Review of Welcome to Maravilla by R. Douglas Clark : Nicole Pyles

Rain is coming in, the weather is getting cooler, and the nighttime is creeping in earlier. It’s the best time of year to pick up a new book! If you are interested in something unusual, entertaining, and humorous.

Here is a bit about the book Welcome to Maravilla:

The tiny hamlet of Maravilla, New Mexico is not immune to modern-day problems. But the citizens of Maravilla have their own special problems, as well:

A developer wants to build a Christian-themed amusement park next to Maravilla’s historic church.

The county line runs right through the town, splitting it in two.

And the government is threatening to close their post office!

Into this muddle steps Jake Epstein, a young writer from the big city. Jake is seeking peace and quiet to finish his current project: a science fiction story in which adventuress Tai-Keiko must deliver the secret formula for Zeton-9—with the evil Krossarians in hot pursuit.

But then reality and science fiction converge—and Tai-Keiko finds herself in present-day Maravilla, face to face with a gobsmacked Jake.

Join Jake on this comic run along the dusty roads of Maravilla, and find out who won the fight between Father Ignatius and the heathen pig farmer. How a basketball game changed the fate of the town. And was that white flash in the sky a UFO?

What I Thought

Immediately when reading this book, I got such an incredible sense of the setting. It’s rich in detail and character. In fact, the setting itself felt like a character all on its own. There’s a lot going on in this book and the writer does a great job with keeping things lively with each of the characters. The side part featuring Jake’s story was a bit sidetracking at first, but it became such an integral part of the story. It reminded me so much of how a writer can become attached to their characters. So, if you want an interesting, unusual book for the colder seasons, you’ll want to pick this one up.

Welcome to Maravilla is now available to purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndieBound.

About R. Douglas Clark

R. Douglas Clark was born in Vermont, grew up in Colorado, attended college in Chicago, and received a Master’s degree in music from Brown University. Seeing no future for himself in academia, he spent a year in the Oregon woods, living in a primitive cabin, writing music reviews and cultural commentary for magazines and newspapers. Next stop, Eugene, Oregon where he spent 20 damp years as a bootstrap businessman, father and musician. On a vacation trip, he and his wife, Shelley, fell in love with sunny northern New Mexico and subsequently moved there. After four years running Boys and Girls Clubs in Chimayó and Abiquiú–and another four, running a U-pick raspberry farm–he retired to write fiction full time.

Find R. Douglas online: https://www.rdouglasclark.com/

I received the above book in exchange for my honest review.