Title:
The Ferryman
Author
Name: Amy Neftzger
Author
Bio:
Amy
Neftzger (born June 23) is an American researcher and author who has
published fiction books, non-fiction books, business articles, and
peer review research. Her works have reached an international
audience.
Amy
was born in Illinois and graduated from Elk Grove High School in Elk
Grove Village, Illinois. She received her bachelors degree from the
University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida and her Masters
in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from Middle Tennessee State
University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She graduated from both
Universities with honors.
She
has written numerous business and journal articles, but her fiction
works have been the most commercially successful. In 2003 she
published Conversations with the Moon, which was also translated into
Korean and published in South Korea. In 2005 she collaborated with
her husband, guitarist Tyra Neftzger on a children's book called "All
that the Dog Ever Wanted." The book was designed to introduce
children to jazz music at an early age and included a CD sampler of
jazz tunes. In 2007 she worked as an editor on a business fable
called "The Damned Company." She's also written
"Confessions From a Moving Van" and "Leftover Shorts."
In
2013, Amy released her first Young Adult book called "The
Orphanage of Miracles." The sequel to this book, "The
Orchard of Hope" is scheduled for release in June of 2014, and
The Ferryman (adult fiction) is scheduled for release in October,
2014.
Author
Links -
Book
Genre: Fiction/ Fantasy
Publisher:
Fields of Gold Publishing (Imprint: Fog Ink)
Release
Date: 10/07/2014
Buy
Link(s):
Amazon
Book
Description:
Like
most large career moves, this one happened by accident. Karen spent a
lot of time planning what she was going to do with her life, but Fate
had other plans for her, as she often does for most of us. Karen just
happened to rob the wrong grave.
Excerpt:
Karen
studied the coffin she had just uncovered. The lid, once a shiny
lacquered surface, was now partially decayed and fell apart as Karen
pried it off. Bits of wood turned to dust on her hands as she worked
diligently to make an opening. Her arms were tired from digging and
the fatigue made it more difficult to be gentle with the rotting
wood. She paused to shake her arms vigorously and relax the tension
in her muscles and upper body. As she breathed in the chilly night
air, she could smell her own sweat mixed with the fragrance of the
rich earth and decaying wood. She took a few more deep breaths and
turned back to the task of opening the grave. She worked patiently to
handle the lid with care and managed to remove a large chunk that was
nearly a third of the entire lid. Through the hole she had made she
saw the top half of a well-dressed skeleton.
The
grave was on the edge of the cemetery, in a neglected corner that
looked as if it could be part of the adjoining land. The gravestone
had fallen over years ago and weathered so much that it looked like
an ordinary limestone rock. A few days earlier when Karen recognized
that it was actually a grave, she decided to rob it. She was hoping
that no one had gotten to it before her.
This
particular plot was an older grave from a time when individuals
placed ancient coins over the eye sockets of the corpse, although the
coins weren't ancient when they were buried. Most of these graves
had already been robbed, but due to the location and lack of distinct
marking or some other mystical reason, this one had gone unnoticed by
robbers until now. It was almost as if the grave had been hidden
until the right person came along. Karen wasn't the typical grave
robber, and perhaps the corpse found this attractive. Regardless of
how the grave had remained unspoiled for so many years, Karen was the
one who finally opened the casket and plucked up the coins. It was at
that moment that Fate appeared.
Guest Blog:
Six of My favorite Villains in Literature
Let's face it, villains make for great story lines because they create the conflict that often evokes empathy for the main character while moving the plot forward. Villains are necessary to literature and most of the time we love to hate them. Here are a few of my favorites:
Voldemort from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
He's dark. He's merciless. He even attempted to murder a baby. It doesn't get more evil than baby killing. Voldemort embodies everything we were taught to despise, and yet he cultivates a loyal following. Very few villains get more evil than Voldemort, which is why he tops my list.
He's dark. He's merciless. He even attempted to murder a baby. It doesn't get more evil than baby killing. Voldemort embodies everything we were taught to despise, and yet he cultivates a loyal following. Very few villains get more evil than Voldemort, which is why he tops my list.
Cruella de Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith
If you're not going to kill babies, the next most evil thing you could do is to kill puppies. This is why Cruella ranks as number two on my list.
If you're not going to kill babies, the next most evil thing you could do is to kill puppies. This is why Cruella ranks as number two on my list.
Mrs Danvers from Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
I despised Mrs Danvers from the first moment I read her interacting with the second Mrs. de Winter. This villain is arrogant and hateful, and she's constantly seeking for ways to humiliate our poor protagonist. She's just a spiteful old hag who can't stand to see someone else happy. She's like a human dementor.
I despised Mrs Danvers from the first moment I read her interacting with the second Mrs. de Winter. This villain is arrogant and hateful, and she's constantly seeking for ways to humiliate our poor protagonist. She's just a spiteful old hag who can't stand to see someone else happy. She's like a human dementor.
Moriarty from The Sherlock Holmes Books, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Moriarty is just plain cleaver, and reading about Sherlock Holmes meeting his match is a treat for readers. Of course, we're all rooting for Holmes, but it's nice to see someone give him a challenge, and Moriarty does that for us. He makes Sherlock shine, and for that I love him as a villain.
Moriarty is just plain cleaver, and reading about Sherlock Holmes meeting his match is a treat for readers. Of course, we're all rooting for Holmes, but it's nice to see someone give him a challenge, and Moriarty does that for us. He makes Sherlock shine, and for that I love him as a villain.
Mr. Hyde from Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
The scariest thing about Mr Hyde is that he's a part of Dr. Jekyll, and Jekyll doesn't know it. He represents the darkness within all of us - that part of ourselves of which we're unaware and the part that can most easily destroy us. That's more frightening than anything that another person could ever do to us.
The scariest thing about Mr Hyde is that he's a part of Dr. Jekyll, and Jekyll doesn't know it. He represents the darkness within all of us - that part of ourselves of which we're unaware and the part that can most easily destroy us. That's more frightening than anything that another person could ever do to us.
Elphaba in Wicked by Gregory Maguire
She's the villain who turns out not to be the villain we all thought she was. Elphaba is on my list not because she's evil, but rather because she was believed to be evil for so many years … until this cleaver re-telling of the familiar story. I love the way the author turned the tale on its head when he wrote Wicked, and that's why Elphaba made this list. She shows that good and evil are not always black and white.
She's the villain who turns out not to be the villain we all thought she was. Elphaba is on my list not because she's evil, but rather because she was believed to be evil for so many years … until this cleaver re-telling of the familiar story. I love the way the author turned the tale on its head when he wrote Wicked, and that's why Elphaba made this list. She shows that good and evil are not always black and white.
Schedule
September 21 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog
September 23 - Guest Blogging at Coffee, Books & Art
September 25 - Spotlight at Deal Sharing Aunt
September 25 - Guest Blogging at The Writer's Revolution
September 25 - Guest Blogging at Mythical Books
September 30 - Guest Blogging at Lori's Reading Corner
October 2 - Spotlight at Black Lilac Kitty
October 7 - Guest Blogging at The Avid Reader
October 9 - Spotlight at Black Coffee, Brown Cow
October 13 - Review & Interview at platypire Reviews
October 15 - Spotlight at 4 Covert 2 Overt A Place In The Spotlight
October 17 - Review & Guest Blog at My Life, Loves and Passions
October 17 - Reviewed at I Feel The Need, The Need To Read
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