RAISING AN EBOOK APP or RAISING THE DEAD

Just amazed myself. In less then forty-eight hours I read a novel. A novella actually, but I never read books that quickly. The only reason I ever finish a novel in a short amount of time is that I can’t put it down.

Which is rare.

Am getting head of myself. Let’s start again.

Several months ago a publisher asked for reviewers of some of their books. They gave me a nice selection, and I picked three. Two of these books I have started multiple times, but just haven’t gotten into them.

I did, however, read the third book: PAST MIDNIGHT by Mara Purnhagen. (See my first book review HERE.)

Because at the time I did not have a tablet or phone that could read other ebook formats, I requested these to be in PDF format and I read the novel on my computer screen.

Since then I have a new cell phone. Though reading PDF files on the phone works, it’s not as simple as it should be. I have to zoom in to make it readable and the text blurs as I move down the page.

I was pleased to find the Kindle App for my droid phone. To test the app out I needed a book to read (Sorry, Jane Austen, but the copy of Pride & Prejudice that came with the app isn’t going to do it for me. Maybe some other time.)

So I went to Amazon and grabbed a copy of Purnhagen’s RAISING THE DEAD.

I’ve been looking for her ONE HUNDRED CANDLES in stores for some time now. I would like to actually own one of her books. (I did buy a copy of PAST MIDNIGHT for my niece’s birthday.)

The first thing I noticed when opening the book up on the Kindle app was the clear the text and ease to read. That’s a major plus over the PDFs. The turn of the pages was smooth.

So far I have only found one negative about the Kindle app, and it is only noticeable when looking at the title and other opening pages. It seems to split pages in odd locations. Like the last three lines are thrown onto a new page/screen. Publishers must certainly be looking into redesigning these pages to fit tablets and phone apps.

And now RAISING THE DEAD.

Only weeks have past since Charlotte Silver’s ghostly experience in PAST MIDNIGHT and now she doubts if they ever happened. When a horrendous storm floods the town and coffins float down the main road, Charlotte recruits her friends to help an old man restore his family cemetery.

As stated, this was an enjoyable story that by the end has very little to do with ghosts and the paranormal but about how Charlotte deals with the experiences around her. By the end Charlotte hasn’t grown much past her concerns and doubts, yet at the same time is ready to face the day a little drier then when the story began.

The characters continue to be interesting and multi-dimensional with none of the clichés of teenage life.

The best way that I can describe RAISING THE DEAD is that of a weekend. The big massive events happen at school or work during the week, and you know there will be more excitement next week, the weekend are those smaller ones in between. There are things that happen, but we know more is to come. I doubt it is necessary to read before ONE HUNDRED CANDLES, but it is certainly fun and enjoyable on its own.

I intend to follow Charlotte Silver as she lights ONE HUNDRED CANDLES and then goes BEYOND THE GRAVE. Though I do still intend to buy at least one of in a bookstore and hold it in my hands, there’s still something about the feel of book paper.

Am currently reading a fantasy romance novel that takes place in what is now my beloved Northern Ireland, and I am enjoying it, but it’s going to take me a whole lot longer then forty-eight hours to read.

Can I write a Book Review? - PAST MIDNIGHT by Mara Purnhagen

As mention previously, Twitter has become an excellent networking tool as I make contacts through out the entertainment industries: I’ve gotten to chat with fellow writers, comic book artists, animation producers, and publishers.

Because of networking with those publishers I’m doing a something different with this column. I’m writing a book review. Or, I hope I am. Those familiar with my writing will know this won’t be an ordinary book review.

Through Twitter I connected with Harlequin Books when they made a request for bloggers to read a few of their Paranormal Romance novels and write about them. So that’s what I’m doing. Harlequin provided a list of books and I selected three to read and see if this was possible for me. If from the first of these is any measure, I chose rightly. So…

Tonight’s ghostly tale is:

PAST MIDNIGHT

by Mara Purnhagen

Published by Harlequin TEEN

It’s hard enough for a normal teenager to make friends when they move into a new school, and the greatest fear is that their parents will embarrass them. For Charlotte Silver, who sees herself as far from normal, being embarrassed by her parents is only a small part of her horror. Her family are paranormal investigators with the intent of disproving the existence of ghosts. This time the ghosts have chosen to prove they are very real by attaching themselves to their daughter. Charlotte must discover if the ghosts are haunting her or asking for her help while trying to maintain the semblance of a life at school.

Hopefully that said everything it needed to with out any spoilers.

PAST MIDNIGHT drops us quickly into Charlotte’s life and relationship with her family. How she both admires and is jealous of her sister Annalise, and how she feels ignored by her parents who are always into their work.

Then introduces her and us into the world of a new high school.

I was very pleased that no time was wasted on the “new kid” cliché of being scorned by everyone else. Yes, there is one who doesn’t like her and makes it well known, but Charlotte is a strong girl doesn’t let it get to her and is soon making friends and fitting in with out too much trouble.

That’s when local secrets are discovered and the ghosts go bump in the night.

I won’t go on any further about the story, other than to say I really enjoyed Mara Purnhagen’s take on both the supernatural and the natural world of high school. All the characters were interesting and multi-dimensional, and not one cheerleader acted like a ‘cheerleader’. That alone was refreshing.

One other reason I enjoyed PAST MIDNIGHT was its ease of reading. No, I don’t mean it was a simple book, by no means. Charlotte and all her friends are intelligent and worth getting to know. What I mean by ‘ease’ is in the practical ability of reading it.

Let me explain. Though I know the sales of e-books are increasing, I haven’t yet purchased a tablet reader like a Kindle or iPad, (if you’ve read my previous blogs on my job search, you’ll know why). In the past I have found reading extensive amounts of text on my computer monitor to be tedious and I would quickly loose interest and move on to other things like drawing my comic book or my own writings. (It’s also why I don’t like my blogs to be extremely long.)

I say all that to make a point. When I opened the pdf for PAST MIDNIGHT, I placed it on the right side of my monitor to read while working on other things. The intent was to read a little at a time, but quickly found myself distracted from my work and returning to reading the novel. With each new page of Charlotte’s life I wanted to read more and was never once bothered by the fact it was on the screen.

Maybe it was because Purnhagen’s writing style is smooth and similar to my own, (more likely it's a whole lot better than mine), but I actually found it difficult to stop reading and was hoping for another chapter after the last.

Even though I’m not a teenager (by a long shot), this was an enjoyable book worth my time, and I am truly interested in reading Mara Purnhagen’s other books (there are two sequels to PAST MIDNIGHT in the works). This time I’ll even purchase them myself.

Now if only I had a tablet to read them on.

That was an interesting little experiment. Let me know if you think I should do other book reviews, or comic and movie reviews (My blog about Megamind earlier this week doesn’t count. ). I’ve still got two more of the Harlequin books to read; even if I don’t do reviews will let you know what I think.

Kevin Paul Shaw Broden

(Who looks forward to having someone write a review of his novel when it’s finally published.)