Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
(Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)
Review
" . . . Strange events and mysterious deaths surround her in this remarkable thriller." -- Inside Borders Magazine, An Original Voices Selection
" . . . The intensity of the novel makes an engrossing read from page one. Like a locomotive, it is difficult to stop . . . " -- All About Town, NW Arkansas Monthly
" . . . a complex and creepy thriller . . . an Anne Rice novel without all the goth trappings. Should find a good-sized audience." -- Publisher's Weekly
"A breakout and chilling new thriller based on her own near-death experience." -- Daily Oklahoman
"A powerful new thriller . . . Based on an actual near-death experience, the result is an enlightening and thought-provoking look at what lies beyond our mortal lives." -- Arizona Daily Sun
"A profoundly insightful and engaging thriller." -- The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A psychological thriller by a novelist and screenwriter who has made quite a splash in this genre . . . " -- Arkansas Times
"Award winning author Vivian Schilling's novel Quietus is a bold and terrifying tale of suspense as survivors of a deadly crash awaken in a hospital with untrustworthy memories and uncertain futures. A tense, involving, complex, deftly written and highly recommended saga about unraveling the defenses of the human mind one by one. Quietus is aptly titled after the moment of release of life, and haunting to the very end." -- Midwest Book Review
"Haunting and passionate . . . A chilling and foreboding tale about fate, death and the afterlife. . . Gripping and thought-provoking . . . Highly recommended." -- Christine Filipak, Dark Realms Magazine
"The initial reading . . . can be disturbing, but the characters, particularly Kylie, will return to haunt readers at unusual times." --Alicia Graybill, Foreword Reviews
A powerful new thriller Based on an actual near-death experience, the result is an enlightening and thought-provoking look at what lies beyond our mortal lives. -- Arizona Daily Sun
Book Description
About the Author
Born and raised in Kansas, Vivian Schilling attended the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in Los Angeles and studied under the legendary Stella Adler before embarking upon a dual career as a screenwriter and film actress. Working both in front and behind the camera in television and motion pictures, she found herself writing and starring in her own films at the age of twenty-three.With her first feature, the low-budget cult-classic Soultaker, she became known for her original ideas and deft hand with complex supernatural subjects. "A very intriguing premise distinguishes the thriller Soultaker. Young star-scripter Vivian Schilling earns high marks for this effort . . . her innovation for horror/fantasy fans creating a new myth about potential afterlife," said Larry Cohn of Variety. In spite of its limited budget, the film earned Schilling the Saturn Award alongside that year's Silence of the Lambs and Terminator 2.
Schilling went on to star in seven films, among them, German's, a World War II drama based on the renowned stage play by Leon Kruzchowski, directed by Academy Award Nominee, Zbigniew Kaminski. Her role as a gunslinger in the western, Savage Land, garnered her the Diamond Dove and the Blockbuster Rising Star Award.
But Schilling's love of storytelling led to a five year departure from the film business in which she turned to the literary world. "For the first time ever I could control elements of the story that were impossible on film," she told Mystery Scene Magazine in an interview. "There were no budget limits or worries about dwindling light, no schedules, or screaming assistant directors. I was suddenly in control of what my readers saw and heard and smelt. . . .I became consumed with the possibilities and soon found myself caught up in the life of my story like never before. The film continued in my head but with it came a deeper dimension of sight, sound and sensation." Schilling's first novel, Sacred Prey (St. Martin's Press, 1996), was released to favorable reviews and earned the Golden Scroll for Outstanding Achievement in Literature. "Highly respectable writing," touted the Chicago Sun-Times. "Schilling shows deft story-telling ability," said Publisher's Weekly. Schilling's second effort is the epic novel of suspense, Quietus, released in 2002 by Hannover House.
Schilling and her husband divide their time between Los Angeles and Fayetteville, Arkansas.
