Blog Tour - Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

Thirsty: A Novel
Tracey Bateman
Waterbrook/Random House
376 p. (PB, discussion questions)

Summary
Nina emerges from rehab and decides she needs to start over. She heads home to Missouri dragging her daughter Meg behind her. She meets Markus, her sister's gorgeous neighbor, re-unites with her parents, and finds out all she believes is a lie. Of course.

My Thoughts
Thirsty is about more than being drunk. It's about self-control, overcoming demons, and finding there may be a higher power after all.

Tracey Bateman's novel builds slowly but not boringly. Each chapter has an italized little forward that sounds like we're reading Nina's diary. It's a nice way to get the character's thoughts without clogging up the story. I thought the intros gave an insight into Nina's behavior and helped us see how she got to where she was. Having Markus tell her the legend of the vampire was, while not new, a good way to get the reader info about him. I wanted to know more about Meg, Nina's daughter. We get a glimpse into her personality but only in relation to Nina. She was starting to step out on her own and I would like to see how she battle her own demons.

Bateman doesn't bring God fully into the story until almost the end. Thirsty isn't overly religious. We know Nina is waiting for God to make a move in her life and that foreshadowing gives us a sense of mystery and suspense because something has to happen! The murders in the small town continue; leading closer and closer to home.

The end wrapped up neater and quicker than I liked. Nina made amends and the murder case was solved with a sense of finality.

I thought Thirsty was well-written and solid. The pacing was perfect for the story and Bateman introduced another aspect of vampire lore that makes things more interesting. Although it has some vampire touches Thirsty deals more with Nina and I hope Bateman continues with stories of Meg.

About the Author
Tracey Bateman is a slightly neurotic mother of four, wife of one, and owner of three dogs, two blue bloods and one mutt (the mutt is the only one who will come to her when called). Lifetime movies, chunky monkey ice cream, and frantic late night Instant message chats with friends, who are only slightly less neurotic, keep her moving forward when deadlines loom and insanity is nipping at the heels of her mind. Being president of American Christian Fiction Writers gives her the chance to give back to a community of writers who have helped shape her career and her writing style.

As a kid, Tracey whiled away the hours with such treasures as Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twins, The Pam and Penny Books and any other books by Rosamund du Jardin. These are still favorite reads to this day. Favorite authors include Kristin Billerbeck, Francine Rivers, Susan May Warren, Karen Kingsbury, Shelley Bates, and Deborah Bedford.

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Touched by a Vampire

Touched by a Vampire examines the Twilight Saga by comparing what happens in the book with what the Bible says. Although many parts of the book were simplistic I was able to glean some useful information. Most of the interesting questions were focused on Bella and Edwards relationship which I'd already found unhealthy. It was nice to see how that parlayed into religion.

Giveaway
Do you want to read Thirsty yourself? How about Touched By A Vampire? I'm giving away both of them to one lucky commenter.

Just leave a comment with your email address. Open to US residents only. 1 entry per person. Contest closes
Thursday, December 3, 2009, 11:59 pm.