Jay Amberg's Blog, page 16
August 28, 2015
Foça
As the ferry approaches Foça, small quick whitecaps slap the hull. The several hundred of us Sunday-morning passengers have headed out of İzmir, Turkey for a day of Aegean sun in this ancient fishing village, harbor town, and tourist trap. Out the ferry’s starboard windows, the white walls and terracotta roofs of Foça’s buildings gleam. Out the port windows, the sea is deep blue, the sky pale and hazy. The small islands nearby are low and arid, scattered with scrub pines. A two-year-old girl pukes near the ferry’s exit, and so the crowd jostles onto the gangway and dock.
I stroll along the quay between the shady cafes and shiny yachts. Farther along, the stone walls of the old fortress loom above surf curling onto the breakwall’s rocks. Still farther on, the small, ship-shape, brightly painted wooden fishing boats tug at their mooring lines. Out to sea on the horizon, the silhouette of a boat—a modern yacht…or a medieval galley…or a Phoenician trader? Light, stunningly bright but without sharp edges, took Joe Travers’ breath here along the Aegean in southwestern Turkey. And now, it takes mine.
August 20, 2015
Readers’ Favorite review, Bone Box
Readers’ Favorite has given Bone Box a five-star review:
This story takes you on an incredible and dusty journey from Istanbul to ancient Ephesus, Izmir, and Cappadocia, blended with Christianity, archaeology and Islam, described with accurate detail to bring the story alive.
Jay Amberg’s Bone Box is an extremely well researched and well thought out book. The story gives you incredibly detailed and visual pictures of Turkey. Jay Amberg is a master of description and intrigue, and does not paint you into a corner when explaining things; the plot and characters are believable and interesting. When reading the book you have to keep going to find out what will happen next. It is a real page turner, one that keeps you guessing through each and every chapter. A cross between The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and The Sign of the Cross (Chris Kuzneski) this is an “un-put-downable” book of the highest quality.
What do you think of the latest review? Please let me know by leaving a comment.
I am currently in Turkey and hope to write more about my time here soon.
August 4, 2015
Red City Review, Bone Box
There is a new review of Bone Box at Red City Review:
The story creates a world readers want to visit. Amberg uses his words to paint a beautiful picture of Turkey with detailed descriptions of the mosques, gardens, and dig sites. In one scene he describes a village, with the actions of the villagers with old men at cafés smoking and drinking tea, or a tractor pulling a watermelon cart, where a melon crashes to the ground. This attention to detail gives the reader so much to envision and makes them feel as if they are a part of the story. The characters of Sophia and Joe Travers are very likable from the beginning. Sophia is a woman with passion for her work and will stop at nothing to complete what needs to be done. The way she describes archeology being a puzzle and how sometimes a find could alter the outcome of the puzzle, puts the field into a new perspective. Travers is a man who seems to be running from his past even though it continues to follow him. The religious undertone to the novel adds depth to the plot. It is no longer the story of a woman wanting to protect an archeological dig of random early settlements, but a woman wanting to protect the religious sites such as the place Saint John is said to have lived and died after Christ. Making a reference to the gentlemen of each organization involved as Pharisees illustrates not only religious struggle for the box, but Sophia’s own religious struggles. The characters and the story come to life through Amberg’s storytelling. One would almost begin to think the possibility of the events in this story as being real. Bone Box is a novel full of twists and turns, as well as stories within a story.
What do you think? Remember, there are more reviews on Amazon or Goodreads.
July 24, 2015
Blog Tour: Final Day
Today, Broken Teepee is hosting a giveaway of Bone Box. The book is also featured at The Never-Ending Book.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog tour, and thanks to Amy at Book Junkie Promotions. It has been an interesting endeavor. Let’s see what it brings for the future of the book.
I’m happy to answer any questions or comments you may have about the tour.
July 21, 2015
Blog Tour: Day 8
Today we have a review of Bone Box at So Many Books, So Little Time:
“I was completely intrigued by the idea of archaeologists finding the bones of Jesus as well as new writings by him and his followers. It was fascinating to think of how the world would react if such things did exist and I think the author did a great job of portraying the pandemonium that might ensue. I also loved the descriptions of the archaeological digs and the caves at Cappadocia. I’m not familiar with a lot of the history of Turkey so I really liked learning more about it.”
Also an update from day 6, a review has been posted at Book Nerd:
“First, I have to confess that I did not anticipate liking this book as much as I did. I can’t think of a single thing that I did not like about this book. First, a fantastic plot! An unearthed stone box thought to house the bones of Jesus. I mean, wow! I had no idea about the traditions of stone boxes and I learned this and so many other things that I did not know. Second, an equally fantastic heroine—Sophia Altay. I can’t love her more! She was an interesting heroine, and a huge part of why I loved this book. Third, Joseph Travers. I really enjoyed both these characters individually and when they were together. Their dynamic was fantastic. The pacing of the story was perfect. I was able to learn new information that would become vital to the storyline but not feel overburdened with it. It was wonderfully suspenseful and captivating at the same time. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this fascinating story of discovery and adventure.”
What do you think of the new reviews?
July 20, 2015
Blog Tour: Day 7
Today’s tour stop is at What Is That Book About, where you can read excerpt 2 from Bone Box: The Curtain Wall.
July 19, 2015
Blog Tour: Day 6
July 18, 2015
July 16, 2015
Blog Tour: Day 4
There are Bone Box giveaways today at Raven Haired Girl and Mythical Books. I was also interviewed by Mythical Books:
Q: History, religion, politics, conspiracy, adventure, even love they are all good ingredients for a mystery/thriller story, but how can they be mixed in order to obtain a great story?
A; The characters and the setting, the time and place of the story, stir the mixture of history, religion, politics, adventure, and love. I originally went to Turkey thinking that a third to half of Bone Box would be set there. But standing on Ayasuluk Hill, I could see remnants of much of Western religious and political history—a Selcuk Turk citadel, the ruins of a Christian cathedral, a mosque, the Temple of Artemis, the ancient city of Ephesus, and the Aegean Sea. It’s all right there.
Cappadocia was a revelation as well and, as I came to understand, the perfect place for all of the elements of the story to play out. The stark natural beauty of the tufa spires combined with the religious and political history of the now vanished cave dwellers to provide a terrific backdrop for the story’s final scenes.
Read the entire interview here. I would love to hear what you think.
