Author Guest Post with Ryan Lawrence, Vindictive

The best revenge is revenge. Getting it is all that matters.

Welcome to the June 8th stop on the blog tour for Vindictive by Ryan Lawrence with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

The Prosaic Form Cannot Communicate My Meaning

Here is the thing about some of my favourite books, like The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, and Dracula by Bram Stoker—all three of these novels feature something quite heavily: descriptive detail. These are the types of novels I love to read. Rich and elucidative texts make my mouth water. Novels over 400 pages or more are not daunting to me—they are enticing.

Now, I realize some people like a quick read and do not need or want to learn the colour, texture or significance of something. That’s fine. Me? I have always been fascinated by words and sentences, and I love to delve further into a scene. I want to know more than just that a person puts on her shoes and leaves. I am the kind of reader naturally curious about the designer of those shoes and what colour they are. Does her destination or time frame influence how she exits the room/house/store etc. Would she be leaving in haste, her thick, auburn hair flowing wildly behind her as she departs? Or is she sauntering lazily out of the house because that is how she carries herself even when no one is looking? To me, these little details create a far more vivid scene and characterization, enriching my reading experience.

It can be a thin line between long-winded, run-on sentences and descriptive text. Any writer looking to produce their best work needs to be able to spot the difference when writing. If I see something in my own work that feels off, unnecessarily wordy or could impede the flow of my reader’s enjoyment or understanding, I rework the heck out of that sentence. A good editor, human and computer program, will also aid a writer in carefully selecting which sentences feel lush and illustrative and which feel clunky and overwritten.

Again, there are those firmly in the camp that simplicity is preferable to what I have heard described as “flowery language.” Some feel that adverbs are unnecessary and outdated, and adjectives are overused. And yes, I am aware of the argument that substituting elaborate words for simple ones is absurd because sometimes a person just “says it,” they do not “boldly elucidate it.” Well, why can’t it be either without judgment? When it comes to text, one person’s “dense” is another’s “lush.” No two readers see or appreciate a work the same way.

With Vindictive, I hope I have produced a descriptively rich text that evokes poignant imagery as one reads through the story. I am not against a well-placed adverb or a confident adjective; I am very open about this. I live for a sentence that tells a little story within the larger story. It is all about control and knowing when to reign it in to avoid excessive verbiage and potentially confusing phrasing. In the end, I write what I would read, what attracts me as a reader, and I hope it shows and resonates with people.

About the Book

Vindictive
by Ryan Lawrence

Published 27 September 2021
Tellwell Talent

Genre: Thriller
Page Count: 448
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

The best revenge is revenge. Getting it is all that matters.

Jules Cartell has it all: wealth; beauty; a handsome, loving husband; a partnership in her father’s law firm; and the top executive position at one of Canada’s leading corporations, Cartell Worldwide. Aside from her secret, problematic desire for the married owner of the internationally renowned Château Bergé, Jules believes she and her life are pretty perfect. But the discovery of an unforgivable crime perpetrated against her family by her husband, Phillip, years before the two met sets Jules down the path of revenge. There is no option for forgiveness. Phillip has to pay. An eye for an eye.

It is said that when seeking revenge, you should dig two graves. Someone from Jules’s past, someone aggrieved by her actions, seeks vengeance for themselves. This is an enemy without compassion, without morality, without mercy. An enemy who will accept no restitution short of Jules’s death.

In the city of Fairporte, ON, secrets, lies, and betrayal can be found everywhere. As adversaries close in, will Jules get revenge before her past catches up with her? Unexpected allies may be instrumental to her success. They may also be the key to her very survival.

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Excerpt

Unable to speak, paralyzed in her chair, Jules stared at the contents of the box with shock and horror. It was a clear message: a death threat! No, not a threat, she realized, but a dark promise made to her countless years ago by a demon in man’s form. The box’s grotesque theme was a Stygian portent.

The box contained a pair of boys’ ice skates drenched in a viscous liquid the colour of blood.

Something Jules had not noticed earlier about the package when she had excitedly opened it was that it was slightly cold to the touch. Upon closer analysis, further inside the box were shards of ice laid haphazardly underneath the scarlet ichor. The pieces

were broken in different ways to create various craggy shapes and sizes. As if someone broke through the surface of an ice-covered pond. I get it, you bastard!

Jules had just enough stamina and potency left inside of her before she had to look away to make one last, close inspection. She made out what appeared to be some writing heavily stitched into the worn leather of the skates. In a beautifully scripted style, the initials EF appeared before her eyes.

Ethan Falsworth.

Unable to look any longer, Jules shut her eyes tight. She stopped breathing, panic took over, and she began to pass out.

Instinctively, Jules brought her hands to her throat. No, be strong! Breathe! Her mouth opened, and she gasped her first breath in what seemed like hours but had only been seconds. Time seemed irrelevant. Nothing seemed real. Panic! She was lucid, but things were spinning fast. She was still having a hard time breathing. Her chest was tight, and she felt hot. Panic!

Jules willed her legs to move; she needed distance from the box. Several moments passed, but eventually, her limbs obeyed and pushed her, chair and all, with colossal force backward until she hit the wall. Although it was only a meter, Jules had her expanse. It was cold comfort, that small amount of distance, but it was enough to begin to clear her head.

Jules had not felt this kind of fear and anxiety since the night he had kidnapped her, the same night her dad died. Spinning her head around, she began searching. Was he here? In the building? Could he see her now? Was he close?

About the Author

Ryan Lawrence was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario. He is a 2000 graduate of The University of Guelph in English. Ryan has worn many hats professionally, including working over 12 years as a custom art framer. While writing has always been a part of his life, it was only after leaving this profession that Ryan seriously took his education and passion for writing by the horns and began the journey towards Vindictive, his first novel.

Since 2002, Ryan has lived in London, Ontario, with his husband, Todd, together since 1997, their cat Dora, and his massive comic book collection that once fell on Todd. He’s okay.

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Giveaway Alert!

Ryan Lawrence will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Mar 30	Gimme The Scoop Reviews	Apr 6	The Key Of Love
Apr 13	Fabulous and Brunette	Apr 20	Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Apr 27	Viviana MacKade	May 4	The Faerie Review
May 11	All the Ups and Downs	May 18	fundinmental
May 25	Long and Short Reviews	May 25	Natural Bri
Jun 1	Gina Rae Mitchell	Jun 8	Westveil Publishing

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