PREYING MANTIS is a story of passionate love on one side and deception/betrayal on the other side. The book employs that timeless and universal theme of love and betrayal as a framework for exploring some cultural values that encumber US residents of recent African extraction as they struggle to meld into the great American Dream.
Preying Mantis: BOOK AWARDS WON 2015-16
PREYING MANTIS has won the following book awards for 2015 and 2016.
- 2015 New Apple Book Award: ROMANCE CATEGORY (Official Selection & Winner) http://newappleliterary.com/2015ebookCat17.html
- 2015 Great Midwest Book Festival: FICTION CATEGORY (Honorable Mention) http://www.greatmidwestbookfestival.com/
- 2015 US Book News: AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (Listed)
http://www.usabooknews.com/fictionbooks/africanamerican.html - 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival: ROMANCE — Honorable Mention– http://www.losangelesbookfestival.com/
- 2016 Pacific Rim Book Festival: GENERAL FICTION — Honorable Mention —http://www.pacificrimbookfestival.com
- 2016 Paris Book Festival: GENERAL FICTION — Honorable Mention –http://www.parisbookfestival.com/winners2016.html
- 2016 San Francisco Book Festival: GENERAL FICTION — Honorable Mention — http://www.sanfranciscobookfestival.com/winners_2016.htm
- 2016 New York Book Festival: GENERAL FICTION — Honorable Mention — http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/
Romance Novel “Preying Mantis: The Story Of Tarissa” Receives Official Selection Honors In The New Apple Indie E-Book Awards
“Preying Mantis: The Story of Tarissa” by Lyn Thomas-Ogbuji receives Official Selection Honors in the Romance category of the 2015 New Apple Summer eBook Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing.
Book Synopsis
Len, a NASA scientist met Trish at a party and fell in love with her. Unlike Len’s honorable and efficient wife Magda, Trish was articulate and feisty. Len and Trish embark on a torrid love affair that takes them to the stratosphere, with adventures in the U.S.A. and Europe punctuated by epochal events such as “9/11” and Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster, which they observed together from vantage perspectives provided by his work schedule. Len kept up hopes and plans to get his family well situated, as dictated by his traditional African background, before he would follow his heart and cleave to Trish. But by the time he finally left his 44-year-old marriage, Trish had quietly defected to someone else.
Len pulled all stops to woo her back, but she spurned all his efforts. When he persisted, she turned truculent adversary and sued him for stalking. A perplexed Len now examined Trish’s behavior and was horrified to find that the real Trish Adoja was a consummate con artist: her years of pretended affection was a camouflage for serial predation on a specific, predictable type of man.
About the Author
Lyn Thomas is an engineer by training who has worked as a scientist and academic. Now retired from academia, Thomas maintains cutthebabble.com, where he discusses the nuances of written communication in US English. Thomas’s nonscientific publications, in addition to Rogue Lovers: The Story of Tarissa, include Seeing the World in Black & White and A Potemkin Paradise.
About the New Apple Book Awards
The New Apple Summer eBook Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing was established to honor the creative achievements of the unsung books fighting for their place within the digital publishing world. Any English language book published within the last three years, currently available for sale by an independent author or small press that met the Awards’ guidelines was eligible for entry. One book was chosen in each category as the Medalist Winner receiving the highest honors. In addition, the judges were permitted to choose up to three Official Selections for category distinction.
Contact Information
Preying Mantis: The Story of Tarissa is available in paperback and eBook and can be purchased at Amazon. To find out more about the New Apple Book Awards, visit http://NewAppleBookAwards.com
PREYING MANTIS: THE STORY OF TARISSA
Author: Lyn Thomas-Ogbuji
Publishing House: CreateSpace
ASIN: B012B1MWNS
ISBN: 978-0-692-46760-2
Amazon: http://getBook.at/Mantis
Author website: http://www.cutthebabble.com
Lyn Thomas-Ogbuji is available for public appearances, signings, interviews and blog tours. Contact the author at http://www.cutthebabble.com
New Apple Contact Information
New Apple Literary Services
BELOW ARE MORE REVIEWERS’ COMMENTS ON PREYING MANTIS.
Review Comments
BellaReadz‘s review
Jul 26, 15
Okay, I really loved this book, “Preying Mantis” even more than I expected to! I thought it was so, so excellently written (a few minor editing things but nothing too major) by far one of the more ‘beautiful’ narratives I’ve come across in a while. Word choice in Literary fiction is everything and here it is done quite well. After an admittedly slow start for me, I soon became invested and wondered how it would all play out… as I was continually trying to figure out what was really going on with the characters… love when a book does that to me! I was genuinely surprised at a few things that happened, and thought the continued, building tension and character development was great. Would love to read more from Lyn Thomas in the future, and definitely recommend reading for fans of literary fiction/suspense/drama/romance.
Elizabeth Brown‘s review
Jul 27, 15
this book by Lyn Thomas was terrific! Once I started reading I didn’t want to stop until I’d finished the whole thing. It pulls you in from the beginning, and I really enjoyed the author’s “voice” and style of writing. The complex, interweaving plotlines were well-developed and not predictable, and I liked the dialogue between the characters that moved the plot forward at an addicting speed. The characters were all interesting and well-written, and although there were some grammatical and punctuation errors, it wasn’t anything that really bothered me. I’d love to read more from Lyn Thomas in the future! Recommend.
Jenna‘s review
Jul 23, 15
wow, “Preying Mantis” (perfect title) By Lyn Thomas was awesome! I haven’t read anything like that in a long time, if ever. Totally crazy twists and characters that keep you fully invested the whole way through. And the Writing! Lyn Thomas is a talented writer for sure and the use of the 3rd person omniscient here was great because we were able to see a wide perspective and get in the characters heads. And For once it seemed like the characters were anything but the stock, ordinary typical hero/protag guys (our lead is an older man in his mid-60’s), and I don’t want to focus too much on it, but I thought the Nigerian aspect was pretty cool too. All came together to create a fresh-feeling novel that was out of the ordinary and kept me hooked throughout. This was a standalone book(not a part of any series, it appears), but I hope the author Lyn Thomas writes more like this in the future. I’d be reading it!
Essie Harmon‘s review
Jul 23, 15
4.5 stars
This was the first book I’ve read by this author Lyn Thomas, but I certainly hope it’s not the last! She has a gift for writing descriptive and life-like scenes that make us feel like we are really there inside the story, as opposed to it all just being “told” to us, as so many rookie authors make the mistake of doing. I like that this book didn’t feel stale or derivative, but instead like a new niche of literary drama that serves well to help diversify a somewhat cookie-cutter genre (in my opinion). It was very well-edited (I notice these things!) And I personally would have preferred more dialogue spaced throughout the narrative as it got quite dense at times. But I loved how it all wrapped up and overall the entire novel was one that I thought was well-crafted and delivered an emotional win.
This was the first book I’ve read by this author Lyn Thomas, but I certainly hope it’s not the last! She has a gift for writing descriptive and life-like scenes that make us feel like we are really there inside the story, as opposed to it all just being “told” to us, as so many rookie authors make the mistake of doing. I like that this book didn’t feel stale or derivative, but instead like a new niche of literary drama that serves well to help diversify a somewhat cookie-cutter genre (in my opinion). It was very well-edited (I notice these things!) And I personally would have preferred more dialogue spaced throughout the narrative as it got quite dense at times. But I loved how it all wrapped up and overall the entire novel was one that I thought was well-crafted and delivered an emotional win.
Laura‘s review
Jul 23, 15
From the opening pages of “Preying Mantis” by Lyn Thomas I knew it would be different from the books I’ve been reading lately and I was right! Ms. Thomas writes so beautifully… almost lyrical, poetic prose that sucks us right in. She sets of the scene and characterizations in a skillful way that not only engages the senses but creates great visualizations and elicits emotional investments. I truly cared about the characters’ fates, and was shocked at certain things (no spoilers). Len is great… love the cultural influence and the fact that the MC is older. An interesting and diverse cast of characters, along with several intriguing plotlines interwoven against unique setting makes this a memorable read for me. Highly recommend for fans of compelling literary fiction.
Claire‘s review
Jul 25, 15
4.5 stars
“Preying Mantis” by Lyn Thomas is one of the most original and well-crafted romance/suspense novels I’ve read in a long time! I was completely drawn in from the get-go, and loved the way Lyn Thomas writes with enough vivid descriptions and details to fully develop the scenes and the storyline, but not so much where it slows down the pace at all. Interesting, fully-fleshed out characters and unpredictable twists… enjoyed being on the journey with Lennox and was happy with how it all wrapped up.
“Preying Mantis” by Lyn Thomas is one of the most original and well-crafted romance/suspense novels I’ve read in a long time! I was completely drawn in from the get-go, and loved the way Lyn Thomas writes with enough vivid descriptions and details to fully develop the scenes and the storyline, but not so much where it slows down the pace at all. Interesting, fully-fleshed out characters and unpredictable twists… enjoyed being on the journey with Lennox and was happy with how it all wrapped up.