Skip to main content

Review: Solstice Shadows

Solstice Shadows Solstice Shadows by Avanti Centrae

This was the second entry into the VanOps series and I feel the first set the bar very high. I enjoyed this one overall and it definitely had strong Indiana Jones/Da Vinci Code vibes. I enjoyed seeing how our main protagonists grew in this one and will be curious to see where it goes next.

Audiobook was well performed and well paced.

I also had a chance to do an email interview with the author!

Books with Bircky: What is your writing process? 

Avanti Centrae: My writing process is a lot like building a house. I start with the vision—in house terms that would be things like Ranch vs Victorian. For me with writing, that means genre. I write international thrillers that combine intrigue, history, science, and mystery into pulse-pounding action. Next, as with construction, I create the blueprint, although in my case that’s a detailed outline. I take an initial idea and layer on until I have a multi-page outline with a bullet per chapter than contains the location, point-of-view character, and the conflict in that scene. Once I finish the story’s blueprint, I run it by a chosen few for feedback, make adjustments, and I’m ready to add dialogue and description. At the end of the draft, my editors get to add their suggestions, and presto…next thing you know, we have a book.

BwB: What was the inspiration for the series? 

AC: The characters were the inspiration for the VanOps series. I wanted to have several main protagonists, and ended up with a strong female, and two male heroes. Green-eyed Maddy Marshall holds a black belt in a form of non-violent martial arts called aikido and often struggles with doing the right thing. She’s a computer app designer and truth-seeker. Her boyfriend, Bear Thorenson, has always wanted to carry the weight of the world on his sturdy shoulders by being a covert agent. He seeks justice for all. Maddy’s tall twin brother, Will Argones, is an engineer and skeptic who reluctantly discovers he’s good with knives while pursuing revenge. The three of them have the sort of camaraderie and conflict that stems from knowing each other a long time.

BwB: Where do you see the series going next? 

AC: The first book in the series, THE LOST POWER, dealt with the hunt for Alexander the Great’s mysterious Egyptian weapon. Next, in SOLSTICE SHADOWS, our heroes had to decipher an encrypted ancient star chart before extremists triggered a high-tech apocalypse. The third book in the series in is that blueprint creation stage, so it’s too early to share.

BwB: Who are your favorite authors? 

AC: As you might expect, some of my favorite authors are those to whom my work is often compared: James Rollins, Steve Berry, Dan Brown, and Clive Cussler. I also love thriller writers Gregg Hurwitz, Preston & Child, KJ Howe, and Carlos Ruiz Zafron. In the fantasy genre, I appreciate Robert Jordan’s world-building and Terry Pratchett’s humor.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Shadow Ridge

  Shadow Ridge by M.E. Browning December 1-31, 2020 Tour Synopsis: Death is one click away when a string of murders rocks a small Colorado town in the first mesmerizing novel in M. E. Browning’s A Jo Wyatt Mystery series. Echo Valley, Colorado, is a place where the natural beauty of a stunning river valley meets a budding hipster urbanity. But when an internet stalker is revealed to be a cold-blooded killer in real life the peaceful community is rocked to its core. It should have been an open-and-shut case: the suicide of Tye Horton, the designer of a cutting-edge video game. But Detective Jo Wyatt is immediately suspicious of Quinn Kirkwood, who reported the death. When Quinn reveals an internet stalker is terrorizing her, Jo is skeptical. Doubts aside, she delves into the claim and uncovers a link that ties Quinn to a small group of beta-testers who had worked with Horton. When a second member of the group dies in a car accident, Jo’s investigation leads her to the

Review: The Wedding Crasher

The Wedding Crasher by Nikki Stern on Tour June 1-30, 2019 Synopsis: A brunette in a bridal gown turns up in Pickett County, Tennessee, throat slit and ring finger missing. She’s the latest victim of the Wedding Crasher, a serial killer who murders women just weeks before their weddings. Samantha Tate is Picket County’s yoga-loving, poker-playing new sheriff, a former Nashville homicide detective who struggles with her inner demons. To catch the meticulous murderer, Sam will have to follow her instincts and ignore her worst impulses. Can she stop the Wedding Crasher before another bride-to-be dies? My Review: Sam Tate ranks highly in the realm of female detectives, which seems to be a new favorite sub-genre of mine this year. This book is a gripping read that explores how a small town sheriff can blow the case wide open on an unsolved series of brutal murders across the country. There are a ton of red herrings and misdirects, but they are handled in an ex

Review: The Begonia Killer

The Begonia Killer by Jeff Bond June 1-30, 2021 Tour Synopsis: You know Molly McGill from her death-defying escapes in Anarchy of the Mice , book one of the Third Chance Enterprises series. Now ride along for her first standalone caper, The Begonia Killer . When Martha Dodson hires McGill Investigators to look into an odd neighbor, Molly feels optimistic about the case — right up until Martha reveals her theory that Kent Kirkland, the neighbor, is holding two boys hostage in his papered-over upstairs bedroom. Martha’s husband thinks she needs a hobby. Detective Art Judd, who Molly visits on her client’s behalf, sees no evidence worthy of devoting police resources. But Molly feels a kinship with the Yancy Park housewife and bone-deep concern for the missing boys. She forges ahead with the investigation, navigating her own headstrong kids, an unlikely romance with Detective Judd, and a suspect in Kent Kirkland every bit as terrifying as the supervillains she’s battled befor