Colors of Deception Available Now!

I actually feel a little guilty with my announcement from yesterday in light of recent Consortium Books events.  That’s because it’s not my time to shine yet–it’s Courtney’s! But I wrote yesterday’s post a few days early, and then I found out on Wednesday that Courtney Cantrell‘s novel Colors of Deception was released on Kindle and other e-readers this week for only 99 cents. I knew immediately that I needed to focus all my energy on telling you about how much you need to read her book! So I encourage all of you to download a copy. I mean, come on, guys, it’s only 99 cents. And it’s totally worth more than that!

Colors of Deception is a Christian fantasy/paranormal story set at Oklahoma Christian Univeristy. Although it bears a few resemblances to the school I attended, it also has quite a few differences–the biggest being that there is soemthing paranormal and creepy going on. The main character is Holly Idaho.  She’s beginning to doubt her faith in God, and recent events haven’t been helping matters any.   Her girl friends are keeping secrets from her, her best friend is acting weird, and her childhood neighbor doesn’t like her quest for spiritual understanding.

The best part about Courtney’s book is that each character has a clear voice. Holly is the main character, and how she perceives everyone shows in the way the story is told, but even still everybody speaks differently and reacts differently to each situation. I get the feeling that Courtney did a lot of delving into her character’s minds and thought about their motivations and backstories for a long time. Holly is very snarky and quirky, but I think I like Peter the best. He is so easily flustered and so dead-set earnest that he’s endearing. He’d be a great best friend for any girl.

The world Courtney has built for these characters is also very well thought out and believable.  It’s not really like anything I’ve read before (although there is a scene near the end that kind of reminds me of The Labyrinth movie, but that’s neither here nor there).  She makes it sound like the demons that everybody else talks about are fake and she’s giving us a peek into what they are truly like.  It feels so real it’s scary! There’s a line on the back of the book that I feel is another reason I like the story so much; it says, “Evil feels a lot less evil…. Holly faces a decision between a heaven she fears and a hell she never imagined possible.” Heaven is supposed to be the epitome of the most wonderful place to strive for, but for many teenagers and young adults, it doesn’t always seem that simple. Sometimes evil feels like the right thing to do. Not just because sin looks pretty and gives us instant gratification and they don’t know better, but because it’s really hard to tell the difference sometimes. Satan tricks us into thinking like that.  And this novel brings that idea so much to life. It makes you wonder, “Is Evil really that evil??”

*shiver* Anyway, it’s a really good story that you should read. I recommend to all, especially those who have been looking for a good Christian novel lately. Or if you like might-be-good-might-be-evil vampires (demons, in this case). And if you want to wait for a physical copy, the paperback release is April 19, 2011.

P.S. I edited this book. But that’s not important. 🙂