Lissa Dobbs's Blog: Shadow Walkers of Grevared, page 7

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Published on February 11, 2018 02:21

February 9, 2018

Thank You!

[image error]Thanks so much to the recent reviewer of The Chronicles of Ethan Grimley III: A Walker is Born. The review can be found on Amazon UK.

Lissa Dobbs has created a magickal world with a young boy at the centre of it… all the usual emotions, needs and wants of youth but with a tincture of the fantastical thrown in to the mix.

The book is an appropriate length for the intended audience but the prose is not dumbed down because of the expected age group – this gives younger readers the opportunity to reach up in their reading expectations but also allows adults the chance to become immersed in the world of Grevared.

That Lissa is a lover of medaeval literature is highly apparent through her use of character names and weaponry.

As an adult, I thoroughly look forward to reading the next book in the series but I shall also share my son’s enjoyment when he reads and becomes equally fascinated with the tale.

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Published on February 09, 2018 14:49

February 4, 2018

Hallowed Ground-Prologue

[image error]I’ve been working on a longer work tentatively titled Hallowed Ground. I’m not sure exactly what I’m planning with it at this time, but below is a prologue I was using to get my thoughts in order. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

Prologue

Sister Gabrielle Corcoran awoke with a start. She had been dozing in the straight-backed chair that was one of the few pieces of furniture her cell at the Arcana Maximus contained. She stretched, her body aching, and trembled with a chill she couldn’t explain. She moved to the door on tiptoes and cracked it just enough to see if any of the other Sisters were walking the halls.

The stone corridor was empty. Gabby waited for a moment, just to be sure, for if she was caught sneaking out of the Arcana in the middle of the night, she would be beaten and imprisoned.

With the way clear, Gabby took several deep breaths to steady herself, the she slipped from her cell and out into the night.

Detective Timothy Hawkins trudged through the Warren in the city of Freywater. All around him rose buildings of several stories, made of wood and metal, that, though tall, managed to look squat. His feet missed holes in the cobblestones streets out of habit, for the Warren had been his beat for more than twenty-five years. Though he had risen through the ranks of the Enforcers, he had never been able to secure one of the coveted positions outside of the Warren.

“Once a Warren rat, always a Warren rat,” Timothy muttered as he shivered in a sudden icy breeze, one that cut through his cloak and pierced his bones.

Though Timothy had been with the Enforcers for more than twenty years, his role as a Shadow Walker, one of the champions of the gods, had taken him away from his post too many times for true advancement. He cursed to himself again as he realized just how much he had lost by being a Shadow Walker. It wasn’t a secret; the Shadow Walkers were a recognized force in Grevared, but it wasn’t something he flaunted. And his captain took a dim view of those who had commitments outside the Enforcers.

Northward, in Sangeron, the capital city of the Xaggarene Empire, Daniel Klesko, too, shivered in a breeze that threated to freeze him where he stood. He trembled, his mind desperately trying to grasp what his instinct already knew.

The city was quiet, at least as quiet as Sangeron ever got, for Sangeron was a city that never truly slept. Ladies of the evening plied their trade in corsets laced far too tightly, while others stumbled from myst dens, taverns, and dark alleys to make their way home with unsteady steps.

Daniel, too, was a Shadow Walker, though he had lost the Stone of Destiny five years before. Now he did nothing but wander the streets of Sangeron, getting food and shelter where he could, his mind nothing more than a kaleidoscope of past and present that swirled in un-graspable images that defied comprehension.

[image error]In the forests of E’ma Thalas, north of the Xaggarene Empire, Illythor, captain of Oberon’s guard, paced back and forth. His elven ears strained for any sound that would explain the disquiet that seeped through his blood, but the only sounds were those of the night creatures moving about the forest. He knew the rumors as well as the next elf; more and more elves were succumbing to the gealtachta na déithe, the madness of the gods. Oberon himself had mentioned the rise, and it had devastated Titania to send away their only child.

A rustle to his left brought Illythor’s sword to his hands.

“It’s only me.”

Illythor cursed and huffed out a relieved breath as Ivlisar, his boon companion, joined him on the wall of Oberon’s palace. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? Did you piss someone off?”

Ivlisar smiled and shook his head. “Couldn’t sleep.” He stared out over the tops of the trees, their purples, greens, and yellows hidden by darkness. “There’s a fell wind blowing, brother. One that bodes evil for all of us.”

Illythor returned his sword to his sheath and sighed. “Then we’d best be ready.”

Far to the south, across the void, on the edge of the Shizzuria Wasteland, Morgan Harper came awake with a cry. The mechanical owl that sometimes housed the spirit of Abraham chittered softly on her beside table. She cursed and climbed from the bed, her eyes gritty from lack of sleep.

She grabbed her coat from its place by the door and pulled it around her slight frame. With another curse, she opened the door to her small cottage and peered out into the night. Before her lay the streets of Grenvor and the edge of the ice sheets that marked the wasteland. Nothing moved. She searched with both her eyes and her mind for the cause of the disturbance, but she could find nothing.

“What the hell?”

Morgan returned to her home and returned her coat to its hook. She grabbed several lumps of coal from the bucket by the brazier and stoked the fire. She stood in her nightclothes and rubbed her arms to dispel the chill, while her heart ached and longed for something that would never be again. After several moments, she shook off her unease and returned to sleep.

In the untamed chaos of the void, Arianna Henderson leaned against the rail of the Greydawn Spirit. Her feet shifted, one to the other, with a restlessness she couldn’t quite put her finger on, while her eyes scanned the gray nothing before her. Something was coming, she was sure, and she knew she needed to be ready.

“What’s up?” asked Charity Chance, another of the Shadow Walkers aboard the ship.

“Don’t know.” Arianna raised herself and turned to face Charity. “Something’s in the air. I’m restless.”

Charity laughed, her voice deep and rich. “You’re always restless.”

Arianna bit the edge of her thumb and turned to face the void. “This is different.”

Charity shrugged. “I guess we’ll know when it gets here.” Charity motioned to the hatch behind her. “Get some sleep. It’s my watch.”

Arianna nodded and headed below decks to her cabin. Though she tried, she never did fall asleep.

[image error]On the other end of Grevared in the land of Moirena, Justin Harper shifted in his sleep. He opened bleary eyes to the stone walls of his cell. The chain that bound him to the wall rattled in the quiet of the night, and it took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t in Lemoreal’s bed.

He’d been a slave to the demon Lemoreal for five years now, a slavery he’d entered willingly. Now, he would give his soul, what little was left of it, for his freedom, to regain what he’d thrown away.

He raised himself to a sitting position and reached for the small water skin that was his only sustenance. He took a tiny sip, for he would not be allowed more until Lemoreal chose to reclaim him, and leaned his head against the wall. Something prickled his skin, though he had no idea what it meant. He reached outward with his mind in an attempt to discover what had disturbed him, but all he could find was the demon.

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Published on February 04, 2018 03:26

January 28, 2018

The Fantasy Genre: Why I Fell in Love

[image error]I’ve been an avid reader of fantasy for more than thirty years. I remember the first book I read in the genre was Raymond E. Feist’s Magician Apprentice, but it wasn’t the main character, Pug, who captured my attention in the beginning, though I would fall head-over-heels in love with him later. It was the magician, Kulgan.

A rotund man with a long beard and wisdom beyond what was normally possible, Kulgan could reach out into the world and accomplish things no one else could. I was hooked. I wanted that magic in my own life, the ability to see things others missed and the knowledge and wisdom to guide others. I wanted to know about things unseen by normal folks and to understand the mysteries of the universe.

Granted, that’s putting a lot of pressure on a fictional character and a world that was beginning to embrace home computers, but that’s what I wanted, and I wasn’t about to settle for anything less.

As the characters in the series grew into some of my best friends, I branched out and read other authors. I was captivated by these worlds of mystery and magic, of hidden realms and dark secrets. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be there, to walk the roads of Midkemia, or to stroll the paths of the Four Realms, or to climb the mountains of Middle Earth. I wanted to see nature unharmed by human progress, to wander the wilds where creatures from our darkest fears roamed free. I wanted to see dragons and speak with elves, and I wanted to burrow into the earth in the dwarven mines.

And nothing’s changed.

[image error]I still have that longing, but the chances of being able to experience them in reality is slim without some serious advances in science. A bit ironic, I suppose, that the discipline that prevents the existence of the things I most want to see in our world would be the only chance of seeing them in another, but that’s the way it is. Instead, I opt for studying mythology and ancient cultures, those who believed that magic was possible and that the gods affected the world they lived in.

And I write.

I create worlds that contain all the elements I wish were in this one–the mystery and magic, the creatures that are more than human, even the evil that no one wants to confront. Wizards reach out and grab hold of the matrix of the universe, while elves travel through primeval forests. Dwarfs dig deep into the mountains to bring forth hidden treasures, and demons roam with humans. They aren’t perfect worlds by any stretch, they’re places to go on a rainy Sunday, places where magic is real.

Lissa Dobbs

https://www.blackrosewriting.com/childrens-booksya/keeperofthewatch

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Published on January 28, 2018 03:15

January 21, 2018

Author Spotlight-Kristen L. Jackson

[image error]Today, we’re welcoming Kristen L. Jackson for our Author Spotlight. Be sure to check out her work!

Author Bio:

Kristen L. Jackson lives in Reading, PA, with her husband, two grown sons, and three large-breed dogs. She has been a teacher for over 20 years, and writing for children of all ages is close to her heart. Her debut young adult sci-fi novel, KEEPER OF THE WATCH, is set to release on February 1st, 2018, and a children’s picture book, JOCELYN’S BOX OF SOCKS, will release in 2018/2019. She enjoys writing, reading, and spending time with her family at their cabin in the Pocono mountains of PA.

ISBN: 978-1-61296-981-7; PUBLISHED BY BLACK ROSE WRITING http://www.blackrosewriting.com/

[image error]Chase Walker is beginning to doubt his sanity. From the moment he turned eighteen, a strange paranoia has taken over his mind. It all started the moment he discovered his uncle’s old watch…

The watch calls to him. Though it beckons, he resists. His body strains toward it, blood pulsing, heart pounding in a mysterious and primitive need to connect with his uncle’s old beat up watch.

When sexy and mysterious Alyx saves his life, she promises answers. She talks of dimension travel, and wears a magical watch of her own…

Kristen L. Jackson, Author of KEEPER OF THE WATCH release date 2/1/18

Available for Pre-order at:

Black Rose Writing

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Watch-Dimension-Kristen-Jackson/dp/161296981X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511615010&sr=1-1&keywords=Keeper+of+the+Watch

Barnes & Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeper-of-the-watch-kristen-l-jackson/1127336385?ean=9781612969817

Find Me On:

Facebook: @kristenjacksonauthor https://www.facebook.com/kristenjacksonauthor

Amazon: Kristen L. Jackson https://amazon.com/author/kristenljackson

Twitter: @KLJacksonAuthor https://www.twitter.com/KLJacksonAuthor

Tumblr: https://kristenjacksonauthor.tumblr.com

Good Reads: Kristen L. Jackson https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomkristenjackson

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorKristenLJackson

Instagram: @krisjack504 https://www.instagram.com/krisjack504

Yahoo: kristenjacksonauthor@yahoo.com

Website: https://kristenljackson.wixsite.com/kristenjacksonauthor

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Published on January 21, 2018 03:59

January 14, 2018

Getting Started in the New Year

[image error]We’ve completed the first week of the new year, and I have to say I can’t complain. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful start.

Those who’ve been around a while know that I’m a folklore and mythology junkie, and I did a post a couple of weeks ago about my reading traditions for the holiday season.

We have a lot of traditions for the holiday season, and many of them originated from our ancestors’ desire to ward off the cold of winter and revitalize the world, particularly crops and animals, come spring. There are also a good many traditions whose original purpose was to protect against the creatures that roamed the darkness. A plethora of gods and demons were active during the dark, winter months, and any of these could cause difficulty for those who lived during that time.

In our modern world, we look at a lot of the superstitions of old as silly and ridiculous, beliefs of those who simply weren’t smart enough to know better, but I’ve found myself realizing that there is value in these beliefs–they offer us mystery and magic in a world where none seems to exist.

[image error]Think about it… We have TV shows like Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, and many others that offer us a glimpse into a world that our science tells us isn’t real. Yet, even though we may scoff at the possibility of monsters, ghosts, and demons, we still watch the shows. Why?

Because, at the end of the day, the possibility of these beings touches something within us that we’ve lost with our modern world. We’ve lost the ability to wonder and to be amazed. Most of us can’t even look up at the stars and wonder anymore because of city glow. We can’t walk in the wilderness because there’s little of it left. Our amazement comes from the capabilities of the newest electronic and not from the possibility of what may exist beyond our five-sense perception. We no longer connect to the parts of ourselves that lurk just beneath the surface of everyday life, the part that makes us one with the world around us.

I really started thinking about all this during the holidays when I realized that, while the decorations were pretty, there wasn’t any sense of anticipation about the holidays, it was just another day of things to do that really didn’t have much meaning beyond cooking and buying presents. Reading about older holiday traditions helped to bring meaning to this year’s series of special days.

[image error]So, out of all the resolutions I could make for the new year, I think what I’d like to do more than anything else is to slow down a bit, spend more time in nature, and do my best to remember why the days we celebrate matter. I resolve to find the mystery and magic again, both in the world around me and within myself.

What do you resolve to do for this year?

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

Catch the rest of the LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE on Amazon!

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Published on January 14, 2018 03:02

January 7, 2018

Charles Yallowitz–Legends of Windemere

[image error]Thank you to Lissa for letting me write a post for her blog and helping to promote Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age. With this being the final volume of my fantasy adventure series, I’ve looked back at some of the influences.

One of the biggest ones has been mythologies and folklore, which I went to when it came to designing the Windemere pantheon and monsters. A few minor characters took names from mythology that I liked and it helped forge their personalities, but it had a bigger impact on the world building side of things. This is fairly common in fantasy too with some authors being more blatant than others. I’d put myself in the middle since I always tried to put my own twist on certain things. Still, I can’t deny that mythology had a hand in the creation of Windemere, so I’ll fess up and explain the major areas.

Gods

When I was creating the gods and goddess of Windemere, I looked to Greek mythology to get ideas on how they should act. Fantasy stories tend to have either a multitude of deities for each race that have a clear influence or talk about a small amount that people aren’t sure ever existed. When I saw how often the Olympians got involved in mortal affairs, I wanted to go for that type of world. The gods and goddesses clearly exist because people have seen them and they show up at times. Yet, there was still one really big problem. What’s the point of having heroes and villains if gods are mucking about and can get things done themselves?

The answer came from other stories where mortals turned against the gods and threatened or even killed them. I imagined that happening to the scale where these powerful immortals that control the world are made to feel vulnerable and weak for the first time in their existence. Those who survived would think about how it came about and new gods that ascended from the ranks of mortals would implement the Law of Influence. Now, they have to work through mortal agents and visions. Getting physically involved is a risk and punishable by being sealed for whatever time is deemed necessary. In this case, I looked at what mythology did and created an answer to the problem of gods getting involved in everything.

History

Mythology is filled with large events that explain the creation of the world and various natural occurrences. I wondered if ancient people looked at these as history instead of fiction like we do today. Okay, I didn’t get struck by a lightning bolt, so we can continue. This thought led me to create several big events that changed the world and are talked about by the characters in the same way we discuss our history. These have a magical taste to it like the Great Cataclysm that altered the entire face of Windemere or the ancient Race War where the 8 great dragons pitted the lesser species against each other. Every major event required that I take at least a peek at mythology to see if there was anything I could work with to give me some extra inspiration.

Monsters

This is actually the big one because mythology is chock full of beasties that can suit every fantasy author’s need. I did design my own creatures for some scenes, but those are typically throwing animal parts together until you get something functional. I have this sudden hunger for hot dogs now. Weird. Anyway, I have a book called ‘The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures’ and I crack that open whenever I’m having trouble with a monster. Sometimes I take the whole thing while other times I use the name and design around it. The thing with mythology is that it isn’t as detailed here as your audience might want you to be. You really only get the appearance, eating habits, and a few other tidbits. Even then, you could run into multiple versions of the same critter.

The best example is one of my favorite monsters to use. I didn’t have to do much research for the Griffin/Griffon/Gryphon because it’s fairly popular. People always know that these monsters have the head/front body/rear body of an eagle and the head/front body/rear body of a lion. I mean, they’re the size of a lion/small horse/mini-van/it’s carrying an elephant, so they’re hard to miss. Think there’s even a type that has a serpentine tail, which might be someone getting it mixed up with a manticore. That’s another thing with monsters in mythology. You get a lot of overlapping of appearances and themes. Just look at how similar manticores, griffins, hippogriffs, and the chimera. After all the physical decisions, I give my griffins a few magical abilities and released them into the world. Just another altered addition to an already confusing stable of flying cats with extra parts.

Just to sum stuff up in case I rambled too much, mythology is a great resource and not only for fantasy stories. It’s a fairly popular topic, which you can connect to characters in other genres through names, conversations, and comparisons to situations that they’re in. You can also get some inspiration for dysfunctional families because many pantheons have some messed up relations. One could say mythology is the ancestor of fiction, so we might as well treat it like a resource.

Again, I’d like to thank Lissa for letting me write a post for her blog. Please feel free to check out Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age and enjoy the adventure.

Author Bio & Social Media

[image error]Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you, and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

All cover art done by JASON PEDERSEN

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Published on January 07, 2018 03:20

January 3, 2018

Announcing My 2018 Interview Series

Author Don Massenzio

Hello,

With the new year, I’m announcing a re-vamped author interview series. During the past two years, I have interviewed nearly 200 authors and have compiled these interviews into an author directory. I would like to add to this list in 2018.

My current plan is to post one author interview per week on Fridays. I have a new set of questions that should give your readers deeper insight into your writing process. Since I’m limiting these interviews to one per week (a maximum of 52) I will be spending more time making them look good to help you drive more readers to your work.

These interviews are open to those of you that have participated previously. If you have something to promote or just want to increase your exposure across a new group of followers, please come and participate. Please feel free to share this post with your…

View original post 40 more words

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Published on January 03, 2018 18:42

January 1, 2018

Giveaway

[image error]Hello and Happy 2018!

To start off the new year right, I’m having a giveaway for a signed copy of Aradia’s Secret. Wander over to my Facebook page for a chance to enter.

I hope 2018 is wonderful for everyone!

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

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Published on January 01, 2018 16:32

December 30, 2017

Happy New Year!

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