A blog dedicated to fantasy authors, especially YA, signed with Hydra, Seventh Star Press, and others...interviews, upcoming events, character studies, questions and answers. An interactive blog...send me something if you're an author or reader of YA, PG13 fantasy!
May 20, R.S. Hunter has a birthday today! And to celebrate he's giving away his book Exile's Violin.
Why hire mercenaries to kill an innocent family just to obtain one little key? That question haunts Jacquie Renairre for six years as she hunts down the people responsible for murdering her parents.
Not even accepting an assignment to investigate a conspiracy that aims to start a war can keep her from searching for the key. Armed with her father’s guns and socialite Clay Baneport, she continues her quest for answers abroad.
With the world edging closer to disaster, Jacquie is running out of time to figure out how the war, the key, and ancient legend are intertwined. The fate of the world hinges on her ability to unravel both mysteries before it’s too late!
Having spent time in the Southwest, I was captivated by this cover and will be reading book 1 to this series soon!
Jenna Roads
Expected Release Date: August 2013
Through The Eyes Of Love The love between Isabella and Logan intensifies.
Isabella, Logan and Cheveyo unite in their quest to seek out others who have become prisoners of fear after visiting the Petroglyphs. They become captivated by a little boy. Having to see things through the eyes of a child changes everything. Will they unveil the clandestine significance of the spirit who chose the child in time?
About the author: Jenna Roads YA/ New Adult Paranormal Romance Author I am a Registered Nurse who is now devoting my time to writing fiction, reading, making scrapbooks, taking pictures, traveling and enjoying family and friends. I am a mother of two. When I'm not writing, I'm dreaming up characters for my next book. I love cotton nighties and comfortable shoes. My dream is to one day have an island of my very own where I can hold up there and write until my hearts content.
Ian's Realm: How do you shop for books?: Finding a book you like to read. What's your formula? There are so many book sites on the Internet, and so many books on the shelves...
Ian's Realm: May 5 Ranking! Thank you!!: Deception Peak topped at #11 on Amazon Kindle Best Seller's List May 5 2013! The ranking lasted for a total of 5 days last week. Top...
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Valiant Battles Against Brave Knights and other Scams
By Karina Fabian
Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?
Every now and then, someone who is familiar with the run-in I had with St. George (and who isn’t?) sends me a picture of St. George and the Dragon and asks if that’s me.
They’re all of the Mundane version of the story, of course. My George was a Holy Mage. He used spells and wit. Besides, I'd have snagged that lance and flung it into the Red Sea, first thing, and him with it if he didn't let go. I've done that to a knight or three back in the day.
Of course, I was much bigger than the horse back then, and half the time, if a virgin captive was involved, it was usually a set-up by the family. I had a nice little operation going in the Mediterranean settlements. Princess Maiden needed a husband, so I’d kidnap her ,and Daddy would sound the alarm. Many a brave knight answered the call—or maybe just one. Sometimes, they were in on the scam, themselves, showboating for their subjects. Anyway, after a valiant-enough struggle, I threw the fight, honor was served, Knight and Damsel were betrothed, and King Daddy sent a large heifer my way after the nuptials. Those were the days.
Nowadays, I’m testing my wits and my mettle against criminals with guns as well as magic. I’m a private investigator on your side of the Interdimensional Gap, solving crimes and saving the world when magic and technology combine into something especially nasty. Meh, it’s a living, and an interesting one, even if I do spend a lot on vet bills. Still, I get nostalgic for the old days, sometimes. EXCERPT
Given the day I was having, it came
as no surprise that when I got home, I found the dogs sprawled in a drugged
sleep and the sounds of things being overturned from within the warehouse. I
decided not to bother with subtlety, but I did resist the urge to burst in with
flames going full-blast. I had questions first.
Naturally, I walked straight in to
find an automatic weapon—yep, a bona fide black-market AK-47—and I thought only
Faerie lived their clichés—and six other weapons of various types pointed at
me. I didn't stop, just closed the door with my tail while I strolled in slow
and placid-like. My visitors had shaved heads, faces painted white with clown
paint, and black t-shirts with swastikas in white circles.
"If you're the housekeeping
service, you're fired."
"You stay right there, or we
gonna fire you!" said one guy from the sidelines as he held his nunchucks
at the ready.
What'd he think he would do—whack me
on the nose? I turned to the one holding the assault rifle. "Scraping the
bottom of the barrel with that one, weren't you?"
"He's right. You just stay
still while we search the place."
"The place" was a
ten-thousand square foot warehouse with offices on the upper floor. Boxes I
still hadn't opened line the walls and made a maze in the second warehouse
room. I settled myself on the floor and rested my head on my crossed arms.
"Go ahead. I get half of anything you find."
They stared at me, unbelieving. I
smiled back. Mr. Cooperation, that's me. Finally, Big Gun snarled for the
others to get to work. As he turned his back on me, Nunchucks muttered, "I
got your half. Don't think I don't." Guess he learned such witty repartee
in Hitler Youth Summer Camp.
I watched and listened and waited.
With eight teenage skinheads trashing my place, it was only a matter of time.
"I wouldn't go in there if I
were you," I suggested as Nunchucks made a grab for the doorknob to
Grace's workshop.
"You gonna stop me?" He
turned the knob.
"Nope," I said as I closed
my ears and my eyes. Even so, I saw the otherworldly light and heard the
harmonious roar of Divine Vengeance followed by Mundane screams.
"The Heavenly Host on the other
hand…"
I waited until the screams died down
to whimpers before opening my eyes and rising.
Four of the skinheads were
unconscious. Three may as well have been; they were curled up in the fetal
position, whimpering. Nunchucks was actually crying for his mommy. Big Guns had
collapsed to the floor as well, the gun thrown away from him. He was sitting
and rocking and making high-pitched keening through the roof of his mouth.
I'd tell Grace to tone down her
wards some, except that the effect is directly proportional to the evilness of
the intent. Suddenly, I was feeling a little shaky about my earlier entrance.
Knights out of the armor now. I went
around, collecting weapons in the office trash can and poking through pockets.
I found the usual stuff—driver's licenses, credit cards, petty cash… One kid
had a condom; wishful thinking on his part, I knew. Another had a report card.
MLK High. Wonder if he was the one beating up Faerie kids? Honor roll grades,
too. Of all the years I've battled evil, there were still some things I didn't
understand.
As I was returning Big Guns' (aka
Rick Matherston's) wallet back into his jacket pocket, he blinked and focused
on me.
"What was that?"
"Angels, kid." Actually a
kind of magical shadow of the real thing, but close enough.
"But I thought angels
were—"
"There's a reason why their
first words are usually 'Fear not!' whenever they meet a human."
His eyes returned to their unfocused
stare. I almost felt sorry for him. Then I noticed the letters FARISLAR
tattooed on his knuckles. Faerie slayer.
About Greater Treasures: Most people associate the DragonEye stories with high humor ranging from puns to slapstick, and in fact, the first stories and the novels have certainly been crazy fun. But the life of a cynical dragon PI isn’t all laughs, and Vern has had a few chilling stories to tell me. Some of these, I’ve sold to anthologies, but some are too long for that. Thus, I’ve decided to start publishing them on my own.
One thing I like to do for DragonEye stories is watch old noir films. Greater Treasures came to me while watching the Maltese Falcon. If you’ve never seen it, I recommend it. (Then, reread the story to see if you catch the in jokes.) I needed something with more “oomph” than a bird statue, and since Vern has some history with the Lance of Longinus, it made a good fit. I enjoyed looking up all the conspiracy theories about the use of the Lance by Hitler, which is where the neo-Nazi angle came in. To say more would be spoilers, so please, enjoy the story.
You can read about my adventures in the DragonEye books and stories. You’ll find the full list at http://dragoneyepi.net. The latest to come out (though not the latest one I’ve experienced) is Greater Treasures. Find it on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/greatertreasureskindle
November of last year, the world was blessed with the debut book by author and blogger Andrew Toy, The Man in the Box, a chilling, adventurous look into the darkest depths of the human heart. We were lucky enough to grab hold of the title character, Robbie Lake, for a moment or two and get him to answer a few of our questions.
Book Synopsis:
Work provided Robbie Lake the perfect escape from his family. But his life is turned upside down when he is unexpectedly fired. When he finds a new way of escape through a cardboard box, everything changes. The imaginary world of his childhood has evolved in his absence and is now more savage and hostile than even he could have dreamed. Robbie is drawn in by the excitement of his secret world, but will the cost of abandoning his family prove too high? TCM: We’re glad that you were vulnerable enough to allow Andrew Toy to write about your adventures and struggles, but we’re all wondering the same thing: Why? What did you allow your story to be told?
Robbie: I don’t want my kids, or anyone else making the same mistakes I did. I was foolish, choosing my “fantasy” world over my family. Everyone, though, it seems, has a fantasy world of some sort that they escape to whenever life gets too hard. Taylor, my daughter, hated me, I couldn’t connect with my son, my wife was dying, and I was unemployed. I look back now and can’t see how my situation could have been much worse. So, for me, my fantasy world came in the form of a box. And as much as I loved going to it, disappearing to Reveloin, it was only making things worse, not better.
TCM: Tell us about Reveloin.
Robbie: It was a world I dreamed up as a kid. I had a very active imagination. And like everyone else, I grew up and forgot all about it. And I don’t know if it’s like this for everyone else, but my world kept on existing without me. Except over the years it evolved into something sinister, darker, and more dangerous than any little boy from the 70’s could have come up with. The trees no longer tasted like candy, the cowboys were all dead, rocket ships were forgotten, and my friends all grew into wickedly nasty people. Sometimes I wonder if that world changing for the darker was a reflection of my own heart losing its innocence over the years.
WE: Of all the things that threatened your life in Reveloin, what scared you the most?
Robbie: The ghosts, for sure. I mean, the dinosaurs and the centipods were pretty terrifying, and I thought I’d be eaten by them, but the ghosts were the most terrifying because I thought I could become one. I didn’t want to lose myself like that and wonder around aimlessly like a zombie, killing anything in my path.
TCM: You lost someone that way, didn’t you?
Robbie: Yes. But I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.
TCM: Yes, that’s fine. Tell us about Sarcadui. Robbie: Sarcadui. I felt like she really knew me, like really understood me.
TCM:Like your wife?
Robbie: Yes. She was the exact image of who I wished my wife were. Or who I once saw her as. That’s why I almost kissed her. And Hale was who I remembered Taylor being. Hale was sweet, and made me laugh and she was so outspoken and had such a big mouth that only spoke the truth in the most blunt way possible. Taylor was just like Hale.
TCM: So everyone you encountered in Reveloin was a reflection of who you loved here in the world?
Robbie: Pretty much, yeah.
TCM: And what about Ames? Who did he represent?
Robbie: Me. At my worst.
TCM:Even though this book is based off of a portion of your life which you’d rather forget, it has been getting reviews from all over saying things like, “This was a heart-stopping suspense adventure like I haven’t read in a long time,” and “I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.” Do reviews like these insult you? Does it feel like they trivialize your experiences? Robbie: [Laughs] If any trivializing has been done, it was done by me. I didn’t take my own situation seriously enough. I’m the one who couldn’t separate fantasy from reality most of the time. And I don’t blame anyone for being so anxious reading Box. It’s got some pretty scary parts! But I hope they don’t miss the heart and warmth that the author worked so hard to put in there. I hope no one misses the point that the book is trying to make.
TCM: Which is?
Robbie: Whatever adventures or secrets you have, include your spouse. She’s there to help you. Open up your life to your kids. You don’t have to try so hard to connect with them. Share with them who you really are, and eventually, they’ll come around and start paying attention t you again.
TCM: Thank you, Robbie. It’s been a pleasure. Any last words to our readers? Robbie: Yeah. He’s too shy to say it, but if you buy the book, proceeds go to helping the author and his wife move forward in adopting their first child. He went through a lot of sweat and blood to get this book written and published, and if you read it and like it (which I’m sure you will), do him a favor and write a review on Amazon, and tell all your friends about it.
TCM: Doesn’t it have a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Amazon right now?
Robbie: Last I checked, yes.
Thanks for being with us Robbie! Good luck in all your endeavors, oh, and give our best regards to Andrew Toy too!
About Andrew Toy:
Andrew Toy lives with his wife and dachshunds in Louisville, KY. He is currently editing books of nearly every genre and is a writing coach for aspiring authors. He and his wife are trying to adopt their first child, and he is using the means of writing and editing to accomplish the goal of enlarging his family. Check out some more of his writing and upcoming books on his popular blog: adoptingjames.wordpress.com
