HEAVEN'S PREY by Janet Sketchley: a review

Janet Sketchley's novel HEAVEN'S PREY demonstrates and celebrates the power of God over evil including pornography and abuse of women. Set in present-day Nova Scotia, this book is the first in her Redemption's Edge series.

The main character, Ruth Warner, a forty-something Christian, persistently prays that God will save Harry Silver, a rapist and killer of young women including her niece. One evening, as Ruth returns from a prayer meeting, she's mistakenly abducted by none other than Harry himself instead of his intended victim, an attractive young blond.

What follows is a long psychological, physical, and spiritual battle between Ruth and Harry. He takes her to a remote cottage, where he abuses her though not to the point of rape. Ruth isn't his type: too old, wrong hair. However, he plans to rape her eventually, fueling his passion with the hard-core pornography he's addicted to.

Author Janet Sketchley

Ruth prays that God will help her escape. She also keeps praying that her captor will come to faith in Christ. The first part of her prayer seems to be answered when Harry becomes so ill that he no longer knows she's there. She slips away from the cottage, only to be caught by Harry's accomplices, drug dealers who have been watching the place with WebCams.

What now? The story hurtles from crisis to crisis, hope to disappointment, suspense to catastrophe, and finally to a bittersweet ending.

Author Janet Sketchley is a strong writer. She's sure of her message, no wavering. Her story is crystal clear.

Sketchley is excellent at letting readers in on her characters' thoughts and feelings. Examples: "Ruth had only one...anchor against the rising tide of fear. But even prayer took a conscious act of will." Ruth's husband, frantic with worry after she's abducted, thinks "Face this alone? How could he face it at all?"

The story includes several flashbacks, all well written and well placed, though some are too long for my taste; for example, the account of how Harry began his career as a racing car driver. On the other hand, this account allows Sketchley to do one of the things she's best at: write about action. Throughout the novel, her action scenes are exciting and authentic.

Sketchley doesn't shy away from describing evil. She's particularly strong when portraying the hold that pornography can have on a person. In one flashback, Harry is invited to spend three days on a yacht with friends. He decides he can't go because he "couldn't face three days cut off from his porn." Sketchley is equally frank about domestic abuse, as well as the effects of illegal drugs.

Some of what her characters think and say regarding their Christian faith is predictable. But some of it is so fresh and moving, it made me cry. Examples: Harry's mother talking to the boy Harry about the beatings she endures at the hands of her husband: "Jesus puts his arms around me. If not, I couldn't make it." Ruth's pastor being interviewed on TV about the abducted Ruth: "He faced directly into the camera and raised his hand, palm forward. 'Harry Silver, I command you, in the power and the name of Jesus Christ, to leave His servant Ruth alone. You have no authority over her, and you will not harm her in any way.'"

Does Harry heed the pastor's words? Does he even hear them? You'll need to read the book to find out. I look forward to Book Two in Sketchley's Redemption's Edge series. It's titled SECRETS AND LIES. Here's an excerpt, quoted with the author's permission:

"The afterimages of her dream burned in her

imagination. Her sixteen-year-old son, larger than life on

a brightly-lit stage, arms raised to embrace the crowd’s

cheers, electric guitar draped low across his hips. An

oversize brown leather jacket hung open over his faded

tee-shirt and jeans.

She knew that jacket: Butter-soft Italian calfskin,

steeped in beer and Old Spice, ruggedly nicked and

scraped here and there, with a cigarette burn inside the

left cuff.

Skip’s jacket. Paul’s father.

In her dream she’d stood beside her son, but Paul only

had eyes for his fans. An almost palpable energy radiated

from his body—the same power trip that used to sweep

Skip away whenever he performed. With the same cost to

those who loved him."

HEAVEN'S PREY is available on Amazon. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/lvvsyhp

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

prairie blizzard & ethics in publishing: Chuck Klosterman

Chuck Klosterman wrote the novel DOWNTOWN OWL, which features one of the best accounts of a prairie blizzard I’ve encountered. I was pleased to see he’s also an expert in ethics relating to the current publishing/book-purchasing scene. Here’s a NEW YORK TIMES article by him http://tinyurl.com/osbr5m5

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

literary agent Julie Gwinn open to Christian fiction & nonfiction, women's fiction, etc., etc.

Literary agent Julie Gwinn has joined The Seymour Agency. She’s open to Christian and Inspirational Fiction and Nonfiction, Women’s fiction (contemporary and historical), New Adult, Southern Fiction, Literary Fiction and Young Adult. How to submit: E-query julie [at] theseymouragency.com. Be sure to include: genre/target audience, word count, contact information, references (conference, recommendation, etc.). No attachments, please. All of The Seymour Agency agents ask that you paste the first five pages of your manuscript into the bottom of your email. “Simultaneous submissions are acceptable for queries and partials. However, we only review complete manuscripts on an exclusive basis.”

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

pitching a self-published book to an agent

Have you self-published a book? Been selling it yourself but now hope to find an agent to represent it and you to publishers? This article may give you some ideas: http://tinyurl.com/o3qe2lx

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

novel-writing

Good thoughts from Dylan Landis on novel-writing: http://tinyurl.com/ltluqg3

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

Other Side of the River by Janice L. Dick: a review

As a Mennonite child growing up in Saskatchewan, Canada, and attending a country Mennonite Church, I heard many stories about Mennonites' experiences in Russia. One ancestor of a local Mennonite family was thrown into a well because Communist officials considered him too wealthy. A Mennonite relative of mine was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Another, a woman, was threatened with rape by Russian soldiers, but distracted them from their evil intentions by singing and playing her guitar.

With stories like these lurking in my mind, I'm always interested in novels about the Russian Mennonite experience. One is The Blue Mountains of China by Rudy Wiebe. Another is The Russländer (also titled Katya) by Sandra Birdsell. Janice L. Dick's new novel, Other Side of the River, stacks up well in comparison with these. In some respects, Dick's story is The Russländer on steroids.

Janice L. Dick lives in Watrous, Saskatchewan.

As the novel opens, it's 1926 in the Siberian village of Alexandrovka. The first page introduces us to the two main characters, Luise Letkemann and Daniel Martens. They're devout young Mennonites hoping to marry and live a peaceful life in their close-knit Mennonite community. Also on that first page, we meet the arch enemy of their hopes and dreams. He's Senior-Major Leonid Dubrowsky of the GPU, the dreaded Soviet secret police.

Dubrowsky isn't fond of Mennonites. He finds them too pious, successful, and independent-minded. As the story progresses, Dubrowsky's shows himself to be especially opposed to Daniel and his father, who dare to criticize him and the totalitarian regime he represents. The day after Luise and Daniel's wedding, the bridegroom's father, Peter Martens, dies as a result of complaints against the regime. Daniel, hot-headed like his father, condemns the circumstances that led to Peter's passing. The young man is immediately shipped off to a work camp in the far north.

Back home in Alexandrovka, his wife of two days, Luise, faces a gut-wrenching decision. Her family plan to move east, about as far east in Russia as possible. They want to settle in a Mennonite village near the Amur River, which forms the border between Russia and China in that area. Luise's parents and other Mennonites believe that the GPU would bother them less in such a remote location. Luise thinks this may be true, but agonizes over whether to accompany her family or not. What if Daniel returns to look for her in Alexandrovka? How will he know where she's gone? Will he be able to join her in the east with travel so dangerous, especially for a declared enemy of the state?

Luise's life is further complicated by her prickly relationship with her stepmother. Anna, the stepmother, is a complex character. She treats Luise harshly because she's jealous of the young woman's rapport with her father, i.e. Anna's husband. Sometimes Anna also shows symptoms of a mind dangerously unhinged from reality. On the other hand, she seems able to foretell the future. "God tells me things," she says.

Anna utters a prophecy about Luise and Daniel's future, but the author keeps us wondering whether and how it will be fulfilled. Their lives unfold through danger, desperation, drudgery, and moments of delight, all illuminated by the faith that burns in them, however dimly at times.

Occasionally I found the story somewhat unbelievable. For instance, I'm not sure Daniel would keep speaking against the regime and getting himself into deeper and deeper trouble. At the same time, I admire his courage.

The author sometimes uses him to comment on the political system of the time. For example, at one point Daniel tells Dubrowsky: "I have a mind and ideas that could help you and your cause, but instead you try to ruin me and others like me with preposterous laws that stifle any independent spark. It is independence and individual motivation that foster success, not repression."

The narrative includes enough touches of dialect to add flavour, but not so many that they hinder the reading. For example, at one point a woman says, "I am just pulling out from the oven some perishky" (Mennonite-style fruit or meat turnovers). On another occasion young people play knipsbraat (crokinole). Such references sound wonderfully homey to me; I grew up with them.

I would love to have written a novel like Other Side of the River, but Dick beat me to it. You can read the first chapter at http://tinyurl.com/pl34nyd. Her 370-page novel, published by Helping Hands Press, sells for about $15.00 and is available from Amazon as a paperback. You can find it by pasting the following link into your browser: amzn.to/1uFZ8QT.  The e-book, which sells for about $7.50, is also available from Amazon. The link is amzn.to/1qNGJS6.

using embarrassment in your writing

We all suffer embarrassing moments from time to time. Here are ideas on using them to advantage in our writing: http://tinyurl.com/mclsuoh

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

supporting an author's book

Do you have a friend or acquaintance with a new book coming out? Good ideas here on how to help him or her spread the word: http://tinyurl.com/ol4rhj8

However, I think turning the book cover-out in a bookstore could backfire since the staff probably knows which books should be face-out and which not. Publishers in some cases pay for that kind of exposure.

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

Manitobans quilt a book cover

Here’s a nifty bit of news. Interesting idea: quilt your book cover or have someone do it. Could be a business opportunity in there somewhere.

 

Friesens, Avalon Travel's primary travel guide printer, located in Altona, Manitoba, commemorates when a book hits a million printed copies with a quilt of the cover of the book, crafted by a group of local women. Collectively, Avalon’s guidebooks reached the million unit mark. On September 9, Friesens presented Jane Musser (l.), v-p of production at Avalon, and Bill Newlin (r.), publisher, Avalon Group, with the Moon Guides and Rick Steves’ quilts.

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

blog for indie publishers: Writer's Digest

Writer’s Digest just started a new blog for indie publishers [self-publishers]. Looks like good info. Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/q4atgsp

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

re kid & young adult book industry: JacketFlap

I don’t know much about this organization except what’s below, but they could be a good resource if you work on or with kids’ or young adult materials.

 

“JacketFlap has become the world's largest and most comprehensive resource for information on the children's book industry. Writers, illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, and publishers visit JacketFlap every day.” More info at http://www.jacketflap.com/

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

inspired by Isaiah 55?

Join the 55 project by writing a poem inspired by Isaiah chapter 55. Go to http://www.55project.blogspot.ca/. On the right, scroll down to find the heading Join the Project.

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

young adult & new adult opportunity: Donaghy Literary

Valerie Noble is a new Associate Agent at Donaghy Literary Group. She is seeking Young Adult, and New Adult  in the following areas:

• Science Fiction YA/NA
• Fantasy YA/NA
• Historical Fantasy YA/NA
• Historical Fiction YA/NA

Valerie loves YA/NA science fiction and fantasy (think Kristin Cashore and Suzanne Collins) but reads everything under the sun. For her, it’s more about the writing and less about the genre. In saying that, Valerie is generally not interested in romance or paranormal.

Submission Instructions: Electronic Submissions only. Send the query letter, 1-2 page synopsis and the first 10 pages of manuscript — all in body of email, no attachments. Send to query(at)donaghyliterary(dot)com.

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma

 

 

Christian novel opportunity: Ashberry Lane

Ashberry Lane, a newish Christian publisher, invites submissions of middle grade, young adult, and adult novels. Guidelines are here: http://ashberrylane.com/submissions-guidelines/

 

 

Elma Schemenauer, author of 75 books, editor of many others, elmams@shaw.ca, http://elmasalmanac.blogspot.ca/, http://elmams.wix.com/elma