Open your heart and mind to the simplicity and complexity of a name.
I know only my name. Beyond that is confusion, a void where fantasy and reality swirl together. Fairies, Giants, Elves, Dwarves, ancient Keepers, and…Dragons? A dark soul threatens the Five Kingdoms, but I am powerless to stand against him, overwhelmed by phantom memories, broken and lost.
Somehow, I must live. I must find my purpose. There are friends to love and battles to fight.
I know my name. Perhaps that is enough.
I am Ocilla.
This is my story.
In our current book economy, where writers can rush to publication, by-passing the traditional gatekeepers, and throwing good writing principles to the wind, there’s a lot of junk out there. And the problem is, you can’t tell anymore what is a properly good read and what is a waste of your time and money. It’s become a mine field, a dart shoot, a flip of the coin. So more than ever, the educated reader must depend on good solid honest reviews before taking a chance. Sadly, most reviewers are just as random now as the books they review.
That’s why as a story-snob, as an educated writer, as a published author, if I tell you that I Am Ocilla, by Diane M. Graham is an amazing breath of fresh air, you should believe me faster than spaghetti slips off a spoon. If you want an industry recommendation, you’ve got it. If you want a peer review, you’ve got it. If you want an author endorsement, you’ve got it.
Go get it. Go read it. And enjoy something that is refreshingly unique, beautifully penned, and incidentally has an amazing cover.
The plot is perfectly paced, the twists perfectly timed, and sometimes difficult to predict. But that’s not the point. One of my favorite things about Ocilla is that it is written from the often overlooked and misunderstood focus of “meaning first” writing, as opposed to plot first or character first. It’s not about any one individual character propelling the plot. It’s not about a clever plot giving characters something to do. It’s about a larger story of good vs. evil, of faith, of hope, and of a greater purpose to your life than you can imagine. All the greatest books have a great meaning. And this is one of them.
However, you should know that it’s written in first person present. If that’s not your thing, though, you should get over it. It’s not my thing, and I read this book anyway. First person present can be a mess if done wrong. Graham does it right and does it enjoyable.
In summary…It’s amazing, it’s a breath of fresh air, it’s unique, it’s beautifully written, it’s perfectly paced, it’s perfectly twisty, it has a great meaning, it has an amazing cover, and this published author/book snob who doesn’t like doing reviews because I tend to be overly judgmental, is unashamedly recommending it.
What more do you want?
I Am Ocilla
by Diane M. Graham
Published by Splashdown Books
ISBN: 1927154197
Fantasy
272 pages
Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.com/1927154197
Available in paperback, audiobook, and electronic formats.
-odk