Novel 2 - Bewildered: What’s in it for you?
Reasons to read Bewildered? Distinctions from my first novel? I don’t know, let’s see here…
The tension and action are tuned up. In this book, there’s abundantly obvious villains and heroes. The fate of humanity is at stake. Characters travel the Americas and the Atlantic, soar the heavens and explore the depths, all to scratch an itch you won’t forget. I found it compelling, and I trust readers will, too (and tell me if they don’t!)
The background comes to the fore - some of the elements of the first book’s world build were just waiting to be capitalized on, so, I did. In this book, the Winston Weeklies play a much more prominent role. We fly on them with the cast. We move from one part of the world to another on them like magic carpets.
Airships R Us - Oh, if only that R could be backwards, like in the ol’ toy store logo…for Bewildered, I invested about eighty hours into the design and dynamics of these fanciful ships and their potential for flight. I spoke with physicists. I reviewed books that poo-poo much of sci-fi physics. Sure it’s fiction, but I’m striving for some credibility, at any rate.
Head in the Clouds - For this book, I consulted meteorologists, like my good friend Matt Harding. I also “met” and now follow a storm chaser/digital creator online, David Baxter III who has extraordinary photos, videos, and posts about midwestern storms. More than anything, I let my imagination soar, studying clouds closely and getting involved in a fantastic Facebook group The Cloud Appreciation Society.
Magic - Science fiction has to have a basis in science, and say what you may about Psionics, but I relegate much of the happenings in Bewildered to good ol’ fantasy magic. In this book, head games, tampering with conscience and will are all seasoned with the supernatural. In the first edition of this second book, on page 354 to be exact, a character confirms a suspicion we’ve harbored all along…but I can’t tell more here [SPOILERS].
Love - It was brewing in Lightning’s Hand, but it’s pronounced in this book. Readers revel in the relationships, they tell me. Rory and Ashley are meant for each other. Alex and Kelli are adorably unlikely. Zana and Astar are the grandparent-types who we always admire for their years together…and all of these relationships are strained and tested in the book, too!
Still clean, but steam is the cleanest form of energy, right? Bewildered turns up the heat, but readers won’t turn away from too much plumbing being described. There’s very little profanity. There’s a little cavorting and drinking and gambling and such, but none of it is offered as an idealized lifestyle—well, maybe cavorting is championed some.
Bewildered is an investment.
Even if you buy the Google Audiobook, it’s over 13 hours.
The paperback is 483 pages.
I wouldn’t expect you to read it if I did not think it was a good romp. When I re-read it recently, I lost sleep, ignored friends and family, skipped a meal…because I was so into it again (and that’s silly—and maybe vain—since I wrote it myself!) Truly, I trust you’ll agree that there’s never a dull moment in Bewildered.
Read Bewildered and let me know your thoughts in the comments below if not in a full-on review at Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc. I’d love to hear from you!
