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book reviews |
By John W. NoyesDebut author, John Noyes, introduces us to his first-in-the-series, action thriller, “Those Deep Below”: Fast moving, page-turner sci-fi thriller! Twists and turns of the story will keep you wondering what will happen next! A terrifying adventure in a world based on the Inca Empire. Rezi was a relatively unimportant member of the King's household until her unique talent for singing was discovered and she was made a personal attendant to the King. As her friendship with the King grows, rumors begin to circulate comparing her to legendary Nightingale for her ability to soothe the King's troubled heart through song. Not everyone is pleased by the comparison, especially the King's wife, Queen Qhush'qunca. The Queen is a ruthless and sadistic person who jealously guards her status as the first wife to the King. Threatened by Rezi's friendship to her husband, Qhush'qunca decides to take revenge on the girl. However, when the King unexpectedly dies, both Rezi and the Queen are buried alive with the rest of the household in the dead King's massive tomb. Trapped together underground, Qhush'qunca takes her revenge by repeatedly torturing Rezi and binding them together through an arcane ritual. Desperate to escape both the Queen's wrath and the Tomb, Rezi must turn to the other denizens trapped with her, including the misshapen priests of the Cults of the Condor and the Winged Serpent. But, can there be any trust between those below? Well-placed twists and turns to this adventure will have you practically jumping out of your seat cheering Rezi on! Spring/Summer 2019 this book will also be available as a large-print edition and also on Barnes and Noble website. If any business would like to be involved in branding this book as a movie, music or other means, please go to the Publisher's website at: https://www.storiesforpublication.com/. This is Book 1 in the series of three. Please check out https://www.storiesforpublication.com/ to see a variety of books that the Publisher recommends from fiction to nonfiction.  This is the first novel I have read about ancient Mesoamericans. The Inca’s are a fascinating people. This story rings with authenticity and the details are luscious. The burial cave for the king and his retinue is a wonderful setting and full of mystery. The author handles the lighting and lack of light quite well, he engages multiple senses. The characters all play their roles to the hilt, with a wonderful sense of desperation. I enjoyed a lot of the banter and sarcasm, the dialogue made me laugh many times. The action was quite brutal at times, the use of naturally occurring poisons was very interesting. All in all, this was a great story and a lot of fun to read. I award “Those Deep Below” a score of 4.5 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://smile.amazon.com/Those-Deep-Below-thriller https://www.goodreads.com/those-deep-below-the-inti-series-book-1-thriller You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/JNoyes16 johnwnoyes.com Tags: Inca, fiction, adventure, murder, historical fiction, royalty, king, queen Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
52 Comments
Mark
3/11/2020 03:02:46 pm
I really enjoyed your book, John. The ancient peoples have fascinated me for most of my life. 3/11/2020 07:21:54 pm
Sure, I grew up as an Army Brat, and when I was 7 my family moved to Izmir, Turkey. That was were I first encountered ruined cities, ancient legends, and foreign travel. After Turkey, we moved to Germany for 4 years, arriving as the Berlin Wall came down. Later in life I traveled to Peru and Bolivia where I lived for many years doing humanitarian work. The region and its culture fascinates me to this day. While there I learned Spanish, and became aquatinted with Quechua and Aymara. After leaving South America, I joined the Army and fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I left the Army in 2015 and settled with my family in Arizona. I have always loved writing and found it therapeutic after combat.
Mark
3/11/2020 07:29:36 pm
We both have a military background, but your family moved far more than mine did, my dad was in the Air Force Reserves. I served in the Air National Guard. 3/11/2020 07:43:34 pm
Currently I am a part time writer, but would love the opportunity to write full time. After the Army I went into warehousing and Transportation, but I have left that business to return to school for medicine. My military experience greatly influenced my writing, especially because I use it for therapy. Many of the situations and characters were pulled directly from personal experience. Interestingly, and unfortunately, so to were some of the harsher scenes that I describe in the book.
Mark
3/11/2020 08:11:45 pm
Some of the events in your book were pretty brutal. Did you learn first hand not to pick up real colorful frogs? Some of the toxins found on their skin sound quite painful, as you described them. 3/11/2020 08:27:12 pm
You caught me, I did learn first hand not to touch the frogs, they really hurt. The genre kind of chose me, I enjoy a lot of historical fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi and writing in those genres helps me tell my stories in a way that allows me to disassociate my past experience/trauma from the story I want to tell. For example, in the book I describe a character that has his eyelid removed as a punishment. That is directly from my past. The region where I served in Iraq, that was a common punishment that rebel factions would do to locals that crossed them, and so I unfortunately saw it a lot. The inspiration for the over all story came from seeing the Inca tombs in Peru. They would actually bury households alive with their Kings to care for his mummy into the afterlife. The cover was designed by my wife, Sarah, who recently graduated with a degree in marketing. I wanted the heavy black and whites of the image to give the feeling of being underground.
Mark
3/11/2020 08:45:49 pm
The eyelid thing was a brutal moment. It shocked me, even more now that you told me you have seen it practiced in real life. Seeing that would have left a mark on me, also. 3/11/2020 10:44:06 pm
The title was originally Those Below, and it was the first thing I actually wrote for the story. We later changed the title so as not to conflict with other titles. The character names are a pseudo Quechua, by which I mean that I looked up a description of a major character trait for each in Quechua and tweaked it a bit. For example; Qhush’qunca literally means jealousy.
Mark
3/11/2020 11:12:10 pm
Common and similar titles are a problem for many authors. The title has to be catchy, to grab the reader's attention as they walk or scroll by. Your title has a lot of mystery built into it, well done. 3/12/2020 12:47:03 am
I have entered a few contests over the years, more so since I published Those Deep Below. So far, it has been a bit of an uphill battle, both because I am a new writer and because I have a very limited amount of time to dedicate to writing at the moment. It is that wonderful catch 22 that so many writers struggle with, I need to write more to get my name out there, but I need to get my name out there to write more. As a consequence, I have been writing more short stories to enter into contests while I work on the sequel to Those Deep Below. I have won several awards for writing in the past, but most of these were for technical writing in the Army. To answer your other question, around a year ago I did put the book on kindle unlimited, however I one the contract period was up i did not renew it as I am attempting to get it carried by more book sellers.
Mark
3/12/2020 10:00:07 am
Short stories are a great way to polish writing skills. Cut, cut, cut is the mantra these days. Make it shorter, more concise, people have shorter attention spans we have been told. You are on the right track. 3/12/2020 12:51:15 pm
Initially I went the indie publisher route with Amazon. It was great as it let me make all the rookie mistakes and learn from them. Eventually, however, I started looking for publishers and found Sue Harrington at Stories for Publication. She runs a very small company that specializes in mental health books, but I was impressed with her integrity and reputation. As you know there are a lot of vanity publishers and unscrupulous agents that like to take advantage of new authors. Anyway, we started emailing and she read the book and liked it even though it was not her normal genre. I explained that I am in the process of writing some nonfiction PTSD help books for veterans based on my own experiences with the PTSD and the VA which was more in line with her wheel house. In the end she agreed to republish the book and its sequels and we have been a team ever since. I use the word team, because I think that is the biggest pit fall for new writers, we are so desperate for marketing, exposure, and success that we are willing to sign with anyone which can lead to a very one sided relationship. Fortunately, I can say that Sue and I are a team, I retain the copyright to the book and Sue acts as my agent now that it is published. We both work together on the promotion piece. As such, I would welcome the blog links you mentioned.
Mark
3/12/2020 01:10:52 pm
It's very refreshing to hear of a positive experience with an indie publisher. There are so many horror stories out there, so many scammers. 3/12/2020 03:47:22 pm
I have several favorites, when I younger I loved Patricia C. Wrede, her Enchanted Forest Chronicles began my love of fantasy, and brought my wife and I together. Additionally I love Garth Nix, David Weber, David Drake, and Eric Flint. Writing for me is very spiritually and emotionally cathartic. It both energizes and exhausts me.
Mark
3/12/2020 04:14:22 pm
I think this is the first time I have heard of a book being at least partly responsible for matrimony, other than myself and my wife. We share a deep love for the Chronicles of Narnia and other books by C. S. Lewis. He even wrote a sci-fi series that I have read more than once. 3/12/2020 04:46:37 pm
Finding a publisher is kind of like online dating or job hunting. It is a lot of reaching out through social media and seeing who responds. Once you have a few respondents research the hell out of them and then see what they can do for you. In the end it is who you feel the most comfortable with. My publisher and I are a team and both of us are constantly on the look out for marketing opportunities. She has submitted a few inquiries for a film adaptation and we hope to see the book in Barnes and Noble soon. An interesting thing that I have learned about this business is marketing becomes easier with a second or third book in publication. 3/12/2020 04:49:49 pm
To answer the question about character emotions, nothing is black and white in this world. Emotion adds color. They convey culture and motivation and keep your characters from being flat.
Mark
3/12/2020 05:13:18 pm
That is a good way of looking at it. I haven't considered that perspective before. I have done a lot of job-hunting in the past. I learned quickly about keeping my resume up to date. I have distilled my business pitch down to two questions and appropriate answers. 3/12/2020 07:10:20 pm
I have not done the NaNoWriMo, but I am interested in doing it. When I write, I tend to do insane amounts of research and the start writing at the beginning of the of the book and write sequentially to the end. So preparation would be the research part and playing with the plot in my mind. I am an over-writer. The Army writing style is all about short and direct, so when I write fiction I like to take time to describe things and play with words. You asked about authors I like and I mentioned Garth Nix. Part of the reason I love his writing is that he treats language as a living thing with magic power. Where I write that is how I like to think of language, as though it has a life of its own and flows where it will.
Mark
3/12/2020 08:14:05 pm
NaNoWriMo is an interesting experience, mutual support groups spring up all over social media, including Twitter. Members encourage each other towards the goal of a first draft 50,000 word novel. 3/13/2020 12:34:58 am
Mostly paragraphs, I really can’t think of an instance where I cut a full chapter. Usually I would reread things with a goal in mind of shortening it and rewrite as I went along. Usually I would shorten descriptions or reword action sequences. I feel that this helped with the timing of events in the novel as it keeps things from getting bogged down by being too wordy.
Mark
3/13/2020 10:39:22 am
As you mentioned your writing of military manuals before, that has taught you to write succinctly. There is a fine balance between not enough and too much prose. This varies by genre. I have found far more authors that write too much, describing every little detail and movement at times. Every reader knows how to walk out of a house and lock a door, or get into a car and drive away. Those simple actions should be ignored, unless they are critical to the plot. 3/13/2020 12:03:54 pm
I prefer a mixture of both dialogue and action beats. In particular in this book, I used the dialogue between the priests pretty extensively to keep things moving forward. In terms of characters, I start with a basic idea for who I want them to be and then let them take on a life of there own as I write them. The best example would be Achachila, the condor priest. Initially I wanted him to be the true fanatic and a major antagonist, but as I wrote him into the story it just did not seem to fit and he soon became a protagonist with a hidden compassionate side. When it comes to putting myself or others into the story I can say that I have not done it directly. However, you write what, and I would say who, you know. Each character is in one way or another based on a facet of yourself or someone you know, either intentionally or not. I think that is why it can be so hard to write a good fan fiction or story using someone else’s characters, you don’t know the people they were based on and therefore have difficulty predicting their actions.
Mark
3/13/2020 12:37:55 pm
So many authors report that characters take on a life of their own, and the plot or story line shifts in ways unplanned by the author. I think it makes the story more organic. 3/13/2020 07:01:31 pm
Antagonist are always more fun to write, it lets you release your inner evil. Incidentally, protagonists, in my mind, are more challenging to write. It is hard to not make them either flat or too goody two shoes. There is not much I have a problem with when it comes to Rezi, especially as she is not done being developed. As far as antagonists, Qhush’qunca is my favorite, I love her ruthlessness. As far as a routine, I really don’t have one. I play with scenes and ideas in my head and the sit down and write once I have it 70% planed out.
Mark
3/13/2020 07:15:00 pm
Your comments reflect that of many other authors. 3/14/2020 12:35:54 am
Both are critical to the story’s success, pacing ensures your audience does not get bored and flow keeps it from becoming a jumbled mess of plot holes. Though I am by no means an expert, I always write with both the pacing and flow of the story as a constant concern in my mind. My poor wife, who is my principal beta reader, has learned not to edit when I give her something new, but rather to read for content, pacing, and flow first as that is what I will immediately ask her about. On her second reading she then gets to red ink everything. As to my writing style changing, I would say that like any art form, the way you create is constantly changing and evolving. Even if it is something as simple as how long you can write in a single sitting, the more you do the more it changes. For me the biggest change for my writing style was the use of Dialogue. I had never written anything that required the sheer amount of character interaction before and I literally had to reference several of my favorite authors to see how they put dialogue, character thoughts, and characters speaking to themselves on paper. As to changing things in the story now that the book is published I can honestly say no. Please understand, I know it is not perfect, but no book is. What is important is that I am satisfied with the story. I put the book through a lot of beta readers and made changes based on feedback, so I kind of feel like I got all of the change bugs out of my system.
Mark
3/14/2020 09:42:43 am
You handled my trick question with ease, well done. There are many things that have to be kept in mind while writing and rewriting. 3/14/2020 12:11:30 pm
I think there are two important themes that relate to the modern day; first is to not judge people based on appearance or first impressions, both Mantaqwey and Achachila are quite ugly and scary looking due to their body deformities, but ultimately both are good people. Second is simply to not give up. We all slip very easily into despair these days as our society is just as brutal, although psychologically as opposed to physically, as the Inca society. Rezi could have given up multiple times, but never does. In all honesty I hope that is the one thing people remember about the book, keep fighting, don’t ever give up. When it comes to writing now, I am working on a few different books, including the sequel to Those Deep Below. While I always hope the readers will enjoy my writing, I write for myself and hope that if I enjoy it, then they will too.
Mark
3/14/2020 01:01:42 pm
You hit on an important theme, violence is not always physical. The scars on a person's psyche can be even more devastating than the bodily scars and harder to recover from at times. 3/14/2020 07:44:25 pm
As far as modern poets, I like Robert Frost, for all that some consider that cliche and I grew up with Shell Silverstein. Of modern authors, I would have to again say Garth Nix and David Weber for their writing and C.S.Lewis for the type of person he was. When I write I tend to use MS Word as it is the most compatible with other software.
Mark
3/14/2020 08:12:41 pm
I was such a Philistine in high school, we had to read Frost and some other poets, they bored me and I just wanted to read more sci-fi. I did chuckle with a couple of Silverstein's shorter poems. A relative gave me a small book of poems by Ogden Nash, I read that several times. 3/15/2020 09:43:57 am
I am a hybrid planner. I get a rough idea of how the plot is going to go and then start writing. Once I start, however, the characters take over the narrative. I can say that there have been several times that the story has thrown in a twist that I did not see coming. The best example for me in this book was what I was able to do with the mummy maker cult. Initially I had intended to use them as an opposing army to the Queen, but instead readers will be surprised to see how I actually used them
Mark
3/15/2020 09:48:17 am
That is pretty convenient, having the characters take over telling the story. I love it. 3/15/2020 01:27:27 pm
I am a write wherever you happen to be when an idea strikes and you have a device that can access your cloud kind of writer. Often times I would pull up the file and leave it minimized on a side screen when I was working on something else, then pop it up for a minute or two when I needed a mental health break. That said, I definitely do not need quiet when write, nor do I have a set place to write. I am more of a literary nomad, writing wherever I feel comfortable doing so. With that in mind, I keep my outline is on my working copy and I type over it as I fill in the story, I just find that works better for me.
Mark
3/15/2020 02:30:01 pm
That sounds like a good way to write. Lots of flexibility. I am the same way with my reading, I can read anywhere. 3/15/2020 05:52:37 pm
I find narrative to be the easiest, you just write it, dialogue and action both require more thought, especially for timing. As far as senses go, anything sight related is harder than the others to write. As people we rely so much on our sight, and yet everyone sees and perceives things so differently that it can be hard to describe. For example I can say a character sees a key on the table. In my mind, as the author, I think it is an old fashion shaft and blade key. How ever the reader might think of a modern padlock key. Is it worth it to take the extra time to describe it or would that be too boring? It is a challenge. Finally, yes I have a lot of theatre experience, it was my minor in college. I have acted, directed, and even written plays. I am also a makeup artist and specialize in prosthetics and special effects.
Mark
3/15/2020 07:53:14 pm
Most authors say narrative is the easiest to write, some have gone on to comment that they think it's because we are storytellers by nature, as humans, and writers even more so. 3/15/2020 09:01:20 pm
Yes you are definitely on the right track with that advice. For my own part, theatre helped no only with dialogue, but also with scene setting and motion “blocking.” Marketing is tricky. From what I understand if you are lucky enough to get the “golden ticket,” and land a large publisher right off the bat then they market for you. The rest of us mere mortals have to figure it out for ourselves. Kindle Unlimited was a good way to go, it is great exposure through their passive advertising. Unfortunately it does require exclusivity for digital publishing. That is good when you are starting, but eventually I feel like the more outlets and accesible your book is the better. I certainly have yet to figure out the perfect mix, but that is what I think the answer is. As to why I chose to market with you, I follow you on Twitter and have seen how active you are at promoting. As my publisher and I have to be very selective with our limited marketing funds you seemed to offer a good ROÍ. More importantly, however, you have excellent integrity and are a fair reviewer, people listen to you. Finally and most importantly, I know he is gone, but I am a sucker for Grizz. He was one cute pup!
Mark
3/15/2020 09:38:18 pm
I knew I would be able to confirm if I was giving good advice or not, thank you. 3/16/2020 02:34:22 am
Research is never ending. For me, so much of what I write is based off of life experience that it is difficult for me to give you an answer in years. What I can say is that from the time I first got the idea to when I actually wrote the book was about 20 years. During that time I did a bit of passive research, by which I mean that I read about the Inca because they fascinate me. Once I started writing, I put together a rough draft in about a month and a half, September to mid-October. This is largely because I type very fast. When I started the story, I already knew where I wanted it to end, so I knew it was done when I was able to bring the story to that point. In my outline I have the story planned out as a trilogy and know where I want each book to end.
Mark
3/16/2020 10:44:26 am
I love research, it would be easy for me to get lost in research and never write the book. 3/16/2020 12:23:58 pm
The simple answer to the number of drafts before publication is not enough. I was fairly satisfied with the story at the end of the first draft, and after making a few adjustments based on reader feed back I felt even better about it. I had thought after all the beta readers, that I had caught all the typos and grammar mistakes as well. I published early and then realized my mistake. I then hired a proofreader, not as good as you obviously, and was amazed at how many typos there were. About this time I got picked up by my publisher, Sue, and we republished the book. I don’t currently belong to any writing groups, but would like to if I can find like minded individuals and the time. Going back I have always loved words and writing. I think it was 2nd grade where I first tried to write a book about the solar system. Periodically from that point on I have written stories and attempted to write books.
Mark
3/16/2020 01:06:22 pm
Not enough? That sounds familiar. Typos and homophone errors are so hard to find. So many rely on the spell checkers and they don't do a very good job. Otherwise, I would not find spelling errors in 95% of the books I read. 3/16/2020 05:40:16 pm
Beta readers have never been a problem for me, I have large community of bibliophiles between my family and friends that are willing to help. Before you say that you should not use family and friends, let me point out two things; my family is Greek and my friends are combat vets. Neither group holds back when providing feedback, especially not just to spare my feelings. I brought most of them in after the first draft was done. Digital and print versions were provided depending on their preference.
Mark
3/16/2020 05:50:01 pm
Ha! Your choice of beta readers sounds ideal! Family and friends aren't always the best choice for many authors, especially when they don't appreciate how much work goes into a book. 3/16/2020 09:04:12 pm
I let them provide feedback as they would, as I said, none of them is shy with their opinion. Compensation was a heartfelt thank you (advantage of family and friends). The biggest lesson I learned was hire a proof reader. (Shameless promotion time) what are your rates for my next book?
Mark
3/16/2020 09:36:26 pm
Thanks for asking, John. Proofreaders bring another set of fresh eyes to a manuscript. While it takes only the author to write the first draft, more people are usually necessary to produce a polished and error-free book. 3/17/2020 04:56:39 am
The only problem I have with historical fiction is when people try to project modern morality on ancient cultures. The past was a brutal time, and to pretend otherwise is lazy writing. In writing this book the only major thing that I wish I had known was simply that I could do it.
Mark
3/17/2020 10:37:54 am
Those kinds of projections are strange, the past cannot be changed; we can only change the future with the choices we make today. 3/17/2020 04:32:16 pm
Thank you Mark for everything. This has been a fantastic experience. Leave a Reply. |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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