I will be on LA Talk Radio “The Shock Factor” to discuss my controversial debut book on February 15th 2013 @ 8 pm Pacific. This is an internet radio station which reaches about 5 million listeners world wide, so I hope it gives me another platform to reach an audience and to get my work out there.
I hope to hear you call in and with any questions you may have–
http://latalklive.com/new/advertise
http://www.freddyhowardbooks.com/chat-with-characters.html
The Shock Factor wants to, as they say “DIG DEEP” into my motivation for writing this kind of book, and why it has been such a viral hit in only a very short period of time.
I hope it is because the writing has a different beat (not that the. 99 cent Kindle e-book is not helping– PS.. Please don’t judge me by my social media post– I only spell check if I absolutely have to– like in my novels LOL:) and a new voice.
I am very happy it was compared to Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” and to the work of Stephen King, although I would not really classify it in the horror category, there are some creepy paranormal things which occur in the book. I must also humbly say, that I hope to one day reach their caliber — I maybe a ways away, but I want to one day bring my readers good books/ screenplays that they will enjoy (Yes I write a screenplay for every novel)
Now in reference to the Da Vinci Code, the similarity I think (the only similarity as far as I can tell) would be that there is some deciphering which should be (not a must) done to fully appreciate and enjoy the book and the ending, but no where near as complicated as in the work of Dan Brown.
In the case of Luke 11:24 (The dark obsession of a killer clergy), if the reader comes across a any biblical verse, they should simply Google it, as it likely has some relevance to what has occurred, what is occurring, or what may occur in the future of the novel. The question in my book will be– does this book deal with the supernatural or does it not??
My answer would simply be– Yes it does, and no it does not– that is something you must decide(decipher) for yourself, as there is (in my opinion) a vague but distinct difference between what is supernatural, and what is paranormal.
The reader should pay particular attention to the actions of the characters as well as to the biblical versus which are delivered through the book, keeping in mind, this is not a religious book, it is an obsessive thriller..
The Da Vinci Code is (I only saw the movie) was more about symbols and secret scrolls, and there was (as far as I could tell) nothing outside the realm of straight fiction and there were no actual Angels or Demons in the film, and neither did it deal with the paranormal element, although at first glance, that seems to be the case, especially if you rely primarily on the title . .
This is also the case with the actual book Angels an d Demons by Dan Brown (I am now about 3/4 of the way into it and so far I really like it) and I hope I can one day have an impact on readers the way that Stephan King and Dan Brown do today).
As a new writer, the caparison gives me motivation, but at the same time and I do realize this book is not for everyone. It is NOT a book which promotes religion and it NOT meant to criticize or put down the Catholic Church, but it does highlight problems within not only the Catholic Church, but Christian churches in general. I want to make it clear, that these problems are with people, and NOT with God– that would not be possible.
When I wrote this book, I did not feel as though I somehow had to ask anyone for any type of permission to write what I wrote, as though I had to somehow be qualified in order to ”Take liberties, or gain permission” from any one group of people of religious scholars in order to be properly sanctioned to write.
This book is merely MY FICTIONAL account of a story which I wanted to tell, based on my own professional and personal experiences throughout life, with people who I have come in contact with- good, bad, or indifferent.
The question also came up if I had reservations about writing the novel because as I worked in law enforcement for so many years. What I explained to this religious person was that it was because of my background, that I did decide to write the novel, and it made it that that much easier to create and refine the fictional characters, all if which were created out of some contact (in person or through professional association) that I had with people. This to me is story telling—fiction. I can write about characters I actually in some ways hate, and those that I truly love.
Luke 11:24 is a book that to me is filled with what I will call “A love hate relationship.” I mean this because I had the opportunity to resurrect different things I saw in the actions of both criminals and good law abiding citizens (the good and bad as mentioned) and take those very personal thoughts which were withheld while in the line of duty for so many years and bring them to the forefront of my story telling without any inhibition or regiment or misunderstanding.
I explain much of this in the two YouTube promo videos here—
The book is deep and one review I read said that the book may in fact be ‘‘Sacrilegious.” I disagree with that statement—as a matter of fact, a good part of the book is dedicated to showing the strong bond of love that a mother has for her son, as well as friendship bond, between a little boy and mentally challenged African American Giant, BOBO, who you can learn about by watching the YouTube video as previously mentioned.
So let everyone have their own opinion and so far, I have some good reviews on the book and I really hope to get more as the days and weeks pass.
Truth be told, yes the books is heavy and it does deal with a white Catholic priest stalking a black woman who he believes is an angel sent to him by God (which to some is still out of bounds), but as far as being “Sacrilegious: that is most likely from a specific event which was occurring on the floor of a Catholic church during Mass; where there appears to be a Catholic priest engaging in sex with what is appears to be a heavenly winged being of African American decent.
I would also like to make it known, that it was primarily because of this part of the book (Chapter 78), that I chose to place the “Mature audience warning” on the book.
There are a few other instances in the book that may or may not be religiously offensive, to some, but the reader will quickly see, that is not the premise of book, although I would say none as much what I just mentioned.
To be quite honest, I did contemplated removing that one scene form my novel, but I decided that to sequester my work in this very important chapter, would disturb a major truing point in my novel and so I therefore decided to leave it, as it would set a bad precedent for other writing which are in the works, and subsequently connect this novel to ones presently in creation..
Personally, being a man who has a personal believe in God myself I was a little moved back buy what was posted in the review on my book on Amazon (Sacrilegious) but I can understand where that came from (most likely what I just mentioned).
Yes the reviewer did in fact give my book 5 stars (Am I over analyzing this? MAYBE) which to me was utterly great but what I want readers to understand, is that if they pay attention to some of the clues in the book like I previously mentioned, as well as some the biblical verses which appear throughout the reading (some of which come on the heels if killings) one can see there is a definite messages within the writing–which cites the influence of a sinister spiritual influence as it wars against a good force..
But ultimately, it will left to you (the reader) to determine through the various signs and covert signals in the writing as well as the actions of the characters, as to what the ultimate message in the book is.
Good does not always win (well, actually it does, because it is more patient in the long run and because it is all planned out by God) but neither does evil; and It is therefore left up to the reader to decide which characters they want (or are willing) to sympathize with in the book.
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Now saying all of what I just mentioned, pay attention to the following:
There was a certain older woman, who I have known since I was a little kid, and she is not really a family member, although she could be considered one.
Now, she decided to that she wanted to read the novel but mostly (I believe) was because the title of my novel is in fact a verse from the bible (LUKE 11:24).
Now, as mentioned before would again encourage any potential reader who wants to properly interpret my book, Luke 11:24 (11:24-26 as it is later exemplified in the book) to simply Google the bible verse or other versus as they appear in the book.
This verse has a very important meaning to the course of book but you must apply the biblical code in it’s entirely to the objectivity of the book, and use that as a clue into the mindset and the intent of the Catholic priest, (Father Antonio Florentino).
You as the reader must decide as to what if anything at all is good about this man, or bad about him; keeping in mind he may have a genetic predisposition to rape, stalk and kill; a trait obviously passed down through his genius serial killing father, Jonathan Florentino (who he watches executed as a 6 year old boy)..
Now, try explaining all of what I just mentioned to a religious, Southern Baptist African American female, (73 years old) who was born in the Deep South (and who still loves to read).
Yep, you guessed it– You can’t.
I hope you enjoy my novel.
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My Facebook post.
Thanks everybody for going to my site and purchasing the paperback and .99 cent e-book– U friends are too cool!
Special thx to my Bensalem / Trevose fam and friends, in particular my high school sis Christine Caulfield Liebel for putting it out there with an extra mile on the map! 🙂 And your entire SHARE backing and support! So much support it’s hard to focus in part 2… But this is a good thing!! Keeps it going please…. :)? Next book– LESBIAN ANGEL (My domestic Partner)
http://freddyhowardbooks.com/coming-projects.html
Coming Projects
freddyhowardbooks.com
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Synopsis
Freddy Howard Books 