Review - Justin Cohen's "Quest Inc."

Join me today on the blog tour review of Justin Cohen's novel, Quest Inc. 

The World’s #1 Personal Development Agency . . . has to prove it.

What if you brought together five top personal development experts—equipped with virtually everything we know about unleashing human potential—and gave them some lives to change? Could they really coach anyone to lose fifty pounds, fix a broken relationship, or get rich? What would they do for a homeless person, or a pro-golfer trailing at the back of her league? How about taking the racism out of a racist, or turning a hellish employee into a ray of sunshine?

Welcome to Quest, Inc. They say they can change your life. Now, as they’re followed by an investigative journalist from one of the world’s leading news publications, they have to prove it—or be damned as charlatans.

Based on real life peak performance and transformational strategies, you’ll see the highs and lows everyone faces on the road to self-realization—especially the experts. Get ready for breakthrough . . . or breakdown.

My Review:

I was very intrigued by the premise of this novel, how experts in their various fields come together to create a company focused on helping people get their lives on track – but they’ve all got skeletons in their own closets.  Years before, they’d all worked together for the President’s Living Well Campaign – now the results are in.

They’re not good.

After a suicide attempt by one of the former campaign teammates, the others all gather round to assist him in getting back on his feet.  This is the catalyst for the creation of Quest Inc.

Robert Rivera – body builder, fitness and nutrition

Dr. Carter King – psychotherapist, relationships and general transformation

Mickey Prodi – real estate tycoon, personal finance and vocation

Dr. Jay Lazarus – therapist, emotional state management

Alexia Redmond – bestselling author of “Make Yourself Over”, image and body language

Enter the antagonist – Victoria Holt, reporter, sent to unmask the self-help experts as frauds and charlatans, people who can’t even manage their own lives, much less help others.  Her challenge?  Help a homeless woman get off the streets and become a productive member of society.  Just one problem – Laura doesn’t want to.

The most intriguing client stories I found were those of Frank and George. 

Frank comes to Quest for help to overcome a lifelong, deeply ingrained aversion to blacks – and finds himself in Dr. Carter’s office, a lovely woman of African-American decent.  But Frank is determined to put his racism behind him, and Dr. Carter soon discovers the heartbreaking reason why.

George is a man of many diversions, namely booze and women.  He’s destroyed his business, his marriage, and the relationship with his two sons.  There’s got to be a road leading away from destruction, a way to communicate to his sons to avoid the mistakes he’s made.  Time is running out, but will they listen?

As I said, the premise of this novel was very intriguing and several client stories had potential, namely the two mentioned above.  However, as a fellow writer and prolific reader, the execution fell flat, primarily due to continual point-of-view problems.

The book is written from an omniscient point-of-view, making it difficult to ever get in the characters’ minds.  This creates a sense of psychic distance – you rarely feel what the characters are supposed to be feeling and thinking.  There is more telling rather than showing of their lives, which adds to the disconnection and makes them feel very one-dimensional.  Then when there is a scene that starts out with a character point-of-view, the POV shifts constantly within the scene from one character to another and back to omniscient, once again increasing the psychic distance and making the reader feel like they’re in a juggling act.

There were also too many clients introduced without enough development about said clients and their back stories.  It was almost as if most clients were thrown in to make it look like the business was thriving, not for any real purpose in propelling the story forward.  What would have helped, since it appears a series is planned, would be to have had the focus on four main clients in this first novel.  This would have allowed opportunity for more depth development to all of the clients and also have left room for more development of the self-help experts.

Just before the halfway point in the novel, it seemed as if several characters finally found their voice.  But unfortunately that was broken shortly thereafter with the introduction of another new character or situation.

The ending did surprise me and sets up for the next book in the series.  I also enjoyed the moments when both Robert and Carter let their guards down and shared with their respective audiences about their own shortcomings, that even the experts have doubts and struggles in their own personal lives.  They’re human.

And that, dear readers, was a real positive.

Justin Cohen's Bio:

Justin Cohen is the author of four books and seven audio books.  He produced and hosted a television talk show in which he interviewed some of the world's top experts on success.  As a leading authority on personal development, with an honors degree in Psychology, Justin speaks, trains, and writes in the fields of motivation, sales, service and leadership.  Having spoken professionally for nearly fourteen years, Justin has presented in twelve different countries, and in virtually every industry, to an average of ten thousand people annually.

Visit Justin through his website at http://www.justinpresents.com/

You can purchase Quest Inc. via print or electronic reader at the links below.

In print for $9.99

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937387305?tag=tributebooks-20
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&offerid=239662.9781937387303&type=2&subid=0

On Kindle for $2.99

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTPE1M?tag=tributebooks-20

Book Review - Pick Up "Calamity Jayne"

Hello dear readers!  I've missed our time together and hope you'll find today's post of interest.

After finishing a novel's first draft, I always try to take a month or so away from writing to let the story simmer and rest - get my brain out of it, as you will.  That way I can readjust from the writer's hat to the editor's hat and wield the scalpel more effectively when tackling the next draft stage.

During the resting phase, I'll usually tackle alot of housework chores I let slide during my writing push.  Then I'll try and find some reading material to enjoy, since I don't do much pleasure reading while writing.  Well I found something during my hiatus I'd like to share with you.  I enjoyed it so much, I just thought you might too.  Best of all, the first book in the series is a freebie.

Tressa Jayne Turner has spent her entire twenty-two years living up to everyone's expectations - and she has the blonde hair and blonde jokes down pat to prove it.  That's no thanks to her older brother's best friend, Rick Townsend, who together since Tressa's early childhood have tormented and teased her unmercifully, and bestowed upon her the nickname by which Grandville, Iowa knows her best - Calamity Jayne. 

But Tressa wants to change their perceptions, to break free of the ditzy and clumsy blonde moniker.  However, Calamity Jayne is known so well that when she literally stumbles upon a dead body - and said dead body subsequently disappears - the police and all of her family automatically disregard her find as the result of an overactive imagination.

Everyone, that is, except her equally bumbling and outspoken grandma who surprisingly understands her.  Soon Tressa discovers why and learns her smart-mouthed, fertility god statue collector of a grandmother had her own nickname growing up, and it fits her perfectly - Hellion Hannah.

Throughout Tressa's subsequent quest to prove she's not the idiot all believe her to be, she uses her self-deprecating humor to cover fear when her life is threatened, manages to hold the hunky Rick at bay (she's not about to become another notch on HIS bedpost and risk continued humiliation when he notices her chocolate-induced love handles), and finds herself using the services of one geriatric, gun-toting, Green Hornet wanna-be against her will.  Plus it wouldn't hurt if it all culminates in earning back a coveted job as an investigative reporter for the Grandville Gazette.

That's all I'm gonna tell you, folks, except to say that from the first pages of "Calamity Jayne", I was rolling with laughter.  Each time I laughed out loud, my son wanted me to read the passage to him - and that was quite often at times.  From some of the comments and reviews posted on Amazon, this was referenced as similar to the Stephanie Plum character series by Janet Evanovich (which I have yet to read).

I understand that this series was originally published in print several years ago and it appears the electronic versions were published directly by the author, Kathleen Bacus.  My only real criticism would be that throughout the entire series of the electronic version of all six books, there were alot of grammatical and formatting errors that grabbed my attention and could have used another set of eyes for edits.  However, they didn't bother me enough to make me cease reading.  Even though I also knew from the very beginning in each story who the likely bad character was, it was great light-hearted reading fare and kept me entertained.

And isn't entertainment a good reason to read?

So if you've a mind for a little back-to-school reading, pick up the free electronic copy of the first book "Calamity Jayne" by Kathleen Bacus.  You can also pick up the six pack of the entire series in electronic form for a real bargain at $9.99.

Stay tuned for a ramp up back into interview mode soon.  Happy reading! 

Putting It To Bed

Major announcement tonight.

This evening at 10:59 pm, Central Daylight Time, the first draft of "Piercing the Darkness" was officially completed.

It's even ahead of schedule.

For the last three weeks, I have used every single available ounce of time (and then some) to squeeze as many chapters of this sequel out of my fatigued brain as possible.  The state of my home has suffered.  My gardens are an overgrown mess.  Time with my son has suffered (but he's a teenager so he's doing his own thing alot too).  My poor kitties have spent countless hours laying all over my desk, trying their hardest to get any scrap of alone time with me.

Even though it's involved sharing said time with my computer.

These last four days I've stayed up far too late, spent too little time on the treadmill and too much time getting the secretary spread.  I'm not that old, but my joints are trying to convince me otherwise. 

Hoped I'd have the time to get it done within the next two or three weekends.  Instead the marathon has produced incredible results.  What I initially intended to accomplish by the end of August was finished before the final day of July.

And I'm thrilled to death.

So for the next few weeks the pages will curl and yellow as they sit untouched on my computer.  Like a fine wine, it gets tastier to drink when you leave it alone and let it age in the barrel before disturbing it again.  I've already got ideas for a few scene additions, but for now it will ruminate.

And I will celebrate putting another one to bed.

For now, I'm putting myself to bed.  But stay tuned. 

There will be a third - and I've got something fun in store for that one.

The Fans Have Spoken!

Before I forget:  HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!!

Okay, now that we have that over with, and I'm looking forward to blowing up the sky tonight, let's talk writing.

The fans have spoken, and I have listened.  Originally when I wrote "The Study" I anticipated it being a stand alone story.  Yes, I realize many of you hated the manner in which it ended, but to me it was represented as closer to real life than you might expect.

Of all the stories sitting on my computer - and I promise I will get to them all in due time, well maybe some are destined for the delete bin, but that's beside the point - this one is very personal to me.  All of the specific events and circumstances depicted in the story are fictionalized, but what happens at the end is very much real life for me.

And you might be surprised how many in this world for whom it is all too true.

So writing "The Study" was really just for me to get some of my thoughts out.  I never intended to publish it until encouraged by some dear friends around me.

Well now that it's out there in the eBook universe, I realize there might be need for closure for Katie and Matt.  So after much deliberation both internally and externally, I have decided to write a sequel short story for "The Study".  It's going to tentatively be entitled, "The Search".

How's that for whetting your appetite?

However, don't expect it anytime soon.  The focus at the present time is to finish my first draft of "Piercing the Darkness", the sequel to "Running into the Darkness".  Once I finish that there will be several weeks of letting it sit before I go in and complete the next draft.  During that time, I plan to start work on "The Search". 

No, I cannot promise that it will also be available by the end of the year (PTD is my focus for 2012), but I will promise to try very hard to get it ready for early 2013.  If things go REALLY well, it is possible for yearend, but I'm not going to give any specifics.  I'm not one to write checks I can't cash.

So keep watching and looking for updates on the upcoming, fan requested sequel to "The Study".

Once again, my son and I wish you the best for a safe and happy Fourth!

Now Available - Knight's Big Easy

Dear readers!  My friend and fellow author, Gordon A. Kessler, just informed me that his newest book in the "Knight's Reports" series is finally live on Amazon for your Kindle. 

I had the pleasure of proofreading "Knight's Big Easy" prior to publication and can tell you that this story moves at such a rapid pace it will keep your old ticker pumping for the duration.  If you'd like to stay inside where it's cool instead of out in the heat and humidity, this novel will give you ample reason to do so - without getting bored.  Or if your penchant is more toward lazing by the pool, pick this up on your Kindle before you head to the water.

You'll be glad you did!

Knight’s Big Easy

Where the Characters Take Us

Things have taken a bit of a turn in writing my sequel, Piercing the Darkness.

When interviewing other authors for my site, my favorite question to ask is (I'm sure you all know the answer to this one by now) whether or not they outline their novels.  When first conducting interviews, I was constantly surprised by how many times other authors stated they didn't outline and just let the story and the characters take them hither and yon.

Over the years, in almost all of the writing 'how to' books I've read, speakers I've heard, etc., etc. there is one clear and fairly unanimous refrain - outline, outline, outline.  So call me shocked to discover that I'm not the only one or even one of the few who ignore said refrain.

I've always been a bit of a rebel.

Or just stubborn.  My mom would call me headstrong.  But I digress once again!

Don't get me wrong - outlines serve a purpose for some writers, but they just don't work for me.  When I write I always have a clear idea of the beginning, end, and certain segments along the way.  It's like there's A and Z with a little G, L, P, and U intermingled and all I have to do from there is connect the dots without giving too much away.  So it isn't like I write completely blind.

But at times I am blindsided by twists and turns as those connections are made. 

Take for example, a character from Running into the Darkness.  This character was supposed to be a major player throughout the series, but as the ending neared, he walked up to me (in my mind, of course), laid down his weapon and stated that it was better for him to die in order to save my protagonist.

I fought.  I resisted.  I told him he was crazy.  Either that or I was.

In the end, it worked out perfectly as he sacrificed himself to save someone else.  It covered over a multitude of sins and left him with that endearing, redemptive quality we seek in all heros.  However, it left me in a quandry.

So in Piercing the Darkness, we have the introduction of a new character who was set up to fill a minor role left open by the demise of previously said character.  The interesting thing is that this new character has quickly developed a back story that has tongues wagging.  He has intrigued me to the point that his back story plays right into a deeper role I now need him to fulfill - and once again it's completely different than intended.

And I really, really like it.

Now things are moving really fast.  The pages are slamming out faster than I can count.  The story is flowing in such a way that I hope to have the draft finished up by summer's end.  Then it will ruminate for a month while we finish up the cover art and then on to final draft.

I can hardly wait to see where the characters take me between now and then.  Someone else will have to die in the end.

Guess we'll all have to wait to see who that will be.

The Study Now on Smashwords - Free

Well I finally finished my time with Kindle Select.  That means as of early this morning THE STUDY is now on Smashwords and being offered for free - and I've decided to make it free for an unlimited amount of time.

So if you don't have a Kindle and would like to take a gander at my very looong short story, run on over to Smashwords and download a copy at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/170860
Enjoy!