Author Spotlight: An Interview with Brock Booher author of Healing Stone

Meet Brock Booher, the humbled author of Healing Stone, his first published novel. Thank you for joining us today, Brock. Let's start with a brief bio before jumping into the questions.

Bio

Brock Booher grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky, the fourth of ten children, where he learned to work hard, use his imagination, and believe in himself. He left the farm to pursue the friendly skies as a pilot, and currently flies for a major US carrier. 

A dedicated husband and father of six children, he began writing out of sheer arrogance, but the writing craft quickly humbled him. During that process, he discovered that he enjoyed writing because it is an endeavor that can never quite be mastered. He still gladly struggles everyday to improve his writing and storytelling skills.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Brock Booher. I am originally from a farm in Kentucky, but I have lived in several states and countries throughout my life. I currently reside in Gilbert, Arizona. I am the fourth of ten children, and I have six children of my own.

Tell us about your book?

Healing Stone is a coming-of-age story about a young man in Easter Kentucky that discovers that he has the gift of healing.

Abandoned in a graveyard and a mother who was never found--that's all Stone Molony knows about his birth. But now he needs to know more. A tragic accident has awakened a powerful gift inside him that changes everything. As the town stirs up around him, Stone journeys through corruption, racism, and violence to uncover the truth about his past.

Did you always want to be a writer?

I did not always want to be a writer, and occasionally when my work is getting a bad review, or I am struggling to get the words on paper, I don’t want to be one now. But I am surprised I wasn’t drawn to it sooner. My parents bought books when we could barely afford clothing. My family was a family of readers. So, when the idea hit me to actually write a book, it wasn’t a foreign concept.

How long did it take you to write your first novel?

It took me a year to write my first published novel, Healing Stone, and thirteen months and forty-two rejections to find a publisher. It was my second novel manuscript and my third attempt. My first novel will be published five years after I decided to write one.

What inspired you to write?

I was inspired to write by my own arrogance. In January of 2009, I finished a book by a popular author and was very unimpressed. I turned the book over and saw that it was a NY Times best-seller. “I could do better than that,” I mumbled. So I began to dabble in writing and pondered various book ideas. Although I didn’t share my writing with anyone for several months, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed my writing time and found myself eager to get back to my computer. Writing gave me new purpose, and filled an emotional void in my life. It allowed me to be creative. I began sharing my work and was encouraged. I attended Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp, and came away with greater desire and respect for the writing craft. Today, I am still arrogant enough to think that I can succeed, but not so naïve that I think success will come without great struggles and many failures.

Where do you get your ideas?

I steal ideas from various sources – overhead conversations, news articles, history, and occasionally I think I have original thought, but I am usually mistaken. I carry around a notebook to write down ideas and thoughts.

Do you have any special writing routine?

I don’t have any specific routine except that I am disciplined enough to block the time to write and keep my schedule. I just put my butt in the chair when I am supposed to.

Who is your favorite character from Healing Stone?

My favorite character so far is Leck Molony. He is gritty and his no-nonsense approach to life is one I enjoy. He is also a man of action that isn’t afraid of consequences. He is named after a favorite great uncle of mine.

What is your professional background?

I have a day job as a commercial pilot. The job affords me a good living and a time in hotel rooms without interruptions. Consequently, I do a lot of writing in hotel rooms.

What do your hope to accomplish with your writing?

I want my writing to entertain and inspire you. I want you to learn something from the things I write, but I don’t want to preach to you. Any moral principle you learn from what I write should be subtle. I hope that the characters and plot problems inspire you to be a better person.

Abandoned as a baby in a
 graveyard, Stone Molony knows
nothing about his birth mother.
But when a powerful gift
awakens inside him, he must dig
into his past to uncover the
truth of who he really is.

Find Brock and Healing Stone at these locations:

Website: http://www.brockbooher.com/

Twitter: @BrockBooher

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrockBooher

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1layPv1

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1laz1un

Book Spotlight: Theresa Crater Gifted Me a Copy of the Star Family. It sounds...

Connect with Theresa
Twitter @theresacrater
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tl

...like there's another page-turner in my future!

 Click Here To Tweet

A secret spiritual group

A recurring dream

A 400-hundred year old ritual must be completed before it is too late.

Jane Frey inherits a Gothic mansion filled with unexpected treasures. A prophecy claims it hides an important artifact – the key to an energy grid laid down by the Founding Fathers themselves. Whoever controls this grid controls the very centers of world power. Except Jane has no idea what they’re looking for.

Look for a review within the next month or so.

 

The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis Review #YA

Review by Daniel F. Johnston

When The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis was first released all the way in 2009, I was super excited. By that time I'd read the first 2 novels in The 39 Clues series, the latest one being One False Note by Gordon Korman, and the series was moving along at an exciting pace. Great storyline, amazing mystery, and outstanding characters. What more could a young reader want?

The 39 Clues is a multi-author book series written by extremely well-liked, bestselling writers regarding orphans known as Amy and Dan Cahill. When their grandmother Grace dies, they learn that they happen to be members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden all through the earth in the form of thirty-nine special clues. The person who finds all the clues will become the most powerful person in the history of mankind.

Dan and Amy Cahill, needless to say, are definitely not alone in wanting the prize. Their shifty, back-stabbing family will do anything possible in order to be the first to find the clues.

Like all stories in The 39 Clues series, I completed reading The Sword Thief the very day that it came out. Although this was an interesting novel and moved the plot along, I recall not being super contented with this addition.

Summary
At the end of One False Note, Dan and Amy discover samurai swords by the site of the clue. They put two and two together and head off for Japan. Right before they're able to board a flight for Japan, however, their cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra, trick them and leave them stranded in the airport.
After that, Alistair Oh offers to assist Amy and Dan and create a partnership. All things considered, Alistair has resources in Seoul, and he has intelligence and age. Amy and Dan do not truly have confidence in him, yet they consent to join together for the moment.

Amy, Dan, and Alastair figure out that the clue is hidden somewhere in the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a great Japanese warrior and first son of Thomas Cahill, the founder of the Tomas branch.
The Holt family, however, are also hot to get their hands on the clue and manage to lure them into a subway trap. It seems as if it's about to be curtains for Dan and Amy, but Alastair rescues them before they are killed by a train. We also get to see the relatable side of the Holt children when they balk at the prospect of murdering Dan and Amy.

Unfortunately, the three of them accidentally enter the abode of sword-wielding Yakuza, or Japanese warriors. Nellie, their au pair, is able to save them, alongside Ian and Natalie Kabra. Amy, Dan, and Alastair agree to form an alliance with Ian and Natalie. The reason for that is in part because of the fact that Amy has sort of a crush on Ian, and Ian is acting as though it's reciprocal.

The evidence points to Korea, and the group of 6 go to Alastair's home. We learn more concerning the Ekaterina branch and about Bae Oh, Alastair's uncle and chief of the Ekaterina branch. After Alastair's dad died, Alastair lived unhappy years under his uncle. On the plane ride to Korea, however, he learns for the first time that Bae Oh arranged for Alastair's dad to be killed.

At Alastair's home, he reveals some of his own information with the others. We learn lots more about the clue hunt, in particular the fact that the 39 clues are actually thirty-nine chemical elements that when mixed together will produce a sort of philosopher's stone. They travel to the mountain Pukhansan, and Dan tricks the others regarding the location of the clue.

The end is an exciting and dangerous tale, where we learn the true objectives of Amy and Dan's relatives. Will Ian and Natalie snatch the clue, or will Amy and Dan outwit the Kabras yet again? More essentially, will Alastair Oh survive?

Review
As I mentioned before, I look at this as one of the weakest books in the 39 clues series. Although Gordon Korman talked about how he used The Maze of Bones as his bible in writing One False Note, Peter Lerangis obviously didn't do the same. The book is composed in a very different style in comparison to the rest of the series. The other 39 clues books are authored in a thrilling, unattached, and realistic style. This book is considerably more laid-back, the tone is much more informal, and it is not nearly as much full of action. Plus, it is kind of hard to understand. Because of that, the book loses much of its educational benefit and I don't recall any of the historical details, quite different from the other books.

Although some of my friends who were reading the series at the time this book came out told me that they liked the break from the action this book provided, every single one of them quit reading The 39 Clues after this book. None of my friends who started out The 39 Clue sending up reading the fourth addition. Furthermore, books 1 and 2 were both #1 on the bestseller list for a long time. This novel was on the bestseller for a little while, but never hit number 1. None of the later books in the series did, either.
There are some good parts to the way Lerangis writes, however. He introduces the idea a potential romantic relationship between Ian and Amy that continues in the series to this day with different boyfriends and hints of crushes. This was the subject most usually talked about between clue hunters throughout the Cahills vs. Vespers storyline, and was in my view a beneficial addition to the series.

This book has some good info regarding the clue hunt that brings the story along, so it's a must for devoted clue hunters going back through the early books. On the whole, though, the writing in this story is not close to as good as in the rest of the series and on its own I would not recommend reading it.

Thanks for reading this review. If you want you can read another article about a popular kids book, Swindle by Gordon Korman Summary. You can also check out my kids book reviews site.

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