Book Review: The Apocalypse of Hagren Roose by J. W. Nicklaus

In this powerful, eloquently written novella, small-town big shot Hagren Roose takes a journey through the choices he's made and hopefully may have a chance to atone for.

The Apocalypse of Hagren Roose is a thought-provoking literary work. Hagren has distanced himself from his family by his actions. He hasn't spoken to his daughter Alina in four years. He has no idea what his wife needs. And now it's time for him to think about what's truly important to him.

There are so many interesting aspects to this book. The tense relationship between Hagren and his family. The unexplained rivalry between Alina's father and her girlfriend, Catherine. The mysterious nurses seen by Apollo Clayton, the nighttime janitor. Catherine's love of crossword puzzles. Nicklaus blended all of these to create a fascinating story that will leave a lasting impression. In some ways, I felt like I was traveling through Christmases past with Scrooge and his ghost, hoping for a transformation to arise.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

• File Size: 359 KB
• Print Length: 105 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008NWXQXK
• SRP: $2.99 

I received a free e-copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

This is the 58th book I've read for the following challenge:

It is the 35th book I've read for the following challenge:

The Humane Award - Paying it Forward

Imagine my surprise when my fellow author, client and cherished friend, Beverly Stowe McClure sent me an email awarding me The Humane Award. I wish to thank Bev for this honor and encourage you to check out her blog, The Story of A Writer. Bev writes for young adults and one of her books, Rebel in Blue Jeans, was featured by The Book Connection.

According to this award's description, it is to honor certain bloggers who I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a regular basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world. And I would like to do so now. There are many, many I could list. These are just a few that I'd like to give this award to:

* Malcolm Campbell, also known as, Sun Singer and his Sun Singer's Travels blog

* Barry Eva, also known as, Storyheart and his Across the Pond blog

* The blog of author J.W. Nicklaus

* Kim Chatel and her Chatel Village site, which includes several blogs on a variety of topics

* Mayra's Secret Bookcase by Mayra Calvani

* I'm Booking It by Laura De Leon

Once again, thanks to these and all my blogging friends. I certainly hope you'll visit their blogs and consider becoming followers.

What I Learned on My Virtual Book Tour by J.W. Nicklaus

I don't honestly recall when I first contacted Dorothy with questions regarding Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Frankly, that part is inconsequential to me because what I gained from her and my resulting tour has been far more important than such surface details.

One thing of importance I do recall prior to my involvement was a day in mid-February 2009; I'd received a package from my publisher. I'd waited anxiously for it for quite some time, and yet even as I held it I had a mild sense of trepidation. Gently, carefully, protectively I held her, hands encased in cotton gloves so as not to outwardly soil her skin. My eyes drank in every detail: her size, her gentle heft, her color. She is now and always will be my first. After indulging in a few profoundly quiet moments with her I knew I needed to begin planning for her future.

I'd done some research into virtual book tours and they seemed perfectly suited to a society which increasingly gets its information from online sources—myself being one of them. Why not avail myself of the innumerable, faceless users who blog, or simply read and follow blogs? The decision was a no-brainer for me. I honestly believe that I was somehow guided to Dorothy and her crew. There are other VBT entities, assuredly, but PUYBP—as I'd told Dorothy early on—provided me with something I hadn't expected, but hoped for: The Human Touch.

I learned there are people whom you may never meet that still care not just about your product or their service, but about you. These same people will go to great lengths to help you out or make things right if events go astray.

I learned there are people in the Great Cloud who, while faceless, embody all things human. They laugh, they love, they get frustrated, they rant, they suffer heartbreak and celebrate love. Perception by many blog/internet initiates seems to border on sterility and cold objectivity. In my experience the complete opposite is true. You, sitting there reading this, perhaps sipping your tea, coffee, or soda, are equally flesh-and-blood as I. The only thing sterile between us is this text, and even the words themselves carry power in their static state.

I learned that I'm never too old to make friends.

I learned that in doing a VBT the work doesn't stop when you turn in all your interviews and such . . . the fun really begins when you get to interact with the hosts and blog readers. They're the lifeblood of your tour. Go back to your host blogs, repeatedly. Do your best to interact with those folks, even offline if you can. Walk on the beach instead of using the boardwalk, know what I mean?

I learned that the coordinator's job is far more involved than I ever imagined. These people are on your side, playing to win, but they have teams in other leagues too, not just yours. They're frantic behind the scenes. But month after month they pull off small miracles with the success of each tour.

Speaking of success, I learned that it's a two-way street. I never had the expectation that one blog tour would be my ticket to fame and fortune. NEVER. It's a vehicle for getting name recognition, for getting your name to come up big and bold in the big search engines. They can do everything possible on their end to fulfill all the stops and make sure hosts are prompt, but their promotional efforts only extend just so far. You have to be an equal partner in the success of your tour. Blog about it, send e-mails about it, Twitter about it. Do everything in your power to drive people to each of your stops if you can. Believe me, if you do your part as a writer in keeping the stops interesting there will be those who follow you the whole way. And that's a lot of following, folks! If you build it, they will come.

As an author there are times I may feel like I'm an island unto myself, but I'm not blind enough to accept that as truth. On my tour I had support, guidance, and in the end—I believe—success. It wasn't my doing entirely, rather it was very much a team effort. My coordinator was the best cheerleader and coach I could have wished for. My tour is long over, but the efforts of everyone remain for anyone to search and read online. Ultimately that's the goal.

Friendships and solid business relationships are possible from keyboard-to-keyboard. I learned that both extend far beyond the boundaries of a page . . . and both are worth far more than the initial cost.

Regards,
J.W. Nicklaus
Author - The Light, The Dark, and Ember Between


J.W. Nicklaus maintains his own personal space between the soul and soft machine in the arid southwest amongst the snowbirds and the Arizona Diamondbacks. After graduating with an Associate of Arts in Journalism and Photography and a B.S. in Telecommunications he’s spent the better part of twenty years experiencing life and working in trades as varied as a small advertising firm to a litigation service bureau. Born and raised in Arizona, he has been fortunate to have seen and experienced parts of this wonderful country, West coast to East.

He maintains a small website at www.avomnia.com and a blog found at avomnia.wordpress.com.

J.W. Nicklaus on The Light, The Dark, and Ember Between

J.W. Nicklaus is the author of the short story collection, The Light, The Dark, & Ember Between. This book has a stunning cover, and you have to check out the superb video trailer produced to promote this book, which you'll find at the end of this post.

J.W. is our guest blogger today, and he is going to share all about the challenges of putting together a short story collection and getting it published, along with sharing which story out of the collection is his favorite.

About the book:

A collection of short stories, each a splinter's reflection of the human condition, firmly centered upon our oft tenuous, sometimes tensile bond with Hope, and careening flirtation with Love.

Fifteen stories: From the wispy fog of a love lost at sea, to an orphaned child who delivers a present of her own during a war-torn Christmas. These stories are gentle reminders to each of us of what it is to be human, and certainly of our affinity for the slightest glint of Hope.

About the author:

J.W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer.

An Arizona native, he’s been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. College brought an AA in Journalism with a minor in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. His work experience has run the gamut from Creative Director for a small advertising firm in Tucson to a litigation support bureau in Phoenix (and assuredly some awkward stuff in the mix).

Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless cli-mate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm.

He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible.

Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She.

For more about J.W. visit www.avomnia.com.

J.W.'s turn:

Alice sat with her cube-mate Chris in the company cafeteria, morning coffee in hand. She stared over his shoulder at the steam rising from the breakfast entrees on the food line. For his part, Chris sat fixated, as he usually did, watching female patrons come and go, so he took no notice whatsoever of her unusual disengagement. She snapped out of her reverie when he turned slightly to gawk at a skirted Amazon who strode past.

“Doesn’t it ever get old?” she asked.

“What?” he replied without turning to face her.

“Every morning, you do the same thing . . .”

Chris causally turned towards her. “What, this?” he gestured at the cafeteria proper.

Alice rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean.” She nudged her glasses up a bit for a nuanced dramatic punch.

“Oh, please. We’re hard wired for it. I can’t help it. Man Law says I must look,” he grinned, “it’s out of my hands. Really.” For the first time he took notice of her removed demeanor. “What’s up with you this morning, I mean normally you couldn’t care less.”

Alice cocked her head slightly, as if trying to let some thought gently slide to fill the lighter part of her brain. She pointed to the food line where the kitchen staff were doling out eggs and cinnamon buns. “Why do you suppose they put the hot items first, then the breads and rolls, and the juice and stuff last?” she asked.

Chris craned his head around to look, as if he really needed to. He and Alice had sat at the same table, almost every morning, for the last two years. “You’d think they’d be reversed, right? The hot stuff sits and cools while they go through the rest of the line . . .”

“Exactly!” she declared, animatedly cutting him off. “There should be some logic to it, don’t you think?” Chris leaned back in his chair and nodded.

“And what about songs,” she continued, “what about the order of songs on an album or in a mix you put together?”
Chris sat up immediately. “Music is a very emotional thing for people. Not so much logic to the order as feeling—am I right?” Chris’ facial expression politely begged for confirmation of his theory.

Alice raised her cup and took a long sip, allowing the moment to sink in for both of them.

I was asked to say a bit about the challenges of putting a short story collection together, and as I mulled it over it occurred to me that one of the most difficult things to do is not simply getting the words ‘down’, but getting the right words in the right order—much like the order of foods in a cafeteria. Even within that construct there is a sliding scale of subjectivity, because what I might feel is proper may not feel right to someone else. But if done with care the wrinkles are largely ironed out and the reader avoids those potentially nasty mental stumbles. If the reader stumbles once then the author may be forgiven, but too many times and the reader is lost for good. That’s no small feat.

The next idea that came to me was choosing the order of the stories. A short story, by its very nature, has quick impact and needs to evoke some reaction from the reader in a very small amount of space. A really good short story has the same effect as finishing a good book—you’re mildly saddened to reach the end. A little like leaving an old friend. Now here’s the tricky part: Stringing the stories together in some appropriate order so the emotional cycle for the reader is gentle and not jarring. Some of us will read short stories with great ardor, and others will read one and savor it for a bit, perhaps returning minutes or hours later to taste the next one. It’s always a much more pleasant experience if the reader gets smoothly transitioned from one story to the next, and like songs on an album, the order of them can make a difference.

I’ve tried to accomplish that with my stories in The Light, The Dark, and Ember Between. I think Emissary is the right way to start the book, and the emotions shift a little one way or the other from story to story until the last fictional tale, Winter Rose. It ends on a warm, caring note. I have a hard time choosing a favorite story because they all mean something different to me; each of them is woven from a slightly different inspirational thread. Some are very much from and for the heart, while others were just fun to write.

If I absolutely had to pick a favorite then I suppose I’d lean towards Requiem For Linny. It’s the second of fifteen stories, but it was a challenge to inhabit the world of Buck, its main character. He’s a man profoundly wounded by the passing of his beloved wife, and as such it was very interesting to write from the perspective of someone who has loved, and lost, that much. Perhaps it’s the most personal of the stories, from any kind of autobiographical standpoint. For me Requiem highlights all that it means to be human . . .and that in itself is a challenge we all face.