“Mirrors: The Shadow Conspiracy” by Sonya Deulina Williams
Author Biography
Sonya Deulina Williams was born in Moscow, Russia in 1989. She immigrated to the United States, specifically to Greensboro, North Carolina, with her family in 1994 with refugee status, to flee anti-Semitism. This journey would become a major influence over her later years.
As an only child, Sonya was prone to daydreaming and drawing. In high school and college, Sonya developed an interest in psychology and specifically how art and psychology could merge. So, she majored in Creative Writing and Psychology, and went on to get her Masters in Social Work.
Sonya loves incorporating psychological elements into her writing. She especially enjoys when fiction and reality blur, so that the reader finds themselves asking, “Could this be possible?” Naturally, Sonya gravitated to sci-fi and began writing her first novel “Mirrors” in 2015.
Book Synopsis
Sarah and Sam are two women whose lives could not be any more different. Sarah is a journalist searching for a break, and also works in a coffee shop to support herself. She has been searching for her missing father for the past four years, long after everyone has given up. Sam is a marketing executive hot shot with a seemingly perfect life: a dream marriage and a dream job. So why is she so unhappy?
Both women become unsettled as they begin experiencing visions and memories that are not their own. In fear that they are losing their grip on reality, they go on a search for answers.
In the psychological, sci-fi thriller, Mirrors: The Shadow Conspiracy, there is no shortage of reality-bending dreamscapes and hypnosis fueled vision quests that take the characters into the strangest and most metaphorical places of their minds. There is mystery and non-stop action as the book picks up its pace, unfolding faster and faster, as the characters race the clock to find answers.
The women find themselves facing a shadowy organization as they discover the connection they have has much larger implications than anything either of them could have imagined. These young women must find the courage to face dangers they have never encountered before to protect the ones they love.
The villains in this story are sneaky and spread out, so part of the fun is figuring out who they are, which characters can be trusted and which ones cannot.
Unique Book Structure
One of the most interesting things about this novel is that it is told in alternating chapters from the
perspectives of the two protagonists. Essentially, it is two stories in one book that interweave together and make an even bigger story line come together. At times, the chapters seem unrelated and then you see them intersect in ways you didn’t see coming, which makes for some exciting moments.
This structure of the alternating chapters is very important to the story and the reader will discover why as the characters discover why in their search for answers. This is not a book where the reader knows what’s going on and the characters don’t, so everybody is on board for a wild ride!
Something that the reader should be aware of ahead of time is that the world the author has created lends itself to having a lot of characters. This is not a book to read and put down and pick up again, but rather to read in big chunks, so as not to miss anything, as there are a lot of moving parts to keep up with, so to speak.
Themes/Imagery:
The book touches on various themes, including: the meaning of family, loyalty to ones loved ones, following your intuition, and looking for your purpose on this big ball of earth. What motivates and propels the protagonists forward is love and loyalty, but it is also a restlessness, a need to make meaning out of their lives. This existential longing, this need to find purpose is something that every human on this earth has experienced.
There is use of bird imagery throughout the book to describe and heighten the emotional states and visions that the characters experience. Owls are recurrent in this novel and add an element of horror and foreboding.
Artwork:
An interesting fact is that the artwork on the cover of the novel is the writer’s own. There is a saying that you should not judge a book by its cover, but the author tried her best to capture the overall feel of the book. She used acrylic paint as her medium, and has plans to design the cover of the sequel as well.
It is a coming-of-age story of sorts, as both protagonists have an awakening and find that the meaning that they are searching for goes way beyond their everyday life experiences. The characters find that they must learn to listen to their guts and stop doubting themselves, so that the universe may open up to them and help them with their mission. There’s an element of synchronicity in this book which is not explained and yet the characters do wonder about it. In this way, the book has elements of magical realism.
Author’s Intentions:
The author intends for the reader, above all else, to connect with the story and to find meaning and value as it relates to their own life. The novel at its core is a story about connection. It is the most prominent theme throughout the entire book. The word connection is mentioned many times throughout the story in its various meanings. There is a longing for connection with missing loved ones, with significant others, with friends, and with themselves, and parts of themselves that lie in shadow, obscured from view. The reader may find themselves longing for the disjointed pieces of the story to connect themselves.
This is a Sci-Fi book, but in a way, it feels like it could be real, as if something like this could really happen. And who’s to say it can’t? The author tries to blur the line between reality and non-reality or rather what is and what could be. There are a lot of unknowns in our universe and a lot of theories. The author wants the reader to trust their gut, to find their personal connection to the story, and realize that the power that the protagonists discover in themselves, is the same power that lies within us all.
The book will have a sequel, which is in the works right now. The world the author has created lends itself to more books, whether they have the same or different characters and story lines.
The book is available for sale on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. The author appreciates honest feedback and would love for her readers to reach out to her via her blog, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, or Goodreads. She wants to hear from you, and if you enjoyed the book, reviews are greatly appreciated as well. Happy reading everybody!
Purchase book here:
http://amazon.com/dp/B07VNSNM6N
Blog:
authorsdwilliams.wordpress.com
Social Media:
https://instagram.com/sondeulin
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twitter.com/authsdwilliams
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