Amy Tan is a master of character development and master story teller, and in her latest historical fiction novel, The Valley of Amazement, she takes these skills to new heights while bridging the gap between western and Asian culture, placing her in the realm of artists like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Joyce, and Faulkner.

No author paints the psychological struggle between strong willed mother/daughter pairs better than Tan, and the story unfolds between a privileged Chinese-American girl, Violet, and her American mother, Lucia, who operates a first class courtesan house in old Shanghai during the fall of the Ching Dynasty.  Lucia is cruelly deceived by one of her lovers and confidants who sells fourteen-year-old Violet to a second rate courtesan house as Lucia, thinking Violet is already on board, boards a ship for San Francisco to escape the political turmoil of the era.

The story covers both Violet and Lucia and examines their lives in minute detail, particularly focusing on the choices they make concerning their mothers and all the men in their lives. 

Unlike her other novels, Tan fully develops the sexual nature of her main characters in this book, which adds to the psychological richness of the story.  Her strongpoint is the creation of characters, so real, so believable, so human, that the reader will feel as if she knows these people—the mark of a great writer.

This is the pinnacle work of Amy Tan to date, and it is a journey all serious readers should take. Get a copy on Amazon.

When I was ten years old, I was kidnapped along with my best friends Rick and Tinker Mullins on Halloween night.  We had finished our treat or treating and were walking down a deserted back road to join our parents at a party at the country club near our houses.  We were excited about entering the costume contest.

An old, beat-up, green pick up truck pulled up and stopped.  We thought we were going to be offered a ride.  A scruffy man got out and started chasing us into the woods.  I was almost completely frozen with fear, but my legs were somehow moving and my heart was pounding in my throat.  He caught Rick and Tinker and tied them to a tree and came after me.  I had on a long black vampire cape that got caught in the underbrush.  I screamed and time stood still as he grabbed me like a sack of grain and slung me over his shoulder.  I smelled booze on his breath and he had stinking body odor.  He tied my hands and put me in the back of the truck.  My mother had always told me that men like that would cut off little boys’ genitals.  I felt doomed.  I was so scared I couldn’t move.  He retrieved Tinker and Rick, tied their hands and put them in the back of the truck.  He told us if we screamed, he’d shoot our heads off with his shotgun.  He drove off with us, headed to the country.  He slowed down for one turn that we knew to be near the back nine of our country club.  He hadn’t tied us down to the truck bed, so we all three jumped out and ran as fast as we could to the clubhouse. 

At the clubhouse, everyone surrounded us as we hysterically told our story.  The police were called.  We described the truck.  They got the man who was inebriated. He told the police we had egged his house and he was just trying to teach us a lesson.  He was a sharecropper of sorts who lived on a nearby farm.  We had not been anywhere near his house.

The next day Rick, Tinker and I went back to the woods to retrieve our candy. We found all of it.

Years later I heard that that same man had gotten his twelve-year-old daughter pregnant.

I've targeted August as a promotional month to get my mystery, thriller Blood Brothers to as many readers as I can through a free promotion on Kindle Select August 14th through the 17th and by offering it for 99 cents the rest of the month.

Please take a moment to download the August Newsletter:  August 2013 Newsletter

"Blood Brothers is filled with fantastic writing, an utterly enthralling plot line and some of the best written characters I have read," says Duncan Whitehead, author of The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club. 

You can read the entire review on Amazon or Goodreads.  I am honored to receive a five star review from Mr. Whitehead.

Fabulous Fourth of July Promotion for Book Lovers!

Get a FREE copy of Blood Brothers on July 5.

Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Philip Hampton is an award winning investigative journalist. When his younger brother, an artist on the brink of stardom is brutally murdered, Philip vows revenge.

As he begins to investigate his brother’s life, all clues seem to lead to one the largest art theft in history—the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist of 1990. Discovery of the treasure seems to be Philip’s only hope of solving the murder, attaining retribution, and healing from emotional and sexual trauma from his childhood.

Grab you copy now!

**This is a one day only promotion so don’t delay, grab your copy to day!***

*****Breathtaking- This is a heart wrenching story. This is for mature readers that are okay with stepping out of their comfort zone and falling into a story. I hope to read more from this author, his book truly made an impact. – Lauren Alumbaugh

**** I find myself being reminded of Truman Capote’s writing voice. Mr. Zimmerman has that nuance in his style, and it is intriguing. – Western reader

This is the second post in a series of blogs describing how fine art inspired my mystery and psychological thriller, Blood Brothers.  Even though I began writing Blood Brothers in 2003, I first developed a gay character named Billy in 1994 in a short story entitled “Sugar.”  Sugar is the embodiment of the beloved African American woman, Janie Fincher, who was my family’s maid for most of my childhood.  I also relied on my relationship with Janie in developing the character Ala Mary, the Hampton’s maid in Blood Brothers. 

Wanda Stella Varriale’s beautiful oil painting shown below inspired both the setting for “Sugar” and the character, Mrs. John Saneford.

Varriale is a well-listed painter who was born in New York City in 1923 and who died in 1997.  She is best known for her portraits and still life paintings.  I wrote this story shortly after I acquired this painting.

Madonna’s album, Bedtime Stories, inspired the structure of my story.

I hope you enjoy it.  You can download a PDF file here: SUGAR

I'm celebrating the release of the Kindle version of my pshchological thriller and mystery book, Blood Brothers, by giving away a new Kindle Paperwhite 3G with case and adapter.  It is easy to enter.  Just clcik on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions.  The contest starts at 12 a.m. EST on May 1st and ends at 12 a.m. EST on May 31st.  Thanks for your interest and good luck in the contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

When I began writing Blood Brothers in the spring of 2003, I had three criteria:  I would write a mystery book; the two main characters would be close brothers, one gay and one straight; and the setting would be the international art market.  The mystery book evolved into more of a psychological thriller as I realized the brothers had to deal with repressed childhood sexual abuse, but the setting remained.

Works of art captivate my senses, fill me with joy, and inspire me.  My next three or four blog posts will focus on the art in Blood Brothers and pay tribute to several artists who works influenced paintings I describe in my book.

The first painting is in Chapter 1, and it is a painting of the brothers as children building a sand castle on the beach at Pawley’s Island.

“Through an array of small, thickly applied crosshatched patterns using the spectrum of visible colors, Mother painstakingly replicated the light patterns created by the mid afternoon sun on the ocean that bounce from the painting with such intensity that you can feel the August heat radiating.” 

Examine the painting, Playing at the Beach.

This painting is by the gifted artist Kevin McNamara who inspired several of the paintings by the characters Billy and his mother, Eva.

Many of the paintings in Blood Brothers contain clues, some obscure, others obvious, that shed light on the mystery. 

The beautiful painting below, River L'Indre near Monte, is another of Kevin’s.  His depiction of water is outstanding.  A similar painting is first introduced in Chapter 2 through a dream of the protagonist, Philip.

Kevin McNamara was born in Manchester, England and raised in Ireland.  He studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin where he received his degree in 1985.  Velasquez and the nineteenth century Russian painters Ilya Repin and Valentine Serov influence him. 

I was exposed to Kevin’s work in 2003 when I leased space in a shopping center I manage to a gallery owner who represented Kevin.  Kevin spent several months in Kentucky painting.

One afternoon I was driving to yoga through Cherokee Park along Beargrass Creek when I noticed a man strapped to a tree with a belt or a rope.  He was leaning back painting a canvas on an easel in front of him—it was Kevin and he was creating a masterpiece, River Light, Cherokee Park, Louisville.

I am fortunate to own the three paintings above as well as two others by Kevin.  Kevin has given me permission to reproduce these works on this blog.  I encourage you to visit his website at www.kevinmcnamara.us

Happy New Years!  May your journey this year be filled with all your dreams!