Angels At The Gate (Thorne)

Angels At The Gate 
T.K. Thorne, 2015
Cappuccino Books
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9783906196022


Summary
Winner, 2016 Gold Benjamin Franlin Award
Winner, 2016 Silver Ippy Award for Historical Fiction

Angles At The Gate is the story of Adira, destined to become Lot’s wife. 

A daughter of Abram's tribe, Adira is an impetuous young girl whose mother died in childbirth.  Secretly raised as a boy in her father’s caravan and schooled in languages and the art of negotiation, Adira rejects the looming changes of womanhood that threaten her nomadic life and independence.

But Adiras world unravels with the arrival of two mysterious strangers—Northmen from an ancient tribe known as the Watchers, men rumored to be holy messengers from El. Raiders invade the caravan, and she loses everything she values most—her father, her freedom, and even the “Angels.”

Caught between her oath to her father to return to her tribe and the “proper life for a woman” and tormented by an impossible love, she abandons all she has known in a dangerous quest to seek revenge and find her kidnapped "Angel."  With only her beloved dog, Nami, at her side, Adira must use the skills she learned in the caravan to survive the perils of the desert, Sodom, and her own heart.

Angels At The Gate is a story of adventure and the power of love, exploring themes about choice —the importance of asking the right questions and walking the fine edge between duty and personal freedom. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Born—N/A
• Where—Montgomery, Alabama, USA
• Education—M.S.W, University of Alabama, magna cum laude
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives near Birmingham, Alabama

Awards

• ForeWord Reviews "BOOK OF THE YEAR" for Historical Fiction  
• Winner of Portland Book Review for Short Fiction 
• Winner of Chattahoochee Valley Writer's Contest for Short Fiction 
• Winner of Eugene Walters Writers Festival Termite Hall for Screenplay 
• Winner of Magic City Writers' Contest for Short Fiction
• Winner of the Gold Benjamin Franklin Award (Independent Book Publishers Assoc.)
• Winner of the Silver IPPY Award (Independent Publishers) for Historical Fiction.

Storyteller
T.K.Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama. “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” When she retired as a captain, she took on Birmingham’s business improvement district as the executive director. Both careers provide fodder for her writing, which has garnered several awards, including “Book of the Year for Historical Fiction” (ForeWord Reviews) for her debut novel Noah’s Wife. Her first non-fiction book, Last Chance for Justice, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list. She loves traveling, especially to research her novels, and speaking about her books and life lessons.

Thorne is step-mother to three and grandmother to four, all boys. She lives with her husband, Roger, on a mountain in Alabama where she writes, often with two dogs and a cat vying for her lap.

Community
A Leader in her community, she has served on numerous community boards and been recognized with various community awards including:

• Birmingham International Center’s “Motivating Women”  
• Chamber of Commerce’s Jesse Lewis Community Service Award 
• Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award 
• Operation New Birmingham’s Achievement Award
• The Community Affairs’ “Liberty & Justice Award”
• Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top Birmingham Business Women”

T.K. Shares A Few Fun Facts About Herself:

• I’m a 4th degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido.
•  At age 8, I won a ribbon for being stubborn.
• I dove the Great Blue Hole in Belize, the largest sea hole in the world.
• As a rookie police officer, I had to devise a different way to hold a gun because my hands were too small.
• I need Indian food at least once a week.
• Frogs make me smile. (From the author.)

More information available on Wikepedia: T.K. Thorne
Blogs at TKs-Tales.com
Website: www.tkthorne.com
T.K. Talks About Her Writing...(see About page)

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) For readers familiar with the Genesis story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the finale should come as no surprise, but the journey toward that end is well worth following. The characters are flawlessly drawn, utterly human, and completely true to life. The religious and mystical aspects of the Old Testament story are delicately woven into the structure of the novel in a way that honors the original tale without focusing too heavily on divine retribution. This excellent, well-crafted historical novel showcases a truly talented storyteller.
Library Journal


Angels At The Gate is nothing short of a masterwork–superbly and eloquently written, solidly researched and a highspeed page-turner. Readers will be swept up in a story they can't put down.
Elsa D. Rutherford, editor - The Nifty Pickle
 

…a fantastic story...excellent characterization...so compelling that I could not wait until I could read the next part of the adventure.
San Francisco Book Review
 

The plot is intelligently mapped and skillfully builds suspense… Thorne portrays ancient lands with an eye for wilderness… scenes unfold in crisp detail… A tale set in biblical times comes to life for a literary audience.
Foreword Reviews
 

A compelling and exceptional read, Angels At The Gate documents author T. K. Thorne as an impressively talented novelist. This is the stuff of which block-buster movies are made.
Midwest Review
 

...fans of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant will love this book.
Hutchinson News
 

a terrific yarn composed of brilliant world-building, clever extrapolation, and fascinating characters… The action is convincing, the characters compelling, and the setting excellently depicted. Not only is the writing smooth, but Thorne cleverly twists the biblical story, adding realism without detracting from religion.
Washington Independent Review of Books
 

[Thorne] manages to blend historical fiction of the most ancient sort with spiritual themes that wouldn’t frighten away even the most staunch of atheists, and she does so all while developing captivating and heart-tugging characters that you aren’t soon to forget.
Arts Bham
 

Filled with a remarkable interwoven detailed look into the culture of Abram’s tribe and life in a trade caravan, the second mysterious woman of the bible dramatization (see Noah’s Wife) provides a fascinating look at who Lot’s wife was before she turned into the Pillar of Salt.  The key to this entertaining biblical novelization is T.K. Thorne provides a plausible background that explains why Lot's wife would disobey the angelic warning not to look back.
Harriet Klausner - Genre Go Round Review
 

T. K. Thorne combined religious, archeological and historical study to create this story of a woman who followed her own path in the world… Thanks to Thorne, Lot's wife is transformed back into woman, wayward and strong but alive.
Books That Follow You Home

 
The reader gets a great story and learns so much about the time of Lot’s wife.
Cathie Martin - WGRT-FM
 

As she did in Noah's Wife, Thorne gives us a brilliantly imagined alternate history.
Perle Champion - Perle's Ink
 

Thorne's vivid imagination and gift for storytelling are extraordinary. For all whose curisosity is piqued by how it might have been in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, this is a must read!
Dianne Mooney, founder - Southern Living At Home
 

Thorne unspools an ancient adventure with crackling undertones of our contemporary lives.  Lean, polished action sequences render a young woman's life with both intensity and nuanced truth.
Carroll Dale Short, journalist, columnist, public radio commentator, author of The Shining Shining Path
 

A masterpiece of historical research, interweaving history and theology in a re-visioning of an ancient story from a woman's perspective.  Thorne is a dazzlingly gifted writer.
Sue Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama 2003-2012
 

Adventure, Drama, Love and Losses—I am absolutely enthralled with the writing of T. K. Thorne.
 Lenora's Culture Center and Foray into History
 

...a story of truths behind the myths...The author doesn't disappoint in...stripping away biblical myths and goes deeper into how these myths were formed...filled with amazing attention to detail, gritty life during that time which will not be agreeable to modern sensibilities. ...Also, if you're a doglover, you're in for a treat.
Svetlana's Reads and Views
 
 
...if you are looking for a read that is compelling, as well unique, this is definitely something to try.
A Chick Who Reads
 

It doesn't get any better than this...I LOVED this book....Even if you are not a fan of biblical literature, you will enjoy this book, it's a tale well told.
Book Lovers Paradise
 

A fascinating read. I love the creative liberties that Thorne took...
Book Nerd

Discussion Questions
1.  How did Adira’s childhood posing as a boy influence the way she saw the world and herself?  How different do you think it would be today for a girl to pose as a boy?

2.  What is the importance of “Asking the right question”? How did it change the way Adira saw the world and the choices she made?

3.  The desert is a crucible. How did Adira’s experience in the desert change her?

4.  Discuss how “angels at the gate” is used as a metaphor for change.

5.  The forces of duty, love, and freedom. What were they? How did they create conflict in her and how did she reconcile them?

6.  Do we face the same conflicts today? How do different societies’ values influence decisions?

7.  How did understanding the cultural religious roots of the Canaanites affect your perception of Sodom & Gomorrah?

8.  How does the author’s vision of Adira “turning into a pillar of salt” differ from or coincide with the traditional interpretations?
(Questions courtesy of ther author.)

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