Book Review
of Salem IV:
Rebecca’s Rising
Book Title: Salem VI: Rebecca’s Rising
Author Names: Jack Heath and John Thompson
Name of series. Salem VI. First book in the
trilogy.
Genre: Fiction/historical/paranormal
Publisher: Pressque Publishing
Release Dates: July 19, 2012 (eBook)
September 28, 2012 (hardcover)
ISBN eBook: ISBN-10: 0985793708
Number of pages: 336
Formats available: eBook/hardcover
Blurb
:
Book Description (short):
Former primetime
television reporter John Andrews thought he’d lost everything when his wife
died but as timeless bloodlines, first crafted during the Salem witch trials,
are redrawn he realizes he has more at stake. Salem, Mass isn’t what it used to
be—or is it?
Extended Synopsis:
Having stepped off
the fast track of primetime network television news, John Andrews has chosen a
quieter life as editor of The Salem News, a small paper in a quiet New
England town. Life is perfect until Andrews’ wife is killed in a tragic
accident. After several years of trying to numb the pain with alcohol, Andrews
is visited by the spirit of a long dead ancestor who opens a door to a shocking
family history. After he experiences a surreal glimpse into the past, Andrews
must confront the question of whether he is losing his mind or whether for
several hundred years his ancestors have been engaged in a secret battle with a
coven that worships Satan. Fueled by the need to understand whether his wife's
death was an accident, as he had always believed, or something far more
sinister, Andrews, along with his beautiful assistant editor, risk everything
to discover a truth so horrifying it threatens to destroy everything and
everyone he knows and loves.
About the
Authors:
Jack Heath
Jack Heath is the host of NH Today,
New Hampshire’s only live afternoon radio talk show, and cohost of Sport
Legends of New England with Bob Lobel, which can be seen throughout New
England on Comcast Spotlight. A direct descendant of Rebecca Nurse, the last
person to be tried and hanged during the Salem Witch Trials, and Ann R. Putnam,
one of her accusers, his first novel, Salem VI, is an altogether modern
take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
John Thompson
John
Thompson spent twenty-five years as an investment banker in New York before
retiring to write full time. He is the author of the Brent Lucas trilogy, The
Girl from Felony Bay, and coauthor of Salem VI. He lives with his
wife and daughter and divides his time between Charleston, South Carolina and
Hawley, Pennsylvania.
Author Interview:
Jack Heath
How did
Salem VI: Rebecca’s Rising, come to life?
I
always had in my mind growing up a story about the Salem Witch Trials, I just
wasn’t sure what angle to write from. Ever since I was a child, I heard from my
grandfather Heath stories about old Salem and Rebecca Nurse whom we were
related to. I think he liked to scare me a bit about the Puritanical past of
Salem and how rigid society was. Then a few years ago when I was on vacation in
North Myrtle Beach, SC, with my family, the idea for Salem VI literally
popped into my head when I asked myself the question, “What if the Judges in
the Salem Witch Trials were the witches and what if they had formed a pact with
Satan and fabricated the whole thing to frame God’s innocent children and offer
them as a sacrifices to the devil, their new God?” From there the story came to
life in my head, then I asked, “what if the witch trials never ended and are
still going on underground 320 years later?” The rest is this book that John
and I collaborated on and brought to life…I cannot wait to finish Book 2 as
John Andrews fights on…
What can
you tell us about the next two books in this Salem Witch trilogy?
Book 2 carries on directly from the end of
the first book. John Andrews continues to wrestle with new forces changing his
being and world while he tries to battle the coven and evil forces. It is a
struggle and Book 2 continues unraveling the neat history Salem and we have our
twists along the way. Like the first Book, we like action and suspense being
the underlying mood along with a lot that starts to take us more international
out beyond Salem. Book 3 takes us on a global chase which ties together broader
good vs. evil plots and characters, but all tying back to the late 1600’s and
why evil took root in Salem. But readers will be amazed when they see how that
evil has roots and havens elsewhere and still does. You will have to wait until
the spring of 2013 to read more. But Book 2 has more fun with Salem’s history
and people will like a new version of Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, where
more evil lies underneath than anyone ever suspected.
Do you
believe in ghosts?
I actually do, especially when someone dies a
violent death or in a house where their spirit never was able to go free. I
don’t believe these ghosts or spirits are necessarily bad or a threat but I
believe there is a very thin line between this physical life as we know it and
a spiritual journey that awaits us all. In fact, Rebecca Nurse was alive in my
head long before I wrote this book.
Why do
you write? Is it something you’ve always done, or always wanted to do?
It’s funny, I wanted to write a novel almost
20 years ago during my first TV reporting job in Maine. I was covering a few
really strange murders in rural areas that impressed me in how bizarre they
were. Then, once my news career starting to grow to larger markets, I lost time
and focus to write a story about some of the homicide cases I covered as a
reporter. Then a few years ago when I thought of the plot for this book, I just
started to write like I was possessed in a good way. The story just came out
faster than I could hit the computer keys. My wife Patty reminded me recently
that I have a box in the basement of stories I stared to write but never
finished. This story just ripped through my mind and formed in my head more than
others.
Are there
any writers who inspire your own work?
Ironically, I liked Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
works and his love for Salem, Massachusetts and the history, which I share from
growing up in the next town. I also loved F. Scott Fitzgerald growing up and
the Great Gatsby. More recently I like a bunch of suspense writers who
write in the Robert Ludlum fashion of story-telling and character development.
What book
is sitting on your bedside table?
I have several I am in the yearly process of
reading. The books on bedside table now are; The Bancroft Strategy by
Robert Ludlum, American Assassin by Vince Flynn, The Five People you
Meet in Heaven by Mitch Alboon, Bobby Orr by Stan Fischler from
1970, Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open, and The Race by Richard
North Patterson. Maybe this assortment says a lot about me. I am a little focus
challenged, as they say.
What is
your favorite book series?
Robert Ludlum for sure. Just love Jason
Bourne before the story was popular by the movies. I like it when a character
people can somehow relate to have his life blown up and just tried to hang on.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your
time?
I like walking and being outdoors. I cannot
stand to be inside on a nice, sunny day watching TV. I need to be out doing
something, walking, golfing or hiking. I also like doing my daily three-hour
radio show. A lot of people ask me if having my own live, radio show every day
is hard? It is actually the easiest thing I do. It is harder for me to write
than do my show. I just love the interaction with listeners and callers. After
almost 18 years in TV news, I like radio even more than I ever imagined because
there is this close bond with talk show listeners that is two-way. TV is one
directional. On TV you broadcast an anchor talks and someone receives the show.
With radio, like writing, you say or express yourself and someone connects with
you and what you are saying more closely than most mediums.
Who is
your favorite Salem VI character?
In writing the book initially, it was
Abigail. I got a real sense of her and what made her tick. But Rebecca was
really a driving force and I like how she rises and John really got a sense of
this too. I like how when she gets really pissed off you can feel her rise
within John Andrews to get him to do what she wants him to do.
John Thompson
For someone
who has never read any of your books, how would you describe your writing?
My
writing flows in a very readable style. It’s full of plot elements for
suspense, strong characters and action. Also, my style is very visual. Do you
remember the very first story you ever wrote? Yes, it was my first novel, and
it was so bad and un-editable that I buried it in the trash. Don’t even remember
the name. However, I don’t think I have ever had such a steep learning
experience in anything else I have done in my life.
How do you
start writing a new book? What comes first? The characters? The story?
I start
with a ‘situation’, and usually everything else falls into place around it,
such as the age and sex of the hero/heroine, the type of story, setting,
general outline of how that ‘situation’ might come to pass. For example, when I
wrote Armageddon Conspiracy, I thought about: what if Christian
ultra-fundamentalists wanted to start Armageddon? How would they do it? What
kind of unsuspecting hero might be sucked into their plot yet possess the
abilities that would allow him to stop them?
Have you got the whole series planned out, and
do you take reader feedback into consideration?
Salem VI is planned as the first of a
three book series, and while Jack and I have some very definite ideas about
where we would like to take the next two books in the series, we will
definitely take reader feedback into consideration as John and Amy dig deeper
into the terrible threat posed by the Coven.
What can you
tell us about the next two books in this Salem Witch trilogy?
The
first book is set in Salem, but the Coven is bigger than just one city. As John
and Amy discover the true reach and power of the Coven, they also uncover its
ultimate objective. They realize they must stop the Coven before all of mankind
is threatened.
Do you
believe in ghosts?
Not
until I spent a night in a hotel in Vienna that had once been a private
residence. There was unquestionably a ghost in my room that night, and it
wasn’t a nice ghost.
Rumor has it
that you have a book coming out with HarperCollins, can you tell us about that
book?
The Girl From Felony Bay is a Middle Grade mystery set on a sea
island in South Carolina. The two heroines Abbey and Bee are both 12 years old.
Abbey’s family owned Reward Plantation for nearly 300 years, but they were
recently forced to sell. Bee is descended from slaves who once lived and worked
on Reward. Bee’s father, a wealthy businessman, now owns the plantation, but
that doesn’t stop the two girls from becoming best friends. Together they solve
the mystery of a modern day theft, a crime of which Abbey’s father stands
accused, and also a hundred and fifty year old mystery that dates all the way
back to the Civil War. The Girl From Felony Bay is a nail-biter.
What excited
you about this Salem Witch project?
Salem VI has all the elements of a great occult thriller, and even better my
co-author, Jack Heath, is actually descended from Rebecca Nurse, whose ghost
plays a major part in our story. By all the elements I mean we have the perfect
setting for an occult novel, great characters and a story that will keep you on
the edge of your seat.
Book Review:
I have always been fascinated with
the Salem witch trials. I think many
people are, especially when you consider all the books, movies, TV shows, and
such about Salem and the witch trials.
So I really enjoyed this take on the whole history of the witch trials.
This story is scary, enthralling,
and ends entirely too soon. The worst
part of the whole story was the last line: “I think it means that whatever is
going on, we’re deeply involved, and it’s only just beginning.” That means I have to wait until the next one
comes out to find out more.
I give this story 4.5 out of 5
clouds.
This
product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my
opinions or reviews.
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