E.P. Clark's Blog, page 6
July 27, 2019
Who Are You Reading? Plus My Own Reading Recommendations and This Week's Giveaways
Hi All! The insistent barking coming in through my windows suggests that we are, in fact, in the dog days of summer. So if you're caught up in one of the record-breaking heat waves washing over the planet right now and looking for some cool indoor reading, I've got a list of what I've read and enjoyed recently.
But first! I want to know what you're reading! Who/what are some of your favorite classic fantasy authors and works? What new books have you enjoyed recently? Let me know!
As those of you who are familiar with my reading habits know, I have wide and eclectic reading tastes. This has always been the case, but years of grad school getting a degree in Russian literature only broadened my palate further. I've been thinking recently about how I complained a lot in school about all the difficult, confusing, and unfun works I had to read, but that I now really appreciate. I may never sit down and read a piece of zaum literature just for pleasure, but the fact that I have read it means that I can appreciate it--and lots of other literature, too.
One impetus for such thoughts has been reading Beyond Tula, a piece of "burlesque absurdism," as its description calls it, that was published during the early Soviet period but has only been translated and published in English this year.
Beyond Tula is indeed an absurd/absurdist work, full of bizarre dream states and strange garblings of early Sovietese and classical Russian literature, all jammed together in a fairly plotless plot about a weekend visit between friends who may be involved in some kind of homoerotic relationship. It's not an easy read, but it is a fascinating one, so if you want to stretch your horizons and check out some Russian literature beyond the 19th-century canon of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (the book is set near Tolstoy's estate Yasnaya Polyana, FYI), I recommend it.
Returning to fantasy, I have to start by tipping my hat to George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Reading A Game of Thrones when it first came out (I had a silver-cover hardback first edition for years, until it had to go away earlier this year in the Great Mold Purge) was one of the things that set me on the path of becoming a writer, and explicitly influenced my writing. I even include a couple of homage scenes to it in The Midnight Land, the first book in my own massive seven-book series.
Other favorite books from the past couple of decades include Robin Hobb's Farseer series and Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, which are very different from each other, but both of which create incredibly believable, livable fantasy worlds, peopled with engaging, if occasionally maddening, characters.
As for newer releases, I heartily recommend The Gardener's Hand by Felicia Davin, an imaginative series that is somewhere on the border between epic and adventure fantasy, and features a racially diverse and overtly LGBTQ cast of characters. Although that in and of itself is not a reason to read something (there are lots of well-meaning but unbearably tedious books about LGBTQ characters out there right now), it's a very welcome addition to an exciting and well-written fantasy series that deserves more attention than it appears to have gotten so far.
A similar book that's making a much bigger splash right now is The Priory of the Orange Tree, a complex epic--with emphasis on the "epic"--fantasy story involving dragons, prophecies, another kind of dragons, magical trees, and a lesbian love story.
Have you read any of those books? What fantasy are you currently reading and enjoying now?
And now, without further ado, this week's selection of giveaways:
It's the last week to check out the Fierce Feminist Fiction Giveaway! There are actually two parallel giveaways running, with slightly different selections of books. One is on Bookfunnel: https://books.bookfunnel.com/fiercefe...
and the other is on StoryOrigin: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/4lEY6iFk
It's also the last week to check out the Swords, Sorcery, and Dragons Giveaway on StoryOrigin: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/SZzYIxN
And your last chance to browse the July Fantasy Fest as well: https://books.bookfunnel.com/july-fan...
And here's a giveaway that's just starting up! The Heroes and Heroines Giveaway features fantasy books with, you guessed it, a strong hero or heroine: https://books.bookfunnel.com/heroes_h...
But first! I want to know what you're reading! Who/what are some of your favorite classic fantasy authors and works? What new books have you enjoyed recently? Let me know!
As those of you who are familiar with my reading habits know, I have wide and eclectic reading tastes. This has always been the case, but years of grad school getting a degree in Russian literature only broadened my palate further. I've been thinking recently about how I complained a lot in school about all the difficult, confusing, and unfun works I had to read, but that I now really appreciate. I may never sit down and read a piece of zaum literature just for pleasure, but the fact that I have read it means that I can appreciate it--and lots of other literature, too.
One impetus for such thoughts has been reading Beyond Tula, a piece of "burlesque absurdism," as its description calls it, that was published during the early Soviet period but has only been translated and published in English this year.
Beyond Tula is indeed an absurd/absurdist work, full of bizarre dream states and strange garblings of early Sovietese and classical Russian literature, all jammed together in a fairly plotless plot about a weekend visit between friends who may be involved in some kind of homoerotic relationship. It's not an easy read, but it is a fascinating one, so if you want to stretch your horizons and check out some Russian literature beyond the 19th-century canon of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (the book is set near Tolstoy's estate Yasnaya Polyana, FYI), I recommend it.
Returning to fantasy, I have to start by tipping my hat to George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Reading A Game of Thrones when it first came out (I had a silver-cover hardback first edition for years, until it had to go away earlier this year in the Great Mold Purge) was one of the things that set me on the path of becoming a writer, and explicitly influenced my writing. I even include a couple of homage scenes to it in The Midnight Land, the first book in my own massive seven-book series.
Other favorite books from the past couple of decades include Robin Hobb's Farseer series and Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, which are very different from each other, but both of which create incredibly believable, livable fantasy worlds, peopled with engaging, if occasionally maddening, characters.
As for newer releases, I heartily recommend The Gardener's Hand by Felicia Davin, an imaginative series that is somewhere on the border between epic and adventure fantasy, and features a racially diverse and overtly LGBTQ cast of characters. Although that in and of itself is not a reason to read something (there are lots of well-meaning but unbearably tedious books about LGBTQ characters out there right now), it's a very welcome addition to an exciting and well-written fantasy series that deserves more attention than it appears to have gotten so far.
A similar book that's making a much bigger splash right now is The Priory of the Orange Tree, a complex epic--with emphasis on the "epic"--fantasy story involving dragons, prophecies, another kind of dragons, magical trees, and a lesbian love story.
Have you read any of those books? What fantasy are you currently reading and enjoying now?
And now, without further ado, this week's selection of giveaways:
It's the last week to check out the Fierce Feminist Fiction Giveaway! There are actually two parallel giveaways running, with slightly different selections of books. One is on Bookfunnel: https://books.bookfunnel.com/fiercefe...
and the other is on StoryOrigin: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/4lEY6iFk
It's also the last week to check out the Swords, Sorcery, and Dragons Giveaway on StoryOrigin: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/SZzYIxN
And your last chance to browse the July Fantasy Fest as well: https://books.bookfunnel.com/july-fan...
And here's a giveaway that's just starting up! The Heroes and Heroines Giveaway features fantasy books with, you guessed it, a strong hero or heroine: https://books.bookfunnel.com/heroes_h...
July 13, 2019
Catch a Preview of the Next Giaco & Luca Story!
I hope everyone is staying cool! It's that glorious time of year when the towels never dry unless you run the AC and a dehumidifier, and the bugs are out full force. Try to enjoy it, because you know a few months from now we'll all be whining about the cold.
Today seemed like an auspicious day to give everyone a little peek at the third Giaco & Luca story, which is currently languishing on my computer in draft form as I work on other things, including--we hope!--audiobooks. More no doubt will be forthcoming about my adventures with audiobook narration in the near future. In the meantime, we can enjoy the first chapter of City of Shadows, the third installment in Giaco & Luca's adventures. It takes place several years after the previous stories, when Luca is already a young man.
But first!
If you have not yet read "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, you can get it and a ton more dark fantasy stories that are currently free on Kindle Unlimited in the Dark Fantasy Books Giveaway on StoryOrigin. And if you're not a KU subscriber, "The Shadowy Man" is currently just 99c to buy.
Dark Fantasy Books Giveaway: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/U18KDmUO
And second:
Advance Review Copies of "Half a Dream," the second novella in the series, are available along with many more free fantasy books in the July Fantasy Fest on BookFunnel.
July Fantasy Fest: https://books.bookfunnel.com/july-fan...
And now...
A special sneak peek of "City of Shadows":
1
“Giaco.”
Amanda’s voice shook him from his reverie. Being on holiday at home was making him spend too much time every day staring at nothing. He turned away from the slow rain filling the window, and looked at her.
“We’ll be leaving soon,” she said.
“Leaving?” he repeated, sounding stupid to his own ears. “Leaving? When? Where? Why? I’m supposed to be resting. A month off from my service, a gift from Adorata and a chance for the garrison to learn to live without me. Let Marcello learn to command on his own, now that he’s been promoted to the the position of head bodyguard.”
“I know,” said Amanda. “But we will be leaving Prado,” she told him. “Maybe in seven days, maybe in seven hours, but soon.” Her face darkened, filled with shadow. “And I will be leaving you.”
“You want…” His heart squeezed his throat so hard he couldn’t get the rest of the words out. “You want a…a divorce?”
“Oh. No.” She got up from the table and came over to his side. “That’s not what I meant at all.” She bent over and kissed the back of his neck where it joined his shoulders, right on the tattoo that marked him as a Reborn man. Even after seven years, his skin shuddered at that kiss. Not because it was unpleasant. Because there was something so transgressive about a seer kissing that mark of reason that it gave him an illicit thrill of forbidden pleasure every time. Amanda knew that, and did it often.
“Are you…” Dying couldn’t make it out of his throat. “Ill?” he asked instead.
Even from her position behind him he could sense her gaze turn inwards, as it did so often these days. “Not at the moment,” she said. Her voice lightened, he thought by force. “Perhaps I’ll be called out of town,” she said. “Some rich patroness, wishing to look into the future. Sevens keep coming up in my readings, so perhaps it is Settima Buonaventura. Or, since threes and ones keep coming up too, Terzina Campanile or Primavera Colombina.”
“Of course,” he said. Amanda had many rich patronesses, these days. No woman of Prado would dare to get married, or take any other grave step, without consulting with Amanda l’Interpretrice and her cards first. Only recently Amanda had had no need of cards. Half the time the future spoke to her on its own, without any medium. Giaco wished it would speak to her more plainly, but always it preferred whispers and riddles. “Lucrezia is set to marry at last,” he said out loud. “Maybe Adorata has decided to summon you prior to the wedding.”
“Very likely,” said Amanda. “So why don’t we call on her now? It will save her the trouble of sending for us.”
Which was why half an hour later Giaco found himself, accompanied by Amanda, at the gates of the Prado Castello, where an astonished messenger told them that he had just been about to set out in search of them. Amanda smiled at him inscrutably in response, and Giaco knew that the reputation of Amanda l’Interpretrice had just gained a little more depth to its luster.
The guards outside the throne room opened its doors as soon as Giaco and Amanda came into sight. “You go right on in,” they said. “She’s waiting for you. Though she didn’t think you’d be here so quick. She wasn’t expecting you till the seventh hour.”
A dash of girlish mischief, still so bewitching even in a woman in her fifth decade, crossed Amanda’s face. “The future spoke to me,” she told them.
The guards bowed in respect and squirmed in discomfort simultaneously. “We won’t get in its way, then. Please, Signora Amanda, come through.”
“Giacomo! Amanda!” Adorata rose from her throne to greet them. “Is anything the matter with Luca?” she asked, her voice turning anxious.
“Not that I am aware of, Your Highness,” Amanda told her. “We came in response to your summons.”
“But I just dispatched the messenger not a quarter of an hour ago!”
“But you had the thought earlier than that, did you not?”
“Well…yes.” Adorata smiled and sat back down. “Just in time for you to arrive here at this moment, in fact.” She looked around at the small crowd of petitioners and advocates waiting on her in the hall. “I must finish my business here so that I can speak to you in private,” she said. “Go call on Luca, and then await me in my chambers upstairs. I will be with you shortly.”
Amanda curtseyed and, taking Giaco’s arm, led him out of the hall and up the stairs, to where the Royal family had their private chambers.
“Comandante da Prado!” Every guard they passed stopped to salute Giacomo, or shake his hand, or call out his name. The Prado Castello took great pride in having such a distinguished warrior as their commander, and the younger guards tended to fawn around him, hoping to glean a little of the glory that they seemed to think hung around him.
Giaco, for his part, tried to instill them with at least a little of his hard-won wisdom, including the wisdom that secondhand glory was little better than none, but this generation of young men, like every previous generation ever born, had little taste for wisdom. Glory was ever so much more interesting, especially when it was won by a homegrown hero.
And so Giaco was known as “da Prado,” even though every single one of the guards there was also a da Prado, a person from Prado. The garrison wanted to underscore his connection to his and their natal city, and to remind themselves and others that Giaco was famous enough that the name “da Prado” was known all over the dei Fiori kingdom. Of all the thousands of “da Prados” that existed, their Giacomo was the most important.
He had even outstripped his father, the famous artist and leader of the Rebirth, Giovanni da Prado. Now it was the son—the younger son!—who was known as “Il da Prado,” the da Prado, if clarifications were required. The da Prado who had so distinguished himself at the Battle of Cinquevie, and many others. The da Prado who had been Prince Luca’s beloved bodyguard before becoming commander of the Prado garrison. The da Prado who had saved the Prince’s life, not once but several times. The da Prado who had, in some way that most people didn’t quite understand, been instrumental in bringing an end to the persecution of fortune tellers and other dabblers in magic, even as he remained a Reborn man, a believer in reason and harmony. The da Prado who, for all his family’s dedication to the Rebirth, had married the beautiful Amanda l’Interpretrice, the most skilled reader of cards in all the dei Fiori kingdom.
That da Prado was the one that the common folk, who still clung to superstition and magic, could love, and the artisans and nobles who had dedicated themselves to the Rebirth could respect. If only all the love and respect from commoners and nobles alike left a little more of Giaco for his family. But you couldn’t have everything.
Now, when Giaco and Amanda approached the suite that belonged to Prince Luca, the single guard at the door snapped to attention and said, quivering with zeal, “Comandante! It is an honor!”
“Marco! Is the Prince out?” asked Giaco.
Marco looked back and forth in astonishment between Giaco and Amanda.
“She didn’t read it in the cards,” Giaco told him, more patiently than he felt. “There’s only one of you on guard right now. Which means either the Prince’s guard detail is being slack, or he’s out. Which is it?”
“Ah…he’s out, Comandante,” said Marco.
“Where is he? What’s he doing?”
Marco’s eyes darted back and forth some more. “I couldn’t say, Comandante.”
Giaco bit back a sigh. Of late Prince Luca had been doing a lot of things that his guards felt unable to talk about, at least in front of Giaco, who had raised Luca like a son. “Off debauching again?”
“The Prince is a young man of strong, ah, passions, Comandante.”
“I’m sure. When you do expect him to return?”
Marco smiled weakly. “It’s not for me to say how the Prince spends his time, Comandante.”
“Well, let us into his suite, then. We’ll wait there till he returns, or Princess Adorata summons us.”
Marco shuffled his feet and stared at the floor. “Ah, I don’t know if the Prince’s rooms are, ah, in a fit state for visitors, Comandante.”
“How so, man? The Prince may be out sowing his wild oats from morning till night, and night till morning, but I have a hard time believing that the castle maids are letting things slide when it comes to tidying rooms and washing linen.”
“I believe what your poor man is trying to say, my dear Giacomo, is that there may be someone in the rooms,” Amanda put in.
Marco’s sheepish look confirmed Amanda’s words. “You mean to say,” said Giaco, feeling heat creep up around his collar, “that the Prince has left one lover alone in his rooms while he goes off chasing after another?”
Marco shuffled his feet some more. “Like I said, Comandante, it’s not for me to say what the Prince should or shouldn’t be doing. I just stand in the corridor and guard this door, Comandante, begging your pardon.”
This time Giaco was unable to repress his sigh. “That’s right. You do. And you do it well, Marco. And you’re right not to let anyone in. Who knows what kind of high-born young lady might be there, with nothing but your dedication to duty to protect her virtue. Well, my dear, shall we return to the throne room? Perhaps the Princess will be ready to speak with us.”
“Not quite yet, my love,” said Amanda.
There was a commotion at the end of the corridor. “Giaco!” a young, brash, slightly drunken voice shouted. “What in all the hells are you doing here?”
Enjoy that? There will be more coming soon! Meanwhile, here's this week's selection of book giveaways and promotions:
Love the F-word? Then check out the Fierce Feminist Fiction Giveaway on StoryOrigin! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/4lEY6iFk
Calling all medieval high fantasy fans! The Swords, Sorcery, and Dragons Giveaway is happening all month on StoryOrigin! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/SZzYIxN
Just one more week left of the Supernatural Solstice Fantasy Giveaway on BookFunnel! https://books.bookfunnel.com/misfitsu...
Today seemed like an auspicious day to give everyone a little peek at the third Giaco & Luca story, which is currently languishing on my computer in draft form as I work on other things, including--we hope!--audiobooks. More no doubt will be forthcoming about my adventures with audiobook narration in the near future. In the meantime, we can enjoy the first chapter of City of Shadows, the third installment in Giaco & Luca's adventures. It takes place several years after the previous stories, when Luca is already a young man.
But first!
If you have not yet read "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, you can get it and a ton more dark fantasy stories that are currently free on Kindle Unlimited in the Dark Fantasy Books Giveaway on StoryOrigin. And if you're not a KU subscriber, "The Shadowy Man" is currently just 99c to buy.
Dark Fantasy Books Giveaway: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/U18KDmUO
And second:
Advance Review Copies of "Half a Dream," the second novella in the series, are available along with many more free fantasy books in the July Fantasy Fest on BookFunnel.
July Fantasy Fest: https://books.bookfunnel.com/july-fan...
And now...
A special sneak peek of "City of Shadows":
1
“Giaco.”
Amanda’s voice shook him from his reverie. Being on holiday at home was making him spend too much time every day staring at nothing. He turned away from the slow rain filling the window, and looked at her.
“We’ll be leaving soon,” she said.
“Leaving?” he repeated, sounding stupid to his own ears. “Leaving? When? Where? Why? I’m supposed to be resting. A month off from my service, a gift from Adorata and a chance for the garrison to learn to live without me. Let Marcello learn to command on his own, now that he’s been promoted to the the position of head bodyguard.”
“I know,” said Amanda. “But we will be leaving Prado,” she told him. “Maybe in seven days, maybe in seven hours, but soon.” Her face darkened, filled with shadow. “And I will be leaving you.”
“You want…” His heart squeezed his throat so hard he couldn’t get the rest of the words out. “You want a…a divorce?”
“Oh. No.” She got up from the table and came over to his side. “That’s not what I meant at all.” She bent over and kissed the back of his neck where it joined his shoulders, right on the tattoo that marked him as a Reborn man. Even after seven years, his skin shuddered at that kiss. Not because it was unpleasant. Because there was something so transgressive about a seer kissing that mark of reason that it gave him an illicit thrill of forbidden pleasure every time. Amanda knew that, and did it often.
“Are you…” Dying couldn’t make it out of his throat. “Ill?” he asked instead.
Even from her position behind him he could sense her gaze turn inwards, as it did so often these days. “Not at the moment,” she said. Her voice lightened, he thought by force. “Perhaps I’ll be called out of town,” she said. “Some rich patroness, wishing to look into the future. Sevens keep coming up in my readings, so perhaps it is Settima Buonaventura. Or, since threes and ones keep coming up too, Terzina Campanile or Primavera Colombina.”
“Of course,” he said. Amanda had many rich patronesses, these days. No woman of Prado would dare to get married, or take any other grave step, without consulting with Amanda l’Interpretrice and her cards first. Only recently Amanda had had no need of cards. Half the time the future spoke to her on its own, without any medium. Giaco wished it would speak to her more plainly, but always it preferred whispers and riddles. “Lucrezia is set to marry at last,” he said out loud. “Maybe Adorata has decided to summon you prior to the wedding.”
“Very likely,” said Amanda. “So why don’t we call on her now? It will save her the trouble of sending for us.”
Which was why half an hour later Giaco found himself, accompanied by Amanda, at the gates of the Prado Castello, where an astonished messenger told them that he had just been about to set out in search of them. Amanda smiled at him inscrutably in response, and Giaco knew that the reputation of Amanda l’Interpretrice had just gained a little more depth to its luster.
The guards outside the throne room opened its doors as soon as Giaco and Amanda came into sight. “You go right on in,” they said. “She’s waiting for you. Though she didn’t think you’d be here so quick. She wasn’t expecting you till the seventh hour.”
A dash of girlish mischief, still so bewitching even in a woman in her fifth decade, crossed Amanda’s face. “The future spoke to me,” she told them.
The guards bowed in respect and squirmed in discomfort simultaneously. “We won’t get in its way, then. Please, Signora Amanda, come through.”
“Giacomo! Amanda!” Adorata rose from her throne to greet them. “Is anything the matter with Luca?” she asked, her voice turning anxious.
“Not that I am aware of, Your Highness,” Amanda told her. “We came in response to your summons.”
“But I just dispatched the messenger not a quarter of an hour ago!”
“But you had the thought earlier than that, did you not?”
“Well…yes.” Adorata smiled and sat back down. “Just in time for you to arrive here at this moment, in fact.” She looked around at the small crowd of petitioners and advocates waiting on her in the hall. “I must finish my business here so that I can speak to you in private,” she said. “Go call on Luca, and then await me in my chambers upstairs. I will be with you shortly.”
Amanda curtseyed and, taking Giaco’s arm, led him out of the hall and up the stairs, to where the Royal family had their private chambers.
“Comandante da Prado!” Every guard they passed stopped to salute Giacomo, or shake his hand, or call out his name. The Prado Castello took great pride in having such a distinguished warrior as their commander, and the younger guards tended to fawn around him, hoping to glean a little of the glory that they seemed to think hung around him.
Giaco, for his part, tried to instill them with at least a little of his hard-won wisdom, including the wisdom that secondhand glory was little better than none, but this generation of young men, like every previous generation ever born, had little taste for wisdom. Glory was ever so much more interesting, especially when it was won by a homegrown hero.
And so Giaco was known as “da Prado,” even though every single one of the guards there was also a da Prado, a person from Prado. The garrison wanted to underscore his connection to his and their natal city, and to remind themselves and others that Giaco was famous enough that the name “da Prado” was known all over the dei Fiori kingdom. Of all the thousands of “da Prados” that existed, their Giacomo was the most important.
He had even outstripped his father, the famous artist and leader of the Rebirth, Giovanni da Prado. Now it was the son—the younger son!—who was known as “Il da Prado,” the da Prado, if clarifications were required. The da Prado who had so distinguished himself at the Battle of Cinquevie, and many others. The da Prado who had been Prince Luca’s beloved bodyguard before becoming commander of the Prado garrison. The da Prado who had saved the Prince’s life, not once but several times. The da Prado who had, in some way that most people didn’t quite understand, been instrumental in bringing an end to the persecution of fortune tellers and other dabblers in magic, even as he remained a Reborn man, a believer in reason and harmony. The da Prado who, for all his family’s dedication to the Rebirth, had married the beautiful Amanda l’Interpretrice, the most skilled reader of cards in all the dei Fiori kingdom.
That da Prado was the one that the common folk, who still clung to superstition and magic, could love, and the artisans and nobles who had dedicated themselves to the Rebirth could respect. If only all the love and respect from commoners and nobles alike left a little more of Giaco for his family. But you couldn’t have everything.
Now, when Giaco and Amanda approached the suite that belonged to Prince Luca, the single guard at the door snapped to attention and said, quivering with zeal, “Comandante! It is an honor!”
“Marco! Is the Prince out?” asked Giaco.
Marco looked back and forth in astonishment between Giaco and Amanda.
“She didn’t read it in the cards,” Giaco told him, more patiently than he felt. “There’s only one of you on guard right now. Which means either the Prince’s guard detail is being slack, or he’s out. Which is it?”
“Ah…he’s out, Comandante,” said Marco.
“Where is he? What’s he doing?”
Marco’s eyes darted back and forth some more. “I couldn’t say, Comandante.”
Giaco bit back a sigh. Of late Prince Luca had been doing a lot of things that his guards felt unable to talk about, at least in front of Giaco, who had raised Luca like a son. “Off debauching again?”
“The Prince is a young man of strong, ah, passions, Comandante.”
“I’m sure. When you do expect him to return?”
Marco smiled weakly. “It’s not for me to say how the Prince spends his time, Comandante.”
“Well, let us into his suite, then. We’ll wait there till he returns, or Princess Adorata summons us.”
Marco shuffled his feet and stared at the floor. “Ah, I don’t know if the Prince’s rooms are, ah, in a fit state for visitors, Comandante.”
“How so, man? The Prince may be out sowing his wild oats from morning till night, and night till morning, but I have a hard time believing that the castle maids are letting things slide when it comes to tidying rooms and washing linen.”
“I believe what your poor man is trying to say, my dear Giacomo, is that there may be someone in the rooms,” Amanda put in.
Marco’s sheepish look confirmed Amanda’s words. “You mean to say,” said Giaco, feeling heat creep up around his collar, “that the Prince has left one lover alone in his rooms while he goes off chasing after another?”
Marco shuffled his feet some more. “Like I said, Comandante, it’s not for me to say what the Prince should or shouldn’t be doing. I just stand in the corridor and guard this door, Comandante, begging your pardon.”
This time Giaco was unable to repress his sigh. “That’s right. You do. And you do it well, Marco. And you’re right not to let anyone in. Who knows what kind of high-born young lady might be there, with nothing but your dedication to duty to protect her virtue. Well, my dear, shall we return to the throne room? Perhaps the Princess will be ready to speak with us.”
“Not quite yet, my love,” said Amanda.
There was a commotion at the end of the corridor. “Giaco!” a young, brash, slightly drunken voice shouted. “What in all the hells are you doing here?”
Enjoy that? There will be more coming soon! Meanwhile, here's this week's selection of book giveaways and promotions:
Love the F-word? Then check out the Fierce Feminist Fiction Giveaway on StoryOrigin! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/4lEY6iFk
Calling all medieval high fantasy fans! The Swords, Sorcery, and Dragons Giveaway is happening all month on StoryOrigin! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/SZzYIxN
Just one more week left of the Supernatural Solstice Fantasy Giveaway on BookFunnel! https://books.bookfunnel.com/misfitsu...
June 21, 2019
Celebrate the Solstice and Get "The Dreaming Land I" for Free!
Happy Midsummer, everyone!
Yes, it's that time, when the days are the longest (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere) and the nights are the shortest. Also, incidentally, the time of my birthday. So in order to celebrate both these events, "The Dreaming Land I" is free this weekend on Kindle! http://mybook.to/TDLI
"The Dreaming Land" mini-series begins just before Midsummer and continues until early fall. In keeping with its summery setting, it's *by far* the most sultry of my books/series, with some, ahem, rather steamy scenes, especially in books II and III.
At the same time, like my other books, it's also overtly philosophical (that's not just me bragging; other people have told me that), full of meditations on things like the nature of freedom and human interactions with the natural world. As I've written about before, it's on one level a retelling of the story of Eowyn, and a challenge to what I see as possibly masculine assumptions about freedom and responsibility, as well as a call to be a giver rather than a taker in this world. And of course it's full of allusions to Russian literature, from The Tale of Igor's Campaign to the present day.
If that's got you curious, here's that link again to get a free copy on Kindle: http://mybook.to/TDLI
And now it's time for this week's selection of book giveaways and promos!
If you haven't picked up a free ARC of "Half a Dream," Book 2 in the Giaco & Luca series, yet, you can grab one in the Supernatural Solstice giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/misfitsu...
And book 1, "The Shadowy Man," is available, along with a bunch of other fantasy books, for 99c (and many are free on KU as well) in the 99c SciFi/Fantasy/Supernatural Book Event: https://books.bookfunnel.com/99fantas...
Looking for some literary fiction for your summer reading? Check out the Literary Fiction Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/literary...
Want some more kickass heroines? Check out the Fabulous, Feisty & Female Giveaway! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/5qQHqSf9
Yes, it's that time, when the days are the longest (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere) and the nights are the shortest. Also, incidentally, the time of my birthday. So in order to celebrate both these events, "The Dreaming Land I" is free this weekend on Kindle! http://mybook.to/TDLI
"The Dreaming Land" mini-series begins just before Midsummer and continues until early fall. In keeping with its summery setting, it's *by far* the most sultry of my books/series, with some, ahem, rather steamy scenes, especially in books II and III.
At the same time, like my other books, it's also overtly philosophical (that's not just me bragging; other people have told me that), full of meditations on things like the nature of freedom and human interactions with the natural world. As I've written about before, it's on one level a retelling of the story of Eowyn, and a challenge to what I see as possibly masculine assumptions about freedom and responsibility, as well as a call to be a giver rather than a taker in this world. And of course it's full of allusions to Russian literature, from The Tale of Igor's Campaign to the present day.
If that's got you curious, here's that link again to get a free copy on Kindle: http://mybook.to/TDLI
And now it's time for this week's selection of book giveaways and promos!
If you haven't picked up a free ARC of "Half a Dream," Book 2 in the Giaco & Luca series, yet, you can grab one in the Supernatural Solstice giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/misfitsu...
And book 1, "The Shadowy Man," is available, along with a bunch of other fantasy books, for 99c (and many are free on KU as well) in the 99c SciFi/Fantasy/Supernatural Book Event: https://books.bookfunnel.com/99fantas...
Looking for some literary fiction for your summer reading? Check out the Literary Fiction Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/literary...
Want some more kickass heroines? Check out the Fabulous, Feisty & Female Giveaway! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/5qQHqSf9
June 15, 2019
ARCs of "Half a Dream" are Here! Plus Reading Recommendations and Giveaways
Wow! Halfway through June already! Time really does keep on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future.
Hope that thought doesn't make everyone too uncomfortable. To be honest, it makes me a little uncomfortable.
But why think about that when you can think about the onrushing summer? So, since it's summertime, now seems like a great time to let everyone know that ARCs of "Half a Dream"
the second story in my Giaco & Luca series, are available for free in the "It's a Family Affair" book giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/familyaf...
"Half a Dream" is set in high summer, when everything is sunny and hot. Although since most of the action takes place at night, maybe it doesn't matter that much.
Like "The Shadowy Man," the first story in the series, "Half a Dream" is set in a world loosely based on Renaissance Florence, only with magic. As you might guess by the cover, Tarot plays a major part in the story, although it's a Tarot of my own invention. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Giaco & Luca series as a whole is united not just by the main characters, but by the intertwined themes of fortune and fear. Each story features a different kind of fortune-telling; in "Half a Dream," we meet Amanda l'Interpretrice, the best card-reader in the kingdom. Not only did this allow me to indulge in my interest in cards and fortune-telling, but I was also able to start bringing in some strong female characters, something in which the first story was, I frankly admit, sorely lacking.
Although the series is inspired by Italy and particularly Florence, "Half a Dream" does have a big Russian influence as well. Several times throughout the story, Giaco encounters his father's sculpture "The Girl and the Bull." While the subject of the sculpture is clearly the Rape of Europa, the actual inspiration for my inclusion of it in the story is the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin's poem "Tsarskoe Selo Statue," describing a famous statue in the town of Tsarskoe Selo.
"Half a Dream" is set in high summer, when everything is sunny and hot. Although since most of the action takes place at night, maybe it doesn't matter that much.
Like "The Shadowy Man," the first story in the series, "Half a Dream" is set in a world loosely based on Renaissance Florence, only with magic. As you might guess by the cover, Tarot plays a major part in the story, although it's a Tarot of my own invention. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Giaco & Luca series as a whole is united not just by the main characters, but by the intertwined themes of fortune and fear. Each story features a different kind of fortune-telling; in "Half a Dream," we meet Amanda l'Interpretrice, the best card-reader in the kingdom. Not only did this allow me to indulge in my interest in cards and fortune-telling, but I was also able to start bringing in some strong female characters, something in which the first story was, I frankly admit, sorely lacking.
Although the series is inspired by Italy and particularly Florence, "Half a Dream" does have a big Russian influence as well. Several times throughout the story, Giaco encounters his father's sculpture "The Girl and the Bull." While the subject of the sculpture is clearly the Rape of Europa, the actual inspiration for my inclusion of it in the story is the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin's poem "Tsarskoe Selo Statue," describing a famous statue in the town of Tsarskoe Selo.
Pushkin wrote a series of poems in classical hexameter about statues, of which this is perhaps the most famous. A (prose) translation would be something like this:
Dropping the urn, the maiden smashed it against the cliff.
The maiden sits sorrowfully, holding an empty shard.
A miracle! The water pouring from the broken urn will never run dry.
Eternally sad, the maiden sits over the eternal stream.
I have a sneaking fondness for classical hexameter verses, which both Pushkin and his contemporary (and the subject of my dissertation, FWIW) Baratynsky used to great effect. So as Giaco is running back and forth across town, aware of how time is slipping through his fingers, he is repeatedly confronted with his father's statue of The Girl and the Bull, which, like the statue in Tsarskoe Selo, is a moment of sorrow and terror frozen for eternity, or close enough for our human perceptions.
If that's whetted your appetite (and how could it not!?!), once again, the link for the giveaway that includes "Half a Dream" is here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/familyaf...
But enough about me! This week I thought I'd pass on some recent releases of fantasy with strong female leads that might interest you. Both are 99c or free on KU.
Elixa is a medieval fantasy thriller "filled with conspiracy, heresy, the might of the medieval church, a mysterious Moor, alchemy, a love-struggle and a touch of the supernatural." The universal link is here: http://getbook.at/elixa
The Shadow Stalker series is a dark fantasy series featuring a young female warrior who must learn to control her powers and save the world. Episode 21 has just been released and is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Stalker...
And now for this week's selection of giveaways!
The 99c Fantasy Event is full of books (including "The Shadowy Man"!) that are currently just 99c, and many are free on KU as well: https://books.bookfunnel.com/99fantas...
The Literary Fiction Giveaway features books of all genres with a literary bent: https://books.bookfunnel.com/literary...
The Kickbutt Ladies of Fantasy giveaway is still going strong! https://books.bookfunnel.com/kickbutt...
Hope that thought doesn't make everyone too uncomfortable. To be honest, it makes me a little uncomfortable.
But why think about that when you can think about the onrushing summer? So, since it's summertime, now seems like a great time to let everyone know that ARCs of "Half a Dream"
the second story in my Giaco & Luca series, are available for free in the "It's a Family Affair" book giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/familyaf..."Half a Dream" is set in high summer, when everything is sunny and hot. Although since most of the action takes place at night, maybe it doesn't matter that much.
Like "The Shadowy Man," the first story in the series, "Half a Dream" is set in a world loosely based on Renaissance Florence, only with magic. As you might guess by the cover, Tarot plays a major part in the story, although it's a Tarot of my own invention. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Giaco & Luca series as a whole is united not just by the main characters, but by the intertwined themes of fortune and fear. Each story features a different kind of fortune-telling; in "Half a Dream," we meet Amanda l'Interpretrice, the best card-reader in the kingdom. Not only did this allow me to indulge in my interest in cards and fortune-telling, but I was also able to start bringing in some strong female characters, something in which the first story was, I frankly admit, sorely lacking.
Although the series is inspired by Italy and particularly Florence, "Half a Dream" does have a big Russian influence as well. Several times throughout the story, Giaco encounters his father's sculpture "The Girl and the Bull." While the subject of the sculpture is clearly the Rape of Europa, the actual inspiration for my inclusion of it in the story is the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin's poem "Tsarskoe Selo Statue," describing a famous statue in the town of Tsarskoe Selo.
"Half a Dream" is set in high summer, when everything is sunny and hot. Although since most of the action takes place at night, maybe it doesn't matter that much.
Like "The Shadowy Man," the first story in the series, "Half a Dream" is set in a world loosely based on Renaissance Florence, only with magic. As you might guess by the cover, Tarot plays a major part in the story, although it's a Tarot of my own invention. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Giaco & Luca series as a whole is united not just by the main characters, but by the intertwined themes of fortune and fear. Each story features a different kind of fortune-telling; in "Half a Dream," we meet Amanda l'Interpretrice, the best card-reader in the kingdom. Not only did this allow me to indulge in my interest in cards and fortune-telling, but I was also able to start bringing in some strong female characters, something in which the first story was, I frankly admit, sorely lacking.
Although the series is inspired by Italy and particularly Florence, "Half a Dream" does have a big Russian influence as well. Several times throughout the story, Giaco encounters his father's sculpture "The Girl and the Bull." While the subject of the sculpture is clearly the Rape of Europa, the actual inspiration for my inclusion of it in the story is the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin's poem "Tsarskoe Selo Statue," describing a famous statue in the town of Tsarskoe Selo.
Pushkin wrote a series of poems in classical hexameter about statues, of which this is perhaps the most famous. A (prose) translation would be something like this:
Dropping the urn, the maiden smashed it against the cliff.
The maiden sits sorrowfully, holding an empty shard.
A miracle! The water pouring from the broken urn will never run dry.
Eternally sad, the maiden sits over the eternal stream.
I have a sneaking fondness for classical hexameter verses, which both Pushkin and his contemporary (and the subject of my dissertation, FWIW) Baratynsky used to great effect. So as Giaco is running back and forth across town, aware of how time is slipping through his fingers, he is repeatedly confronted with his father's statue of The Girl and the Bull, which, like the statue in Tsarskoe Selo, is a moment of sorrow and terror frozen for eternity, or close enough for our human perceptions.
If that's whetted your appetite (and how could it not!?!), once again, the link for the giveaway that includes "Half a Dream" is here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/familyaf...
But enough about me! This week I thought I'd pass on some recent releases of fantasy with strong female leads that might interest you. Both are 99c or free on KU.
Elixa is a medieval fantasy thriller "filled with conspiracy, heresy, the might of the medieval church, a mysterious Moor, alchemy, a love-struggle and a touch of the supernatural." The universal link is here: http://getbook.at/elixa
The Shadow Stalker series is a dark fantasy series featuring a young female warrior who must learn to control her powers and save the world. Episode 21 has just been released and is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Stalker...
And now for this week's selection of giveaways!
The 99c Fantasy Event is full of books (including "The Shadowy Man"!) that are currently just 99c, and many are free on KU as well: https://books.bookfunnel.com/99fantas...
The Literary Fiction Giveaway features books of all genres with a literary bent: https://books.bookfunnel.com/literary...
The Kickbutt Ladies of Fantasy giveaway is still going strong! https://books.bookfunnel.com/kickbutt...
June 1, 2019
Get a Sneak Peak of the Cover for "Half a Dream"! Plus This Week's Selection of Giveaways
Happy June, everyone!
Gosh, where is the time going? Seems like 2019 just started, and here it is June already.
That means my medical leave is almost up, although classes don't actually start until the end of August. I was hoping to be miraculously cured by now, but alas, that is not the case. The best I can say is that I am not quite as sick as I was a couple of months ago. And even on my bad days I can normally walk to the end of the block, which, given that six months ago I couldn't walk across a room without holding onto something, is a miraculous recovery, I guess.
In any case a HUGE thanks to everyone who participated in the launch of "The Shadowy Man," whether by downloading, sharing, or leaving reviews.
Speaking of "The Shadowy Man," you can get it and many other fantasy books on Kindle Unlimited in the Summer is Coming Free on KU event. Dozens of fantasy books, all free on KU! Link here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer_i...
I wrote the original version of "The Shadowy Man" in 2007, while preparing to head off to Finland for the first time. This turned out to be a much more stressful process than I had originally assumed, so I bled off some of that stress and fear into the story.
I went back to Finland in 2010, which was *also* a ridiculously stressful process. The problem was that both times I was traveling on a FLAS grant from the government, and they just had to make it as difficult as possible. Perhaps as a result of this, I developed a pretty nasty fear of flying, which is ironic given how much of it I'd done. Afterwards, I made my parents promise to stop me if I ever decided to apply for a FLAS again.
Anyway, once again the process proved inspiring for what has turned into a series of novellas about Giacomo and Luca, and I wrote "Half a Dream," the sequel to "The Shadowy Man," in 2010. I'm planning to release it later this year, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek of the cover (click on the link): https://epclarkauthor.net/2019/06/01/...
I didn't realize until I was working on these stories that I had a thing for cards, but apparently I do.
There's so much I could say about "Half a Dream," and no doubt I will, but I guess I'll end by saying that the whole series seems to revolve around the themes of fortune and fear, with multiple references to sports. "The Shadowy Man" has a character named Barbaro, after the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who tragically died as a result of an injury in the Preakness, and both stories have little catch phrases from football (soccer), such as "It's not a matter of life and death. It's more important than that." So while Giaco & Luca live in a kind of alternate Renaissance Florence, their experiences are informed by current events in this reality here.
Stay tuned for more updates, but in the meantime, here's this weekend's selection of giveaways!
The Write Stuff Giveaway, with books in all genres by female authors, is still going strong! https://storyoriginapp.com/bundles/7b...
All kinds of ass-kicking female characters in the Kickbutt Ladies of Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/kickbutt...
The Summer is Coming Giveaway features books that are free on KU, so load up your Kindle! https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer_i...
Gosh, where is the time going? Seems like 2019 just started, and here it is June already.
That means my medical leave is almost up, although classes don't actually start until the end of August. I was hoping to be miraculously cured by now, but alas, that is not the case. The best I can say is that I am not quite as sick as I was a couple of months ago. And even on my bad days I can normally walk to the end of the block, which, given that six months ago I couldn't walk across a room without holding onto something, is a miraculous recovery, I guess.
In any case a HUGE thanks to everyone who participated in the launch of "The Shadowy Man," whether by downloading, sharing, or leaving reviews.
Speaking of "The Shadowy Man," you can get it and many other fantasy books on Kindle Unlimited in the Summer is Coming Free on KU event. Dozens of fantasy books, all free on KU! Link here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer_i...
I wrote the original version of "The Shadowy Man" in 2007, while preparing to head off to Finland for the first time. This turned out to be a much more stressful process than I had originally assumed, so I bled off some of that stress and fear into the story.
I went back to Finland in 2010, which was *also* a ridiculously stressful process. The problem was that both times I was traveling on a FLAS grant from the government, and they just had to make it as difficult as possible. Perhaps as a result of this, I developed a pretty nasty fear of flying, which is ironic given how much of it I'd done. Afterwards, I made my parents promise to stop me if I ever decided to apply for a FLAS again.
Anyway, once again the process proved inspiring for what has turned into a series of novellas about Giacomo and Luca, and I wrote "Half a Dream," the sequel to "The Shadowy Man," in 2010. I'm planning to release it later this year, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek of the cover (click on the link): https://epclarkauthor.net/2019/06/01/...
I didn't realize until I was working on these stories that I had a thing for cards, but apparently I do.
There's so much I could say about "Half a Dream," and no doubt I will, but I guess I'll end by saying that the whole series seems to revolve around the themes of fortune and fear, with multiple references to sports. "The Shadowy Man" has a character named Barbaro, after the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who tragically died as a result of an injury in the Preakness, and both stories have little catch phrases from football (soccer), such as "It's not a matter of life and death. It's more important than that." So while Giaco & Luca live in a kind of alternate Renaissance Florence, their experiences are informed by current events in this reality here.
Stay tuned for more updates, but in the meantime, here's this weekend's selection of giveaways!
The Write Stuff Giveaway, with books in all genres by female authors, is still going strong! https://storyoriginapp.com/bundles/7b...
All kinds of ass-kicking female characters in the Kickbutt Ladies of Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/kickbutt...
The Summer is Coming Giveaway features books that are free on KU, so load up your Kindle! https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer_i...
May 16, 2019
Come Say Hi at OWS CyCon and Grab a FREE Copy of "The Shadowy Man"!
Oh boy! It's a weekend of exciting news!
First of all, it's the official launch of my Italian-themed fantasy mystery novella "The Shadowy Man"! It's free on Kindle May 17-21; you can grab a copy here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman
And, as always, reviews will be highly appreciated!
Second of all, OWS CyCon 2019 is going on May 17-19! https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/
What, you might ask, is CyCon? It's just what it sounds like: a cyber convention for readers, authors, bloggers, and anyone else who loves books! I have a booth in the Fantasy section, and you can come visit me here. https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/for...
You can also vote in the Cover Wars face-off (obviously I'm hoping you vote for "The Shadowy Man" if it's still in contention :)): http://brackify.com/bracket/35104/OWS...
And check out the Blog Tour: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/fan...
So, please, stop on by! Here are those links again:
Universal link for a FREE copy of "The Shadowy Man": http://mybook.to/shadowyman
Link to the main OWS CyCon site: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/
And don't forget to check out this week's selections of giveaways!
Feast your eyes on the Beautiful Cover Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/beautifu...
Go on a fantasy adventure with the Follow the Yellow Brick Road Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/yellowbr...
Check out this broad selection of books by female authors in The Write Stuff Giveaway! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/2FFPIGnc
First of all, it's the official launch of my Italian-themed fantasy mystery novella "The Shadowy Man"! It's free on Kindle May 17-21; you can grab a copy here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman
And, as always, reviews will be highly appreciated!
Second of all, OWS CyCon 2019 is going on May 17-19! https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/
What, you might ask, is CyCon? It's just what it sounds like: a cyber convention for readers, authors, bloggers, and anyone else who loves books! I have a booth in the Fantasy section, and you can come visit me here. https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/for...
You can also vote in the Cover Wars face-off (obviously I'm hoping you vote for "The Shadowy Man" if it's still in contention :)): http://brackify.com/bracket/35104/OWS...
And check out the Blog Tour: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/fan...
So, please, stop on by! Here are those links again:
Universal link for a FREE copy of "The Shadowy Man": http://mybook.to/shadowyman
Link to the main OWS CyCon site: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/
And don't forget to check out this week's selections of giveaways!
Feast your eyes on the Beautiful Cover Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/beautifu...
Go on a fantasy adventure with the Follow the Yellow Brick Road Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/yellowbr...
Check out this broad selection of books by female authors in The Write Stuff Giveaway! https://storyoriginapp.com/to/2FFPIGnc
May 11, 2019
Questions, Requests, and This Week's Selection of Giveaways
Hello Everyone!
Here's hoping you're a little dryer than I currently am. Well, actually, I myself am currently under a roof that is not (currently) leaking, so I guess I'm technically "dry," but once again it's so damp here that paper curls and the floors become sticky if I don't keep my windows shut and run my air purifiers constantly. When are we going to have a nice drought, that's what I want to know.
Anyway, as promised, I've got questions and requests for YOU, dear readers! I think I'll start with the request.
Next week is the official launch date of "The Shadowy Man," when I'll be holding a big blow-out free giveaway of it. But the book is already up on Amazon in order to give me time to get the book page set up (a surprisingly challenging process) and to, hopefully, get a few reviews up. So if you got an ARC of "The Shadowy Man" and feel moved to leave a review, now would be an awesome time to do so! It's a very simple and quick process: you just go to the book's page on Amazon (here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman), scroll down to "Review this product," and leave your review. They don't have to be long at all--a sentence or two is fine. So in five minutes or less you can make an author's day!
Once again, the story's universal Amazon link is here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman
And now for the question! I've recently started experimenting with podcasting my stories under my other pen name (you can check it out on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-75873088 and iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... if you feel so inclined). At the moment I'm still in the tearing-my-hair-out stage of trying to make the tech work, but that's how it goes. After many hours of frustration, I have managed to get some semi-listenable episodes up, and I enjoyed the process so much I've been thinking of podcasting some of my E.P. Clark stories as well.
So what do you think? How many of you listen to podcasts and audiobooks? I know they're growing rapidly in popularity, and they're perfect for commuting or doing chores. Anyone have any favorite "podiobooks" that they listen to?
And now for this week's selection of giveaways!
The Speculative Short Story Extravaganza is a great opportunity to load up on short stories of all stripes! https://books.bookfunnel.com/sff-shor...
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to your next great fantasy adventure! https://books.bookfunnel.com/yellowbr...
Put some pretty in your life with the Beautiful Covers Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/beautifu...
Here's hoping you're a little dryer than I currently am. Well, actually, I myself am currently under a roof that is not (currently) leaking, so I guess I'm technically "dry," but once again it's so damp here that paper curls and the floors become sticky if I don't keep my windows shut and run my air purifiers constantly. When are we going to have a nice drought, that's what I want to know.
Anyway, as promised, I've got questions and requests for YOU, dear readers! I think I'll start with the request.
Next week is the official launch date of "The Shadowy Man," when I'll be holding a big blow-out free giveaway of it. But the book is already up on Amazon in order to give me time to get the book page set up (a surprisingly challenging process) and to, hopefully, get a few reviews up. So if you got an ARC of "The Shadowy Man" and feel moved to leave a review, now would be an awesome time to do so! It's a very simple and quick process: you just go to the book's page on Amazon (here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman), scroll down to "Review this product," and leave your review. They don't have to be long at all--a sentence or two is fine. So in five minutes or less you can make an author's day!
Once again, the story's universal Amazon link is here: http://mybook.to/shadowyman
And now for the question! I've recently started experimenting with podcasting my stories under my other pen name (you can check it out on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-75873088 and iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... if you feel so inclined). At the moment I'm still in the tearing-my-hair-out stage of trying to make the tech work, but that's how it goes. After many hours of frustration, I have managed to get some semi-listenable episodes up, and I enjoyed the process so much I've been thinking of podcasting some of my E.P. Clark stories as well.
So what do you think? How many of you listen to podcasts and audiobooks? I know they're growing rapidly in popularity, and they're perfect for commuting or doing chores. Anyone have any favorite "podiobooks" that they listen to?
And now for this week's selection of giveaways!
The Speculative Short Story Extravaganza is a great opportunity to load up on short stories of all stripes! https://books.bookfunnel.com/sff-shor...
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to your next great fantasy adventure! https://books.bookfunnel.com/yellowbr...
Put some pretty in your life with the Beautiful Covers Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/beautifu...
April 27, 2019
Learn Italian and Listen to Hot Italian Singers! (You know you want to :))
Buon giorno! Or buona sera, depending on what time you're reading this.
As I mentioned last time, what with all my health problems blah blah blah I decided for my next series to take a break from the gloomy North and revisit and revise my "Italian" stories. Of course, those stories turned out to be pretty dark too, but whatever.
Free ARCs of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the Giaco & Luca series, are available for a couple more days in the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
I showed up in Milan, Italy in the summer of 1999, after a somewhat fun, somewhat harrowing journey from Prague via Austria, where I'd been visiting with friends. My first few days in Milan, which was going to be my new home for an unspecified amount of time, were passed in a daze of exhaustion and confusion. I didn't speak a word of Italian, and we (I was there with my family) were living in a hotel, waiting for our house to be ready for us to move in.
But then, ladies and gentlemen, I heard this song on MTV Italia (ah, the MTV Italia VJs! So stylish! So handsome!), and realized everything was going to be all right. Any culture that could produce something this ridiculously happy had to be a good place:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR3ld...
Not only that, but the song was a great way to learn the future tense, once I started studying Italian!
What songs have you used to help learn a foreign language? It's one of my favorite methods, so I'm always on the lookout for more good songs to listen to.
While my Italian is, alas, terribly rusty at this point, I did enjoy whipping it out as I was working on the Giaco & Luca stories. I wanted to strike a balance between making them comprehensible to non-Italian speakers, and including plenty of Italian seasoning. So there are a goodly number of Italian words and phrases in them. Here's a short list, in no particular order, of some of the most repeated:
Il Castello Maggiore: Lit. "The major/main castle." The main keep in the double castle where the royal family lives.
Il Castello degli Eredi: Lit. "The castle of the heirs." The smaller keep for the royal heirs in the double castle.
La Città dei Fiori: Lit. "The City of Flowers." My version of Firenze/Florence.
Via: Street
Viale: Large street, avenue
Vietta: Small street, alley
Piazza: City square
Piazzale: Large city square
Lo Sfilatro: The Unraveller.
Felix il Felice: Felix the Happy
Sinistro: Sinister/left, as in the lefthand side of something
You see how easy Italian is? It's a complete snap! At this rate, you'll be fluent before you know it :) There are more Italian words in the later stories, but maybe I'll hold off on those until they're closer to release. Meanwhile, Buona giornata/serata a tutti! Ci vediamo pronto!
And check out these giveaways, all ending soon:
Get started on some great new series with the Springtime in Prequel Time Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/springti...
Get your fill of all genres of speculative fiction with the Spring Speculative Fiction Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculat...
Still feeling foolish? Check out the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
As I mentioned last time, what with all my health problems blah blah blah I decided for my next series to take a break from the gloomy North and revisit and revise my "Italian" stories. Of course, those stories turned out to be pretty dark too, but whatever.
Free ARCs of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the Giaco & Luca series, are available for a couple more days in the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
I showed up in Milan, Italy in the summer of 1999, after a somewhat fun, somewhat harrowing journey from Prague via Austria, where I'd been visiting with friends. My first few days in Milan, which was going to be my new home for an unspecified amount of time, were passed in a daze of exhaustion and confusion. I didn't speak a word of Italian, and we (I was there with my family) were living in a hotel, waiting for our house to be ready for us to move in.
But then, ladies and gentlemen, I heard this song on MTV Italia (ah, the MTV Italia VJs! So stylish! So handsome!), and realized everything was going to be all right. Any culture that could produce something this ridiculously happy had to be a good place:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR3ld...
Not only that, but the song was a great way to learn the future tense, once I started studying Italian!
What songs have you used to help learn a foreign language? It's one of my favorite methods, so I'm always on the lookout for more good songs to listen to.
While my Italian is, alas, terribly rusty at this point, I did enjoy whipping it out as I was working on the Giaco & Luca stories. I wanted to strike a balance between making them comprehensible to non-Italian speakers, and including plenty of Italian seasoning. So there are a goodly number of Italian words and phrases in them. Here's a short list, in no particular order, of some of the most repeated:
Il Castello Maggiore: Lit. "The major/main castle." The main keep in the double castle where the royal family lives.
Il Castello degli Eredi: Lit. "The castle of the heirs." The smaller keep for the royal heirs in the double castle.
La Città dei Fiori: Lit. "The City of Flowers." My version of Firenze/Florence.
Via: Street
Viale: Large street, avenue
Vietta: Small street, alley
Piazza: City square
Piazzale: Large city square
Lo Sfilatro: The Unraveller.
Felix il Felice: Felix the Happy
Sinistro: Sinister/left, as in the lefthand side of something
You see how easy Italian is? It's a complete snap! At this rate, you'll be fluent before you know it :) There are more Italian words in the later stories, but maybe I'll hold off on those until they're closer to release. Meanwhile, Buona giornata/serata a tutti! Ci vediamo pronto!
And check out these giveaways, all ending soon:
Get started on some great new series with the Springtime in Prequel Time Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/springti...
Get your fill of all genres of speculative fiction with the Spring Speculative Fiction Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculat...
Still feeling foolish? Check out the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
April 13, 2019
Shadow and Flame: Working on My New Fantasy Series (And This Week's Selection of Giveaways)
Hello all! Welcome to April. It's certainly been a damp one here in North Carolina, just like all the previous months since, oh, August. There was a brief glorious moment when my basement floor was not actually swimming in water, but that, alas, has passed.
Since, as those of you who have been following my postings for a while know, I developed a severe toxic mold sensitivity as a fun side dish to my late-stage Lyme disease, I'm not thrilled about all this dampness. The main culprit for the mold issue appears to be my workplace, and since I started medical leave I have regained a tiny bit of my ability to walk, but still. As I complained about last time, my recovery such as it is has been extremely slow and subject to lots of downs as well as ups. And don't get me started on the raging whole-body yeast infection that's been plaguing me all winter and spring (sorry for the TMI, but that shit is BAD. In fact, at the moment it's my biggest problem by far).
Anyhooo, suffering ennobles, and misery is a great subject for literature, or so generations of Russian writers would tell me. Which may be why I decided for my next series to leave Russia behind and go to sunny Italy instead.
You can grab a free ARC of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, in the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
The series, tentatively titled the Giaco & Luca Series after its main characters (I know, super imaginative, right?), is currently made up of three novellas, with the possibility of more in the future if the spirit moves me. As I mentioned in my last post, the inspiration came to me when I had a very vivid dream of the first two chapters of "The Shadowy Man."
As you might guess from the title and cover, the series is set in sunny Italy, or at least a fantasy world based off of Renaissance Florence, but most of the action takes place in darkness. It's not actually that bright and sunny a work. But I did and do enjoy working on it immensely, both because I'm fond of the characters, and because it gives me a chance to revive my Italian. (Fun fact: I used to live in Milan and spoke quite fluent Italian. Those were the days...).
It's also fun for me because it combines my love of fantasy with my love of mystery and suspense. The plot of "The Shadowy Man" involves in a search, using clues gleaned from fortune tellers. I envisioned the series as a bit like the "Roma Sub Rosa" mystery series, only set in a fantasy version of Renaissance Florence rather than Ancient Rome. Other readers have said it reminds them a bit of the Harry Potter books.
Here's an excerpt. Giaco, the main character, is going from fortune teller to fortune teller, trying to get information about where Luca, his charge, might have been taken by the shadowy man:
7
Soon they were all leaving the fortune teller’s rooms and walking down yet another dark and dirty alley. Giacomo doubted he had seen this many nasty alleys in the ten years he had lived in Fiori.
They came to a rickety wooden house on the edge of the city. The fortune teller opened the door without knocking, and led them up a steep staircase so narrow that Giacomo’s shoulders kept brushing the walls on either side. There was a strong smell of dust and old wood.
The man in the room at the top of the staircase was so fat Giacomo doubted he could squeeze himself out of the room. He must be trapped there. He was sitting in an armchair at the head of a small table.
Besides the fat man and his chair, the room itself held only the table, four straight-backed chairs, and, in the middle of the table, a massive crystal ball that drew the eye and refused to let it go. Giacomo could hardly tear his gaze away from it, even when he was being introduced to the fat man, who was called Andrea.
“Andrea is the best ball-gazer in the city,” the fortune teller explained. “Most of us can catch no more than the occasional glimpse, but Andrea reads his ball the way other men read books.”
Andrea, who was too fat to bow, only inclined his head in response.
Everyone sat down at the table without speaking. The fortune teller handed the diagram of his casting to Andrea.
Andrea studied the diagram in silence for a long time. Then he placed it face-down on the table, blew gently on his hands, and cupped them over the crystal. It began to emanate a warm glow. He bent closer, shielding the ball with his hands so that the others were unable to see its images.
He watched for a surprisingly long time, occasionally emitting faint grunts and exclamations and tilting his head this way and that. After a while he seemed to be satisfied, for he let go of the crystal and straightened back up. He pulled out a quill and ink pot from a shelf under the table, wrote something on the diagram, and pushed it over to the fortune teller.
“Give him a soldo,” the fortune teller ordered Giacomo.
“What did he see?” asked Giacomo.
The fortune teller handed him the diagram. Beneath it was written Street of the Apothecaries, 19.
“What is this?” demanded Giacomo
“What he has seen,” replied the fortune teller. “Give him a soldo, and let us be on our way.”
Giacomo reluctantly handed over a bronze coin. A soldo seemed too little to give for information that was actually useful, but too much for what Andrea had done.
As soon as he set the coin down on the table, the fortune teller snatched up the diagram and led them out the door, bowing repeatedly to Andrea as he did so. It struck Giacomo that the fortune teller was afraid of Andrea, even though he had brought them to him of his own free will.
“Andrea has seen something of me that I do not like,” the fortune teller said, once they were outside again. “Truly, his gift is frightening. What I do–it is mostly the reading of signs. Anyone could learn to do it, if they had the patience. But Andrea has powers denied ordinary men.”
“Do you think he is like my shadowy man?” Giacomo asked. “Do you think he might know something about him? Should we go back and ask him?”
“Andrea has told us all he wishes for us to know,” the fortune teller replied. “Do not go back. Let us make our way to the Street of the Apothecaries instead.”
***
And now for giveaways!
You can pick up a free ARC of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, in the Spring into Fantasy Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/spring_i...
Or, if you don't yet have a copy of it, you can grab a free copy of my short story collection "Winter of the Gods and Other Stories," plus bunches of other free fantasy, in the April Fantasy Madness Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilmad...
The Spring Speculative Fiction Promo has almost 200 free books in all genres of speculative fiction! https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculat...
Looking to get started on a new series? The Spring Time is Prequel Time Giveaway has free prequels for dozens of fantasy series: https://books.bookfunnel.com/springti...
Since, as those of you who have been following my postings for a while know, I developed a severe toxic mold sensitivity as a fun side dish to my late-stage Lyme disease, I'm not thrilled about all this dampness. The main culprit for the mold issue appears to be my workplace, and since I started medical leave I have regained a tiny bit of my ability to walk, but still. As I complained about last time, my recovery such as it is has been extremely slow and subject to lots of downs as well as ups. And don't get me started on the raging whole-body yeast infection that's been plaguing me all winter and spring (sorry for the TMI, but that shit is BAD. In fact, at the moment it's my biggest problem by far).
Anyhooo, suffering ennobles, and misery is a great subject for literature, or so generations of Russian writers would tell me. Which may be why I decided for my next series to leave Russia behind and go to sunny Italy instead.
You can grab a free ARC of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, in the April Fool for Fantasy Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilfoo...
The series, tentatively titled the Giaco & Luca Series after its main characters (I know, super imaginative, right?), is currently made up of three novellas, with the possibility of more in the future if the spirit moves me. As I mentioned in my last post, the inspiration came to me when I had a very vivid dream of the first two chapters of "The Shadowy Man."
As you might guess from the title and cover, the series is set in sunny Italy, or at least a fantasy world based off of Renaissance Florence, but most of the action takes place in darkness. It's not actually that bright and sunny a work. But I did and do enjoy working on it immensely, both because I'm fond of the characters, and because it gives me a chance to revive my Italian. (Fun fact: I used to live in Milan and spoke quite fluent Italian. Those were the days...).
It's also fun for me because it combines my love of fantasy with my love of mystery and suspense. The plot of "The Shadowy Man" involves in a search, using clues gleaned from fortune tellers. I envisioned the series as a bit like the "Roma Sub Rosa" mystery series, only set in a fantasy version of Renaissance Florence rather than Ancient Rome. Other readers have said it reminds them a bit of the Harry Potter books.
Here's an excerpt. Giaco, the main character, is going from fortune teller to fortune teller, trying to get information about where Luca, his charge, might have been taken by the shadowy man:
7
Soon they were all leaving the fortune teller’s rooms and walking down yet another dark and dirty alley. Giacomo doubted he had seen this many nasty alleys in the ten years he had lived in Fiori.
They came to a rickety wooden house on the edge of the city. The fortune teller opened the door without knocking, and led them up a steep staircase so narrow that Giacomo’s shoulders kept brushing the walls on either side. There was a strong smell of dust and old wood.
The man in the room at the top of the staircase was so fat Giacomo doubted he could squeeze himself out of the room. He must be trapped there. He was sitting in an armchair at the head of a small table.
Besides the fat man and his chair, the room itself held only the table, four straight-backed chairs, and, in the middle of the table, a massive crystal ball that drew the eye and refused to let it go. Giacomo could hardly tear his gaze away from it, even when he was being introduced to the fat man, who was called Andrea.
“Andrea is the best ball-gazer in the city,” the fortune teller explained. “Most of us can catch no more than the occasional glimpse, but Andrea reads his ball the way other men read books.”
Andrea, who was too fat to bow, only inclined his head in response.
Everyone sat down at the table without speaking. The fortune teller handed the diagram of his casting to Andrea.
Andrea studied the diagram in silence for a long time. Then he placed it face-down on the table, blew gently on his hands, and cupped them over the crystal. It began to emanate a warm glow. He bent closer, shielding the ball with his hands so that the others were unable to see its images.
He watched for a surprisingly long time, occasionally emitting faint grunts and exclamations and tilting his head this way and that. After a while he seemed to be satisfied, for he let go of the crystal and straightened back up. He pulled out a quill and ink pot from a shelf under the table, wrote something on the diagram, and pushed it over to the fortune teller.
“Give him a soldo,” the fortune teller ordered Giacomo.
“What did he see?” asked Giacomo.
The fortune teller handed him the diagram. Beneath it was written Street of the Apothecaries, 19.
“What is this?” demanded Giacomo
“What he has seen,” replied the fortune teller. “Give him a soldo, and let us be on our way.”
Giacomo reluctantly handed over a bronze coin. A soldo seemed too little to give for information that was actually useful, but too much for what Andrea had done.
As soon as he set the coin down on the table, the fortune teller snatched up the diagram and led them out the door, bowing repeatedly to Andrea as he did so. It struck Giacomo that the fortune teller was afraid of Andrea, even though he had brought them to him of his own free will.
“Andrea has seen something of me that I do not like,” the fortune teller said, once they were outside again. “Truly, his gift is frightening. What I do–it is mostly the reading of signs. Anyone could learn to do it, if they had the patience. But Andrea has powers denied ordinary men.”
“Do you think he is like my shadowy man?” Giacomo asked. “Do you think he might know something about him? Should we go back and ask him?”
“Andrea has told us all he wishes for us to know,” the fortune teller replied. “Do not go back. Let us make our way to the Street of the Apothecaries instead.”
***
And now for giveaways!
You can pick up a free ARC of "The Shadowy Man," the first novella in the series, in the Spring into Fantasy Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/spring_i...
Or, if you don't yet have a copy of it, you can grab a free copy of my short story collection "Winter of the Gods and Other Stories," plus bunches of other free fantasy, in the April Fantasy Madness Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilmad...
The Spring Speculative Fiction Promo has almost 200 free books in all genres of speculative fiction! https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculat...
Looking to get started on a new series? The Spring Time is Prequel Time Giveaway has free prequels for dozens of fantasy series: https://books.bookfunnel.com/springti...
March 30, 2019
Excerpt and Free ARC of New Work! Plus a Big Selection of Giveaways
Wow! Is it almost April already? Where is the time going?
I have to admit that in my fantasies, I thought I would be most of the way to cured by now, since I'm spending the spring on medical leave. Alas, that is not the case. While I can certainly see signs of improvement, it's been a slow, frustrating process with lots of ups and downs, and a *lot* of feeling miserable. I am trying to be Zen about it.
In the meantime, I have managed to get a fair amount of writing done. On the fantasy front, I've been working on a trilogy of novellas set in a kind of alternative Renaissance Florence. And I'm thrilled to say that Advance Review Copies of The Shadowy Man, the first story in the series, are available in the Dark Sci-Fi and Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/darkscif...
The opening scene of The Shadowy Man came to me in a dream, as did a lot of the basic story. Sometimes things work out like that. The series is unusual for me in having a male protagonist, although I use it explore things that are maybe not so stereotypically "masculine," such as fear, anxiety, and care for a young child. Anyway, without further ado, here's the opening scene to The Shadowy Man:
1
The painting was not going well.
The Prince was supposed to be practicing still lifes under Giacomo’s direction. At the moment, the dish of pears sat smugly in their ray of warm light, while on the canvas several amorphous blobs lurked malignantly in a pool of dirty yellow.
“I hate painting,” said the Prince. He gave Giacomo a pathetic look. “It’s not very good, is it?” he asked pitifully. “It’s ruined, isn’t it?” A note of hope crept into his voice.
Giacomo looked the canvas over, squinting and tilting his head this way and that. “I think it’s beyond fixing,” he agreed solemnly.
“Hurrah! Scrubbing out!” The Prince snatched up his largest brush from the easel, ground it into the palette in order to get the wildest mix of colors possible, and began making large circular strokes, mashing the brush flat against the canvas.
“Is this how you would do it when you were a boy?” he asked after a moment, pausing to survey his progress. He was a pale child, and his cheeks and the tip of his nose had gone pink with excitement.
“Sometimes I would do it like this,” Giacomo told him, taking the brush and making violent vertical strokes. “Scrubbing out” was a treat Giacomo’s father had permitted him to ease the disappointment of a bad picture, and now he was passing it on to the Prince.
“Let me!” shrieked the Prince, grabbing the brush back and copying Giacomo’s motions. “Take that!” he cried exultantly. “And that! En garde!” A vicious jab caused the easel to go toppling over. There was a long loud crash, combined with the distinctive high notes of breaking glass.
“Oh.” The Prince surveyed the damage he had caused. Giacomo had jerked him out of harm’s way as soon as the easel had started to go over. The Prince wriggled in his arms. “Put me down,” he demanded.
Giacomo deposited him on the table, next to the pears. “Don’t move till I clean up the broken glass,” he ordered.
“I want to help,” insisted the Prince. “I’m nine; I don’t need to be carried around like a baby. Oh Giaco! I got paint all over your tunic!” He had still been holding his brush when Giacomo had grabbed him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Giacomo assured him. “In fact, I think it’s your best work of the day! It was a boring tunic. Now it looks much brighter!”
The Prince’s lower lip stopped quivering. “Really?”
“Really. I like it much better than before. And I think the rug has been improved immensely, as well.” Pots of paint and oil, along with the palette and the still-wet canvas, had converted the pale blue rug into a fantastic nightmare of color.
Before Giacomo could pick up any of the glass, there was a knock at the door, immediately followed by the appearance of the head maid.
“Her Majesty...” She caught sight of the mess on the rug. Her thin aristocratic nose seemed to become slightly thinner and more aristocratic. “Is here,” she finished. “She wishes to visit Prince Luca immediately.”
“Send her up,” said Giacomo. The head maid gave one last look at the rug and retreated. The sound of many ladies making a noisy progression up the spiral staircase to the Prince’s tower was becoming menacingly clear.
“Oh Giaco!” wailed the Prince. Giacomo winked at him.
The Queen, as was her habit, burst imperiously into the room and stood framed by the doorway, her current favorites amongst her ladies-in-waiting arranged in a tableau behind her. Most of them, Giacomo noticed, were out of breath from the brisk climb. The Queen, whose lung capacity was legendary, didn’t seem to have suffered at all, despite her tightly-laced stays.
“Come here, Luca!” she ordered. She had been an accomplished singer before she had become Queen, and she still had a high ringing voice that filled whatever space she was currently occupying. She still also had a singer’s bosom, which also filled whatever space it was currently occupying. She liked to crush her children’s faces against said bosom whenever she embraced them, possibly as a way of making up for giving them over to wet nurses. The Prince always complained that she caught his ears painfully on her stays. Giacomo knew that lately he had begun to be embarrassed by having his faced pressed into such an expanse of bare breast, and had started actively avoiding his mother’s caresses whenever possible. And in fact, this time he said, “Giaco told me to stay on the table, Mamma.”
The queen allowed her gaze to drop floorwards, to the mess on the rug and Giacomo on one knee beside it.
“Explain!” Her voice reached such a pitch that Giacomo suffered a faint twinge on behalf of the windows.
“I humbly apologize, Your Majesty,” he said. “It was all my fault. His Highness had finished his still life, and I was showing him a defensive move, and I accidentally crashed into the easel and knocked everything over.”
The Queen inhaled sharply, and then went a little purple in the face as she stifled a coughing fit brought on by the strong scent of paint. When she had recovered herself, she said, “I am seriously displeased with you! The Prince has no need to be practicing the defensive arts: that’s why we keep you. It is your responsibility to defend him, with your life if necessary! The Prince must study true art! As the youngest son, he must grace the Court like a Maestro!” Her tone changed from reprimand to interrogation. “His performance was creditable, I hope?”
“Quite creditable, for a boy his age, Your Majesty,” answered Giacomo. The kindness of fate had caused the canvas to land face-down.
“Tomorrow, have him do the same study and present it to me,” the Queen commanded. “The delegation from La Valle del Sole will be visiting. The Duco del Sole has been putting on the most ridiculous airs about his son’s achievements. I want to teach him a lesson.” She gave the floor a look of distaste, and began backing out the door. “Remember, Luca, you must be a credit to your father!” she said, and left, her ladies-in-waiting forming up behind her. Giacomo noticed that their gowns were the seven basic colors, and they lined up according to their place in the color spectrum.
“Oh Giaco!” The Prince flung himself off the table. Only Giacomo’s quick catch saved him from landing on the broken glass.
“Thank you, Giaco, thank you, thank you, thank you!” the Prince said into Giacomo’s neck. “You saved me, Giaco, you saved me!” He pulled himself away from Giacomo’s shoulder and sat up on his still-bent knee. “But what am I going to do about tomorrow?” he asked despairingly. “I won’t be able to do a good job of it next time either.”
“I’ll help,” promised Giacomo.
“You paint so well,” said the Prince with breathless admiration. “Will you do the whole thing?” he continued hopefully.
“You should do at least a little bit,” Giacomo told him. “Otherwise you’ll never learn, and someday you’re going to have to do it all by yourself.”
The Prince sighed in resigned acceptance, and allowed Giacomo to deposit him back on the table. Giacomo called a maid to come help clean up the mess, and listened sympathetically as she wrung her hands and lamented about the trouble she was going to get into over the ruined rug. He told her to blame everything on him. Then it was time for the Prince’s lesson with the dancing master, and then with the fencing master (by far the Prince’s favorite lesson of the day–Giacomo had to wrest the wooden practice sword from him by force, enduring several painful swats in the process), and then it was suppertime, and then it was bedtime.
“You’ll be in the next room, won’t you, Giaco?” the Prince asked anxiously, once he had been tucked in. Although he tried to hide it, the Prince was still a little afraid of the dark, and sometimes even crept into Giacomo’s room in the middle of the night.
“I will later, but right now I have to go see someone.”
“Whom? Why do you have to see him? Is he someone I know?”
“He’s just an old friend, no one you know. I’ll be back soon. Ulricco will be guarding the door.”
“Oh.” The Prince thought for a moment. “Don’t stay out too late. Ulricco’s a good guard, I guess, but you’re ever so much better.”
Privately, Giacomo agreed. Ulricco was a big hearty man who had caught the King’s eye during the last battle with the del Sole duchy, when he had held a narrow defile single-handedly, cutting down man after man. After the battle the King had made him one of the King’s Best Fifty, who guarded the Castello degli Eredi, the small separate keep for the royal children.
“And it really was single-handedly,” Ulricco liked to say whenever he described the battle, which was often. “Because I only ever use one hand to hold my sword!” And he would caress his sword, which for most men would have been a two-handed broadsword, suggestively. After a while Giacomo had grown tired of this and asked Ulricco to be his training partner. He had disarmed Ulricco after half-a-dozen strokes.
“Single combat is a chancy thing,” Giacomo had told him consolingly. “You never know who’s going to win.”
Afterwards, Ulricco had continued to tell his story, but he also started holding his sword with both hands whenever he trained with Giacomo.
“I’ll come look in on you when I get back,” promised Giacomo. He used to kiss the Prince on the forehead when he left him for the night, but lately the Prince had started to complain that he wasn’t a baby, so Giacomo only winked at him as he went out the door.
***
Once again, you can get The Shadowy Man and dozens of other free stories in the Dark Sci-Fi and Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/darkscif...
And there are so many other giveaways going on right now! Here's a sampling:
The Magic Rises Giveaway has dozens of fantasy stories of all subgenres! https://books.bookfunnel.com/angels-a...
The Series Starters Giveaway will get you started on new series in fantasy, sci-fi, and horror! https://books.bookfunnel.com/seriesst...
Binge on free fantasy in the Fantasy Book Binge! https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantasyb...
Stroll the aisles of the Magically Bewitching Free Book Fair! https://books.bookfunnel.com/freewitc...
I have to admit that in my fantasies, I thought I would be most of the way to cured by now, since I'm spending the spring on medical leave. Alas, that is not the case. While I can certainly see signs of improvement, it's been a slow, frustrating process with lots of ups and downs, and a *lot* of feeling miserable. I am trying to be Zen about it.
In the meantime, I have managed to get a fair amount of writing done. On the fantasy front, I've been working on a trilogy of novellas set in a kind of alternative Renaissance Florence. And I'm thrilled to say that Advance Review Copies of The Shadowy Man, the first story in the series, are available in the Dark Sci-Fi and Fantasy Giveaway! https://books.bookfunnel.com/darkscif...
The opening scene of The Shadowy Man came to me in a dream, as did a lot of the basic story. Sometimes things work out like that. The series is unusual for me in having a male protagonist, although I use it explore things that are maybe not so stereotypically "masculine," such as fear, anxiety, and care for a young child. Anyway, without further ado, here's the opening scene to The Shadowy Man:
1
The painting was not going well.
The Prince was supposed to be practicing still lifes under Giacomo’s direction. At the moment, the dish of pears sat smugly in their ray of warm light, while on the canvas several amorphous blobs lurked malignantly in a pool of dirty yellow.
“I hate painting,” said the Prince. He gave Giacomo a pathetic look. “It’s not very good, is it?” he asked pitifully. “It’s ruined, isn’t it?” A note of hope crept into his voice.
Giacomo looked the canvas over, squinting and tilting his head this way and that. “I think it’s beyond fixing,” he agreed solemnly.
“Hurrah! Scrubbing out!” The Prince snatched up his largest brush from the easel, ground it into the palette in order to get the wildest mix of colors possible, and began making large circular strokes, mashing the brush flat against the canvas.
“Is this how you would do it when you were a boy?” he asked after a moment, pausing to survey his progress. He was a pale child, and his cheeks and the tip of his nose had gone pink with excitement.
“Sometimes I would do it like this,” Giacomo told him, taking the brush and making violent vertical strokes. “Scrubbing out” was a treat Giacomo’s father had permitted him to ease the disappointment of a bad picture, and now he was passing it on to the Prince.
“Let me!” shrieked the Prince, grabbing the brush back and copying Giacomo’s motions. “Take that!” he cried exultantly. “And that! En garde!” A vicious jab caused the easel to go toppling over. There was a long loud crash, combined with the distinctive high notes of breaking glass.
“Oh.” The Prince surveyed the damage he had caused. Giacomo had jerked him out of harm’s way as soon as the easel had started to go over. The Prince wriggled in his arms. “Put me down,” he demanded.
Giacomo deposited him on the table, next to the pears. “Don’t move till I clean up the broken glass,” he ordered.
“I want to help,” insisted the Prince. “I’m nine; I don’t need to be carried around like a baby. Oh Giaco! I got paint all over your tunic!” He had still been holding his brush when Giacomo had grabbed him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Giacomo assured him. “In fact, I think it’s your best work of the day! It was a boring tunic. Now it looks much brighter!”
The Prince’s lower lip stopped quivering. “Really?”
“Really. I like it much better than before. And I think the rug has been improved immensely, as well.” Pots of paint and oil, along with the palette and the still-wet canvas, had converted the pale blue rug into a fantastic nightmare of color.
Before Giacomo could pick up any of the glass, there was a knock at the door, immediately followed by the appearance of the head maid.
“Her Majesty...” She caught sight of the mess on the rug. Her thin aristocratic nose seemed to become slightly thinner and more aristocratic. “Is here,” she finished. “She wishes to visit Prince Luca immediately.”
“Send her up,” said Giacomo. The head maid gave one last look at the rug and retreated. The sound of many ladies making a noisy progression up the spiral staircase to the Prince’s tower was becoming menacingly clear.
“Oh Giaco!” wailed the Prince. Giacomo winked at him.
The Queen, as was her habit, burst imperiously into the room and stood framed by the doorway, her current favorites amongst her ladies-in-waiting arranged in a tableau behind her. Most of them, Giacomo noticed, were out of breath from the brisk climb. The Queen, whose lung capacity was legendary, didn’t seem to have suffered at all, despite her tightly-laced stays.
“Come here, Luca!” she ordered. She had been an accomplished singer before she had become Queen, and she still had a high ringing voice that filled whatever space she was currently occupying. She still also had a singer’s bosom, which also filled whatever space it was currently occupying. She liked to crush her children’s faces against said bosom whenever she embraced them, possibly as a way of making up for giving them over to wet nurses. The Prince always complained that she caught his ears painfully on her stays. Giacomo knew that lately he had begun to be embarrassed by having his faced pressed into such an expanse of bare breast, and had started actively avoiding his mother’s caresses whenever possible. And in fact, this time he said, “Giaco told me to stay on the table, Mamma.”
The queen allowed her gaze to drop floorwards, to the mess on the rug and Giacomo on one knee beside it.
“Explain!” Her voice reached such a pitch that Giacomo suffered a faint twinge on behalf of the windows.
“I humbly apologize, Your Majesty,” he said. “It was all my fault. His Highness had finished his still life, and I was showing him a defensive move, and I accidentally crashed into the easel and knocked everything over.”
The Queen inhaled sharply, and then went a little purple in the face as she stifled a coughing fit brought on by the strong scent of paint. When she had recovered herself, she said, “I am seriously displeased with you! The Prince has no need to be practicing the defensive arts: that’s why we keep you. It is your responsibility to defend him, with your life if necessary! The Prince must study true art! As the youngest son, he must grace the Court like a Maestro!” Her tone changed from reprimand to interrogation. “His performance was creditable, I hope?”
“Quite creditable, for a boy his age, Your Majesty,” answered Giacomo. The kindness of fate had caused the canvas to land face-down.
“Tomorrow, have him do the same study and present it to me,” the Queen commanded. “The delegation from La Valle del Sole will be visiting. The Duco del Sole has been putting on the most ridiculous airs about his son’s achievements. I want to teach him a lesson.” She gave the floor a look of distaste, and began backing out the door. “Remember, Luca, you must be a credit to your father!” she said, and left, her ladies-in-waiting forming up behind her. Giacomo noticed that their gowns were the seven basic colors, and they lined up according to their place in the color spectrum.
“Oh Giaco!” The Prince flung himself off the table. Only Giacomo’s quick catch saved him from landing on the broken glass.
“Thank you, Giaco, thank you, thank you, thank you!” the Prince said into Giacomo’s neck. “You saved me, Giaco, you saved me!” He pulled himself away from Giacomo’s shoulder and sat up on his still-bent knee. “But what am I going to do about tomorrow?” he asked despairingly. “I won’t be able to do a good job of it next time either.”
“I’ll help,” promised Giacomo.
“You paint so well,” said the Prince with breathless admiration. “Will you do the whole thing?” he continued hopefully.
“You should do at least a little bit,” Giacomo told him. “Otherwise you’ll never learn, and someday you’re going to have to do it all by yourself.”
The Prince sighed in resigned acceptance, and allowed Giacomo to deposit him back on the table. Giacomo called a maid to come help clean up the mess, and listened sympathetically as she wrung her hands and lamented about the trouble she was going to get into over the ruined rug. He told her to blame everything on him. Then it was time for the Prince’s lesson with the dancing master, and then with the fencing master (by far the Prince’s favorite lesson of the day–Giacomo had to wrest the wooden practice sword from him by force, enduring several painful swats in the process), and then it was suppertime, and then it was bedtime.
“You’ll be in the next room, won’t you, Giaco?” the Prince asked anxiously, once he had been tucked in. Although he tried to hide it, the Prince was still a little afraid of the dark, and sometimes even crept into Giacomo’s room in the middle of the night.
“I will later, but right now I have to go see someone.”
“Whom? Why do you have to see him? Is he someone I know?”
“He’s just an old friend, no one you know. I’ll be back soon. Ulricco will be guarding the door.”
“Oh.” The Prince thought for a moment. “Don’t stay out too late. Ulricco’s a good guard, I guess, but you’re ever so much better.”
Privately, Giacomo agreed. Ulricco was a big hearty man who had caught the King’s eye during the last battle with the del Sole duchy, when he had held a narrow defile single-handedly, cutting down man after man. After the battle the King had made him one of the King’s Best Fifty, who guarded the Castello degli Eredi, the small separate keep for the royal children.
“And it really was single-handedly,” Ulricco liked to say whenever he described the battle, which was often. “Because I only ever use one hand to hold my sword!” And he would caress his sword, which for most men would have been a two-handed broadsword, suggestively. After a while Giacomo had grown tired of this and asked Ulricco to be his training partner. He had disarmed Ulricco after half-a-dozen strokes.
“Single combat is a chancy thing,” Giacomo had told him consolingly. “You never know who’s going to win.”
Afterwards, Ulricco had continued to tell his story, but he also started holding his sword with both hands whenever he trained with Giacomo.
“I’ll come look in on you when I get back,” promised Giacomo. He used to kiss the Prince on the forehead when he left him for the night, but lately the Prince had started to complain that he wasn’t a baby, so Giacomo only winked at him as he went out the door.
***
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