Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Bryan Davis' New Book Series-
Beyond the Reflection's Edge

Blog Tour - Day 3


Beyond the Reflection’s Edge – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310715547
Bryan Davis’ Web site – http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/
Bryan Davis’ blog – http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/


Yesterday I mentioned how well I appreciated the attention paid to scene details. Today I wanted to mention the story characterization. The main character, Nathan, sounded old-fashioned in some ways, but it made sense. Grounded in cultured manners from his parents and his guardian, Nathan was brought up to respect women and treat people with consideration. Kelly, the story's male lead, at first makes fun of Nathan but comes to respect him as he treats her better than any boys she has dated before. Kelly and Nathan are believable characters with traits that set a higher standard than most of society. In one scene, Nathan tells a stranger the truth about why they are running. Kelly belittles Nathan for the choice of telling the truth. The stranger admits he was testing them to decide whether to help.

Like the scenes, the author researched believable character responses. Mr. Davis interviewed teens about their reaction to certain book scenes . Was that how a teenager would act - if not what would they do? I also enjoyed the way the characters grew over the length of the story. Nathan finds he must be strong if he is to lead. Kelly learns to regard herself not for her looks, but for her qualities and skills. Nathan's background with both parents prepared him to take care of himself and later his team. Kelly learned how to stay true to herself and to others. Eventually she learned that people could like her for herself. She didn't need to dress a certain way, or act a certain way to convince Nathan to like her.

Beyond the Reflection's Edge begins a new series, a new market, and a new publisher (Zondervan) for Bryan Davis. This series is geared to an older audience than Dragons in Our Midst. There is a double murder scene early in the book, so it's not meant for younger readers. But the scene is handled tastefully without dwelling on the sensationalism of the violence.


Beyond the Reflection's Edge begins a new chapter of great writing from Bryan Davis.

Book 2 is in the series is titled, Eternity's Edge (Echoes from the Edge)

*Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Mike Lynch
Magma
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Chawna Schroeder
Greg Slade
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Bryan Davis' New Book Series-
Beyond the Reflection's Edge

Blog Tour - Day 2




One of the things I enjoyed about Beyond the Reflection's Edge, is the eye to detail Mr. Davis gave each scene. Before the book released, I read on his blog ( http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/ ) about sites he visited that occurred in the book. One chase scene happens near a bridge. Rather than write the scene with primarily an action focus, he included character interaction with the surrounding neighborhood buildings and sites. Early in the story the two main characters, Nathan and Kelly, must check into her school. To research this scene, Mr. Davis met with school officials at a real Iowa high school. Schools have changed over recent years, so an settling for an author's memory of their own school days would come off as out-dated or unbelievable.

Well researched scenes are just one of the things that set Beyond the Reflection's Edge apart from other contemporary stories. Plus, it's a fun read. I found myself wondering what new twists the author might weave into the story. At first cameras that took pictures of other times, and mirrors that reflected other places, threw me. But it's all explained later in the book as Nathan and Kelly uncover the clues; and in believable ways. I never could get into a story where a stranger shows up and explains everything a main character has been unable to decipher.



Book 2 is in the series is titled, Eternity's Edge (Echoes from the Edge)

Beyond the Reflection’s Edge – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310715547
Bryan Davis’ Web site – http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/
Bryan Davis’ blog – http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/

*Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Mike Lynch
Magma
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Chawna Schroeder
Greg Slade
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Monday, October 20, 2008

Bryan Davis' New Book Series-
Beyond the Reflection's Edge

Blog Tour - Day 1


Beyond the Reflection's Edge struck me as a combination mystery, fantasy, science-fiction, and suspense story all rolled into one. This is the first book in Mr. Davis' new Echoes from the Edge series. The main character, Nathan Shepard, has a world class violinist mother, and an anti-industrial espionage father. But his worldly travels don't begin to prepare him for the shock of finding both parents murdered and waiting in the basement.


With a hint of time travel, Nathan encounters an earlier version of his mother. I enjoyed the trip to the 1980s, and a comparison of changes between then and now. Like the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, Nathan finds one event often preceded by a seemingly unrelated action. Break the chain of events, and you find a different outcome then expected. A theme that seemed to run though the book is that things happen for a purpose. You may not like, or understand, the reason, like Nathan, but still there is a plan for your life.


(click book for Amazon link)

Beyond the Reflection’s Edge – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310715547
Bryan Davis’ Web site – http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/
Bryan Davis’ blog – http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/



*Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Mike Lynch
Magma
Terri Main
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Chawna Schroeder
Greg Slade
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Thursday, October 02, 2008


The 2008 Fantasy Fiction Tour

October 3 - October 11, 2008


Motiv8 Tour Site


Featuring:
The original FFT “Fantastic Four”
Wayne Thomas Batson (Thomas Nelson)
Christopher Hopper (Tsaba House)
Sharon Hinck (NavPress)
Bryan Davis (Zondervan)

and new members creating the FFT "Motiv8" Team
Eric Reinhold (Creation House/Strang)
LB Graham (P&R Publishing)
Jonathan Rogers (Broadman & Holman Publishers)
and the amazing Donita K. Paul (Waterbrook/Random House)