Tag Archives: fantasy

The Tanyth Fairport Adventures (Books) – Review

I’ve long been a fan of Nathan Lowell. His fiction is characterized in my opinion by the incredible reality of his characters and situations. He takes the time to build characters and their worlds in your mind one brick at a time. This makes for a bit of a slower pace and the inside joke on his Solar Clipper series is that “nothing happens”. “Nothing” has never been so interesting.

In any case, this review is of his foray into fantasy, specifically he second book in the Tanyth Fairport series of adventures. I scoured the intertubes for a review of the first one. Apparently I didn’t do one (though there is this blog post). Suffice to say that this review will serve for both books.

The books follow Tanyth as she journey’s throughout the countryside, seeking wisdom and knowledge from women who serve as herbalists and healers. Most of these woman would serve as crones, witches, or hermits in other worlds or stories. Here we get to see them from the other side. We also get to see Tanyth as she moves from a wife who’s been abused by her husband to the role of wise woman and a reluctant priestess to the All Mother. Ravenwoodravenwood is the first step that we get to see in this journey.

By this time she’s been on the road for twenty years and has learned much about herself and her world. She’s survived attacks and deprivations that we get allusions to. All of this has made her a sharp, tough “old boot”. She happens on a small settlement that lacks a name or direction. They convince her to stay and replace their healer, if only to teach them how to do it on their own. In the process the settlement encounters bandits and Tanyth begins to have odd dreams that she sees through the eyes of a raven. These visions prove useful more than once. Tanyth also begins to show a connection to the powers of the world and she channels that power through shamanistic prayers.

There’s a lot of “slice of life” that goes on in these books. In Ravenwood, Nathan has the challenge of showing us how a women might not only survive but grow in a society that views women as servants to their husbands and family. Her daily life on the road is vital to that end, as is seeing how she handles life in a new village. There’s also a bit of action and what I would call low fantasy magic. I really found no fault with anything in this book, other than the fact that it ended. When I first listened to it (three years ago?) I couldn’t wait for a sequel and I think that these books are actually better than the Solar Clipper series.

SPOILERS!!! (For those who haven’t finished Ravenwood)

ZyphyeriasCall_Ebook My wish was granted when I found out that he was writing the follow-up. I grabbed Zypheria’s Call from Amazon recently and sat down to read it over the last few days. Tanyth reluctantly moves on at the close of the winter. She doesn’t want to leave her friends or the life she’s started to make there, but she knows that her opportunity to see the hermit of Lammas Wood may close if she doesn’t move soon. Neither Tanyth, nor the hermit are getting any younger. To that end, she goes with the first shipment to Kleesport with her beau Frank and Rebecca who will prove to be her travelling companion.

The journey to the port city and their stay while waiting for the ice to break tell us quite a bit about the world Nathan has built. Again, life as an older, single woman is hard and she runs up against a number of challenges. She overcomes them with dry wit and a ruggedness that’s endearing. All of this just sets the stage for the meat of the story, the journey aboard Zyphyeria’s Call.

Nathan has experience at sea (though I don’t think that it was on a wooden sailing ship, in spite of his state of maturity). I don’t know if it was my knowledge of that or if it’s the actual experience, but in any case I loved the picture he painted of life on such a ship. I can see, based on this, how much his experience in the Coast Guard influenced his science fiction and how he views life on a space ship. Once on board, Tanyth has to get her sea legs and she needs to find a way to pass the time and make herself useful. She does this in ways that will make Nathan Lowell fans more than happy; by helping the ship’s Cook. The description of breakfasts and dinners had me drool more than once.

Appetizers aside (how many food references will this review have?), the fantasy elements are just as important here as the gustatory and social ones. While Tanyth’s abilities are less cinematic than your typical fantasy tale, they are no less important or interesting. The one issue I had with the story that jolted me a bit was the lack of apparent superstition on the part of the ship’s crew. She did some amazing things that I thought would have been met with suspicion or fear. It could have made for some interesting tension. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I strongly recommend that you check out both books. They’re both available as ebooks from Amazon. I count myself fortunate to have the paperback of Ravenwood. Ravenwood’s also available from Smashwords and as a free podcast. I understand that he’s working on the audio for Zypheria’s Call. Listen to the podcast or read the samples and I think you’ll be hooked!

Death & Magic (The Barefoot Healer) – Ebook Giveaway

Congrats to Marie and Michael for winning last weeks books! I’m changing up the rules a little so read carefully. If you’ve already won, please feel free to comment, but I really want future e-books to go to folks that haven’t won anything. Just one book this week as I’m caught up.

The book this week is Death and Magic – The Barefoot Healer Volume 1 by Steven J. Pemberton. Sounds pretty interesting!

A murder mystery set in a school for wizards.

When apprentice wizard Adramal moves to a new school to complete her training, she discovers that several ritual murders have been committed by magic, threatening the fabric of the world. The evidence points to the killer being one of Adramal’s teachers, and the City Watch recruit her to go undercover to unmask the murderer. Can she find what she needs before the killer strikes again or – worse – without blowing her cover and putting her own life in danger?

114,000 words, equivalent to about 350 pages in paperback.

So how do you get it? Merely leave a comment below and your name will be dropped into the virtual hat.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

Getting Out Of Corners

Let it be known up front that I am a big fan of Scott Sigler’s work and work ethic. A harder working writer, I do not know. Having said that, there are things about him that I don’t get. That’s okay. Diversity makes this world and interesting place. But he said something in a recent episode of The All-Pro that made me mad. Hit the link and listen to the last ten minutes or so to get the full context.

He was talking about his writing process. He’s an outliner. Given what he writes, it makes perfect sense to do a thorough outline before he starts in writing. He talks about the whys and wherefores, in particular that he pitches ideas via his outline to his agent/publisher and hones it to a silicone coated pointy point before commencing. All of that’s good and well and makes perfect sense. He went further than that, though.

He said “any time the story gets into a rabbit hole they [paranormal/fantasy writers] can whip up some magic and get themselves out of that”. Now he does qualify that to a degree. It still came across to me as painting with an awfully broad brush. He also said that he has to outline everything and make sure that everything you’re reading does actually matter. That certainly seems to imply that at least some fantasy/paranormal writers don’t have to pay as much attention to the craft and that everything they write doesn’t have to be tightly plotted or make sense. That’s simply not true.

It caused me to tweet:

The FDO basically said as a thriller writer he doesn’t have the luxury of the supernatural to get him out of corners he writes himself into.

I also tweeted:

I’m fine with his stance except that he apparently believes writers of supernatural fiction are lazy somehow

Did he say “lazy”? No. I did infer that from what he said. I certainly don’t think he believes that all writers of fantasy are lazy writers. He himself has written fantasy (I think Nocturnal qualifies and there’s another project he’s working on that I know little about). I also think that his GFL series qualifies as fantasy of a kind.

As a writer of paranormal/fantasy fiction myself, I can see that using magic as a deus ex machina can be a crutch/problem. That’s also true of tricorders/sensors and other SF tropes. It’s one we all need to keep an eye out for. It’s also important no matter what genre you’re writing in to have a solid plot and to make sure that everything you’re writing “does actually matter” to the story at large. To single out a wide swath of genre fiction in the way he did was short sighted at best.

As I told one person, I certainly reacted emotionally. It’s also possible I overreacted. I would love to get Scott’s thoughts and yours. Listen to what he said and tell me if I’m way off base here.

Eat At Joe's/Between The Land and The Sea – Ebook Giveaway

Sorry for the delay. Life has been busy! A huge congrats to Rob Rowald for winning Haywire and Tales from the Horsham Ghost Society!

Two more books this week. The first is Eat At Joe’s by Tony Whitford.

Meet Joe Smith, Native American, Restaurant owner and all around good guy. Joe isn’t feeling too good today. His back is killing him, and the feeling that the world around him is trying to tell him something keeps nagging at his thoughts. Shadows shifting in the darkened corners of the morning, the oppressive Texas heat and the sound of horse hooves on the sidewalk behind him seem to be an undeniable warning of things to come.

Joe knows he has a great life. His daughter is getting good grades in school and the business is doing really well this year. The softball team is winning and life is treating him better than it ever has, but the words of his grandfather keep coming back to him. The blood beneath the concrete and steel of the city is crying out to be heard.

Welcome to Amarillo, Texas, Joe’s Café will be opening soon. Come in and have a cup of coffee, meet the folks at “Eat At Joe’s,” and hold on for one wild ride.

The second is Between The Land And The Sea by Derrolyn Anderson

Marina is a privileged girl who’s had an unusual upbringing. Traveling the world with her scientist father, doted on by her wealthy and glamorous neighbor Evie, Marina’s life seems perfect.

Everything changes in the summer of her sixteenth year when she is sent to live with her Aunt Abby and Cousin Cruz in the lovely seaside town of Aptos, California.

Only a few weeks after arriving, sixteen year-old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can manage to survive some increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might be able to unlock the mystery of her past and appease the mysterious forces that want something from her…

And maybe even find true love along the way.

So how do you get these? Merely leave a comment below and your name will be dropped into the virtual hat. Winner gets both!

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

Sacrifice of an Angel – Ebook Giveaway

Congratulations to Jeff Brackett! His copy of The Judas Syndrome will go out today.

Today’s book is Sacrifice of an Angel by Tonya and Sophie Duncan.

“Harry Potter (with grownups) meets Midsommer Murders with a magical version of C.S.I. thrown in for good measure.” – Rob Drake

The body of a beautiful girl dressed in a ceremonial robe is found on a playground roundabout. Her throat has been ripped out and the roundabout has a bad case of perpetual motion. Is it a ritualistic, magical murder or a setup to distract from the real killer?

That is the question that faces twins, Theo and Remy Haward, detectives in the Sorcerous Crimes Task Force (SeCT), when they are called to the scene in the middle of the night. That and who could commit such an act. They must find the answers to these and other questions, all the while ensuring the general public finds out nothing about the magical world that co-exists with their own.

Armed with their experience, their natural magical abilities and their complimentary instincts, Remy and Theo must identify the victim, follow the evidence and find the killer before anyone else dies.

This is one of my favorite sorts of books, the genre mashup. My current mashup favorite is probably Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. What’s yours?

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

Fire In The Blood – Ebook Giveaway

Congratulations to Lucy! I’ll be her copy of The Superiors soon.

Throwing a little YA Fantasy up on the giveaway today, by Dale Ibitz.

On Eyidora, the gods of nature are at war, and Earth is in chaos. During a home invasion, seventeen-year-old Haley is tumbled to Eydora. Alone, afraid and confused, Haley just wants to go home to Earth…but the gods have other plans.

With her stone of power, Haley must stop the war…but two men stand in her way.

Haley’s forced to make a choice that will decide the fate of all the worlds. But who should she trust, who should she fight, and who is the one with fire in his blood bent on betraying them all?

This week I’ll be giving away the book to one of the people on my email mailing list. If you want in on the action fill out the form here. Don’t worry, I won’t bombard you with email, sell your address, or anything else shady. Once you sign up you can always opt out later. My feelings won’t be hurt, but you may miss out on later freebies.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

The Superiors – Ebook Giveaway

Congratulations to Elizabeth! I’ll be her copy of Telesa soon.

This week we have a vampire novel to give out, by Lena Hillbrand.

Although Draven belongs to the master race that has taken over the world from humans, he can’t afford his own human. He clings to the lower rungs of society, struggling to pay rent and obey the strict laws of society. Then one night he captures Cali, a human runaway.

Draven must return the girl, but he can’t stop thinking about her. He returns to feed on her often and begins to remember his own humanity as he spends more time with her. As he learns to sympathize with the human and see her as more than an animal, he struggles to protect her from other Superiors. But Draven can’t keep others from feeding on Cali unless he buys her. He vows to make the purchase, no matter what he has to sacrifice to support a human.

His quest for Cali starts innocently enough, but soon leads him deeper into a tangled web of danger, violence, betrayal and murder.

To enter to win this week’s book, tell me what you think about vampires. Or you can purchase it here.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

Telesa – Ebook Giveaway

Congratulations to Evilactionfigure! I’ll be getting out a copy of Getting To Bliss to them ASAP.

This week we have a fantasy/romance for you guys by Lani Wendt Young.

When Leila moves to her new home, all she wants is a family, a place to belong. Instead she discovers the local ancient myths of the telesa spirit women are more than just scary stories. The more she finds out about her heritage, the more sinister her new home turns out to be. Embraced by a Covenant Sisterhood of earth’s elemental guardians – what will Leila choose? Her fiery birthright as a telesa? Or will she choose the boy who offers her his heart? Daniel – stamped with the distinctive tattoo markings of a noble Pacific warrior and willing to risk everything for the chance to be with her. Can their love stand against the Covenant Keeper?

A thriller-romance with a difference. If you enjoyed Twilight, then you will be enthralled by Telesa as it blends the richness of Pacific mythology into a contemporary young adult love story that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

To enter to win this week’s book, leave me a comment on this post and let me know what the last romantic getaway you had was. Or you can purchase it here.

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

Far and Away – A Modern Fantasy Anthology

I put up a new anthology today. Three of the four are available elsewhere. I thought I’d see if anthologies go down a little easier so here you are. If you’ve already bough one of the stories contained herein, let me know and I will hook you up with a coupon for this. As of right now it’s available at Smashwords. Amazon is still cranking away. It’ll be there in a day or so.

Have you ever wanted to escape the world for just a little bit? Of course you have. You’re reading a fantasy anthology, and what fan of the mysterious and mystical hasn’t wanted to do just that? Well I hope that this little group of stories about beings in that very situation help you along the road.

“Bitter Release” is set in the trench wars of World War One. A young soldier finds himself the sole survivor of a German attack and buried under tons of mud and stone. His only way out seems to be a case of spirits, but there’s more to the mix of absinthe and brandy helping him to escape.

“Hole Card” gives us a glimpse into a poker game on the edge of the apocalypse. The forces that run the universe are taking a little time out to see how the other half lives. For just a few hours their only cares are the riffling of cards and time with family. That is, until someone comes along who has a surprise up their sleeve.

In the third story an art student has an encounter with a spirit who can’t seem to move on. In an effort to help her, he builds “The Music Box”. Will the ethereal music free the little girl?

Finally, in “Bobby and Spinel” a little boy sets out to capture a dragon. As these sort of things generally go, he ends up with quite a bit of trouble on his hands. Both the boy and the creature want to escape the bonds of their entanglement and neither leaves unchanged.

Bobby and His Dragon

I’m trying out some direct sales through this site in preparation for Ginnie Dare and some other projects. So in order to test this I’ll be offering a cute little middle grades level story I’ve written that’s available nowhere else. It’s only $.49 for a story that clocks in at 3400 words. Well worth it in my opinion.

I also made the e-pub myself so I’m a bit proud of that.

A preview for those who’d like one:
Continue reading Bobby and His Dragon