Tuesday, November 05, 2013

CHARACTER AND PLOT – A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: THE WINDGATE

CHARACTER AND PLOT – A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: THE WINDGATE

CHARACTERS:

ZIV: Ziv is the self-conscious, orphaned, lonely young man looking for acceptance in a world he feels rejected by. He dedicates himself to finding out what happens to his long lost love Stephanie, when she comes up missing after they meet following a three year separation. He is recruited by the secret society The School of Ministry and they offer to help him in his journey if he joins then in their mission to hunt down evil and protect the weak. Ziv reluctantly joins and finds himself fighting to accept a new path of destiny while wrestling with emerging feelings for Miss Evans, the personal assistant to the enigmatic Mr. C. Along the way, Ziv finds answers to the many dreams and visions he has had over the years and realizes that he indeed has the power to see beasts from “the other side” – Demons!

STEPHANIE: Best friend and first in line love interest of Ziv. After three years of being separated, Stephanie and Ziv meet up again, where she reveals a secret about the life she’s lived since they went their own way. But when she mysteriously disappears the following day, Ziv dedicates himself with the task of finding her.

JAYTHAN: A recruit of the School of Ministry that comes on board just a week prior to Ziv’s arrival. Jaythan is an ex-monk that uses the power of sound mind and focus to overcome obstacles. He too has special gifts and talents that are slowly being honed by the School.

FRANCIS: Recruited along with Jaythan, Francis is the cocky, brash member of the trio and what he lacks in etiquette, he more than makes up in skilled hand to hand combat. Francis is also Ziv’s one competition for the attention of the lovely Miss Evans.

MISS EVANS: An interesting distraction for Francis and Ziv, Miss Evans is the guide for the three young men on the majority of their missions. She struggles with the decision of choosing between the perfect nice guy and the dangerous bad-boy.

MAXWELL: The big-brother type warrior that Ziv most wants to impress. He is the skilled trainer whose job it is to get the boys in shape both physically and mentally. Maxwell also puts the boys through their paces in the Quad – the treacherous four-walled room that opens each room, revealing a new challenge that each individual must overcome to advance to the next.

MR. C.: This enigmatic mentor of the trio. Mr. C. is the leader of the North American Sector of the School of Ministry. Mr. C. teaches and encourages them along the way, offering words of wisdom and testimony.

PLOT:

There was a lot of effort put into world building in SOM, simply because I wanted readers to come to a place they had never been before. Obviously, that was a very bold challenge because there have been so many great fictional stories told that created places of wonderment and fantasy. From a Young Adult perspective, the challenge was trying to accomplish this, without sacrificing characterization, which is truly the attraction of YA. The setting in SOM is unique because it takes you directly from the real world and places you to a place behind the scenery of the natural world and transfixes you into the spiritual realm. And the settings change throughout. There’s The School itself; underground base of operations in the side of a mountain in Georgia. The island where the Recruits perform a few training tasks, the ferry boat and the train ride; all of which offer some challenges of their own.  The School also houses the Quad: the four walled chamber that offers four challenges that push the limits of the mind, body and soul.

Now, since the story is mainly told from Ziv’s first person perspective, it was imperative to pull the reader in through his descriptors. The lush elegance of Mr. C’s office, the quaintness of ZIv’s room, the cold, damp caves he explores and the glum mood of the corn maze. All of these had to jump off the page. There was deliberateness in the writing to drive the reader from page to page, with periodic stops in ZIv’s mind of his past failures and losses along the way to keep him grounded in the mind of the reader.

The fight and training sequences were my absolute favorites. Pacing, to me, is the key to keeping the reader engaged. I love pushing the limitation of having Ziv spoon-feed only what is necessary, until the climatic ending of each one. His trials in the Quad escalated with each Phase and there will certainly more insanity to come.

But we can’t forget about the double love triangle between Ziv, Evan, Francis and Stephanie. The theme of the book is the power of ‘Choice’ and although ZIv must make the choice to join the SOM or not. He also realizes that choosing love is just as important, if not more mind numbing. Deciding between his long time secret crush and the new love interest sends him spiraling. Yet, he knows that Francis is somehow planted in the middle and he now has to choose to ignore his feelings or follow through. Now we have to vote for which team we like: Team Ziv or Francis, and the ladies of their life. 




The School of Ministry
The Windgate
Book 1
Braxton A Cosby

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Keith Publications

ISBN: 978-1-62882-002-7

Number of pages: 367
Word Count: 114K


Book Description:

TO CHOOSE, IS FATE!

A young man named Ziv struggles to find his place in life after both of his parents are murdered. Orphaned and alone by the age of six, he bounces in and out of foster homes hopeless and afraid, wondering if he will ever find a path to happiness. He resolves to accept a life of depravity, until one day he discovers he possesses the gift of sight: to see creatures from the afterlife, but not angels...demons!

Ziv is recruited by The School of Ministry, a secret society that promises to help him find his best friend Stephanie, who has gone missing. But there is one catch: he must agree to join them in their quest to eradicate evil and protect the weak. Ziv learns that he is a "Conduit," which allows him to cross over into the spirit world and transcend time itself.

When he is partnered with two other young men who have similar gifts, the unlikely trio is trained in the mastery of weapons and the art of Shouting, during treacherous challenges of the tortuous Quad in preparation for their mission: to secure the Windgate. Ziv becomes entrenched in a quest of identity, love, and will, until he comes face to face with pure evil itself--Akabod, the spiritual prodigal son to the School of Ministry and a master of talents.



About the Author:

A graduate of the University of Miami, Cosby earned his bachelors, masters and doctorate in physical therapy. He also is certified by the American Physical Therapists and is a Certified Sports Nutritionist.

And now he’s getting you in shape. “I feel that God has given me a calling to help people,” said Cosby. It was through his own injury that taught Cosby about “getting people back to their prior level of function.” He said he want to motivate “people to stay on the course” so they can meet their own individual goals.

Cosby is a personal trainer, nutritionist and physical therapist and is using his talents and knowledge to help bring attention to the health issues and disparities such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

He was the featured keynote speaker at the 2012 Atlanta CARES STEMFest for Children and Young Adults event. He also was a presenter for Mercer College School of Medicine and the  Louisiana Medical Society’s Focus on  Exercise  and  Fitness. He has partnered with Emory University as a clinical instructor and worked with a major rehabilitation company in geriatrics.

The host of a weekly radio show – Ask the Fat Doctors, Cosby also is an award-winning author and has been seen on CBS, Fox and Atlanta Live. He’s teamed up with retired offensive lineman and NFL analyst Jamie Dukes to create a workout video for men called Chachersize (C_4).

Ask the Fat Doctors is where Cosby, Dukes and radio personality Tee Foxx where they cover a variety of topics from current events to obesity to disease prevention. Cosby also shares tips on how to lose pounds.

Cosby’s goal is to share information on how to create healthy habits and how they can counteract serious health ailments. His articles can be found in “OMTimes Magazine” and “Skinny Limits”. Cosby also posted regular workout tips on his YouTube page.

As the nephew of actor and comedian Bill Cosby, Dr. Braxton A. Cosby has charted his own path, but embodies his uncle’s creativity and vision for a healthier America. “Of course” he was an influence, the younger Cosby said. “He taught me how to develop a passion for what you do.”

And Dr. Braxton A. Cosby has a passion for fitness

@Cosbykid_fatdoc




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