In appreciation of everyone's support of this crazy adventure, I wanted to do a giveaway to show my thanks and to celebrate my page's 200 likes! Click here to go to rafflecopter and enter to win a free eBook or Paperback of Watchmen for Morning! Four winners will be chosen soon!!! :)
Thanks again for your support, everyone!
Much gratitude and respect ~ J.M.P. :)
Monday, May 26, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Updated Cover for Watchmen for Morning!
Hey guys and gals - super excited that this project came together to update the cover of Watchmen for Morning! Though I deeply loved the symbolism of the Italian watchtower, I'm pretty stoked to be working with Studio 71 Photography! Check it out! Gleeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! ~ J.M.P. :)
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Review of The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch
When I see the genre "Historical Fiction", I think "overdone." It has its place, and some can be very well-written, but it's just not what I gravitate to. Yet, when I discovered this gem, I automatically fell in love.
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The Hangman's Daughter is historical, yes, but quirky and fascinating. It's set during Renaissance Bavaria where each town has its own executioner... a necessary part of their society, yet the hangman and his entire family were shunned from their communities. People would cross themselves whenever any member of the family would pass, but they'd show up for the town hangings like it was theater. Weird.
Book Description:
Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play. So begins The Hangman's Daughter--the chillingly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller from German television screenwriter, Oliver Pötzsch--a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.
Jen's Review:
The book begins by how the main character, Jakob Kuisl, becomes his father's apprentice as an executioner. He's reluctant, even fainting with his first beheading. Fast-forward several years, now Jacob has his own family and lives on the outskirts of Shongau, making his living as the town's hangman. He has a love for herbal remedies - which I do, too - helping so many that the Shongau doctor is deeply jealous of the hangman's ability to heal. He also has a deep affection for his family. He's a man of justice, not just legally, but doing what's right in how he treats others, especially other outcasts and people of a low position on their Bavarian society's ladder. Quite the juxtaposition, eh? (No, I'm not Canadian.) Just the duality in the main character, Jacob, got me hooked right away. Can a person be good when his job is seen with shame?
We are then introduced to Jacob's daughter, Magdalena, who is an outgoing, knowledgeable, and stubbornly investigative kind of young woman, which isn't encouraged in their society. When a group of orphan kids use elderberry juice to tattoo themselves as an initiation into a club, it's taken as a mark of a witch. Magdalena, having a brain between her ears, sees to the investigation alongside her father after the town's midwife was blamed for being the witch and casting spells on the orphaned children (which no one cared about until witchcraft became the culprit). They not only rescue the midwife, but all the orphan children as well from something far more sinister that the paranoia of witchcraft.
You'll learn more than you'd ever want to know about thumb screws and body stretchers, but it's such an honest look at how any one of your ancestors probably lived during Renaissance Germany. It's that honesty and the weaving of his multi-layered plot that led me to be a fan of how Oliver Pötzsch tells a story.
Plus, he's a coffee-lover, and he made his characters coffee-lovers, too. That's cool in my book.
Jen's Rating:
Four out of five stars for uniqueness and originality, a complex plot, and truly honest writing.
Click here to view the book on Amazon!
The Hangman's Daughter is historical, yes, but quirky and fascinating. It's set during Renaissance Bavaria where each town has its own executioner... a necessary part of their society, yet the hangman and his entire family were shunned from their communities. People would cross themselves whenever any member of the family would pass, but they'd show up for the town hangings like it was theater. Weird.
Book Description:
Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play. So begins The Hangman's Daughter--the chillingly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller from German television screenwriter, Oliver Pötzsch--a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.
Jen's Review:
The book begins by how the main character, Jakob Kuisl, becomes his father's apprentice as an executioner. He's reluctant, even fainting with his first beheading. Fast-forward several years, now Jacob has his own family and lives on the outskirts of Shongau, making his living as the town's hangman. He has a love for herbal remedies - which I do, too - helping so many that the Shongau doctor is deeply jealous of the hangman's ability to heal. He also has a deep affection for his family. He's a man of justice, not just legally, but doing what's right in how he treats others, especially other outcasts and people of a low position on their Bavarian society's ladder. Quite the juxtaposition, eh? (No, I'm not Canadian.) Just the duality in the main character, Jacob, got me hooked right away. Can a person be good when his job is seen with shame?
We are then introduced to Jacob's daughter, Magdalena, who is an outgoing, knowledgeable, and stubbornly investigative kind of young woman, which isn't encouraged in their society. When a group of orphan kids use elderberry juice to tattoo themselves as an initiation into a club, it's taken as a mark of a witch. Magdalena, having a brain between her ears, sees to the investigation alongside her father after the town's midwife was blamed for being the witch and casting spells on the orphaned children (which no one cared about until witchcraft became the culprit). They not only rescue the midwife, but all the orphan children as well from something far more sinister that the paranoia of witchcraft.
You'll learn more than you'd ever want to know about thumb screws and body stretchers, but it's such an honest look at how any one of your ancestors probably lived during Renaissance Germany. It's that honesty and the weaving of his multi-layered plot that led me to be a fan of how Oliver Pötzsch tells a story.
Plus, he's a coffee-lover, and he made his characters coffee-lovers, too. That's cool in my book.
Jen's Rating:
Four out of five stars for uniqueness and originality, a complex plot, and truly honest writing.
Click here to view the book on Amazon!
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