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WORK TITLE: Purgatory Road
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.samuelparkerbooks.com/
CITY:
STATE: MI
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2016040676
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016040676
HEADING: Parker, Samuel, 1974-
000 00438cz a2200133n 450
001 10217826
005 20160727105801.0
008 160727n| azannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 2016040676
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC
053 _0 |a PS3616.A7464
100 1_ |a Parker, Samuel, |d 1974-
670 __ |a Purgatory road, 2017: |b CIP t.p. (Samuel Parker)
670 __ |a 2016-07-27 e-mail fr. L. Peterson, Revell: |b (Samuel Parker’s birth date is 1974; he is American)
PERSONAL
Born 1974, in MI; married; children: twin sons.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Has also been a member of metal bands.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Samuel Parker was born in Michigan, where he lives with his wife and their twin sons. He was a member of several metal bands before becoming a novelist, and he is the author of Purgatory Road and Coldwater. Notably, Parker is a pseudonymous author, and not much else is known about him outside of these few tidbits. Yet, Parker has given a few interviews about his work, and he told online West Michigan Christian News reporter Ann Byle: “If I had to sit down every day and write 3,000 words, I couldn’t do it . . . I don’t write every day, and I write in my head so when it gets on paper, it’s in the shape I like. I revise and read it aloud.”
Published in 2016, Purgatory Road begins when a runaway teen named Molly travels to Nevada. The action then shifts focus to a married couple named Jack and Laura. The couple heads from their home in Chicago to a discount vacation in Las Vegas. Tired of the Las Vegas strip, Jack and Laura decide to head out to the desert. Once there, their car breaks down, and both of their cell phones are dead. Jack and Laura had only planned to set out for the day, which means they have very little food or water, and as time ticks down, the couple prepares to die. Just when it seems that the couple is doomed, a strange desert recluse named Boots comes to their aid. Boots, however, appears to have supernatural powers, and he may be more dangerous than the desert itself. The Molly re-enters the story. It turns out that she was kidnapped by a serial killer, and Boots was also her savior. What happens next mixes horror, fantasy, and suspense. As the author noted in an online Family Fiction interview, “the fantastical elements are pure imagination. I did have a case of heat exhaustion as a kid once and the vivid memory of that experience fed into some of the description of what I would imagine the characters would feel like out in the desert.”
Reviews of Purgatory Road were largely mixed, and where some critics praised the writing, plot development and characters, others claimed that the story is far too gruesome to read. Kelly Bridgewater, writing on the Kelly Bridgewater Blog, fell into the latter camp, and she declared: “With the unpredictable ending and original storyline, I really didn’t enjoy this book. Because of the violent nature of some of the scenes, I would not recommend giving Purgatory Road to younger readers. As a fan of suspense novels, I would not recommend this book to others.” Shana Creaney on the Foreword Reviews was somewhat ambivalent, and she asserted: “While the characters and writing are engaging, much relies on aspects of the world in which the story takes place in that are never clearly established. Despite this, there is an active crescendo in the action and climatic resolve.”
Additional pros and cons were offered by an online Cozy Writer’s Den correspondent, who noted: “As far as writing style, dialogue, and ability goes this was a fine book. It was well written with a good sense of suspense, mystery, and puzzling twists and turns.” Yet, the correspondent conceded, “there were some truly sick and twisted scenes.” Proffering more strident applause in Publishers Weekly, a columnist announced that “the strong execution of an original idea makes the prospect of his next book welcome.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, November 28, 2016, review of Purgatory Road.
ONLINE
Cozy Writer’s Den, http://cozywritersden.blogspot.com/ (February 17, 2017), review of Purgatory Road.
Family Fiction, https://www.familyfiction.com/ (August 21, 2017), author interview.
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (January 23, 2017), Shana Creaney, review of Purgatory Road.
Kelly Bridgewater Blog, https://kellybridgewater.blogspot.com/ (August 21, 2017), Kelly Bridgewater, review of Purgatory Road.
West Michigan Christian News, http://www.westmichiganchristian.com/ (August 21, 2017), Ann Byle, author interview.*
Samuel Parker was born in the Michigan boondocks but was raised on a never-ending road trip through the U.S. Besides writing, he is a process junkie and the ex-guitarist for several metal bands you’ve never heard of. He lives in West Michigan with his wife and twin sons.
Suspense Q&A: Samuel Parker (Purgatory Road)
Samuel Parker
December 22, 2016
Samuel Parker’s debut novel, Purgatory Road (Revell) is a thrilling trip through the Mojave Desert. A husband and wife find themselves lost during an excursion in Las Vegas. While held hostage by a desert hermit, their path collides with a runaway seeking shelter from a psychopath. What will escape require of them? Do they have what it takes to survive despite their circumstances and the brutal environment? The author answered a few of our questions…
samuel-parker-300x300What inspired this story?
A trip to Las Vegas—life imitates art, and vice versa. My wife and I took a long weekend trip there and spent time traveling in the desert west of Vegas. The landscape itself was inspiring enough to get the mind going. The character of Boots, I will admit, was just a lucky epiphany at the time. I think I could write until the end of my life and struggle to create a character like him again.
This is a fantastical, yet dark story. Are any of the pieces pulled from reality?
The fantastical elements are pure imagination. I did have a case of heat exhaustion as a kid once and the vivid memory of that experience fed into some of the description of what I would imagine the characters would feel like out in the desert.
parker-purgatoryroad-300pxWhat sort of research did you conduct for this book?
I shared an early version of the book with a few readers that either lived near the Mojave, Sonoran or Chihuahua Deserts. I was nervous about them reading the story because I was just a quick observer of the environment, but I’ve been told I captured it well.
This novel is really a story of good versus evil. How does your faith inform your writing?
I think as a writer, you need to employ all aspects of your thought process to execute a good story. Nothing should be held back or reserved whether that is memory, ambition, beliefs or doubts.
I also think those same thought processes are constantly growing and changing, evolving and eroding, and so to be conscious of that constant flux and to infuse that into a story brings it to greater life. My beliefs as a child are different than where I am now, just as assuredly as my 80-year-old self will be different. Being comfortable with that idea allows me to pose bizarre questions and carry them to what are, hopefully, interesting and suspenseful conclusions.
Good vs. Evil is Theme of Local Author’s Debut Novel
Written by Ann Byle on 27 February 2017. Posted in Local
samparkerLocal author Samuel Parker credits three things as genesis of his debut novel "Purgatory Road," released earlier this year by Grand Rapids-based Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
First was a trip he and his wife took to Las Vegas. They rented a car a drove into the desert outside the city. Second, Parker is a fan of Westerns—novels and movies—and dreamed of setting a novel in the west.
Third was a John Donne sonnet titled "Batter my heart, three-person'd God," in which Donne believed that he couldn't change until he was ravished by God.
"The idea of beating the good into someone really got to me," said Parker, who lives in Walker with his wife and twin sons.
That theme of redemption through violence runs through "Purgatory Road," a gritty and honest tale of good vs. evil set outside Las Vegas. Jack and Laura are stranded in the desert, rescued by mysterious recluse Boots. At the same time, runaway teen Molly is abducted by a ruthless serial killer. She escapes and finds her way to Boots, where the three castaways discover themselves in the middle of the age-old battle of good and evil.
"I don't like violence and I don't like gore, but I like the idea of people in impossible situations and how that transforms them," said Parker.
While his novel looks hard at the evil in the world, Parker himself is a shy guy who writes under a pseudonym. He works in sales and likes to spend his lunch hours in his car writing. He loves music and has played in a rock band. He liked writing music, but not performing. He loves writing, but not the business side of the process.
Parker started writing "Purgatory Road" in 2009. He sent it to publishers and agents, but got no bites. Years later, an editor at Revell who had read the book contacted him and asked about it. A year or so later, the book hit the market.
"If I had to sit down every day and write 3,000 words, I couldn't do it," said Parker. "I don't write every day, and I write in my head so when it gets on paper, it's in the shape I like. I revise and read it aloud. I like to drive to a park and set in the car and write. My driver's seat is the most comfortable chair I own."
Parker is working on a second novel to be published next year.
Purgatory Road
Publishers Weekly.
263.48 (Nov. 28, 2016): p49.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Purgatory Road
Samuel Parker. Revell, $14.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-8007-2733-8
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In the prologue of Parker's exceptional first novel, a runaway named Molly, who claims to be 18, heads for
trouble near Las Vegas, Nev. Meanwhile, Chicagoans Jack and Laura, a married couple, are enjoying a
cheap vacation in Vegas. After a few days, they decide to take a break from the strip and explore the barren
countryside outside the city, where their car stops running, despite still having gas, and both of their phones
die. Stranded in the desert with a small and rapidly diminishing supply of food and water, the pair are near
death before an eccentric recluse, who calls himself Boots, rescues them. Boots's intervention doesn't end
their peril, and they're unsettled to learn that he seems to have supernatural abilities. Jack and Laura's story
eventually intersects with Molly's with violent results, but Parker, unlike lesser suspense writers, succeeds in
making the reader feel the tragedy of the victims' deaths. The strong execution of an original idea makes the
prospect of his next book welcome. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Purgatory Road." Publishers Weekly, 28 Nov. 2016, p. 49+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473149901&it=r&asid=40466c754d729d00bc287777c50dff1b.
Accessed 13 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473149901
Purgatory Road
Reviewed by Shana Creaney
January 23, 2017
Purgatory Road is meant for people who like breakneck pacing and a somewhat mystical plot.
Purgatory Road by Samuel Parker tells the story of several people lost in the desert. Filled with personal discovery and mysterious circumstances, this novel is an action-packed adventure with a wide cast of characters and a variety of different personalities and goals.
When the book begins, there are several different characters and stories. At first, they do not seem to be connected. However, this rectifies itself and the initial confusion provides a stronger sense of payoff.
Jack and Laura, a married couple, are stranded on an abandoned highway and running out of supplies. Molly, a teenage runaway, is abducted by Colton, a gas station manager. Colton appears to be mentored by a sinister older man called Seth who encourages him along a destructive path. There is an obvious otherworldly feel to Seth, which sets the stage for Boots, a desert hermit who rescues Jack and Laura. Seth and Boots provide the opportunities for the characters to cross paths and interact. As the story develops it becomes clear that there is more to these two old men than it seems and both have more power than they let on.
The characters are straightforward and easy to differentiate. Each person has a distinct style of thought, and the narrator gives them all unique voices. The characters all undergo a change throughout the novel and get recognizable growth and evolution. The dialogue is realistic and flows.
While the characters and writing are engaging, much relies on aspects of the world in which the story takes place in that are never clearly established. Despite this, there is an active crescendo in the action and climatic resolve.
Purgatory Road is meant for people who like breakneck pacing, a somewhat mystical plot, and characters who truly become better people.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Purgatory Road by Samuel Parker
Back Cover: When a day trip out of Las Vegas with his wife takes a turn for the worse, Jack is sure he has the ability to get them home. But he has driven into something far beyond reason.
Rescue comes in the form of a desert hermit, but hope fades as the couple comes to realize that the nomad has no intention of letting them leave. A chance encounter with a kidnapped runaway and crazed abductor leads them all farther into the wilderness - and closer to the cold brutality that isolation brings.
At the edge of his sanity, Jack begins to learn that playing by another's rules may be the only way to survive.
In a voice that is as hypnotizing as a desert mirage, debut novelist Samuel Parker entices you down the treacherous road, where the forces of good and evil are as crushing as the Mojave heat.
Review: Purgatory Road was an ... interesting ... read. As far as writing style, dialogue, and ability goes this was a fine book. It was well written with a good sense of suspense, mystery, and puzzling twists and turns (some of which I am still trying to figure out). There were also some very creative elements where the spiritual and physical realms passed through each other. It was not an easy book to figure out, and I applaud the author for coming up with these ingenious twists.
That being said, I would not recommend this book nor would I read it again. I found this to be one of the most disturbing pieces of literature I've ever read. There were some truly sick and twisted scenes within the pages of Purgatory Road. Honestly, I wish I'd never read this book and I wish I never would have put these word pictures into my mind. I understand that demons are, of course, evil by nature and of course a character personifying such a creature would be wicked. However, I personally really struggled with reading such depravity.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Graf Martin Communications and Baker Publishing House in exchange for my honest opinion.