbox Finds:

My niece received a couple of books to review for her Kid Who Reads column.

11-year-old Maya Papaya has a couple of problems. Not only does she have a name like a deranged fruit salad and a four-foot tail with a mind of its own…but her tail is a big secret, so she has to wear these itchy tail pants and can’t have sleepovers or go swimming with the other kids. She still lives a fairly normal life with her guardian, Mr. Norbert...until Mr. Norbert’s computer tells her she’s not really a little girl at all, but something it calls a ‘humanimal.’ Before Maya can determine what that means, a knock on the door puts events in motion that send Maya all the way across the world, without even Mr. Norbert to protect her. After a long voyage to India, Maya discovers the truth about where she’s from, and realizes that she’s not the only child who’s been created with a few extra abilities… From Goodreads.com

Find Maya Papaya at Goodreads, IndieBound and Amazon.

The Indians and the Crackedskulls are locked in the turmoil of war. Neiko--a warrior with the glistening title of "the Chosen One"--finds herself facing a collection of enemies. Her archenemies, Raven and Bloodhawk, have come up with a scheme to destroy her reputation with the help of a phony Indian chieftain.

However, during the unfolding of their plan, Neiko finds out that a land she thought she had only imagined is actually real--and more terrifying than she ever imagined. It turns out that Ramses--the arch-villain of her collection--has sinister plans of his own for Neiko, whom he eventually traps in Qari.

Neiko must find her way back home and turn the tables on her enemies, but what she finds out during her travels in Qari will change her entire existence for all eternity. From Goodreads.com

Find Neiko's Five Land Adventure at Goodreads, IndieBound, and Amazon.

So what are YOU reading this week?

Keurig Vue V700 Giveaway

  What a great gift for book lovers! Nothing goes better with a great book than a hot beverage.

Mom Powered Media presents a Keurig Vue V700 Giveaway!

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Special thanks to our lovely co-hosts: Moms Living Thrifty , For Him and My Family, Chant3llo's Blog, A Night Owl, Coupon Pro Blog, 1 Hour Giveaways & ABC Laughs

It’s free to join American Family and if you sign up to join them through this event you will also receive a free e-book filled with Fall Harvest recipes to complement your coffee with your new Keurig!

EARN BONUS POINTS FOR THE GIVEAWAY just for signing up for the the awesome e-book!

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The Keurig® Vue® V700 Brewing System gives you total control to brew your way: stronger, bigger, hotter and with more choices than ever before. With an interactive Touchscreen and revolutionary new Custom Brew Technology™ Vue® ensures every beverage is brewed to perfection, giving you perfect results – every cup, every time. 8 brew sizes, removable 74oz water reservoir and your choices are nearly limitless. In addition to coffee, tea, hot cocoa and iced beverages, Vue® brews delicious café and specialty beverages as well. This product is BPA free. Now you can fully customize your cup of coffee, tea, hot cocoa, iced beverage, specialty or café beverage to brew what you love, the way you love it – every time! Now for the fun go and enter the giveaway on the rafflecopter below for this awesome Keurig Vue V700 brewing system for the chance to enjoy some warm and toasty moments compliments of this prize. Remember you can earn more points if you sign up for the American Family Harvest Recipes E-book! Please remember to only claim the entries you’ve actually followed through on as we will verify entries. Anyone who claims entries they did not follow through on will have all entries disqualified and may be disqualified from future events. Thanks for keeping it fair for everyone! Open to US residents 18 years of age and over only.

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Now Playing: My Familiar Stranger

Find My Familiar Stranger (The Order of the Black Swan #1) by Victoria Danann at Goodreads and Amazon.

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Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. Book Trailers are featured for free. All videos are provided by the author who has granted Girl Who Reads permission to feature them on this blog.