Book Review

The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane

                            By

                Katherine Howe

I just finished reading this wonderful book by a first time author earlier this evening.  I loved it!

     The story follows Connie, a graduate student from Harvard University, researching Colonial history.  A dilapidated home, once owned by her grandmother in Marblehead, Massachusetts falls into her custody.  While there, she stumbles across an old Bible with a key that holds a small scroll with the name Deliverance Dane printed on it.

     So begins Connie's quest to find who this Deliverance Dane is and why her name was found in her grandmother's house.  She soon discovers that Deliverance Dane was one of the witches tried and hanged in Salem two hundred years ago for witchcraft.  Embarking on this journey into finding out more about the mystery woman, Connie soon begins to learn about herself.  When her boyfriend, Sam is suddenly overcome by seizures and forced to stay in a hospital bed, the hunt for Deliverance Dane's spell book becomes even more time sensitive.  

This is a great read if you love the conspiracy surrounding the women accused of witchcraft in Salem in the 1600's.   The book goes back and forth between Connie's life in the present and the unfolding events of Deliverance Dane's life in the 1600's.  And soon, you see how their lives start to parallel.

Interview With Author Steve Alten

     I recently had the privilege of interviewing author Steve Alten, whose latest book Meg: Hell's Aquarium hit bookstore shelves a few months ago.  Steve is a science fiction author best known for his Meg series, which revolves around the survival of the Carcharadon Megalodon, an 18 million year old prehistoric shark that became extinct in the Pleistocene era.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.  How did you get into writing?

        I hated my job and needed a new career. I always felt I could write. 

2. How did the idea come about to write a series based on Carcharodon Megalodon?

      In the summer of 1995, I read a TIME magazine article on the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, and hydrothermal vents, which support an entire eco-system. I married that info to Megalodon, which I read about as a teen. 

3. How much research goes into writing for the Meg series and how much do you leave to your imagination?

     Lots of research. The MEG info is all factual; the imagination uses these visuals to scare the reader.

4. You've done four books in the Meg series so far, with Hell's Aquarium being the latest.  How many more books will be in the series or do you know ahead of time?

      One more: MEG: Night Stalkers

5. In Hell's Aquarium you introduced a new ancient species of sea predator - the Liopleurodon.  Do you plan on branching the series off with this new creature, continuing the adventures of Jonas Taylor and his son David?

      Not branching off, but MEG 5 will be a hunt for the escaped Liopleurodon.

        I've read there are plans to bring Meg to the big screen.  How far away are fans from seeing their favorite killer shark in theaters?  And will you be writing the screenplay?

      I wrote a new script, and we are finalizing financing for $150 million budget. Once we select a director, there will be an announcement.

 What is your writing process like?  How long does it take to finish a novel

      MEG novels take 6-8 months; the DOMAIN novels take 12-18 months.

            Check out Steve Alten's writing tips at http://www.stevealten.com/writing_tips_intro.htm 

Books in the Meg series include:

Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (1997)

The Trench  (1999)

Meg: Primal Waters (2004)

Meg: Hell's Aquarium (2009) 

 

Book Series That I've Read and Loved

I was thinking the other day about all the books I've read in the past 29 years of my life and I realized that most of them happened to be series of books, rather than individual novels.

Series I've Read:

The Clan Of The Cave Bear series

The Vampire Chronicles

The Meg series by Steve Alten (currently reading the fourth installment - Hell's Aquarium)

Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series

Twilight series

Some individual books that I'm obsessed with are:

Ride The Wind

On The Road

And anything by Stephen King.  I love his short story collections.

I once read in his book On Writing that he reads 80 books a year, so that's what I've done is set that goal for myself.