Friday, December 14, 2012

Review and Interview: Echoes of Winter by Dominique Goodall



Source: ebook provided for review
Rating: 4 stars ****

Blurb: A wolf. A destiny. And only one war to stand in his way.
When Convel leaves his birth pack, he didn’t expect to end up in a war against cougars. As he gathers his strength about him as well as new pack-mates, he is also confronted by Humans – once believed to be mostly dead.
He isn’t alone in his endeavours. He doesn’t know it, but Singer and her rag-tag ‘pack’ are racing towards him for the climax in his life so far. With Sage, the elderly lynx, helping to guide him, will he be successful or will the traitor in his life get what they want? 




Lori's Review:

 This book follows Convel and Singer. Both Alpha wolves who have left their home packs for various and not so great reasons. Both are on a separate path that will lead them to their destinies. Both are strong, smart and willing to think outside of the box. That is where their similarities end. The cougars are a threat to the wolves lives and they are lead by a cruel leader. It is up to the wolves to stop them. Not just for their own good but for the good of the land. 

Ok so two of my favorite books of all time are Call of the Wild and Watership Down. So I was super excited when I read the first few lines of this book and realized I was reading an epic tale from a wolves POV. Not an werewolf. A wolf. Period. I really love animals and I love learning about them. Even if what I am learning is fiction. I also love apex predators. 


The character's are wolves but that doesn't stop them from being awesome. I was attached to them. More so than I am to human characters. I am just not a people person. These wolf characters are more dynamic than most characters and real life people I know. 

I enjoyed the fact that, while the wolves do talk, the author also had to convey their thoughts and feeling physically. Talk about showing and not telling. Every nuance was given a physical trait and I could literally see them in my head. I am sure that I was making strange faces while going through the emotions that these characters go through. Groaning in pain. Grimacing, baring my teeth. Yep. I caught myself attempting to do all of those things while reading. 

I love the woods. I love them. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my family and I wandering through the woods. The author did my recollections justice with the woods she had her wolves playing and living in. I could feel the coldness of the winter air, hear my feet crunching on the snow, and see the birds in the bare leafless trees. 

This book is just rich in detail. 
Morte was my favorite wolf character. She's suffered so much but keeps going because she still has love in her heart. 

There were times in the book that the story would go into a lull and I would find myself drifting away but I would soon be pulled back in by an action scene. 
Also my copy had some continuity errors that made it hard to follow. Sometimes names would be switched around Especially concerning Morte and Amore. These two are sister wolf dogs. Morte was injured and couldn't speak. She is covered in scars. A really intriguing character. 
I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. This is my honest review of this book. 


Now for our interview: 

Lori: What inspires you to write?
I’m not really sure. To be honest, I think it was my love of wolves. I wanted to show people that they weren’t the evil creatures lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour them. They are wonderful creatures, though in a fantasy setting of course they can be humanised and given emotions. I also write to escape the rigours of life- I can throw myself into a whole new world, where everything is under my control.

Lori: Why did you choose to write a book from the POV of wolves? (Which I loved btw)
I just found it natural to write from a wolf POV. It’s something that just comes easily to me; I fall into the routine of seeing life through the eyes of a wolf. I use my experience as a dog owner and wolf addict to work together to get a story as true to life as possible.

Lori: I imagine that a large amount of research went into writing this book? Did you enjoy researching these wonderful animals?
There was less research than you could imagine needed. I mainly had to contact someone for the scene where the wolves are collared. I enjoyed learning a little more about it, though it was mainly the cougars, lynx and wildcat that needed to be researched. They were harder, too, to place as I tried to keep realism in my story.

Lori: What is your favorite part of writing?
Discovering the way the characters change as they grow and mature. A lot of characters in my books undergo a strong transformation, forged by the events of their lives. I even feel proud of them when they learn some amazing lessons!

Lori: Can you tell us what is up next for you?
I’ve got a /lot/ on at the moment. Spring Surrender, sequel to EoW is halfway written, plus the sequel for Torn, Asunder, Power of the Song and Through His Eyes. I’m a busy busy little writer!

Dominique Goodall is the author of Echoes of Winter, book one in the Seasons of the Wolf series and a self-confessed wolf addict. She has currently been published in two anthologies by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing and is currently working on getting herself better known by sending in manuscripts for as many different anthologies as she possibly can.

 As much as she loves to admit it, she never will be able to count her wolf stuff- there’s nothing left for her to be truly able to collect without her own home.

 She can be friended on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/WaterSinger

Her author page on Facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dominique-Goodall-author/250907358312446

The page for Echoes of Winter is here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Echoes-of-Winter/355235744499607

Her twitter name is: https://twitter.com/#!/DomGoodall

And her blog can be found here: http://dominiquegoodall.wordpress.com/

And the trailer for her book is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kix63EXBW50&feature=plcp

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