Author Spotlight on Joanne Pence Featuring Ancient Illusions

Ancient Illusions (An Ancient Secrets Novel)

Author: Joanne Pence

Print Length: 365 pages

Publisher: Quail Hill Publishing (November 6, 2018)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B07HHK2FBM

Synopsis

A long-lost diary, a rare book of ghost stories, and unrelenting nightmares combine to send archeologist Michael Rempart on a forbidden journey into the occult and his own past. When Michael returns to his family home after more than a decade-long absence, he is rocked by the emotion and intensity of the memories it awakens. His father is reclusive, secretive, and obsessed with alchemy and its secrets— secrets that Michael possesses. He believes the way to end this sudden onslaught of nightmares is to confront his disturbing past.

But he soon learns he isn’t the only one under attack. Others in his life are also being tormented by demonic nightmares that turn into a deadly reality. Forces from this world and other realms promise madness and death unless they obtain the powerful, ancient secrets in Michael’s possession. Their violence creates an urgency Michael cannot ignore. The key to defeating them seems to lie in a land of dreams inhabited by ghosts … and demons. From the windswept shores of Cape Cod to a mystical land where samurai and daimyo once walked, Michael must find a way to stop not only the demons, but his own father. Yet, doing so, he fears may unleash an ancient evil upon the world that he will be powerless to contain.

My Thoughts

The Ancient Illusions tale begins with a passage about nightmares and Michael Rempart looking out over the Atlantic where the dark sky indicates a storm is rolling in. 

Soon after, Michael returns home and finds records of past familial events chronicled in a dairy located in the same massive, unsettling house that has a library which holds ancient alchemy books with strange titles. Created in an old script, with faded ink, is a page that touts everlasting youth.

Michael believes that ghosts or something worse walks the halls of the house and if I’m completely honest, I will tell you this eerie atmosphere grabbed my attention. 

Throughout the book, we learn each character has their own secrets and a shared burden of lives observed and rendered in a realm where consciousness determines what plane of existence one is aware of.

Combining a sprawling cast of engaging characters, with the ensuing love, lust, deception, ghosts, premonitions, murder, demon possession, and a quest for an elixir makes this a page-turning tale.

In closing, I devoured this archaeological thriller and appreciate that it molds medieval folklore, psychological phenomenon, and a magical stone while mentioning the work of well-known authors, explorers, and a likable horror legend who wore a bulky costume and platform boots.

The advanced copy of Ancient Illusions was provided by the generosity of the author for an honest review.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

I'm thrilled Joanne Pence agreed to an interview with me.

Who is Joanne Pence?

Joanne Pence is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author of the Angie Amalfi and Rebecca Mayfield mysteries as well as historical fiction, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, a fantasy, and a supernatural suspense. 

Her novels present a variety of times, places, and reading experiences from mysterious to thrilling, emotional to lightly humorous, as well as powerful tales of times long past.

Joanne was born and raised in San Francisco and now makes her home in the foothills just north of Boise, Idaho. She had been president of the Boise chapter of Sisters in Crime, board member of the Popular Fiction Association of Idaho, founding member and current board member of the Idaho Writers Guild, and has held offices in the California Writers Club. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a master's degree in journalism, Joanne has written for magazines, worked for the federal government, and taught school in Japan.

Her books have won or been nominated for a number of high honors, including the Willa Cather Literary Award for Historical Fiction; North American Book Award for Mystery; Idaho Top Fiction Award; The Golden Quill, RWA's Rita and Golden Heart Awards, Daphne du Maurier Award, Independent Bookseller's Golden Scroll, and Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and Best Amateur Sleuth Award.

Joanne, how did you get the idea to write the Ancient Secrets series?

I’ve written mysteries for many years, but I’ve always loved dark stories with supernatural and occult elements, so I decided to try writing such a book (and discovered that writing such stories differ greatly from writing mysteries). As a new resident of Idaho, I wanted to include something about the state and its history. The state is beautiful, but with large roadless areas that are extremely rugged. The explorers Lewis and Clark are well known throughout the Pacific Northwest, and many parts of Idaho mark their trail. I thought … what if there was a “secret expedition” following Lewis and Clark, and they vanished in the middle of Idaho, along the treacherous Salmon River which is known as “the River of No Return.” And, what if a group of university students, today, go to the same area and they vanish? What’s happening in the middle of Idaho?

Then, one day, I was going through a local used bookstore and I came across a strange book that reprinted the words of Nicholas Flamel, a French alchemist (yes, he was mentioned in the Harry Potter stories), who claimed to find a book called The Book of Abraham the Jew that told him how to create gold. That find began my interest in alchemy.

I put the two together, and the result is Ancient Echoes, which begins in Mongolia and Israel, and then moves to Idaho.

After writing that book, I decided to continue with my main character, Michael Rempart, an archeologist. I’ve always been fascinated by tales of the “Old Silk Road” that crossed most of Asia into China. Marco Polo used it. Added to that, I learned of an ancient Chinese story about a goddess who was insulted by an emperor who, when he saw a beautiful statue of her, was more than a little risqué in his comments. She turned into a demon in the guise of a woman to “get even.” It’s a fascinating story. Throw in alchemy, and the result is Ancient Shadows. I now had a series.

Book 3 has Michael Rempart facing a different sort of demon in his family’s history, plus a journey to Japan spurred on by the ghost stories of a century-old writer named Lafcadio Hearn. In Ancient Illusions, the reader learns a lot more about Michael, his family, and why he is the way he is.

What part of a story is the hardest for you to write?

The most difficult parts are the “violence” scenes. Demons are violent creatures with no pity and no morals. Their actions must show just how ruthless they are. In the mysteries I write, the “detective” usually finds the body after death, and figures out what happened. In horror, the writer needs to show what’s happening—or make sure the reader has a good idea of the ugliness that “might” happen if our hero could not break free and/or rescue any victims.

How do you know when a story is complete?

They’re never complete to me. I always find something more I wish I’d said or a theme I wish I’d developed further. But there comes a time when yet another read-through won’t be productive. I write many drafts before I finish a book. I guess you can think of them as layers. The first layer is getting down the plot—what happens, where, when, and does it make sense? Subsequent layers go into characterization and scene development. The Ancient Secrets books often require a good ten or more drafts to do this “layering” before I feel they are ready to be published.

If you had to describe your writing style, what words would you use?

I’ve been told my stories are easy to read, that they’re told as if I’m talking to a person and that they’re easy to visualize the people and events going on. On the other hand, the Ancient Secrets books aren’t for people who don’t appreciate multiple characters, multiple points of view, and complex storylines. They’re also detailed books, much more so than any others I’ve written. The research involved in all of them takes at least a year before I’m ready to write the stories. Fortunately, I love doing that research. I work on other novels while researching.

Who's your favorite author?

I have so many, it usually depends on who I’ve read last! I love Preston and Child’s books when they go into past histories and supernatural events. And I adore the Maurizio de Giovanni’s “Commissario Ricciardi” mysteries since they have a supernatural edge that’s fascinating (and they’re beautifully written).

As an experienced author, what advice would you give to someone who is a prospective novelist?  

I’ve taught a lot of classes for writers and I find two main problems. One, are the many people who want to “have written” but they don’t really want to write. They have many reasons for never finishing a book, basically, for not writing. Yet they attend classes and talk about the novel that they’re writing, or should be writing, if only they had the time. If you want to become a novelist, you need to enjoy the writing process (and make time to write) because it’s what you’ll spend 95% of your time doing.

The other problem is the many people who finish one novel, and then are disappointed and often completely discouraged when it doesn’t sell, or doesn’t get good reviews, or (in the old days) when they are unable to find an agent or an editor. Most arts and crafts (and writing is a craft) require years and years of apprenticeships and practice before someone is good enough to sell well and be recognized. Like any craft, repetition—writing the next book, and the next, and the next—will result in the writer becoming better and better until finally, people will see that a book is worthy of their time to read and enjoy. But it usually takes years of practice and writing to reach that point.

So my advice is, keep writing, talk to other writers who’ve “been there” (and all novelists begin as “prospective”), and don’t give up.

Is there anything you'd like to tell readers?

I write a variety of books in different genres because I believe that changing what I’m writing helps my stories stay fresh when I go back to “old favorite” series. I like to say my stories “present a variety of times, places, and reading experiences from mysterious to thrilling, emotional to lightly humorous, as well as powerful tales of times long past.” I’ve won a number of awards and have been on many bestseller lists, and I do hope you’ll take a chance on my stories. I love to hear from readers, and you can find me at joanne@joannepence.com. Thank you for reading all the way to the end!