Monday, November 14, 2011

Author Guest Post: Of Good and Evil by Gerald Griffin

Gerald Griffin has a really great suspense thriller called Of Good and Evil that he is touring with. I am thrilled to be a part of that tour, and think you will really enjoy reading about this novel and author. I want to thank Nurture Your Books for including me in this blog tour, they are a great PR group for new and upcoming books.

Book Summary:

A timely, quick-paced, action-packed story with vivid, vibrant characters and international locales, and villains both fictional and ripped from international headlines.

Ron Sheffield, a gifted but tormented Green Beret, plagued by suicidal guilt because of his “special” abilities, is discharged from the army for going “crazy.” Immediately, he is brutally beaten and shot by the Mafia, and is hospitalized near death. His life is dramatically saved by Amber Ash, who also possesses “special” abilities; and from there the two are propelled against mobsters, terrorists, and a government cell out to kill them over Iraqi documents Ron possesses from his army service. Ron becomes a Mafia hit man, targeting fallen mobsters. This brings Ron and Amber into contact with the powerful and humane gifted secret society, Eros; this contact eventually actualizing Ron’s mental gifts to a point beyond his imagination. Ron is confronted with the imminent nuclear obliteration of a major American city by a suicidal terrorist cell that only he can stop. But will he be able to do it in time? Of Good and Evil is a spiritual fight against tyranny.


About the Author:


Gerald G. Griffin was born in Flint, Michigan. He received his MA and Ph.D. in psychology from Michigan State University. Set up private practice in Atlanta, Georgia as a Consulting Psychologist, a practice of 18 years doing psychotherapy, counseling, diagnostics and executive consultation. Moved to Gainesville, Georgia to enter writing full-time, at first doing ghost-writing and screenplays before turning back to novels. At present, putting the final touches to A Time of Reckoning, the sequel to Of Good or Evil.


Gerald Griffith's Website HERE
Author's Blog HERE
Author on Twitter HERE

Author Guest Post:

If you could exchange places with any of your characters for a day, who would it be and why?

That character would be Jonathan J. Ash. Why? To begin with, he's a noble man humane in his dealings with others, but always in control with power; power emanating from special abilities of the psyche and the accumulated wealth resulting from them. His psyche power enables his mind to grab the essence of a complex matter quickly and accurately, then act upon it promptly and decisively, rendering him unflappable. Combined with this, he has an unparalleled elegant and graceful manner; a spellbinding, charming, magnetic Old World demeanor eliciting the greatest respect --- even fear if needed, causing others to want to please him.



Who wouldn't want to be this character for a day? To make him even more appealing, in addition, Jonathan J. Ash is the CEO, President and major stockholder of a highly successful, worldwide corporation while at the same time being the head of a powerful secret society attempting to contribute to the cleansing of mankind's ills and exalting its goodness, however unpredictable and disappointing this may be. And too, Jonathan J. Ash is a man of mystery --- always an appealing quality, one harboring the extent of his abilities and one major secret even from most of the members of his secret society, these extra abilities and this one great secret finally revealed in moments of sadness and crucial conflict in a timely and smooth fashion to the satisfaction of everyone involved. Jonathan J. Ash, through others, is eventually always on top of everything.

All of this necessitates a myriad of sound personalities coexisting in one body.

In essence, then, I would trade places with Jonathan J. Ash for a day because of the magnitude and nobility of the man, and his steadfast manner of coping successfully with the most potentially disastrous of problems.

In fact, I'd trade places for two days.


My Thoughts:

Wow, there was SO MUCH GOING ON in this novel!  From the beginning I knew it would be action-packed, just reading the book summary told me that. 

Out of the many books I have read recently, I was most impressed by this author and his writing.  Many times stories truly feel as if they were woven together on the page and this is a clear example of that.  He is definitely on my radar and I would love to read more from him.

The main character, Ron Sheffield is an enormously complex character who struggles internally and externally.  One of the high points of this novel was how the author introduces this character - as a reader you immediately connect with him and invest in his story. 

Another interesting part of this novel is the way it is written.  Upon first glance you think this will be a typical story of good v. evil (as the title implies), but it really takes turns that make it stand apart from traditional good guy versus bad guy stories.  I was literally on the edge of my seat with each turn of the page.  And while Griffin does weave in elements that you would expect, there is much more in there that you don't and that is what I liked most about this book.

I can see this provoking great discussions about philosophy among a group reading it.  I am going to recommend it to my book club for an upcoming read. 



3 comments:

  1. What a great review! Lindsay, you really make me want to read this book because you dangled all these great little tidbits without giving any of the story away. This has just been added to my TBR. Thanks!! :)

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  2. I truly appreciate your magnificent presentation, Lindsay! Among other things, I loved your thoughts on my novel, including your marvelous --- as Laura said so aptly in her comment --- "dangling all the great tidbits while not giving any of the story away" Absolutely delighted! Many thanks!

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