Showing posts with label vanish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vanish. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A-Z Wednesday




Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)
4~ Come back here and leave your link in the comments.
If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: "V "

Vanish by Tom Pawlik




From Amazon:

From Publishers Weekly

In Pawlik's debut novel of inspirational suspense, two men and one woman wake up one morning to find that every other human being on the planet seems to have disappeared. (Yes, one character even uses that tell-tale phrase "left behind.") The three survivors hallucinate and sense they are being watched. But by whom? Protagonists Mitch, Conner and Helen not only struggle to survive physically, but find themselves pondering vivid memories and grappling with issues from the past. Helen, for example, regrets certain choices she made in her personal life years ago, and Mitch ponders unresolved issues with his parents. Conner mourns his dead son and failed marriage, and tries to cope with the fact that his ex-wife and daughter have become evangelical Christians. The circumstances of his survival prompt him to wrestle with questions of belief. Resolution and even redemption come for some of the heroes, but the prose is flat and the character development is thin enough that readers will have a hard time caring.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Product Description

2009 Christy Award winner!
Three strangers each encounter the same mysterious storm and awake the next day to find that everyone else has vanished. There's Conner Hayden, a successful but unscrupulous trial lawyer who has forsaken his family for his career; Helen Krause, a middle-aged model struggling to come to grips with her fading beauty; and Mitch Kent, an enterprising young mechanic unable to escape a past that still haunts him. Afraid and desperate for answers, their paths eventually cross and they discover they are being watched. Elusive and obscured in shadows, the "observers" are apparently forcing them to relive vivid hallucinations of events from their past. They discover a mute homeless boy in tattered clothing and believe he may hold the key to the mystery, but the "observers" soon become aggressive and the four are forced to flee. When the boy disappears, the four decide to head from Chicago to Washington, D.C., in search of answers…and more survivors. Winner of the 2006 operation first novel contest, Vanish is a nonstop suspense thriller in the vein of Ted Dekker.


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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Book Review: Author Spotlight on Vanish by Tom Pawlik

Today is the last day of the Vanish book tour sponsored by the Christian Fiction
and Fantasy Blog. Many thanks again to Becky, Tyndale House and, of course, Mr. Tom Pawlik, for providing such a great tour.
Today, I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce you to the man behind this great book! Tom Pawlik has a BA in communication and works in the marketing field. He has also been active in Christian teaching, youth work, and music for over 20 years. His first novel, The Way Back, took second place in the 2004 Operation First Novel contest run by the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, in association with Tyndale House Publishers. His second novel, Vanish, won first place in the 2006 contest. In addition to writing fiction, Tom is also an accomplished songwriter and musician who writes and records at his home studio. He and his wife, Colette, live in Ohio with their four children and one large dog.

As you can see from his bio, Mr. Pawlik is a very accomplished man! It's super neat to see him win 2nd place with his first novel to go on to win first place just two years later! I feel it represents his dedication to his craft and it shows in his novel.

I'm very excited for his newest title, Valley of the Shadow and I intend on reading it soon.

You may purchase a copy of Vanish here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936 and Valley of the Shadow here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793

You may also be interested in visiting the website and blog of our featured author here http://www.tompawlik.com/ and here http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

Be sure to visit with these other reviewers and check out what they have to say...

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

Until next tour...happy reading!!


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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Book Review and Thoughts: Vanish by Tom Pawlik


I want to take a moment to thank Tyndale House Publishing and Becky of Christian Fiction and Fantasy for this blog tour and for a review copy of this book. It is very much appreciated!! Also to Tom Pawlik for writing such a fantastic book. I look forward to more great reads from you!

I just absolutely LOVED this book! It definitely earns 5 out of 5 stars from me! This story starts out very quickly and covers the lives of 3 main characters and their reactions to the storm in their life. At first, I was having a hard time reading this book. Just like movies that I watch, I have a hard time following themes that skip back and forth. As soon as I realized the formatting of the book, I was in. There were many thoughts that stuck out to me about this book. I was desperately trying to figure out the alien connection. Where did everyone go? Tom Pawlik did an awesome job of writing the story line the way he did because I did not see this ending coming! I was reminded of the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31. This book definitely had me thinking by the end and I realize that there are some storms in my life that I need to take care of...NOW. I am really looking forward to reading Valley of the Shadow!

This is Tom's second novel, but not the last. His new novel, Valley of the Shadow is now available for purchase here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793 as well as Vanish here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936

If you have a spare moment, stop by http://www.tyndale.com/authors/videoclips.asp?id=1090&vid=100 and view the trailer for Valley of the Shadows. You can also find it on Tom Pawlik's website http://www.tompawlik.com/index.htm and you'll also be treated to a trailer of Vanish.

Here you can read the first chapter of Vanish http://www.tompawlik.com/vanish.htm
Chapters 1-3 of Valley of the Shadow begin here: http://tompawlik.blogspot.com/2009/03/valley-of-shadow-chapter-1.html

Please take a few moments to visit other bloggers who are reviewing this book:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

Tomorrow, I'll have more information on Tom Pawlik, the author of this great book!

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Book Review: Vanish by Tom Pawlik



Today is the first of three days on tour for Vanish, by Tom Pawlik. This blog tour is sponsored by the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Tour. I'm really excited about this tour because it is my first and hopefully not my last one!!

Already a fan of Vanish like I am? The sequel Valley of the Shadow is already available!

Vanish
Tom Pawlik
List Price: $12.99
Binding: Softcover
Page Count: 384
Trim Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
ISBN: 978-1-4143-1893-6
CPC Sub Category: Suspense
Release Date: July 2008
Three strangers each encounter the same mysterious storm and awake the next day to find that everyone else has vanished. There's Conner Hayden, a successful but unscrupulous trial lawyer who has forsaken his family for his career; Helen Krause, a middle-aged model struggling to come to grips with her fading beauty; and Mitch Kent, an enterprising young mechanic unable to escape a past that still haunts him. Afraid and desperate for answers, their paths eventually cross and they discover they are being watched. Elusive and obscured in shadows, the "observers" are apparently forcing them to relive vivid hallucinations of events from their past. They discover a mute homeless boy in tattered clothing and believe he may hold the key to the mystery, but the "observers" soon become aggressive and the four are forced to flee. When the boy disappears, the four decide to head from Chicago to Washington, D.C., in search of answers...and more survivors. Winner of the 2006 operation first novel contest, Vanish is a nonstop suspense thriller in the vein of Ted Dekker.

Valley of the Shadow
Tom Pawlik
List Price: $12.99
Binding: Softcover
Page Count: 432
Trim Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2679-5
CPC Sub Category: Suspense
Release Date: June 2009
Conner Hayden is certain he survived his near-death experience for a reason. He thinks it’s to save the life—and soul—of Mitch Kent. Mitch’s body remains on life support while his spirit is trapped with the old farmer Howard Bristol in the Interworld—a strange and dangerous dimension that Conner narrowly escaped during his brush with death in Pawlik’s award-winning debut novel, Vanish. Meanwhile, in the Interworld, Mitch receives a warning from a mysterious stranger: Howard is not who he appears to be, and Mitch must flee immediately. Pursued by Howard and a terrifying creature, Mitch soon learns the truth about what happened to him and that his only hope of survival lies at the very edge of the Interworld.

Back Cover Copy

Conner fought his way through the woods. Tendrils of mist curled around his legs like serpents seeking to pull him to the ground. But he had to keep going.
He had been here before.
He heard no voices this time. No ghostly whispers from the dark, save one. One single, moaning plea.
Help me!

A shadowy world between life and death, where your worst fears can become reality.
One man lingers on the threshold.
Another has escaped, but he didn’t come back alone.
And a third searches for answers as his nightmares draw him back.
Sometimes, to get to the truth, you have to walk through the valley.


I hope you will take a minute or two and tour with more CSFF reviewers:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

Tomorrow I'll discuss my thoughts on the book and Wednesday I'll let you have a sneak peak of the first chapter of both books, along with some background information on Tom Pawlik. Please be sure to visit all three days!




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