Guest Post: Welcome Vincent Zandri
How to Keep it Fresh
By Vincent Zandri
Keeping my writing fresh isn’t all that hard. I could take
the easy way out with my novels and more or less write the same story every
time with new characters and a new slightly different plotline. But instead I
go for the more high concept story that is usually already available to me in
the form of reality.
For instance:
The Innocent is
based on the true life story of a real cop killer who escaped from Green Haven
Maximum Security Prison way back in the early 1980s.
The Remains is
inspired by the real life autistic savant and painter, Francis Scaramuzzi, who
also worked as a janitor at my high school.
The Concrete Pearl
is based on a real asbestos scam that hit New York State about ten years ago
and reeked some real havoc within the commercial construction industry.
Murder By Moonlight,
which is to be released on December 18th by Thomas & Mercer, is
entirely based on the true story of Christopher Porco, the “perfect” college
kid who broke into his parent’s suburban home one late night and proceeded to
bash their brains in with a fireman’s axe while they slept.
And I suppose The
Disappearance of Grace is based on a highly conceptual storyline of a man
who, having fought in the most recent wars, is now suffering from a Post
Traumatic Stress to the extent that he undergoes bouts of temporary
blindness.
In the end, keeping my writing fresh is a creative process
in which I borrow something from real life and then twist it, turn it, and
shape into something that’s highly conceptual and just a little bit different
from the usual thriller/suspense novel. I hope I’ve been
doing a good job of it.
WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Thank you so much for joining us Vincent!
Synopsis--271 pages
Now you see her. Now you don’t...
Captain Nick Angel has finally made a separate peace with the war in Afghanistan. Since having been ordered to bomb a Tajik village which resulted in the death of a little boy of no more than two, he’s been suffering from temporary bouts of blindness. Knowing the he needs time to rest and recover from his post traumatic stress, the US Army decides to send him to Venice along with his fiancee, the artist, Grace Blunt. Together they try and recapture their former life together. But when Grace suddenly goes missing, Nick not only finds himself suddenly alone and sightless in the ancient city of water, but also the number one suspect in her disappearance.
A novel that projects Hitchcockian suspense onto a backdrop of love and war, The Disappearance of Grace is a rich, literary thriller of fear, loss, love, and revenge. From the war in the Afghan mountains to the canals of romantic Venice, this is a story that proves 20/20 eyesight might not always be so perfect and seeing is not always believing.
My Review:
I am quietly reflecting the book I have just completed. I'm not sure what I want to share with my Peeps and fellow readers. I can tell you this story is gripping and so very hard to put down once you start it. At least it was for me. There are eighty two chapters, but most are short and fast. The tale is told in first person narrative from the perspective of Captain Nick Angel.He's survived the fight in Afghanistan with the exception of one night, when he ordered a strike against an Afghan village. That night mars his survival and causes a temporary PTSD blindness that comes and goes, not always at the most opportune times. He and his fiancee', Grace Blunt, are spending a month in Venice Italy to assist in his recovery. But their time in Venice is filled with anything but rest and relaxation. Grace Blunt becomes his eyes when they arrive, but she also notices a man in an overcoat who seems to be following them, or at the very least, he is everywhere they are. His constant staring at the couple and Grace in particular is very unsettling and in a moment's time, Grace vanishes into thin air.
This book is truly haunting and will stay with you long after you have closed the covers. I love a good thriller/ suspense novel and The Disappearance of Grace fulfilled every need I had in a novel of that nature. If you love suspense , if you love a thriller, and a well written and thought out book, You MUST read The Disappearance of Grace .
It was an amazing read!
AUTHOR BIO:
Vincent
Zandri is the
No. 1
International
Bestselling
Amazon author
of THE
INNOCENT,
GODCHILD, THE
REMAINS,
MOONLIGHT
FALLS,
CONCRETE
PEARL,
MOONLIGHT
RISES, SCREAM
CATCHER, BLUE
MOONLIGHT and
MURDER BY
MOONLIGHT. He
is also the
author of the
Amazon
bestselling
digital
shorts,
PATHOLOGICAL,
TRUE STORIES
and MOONLIGHT
MAFIA. Harlan
Coben has
described THE
INNOCENT
(formerly As
Catch Can) as
"...gritty,
fast-paced,
lyrical and
haunting,"
while the New
York Post
called it
"Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!"
Zandri's list
of publishers
include
Delacorte,
Dell,
StoneHouse
Ink, StoneGate
Ink and Thomas
& Mercer.
An MFA in
Writing
graduate of
Vermont
College,
Zandri's work
is translated
into many
languages
including the
Dutch,
Russian, and
Japanese. An
adventurer,
foreign
correspondent,
and freelance
photo-journalist
for RT,
Globalspec,
IBTimes and
more, he lives
in Albany, New
York. For more
go to WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Every eBook received for review on the tours for Partners In
Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property
(copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or
exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed
on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in
removal from all future tours.
3 comments:
Nice blog!:)
http://apronandcreme.blogspot.com/
Superb review and post. Great job! Thank you!
Terrific recommendation!
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