Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Character Interview: Danny from Leverage by Joshua Cohen

 Character Interview with Danny

Q: Danny, tell us a little bit about yourself. 
I'm a sophomore at Oregrove high school.  I like gymnastics.  Actually, I'm pretty good at it.  I'm probably one of the top three gymnasts on my team.  
Q: What made you decide to pursue gymnastics? 
I like learning tricks that no one else in my school could even dream of doing.  It makes me feel pretty special.  Plus, I'm too small to play any of the team sports. 
Q: How much time do you spend practicing every day? 
During the season, we train for probably three hours every day after school and three hours on Saturday mornings.  During the off-season, I drive to a private club three days a week and train for 2 hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Q: How far do you hope gymnastic will take you? 
I would really, really love to get a full-ride scholarship to college.  That would make me feel like all my training really paid off and there was a reason I spent so much time doing it. 
Q: What college do you want to attend? 
A lot of universities dropped their men's gymnastics program over the last ten years so my choices are more limited.  I think my top three choices would be Stanford, University of Michigan and then University of Minnesota.   
Q: How do you feel about the football players and the pranks and bullying?  
I hate the pranks.  I hate the bullying.  I don't hate most of the football players.  I know most of them are okay guys and they are working hard like I'm working hard.  But the captains are the worst.  They think they are untouchable. 
Leverage 
Q: Since you are a gymnast and Kurt is a football player, how did your friendship come about? 
It's pretty weird that we are friends.  Kurt came up to me out of the blue one day and asked me to teach him how to do a back handspring.  When he came up to me that first time in algebra class, I thought he was going to beat the crap out of me because of a prank my teammates pulled on the football captains.  But Kurt didn't care anything about that.  He just wanted to learn how to do a handspring so he could throw one after scoring a touchdown in the end zone.  When he told me his plan, I had to admit it sounded pretty cool so I totally offered to help teach him.  That's how we first started to hang out.   
Q: What is school life like for you? 
I'm not that great in my classes and travelling the hallways sometimes feels like entering a video game where I have to avoid all these people trying to shove me out of the way for points.  The gym is the one place I feel like I control my own life, where I feel confident and feel good about myself.  I love the gym.  Or, I did until those football captains came in and tried to ruin everything.
Q: If you could tell other kids that are being bullied one thing, what would it be?
I'd tell them that they have to tell a teacher or a parent or both about what's going on.  If you try to keep it a secret, try to take care of it all by yourself, it only grows and gets worse.  Bullying isn't right.  It shouldn't be accepted.  Bullies get more power the more they can keep their terrorizing of you a secret. Don't play their game.  Tell someone.  If that adult won't help you.  Tell another adult and another adult and another adult until someone does do something.  

Danny - thank you for that wonderful and insightful interview.  With bullying really being in the spotlight the last couple of years I hope that kids take your advice to heart.  I know I will share it with my boys and will always be open for them to come to me with problems.  I am a like a mama bear with her cubs when it comes to my boys :)  And I hope more parents become proactive as well.  It's not all on the teachers, it's on us as well, even if we see it and it's not our children being bullied.

About the Book:
The football field is a battlefield

There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on-and off-the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy-including the most innocent bystanders.

When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.

Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.

***My review of Leverage will come in the next week.***



Book Review: Face of God by Bill Myers



The Face of GodThe Face of God by Bill Myers
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink, 2nd Edition
Publish Date: September 1, 2010
Paperback, 368 pages 
Fiction, Christian, Suspense
ISBN:
978-0982607893




My Review:
Why I read this:  I read my first Bill Myers book a few months ago, The God Hater, and loved it.  I loved it so much I handed to my husband and said read this, he loved it so then I gave it to my dad to read as well.  And I don't just give my husband any book.  It was that good so when I had a chance to review another Bill Myers book for Pump Up Your Book, I said yes right away!

My thoughts: Think Indiana Jones meets a Raymond Khoury book with Christian undertones and you have The Face of God. It's the feel of the book that draws me to these parallels -  an archeologist is involved, and there is a race to get a religious item valued by two religious groups.  And that is just the start to Bill Myers' plot in The Face of God, because there is so much more to this book than even I expected.


Let's talk about characters.  From reading two of Bill Myers' books I feel this is one of his strong suits.  He uses flawed characters, flawed like the everyday man for some and some flawed more than normal, due to influences in their lives.  He also uses various religious, atheist and agnostic characters.  I like the mix.  Yes a lot of Christian books are about the atheist or agnostic learning about Christianity, but you really can't boil Mr. Myers' books down to just that.  The book is about more than that and watching the characters grow and change at the authors pace is wonderful.  Some will stay flawed but be trying to change and some will really get it.  I feel this gives it more of a real-life feel and makes the characters easy to relate to.

Daniel is the preacher who has lost his wife and lost his way and is trying to find his way back to his faith and his son, Tyler.  Tyler is just trying to make it through, he's awkward with girls, he misses his mother and he's trying to make a new relationship with his father because he knows that is what his mom would want him to do.  Ibrahim is the one of the main terrorists mentioned in the book blurb, he has lost his son and he is just trying to find his way in his religion, to do what is right and to find all the stones to follow Allah's will.  Nayla is a college-age daughter to one of the terrorists and she's just trying to follow her religion the best way she can.  She is sent to watch or spy on Daniel and Tyler while they are in Israel.  Helen is the archeologist and she is all mixed up. Working in a man's world plus other factors have her all confused on how to live her life.  All she wants to do is to use science to find the ancient relics.  She doesn't care if she proves or disproves any religion, she just lives for the dig and the find.

I think Mr. Myers did an excellent job in this book of making it easy to relate to both the Christian characters  and the Jihadist  characters.  I felt something for each of them and not a strong hatred towards the terrorists (who happen to follow the Islamic faith, but a very skewed version of the Islamic faith).  I think this is what the author wanted to achieve, for us as readers to see we are all flawed and God wants us to love one another no matter what our "religion" is.  He does a wonderful job with this through his characters and the plot.  The reader actually sees what is driving both parties, the pastor and the terrorist and that makes it easier to see and understand both sides of the story.  Mr. Myers lays the characters feeling right out and that with their motivation makes this book really stand out to me.

The plot is very fast paced.  I was pretty much drawn right into the book form the first page and stayed up reading for quite awhile the first night even though I kept nodding off (it's the sleep medicine I take, not the book).  If it hadn't been for the sleep medicine I believe I would have been up until 3am finishing this book.  As it stood I could not wait to get back to it.  I wanted to know more about the characters and how things would all work out because the book was speeding towards the conclusion at a breakneck pace.  For this book I actually fought myself to not read the last few pages, and I'm not the type to do that at all.  I didn't read those last few pages until I came to them naturally and all I can say is Mr. Myers has another winning book on his hands.

Fast-paced, excellent characterization, if you didn't check out The Face of God when it came out before, be sure you check it out now.  It's another one that I will be passing on to my husband and then to my dad.  It's that good.  Bill Myers now has a fan for life.

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:

“THE TERRORIST has learned of supernatural stones used by the Old Testament High Priests to hear the audible voice of God. As the mastermind of a deadly plot that will soon kill millions, he has had a series of dreams instructing him to find the stones. Everything else is in place. The wrath of God is poised and ready to be unleashed. All that is stopping him is . . .

THE PASTOR. His wife has been murdered and his faith is crumbling before his very eyes. With his estranged son, he also searches for the stones in hopes they will rekindle his dying faith and love.

With the lives of millions hanging in the balance, these two men of opposing faiths collide in an unforgettable showdown. “The Face of God” is another thrilling and thought-provoking novel by a master of the heart and suspense, C.S. Lewis Honor Award winner, Bill Myers.”

About the Author: 


Writer/director Bill Myers’s first major success was as co-creator/writer/co-producer of Focus on the Family’s children’s video series, McGee and Me (40 awards, broadcast in 80 countries, 4.5 million books and videos sold). On its heels he wrote the My Life as… series (over 2.1 million books sold).

Other successes include his teen series, Forbidden Doors (winner of the C.S. Lewis Honor Award), and his best selling adult novels, Blood of Heaven, Fire of Heaven, Eli, Soul Tracker, The Face of God, and The Wager (also a motion picture staring Randy Travis). As a writer/director, his work has won over 60 national and international awards, and as an actor he was the voice of Jesus in the NIV Audio Bible and has made several guest appearances on Adventures in Odyssey.  His books and videos have sold over 8 million copies.

He holds an honorary doctorate from The Nimes Theological Institute in France where he has taught. He enjoys traveling and lecturing as well as serving as lay college pastor for his church.
He lives with his wife and two daughters in Southern California.


Author Website
Facebook


FTC Information: I received this book through Pump Up Your Book Tours for a honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.


Book Tour: The Face of God by Bill Myers



The Face of God by Bill Myers
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink
Publish Date: September 1, 2010
Paperback, 368 pages 
Fiction, Suspense, Christian
ISBN:
978-0982607893



*** My review will be coming later today. ***

Join Bill Myers, author of the supernatural/suspense/Christian novel, The Face of God, as he virtually tours the blogosphere April 4 – 29 2011 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Bill Myers


Writer/director Bill Myers’s first major success was as co-creator/writer/co-producer of Focus on the Family’s children’s video series, McGee and Me (40 awards, broadcast in 80 countries, 4.5 million books and videos sold). On its heels he wrote the My Life as… series (over 2.1 million books sold).
Bill MeyersOther successes include his teen series, Forbidden Doors (winner of the C.S. Lewis Honor Award), and his best selling adult novels, Blood of Heaven, Fire of Heaven, Eli, Soul Tracker, The Face of God, and The Wager (also a motion picture staring Randy Travis). As a writer/director, his work has won over 60 national and international awards, and as an actor he was the voice of Jesus in the NIV Audio Bible and has made several guest appearances on Adventures in Odyssey.  His books and videos have sold over 8 million copies.
He holds an honorary doctorate from The Nimes Theological Institute in France where he has taught. He enjoys traveling and lecturing as well as serving as lay college pastor for his church.
He lives with his wife and two daughters in Southern California.
You can visit his website at www.billmyers.com.

About The Face of God



The Face of God“THE TERRORIST has learned of supernatural stones used by the Old Testament High Priests to hear the audible voice of God. As the mastermind of a deadly plot that will soon kill millions, he has had a series of dreams instructing him to find the stones. Everything else is in place. The wrath of God is poised and ready to be unleashed. All that is stopping him is . . .
THE PASTOR. His wife has been murdered and his faith is crumbling before his very eyes. With his estranged son, he also searches for the stones in hopes they will rekindle his dying faith and love.
Kindle 3Amazon 2With the lives of millions hanging in the balance, these two men of opposing faiths collide in an unforgettable showdown. “The Face of God” is another thrilling and thought-provoking novel by a master of the heart and suspense, C.S. Lewis Honor Award winner, Bill Myers.”



Read the Excerpt!

Steeling his resolve, Daniel turned and entered the darkened room. His son, Tyler, and the owner followed. But when Helen tried to enter, Nayra remained in front of the woman, her small frame blocking Helen’s larger one.
“You must wait here.”
“What?”
“Your presence is not welcome.”
“What do you—”
“You are a Jew; you are not welcome.”
The tension between them was palpable. And for a moment it seemed uncertain whether Helen would back down or not. Then reluctantly she agreed. But she would not leave the doorway. Apparently, she was going to stand right there and wait. Just she and the two dozen pair of eyes stealing peeks at her.
Inside, an old man greeted them. He sat on a rug and appeared even less conscious of dental hygiene than did the restaurant’s owner. His mouth worked the end of a plastic tube that led to a hookah water pipe. The air was full of pungent, sweet smoke. Not far away two or three younger men stood, slouched in the shadows behind him.
He turned and spoke to Nayra. She nodded and translated. “Please, sit.” She motioned Daniel toward the cushions in front of him.
“Tell him we will stand,” Daniel said.
Nayra spoke to the old man in Arabic. He shrugged, then said something else.
“He would like you to come closer,” Nayra said. “His eyes are no longer good, and he would like to see your face.”
Daniel turned to Tyler, who nodded. He moved forward until he was directly under the light of a bare bulb that hung from the ceiling.
The man grinned broadly. “Shukran, shukran.” Then he spoke something else.
“He would like to see the stone,” Nayra said.
“Stone?”
“The Levi Stone.”
Daniel kept his eyes on the old man’s. Even in the shadows he could see the milky cataracts. “Tell him . . .”—he cleared his throat—“tell him it is in good hands.”
More Arabic was exchanged. “Your hands?” Nayra asked.
“Perhaps.”
The old man chuckled, then asked something else in Arabic. Nayra translated. “He wants to know if you have had any dreams?”
Daniel tried not to stiffen. “We all dream.”
The man grinned again, obviously enjoying the repartee. He answered and Nayra translated. “Yes, but how many of us dream of . . .”—she turned back to the old man to confirm what she’d heard, then returned to Daniel—“how many of us dream of the face of God?”
Daniel felt the blood drain from his cheeks. The old man saw it and cackled softly. Apparently, he had his answer. Turning to his companions, he gave a curt order. One of the young men obeyed, producing a small box of olive wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Holding it with great care, he approached the old man. It was only then that Daniel noticed the rifle dangling from the boy’s shoulder. As he stepped into the light, his two associates moved forward, making it clear that everything was being carefully observed and carefully protected.
The old man took the box into his knotted, arthritic hands. He spoke again and Nayra translated. “I too have had dreams, Pastor. The dream of a face. But unlike your dream, mine is the face of a—”
The explosion shook the room with such force that Daniel nearly lost his balance. He heard the old man cry out but his voice was lost in another explosion. And another.
“Rockets!” the owner’s voice shouted. “Helicopter gunships!”
Adrenaline surged through Daniel as another explosion pounded the room, knocking him to his knees. The light was gone but he could hear the plaster and concrete falling around him, felt smaller chunks bouncing off his shoulders and head. Dust filled the room, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Outside!” the owner shouted and coughed. A back door was suddenly kicked open and blinding light stabbed Daniel’s eyes. “Everybody outside!”
He staggered to his feet. To his left he saw the boy with the rifle helping the old man do the same. More explosions shattered the room. Pounding, deafening, throwing Daniel into Tyler. Somehow they kept their balance and stumbled toward the light. Coughing and gagging, they emerged into a narrow street, one end already blocked by smoke.
“This way!” one of the young men shouted, waving. “This way!”
Everyone turned and started to follow. Everyone but Daniel.
“Dad!” Tyler yelled over his shoulder. “Come on!”
“Where is he?” Daniel shouted, straining to see through the dust. “Where is the old man?”
“What?”
“The old man!”
Tyler spotted him at the door. “Right there, behind you!”
He spun around to see the old man emerge into the light, clutching the wooden box, leaning heavily upon his young assistant. Daniel heard the rocket coming but had no time to cover his face before the apartment next door exploded. The concussion threw him backward, pelting his skin with rock and concrete as he landed hard on the ground. But he only remained a moment. Even as the debris rained around him, he scrambled to his feet.
“Tyler!” he shouted. “Tyler!” He squinted through the billowing dust, choking, his throat on fire. “Tyler!”
“Here!” his son cried, coughing. “Over here!”
He turned to see Tyler staggering to his feet, helping Nayra to hers. The debris stopped falling and was replaced by the distant pop of automatic gunfire and panicked cries.
“He’s hurt!” Nayra shouted. She motioned to the old man, who lay under his young assistant. She raced toward them and Tyler followed. But it wasn’t the old man who was hurt. It was the aide. He did not move. And by the way his body was sprawled in the dirt, his neck grotesquely twisted, his eyes staring lifelessly, Daniel knew he would not move again.
The old man was struggling to crawl out from under him, shouting orders.
Nayra nodded and yelled to Tyler, “Get his gun! Get his gun!”
But Tyler had frozen. All he could do was stare at the young man. As far as Daniel knew, his son had never seen death before— except in movies or video games.
The gunfire grew closer.
Again the old man shouted and again Nayra translated. “Get the rifle!”
But Tyler could not move. With some effort Nayra pushed the aide aside and pulled the rifle off his shoulder. The movement shamed Tyler back into action. He reached for the old man and helped him to his feet.
“We must leave here!” Nayra shouted.
Tyler nodded and, allowing the old man to lean on him, started off in the only clear direction.
Daniel had just moved to join them when a soldier suddenly came into view. Another youngster. Younger than Tyler. He shouted something in Hebrew, an obvious order for them to stop.
Daniel slowed but Tyler did not. Instead he turned and began hobbling in the opposite direction.
“Tyler!” Daniel yelled.
Again the soldier shouted.
“Tyler, stop!”
The soldier raised his rifle.
“Tyler!” Gripped with fear, Daniel started toward the soldier, trying to explain, trying to draw his attention.
But the soldier ignored him and took aim.
“No!” Daniel twirled to Tyler. “Tyler, no!” Then back to the soldier. “No!” He started running at him. “No! No!”
The soldier fired.
Daniel spun around just in time to see the old man go limp in Tyler’s arms. But Tyler did not stop. In fear and panic he dragged the man faster.
“Tyler!”
The soldier aimed again.
Seeing no alternative, Daniel leaped between them, waving his arms, as a second shot was fired. Only it did not hit Tyler. Nor did it hit Daniel. Instead it was the young soldier who crumbled to the ground.
Confused, Daniel turned. He spotted Nayra lowering her rifle. She stared at it as if it were some strange creature as she tried to fathom what it had just done, what she had just done.
Three armed soldiers rounded the corner. They spotted their comrade, then Nayra, and immediately shouted, demanding that she drop the rifle. She held it at arm’s length, like a poisonous snake, and released it. It clattered onto the road. The soldiers started toward her.
Suddenly a white Mercedes slid around the corner, accelerating, barreling down on them. Having no time to take aim, the soldiers realized it would be smarter to leap for their lives. They weren’t wrong. The driver missed them by inches. The car fishtailed, avoiding the fallen soldier, then skidded to a stop directly beside Nayra.
“Get in!” a voice shouted.
Nayra stood paralyzed, still in shock.
The driver reached over and opened the passenger door. The sun’s reflection off the windshield made it impossible to recognize the face, but Daniel knew the voice.
“Get in!”
Woodenly, Nayra obeyed. She had barely entered before the tires spun furiously. The car slid to another stop between Daniel and Tyler.
“Hurry!” Helen shouted. “Get in! Get in!”
Daniel turned to help Tyler, who had kneeled down with the man. But the dark, widening circle in the old-timer’s back, and the ashen look on Tyler’s face, made it clear that his son had just witnessed his second death in as many minutes.
The soldiers behind them were scrambling to their feet, shouting, raising their rifles.
“Get in!” Helen yelled.
Daniel obeyed. But not Tyler. Not before the boy spotted the box near the old man’s hand and tentatively reached for it.
“Get in!”
The first bullet sank into the Mercedes’ left rear fender with a sickening thud. The second missed the car, sending up a cloud of dust inches from Tyler’s feet. He did not have to be told again. He grabbed the box, leaped up, and raced to the car. More shots were fired as he tumbled into the backseat, as the Mercedes sped off, as he tried more than once to grab the back door until he finally slammed it shut.

The Face of God Virtual Book Tour Schedule


Monday, April 4
Book spotlighted at The Writer’s Life
Tuesday, April 5
Book reviewed at My Reading Room
Wednesday, April 6
Interviewed at Blogcritics
Thursday, April 7
Book reviewed at Life in Review
Friday, April 8
Book reviewed at Quiverfull Family
Monday, April 11
Book reviewed at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Tuesday, April 12
Interviewed at Examiner
Wednesday, April 13
Book reviewed at A Room Without Books is Empty
Thursday, April 14
Guest blogging & book giveaway at The Book Faery Reviews
Friday, April 15
Book reviewed at By the Book
Monday, April 18
Interviewed at Literarily Speaking
Tuesday, April 19
Book reviewed at Healing Hearts
Wednesday, April 20
Book spotlighted at The Book Connection
Thursday, April 21
Book reviewed at Reviews From the Heart
Interviewed at Review From Here
Guesting at Literarily Speaking’s April 2011 Book Panel
Friday, April 22
Book reviewed at Broken Teepee
Monday, April 25
Reviewed at Taming the Bookshelf
Tuesday, April 26
Guest blogging at Beyond the Books
Wednesday, April 27
Interviewed at The Hot Author Report
Thursday, April 28
Book reviewed by Book Reviews by Molly
Friday, April 29
Book reviewed at One Day at a Time

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through Pump Up Your Book Promotions for a honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.