The Witnesses by Stephanie Black – Countdown to Christmas 2013

 Posted by  Countdown to Christmas
Dec 212013
 

CD2C-2013x250

4 days until Christmas

 **Entry deadline has been extended to Midnight Mountain Time on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!**

StephanieBlackStephanie Black is the author of five mystery/suspense novels, including Shadowed (2012), and two dystopian novels, including The Witnesses (2013). She is a four-time Whitney Award winner for Best Mystery/Suspense, most recently for Rearview Mirror (2011). She enjoys spending time with her family, her husband’s homemade bread, and playing the violin–a hobby that would go better if she would practice more. Her website is www.stephanieblack.net.

Please take a minute to visit Stephanie at one of the links below:

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas song/hymn? Does it have special meaning to you?

STEPHANIE: I love Christmas music! One of my favorite Christmas songs is the Carol of the Drum (The Little Drummer Boy). This year it occurred to me that the song does have some deep spiritual meaning. I struggle with perfectionism in some ways (though you’d never know it in other aspects of my life). The drummer boy goes to meet the King, and doesn’t think he has a gift fit to give, so he offers the best he has–he plays his drum, and the King is pleased. Isn’t that how it is with us? We’re all struggling in our own ways and don’t really have a gift fit to give the King, but when we offer the best we have, no matter how little it is, He is pleased with our offering.

LDSWBR: Do you get together with friends/family to play board games on Christmas or New Year’s? What games do you like to play? Do you have a favorite game from your childhood?

STEPHANIE: My family does enjoy board games. As a child, I enjoyed Monopoly, but I sure don’t like it now–it takes forever! Clue was fun. A relatively new game I enjoy is Bezzerwizzer–it’s like Trivial Pursuit, only better, because you don’t have to get correct answers in all the categories to win and it lets you focus a bit more on your strengths. Other games our family likes: Ticket to Ride, Bananagrams, Apples to Apples, The Great Dalmuti. I like Quirkle too.

LDSWBR: If you could recommend only one book from those you read this year, what would it be and why?

STEPHANIE: I only get to recommend one?? Well . . . okay, if you insist. How about the Whitney Award Best Novel of the Year: The Rent Collector, by Camron Wright. To take such a miserable and unique setting and create such a beautiful, hopeful story . . . wow.

LDSWBR: I love your insight on The Little Drummer Boy. Thanks, Stephanie!

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The Witnesses

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | DESERET BOOK | MP3 | SEAGULL BOOK

TheWitnesses

Welcome to New America, where patriots are traitors and religion is a crime. After government agent Daniel Lansbury fakes the executions of three believers on national television, he and the fugitives–Alisa Kent, Ian Roshek, and Ian’s sister, Jill–face the perilous task of outwitting President Amanda Ryce and her power-hungry Council long enough to escape to freedom. While a government reformer is on their side, rigorous new security measures thwart any chance of aid. And Daniel’s estranged father, Marcus, an underground terrorist leader, is hatching plans to sabotage the breakable trust between Daniel and Ian and put himself in power at the head of the nation. As faith and loyalties come under fire, the fugitives struggle to stop Marcus and his zealous terrorists and bring to light the wrongs committed against the citizens of this fragile, fledgling nation.

 It has been interesting to see how many people enjoy playing the classic games that are familiar to most of us. However, some have mentioned games that I have never heard of before, like The Great Dalmuti. What games have been mentioned in the Countdown posts that are completely new to you?

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**To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2013, leave a thoughtful comment below.**

Because this is a raffle-style drawing, commenting on each Countdown to Christmas 2013 post will give you more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions below.

Following LDSWBR is not required but you may want to consider doing so during the contest so you don’t miss any posts or chances to enter the drawing. You can follow us through email, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest (links in our sidebar.)

If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, please consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2013. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2013, you agree to the contest rules below:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins December 3, 2013 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2013 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each post’s required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected December 28, 2013 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 4, 2014 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments and questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

**Book Prizes (as of 12/21/13)**

  • Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack (personalized copy)
  • Shannon’s Hope by Josi S. Kilpack (personalized copy)
  • The House at Rose Creek by Jenny Proctor (signed copy)
  • Penumbras by Braden Bell (signed copy)
  • The Reluctant Blogger by Ryan Rapier (personalized copy)
  • Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen (personalized paperback)
  • Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden (signed copy)
  • Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster (ebook or signed paperback)
  • Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson (audio CD)
  • Finding Sheba or Ruby’s Secret by H.B. Moore (winner’s choice; format of choice)
  • Pocket Full of Posies by Julie Coulter Bellon (or other Hostage Negotiation novel of choice in either paperback or Kindle)
  • Hadley-Hadley Benson by Jody Wind Durfee (personalized copy)
  • Lock & Key by Traci Hunter Abramson (personalized copy)
  • The Witnesses by Stephanie Black (winner’s choice of Kindle, Nook, or personalized paperback)
 Previous Countdown to Christmas 2013 posts:

The Witnesses by Stephanie Black — Combined Review

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Combined Reviews
Dec 122013
 

The-Witness-Black-ill.The Witnesses

Author: Stephanie Black

Publisher: Covenant

Published: October 1st, 2013

Paperback: 288 pages

ISBN13: 9781621085232

FTC FYI: Received a paperback copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by: Mindy and Shanda

Goodreads Summary

Welcome to New America, where patriots are traitors and religion is a crime. After government agent Daniel Lansbury fakes the executions of three believers on national television, he and the fugitives–Alisa Kent, Ian Roshek, and Ian’s sister, Jill–face the perilous task of outwitting President Amanda Ryce and her power-hungry Council long enough to escape to freedom. While a government reformer is on their side, rigorous new security measures thwart any chance of aid. And Daniel’s estranged father, Marcus, an underground terrorist leader, is hatching plans to sabotage the breakable trust between Daniel and Ian and put himself in power at the head of the nation. As faith and loyalties come under fire, the fugitives struggle to stop Marcus and his zealous terrorists and bring to light the wrongs committed against the citizens of this fragile, fledgling nation.

Mindy’s Review

WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  The Witnesses by Stephanie Black, grabs you fast at the beginning and doesn’t let you go until you’ve read the last sentence.  Every turn of the page brings more suspense and questions as to who you can trust.  The Witnesses picks up immediately after The Believer ends.  Having just finished The Believer a few days ago, I was very eager to see what happened to Ian, Jill, Daniel and Alisa.  (I feel bad for those who had to wait so long in between books:)  It isn’t all good news and happy endings for the four.  Alisa is really struggling with reversions and is having hallucinations.  Daniel is having troubles of his own, while he and Ian are at each other’s throats.  There are suspicions everywhere and many problems that come up.  Where to place the three believers is first priority, but there really isn’t anywhere safe to put them.  Even for a short time.  I loved the POV changes to different characters, even to some characters I didn’t like.  It really added to the severity and drama of the situations, that our heros were in a lot more trouble than they realize.  It was also a great way to move the story along without having the main characters figure everything out.  

5 out of 5 stars.   Stephanie does a brilliant job of ending paragraphs and/or chapters in a way that made me keep reading until the end.  She is so good at what she does.

Shanda’s Review

I’ve been anxious to read The Witnesses, sequel to The Believer, for many years. It did not disappoint. The Believer was Stephanie’s first published novel, and I loved it so much it earned 5 stars and made it onto my taking-with-me-on-a-deserted-island bookshelf. Well, I’ll be adding The Witnesses to that shelf as well.

I was turning page after page, at times wondering how in the world Ian and Jill and Daniel would make it through, who would betray whom, who would live and who would die. I was in suspense to the very end, unsure of how things would turn out as the situation became more and more dire for our heroes. There was an unexpected and fascinating twist that I loved.

I am in awe (though not surprised) at how well-crafted and layered the story is throughout both books, and the way the twist worked into events near the end. While the book had a very satisfying conclusion, I still find myself wondering how things worked out in the long run. I need to sit down with Stephanie and either get her to tell me or convince her to write a follow up because I really want to know. I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Ian.

I highly recommend both The Believer and The Witnesses. They made me think, kept me reading, and stayed with me for days. Well done, Stephanie. Now get going on that follow up for me. (Please?)

Author Links

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter

Purchase Links

Amazon / Deseret Book / Barnes and Noble / Seagull Book

Coming Soon: The Witnesses by Stephanie Black

 Posted by  Book News, News
Aug 242013
 

TheWitnessesUpcoming Release: The Witnesses by Stephanie Black

I am so excited about the upcoming release of The Witnesses by Stephanie Black that I want to shout from the rooftops, or at least post about it on the LDSWBR blog, which will probably reach more people and prevent my neighbors from thinking I’m crazier than they already think I am. (About books, that is.)

I have been waiting for this book for SEVEN years, since I had the opportunity to read The Believer back in 2006. In fact, we discussed The Believer in Episode 4 of the LDSWBR Podcast back in May 2006. (Warning: Podcast contains spoilers for The Believer.)

This was recorded in our pre-microphone-and-mixer days, gathered around my old iMac. I listened to it again for the first time since editing it, and in the intro I announce the contest Rob Wells was hosting for the release of The Counterfeit. Wow, I can’t believe how quickly time flies.

TheBeliever(Note: We never did post our Cheesy, aka “Funeral” Potato Recipes. Ah, well.)

(Note #2: About 20 minutes into the podcast I say something that made me laugh out loud: “One of the things I like is that the computers are like the size of a Palm Pilot. Hey, that would be nice! Maybe we’re on our way there.” If I had been listening to it on my iPhone I would have laughed even harder at Ignorant Me of 2006.)

Anyway, though The Witnesses is a follow up to The Believer, Stephanie made sure you don’t need to have read The Believer. I really enjoyed The Believer though, and if you can manage it, I encourage you to read it first simply because it is a great book.

If you are considering reading The Believer, Stephanie warns not to read the back cover blurb of The Witnesses because of spoilers. You can read more on Stephanie’s blog (see her post entitled The Witnesses).

While I’m not ready for summer to be over, at least I have The Witnesses to look forward to, as well as a reread of The Believer. It’s been so long since I read it, it will feel like the first time, and I’m excited to experience it all again.

The Believer is available on Kindle and DB Bookshelf. You can also preorder the paperback from Deseret Book.

The Witnesses will be released October 1, 2013. You can preorder it in paperback or audio CD from Amazon.

***If you can’t wait that long to read more Stephanie Black, check out her novella “Eye for an Eye” in A Timeless Romance Anthology: Autumn Collection.***