The Atheist's Prayer: A Liz Review and Feature
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Today I introduce you to a fascinating book: The Atheist's Prayer. I participate in a fair number of "book blitz" style tours for my fellow indie authors. Every little bit of publicity helps, I always say and I am happy to provide it when I can. However, sometimes a book is presented that really compels me to take time out of my hectic life and read it. This was one of those times.
*****NOTE!******Amy will be awarding a signed copy of The Atheist's Prayer, and a free subscription to Underground Book Reviews' Weekly Newsletter to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
First, a bit about the novel:
The Atheist’s Prayerby Amy R. Biddle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
After a solar eclipse, nineteen people were found dead in a remote area of the California National Forest. They were lying in a circle, holding hands and wearing plastic fairy wings.
Years later, on the other side of the country, no one in the southern city of Jefferson is concerned about fairies or fairy-worshiping suicide cults. Except for Candy. She might not have proof, but she's damn sure it's going to happen again.
The problem is, Candy is a coke-dealing stripper and the only person who will listen to her is an alcoholic mall Santa named Hank, who's only listening because, well...she's hot.
There are seven days until the next eclipse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm including 2 excerpts because they are both so amazing:
AN EXCERPT FROM HANK: the alcoholic mall Santa
Hank spent the drive convincing himself that being a bouncer would be an awesome job. Girls, drinks, drunks, late nights. Really, he was being paid to do exactly what he would be doing if he wasn’t working. Maybe they would give him a gun. No, they wouldn’t. But maybe they would give him a bat to keep behind the entrance, just out of sight. Or a Taser. There was a lot of fun to be had with a Taser.
Hank frowned at his five-o-clock shadow in the rearview mirror, trying to look tough. His gap tooth added to the effect. Actually, he looked like a damn good bouncer. As he drove, he imagined using the self-defense moves and choke holds that he’d seen in movies. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this new job was a perfect fit. He decided that he should try to get a full-time position bouncing and quit his shenanigans at the mall.
By the time Hank arrived at the strip club, the sky had lost its reds and purples and was assuming a murky shade of city gray. The front of the club was just as drab in the twilight as it had been in the dark and rain on Sunday. Its plain cinderblock walls stood silently, with a single metal door in the middle. Hank had always found the dichotomy between the inside and the outside of strip clubs amusing. Hidden in back alleys and tucked away behind supermarkets, strip clubs were the Narnia of a grown man’s world.
AN EXCERPT FROM KEVIN: the seven-year-old
“Oh, my God,” said his mother when she picked him up. “What happened?” The car smelled of new textbooks, and there was a pile of them on the backseat.
“I don’t think the boys at school liked my clothes,” said Kevin. This was true. It wasn’t why they were all muddy, but he was sure no one liked them.
“Did they hurt you? Do you want me to talk to someone?” she asked.
“Luna made them go away,” he said.
“Hunter’s daughter, from church?”
Kevin nodded.
“Well, that was nice of her. Maybe she felt bad for tripping you. Still, if it happens again I’m going to say something.”
Kevin hoped she would say something about letting him wear jeans, but they merged onto the highway in silence. Kevin watched the white dotted lines on the road as they were sucked under the car.
“What did you learn in school today?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.
“We came from monkeys,” he said after some thought.
“Oh, no,” said his mother, shaking her head.
“E-vo-loo-shun!” He sounded out the word, feeling smart.
“Sweetie…” she started. But Kevin was already on a roll. He had learned a lot, he realized.
“And, I’m a bass-turd,” he said. “Because I don’t know my daddy.”
“That's a bad word, Kevin!” she snapped.
Kevin felt guilty but he didn't know why. He also wasn't sure why his mother’s face was so red or why she stopped the car on the side of the interstate. Traffic was whizzing by and Kevin could feel the energy deep in his bones.
**************************
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Amy now spends half of her life at sea and the other half wherever the hell she pleases. An avid traveler and dangerous daydreamer, she is most at home when surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains or the great blue sea. In her spare time, Amy co-runs Underground Book Reviews, a website dedicated to finding and reviewing quality, independent novels. Her short fiction and poetry has been published by a smattering of online publications including Every Day Fiction and Revolt Daily.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Atheists-Prayer-Amy-Biddle/dp/1780995822/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19139574-the-atheist-s-prayer?from_search=true
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-R-Biddle-Author/201710869846209?ref=hl
Blog: www.amyrbiddle.com
LIZ'S REVIEW:
Yeah, so how can I resist reading THIS? I couldn't and I was not disappointed.
This book provides a sort of "Neil Gaimon-esque" surreal reading experience crossed with a "Christopher Moore" humorous touch that I really enjoyed.
Nothing is what it appears to be, which is another trait I love in a well- crafted novel.
While ostensibly about faith (or a lack thereof, if you take the title into consideration) The Atheist's Prayer is very much about personal salvation and how that is found not so much in religion but in our fellow human beings. Hank and Candy, both disturbed and pretty amusing characters in their own right, discover the good in each other through their attempts to save a couple of kids from a cult. And along the way everyone (and I mean everyone) makes mistakes, missteps and bad choices in the sort of gritty realistic way that I LOVE to read.
I guarantee that this is one of the most creative and well-handled renderings of a slice of screwed up American life I have personally ever read! Realistic characters, down to earth dialogue and a plot that turns in on itself just enough to keep you guessing.
It's a 5-Brew Read! Go buy it NOW!
Today I introduce you to a fascinating book: The Atheist's Prayer. I participate in a fair number of "book blitz" style tours for my fellow indie authors. Every little bit of publicity helps, I always say and I am happy to provide it when I can. However, sometimes a book is presented that really compels me to take time out of my hectic life and read it. This was one of those times.
*****NOTE!******Amy will be awarding a signed copy of The Atheist's Prayer, and a free subscription to Underground Book Reviews' Weekly Newsletter to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
First, a bit about the novel:
The Atheist’s Prayerby Amy R. Biddle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
After a solar eclipse, nineteen people were found dead in a remote area of the California National Forest. They were lying in a circle, holding hands and wearing plastic fairy wings.
Years later, on the other side of the country, no one in the southern city of Jefferson is concerned about fairies or fairy-worshiping suicide cults. Except for Candy. She might not have proof, but she's damn sure it's going to happen again.
The problem is, Candy is a coke-dealing stripper and the only person who will listen to her is an alcoholic mall Santa named Hank, who's only listening because, well...she's hot.
There are seven days until the next eclipse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm including 2 excerpts because they are both so amazing:
AN EXCERPT FROM HANK: the alcoholic mall Santa
Hank spent the drive convincing himself that being a bouncer would be an awesome job. Girls, drinks, drunks, late nights. Really, he was being paid to do exactly what he would be doing if he wasn’t working. Maybe they would give him a gun. No, they wouldn’t. But maybe they would give him a bat to keep behind the entrance, just out of sight. Or a Taser. There was a lot of fun to be had with a Taser.
Hank frowned at his five-o-clock shadow in the rearview mirror, trying to look tough. His gap tooth added to the effect. Actually, he looked like a damn good bouncer. As he drove, he imagined using the self-defense moves and choke holds that he’d seen in movies. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this new job was a perfect fit. He decided that he should try to get a full-time position bouncing and quit his shenanigans at the mall.
By the time Hank arrived at the strip club, the sky had lost its reds and purples and was assuming a murky shade of city gray. The front of the club was just as drab in the twilight as it had been in the dark and rain on Sunday. Its plain cinderblock walls stood silently, with a single metal door in the middle. Hank had always found the dichotomy between the inside and the outside of strip clubs amusing. Hidden in back alleys and tucked away behind supermarkets, strip clubs were the Narnia of a grown man’s world.
AN EXCERPT FROM KEVIN: the seven-year-old
“Oh, my God,” said his mother when she picked him up. “What happened?” The car smelled of new textbooks, and there was a pile of them on the backseat.
“I don’t think the boys at school liked my clothes,” said Kevin. This was true. It wasn’t why they were all muddy, but he was sure no one liked them.
“Did they hurt you? Do you want me to talk to someone?” she asked.
“Luna made them go away,” he said.
“Hunter’s daughter, from church?”
Kevin nodded.
“Well, that was nice of her. Maybe she felt bad for tripping you. Still, if it happens again I’m going to say something.”
Kevin hoped she would say something about letting him wear jeans, but they merged onto the highway in silence. Kevin watched the white dotted lines on the road as they were sucked under the car.
“What did you learn in school today?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.
“We came from monkeys,” he said after some thought.
“Oh, no,” said his mother, shaking her head.
“E-vo-loo-shun!” He sounded out the word, feeling smart.
“Sweetie…” she started. But Kevin was already on a roll. He had learned a lot, he realized.
“And, I’m a bass-turd,” he said. “Because I don’t know my daddy.”
“That's a bad word, Kevin!” she snapped.
Kevin felt guilty but he didn't know why. He also wasn't sure why his mother’s face was so red or why she stopped the car on the side of the interstate. Traffic was whizzing by and Kevin could feel the energy deep in his bones.
**************************
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Amy now spends half of her life at sea and the other half wherever the hell she pleases. An avid traveler and dangerous daydreamer, she is most at home when surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains or the great blue sea. In her spare time, Amy co-runs Underground Book Reviews, a website dedicated to finding and reviewing quality, independent novels. Her short fiction and poetry has been published by a smattering of online publications including Every Day Fiction and Revolt Daily.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Atheists-Prayer-Amy-Biddle/dp/1780995822/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19139574-the-atheist-s-prayer?from_search=true
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-R-Biddle-Author/201710869846209?ref=hl
Blog: www.amyrbiddle.com
LIZ'S REVIEW:
Yeah, so how can I resist reading THIS? I couldn't and I was not disappointed.
This book provides a sort of "Neil Gaimon-esque" surreal reading experience crossed with a "Christopher Moore" humorous touch that I really enjoyed.
Nothing is what it appears to be, which is another trait I love in a well- crafted novel.
While ostensibly about faith (or a lack thereof, if you take the title into consideration) The Atheist's Prayer is very much about personal salvation and how that is found not so much in religion but in our fellow human beings. Hank and Candy, both disturbed and pretty amusing characters in their own right, discover the good in each other through their attempts to save a couple of kids from a cult. And along the way everyone (and I mean everyone) makes mistakes, missteps and bad choices in the sort of gritty realistic way that I LOVE to read.
I guarantee that this is one of the most creative and well-handled renderings of a slice of screwed up American life I have personally ever read! Realistic characters, down to earth dialogue and a plot that turns in on itself just enough to keep you guessing.
It's a 5-Brew Read! Go buy it NOW!
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